2026-09-27 Seventy Jim Noland – “Four Hebrew Prophets For Our Day” Sermon – Worship Service
September 27, 2026
To View or Download a copy of the handout used in today’s sermon service, CLICK HERE
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SERMON SUMMARY AT A GLANCE
Seventy Jim Noland calls us to prepare for Jesus Christ’s return through renewed attention to God’s word and faithful covenant living. He begins by acknowledging that only the Father knows the day and hour, then asks whether we and our branch are ready. The baptism celebrated during the service gives his appeal a personal focus: repentance, cleansing, and commitment to Christ matter now.
Jim examines Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and John the Revelator, connecting passages about Persia, Elam, invading nations, and the Euphrates with events he describes in Iran and the Middle East. He presents these connections as evidence of prophecy unfolding in our day. Through them, he emphasizes that military power and political leaders remain subject to God, whose purposes reach beyond any one nation.
Judgment is accompanied by hope. Jeremiah’s promise concerning Elam and Isaiah’s gathering of Israel support Jim’s expectation of restoration, while reports he shares about Christians in Iran encourage confidence in the gospel’s reach amid hardship. He urges listeners to read the references for themselves, honor their commitment to Christ, and prepare together as a branch. His closing prayer turns attention to gratitude, dependence on God, and giving Him glory.
TOP 7 KEYWORDS
Readiness, Prophecy, Christ, Sovereignty, Covenant, Restoration, Witness
TOP 7 KEY INSIGHTS
Jim asks whether each listener, he himself, and the branch are ready for Christ’s return. He places that question beside Jesus’ teaching that no one knows the exact day or hour except the Father. His urgent expectation directs attention toward our present relationship with God.
Why It Matters: A discussion of future events becomes spiritually useful when it leads us to examine our own response to Christ. We can seek readiness today without claiming knowledge of the hour the Father has not disclosed.
The baptism taking place during the service gives Jim’s message a personal setting. He speaks of cleansing from sin and the importance of commitment involving the Holy Spirit. The opening scripture connects following Christ with sincere repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost.
Why It Matters: Preparation is more than recognizing events on a timeline. Honest repentance and commitment to Jesus give our hope a direction in the life we are living now.
Jim moves rapidly through passages from Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Revelation, then urges listeners to study the references at home. He connects their images with modern nations and developments he describes in the Middle East. These present-day connections are his interpretation of the prophetic passages.
Why It Matters: Returning to the text helps us understand the passages that support a message instead of retaining only its dramatic claims. Careful reading gives us room to consider scripture, context, and the preacher’s application thoughtfully.
Daniel’s vision, Ezekiel’s account of divine intervention, and Jeremiah’s warning against Elam lead Jim to emphasize God’s authority over earthly powers. Psalm 22 expresses this theme directly: the kingdom belongs to the Lord, who governs the nations. Weapons, wealth, and rulers are not the final authority.
Why It Matters: World events can draw our confidence toward whoever appears strongest. Remembering God’s sovereignty calls us to place our trust and allegiance in Him rather than treat human power as ultimate.
Jim reads Jeremiah’s warning about the bow of Elam, scattering, and the fall of rulers together with the promise concerning Elam in the latter days. He also reads Isaiah’s promise to recover and gather God’s people. His message holds accountability and restoration within the same prophetic picture.
Why It Matters: Warnings deserve serious attention, yet they need not erase hope in God’s purposes. These passages invite us to respond to Him with humility while remembering the restoration He speaks of.
Jim shares reports of Christian growth in Iran and describes small house churches, Persian-language resources, and person-to-person evangelism. He sees this activity as encouraging evidence of people seeking Christ during conflict and restriction. His appeal invites the congregation to consider its own witness.
Why It Matters: The gospel’s reach need not be measured only by public buildings or comfortable conditions. A sincere conversation and a faithful witness can matter where people are searching for spiritual direction.
Jim closes by expressing concern for the branch and asking its members to prepare together. His prayer thanks the Father for a new day, acknowledges dependence on Him, and seeks continued blessing while giving Him glory. The message ends with a communal call to respond to God.
Why It Matters: Readiness concerns the life of the congregation as well as the individual. Shared study, prayer, and gratitude can turn an urgent message into a faithful response we support in one another.
TOP 7 DAILY STEPS OF FAITH
Set aside a few quiet minutes to pray over Jim’s question about readiness for Christ’s return. Identify one area of your life that needs renewed attention and choose one faithful response for this week. Let the question lead to present discipleship rather than an attempt to name the day or hour.
Reflective Question: What would I want to bring into greater harmony with Christ if I took this question seriously today?
Read the opening baptism passage in 2 Nephi 13:16–17 and consider its call to sincerity and repentance. Bring one specific sin or divided intention to God and ask for help to follow Jesus with full purpose of heart. Jim’s words to the baptismal candidate make commitment to Christ central to preparation.
Reflective Question: Where do my intentions need to become more honest before God?
Choose Daniel 8, Ezekiel 38, or Jeremiah 49 and read it slowly this week. Notice what the passage says before considering Jim’s connections to present events. This follows his explicit invitation to take the references home and study the word of God.
Reflective Question: What does the passage itself say, and how is Jim applying it to our day?
Reflect on one source of security you rely on, such as money, political influence, or human strength. Pray with Psalm 22:27–28 and ask God to direct that trust toward His rule. Jim’s discussion of the bow of Elam challenges confidence that treats worldly power as final.
Reflective Question: What am I depending on more than the Lord who governs the nations?
Read Jeremiah 49:39 and Isaiah 11:11–12 alongside the warnings discussed in the sermon. Thank God that the passages also speak of restoration and gathering. Carry that hope into one prayer about a troubled situation instead of allowing reports of judgment to occupy all your attention.
Reflective Question: Have I heard the promise of restoration as carefully as I have heard the warning?
Have one sincere conversation this week in which you share why following Christ matters to you. Listen to the other person’s spiritual questions and offer encouragement without turning the conversation into an argument. Jim’s description of person-to-person evangelism points toward a witness we can practice in our own setting.
Reflective Question: Who might welcome a thoughtful conversation about faith and hope in Christ?
Invite a fellow member to study one sermon reference or pray together about the branch’s faithfulness. Include thanks for the gift of another day and ask how you can support one another in following Christ. Jim’s closing appeal calls the congregation to prepare together and give God glory.
Reflective Question: How can I help our shared response become more faithful, prayerful, and thankful?
GOD REVEALED
God’s sovereignty is the central portrait of His character in Jim’s message. Psalm 22 names the Lord as governor among the nations, while the prophetic passages place earthly rulers and military strength under His authority. Jim uses these texts to challenge confidence in weapons, wealth, and political power. God’s rule also includes purposes of restoration: Jeremiah’s word concerning Elam and Isaiah’s gathering of Israel keep hope present alongside judgment. The Father’s knowledge of the day and hour of Christ’s return reminds us that His authority exceeds our understanding of a timeline. We can respond by taking His word seriously, renewing our commitment to Jesus, and preparing together with prayer and gratitude. As unsettling events draw our attention, bring your trust back to the Lord and seek to honor His rule in the choices before you today.
IMPORTANT VERSES AND WHY THEY MATTER
DIRECT SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
17 Yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.
The separate opening scripture reading accompanies the baptism celebrated in this service. It describes sincere repentance, taking Christ’s name through baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost, giving a scriptural foundation for Jim’s emphasis on covenant commitment and preparation.
Why It Matters: Following Jesus involves real intent rather than an outward action alone. The passage invites us to examine our sincerity and welcome the Spirit’s place in a life committed to Christ.
Jim quotes Jesus’ statement about every jot and tittle being fulfilled and returns to it near the close. He uses it to emphasize the seriousness of God’s word and the need to attend to what God has revealed.
Why It Matters: God’s word deserves more than occasional attention when events seem dramatic. Taking it seriously encourages study and a faithful response to what we understand.
This direct warning gives Jim’s repeated question about readiness its scriptural focus. Christ’s unexpected coming makes preparation a present responsibility for the individual and the branch.
Why It Matters: We can respond to Jesus now even though we do not know the hour of His return. Readiness begins with faithful attention to Him in our present life.
Jim quotes this warning immediately after the call to be ready in Matthew. Its language of the thief and the children of light reinforces his appeal to remain spiritually alert rather than be unprepared.
Why It Matters: Watchfulness is a way of responding to God’s word before an unexpected hour arrives. The call to be children of light directs us toward faithful living rather than passive interest in future events.
Jim invokes the assurance that Zion will not be moved while discussing the limits of human weapons and regimes. This recognizable scriptural statement supports his confidence that God’s purposes endure beyond the strength of worldly powers.
Why It Matters: Confidence in God’s purposes can steady us amid upheaval. The verse’s connection between return and purity of heart also directs attention toward the character of the people who trust Him.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s; and he is the governor among the nations.
Jim introduces these words from the psalm to emphasize that royal authority belongs to the Lord. The passage gathers his discussion of nations around worship and the recognition of God’s rule.
Why It Matters: The apparent power of nations is not the highest authority. Worship helps us place our allegiance in the Lord whose kingdom reaches beyond national boundaries.
35 Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36 And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the Lord; and I will send the sword after them till I have consumed them;
38 And I will set my throne in Elam and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the Lord.
39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the Lord.
This is the fullest prophetic reading in Jim’s message, combining the breaking of Elam’s military strength, scattering, judgment on rulers, and a promise concerning the latter days. Jim interprets the bow in relation to modern Iran’s weapons and connects the passage with events he describes in 2026.
Why It Matters: The passage challenges trust in military might while retaining a promise of restoration. Its warning and promise invite humility before God and careful attention to the whole reading.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Jim reads Isaiah’s promise of recovering and gathering God’s people near the close, including the named region of Elam. It extends the message beyond conflict toward God’s work of restoration among scattered people.
Why It Matters: Scattering is not the final word in this promise. God’s purpose to gather His people encourages hope and a renewed desire to participate faithfully in His work.
GENERAL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Jim begins by affirming Jesus’ teaching that no one knows the day or hour of His return except the Father. This paraphrased teaching establishes an important distinction between readiness and knowledge of an exact time. ISV
Why It Matters: We can remain attentive to Christ without claiming the Father’s knowledge. Humility about the hour keeps our response centered on faithfulness today.
Jim connects the baptismal candidate’s commitment with the church of the Firstborn and hope in the resurrection. This Restoration passage identifies believers who receive Christ’s testimony, baptism, the Holy Spirit, and overcome by faith, and speaks of their part in the first resurrection. D&C
Why It Matters: The hope described here directs attention to continuing faith in Christ and the Spirit’s work. It gives covenant discipleship lasting significance beyond the immediate circumstances of our lives.
Jim speaks of rising with the first trump when he addresses the baptismal candidate. This recognizable Restoration teaching describes living saints and those in their graves being caught up to meet Christ at the sounding of the angel’s trumpet. D&C
Why It Matters: Hope in Christ’s coming includes His people meeting Him. That hope can give spiritual preparation a joyful purpose rather than allowing our attention to rest only on conflict.
Jim explicitly summarizes Daniel’s vision instead of reading the chapter. He discusses the ram, the goat, Media and Persia, the rise and fall of empires, and a later oppressive ruler, then applies the Persian connection to his discussion of Iran. ISV
Why It Matters: Prophetic symbols invite us to read both the vision and its interpretation carefully. Jim’s invitation to study the chapter gives us an opportunity to examine its words and his application thoughtfully.
Jim summarizes Gog’s invading coalition, including Persia, and the Lord’s intervention through earthquake, internal conflict, pestilence, hail, fire, and brimstone. He connects these descriptions with modern alliances and developments he discusses, emphasizing that God makes His holiness known among nations. ISV
Why It Matters: The chapter places decisive authority with God rather than the invader’s apparent strength. It calls us to recognize His holiness as we consider the preacher’s interpretation of world events.
Jim recalls Sodom and Gomorrah when discussing fire and brimstone in Ezekiel’s account. His reference is an analogy to the remembered judgment of those cities rather than a reading from Genesis. ISV
Why It Matters: The comparison gives the warning about judgment a serious scriptural setting. It invites reverence for God and reflection on how we respond to His word.
Before reading the separate oracle against Elam, Jim summarizes Jeremiah’s warnings concerning Ammon, Edom, Damascus, Kedar, and Hazor. He emphasizes misplaced confidence in defenses, wealth, and worldly wisdom as part of his message about God’s authority over nations. ISV
Why It Matters: Security can become misplaced when we treat resources or influence as beyond challenge. The warnings invite us to examine the foundations of our own confidence before God.
Jim describes the drying of the Euphrates, the kings of the east, and the gathering toward Armageddon without reading the verses. He discusses differing identifications of the eastern powers and connects the river imagery with photographs and developments he presents. ISV
Why It Matters: The sermon uses this passage to reinforce watchfulness. Reading the account for ourselves helps us consider its images and the preacher’s application with attention rather than haste.
Jim explicitly refers to the army numbered as two hundred million and notes that interpreters connect it with the kings of the east. The sermon presents that connection within his expectation of approaching events rather than as a direct reading of the verse. ISV
Why It Matters: A striking number can dominate our memory of prophecy. Returning to the passage helps us consider its place in the vision while keeping the sermon’s call to spiritual readiness in view.
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