Good morning.

Welcome to Real Life with Mike and Jason.

We're joined, as always, with Pastor Mike, and this season we're joined by Pastor Gene.

Welcome, gentlemen.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Last week in episode two, we talked about specifically about Bible prophecy and how it works, what's been fulfilled, what's still ahead.

Talked a little bit about Israel and kind of, you know, what the Bible tells us to look for.

And so today, as we break down the rest of the season, we'll be doing it more in theme is we're going to be shifting really our focus to something that is gaining momentum that we're hearing more and more about, especially as the church, and that's this global unity.

And you're not just hearing about it from the church, you're hearing about it from the world's perspective, too, because we're all looking for the same thing, just in different ways.

And so the world's looking for a unified government or at least a unified society, where we're looking at it as a latent sign of the things that God's allowing and doing.

So we're going to spend some time talking about that, talking about maybe some headlines, the world calling for peace, cooperation, really in unity.

So in the Bible, it warns us a lot about this coming one world system and that we really as believers need to be rooted in the truth of God's word and to pay attention.

We shouldn't be sticking our head in the sand.

And I think that's kind of what this whole season is about, is not doing that, is being aware of what's going on, but also seeing the hope for us that's in it because it's not unexpected and something that, you know, God knew was going to happen, it's supposed to happen.

He told us beforehand it's going to happen.

So let's start this morning with you, Pastor Gene.

Can you talk a little bit about what that word even means, the one world government?

Is it just a conspiracy theory because we hear that word a lot today, too, or does the Bible actually talk about a global system of control and are we seeing signs of it coming?

All these conspiracy theories turn out to be true is the funny part.

But I think also I've been trying to call it a global government because I think that's the hipster way of, you know, one world reveals how old you are.

That's what we've been saying that too long.

So global.

Let's use that.

But yeah, I mean, the Bible absolutely portrays just before the coming of Jesus Christ in Revelation 17 and 18.

A one world government, a one world religion.

Earlier in the book, obviously there's the verses that everybody knows about the Antichrist and the beast who creates an image of the Antichrist and it has something like sentient life.

And everybody is on global commerce.

Everybody in the world has some kind of a mark.

We're not sure exactly what that is, but so, yeah, the world gets together.

I was thinking about that.

This really dates me, but Mike, you'll remember this.

Maybe you too, Jason, but do you remember when Ronald Reagan spoke about aliens in the United Nations?

Yeah.

In a speech he said, hey, here we are divided, basically, but if we had a global threat, we would all join together and fight as one.

And I think that's the kind of the harmony that people would like to think we have in the governments and all.

But to me, one world or global government means obviously your government, whoever it is, they have to surrender their sovereignty in order to be part of a bigger group.

And God's, you know, God made nations.

I mean, he, He.

Out of the Tower of Babel came nations, not just individuals.

And so there's nothing wrong with nations.

And they're to be sovereign and God judges them by their own sovereignty.

And so, yeah.

So, you know, one theory obviously is that it would take a disaster, a global disaster to bring all the governments together.

And, you know, if Covid had gone on very much longer, it would have been interesting to see what was.

Because the governments were.

I don't think that was a conspiracy, you know, with everybody, but they saw what kind of power they had over people and they decided, we're going to help you by destroying your life.

I mean, I think a lot of these leaders were sincere.

They really thought that they were helping people stay alive.

And in fact, you know, now nobody wants to talk about it, but, you know, a crisis like that, and then there's just a general knowledge unity that people like, you know, they think, hey, if there were more of us, you know, voting together, the planet would be a better place.

Climate change, they're trying to obviously use that as a reason.

And that's kind of.

I almost think that's dying out right now.

They need to get into something different.

But anyway, yeah, absolutely, there will be a global government, commerce and religion in the last days just before the coming of Christ.

Yeah, and I mean, it's almost like these fear events are cyclic in a way.

So I mean, it's, you know, it was the election and this is the end.

And then when the election's over, it's back to there's triggers, right?

And then it's back to this, you know, global warming, and then it's going to be another trigger.

It was Covid for a long time.

And so it really is so much power and keeping people in fear.

And that's part of the reason I love the verse that we're not given a spirit of fear, but peace, love and sound mind, because that's not from God.

And so when we read Revelations, when we read things that talk about the times that we're in, it's not meant to bring us fear.

It should bring us fear if we're not in Christ, because it's going to be a scary time.

But we are.

And so it's not.

Yeah, one more thing.

I want to just jump in there.

You always have to factor in the spiritual, too.

There are obviously supernatural beings and entities behind a lot of this, and there's a lot of wrangling we don't know about.

So a lot of times when I see people just acting absolutely like imbeciles in our government or someone else's government, when the decisions they're making, I think, you know what, there's some demonic activity going on there, and we need to take account of that as well.

And so what do you see as far as just organizations that gives us an idea of this one world.

Now we can't, we might not be able to look at something right now and say this is the one world government.

But is there already organizations that are looking to, to do the same things that we would expect out of this?

Yeah, there are.

But, you know, it's interesting, I was just thinking about that before we got on like the World Economic Council, we were talking about them a lot with the, you know, the Austrian guy that was the head of it, Klaus something, and then all of a sudden he's a nobody.

You know, we don't hear much about that anymore.

So what happens is somebody will kind of step in.

I, I again, we, I think, Jason, you and I touched on this last time about contingent prophecy that, you know, hey, you know, Jesus said John the Baptist would have been Elijah.

So he had believed him.

And so I think God, everything's, you know, he's in control.

There's no doubt about that.

He's in charge.

But I think, you know, you look at these organizations, say if the Lord comes right now, these guys could fulfill what he said is going to happen.

And then all of a sudden they're gone.

And then, and they're still somebody else takes their place.

And so I think God.

And if there's nobody, God would just raise somebody up.

I mean, so I think that's why we have to be so careful when we point to these things.

And I notice in some of your notes you talk about stage setting, and that's really what we're talking about when we talk about, you know, hey, this is.

The Bible says this is going to happen.

And so when we see this, this globalism, then, you know, we say that's what we expect.

And it's weird because however many years ago, you'd never hear any of these nations talk about giving up their sovereignty for anything.

So.

Yeah, so, yeah, we're gently in that flow.

You know, another word that we hear a lot, we've heard a lot about since we talked about movies.

Terminator 2.

Right.

Terminator 1.

Skynet is AI.

And that word was used so loosely and it probably still is so much today, but there is certainly.

And we spent a whole episode on that, but there's certainly an element of that where you could see, you know, that being used on a global scale.

Yeah, yeah.

As well.

So your next year, this could be your theme.

If we could break down movies for.

From a pathetic one, it would be.

Actually a lot of fun.

Yeah.

So I think it's safe to say we would agree that it's clear, at least the framework or the groundwork is being laid for a one world system, a one world building.

You could wake up tomorrow and not be able to access your money.

I mean, and people have done like a few years ago in Greece, they did that, remember?

They.

They took like one or two thirds of the people's money away to pay for something.

And man, if you, if you aren't able to have a credit card right now or some kind of, you can't buy anything.

And so, I mean, the government can absolutely control you overnight if they wanted to.

And I don't.

And there's nothing we can do about it because it's.

We're moving inevitably in that direction.

Everybody wants AI to stop, but they're all saying, yeah, but it can't.

And we have to develop it before the Chinese do.

And yeah, it is Skynet.

It's crazy.

It's.

I mean, the thing you can't put back in that bottle.

Exactly.

Yeah.

Yeah.

For sure.

And not only are we seeing the stage set for, you know, world kind of economic government, but also, and interestingly enough, I don't know if we, if you guys have followed it, I'm sure you have just.

We think of just the Pope and the Vatican and some of the things that were said from those leaders and even Islamic leaders, this call for a one world religion too, which is, I mean, 10 years ago you would have never thought you would hear these large figures in these religions say some of the things that they're saying in the name of unity, which sounds super appeasing and appealing and good to, to the world.

But obviously we know that that's just a Trojan horse.

We know where that is going to lead eventually.

And so I think.

Go ahead.

I'm sorry.

No, no, that's all.

I'm agreeing with you.

You're right on.

Preach it, brother.

And so I think what happens when we pave the way for these kinds of system or systems rather is we're starting to see what people are really longing for.

And you know, it reminds me of the movie, what is the name of the movie?

The Jesus Revolution, where Lonnie Frisbee.

Yeah.

Says, you know, that his, you know, his people, he calls his people, these people that are strung out, that are homeless, that are seeking.

They're searching for all that.

They're asking the right questions, but they're looking in all the wrong places.

And I think we see that to a large extent too as people are searching for peace, but they're searching for peace in places that can't provide peace.

It might seem like it up front.

And so that deception is only going to get greater and greater.

And I think the problem isn't, it's not all peace is genuine.

Obviously some of it's deceptive.

And so I guess let's talk with Pastor Mike about that specifically.

Is there a danger?

And I think we all obviously know the answer to this, but is there a danger of false peace?

And how does that fit into the bigger picture of what we're talking about today?

Yeah, it's a great question that, you know, verse that comes to mind with that 1st Thessalonians 5, verse 3, it says, you know, when people are saying everything is peaceful and secure, it says then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman's labor pains begin and they'll be escape.

And so this, this verse, it really, it highlights for us, it's a real sobering truth that like you said, the world's longing for peace, but the problem is what's the cost?

You know, because obviously peace oftentimes is pursued at the expense of truth.

And so we're, you know, we see in Scripture, you know, and like you said, and Gene brought it up earlier about there's Spiritual dimension, you know, that there really is no peace without repentance.

And people don't fit that.

They don't understand that.

And because peace without repentance really is no peace at all, you know, it's just an illusion.

And that's, like you said, that's what we're seeing today.

And so people are willing, and we saw that during COVID They're willing to trade, you know, freedom for safety.

You know, they want to, they want, they're afraid of death.

You know, they don't want to die and they'll do anything to stop that.

You know, and there's a.

That's the human side of it, obviously.

But you know, the unfortunate thing that happens with that is that it sets the stage like we saw in Covid.

And I appreciate how Gene brought that up, is that I don't think that it was necessarily deliberate.

You know, like, you know, the conspiracy theorists really go with.

I don't think they really even understood all that they were doing that there might have been the sense of they were genuinely trying to do good.

But there's always a spiritual element behind it, you know, that the Lord's working and also there's a demonic realm.

And that's kind of what we're focusing in on, you know, right now.

And so, you know, it really is about control.

And this is where, like I said, things get really dangerous because, you know, when the Antichrist comes on the scene, he's going to promise peace and it's going to be this time of great prosperity.

So it's the illusion that people are.

And if, especially if it's a, you believe in a pre tribulation rapture and the church is gone, the world's going to be celebrating because they're going to go, man, look at the peace.

Finally they're gone.

We have peace and prosperity.

You know, we've got everything that we need.

And it'll be for this obviously, you know, a short season.

You know, we, we understand this about the Antichrist, that, you know, he's a deceiver.

Yeah, there was a couple verses, you know, that, that, you know, we looking at here in this podcast, you know, Daniel 9:27, it says, you know, the ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of, of one set of seven, but after half of this, so that we know this is, you know, three and a half years and then the abomination of desolation, you know, that Jesus talks about in Matthew, says he will put an end to the sacrifice and the offerings.

So Obviously, the temple has to be rebuilt in order for this to happen there in Jerusalem.

Can you imagine somebody pulling that off?

That they can get the Arab, the Jews to come together and allow them to build a temple, you know, back on the Temple Mount?

So it says.

And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration until the fate of the declaration decreed for the this defiler is finally poured out on him, you know, and that's ultimately speaking of the second coming of Jesus and Revelation 6.

Two, it says, I looked up, it says, and I saw a white horse standing there.

Its rider carried a bow, and a crown was placed upon his head.

He rode out to win many battles and to gain the victory, you know.

And so all these passages, especially these two in particular, you know, they're just remind us of this, this false peace that'll be one of the enemy's greatest tools, you know, deception and.

And even for believers, right?

You know, it says that even the elect are going to be deceived because we.

You hear it all the time.

People go, well, you know, I just don't have a piece about that.

I. I don't have a piece there.

They want peace more than anything in a false sense of peace.

I remember, you know, taking a class years ago on the dealing with, you know, families and those that remain after suicide and, and every one of the studies that talked about this false peace that, you know, people who are struggling with mental illness, I mean, they want peace.

And all of a sudden they go, you know what?

I'm just going to take my life.

And they go, now they're at peace.

And they go, that's why their family members couldn't see, you know, any sign that, hey, there was something wrong.

They go, man, we had a wonderful time.

Everything was peaceful.

Everything was, you know, but it was a false sense of peace because, you know, as both of you mentioned, they made the wrong decision, right?

But it brought them peace in their own mind.

And sadly, you know, we see the same thing happening here as we think about the concepts of the end times and the last days.

So for us, like I said, we're not making the Antichrist our focus.

I mean, at least here, you know, at Calvary Chapel, where we see all three scriptures, we're looking into Jesus.

The whole focus here is keep your eyes on the Lord.

Because if you don't, I mean, look at all the millions of ways that you can get tripped up, you know, with following all these different, you know, things that happen in the world.

That's why Jesus said it himself.

As I was alluded to just a minute ago in Matthew 24:24.

He says false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

And so you go, how do we stay village, you know, not be fooled by appearance?

You know, again, we walk by faith, right?

Not by sight.

And I just put a couple of things here to share real quick, you know, so obviously, number one, you know, we need to be grounded in the truth.

You know, Jesus said, the truth you'll know, and the truth will set you free.

So the Bible's got to be our ultimate guide to peace and.

And the comfort and the things that we look for doing the world today.

You know, the second thing is, you know, we've got to live lives of repentance because, like I said, the world's wanting peace, but we've got to be true with that message.

The only way, you know, you.

You've heard this so many times.

Share this Jason it's, you know, K N O W God.

K N O W peace and O God and O peace.

And so any of this, as it gets darker in the world, the opportunity for the gospel to go forth is tremendous.

And so we.

We've got to.

We've got to preach repentance.

And.

And what does true repentance mean?

Is.

Is Jean so well said?

You know, we say one world order, you know, and they go, oh, we date.

We date you.

We know where you're coming from, and then say, you know, it's a.

It's a global issue, right?

A global economy.

Oh, okay.

Well, that's like said hipster.

And you go, the word repentance is archaic for the body of Christ.

Now you.

I read things every week where pastors go, well, we don't even use the word repentance anymore because it just gives people the wrong concept.

Right?

Oh, my gosh.

It's like we can't, you know, you know, go down that road.

And ultimately, I hope this podcast, I hope, you know, this is what it really teaches the audience as they're listening is, you know, we've got to keep our eyes on Jesus because he is the prince of peace, and he's the only one that can offer this lasting peace.

He said, the peace that I give, you know, is a piece not that the world could give and.

And offers that to us as a gift.

And so I. I had an old print here in my note, you know, true peace isn't the absence of conflict, it's the presence of Jesus.

And I love that.

Amen.

Yeah, Amen.

The promise of peace can be powerful.

Especially that's what you were saying earlier when people are desperate for stability.

But just like you were saying earlier, Pastor Mike, peace that comes apart from truth isn't world peace.

Peace that comes apart from God's word isn't peace.

It's a setup for deception.

And that brings me to the kind of.

The other thing I was thinking of.

Is.

Did Jesus come to necessarily unify the world in the way people think, or did he come to bring division?

And we think of, I mean, the Word.

We see this in the whole armor of God.

The Word is a sword that it divides all the way down to the marrow.

So could you talk a little bit about that, Gene?

Did Jesus come to unite the world or is he going to divide it?

Yeah, well, our understanding, of course, is that Jesus came to establish a kingdom that God had promised Israel, and they violently rejected that.

And so Jesus went home for a while.

And now we have the church on the earth which is persecuted as if we are Jesus, because Jesus said, they'll.

They hated me, they're going to hate you.

And so it's interesting, this doesn't really fit into the unity discussion, but you'll always get other religions to join together against Christianity, you know, and it's.

It's like, you know, everybody's fine as long as we're not invited to the table, you know, and stuff.

So.

And unity, I see sometimes unity as a goal rather than truth.

And so, I mean, this is a small thing, it's a little thing.

But I think that God raises up different churches in the community to meet different needs and to teach in certain ways and all as long as we're all teaching the true gospel.

But, man, ever since I've been in the ministry, everybody always wants to have the big event.

Let's get all the churches together.

Because if we got all the churches together, it would be so powerful that all the non believers would just, you know, would be in revival.

And my experience has been when all churches get together, it's watered down because you have to find the lowest common denominator of what people actually believe.

And so, you know, sometimes you end up not even preaching the gospel.

The last time we were going to be involved in a unity song, we pulled because at the last minute they sent us a schedule and they.

They had side times for prophecy in their schedule.

And so, like at 7:05, the band would stop and they would have a prophecy.

And I said, yeah, this.

This isn't Nora for us.

So.

So, yeah, the church wants.

Everybody thinks there's strength in numbers and, and unity would be a great thing.

But they don't take into consideration the reason Jesus came.

And that is we're all sinners with a sin nature before we come to know Christ, and we can't have unity.

I mean, Adam and Eve couldn't have unity immediately after they sinned.

The first thing they did was blame other people for their sin.

And so there's no unity coming out of the garden.

And so it's a deception, it's a lie, that if we had unity, we would be powerful.

I've been meditating lately on some of the least powerful among God's servants, like Gideon.

God says, hey, your army's too big and way too big.

You know, we're going to do this with 300 people so that I can be glorified, you know, and so the numbers thing in the church is always something to be wary of.

You know, that God wants to make a mega church.

That's great.

That's what God's doing.

But as far as all the churches getting together, it's just going to water it down.

And nobody wants to get together with us anyway, because we.

I remember one time, years ago, some guy, I was talking to a guy, it's a long story, but he said, you Calvary pastors think you know everything.

I said, no, no, we don't.

We just know Jesus.

And this is what he said.

So anyway, that's my take on unity.

Hey, let me jump in real quick on the.

On the Rapture thing again.

You know, I tell you what would happen.

Think about this.

Let's say the Rapture happened right now.

There would be.

You would hear car crashes, plane crashes, the terrible things would happen all over the world.

I mean, it's going to be a violent event.

I don't think people understand how violent the Rapture is going to be just because of that.

And to you, I mean, that would be a perfect time for somebody to step forward and say, we need to unite against this common threat.

I mean, they could sell the thing as a threat.

You know, somebody's taken all these people or they've left and they're going to come back and do weird stuff.

And so, I mean, you know, you have a real unity, I think, and different leaders emerging as the.

As the leader of that and the leader of nations.

So I think something about.

In a lot of different ways.

So that's my take on unity.

I love you, Mike, though, if you want to do something with our church, you can.

Yeah.

And, you know, we think about that.

There's this movement and it's not new, but in Christianity, that to the coexist point, that that's really a push is that, you know, there's multiple paths that lead to God and God is love, and all roads lead to God.

God is love.

But the point is that Jesus came to separate light from darkness.

He came to separate truth from deception.

And there's a difference between allegiance to him and allegiance to the world.

And that's going to be part of this narrative towards the end, is there's going to be this call for a unity that's going to be counter to the things that God says.

You know, it's almost comical and it's not funny in a funny sense.

But you can guarantee that what God has established is good, the world's going to establish is bad, or say that it's bad and it's across the board.

So, you know, it's easy for Christians to look at the persecution today.

And obviously we don't know persecution in this country, at least like Christians in other countries do.

They know it in a very deeper way because they have.

I mean, we just talked about the whole family that was wiped out in Syria, Mike, that you were talking about.

That that's persecution, and that's the persecution that the apostles are facing.

You know, after Jesus ascended, they all ended up, pretty much all of them ended up dying.

But the gospel, God's word divides and it's going to continue to divide because it demands surrender to Christ.

And it's the only standard of objective truth, God's truth under the Creator.

And so it is a threat, and it's going to be a threat to this system, and it's a threat to the world, and it's a threat to people personally because it confronts them where they're at and it confronts them in their sight.

And we don't like that.

We don't like being confronted.

And that's why you have to.

When you're.

I envision every debate, every argument, I think the Christians should say, hey, let's get one thing settled.

Do you believe the Bible is the word of God inspired?

Word of God.

And when they say no, then your whole talk is evangelism.

There's nothing you can do.

You're not trying to argue them into, you know, the fossils won't do.

I mean, all that stuff helps.

You know, they bring, oh, you know, Christians are idiots.

Well, no, we're not.

But you.

You need to speak to their heart.

You need to speak to their spirit in spiritual ways and maybe not even answer their questions, because there's no basis for you to.

To communicate.

Because like you said, the light and darkness thing is real.

I mean, you know, until the light goes on, they.

They can't see it.

And it goes on through the gospel.

That's why we should be preaching the simple gospel.

And then we can teach people about all these other things that the Bible talks about, most of which are secondary issues that we can agree to disagree on, quite frankly.

But, yeah, yeah.

And it's not that those secondary things aren't.

Aren't good to talk about, but sometimes we stand and yell and scream and rip our shirts over the secondary issues and completely stop talking just about the simplicity of the gospel.

Mike will tell you this, too.

As a pastor, I mean, sometimes you think, I've said this one million times.

This is my one millionth time of saying this the same way.

And you know what?

Okay.

That's okay.

Peter said we need to be put in remembrance of things, you know, and then because people come up and say, you know, I've never heard that before.

That's my.

You heard it today because the Holy Spirit wanted you to hear it.

And so, yeah, I mean, so if you don't believe in the Bible, so a lot of times, like, take any of the transgender.

All these sexual things going on, people want.

They come in, they say, how do I talk to a homosexual?

How do I talk?

Well, you share the gospel because it's not the fact that they're homosexual.

It's the fact that they're going to die and go to hell.

And then once they get saved because they see the love of Jesus Christ in you and in your church, then they deal with it themselves, because now the Holy Spirit lives in them, and he says, right, we need to deal with this.

And they do.

So we just need to keep the focus on the gospel and the simple gospel and the truth of the gospel.

And then as Christians, we can have fun with podcasts like this where we talk about, hey, how's all this going to work out?

And it's great.

And as far as that goes, the more people know about the end times, the more secure they will feel in terms of Christians.

You know, they're all kind of blubbery and scared, but get into it, you know, figure some of this stuff out, and you'll see that God is coming for you.

Maybe today.

Yeah.

And there's a blessed hope.

Yeah.

Look up, look up.

So when we think about, you know, obviously we're in a world full of noise and nothing's new.

I mean, the world's been full of noise and distractions and deceptions.

But, Pastor Mike, can you talk a little bit as we kind of wrap this episode is how do we stay spiritually awake and ready?

What do we do in this time for you and for me as Christians to keep looking up?

You know, I like to look at it as a football analogy.

You know, I mean, most of us that like football would.

Would probably all agree that the best 60 minutes of a football game is the last two minutes.

You know, it's.

They go into the, you know, the hurry up offense, and they realize the time is short and it's the best part of the game.

They're focused, there's more action, everything's going on.

And one of the things, as a pastor that concerns me is, you know, Gene brought up the issue and he echoed it with regard to, like, fossils, you know, and, and people will want to study that.

And we go back to the Genesis account, and there's so much that, you know, people go, man, God was in control.

You know, in six days, he created the heavens.

He did everything.

On the seventh day, he rested.

They know all about that.

And it's like, when it gets to the end times, it's just nebulous.

It's like God started this thing, but, like, you know, there's no agreement that there's an end on it, you know, and.

And so much where churches go, we don't.

We're not even going to teach the book of Revelation, you know, we're not even going to touch eschatology.

We're not going to go through end times at all because it's just too controversial.

And you go, no, it's the believer's hope.

It's the fact that God is the alpha, Jesus is the alpha and the Omega, right?

He.

He's the beginning and the end.

I mean, the very last words, you know, is that, you know, I'm coming quickly and my reward is with me, right?

So as a follower, you have so much to look forward to.

But it comes back to what Gene mentioned earlier.

A lot of times, you know, people go, you Calvary Chapel pastors, you think you know it all, and you go, no, I don't know it all.

I just know Jesus.

And in every, every book of the Bible, you know, we talked with a friend last night about that.

The scarlet thread of redemption, you know, from Genesis to Revelation, everything points to Jesus.

So.

So that has to be the focus.

What happens is the enemy wants us to get distracted with all these other things.

So Jesus, just as he tells in the Olivet discourse, he goes, when all these things happen, you know, it's.

It's not the end, you know, he goes, it's just.

It's just the sign of the end, right?

I love that, you know the expression, you know, that, you know, we're in the last days and.

But we're in the last days of the last days, right?

Or we're in the end times in, and we're at the end of the end times.

And as believers, if you really believe that, you go, what.

What does that do to your life?

Is that it does it.

It makes you.

It's like, you know, it get older.

You know, I'm 65, and.

And, you know, I started thinking about, you know, I'm not going to be here.

I hate those.

Those things that go, there's only 19 Fridays today till Christmas, you know, and then, like, you're 65, you've only got 12 more summers, and then you're going to be dead, you know, and you go, hey, thanks a lot.

That was a great reminder, you know.

So every year now, I just go, okay, now I'm down to 11.

You know, you don't have any.

You know, you go, it's just fear.

Yeah, but that's the thing.

We go, but when you're in Christ, you're going, no, I'm looking forward, like you said.

I'm looking up the passage, you know, you gave me as I was looking at this week.

Romans 13, it says, this is all the more urgent.

Paul said for you to know how late it is.

He's going, hey, understand the time, you know, he goes, because time is running out.

He says, wake up.

I love the language.

I'm using the nlt, I think, here.

He says, for our salvation is nearer now than we first believe.

The night is almost gone.

The day of salvation will soon be here.

So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.

You know, my dad, you know, was so good about this.

I wasn't raised in a Christian home, but I had a dad that was really smart.

And so he and my mom would go out on.

Out of town on the weekend, and my dad would leave notes on the refrigerator, like the, you know, ten commandments of things that he wanted us to do while he was gone.

And you better make sure that when he came home, those 10 things were done, but cleaning the house was always one of them.

And about an hour before they'd get home, you know, there's no cell phones or anything back then, my dad would stop at a pay phone and he'd go, hey, how's it going?

Great.

Mom and I are about 60 miles from home and we'll be there in probably about an hour.

Just, you know, let, you know.

You know, hopefully you guys are having a good day, you know.

What was he saying?

He's going get ready the list that I gave you.

I know you haven't done it at all.

You got 60 minutes to get it done or there's going to be h e double hockey stick to pay, right?

And we knew it.

And man, we're sweating.

I mean, we had that shag carpet you had, you know, we got the rake out, man, we're just going to love that.

But we were focused, right?

Because you what it was the end.

And, and I, and I love that because, you know, everything, you know, that Jesus is telling us is to, it's, it's to motivate us.

It's, it's to, to look not at the world around us and be discouraged or dismayed.

I always go back to that, you know, Corrie 10 boom.

I love that statement.

You know, when I look down, you know, I get depressed.

When I look around, I get confused.

But when I look up, my heart's at rest.

You go, so, so true.

You know, so, you know, one of the things you had shared, you know, I think the last thought I want to point out on this is there was a survey that you sent me.

It was a nationwide survey of about a thousand US Christian pastors conducted by the Arizona Christian University's Cultural Research Center.

They found that only 37% of pastors, senior pastors, hold a biblical worldview or global view, you know, defined as a consistent God centered interpretation of reality.

So you imagine that if only 37% hold to a biblical worldview that they believe that is we're talking about that God's word is not just that it's infallible, but that His Word is authoritative, you know, that his word is the authority.

It's the, you know, it's the Bible.

It's the across it basic instructions before leaving earth, right?

And you go, and only 37% of the pastors in America believe that.

You go, then what are we teaching?

And so you talk about the ability to be duped so, so quickly, you know, and so again, how do we do it?

As he says, there.

Romans 13:11.

Again, what?

Stay awake.

Stay awake.

That's what I stay awake for.

The day of salvation is near, he says, and it's all the more urgent, you know, for you to know.

The time is late.

And it's just that people do that.

And then just keep your eyes on Jesus, get into the word of God, be in prayer, find a good church that teaches the full council of God from Genesis to Revelation, and be in that fellowship with other believers there and grow in your faith and just watch what God does.

You'll be safe.

It's just applauding.

It's just a day by day making that commitment in your life to the things of God.

It's not, you know, smoke and mirrors.

It's not, you know, for a lot of people, it's not glamorous in that respect.

But, you know, as Charles Spurgeon said, by perseverance, the snail reached the ark, so just hang in there and stay with it.

And, yeah, it took him 100 years, but, yeah, that's awesome.

So just as a reminder that.

And as we close today, a one world system is not a conspiracy theory.

It's something the Bible speaks clearly about.

And we're watching the pieces fall into place right now.

And for many respects, we can kind of see a little bit, but we don't even understand what the future holds.

But we know who holds the future.

And so the question is really, are we paying attention individually and as a church?

And this is where the church can't afford to be asleep.

Because global unity without Christ is not unity.

It's a setup again, for deception and a false peace.

No matter how appealing it might seem and how eloquently a person can communicate, it can never replace real peace that only comes through Jesus.

So your challenge this week is just to ask, you know, go before the Lord, ask God to give you eyes to see what's happening globally, yes, but to stay grounded locally, to stay rooted in God's word, as Pastor Mike said, to stay close to him in prayer, to stay connected in church.

And that's how we stand firm when the world is shifting, is it's going to be in the center of God's will, in the center of who Christ is.

And so that would be our encouragement for you today.

Thanks for being with us today.

And really, we don't take lightly that you spend your time with us in these conversations.

We really appreciate you tuning in.

And if this encouraged you, just, first and foremost, thank God for that, because it's not even us.

It's just what the Lord's doing.

And then he loves you enough that he would, he would allow you to hear this and to encourage you and share it with somebody, too.

That certainly helps us, but really, that's not even the point.

The point is you encouraging somebody in Christ.

And so next time we're digging into most specifically global conflict, wars, unrest, spiritual battles behind it all.

Pastor Gene alluded to that today, and so we look forward to seeing you there.

Join us next week for episode four and we will see you then.

All right, thank you for joining us for this episode of Real Life.

Real Life is a ministry of Calvary Chapel, Bakersfield, and we hope these discussions have inspired and encouraged you to live out your faith in everyday life.

New episodes release every Thursday at 4pm, so be sure to tune in for more real conversations about real issues.

If you have any questions or topics you'd like us to cover, then send them to real lifecbakersfield.com we'd love to hear from you.

If you've been blessed by this podcast and would like to support us, you can make a tax deductible donation by visiting ccbakersfield.com give and select the Real Life Podcast option.

Thanks again for listening and we'll see you in the next episode.