Transcript: Sunday Service at BrighterDayBaptist Church with Rev Fred Proctor

You're a pastor, and we are so glad that you are sharing your church with us. We are a virtual church, which means we have everything that a regular church has. We don't have a building. We meet online. This is an online church, and we have many, many things. so when you have the time visit visit us and look around go in all the doors and I think you will be surprised but this is our regular Sunday morning service and we want we always have prayer and we want to remember those we've been a praying for Melvin and Judy Johnson Travis Proctor Randy Kent and all the Kent family and everyone that is sick and afflicted, we pray for you. Pray and prayer. God answers prayer. He always answers prayer. Sometimes immediately, sometimes in this lifetime, sometimes in the next lifetime, but he always answers prayer and he answers it his way according to his will. So let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, I thank you for this opportunity to preach to the world, to the entire world, the gospel of Jesus Christ. And let everyone know that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back. He could come at any time. Thank you, God. Thank you, oh God, for loving us and I pray for these all of these that we've mentioned that are sick and afflicted I pray according to your perfect will that you will touch them and raise them up and let them have their health back Lord you can do all things you made us and you can fix us and I pray that you will take this service and everything that goes on here in this church today and use it for your honor and your glory and that multiplied thousands or millions will hear the gospel and accept you as their Savior. Thank you. Thank you, O God. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen and amen. Now, I'm going to just share this for a second. Some of my grandsons visited me yesterday and they bought me this tie. and I think it said that it's got seven different colors in it. It was such a great time. Two of my grandson's brothers and one of them is married and their wife, I count her as my granddaughter, and they have a baby on the way. Pray for them. And then one of my other grandsons visited me yesterday And it was just a great time to sit and talk and fellowship with these. And then my two grandsons, I call Jazzy, that's my granddaughter. They had a young man with him. I forget his name, but he goes to church with them. It was a great time of fellowship. It's so wonderful. You know, God ordained and established marriage, and God ordained and established the family. It is he. Everything's built around him. But anyhow, they had bought me this tie, and they said it's got seven different colors. And I know that it's a good tie because they got it over at the MAST, M-A-S-T, the MAST store over near Boone. North Carolina and this matches anything I guess that you wanted to wear I don't go around trying to match everything but anyhow I just wanted to let you know that sometimes God gives us a handful on purpose that's what the old preachers used to call it and my good friend Sammy Kent he is home and he was with me and he and I went out and had supper. Some people call it dinner. I call it supper. But anyhow, so it's been a great, great weekend. But I want to preach to you this morning. We use this scripture almost all the time at a funeral when we're at the cemetery, at the committal. So I want to read this. It deals with the rapture. And before you say it, yes, the word rapture is not in the Bible. But it comes from a Greek word which means to be caught out or snatched out. So it is the rapture. All right. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, beginning with verse 13. And this is to all Christians. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Now let me say right up front, there is no one, no one anywhere that's in a grave that's asleep. This word sleep means those that have died. They've died. And everybody's going to die or be changed. When we die, we go immediately wherever we're going. And there's only two places. You're going to go either to heaven or to hell. And it's all based upon what did you do with the Lord Jesus Christ? Did you accept him? Did you ask him to come into your life and forgive you of your sins and save your soul? Or did you reject him? And if you rejected him, then the very minute, the very second that you die, you are in hell. We have the Bible to back this up. We have it. Jesus gave, gave the, it was not a parable, a truth about Lazarus and the rich man. so there is no one asleep in the grave you're wherever you're going all right then verse 14 for if we believe that jesus died and rose again even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him well you know it it doesn't make sense for people to say well they're asleep but I just read in verse 14 if we believe that Jesus died and rose again and if you don believe that hell waiting on you we know that he died We know that it was a vicarious death He died for us paying the sin debt that we owe Because the Bible said, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All of us have sinned. Everyone in my family has sinned. Everyone in your family has sinned. I didn't say they went out and done some painless crime. it doesn't make any difference. Actually, we're born with a sinful nature because we inherited that from our first family, Adam and Eve. But it says that, For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. Now, Jesus is God. We don't understand the Trinity. It's called the Holy Trinity. We believe in it because the Bible certainly teaches it. There's God the Father, Jehovah, God the Son, Jesus Christ, God the Holy Ghost, or the Holy Spirit. But Jesus is no less God than God the Father, or God the Holy Spirit. And he said that when Jesus comes, he's going to bring them. Everyone that's died in the Lord, they're with him. and he's going to bring them. So how can they be asleep? And he's going to bring them with him. When you die in the Lord, if you're a Christian, when you die, you go immediately. I believe you're escorted by the angels or instantly you leave here and you go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said he's going to bring them with him. Verse 15, For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord. that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep, or those that are with the Lord. We shall not prevent them from what's going to happen as ever born again Christians going to get a brand new body, just like that of the Lord Jesus Christ. A brand new body, just like that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, after he had risen from the dead, he was seen by many. And at one time, over 500 saw him. And his disciples were in a room. And the door was locked. And he just walked through. There was no hindrance. He didn't have to open the door. He had a brand new glorified body. And we that are born again, we that have accepted Jesus Christ, we will have a brand new body. Brand new body. All right. Now, verse 16. For the Lord himself shall descend. That word descend means come down. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Okay. So, listen. All of this, all of this, I don't have the time to turn, but I know it's in 1 Corinthians, and it's going to take place in the twinkling of an eye. In the twinkling of an eye. A bunch of theologians got together a long time ago and discussed this. what is the twinkling of an eye, and they came up with this conclusion that it's half the time it takes to bat your eye. And I have it right here. Someone who had studied, some scientists who had studied this, says that the average person bats their eye 20,000 times every day. Close your eyes, open them, close your eyes, open them. in the twinkling of an eye. That quick, half the time that it takes to bat your eye, the Lord will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel. And there are some people, some people just cannot handle the truth. They have to put this in or they take that out and they say, well, this means this. I'm going to answer this. but the way that my granddaddy jasper proctor and he was certainly not a theologian he didn't get saved until he was up he was up in his 80s and he was baptized they had a big old cast iron uh bathtub probably weighed 700 pounds sitting on four legs and they put the water in running the water in and had a preacher come and baptize him but somebody asked him some a bible question what does that mean jasper he said it means just what it says well he didn't know what it meant i don't guess but that's a good answer jesus didn't beat around the bush uh it means exactly what it says and there are some who are saying well that voice the archangel is michael no this is the lord himself he's not going to send somebody he himself will descend from heaven with a shout uh and with the trump of god and the dead in christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain and this is only born again christians everyone that's under the blood all the little children that don't know right from wrong they're under the blood they're just as saved as i am because jesus said suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not for such is the kingdom of heaven so we know that that little children are covered and there's a there's a denomination i'm not here to fight against denominations i'm here to lift up and present the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ but they they uh their doctrine is if you wasn't baptized then you're going to hell uh and I had a man come one long time ago come showed up where we lived and I normally wouldn't let anyone in but he said he's there to visit Christians and come to find out he had heard me preach on the radio and he said I know who you are and I know you and I know where you pastor a certain Baptist church and I'm here to tell you that every one of you are going to hell and of course I politely told him to remove himself from my house or he would bleep bleep bleep be thrown out because he had said if because I asked him I said well what about people that's in the war they're not a Christian but they see death coming and they call upon the name of the Lord and the Bible said and Jesus said for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved and he said well if I wasn baptized they in hell And we had had a boy a baby boy born Michael Curtis Proctor Full term, nine month baby boy. Perfect. The doctors called me up and said, told me that Mr. Proctor, your wife gave birth to a boy. and he told how much he weighed and they had him but said he was born dead and he said you want to hold him I said yes let me have him and I held him and we had a funeral at West Court Street Baptist Church and my pastor at that time Reverend Billy Bryant conducted the funeral and I said well what about my son he said well if he wasn't baptized he's in hell you see the problem is these kind of people cannot handle the truth you can't handle the truth why don't you just accept what the Bible said that Jesus is coming he said I'm going away I'm going to prepare a place for you and again he's talking only to born again Christians a person that does not accept Jesus Christ certainly will not enter into into the kingdom of heaven. But Jesus said, I'm going away. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. And people just cannot, they refuse to accept, they can't handle the truth. Like that movie, which is based on a true story. You can't handle the truth. The truth is simple. And yet there are people that want to scramble it like scrambling eggs and say, well, this means this and this means that and this don't mean this. Look, listen, it means just what it says. It means that at any moment, Jesus can return at any time. And we've always had, because I've read some sermons and stuff from even way back in the late 1800s, and people were doing this even back then. Whatever the news was, oh, this means this, this means this. And I remember down through the years, these people and a lot of these televangelists, I'm not criticizing preachers that's on television. We're on over 100 channels all over the world, preaching the gospel, lifting up Jesus, pointing you to him and asking and telling you you need to accept him as your savior. But they're saying, well, this means this. This means this. because the moon turned kind of red. This means this. It's a red moon. It's my understanding that we have had lunar eclipses ever since God created the world and the heavens. We've had them. We've had them all the time. And yet there are those that say, Oh, I'll tell you what. This means this. This means he's coming. And then something will happen in the world or there'll be a skirmish or anything. And they are looking, trying to read, well, I'll put it to you this way. We call it reading the newspaper and trying to preach the gospel. You can't do that. You can't do that. Look, I don't know what something means. I don't spend my time thinking about it. I just know that he, Jesus, can and he could come at any time. I don't look to see in somebody and say, well, this has got to happen. No, nothing that doesn't have to happen. It's in the fullness of time. He will come and he will not tarry. He will come at any moment. And it's going to happen so quick. But he is coming. and if we die before he comes and we're born again we'll come back with him and we will get a brand new body first then those that are alive and remain born again and covered by the blood then they will get a brand new body and all of this happens in the twinkling of an eye hey he is coming he is coming my question to you is are you ready to meet him are you ready to meet the lord jesus christ so let me finish these verses verse 17 then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words that Jesus is coming. Jesus himself is coming. He's coming. He's coming after us. And there are people that say, well, I don't believe in God. You're a liar. there is no one that can honestly that has any common sense or good sense can honestly say i don't believe in god you're a liar and the thing is they go around spending their time and money trying to prove that there is no god well if you believe there's no god just accept it Quit trying to prove it. But you do believe. You know there's a God. You know there is a God that created us. There is a God. And that is one God. There's three in one God. The Lord Jesus Christ. He's our hope. He's the hope of all mankind. He came and died for all men. For everyone. For every person. that's ever been born or ever will be born or ever one, ever a little child that's been aborted. And I call it murder because that's what it is. He died for every person. Paid the sin debt that you and I owe. It's a free gift. 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. He said, whosoever, whosoever, whosoever is you and you and you. You in Russia, you in Ukraine, you in China, you in North Carolina, you in Tennessee, Virginia, wherever it's at, wherever you're at in all the world, Jesus died for you. And what will you do? What will you how will you handle the truth How will you handle the truth Oh I see it I see it all over the world and it's not just in America but it seems to be really rampant people going crazy shooting and killing and looting and living a lifestyle and you see men hugged up with men and women hugged up with women and and I had a young man years ago I never met him but I was the pastor and he was somewhere in a I don't know he wasn't in prison but he's in some kind of a something I don't know but he wrote me a letter and he said yes I am a homosexual and I'm a I am a born-again Christian but I'm a practicing homosexual and I'm happy no you're not a christian no you cannot have you cannot serve two gods you cannot get out of a spigot if i go in here uh into this faucet and turn it on it's either cold or it's hot you can't get warm you can't get fresh water and salt water out of the same thing you cannot serve two gods so how are you handling the truth that is listen the bible said it's appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment uh and you're gonna die whether you whether you uh most people don't want to die they don't want to die i've heard stories down through the years of all the years, about 60 years, I pastored eight Southern Baptist churches, and I've heard a lot of stories, and I heard about a man who told his family he was very wealthy, and he said, you know, I'd give everything that I've got. I'd give all the land, all the money, the houses, the cattle, everything. He said, I'd give every bit of it. If someone could tell me and prove to me the very spot where I was going to die. And his family said, why? He said, well, I'd never go to that spot. But we don't know. And whatever you do, you can't. The only thing to do is to face the facts, accept the truth, learn to handle the truth. The truth is you're a sinner. I'm a sinner. Yes, but I'm a born again sinner. Jesus told Nicodemus, and he was the leader, the religious leader of Israel. And he was a godly man once he truly accepted Jesus Christ. But Jesus told Nicodemus, you must be born again. But something's got to take place in here. And he didn't understand it. I wouldn't understand it. because I think that's the first time it's ever mentioned in the Bible. I'm not positive, but I think that's the first time it's ever mentioned. And Nicodemus said, what do you mean? Can a man like me, as old as me, enter back into his mother's womb? And Jesus said, no, it's not the same. It is, you're born again, but it's a spiritual birth. just like the physical birth, but it's spiritual. Excuse me. So you must be born again. And the gospel, the gospel, oh, the gospel, how much that God loves you, how much God loves us. He paid the sin debt. He paid it. It's all paid. And all that we have to do is to accept the truth. First of all, admit that you are a sinner. Lord, I'm a sinner. And you can pray a prayer or something like this. You don't have to be just like this, but from your heart and mean it. Lord, I'm a sinner. I know I'm a sinner. And I don't want to die and go to hell. Please come into my life. Forgive me of my sins. I confess my sins to you and repent of my sins. And humbly pray and ask, Jesus, save my soul. I accept the free gift to all over the world where this gospel is going out. I pray, oh God, I pray, almighty God, the Holy Spirit, that you will touch the hearts and lives of people. and convict them of sin and convince them that the only way to deal with this situation is to face the truth. Accept the truth. Yes, I'm a sinner. But Jesus, I accept your gift. you know Jesus preached more about hell than he did heaven in his like three and a half years of ministry because he didn't want anybody to go to hell there is a hell there's a devil and the Bible said the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour or tear down and tear your life apart. Tear your marriage apart. Tear your family apart. But he has limited powers and knowledge. He has been defeated. The first promise of a Messiah was in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15. The first promise. And all down through the years, the promise. He's coming. He's coming. And then he came. and was born of a virgin and put in a manger. That little baby boy, I've got a sermon or two up about that. Go to YouTube and you'll find it. That little baby boy, that was the Lord. That was God. And then he's coming again. He's coming. He may come today. I don't know. But I pray. I pray. if you're not right with God, get things right. Learn to handle the truth and accept it. Almighty God, I pray you'll take this message on the rapture, the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Touch the hearts of people. Oh God, our mission is nothing else but this. The main mission is to present the gospel of Jesus Christ and I pray that it will be anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit get honor and glory out of everything that takes place today this is the day that you have made we will rejoice and be glad in it thank you in Jesus name I pray amen and amen