Gospel—D. Nicolet
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Father, as we consider this blessed One Thy well, beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now this one who?
In perfect obedience.
To be in love for us.
Became a man and walked among us lowly despised, rejected in every way. A man of sorrows. Oh blessed Lord Jesus, thou Creator of all.
Thou who dwelt?
From past eternity, and that bliss in the bosom of the Father.
Blessed Lord Jesus to think thou wouldst.
Walk in this scene and that tonight we would sing of thee as the man of sorrows. We know it's because of our sin that we pray that tonight.
Thou of whom it is said in thy precious word, Jesus wept.
We pray tonight.
That if there's a lost, needy soul in this room, still stranger to thee, Lord Jesus.
Now they might learn what it means when thou hast said in thy precious word.
Rejoice Evermore.
Thou has gone into such sorrow that we might have joy, we pray, Lord Jesus.
That there might one soul or more tonight.
As led by thy Spirit, turn to thee and put their personal faith and trust in Thee, Lord Jesus, as their Lord and Savior. We ask for this.
And look to thee for help.
In thy name, Lord Jesus, we pray.
Men.
I'd like you to turn.
For something that.
Was.
Made exceedingly.
Precious to my heart this afternoon, and it caused a rather solemn consideration. Our beloved brother who spoke to us on the life of Josiah. I don't intend to take that subject up tonight in the gospel, but I would like to turn back to that to notice 3 words.
I'd like to turn to Second Chronicles.
And I believe it's.
Chapter 3435.
Second Chronicles.
And it's chapter 35.
I'm looking at a room tonight that is largely populated by those who have many, many, many times.
Heard the gospel of the grace of God. Heard the story of the Lord Jesus Christ and His wonderful love.
Who have many times in meetings like this, many times perhaps in your homes as parents, have opened the precious word of God and read to you.
Perhaps many other times, times that were unexpected, meeting people even at your work or at school, who were Christians and in love for their Savior spoke to you about Him and about your need of accepting Him as Savior. I doubt anyone here would want to try to even estimate the number of times that during your life.
You have heard of the Lord Jesus Christ and his love.
Today, those of us who have sat in this room have been afforded such a spiritual feast as is very difficult to describe. What a joy it's been to sit here and have our hearts again warmed, and our eyes by faith, turned to such an object as the Lord of glory, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now those 3 words.
In verse 20.
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After all.
This.
After all this.
Perhaps there's someone here who has come as a guest to be with us tonight. We're thankful for that.
How do those words apply to you after all this?
You got up this morning, as each of us did.
Given the breath of life by your Creator God.
Given the health and the strength to go through the normal tasks of your day.
Able to enjoy at your leisure.
Food.
Clothing.
A place to stay, a home. Conveniences that you and I take for granted that the majority of the souls in this world tonight know nothing about.
Perhaps you haven't heard the word of God read to you today.
Perhaps you haven't had the wonderful privilege of having it explained to you, and you're heartwarmed by it, but you've had many, many blessings and privileges tonight during this day rather. And now you sit here tonight and I would direct these words to you, as well as to each one in this room. After all this, What do I mean by that?
Here was a King Josiah, who, as we heard, had at this point in his life, had some 30 years.
Of blessing after blessing grace after grace afforded to him.
And I'm going to apply this now, just in this way, after 30 years, after so long a time of blessing, after so long a time of the kindness of God being shown to him and guiding him and helping him in every circumstance of his life.
He made a decision.
After all this.
He made a decision.
And the decision he made.
Led to his death.
Now my question tonight is after all this, dear friend.
After all that God has shown you even today in His matchless grace and kindness, after the testimony from his precious.
On changing word.
Telling you of the glories and the beauties of his well beloved son.
And that freely, with No Fear of interference, with no concern about authorities, with no with no thought of anything but sitting here in comfort and peace.
And hearing all of this, whether you're 8 years old or 80 years old or more.
If you could sit here today and understand in some measure that which has been presented.
The question tonight is after all this.
What's your decision?
What are you going to do?
Are you going to leave this building tonight after all this?
Unchanged.
Is there going to be no exercise in your soul that you've heard something today that may have brought you to a crossroads in your life?
And that to leave this building making no decision is to leave it making a decision.
To leave this building tonight if you're here.
A stranger to the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior, or if you're here and you don't know for sure.
If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior.
After all this that has been presented to you today either?
In this room or in the kindness of your creator God today in your life.
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If you leave this room in the same manner, you've made a decision, and I tell you, dear friends, that decision can lead and may lead to your death, not death.
In this world, perhaps, though, that will come if the Lord Jesus does not come first for us.
Every soul sitting here is going to leave this world sooner or later.
And age is not necessarily a factor in determining the sooner or the later.
You may leave it at a very young age.
You may leave it at very old age, but leave it you will.
And after all this?
What will your decision be before you leave this world? It can lead.
To an eternity in hell.
A lost eternity.
Something incredibly more horrible if I can use those words than the thought of physical death after all this.
I will apologize to those who may have.
Heard this story?
I believe it's a true story.
Perhaps it will.
Under score.
What we're seeking to present.
With the Lord's help tonight.
This took place not many years ago, although I think perhaps.
30 or 40 years ago, at least in the nation of Japan.
And it happened among those who are of an evidently of a class of society there who adhere to certain social customs.
One being that parents.
Arrange with other parents according to what they consider.
Socially acceptable and financially acceptable.
Standards the marriage of their children when their children are just infants.
And so it happened in a family.
That a marriage was arranged between a little boy and a little girl.
And they had, of course, nothing to say about it, the parents of each child feeling this would be beneficial.
In its own way, to their families.
And time went on. And they grew older.
And the time came when the wedding took place.
And as I understand it, in this kind of a very formal ceremony, all that time the bride had never been seen by the bridegroom.
Very different from what we consider perhaps normal in.
The North American continent in Western society.
But the wedding ceremony took place. The bride was covered in all the.
Finery and so on. And totally hidden during the ceremony and afterwards. And then the ceremony was over.
And they were alone. And the bridegroom, now the husband, removed the veil from his bride's face to gaze upon her for the first time in his life.
And she was very, very homely.
So much so that.
His disappointment being so great by what he observed that he turned and left the room.
And it was quite some time before some days or so before he was willing to be in her company.
She never said a word.
She bore it very quietly.
Because of the social pressures of the society.
Divorce. Separation. Whatever you would want to call it was not.
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A possibility?
And so this very, very strange, this very, very strained, this very, very unhappy union went on.
For many years.
Two sons were born into that union.
The father, the husband, never attempted to.
To hide his disapproval, his unhappiness.
Constantly finding fault, constantly criticizing.
Constantly letting his wife know how she had disappointed him.
She on her turn.
Quietly bore at all.
Never raised her voice.
Went about her chores, kept as good a house as could be kept. No criticism could be given for her housekeeping abilities, her cooking skills.
She took care of her sons, raised them.
All the while she did this, listening to the complaints of everything that could be complained about by her husband.
Things began to get more difficult for the husband, for he was afflicted with a malady which was afflicting his eyes and which was going to eventually end, He found out, in blindness.
This didn't make him any easier to live with.
He went to the medical authorities and was told that.
A transplant of some part of the eye, whatever it was, if a suitable donor could be found, had every possibility of at least saving one of his eyes and thus eventually saving his eyesight.
And so his name was put on a list of those waiting for a suitable donor.
But his troubles continued to grow. He continued in his frustration and criticism and anger.
And finally.
Not really. To his surprise, one day he arose to find that his wife had left him. She was gone.
He wasn't really surprised, but it certainly didn't make him any easier to get along with.
And so a few days went by and then the phone call which he had been awaiting for quite some time came and the hospital said we have found a suitable donor and you must immediately come to the hospital.
To have this procedure.
And so he went, and you can imagine when the procedure was finished.
And the time came whenever that was, that the doctors removed the bandages.
The expectation and tension that he was feeling, and it was already obvious as he peered out of that eye that had been fixed for only one, could be fixed with this donor.
As he peered out of that eye, he could already tell that there was an improvement.
And so after a week or so.
He was able to go home with every assurance that, with proper care and without complications, he could now look forward to the having at least the sight of one eye continue for the rest of his life.
And so he got home.
And he was there. And a day or so after he got home, he heard a knock on the door, and he went to the door and opened it.
And looked into the face of his wife.
And then fell weeping at her feet.
For she had a patch over one of her eyes.
And he said.
Why did you do that for me?
And she said.
Because I love you.
After all this.
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What do you suppose?
The reaction?
Of that husband was.
For the rest of his life.
After all this.
You are loved tonight, dear friend.
With a love so infinitely greater.
And one has done something for you so infinitely.
More wonderful.
Not having given you.
And I.
Having given you himself.
On Calvary's cross.
Having suffered.
Scourge beaten.
Spit upon.
Knowing that when you first heard that story.
That history, that he man of sorrows passed through that you hearing that?
Would react in a far more callous manner.
Than that husband did.
Of his wife.
That you would spurn, and perhaps time and time again, as though it makes no difference at all to you that he was beaten.
That they spit in his face to show him how they hated him.
That they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head to mock.
The truth.
That he was indeed king.
That when he was hanging there on that cross in an agony you and I will never understand, physical and far more infinitely deep, I say carefully. Spiritual agony, suffering.
That a callous heart could be so hard that they would stand there and watch him and mock him in his agony.
Is your heart Is my heart one bit different?
You know it's not, you know, had you been standing at the foot of that cross.
You would have joined and so would I.
In the mocking and the despising of the Blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
And here you are tonight.
And you've heard such things today, if you've said in this room.
And after all this?
What has it done to your heart?
You know, there was much said today. Very helpful.
On worship.
As to the.
Object, the person our blessed, Lord Jesus Christ. And I thought as I listened to one and another sharing these things that were so heartwarming and helpful.
My mind went back to Joseph.
Joseph, who had been treated so cruelly by his brethren.
And who, when they came? And you know the story well. Most of you in this room, when they came to Joseph, found nothing but.
Love.
Though in his God-given wisdom.
They were taken through a path that caused a very deep and right repentance.
And then?
They're sent home.
Finally, Joseph having revealed himself to them, having said draw near to me.
Are you hearing that tonight? Not the speaker. Don't get your eyes on the speaker. That's weakness.
Listen carefully to see if the Spirit of God would speak to your heart, and you might hear the words of the Lord Jesus saying to you tonight. Draw near to me.
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Draw near to me.
He is saying that.
And those brethren drew near to Joseph to find love and forgiveness and compassion and blessing and joy. Do you think the Lord Jesus is able to show you that much?
The one who created Joseph, do you think he can show you, at least I say reverently, that much love and compassion and forgiveness? You know he can. You know that his treasure chest has an infinite depth in it.
You know that he will never.
You will never be able, I should say, to ask for or to need something he can't supply. And so Joseph sends the brethren, his brethren home.
And he tells them this and this is what I pondered today about worship.
He says to them.
Tell my Father of all my glory.
In Egypt and of all that you have seen.
You have something to tell. Do you have a Father? Perhaps we should start. Is God your Father? And do you have something tonight, in the praise and worship of your heart, to tell him about what you have seen, of the glories and beauties of one that you spurn for so long, and who quietly and in perfect divine love, never turned away from you and ended up giving up his life?
Because he loves you.
You have something to tell the father tonight?
I would like you to be very concerned if your heart has no Thanksgiving, if you have seen no glory in this beloved son.
Well, beloved Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, if you've seen today of his glory nothing, you have, as it were, to tell his Father and your Father.
I would like you to be very concerned tonight.
There are two glories that you can be occupied with this evening.
You can be occupied.
With the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only one who is worthy.
Of that glory.
Or you can be occupied with the glory that this world.
Has to offer, and that glory, fleeting as it is if you're here.
And.
Your heart is refusing to listen to the One who is in love and grace telling you to draw near to him.
Then the glory, the fleeting glory that the world has to offer, will seem very, very real.
And very, very important and when it comes time to speak of something.
When it comes time to tell someone of what you have seen.
What will come out of your mouth?
Is what you have seen of the world's glories.
And there are all kinds of glories in this world.
Some of the chairs in this room have a name with a little animal on them, yellow jackets.
The name of this school. It's a certain glory connected with this school, and those who go here probably are quite proud to be connected with that glory.
At various seasons of the year, it seems almost as though the whole world is taken up with various glories of various.
Athletic teams.
I have never seen even though now I'm teaching in a college. It used to be much more common in the high school, but.
I have never seen such a profusion and I don't tonight find fault with it, but I have never seen such a profusion.
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Of people wearing.
Articles of clothing proclaiming a name that has some sort of human glory connected with it.
Not very often you see someone, though you do once in a while. It's kind of a treat.
Wearing a shirt or a jacket.
That proclaims the glory of the only one who's worthy of it, the Lord Jesus Christ.
After all this.
What are you going to do?
God may in his grace.
Allow.
You to go on rejecting him, Being interested, taken up with every conceivable kind of thing.
Except.
Facing the issue and answering the question of what you will do with Christ.
What shall I then do with Jesus, which is called Christ? You got to answer that question sometime.
And as I said before, no answer is an answer, and it's an answer that God has heard, may I say very reverently and very carefully, if you give no answer to that question tonight, it's an answer God has heard loud and clear.
I'm very, very concerned. There are many who are praying with this concern. It's not unique to the speaker.
For those who sit here, we often say the young. I'm just going to say those who sit here.
In these kinds of meetings.
Or services, whatever you want to call them.
Where you hear about the Lord Jesus Christ and his love.
Time after time after time, you hear that story.
And there is no movement.
No change, something is more important.
May God by his spirit do a work tonight, stirring in souls here. It's not a work that I can do. It's not a work that anyone sitting here can do. It's a work that the spirit of God must do. But it means life or death to you if the work hasn't been done.
And I'm not here to scare anyone. I would like to somehow.
In what I say tonight.
Though very feebly share the glories I've seen.
In the Lord Jesus, I want to tell you he's, you know so many of you. When I say this, exactly what I mean he is so wonderful.
And he's not just wonderful to old people who don't have anything else in their old age to interest them.
He's wonderful.
I think I've mentioned this before.
But I remember some time back when I was teaching in.
High school, a student was saved. It was really, it was very exciting to see in. Anyone who has had the joy of seeing someone saved knows exactly what I'm speaking about.
But what was a real joy to me was the confirmation of this student's salvation, which came three or four weeks later. You know, sometimes there's an excitement and A and A and a bubbling that's going on, and you want to at least with.
With some, I felt you kind of have to wait just a little bit. But a few weeks later this student was sitting in my room and said to me out of the clear blue.
Looked at me and said, You ever just sit there and think about him?
Do you ever just sit there and think about him?
I'd like to ask you that.
You haven't just heard about the Lord Jesus in the last four weeks?
Do you ever just sit there and think about him?
Precious blessings, Savior.
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Who told me that he loved me?
And though I had a debt of 10,000 talents and not a way to pay 1 particle of one of those talents back.
He said. I'll forgive it all. Draw near to me.
What did it cost him to tell me? My load of 10,000 talents?
Was freely forgiven.
Something that can't be measured, His precious blood in value. God alone can measure the full value of that, but that's what he paid.
That I might have my 10,000 talent OR greater debt paid.
And after all this?
Is there anything?
Is there any response, I should say in your heart or in mine? Is there some response?
I say again, after all this, is there some response to the Blessed Lord Jesus? Oh, I tell you, dear friends, I'm not here. I say again to scare anyone. I don't believe you can.
Anymore scare anyone into being saved than you can talk them into being saved. But I tell you there's something tragically, terribly wrong if you're sitting here tonight having heard what you've heard today about the Lord Jesus Christ. And after all that.
There's just nothing but a cold rock.
Sitting in here.
We had a little time left.
I had.
Thought to speak about cities tonight.
And so perhaps we'll, just for a few moments, consider that.
But before we move on, I want to ask you one more time.
What's Your Reaction?
Don't forget this very, very solemn account of Josiah, who, after all that transpired in his life, made a decision that cost him his life.
I'd like to turn over to Genesis.
Chapter 4.
I'm going to briefly, as we close tonight, just make a an application of the thought of city. I understand that. I want my dear brethren and friends to understand this is not presenting a.
An unfolding of a doctrine in any way? I'm just going to make a simple application in the trusting that the spirit of God can use it to blessing of souls, but I want to look at the thought of a city for just a moment.
Verse 17 of chapter 4.
And Cain knew his wife.
And she could bear conceived and bear Enoch, and he builded a city, and called the name of the city after his son Ina. Now let's.
Turn over.
To the Gospel of Luke.
Chapter 19 Luke, Chapter 19.
And.
Words of the Lord Jesus being spoken here in verse 41.
Luke 19 verse 41 And when he Jesus was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it.
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You know.
Kane.
When he went out from the presence of the Lord, that was a willing decision he made. You're going to go out of this building tonight?
You don't have to go out from the presence of the Lord, though.
If you do, it's going to be a willing, conscious decision that you're making to leave the presence of the Lord.
And one of the things that he first did was to build a city. Something that he could take pride in. Would perhaps.
'Cause a certain stability, whatever it was.
He later, or his descendants later, brought into this world those things that.
Were calculated to bring joy and satisfaction in that place being a part out of the presence of God.
But he named his city after his son, Enoch, so I just want to look at that real simply.
A city named Enoch.
What's your city name tonight?
And is it a city that the Lord Jesus tonight looks at and weeps over?
Because he says, if thou hadst known, even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace.
But now they are hid from thine eyes.
Solemn. The one who would say, draw near to me looks, as it were, as a city named, If I can make this application in the gospel tonight at a city named Bill or Sally or Kathy or whatever your name is, looks at that city and weeps over it, because tonight you're not aware of the joy and peace.
He would bring to you.
If you would listen.
If after all this, he would listen to what he is telling you.
We will finish by there are so many cities in the word of God, it's. I've been impressed. It's an incredible as I suspect every subject in the word of God is. It's an incredible meditation. But let's look at a city in the life of David in this sense that we're looking at a city and closing tonight.
In.
First Samuel.
And.
Chapter.
Chapter 23 First Samuel, Chapter 23.
Then they told David, saying, behold, the flistines fight against Keila, and they robbed the threshing floors. You know, you may not know it or feel it tonight, but you're in a if you're here without Christ as your personal savior, you're in a terrible battle. And there is an enemy who is robbing your ability. Who is robbing you might say life.
From you, the threshing floors are being robbed.
There are so many ways they get robbed.
For those who are younger, the desire for a career or a companion or whatever, it is a car, I don't know. We all have desires. I'm not saying any of those things are wrong. In fact, some of them are very right and happy in their place. But sometimes those things become more than a right desire. And if you don't belong to the Lord Jesus, it can become that which robs you.
The threshing floor gets stripped. There's no food.
But you know, someone knows about that?
A David, the Lord Jesus. He knows what's going on. He knows the battle that's in array against you far better than you do.
And his heart is to do something about it.
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And I think this is lovely in verse two, he says. Shall I go and smite these Philistines? Why didn't he just go?
No. He asked God in perfect submission of His will. I want to be careful in submission of His will, reminding us of one who in perfect submission of His will came. The Father sent the Son to be the savior of the world. And so David asks. And we're going to skip very fast.
And those who follow him are afraid in verse 3.
You know, they say we're here in Judah and we're afraid Saul is chasing us and we're running away from Saul. We're afraid. Why are we going there to?
What's going to happen to us when we face this enemy, you know?
This isn't something, this battle, this enemy that is understood naturally, even understood perhaps by your friends in any way, But there's a battle and.
There is one who wants to come and deliver from that battle. Deliver you.
You can't deliver yourself. You're like that little city.
Keila and you can't deliver yourself. And so David comes and it says in verse five, he and his men went to Key Island, fought with the Philistines and brought away their cattle and smoked them with a great slaughter. So David saved the inhabitants of Keila. But the story doesn't end there, and forsake of time I'm just. I will just finish it by telling you that Saul hears of this. Saul the the king.
Who is chasing David? And so now he comes to Kaia, There's the Kaia, there's a second battle.
And I want you to think now back to those 3 words that we started with after all this. Here's key Iowa. They didn't ask for David's kindness. They were suffering under the onslaught of these Philistines, their food being stolen from them, from the threshing floors, no way to sustain themselves. They didn't cry to God for help. They didn't ask for help. But David, in his love for his people, comes.
And as directed by God, in submission to God's will, he comes and He delivers them.
And he slays the enemy, and he it says he carries away their cattle.
Those things that were causing that.
Destruction of their food, all that.
He takes all that spoil and the battle is won. And they're free. They're at liberty now.
And now they're going to get tested after all this.
And Saul is going to come up because he wants David, and he thinks that he's got David in that city of gates and bars and David can't escape and he's going to be able to take him and kill him.
But this is incredible.
Then David said in verse 10, Oh Lord, God of Israel, thy servant, hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keala to destroy the city, for my sake.
Will the men of Keala deliver me up into his hand? These are the men that were just delivered from this horrible foe that was.
A stealing and taking their very life sustaining food away from them had delivered them with a great deliverance and now another foe is coming.
And the question is asked, are they going to deliver me up? And the answer is yes.
After all this.
They're going to give in and I won't go into it. It's just the personal thought anyway, but it seems to me.
They couldn't win the battle with the Philistines, and David won that for them, and now they're going to give in, as it were, to the flesh.
And they're going to give David up.
After all this, and they're going to save themselves.
And let David be taken.
Are you here tonight? Now? Not in a gospel sense, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Are you like that little city?
In Ecclesiastes that a great king came against and there were very few men in it.
And there was 1 poor wise man in that city, who by his wisdom delivered that city. And are you like that city? A bill? A Sally, A Jane, A whoever here tonight.
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Who didn't remember what that poor wise man did?
After all this, there was no remembrance, no thankfulness for the deliverance, for what the Lord Jesus has done for you.
And you give in to the flesh and say I just am going to do what I want to do.
I don't have any special glory that I've seen of Joseph in Egypt. I don't have anything I can really tell my father about nothing that doesn't interest me. That's for the older brother who sit in the front rows of the conference and talk about doctrine. I don't have anything to tell the the Father.
Isn't it after all this, after all he's done, after the deliverance he's given, that there isn't one thing that you and I have to tell the Father about the glory, such as we can understand it, that we see in his well beloved Son, Haven't you seen something in the Lord Jesus that he's done for you? You know you have. Have you nothing in thankfulness in your heart to say, or are you going to be like Keala, like that city?
You may not be like the city that Jesus wept over.
Because you don't know him.
But are you going to be like Key Island? Say it doesn't really matter. I know I'm saved and now I want to live my life.
I know that others could say this better, but it seems very obvious to me that it's one thing to accept Jesus as savior and he will save you.
It's another thing to own him and bow to him as Lord.
I hope tonight that each one in this room.
Might remember what one has done for you.
In absolute divine sovereign grace and love.
And that's something by His blessed Spirit might stir your heart.
That after all this.
You might be able to say to the Father.
My Savior is lovely, Chiefest among 10,000 to me. Let's pray our God and our loving Father. We thank Thee for Thy precious word. We thank Thee for the one of whom it speaks and fathered out us know our hearts. Thou just know how very, very feebly we are able to say anything.
We are able to describe to thee any of the glories and beauties of thy beloved son. But Father, thou dost know.
That in these hearts of ours there is a desire to tell thee of the glory that we have seen in him.
Father, after all this, after all that thou hast done for us.
O our God and our loving Father, we earnestly beseech thee for each soul in this room tonight who may be sitting here not knowing Thee.
Not yet belonging to the Lord Jesus, not knowing thee as Savior, not owning thee as Lord, oh our God and Father. A city with walls and gates broken down.
A city to be destroyed. Oh, we pray.
Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that there might be a work in such a soul tonight, and there might be salvation.
We give thee thanks for this time together. We pray for each one.
Lord Jesus committing us to thee and thy worthy precious name.