Gospel—Bill Brockmeier
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I was thinking in Jeremiah 37, it was a dark day in Israel's history. Babylonians are ready to come down and attack, and there was a feckless and a reckless king on the throne. His name was Zedekiah and he came to Jeremiah at night. He said, is there any word from the Lord?
Jeremiah said there is.
And there's a word from the Lord tonight.
And there is a savior #10 let's. I think it would be a nice, happy thing if we could stand together and sing this.
Invigorating gospel song #10.
There is.
A.
Great sword in the sailor, in the savage.
This world, one stranger.
To my dream.
Hey Sir, all the round him and all the mercy star heard from sin.
And now he's on hold on the throne.
Oh Elder Jesus.
Thank you. Always say no respect.
You receive me by faith in their heart.
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Oh, oh God to Jesus Christ. Jesus.
Isaiah One has been referred to a couple times in the conference and I would like to turn there to begin with.
For a verse that has not been read.
Isaiah, chapter one.
And verse 3.
The ox knoweth his owner and the *** his master's crib, but Israel does not know. My people does not consider.
When are the reference in Jeremiah chapter 8?
Yay versus Jeremiah 8 Seven. Yeah, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times. And the turtle, or the turtle dove and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming.
But my people know not the judgment of the Lord.
Dropped down to the middle of verse 9. Lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord.
And what wisdom?
Is in them.
Joel the Great sufferer was referred to in these meetings, and Job had three antagonists. They might have been called friends. And after one of them got through with his accusations and aspersions and Job said in a bit of a sarcastic way, he said surely you are the people and wisdom will die with you. And then he says go to the beasts of the field and they'll teach you.
For the fouls of the air, and that will tell you or the fishes of the sea, and they will declare to you.
Who are you to be telling me? But you know, there was something that.
Job had there in referencing. There's things that we can learn from the fowls of the air, the fishes of the sea.
And the beasts of the field. And we're confronted in these two verses here.
Where God is, He was speaking through his prophet Isaiah, wondering at his people, he said even an ox.
Knows his master. Even the *** knows his master's crib.
An unclean animal, he said. But my people, they don't know.
And more than not knowing, they don't consider, they don't consider. I don't know what the occasion was. My wife and I were speaking about something and we could it could apply it generally and and and my wife just said about the situation wherever the person, whatever the situation was.
Well, it wasn't malicious, they just didn't think.
And I think that was right.
But you know, sometimes and we're forgetful. We're forgetful for so many things.
But why did you forget?
And the heart reality is, sometimes you didn't think and you didn't remember because it was not that important to you.
And the Lord felt it. Israel doth not consider it just wasn't that important to them.
The state and the condition they were in. Jeremiah had a similar message, he says. The fowls of the air.
They know the appointed times when they migrate, when they nest all they have that, but my people does not know the judgment of the Lord. I'm not going to speak about animals today, but there's a few children here tonight and you know, I I was glad I've always liked animals and some of the first verses I I memorized or verses about animals and Proverbs 30.
Yan is a people not strong yet it prepares its meat in the summer. What a great lesson. That is the Ant, the insignificant Ant. But what does it do? It prepares for the future.
And that's one of the great themes of the gospel, is to prepare for the future.
Colonies are a feeble folk, yet they make either houses in the rocks. They're weak and they need a protection, and God has made a protection for them. And so there's many lessons we can learn from the lower creation. Proverbs chapter 30, this moment, I think there's 12 animals mentioned in that chapter, everything from the lion to the Leech. There's very eagles and Ravens and so on. Very interesting things that we can learn, but I want to focus just briefly tonight on this word.
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Consider.
The sin of Israel was that they did not consider has God-given us anything?
To consider from his precious word always have read the Bible yet, but have you considered it?
Have we waited? Have we thought it through? So we'll just turn to a few verses that have to do with things that God would have us consider. Turn back to Deuteronomy chapter, Deuteronomy chapter 32 for a verse.
Deuteronomy chapter 32 and verse 29 and again God lamenting all of his people's rebellion and their sin. And he says in verse 29, oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end or that might be.
Rendered all that they had been wise, they would have understood this.
They would have considered their latter end.
One benefit of getting older is you gain experiences.
And as many in the room here, I'm sure you've had experiences with those.
You've had a last conversation with them and you know it's the last conversation with them, and those are very meaningful.
And you have also noticed the end of the pathway. How did it end up? Was it in joy or was it in heart wrenching sorrow?
When my father died.
22,006 And at his gravesite I walked to see his sisters, my aunts gravesite. She had died earlier in the year. I was curious. So the the great grandparents, Brockmire, they had bought a, a plot there, a larger plot in in one of the Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. So a lot of the family was together. And so I went to her grave.
And there was her name in an epitaph I'd never seen before.
It said to behold the beauty of the Lord.
I thought, what an end, what a what a what a word to consider her present portion, to behold the beauty of the Lord.
Well, sometimes we visit those that are on their deathbed and I'll say I had a boss. He was a a very, very supportive boss to me for many years, Roman Catholic. And he was a frail man. He was wiry. It doesn't mean he wasn't strong, but he was a man had a great deal of respect in the industry.
And he, he was a great supporter for me.
But I never really could get too far with him. Just basically, you're just a good Christian boy and everything's going to be OK, Bill. And. And so as he started to fail at the end, although not that old, and then his mind began to slip a little bit.
I would see him periodically in hospital or a home and then went.
I realized things are coming to a close and the Lord, this is probably the last time we're going to have a visit. I care for that man.
So we spoke, you know, and if I, if I started quoting Psalm 23, he could finish that. And I just it, it just sometimes you just you don't feel like you're making any progress in the hay way. And I finally leaned next to him and I said, calling him by name. I said, the Lord loves you. I said, the question is, do you love him?
And he said I sure do.
Last words he said to me I sure do what gave me some peace that that he knew of the Lord there at the latter end. Interestingly enough, couple months later I met the met the customer account and there's a man again known him over the years kind of a tough customer a burly guy. He's always treated me with honor and he asked me about my late boss. He said well.
That I mentioned that he he died and he said, oh, I'm sorry to hear that. He'd known him from years before. And I said, well, at the memorial service, you know, they passed out what they called a prayer card.
And one side was purported picture of Jesus, but on the other side was his name, date of birth, date of death and John 316.
So I sit here, Dave, this is what was handed out. And again, here's a man I cared for, but he's with a customer and not, not a lot of clientele. And so he looks at that, that little card. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish and have everlasting life. I didn't know where he stood.
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He hands it back to me and says the next verse is good too.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. All those are moments of hope. Those are moments of joy. The latter end. Have you considered it? You know, there's a time when we're going to breathe our last. There will be a last meal on earth. There will be a last night's rest. There will be a last day.
And it'll be over. The path is over down here.
To consider the latter end, while we're Speaking of death, what's the whole point here?
The verses have already been quoted here. You know, says in Romans chapter 5. Not tonight. They haven't been quoted by one man.
Sin entered into the world and death.
Passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, one man being Adam.
Apologize if I didn't quote that entire verse. Sin came into the world through Adam's disobedience.
And many were made sinners as a result of that one act.
And all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Solomon said. There is no man that doeth good and sinneth not.
Everyone of us is is staying with sin, marked with sin. The heart is deceitful above all things incurably wicked. Who could know it man has sinned and the wages of sin is death. There's a consequence to sin and it is death. That's why we're to consider our latter end. But you know, that's the great message of the gospel and we'll develop a trust a little bit tonight is that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
That the Son of God came into this world.
As a lowly manhood lived a life of perfection for 33 years and then went to the cross, there to suffer not only at the hands of man, but to suffer as we're singing in the hymn, those hours of darkness he suffered.
He suffered for sin. Now the question is, though we still will bear the consequences of our sin, there is death. Are you prepared for that hour? Do you know Christ as your Savior? Do you know that one who went into death that you might have life, who offers salvation full and free to you? To consider our latter end, let's turn to.
I'm going to go a little different order than I thought. Turn over to Hebrews chapter 12.
This scripture was read in our readings.
Verse 3.
Four. Consider him.
It was noted that that might be otherwise translated or considered well.
Pardon me. I'm going to glance over the side to the margin of the Darby. And by the way.
For younger brothers, one of the best tools you can have in understanding the scripture is get a get a get a Darby translation or a parallel translation in his notes. The notes are an education in and of themselves. But let me just read the note on that verse. Consider well he says the Greek here is 2 way so as to judge its value.
And sometimes in comparison with other things, to consider him to weigh so as to judge.
Its value, you know, on this 12Th chapter, it's commented in the readings in Chapter 11. There's these wonderful examples of those.
Who live by faith. And then the writer says, looking off unto Jesus.
Psalmist could say, turn away mine eyes from holding vanity.
But that's not the point of this verse. He says, turn away your eyes for beholding those great example of faith, and look off unto Jesus, not only the great example, but the great object of faith and the one that went into death. Consider him. Consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest she be worried and faint in your mind. Well, that's encouragement for the believer.
That.
The contradiction of sinners, that's what what you and I might encounter in this world.
Consider Him He endure. He endured that. Don't be discouraged, He went through that as well. But go back to verse 2 where it says He endured the cross.
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Despise the shame, but he endured the cross. No, those hours of darkness when.
There were those at the cross there, it says, sitting down. They watched him there. They did not sit down as we sometimes sing with a Doreen eye. They sat there with an unholy stare and the blessed Savior hanging there upon the cross.
Sitting down, they watched him there.
But then the hour came, and Godzilla said no more.
Man's eye will look upon him, but there was something further. And in those hours of darkness.
The Lord Jesus suffered for sin. My God, my God, why hast thou?
Forsaken me.
Our fathers trusted in thee. They trusted, and they were delivered.
But I am a worm, and no man, No, there was deliverance for all the patriarchs of old. But in that dark hour.
As the Lord Jesus suffered for sin, there was number deliverer, His cry was not heard, and there was that mighty work of atonement, that which is sealed.
From any human eye to behold what transpired, there is God poured out his.
Almighty wrath against sin, against his beloved Son, His delight, his beloved become flesh, the Lord Jesus.
I grew up there was a.
Older brother in the assembly that used to say, the only way we will ever know the depths of his suffering and the anguish is by the the exceeding greatness of our joy forever. How low he went, so are to consider him. There was a full atonement that was made there. We know, consequent upon that cry. It is finished what happened. The veil of the temple was written to from the top to the bottom immediately.
God answered that.
And a veil was rent, and the rocks rent. And then we know that on the first day of the week, the Lord Jesus.
Rose from the dead. There was an empty tomb sign, another proof of that work. It was satisfied. It would not be satisfactory. It was to God's glory.
And delight, and he would exalt that Blessed One to the highest place in heaven.
So the work has been complete.
But it says consider him well to weigh and judge his value. Turn back to a verse in Zechariah chapter nine. I think it is.
Because the greatness of the work.
Has been declared.
It's sufficient.
God has come out in blessing.
But the question is where do you stand in relationship to that Zechariah?
Chapter.
Well, let's see, maybe it's umm.
11.
Zechariah Chapter 11 The Prophet speaking. But again, this is.
Almost a way of an analogy, a little bit of an obscure way. It's a prophecy of the Lord Jesus. Zechariah 11/13.
And the Lord said unto me, Cast it, I'm sorry. Verse 12 And I said unto them, If you think good.
Give me my price, and if not for bear, So they wait for my price, 30 pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it into the Potter, a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the 30 pieces of silver and cast them to the Potter in the House of the Lord. Well, you know this prefigures the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, who delivered the Lord Jesus into the hands of the religious leaders for 30.
This is a silver and sometimes the common is made. Just think of Judas Iscariot willing to give up the Lord Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. We go back to Exodus 21. I think it is to find that that was the value of a male servant.
And we say think of Judas.
Selling Jesus, giving his soul up for 30 pieces of silver. But that's not the point of this chapter.
The point of this chapter is the nation.
And they effectively said we won't give you anything more than that.
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It's not worth anything more than that. That's what we'll give.
And Judas took it.
What's he worth to you tonight? I love a incident I heard about a brother.
He went up to a young boy, he said what do you think of the Lord Jesus? He said, I think a lot of him.
You think a lot of him, you love him. Consider him to consider the.
Pathway of suffering. The one who showed kindness.
You marvel at the contrast of the blessed Son of God here on earth, dispensing, blessing and man's treatment of Him.
I think of the spit of the Lord Jesus, the spittle. How did he use it to heal a blind man's eyes? To heal a deaf man's ears? To open the tongue of the blind? Even his spit was traced with blessing. And yet the blessed Son of God, the one who always showed out the kindness and goodness of God, he was spit upon twice.
Won by the religious leaders and once by the soldiers.
You know that hurts perhaps even more than all the physical blows. And it hurts in a different way because it hurts the soul, not only the body. It isn't only hatred, it's contempt, it's disdain. It's loathing. That person, the blessed Lord Jesus, endured it all.
And as that sheep dung before shears soil he opened not his mouth consider him. Our time is going. So I want to go back to just one more in the the book of Job.
Job Chapter 37.
This is Allahu speaking to Job.
And he says in verse 14, Hearken unto this, O Job, stand still.
And consider the wondrous works of God. And then over in Psalm 8.
Psalm 8.
O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name and all the earth, who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of an enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy in the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained.
What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the Son of man that thou visitest him? We could go on with this very prophetic song, but I just want to call attention to this in connection with what we had in Job, when I consider thy heavens the work of Thy fingers.
I suppose at different times we've all had.
Stress and strains and pressures and sometimes it's.
It's gotten real tough.
Remember one time a good number of years ago, it seemed like there wasn't peace on any hand. You know, if things are problematic at work, well, then you got the piece of the assembly. Things are problematic at assembly. At least there's the productivity at work. But both cases it was, it wasn't good and.
You know, felt like I was in the crosshairs there.
And.
Couldn't sleep Quoted Philippians 46 Be full of anxiety about nothing, but by everything, by prayer and supplication, let your request be made known unto God, and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding shall guard your height and heart and mind through Christ Jesus. There it is.
Wasn't getting it. There were no peace.
Well, humble yourselves into the mighty hand of God, that He might exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you.
King James Darby, I could quote. It just wasn't, you know, it was still the same.
So in the house where we lived at that time, a little balcony outside the outside, the bedroom over the garage.
You look up at the stars and again, this is more city, but even there we can see a few stars.
Look there you see the Big Dipper coming down.
Direction is and you follow the arc up. There's Polaris North Star right at the end of the street. Look at those stars.
Those are star same stars that Abraham looked at.
How soothing this is to realize the power of God. Say, what is man?
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Who am I? Who are those that would cause me a little bit of disturbance in view of the greatness of God? Thy heavens consider the wondrous works of God. We enjoy sometimes just going to the ocean to see the mighty power of the ocean, and how soothing that is to see the mighty power of God.
Two weeks ago yesterday.
I worked in the morning, it was a Saturday and and I supposed to be working out in the afternoon, but instead I dozed off in the garage and I hear this.
I come to and it's the neighbors grandson. She's been in the hospital and he came over to visit.
A very.
A real intellectual, a very humble man, a boy going for his master's in geology. We've had some discussions and.
You know, got some challenges, but kind of talked a little bit. I was grandma and.
And just stood there.
So it's often didn't talk about talk about your studies and one thing led to another.
And.
He basically could give a lecture on philosophy and science. And I'm, he's way over in my head in a lot of these things. And so we were talking a little bit of philosophy and I, I referenced the Epicureans and the Stoics, you know, and they're in their philosophies when, when Paul had spoke to them and Mars Hill, he says he mentioned that before.
Yeah, I guess I did.
But he was really coming to the conclusion, basically of an atheistic conclusion.
And he said to me, he says you can't prove there's a God.
I said, you know, God has given a witness to himself.
You know, I didn't have my Bible with me, but I referenced it and I'll reference it now in Romans chapter one. You know I am going to turn to it. Romans chapter one.
2 verses. I think it's important enough to notice these things.
Romans 118 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth and unrighteousness.
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them.
For God hath showed it unto them, For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.
Being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so they are without excuse. Every man is without excuse. There's two things that are declared. The invisible things which we could never see, which you can never prove, are declared by things that we see. The One is His eternal power. Creation is a witness to the mighty power of God. The stars, the creation. What can you say but view of the tremendous power of God?
And divinity should be not Godhead. The Godhead is the revelation of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
That's not declared to us in creation, but divinity. All that characterizes God, We see increasing his power and we see his wisdom.
Then Acts 14. There's something else we see.
Pauls at Lystra.
And the people are ready to worship him and Barnabas.
And they stop it in verse 15 and saying, Sir, why do ye these things? We are also men of like passions with you, and preach unto you.
That you should turn from these vanities into the living God which made heaven and earth and the sea in all things that are therein.
Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways, Nevertheless notice this now. He left not himself without witness, in that He did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. What unbeliever has not enjoyed?
A meal and the provision of God showing creation. We see these great things. We see the power of God, we see the wisdom of God, and indeed we see.
The goodness of God and providing mercy and life for man. Yes, God has not left Himself without witness. There is abundant witness. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork. One thing is not seen.
And creation, we've already mentioned it and that's the cross. That's where his love is seen. We don't get that until I believe it's the 5th chapter. The love of God spread a body in our hearts. And so there we see the the great love of the Lord Jesus.
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So.
We'll leave it there. I think tonight three things to consider to consider your latter end.
We're so short sighted, you know, the rich man, the parable, the rich man in Luke 12. He said, I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Oh, you say he was a visionary. He was looking long term. He wasn't looking far enough. Many years is not far enough to look out. You have to look to eternity. And God said this night thy social required of thee.
The Corinthians took up this thought. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die that man didn't have tomorrow. This night thy soul shall be required of thee. Look to the end.
Looked to when you breathe your last breath and where will you go? Well, it did depart.
And to be with Christ.
Or will be.
And that place the torments ultimately raised, and stand before that great white throne.
Bore the face of him that sat upon it. Now be the face of the Lord Jesus, not battered.
Bruised as it was here on earth, but in majesty and glory and off those awful words depart from me, cursed and everlasting fire.
Consider the end.
And then to consider the greatness of God. He has declared Himself in all that mighty power.
You have to come to terms with it. Don't insult God by refusing to acknowledge and give him credit for that glory, for what he has accomplished in creation, but more than that, to consider him, to consider the Lord Jesus. They're the wind to the Calvary's cross, the one who poured out his soul into death, the one who endured the contradiction of sinners against himself, and ultimately.
Underwent the hand of God.
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, He the just.
For us the unjust, that we might be brought to God.
Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree.
A brother mentioned and I don't think I mentioned it, so I do want to mention it.
I guess I still have 4 minutes.
My son, our oldest son, moved back to DC, Washington, DC, Becky and I, we went up and helped him pack things up and then he had this elliptical.
So what do we do with that? Because I don't want it. So we took it down 98% Becky, 2% me. And I may be giving myself too much credit for it, but she took the whole thing apart and put it in the back seat of the car and we got it in and took it out and put in the garage. And now what are we going to do? I have no ability to put this together. And so she's looking through the Internet to find someone, found somebody who says he can he can do this kind of thing.
And so this stocky built a man comes out of an accent and.
So where are you from? He says. I'm from Russia.
And.
So yeah, we do this up all the time. You said can't afford to have it done, you do it yourself, so I'll do it. He did it perfectly. He said you're missing 1 bolt though. But he still got everything put together. Amazing. We've had him come back since. Well, the first time I I gave him a little calendar track or something. He looked at that.
I see you're not going to live here forever.
Yeah, but this is, I'll read it very, very meant a few words the second time you came in.
Oh, about a year or so later, we needed some help with some blinds as an excuse to meet up with him. Do you know there's a there Wally and Dolores Weaver? When the Pasadena meeting room shut down, they took the text off the wall and they gave us one text. Come to our house, you'll see it. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Still dirty as it was when it took down, but I love that verse.
So I was sitting right down there.
He's looking at it, looking at it, looking at it.
Blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin, and the Lord Jesus died.
He suffered for sin.
But then he gave yield up his spirit to God, He dismissed his spirit, and then of the soldier of the spear pierced aside.
And forthwith came throughout blood and water. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission. 3 Parts of one work, The Lord's atoning sufferings, giving himself, and death, and the bloodshed from His precious side.
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Well, perhaps we could just close with that. Him, Precious, precious blood of Jesus #34.
Precious, precious.
For thee.