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Granite Bay SDA Church

Carlos Muñoz

Watch and Pray

Let's have a word of prayer before we start.

Father, thank you again for this opportunity to come together and share your word, and we just ask that your Holy Spirit guide us and strengthen us in the message that you want me to share with our church today.

And if you notice on this map, India and Pakistan are together because India and Pakistan used to be 1, right?

India and Pakistan for those, especially the younger ones that maybe weren't paying attention to world history.

Indian Pakistan used to be 1 nation and what happens is that after World War II the British India was a British colony and the British could no longer support their colony right?

They The debt that they had accumulated because of World War II and also the Indians were pushing for their own liberation, you know, Gandhi and all of this.

And so what happened is that when they decided to let go or put aside India, they decided to separate it.

And so the English sent this gentleman, this lawyer called Sir Cyril Radcliffe, right?

He was a lawyer and he was sent to India with the specific purpose of drawing the boundaries between Pakistan and India, right?

Now, he had never been to India, he didn't study Indian history, they just sent him there and you know how long they gave him?

They gave him 5 weeks, 5 weeks to separate a country.

And so he did his best job, he showed up and in 5 weeks, and you know what he used to separate India?

They were 1 people, but there was something that was distinct among them and it was religion and so what he did is using this census he decided to divide Pakistan and India based on religion and so basically what he did is he saw wherever there was a majority Muslim town he put it on the left side which would be Pakistan and anywhere that there was a majority Hindu or Sikh or Christian he would put it on the Right side which would be India and this is basically how they divide it says wherever there is a majority.

That's the line I'm drawing and now this created great great consternation great confusion why because India was 1 country these were 1 people and they were this man comes in and he separates them based on religion and so what happened is when they said all right these are the lines that are going to be drawn this is what's going to happen and effectively on August 15 1947 India and Pakistan declared independence from England and they were separated and so what happened is that guess what if you are a Muslim on what side did you want to be you wanted to be on the side of Pakistan but if you are a Hindu or a Sikh or a Christian on what side did you want to be?

You wanted to be on the side of Pakistan but if you were a Hindu or a Sikh or a Christian on what side did you want to be?

So what happened is that 14 million people were displaced.

Force displacement they said, ok, these are the lines, pick your side.

I mean, it was chaos, the murders, the violence, the sexual violence, it was just horrific.

It's called 1 of the most horrific events in the 20th century as they divided as these divisions started and everybody's seeking to go on their side and my loved ones sadly that's how Pakistan and India began and this is actually a very interesting part of that border it's a 13, I'm sorry a 3, 000 kilometer border right it's very heavily militarized I mean there is military on both sides and as you know India and Pakistan they are constantly threatening each other at threat right there they're there they're there constantly rumors of war between them they both have nuclear powers And this is what is known as the Wagah border, right?

And here, in this 1 place, every day there's this spectacle and people show up.

And they show up and if you notice on the brown side, that would be India.

On the ones that are undressed in black are Pakistan soldiers.

And what they're doing is that they, this is like a face off, it's like a dance off, right?

They're like, woo, see who danced the best.

And it's kind of a tradition, this tradition has been built into this place.

And what they're doing is, yes, they're recognizing their differences, but they're also recognizing that they're what?

It's just the border that has separated us.

We are 1 people, but humanity, politics over everything, because when you ask those on the Indian side of the border and when you ask those on the Indian side of the border and when you ask those on the Pakistani side of the border they don't believe that there's any differences families were separated you were taken away from your homeland you had lived just because of this 1 aspect of dividing among religion.

And it weighs heavy on the hearts of these people to see where they are.

And they say, you know what, I don't consider the Pakistanis my enemies.

And the Pakistanis say, I don't consider the Indians my enemy.

It's the political leaders who have crossed this division and this anxiety and this constant conflict between these 2 nations.

The Pakistani and the Indian people say, we are 1!

And the reason I say this, my loved ones, is because this tragic, tragic history, the Bible tells us that in Christianity the same thing is going to happen.

The Bible says and the reason why I brought this, I relate this story is because scripture tells us that there is going to be a great division amongst Christians and I'll be even deeper there's going to be a great division amongst ourselves too and that division my loved ones is explained in Revelation chapter 12 verse 17 go with me please you probably have read it plenty of times but I want you to go with me Revelation chapter 12 verse 17 The Bible talks about a similar division.

And this division, just like the division of India and Pakistan, the Bible talks about war and violence and persecution and tribulation.

And remember, these divisions are fostered, are created, are nurtured.

Not by the Word of God, but by the leaders.

Verse 17, it says, And the dragon was what?

He went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have what?

Scripture tells us that there is upcoming battle.

And there's gonna be a division because we know that the dragon is really that political religious system that is rising known as Babylon is going to attack the woman and for what 2 reasons?

She keeps the commandments of God and because she has the what?

The testimony now I believe that this battle this two-front battle is not only on the outside but I think it's interior I think when it says they make the war on, because they keep, because the remnant keep the commandments of God, I think that's the exterior battle.

They're battling because of holding up these principles.

But I think that the interior battle is on those who what?

Who also keep hold to the spirit of prophecy.

And I think that this is this two-fold battle.

And so As we go into this, the foundation of this battle, the foundation of this distinction is because of what?

These principles of divinity that reflect the love and the power and the majesty of God.

This division is being caused because of this but let's go a little bit deeper into this division exactly where is this leading and what especially how do we know what it how is it going to go about how am I going to be ready how am I going to prepare can I hear an amen because we talked about this this great battle of Armageddon and you know the beast and the false prophet and we love to talk about the physical elements and the systems and the institutions that are involved in this but really this battle is really has nothing to do with what's happening exteriorly it's an interior battle it's a battle here This is where the real battle of Armageddon is waging, my loved ones, it's in your mind?

And the enemy wants to keep us so focused on all the other things.

The other things don't matter if you're not ready.

If you're not spiritually there, you could know all of these things and it doesn't matter and so God I believe my loved ones sometimes when I'm reading through scripture sometimes I read and I say it happens everyone and maybe once or twice a year I say if I had 1 sermon to preach to my church what would I preach what would I preach Well if this was my last opportunity what would I preach to my brothers and sisters in the faith?

And so today I'm going to preach that message that I believe.

If this was the last sermon, if God told me you're never gonna preach another sermon again, so preach, this would be the message that I'm going to preach to you today, amen?

Because I believe that this is the message that God has called us as we prepare for the upcoming battle of Armageddon.

How do we know this battle is going to be carried out?

And we're gonna start where we know very well which is the pre-flood right?

I love Matthew 24 because I call it, I call it Revelation chapter, Revelation chapter 23.

Because it's talking about the end events and it's breaking down in a very interesting way.

Watch and Pray

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