Live for the Lord Today

in the course of history? We know that the prophecy is that knowledge is going to increase exponentially before the return of Christ, with the advent of AI. vie. We are there. I want to give you five things that I, experts predict are going to transform our lives in the next five years. Autonomous vehicles and transportation. I'm going to

be bold with you. I don't even think you need to run out and get a self-driving car or anything like that right now, even though they're everywhere, because prognosticators say there is going to be a at ready call system to get shuttled wherever you need to go. Are there some good things about AI? Yeah. Road rage is going to be absolutely throttled. Accidents are going to go down exponentially. You might say, well, is AI smart? Yes.

AI smart enough. It's proven over and over again. There's data points on this to prove that accidents will go down. If you have an insurance company that insures ensures cars you might want to get diversified. AI powered assistants are going to be everywhere. Smart homes and integration of smart technology. Optimize appliance usage. Enhance home security. Predict energy levels. Even predict the kind of needs that you have for living and devices that you're going to need that are going

to adapt to your lifestyle. It's everywhere. Healthcare revolution AI diagnostics I'm already using this. Six months ago, my son asked for all my blood work from a physical that I have and he said, hang on, get right back to you. Five minutes later, he sent me a complete overview of every blood draw, every aspect of my data.

So what do we do when we look to the future? There's one thing that's paramount here. I don't know when the Lord is coming. This is what we find in Matthew 24. But concerning the day or hour, no one knows. Not even the angels in heaven, nor the son, but the father only. For as were the days of Noah, that's a great indication. So will the coming of the Son of Man be. Wow! It's going to be coming. Coming.

And then boom, he's going to come. And my concern for the vast majority of people listening here is that we are a group of people that is made up of. Those of you and me who have a God consciousness and awareness that God is real, that Jesus is who he said he was. And yet is it possible to ascend to those things and not be ready when he comes back. Yes. And I'm going to keep it right here because I got to talk to you about this. We talk a lot about the illusion of salvation, especially

out of Matthew seven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord. But the context of Matthew 24 goes right into Matthew 25, and the words of Jesus are profound. He tells the story of ten virgins. Very interesting story, and there are five that are ready for his return. Oil is in the lamp. Five are not ready and are left behind unprepared. How? They don't have oil of salvation in their soul. They're dressed up with

no place to go. I spent the last two hours Just doubling down, going over every aspect of this parable. And I want to tell you with absolute confidence in the authority of Scripture. There will be vast numbers of people, many, Jesus said, who have an illusion of salvation. And I want you to know today you can't play games with

your spiritual life. You can't play games any longer, friend. Now, the assurance of salvation that we have is profound, because the oil of the filling of the Holy Spirit is real and confirms, yes, I'm a child of God. Your preparation might be to get right with God so that

he says, well done, good and faithful servant. As a matter of fact, that's what we find in one of the very next parables right after the parable of the Ten Virgins is a parable of the talents, and the direct application is those that aren't fearful at his return, but those that are joyful at his return. Some of you have joy at his return because you know you have a relationship with Jesus. Some of you are dressed

up with no place to go. Straight up honesty, and it'd be malpractice for me to not tell you that. It's Jesus's words, not mine. So who are you? And is fear a proper motivation to get right with God? It is my friend. Some of you, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the genuine fear for which this fear in getting freedom from is the greatest freedom.

A fear of being left behind when Jesus comes Is all the motivation the Holy Spirit needs to convict you of sin today and tell you, stop being dressed up with no place to go. We don't know the day or the hour. But it is definitive. Let me just read to you from the Moody Bible Commentary. The phrase those who were ready reveals the main point of the parable, namely that here readiness is preparedness. Before he returns, one cannot leave. Getting ready. End quote. To the last minute.

If one seeks to get ready while he is coming, it is too late. The coming of the Lord in the rapture and the start of the day of the Lord will be completely unexpected. And unless one is prepared before that time, he will face the hardship of tribulation and judgment. That's hard, isn't it? But isn't it?

you need to surrender your life to Jesus. And if the Spirit of God is calling you, please surrender your life to Jesus today. Please don't wait. Don't let the pride of spiritual pretense hold you back from the coming of Christ. Don't allow thinking I can get ready down the road. Keep you from abundant life in Christ Jesus. Don't live with fear any longer about whether you will be found in Christ when he comes. Today is the day. How?

All pretense aside, you surrender your life completely and totally to the Son of God. You repent. You go God's way. If your heart is troubled This morning, Jesus prescribed the answer in John 14 let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. I'm going to prepare a place for you, and I will come again. Thomas said, what's the way? How do we know where you go? He said, I am the way and the truth and the life. The only way to go. Jesus

way when he comes is to repent of your sins. Today, turn around and follow Jesus and understand you are not the ruler of your destiny. Jesus must be. Joy will fill your life. Must I repent, Carl? Yeah. To be born again, you must repent. It's embracing the truth that you are a sinner and you need a Savior. And his name is Jesus Christ. Today, I'm asking you to surrender your life to Jesus. Every bit of your soul.

To Jesus. All you need courage. You've got to admit, for many of you that you've been dressed up with no place to go. And that's admitting to yourself and others. I've been dressed up with no place to go. Doesn't matter. What matters most is where you stand with God. And if the oil of your soul is filled with the Holy Spirit. Are you repenting today? Are you acknowledging you need a Savior? For the first time in your life,

are you fully surrendering your life to Jesus? Is fear of being left behind when Jesus comes for his kids? Proper motivation to surrender to Jesus. It's a good starting point, and from there God will fill you up with joy and expectation and life. So do you acknowledge today by a cry of your soul, a cry of faith? Jesus, I'm a sinner, man. I need a savior. I've been dressed up but no place to go. God, I hear your voice. And today I repent I turn around, I'm

leaving the broad path of spiritual performance. And I'm turning around to follow Jesus, the one who can fill my life and make me new. I never could do it. Today I surrender all to Jesus. If this is the cry of your soul today, today, count the cost. Don't be fake. Don't be half measured. But if today is the day of salvation for you, praise God. What a great joy and I want to help you today. Text

the word new. Right now. I'm going to send you a link and some of you might have heard about this link before, but never have you seen your need for Jesus. Like this morning. Text the word new to 800 555 7898. Text the word new right now to 800 555 7898. I'll just shout out the last four numbers of your telephone number just to say, I see that you see that Jesus has been speaking to you today, and that God loves you, and he's calling you out of darkness into the light. Just text the word new

right now. I'm going to send you a link that's going to have three embedded links. Use every one of them just to glance through as we help you take your first steps with Jesus Christ, just text the word new right now to 800 555 7898. Today is your day of salvation. Today is your day. Went a little longer here than usual. But I thank you for listening. Text new to 805 55 7898.

coming and today you are repenting. You will be ready. Your lamp will be filled to overflowing. Your light will be lit and never go out until the coming of Christ. Welcome to the family. Coming up in a few minutes on this Freedom Friday, I've got a question for you. Did the fear of being left behind when God comes? Was that the impetus for you surrendering your life to Christ? Today I want one testimony right now. Is that you?

805 55, 78, 98 was the fear of the coming of Christ and you being left behind what God used to call you out of darkness into his wonderful light? Give me a call right now. If that's you. I need one 800 555 Five, 78, 98.

but they weren't. It's fascinating, by the way, that Jesus paints that picture. Five dressed up. No place to go. Why? Because the unseen things matter most. The oil of salvation was not there. And there wasn't time to get ready. Because there will be a time that Jesus returns and we don't know when that is. I do believe it's near, but being ready is vitally important. And it's an awesome mercy that Jesus gave us these stories, parables to illustrate

what salvation was all about. Many surrendering to Christ today can fear of being left behind when Jesus comes. Be an impetus, proper one for salvation. Yeah, it can start there. But here's the beauty. It doesn't end there. You don't live with fear, with full surrender to Jesus. He changes everything about you and then hope springs up. It's an

amazing thing. And so the other application point here is that those who have their lamps filled are dressed up, buttoned up, not in our strength, but in the power of the spirit. Ready to hear, well done, good and faithful servant. What's that mean? Investing our lives, giving ourselves away, surrendering all that we are to Jesus. Knowing that if

we've got Jesus, we got everything we need. I'm asking you, in light of the fact that we don't know when the coming of Christ is, will you live ready today as a disciple of Christ? Live ready friend.

the goodness of God. Simon Guilbeau actually has a podcast that is the second most listened to podcast in all of the UK. Simon, how did that happen?

the knee, demons being cast out, people being healed. I've got loads of stories.

at a military checkpoint. They said you cannot proceed any further. There's been an attack on that village and all those people are getting killed. And it struck me like never before that the urgency of the gospel, because just two days before they had heard Jesus is coming. Nobody knows when. Are you ready? And two days later, they were dead. So, you know.

the opportunity comes your way, you'll be too late. Opportunity doesn't wait, not even while you pray. You must not have to get ready. You must live ready at all times. And then he says this. Be filled. Be filled with the spirit that is, be soaked with with the spirit. Be so soaked that every thread in the fabric of your life will have received the requisite ray of the spirit. And then when you are misused and squeezed to the wall, all that will ooze out of you will be the very nature of Christ.

All you got to do is look at the book of revelation, whether it's Church of Laodicea that pushed Jesus out because of their economic wealth, or Ephesus because they lost their first love. How do we get that back? How do we build on this so that what oozes out of us is an overflow of the spirit. More with my guest, Simon Gilbert, coming up.

the most beautiful things. It's not arduous because this is the abundant life that Jesus promised. Am I wrong, Simon?

still alive. She's now she's worked for me. We got her scholarship to America. She got a distinction of degree and she's flying. And my friend who adopted her gave her the most fabulous name. And that name is Grace. And I name my daughter Grace after that grace. Because basically, you're only going to live. You know, the start of Grace's life is a picture of the gospel that God reaches down into our mess and we need a Savior, and we need a rescue, and we can't save ourselves.

And like that lady stuck her hand down the toilet and got filthy in the process. God came down in Jesus and he picks us up and he cleans us up, and he takes our filth on him so that we can be clean and beautiful and acceptable. And if you understand that grace, then it fills you with a love. And then Christ's love compels you to live and to live, prioritizing what matters. It was C.S. Lewis that said, anything which isn't eternal is eternally out of date. And it

doesn't last. Which is why Jesus says, come on. Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust. You know, basically that last forever. And I paraphrase that to save time. But, you know, we get so caught up in the here and now, and I've got the privilege of working and living with people that have got so little materially. Yet unlike unlike in the States where people often have got everything to live with, but they've

got nothing to live for out there. You know, I think just let me tell this one, this a friend of mine, she saw a guy in his rags with an empty bowl praying in a refugee camp. She went over and sat next to him and said, what's your story, old man? And he told her how he'd seen his wife and kids hacked to death and his house burnt down. And he'd walked six days to get that refugee camp. He was in his 80s, and he turned to her

at the end of this horrific story. And he said, Madame, I never realized that Jesus was all I needed until Jesus was all I had. Yeah.

leads us to emptiness. Although we're born again, we're saved as by fire. It's just we're just. Just born again. And now on our own. We've forgotten that the posture of dependence and humility is the birthplace of all that matters. Andrew Murray I quote him all the time from his book humility. He says humility is the one virtue that gives birth to every other virtue. And I've often had people tell me, oh, Pastor Carl, I feel so. I'm

at the very bottom. The irony is, is that's the greatest position to be in where God can begin to use us. Speak to that from your own life and those that you see.

safely to the beginning of a new day. And we pray that prayer like a liturgy, because we've been listening to shooting and gunfire and bombs and bombs in the night, and life was so precious. And when you're stripped of everything. And then one guy prayed once. Lord, thank you that all our hope is gone. And I'm like, what? But then he carried on, and then he carried. He carried on,

he said, because now our only hope is you. And then I could give a sort of more hearty, slightly begrudging Amen, because I don't want my only hope to be you. But actually we do. We do. He is our only hope and we can try to turn to other other things. Like people will medicate their their pain through through porn or retail therapy or social media and look for affirmation of. But you know, we just we need to to live out our lives before the audience

of one and just seek him. And it's not that we desire it, but, you know, when you're out there stripped of everything and, uh, I never realized that Jesus was all I needed until Jesus was all I had.

800 555 7898. Text inspired to 805 55 7898. Check it out. Text inspired right now to 805 55 7898. Inspired to 805 55 7898. Got 10s for what's on your heart. What do you say, Simon?