Sermon & Teaching Log

Closing message of the Living in Time series (pairs with #17 “Just in Time”). Big idea: how we see our circumstances determines whether we walk in step with God’s timing — sight and discernment are inseparable. Opened with the “blue-or-gold dress” optical-illusion analogy and the “what do you see first” pictures: two people staring at the same image can see different things; same is true of our circumstances. Everyday application: a spouse’s silence can be seen as rejection or as overwhelm; a child’s disobedience can be seen as rebellion or confusion. Sometimes we’re seeing wrong; sometimes we’re seeing right but reacting wrong. Anchor text — Jer 1:11–13: God asks Jeremiah twice “What do you see?” The almond rod and the boiling pot — God’s training of His prophet begins with calibrating his vision. Application: God asks us the same question. 2 Kings 6:15–17 (Elisha at Dothan): the servant sees the Aramean army surrounding the city and despairs (“Alas, my master! What shall we do?”); Elisha sees the angelic army on the hills (“those who are with us are more than those who are with them”) and prays, “O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Ezek 37 (Valley of Dry Bones): Ezekiel sees the impossibility of death; God sees an army rising. John 11:3–4, 14 (Lazarus): Mary and Martha see a sick brother; Jesus sees “an opportunity for glory” (v.4: “this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God”); everyone else later sees a dead man; Jesus sees resurrection. Apparent contradiction between v.4 (“not unto death”) and v.14 (“Lazarus is dead”) resolved by Jesus’ sight: He saw the end from the beginning. Miracles around us — the “are they still happening?” question: Pastor Matt’s personal testimonies: (1) his 20-year-old daughter Gatlin’s ventricular septal defect spontaneously healed between ultrasounds three days apart, surgery cancelled; (2) as a youth pastor in Dallas, a security guard walked into a hospital room with kidney-stones-and-a-prodigal-teen, delivered exact prophetic words to the young man and to Pastor Matt, then disappeared from the hallway; (3) the citywide worship event a month ago — young man with chronic knee pain healed and able to dunk, young man with undiagnosed abdominal pain healed by Tuesday Man Church; (4) his mother-in-law’s recurrent breast cancer (now in vertebrae) discovered only because a life-insurance application required bloodwork — framed as God’s mercy in revealing what was hidden while still believing for full healing. The greatest miracle — salvation itself: Pastor Matt pushed back on treating salvation as “joining a club.” The miracles: (a) transfer from darkness to light (Col 1:13); (b) new creation (2 Cor 5:17); (c) the Holy Spirit indwelling a once-sinful person (made possible by 2 Cor 5:21 — “He who knew no sin became sin so that we may become the righteousness of God”); (d) God Himself speaking to us through His Word, through others, and directly. “You are walking miracles every day you take a breath.” Closing case study — Joseph (Gen 45:4–8): three reframings — brothers’ rejection → God’s repositioning; false accusation → opportunity; forgotten in prison → not the right season yet. “It was not you who sent me here, but God” (v.8). Paul (Acts 27:21–24; 28:3–6): in the storm Paul saw the promise (“You must stand before Caesar”) rather than the shipwreck. After the wreck on Malta, the viper bite that should have killed him became the credential that opened Publius’s house and the island’s salvation. The Malta principle: “If all you can see is where you’re not, you will never see where you are. The season you are walking through today is a season with purpose and for purpose.” Closed with Elisha’s prayer: “Lord, would You open up our eyes so that we can see that there are more for us than there is against us.” Announcements: (1) Memorial Day honored — Pastor Matt stood for Adam Brown, Navy SEAL Team 6, KIA Afghanistan, Trinity Church family. No evening service tonight. (2) Freedom 2026 citywide service — Sunday July 5, 9am (gates 8am), Magic Springs amphitheater, free admission and parking. America’s 250th. Same five-pastor “OG” group from the 5,000-person Easter 2026 service, now expanding; capacity ~7,000; speaker not yet announced. Discounted park tickets available after the service. (3) Caddo River float trip Sat 5/30 — family-friendly, sign up with Shane. (4) Newsletter QR code now actually on the screen. (5) Next Sunday is Elevation Sunday (kids advancing into youth, graduates honored). Cross-reference candidates: Theme 1 (discerning the times); Theme 6 Holy Spirit (Spirit’s work of illumination — Elisha’s “open his eyes” prayer + Eph 1:17–18 “eyes of your heart enlightened” + 1 Cor 2:9–14 “the natural man does not accept…but he who is spiritual” — seed for a future module on Illumination & Discernment); Theme 8 Prayer & Intimacy (Elisha’s intercessory prayer for someone else’s sight — seed for a future module on Praying for Spiritual Sight, anchored in 2 Kings 6:17 + Eph 1:17–18); Theme 7 Kingdom (Joseph & Paul as case studies of Kingdom citizens reframing detours as assignments); Theme 4 Covenant (Joseph repositioned to “preserve…a remnant” — Gen 45:7 — as covenant-preservation thread); Theme 5 Messiah (John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life” — Jesus’ self-revelation in the Lazarus narrative).

Source caveat: partial transcript only — opening of an unidentified audiobook or teaching, audible portion ~3:52 with significant gaps (1:01–1:36 and 2:08–3:52 missing). Author and full source not yet identified; flagged for re-listen and source identification before any cross-link into theme modules. Core thesis (Speaker A & B): the convergence of CBDCs (central bank digital currencies), biometric/facial verification at banks, and AI surveillance tech is being framed as the foundation of the prophesied beast system (Rev 13:16–17), with the claim that “the beast system is already here, growing silently inside the digital chapters of Daniel.” Speaker B states the book’s purpose is not speculation but to equip God’s people to stand firm. Verifiable observations cited: governments testing digital currencies, banks rolling out facial verification, AI systems aggregating personal data (location, purchases, behavior). These trends are real and documented. Interpretive claims (test per 1 John 4:1): the identification of these specific technologies as the beast system is an interpretive overlay, not a direct exegetical conclusion from Daniel or Revelation in the audible portion. The transcript asserts the connection but does not walk through the text to demonstrate it. Honest assessment: separates cleanly into (a) genuine signs of the times worth tracking — programmable money, biometric ID, AI surveillance — and (b) confident prophetic identification that requires the author to actually do the exegetical work, which we haven’t heard yet. Cross-reference candidates: Theme 1 Module 13 (Mark of the Beast / Rev 13), current-events.html (CBDC tracker, biometric ID rollouts). Action items: identify author/source; obtain full audio or text; if substantive, populate full chapter analysis with honest separation of data from interpretation per the site’s intellectual-honesty principle.

Opening sermon of new series “Living in Time.” Core text: Eccl 3:1 — “There is an appointed time for everything.” Big idea: God would rather we be IN His time than ON time. Pastor's Sonic drive-thru story — late to a 9:30 appointment because of a 10-minute parking-lot conversation with a church member; that conversation was where God's anointing landed that morning. Five biblical case studies of God being “in time” rather than “on time”: (1) Gal 4:4 — “the fullness of time” / “just the right time”; Christ came at the appointed moment, even though Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel might all have wished He'd come in their day (Matt 13:17). (2) John 11 / Lazarus — Jesus deliberately stayed two more days because He loved them (the “therefore” of v.6); not on time for the healing, but in time for the resurrection; Martha's model faith in v.22 (“but even now, I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You”). (3) Luke 8 / Jairus & the woman with the issue of blood — Jesus stops to heal the bleeding woman while Jairus's daughter dies; not on time for the healing, but in time for the raising (Luke 8:54–55: “Child, arise”). (4) Matt 14 — Jesus grieving John the Baptist's beheading wanted solitude; compassion moved Him to be in time for the multitudes anyway. (5) Acts 8 / Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch — pulled out of a citywide revival to meet one man on a desert road; that one conversation carried the gospel to a whole nation. Counter-warning: 1 Sam 13 / Saul at Gilgal — Saul waited the seven days but ran out of patience and offered the burnt offering himself; cost him a dynasty that would have continued in Christ's lineage. Right thing, wrong time. Discernment text: 1 Chr 12:32 — the sons of Issachar, “men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do.” Closing text: Ps 31:15 — “My times are in Your hand.” Personal testimony: Pastor Matt's 20-year vision of pastors meeting in this sanctuary; 5,000-person Easter 2026 service at his alma mater football field with five Hot Springs pastors fulfilling Eph 4 fivefold pattern (Trinity, Lake Point, Lakeview, New Life, Freedom). Pastor Matt's prayer request for the church: financial board meeting next Sun, elders the following Tues, on a major decision for Trinity Church — pray that they discern God's timing. Personal connection: same passage (John 11) the Lord put in front of me this morning in e-Sword before service. Cross-reference candidates: Theme 1 (the “why hasn't He come yet” question; 2 Pet 3:9; Matt 24:32–33 fig tree); Theme 2 (Gal 4:4 “fullness of time” as a moedim/appointed-time statement); Theme 3 (Saul's impatience vs. God's 120-year patience in the days of Noah, 1 Pet 3:20).

Three-hour session working through the layered sevens of Revelation: the Seven Churches of Asia Minor (Rev 2–3), the Seven Feasts of the Lord (Lev 23), and the Seven Spirits of God (Rev 1:4; 4:5). Geographic note: all seven churches cluster in western Turkey (modern Alaşehir = ancient Philadelphia, translated "God's City"), within courier-distance of one another. Philadelphia (Rev 3:7–13) received the pre-Trib protection promise — "I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world" (Rev 3:10), treated here as a pre-Trib proof text. Geopolitical overlay: Turkey's current repositioning (Assad's fall Dec 2024, Turkish troops in Syria, Russia/Iran influence collapsing) may be reshaping the Ezekiel 38 coalition — Turkey possibly breaking away before realigning later. Organic discussion of the firmament (Gen 1:6–7): ancient Hebrew three-layer cosmology (waters below, firmament dome, waters above), "windows of heaven" opening during the flood (Gen 7:11), distinction between ancient observational model and modern science while preserving theological truth of God's sovereignty over creation. Key refs: Rev 2–3 (letters to churches), Rev 3:7–13 (Philadelphia specifically), Rev 3:10 (kept from the hour), Lev 23 (seven feasts), Rev 1:4 & 4:5 (seven spirits), Gen 1:6–7, Gen 7:11, Isa 40:22. Cross-reference: Theme 1 (End Times), future firmament study, future Philadelphia deep dive.

Daniel 9:24–27 — the 70 Weeks prophecy in full; Israel’s 490-year debt to God traced from the Sabbath-year violations (Lev 26); 445 BC decree (Neh 2) as starting point; 49-year first segment (walls/street rebuilt); 434-year second segment; 483 years total = 173,880 days on 360-day prophetic calendar from March 14, 445 BC to Palm Sunday April 6, 32 AD; Messiah “cut off but not for himself” (Dan 9:26) — dies for others’ capital offense; Jerusalem and temple destroyed (Titus, AD 70); remaining 7-year Tribulation block with Antichrist confirming a covenant (Dan 9:27), breaking it at midpoint, desecrating the sanctuary; prophecies confirming Messiah’s identity: Gen 3:15, Prov 30:4, Ps 2, Ps 118, Zech 9:9 (donkey/triumphal entry), Matt 23–24; Israel’s regathering since 1948; October 7, 2023 cited as prophetic marker of accelerating end-times timeline; second coming returns to Israel/Jerusalem. Cross-reference: Theme 1, Module 8 (Daniel’s 70 Weeks).

Group discussion on biblical discernment, geopolitics, and last-days signs. Key topics: Ezekiel 38 coalition (Russia, China, Iran) tied to shifting Gulf trade routes and Israel's friends; Days of Noah vs. Days of Lot — Noah's ark as sign of judgment to mockers but salvation to believers; Lot emotionally tethered to corrupt city (warning to the church today); Islam as Christian heresy — votes Jesus as prophet only, built on deception; Genesis 3:15 protoevangelium and image of the beast / Tower of Babel connection; Allah as Arabic word for God (transliteration discussion) vs. the God of Scripture; Chuck Smith referenced re: political courage during California legislative overreach; Walter Martin quote on cults as instruments of refinement. Jack Hibbs (Calvary Chapel Chino Hills) identified as prophecy resource — see also his book The Last Book: What You Need to Know About Revelation, the Rapture, and the End Times (with Charles Ryrie). Key refs: Gen 3:15; Gen 11 (Babel); Ezek 38–39; 1 Tim 4; Matt 24:37–39 (days of Noah/Lot); Rev 13 (image of beast).

Historical & etymological case for Russia as Magog/Rosh: Gog as a title (like Tsar/Pharaoh), not a personal name; geographic argument — Russia lies farthest due north of Israel (Ezek 38:6, 15); Voltaire's independent conclusion (hostile witness — pre-dated Russia as a world power by 150 years); Genesis 10 Table of Nations — Magog as son of Japheth; 19th-century pre-modern scholars reaching same conclusion before Soviet era; Rosenberg's firsthand Moscow observations of Putin's rise (Sept 2004 — political opponents jailed, media suppressed, 71% election). Cross-reference: Theme 1, Module 9.4.

Memoir excerpt: Rosenberg's service as communications advisor to Netanyahu (2001); how his research into the Russia-Iran-Middle East geopolitical axis led him to write prophetically-themed fiction based on Ezekiel 38–39; Moscow's strategic interest in the Middle East traced from Afghanistan (1979) through post-Cold War scenarios; Saddam Hussein as complicating factor in Ezekiel coalition; state-sponsored terrorism and nuclear threat analysis. Cross-reference: Theme 1, Module 9 (Gog-Magog War).

Yom Kippur two-goat ceremony (Lev 16) — Azazel as proper name, Mishnah Yoma detail, red thread turning white ~AD 30; Sukkot structure — second tithe feast, Seventy Nations burnt offerings (Num 29), millennial observance (Zech 14:16); Four Species (Lev 23:40) — etrog, lulav, myrtle, willow; symbolic theology of each species; willow as "least" yet bound with all; DSS 364-day solar calendar and feast precision appointments. Special study: willow in Scripture (Ps 137; Isa 44:3–4; Ezek 17:5; Job 40:22) — dedicated to Hazelee Willow. Theme 2, Module 4.

Calendar integrity across 6,000 years; Noah’s Flood and orbital stability; Joshua's long day & Hezekiah’s sundial — atmospheric not orbital explanations; Essene 364-day solar calendar (Enoch 72:32; Jubilees); tropical year 365.2422 days; seven-day week unbroken from creation through Julian (46 BC) to Gregorian (1582 AD); Julian→Gregorian transition preserved weekly cycle (US example: Wed Sep 2 → Thu Sep 14, 1752); Sabbath continuity confirmed; Isa 66:23; Ezek 46:1 — millennial observance of same cycles. Theme 2 cross-reference.

Christ's return to the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:11; Zech 14:3–5); East Gate bricked up by Sultan Suleiman in 1517 (Ezek 44:2); geological fault line running east-west beneath the Mount discovered 1964; three independent lines of evidence — ascension site, sealed gate, fault line — converging on one prophetic event.

Jewish calendar development; Hillel II's 4th-century modifications; Pharisee observation-based calendar; Essene 364-day solar calendar; Dead Sea Scrolls evidence; Sons of Light vs. Sons of Darkness; high priest crisis (Yoma 9a); Seleucid Greek calendar; Birkat Hachama 28-year cycle; seven-day week unbroken from creation — integrated into Theme 2, Module 1. Key: Exod 12:1–2; Jubilees 6:36–38; Enoch 72:32; Isa 66:23; Ezek 46:1.

Tribulation judgment, seal sequence, Rev 10 little scroll, Beast (Rev 13), false teachers — plus Matt 24 → Rev parallel developed. Key: Rev 7:14; Jer 30:7; Rev 6:1–17; Rev 10:4–10; Rev 13:1–4; Acts 4:12.

Seal & trumpet judgments (Rev 6–8); Two Witnesses (Rev 11); seals → trumpets → martyrdom intensifies; God sovereign and a God of judgment.

Day of the Lord; Antichrist profile; not Muslim/not Gog; temple rebuild; signs of the times; false prophets.

Scholars debate whether invasion already occurred; nation identification.

Gog-Magog war (Ezek 38–39); coalition: Russia/Iran/Turkey/Sudan/Libya; Israel at rest precondition.

Bema Seat, crowns, bride/bridegroom — Rom 14:8–10; 1 Cor 3:11–15; Rev 19:7–9; John 14:1–3.

Servanthood and humility.