Dorothy Conference: 2010
Table of Contents
Luke 21:25-28
Reading
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316.
We are by Christ.
I have just gone.
Wait a while.
My soul, that is the good rising.
Glory for the Lord.
Great together I got a nice father.
We were before the in prayer previous meeting.
To ask of the Father this time now too that we're is available to us as we open my word. We would ask you now, by goodness to us, let us know our needs and our condition. We pray that we would receive from the Lord Jesus what thou has had in my heart for us this afternoon. So we pray as always, lead us to the portion from my word which would be suited Father, which would be pleasing to the Lord Jesus to open up to us by thy Spirit.
00:05:16
And that we would have hearts to receive and exercise consciences to carry that out in our lives in in a where they would glorify the allergies.
So we are needy people and we do own our weakness before the we thank you for the short resource. We have it myself. Lord Jesus, We thank you for thy word given to us. We have in our hands in our own languages, and we thank you, Father, for the Spirit of the Lord Jesus. And we pray that there will be liberty among us this afternoon. We will be edified together in love now be glorified, Lord Jesus, from our being together if we ask it with confidence, requesting needed human course in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And the name of Jesus.
I'd like to suggest somewhat of an unusual portion of scripture for a reading meeting Luke's Gospel, chapter 21.
And perhaps beginning with verse 25.
And I'll say why I suggest this, and then let my brethren decide whether it's of the Lord or not.
Luke 21.
From verse 25 on we get a description of things.
That I believe.
And its proper interpretation really is addressed to the godly remnant of the Jews in a coming day, who will be passing through very difficult times and who will see the actual fulfillment of all this taking place right before their eyes.
And we'll be called to a state of Seoul and an outlook in keeping with those who know the Lord and expect him to come and deliver them.
But it's a principle with God that very often He puts something in his Word.
That may in its strict interpretation be intended for others, such as what we have here, or sometimes even for an unbeliever. But yet He allows it to be in a particular place in His Word, in order to be an exercise and a warning, and sometimes an encouragement too, to those like you and me who are reading it in the day of God's grace and have an understanding of the whole picture.
And I believe the Lord included this passage here not only for the godly Jewish remnant to.
Read and be instructed with in the coming day, but.
For your guidance and mine as we see the stage being set for all these things about to take place.
Does that commend itself?
Chapter 21. Verse 25.
And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth. Distressed patience with perplexity.
The sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after their things which are coming on the earth. For the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud of power and great glory.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh.
And he thinks them a parable. Behold the fig tree, and all the trees, when they know, when they now shoot forth. You see and know of your own selves. That summer is now nigh at hand, Though likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass.
Know that no ye, that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Verily I stay up to you. This generation shall not pass away, for all these kills heaven and earth must pass away, but my word shall not pass away. As He keeps yourself out at any time, your hearts be overcharged as a surprise and drunkenness, and cares of his life, and so that they come upon you unaware. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Watch ye therefore pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall put to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
00:10:09
And then today, honey, he was teaching in the temple, and at night he went out and abode in the mountain that is called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple and to Europe.
Just so that we get the picture here, we get some similar expressions to what we have here in Matthew chapter 24, because when it's talking there about what's going to happen during the tribulation period at the same time.
And we don't want to get into a lot of details of prophecy, but we know that in Matthew we get a Kingdom view of things, and there it's more from the Jewish perspective. And so you find much that goes on during the first half of the Tribulation and much that goes on perhaps relative to the restoration of the Jews to their land.
But here in Lucas, Clarence Londeen used often to remind us.
It's more of an introduction to Paul's ministry than.
Any of the other three gospels. And so in Luke's ministry we get a little different twist on things. And in the verses prior to verse 25 in this chapter, the description is rather of what was going to lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 69 and 70 by the Roman general Titus. And that, as we know, took place.
The city was destroyed and although everything wasn't completely broken down at that point, subsequent Roman emperors did 'cause it to be completely destroyed so that.
Uh, the city was totally broken down eventually, and even the site plowed over.
And what we add.
Excuse me, what we have in verse 24 began to take place in Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled and we know that that took place historically and I'm going to be careful how I say this with a history teacher across the aisle from me, but.
I believe I'm right in this, that first of all it was the Romans, and then subsequent to that.
Various ones put that part of the world under Muslim rule for the best part of 1200 years, and it's only been in the last 60 plus years that there has been a sovereign nation of Israel. But even today they don't dare pull down the Mosque of Omar and they don't dare take full possession in the sense of disposing of it all as their own. And in that sense the gentiles are still.
Treading down the city.
But God is going to pick up, we know, with his earthly people in the coming day, and it's a wonderful thing.
But for you and for me, living right on the eve of all this we can see, I would suggest the stage being set for all this to take place.
And the moral lessons that the Word of God presses in this chapter are very applicable to you and to me in these last days. Is that substantially correct, Stan? Yes, I believe so.
There's an interesting verse in Ezekiel chapter 36 in connection with the the expression, uh, Jerusalem shall be trodden down to the Gentiles.
Umm, Ezekiel 36 and verse two, it says thus sayeth the Lord God, because the enemy has said against you, aha. Even the ancient high places are ours in possession and that would refer to umm, where Umm Solomon's temple was. And uh, today Jews are not even allowed to enter that very area where the Dome of the Rock is and the AL Aqsa Mosque, which is the ancient high places.
And here the enemy is saying even the ancient high places are ours in possession, and they will not have control of that until the Lord comes, I believe.
00:15:14
Well, as we were saying yesterday, or perhaps it was on Friday to some of the young people, and we all realize it, we're living in very uncertain days. And the description we get here in verse 25, I believe in figurative language, describes what you and I are seeing happening in the world today. And there shall be signs in the sun.
And in the moon and in the stars.
And upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring.
Well, I would suggest in Scripture that the sun generally speaks of supreme authority, the moon perhaps of derived or subordinate authority, and the stars perhaps as individual, uh, authorities and lights in this world. And we see signs and all that today, don't we? We see difficulties and problems among nations. We see the.
Moving around of things that once were fairly stable. And the result of all this has been what is described here as distress of nations with perplexity.
All kinds of problems.
Economic problems of various kinds here and there around the world.
And the world has become so interdependent that all it takes, if I can, refer to a recent event, is a risk of bankruptcy in a country like Greece that throws the whole of the European Union into total turmoil.
For an economic downturn in the United States threatens to take the rest of the world with it.
And there are all kinds of problems happening. Climate change, floods, droughts, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, you name it, is happening with increasing frequency. And that is producing this distress of nations. And it says with perplexity, perplexity because men say what is happening? Why is all this going on?
And sad to see, the major problem is that God is left out of the picture. And so they look to various climate changes and look to various events that might be contributing to all of this. And maybe in a small way they can point to some things that are happening that may contribute to it. But you and I know that God is speaking to this world. And then says the sea and the waves roaring.
Well, the sea in Scripture.
Very often is descriptive of the nations in their restless state, and certainly we see all that today.
Again, going over a little bit of history in the last 50 years, because I started university not was almost 50 years ago and I can well remember there were about 121 Countries in the United Nations. How many are there today?
190 or more, is that right? Not sure. Last I heard there were 191 or two, something like that.
That's seventy nations in 50 years, more than one a year. And everyone wants their own little piece of the action. Everyone wants their own little place in the world. And if some people have their way, there'd be even more nations as little ethnic groups here and there decide that they want their place, they want their say, they want to govern themselves. And we're not particularly saying as to the right or wrong of all of that. It's just that we see the sea and the waves roaring.
And what I suggest should be.
An encouragement and a comfort to you and me is that the Word of God has predicted all of this ahead of time. It doesn't need to cause you and me to stress or perplexity the way it does to mankind because.
God has accurately foretold for your benefit and mine all of this whole picture that is going to come about.
00:20:10
Brother Bill, uh.
Some of the young people might question what why you interpret this verse the way you have. One thing that has been very helpful to me is that somewhere in the Bible every symbol is explained and that's been a help to me. It talks here about the sun and the moon and the stars. But if you turn back to Genesis chapter one.
Uh, there's a verse there that is helpful I think.
When talking about the sun and the moon and the stars, the 1St chapter and the umm the uh, 16th verse that says God made two great lights, the greater light to rule.
The day, the lesser light to rule the night, he made the stars also. And so it would indicate, I believe that the sun and the moon have to do with the rule. It has to do with government. I think in tight and uh, it gives us license then to interpret the sun and the moon, the stars as referring to various levels of government, as you said, supreme authority and lesser authority and stars being individuals who would be in a governmental position.
Yeah, it's been helpful. And then of course, with the C and the waves roaring, uh, you know, Isaiah chapter 57.
And, uh, the, uh, 20th verse.
It says they are the wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. So those verses would indicate then that the sea and the waves would be referring to the nations in a state of confusion. And so I just mentioned that, that there is a key in Scripture for every one of these symbols, isn't it? Yes, there is. OK.
We will suggest Isaiah 17 also in connection with the sea.
The wicked and adversity suggested there.
Compared to that of the year 17.
Verse 12.
Water the multitude of many people which make a noise like the noise of the Seas, and the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters. A nation shall rush like the rushing of many waters, while God shall agree.
OK. MMM.
I'm planning on looking at, uh, the dreams of Joseph useful in understanding the sun and the moon and the stars as well. Because you see, it's a structure we understand, which is a family unit. Jacob understood that when Joseph dreamed of the, uh, sun and the moon, the stars that uh, Joseph was dreaming about himself.
Her mother and the other two and the other brothers. Hmm.
That's very good. That's helpful.
Well said to say, of course the next verse, verse 26 is what you and I are seeing around us today.
Men may put on a bold face and pretend that everything is going to be all right, but underneath it all, if you get people to, as we say, let down their hair a little bit and.
Those that are perhaps more in the know than others and realize the.
Truth of what is going on?
Mens hearts failing them for fear and looking after those things which are coming on the earth.
I can still remember.
Being in England about two weeks after what we all refer to as 9/11, I didn't plan it that way. I had the trip planned England some time before and almost didn't make it, of course, because so many flights were grounded. But I was in England two weeks after 911 and without wanting to point the finger at England because we're not far behind.
I have tried to hand out gospel tracts in England many times and met with a stiff refusal in many cases, or in some cases even mockery. Oh, some people would take them, but it was difficult. But on that occasion it was far different than every gospel track turned into a 15 minute conversation. Why? Because men's hearts were failing them for fear. Oh, they said Tony Blair lined himself right up with George Bush.
00:25:28
London's gonna be next.
And they are very much afraid.
There was no hiding of it, no bravado, no trying to cover it up.
Real fear was there and they were ready to listen. Well, today, because things have leveled out a little bit and for various reasons and the Lord's goodness, there hasn't been another attack like that, despite the fact that no doubt there were those that would have pulled it off if they could have managed it. But the Lord has been good, and all that has at least in part disappeared. But underneath it all, men's hearts are failing them for fear, because they realize.
Deep down inside that, although they talked about carrying on and what's going to happen 100 years from now and so on, men realize that all of this ultimately points to God's judgment and that things are not just going to carry on the way they always work. And so it's an opportunity I suggest for you and for me. Sometimes we have to scrape under the surface a little bit to get beyond that.
Exterior, because we know that many would try to cover up their fear with, as we say, merriment and pleasure and a bit of bravado and all the rest of it. But underneath it all, there are many who really are very, very concerned about what is going to happen. And perhaps this will take on a more flagrant.
Shall we say exhibition when it really comes to pass during the Tribulation period? But I believe it's on top of us now, isn't it?
Just wanted to make, uh, this comment because I believe you mentioned it's the bill that we kind of are now between verse 24 and 25, aren't we? We're in this period of grace, but we're seeing this crescendo of events and things just happening that are so similar to, uh, what, what will be happening in the great tribulation you mentioned in Europe? You know, the Lord slows down all the airports in Europe for a week a little while back, just one volcano in Iceland and you just close down all the air traffic. Yeah.
The Lord could just shut down the world in a minute. He could just do what he wants, and He's going to allow the things to happen just the way He wrote them in the Book of Revelation. So as we see these things happening and those events are similar, you might say, and operate in the hearts and consciousness of men. Well, right now there are, there are lights in the world.
And the lights are in the world now. They're called the numeraries in Philippians, just like the ones we read in Genesis chapter one. And that's you and me. Where are now the lights of the world? We're there to be conscious of.
These things that are just on the horizon and be ready to tell about the Lord and what's coming because God has a purpose in leaving us here and I believe because he has other souls he wants to save. So let's remember that that we are in the present economy, the lights of the world.
Hmm, that's Philippians chapter 2.
God is faithful, isn't he? It says God speaketh once, He ate twice, but man perceiveth it not. And I've often felt that what happened prior to and during the Second World War was really God's warning to this world. What is coming?
Uh, you remember in the 1930s there was, uh.
Uh, Hitler there and he was taking over one country after the other and the Western powers were too weak to stand up to him and they got away with it. Well, we see the same kind of things happening today. I believe God is, uh, was speaking there in the Second World War and, uh, we should take heed. The world should take heed, but they don't. And uh, I was thinking of, uh, second Peter chapter 32.
Where it says they're umm.
In the umm.
00:30:01
In the 11Th verse it says, seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? So we as believers, as, uh, brother, uh, Michelle pointed out, we are the lights, you might say, in this world and uh, our behavior should reflect what we know is coming.
And I think this verse is very important. What matter a person's ought to be in all holy conversation and godliness.
And the end of verse 26.
To my own soul is a tremendous encouragement.
We might wonder.
Why events on earth should cause the powers of it says here in heaven to be shaken? Why should the sea in the waves roaring and all of those things that go on on earth, why should that affect the powers in the heavens?
Well, I make a suggestion and this thought is not original with me. I got it from another older brother many years ago, but it commended itself to me and I believe it's a real encouragement. What are the powers of heaven? Well, I believe they're the angels and we get them referred to in other places, for example in Matthew 24 that we spoke about the powers of heaven and at the moment.
And down through the ages, God has administered things in this world through his angels.
And he has kept things, you might say, in place, and he continues to do it today. Now we know, of course, that Satan has his angels too. And we find, for example, in the book of Daniel, that those who were seeking to carry out the Lord's will were in some cases being opposed by satanic angels or demons. And I believe that still goes on today. There is God working through his angels to carry out his purposes.
But sad to say, the devil doing his best to thwart God's purposes.
Why then are the powers of heaven shaken here? Oh, because as we get in Hebrews unto angels hath he not? How does it re put in?
Subjection. The world should come whereof we speak.
God is not going to administer this world and administer things in the coming Kingdom with angels. He's going to administer them through you and me.
And through Israel on earth.
And I suggest that ultimately that is why the powers of heaven are shaken. It's not that events on earth, if we could speak with all reverence, cause the angels to get all shaken up and say, whoa, whoa, what's happening down there? Oh, dear. Oh, no, no. Nothing disturbs the peace of the throne of God. But rather there's going to be a change in the administration. There's going to be a change in the way God.
Exercises his government in this world. And if he's done it all down through the ages, through the angels, there's coming a time when they're going to step aside. You and I are going to reign with Christ over this world. And of course, in the context in which it's used here, I believe it also refers to the fact that God is going to pick up and bring back into blessing his chosen people, Israel.
And they are going to be, as we get in the latter chapters of Isaiah and other Scriptures, God's policemen in the earth. They're going to be the head of God's government on earth. It's not going to be administered through angels anymore.
And so this ought to be an encouragement. It's not in any way the thought that God's administrative services are getting all shaped up by these events on earth. Rather, the fact is they realize that and and they're happy about it. They're not upset about it, but they realize that their time of administration is drawing to a close and that God is going to replace them with Christ in the church.
00:35:11
And with Israel on earth, well, that's not A cause for discouragement. It's a wonderful encouragement, isn't it? You and I are made nothing of in this world if you and I don't take part in the government of this world.
World, if you and I are not called upon to straighten out all the unrighteousness in this world, there is a time coming when God will give you and me the power and the right with Christ to do it.
It is referred to also the uh.
The time when Satan is cast out of heaven and he's going to bring.
So much more distress and difficulty on the earth as we had in Revelation 12, because it says because men giving, uh, up their souls for fear because of what they expect to come on the earth, because the powers of heaven are going to be shaken. Yes, I, I, I, I wouldn't doubt that that's included in that too. Satan's hosts are certainly shaken up because they realize that there's a time coming, as you say, when Satan will be cast out of heaven and.
When the Lord Jesus encountered uh, demons in the Gospels, they they said to him, Art thou come hitherto tormentas before the time and after the time? Isn't it the three?
Well, some of this has to be taken in the context in which it's given.
Here in verse 27.
I believe it's very obviously what we commonly refer to as the appearing, isn't it?
When the Lord comes in power and glory to set up his Kingdom, and that's when the tribulation period is over.
We know that he's going to put his ancient people and ultimately the whole world of those that are here.
Through a very, very difficult time.
Ultimately, it's really in Scripture called the time of Jacob's trouble.
It's God that will work with that nation of Israel, both in judgment and to bring them to repentance.
Largely for their sin of having crucified and rejected their Messiah.
But he's going to bring them back in the blessing, and there's a day coming when He comes empowering great glory.
You and I are looking for him to come in a different way, aren't we?
And there's something that is is important to see here, hear the Lord Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man, Son of man. I would suggest that when he is referred to as the Son of man, it is in connection with the earth, in connection with the Lord's coming in power and glory to set up his Kingdom. He doesn't come for you and me as the Son of man.
He comes for us as the Son of God. And once again, to see that, turn to 1St Thessalonians chapter one.
First Thessalonians, chapter one.
Here was a brand new assembly that had had only a matter of a few weeks of gospel and ministry.
But they were waiting for the Lord to come and notice what Paul says to them at the end of the first chapter.
Verse nine of chapter one of First Thessalonians, for they themselves, that is, people abroad.
Show us what mannering, of what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how He turned to God from idols to serve the living and true.
God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath of the cup. The Lord comes for you and me as the Son of God, not the Son of man. As man He takes his place of power and glory. As man he comes and takes his rightful place over this world and takes the Kingdom. As man He reigns.
In the same place where he was rejected, but for you and me he comes as the Son of God.
00:40:05
And so it's good to be clear on that in Scripture, because many times the Lord refers to himself as the Son of Man, doesn't he? And refers to the fact that he's going to come in power and glory. He ascended a Son of man.
He comes back the Son of man, but his relationship to you and me is different, even though we know that he is the Son of Man.
And so.
It's quite all right for you and me to.
Expect the Lord to come at any moment and even to read the Scripture and to think of the Lord's coming for us. But ultimately this refers to the fact of His coming in power and glory when you and I come with Him and are associated with Him in all of that glory and in the place of king that He takes with respect to this world. There's a good verse, Brother Bill and John chapter 5.
I was just thinking that as you mentioned that it was a son of man, that he was rejected by this world. So you have there in John chapter 5 and verse UMM 27. We'll read the 26th verse. As the father has life in himself, so has he given to the son to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment also.
Because he is the Son of man. So umm, because he was rejected, He is the one that has been given authority to judge this world. And it's quite clear there isn't it in that verse.
And as it points out there, he was rejected as man. He comes back and judges his man, doesn't he?
He has appointed a time when he was judged the world by this man.
In Acts chapter 17.
That's why there's so much confusion in in Christendom as to prophecy and not distinguishing between the names and the words that the Spirit of God uses in the Scripture.
The coming of the Son of Man is connected with his appearing and judgment and connected with the earth, as you suggest. We're waiting for the Lord to come from heaven, and when he comes, He doesn't come to judge. He comes to save our body. He's going to raise the dead in Christ, and he's going to change the living and draw us to himself. We're going to make it and then be introduced into the Father's house.
Every word of God is pure.
And when the Lord comes for you and me, the world doesn't see him, do they?
They don't see anything of him. He doesn't even come to this world. We will rise to meet him in the air. We know he doesn't even come down to this world. And the world doesn't see that event. It happens quickly, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
And the world doesn't see him. They'll see the effect of it. They'll experience the fact that his coming has occurred. But they won't. They won't see him. The last the world saw the Lord Jesus was.
His hanging on a cross there they never saw Him after His resurrection. He revealed Himself only to His own. Although it's beautiful, there was abundant testimony to His resurrection. Then many of those, it says, that were in the tombs, arose and went into the holy city, and appeared. Unto many there was a testimony that the Lord had risen. They came out of their graves.
So that if they didn't see the Lord himself, there was ample evidence that there was a work of God going on. Because not only did the Lord rise, but many of those that slept in the tombs came out of their graves and went right into the city of Jerusalem and appeared, but man didn't see the Lord Jesus.
Uh, I think it's fair to say that.
The next time that man sees the Lord Jesus, they will see him with you and me associated with Him. The world saw the Lord on the cross the next time they see Him. His church is associated with Him, and He comes in power and glory.
I'd like to just mention, uh, two things that have been broken up and alluded to that are still very important when we look at processing.
00:45:05
And uh, the 1St is that Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy.
He's, he's the testimony of prophecy. Everything that we, uh, take up as far as the prophetic word is concerned deals with him. And so when we look into prophecy, we're looking to see something that God is very interested in, and that is the exaltation of this time in this world in its rightful place. All these verses that we're reading here look forward to that day when he joined the rain and glory and, uh, over this world that he has created. The second thing that's very important when we look into the process, which has been alluded to.
And I think the reason that our, our brother has mentioned this past is that when we look at the prophecy, it's not just for head knowledge. It's not just to, uh, know some coming events. It's that there should be a present practical moral effect that our life now as we see what's gonna happen in the future and our brother Stan brothers versus that end. And Peter, what manner of person thought you to be knowing what's going to happen?
So when we see these things, as we read in verse 27, the Son of Man coming into the cloud of power and great glory, as our brother has been pointing out.
This is something that happens at the end of the tribulation, the end of sev A7 year period. Our brethren have been pointing out how that there are things happening in this world and we can see them all around that seem to point to us that these are the four, four running events of what is going to come to pass. Uh, an answer to the prophetic word. We can see, uh, uh, the European Union and it's quite possible that I could turn into, uh, the beast that we, uh, find in the processing. It may not.
But it might. But what is, uh, something that should really have an effect on our life is if, if these events are gonna happen perhaps 7 years from now and we're seeing them happening today with such a great intensity, we'll manner of persons often to be, we're so close to the Lord coming to take us home, so very close. And these things should have a practical effect on our life to know that we're not gonna be here that much longer. We only have a little bit more left.
And, uh, he's just asked us for a few things.
To do to follow him and deserve him. They don't have that much more time to do it.
That's a very, very good show and.
What I appreciate in this chapter is the order in which God presents these things. He encourages our hearts 1St and then speaks to our conscience. What we get in second Peter 3 is wonderful, and it speaks to our consciences. What manner of persons ought we to be? How ought we to be acting? There's a moral state that is in keeping with those who recognize the rightful king and look for him.
But what encouragement it gives here. It's not a day to give up. It's not a day to be discouraged. It's not a day to look around and see all of the uncertainty and say, well, everything's just falling to pieces because, sad to say, among the people of God, and we have to hang our heads. All of this moral decline has its effect on us too, and we can be dragged down. And the Word of God says concerning this very time that when?
Iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold, and that can happen to your heart and mind.
But here it says in verse 28. And when these things begin to come to pass.
What then? Look up.
And lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh. In a future day, you and I can only imagine what an encouragement that will be to the godly Jewish remnant who are passing through untold trial and difficulty such as this world has never seen before. We look back, we read about the Holocaust, and we say it's just indescribable.
I went to the Holocaust Museum in London, England, and I know there's one in Washington here, too. And when you see some of the footage of what happened and hear people talk about it, oh, you just say, I can't imagine being in the midst of that.
But God tells us that what will happen in the Tribulation will be worse than anything that's ever been experienced before.
00:50:03
And you can imagine what an encouragement it will be to those in that day.
So when they see these events.
Have this word brought before them. Don't get down under it. Be encouraged. Your redemption draws nigh. The Lord is coming. But I say that if I can transpose it into today's terms when you and I see the stage being set.
Not a time to be discouraged, not a time to give up, not a time to say, well, everything's falling apart, what can I do? I just have to to use common language, hunker along until the Lord takes me home.
I'm glad for everyone that's doing that, but we don't need to be like that. We can look up. We can say our redemption draws night. And if anything, it's a time for the light to shine brighter, as Michelle was bringing out. It's a time when the world needs the light more than anything else, when the night is dark. And so let's remember that we are the lights in the world and we're set there for that purpose. And there's no reason to look down and be discouraged, but rather to look up and realize.
That the Lord is coming sooner than ever.
There's an interesting verse about the light, uh, brother Bill and uh, Proverbs four. I've often enjoyed it says there in the 18th verse, the path of the just is as the shining light that shineth more and more under the perfect day. Someone has said, you know, if you have a flashlight and you shine it in the middle of the day, you hardly notice it, but as the.
Day gets darker and darker and uh, the sunlight uh, umm, is uh, finished. Then the, the flashlight uh, grows brighter and so that should be the same with us. As their days get darker, our light should be shining brighter more and more under the perfect day. Sort of enjoyed that.
That's 28 verse.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads for your redemption draw at 9:00.
Now for simple concerning prophecy, as many details in prophecy, you read the Book of Revelation. There's so much symbolism there. And who could pretend that he can?
Found everything in detail said this is this this is that you know, we have indications now about what these things are gonna be in the sequence of events. But this verse and you you mentioned this before Bill is very important to see who's the Lord is speaking to and he's speaking to those who are going to be the remnant of Israel during that time of tribulation. They're they're going to be witnesses of these things that start to keep the past. Now if you misapply this verse to Christianity, you're looking for things that come to pass.
Before redemption comes, before the redemption of our bodies come, which is really not interpreting Scripture perfectly when you have First Thessalonians chapter one, as you suggested, Bill, these are young believers. They hadn't been long in in the faith. They needed much instruction and the apostle gives them instruction as to the Lord's coming. But what the object of their hope? What were they hoping for? What were they looking for? They were looking for the Son of God to come from heaven. That was their proper hope. Their hope of their hearts was a person.
Of the price. And when you hear expounding on prophecy which displaces this living present hope of the coming of the Lord Jesus by having looking for events, you can fairly say that this is not from the Spirit of God. The object of your heart is being replaced by something else through misinterpretation of prophecy. The proper object of the Christian today. His hope is the coming of the Lord Jesus from heaven to take us home.
And that's so important, isn't it, that?
There are not, nor have there ever been any signs that Scripture tells us about that we are to look for, for the Lord's coming. Signs of coming judgment. Yes, and that's what we have here. And of course, if we know that the Lord is coming before the judgment fall and we can see the stage being set for judgment.
Well, then that means the Lord's coming is closer. But does that mean that someone 500 years ago couldn't legitimately look for the Lord's coming? Of course they could. Did that mean that someone 1000 years ago couldn't expect the Lord at any moment? No, they certainly could. And so to look for signs of the Lord's coming is a mistake. But when we see the day approaching because of the coming judgment.
00:55:10
And the stage being set for that, I can say yes, the Lord is coming and you and I can see it. Well, that's beautiful to see. The Lord could leave us here till things get even worse. We hope not, but he could. I can still remember when my late father-in-law, Albert, hey Hope over 40 years ago now wrote down the year 1970 and he said.
My Oh my, I can't believe it that I'm writing that date.
I never thought the Lord would leave us here this long. Here we are 40 years later. Does that mean the Lord has been coming? Oh no.
Second Peter 3 again.
He's not willing that any should perish. And where to account that the long-suffering of our Lord is Salvation Army?
Match of 24.
Verse 15.
Again in connection with.
The Jewish nation who will be going through the Tribulation.
Uh, 2415 when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. Whosoever readeth, let him understand. That's kind of a key. The screw to God tells us here, whosoever read it, let him understand we're reading this now. We understand that we're, it's not talking about us. It's talking about the restoration of Israel in their land and when the, the Antichrist will set up the worship of himself there in the temple in Jerusalem.
And the Jews who are going to be restored and going to be believers in the Lord, they will read this portion and they will know it's time for them to sleep. Now if you misinterpret scripture and you just apply everything to Christianity, you go back to the 13th verse. This is common among Christians now. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Here's how you get saved. How do you get saved? You endure to the end. Well, that's not how we get saved. We get saved by trusting the Lord Jesus our Savior, having our sins washed in His most precious blood and saved forever because of His sacrifice on the cross.
But if you misapply scripture, you take this verse out of context, and then you got to persevere to the end to be saved. So there you have loss of salvation. The Lord is speaking to those of Israel who will be there and the tribulation who will refuse the mark of the beast.
And those that persevered to the end are gonna be saved. The Lord's gonna say they're waiting for redemption. We have in Luke chapter 21, there's redemption for the nation and for those that are living on the earth at that time. But it's not the time that we're living in now. We're living in a time now where God has said Israel has been set aside and God is gathering a bride for His Son. He's gonna give the Lord his a special gift. And that's you and I redeemed by His precious blood. Outside of every other council of God towards the earth. He has a purpose.
And having a sprinkle dry just for himself, just for the Lord's Jesus. And that's why it's so important to read the word of God and contact and to consider when doctrine is being brought before us, our prophecy. What does that do to the person of the Lord Jesus, His work on the cross for you and me, and about the hope that's set before you until he's coming.
MMM.
Have this distinction? UMM brought out the First Thessalonians 4:00 and 5:00.
In regards to the source coming for the same, what we uh, call the rapture and disappearing and you'll see in uh, first Lawsonians chapter 4, it goes further than just 500 years, as our brother still process pointing out, it goes back 2000 years. Those who are looking for the Lord to come to take them home. 315 says, for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent.
Them which are asleep. It was the apostles present hope to see the Lord come and take him home, and he was exhorting those things to look for that same hope.
What's the next chapter presented to us? But of the times in the season, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves. Know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night, for when they shall say peace and safety.
Then sudden destruction shall come upon them. He changes from saying we including himself as looking for a hope to speaking about today and them.
01:00:01
It's a chapter, chapter 5. These first few verses speak to us of the day of the Lord at the same time, Frank, the same period that we're speaking about in our portion. It's the day when the Lord is going to come and the judge and, uh, doesn't discuss.
Well, it mentions in verse 29 the fig tree and all the trees.
And once again.
The scripture I believe.
Presents Israel.
Has both the vine and the fig tree.
And perhaps the vine has more the thought of Israel in a spiritual sense, and many times that's presented to us in that fashion. You get it specifically in the 5th chapter of Isaiah where the Lord laments over Israel and says what could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it. Wherefore when I look that it should bring forth great, brought it forth wild grapes. So Israel is compared in more than one Scripture to being a vine.
And that's more the thought of them spiritually, but the fig tree is more the thought of Israel nationally.
Behold the fig tree and all the trees well.
Well, I say again, let's not take prophecy out of its context. But in another sense, the fig tree has started.
To put forth leaves, hasn't it? The nation of Israel took its place on the world scene 62 years ago. Amazing. How long had it been since they had been a sovereign nation?
605 BC. 606 BC. Is that about right, Stan? Yes, I believe so. Over 2500 years.
Amazing. And yet God brings them back to a series of events and through all kinds of difficulties in opposition and problems, set some of them back in their land in unbelief. Sad to say, but they're nevertheless the fig tree is starting with blue.
And all the trees again, we were saying how many nations there are in the world today.
Sovereign nations that there weren't just a few years ago. And if time goes on before the Lord comes, I expect to see more of them as every little ethnic group and every little people and, uh, group wants to have its say in the world, wants to be independent. And behold the fig tree and all the trees. What does that say when they now shoot for ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now not at hand.
That's not hard, is it? When spring comes and we see the trees putting out buds and so on, we know that summer is just around the corner.
The Lord says, first of all to those godly Jews, the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand. The moral state that God is going to bring in in His Kingdom will become a reality in this world.
But again, I say you and I are privileged to see some of these events starting to unfold already. We're seeing the fig tree. Yes, Israel is going back in unbelief, and they're going to suffer for it. It's going to be a terrible time. And what Michelle referred to, that abomination of desolation, the Antichrist, he's going to be the sign for the godly ones to flee.
And there'll be such persecution under the Antichrist, so they'll be compelled to flee.
But is that going to work against them or for them in the long run?
We're going to work for them. Beautiful. Why? Because there is coming a time when we don't want to get into prophecy here, but there's coming a time toward the end of the tribulation when God's going to allow what's called the Assyrian, the king of the north, to come down like an overflowing scourge in the country and devastate that country of Israel. And the ungodly ones, for the most part, will fall under that.
But the godly ones that have been forced out, that have taken God's.
Command to flee and gotten out of there. I believe in many cases will be preserved through it is that would you understand it that way, Michel. Well that's what happened with Titus, isn't it? They're Christians in Jerusalem were allowed to leave. Yeah. Because they knew it was judgment coming. So. And the Lord had told them that right in this chapter. And so on the coming day the godly ones will get out of there. The persecution will be savage enough that some of them will be forced out. It'll be a hard time for them but ultimately.
01:05:17
Sure, some of them will be martyred, but it will work in their favor as they, for the most part, escape.
That awful judgment that God allows from the King of the North. But I say again, for you and for me, what an encouragement to see all these things starting to happen and realize, yes, the Lord is coming soon. And as Joe was saying, just imagine if the Lord came today.
It's quite conceivable that within seven years the Lord would set up the Millennium. Can you and I imagine the tremendous changes that would take place in a short time? And if God can make things happen in a hurry when he wants to, and he will, it says in Isaiah, shall a nation be born at once? But it will be wonderful thing, the way God works.
Maybe you could sing #170 Low. He comes from heaven descending.
Once for favored Sinner slain 1000. Thousand Saints attending swell the triumph of his train. Hallelujah, Jesus comes and comes to reign 170.
Although he comes from.
A.
Pray.
It shall now behold.
Grey Sunflowers.
Lord let me die, and I can not come down my soul till period.
01:10:12
Can we stand?
Yeah.
Umm.
1St chapter of Revelation, verse 7.
Involved in Thomas with clouds and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all Kenya's of the earth shall wail because of him.
You so Amen.
Revelation 19.
And verse 11 and I saw heaven opened.
And behold, a White Horse, Anita, sat upon him. It's called faithful and true. And in righteousness he does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire. On his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed, and that's tradition, blood. And his name is called the bird.
Of God.
Lord Jesus.
We thank you.
Did those come into this world and become the subtle man rejected?
By June, Gentile of light.
And Lord Jesus, be lovely, because thou is. Give thy life for us.
But it shows that precious blood to wash our sins away.
To deliver us from the Roth to come. And Lord Jesus, we look forward to that kind, right?
When we saw the other seven.
When we see these big sized plates as supreme ruler on earth, supreme over everything, every knee shall bow, every tongue will die.
A Window of Opportunity
Gospel—Michel Payette
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
We open our meeting this evening by singing together #25 on the hymn sheet.
Life at best is very brief.
Like the falling of a leaf, like the binding of a sheath. Be in time #25.
Life at best.
And flaming days like I'll be proud that I want to be proud of.
I'm afraid of lightning binds being by.
Enterprise is up to date.
In time.
And the blinding sacrifice and judgment goes on to the.
Eyes of being the flowers dream come.
OK, sorry for him to hide.
Him.
In time.
To be in mind.
And continue on their way. You and I know how to get it.
And if I need to delay me and I.
Before we ho open the word of God together, let's have a word of prayer.
00:05:07
Our God and our Father.
We thank thee for this opportunity this evening once again.
The whole thing, thy word and having these few moments.
To consider thy cause of grace, Lord Jesus.
Thy desire, Thy deep desire for everyone in this room, for them to be saved, for them to be at the full benefit of what Thou has worked out for them, benefited for them, done for them on the cross of Calvary. So, Father, we pray Thee that this evening there will be open ears and hearts and salvation brought to someone in this room. We ask Thy help as we consider Thy word and thoughts from it. We pray that which help us by Thy Spirit.
We ask it all, Father, with Thanksgiving and the blessed and precious name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
You know this beautiful hymn?
At some very solemn lines to it.
Says in the third verse ere the faith aligned.
We crossed.
Well, it's it's good news that for you tonight in this room, the fatal line has not been crossed yet.
You might cross it though at any moment, it says.
Verse 2.
Second to last line, lest you seal.
You're hopeless. Do.
It's good news tonight, but if you're in this room, you haven't sealed.
You're hopeless too. There's hope for you tonight.
There's love from God to you tonight.
Because he doesn't want. If anyone here is without Christ, he doesn't want your Christless soul.
To be lost forever.
Well, let's read tonight from the book of Luke. We had Luke 21 in our reading this afternoon. For those that were there, let's go to Luke chapter 12.
The 12Th chapter of Luke.
And we'll read.
From verse 15, Luke 12 and 15.
However, I dropped my voice and you can't hear me in the back. Please put your hand up.
And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
And he said this will I do. I will pull down my barns.
And build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, Thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thy knees, eat, drink, and be merry.
But God said unto him, Thou fool.
This night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall those things be?
Which thou hast provided. So is he that laid up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
I'm sure you're all familiar with with Windows, Windows on buildings, and those of you that have computers, Windows on computers.
Windows allow you to have partial views depending on the window. Some people have panoramic windows and they get large, large views. I'd like to suggest you. Tonight we're gonna consider windows.
But windows of time. Big windows, small windows. This man here considering the future. He had a large window for the time he thought he had in the future.
He says in the verse 19.
To his own soul, talking to himself wasn't talking to God, talking to himself. And he said, soul, thou has much good laid up for many years.
00:10:12
He had a window on his future and he could see many years of eating, drinking and being married.
And God says.
His window of time wasn't that big.
He really had a tiny window of time.
Which was that very day he was thinking of these things, because that night he was going to cross into eternity.
You have a window of time before you.
Perhaps you're young and you consider life ahead of you and you say well.
Maybe about many years, 50 years, 60 years.
If you're older my age and maybe 1520 years, that's many years.
We consider this afternoon some verses in Luke chapter 21.
And if I understand the scriptures correctly, none of us here have many, many years ahead of us.
The Lord Jesus is coming very soon.
I don't know how big a window of time that is.
But I know it's not gonna be 50 years, it's not gonna be 30 years, it's not gonna be 20 years. It's in a short period of time. Nobody can say when, but certainly we have indications before us that this time is on the horizon.
So this man.
He was living for himself. He had prosperity.
And his prosperity was a snare for his soul. He had many things. He had too many things. He didn't know what to do with them.
So you have to tear down his barns and build a bigger barn, get a bigger place to store all the things he had.
If I looked at the nations across the world this evening and considered the prosperity of the nations, which nation do you think, or which nations perhaps do you think could be classified as prosperous nations where people have.
Many things, but they have more things than most people have.
Won't you agree that North America, United States, Canada, generally, people have many, many things, Many things.
And many things take up a lot of time, a lot of energy, a lot of preoccupation. And perhaps you have many things yourself, but you're detached from them. Or perhaps like this man, those things have a little special place in your soul.
This man, these things filled his soul, He thought to himself. Didn't ask God, what should I do with these things? All these things that I can enjoy, they're all for me.
He said to his own soul, so.
How do you compare tonight for this fellow?
In your life.
What's in your soul tonight?
What are the objects tonight filling your soul, giving you delight?
This man has plans for the future.
And they were sadly interrupted. Eat, drink, make merry. He was gonna have a good time.
I can tell you from the word of God.
That this world is not in for a good time.
It's not in for a maritime it's in line for a time of great sorrow and difficulty.
And if you're in this room tonight?
And you let yourself the indifference of the cause of God.
And you leave this room tonight without having the Lord Jesus as your own personal Savior.
You might be in yourself.
For a terrible time.
And worse still.
Because people that are in this world that are lined up for a terrible time, they might not all end up in the lake of fire.
00:15:04
But my friend, if you're here tonight and God gives you the opportunity, as in other occasions, to hear about His love and the gift of His son.
And you ignore his pleadings.
And you tell her, think about it, maybe tomorrow.
You might end up.
In a crisis, eternity because you're responsible for what you hear.
You're responsible for what God sets before you, and God would set before you tonight.
His love and His desire for blessing for you.
The last thing God wants is for you to be lost forever.
The Lord Jesus gives us this parable and he warns us about the snares of prosperity, being occupied with things down here and missing out on the important things of eternity, not having a treasure in heaven. You know many of us here, we have a treasure in heaven.
And the treasure that we have in heaven is the Lord Jesus Himself, the Son of God. We have him as our Savior. We were exposed one time in our life, or many times perhaps, to the callings of God, and we listened.
And we responded, we believed, and we received from God eternal life, forgiveness of sins, a hope and glory, All these things spelled out for us in black and white in the Word of God.
Well, this man, he had a window of time of many years.
But it didn't turn out to be that long, did it?
Let's go to.
Book of James, chapter 4.
James Chapter 4.
And verse 13.
Go to now ye that say today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year and buy and sell and get gain.
Or as you know not, but shall be on the Morrow. For what is your life?
It is even a vapor that appeared for a little time, and then vanish it away. For what you ought to say, for that you ought to say, It's the Lord's will. We shall live and do this for that. But now you rejoice in your boastings. All such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and do it it not, to him it is sin.
Well, these ones here referred to in the 13th verse.
They had a window too, A window of time in the future, today, tomorrow, maybe for a year. The smaller window than a fellow in Luke, chapter 12.
We're gonna go. We're gonna buy, we're gonna sell. We're gonna be prosperous.
They had opportunity, they had a window of opportunity.
You know.
If I looked at the same nations I was looking at before and compared, we compared prosperity. If I compared the windows of opportunity, the windows of opportunity offered to people in other lands and I compared that with different lands, I said which countries offer the greatest windows of opportunity?
I'd have to say North America.
North America favorite lands even in our difficulties now in economic restraints, favored land.
Well, these fellows here that say they made plans, there was opportunity and I said what? Let's take advantage of the opportunity.
Today, tomorrow we go over there, that city, and we're gonna buy, gonna sell. We're gonna prosper.
Well, I said you don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow.
You don't even know what's gonna happen today.
The day isn't over yet.
But they were making plans today, tomorrow and for a year. Now the apostle is writing to people who are believers. So he said that you shouldn't talk like that because you're being quite independent.
00:20:06
You should talk and say if the Lord will, if God will. You can make plans and make sure you include God in your plans. You set your plans before God, that it's something they will approve of.
But you know, many people in this world, they make plans, all sorts of plans, short term plans, long term plans doesn't concern God at all.
But you know, God has plans, and His plan is what's going to happen in the end.
What God plans, he carries out. What God says he planned, he's gonna carry out in absolute detail the way he said he was gonna carry it out. It's laid out for us in this book.
I often have occasion to speak to men in therapy houses and the question comes up now.
Uh, you think the end of the world is going to come in 2012? Two thousand and twelve 2012 because they made a movie and some million calendar there. They decided to stop somewhere and they stopped in 2012 because it was getting tired of chipping off the rocks, you know.
Sunday, May 2012, a special year does that maybe the end of the world? I said no.
The end of the world is not going to happen for another 1007 years from.
This book here.
There's something on the horizon, though, that might begin this very night, or tomorrow, or within a year.
And it's gonna start as soon as the Lord Jesus comes from heaven and takes to Himself those he bought with his precious blood.
Of whose number I'm so grateful to be part of and many in this room.
Now, perhaps in your mind, in your soul, you have a window for opportunity and you have plans in this world.
So if you're a believer, make sure you include God in your plans. But if you're not, if you've not received the Lord Jesus yet as your Savior.
Do you need to take notice?
It says your life is what? A vapor.
Even it is even a vapor that appeared for a little time and then vanish it away.
A vapor that appeared for a little time.
You get a hot cup of coffee. Your brother served me one this morning. Put it on the table. I could see there was smoke coming out of there. Vapor. That's like my life. Where you go, it's gone.
And those of us are farther on in years, we can tell you our life is. I look back in 60 years, I just went like that. Maybe some 80s. I'm 80 and it seems the older I get, the faster it goes.
But you're young as hell. I have lots of time before I get Mr. Payette's age with the Gray hair. Be a long time.
Like a vapor, when you're gonna look back, it just went like that.
God has given you, given me a window of time, which is your life and during this life.
He holds you responsible. He holds you responsible for what you've seen and heard and what's been set before you.
And he's going to hold you responsible for being here this evening. So will I.
Perhaps you were here at the last gospel meeting the week before.
Make sure you're responsible for what God sets before you.
I have a question for you.
It's a very simple question.
Before I ask the question, I'd like to tell you the gospel in my own words.
But read many verses on you. I'm probably quoting some. The gospel means good news.
And the good news from the word of God is that God loves you.
No doubt about that.
And he proved his love towards you. Even though you are a Sinner, Bible says you are a Sinner, that while you are yet a Sinner, Christ died for you.
This is the fact that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, died on the cross 2000 years ago. He rose again in the glory now, but who He died for? He died for sinners, He died for me, and He died so He could save you.
And the good news tonight, my friend, is God can save you tonight. You can be on your way to heaven if you receive the Lord Jesus as your own personal Savior. You accept Him and what He's done for you on the cross, and God will wash all your sins away in his precious blood and make you Fit for heaven.
00:25:11
First, John 17 The blood of Jesus Christ his Son, cleanseth us from all sins. John 316 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
But have everlasting life.
My question for you.
Is a close question.
When you take sales courses, they teach you to have close questions and open questions, open questions you can answer. What do you think about uh?
Mr. Obama, that's an open question. Why? I think why I feel close questions, yes or no?
You want this yes or no? My question is a close question. Tonight, will you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Yes or no? You don't have to answer. You answer in your heart. You never said yes. I urge you tonight to say yes to the Lord Jesus.
Any under answer tonight? Any other answer is a no.
Somebody says well later, that's no.
Well, think about it. That's no.
God is not asking you to think about it. God is asking you to decide for Christ tonight.
You know.
Windows of Time.
We can shorten this man had many years before him.
And he lost his soul that night, these ones that wanted to go in the city and prosper tomorrow and for a year, yeah, the year before.
You know, in the Bible.
In the word of God, there is only one day.
There is only one day you can be sure to be saved on.
You know that children in the Bible, There's only one day you can be sure.
To be saved on. I was talking to about this to my resident in Africa. Somebody says Sunday I said no.
It's not Sunday.
And maybe if you reduce it Saturday. Not Saturday either. The only day to get saved in the Bible is today.
Pretty simple, isn't it? It's fitting God offers us windows of time, windows of opportunity to be saved. And he's giving us tonight a window of opportunity. He's letting us hear about his son and he's pleased with us. And he says tonight, today, this very day, this Saturday, today, Saturday, and he says you can be saved today.
Maybe tomorrow.
But I can't be sure about tomorrow.
But you can be absolutely sure about today.
Now, if a window of time is today, let's say today is 24 hours, no.
This morning it's too late. This morning is gone, and this afternoon is gone.
You say this evening, this evening, there's a time to be saved.
Well, you know, I wear glasses.
And uh, sometimes I don't have my glasses. If I have my glass, I can see you. I can drive. I don't drive good with glasses either, but I can drive.
But sometimes I want to read something. I don't have my glasses. You know what I do?
I make a little little teeny weeny window with my fingers. I do that. I just make a little and I and I can, I can read one word, 2 words, 3 words. I can read this way. Can't read for long, but I can read a teeny weeny window. I can't see the people, I can't see the room. All I see is a few words in that little teeny window.
Well, tonight I have a teeny weeny window of time for you.
It's not even a day.
It's not an evening.
It's one moment.
It's one moment, my friend.
And the present moment in a few seconds is gone forever. You're never gonna get it again. You're never gonna see what was this morning again that was gone. Times like that, the window of time just moves along.
00:30:07
God gives us tonight one moment.
It just takes one moment for you to answer this question from God himself. Will you have the Lord Jesus tonight as your personal Savior, Yes or no? And if in your heart right now, this very moment, you say yes, I'll have him, I'll trust him. I want him as my Savior. But I'm going to see you in heaven and there's going to be rejoicing in the presence of the angels over one Sinner that repented and accepted the gift of God.
Eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now moments are going by.
Perhaps you've heard this message before, and perhaps you're thinking about it, and the time is going by and maybe the meeting is gonna be over in a few minutes there, and you will not have answered. You will not have answered God's question.
You might be serious about it. You might be considering it really seriously.
Because a solemn question you can feel on the horizon. There's difficulties coming for mankind.
And you can see from the Word of God that you're going to have to answer to God for your life and for what he set before you. And in the future day, definitely you're going to stand before the Lord Jesus himself.
And will answer to him.
All you've done and for the missed occasions when God gave you windows of time and opportunity.
To repent and believe the gospel.
Well, let's go to the book of Acts.
Act 17.
Acts chapter 17 and verse 30.
You know, some people and perhaps many people could say.
I don't know how to get saved.
I don't know what getting saved is. I don't know about Jesus. Never heard of him.
I really don't know.
You'd be surprised how many people are ignorant of the wonderful goods. Good news, they're not voluntarily ignorant, they just never heard it. They never were given an opportunity of time.
To be saved, and God knows that, and he's a righteous judge.
So you won't be able to have that excuse.
Acts, chapter 17, verse 30.
The apostle Paul is in Athens and he's been seeing all these Ethan gods that man's imagination invented. And he was upset and he started talking with the people there and he gives him the gospel.
Somebody was telling me that in the Hindu religion they were. They had millions of gods. They had. The Greeks didn't have that many millions of gods.
How come they have millions of guys? Ignorance.
The Greeks, they thought that this was the God of the wind, and the God of the sea, and the God of the air, and the God of this and the God of that. They were ignorant.
Never heard the gospel before verse 30 and the times of this ignorance God passed over a wink that.
OK, you're ignorant. Maybe someone here never heard the gospel before. Never, ever. I doubt it. But perhaps there's someone here never heard the gospel. Maybe they were too young.
Didn't pay attention and now they're paying attention. Now do you hear the gospel?
God passes over times of ignorance. OK, but now?
How's this now? Again, present moment, Little window of time, but now?
Command.
Commandment.
No, I'm not, uh, general here. But if a general in his army has soldiers sitting before him and he says, I command you to stand up, you hear the noise and you say boom, everybody gets up. Nobody dares disobey the commandment of a general.
00:35:07
But you know, man, he's so stubborn and rebellious.
That he refuses to obey when God commands.
God commanded all men. That includes women and children. That's all human beings.
Everywhere.
That's Dorothy.
And China and everywhere else. All men everywhere to repent.
To own before him.
That we're not what we're supposed to be.
That we did things weren't supposed to do. We have thought things we shouldn't weren't supposed to think we said things weren't supposed to say.
And we agree that they're wrong.
It's wrong to lie and to cheat, to steal and to covet. We acknowledge that God says you'd better.
He wants you to repent. He wants me to repent.
Because verse 31.
He hath appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man.
Whom He had ordained, whereof whereof He had given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised them from the dead.
There's the judge, The judge.
Is God himself? Yes, but the judge is a man.
A man with flesh and bones.
A man that everyone that God ordered to repent is going to stand before.
A man with holes in his hands, in his feet.
In his side marched on his brow, where he had the crown of thorns.
The same man that was hanging on the cross and marked that the one that was spit upon and we hit with our fists and we said, if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross and we'll believe in you. That man, That man is the judge.
I wouldn't want to stand before him.
Having despised the time that he set before me, these nail prints had and he said come to me.
I love you. I wanna save you. I wanna save you now. Like we sing into him. He will save you. He will save you not tomorrow. He'll save you now. And if he save you now, he'll save you forever.
But if you say, let's think about it, that's no.
Later that's no and I'll think about it. And later might mean never.
You might very well cross that fatal line. You might cross this line tonight.
When God closes the window of opportunity, when the Lord Jesus comes from heaven and he says it's over.
Those are in, they're in and those are out are out in a state.
You read in Second Thessalonians chapter 2.
Let's read Second Thessalonians chapter 2.
It's in the window in the future.
I don't know how far in the future.
But it's not in 1000 years.
It's in a close future.
In terms of years, in a few years, perhaps maybe less, maybe less than five years, I don't know.
2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2 speaks of a future time.
When people.
Who have heard like you're hearing tonight?
About the Lord Jesus.
Have been called by God to repent and believe the gospel.
And said.
I'll think about it later tomorrow.
00:40:02
And the door is gonna be shut, ain't gonna be left outside. And this is what's gonna happen to them.
It says in Second Thessalonians chapter 2.
Speaks of Satan, verse 9, even him, not the Antichrist whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders. You know, I I know the Lord Jesus my Savior. I believe in him. I'm a poor believer, but I do believe him and confess him wholeheartedly as my personal Savior. He died for me on the cross. He shed his blood for me, but I never saw any signs and wonders.
Never. I never witnessed a real miracle. I know many things in my life and that I've seen and see the Lord work and I thank him, but I've never seen somebody being miraculously healed. You might say all of us. I've never seen that this is going to happen here. Signs and wonders. People will say, wow, look at that, remarkable.
It's not God.
The Lord Jesus here he did all these wonderful signs, remarkable.
And generally, the people who witnessed the signs, the remarkable signs and the miracles, they didn't believe.
And you're through old me never saw him, never saw a miracle. I believe in him. How's that? Because God by his Spirit, he came in my heart at the door of the heart of many in this room and said, you're a Sinner.
You need to be safe. Here's the Lord Jesus. Look at what he did on the cross. Will you have him?
I said yes, and many in this room said yes, I want him as my savior. And perhaps you haven't said yes yet. And these people, they heard, they didn't say yes. Those that saw the miracles, they said, oh wait, with this man, we don't want him to rule over us. Away with him, crucify him. They did that.
And there's another one coming with signs and wonders.
But there are lying signs and wonders. He's a deceiver. He's not the truth. Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. It says with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. Verse 10.
Now notice this in them that perish.
There are those who are going to perish.
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Now there are those who are going to perish. Why do they perish? They do not perish because they are sinners.
That's not what it says. They perish. Why do they perish? Because they are sinners, No.
Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.
They receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved, because had they received the love of the truth, they would have been saved.
Tonight, my friend, I have a close question.
Will you receive the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior, Yes or no?
Later you might be part of those that are going to perish. Tomorrow you might be part of those that are going to perish. It might become never. You might cross that fatal line and end up with this company of people that perish because they receive not.
The love of the truth that they might be saved.
How is it presented? It's presented as the love of the truth. You know, the truth of the Scripture presents the love of God to you. Why would God?
Not spare his son, who always did those things that pleased him.
Why would he not spare his son to spare you? To spare me? Why would he do that?
What could he see in me or in you that was better or even close to any measure of comparing with his son?
There was nothing but love in God's heart.
And if God loved you so much and is so patient to offer this to you again tonight, and you receive not the love of the truth, that you might be saved.
Then you might be lost forever.
I hope not. And maybe if the Lord tarries next Sunday night, you'll be here and maybe somebody here will will present the gospel. Maybe.
Maybe tomorrow you'll be reading something and it'll touch your heart and you're gonna get saved. Praise the Lord if it happens.
00:45:08
That's maybe.
But the little window of time that God gives us tonight, it gives us absolute certainty, is now.
Right now you can say, Lord Jesus, I accept you as my Savior, settled forever. I receive the love of the truth. I'm a Sinner and Jesus is the only savior of sinners and I'll have him for my Savior tonight.
You have him.
You have Him as your savior tonight. Don't put it off. Don't put it off one moment longer. Do it now.
2nd Thessalonians chapter 2. Corinthians chapter 6.
1St 2:00.
2nd Corinthians chapter 6, verse 2.
For he saith, that's God.
For he said, I've heard thee in a time accepted.
And in the day of salvation.
Highlight security.
Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
I'd like to ask questions from the Word of God.
And I only accept.
Perfect answers from the Word of God.
Read that verse again. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Here's my question. When is the accepted time? Anybody have an answer?
Anybody have an answer?
No, thank you very much.
Behold, now is the day of salvation. My question is, when is the day of salvation?
Now it's right now. Not in 5 minutes, not in 20 minutes, not tomorrow morning. It's right now. Now this window of opportunity has been going on for 2000 years. Just now has been going on for 2000 years. God has been asking men, women, children to come to him through the Lord Jesus, and he's saved millions and he's still doing that.
Now. And maybe someone in this room tonight say I'm coming now.
Not tomorrow.
Right now.
We read in Matthew chapter 2510. Virgins.
And the five of them come at the door and say, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord.
Tonight.
It wasn't now anymore. It was too late.
The door was closed, the window was closed. The opportunity was gone.
And the door was shut.
We marvel at the patience of God, his long-suffering over this world, that tonight still he's calling men and women, boys and girls, to come to the Lord Jesus. He wants his house to be full, yet there's room.
It'd be wonderful if everyone in this room tonight could say I'm on my way to heaven.
I know the Lord is my Savior, and perhaps you've never told anyone.
Perhaps you weren't saved, but tonight, accept the Lord as your savior. Maybe if you're part of a Christian family, tell your mom, tell your dad, tell your friends. Confess him. He's so worthy, the Lord Jesus, so worthy of you to confess him as your own personal Savior.
He's gonna be so happy if tonight you seize the opportunity.
In the land of opportunity and prosperity, you will become more prosper than you ever imagined. You're going to become a son and a daughter of God, and you're going to inherit all things with the Lord Jesus. And instead of spending a lost eternity and weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, you'll be happy forever in the presence of God. You'll be absolutely happy forever and ever.
00:50:01
Well.
Just before we close.
I just wanna plead with you one more time.
We have gospel meetings generally every week, but there's a time when gospel meetings will stop.
And the other one we read about in Two Thessalonians chapter 2 will be seducing.
Boys and girls and moms and dads too, who are Christians by name, who knew about the Lord Jesus, who had heard of the Word of God but did not receive the love of the truth.
To be saved. I hope that's not you. I hope that tonight you can answer my close question. Will you receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior? You could say yes in your heart. Say yes to the Lord tonight and you'll be on your way to heaven. Let's have a word of prayer.
Our God and our Father.
We thank you so much for the Lord Jesus, for that love of thine that did not spare thine only Son, but delivered him up for us all. We thank thee Father, for such a Savior. We we thank thee for the simplicity of the message. Let us draw us simply to come, come as we are, knowing that there's provision for our sins and for our waywardness and for all these things that we carry on our consciousness. We just thank thee, Lord Jesus, Thou just love us so much and I just accept that we spit a knife face and hit thee where our fists, and yet that it's a Father forgive them.
Well, they know not what they do. We pray tonight that if there's anybody in this room that's not safe, that they would know what they're doing. And postponing, putting off, waiting longer, rejecting, saying no, we pray all would have said yes in their hearts. We ask it, Father. And we thank Thee, Lord Jesus, for Thy goodness to us, for the hope that we have of Thy soon coming, for all that belongs to us in thee. And we thank thee and thy precious name, Amen.
Puzzles
Children—Paul House
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Good morning, everyone.
Who has a hand for us?
Anybody this little boy up here #5 can someone start that for us please?
I bring the Lord and tell it's bright and fall out from.
That was my sense away.
Oh God, I did come back. The one decline.
I bet I've been.
My second away.
Every day.
I.
Gave up blood, I said. The wind.
Jesus loves my sins away.
You know, boys and girls, I hope everybody can say that that it was a really happy day when Jesus washed my sins away. So I trust each one of us this morning.
Is trusting the Lord Jesus as our Savior. And I used to really enjoy all the children's meetings at conferences that I would go to when I was younger because those meetings I could really understand. And as I got older, I got more and more out of the other meetings too. But often the children's meeting was the meeting that I got the most out of because it was usually the simplest for me to understand. And that's why the children's meeting is so important and the thing we really want you to understand today.
Is that you can have the Lord Jesus for your own Savior if you don't have him yet, and then today can be your happy day. Last night, many of us heard how that Mister Payette told us that we only had today. We weren't sure if there was gonna be a day today because yesterday, today was tomorrow. It's a little bit complicated, but we weren't sure if there was gonna be today or not. And you know, thank God there is today.
00:05:13
Because maybe there's somebody here that didn't accept the Lord Jesus as their savior last night.
Well, now you can do so this morning. You can have a happy day today by accepting the Lord Jesus today. Let's sing a couple of more while people are coming. Who else has one?
4444 This is a beautiful one.
Someone started please.
Don't listen to me.
Die again. I don't think I can.
Allegation, story, repeat. Or and so.
Don't know. I can say I've got children of men. Nobody ever had so busy before.
And he sold out, made out for a little boy. 7959 good times of joy.
In thy not perish my hand will be full. Nobody ever heard. Story has gone.
I'll make some story revealed.
That you can say all of the children of men. Nobody ever has told me before.
God sent him so everything.
Then I am sure that he sent him for me.
That is again.
Help in life again.
Salvation story, Christmas on and so on.
Dial 9 can stay on the children of men.
While finding a friend has told me before.
This story is about a little boy.
And this little boy?
He never heard about the love of the Lord Jesus before.
Until somebody told him.
And you know, there's some little boys and girls here today.
And this is something that you can do.
You can tell other little boys and other little girls that you know about the Lord Jesus too. I'm gonna tell you a little story.
When I was a a boy, I went to public school.
And one time when I was in grade 3.
I went to school.
And one of the little girls that I went to school with.
Her name was Kristen.
And she wasn't at school.
And do you know what?
She never ever, ever, ever came back to school again.
She was in my class in Grade 3 and I remember her very well and I remember we would play and talk and have fun at school and one day she never came back again to school. You know what happened to Kristen? She got hit by a car.
And she died.
00:10:01
And you know, I thought about that many times.
For many, many years because I went to grade 3A long time ago.
And for many years I've thought about this girl, and I thought about that. I never told her.
Above the Lord Jesus. I never did. I never did and it's always bothered me since I was in grade 3.
So boys and girls, this is important, isn't it? We can tell other people, other little people, about the Lord Jesus who died for us. Now we have time for another one.
This boy back here?
Number one.
Number one please.
Almost frustrated.
Oh God, grace, pray again.
Till we see all of the Prince Day grow.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, this morning we need thy help. We need help to listen, and we need help to speak well of Thee. And so we just pray that Thou help us all today.
To gain something that would be good for our souls. We pray especially for the boys and girls here this morning. We think of how we heard the gospel last night, of how there's still room in heaven for us.
And we just would pray if there's someone who has not come to the Lord Jesus.
And asked him to be their savior that today, right now, that boy or girl, or perhaps even an older one would come to the Lord Jesus and listen to his voice lovingly saying.
Come unto me, Lord Jesus, we thank thee for dying for us on the cross, for allowing people like us to crucify thee, to hang thee up, to die. And we think of those hours of darkness, Lord Jesus.
When the sins of each one of us who had asked thee to be our Savior would be placed upon thee by God.
Will now let's be punished, Lord Jesus, so that our sins could be paid for?
And that we could go free so that we could go to heaven when the Lord Jesus comes to take us. And we look forward, Lord Jesus, very much to this, but we pray if there's somebody that's not ready, that's not accepted thee as their Savior yet.
That they may come today, come right now, and we pray this Lord Jesus, in thy precious name, Amen.
Many of you know.
Because my brother Rob talked about a friend of mine who went to heaven last week.
You heard how that?
My brother Rob asked for prayers.
At his funeral.
And this man will talk just for justice, a brief moment about him. He was a very special man to me.
00:15:00
He was one of my best friends that I ever had in this world. We worked together for many years, but there was something very special about this man and that was that he loved the Lord Jesus so much.
And it had an effect on me.
Because he loved the Lord Jesus so much, it helped me love the Lord Jesus more too.
And so I love that man very much. There was something special about this man. He was a Jew. He was a Jewish man. And you know, there's another man that I love far more who's a Jew too, and that's the Lord Jesus.
And unfortunately, there's a lot of people that are Jewish who don't love the Lord Jesus. But this man who is a friend of mine, his name was Howard. Howard was a Jew who did love the Lord Jesus.
And he meant a lot to Howard. And Howard wanted his family, who was Jewish, to come to the Lord Jesus too.
And I think that's why my brother Rob asked Best Special prayer because the message that Howard wanted spoken at his funeral was for his family, particularly those who were Jewish, to come to the Lord Jesus too.
So Howard asked us those who had a little part in his funeral. He asked us to speak on specific things from the Bible for his friends and family to accept the Lord Jesus to.
And so he asked me to speak about Isaiah 53.
We're not going to talk specifically about that this morning, but I had to do a little bit of preparing for my discussion of Isaiah 53 and I've had a little bit of time to do that in the last few days. So I did that and I didn't prepare very well compared to how some people have, I suppose, but I've really enjoyed.
What I did learn about Isaiah and I want to share a little bit about that today. So at the beginning of our talk, I would like to make a little bit of, uh, make things maybe a little clearer for the children. And so I brought some things with me today and I would like someone to come up to the front and tell everyone what this is. So can I have a volunteer? How about this little boy here in the in the blue?
You come right over here so they can hear you.
Nope, you come up here now what is this?
A tractor and it's a box, isn't it? So if we open this box, why don't you open it? You pull this tab up and.
OK, so inside this box, this box with the tractor on it is what?
A puzzle. So if we read on the front of the box it says 46 pieces and the finished size of this puzzle is 2 feet by three feet.
Now I want you to reach in here and pull out one of the pieces of the puzzle. And on one side is a picture, part of a picture, and on the other side is a part of the picture. So it's very, very difficult to do this puzzle. This puzzle belongs to my little grandson Paul. And somebody was very kind and bought him this puzzle. But I thought, boy, this is going to be very hard for Paul to do because one side of this piece is what color?
Eyes and the other side Yellow. Yellow so.
There's two pictures that have to be completed. One pictures orange and one picture is yellow. But little Polly is gonna have to figure out how to do this and build this tractor and whatever else is on the other side. So you can sit down now. You can put that in. Thank you.
So children, you know what puzzles are, right? Most of you have done them and enjoy doing them. And at the retirement home where I go, sometimes there's some big puzzles and even older people like to do puzzles too. Some of these, uh, puzzles have thousands of pieces that people do. Takes a long time to do it.
Well, I have some other things I'd like to show too.
So I need another volunteer.
This little boy here with the Argyle. Yeah, you, you can come up.
00:20:02
What is this?
A shoe box so you can open that box.
And what's inside? You tell everybody you talk over this way.
100 pieces.
Pieces of paper. I would say that there's hundreds of pieces of paper in this box. Why don't you hold up a few little pieces? Let's not drop them, OK?
Yeah. So there's a whole bunch of little pieces, and these pieces used to be two great big pieces of paper, and there's all kinds of writing and typing and all kinds of stuff on them. Yeah. OK, now you can sit down. Thank you very much.
So we have these pieces of paper that used to be.
Two big pieces, but there's a whole bunch of little shreds of paper. And you know what happens when that falls on the floor? It makes a big mess. And our dads and moms don't like that, do they? When there's ripped paper and torn paper all over the place. Now I have another thing. I want you to come up to the front somebody. Let's get a, a girl this time.
This girl with the gypsy boy song. OK.
Let's open up this envelope.
This is another puzzle.
She's being very careful because she knows that there's something inside and she doesn't want to rip what's inside. That's very smart.
OK, now if you reach inside and pull out what's in there?
Actually, there's a few things in there.
There's a puzzle in here.
Now, what I would like you to do is I would like you to just put the pieces. Let's see, let's put it on them on this chair right here.
And you try to make the puzzle work.
There's a few pieces and my wife wrote it out nice and neatly because if I'd have done it, no one could have read it.
I think we're gonna have the puzzle pretty quick here.
There you go.
Perfect.
Excellent. Thank you. You can sit down.
So this girl put the puzzle together and what it is, is a piece of paper and my wife wrote out this verse.
All we like sheep have gone astray, and the reference to that is Isaiah 53 verse six. All we like sheep have gone astray.
Now I need another volunteer.
This little boy over here.
I need you to open this one.
And I take these envelopes up pretty good. So it's a lot of work to get into them because I wanted to make the point.
That there's a lot of work that's gone in to finding the Word of God and to understand what the words are and what they mean. And we're gonna talk about that, boys and girls, in a few minutes.
Just pull it real hard. Let's pull right across. That's it. See if you can split your fingers.
Good.
Now let's pull out what's inside and look at it. I'll take that.
That.
Now can you come over here and read that?
He bared the sins of many.
Isaiah 5312. Excellent. Can you leave that with me and then you can sit down. OK. Thank you very much.
00:25:06
So you can see, boys and girls, this is a big sheet of paper, isn't it? And this little boy that helped me, he didn't have to put the puzzle together like this little girl did. So it was a lot easier for him. But then he had to read it for us. So I gave him extra work to do too. Now what's very important is that.
We saw that this box had all these shreds of paper in it and to put them all together like they used to be would take a lot of work, would take us hours and hours and hours, just like putting together a very complicated puzzle. And we understand that right, putting together puzzles. Well, then this one that it was only in eight pieces. It took some time to put it together and she's smart. So she got it together looking really good and she used some of the rips of the paper perhaps to help her to know what.
How to put it together? But this one wasn't ripped at all, so it was a lot easier to figure out.
Now.
I need another volunteer.
Let's see, what about that little girl there?
Can you open this?
What do you oh.
What if I help you a little bit? OK, there. Now can you get it? What's inside? Don't cut yourself on the edge. Be careful.
There, OK.
Now you wanna open that up?
To take that elastic off.
Perfect. We'll get rid of this elastic now. Open that up, OK.
OK, now let's put it up this way.
And you hold that end there with that handle, and I'll hold this end and let's see. I'll come over here.
There.
Hold it up as high as you can. Good. Now who can read this for us?
Someone in the back.
You know I'm gonna pick up my brother Rob back there.
Rob, can you read it for us, please?
With his stripes, we are healed. Isaiah 53. Five. Thank you. Now you can sit down. OK. Thanks very much.
Who can tell me what this is?
This girl, I can't.
What's this?
A lead and the lid goes on the can like this. And that little girl, she was a big help. But we had to work hard to get the lid off, didn't we?
Now, if you wanted to keep something from getting wet, which would you rather have?
The item that you wanted to keep from getting wet in? Would you rather have it in a box like this with a cardboard lid wherever the lid is?
Underneath here.
So if you had something that you didn't want to get wet, would you rather have it in this box with holes in it or this tube that has a lid that's very secure? Who has an answer? This little boy here.
Either of you, Which one? Which one would you rather have?
Josh, which one? Which one?
The can because it's sealed.
And because it's sealed, whatever you would put in here would be less apartment to get wet and damaged, right?
Remember that. We're going to talk about that in a minute.
Well.
Many parts of the Bible. God's Word.
Were written a long, long, long time ago.
00:30:00
And it's taken people a lot of time and work.
To take the things that were written hundreds and hundreds and sometimes thousands of years ago, and to put them into our language so that we can read them today in the Bible.
Now I read some verses to that together with you. One of them was all we like sheep have gone astray. Another one was He bare the sins of many. And then we had this one here that's so special and it says with his stripes we were healed. We are healed.
Now let's think about these verses for a minute. And you know, these verses were written a long, long time ago, boys and girls, a long, long time ago. How long ago do you think the verses were written?
Does anybody know this little boy over here?
100 years ago? Well, would it surprise you if I said that if you took 100 and multiplied it by 27?
Then you would be more correct.
So over 2700 years ago this verse was written down by the prophet Isaiah.
And why did God get him to write this and tell him what to write?
Because God wanted me and He wanted you to know these verses about Jesus, the Son of God. Now let's talk for a minute about some of the Bible that we have.
So if you open to Isaiah, let's just do that. If you have a Bible, you open open your Bible to Isaiah, chapter one.
And one of the wonderful things about the Bible is because it's God's word and it's God's book, it always defines, or it generally defines, when it was written. And so we can find in the first chapter of Isaiah that in verse one that this book was written during the times of four kings, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
And so we know from history approximately when this book of Isaiah was written. It was written a long time ago. And God in his wisdom allowed manuscripts, parts of the ancient languages that God wrote down by his servants like Isaiah, to be preserved down through the years, down through the time, so that then they were translated into the English language so that we have them in our Bible today.
And it's things that God wanted us to know.
Now before we go any further, I want to explain why we have all this stuff on these chairs, because some of the things that were written down, you know, a long time went by.
And some of the things that were written down kind of were got damaged.
And you know who could? This is a piece of paper.
But 2800 years ago, they didn't have paper like this. And so a lot of the Bible that we have now that's in paper on our labs, and we're thankful for it. A lot of the Bible was written on all kinds of different things. Some of it was on animal skins, like leather on your belt, and there was Marks and the leather that was preserved for thousands of years. And some of it was on even copper sheets.
Like pennies that are all rolled smooth that have marks on it.
And some of it was on some funny kinds of paper that we would laugh at if we use that at school. But you know, that's what they on, that's what they had, and that's what they used. And so down through the years, many of the writings of the prophets and so on that we've had this morning, they started to break down.
And so remember this box that had all the pieces of paper in it? Some of the early writing of these profits have broken down so much that it's like little tiny pieces of paper like this.
00:35:13
That people have to try to figure out like a puzzle how it goes together, and there's thousands and thousands of little pieces that they have to put together.
To make it like a puzzle so they can understand exactly what God wanted us to know.
And many people have worked very hard to make that happen so that we can have the word of God preserved to us. So there's things like that.
Then there's other things that were written on certain substances, like leather that lasted a lot better. And so it's like this, this one here, that's only eight pieces, and so it's easier to put it together. And then there were some pieces of the Bible that were in containers like this that had lids on them.
And so you know what happened.
Quite a few years ago, some a little boy, he found one of these. He found one and you know how he found it? He was walking through the through the desert and he saw a hole. There was a cave and he took a rock and he threw it in the hole and he heard this noise boom.
There was a clay pot and it got broke when his rock hit it. And guess what happened? He said, what's that noise? I'm going to go find out. And he went in and he found one of these, looked inside and he found this.
And he took it to some people and he said, look what I found. You know what they said? They said, oh, that's part of the Bible. We know what that is. Let us have it all, please. And we have it. Can we buy it? Can we pay lots of money for it? And you know what they did? They opened it up and they read it and they looked at it and they said, this is amazing, this piece of leather.
Was written.
At the same time as the Lord Jesus, or maybe even a little bit before it was before or at the same time as the Lord Jesus was alive on the on the earth 2000 years ago. And they looked at it and they read it and you know what they found out? They found out that it was exactly, almost entirely the same as the book of Isaiah.
66 chapters.
We're all written just like we have in our Bible. And you say, well, why are you saying this? Well, God wants us to know that his word is absolutely true, even though it was written so long ago, boys and girls. And God's word is that such that he wants us, He wants us to get to know the Lord Jesus. Now we had three verses today.
One of them was all we, like sheep, have gone astray.
And the apostles are the umm prophet. Isaiah wrote down this verse because he wanted me to know this verse and God told him what to write. All we like sheep have gone astray. That means that we've gone away from God.
And it says that we've gone astray. Does that mean that means that we're lost? And somebody told me once, you know, that we're really born lost.
And so, boys and girls, we heard about this last night, that the Lord Jesus came into the world to save us from our sins. And even though we've gone astray, there's a way to come to God through the Lord Jesus.
Now it says in this other verse that we had.
It says He bare the sin of many. He bare the sin of many. Now what it doesn't say, it doesn't say that he bare the sins of everybody.
He doesn't say he bare the sin of everybody. And you know, that's where why we have this meeting today, boys and girls. Your dad and your mom may have accepted the Lord Jesus as their savior and that's wonderful if they have. And maybe like me, you have a Big Brother. And you also saw my Big Brother come up to the front here, my Big Brother.
00:40:14
He accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior before I did.
But he did, and so that was good for me because that helped me want to accept the Lord Jesus as my Savior too. So the Lord Jesus bare my sins because I accepted Him as my Savior when I was a boy.
Now what about you?
Have you accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior? Because if you have, then He is born your sins. And you can say that you're one of the many who have come to the Lord Jesus and have had your sins forgiven. But if you have not accepted the Lord Jesus yet, then you can't say that you're one of the many who has accepted Him.
But why don't you come to the Lord Jesus this morning? Because if you do.
Then you can say that you're one of the many people who have had your sins borne by the Lord Jesus and paid for on the cross of Calvary.
Now.
There's la, this last verse that we packed.
With his stripes we are healed.
If the Lord Jesus doesn't come this.
This morning, the next meeting at the conference is a very special meeting. And I really enjoy this meeting that's coming if the Lord Jesus hasn't come this morning. And that's called the remembrance of the Lord Jesus or the breaking of bread. And in that meeting, boys and girls, we have the privilege especially of remembering how the Lord Jesus died for our sins. And on the table in the middle we have.
A loaf, and that loaf speaks of his body.
And then there's a cup, and the cup is filled with wine, and that speaks to us of his blood. And so in that meeting, we have the privilege, those of us who love the Lord Jesus, those of us who have accepted him as our Savior, we have the privilege of thinking about him and what he has suffered for us. But it says here, with his stripes, we are healed.
That's how our sins are forgiven. It's because of the stripes of the Lord Jesus. Now, it doesn't mean stripes like this on a tie. What does it mean stripes?
Who can tell us?
Somebody.
I'm gonna pick on somebody older in a minute.
How about Doctor Prost?
What are the stripes that this verse tells us about?
Sufferings the Lord endured on the cross for our sins. That's it. So the Lord Jesus, when he died on the cross, he was punished for my sins. He took my punishment.
Because I asked him to be my Savior. And boys and girls, right now, if you haven't done that for yourself, ask the Lord Jesus to take away your sin, to bear your sin, and to take the punishment that you deserve for the sins that you have done. So that when you think of the Lord Jesus, you can think of him as your Savior, as the one who took your load of sin. And then you can thank Him too.
You know, it's such a privilege, honour, say, to come into the presence of God, to thank the Lord Jesus for what he's done for us and what a Savior we have. And if there's somebody here this morning and you haven't come to the Lord Jesus, he wants you to come today. He wants you to accept him as your Savior. And all you have to do is just ask him into your heart and accept him as your Savior and ask him to take your sin, to take the punishment.
That you deserved. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we thank Thee so much for going to the cross of Calvary and for bearing the sins that we have done. We think of the stripes.
00:45:01
Without its bare the punishment so that we could be healed, so that our sins could be forgiven.
And our God, we thank thee this morning for giving thy Son, thy well beloved Son, to die for us. And so we just thank thee for the privilege that we have to be together in this way. We give thee our thanks, Lord Jesus, for this time that we've had.
To reflect on my goodness. And we thank thee too for thy word that has been preserved down through the ages for us.
Many people have worked so hard to put together, and that thou hast preserved for us, so that we would know Thy thoughts and love for us. We give thee thanks, Lord Jesus, now in the precious, thy precious name, Amen.
The Little Remnant
Address—Stan Allan
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I wonder if we could just open our meeting this afternoon by singing #32 in the appendix.
In weakness and trial with God, we may plead No Fear of denial. We're sure to succeed.
For though OFT we grieve him, his promise is clear.
And love will believe him, our father will hear #32.
In week.
Oh my God, I want to make it up your hands. You're going to be promised better standard spreads and rundown. Feel free to reach the ground. I saw Graham Graham again.
And the shine and light my.
Cold spring and praying.
That's all I'm going to play.
I found there in the middle of here.
They're on the sun. Yeah. I'll bring me back to your friends so I'm clear.
Just ask the Lord's blessing. Our God and Father, we just come before thee this afternoon at the beginning of this meeting.
And felt weakness. And yet, Lord, we thank thee for the wonderful resources we have a thyself. We know that, uh, the apostle Paul could say that when I am weak and then am I strong. And so Lord, we would look to thee this afternoon to help us and the subject we have before us that there might be something for each one. And Lord, that we might be encouraged to just to continue on.
And tell others, give the shout, and call us into thy presence. And so we will just commit this little time to Thee now, and the worthy and precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
I have before me this afternoon a subject that I have enjoyed in the past.
And, umm.
I would like to speak about the little remnants of believers that had left Babylon, uh, back in the days of Ezra and had, uh, gone back to Jerusalem to build the House of the Lord. And I would like to look first of all at, umm, the book of Ezra. That's not really where I want to be, but, umm, we'll start there. Uh, we'll just look at the 1St chapter.
And I'm not gonna read right away.
I think we need to have a little bit of history of what had happened up to this time. I suppose most of us realize here that the children of Israel, particularly the, uh, tribe of Judah and Benjamin, uh, they had been living very wicked lives. Uh, things had gone downhill very rapidly in Israel and the Lord had allowed, uh, the two tribes to be taken captive to.
Of the city of Babylon, Uh, Babylon, of course, was the largest city of that time in a huge walls, 80 to 100 feet high and very wide. I understand they were about the width of this, this room here, uh, uh, Chariots could turn around on them. It was, uh, a very, umm, uh, large city. And that's where they were taking the captives. And Jeremiah had prophesied before they had been taken captive that this was going to happen.
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And that, uh, they would be there for 70 years. And, uh, in the beginning of Ezra, we have the event that took place at the end of those seventy years after they had been there for a long time, the Jews had really settled down in that city and, uh, they were sort of living in ease and, uh, prosperity because it was such a, a rich place. But you'll notice that the Lord moved the king of the city. His name was Cyrus.
And notice what he says here, uh, we'll look at the SE 2nd verse of the first chapter. Thus saith Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His God Be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of the Lord.
God of Israel, he is the God which is in Jerusalem. So here the king, no doubt moved by God himself, gives the invitation to any Jew that wants to go back to Jerusalem and build the House of God that they were free to do so. It wasn't a command. It was really a test for them. Were they willing to E uh, to leave the ease of living in Babylon and go back to a city that was in complete ruin?
And face the trials, the difficulties, the reproach, uh, that would be entailed in going back and rebuilding the House of the Lord. You know, this whole subject, and I don't profess to know a great deal about it, but God's purpose has always been to dwell with his people. It's very interesting that the very first time that you hear about the House of the Lord.
Is in Genesis 28, so we might just look for a second there. We won't take much time with it. But you remember that, uh, Jacob, umm, he had had this dream of a ladder going up to heaven and umm, he was rather fearful when he realized that he was in the presence of God. And he says there in the 28th chapter and the 17th verse, it says he was afraid and said, how dreadful is this place?
This is none other but the House of God. So here we are at the very beginning of the Bible and the House of God is mentioned. Now if you go to the Book of Revelation, the very last book in the Bible and the 21St chapter.
Revelation chapter 21.
And uh, verse 3.
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the Tabernacle.
Of God is with men, and he will dwell with them.
And they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them.
And be their God. So the very first book in the Bible mentions the House of God. The very last book in the Bible mentions the House of God. And we know that it was God's desire to dwell with his people there in the wilderness. They built a, uh, a tentative you wish or a building with boards and curtains. It was the Tabernacle then that was replaced a little later on with a building of stone. It was the temple and God still.
Desires to dwell with His people.
We know that verse in Ephesians chapter 2 again. Maybe we should just refer to it the last verse of Ephesians 2.
The some are good at quoting these verses. I have to turn to them I'm afraid. But umm, in Ephesians 2 it says in the 22nd verse, in whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit. So God's desire and His purpose is to dwell with His people. And so we find him here stirring up Cyrus.
00:10:00
To exercise those who, uh, would go back to Jerusalem and build, Well, we find that, umm, by the way, we should also mention too, that if it's going to be the dwelling place of God, God demands that it be holy. If, uh, again, I'll just re, I'm sorry you have to refer to these verses, but, uh, Psalm 91.
Or 93. I guess it is. Sorry. Psalm 93.
There is a verse there that describes what the character of the House of God should be.
It says there in the last verse of Psalm 93.
Thy testimonies are very sure. Holiness becometh thine house, O Lord, forever. So what God demands in his, in his house is holiness. There's something else he demands. Uh, take a look at Isaiah chapter 56.
Isaiah 56.
And, umm, the seventh verse.
It says there at the end of the verse, mine house shall be called a House of prayer. In other words, in God's house, there needs to be dependence holding us, dependence and subjection to God's authority. That's what God desires. And uh, So what you find here that these people, they were exercised and there were those who agreed to go back, they were under the umm, leadership of UMM.
Zerubbabel, If you read here, you'll find that the governor was, uh, Zerubbabel and the high priest was Joshua or Joshua. So they led a group back to umm, Jerusalem, and they didn't start building right away. In fact, two years went by and there was no building at all. There was no opposition. Umm, it was true that the place was in complete ruins, but umm, eventually they did start the building of the, uh, House of God. You'll notice in the third chapter.
It says there, umm, well read the verse 8, verse eight, the third chapter, verse 8. Now in the second year of their coming under the House of God at Jerusalem, in the second months began Zerubbabel the son of Cialtio, and Joshua the son of Jazzedak, and the remnant of their brethren, and the priests, and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem and appoint the Levites, and so on.
And go down to verse 10 and when the builders.
Laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord. So they began to lay the foundation after two years.
And so that's what we find here. And they built, but almost as soon as they began building the House of the Lord, what happens? Take a look at the 4th chapter.
When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that, the children of the captivity builded the temple.
Unto the Lord God of Israel. Then they came to Zerubbabel and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, let us build with you, for we seek your God as ye do. So here we find the opposition starts. It wasn't exactly opposition is what they really wanted was amalgamation. Well, you can't do this by yourself. We will help you. Now who were these people? They were Samaritans, they had a mixed form of worship. They had introduced a lot of things.
Into the worship of, of God, umm, of their own devices and they wanted to help umm, uh, Zerubbabel here and umm, Joshua now grant you, they recognize right away that this was the work of the enemy. And you'll notice what Zerubbabel says there in the third verse. He says ye have nothing to do with us to build a house unto our God, but we ourselves together with will build under the Lord God of Israel.
As the king Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us, so they took a definite stand against umm uh, uh, against uh, these people who wanted to join with them. So what happened? The opposition got stronger and the uh, enemies of the, of the remnant here they wrote a letter to the king of umm, of Persia. Umm Cyrus had been replaced by another king and they write to this king.
And, uh, they say, you know, these people are really out to rebel against you and they're going to cause an insurrection. They did it in the past and they'll do it again. And so the king said, all right, uh, I'll tell him to stop. So he wrote a, a command and told the people, stop what you're doing. You can no longer build the House of the Lord. And that was it. Well, 12 years went by and nothing was done in the construction of the House of the Lord.
00:15:30
And that's where I want to start, actually speaking, because what I have on my heart is the book of Haggai.
At this time when nothing was being done.
Umm, with the, uh, building of the House of the Lord, the Lord sent two prophets. One was Haggai and one was Zechariah. And it's the book of Haggai that I want to really consider this afternoon. And umm, I want to say what is there for us in this story? Well, we know that for there was a real bright testimony to the Lord.
And to his name in the early days of Christianity. But what happened? It wasn't long before, uh, the Christians were, as it were, taken captive by the world and the Christians settled down to, uh, a life of ease and the testimony, the light of the, of the testimony almost went out completely. Now grant you, God always had a testimony all through those years. You can read about the wall dentities and the Vardo's and others who were faithful.
But the truth of the House of God basically disappeared. But then what happens, uh, back about, umm, well, we know he started, the Lord started off with Martin Luther. Martin Luther discovered the truth of salvation by faith and umm, he preached that. And of course he was put out of the Catholic Church. And then, umm, there were gospel preachers that were raised up, raised up by the Lord. There was, uh, David Brainard and George Whitfield and Charles and, uh.
Wesley and his brother who preached the gospel and thousands of people were saved. Then what got what did? What did God do next? He raised up a testimony. He raised up those who were burdened about the truth of the House of God.
And we know that there were those who recognized that, umm, meeting in the churches of the, of the time was really not God's mind, that God did not desire to see the believers all scattered around in these various denominations. And so they left these denominations, they, uh, left the human traditions and ideas of men to be gathered to the Lord's name alone.
In a scriptural way. And, uh, but as soon as they did this, obviously Satan was going to come in and he was going to raise up opposition just like it did they did in these days. And, uh, so let's take a look at the book of Haggai and see if there are some lessons we can learn from this.
It says here in the first chapter.
And we'll just start reading at the second verse to save time.
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying this. People say the time is not come.
The time that the Lord's house should be built.
Now we find out something different here in Haggai. If we go back to Ezra, why did the building of the House of the Lord stop? It stopped #1 because there was opposition from the Samaritans. Secondly, uh, the king issued an order that they could not continue the construction of the House of the Lord. Perhaps that's, uh, brings out the, the, the king perhaps would speak of Satan and the Samaritans would speak of the world. And we've often heard that the three enemies of the believer are.
The world, the flesh and the devil. But there was one enemy that we've discovered here in the book of Haggai. In the second verse, the people say the time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. In other words, the people took the attitude well, the king says we can't build and umm, so we'll just have to stop. This is not the time to be constructing the House of the Lord.
Uh, we'll just have to wait for that coming day when God is going to set everything right. And we'll just have to wait. We'll have to settle down and forget trying to build the house, the Lord.
00:20:02
And so this was their low moral condition that was exposed the other, in other words, it was the flesh in them that really didn't want to build. And the result was that, umm, the king issued the order not to build. Now, I, I might be a little bit confusing here, but I want to give you a little illustration. I remember back when we first went to Stellarton, we had a little meeting in our home and there were these two girls that came and, umm, they were Christians.
But you know, they were sort of half hearted about coming to the meetings and umm, we saw them sometimes and sometimes we didn't see them. And one day they came and they said, you know, we really can't come to the meetings because our mother won't let us come. Umm, she, she, she doesn't want us going.
Well, you know, deep down, I really felt the, the reason they didn't, the mother said they couldn't come was because they really didn't have the desire to come. And I think that's what we see here. The reason why the king had issued this order and the Sumerians were so opposed, uh, was because there was a low moral condition among the remnants themselves. They didn't have the energy to continue and umm, So what does the Lord say to them? You'll notice there in the third verse, then came the word of the Lord by Haggai, the prophet saying.
Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your sealed houses? Houses.
And this house lie, waste, this was the real problem. They were more concerned with their own affairs than the affairs of the Lord. You know, we often read that verse in Philippians, umm, all seek their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ. And you know, don't you feel that we need to take that to ourselves? Why is it there are so many difficulties among us today?
You know, I'm exercised about this and I'm as guilty as anybody.
I believe a lot of the difficulties we're facing today is because our own interests are coming first. We're more concerned about our houses, our cars, our computers and whatever. And the house the Lord lies waste, the Lord's, uh, things come last rather than first. And that was the problem with these people. And So what does the Lord say to them? He says in the fifth verse, consider your ways.
He says ye have sown much and bring in a little. There was a great deal of activity, but there was hardly any results. It says you eat but you have not enough. There were spiritual starvation.
He says ye drinks, but ye are not filled with drink. There were spiritual, umm, dissatisfaction. There wasn't. There wasn't spiritual satisfaction. It says ye clothe you, but there is none warm. In other words, there was a spiritual coldness among them. And he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. There was no reward. Everything they were doing was coming to nothing. Why? Because the Lord's things were not coming first.
And I believe we need these exhortations today.
We feel the weakness among us. I know I feel right where I am, where I live, and I believe the Lord is saying to all of us, consider your ways.
And So what does he say to them next? He says in the eighth verse, go up to the mountain, bring wood, build the house, and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified. So the Lord is encouraging them to put his interest 1St. And you know, it's not just that we put our secular interests first, but you know, we sometimes we're more concerned about the individual blessings of souls.
In other words, their salvation. And that's good. I, I, I wanna make it very plain here. I believe that the gospel is very important. We need to take advantage of opportunities to speak to those that we come into contact with. But what God really desires is the building of his house. He desires to dwell amongst his people and he wants us to understand this wonderful truth. And umm, so he says, I will take pleasure in it. I will be glorified if you build this house.
He says that in the eighth verse He didn't want them to be seeking their own pleasure and their own glory, but His pleasure and His glory. And so he says, why has there been so much difficulty among you? Look what it says there in the 10th verse. Therefore I'm sorry, the ninth verse you look for much and low. It came a little, and when He brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why saith the Lord of hosts? Because of mine host that it lies. That is waste.
00:25:21
And you run every man onto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from due, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and so on. Well, here was Hagel I making this prophecy, and, uh, Zerubbabel and umm.
And Joshua, they listened to what was being said and what was their response.
Notice the 12Th verse, it says the people will read the whole verse. Then Zerubbabel the son of Chiatio, and uh, Joshua the son of Josadec the high priest, with all the remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God. And the end of the verse the people did fear before the Lord, so there was a desire they listened.
To what umm hagee I said, and there was a desire to start building the House of the Lord again and uh, what was the result? Well, the 13th verse then spake Haggai, the Lord's messenger, in the Lord's message, onto the people saying, I am with you, saith the Lord. In other words, when there was a desire to obey the first thing the Lord says, I am with you.
And you know, we can look around today and we can see a great deal of weakness, we can see a great deal of of failure amongst us. But in any desire we seek to put the Lord's interest 1St and to maintain the truth of the one body. What does the Lord say to us? He says, I am with you.
Was that true back in the early days of Christianity when the TE when the testimony was first set up? Yes, it was. The Lord was with them. Is he any different today? No, he's exactly the same. I am with you. What else is there to say? You know in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 13 it says, let us go forth therefore unto Him, without the camp bearing His reproach. You know sometimes we read the verse like this.
Let us go forth therefore bearing his report or reproach. I I'll say it again. Let us therefore go on to.
I'll have to just read it the way I want to here in Hebrews 13. There's no need to turn to it. But umm, sometimes it's just as if we read it this way.
Let us go forth, therefore, without the camp bearing His reproach. In other words, we see the necessity of separating from what is contrary to God's mind, but we don't separate to Him. To Him we need to have the Lord Jesus before us. He's the one that gives us the strength. He's the one that gives us the courage to continue on. It's not enough just to separate from those things that are contrary, although that's good. We need to separate unto Him.
And so he says, here I am with you, saith the Lord. Well, the result was the people were stirred up and umm, it says they began the how the work of the House of the Lord again and the work began.
Well, in the second chapter.
Uh, let's go on the second chapter now. We'll just read a little bit in the seventh month, in the 21St day of the month.
Came the word of the Lord by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Chiati, old governor of Judah.
And to Joshua the son of Josadec the high priest, and to the residue of the people saying, who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory, and how do you see it now? Is it not in your eyes in comparison as of it as nothing? Well, you know.
If you go back to the very beginning of Christianity, what power there was.
Uh, what a wonderful working of the Spirit of God in those early days. And you know, when the truth was revived in the early part of the 19th century, I would say that Mister Darby and, uh, Mr. Bellets and, uh, Doctor Cronin. And there was one other one, I can't remember who it was, they met there in Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin.
00:30:24
Just a very small company and you know when they look back and saw what was true at the beginning.
They felt pretty small and pretty weak.
But you know, the Lord blessed them, didn't he? And you know, there was a time in London when there were assemblies of 1000 people, 1000 people.
Well, things are certainly not like that today, are they? I can remember when I was a child, we used to go to conferences and umm, I guess I remember when they were about 506 hundred regularly. Then in the late 80s, they, they got to be about 1200 people would go to a conference and, uh, the ministry and the gift there was just wonderful. Uh, you know, there were chapter Brown and there was Harry Hayhoe and it was Gordon Hayeh and Mr. Lundeen and you could just name a whole bunch.
Who were very gifted and we so enjoyed the meetings.
But you know, when you sit down today and you compare it, it almost brings tears to your eyes. And so that's the way they felt here, that there was this great weakness. And uh, I think we all feel our great weakness, but does the Lord want us to be occupied with our weakness? Is he any different today than he was 50 years ago or umm, 2000 years ago? No, What does he say here in the fourth verse? He says, yet now be strong. Oh, survival.
Lord be strong, O Joshua son of Josadec the high priest, and be strong all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts. So the Lord encourages them. Don't be con it's true that that you're weak and you have there's not much to look at Look at that city of Jerusalem there just a bunch of ruins and all they've got is the foundation built there. But.
Take courage, I am with you. The Lord says be strong. And you know, I think, think, think of that verse in Ephesians chapter 6. Just look at it. Nice to know where these verses are. Umm.
It says there umm.
Umm, I'll have to quote it. I just can't seem to put my finger on it. It says be strong in the Lord. Uh, yes, it's the, uh, tenth verse. Fine line, my brethren. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. And isn't that the Lord's, umm, encouraging word to us today? Don't get discouraged by the smallest numbers. You're doing something that the Lord says that I take pleasure in.
You're building the House of the Lord. You're desiring to walk in the truth of the one body.
And he says be strong. Oh, Joshua, he says, be strong, all ye people of the lands, for I am with you. So the Lord wants us to take courage in spite of the weakness today. And so, umm, then he re you know, at first he asked them to look back at the way things used to be. Then he asked them to take a look at the present and.
He says to them, I am with you. So his presence is promised. What else is promised? Notice the fifth verse. According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt. Well, that was a long time previous. They had come out of Egypt, uh, they had the, the, the Red Sea open up before them. There was a pillar of cloud to guide them during the day. There was a pillar of fire to guide them in the at night. Uh, God was with them in a very remarkable way, but the same word.
That the children of Israel had when they left Egypt was the same word that they had at this time of great weakness. He says, according to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt. So my spirit remains among you. Fear ye not.
So the very same word that guided those early Christians, the very same word that guided John Nelson Darby and those when the truth was was recovered is the same word that we have today. And the Lord says, take heart, listen to what I have say, do what the word of God says, and he says, my spirit remains among you. It's true that there might not be the parting of the Red Sea or the pillar to guide during the day.
00:35:22
But you have my spirit, and He will guide you into all truth. He will take the things of Christ and show them unto you. And so we have three things promised here, His presence, His Word, and the Spirit of God to guide us.
And so he tells us to take courage, to keep on. And so that's in the presence. Now he goes to the future. And what does he say? He says in the sixth verse. Thus saith the Lord of hosts.
Yet once it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land.
So he says, look, you're concerned about the enemies that are surrounding you and the difficulties that you face. But he says, I'm going to shake the heavens. I'm going to shake the earth. All these things that man put their trust, men put their trust in, they're going to come to nothing. But what you are doing in seeking to follow my will, the Lord says, I will bless you. I will bless you. And we had that verse in our reading meeting, didn't we? Uh, that's, that's similar thought. He said, that's only a little while.
Well, you know, with God a little while, you know, it says one day is 1000 years and 1000 years is one day. And so that time still hasn't come, but we know we're very close. And the Lord says it's just going to be a little while. And verse seven and I will shake all nations and the desire of all nations shall come. Who is that? What's that referring to? The desire of all nations. You know, I believe it's referring to the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you go to the book of Daniel, it talks about the desire of women. What was the desire of godly women in Israel? The desire was that they would give birth to the Messiah. And I believe the desire of all nations here is really the Lord. You know, this world is filled with all kinds of troubles and difficulties, and you just wonder how long the system is going to continue. But the day is coming when the Lord is going to come and put everything right.
Everything and every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. He might not be the desire of nations right now, but really he's what everybody wants. They want stability, they want peace, they they want all these things, but they can't have it until the Lord comes and takes his rightful place. And so it talks here about the desire of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with the glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
The silver is mine, the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former. I understand that should read the latter glory of this house, umm uh, shall be greater than that of the former. So I know you can look back and you think of the wonderful times that we're in the early days of Christianity and with the revival of the truth of being gathered to the Lord's name.
But you know, there's a day coming when that latter glory is gonna be greater than the former glory, when the Lord is going to have his rightful place.
And uh, so that's what he brings before them, the future.
Well.
We go on then and umm, the 10th verse brings in something that's very important, I think, for all of us. We'll just read a little further. In the 24th day of the ninth month and the second year of Darius came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet saying, thus saith the Lord of hosts, ask now the priests concerning the law, saying, if one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garments.
And with his skirt to touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priest answered and said no. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priest answered and said, It shall be unclean.
What? What is this all about? Why is?
Why are these questions being asked?
Well, I think there's a very important point. We said earlier that the House of God, God desires that his house be holy. He desires that it be filled with a dependent people who are in subjection to his authority. And you know, sometimes we, you know, we profess to be gathered to the Lord's name and what a wonderful thing it is to be gathered to the Lord's name. But you know, the Lord wants to remind us that holiness becometh his house forever. Holiness. And so he says if a high priest garment.
00:40:33
That is holy touch, touch something. Is it holy? And they had to say no. In other words, what is holy cannot cleanse, Uh, what? Uh, what? It, uh, touches an association.
But if something is defiling and touches something, it defiles the thing that it touches. We, we have the, the very simple idea, don't we? And the idea of the rotten apple. You can't put a rotten apple down with five good apples and make the, uh, rotten apple a good one. But the, the rotten apple can very easily make the other five apples rotten. So things can be defiled by association, but that which is wholly does not make what it touches wholly.
And so God is pointing out to these, uh, ones here how important this principle is. And you know, there are, there are Christians today that say, well, you know, I understand what it is to be, uh, the principles you're trying to, umm, maintain, but you know, where I am, I think if we're there, we can be a testimony to those who are unsaved and we can be a help and make things different. Will it make things different? No.
What does God ask us to do? Well, take a look at umm, Second Timothy chapter 2. We know these verses, I just remind ourselves.
Uh, second Timothy, chapter 2.
It says there in the 20th verse.
In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use. So you know, in the great system of Christendom around us, there are those that are saved, those who are unsaved, those who are walking, uh, according to evil doctrine, and those who are.
Not, and they're all mixed together, but what does the Lord say? He says, he says, if any man purge himself from these, the Lord wants us to separate from that which is defiling and to be identified with him alone. And so, uh, this is the principle that he's bringing before them. And you'll notice there that he goes on and he says in the 14th verse then answered Haggai and said, so is this people?
And so is this nation before me, saith the Lord. And so is every work of their hands, and that which they offer, uh, there is unclean. And now I pray you consider from this day and upward from before, a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of the Lord. Uh, since those days, uh, were when one came to a heap of UH-20 measures, they were about 10 when one came to the press flats for the draw out 50 vessels out of the press.
There were about 20. I smote you with blasting and mildew and with hail in all the laborers of your hands. Uh, yet you turn not to me, saith the Lord. In other words, the remnant here had not kept the principle of holiness. They hadn't separated from that which was defiling. And the result was that the Lord had to bring difficulties, trials in their lives. There was blasting and mildew.
And hail. And you know, I think sometimes we forget that the house, the Lord is to be holy. How easy it is to bring in defilement into the assembly. But the Lord wants us to be faithful to him and remember that he is holy.
Well, another thing that you'll notice in this little book, and I know that I'm, uh, going through here fairly quickly, but over and over again, what word do you get? You get the word consider.
What were you going to say?
Pardon me.
No, Lord, yes, we get that word too. But I was thinking it says consider at the beginning it said consider your ways. We had that twice in the first chapter. Now in the 18th verse of the second chapter, it says consider now from this day and upward, and again at the end of the verse, consider it. So the Lord wants us to consider these things. They're so important.
00:45:22
Well, I just want to round off, umm, this is not gonna be a long meeting, but you'll notice in the 20th verse there's another message. This time Haggai is speaking directly, I believe to Zerubbabel. He was the governor. And umm, you'll notice here that he says there on the 21St verse speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying I will shake the heavens.
And the earth and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms.
I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen, and I will overthrow the Chariots.
And those that ride in them and the horses and their riders shall come down everyone by the sword of his brother. In other words, you know Zerubbabel would look around and he would see the king of Persia who had interfered with the building of the of the House of the Lord.
And these governments could just on a whim, umm, sort of stop everything. But the Lord said, don't worry about that.
I'm going to deal with this world. I'm going to overthrow the throne of kingdoms and I will destroy their strength. You know, Christians seem to think when they look around and they see what governments are doing and they're passing legislation that is so much against the word of God that they have to get into politics and try and change everything. So they run and they get elected and they become perhaps a senator or in Canada they become Prime Minister or whatever.
And they think that perhaps they can change the system, but the Lord says, no, you don't have to change that. I will look after all these things that men are going to come to nothing.
What's our responsibility? I believe we have it in Jude. Just look for a moment in the book of Jude.
It's not our place to try and right the wrongs of this world.
But this is what the Lord would have us do.
The third verse of Jude.
Umm.
I write to you and exhort you, I'm not reading in the middle of the verse that ye should earnestly contend.
For the faith which was once delivered unto the Saints, that's what the Lord wants us to do. He wants us to earnestly content for the truth, stand for those things that that have been handed down to us. What a rich treasury of truth has been given to us over the years. And the question is, do we value it? Well, the Lord tells us to earnestly contend for the truth. That's our responsibility, and he encourages.
Umm, Zerubbabel, you'll notice there in that last verse he says to Zaravol in that day, saith the Lord of hosts. I will take you, O Zarabavo, my servant, the son of Cialtio, saith the Lord, and I will make thee as a signet, for I have chosen thee, saith the Lord of Hosts. In other words, he says, there's a rubble, keep on.
There's a day coming when you're going to have a reward for your faithfulness. I will make you as a segment. And So what I just wanted to say this this afternoon is the Lord would encourage us all to continue for him, desiring to maintain the truth of the one body and being gathered to his name alone outside the systems of men. It might be a very weak testimony. It might be a very feeble testimony and Satan would seek to have us give up.
You know, there's so many that would just say, well, what's the use?
Uh, we might just go to a church and enjoy some nice fellowship.
But God says, keep on, I am with you. Well, may the Lord preserve us and keep us going on for Him, uh, till he comes.
I think we'll just, uh, close with prayer.
Our God and Father, we just come before thee this afternoon and we have to acknowledge how much like this little remnant we are, how easy it is to settle down and take our ease in this world and forget, Lord, that thou has left us here to uh, maintain uh, a testimony, umm, to the umm, truth of the one body and desire, Lord Jesus to go on and separation from that which is evil.
00:50:20
And Lord, to be gathered to Thy name alone, oh, we just pray that we might, uh, Lord Jesus, umm, come out from among those who desire, umm, who do not desire Thy glory, and walk to please Thee until let us come. Oh, we just pray that Thou would preserve us. We know we're a feeble company, but we thank the Lord that Thou hast said in Thy word, I am with you. And uh, we thank the Lord for Thy precious word that Thou hast given us and the instructions on how to gather.
And, uh, we just pray that we might be preserved until let us come. And, uh, so you will just commit ourselves to the thanking me for this privilege of being here in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen, Amen.
Luke 21:29-38
Reading
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We're not of the world.
Way we're not.
Grandfather, but I think like one time God striking some hydrants where it's raining on the light of art. All business rest.
Yeah.
Uh.
504 hours.
Downward, calmly.
For the glory and wild King 40 ought to begin me.
We had the latter part of.
Luke's Gospel chapter 21 before us in the reading yesterday.
Uh.
Should we go on with that, or does someone else have something on their heart they'd like to bring forward?
Silence implied consent.
Oh, I would suggest if we're going to go on with the chapter, read from verse 29 again to Joel, and I think that gives us a connection, even though we did discuss those verses, but we read from 29 to the end. I think that'll be good.
Through chapter 21, verse 29.
I need to speak to them a parable.
Kevin and herself passed away, but my words are not passed away as he keeps to yourself. But at any time your hearts be overcharged for surprising and tracking them and cares of this place, and so that they compartment unawares rise of spare shells from all them that well in the face of my whole earth. Watch you therefore, I always that you may be account worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and that you stand before you understand.
00:05:27
And in the daytime he was teaching the temple, and at night he went out. He imposed the amount that is called mountain.
Knowledge and all the people came early in the morning and given the temple for security.
There are a few here today that were not here yesterday.
So it might be good to mention what we had before us, and that is that.
What we have in this chapter ultimately brings before us.
A condition of things and some exhortation based on it that will have its ultimate fulfillment during the tribulation period after we are called home.
But we were noticing that in Scripture. It's a principle with God that He sometimes brings before us exhortations that.
While specifically for someone else, yet are given so that you and I might have our hearts exercised. And we were pointing out that although the ultimate fulfillment of this will be after we are called home, yet in these last days we can see the stage in this world being set for events that will take place after the Lord comes. And likewise we can take to heart the moral lessons and the exhortations that are given here.
And so we were dwelling a little on that beginning at verse 25 yesterday.
And so in connection with where we started today, we were mentioning that the fig tree is an emblem all through Scripture of Israel in a national sense. The vine is more from the spiritual side, but the fig tree is Israel nationally and.
Today we do indeed build the fig tree, don't we? 62 years ago Israel took its place among the nations again after a gap of more than 2500 years, and they are very much a player in the world seen today.
And we see all the trees. We see many nations today, many more than there were even.
Half a century ago.
And we see God's purposes coming to pass. And as we commented on concerning verses 30 and 31, all that has a significance for us. Just as when we see buds coming out on the trees, we realize that spring is here and summer is coming. And so we were noticing that this is the most serious time in which to live, and yet a very wonderful time too, because.
All of these purposes that God has outlined for us in His Word are about to be fulfilled. And of course, before all of that takes place with respect to the earth, the Lord's coming to take you and me home.
Will take place and so it will be a wonderful thing to be called home and it will be a wonderful thing for this world to experience what is called the Kingdom of God here.
We know that this world is full of unrighteousness, full of sin today, and it's getting worse and worse. But there's a day coming when God is going to bring about that glorious Kingdom. And the Kingdom of God brings before us the moral side of it, doesn't it? We know, of course, in that connection that Paul preached and so did others, the Kingdom of God in a very real way to believers. Because for you and for me.
If we recognize the rightful pig, if we know who he is even in his absence, and when he's dishonored and rejected, there's a moral state that is fitting for you and for me during the time of his rejection. And so that expression, the Kingdom of God, occurs many times in Paul's ministry in connection with our responsibility, in our walk and ways.
00:10:11
But there's a day coming when the Lord Jesus will reign in righteousness, and when all of the sin and all of the departure from God that is so evident in this world, all of the rebellion of man's heart will not be allowed anymore. The Kingdom of God is not at hand. But what a wonderful thing it is for you and for me to know that.
As the Lord Jesus said concerning himself, the Kingdom of God is among you, and that you and I can enjoy and walk in the good of that now.
I've heard it said, brother Bill, that the Kingdom of heaven is where the rule of the heavens is old and would therefore be in connection with, uh, Christendom, wouldn't you say? At least it was up until fairly recently anyway. Umm, but the Kingdom of God, as you say, is more the moral aspects. What should characterize those in the Kingdom. I was thinking of the verse, and I'm sure you could have quoted it in Romans 14 and verse 17, it says.
The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. So that's what should characterize those in the Kingdom, particularly those of us who are saved. Yes. And that will characterize the Kingdom when it's established. Righteousness and peace. Yeah. In the world outside.
It might be nice to see that uh, brother Michelle and uh, Isaiah 32, uh.
Uh, maybe sometime for young people to see what these versions are.
I'll just read 2 verses. The first one in the is first one Speaking of the Millennium. Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and Princess shall rule in judgment. And then verse 17, the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever.
And as you were mentioning Stan in your.
Meeting this afternoon. There can be a tendency on your part and mine to want to bring that in today, to want to use our influence and energy as believers to try and bring righteousness and peace to this world. Well, what to God? It were so, But the Lord has told us very clearly that that won't happen. When thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteously.
But not before. And it's very difficult for you and for me to see God's claims disowned and to see unrighteousness seeming to gain the upper hand. It's very hard for us as believers, but we're called upon quietly to exhibit the moral character of God's Kingdom, to witness to a lost world. But as to establishing peace and righteousness in this world, the Lord says, I will look after that. I will do that in my time.
And that time is not right now for you and me, is it?
The 18th verse of Romans 14 supports what we're just saying. But it will in connection with the, uh, Kingdom of God and righteousness being joy in the Holy Ghost and God. Either of these things service Christ is acceptable to God and a proof of men.
And it is important to have the right view and right understanding of processes that affect practically how we live. If you think that, uh.
We have a job to do before Craigslist and come back. Then you're going to behave in one way or prepare any forehead if you see that indeed, things have to get worse for the judgment squads and come in and then you preach the gospel of warmth and bring people to Christ.
It sometimes misunderstood too when it says in verse 32, This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled.
00:15:06
Does that mean that everything that's talked about here was fulfilled within the generation of those to whom the Lord was speaking? No, I don't believe so. In fact, we know full well that it wasn't. We just finished saying that ultimately much of it awaits the coming day. But I believe the thought is here that the attitude and spirit of those to whom the Lord was speaking.
Will ultimately be the same attitude and spirit that will be manifested in the coming day. That is, if the Lord Jesus was rejected during the time He was here on earth, there will still be a large number that reject Him during the tribulation period. If there was a character of things that went on during the time of the Lord's ministry on earth, ultimately that will still be present.
When these things are fulfilled, man's heart will not have changed. Man likes to think that he's getting a lot better. Man likes to think that he's improving. But it isn't happening as Robert was just saying. In fact, things are rather getting worse. And the Lord Jesus had to say concerning Israel, He said when the unclean spirit has gone out of a man.
He walk us through dry places, seeking rest and find of none.
But what happens, he says, I'll go back to the house from whence I came out. And when he comes back, it says he finds it empty and swept and garnished. He enters into that house again and it says the last state of that man is worse than the first. Sad to say, that's a reference to the fact that after the captivity, Israel never again went back to worshipping of idols, which was what was largely responsible for their being carried away.
But what's going to happen in the coming day? Have their hearts really changed? No. Have men's hearts changed? No. And when the Antichrist appears energized by Satan, they'll be guilty of worse idolatry than they ever were in the Old Testament.
And so I believe that's the sense in which the generation doesn't pass away. The Lord knows that the same heart, the same attitude, the same rebellion against God, the same outlook is going to be present in the last days as was present during the Lord's time. Is that right, Michelle? I think adversary Philippians 2 I mentioned yesterday. We didn't read it, but.
In the King James it has the the word nation there but I believe the word is generation and that's Philippians 2 and 15.
That she may be blameless and harmless.
The sons of God without rebuke, and that's the character of being in the Kingdom of God.
In the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. And I believe the word is among whom ye shine as light from the world. We had that thought yesterday. So.
They were crooked and perverse generation at that time, and that's what it's going to be too. There is that aspect of the generation now that in the midst of which we are but in the great tribulation, it will be the same.
OK, so nothing is going to change the the moral aspects of the world. No, no religion, nothing is going to change. This has been the effect of Christianity. But we know through apostasy that it hasn't improved the world, no so.
The only thing that changes the world, you might say, is the way the Lord changes men one at a time by new birth and bringing them into the conscious sense of being in the Kingdom of God and changing their behavior.
And would you say that's why the next verse follows right on top of it? Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. It's the Word of God that the Spirit of God uses today to bring men to Christ. And it'll be the Word of God in the coming days, spoken through the godly remnant that will bring souls to believe the gospel of the Kingdom. It has been the Word of God all through man's history, ultimately.
Whether the written word or the spoken word that the Spirit of God used to give man you life of his own will be got. He uses James by the word of truth. And then again in John chapter 3, accept a man be born of water. That's the word of God and of the Spirit. He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. And so it's the word of God that changes lives. It's the word of God that he uses to bring men to Christ.
00:20:20
And I just suggest there could be other thoughts on this, but that's why the Spirit of God puts these verses back-to-back here because if there is an evil generation that is just as bad today as it was when the Lord was here on earth and there is, then what is the only thing that is going to prevail against him? You and I getting down into the arena and trying to straighten the world out. You and I getting into politics is Stan talked about and trying to make the world better.
You and I seeking to bring the world around to the point where Christ can set up his Kingdom? No, but rather bringing God's word to bear on them. Where are we and what is God's message for man today?
MMM, we have to own, don't we, That just like the Jews, the name of God was blasphemed among the nations because of their misrepresentation of the Lord. Can we not say that generally in the Christian testimony we have brought this despising thought of the gospel because of the way Christians have generally behaved and made?
Commerce with the gospel and all sorts of things have been going on. So there's a similar responsibility that Christian testimony has of not having represented the Lord and the truth of the Word of God as it should.
We only have one admonition here, don't we, brother?
We who know the Lord is our Savior, we have that hope that we're looking for.
That, uh, what we can look for and when we see these things take place as a Christian, we can praise the Lord because we know His coming is at the very door.
But what a week as as been said.
Christian has no no way to go in and try and correct these things. What is our admonition here? 2 words in the 28th verse. Look up.
When we're looking up.
We're looking for that precious redemption that's that's going to come at any moment and take us out of this scene.
And then the government of God will will take hold and things will all be straightened out and made right in his own own way.
So if we're occupied, if we're occupied with the things that are taking place down here trying to change things, then unfortunately, brethren, we will have perplexity.
Are men's hearts failing them?
And we, we the Lord doesn't want us that.
He wants us to be happy and longing for his appearance. That's going to take us out of of this.
Atmosphere that we're in into a heavenly atmosphere.
Where He is located on all His glory and and so forth. And He's gone to prepare for us. We're going to enjoy with Him. That's what He wants us to be, dwelling upon that future that awaits us.
And when we're dwelling on that, looking up.
Then as we come together here, why we can edify one another, encourage one another. Why? Because we have a heavenly prospect altogether, a heavily prospect. We can encourage one another in these things, and this is what the Lord wants us to do.
When we come together to talk over these things.
And then we talk over and exercise as our hearts and it regenerates us, gives us that joy of what we all together have to look forward to.
Let's look up, look up. Don't look down, because there only will be discouragement and heartache. Brethren, look up. Keep our eyes heavenward.
He's coming at any moment.
We might say this.
We might say this 2 with respect to the Word of God, and I say this to those that are in high school and college here and so on. You're going to get a lot of opposition to God's Word. You're going to encounter those who say don't quote the Scripture to me. I don't recognize that as an authority. I don't believe the Bible, so don't quote the Bible to me.
00:25:22
I want something more than that.
And there is a place on occasion for speaking about what we might call Christian apologetics, which simply means defending the truth of God and defending Christianity by an appeal to something that the natural man can understand.
The proverb says answer a fool according to his folly. It also says answer not a fool according to his folly. It depends on the circumstances, but there's a place sometimes to answer a fool according to his folly and to make someone realize why his outlook doesn't even make sense from the natural point of view.
But the Word of God, we read is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword. And if men say I don't believe the gospel.
Use it anyway. I like the illustration of a brother whose name you would all recognize, who wrote some of our good written ministry. He said I wouldn't do it as a Christian, but he said if I had a sharp knife in my hand and a man disputed as to whether it was a real one or not, he said there would be a very practical and effective way of demonstrating to him that it was real.
Yes, there would be, wouldn't there? And so when the word of God is challenged, when the word of God is refused, use it anyway.
Used in the power of the Spirit and it will have its effect because it's settled in heaven. It's God's Word and he's able to use it. And even if it doesn't seem to have any effect at that moment, the Lord can use it down the road somewhere. So don't hesitate to use the Word of God. Don't hesitate to quote it and bring it before those. Even if people say I don't believe it and I don't want it because that glorifies God. If you get into a good argument with something scientific and put someone to silence.
If you're anything like me, you go away feeling rather pleased with yourself.
When I quote the word of God and it has its effect, God gets the glory, doesn't it?
So the next verse is a very.
Straightforward exhortation, isn't it?
And I hope Michelle will mind, but I'm going to appeal to him to explain that word surfeiting. A young person asked me, and several young people asked me one time what that word meant. And I think I'm right in saying that it has its origins in the French language and, uh.
Would you tell us what it means, Michelle? Which word is that?
Verse 34 is it verse 34? Unless you're at any time your hearts be overcharged with Serpentine.
I'm glad I have a French Bible.
It's that your hearts are not going to be made heavy.
With abusive, I would say abuse of food and drink.
Exactly, Sir. Feasting, would that be? And isn't the French word for a festival? Fest FETE over, over, over celebrate. Overindulging over celebrating, Yeah.
Glad I got it.
Gospel 2