Sean Gooding Archives

Ezekiel 33:1-6

“Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² ‘Son of man, speak to the children of your people and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, ³when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, ⁴then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his head. ⁵He heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.

⁶But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.'”

In the last few months, I have seen and heard some things that make me wonder. If you watch famous people like Joe Rogan and others, you will see that there has been a concentrated effort to get the gospel out to millions. I find it ironic that some of these people, like Joe Rogan, have been used by God to get the gospel out to millions of people who have never listened to anyone unless they were hearing it on the podcast.

This is happening in situations over and over again. God will not be quieted. A few weeks ago, I had a young man here at my work ask me to come to dinner with him and his girlfriend and explain Christianity to them. They listened for 2 hours, and although they did not accept Christ, they heard, and I have been asked to do it again. Just a week ago, a dear friend called; he was sitting with his dad and asked if I would come and share the gospel so his dad could hear it; maybe even on his death bed, he might listen. I ended up sharing the gospel three times in about an hour with the attending family; most were Catholic and probably never heard the pure gospel.

We, or at least I, have been watching and looking for the Lord to come back. There are so many signs and so many things that are all happening at once; we have earthquakes, eclipses, and other strange things. We have this sudden release of tons of classified information about ‘alien’ sightings and encounters. At the same time, we have the exponential growth of AI software and its capabilities, as well as the financial struggles that are plaguing a lot of people all over the world. They are all coming together at this rapid rate, and we can feel that there is something about the break.

It may take months or years, but those of us who know Jesus understand that a line will be crossed, and the beginning of the end will commence. We are not to be idle at this time; we are not to waste this precious commodity and squander our time. So, Sean, what shall we do?

Watch the heavens.

We are to keep an eye on the heavens. Jesus will call us to Him soon, and we should be living each day ready to be called. This means that we should love the Lord openly and with great fervor; we should love our siblings in the Lord with the same fervor, and by this, we can draw some to the gospel of John 13:34–35. Read the scriptures, know what to look for, and keep our hearts from being deceived.

One of the things that seems to be growing is the number of people claiming to have some ‘new’ or ‘special’ revelation from God. They do not. God has revealed to us in the completed Bible all we need to know, and nothing is added. Be wary of people who want your money so that they can tell you what God has for you. They are fleecing you, for the most part. Even if someone is genuine, check the scriptures before you swallow the message.

Sadly, there are a lot of Christians who do not understand or even desire to understand the end of the church age. There are a lot of churches that shy away, and frankly, there are a lot of men who simply refuse to study and/or teach about the end times. It is hard work; it takes reading and studying, and it requires a commitment to search the scriptures. A lot of men are simply not ready to step into the next phase, where Jesus comes as a righteous judge, makes war, and executes judgment. But we are called to warn the people—yes, even saved people—that judgment is coming. Jesus will judge the saved and the lost.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:9–11. “So, we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.

Watch the people around us.

Are you prepared spiritually and scripturally to share the gospel? In these last days, are you ready to tell someone how to be saved, how to be ‘born again’? Sadly, most of us are not. One of the most important things for the watchmen was to know which trumpet sound to blow—was it a trumpet for war or peace? Was it a trumpet to scatter or gather? As we get closer and closer, there will be people wanting to know about the Lord Jesus. Some will want to make fun; others will want to repent. Can you help the one who wants to repent? What we know for sure, according to the passage in Ezekiel, is that we will be held accountable for how we warned and even if we warned.

God expects us to warn the people around us about the heaven to gain and the hell to shun. Are you and I doing that? Here is a question for you: could you lead someone to faith in Jesus? Do you know what verses you would use? Philip, in Acts 8, took Isaiah 53 and taught the Ethiopian Eunuch about Jesus. Could you have done that? Sadly, a lot of us Christians really could not do that.

Here are some of the verses that you should have committed to memory; these will help you be prepared: John 3:16-18, Romans 3:10-23, Romans 5:8, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9, and others that you can think of. You should know the story of the’ thief on the cross,’ his simple act of faith and belief—no baptism, no tithing, no church membership, nothing, just Jesus.

Take responsibility for those around you, pray for them that God will open their eyes, and be prepared to help them see once their eyes are opened. The Bible and the Word of God are your only tools (Romans 10:17). Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. You cannot and will not argue with or philosophize a person into heaven. Share the scripture, and the Holy Spirit will take the truth and change lives. If they refuse the gift of eternal life in Jesus once they have heard, that is on them; you have done your job, dear watchman. Be prepared!

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding

Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

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John 19:17-24

“And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸ where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. ¹⁹ Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: Jesus of Nazareth is the King of the Jews.

²⁰Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. ²¹Therefore, the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.” ²³Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seams, woven from the top in one piece. ²⁴ They said therefore among themselves, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be,” that the Scripture might be fulfilled, which says, “They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” Therefore, the soldiers did these things.”

It is Thursday morning now; Jesus has been in the tomb since sundown last night, and it is a Sabbath day, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23:4–8). No work is allowed on this day. These disciples are trapped in their thoughts: Peter is broken (Luke 22:64), John is making room for Mary, his new house guest (John 19:25–27), and all of Jerusalem is in unrest. The religious leaders who orchestrated Jesus’ death are on edge as they are worried that the disciples will come and steal Jesus’ body and claim that He was resurrected.

Matthew 27:62-66 “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days, I will rise.’ Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way; make it as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”

Those three days and three nights must have felt like an eternity to these followers of Jesus. By Thursday night, commerce would resume, people would go about their business, and life would move on. But for these folks, it would seem as if all was standing still. They had given it their all. Peter said it: We have left all to follow you.

Matthew 19:27 “Then Peter answered and said to Him, ‘See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore, what shall we have?'”

Did they make a mistake? Were they blinded by the miracles? Did the miracles really happen? Peter was pondering going back to being a professional fisherman, and he does so in John 21, taking a bunch of the apostles with him, including John. I cannot imagine the questions, the doubts, the worries, and the fear. Some of the women went and saw where they buried him, and they prepared to properly anoint his body after the normal Sabbath.

Luke 23:51–56 “Now, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. He had not consented to their decision or deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, and he himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. That day was preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.”

In Luke 24:1, we see that these women went to anoint a dead body; they did not expect to see the tomb opened or empty, and they even wondered who would help them move the stone. They find the tomb empty, and they run back to the disciples to tell them, and they are met with skepticism.

Luke 24:8–12 “And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. And their words seemed to them like fairy tales, and they did not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.”

Peter saw the empty tomb, and even he was not too sure what happened here. He and John saw, and they returned to their homes (John 20:10). But later that night, they would be all together, still very afraid, and the Risen Jesus would show up, speak to them, show them His scars, eat food with them, and gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

John 20:19–23 19 “Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'”

This would begin a journey that would transform these disciples into the men and women who would change the world. God would begin a movement with them that is still changing the world today. We are waiting for Jesus to return; it has been a long, long wait. Generation after generation has come and gone, and still, we wait, but as sure as Jesus arose from the tomb, so is His promise to return and get us. Hold on, don’t lose hope, don’t give up, and soon the trumpet will sound and we will be with Jesus forever.