Preparation For The Last Days by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Hebrews 1:1-3

God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things. He upholds all things by the word of his power.

We are in the last days, and the only thing that can uphold and strengthen you is the word of his power.

When Did the Last Days Begin?

Joel 2:28-32: And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon servants and handmaidens in those days will I pour out my spirit. I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before that great and terrible day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be delivered.

In Acts 2:16-17, Peter quoted Joel at Pentecost: "This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, said God, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh."

So the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost initiated the last days. The last days require a different way of living. You don't have the luxury to live as at other times. There is the period of the last days — where the events that will close this age happen — and there is the day of the Lord, which is the actual day Jesus returns.

Events of the Last Days

Write these down. They are events of the last days that every believer should know:

1. Increase in lawlessness, apostasy, and global deception. Matthew 24:4-12. Jesus said: Take heed that no man deceive you. Many will come in my name saying I am the Christ and shall deceive many. Nations shall rise against nations; there will be famine, pestilence, and earthquakes. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. This is the age we are in. When a man can't live righteous, he looks for a doctrine that supports living carelessly. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 lists the signs: men will be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. These are not descriptions of the world — they are descriptions of people inside the church. When you want to violate a covenant, remind yourself it is the spirit of the age. When you want to be braggadocious, remind yourself it is the spirit of the age. If your Christianity is not brought into this understanding, you will fall.
2. The rise of the Antichrist. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The day of the Lord shall not come except there is first a falling away, and the man of sin — the son of perdition — is revealed, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God. The Antichrist is both a spirit and a coming person. Anything that opposes Christ, anything that exalts itself above God, is of the Antichrist spirit. There are many in the church who will become Antichrist — so offended with church that they begin to oppose everything that is of God. Others will be so big that Jesus becomes obscured behind their platform. You will honour the pastor more than Jesus, more than the scriptures. It is an Antichrist spirit.
3. The gospel will be preached as a witness in all the world. Matthew 24:14. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations — and then shall the end come. Those under the Antichrist spirit push their agenda aggressively, day and night. Those under the spirit of Christ must push the agenda of the gospel with the same intensity. The days of one superstar evangelist packing a stadium while everyone else watches are over. Everyone must advance kingdom.
4. Tribulation and the catching away. There are different theological positions on when the church will be raptured — pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation. Regardless of position: be prepared. If you are singing "we will go, we will go" but have not built your faith or learned to endure, the day things intensify you will be asking who Jesus is. Whether you go before or remain, stand your ground. He said: occupy till I come. Matthew 24:21: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not seen since the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be.
5. The abomination of desolation. Matthew 24:15, Daniel 9:27. When the son of lawlessness is made manifest, he will desecrate the temple of God in Jerusalem and proclaim himself superior to God, to be worshipped. The Bible calls this the abomination of desolation.
6. Cosmic signs. Luke 21:25-26. There shall be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. The sun shall turn red as blood. Men's hearts will fail them for fear. Most believers do not know the time we are in and are not living with preparation.
7. The return of Christ. Matthew 24:30-31. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn — they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. The angels told the disciples in Acts 1: the same manner in which you see him ascend, he shall return.
8. The resurrection of the dead and judgment of nations. Matthew 25:31-46. It is not only men who will be judged — even nations will be judged. Sodom and Gomorrah no longer exists. When Jesus returns there will be judgment of nations. That is why we pray for nations.
9. The millennial reign. Revelation 20:1-6. When Jesus returns he will establish his government and rule for a thousand years. That is the age of the overcomers — those who overcome will reign with Christ.
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Apostle Michael Orokpo
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10. The final rebellion and defeat of Satan. Revelation 20:7-10. When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and go to deceive the nations to gather them to battle. Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, to be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11. The great white throne judgment. Revelation 20:11. After Satan is judged, the human race will be judged. Don't deceive yourself thinking what you do is hidden from God. Live on earth with the consciousness that judgment awaits. For those who are in Christ, the book of life is opened — and you come covered by the record of Jesus.
12. The new heaven and the new earth. Revelation 21-22. The elements of this world will melt. God will create a new earth. After the millennial reign with Christ, we return to the new earth. And everyone's rank there will depend on what they did after they received Christ. What did you do with grace? What did you do with the anointing, the gifts, the opportunities? That determines your placement in eternity.

Five Areas of Preparation for the Last Days

1. Be Spiritually Alert and Watchful

   Matthew 24:42: "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know what day your Lord will come."

   To be watchful is three things:

   • Live expectant. When you wake up in the morning, your consciousness must be: Jesus might come today. If Jesus might come today, you cannot leave your house having malice with someone. You cannot delay for tomorrow what you should do today. Paul called his afflictions "light" because he was looking at the unseen — things that are eternal.
   • Live discerning. This is not a season to play with your discernment. Many false prophets shall arise. You must hear with your mind and simultaneously read with your spirit. Without discernment, deception will sweep you like a flood.

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   • Live prayerful. Mark 14:38: Watch and pray, that you fall not into temptation. When you pray, you connect to heaven and shield off what Satan shoots at people. A thousand may fall by your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you — because you dwell in the secret place of the Most High.

2. Be Ready and Fruitful

   Matthew 24:45-46: Blessed is that servant whom his lord, when he comes, shall find doing so.

   In the last days, you cannot be idle. The stakes are too high. Fruitfulness means:

   • Focus on your calling and serve it. Before you were formed in the womb, he knew you. In the last days, anything that does not advance your calling is a distraction. He said, "Occupy till I come" — sit on your calling. How can you spend 24 hours and not be able to count how many hours were invested in what you were called to do?
   • Be aggressive about kingdom advancement wherever you find yourself. The kingdom is: the realm of divine life, the realm of God's will, any realm governed by God's wisdom, and the realm of God's authority. Wherever you find yourself — at the airport, in the hospital, in the market — disseminate God's life.

3. Build Capacity for Endurance

   You live in the last days enduring. Three areas of endurance:

   • Endure in love. Matthew 24:12-13: Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that endures to the end shall be saved. Many things will happen to make you refuse to walk in love. People you help will betray you. Insist on love. Your love is your true nature because you carry God's nature. 1 John 4:8: God is love.
   • Endure in faith. There are times when you do all you know to do and don't get the expected result. The reason you won't draw back is because faith is now endurance. Luke 18:8: When the Son of Man returns, shall he find faith on earth? Faith is conviction beyond result. Even if he slays me, I will not turn back. That's the faith that holds in the last days.
   • Endure through trials and tribulations. James 1:2-4: Count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials, knowing this: the trying of your faith works patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and lacking nothing. 1 Peter 4:12-13: Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing has happened to you. But rejoice — inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's suffering, when his glory shall be revealed you shall be glad with exceeding joy.

4. Invest in Kingdom

   In the last days, you live as an investor — investing time, energy, and resources.

   Matthew 6:19-21: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where a man's treasure is, there his heart is also.

   Your time is a sacrifice. Your energy is a sacrifice. Your expertise is a sacrifice. Your money is a sacrifice. Philippians 4:17: Paul says, not because I desire a gift — but I desire fruits that will abound in your account.

   You are a leader? How much of your leadership has advanced God's kingdom? You are a technocrat, an ICT expert, a financial professional? How much of it have you deployed for kingdom? Don't let any week end without having invested time, energy, and resources into the kingdom. As far as eternity is concerned, put what you have in consistently.

5. Be a Witness

   In the last days, we are not idle. We go out. We prove God. We demonstrate God. We live demonstrating God. Not one generation was meant to carry the gospel alone — it takes all of us. The impact is not the number of church members: it is the number of souls won and the disciples produced.