Lawrenceville Conference: 2018
Table of Contents
Revelation 21:1-8
Reading
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I would like to suggest for our readings the brethren are happy with it and feel it's of the Lord.
21St chapter of the Book of Revelation and the 1St 7 verses of the 22nd chapter. Not so much to take it up from an intellectual standpoint and all the symbolism, but just to encourage our hearts, brethren, as to what is ahead in a future day of glory for cry of the glory, glorification of Christ and glory not only in heaven but on earth. And then what we're going to experience in.
The coming day of the Kingdom and the eternal state as well. So I suggest that if the brethren are happy with that.
Jim, would you like all of that red at this first meeting?
I It never hurts to read Scripture, and I think it ties it together. So for the extra moments it would take, perhaps to the end of the seventh verse of the 22nd chapter.
Revelation chapter 21.
I saw new heaven and a new earth, and the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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.
God Himself shall be with them and be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There should be no more death, either sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.
He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me.
Right where these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega beginning and the end I will give unto him. That is the thirst of the fountain of the water of life relay. He did overcome the show and hear it all things, and I will be his God, and he should be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable.
And murderers and ************ and sorcerers and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
There came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come here, there, I will show thee the bride, the lambs white. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God and her light was like unto a stone most precious.
Even like unto a Jasper stone, clear as crystal, and had a wall great and high, and had 12 gates, and had the gates 12 angels and names written thereon, which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel on the east.
3 gates, in the north 3 gates, on the South 3 gates, and on the West 3 gates. The wall of the city had 12 foundations, and in them the names of the 12 Apostles of the Lamb.
He had talked with me. He had a golden Reed to measure the city and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof, and the city lieth 4 square.
And the length is as large as the breadth you measure the city with the Reed 12,000 furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
And he measured the wall thereof and 140 and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the Angel in the building of the wall of it was of Jasper.
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And the city was pure gold, like on the clear glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper, the second, Sapphire the third of Keller, Stony the 4th and Emerald the 5th, Stardom the 6th, Sardius the 7th Crystallite the 8th Borough the 9th of Topaz, the 10th of Crystal Grasses, the 11Th, adjacent the 12Th Amnesty.
And the 12 gates were 12 Pearls, every several gate was of 1 Pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple there in where the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it.
For the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth to bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, or there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defile it, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. And he showed me a pure river of water of life.
Where is Crystal proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb? In the midst of the street of it.
And on either side of the river there was there the tree of life, which bare 12 manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servant shall serve him.
And they shall see his face, and their name shall be in their foreheads, and there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun or the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true.
And the Lord God of the holy prophets, and his angels to show unto his servants.
The things which must surely be done. Behold, I come quickly.
Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Well, as I said, not so much to get into all the symbolism of what we have here. We don't have time in these readings and time allotted to us, but rather just to read this portion and realize that this is what is ahead in that coming day of glory that we're going to share in with the Lord Jesus Christ ought to lift our hearts and our spirits above this sad world. The many circumstances that were each going through and the Lord's people are going through.
And to encourage us to press on the little time that remains. When we read this, I think of that verse in Romans 5 that speaks of the hope of the glory of God.
And brethren, this is going to all be a reality someday, and perhaps we're closer than we really realized. I can't tell you when the Lord is coming, but one thing I know for sure is that as we sit in these seats this morning, we're closer to the Lord's coming and that day of glory than we have ever been before. And that ought to really encourage our hearts, brethren, and to see not only what we are going to experience in that day, but to see the full exaltation of Christ when He has His rightful place.
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Not just in heaven, He has that now crowned with a crown of glory and honor in heaven, but when he comes forth and he has his rightful place universally, brethren, doesn't that thrill our hearts to think of it ought to, if it doesn't thrill our hearts, I wonder what goes on within our hearts. But my exercise, as I say in suggesting this, is that we get a little glimpse of things from a heavenly perspective and maybe just by introduction say this too, that there is much Scripture taken up with the Kingdom of.
The coming Kingdom.
And its glory from an earthly perspective and what it will be on earth in the Old Testament and in some of the New Testament as well. But brethren, what we have here is from a heavenly perspective. Here we have our spirits and our gaze lifted up above as I say this earth to see the experiences of the heavenly company. And as we get into this, the eternal state, 1St and then the Millennium.
This is not from Earth's perspective, this is from Heaven's perspective. We sang that hymn 40 in the appendix at the previous meeting.
That looked at things more from Earth's perspective, he'll come down like showers upon the new moon grass and and hope like flowers spring up where he passes and so on. Wonderful study that is. But oh, it's how wonderful it is too, to see it from a heavenly perspective. And that's what we have here in the portion that we have read together.
Something that far supersedes anything of earthly glory. We sometimes witness things that are extremely beautiful in God's creation in this world, but rather than we're called to another sphere of heavenly glory. And it's going to be wonderful in that day because, uh, in verse 24 of chapter 21, it says the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, in the light of that heavenly city. So it will be in the millennial day.
Visible from earth that heavenly city, but our portion is heavenly as the bride of Christ. Perhaps it's good to say that really. Eternity starts in verse 11 of the previous chapter where you have the great white throne and the heaven and the earth fled away and there was found no more place for them. Time is measured by the movement of.
Uh, created bodies in space. And when that's all gone, there will be no more reference point to time. So we're in eternity. And then in verse one of this 21St chapter, you have new creation in its full development. I think it's so extremely beautiful. And to see a new heavens and a new earth for the 1St heaven and the first earth.
Were passed away and there was no more sea. So much of our time and our energies we spend on things related to this earth. It's going to all pass away, brother, and so we need to have our sights set beyond it.
So someone has said that the reason you have the Great White Throne Judgment and then immediately the eternal state is, as Bob has said, because the Great White Throne Judgment is the last great act of time and the first great act of eternity. And it's a very solemn thing to think that when the wicked dead stand before the Great White Throne and the books are open and there's the judge on the throne, nothing will, no case will be rushed through in that day.
There will be plenty of time, so to speak, to go over everything and no one will escape having their case reviewed. And the sad end of those, of course, is that they are taken and cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. So having taken that up, then He immediately takes up the eternal state. And then we find from the eighth verse on that are perhaps from the ninth verse. Then he goes back and he fills in details as to the glory of the millennial reign of Christ with His church.
Over the earth. And remember in Revelation things are not chronological. And so you have to understand and take things up in their context. And God has a moral way of presenting things in all of Scripture that isn't always chronological chronological. So what we have in these first few verses, as Bob has said, is the eternal state. And I'd like to go back. There's very little told us about the eternal state. I'd like to go back to first Corinthians 15 because.
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There we have what takes place at the end of time and the end of the Kingdom.
There is a sense in which he's going to reign forever and ever, but there is a time too, when the Kingdom as such as to that which needs to be ruled over, brought into check and suppressed and brought into order, is done away with. And we have it here in First Corinthians chapter 15.
Uh, verse 25.
Well, let me read, I'm sorry. Verse 24 then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God.
Even the Father, when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, for He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. And now, as I say, there's nothing more to be ruled, to be brought into order. Everything has been brought into complete order. That's the thought in a Kingdom. Now notice verse 27, where He has put all things under His feet, but when He set, all things are put under Him.
It is manifest that He is accepted which did put all things under Him.
And then to me this is one of the most tremendous verses in Scripture. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be All in all. Tremendous truth to consider. So the Lord Jesus is going to reign over the earth for 1000 years. We're going to reign with him as the Lamb's wife and as his bride and.
We'll, we'll get that as we get into these verses later on. But brethren, when that when the Kingdom is completed, when the thousand year reign is completed and everything has been brought into conformity and order according to God's purposes, the Lord Jesus as a man is going to turn over the Kingdom to the Father that God may be All in all. And why is he going to do it? Well, one reason is at least so he can devote eternity to his bride.
That's tremendous to think about.
Brother, we're gonna be that bride of Christ. We're gonna be the bride of Christ for all eternity. As we get in these these opening verses again, let's get a hold of this in our soul. This is a reality. This is not just theology or some applications we're making. This is a reality. Are you going through a struggle today? Problems in your personal life, problems in the home? The little assemblies we come from, they're real, brother. And we don't wanna underestimate that they're very real, but rather this is what we're gonna go on to and we're going on to a scene, the eternal state where sin.
Will never penetrate again. Sin will never penetrate that scene again, both on heaven and heaven and earth. A new in the heavenly scene and in the new heaven and the new earth, that which is that which is tainted with sin now as to God's creation is going to be completely dissolved and done away with. You get that in Peter and we're going to be part of the scene from a heavenly standpoint, of course, but a scene where in both spheres sin will never penetrate again. What a tremendous scene it's going to be.
Jeremiah chapter 49. The end of verse 23.
Says there is distress on the sea, it cannot be quiet. That's Mr. Darby's translation. For there is sorrow on the sea, it cannot be quiet. And here we get in our verse.
Interesting that verse in First Corinthians 15 you mentioned Brother Jim. It's a man.
Who brings it all into conformity to God's purposes at the end of time?
At the beginning, in first creation, it was committed to a man who dominated and to direct it, and that man failed and fell into sin. But it's a man that brings it into conformity to God's purposes and vindicates God's name in the whole question of sin, and then he remains a man. But it says that God may be All in all it means.
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Father, Son and Holy Spirit, because the Lord Jesus is God the Son, but at the same time He is a man and He remains a man forever. That is tremendously beautiful.
So again, it might be good to go to second Peter and just read those verses that introduced to us what's going to take place at the introduction of what's going to usher in the eternal state.
In second Peter chapter 3.
I read from verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up, seeing them that all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hastening under the coming of the day of God?
Where in the heavens shall heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved?
And the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And so, as we said earlier, at the end of the Millennium, everything that has been tainted by sin is going to be completely dissolved and burnt up and done away with. Not just this planet earth as we know it, but all create all the creation that's been tainted with sin. When Satan was cast out of heaven, he was the became the Prince of the power of the air.
And so the whole universe, the whole created universe, is tainted with sin. Man has sent his rockets and his probes up into space. Anything that man touches is tainted with sin. And so at the end of the Millennium, and the Millennium will prove.
That even under the best of circumstances, this earth is tainted, this creation is tainted with sin. The Millennium will not be a perfect state of things. The serpent will still eat dust. Sin will be judged every morning. There's still labor and work on the earth during the Millennium. All those things that are result of sin, those that will be completely dissolved and done away with, and a new heaven and a new earth. Now when it says a new heaven, it's not the eternal dwelling place of God.
Scripture speaks of three heavens. In Scripture, there's the atmosphere in which the birds operate. We talk about the birds of the heaven. There's the starry heavens and the universe. And then in Second Corinthians chapter 12, Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven. That's the eternal dwelling place of God that's beyond creation, that is not tainted in any way. That's where we're going to dwell with the Lord Jesus for all eternity.
But when it speaks of a new heavens, it's that which again, it's been the created heavens that have been tainted, uh, and affected by sin. So this is going to introduce this sphere of things that we then have described to us here in our chapter.
That's why the scripture is so specific. In our first verse it says for the 1St heaven.
I like to think of it as the full development of new creation in 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 17 says therefore if any man be in Christ, he is. You could read there is a new creation, old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. And then notice the first line of verse 18. All things are of God.
So all things are of God in that new creation and the full development is what we have in these first 7 verses of chapter 21 and.
You know it doesn't refer to new creation as the second creation.
It's new creation because it is characteristically new. It will never be anything but new. We're so used to getting things that are new and they wear out, but that is not the case in new creation. We are already part of new creation, and our bodies connect us with the first creation, and so we're made conscious of sickness and death in the first creation. But this is new creation, and I love to think of it as the full development.
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Of new creation.
It's helpful too to see, and sometimes people say, how do you know from verse 9 on that it's millennial?
It talks about nations in the Millennium.
And in verse two of chapter 22, the end, it says the leaves of the tree of life were for the healing of the nation, so that there's need of healing in the millennial day. And you have walls of the city. Why do you have walls? Because there's things that need to be kept out. And so it's still a scene where there is sin under control.
Definitely by the righteous reign of the Lord Jesus, because righteousness will reign, but it is.
A millennial scene that we have.
We're.
It's not an orderly either. There is very distinct orders through it and you know it it. It's just the difficulty we have in presenting in linear pages things that are umm, multi dimensional, if I can put it that way. To simplify. When we read books about individuals lives, we, we, we encounter this all the time. Particular threat of a person's life might be followed through. Then we have to backtrack and cover another aspect of their life, maybe their wife and their family and their children and so.
This is not uncommon, and so a threat is being followed through in these later chapters that continues on chronologically into the eternal state, as we've already had brought out in the 21St verse, and it ends very distinctly in verse five. Write these words. Write for these words the true and faithful. And he said unto me, it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, beginning and the end. And then at that point, wherever you want to make the division, the chapter we have I will give unto, and so on. There's a new thought developed here. And then he says very distinctly.
Umm, in verse nine, come hit her or show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. We've had something else introduced here that again, distinct, but just in connection with the eternal state. There is there are, it is not.
We may not be told very much about it, but there is still some distinctive features. So there's still a heaven and an earth and the bride is still distinct in the eternal state. So it says I John. So the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, repaired as a bride had gone for a husband. Well, that's not the marriage supper of the Lamb. We had that earlier. But she is ever presented as the bride and speaking very earthly and my wife will probably give me a hard time afterwards. But who, what husband here doesn't wouldn't like to see his wife as the bride that he saw on her wedding day perpetually.
Uh, very natural thought, but that's the picture presented here. She is the bride perpetually, that freshness of that first love forever expressed in the bride.
Just one other comment I wanted to make.
To make this practical to us, it just reminded me of an incident that occurred perhaps 2324 years ago. Uh, I had taken my family back to Australia. I had probably paid quite a lot of money to do so. And we're visiting my aunt in the city of Sydney and, uh, no doubt my children being given some nice toys and things to play with because my aunt always took good care of us There they were out in the back playing in the dirt.
And playing with sticks and uh.
That's exactly like what we are by nature. We have been given things that and we have things to look forward to that cost a lot. And, uh, we're happy by nature to be playing in the dirt and.
Yeah. So just remember that the things that we put such value on in this, uh, are soon to be burnt up, destroyed.
I think it's helpful what you say, Brother Nick, in connection with there still being two distinct companies in the eternal state, because the eternal state is not a melting pot. There's going to be a great company on the new earth that are brought into blessing and it will be a fixed state of things again. Sin will never penetrate there again. And all the things that sin has brought in age and and there's no thought of work and labor and and so on in the eternal state on earth.
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But the heavenly company and the earthly company do not meld together in the eternal state.
I'll try to use an illustration. I don't have an object lesson with me. But if you can picture, and this is not original, it's been used in the past, But if you can picture a cup and saucer in my hands this morning and we'll say that the saucer represents earth and the cup represents heaven. And those of us who are Canadian or been British, we appreciate a good cup and saucer when we have a a cup of tea. Nothing worse than a cup of tea in a mug. But anyway, that's beside the point.
And so we have a China cup and saucer in our hands and we're going to, I'll put the saucer behind my back and it's hidden from the cup, which represents heaven. That's what we have now. There's a distance denoted. We can't physically see what's going on in heaven today. We have a link through the Spirit of God with our head, the Lord Jesus and so on. But that's illustrates what we, the situation we're in today. Now I bring the saucer and I hover the cup over it. That's the Millennium.
It's like Jacob's ladder. There's the angels ascending and descending, and we're going to reign over the earth with Christ. Heaven and earth in that sense are going to be brought much closer together. But now I put the cup on the saucer. That's a feeble picture of the eternal state. There's no distance denoted, but there's still a cup and saucer. There's still 2 distinct entities even though one is sitting on the other. And so I know that's a little bit feeble, but.
When we talk about it, talks about no more C has been already pointed out, no more C speaks of their fact that there's no more sorrow. The sea in its wave speaks of the masses going to and fro like we have today. There's no more of that. The fixed state of things, but I believe sees also in Scripture denote distance. And so in the eternal state, I don't believe distance and time are measured in the same way. Now you and I can't enter into that.
God thankfully, has put us in the realm of time and distance so we can operate. But in that day, time and distance are done away with. Some of us have just come back from long trips and we know that you have to traverse over the Atlantic or the Caribbean or what. Whatever sea it it, it is Those seas denote distance, but time and distance are not measured in the same way. So perhaps that cup and saucer is perhaps helps us to understand what you were saying, Nick that.
Things are brought much closer together.
But they are still 2 distinct companies. And brethren, as Nick has said, we are going to be the bride of Christ for all eternity. We're never gonna lose that freshness and loveliness to his heart. You know, we see the marriage tie breakdown on every hand around us, even in Christian circles today. As you say, if we were to pull out our wedding pictures, we'd have to admit time brings its change. But in that day after 1000 years after.
The eternity has rolled on and on and on and on.
We're still the bride of Christ, fresh and lovely to his heart. No deterioration there.
And the part that speaks about the Millennium, the last, uh, from verse 9 on, it mentions nations a number, number of times, but in the part that speaks of eternity, there's no mention of nations.
That is a division. You are of one nation, I am of another. But there will be no longer any of that distinction. The only distinction there is it says in verse 3, behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men. So they're men in that eternal day.
But the Tabernacle of God is a beautiful expression and I remember this chapter being taken up at a New Year's conference in Denver one time where Brother Clarence London and Gordon Hayle were there and never forgotten the explanation. Our brother Gordon gave verse three about the Tabernacle of God and he said, what is that? And he turned back to.
John chapter one if you want to go back there and verse, uh.
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14.
And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. That word dwelt is the same word as Tabernacle.
Abernacled amongst us, there it is in reference to the Lord Jesus.
He as God, that word, that eternal word, tabernacled among us.
But he suggested in verse three of this chapter that the Tabernacle of God is Christ and His Church united together forever.
So there will be the heavenly and there will be the earthly, but it will be together.
Beautiful.
So there will be no need for an intermediary in that day, will there be? And that again shows the it's the eternal state. I just say this because you never have the eternal state in the Old Testament.
That's, that's, that's something to keep in mind. Now, I realize when you go back and read the last two chapters of Isaiah, he uses the expression a new heaven and a new earth both in the 65th and the 66th chapters. But when you read the context, you realize it can't be the eternal state. He's talking about the Millennium there. And the reason being is when you read the context, there's still a priesthood. They're still in it. There's still intercession needed through an earthly priesthood.
They still talks about labor. It's they're still.
The nations there's still night and day and new moon and Sabbath and so on, and all those things that are connected with time are still there. So he's talking about the Millennium there. In those last two chapters. He uses that expression, a new heaven and a new earth. But again, it shows that it's not a perfect state of things. So you never have the eternal state in the Old Testament, It is only in the.
Scriptures we've read together perhaps alluded to at the end of Ephesians chapter 3 where he speaks of the ages of ages. But though these references, First Corinthians 15, second Peter 3, the end of Ephesians 3, and what we have here are perhaps the only, I wouldn't say definitely, but perhaps the only references we have to the eternal state.
I suggest Jim and Isaiah 5715. It speaks of God who inhabits eternity, that that is eternity, but it's not doesn't include the perspective that we have in these verses. That's true because that includes now the redeem. That's what you're referring to, I think.
But God, that's God's dwelling place, Eternity. And I sometimes like to challenge young people. What is eternity?
And they say millions and millions and millions of years. Really, eternity is not millions and millions and millions of years.
Maternity is an ever present now.
It's the dwelling place of God. Wonderful brother.
Do you agree with that, Brother Jim? Yes, very much, yeah. And when in verse four of our chapter, we sometimes apply this to ourselves and it will be true of us in heaven, but it's including here on earth, isn't it? That's tremendous to think about. A lot of tears shed on this old creation today. A lot of sorrow and creation today. But let's just read this verse four and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
You know, they, they, the, the eye is the fountain of sorrow, they say. But all tears are gonna be wiped away. For us, yes, but also for those who inherit the, the new earth. And there shall be no more death. It's a fixed state of things. Neither shall there be any more, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. For the former things are passed away. So everything that's experienced here on earth today.
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As a result of sin is going to be completely eradicated and done away not just for us in the heavenly sphere but for those on the new earth. What a sphere of things it's going to be and think of how it's going to thrill the heart of God and another key to understanding this time frame here that we're talking about it's the day of God. You see the Lord has delivered up the Kingdom to the Father that.
God may be All in all, that's the key as we read in First Corinthians 15. So it's not the day of the Lord when he's ruling and his rights are asserted on earth and universally, that's the day of the Lord, but this is the day of God when God is All in all. So again, that's another little key to understanding that this is not the Millennium. This is the eternal state. It's God with man. Yes, it's the person of Christ, of course. And I appreciated Bob connecting it with with John chapter one and so on, but he used it.
It's God tabernacling with man, it's God with them, God with them, God shall wipe away their tears, and so on. So just these are little helpful keys in keeping things in their proper perspective.
Good for us, real.
Alright.
Brethren, we, we are living in a world that's polluted and it's difficult to go through life and all the things, but I believe this thought of God's desire to dwell with that with his people.
Uh, reference was made to John chapter one and uh, just to carry it a step farther, the practical side of it, those disciples who.
Witness the Lord Jesus here on earth. They were attracted to Him and uh.
When John the Baptist said, Behold the Lamb of God.
Two disciples heard it, and they started following him, and then when the Lord spoke to them, they said, Master, where wellest thou?
Not wonderful. The desire prompted in their hearts to be where he was wasn't just to travel with him, it was to dwell with him.
I believe that dwelling starts now here in life. We we can have a sense of God dwelling with us. We are in new creation. We've been born again. We have that relationship that understands and appreciates these things. We don't understand the the, the, the outward circumstances of what heaven will be like and not very many are given of eternity.
But I believe in the measure that we walk close with the Lord, we're going to learn. We can learn what heaven is like right now, and the experiences of life can be lessons to teach us that.
When we meet together to remember the Lord, for example, do we see the Lord there, or is it just meeting? And so on. These are just practical little issues.
I I just a few weeks ago was with some new believers that came to meeting the first time.
And, umm, having.
Gone church hopping for many years searching for what they, uh, saw in scripture as a biblical church and didn't find it and couldn't find it until they came to the real small little group of people that didn't have many accessories to make the place look nice.
But when they got a sense that the Lord was there.
They asked for their place the very next Lord's Day. They it wasn't. It wasn't the atmosphere. It wasn't how the word was taught.
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They realized the Lord was there.
That's what's gonna make heaven too, isn't it? Not all the wonderful things we think about, the wonderful things that no doubt we'll see and the interaction with one another in in the coming day. But brethren, what is going to make heaven? What's going to make the Father's house the presence of the Lord Jesus and he is going to be our focus for all eternity and whatever interact other interaction we have with one another.
And when we come back to reign with Him over the earth, everything is going to be Christ centered and Christ focused.
We often say 4 walls and fine furniture don't make a home, it's the presence of those that dwell there. And brethren, I believe when we get one look at his lovely face, it's going to eclipse everything else for all eternity. And brethren, as Doug says, I think it's worth reiterating if we could get one look in his lovely face now, both in our personal lives and our family lives and when we come together for collective meetings.
That's what's going to preserve us. That's what's going to encourage us to think of that little expression. Is it in the end of Ezekiel? The Lord is there.
When we come on Lord's Day morning, and not just Lord's Day morning, but when we come to prayer meeting or meetings for ministry to say the Lord is there, wouldn't we want to be there just as much on meet weeknight meeting as on Lord's Day morning if we could say the Lord is there and that's why we really came? And brethren, what He wants from us to in connection with heaven and eternity is a heart that's so longing to be with Himself that we want nothing less than to be physically and unhinderedly in His presence.
And say Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus, that's what he wants. I know he uses other things to stir us up, and that's OK.
And we're looking for the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life and so on. But the purest motive for looking ahead and desiring to be there, I say again, is a heart so longing for Himself that we want nothing less than to be physically unhinderedly in His presence for all eternity. And we're going to be ever with the Lord when He's in heaven, we're going to be with Him. When He comes back to reign on the earth, over the earth, we're going to be with him. We're never going to leave His side again. What a thought.
Exodus, God's desire to dwell with men and he made a way for Israel to do that while they were in the wilderness. And it started with the building of the Tabernacle. And so there the workers worked to build it. I was we just read this morning about the Candlestick that the light, the seven lamps that was beat out of one piece of gold.
A talent's weight into the form of a Candlestick all, uh, that work. I somebody here that likes technology, tell me an estimate of how many blows of a hammer it would take to beat out a Candlestick. I would be curious to know the thought is this the.
God wanted his people to share and building that dwelling place.
And so they built the Tabernacle, and then God came down and dwelt there. Our chapter is the end of the story where that dwelling place is the real, the final dwelling place. But right now it's being built. In a sense, the church, the bride of Christ, is being formed. It's a wonderful thing to to be a Goldsmith or a Carpenter, to cut the boards or whatever the Lord gives us to do in life.
It's a wonderful thing to go through life with the sense that where this is all going to end up, brethren, it's not just going to end up with a conference in Lawrenceville or Vincennes. It's going to end up in glory and God is going to dwell. It cost a lot to build this dwelling place. It cost the Lord Jesus a lot, and He wants to us to share with Him in the building process.
Until we all get home, let's look at life as a part of this building process.
00:50:00
Things that have been said. So going back a little in Revelation 7, verse 15 in the new translation, it reads therefore, are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple, and he that sits upon the throne shall spread his Tabernacle over them. That describes the millennial state. The Tabernacle is spread over them, but here God is tabernacling with men and then also.
Just in connection with what's being said, I don't believe that we have a physical description.
Uh, by a few essential elements of the eternal state. Nor do we have a physical description. I don't believe we're ever given of heaven. And so there are songs that speak of the streets of gold and so on. But I hate to tell you, but that's actually not true. In the last half of this chapter, which we, Lord willing will get to, we don't have a physical description of heaven. It's actually a description of us.
The the the the lambs wife, the the bride of Christ is presented in two characters, not to jump ahead both as a woman, as a bride, and also as a city. We can look at that more later, but it's not a physical description. So just to reemphasize, the description we get is rather a description of a relationship into which we've been brought. We don't, I'm afraid, have a mansion in heaven being prepared for us. It's an abode, a dwelling place where we'll be forever.
With our Savior.
I make all things new. In other words, it's so beyond anything that we could express that, you know, the Apostle Paul was caught up into the 3rd heaven and it gives us to understand that he saw things. He says I will come to the visions and revelations of the Lord and a vision is something you see and he also heard things. He says nothing about what he saw.
He says only something about what he heard.
He heard unspeakable words because it's completely made new, rather than in a way that if he would speak to us of it, we wouldn't be able to understand it. It's it's completely new.
Of course that's wonderful. No more death, wonderful. Neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. And the thought comes to me just now that perhaps it doesn't talk about anything positive is because everything in this life we think of as positive still has some pain in it. For instance, even you do your gardening, you do your farming, we read in Genesis that there be thorns and thistles to grow up amongst in it. So everything in this life has some sort of pain. And that's why.
As Bob is saying it, it's it's all new, it can't be explained. It's so wonderful. And so that's why verse 4 just depicts it in a negative way. The the evil things that will not be there, the positive things are beyond our imagination as we try to imagine them. It would still be with this sort of earthly perspective that fall short.
It's interesting that when Paul was caught up, there been mentioned it was a scene so foreign to anything he was used to on Earth that he didn't even talk about it for 14 years. No, you have a experience and you can't wait to tell somebody about some great experience you had and and so on. And sometimes we embellish that experience as time goes on and so on, as my wife often accuses me of. But Paul didn't speak about it for 14 years.
And even when he did speak about it, he speaks about it in the third person. And if I can put it this way, he's forced by divine inspiration to write about it to the Corinthians to confirm his authority as an apostle. But it was really completely out of character of anything that Paul really wanted to boast in. And so he speaks of it in that way. But isn't it interesting to follow that up when you go to another portion and he says to depart and be with Christ is far better?
Now, if John had written that or Peter had written that, or any other of the New Testament writers or you and I say that, we say, well, yes, we know that, that it will be far better, but who better to write that than the Apostle Paul? When Paul said it's far better, he knew exactly what he was talking about. He'd been up there temporarily in the eternal dwelling place of God. He knew it gave real moral weight and import for Paul to write that expression.
00:55:09
With Christ is is far better. Oh brethren, if you and I could just get a hold of this in our soul and I believe that's why he speaks of it in verse seven of our chapter in this way he that overcometh shall inherit. If you notice Mr. Darby's translation these things, what things the things we've been Speaking of the things he's just talked about. We're going to inherit these things and rather with this before our souls. This is going to give us.
The spiritual fortitude encouraged to overcome what's going to keep us going from day-to-day.
Is there anything on this earth to keep us going, anything apart from what we have in Christ and his word to encourage us? No, you look at the horizons of this world. You see the breakdown of everything in government and the family in the world. Everything is breaking down. There's nothing to encourage apart from Christ. But he says if you have this before you, remember this is going to be your portion. This is you're going to have part in this in in that coming day of eternity.
And if you have this before you, these things that you're going to inherit and be part of, you will indeed be an overcomer.
That's the characteristic of faith, isn't it? This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. And so every true believer has that faith and in that sense is an overcomer. So he that overcometh shall inherit all things like dimension. In verse 6, before we leave it at the end of the verse, he says, I will give unto him that is a thirst.
Of the fountain of the water of life freely.
I puzzled over that quite a while.
First, why does it talk about thirst and the eternal day?
And it's come to me this way rather than that. I have enjoyed that even in that eternal day, when all things are of God, we will not be sufficient in ourselves. We will be satisfied fully from Him. That is the fountain of the water of life. Wonderful to think about it. For that eternal day He will be.
Ministering satisfaction to our hearts.
Another thing in connection with all things new, it's not improvement. So during the Millennium this earth will be healed, but not completely even.
Umm, but by saying the whole things will be new, it's it is indeed new, not improvement on that which is old.
And that's a newness that can never be corrupted. It will always be new.
That's one characteristic of eternity. That is a fixed state. Everything connected with time changes. Everything connected with eternity is fixed.
There's a verse that I have long enjoyed in this way in the end of the.
First Thessalonians chapter 4 and the end of verse 17 often speak of it. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. I have taken that as the very best description in the whole Bible of heaven. We're going to be with the Lord, and that's the essence of heaven and the full scope of heaven.
That's why the Lord said in John 14, I will come again and receive you. Not to heaven, that's true. Not to the Father's house, that's true, but I will receive you unto myself. Why? So we can enjoy heaven, that where I am, there you may be also. And brethren, we often think of our desire to be there. And I trust that at the end of this reading meeting, there's more of a desire in our hearts to be there than there was at the beginning. But if there's any desire, by the grace of God.
And any looking up and saying, Even so, come Lord Jesus, his desire far outweighs our desire. How long has he been waiting for his bride? He's been waiting for 2000 years plus since the work of redemption. And he's a man of patience. You know, when I was engaged to the one who later became my wife, there was the great distance between us and there were several months between the engagement and the wedding.
01:00:17
I thought it was a long time and a great deal of distance, but what about the Lord Jesus? Think of Him anticipating that moment. What's He waiting for? He's waiting for a word from the Father. Then he's going to come and fetch His bride. That's the desire. And I think so often we get so occupied with what things mean to us and what our desire is. I trust things mean everything to us. I trust our desire is burning this morning, but His desire and what things mean to Him?
Is far, far greater than what what it means to us. But our time is almost gone and I think we would be amiss if we didn't just mention what he has at the end of this section in verse 8. There's a a warning here.
Interesting that even at when he's describing the eternal state now, he's going to go on to describe the Millennium. Go back and fill in some details concerning the Millennium. He stops for a moment. Another warning if there's someone.
Sitting in these seats this morning and you don't look forward to being part of this scene of glory that we've been Speaking of. There's a warning here. Let me just read it. But the fearful and unbelieving and abominable and murders and ************ and sorcerers and idolaters and all lawyers shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. You know, there's five times. You have a sample list.
Of sin. Sin. What characterizes sinners in the Book of Revelation?
And this is one of those five times. And there's 8 characteristics of sinners here. And the lists are a little different and they're sample lists, but they're very solemn warnings. And why does he refer to being cast into the lake of fire here at the second death? It's in contrast to what we've just had before us. We've just spoken of God tabernacling with man and no separation again, and no need even for an intermediary in the eternal state.
Wonderful closeness and nearness that we're going to enjoy. But for those who reject God's offer of salvation through His Son the Lord Jesus, it will be the second death. Why? Because the second death will be eternal separation from God. Just the contrast, the opposite of what we've had, eternal separation from God in the lake of fire for all eternity. We're going to have an eternal dwelling place.
With God, he's going to dwell with us for eternity. But isn't it solemn to think of those who are going to be cast out for eternity from God forever? Eternal separation? And that to me is going to be one of the most awful things about a lost eternity, is eternal separation from the God and Christ who loves you now and desires your eternal blessings.
Just a comment on the first thing here, but the fearful as we look at the others and we can say, well, I understand unbelieving, abominable murders and so on. But why the fearful? Because I'm often fearful. But just to assure our hearts, the thought is really of not trusting. And so in Matthew 25, the terrible, the talents, and the 25th book speaks of the one that said I was afraid and went and hit vital on the earth. And lo, here is that which is lying. He gives back.
And then in verse 30, in Cassie the unprofitable servant and out of darkness there should be weeping and gnashing of teeth. So it's not talking about the natural fears that we have as failing.
Humans, umm and I'll, you know, walk down here but not trusting God.
330.
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Three Comforts, John 14
Set Your Mind on Things Above
Revelation 21:9-18
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Oh my God.
We pray for invasion.
Of God when it came to us.
As we can continue on in Revelation 21 and read as we did this morning into the next chapter, last chapter, the Bible, Revelation 21, and verse 9.
And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come, hit her, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a Jasper stone, clear as crystal, and had a wall great and high, and had 12 gates, and had the gates 12 angels.
And names written there, on which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel.
On the east, 3 gates, on the north 3 gates, on the South, 3 gates and on the West.
And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and in them the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden Reed to measure the city. And the gates, they're all in the wall, they're all in the city. Lieth 4 square.
And the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured the city with the Reed 12,000 furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
00:05:02
And he measured the wall thereof in 140 and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the Angel.
In the building of the wall of it was of Jasper.
And the city was pure gold, like under clear glass.
The foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper, the second sapphire, the third Caledonian the 4th and emerald the 5th Sergeant, the 6th, Sardius the 7th Crystalloid the 8th Girls, the 9th the Topaz.
The 10th Crystal process, the 11Th of Jason, the 12Th and Amethyst.
And the 12 gates were 12 Pearls, every several gate was of 1 Pearl. In the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
I saw no temple there in, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it, And the city had no need of the sun, neither the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lightning it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth to bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, or there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it, and there shall no wise enter into it anything that defiles us.
Either whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but say what you are written in the Lamb's book of life.
And he showed me a pure river water of life.
Where is Crystal proceeding? Out of the throne of God and of the Lamb? In the midst of the street, of it, and on either side of the river. Was there the tree of life?
Which bear 12 manner of fruits and yielded her fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, And his servant shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads. There shall be no night there.
And they need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the Holy Prophet sent his Angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly.
Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Well, as we said this morning, this section then introduces us to something different. We've had the eternal state before us in the previous verses, but now he's going to go back and fill in some details in connection with the Millennium in From a heavenly perspective. And it's already been alluded to, but I think it's helpful to repeat the fact that what we have here is not a description of heaven. Now, brethren, I don't want to take away anybody's perception of what heaven is going to be like. And I will join heartily in some of the hymns. We sing about the Street of Gold and the Gates of Pearl, and we sing, and what will it be to be there? That's all fine and well.
But you notice in the context here, he is now going to describe the church.
Who has been already brought before us as the bride of Christ. He's going to describe her as the city. She's actually brought before us in two ways here as the Lamb's wife and as the city. Maybe I'll just make a comment about the Lamb's wife first, because, uh, well, well, in fact, just go back to the, uh, I want to make a contrast. Just go back to the 17th chapter for a moment.
00:10:07
To notice how John views all this.
And how he viewed the false church in the 17th chapter and verse three. So he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and 10 horns and so on. So when John viewed the false church and her judgment, he views it from an earthly perspective. He's taken by the Spirit of God into the wilderness. But notice where we started this afternoon.
Now he's going to view the true church, but he has to be not from an earthly perspective, it has to be from a heavenly perspective. And so he's not taken by the spirit into the wilderness, He's taken by the spirit to a high mountain because he's going to view things from a heavenly perspective. So very interesting contrast. And sometimes people don't realize, but you know, after we're gone, there's still going to be a church on earth.
It'll be a false church.
But there will still be a church on earth, and it will be fully judged. As we get in the previous chapters, John views her judgment from the perspective of the wilderness. But here he's carried to this great and high mountain, and we find he sees the Lamb's wife. Now why is she referred to as the Lamb's Wife? Well, there may be other reasons, but those of us who are married will remember vividly the day when a young lady stood beside us and she was our bride.
But as the years have gone by, she's become our wife.
It the bride has to do with the freshness and loveliness of affection and so on. And we are going to be the bride of Christ for all eternity, as was mentioned. But the wife has to do more with relationship. And so as the Lamb's wife, she's going to we're going to have a part in the administration of the Kingdom from a heavenly standpoint. Let me illustrate it this way. When the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of Canada or any other dignitary.
Elected to office and brought to the official residents of the country. Wouldn't you be surprised if their wife didn't move in with them? And wouldn't you be surprised if at least some of the time, as his picture is splashed across the national press if his wife wasn't beside him at least some of the time. And there are times when the wife, the the dignitaries wife has a part in a role to play. Not in the same way that the Prime Minister, the president has.
But she does play an important role, and so as the Lamb's wife in that relationship, we're going to have a part in reigning with Christ. But then he goes on, as we have noticed, to describe her.
As a city. Why? Because cities denote administration. If I say Ottawa or Washington DC or London or Paris or any of the other great capitals of this world, you immediately think of the running of the country, the administration of the country from that point. And I believe that's why she's described as a city in her administrative function and glory, reigning with Christ in a coming day.
The language, of course, is figurative, but it brings before us, I believe, the place of relationship and the role we are going to have in reigning with Christ during that the Millennium. So I believe that helps to put in contact what we have. She's called the Lamb's wife in the end of verse nine. And then he's carried away to see this city and the city is not heaven. The city is a description as he points out.
Of the Church in her millennial administrative reign.
Strong So as Jim read there in the 17th chapter, we have a picture of her and she is uh.
The fourth verse of the 17th chapter, a woman is raid in purple and scarlet colored, decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. I mean, cup in her hand, full of abominations, filthiness of her fornication. She's a hollow and she is also viewed as a city too, and in connection with the false administration that she's taken in this oath. And so the next verse, Mystery Babylon the great. So I mean, once you start seeing these parallels, you can see what the Spirit of God uses.
The language that he does at least is helpful to see these parallels.
00:15:11
There the Angel carries him away into a wilderness.
Here he carries him to a great and high mountain that's significant as well.
I think to not to get.
Particular words, but in verse 10, it's the great city could be removed. It's not a great city in the sense that Babylon, Babylon the great that she is a holy city, holy Jerusalem.
So those words are you can cross out that great city.
But.
Just go back to Hebrews 12 and you'll get one of them.
Hebrews, chapter 12.
And, uh, verse 22.
But year come unto Mount Zion under the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the General Assembly and the Church of the first born which are written in heaven, and to the Judge of all, the of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and so on. The Jerusalem here, I believe in its context, is the same as the 3rd heaven, eternal dwelling place of God. It's not where we are, that place where we are going to spend eternity.
And there there's going to be those different companies in heaven. There's going to be not just the church, but the Old Testament Saints, those who died before the age of responsibility. There's going to be the tribulation martyrs and so on. There's going to be a number of groups or families in that Jerusalem or in in heaven, the eternal dwelling place of God. Then, of course, we have no problem understanding that there's the physical city of Jerusalem that during the millennial reign of Christ on earth is going to be the center of the world. It's going to be the capital of the world.
Not Washington DC, not London or Ottawa or any other of the celebrated capitals of this world.
Jerusalem is going to be the metropolis, the capital of the world. Tremendous to think about. They're not that today. They're still a suppressed city. People in Jerusalem tonight will go to bed with fear and trepidation in their heart. But in a coming day, there's going to be the peace of Jerusalem. And as we have, all the nations are going to have to come up year by year and recognize that that physical city, Jerusalem, is God's center on earth. And if they don't, they will be cut off and have pestilence and famine.
But then there's the Jerusalem here, what we might call the mystical Jerusalem. Again, it's the church described in her heavenly administrative glory with Christ reigning over the earth. So there are these three. I believe we again shows the importance of context. There are these three.
Aspects in which Jerusalem is brought before us in the Scripture.
I think verse 11 is a tremendous verse to stop and consider having the glory of God. Now he's talking about the church in her millennial glory, having the glory of God and her light was like unto a stone, most precious, even like a Jasper stone, clear as crystal. Just go back to 2nd Thessalonians for a moment, chapter one for a verse that I think corresponds with what we have here as to this description.
2nd Thessalonians chapter one and verse 10. Now this is talking about a future day when the Lord Jesus comes back. Heaven, heaven opens up, earth looks up. They see not only the Lord Jesus coming back, but they see the heavenly company with Him, that heavenly company that Bob brought before us in the open meeting. And what does it say? Verse 10 when he shall come? This is his appearing to be glorified in His Saints, and to admire, be admired in all them.
00:20:07
Not believe. I'm gonna leave out the italic, the the parenthesis admired in all them that believe in that day. What is that day? That day in Scripture is always the day of his appearing. And when he comes back and heaven opens up and the Lord Jesus comes forth wearing many diadems to reign in righteousness, and we come with him, the earth is gonna look up and wherever they look, they're gonna see a reflection of Christ in every St. And that's tremendous to think about.
Rather than we ought to reflect something of Christ now in our lives and we will in the measure in which we're occupied with the man in the glory will be changed into the same image from glory to glory. You get that in Corinthians. But I I can only point at my own heart and say sometimes it's a pretty clouded picture. Sometimes the reflections pretty clouded, but it thrills my soul brethren to think there's a day coming when we're going to come forth and Jim Highland with every other St. of God is going to reflect fully the glories of Christ and wherever the world looks as they look up, they're going to see Christ reflected fully in his Saints now.
That ought to motivate us now to be occupied with the man in the glory and seek to reflect something of him now.
I think that thought of reflection, uh, reflected glory is umm.
Is can be simply explained in the in the fact that anything that is described here that is beautiful is only beautiful in the light.
If you take a precious stone and put it in the dark, all it is is a piece of rock. If you take a, if you take gold, it feels in the dark. It just feels like a lump of, uh, something that has a kind of an oily feel finish on it, but it's just a piece of, uh, rock. And, and so it takes the light to bring out the beauty that's there. But where is the light come from here? It comes from the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Here's the contrast. Having the glory of God, we will be completely conformed to what He had in mind of Him. Think to the fact that the says in First Corinthians 11 That the woman is the glory of the man.
Well, here is the one.
That reflects the glory of God.
We have that expression down through this chapter 2 quite a number of times. The end of verse 11 clear as crystal.
In verse 18, the city was Pure gold, likened to clear glass. Verse 21 at the end the city was Pure gold as it were transparent glass. Gold is often mentioned as it's God's righteousness, divine righteousness, but here it is like clear glass. It will be.
Visible. So often we see things today that we don't understand.
Why does it happen this way? Why it's not clear? In that day? Everything will be clear, brother.
I'd like to just make a practical Application in that regard. I don't want to depart from what we have here as to the typical teaching and the figurative language that is brought before us. But I thought of this, this expression clear as crystal. You know, it tells us brethren, that now we see through a glass darkly. Things aren't always clear as to circumstances in our lives now and what the Lord allows in our lives and.
00:25:19
I have no doubt there's some here perhaps. And you're wondering why did the Lord allow this in my life? I just don't understand. I just can't see through it and, and I don't get the point. But brethren, if you and I are willing to leave that with the Lord, maybe we won't see everything clear as crystal down here. Maybe everything as to God's purposes and ways with us won't be manifest. Sometimes we do look back and we say, well, now I see clearly why the Lord allowed that and brought me to this point.
But I think there's things, brethren, we're just going to have to leave till we get to the judgment seat of Christ. You know, Solomon said, Looking at things from a natural standpoint, that which is crooked cannot be made straight and that which is rough cannot be made plain. Isn't that the way we look at it sometimes we say that's never going to be straightened out, that's never going to be made plain. But it tells us in Corinthians Speaking of a future day of glory at the men of the future day at the of the manifestation of the judgment seat of Christ.
In First Corinthians 4 it tells us that.
There everything is going to be to be made be made plain, and every man is going to have praise of God. Isaiah 40 as well says, the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. That's the future day of glory. And so rather than are you and I willing to to wait that wait that day.
I I'll quote the verse I was thinking of in First Corinthians. It says, it says there, let me just let me just read it.
So I quote it correctly. It's in connection with the judgment seat of Christ. It says, therefore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then shall every man have praise of God. There's hidden things of darkness now, things we don't understand. But brethren, in that day everything is going to be clear as crystal. I know it takes faith to count on that. I know it takes faith to wait. We'd like everything plain now.
But are you and I willing to wait, realizing that God has a perfect plan, that everything is working out in our lives for a purpose of blessing, and that there's a day coming when in the light of His presence and His glory, everything is going to be plain? No shadows there, no seeing through a glass darkly there. Well, I know that's a little Application, but I just say that to encourage our hearts, brethren, and again, to look on to that day when we're going to understand everything perfectly. And as the little hymn says.
We shall shine in his beauty.
I like to associate these gates and the various.
Uh, precious stones and how they reflect beauty.
Uh, with, uh, our present testimony here on Earth, uh, we just go back and thought to, uh, Joseph, who we know spent those many years in rejection.
And he did it obediently and in submission, and he did it because of righteousness. He wouldn't lie. He wouldn't.
Conform to the world around him. And so when the day of exaltation came, Pharaoh could say none is so worthy as he.
He had proved his faithfulness in life and therefore was the best candidate to rule in the day of exaltation. That's our Lord Jesus Christ. But it's so wonderful to see how the Lord Jesus chooses to associate us with him. And I believe that in any measure that we go through life and suffer for righteousness, suffer injustice.
Or display Christ in our life in any way those things will be on display as associated with Christ As for him and he will choose to have his Saints as the messengers at the gates going out to to administer in his Kingdom. Uh, so these.
00:30:02
I, I like to encourage our hearts when we go through life. I mean, this morning we prayed for some of our brethren that are in difficult circumstances. None of us would choose those things, but it's part of learning what the sufferings of Christ are. And, uh, I believe such ones in the coming day will be specially identified with the Lord, uh, as he reigns.
Umm, I hope I'm getting my point across because this is not just something that we're going to look forward to and we're going to enjoy in the coming day. It's something that's forming right now. We are preparing right now as we live our lives and it's going to be put on display then.
Brother Doug, let's go back to the 19th chapter for a moment, because I believe what you say is very important, that our lives now are going to have a bearing on that future day when we reign with the Lord Jesus. And I know it's more the thought of the individual side of things, but since Brother Douglas brought it up and I think it's helpful, let's notice the seventh verse of the 19th chapter. Let us be glad and rejoice.
And give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb has come. And his wife notice this hath made herself ready. There was preparation. And then notice we'll read on. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is I'm going to read this, I think Mr. Darby's way. Mr. Darby translated the righteousnesses of Saints. I believe what we have here at the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Is the result of what is the rewards that are given for faithfulness at the judgment seat of Christ. The righteousness is of Saints and what is displayed when we come back to reign with Christ is going to be have its bearing. Yes, we're going to fully reflect the glories of Christ in that day, but we are we making ourselves ready now Is there that preparation for the wedding. What would you think of a bride.
Who was anticipating her wedding day and you stopped by her home from time to time and you found no preparations being made for the wedding.
Why you say that's very strange, but brethren, are we living in view of the fact that we're going to be married to the Lord? We are going to be married to the Lord, you and I who have been saved by the grace of God in this dispensation, the age of the, of grace. We are going to be the the bride of Christ, the Lamb's wife. We're going to be that special company at the marriage supper of the Lamb that's going to be married to the Lord. Are we living in view of that day?
We're all gonna be there, that's true. And in heaven there's as far as eternity, there's no degrees, but as far as the judgment seat of Christ and what we have as the righteousness of Saints, we're preparing for that now. We're making ourselves ready, and it's all going to be brought to light and manifest. And so this is very, very practical. It's more than just being saved and knowing we're on our way to heaven and that we're going to be part of the bride of Christ in a coming day.
Again, as we've had before us already, what manner of person ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is Pure. Are we really like an earthly bride, living in view of the wedding day and making preparation? Again, we're going to collectively reflect the glories of Christ in a wonderful way, but individually there's a responsibility and an exercise that is needed now in view of that time.
I have a question I'd like to ask the brothers if they could, uh, help me out with this. If we're Speaking of right, right, Why is it that?
In.
In verse 12.
Uh, that that it speaks of the 12 tribes of Israel and their and their names being written on the gates.
Where is the? Where is the connection there?
Well, Israel is going to have a part in the millennial reign, as we've been saying. Israel and Jerusalem is going to be the center of the world. But it's also interesting in this that there are the names of the 12 apostles because they were promised that they would sit on 12 Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And remember that from verse 10. Now he's not describing her so much as the bride or the wife, but the city now.
00:35:30
If, if I can just make this this parenthetical comment. When you go through the New Testament, you find the Church of Christ described in different ways as to her function on earth Here now she's the body of Christ and every member has a function and so on. She's referred to as we've had as the, as the bride of Christ, the Lamb's wife, the city, and there are other there are other ways that the church is brought before us to.
Bring before us various facets of her responsibility and her position that she's going to share with Christ in a, in a, in a coming day, what she means to the heart of Christ and the blessing she's been brought into. You have to keep them in their proper context. So here, as we said earlier, it's the the church as a city in her millennial administrative function with Christ. The apostles are going to have a part, but they're going to have a part from a heavenly standpoint.
Because they're going to be part of of the heavenly of the heavenly company of the Church of God.
See, again, Israel is going to have a part. It'll be from an earthly perspective, but they will have a have a part as well. There will also be Old Testament Saints that will be in heaven and they will have a part in the administration of, of the Kingdom as as well. And so there are, as we said earlier from, from Hebrews 12, there are these various companies in heaven. There's the Old Testament Saints, they're going to have an A part in the administration of the Kingdom.
Every Pennsylvania, every each part of the heavenly company is going to come back and reign with Christ. Every St. from Abel on down, I believe, is going to come with Christ to reign in a in a coming day.
Where judgment was carried out in old times, and so somebody has said the order of authority in the millennial they will be Christ supreme.
And the church in connection with him. And that's what we have in this city. And then Israel on the earth. And so each of those gates where the judgment is rendered goes out to a particular tribe of the children of Israel. And Israel will be supreme in this world as to the government of the world. And so it's interesting #12 in Scripture is always.
Uh, administrative, it's a number of administration. There were 12 apostles and it's, uh, of course that's the foundations of the city because it's foundation of the church is the doctrine of the apostles. And then, uh, the 12 tribes of Israel will be the means by which the whole earth is governed. So it's proper picture, isn't it? It comes out of the gates, uh, each.
Gate has one of the names of the children of Israel. Because it will be through. That means the whole earth will be governed.
We're getting John 4 salvation is of the Jews and we get in Revelation 5 thou is redeemed to God out of every tribe. That certainly includes the 12.
There's there's the.
Ones that are part of the church.
But there are the angels because they have always been God's ministers. And so from the beginning of time, God has sent forth angels to perform various functions and tasks. And we certainly know from going through Revelation that they play a very prominent role in the carrying out of God's judgments as well As for the blessing of the earth. So they're mentioned here as well.
It's interesting, I believe there are nine sets of 12 here in this in in this description. I'll just give them to you without expounding on them. But the first one, of course, is in verse 12, the 12 gates and that same verse 12 angels, same verse the 12 tribes of Israel. Then we have 12 manner of precious stones described in the verses that follow. Then there's.
00:40:13
In verse 21.
There are, uh, uh, twe, I'm sorry, in verse 16, there are 12,000 furlongs. Then we have the 12 Stones that are mentioned. Then we have the, uh, in verse 21, the 12 gates, uh, and then, umm, in uh, the next chapter we have the 12 manner of fruit. I, I believe if you count there's nine there. But a very significant, as Bob said, 12 is always administrative perfection.
In connection with the earth. And it will be a perfect rain. It won't be a perfect state of things as we've mentioned, but it will be a wonderful rain as Christ has his rightful place. And the administration goes forth throughout the whole or in the way that Bob has described. Because it's not only Israel that's going to be blessed, but the whole earth is going to be blessed in that day.
Two March 12Th and verse 14. Brother Jim, I I I missed those. I'm sorry. Yeah, they they were part of my account. I've counted them too.
I know there might be different, uh, ways of looking at it, but if you take the 144 that are mentioned in verse 17 as 2/12, this is 12 * 12. There are actually 12 twelves. Very good.
Perfect administration, Huawei. How different than what we have in the world today. One government comes up.
And it falls. And then another government comes up with more promises and doesn't last too long. Here's a government that will last for 1000 years.
Perfect rain.
So that's why the city is described as Foursquare. It's equal, isn't it? It's measured now with a he says, with a golden Reed. That's gold, always are, often speaks of divine righteousness. And so, again, I know we say these things many times, but just to put it in perspective, now in man's day, righteousness suffers. And it, brethren, if we're looking for righteousness in an unrighteous world, we're gonna be sadly disappointed.
And I've talked to many Christians who through MIS teaching are looking for righteousness down here and feel we're a moral force to change the world and usher in the Kingdom and bring in an era of, of righteousness and good and so on. You talk to, you don't have to talk to them very long to find they're somewhat discouraged. They may not want you to to see it, but there's there's somewhat discouraged because if they're honest with themselves, they realize that righteousness is suffering now. And brethren, we can't expect righteousness in an unrighteous world.
They rejected the king of righteousness, and as Malachi says, not till the Son of righteousness rises with healing in his wings.
Will there be righteous judgment in the earth again, so righteousness suffers in the eternal state?
Righteousness is, is going to abide. There's going to be nothing to spoil. As we said, said this morning, umm, it's, it's a fixed state of things. But in, in eternal, I'm sorry. In the Millennium, righteousness will reign. It won't be perfect. Sin will need to be judged every morning, but righteousness is is going to rain. And so the church, as she's described here as the city, she's Foursquare equal size.
There's no equality in this world today, is there? All you have to do, I don't suggest you do this, but all you have to do is when the courts open, uh, on Monday morning is go down to a court of law and listen to the cases that are taken up in a court of law. I think you pretty soon realize there's really no righteousness in this world. Woe to those that call evil good and good evil and people that are guilty, if they get, if they're fast talkers and they get a good lawyer, they're going to get, they may get off others. Sometimes there's bribes paid under the table.
Don't worry, there's lots of corruption in, in the Western world. We deal with it blatantly in the in, in other countries, but there's lots of it in this West, in the Western world as well. Sometimes there's pace under the under the table and the judge let somebody off. Sometimes there's those who are not guilty and they may be condemned and they may have to pay a fine or go to prison or whatever. There's no equity and justice in the world today and I don't expect there will be until God's man takes the throne of his glory, until the Lord Jesus reigns in righteousness and Princess rule and judgment. Is there going to be equity and judgment, justice and righteousness?
00:45:13
So I believe this is at least part of what is illustrated to us in the city. Being a cube, it was 4 square and it was measured by a golden Reed that would speak of divine righteousness.
I think we mentioned that this morning, uh, that in the 1St 8 verses, it speaks about the church there, there's no wall mentioned at all. But here there's a wall. And that goes along with what you were saying, Brother Jim, that there's gonna be evil still on the earth in the millennial day, but righteousness will reign and it will be judged.
Immediately, but there is need of a wall and that always indicates keeping something out. It's interesting if you look at Mr. Darby's translation in verse 24 says in the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it and the kings of the earth to bring their glory and honor. You look at Mr. Darby's translations, It's to it. It's not into it. And also in verse.
26 And they shall bring.
The glory and honor of the nations. To it they'll bring the nothing that contaminates will ever be allowed to enter that city.
Yes, we're going to be beyond anything that defiles in that day. And I believe it's more accurate in the 5th chapter of Revelation when they sing the new song that they reign over the Earth. King James says on the earth. But I don't believe, brethren, there's a scripture that would teach us that when we leave planet Earth at the Rapture, we're ever going to touch this Earth as it is again. We're going to be beyond that. Yes, we're going to rain over the Earth.
It's interesting when you compare scripture to see that the Lord Jesus.
Is going to come back and stand on planet Earth again and the Mount of Olives is going to rend asunder and he's going to establish his Kingdom. But he's going to leave a vice Regent or under the British system we call it a Governor General. He's going to leave a vice Regent who's of the seed of David here on the on the throne in in Jerusalem, who will act under his direction. The Governor General of Canada acts under the direction of the Queen. He's directly answerable to the sovereign of Britain.
And so this vice Regent or Governor General, he will sit on the throne in Israel, and then the Lord Jesus is going to take the throne of his glory in the heavens to reign over the earth with his bride and with the heavenly company. So I believe it's good to keep that in perspective. I'm not expecting once I leave this, this world of sin and sorrow and defilement, I'm not expecting to ever touch foot on it again. I'm expecting, though, to come back with Christ.
And to reign over the earth. So I think what Brother Bob said is very helpful, that the nations, they bring their tribute to it, but they don't come into it because again, on earth it is still not a perfect state of things. Sin is not eradicated completely until there's a new heaven and a new earth.
It's interesting you couldn't prove it by me, but a brother was telling me that if you figure the dimensions of this.
Uh, it, this, this city, it. And again, it's figurative, I realized, but 2.6 billion cubic miles, that's quite a city. We don't have any city on earth today that big. I've been to Cairo and, and Lagos and some of the, the big cities in this world, but this city is tremendous and it's a square. It will when the bride, when the, when the church reigns over the earth with Christ, there's gonna be, everybody's gonna be able to look up and see her. There's going to be nothing hidden in that day. Think of a side again, figurative, but think of the size of that city and the import that she's going to have as she reigns with Christ over the earth.
00:50:00
You'll excuse your brother and once your brother and Jim, I must say that I thought about what you said that we will never touch planet Earth again, but we will be with the Lord like we've been saying. And if his feet touchdown and you say that your feet won't touch down too, so well, we'll be with Christ. But I wouldn't I wouldn't, I don't. All I say is I don't believe we have a scripture that would show us that we actually touch that which defiles again.
Yes, but uh.
Not to angels has he committed the administration of the coming world, but to men, hasn't he? And we have the example in the Old Testament of of.
Abraham once received a visit from the Lord and from 2 angels because in that time the administration was committed to angels, and so the angels were deputed down to, uh, Sodom and Gomorrah.
I don't think we can say that they were ever defiled themselves, but they were in charge of destroying that those cities of the plane. So in the millennial day, I wonder if perhaps the Lord may send us in questions of government to take care of something as to the government of this world. This is this is my own thought and I just presented. You'll bear with it. Will you, brother? Absolutely. Yes, Sir, Thank you. But we will you will agree that we will never be depiled again. Definitely.
OK.
What would we expect? Imperfection from those millennial Saints, or lack of perfection?
Well, though still we need the need for sacrifice, won't there? Because there will be still sin, and so there's the need for the priesthood and sacrifice. Again, you get that in the last couple of chapters of Isaiah and other places, we find again that sin will be judged morning by morning. Things will need to be dealt with in that way. But I believe that it won't take many mornings for people to fall into line outwardly because it tells us in the 88 Psalm and other places that they will feign obedience.
The Millennium will not change men's hearts necessarily, but it will cause them to fall into line as they see what happened to their neighbor yesterday. Their neighbor did something. And remember, it's only actions that are judged in the Millennium, not the heart. But when there are actions, they are judged morning by morning. And so I a person sees what happened to their neighbor who sinned yesterday and they were brought up and they were they were killed. It was the ultimate penalty. I don't think it'll be take many mornings for people to outwardly fall into line.
Now sin is rampant because it says if, if sentence against an evil work is not speedily executed, is thoroughly said in the heart of man to do evil. Man does evil today because he gets all he gets away with it. And even if he's brought up to the judge again, as we say, he might have a have a good lawyer, there might be a typo in the report. There's some loophole in the law and he gets off or he just gets a slap on the wrist or a small fine. And so evil is rampant today because.
Sentences not easily are are not quickly executed, but in a coming day it will be morning by morning, and so people will fall into line. So again, there will still be sin in the Millennium, but I believe there will be many who outwardly feign obedience. Their hearts will be brought out later at the end, but they will go through the Millennium having feigned obedience, outwardly giving obeisance to the King.
Another, uh, detail to think about that too is that Satan will be bound in the Millennium, won't he? And people sin often now because they're deceived by Satan in that day, that they won't have that excuse at all. If they sin, they will do it knowing they are doing it in direct rebellion to the Lord Jesus. And so they're cut off the next morning.
Just another little detail in connection with the measurement of the city. If you notice in verse 17, he measures the wall thereof 140 and four cubits. Notice this according to the measure of a man that is of the Angel. This is measured not by man's measure of what is right or or just, but this is measured by the measure of what the Lord sees is right and just today men measures measure the things according to their feeling and of course the standard is completely gone and and it's.
00:55:24
Whatever, whatever you think is right and whatever you think is wrong, but this will all be measured according to divine righteousness in a coming day.
And that will be administration of a man, right? The man Christ Jesus, and with him those who are also men of the human race.
I just have a question here and uh.
Verse 25.
Chapters. And it says, And the gates which shall not be shut off by day, for there should be no night there.
Does that mean that the light and the glory of the Lord?
Will will repel anything that defiles.
That's what it gives you, gives us to understand that in verse 23, doesn't it? The city had no need of the sun either of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Remember a brother speaking about this and he said.
If you have a green light, it makes everything look green. You have a red light, it makes everything look red. But here Christ is the light of it. Everywhere you look, you'll see Christ.
I enjoy thinking too brother, in in verse 14 it speaks of the 12 foundations and in them the name of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. Then you have the foundations mentioned again in verse 19 and each of the foundations was garnished with all manner of precious stones and each foundation is mentioned Jasper, sapphire.
Ciao, Sidonie, 4th Emerald, 5th Sardomix, etcetera, right down to the end. Each of these precious stones. So in the apostles of the Lamb, it's it's interesting how the human and the divine are brought out together. None of the apostles were exactly like another. They were all different and yet God brings them all into the picture.
As the foundation work of this city.
I wonder, brethren, if we could take the time that remains to sing a rather lengthy hymn that describes what we've been Speaking of in beautiful language. For myself, I have to confess it's one of my favorite hymns. I memorized it years ago as a young person.
79.
I know it's a long him, but if we sing it to something like welcome Voice, which is a is a SM double, it goes fairly quickly, but it's Mr. Mr. Darby wrote this based on the portion we're taking up. And I believe it describes very in a very precious way what we've been saying Brother Bob brought before us speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And certainly this hymn speaks in a very beautiful way to our hearts of what we have been saying so.
We could sing hymn #79.
01:05:25
Yeah, right as fast as way.
I love my voice while I'm.
Gospel 1
Gospel—Stephen Rule
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On Tuesday of this week.
Or put something in my heart. My initial reaction to it was Oh no.
But I want to tell you why it's important because the next day, Wednesday of this week, I was driving home from work and it's a busy Rd. There's six lanes, three each direction. It's usually jammed with traffic at the time I'm heading home from work. And I was jammed this evening. And up ahead of me in another lane a little far away, there was a semi. And the semi I happened to notice I was stopped at a light. He was already through that light and I noticed.
That his one of the two back doors on the semi was wide open and as he was pulling forward toward the next light the thing was flopping back and forth flops all the way out into the oncoming lane that would have been next to him, lane that was next to him and saw it was loaded all the way to the back.
What I wanted was for somebody.
To go tell them his door was open.
I wasn't interested. I was several cars back from the light, but nobody turned and went to tell them his door was open. So when the light went green and I pulled through that my lanes were clear. For some reason the Lord allowed it and I pulled over a couple of lanes, got right up next to him and honked my horn. I hope that would do it. Didn't get his attention. I pulled forward a little bit, got all the way up to work as far as I could, and I honked and I waved and I pointed towards the back.
He looks at me a little strangely. I rolled down my window.
Yes, it was rolled down the window.
And pointed back toward the back and yelled your doors open.
He paused. He reached up towards the dashboard. I'm sure he was turning off his music. He lowered his window.
And looked expectantly and I yelled again. Your rear door is open.
His eyebrows hit his hairline.
His eyes popped wide open, pupils dilated, his mouth fell completely open, and I figured he got the message. So I pulled forward. But I was watching in my rearview mirror. In fact, I was looking back over my shoulder. He was in a turn lane to get on the Interstate and he didn't get moving. All the cars in front of him went, all the cars next to him went. So I knew he was back there, closing his rear door before he got on the Interstate.
And that's the burden of my message for you this evening. I don't want to pull up next to you and.
Shout to you that there's an eternity ahead of you that's different from what you've been listening to all afternoon. All afternoon you've been listening to an alternative that's ahead for someone who knows the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. But I'm here tonight to tell you that if you do not know that person, the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. There's another eternity ahead.
I'm not going to dangle you over Hellfire. I couldn't do that. I'm not going to do what some parents do when they have a child and they want to modify the behavior of that child without touching the heart. And so the child's causing problems and making noise and the volume is going up and the parent in a sharp voice says to them, quiet down or you're going to whatever the threat is.
With the purpose of the threat being the change, immediate behavior. I'm not here to threaten you. God is not here to threaten you. But it's my solemn responsibility this evening to tell you that there is a hell and that hell involves eternal punishment.
It says eternal as eternal life. We'll look at the verse a little bit later on, but I'm going to say that again. There is a hell. God's holiness demands a hell.
God's holiness demands the hell, and eternal punishment is as real as eternal life.
To turn with me to Luke's Gospel chapter 16.
We're not going to go through the whole chapter.
I wanna draw some things from here this evening.
First one, he said unto his disciples, the Lord Jesus Christ speaking, There was a certain rich man which had a steward. The same was accused unto him, that he had wasted his goods. And he called them, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee?
00:05:15
There are two certain rich men in this chapter. This is the first of the two. Certain rich men will spend more time on the other certain rich men. I just want to call your attention to this one thing here. There's another certain rich man in this chapter and he has goods and he's entrusted those goods. We won't go through the application of this to Israel. I want to apply it simply and clearly to you and your condition tonight as someone that doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
And in applying it in that way, there's a certain rich man. That certain rich man is given to you, is given to you as goods.
I'm gonna tell you about another certain rich man.
Man died.
Within the last couple weeks, I don't know exactly when.
That man was incredibly, as I see it, incredibly wealthy. Not in the funds of this world, although I believe he was a wealthy man in the funds of this world. But that man's name was Stephen Hawking.
My background is in physics. I had an interest in a little bit of interest in his life back when he's a theoretical physicist and he was a man who.
Gained a lot of fame, notoriety. His name is well known in a popular way because he was a good communicator. Wrote a popular book bestseller with Stephen Hawking. Was an atheist for all practical purposes. I don't know for sure if he called himself strictly an atheist, but his wife called him an atheist. He was an atheist, he denied the existence of God, and he fought against him.
He was an incredibly wealthy man and the goodness that God showed to him, and I fear there's someone in this room that's very similar to him. God shown you tremendous goodness, shown you tremendous goodness in the bringing you here to this place this evening.
Steven's wife actually. He was diagnosed with ALS in 1963. He was engaged in 1964 to a woman named Jane. Jane knew the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior from all accounts.
She got engaged to Steven.
They got married in 1965.
They were married together for 25 years. Another five years they were separated.
Let me tell you this because Jane gave testimony. She said It was ironic.
As her husband's ALS progressed, as his care became a bigger and bigger burden, she said it was ironic and the difficulties that she faced. But I was sustained by my face and God to give care for that man who's an atheist.
I was sustained in my faith in God to show love and care to that man who rejected God.
That man is now an eternity. I haven't heard a single thing about him repenting, but the Lord knows the heart. Perhaps there was something there at the end. I can't stand this judge on where he is at the moment, but I know this.
He was shown incredible goodness. He was shown incredible patience.
He was diagnosed with ALS, as I said a moment ago, in 1963. He passed away just a couple of weeks ago or within the last couple weeks approximately. He was shown incredible goodness, and you've been shown incredible goodness. Let's read the verse directly related to that. We'll come back to Luke 16 if you want to keep your finger there.
But in Romans chapter 2.
Listen carefully to this verse, Romans chapter 2 and verse 4.
Or despiseth thou the riches of his goodness, and notice what is coupled with.
Forbearance.
And long-suffering.
And forbearance and long-suffering turn with me to Second Peter, chapter 3.
Second Peter chapter 3 and verse 9.
00:10:02
Says the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is the reason why.
He's held off on judgments, he's held off on the day of the Lord. Here's the reason. Here's the reason he's held off in your life. It says here as some men can't slackness, but his long-suffering to us were not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
I'm not here tonight to threaten you with hell. I'm here to warn you that there is a hell. I'm here to tell you that God, in his long-suffering and love for your soul, has given you until tonight.
Until tonight to hear this message. I don't know how much longer he'll wait. I'm not going to give you a day that couldn't do that. I know he's waited in long-suffering until tonight. You have until this moment. You have until this moment because it's the goodness of God and His long-suffering that's waiting for your soul to turn to Him.
Turn back to Luke chapter 16.
It was a steward that wasted the goods.
Further down in the chapter verse 15 and he said unto them here they which justify yourselves.
Before men.
But God.
Knoweth your hearts.
You're they which justify yourselves before men.
But God knoweth your hearts.
The man just down the street from us.
My wife and son got to know them walking back and forth years ago when Paul was quite a bit younger and that man.
Parkinson's sometimes carries an oxygen tank with them. He's in his 80s, his wife similar. Out in front of their house sits a vehicle, belongs to his daughter. On a license plate are these letters.
CONTL i.e.
They own a lie detector business.
He's been and spent his whole life, still works for the business, still very proud of working for the business.
He's in his mid 80s or something like that. Maybe it's his late 80s now. Still works for the business as often as he can. He spent the majority of his life testing for people that lie. But this is another Steve. His name is Steve.
And Steve?
Is ready to take up his case with God. He's ready to appear in the presence of God and let God know what a good person he is.
He's traveled the world, he knows languages, he's nice to people, he's friendly.
And when he gets in the presence of God, he's going to explain to God.
That he's a good person. I'm not quoting him exactly, but I'm giving it to you as closely as I remember. But you know Steve's lie detector test, They look on symbols, things he can measure on the outside. Not just the words, but the response to the skin. When a person begins to sweat, when they get nervous, it looks on the outside. I'm looking on your outside tonight.
You know, there are marketers now that are gradually, well, actually very rapidly at the moment, developing new software and they bring people into a room. They bring a small group of five or ten people into a room. They train a bunch of cameras on them and they show them an ad.
And they video their response and then they use their artificially intelligent program with its gradually and in fact rapidly improving algorithm to decide what that person thinks of the ad.
And they've done away with the surveys afterwards. Why? Because in their tests they've decided that these are 75%. At least in the one case I read some months ago, 75% more accurate than when people write down on the piece of paper.
Watching the way they react just on their faces, what their eyes do, what their body language says is far more accurate than what the person says. Maybe later on they're trying to be nice and they say a few nice words on the survey because they met the person that handed it out. I don't know, but I know this, that people lie and so they've gone to a different method. But I want to go back to that verse that we just read. It says God knoweth.
00:15:18
Your hearts.
That's my burden tonight, that there's somebody here that's an excellent person in front of their parents, an excellent person in front of your neighbors, an excellent person and sitting in the row in the meeting room and an excellent person with your words.
Let me read to you those words again from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. God knoweth your hearts.
You're not going to enter the presence of a holy God as Steve Theodore, my neighbor, thinks that he will, and announce to him his own goodness.
You're not going to enter the presence of a holy God and present your excellence before man.
God knoweth your hearts.
He was speaking to people who were covetous.
Want to emphasize that I'm not here.
Once again, I want to emphasize that I'm not here to lay a guilt trip on you. I'm here to warn you. I'm not here to tell you that I have a different heart than you have.
I'm not here to tell you that I know your heart, but I'm here to read the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that says God knoweth your heart.
I'm gonna give you a little Peace of Mind, something I didn't know. Not Peace of Mind. A trust that comes later.
Currently we're in the process.
Of looking for a new house, place where we can live closer to Bible truth publishers, where I work, place closer to my parents to be a greater help to them and other reasons. And so in looking, I've been to every single house in Addison, so for about a half dozen. And in going through those houses, I saw one.
This was 5-6 years ago. I saw one that I said.
If I ever.
I'm looking for a new house. I hope that one goes up for sale.
We started looking for a home, didn't say anything.
My parents at first.
If I mentioned it to my dad and being who he is, he looking for things to do with mom. He began driving around in the evenings doing something with her and looking at the houses that had something for sale and within about two weeks.
He came into my office in the morning before work started and he said I saw a house. You're gonna like it or something to that line.
And he began to describe what it was and where it was. And he said, well, I said, I know that house out of the I'm going to estimate the 5000 houses in Addison. That's the one that I saw that I wanted.
If it ever went up for sale, there's a for sale sign in the yard.
There was a pending sale in the house.
I looked at all the pictures worked out exactly from the pictures where each room was. And I could finally after working from the exterior views of the house and there's this kind of window here and then from the interior view of the bathroom and that, Yep, that's the window worked out. The floor plan decided, Yep, that looks like a good place.
Oh, it was wonderful. You know, the backyard has two picnic tables and there's a little Bay window on the and so on. It's beautiful, peaceful, not that expensive, quite reasonable, amazing. close to BCP, 4 minutes away.
Belongs to somebody else.
A pending sale went ahead and had knocked on the door a little while later because they hadn't taken it off off market online or anything and met the new owners and they owned the house. And as I reflected on it, you know, there was something in my heart the Lord wanted to talk to me about and the thing he wanted to talk to me about.
Was simply this.
In my heart I coveted something. Not a fancy house. This wasn't a fancy house. It had character and it had quietness.
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Well, my heart was coveting was character and quietness.
Rather than going first to the Lord and saying here's what?
I'm here. What do you have for me?
We can cover a lot more than money. That's what I'm trying to illustrate to you. And our hearts are subtle. We can covet a whole lot more than money. Let's turn to another person that coveted a whole lot more than money. Let's turn back to Genesis.
Chapter 3.
And verse one.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any piece to the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yeah, half God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden.
Just wanna pause here.
Says in this verse.
Any beasts of the field which the Lord God had made.
Did you notice in what we read that little subtle approach that Satan made?
Satan doesn't arrive on your doorstep with the stereotypical horns and a tail.
If you've grown up in a Christian home and you've been kept from the outward evil of the world.
Satan, I wouldn't say normally would show up at your door.
With some gross evil and present it to you.
We were at the zoo a while back and in the section where they have a bunch of snakes. I don't like snakes at all. As long as they're behind glass, they're interesting. And these are behind nice thick glass. And this was the cage of a Python. And from off out outside my vision, someone threw in a dead rabbit. And I thought, oh, this will be interesting. I expected the Python, which was awake, its head was up to come shooting over and grab at dinner. But the Python.
Which was awake, flickered its tongue, and it flickered its tongue and it moved a little bit more. And you know what? It was a long process. That Python came out of its curl and it made a complete loop, probably a foot or more away from that dead rabbit all the way around. And it stopped and it flickered its tongue again and again and again and again, and it circles and it circles until finally it was in close.
And that clamped down.
And then for a long time, it worked the rabbit down and into its body.
Satan is not going to approach you with the grossest evil. If you've grown up in a Christian home straight off the bat, you may be far down that road already, but it didn't begin with this. It began right here. And I would suggest to you that the first little thing, there's the word yay, bringing in a doubt. But I would suggest here, there's something else here extremely subtle.
He says, Hath God said?
But God says by his Spirit, the Lord God.
There's a sense of a relationship in that term. The Lord God, Lord God, God created you with a desire to have you in his presence as his son or his daughter forever. God's heart was towards you. You were made in the image of God with the delight of God would have been is.
In so many cases here in this room have been to give so many of us.
As a love gift to His Son. And that's the Lord God at the beginning of the verse. But Satan comes in and he creates just a little bit of distance there. He moves God back to a distance. As wonderful as it is, as it is that God is a majestic person, Satan would push him back a little bit.
And insert a small amount of doubt with that word yay. And then he says.
You shall not eat of every tree of the garden. He finishes with that question, finishes inserting that first little wedge. And you know how the woman responded. But I want to impress this on you.
The article I read on marketers, they were extremely impressed with themselves at their great progress and I was done reading the article.
00:25:09
I thought of these verses.
Satan's had 6000 years.
The glorious created being.
To do his sentiment analysis.
You think you're going to present, appear in his presence and spot someone with metaphorically or figuratively, I should say, horns in a tail and resist?
It's not going to happen. They're not going to appear before him and resist. Eve did not. Let's return back to Luke chapter 16.
Let's go down to verse 20.
19 verse 19.
There was a certain rich man. Here's the second certain rich man in the chapter.
But this is a different person.
The first certain rich man had, and he gave.
First certain rich man had, and he gave.
God had and he gave. God sent his Son the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth, and love to my soul, and in love to your soul. The first certain rich man had, and he gave.
Says of this certain rich man.
Which was clothes and purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.
What did he give?
The second certain rich man had and he took.
A certain rich man was given, and he used for himself.
You have been given life. You have been given enough health to come here this evening. You've been given the ability to understand these words. You've been given people in your life that have shown you love, just like Stephen Hawking was given a wife who used the strength directly from God to be strengthened to help him in his condition.
You may not have been given everything that you want. You may not be wearing the clothing that you've coveted.
You may not be living in the house that you've coveted. You may not be driving the car.
That you saw on your way here that you want.
But you are a certain rich man, and you have been given by God.
Everything that you have.
Whose is it? Whose are you?
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores.
There's somebody at the hotel last night.
Got blood all over their hand. Cracked.
Skin bleeding went to the front desk and they kindly gave them a Band-Aid. Simply handed them a Band-Aid. It was kindness to patch up their sore.
Lazarus sat at this rich man's gate.
The dogs show them kindness.
No worries the the rich man did.
A word that the rich man did.
You say, well, that's not me. I show kindness. I've been trained in it. I held the door for someone coming in this evening.
I made sure that they had an umbrella when they walked off in the rain for dinner. That's not me.
That's not me.
I want you to recognize with me my heart's no different than yours.
If we take from God and we use it because of any other motive than returning praise and honor to Him, using it as entrusted by Him as the steward at the beginning of the chapter teaches us, if it was taken and used for self in any way, for honor from the person you held the door for, or whatever other reason might be hidden in the heart, God knoweth your hearts. If it was for any other reason, it was spent on yourself.
00:30:16
And not on others. And it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. No word that he was buried.
Rich man was.
No word that the beggar was. We won't go through it, but you'll find it a fascinating thing if you know the Lord is your Savior, to go back and find the context of where burial came in in the word of God. There's a fascinating little extra in there for you, but let's move on. The rich man also died and was buried.
And in hell. He lift up his eyes.
If you're going to a university somewhere.
And you've gone through these verses with somebody and they've given you explanations of it.
I don't believe these verses are talking directly in their context here about eternal punishment. We'll look at a verse from Matthew on that you could have backed up from the portions we were reading in the reading meeting to Revelation 20 and look at that. But I want you to notice a simple fact, not get into quibbling over words here. The word here is Hades. It's not the lake of fire, it says, and in hell, he lifts up his eyes.
Being in torment, I want to remind you of something.
The person speaking these words is the Lord Jesus Christ in this chapter. The person speaking the words to your heart this evening is the Spirit of God and their want and their message to you, that on the other side of a death without Christ is torment immediately on the other side of a death without Christ.
His torment? I hope so. We'll look at it. We'll get a chance to look at it a little bit later.
But the holiness of God demands judgment against sin. And you if you reject God.
If you reject God's offer of mercy in His, Son will be called to answer before the holiness of God.
For your lack of holiness.
I mentioned that we were.
Painting our house or and we're preparing our house for sale as well as looking for a house. And so the painter finished. We did some of the painting and it was clear we would be there for many months if we did all of the painting. So we found an inexpensive painter and he managed to do the job in about 3 1/2 days and he left on Wednesday. You know, I don't live in my house quite the way I did before the painter came.
Because we're moving furniture out of room so he can paint them and then moving.
Furniture back into the room that's beautifully painted boy, you don't want to scuff the wall. Hey, before it didn't matter, you know, it was, it was a clean house. It was a clean house. It wasn't run down. There wasn't, uh, ceiling tiles or chunks of the ceiling falling on the on the bed. It wasn't like the back porch was roof was caving in. That was a nice house.
The walls weren't all dirty.
But when you got up close, there's a scuff here, there's a scuff there, and now that there aren't, I move around when I take the corner with a piece of furniture in a very different way than I did before.
The masonry person came out, we have some half brick, it's called on just a little section on the front of the house and the bottom couple rows looked a bit ragged. And so we called the person that knew how to do masonry out to take a look at it, see what it would cost to repair it, and he was standing there.
Before I do, I want to make it clear why I'm telling you this. Not to entertain you, but to make an important point. And that is when we get in the presence of a person that makes us feel just a little bit uncomfortable because of their standard of holiness, we begin to look for somebody that's a little messier.
Brian Penrod of Penrod Masonry came out and he and I were standing from the house, nice guy. And I pointed out to him the bottom two rows there that had some pieces falling off and another point over there that had some pieces falling off. And he was looking over my wall. He glanced at them and commented. And while he's talking to me about those, he oh, yeah, up over there. And there was another little row while that was up on the corner and I hadn't noticed that.
00:35:04
And he kept looking at my wall and he, oh, and he with his finger, he rubbed a nail that was stuck in to the brick.
And they found another cup. There's a hole in a hole in a hole where somebody had had some nails in the brick before, and now that water could infiltrate and get in behind the brick. And he found those and then he looked at there's two long white streaks. I've lived in the house 12 1/2 years and never seen them.
They're too long white streaks. Do you want me to do something about those? Oh, no. I was getting nervous because he kept finding one thing after another. You know, his standard was not my standard. I was comfortable. I noticed a little bit that needed fixing up over here. But Brian had an eye for that kind of thing. And he found this and he found that and he found the other over here and.
It was a relief because right about that point he turned his eye towards the next door neighbor.
That's not good because the next door neighbor's house, their daughter saw a couple six weeks ago, nice cold Chicago temperature can't work on brick. She confused the brake for the accelerator and nailed the brick pillar next to the garage. And it's kind of really WAVY and they have it braced until it's time for setting mortar in the hot. That was that was nice.
And what do you have? What? What happened over there? All I could tell him, he's not looking at my wall anymore.
Is looking at the neighbor's masonry and then that triggered a story in his mind because the night before this was last Saturday the night before last Friday he had.
Cares for a there's a friend of the family, he helped them out and, umm, they have several daughters. And he told me that those, those several daughters, they had a problem with the car, one of them in particular. So they called them out And can you look at the car? There's a problem. Looked it over for a little bit. Yeah, we need to put some gas in here. I'll help you put some gas in and then your car will work.
But the night before he came to my house, he got a call from that same daughter and that same daughter, uh, wanted to umm, that same daughter had gone out for the evening in the car and she called him and said, I have a flat tire. Can you come and help me fix my flat? And he said, sure, let me finish eating dinner with my family and I'll come help you fix.
That flat tire, I'll do it for you. And so he finished up eating real quick, got in his car, went out to where she was, and as he's approaching, there's three police cars with their lights flashing.
Surrounding her vehicle, it gets up to the vehicle and she had a flat tire. It was flat on the ground like this and her axle was snapped off. I said to her, did did you? Did you think that was a flat tire? Well, yeah. Can't you just kind of put it back on?
Now I'm feeling really good. He's forgotten about my wall, he's forgotten about the neighbor's wall. And he's telling me about somebody else who has a quote, flat tire. And he asked her, So what happened here? Oh, I, I don't know. It just just happened. Couldn't give him any explanation. It just happened.
The week before she wrecked her grandma's car and that just happened too. She couldn't give any explanation of that one either.
Now I feel comfortable.
But you know what?
You don't appear before Brian Penrod, and you don't appear before me, and you don't appear before anyone other.
And a holy God, you don't appear before anyone other than the one whose holiness demanded what we're about to read. We're saying about it at the beginning, but if you're going to, in fact, I'm going to, I'm going to wait just a moment before I turn there.
I'm going to turn to Matthew chapter 25 first.
Matthew 25.
And verse.
4046.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment.
But the righteous into life eternal.
Can't pronounce the word in Greek. I can see it in my mind's eye transliterated in English, but I'll just tell you this, the last thing punishment, everlasting of everlasting, punishment and eternal of eternal life are exactly the same word.
00:40:17
They're the exactly the same word in that verse.
You can go back and you can tell me after the meeting and tell somebody else after the meeting your thoughts on all the figurative languages you wish to look at it about that a certain rich man.
But I want to remind you that the moment that certain rich man exited this world, he was in torment.
And I want to remind you that in this verse right here, right next to the words, eternal life are what could be translated just as easily, eternal punishment. It's the same eternal. It's the same eternal. And here's why.
You turn with me.
In Luke's Gospel chapter 22.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 22.
Verse 41 Speaking of the Lord Jesus.
And it was withdrawn from them by the stones cast.
And kneeled down and prayed, saying Father.
If thou be willing, remove this cup from me, nevertheless not my will but thine be done. There appeared an Angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him, and being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly.
The sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
In the history of time, you could say this is just moments ahead of those hours of darkness.
Within the 24 hours of that time. And here's the Lord Jesus.
The day the 24 hour period has come.
And he's looking forward ahead to that cross.
As they looked ahead to that cross.
His holy soul.
Soul that hated sin, A soul that wanted nothing but his Father's will.
It's looking forward to those moments, looking ahead to those moments when God will lay on him the punishment for my sins.
He has made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.
But we might be made the righteousness of God in him. God hates sin. The Lord Jesus Christ hates sin. And as He looked ahead to that cross, as He looked ahead to that moment when He would be made sin for me, there was nothing in His holy soul that would delight in being made sin, and there was nothing in His perfect person.
That would refuse to move forward in obedience to His Father's will. There was nothing that attracted him to that moment as the one who hated sin, but there was nothing in this person that would refuse to be made sin. For me, God is a holy God. Let's hear the words from His lips in Matthew.
Matthews Gospel.
Chapter 27.
Verse 43. Verse 4045.
Now the 6th hour. Now from the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land until the 9th hour and about the 9th hour Jesus Christ with a loud voice saying.
Saying this at the beginning.
We're reading it now, toward the end.
These words were uttered from that cross so valued by God, they're put as they were spoken.
00:45:03
And he cries.
Eli Eli Lama Sabachthani, and it's translated into Greek and from there the English that we read.
That is to say, my God, my God.
Why hast thou forsaken me?
For three hours.
By his holy person.
A feeling the wrath of God against sin.
Three hours when you have poor the eternity of that judgment, that eternal punishment that my sins deserved, and God took it on the cross.
Is there anyone here that would dare?
In their own thoughts.
Like my neighbor Steve Theodore has said to me repeatedly.
He's going to appear before that God.
And explain his own righteousness.
If you dare to appear before a holy God that would punish sin in this way and love for your soul, and say.
Here's my righteousness.
The holiness of God demanded this for my sin. The holiness of God demanded it for the sin of many here. And God in love has opened the way so that you can bow the knee to him this evening and receive him, the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior because of this moment that we've just read about.
But there is wrath.
But there is wrath against sin, and if you don't stand on the righteousness that comes from this moment.
You'll stand in the unrighteousness of your position before God. There will be no neighbors bricks to point to. There will be no.
Foolish person and their idea of a flat tire to laugh at.
There'll be no neighbor that you could point to and say this person is so much worse than I am.
You will send an answer for yourself.
When a buyer comes to my house someday and they walk up, they're not going to be looking at the brick of the neighbor's house. They're going to be looking at the brick on the front of my house. And when you appear before God in your sins.
When you appear before God because you rejected the love of His Son, because you were refused His offer of mercy given to you this evening, you will have nobody to point to.
Your mouth will be stopped.
There will be nowhere to stand.
There'll be nothing to cover you.
I trust that these words won't echo in your mind.
But I want to turn back to Luke.
Luke, chapter 16.
Verse 25.
In this context, there's many things directly applied to the Jew, and so it's Abraham in verse 25.
But I want to fantasize this, Abraham said. Son, remember?
Abraham said. Son, remember.
Son, remember.
The prayer of every single person here tonight that knows Jesus Christ as their Savior.
So you're never going to hear those words lifting up your eyes in torment. There's not the desire of a single redeemed heart here that wants to see you suffer.
But the Lord Jesus Christ.
The one.
Who, people wondered at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth?
The one who lifted up children in his arms and blessed them.
Those lips spoke these words.
And the Spirit of God is speaking among your ear this evening, and they are spoken to you in love, because the goodness of God is long-suffering is waiting for your soul.
00:50:04
Because the Lord Jesus Christ is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's His heart of love towards you, but His Holiness demands.
But sin be punished.
There's one more lie of that subtle serpent Satan that I want to just mention before we close in verse 26.
The lie isn't in verse 26. The answer to it is. And beside all this, between US and you there is a great gulf 6.
You know, in our society today.
I've emphasized Satan's subtle.
Like that Python at the Brookfield Zoo, It measures the prey, circles the prey, approaches the prey, takes the prey.
Satan doesn't begin with the worst. It begins with.
A subtle crack and he begins with something simple that you would accept.
It begins with the idea that tolerance and care for your neighbor is a good thing. And who would argue that it's not good to be a bigot?
He would argue that you have a God of love.
There's a book written that denies the truth taught in this verse and its title is Love Wins.
The title of the book is meant to convey that God is a loving God.
Who wouldn't do what Jesus Christ spoke in these verses?
But God's holiness demanded the death of His Son in satisfaction for my sins. And God's holiness will not Passover your unpaid for sin.
There is a great golf fixed when you leave this life between those with faith and those without. You can try to go through this passage and you can try to think about what a drop might mean, and you can try to think about lifting up the eyes and you can try to think about these conversations. But I want you to think about something very simple, several very simple things.
It says torment. What do you say about that word torment? It says remember. What will you say about that word remember?
And it says there's a great golf fix.
And in the verse we read in Matthew 25, it says that there is eternal punishment.
It says eternal has eternal life.
Yes.
God would have His love win your soul this evening.
Yes, God would have you as part of His family. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ has long-suffering, and His long-suffering and His goodness have waited for you this evening. But if you refuse, the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. If you say to him no, and with Steve, I will stand on my own righteousness in His presence, every mouth.
Will be stopped. Every knee will bow.
You will not have a neighbor to point to. You will stand alone. You will be alone before the Great White Throne.
Fruit of the Spirit
Children—John Roossinck
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.
Looks to me like it's about time we're supposed to get started. We have a few children here in the front row, but we have quite a few front row seats for children that are vacant.
So when you're looking for a place to sit, think about that.
So if somebody wants to come up here in the front row, the children and sit here, that's fine, even while we're singing, but we'll start singing. Who has a song in the back page of the hymn sheet is especially for it says children's hymns and courses. But I don't think we have to automatically exclude the other pages. But I think that's what this page is especially for.
And I will say right here at the outset that, umm, unlike some speakers that might take this particular job, I'll not start the songs because I've said before that they'd probably be in the cellar if I did. A little over a year ago, we were in Newfoundland and they were having their meeting and singing quite a few songs in the basement of the meeting room, and I noticed that each person they gave out.
Long started that and I thought, man, is that what you got to do? I gave out a song and I said we're singing in the basement but we don't want to be in the cellar so somebody else can start it. OK with all that. Now who's got one?
OK, we got, oh, I don't know. Are you raising your hand for a song? Are you raising your hand to get somebody's attention? This girl's got a song. 42 Good for you. A little child of seven. I bet we have children here that are 7, three and four.
I was seven once, but it's quite a while ago. Even longer ago, I was three and four. OK, let's say #42.
Well, the last part of that song said salvation through his blood. That was talking about Jesus. It said Christ the Son of God. That's a very important thing is through his blood. But let's go on sing another one. You got one, Zach.
55 You know what? This paper doesn't go to 55.
The one we have at our Sunday school goes past 55.
But this one, umm, stops at 47. But I wonder what 55 is. You know, it might be in here with a different number.
Jesus wants me for his sunbeam. Think that's in here, Sam?
Think we could sing it anyway? I bet we could. Jesus wants me for a sunbeam. Maybe he's thought about that because of yesterday it was raining and today it might be sunny.
We're saying 55.
Gordon to pray.
In every way I simply use every.
So who has another one?
Which one would you like us to sing?
#41 around the throne of God in heaven will many children sing? Well, we don't even have to wait until we're around the throne of God in heaven, because we can sing right now. But that'll be nice. Then let's sing #41.
00:05:52
10-4 oh 10-4 oh 10-4 oh 10-4 oh 10-4 oh 10-4 oh 10-4 80, 10-4 oh oh 10-4 oh 10-4 oh oh oh oh oh oh glory, glory, glory glory's vigorous rows of God's.
Right in the end of the song, the last verse said something about the blood. So we've had that in the end of two songs. So that's an important thing. OK, we've got another one.
How about Drew? Gotta have a boy.
#40 Jesus loves me this I know. OK, let's say #40.
Nsnoise, 2005.
Ewell passed away my spin whatever that throat of God in.
Your eyes is like one place.
Nsnoise.
13114 10-4 OH 10-4 OH 10-4 OH 10-4 10-4 OH 10-4.
3000 plus many months may come when I'm buried away that now.
Granted, Shining Place one time.
Come to watch me where I live.
Your dream? That's called living.
Yeah, it's being a lovely.
9 311315 10-4 10-4. 0 10-4 0 10-4. 0 10-4 10-4. 0 10-4. 0 10-4. 0 10-4, 0 10-4.
00:10:59
Apple's here to remind me of what I do on other days.
Umm, and I think we're supposed to say the verse. Nobody told me what order we do things in, but maybe just to make sure that we don't run out of time, we just sing one more song and then we'll save the verse. Probably most of you children have learned the verse in this paper, but maybe some have other verses. But we'll get this boy here.
To have a song, Which one?
#44 into the tent where a gypsy boy lay. This boy, in this song, he was about ready to die. And in the song that we just sang across the column, Jesus loves me. The last verse of that song said, If I trust him, should I die, he will Take Me Home on high.
Well, now we'll sing 44 about this boy because that's just what happened to him. You know, I have a sister.
I guess it's OK to say I have a sister, Maybe I say I had a sister and she wrote that last verse of Jesus loves me on a piece of paper and put it on her bedroom door because I think she knew she was going to die. And she did die, but she loved the Lord Jesus. So just like this boy we're going to sing about in #44.
She went to be with the Lord Jesus long time ago, but let's sing about the gypsy boy now #44.
Nsnoise.
Foundation store in.
Hill.
00:15:13
Well, it's nice to think about this gypsy boy and that he got saved just before he died, but it seems like one of the main themes of this song is, and I think there's probably another verse that isn't in this.
Song sheet that makes it even more clear that this boy wanted the story of salvation to be told. That's why it says tell it again. Tell it again so we can keep doing that. But now let's just look to the Lord here for a minute and then let's say the verse.
Our blessed God and our Father, we thank Thee that we can be here with these children. You know, there's older people here, they're listening in, but we just thank you for these children. And we just looked at these for our little time with them and asked for thy help. We thank Thee for the story of salvation and that it is available to whosoever will. We had that word in this last song we sang whosoever. What a wonderful thing.
So we just.
Commend yourselves to Thee as we go on, and maybe even look at something in Thy word. We ask for Thy help and give thanks and the precious name of the Lord Jesus.
Amen. OK. Who learned the verse in this paper? You did good. You wanna say it? You wanna say it in this little thing so everybody can hear you. I'm not.
And believe it's in that Lord.
Are you not today if you will hear his voice harden, not your heart. He was 3/15.
Yeah, I bought this fellow here.
Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. Hebrews 315.
Good. You like to say this verse into this thing so everybody can hear you.
Today you are here in force, hard and not your hearts.
It's 8:15.
Can you say today?
Apparently not.
Today, if you will hear his voice harden on your heart, he was 3/15.
Hear my voice.
Hebrews 15 three. OK, Thank you.
Nice, we can help each other, isn't it?
Today he here.
Boys.
Hard not your heart, Hebrews.
44350.
Today if you will hear his voice harder, not your hearts. Hebrews 315.
Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. Hebrews 315.
Here his voice hardened on your heart.
Hebrews 315.
Today, if he will hear his voice, harden not your heart. Hebrews 315.
Now we'll come over here, see what we find.
Today is today. If you are here, voice harden, not your heart.
3:15.
Today, if you'll hear his voice, harden not your heart. He was 3/15.
Today, if you shall hear as well, It's hard, and let your heart Hebrews 315.
Today, if you will hear his voice harden on his heart. Hebrews 315.
Today if you will hear his voice harden not your heart. He was 3/15.
Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. Hebrews 350.
Today if you will hear his voice harden on your heart. Heart. Hebrews 315.
Today is today, if you will harden, not your hearts.
Oh, today if you were here, His voice are not your heart. Hebrews 315.
00:20:10
Well, what about this quadrant over here? Who are we gonna pick on here to say the verse must be somebody?
I don't see any little children here, so I'm gonna have to ask John, because somebody in this quadrant has to stay the earth today if you will hear his voice harden not your hearts. Hebrews 3:15 Thank you, John. There we got somebody from each quarter of the room.
Harden not your heart. That's, umm, means to not let God's word enter into your heart. Because when something's real hard, there's farmers around here that sometimes they worry that the ground is too hard and, uh, maybe the seed can't get in. Although they got pretty fancy planters now they probably can get it in anyway, but maybe the rain can't get in. So they don't want hard ground and we don't want hard hearts.
Well, I told you I had these apples here. You can't see them, so I'll get them out of this box. Isn't even an apple box because I'm a farmer. There's a lot of farmers around here and there's quite a few farmers in this room. But umm, most of the farmers in this room are probably what we would call grain farmers.
And I'm what we call a fruit farmer. We mostly grow two kinds of fruit. We grow a little bit of another kind, but.
We grow apples, see, We got apples here. We grow cherries too, but we don't store cherries. So it's pretty hard for me to have any cherries here on the table in March because we just have cherries in July.
Well, we have them in June and in May, but usually in May and in June. That ain't good to eat because they're not ripe yet. But we have apples for a lot of the year because we have a way to store apples and keep apples pretty good.
And so I was thinking about fruit.
Because like I said, I'm a fruit farmer. And there's a verse in the Bible here that says something about fruit. Because, you know, these apples all came from an apple tree. And there's a verse here that says, wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. So we want our apple trees to produce fruit.
And so I think these apples all came off of different trees.
Not really sure a couple of them could have come off the same tree, but umm, most of them are different trees. But you know, you can all produce fruit too. And there's a verse, several verses in the Bible that say something about that, says something about the fruit of the Spirit.
And I think I didn't save enough time. Maybe that's good. But umm, so we're not gonna ask these children to all find these verses, but.
Umm, maybe I'm not gonna find it either, but I think I just found it that, umm, it says the fruit of the Spirit. And I can just tell you because most of you aren't looking at this in your Bible, that spirit starts with a capital S, and that's important. It says the fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace.
Long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
Well, that was nine things that the fruit of the Spirit is, and we don't have time to talk about all those things, but those are all real good things and those are things that we can produce.
But, you know, these apples were produced on an apple tree. You're not going to find any. Some of these apples aren't too good. You know, in our business, we sort apples and only certain ones. This might be the only one here that really makes the grade.
To go to the stores where your mom goes to buy apples because this apple here I think would probably grade out as AUS extra fancy apple and that's what your mom usually buys. One of these other ones, this one probably would too. Anybody know what kind this is?
Anybody know what kind this is? I just tell you it's a Fuji. It's pretty good too.
This one's a gala. You might notice there aren't any Red Delicious. If I did this when I was the age of some of you children, I probably would have had mostly Red Delicious here. But they they're getting to be a thing of the past. But we're not supposed to be talking about that, supposed to be talking about these.
00:25:12
Apples are produced on an apple tree, and these good things that I just read to you are produced by the Spirit. But in order to produce these good things by the Spirit, you have to have the Spirit. And so I told you it starts with a capital S and it comes from God.
And he gives you that spirit that can produce these good things.
If you believe on him to be saved, we had songs about the blood. You get saved, you get your sins washed away by the blood. You know, I was thinking a little bit about some of these things yesterday and yesterday evening. There was a man by the name of Steve that was standing up here and he had a good gospel meeting.
And several times in his gospel meeting he talked about the Lord Jesus being.
Long-suffering and I thought, wasn't that nice, Steve is telling us.
That the Lord Jesus is long-suffering and this verse tells us that one one part of the fruit of the Spirit is long-suffering. So we should be like the Lord Jesus that way. That means we can we can deal with things we can be not.
Not get all worked up about if somebody does something we don't like we can we can be what it says long-suffering. We can just take it. But at these apples here, you know, umm.
I said they have to come from an apple tree, but like this gala had to come from a gala tree.
And we planted an orchard a few years ago.
This apple here came from a Macintosh tree and it's called a Ruby Mac. That's why it's so red. Used to be Macintosh weren't very red.
But we planted an orchard a few years ago and we planted half of it to Ruby Max and we planted half of it to John Gold's. And just about the time we had those trees all planted or maybe the next year, the people that buy our apples decide they didn't want to buy very many Johnny Golds anymore. So we felt real bad about that. Here we got this nice orchard we planted and it's I think John Gold's a good apples. But see, I didn't bring any. I don't even think we have.
Right now. And umm, so we did something. We hired somebody that's pretty good at grafting to come and graft all those John Gold trees.
I shouldn't say all of them. There'd be a long story. We don't wanna talk about Fireblade, but we drafted those Johnny Gold trees to Gala. So then those trees that had been John Gold trees, now they can produce galas. And that's what your mom evidently likes to buy, because the people at the stores say they don't want Johnny Gold's anymore. So you know when you get saved.
That's like grafting a new life into those trees.
The bottom of that tree, I wouldn't want to start talking about Woodstocks either. So that's too complicated. I would say part of that tree is, uh, John, a gold tree. But the part of the tree that produces fruit, I think this year we're gonna cut it off all the John Gold part and just save the gala part. So those trees that were Johnny Golds are now gonna be gayless so they can produce this kind of fruit. And we hope that.
The markets keep wanting galas, but maybe they'll turn around and want Johnny Gold's, but that really doesn't fit in with this lesson. I was going to talk a little bit about these apples that don't make the grade, but we can't talk about that. So just talk about that. We drafted those John Gold trees over to galas and we want trees to produce good fruit, and it seems like the market thinks galas are more good fruit than Johnny Gold's.
And so the fruit that we want you children to produce is what we have here called the fruit of the Spirit, Lovejoy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. We can't, we can't, umm, define all those things. But they're all good things. And you can only produce good things if you have that good life grafted into you.
00:30:06
From the Lord Jesus and have his Spirit.
I think we have stopped now. Maybe we'll maybe they'll let us go for an extra minute if somebody has one more song and we'll probably only sing part of it. So let's see, we'll get this boy here. What song would you sing?
#47 oh boy, I could tell a story about that one too, but I guess I better not. Let's just sing the first verse in the chorus and then we'll be done.
The Bible.
And God refers to us as jewels. There's people here, I'm sure they're wearing jewels, pretty nice jewelry. Some people probably have on today. But God calls us his jewels, but only if we're saved, only if we have that new life and spirit from him. So let's just pray again that everyone would have that.
The Ruin of the Church
Address—Nick Simon
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.
Let's sing 330 again.
We sang it yesterday.
Watts raised the wondrous thought. Or who did it suggest that we the Church to glory, Broad should be, should with the sun be blessed?
Dial 10-4 0, 10-4, 10-4 0 10-4 10-4 5 10-4 101 Dresses for the Lord. All right, you're praying harmful.
The ham is actually sort of the antithesis of what I want to speak on.
The subject, in short, is the ruin of the church.
That expression is objected to on two accounts. One, there's those that object to it on technical ground, so in principle they don't deny it.
00:05:00
The other party they rejected outright as being unscriptural.
It's a burden of my own heart because I think it, as we'll see, and I don't want too long of a preamble because I have quite a bit of material I'd like Lord willing to cover. But it is really what characterizes Laodicea is a denial of the ruin of the church and not understanding it or, or the way we understand it defines how we are going to walk.
In this in Christendom, and incidentally I will use that word Christendom.
And, uh, I just wanna make it very clear that when I use that word, I include ourselves. I just wanna make that clear because it's one of those trigger words that we use. And, uh, very often the assumption is, is that we're not including ourselves. I wanna be very clear.
By Christendom, Christianity, the professing church, I include myself ourselves.
So for those that object to it on technical grounds, I'd just like to turn to Ephesians 5 and just read there a well known verse Ephesians 5 and verses beginning verse 25. Husbands love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to himself. A glorious church.
Spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that should be holy and without blemish. And it's certainly true that the church will be presented as the bride of Christ wholly without blemish. And we saw that in our chapter that we've been going through in Revelation chapter 21. No need to turn there. But we had in the second verse, I, John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared. Now listen carefully.
Ted as the bride adorned for her husband. The picture that that creates in my mind is the picture of the the bride being ushered down through the middle of wherever it is that one gets married, a whole, a church, whatever it might be, and that that scene captures in my mind.
Is what this this verse captures the bride prepared, adorned.
For her husband.
But as I mentioned yesterday, as much as we like to keep that upright in that position for all eternity, in reality, that's not practical. We learn as husbands that our wives are not China porcelain dolls that we set on the counter to be to admire. They're, they're humans. They're, they're, they have independent thoughts. And I don't want to digress. It's just impractical.
But in eternity, things are not bound by time or distance. And so in this very same chapter, she's also referred to as the as the wife. She can exist in both capacities for all eternity. We are bound by the realities of the world in which we live, and it would be impractical, umm, uh, unreasonable to imagine that our wife is going to be forever in her wedding gown there before us.
I don't know that I was understood when I mentioned that yesterday.
But in that's the way that God will see, uh, the, the Christ will see the church for all eternity in, in the capacity of the wife, but forever as the bride as well. I get that.
And we could say that Jehovah God too, when he looked down upon this earth and looked upon Israel, he also saw Israel and in her perfection. And so we could read that in Numbers 23.
Numbers 23 And I'm going to turn to a lot of verses because I have to. I'm not good at memorization, rote learning and recalling, uh.
In Numbers 23 we know that Barack hired Balaam to curse Israel and instead he blessed Israel and he noticed the Numbers 23. In verse 21 it says he hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has he seen perseverance in Israel. The Lord his God is with him in the shout of a king is among them, however.
To confound what God has purposed, according to his counsel.
With our responsibility.
Is.
Uh, well, let me reverse that. We cannot confound the things that God has purposed, according to His counsel, with that which corresponds to our responsibility. Yes, indeed, the Church will be presented.
00:10:13
Through Christ in all her perfection, God could look down upon Israel and see perfection.
But to ignore what the Prophet spoke concerning Israel, their failures are fully detailed for our benefit in the Old Testament. Fully detailed.
And they cannot be overlooked. Israel failed in her responsibility. Let's just look at the end of Chronicles. Chronicles chapter 2.
Hi, this is chapter 2. That's not what I meant. I mean second Chronicles last chapter.
Verse 16 But they mock the messengers of God, despised his words, misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, till there was number remedy, and we could read on down. Verse 19 They burnt the House of God, breakdown the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces off with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
Israel's history ended in a literal ruin.
A temple that was destroyed, a city that was stones and.
And ruin. When we speak of the ruin of the church, obviously we're not talking of a literal ruin in that sense, but figuratively speaking, we are.
I'd like to now to, uh, Ephesians.
Chapter 4.
Because there are those that are going to say, well, let me read a verse.
Ephesians 4 and verse four it says there is one body and one spirit even as ye are cold in one hope of your calling. Incidentally, that expression the ruin of the church if you object to it on technical grounds. If you go to PT PS website and search for a put it in quotes. So actually find the expression and not just the words.
It comes up over 200 times.
You go to Stem Publishing, for whatever reason, another, uh, repository of brethren writings that comes up over 300 times.
This recognition of what had come in the ruin of the church was fundamental, was foundational to the thinking of those brothers that left the systems of men, and they were the systems of men. And begin breaking bread and the ground of the one body alone in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ, as a testimony to the one table.
It was, as it was, foundational to their thinking.
But if we go to Ephesians 4, it says that there is one body and one spirit, even if you call one hope of your calling. We look at Ephesians one verse 22 and says and have put all things under his feet and given him to be gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all Colossians chapter one.
And there it says in verse 18, he is the head of the body, the church.
It was the beginning, the first born from the dead and so on. So you might argue and say there is one body and that is absolutely true and there's nothing that we can do to change the reality of that one body. And so the question might be asked.
It's not our responsibility.
God sees the church in her perfection. He sees the one body. It's not our responsibility to maintain the one body. And I would agree with that, but I would turn and ask, has therefore the church no responsibility? I'm not Speaking of the professing church. I'm Speaking of the true church. Does she not have responsibilities?
And has she lived up to those responsibilities?
Has she been a testimony to the one body of Christ? Has she truly owned her head? Uh, Christ in heaven, He is the head of the body and head to the body as she really owned her head.
And the answer is no, she has not. She has not lived up to that. If you don't think it's our responsibility, let's just look at a verse in First Corinthians 12.
00:15:03
West Christians 12.
Says there in in verse 12, for as the body is one and hath many members, it is one. Yes it is. I agree. Also agree it's not our responsibility to maintain the one body.
Uh, it says, and the members of that one body, being many are one body. So also is Christ of the Christ, for by 1 Spirit we're all baptized into one body.
Verse 25 that there should be no schism or division in the body.
The church, to repeat, has not lived up to her responsibility. She has not been a testimony to the one body.
You could say, well, this verse was Speaking of our care for one another in the assembly. So I asked you this question now care for one another in the body is not to be schismatic, is not to be divided, but it's okay if our testimony to Christ is.
This verse also does not say that there should be no schism in the assembly.
If it did, we might be permitted perhaps to say, oh, it's just talking about division within the local assembly, but it doesn't say that.
Now the church should have been a testimony to the one body by her actions, by her practice, but in that she has failed completely. And again, I'm not talking about the professing church, I'm talking about the true church. Now we can get to the professing church because there's another view that Scripture gives us the church. I've spoken briefly and and certainly not.
Expounded on it, But the church is the body of Christ. But the church is also presented as the House of God. Incidentally, is in connection with the body of Christ. We never read of this with Israel.
Israel was never one with Jehovah, one body, never. You won't find an expression like that in the Old Testament. You will find the expression that Israel has likened as the wife. We have a parallel to that connection with the church. We also find the House of God in the Old Testament as well. But in this present dispensation it is the church, as we shall see is which is the habitation of God through the spirit.
But when we get to the House of God too, we also see.
Two different aspects to the house. One is perfect, which God is building. The other is in connection with our responsibility. And again, we will have to admit that we have failed terribly when it comes to our responsibility. But let's just quickly read Matthew 16.
And verses 16 and 17, Simon Peter Anson said Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed out thou, Simon, by Jonah, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. But I say unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Ephesians chapter 2.
Remember, first of all, I'm gonna give you the church. It's the House of God in her perfection.
In Ephesians 2, verse 20, and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the buildings fitly framed together growth unto a holy temple in the Lord, in whom also ye have builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
But there's a side of the house that's committed to man, and we have that in First Corinthians 3.
1St Corinthians 3.
Paul could say in verse 10, according to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, have I laid the foundation?
Another buildeth their own, but let every man take heed how he builds. Thereupon no other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man built upon the foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble.
Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire.
And the work shall, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereof, on he shall receive award. If any man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss, for he himself shall be saved. Yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye that is collectively the corporate side of things of the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. Later in this Epistle we also have the individual side, where the Spirit of God dwells in US individually. But here we.
00:20:03
On the corporate side now I asked the question as that which man has added to the church, being consistent with the foundation that Christ has laid, that the apostles laid? No, absolutely not. So we can say that the Church in its present state, in this case I should perhaps say Christendom, the professing church, because the House of God embraces that which goes beyond the true Church.
So the House of God is.
In ruins, in ruins in connection with that which is being committed to man and his responsibility. Again, there is a side of it which God sees that he's building something that is in its perfection. But there is a other aspect, that which is our responsibility. And, uh, and we have that in First Timothy and in some ways this, uh, meeting.
Comes out of what I spoke on in in Saint Louis, which is the life of Timothy, but in Paul's first letter to Timothy.
He gives instruction to him in his first epistle in the third chapter, 15th verse. But if I carry long, that thou mayest know how thou orders behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar, and the ground of the truth, as the Church being the Pillar, the upholder of the truth.
No, she has not. She has not. You can see that roof and those walls crumbling because she has not upheld the truth.
By the time you get to second Timothy in the second chapter we read there, the the church has become a great house, but in a great house there are only vessels that go into silver, but also wood and of earth. And it's not so much that the water earth that the of the material here that's important. So no doubt there is a lesson to be learned in that, but some to honor and some to.
Dishonor.
Now, I just wanted to break a brief hiatus because I want to address, I trust that if you object to the expression, the ruin of the church on technical grounds, that you'll feel, I trust, a little bit more comfortable with it. It's certainly an expression that the early brethren used repeatedly, repeatedly. And as I said, it was foundational to their understanding of the condition of things that ultimately LED them to take the steps that they took.
But for the vast majority of Christ, chrysanthemum.
This thought that the church is in ruins is not only objected to on technical grounds, but is objected to on doctrinal grounds. They absolutely rejected deny it.
And uh.
And I'll give you the reason why in Matthew, and I've spoken on this before. I used to not try to repeat myself because I thought that was a sign of old age. But as I've gotten a little older, not necessarily wiser, I realized that I don't remember the things I said or when I said them. So if you think I'm hopping on something, forgive me. I know I've spoken on this, and it was perhaps even in the.
Here two years ago, though, it was on the other side of the river, but.
In Matthew 13 there is a parable of the of the leaven, and this is going to take a little detour to speak of this briefly. In Matthew 13 verse 33, it says another parable speaking unto them, The Kingdom of heaven is like unto 11 which a woman took and hid in three measures a mill, till the whole was leavened. Now quoting.
One of the writers from the Reformation, he wouldn't write in English, but this is an English translation of what he wrote. He said Levin, is that influence which so small were imparted in effect upon a large quantity of meal. Men may scoff, but God will strike them through with amazement, and astonished and astonishing display of his power. They view the leaven, they. Who are they in this case?
Those that hold reform doctrine, umm, the teaching that came out of the Reformation.
Which would account for probably 80% of Christianity. They believe that the leaven here spoken of is the gospel, and that the gospel is going to fill the world. And when it's filled the world, Christ is going to return and establish his Kingdom. And we're going to reign with Christ on this earth now, whether or not our feet touch the earth after the rapture.
Is not inconsequential or unimportant.
But the one thing we need to understand, we will never be earthed well as again, never. We will not rain on this earth as earth dwellers. But it may surprise you to learn that much of Christendom believes that we will. And I'm talking of those that have a that are genuine, that truly are saved. They believe that the leaven is the gospel and it's.
00:25:24
Permanent throughout the world. The trouble with this doctrine won't #1 The first trouble with this doctrine is that it doesn't agree with what Scripture tells us. And so even the writer of this piece here.
He says, well I know that in Matthew 16 and verse 11 it says beware of 11 of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And there the word leaven is used as evil. And he says I know that in first Corinthians 5 it says.
There, umm, your glorying is not good. No, you know that 1111 is the whole lump pursed. Therefore out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump. So ye unleavened even Christ Apostle of His sacrifice for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness. The writer.
That I quoted here recognizes in these two verses that Levin is spoken of as evil, but he says, but in Matthew 13, it's not evil. It's Speaking of a small influence that will infiltrate the whole. The trouble is, is if that's the case, it's the only verse in Scripture that presents leaven in a positive light from the Old Testament where leaven was not to be.
Included in the sacrifices. Someone will probably mention this this feast of weeks, but I don't have time to digress there. Umm.
But the sacrifices did not involve leaven. They had to remove leaven from their homes at the Paw server and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Leavened Scripture from beginning to end, is a picture to us of the insidious working of evil. But not only that. In Matthew 13, where we have those seven parables beginning with the sower and the seed, we also have the wheat and the tares. The tares.
Is that a good influence or a bad influence?
It's not good, it's evil. And then we've got the, the herb that grows into a great, uh, tree, or a large shrub perhaps, and the birds of the air come in and nest in its branches of it. Again, they'll say, well, that's a picture of the gospel growing, but who are the birds of the air? Well, we don't have to guess at it because the birds of the air, the fowls, come along and ****** that seed and we're told what they are.
In Matthew 13 verse 19 says Then cometh the wicked one.
And catches them away. So my point is is to say that the leaven in the parable of the 11 in the meal is a positive influence is completely inconsistent with the parables that preceded, so we cannot doctrinally accept that teaching.
I cannot accept it on the the ground of what we read in the word of God. So the other problem with this teaching as well is how do we reconcile what we see around us with this teaching that the gospel supposedly is filling the well? There's two ways. Either we become very discouraged with what we see around us because it doesn't look like it to me that the gospel is filling the world. In fact, the Western world is more like.
A bathtub with a plug pulled out. It's draining quickly.
But the other way to reconcile with what you see around us is to adjust what we define as the gospel. So I'm sad to say, but a social gospel has replaced the true gospel. If we don't make headway with the true gospel, the gospel of the grace of God, then maybe we'll make headway with the social gospel. And that's exactly what has happened in Christendom. In fact, Charles Wesley though this was.
Many years ago, umm, I don't exactly remember when he lived, maybe 300 years ago, something like that, Charles Wesley came over to the United States as a missionary to preach to the Indians. But what did he want to preach? He wanted to civilize them.
And he suddenly realized that he had nothing to offer them. He went back home and he got saved.
If you look in our list of authors in our lower block invoke, you'll see C Westley as, uh, author of a number of our hymns. It was a proficient hymn writer, a proficient prolific hymn writer who's proficient as well, but prolific hymn writer. And we now think his hymns. But that's what happened. If you, This is why the subject is important. Some people might say to talk on this is defeatism.
00:30:05
But I say it's realism. You know, if you misdiagnose the disease, you're not going to know how to treat it. We misdiagnosed what's happening in Christendom around us. We're our behavior is not going to be correct.
It's not going to be guided or right.
But I just want to spend a few brief moments going through Scripture establishing what I have said that because perhaps you're not yet convinced that the church is in ruins, but what does Scripture tell us? So again, this is going to be fairly quick.
Turn. I'm going to turn to Scriptures, beginning with Acts chapter 20. What is the pole? What is the Apostle Paul tell us there?
In verse 29 of Acts 20. For I know this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock also of your own cells shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them?
Look at Romans. Does it speak something different? Let's see Romans 11.
Romans 11/21 For if God spare not the natural branches, take heed, lest he also spare not thee.
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God on them which fell severity but towards the goodness. If thou continue in the goodness, otherwise thou also shall be cut off. Has the Church continued in the goodness of God is the papacy.
Umm, to continue in the goodness of God? If not the papacy, then how about Protestantism?
Ecumenicalism would try to combine the two, but they both can't be right. As the Church continued. In the goodness of God, the answer is no.
Let's keep going.
Umm, acts from Corinthians. Well, I already read to you from First Corinthians 3, we know that men have added and built this grand edifice, ruined it, ruined it with the things that he's added which are going to be ultimately tested by fire.
Umm, and I'm not. This is not a complete survey by any means. Let's go all the way to Philippians.
Philippians, Chapter 2.
Verse 21 For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ.
Let's go to the.
2nd Thessalonians. Again, I this is not a complete survey by any means.
No, I, I read something when I was in Saint Louis and I, I have it with me still, but there is a teaching that says that.
I don't know how quickly I can turn to it's one piece of paper.
It's amazing how hot it is to see things on it when you're standing up front here.
He, uh, it is. It is those that preach an order of things cannot apostasize. Only individual can do this. The true assembly never apostatizes. The Word of God never speaks of the apostasy of the church. Well, I agree with him that the true assembly never apostatizes. I also would add to what he says. And a true believer never apostatizes either, but the word apostasy. Apostasy occurs in the New Testament just twice.
In the book of Acts and there it's not in connection with the church, you can.
Researcher yourself, look it up. It's very easy to understand the context in which it's being used. It's not reli. It's not connected to the subject we're talking about. The only other place that's used is here in Second Thessalonians and it is used in connection with the professing church. And so it says here in, uh, Second Thessalonians chapter 2, verse three. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day. That is the day of the Lord shall not come except.
First there come a falling away, an apostasis, an apostasy first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. I'm afraid the professing church is going to give up all reality.
And apostasize.
Umm, Second Timothy. I already read verses from second Timothy how that the church is is was even in the apostles day and were warned against. It's going to become a great house, submitting vessels of honor and dishonor.
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Umm.
Uh, first Peter.
First Peter, chapter 4.
Verse 17. For the time has come, that judgment must begin at the House of God.
And if it first begin at us, what shall the envy of them that obey not the gospel of God? Why should judgment begin at the House of God, if?
Era if evil has not entered it.
Second Peter.
Chapter 2. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privilege shall bring in damnable heresies.
Even denying the Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves with destruction.
John's first epistle.
Verse 18. Chapter 2. Verse 18. Little children, it is the last time that ye have heard that Antichrist shall come. Even now there are many antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time they went out from us. But they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us. But they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. So the Scripture speaks of Antichrist those that.
Substitute something else in the place of Christ.
Incidentally, it's a curious thing that the one of the Pope's gowns, I don't remember which one it is, all the way around the border of it is written Antichrist.
The word anti in that situation, the Roman Catholics are not foolish.
The word anti is rather like we won't use the word anti as an antechamber. So that entranceway could be called an anti chamber. It comes before the main chamber. And so in the Roman Catholic theology, the Pope is the Antichrist literally because he is seen as coming or standing as the vicar of Christ. But that in itself is exactly what an Antichrist is, one that stands in the place of Christ before man.
Jude. Jude's Epistle.
And we know what Jude's epistle is about, but verse four it speaks of.
Umm for verse four, there are certain men crept in unawares, who are 4 of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And how long will they exist within the professing church?
Verse 9, F 14. Enoch also the 7th from Adam prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with 10,000 of his Saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of their ungodly days, which they have ungodly committed, and all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners spoken against them. They were to be expected to be among the professing Church of God, until Christ return.
We'll get to it, I trust, to a more positive side of this, umm, before we close. But when we look at the positive side of things, particularly, for example, is brought out in Second Timothy, we never read of Restoration. Never. We never read of Restoration.
Not universal, anyway. I realized that there have been revivals and we're thankful for them, but they have never been universal. The ungodly men that have come in amongst the professing within the professing church, have been admitted, will remain there until Christ's return. And now, of course, we get to the Book of Revelation, which is a subject which is dear to my heart, just because.
I find it very interesting, but Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 presents to us an outline of the history of Christendom of which we are a plot, and it begins with the Church of Ephesus, and it would describe the Church during the Apostolic period.
And right there immediately we read that she left her first love. And I don't. And that word love in that context, if you look it up in a Greek, like on my phone, I have a Greek. It's kind of interesting because on our way to meeting, we go past the church and there's a, a billboard that they put out front as many churches doing it. So did your Bibles close to your cell phone? And I can say, yes, mine is because my cell phone has a Bible on it.
Umm, it's very handy actually. Umm Doug was the one that pointed me to it a few years back. It's invaluable for those of us that have.
Deficit, Gray matter and can't retain things. It's umm, it's helpful to say the least. But I have a Greek Bible on there and it tells you the form of the word and it will tell you that love in this verse is a noun.
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So it's not really the style of love that they had left, but their first love that they had left, which is Christ no longer.
Completely occupied their focus. And then we get to so the the emphasis. That period of church history only lasted perhaps to about 100 AD until the apostles passed from the scene.
And then, uh, we have sodas and, uh, I mean, Simona, sorry, Simona. And there we have the persecuted church. Now these first, uh, four churches follow each other consecutively in time. And Smyrna continued up until, and I have notes in my Bible that they're too small to read when I'm in a hurry. Umm, the, the reign of Constantine, the Edict of Milan, I think it was like 315 AD, something like.
That someone could correct me on that later. And what happened then? So during that, uh, 200 years, the church went through 10 periods of persecution, some unbelievably severe. That's Smyrna. And then we get to Poganos, which begins with the reign of Constantine emperor and the Edict of Milan offered protection, extended protection to Christians. Incidentally, it extended protection to all religions, the Christianity.
An extended protection to Christianity, you might think at that point the church should have flourished.
Because it has received the protection of the political powers then instead, what does it say in verse 13 of Revelation 2? I know without Wellis thyworks is not there without Wellis and where Satan see, even where Satan's seat is. There's no real strong evidence suggests that Constantine was ever a true believer. In fact, many of those early emperors that profess Christianity.
There's nothing in their lives to suggest that there are actually believers.
In fact, most of them waited to be baptized until the last minute before they died because they believed that that was what gave them entrance into heaven.
So we find in uh Pergamos, Umm Veilum and Valic reappear and what did Balaam do? He couldn't curse Israel, he had to bless them. But where he failed in that, it says in verse 14 that he cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel eating sacrifice and idols and commit fornication. Then out of the Pergamos period grew by a tire, which is the next church and it really is a picture of.
Catholicism, and I don't remember what date typically is attached to that, but for example Umm Charlemagne was crowned King of the Holy Roman Empire, though that expression was not used until some much later. But he was crowned King of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope on Christmas Day, 800 AD. We find the political world and the religious world firmly hand in hand with the religious world.
Power to the political world. Rome ruled the world so in Thyatira. But then we get to the last three churches. We have Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea, and they we can think of. So the, the, the first four are like the trunk of the tree. You've got Ephesus and the the Apostolic Church, Smyrna, the persecuted church.
Pergamos, you've got the church with Umm Constantine and the protection of the government.
Of Rome and then out of that fire tire is like the first big branch off to the side, but the next three are really spring not so much from the SAT that flows from that branch, but out of rejection of what uh, that branch stood for. So saddest would speak of the Reformation and the Protestant church and it came into existence out of rejection of what the Church of Rome taught and saw this is not so much the.
To the Reformation, but what the Reformation ultimately sank down into. And we find there that they're told to be watchful and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die for. I've not found my works perfect before God.
Anyway, we don't really have time to go into these and then we get to Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, I have absolutely no doubt speaks to the recovery of the truth that occurred around 18 in the early part of the 18 to mid 1800s.
When the.
There were many things that were uniquely revealed to the apostle Paul, but four of them had explicitly told us that he received it by revelation there in connection in the First Corinthians 1159. Someone, if I get this wrong again, I'm welcome. Correction. I believe 1St Corinthians 11 we have in connection with the Lord's Supper. We have it in First Thessalonians 4IN connection with the rapture, you have it, I think in First Corinthians 15.
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And you have it in Ephesians 3IN connection with the one body, how that we are brought in there as umm.
Uh, I'll just read it.
Umm, the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. 1 body, no longer Israel, no longer Jew and Gentile, but in distinct contrast or distinction, I should perhaps say, from those you have the one body, the Church of God, where we've been brought in into uh.
One body.
Those four things that were uniquely given to the Apostle Paul were all abandoned by the Church at a very early stage. Given up, misunderstood.
They were all recovered, the truth of that in the the mid 1800s, those things.
I once made the comment that I didn't think the early Brethren recognized themselves as being that midnight cry. Actually, they did. You can say, well, that was proud of them. It wasn't.
Was not, but with the, the, the 10 versions in Matthew 25, five wise 5 foolish. And we read there that, uh, while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept and at midnight there was a cry. There was a recognition of the truth that God had given them. They didn't really, brethren didn't take credit for these things themselves.
So in Philadelphia, I have no doubt in my mind that it corresponds to the recovery of these truths concerning the Church, concerning the hope of the Church.
And so forth in the in the 1800s.
And it sprang out as again, as the rejection of what Protestantism had fallen into, not only what had fallen into, but Protestant, that you've got to give those early reformers a lot of credit. We have much to be thankful for. The light that they recovered. Umm, Luther and uh, Calvin, who had more, I don't want to be judgmental, but he said saw things in a clear light.
Than uh, than Luther, Zwingli, umm.
Umm, I'm not necessarily pronouncing these correctly, but those reformers, they were coming out of a, a darkness that I don't think we appreciate, but they, they also confounded Israel and the church. There are some things that they never saw clearly, the hope of the church and so forth. And, uh, as, and you can read what is written concerning sodas and it was out of that that we have Philadelphia, but I believe.
Also out of rejection of what was recovered at Philadelphia, we find laid to see him and what character, and I gotta move along here, what characterized Laodicea is in verse 17.
Because they'll say I am rich and increase with goods and of need of nothing, and knows not that there were wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked. Important to understand, I think in the early brethren, I saw it this way, that our Philadelphia corresponds to a moral condition of things. Even in connection with Sadas, which fixes the Reformation. We can't say, well, it's a Dutch Reform judge. Well, it's the Lutheran it, it is the those churches.
Who identify with the teaching of the Reformation.
And with Philadelphia Legacy, we have a moral condition of things. And the moral condition of things in Laodicea is that I am rich. It is the day in which we live. There is a refusal, a rejection to accept of of the condition of the church, to acknowledge that it is indeed in ruins.
And when the so there are, it's rather interesting. And I've mentioned the story too, but I was on a road trip once with an individual that was a new employee at our company. And he asked me what church I went to and I opened up and told him some things and so on. And he says and I and he, he spoke very well.
Moral, upright person. But as he got to speaking, I suddenly realized he was a Mormon.
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And he said, it's so interesting, you know, Mormonism grew up around that time and I thought that is interesting. But not only did Mormonism, uh, come into existence in the mid 1800s, so did Jehovah's Witnesses. If there is going to be a testimony, then there is always going to be a counter testimony. And so you have Jehovah's Witnesses, you have seven day Adventists and they're not in the same category. I don't want to paint them in the same category. A little later, early 1900s we.
One thing that the early brethren, as I said, it was foundational to their understanding this idea of the ruin of the church. They and as I was and this is where we should head actually in Second Timothy there was going. They recognized that there would be no restoration that they that they could not and did not attempt to return back to the days of Pentecost.
That's that would would have been pretension. One thing that characterizes the remand in the Old Testament in the book of Hezor and Nehemiah is the lack of pretension.
They didn't pretend to be any more than what they were. In fact, when they rebuilt the temple, the old men wept at the sight of it. In fact, God tells them that he he asked them in Haggai. I'm just going to quick turn to it so I can read it to you.
It's in Haggai 2 verse three God asked the question who's 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 of it has nothing God tells them it's nothing it's nothing We cannot pretend to be anything. In fact, you know a connection with Philadelphia we we so there are at the end of the.
So that you as I said, there was a trunk of a tree the 1St.
Four churches follow consecutively the beginning with fire tire as I mentioned first mention of the Lord's coming where it says there in umm Revelation 2IN verse 25, but that which we have already hold fast to like come the Roman Catholic Church and and I think that fire Tyre probably also takes in the East and also Orthodox as well continues on to this present day.
Sadist, that which came out of the Reformation, continues on to this present day, and will until the Lord's return.
Philadelphia, I believe that moral condition of things is available to until the Lord's coming. Laodicea, likewise, that condition of things will continue into the Lord's coming. Which one are you going to be found in? Which one are you going to be founded? It's not a question of, of, uh, of, of claiming a position. It's absolutely not a question of claiming position.
But what moral condition do you want to be found in? You can go join the Roman Catholic Church and be identified with Thyatir.
You can go join a church that grew out of the Reformation, and there are many. And in each of these, each of these churches, there are overcomers Within the Roman Catholic Church, within that system, there are true believers, true Saints of God.
Within the churches that came with the Reformation, there are true Saints of God. There are overcomers. You could go identify with them.
Glad to see you. They're also overcomers. But Christ is seen as outside the church and Laodicea outside knocking. He's not within.
He's not in the midst in Laodicea, he's outside.
So we have a choice to make.
Unfortunately or fortunately.
We have a heritage, and I spoke on this in Saint Louis. We have a heritage. What are we going to do with it? Philadelphia, as I said, was a rejection, a practical protest against the the era.
Of the Reformed churches.
To go back to them now, to go back to that condition of things is to do what I believe we find in Galatians 2, where it says in verse 18, for if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. I don't think that many of us that grew up with these truths really appreciate. We don't.
We don't until later in life when we start digging into things, really appreciate some of the the truth of these things. And so I want to be very careful and make it known publicly that I do not accuse.
Any of those that we might know that have left our number as being building in the things which they destroyed and therefore are transgressive. I think in many instances. And again, I want to be very careful not to be umm judging of things of motives that I cannot know, but I don't think many cases they understood the position.
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That I trust, we we hold.
But brightness side of things, and they've only last five minutes. There's many parallels from the Old Testament that can be drawn to the present day of Laodicea. Because laidacion is the prevailing wind, as it were, the day in which we live, and it's so easy to be caught up in it.
And to say you're so defeatist, you're you're.
Whatever, I don't wanna put words in people's mouths, but in Ezekiel's day, Chapter 9, I'm gonna have to move very swiftly here. Chapter 9, verse four says the Lord said unto me, so this is a day which corresponded. I believe you can find parallels with the present day in which we live. The Lord said unto him, go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem has set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that are down the midstream.
You know, it's not being defeated to be a realist, in fact.
You don't, as it says in the Gospels, you don't go out to battle with first counting the cost. We want to know how the land lay. We should understand how the land lays, and it should cause us to weep. It should cause us to mourn. The the counter of this is Malachi, which also, I believe, has many parallels to the present day in which we live.
And the third chapter in the third chapter of Malachi in verse 14, it says.
You have said it is vain to serve God, and what prophet is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? That is the prevailing teaching.
Of the day in which we live. What profit is it to be mournful about these things?
What profit is be mournful and please understand that I'm less It's not my desire to criticize individuals. So the individual walk. I'm talking about systems.
You know, a young brother, I spoke recently, now Sunday school meeting and I, I spoke on the Lord's Day when my wife and I had an opportunity to go back to England for our 30th wedding anniversary and went back and I visited Bellum, uh, Blenheim Palace, and I bought a calendar there. And when I got home and hung it on my wall, I got terribly confused. And then I realized it began on Monday and I took it to Sunday school and asked the kids what was wrong with my calendar.
And, uh, anyway, I, I used as an opportunity to speak about the Lord's day and afterwards, uh, younger brother came to me and said that was really good. You know, if you're gonna be preachy, you did it right.
I thought, well, that's that's I guess a backhanded compliment. I didn't intend to be preachy. And that's why I bring up here, I don't intend to be preachy.
I want us to understand some of the fundamental truths that were recovered 200 years ago that led them to take the steps they did, because if we don't understand them, we won't understand the distinctions between things.
So I'm down to now 2 minutes and you're saying you haven't seen anything positive yet?
So Josh, you're 24 verse six and of Joshua's day, it reminds me again of the day in which we live. So there be therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the Lord of Moses. Be very courageous. It takes courage to walk in this present day. It takes courage to take a stand and not just fall in with the flow of things with the prevailing wind.
And end of Joshua flows into the Book of Judges.
And you find in fact there's an overlap you find in Judges chapter 2, verse 7, the people serve the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua, who has seen all the great works of the Lord that he did for Israel. And Joshua the son of Nan, the servant of the Lord, died being 110 years old, and they buried him. Verse 10 And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there rose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the.
She had done for Israel, chapter 3, verse six, and they took their daughters to be their wives and gave their daughters to their sons and serve their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord begat the Lord, dear God and surveillance and the Groves. You know, I was not privileged to be raised in the assembly. I did not have the benefit of going to conferences to have other fellowship with other young people. I have been in the United States now for 34 years and it wasn't long.
01:00:09
Came here that I started going to meeting in Oakland. The connection was created an interesting way, which I won't go into, but in those roughly 34 years that I've been attending meetings and conferences, I have seen a generation pass away.
And a new generation is arising and I for myself, feel my very much like I'm in the time of the judges. And I have to say for myself that each of the judges were very flawed individuals. And I have to confess that I am a very flawed individual.
But this is a word to each of you.
Be very courageous.
We need you. We need you to go on.
You know, Timothy, that Paul's second letter, Timothy is full of decline. Each chapter I read something from them in Saint Louis. Each chapter mentions the decline, but you never find despair there. In fact, Paul says to Timothy, what's your problem? Rekindle that gift, stir it up. You know, Paul says in the first chapter of 2nd.
Timothy and I'll wrap it up here. I do see where the clock is at, he says. Umm.
Uh, verse 15 this thou knowest that all they which in Asia be turned away from me of humor. Philemus and homogeneous Asia would include Ephesus, the church that received the highest truth. It would include colossi.
It would, umm, it included. I had to see it. But what do we find at the end of Second Timothy?
First of all, it says in verse 10, For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved his present world. You notice that in Judges they married the women of the land, and then they started worshipping their gods. To the degree we were taken up with this world, we will worship this world's idols.
But you notice, if I could put my finger on it first. 12 Tetricus have I sent to Ephesus. Ephesus gave up on the apostle. The apostle never. Asia gave up on the apostle. The apostle never gave up on Asia. Let's just close with prayer.
Revelation 21:19 22:7
Gospel 2
Gospel—Jim Hyland
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I'd like to begin the Gospel meeting this evening with hymn #20 on the gospel hymn sheet. Behold, the Savior at the door. He gently knocks, has knocked before, has waited long, is waiting. Still, you use no other friend, so I'll open the door. He'll enter in and Sup with you and you with him. Hymn #20, if someone could please start it.
Turn with me, first of all to a portion in Luke's Gospel chapter 13.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 13 and verse 24.
Strive to enter in at the straight gate for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
When once the master of the house is risen up, and has shut to the door, and ye begin, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us, and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you're not quencher, And then I want to read a portion in Second Thessalonians.
2nd Thessalonians, Chapter 2.
2nd Thessalonians chapter 2, and I'm going to begin about the middle of verse 10.
Because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved.
And for this 'cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie.
And one more verse for now in James Chapter 5.
James, chapter 5 and verse 8.
Be also patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord doth nigh.
I read these portions at the beginning of our Gospel meeting this evening because I have it on my heart to speak a little bit of the Lord's coming in keeping with the meetings that we've had and that which is ahead for the believer and that wonderful day of glory. But I want to impress upon our souls tonight in this meeting that the coming of the Lord Jesus, the second coming of Christ, is going to mean different things for different people.
And I believe it's very serious to consider because this room is really divided into two classes of people.
We can boil it down this evening to those who are saved by the grace of God and those who are lost in their sins, those who are on their way to heaven and those who are on their way to hell. There is no neutral ground when we open the word of God and preach the gospel according to the truth that is brought before us in this book and the gospel. While it is good news, it is a very, very solemn message that we have to present tonight.
And let's realize that when we open this book, we're not dealing with speculations, we're not dealing with philosophy, we're not dealing with theories, We're dealing with realities. Michael Faraday reputed to be the father of modern electronics. He was a brilliant man. But you know, Michael Faraday lay on his deathbed and a man came to see him. A friend came to see him.
And he said, Michael, he said, what are your speculations for eternity? He said, Speculations. I have no speculations for eternity. I'm resting on truth. I'm resting on the fact that I'm on my way to heaven. I'm resting on the word of God. And so tonight we're not going to speculate on what's ahead. We had brought before us last night that story of the rich man and Lazarus where the Lord Jesus told a story about two people.
And if you notice carefully there in Luke 16, it's not a parable.
One of the little keys. This is just a a little note. In studying the word of God in parables, the people involved are never named. If there's a name given in the in the story, it's not a parable, that's just a little key. And so we know that it's not a parable because there was not just a rich man, but there was a man by the name of Lazarus when the Lord named names. It was an actual story and it was a story about two men who actually lived here.
00:05:05
In this world, and they lived here in this world under very different circumstances.
But the real point of the story is that they left this world under two very different circumstances and entered the next World under two very different circumstances. When the Lord told stories about people, he didn't have to end with their death. If we were writing a biography about somebody, we would have to end with their death. Like the Book of Ecclesiastes, it ends with things here in this world. And Solomon said the dead know nothing.
What was he talking about? He was talking about the fact that as far as this world goes, life is over.
That's it. But it doesn't mean they know nothing as far as eternity because the story the Lord told.
Showed beyond the shadow of a doubt that those two men who left this world, they both knew a lot 1 went to a place of torment and the other to a place of blessing. Because when we leave this world, it's finalized. Our destiny is finalized. If the Lord Jesus were to come before, this meeting is over, and it well may happen, because as we read, the coming of the Lord draws nigh, and I don't want to wait till later on in this meeting to impress that upon us.
There may be a moment during this meeting when this podium is empty and most chairs are empty.
These are realities. These are not theories. These are not speculations. The coming of the Lord draw nigh. It's getting near. I can't tell you exactly when it's going to be, but I know it's going to be very soon. And so we find here where we read that when once the master of the house rises up and shuts the door, that door is shut and shut forever.
And what I want to impress upon our souls tonight is that the coming of the Lord.
For the unbeliever, for those who are still lost in their sins, is going to mean.
That the opportunities to be saved are over. There's no second chance after the Lord comes.
You know the enemy would like to whisper in our ears. Oh, just put it off.
Just wait a while. But it tells us in the book of Hebrews, how shall we escape if we neglect?
So great salvation. Not interesting. You might not be an out and out rejecter tonight.
You may not be an out and out scoffer tonight, but maybe you're just putting it off. Maybe Satan is whispering in your ear. Just put it off. Just wait a while. There's lots of time. There's always tomorrow. Oh, we could stand here all night and tell stories from history of people who lost opportunities and people who lost opportunities to be saved, who had warnings from the very heart of God, from this very book, the Bible. And they didn't reject, they neglected.
When I have a more convenient season, I will call for thee, once said to the Apostle Paul after hearing that he needed to be saved. You know, scripture doesn't record that he ever had a more convenient season. He was a neglecter. He put it off, and I suggest that there perhaps will be as many or even more people in a lost eternity because they neglected, then rejected.
And this verse, these verses we read in Luke's show that the time now to enter in.
To enter in at the straight gate is now, and God doesn't promise us later. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
God's time is always now.
Because when the master of the house, when the Lord rises up and shuts the door, it will never be opened again.
You can go back and search it out. We won't take time, but you remember the story of the flood, I.
And how when the time came, Noah and his family entered into the ark and God shut the door. And it's very interesting that you never read again of that door being open.
In fact, when they left the ark, it says they removed the covering of the ark and they came forth. Isn't that interesting?
Why is Scripture silent on the door ever being opened again? Because the Spirit of God wants to impress upon our souls tonight.
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That when the door of Salvation is closed, it will never be opened again.
I'm gonna tell a little story. I see some children here and I remember as a boy, a young boy sitting in a Sunday school at Rita Ferry in the summer, back up in Canada where I live. And in the summer we had Sunday school outside. We called it Sunday School Under the Trees, and that's exactly what it was. And there were some logs set up with some planks and the boys and girls, we would sit on these logs and we would sing some gospel songs and someone.
Would give us a message from the word of God. And I remember a man coming, a brother in Christ coming to visit that area.
And he gave us a message one Sunday afternoon and he told a very interesting story.
From his own experience as a boy and I never forgot it, he said. When he was a boy he had a kite and he loved to fly his kite and he would wait for a nice windy day when he could go out to the park and he could fly his kite. His name was Dawn and Don woke up one Saturday morning and there was no school. And he looked out the window and he could see the trees bending in the breeze and he thought, wow, perfect day to go to the park with the other boys.
And fly my kite. And so he hurriedly got dressed. He grabbed his kite, he grabbed some breakfast, and as he was on his way out the door, his mother said, Dawn, I'd like you to do something for me this morning. I have to go out. But I'm expecting a very important phone call, and I can't miss this phone call. It's very important. And I would like you to stay in and listen for the phone and take the message.
Well, Dawn was very disappointed, but he didn't have much choice. And so he set down his kite and the ball of string that was attached to it, and mother went off on her errand. And there he was, wondering what to do with himself, really wanting to be out with the other boys flying his kite but stuck in the house on a windy Saturday morning.
But as he told the story, he said he got thinking about that ball of string.
And the telephone that was sitting on the hall table. Now I know some of you boys and girls may find it a little hard to relate to this, but back in those days.
The phone was, say, instruments that sat on a table and it had a receiver across the top of it.
And it was a big bulky thing that you picked up when the phone rang and there was an earpiece and a mouthpiece. I know that's probably not what you see so much today.
But Don got thinking. I wonder how many times I can wrap that string around the base of the phone and the receiver before it rings. You know, as children, we don't always think ahead. I know I I didn't always, didn't always think of the consequences of my actions.
But he got so curious about it, he united the ball of string from the kite and he started in.
He started to wrap that string around the base of the phone and around the receiver.
And strand after strand after strand. And the ball of string kept getting smaller and smaller, and there were more strands of string around the phone. And you know what happened? All of a sudden the phone rang.
But Dawn realized he couldn't answer the phone in its present condition, and oh, he panicked. He started to unwind that string, and that string fell in a big heap at his feet, a big tangled heap of string. And the phone rang, and it rang, and it rang, and it rang, and the person on the other end was very patient. And finally he got that string all off the the phone, and he picked up the receiver.
And all he heard was a dial tone. The person on the other end had been patient, had allowed that phone to ring many, many times, but finally concluded that no one was going to answer the call.
And hung up. And I wonder how many times God has spoken to you.
How many times the word of God has rang in your ears? Are you answering? Are you listening? He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. But not only do we need to hear with our natural ears, but we need to respond. The caller thought nobody was going to respond.
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Don told us he got in trouble that day. There were some consequences, but you know, in the end it all worked out. But all I want to tell you if you're neglecting.
The call of God tonight. If you're neglecting the word of God, you're not answering. The day may come, and it may be this very evening, and it may even be during this gospel meeting.
When, as it says, my spirit shall not always strive with man.
Oh, it's true. God is long-suffering to us. We're not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But there is a day coming when the master of the house is going to rise up and shut the door.
And I think it's already been mentioned in these meetings about those 10 virgins in Matthew's Gospel and how when the cry went out, five went in and five were not ready.
And when the door was shut, that door too was never opened again. You know the message of the gospel tonight has come unto me. But if you reject that message tonight, you will hear these words in the coming day. Depart from me. Not solemn, it's come unto me tonight, tomorrow it may be depart from me. Because as I say, there will be no second chance.
And we read in second Thessalonians because here we have something very serious.
And what we have in Second Thessalonians applies, I think, to most.
In this room today who are not saved, because I realize that most, perhaps not all, but most here tonight have heard the gospel before.
And if you're not saved, you've neglected, or you've rejected time and time again.
And because, as it says, you have received not the love of the truth, You have heard the truth. You could perhaps tell me how to be saved, But because you've received not the love of the truth, because it hasn't come gone into your heart, because you're not saved, there's a day coming when Satan will be allowed to send you a strong delusion that you believe a lie. You say, How could that be? I have pondered this myself. You know, it's not the heathen that never heard the gospel.
That are going to be sent a strong delusion that they believe a lie. It's young people who sat in meetings like this.
You know, I think of you young people.
Sometimes we speak to the boys and girls, but I wonder if there's a young person here tonight who professes to be a Christian who passes amongst us as a believer, but there's no reality. I remember one time being in Trinidad. I've been in Trinidad many times, but this one time stands out in my mind.
And I had stayed in the home of a brother and sister a number of times, and they had a young person, young girl, by the name of Abigail. And on this particular occasion, Abigail was 16 years of age.
If you had asked me if Abigail was the Lord's, I would have said, well. I'm pretty sure she sits respectfully through the family, reading when we speak about the the things of Christ in the home. She's always there. She comes to the meetings, she sings the hymns. She shakes hands after and calls you brother so and so or sister so and so. But I remember one Sunday night, Abigail stood up after the gospel meeting in front of everyone else.
And said I have not been saved until tonight.
Is that interesting?
Passed. As a Christian, I would have said yes. I think her parents would have said yes too, but she was not. But thank God, whatever was quoted or read from the word of God that night, when does an arrow to her conscience into her heart? And there was a work of the spirit of God.
And she confessed Christ that night in front of everyone. And it made me realize that sometimes young people can pretend. You know, Judas was the great pretender.
It's always struck me that when you come to the upper room.
At the end of the Lord's ministry, and the disciples are gathered around the Lord Jesus for the last time before he goes to the cross.
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And the Lord tells the disciples that there is a betrayer amongst them. They all look at each other and say, is it I? Is it I? Is it I? I would have thought that after three years plus of those 12 men being thrust together in such close proximity during the Lord's public ministry that somebody would have suspected that maybe it was Judas. You know, Judas was so clever in his cover up that he never gave himself away.
I I've traveled with folks. Brother Hans has traveled with me. You travel with someone just for a few weeks. You get to know them pretty quick. The veneer comes off. The hypocrisy is gone. Those men traveled together for over three years and Judas never gave himself away. I trust there's no young person here today who's pretending to be a Christian.
And there's no reality like there was with Abigail. All be like Abigail Peters, come to know the Lord Jesus as your savior during the gospel meeting like this. But maybe there's someone here tonight and you've never really heard the gospel before. Oh, tonight the gospel is so simple. The word of God has made it so plain. The word gospel is that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture.
That he was buried and that he rose again the 3rd day according to the scripture.
The gospel is the good news that Christ Jesus came into the world.
He came into this world to go to Calvary's cross. And there at Calvary's cross, I can. I thank God that I can say before you all, He bore my sins in his own body on the tree. It's a thrill to my heart to confess him before you all again. I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.
The Apostle Paul could say the Son of God who loved me and gave him I can put my name in that verse. The Son of God who loved him and gave himself for Jim. That thrills my soul, and I trust it thrills yours. The Lord Jesus went to the cross. There he bore my sins. There he lay down his life. There he died for me, and there he shed his precious blood, of which blood we read.
The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
Not just from sin, but from all sin. I am thankful that my sins are washed away.
I'm not afraid tonight of one charge of sin being brought up against me because it's all been settled once and for all. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. I know I've said this before, but when my girls were growing up, they like to go out and play, especially on a Saturday, and didn't seem to matter if it was rainy or sunny or snowy or whatever.
They like to go outside and they like to get filthy dirty and they would come in at the end of the day and my wife would take those T-shirts and other clothing and we had, she would put them in the washing machine.
And she would put a generous amount of her favorite detergent, Tide or whatever you call it, and she would run the cycle and bring them out. And we had an expression in our house in those days. We called it clean dirt. In other words, the shirts were clean, the shorts were clean, but they the dirt, the grass, and the mud was so grounded that they were permanently stained and no amount of Tide or cheer or whatever it was.
No amount of running them through the washing machine was going to remove the stains. But all being washed in the blood of Jesus, every stain of sin is gone. Every stain of guilt is gone. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from. I want you to notice this precious word, all sin.
I can stand before you to tell you I'm redeemed. Not with corruptible things of silver and gold, not with something that changes in value.
But with the precious blood of Christ, you know the blood of Jesus is as precious tonight to the heart of God.
As when it was shared on Calvary's cross. When it says the precious blood of Christ, that's knows not so much our appreciation of it. I trust the blood of Christ as precious to our heart, every heart here. But I'm thankful that the value of the blood of Jesus does not depend on my estimation or value of it, but it does depend on God's estimation of it. And God says tonight it's precious and it's that which I say can wash away sins.
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We're redeemed by it and we have forgiveness through that blood.
And we could go through the word of God and see so many scriptures that bring before us the cleansing value and power of the blood of Jesus. We sometimes sing that question. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Good question for every one of us to consider tonight, isn't it? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Because as we read the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
I know there are just so many here tonight who thrill as we have spoken of the second coming of Christ and what is going to follow for us in the coming days. Our hearts thrill, I trust. Our hearts leap as we think of the promise that we've had before us of the Lord Jesus who said I will come again and receive you unto myself. I trust we look up every day and long for that coming.
But again.
Tonight we want to impress upon us that if you are still in your sins.
When we speak of the second coming of Christ, it ought to be a fearful thing.
It ought to be a fearful thing. What would you think if you looked around in a few moments and every seat in this building was empty except yours? Wouldn't that be a serious thing? To realize that everyone was gone but you to realize that what you had heard time and time again was a reality?
Because there will be no one go at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Who is not ready? Be also ready. We read. Be also ready. Are you ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Or do you fear are you fidgeting tonight and shuffling your feet and wondering when is this going to be over and you're watching the clock? And in a few minutes it'll be over and we can go on our way and we won't have to consider that. No doubt in a little while it will be over. But all these things are serious. These things are real. A young lady was asked at the door one time after a gospel meeting. What did you think of the gospel meeting tonight? She said. Well, at least the preacher was passionate about what he preached.
And we are passionate tonight because we don't want you to go to hell.
We don't want you to go to a lost eternity.
There was a man one time he worked in a glass factory. He was called the Stoker and his job was to keep the fires in the furnaces going for the for the formation of the glass and for the glass blowers.
And one day there was a preacher passing the glass factory, and the door was open. And he stood there watching the flames in the open door of the furnace, just inside the factory. And as he watched those flames, he uttered aloud What must hell be like? He didn't realize that the Stoker, though out of sight, was within earshot and heard those words.
And as the Stoker finished his shift and continued to feed the flames of that furnace, those words rang in his ears again and again and again. What must hell be like? And later that evening, when his shift was over, he didn't go to his home directly. He turned his feet to the house where he knew that preacher lived, and he knocked on that door. And you can imagine that preacher was very surprised to see the Stoker because.
This Stoker had a reputation in the community for being an ungodly man.
When he opened the door, the man said to the preacher. Oh, let me come in.
He said. I heard what you said earlier today and I don't want to go to hell.
I don't want to go to the flames of a lost eternity. And of course, that preacher gladly welcomed him into his home.
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They sat down together, and the preacher opened the word of God, and in the simplest manner presented Christ as the Savior of sinners.
And that the Spirit of God worked and opened this man's heart, and before he left that home that evening.
He knew that he was never going to find out what hell was like. He knew he was on the the narrow way that leads unto life. He knew he was on his way to heaven. And oh, tonight you can leave this room on your way to heaven. You don't have to leave this room the same way you came in. I'm not talking about the physical doors that are in front of us here, but if you came into this room traveling the Broadway that leads to destruction, that leads to hell, you can leave it tonight on the narrow way that leads to life.
And it is as simple as bowing your head and your heart right in your seat and speaking to the Lord Jesus. You don't have to utter one word aloud. He knows what you say in your heart, and you can confess you're a Sinner and receive the Lord Jesus as your savior tonight. He's offering you the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Oh, I plead with you not to reject.
For two reasons. One, the coming of the Lord draws nigh.
Two, we don't know how long we have to live in this world.
I had a great aunt. She lived to be about 90 some years of age.
She had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as her savior at a very young age. I think she was in her early teens. She had known the Lord Jesus most of her life, but she was lying in a hospital bed in the town of Smiths Falls, where I live, and I stood by her bed. I had the privilege. Yes, it was a privilege. I had the privilege of standing by Aunt Bernice's bedside as she gently drew her last breath, and I knew she was absent from the body.
And present with the Lord. She'd been looking for the Lord to come, but the Lord chose to take her ahead.
Of the rest of us, But she gently smiled and drew those last breaths.
And I knew she was home. She was with Christ. But as I stood there, my heart was solemnized.
Because with vividly brought to my memory just a couple of nights before what had happened.
A few rooms down the hall, in that same hospital ward, there had been a man who had come to the end of his life here on earth too. He was a well respected man in the town of Smiths Falls, where I live. He was a charitable man. He was a businessman. He was a man that was looked up to.
But he had. He knew he was nearing the end, and I will never forget the wails that filled that hospital reward. As he came to the end, he wailed. He cried. He was in agony because I believe he realized that he faced eternity. But he wasn't ready. I can't judge, but it was awful, you know, the nurse that that attended the the deathbed of Voltaire, the French infidel, she was quoted as saying. Not for all the money in Europe would she attend the deathbed of another infidel. It was so awful.
So agonizing and all, I wanna again tell you tonight that there's opportunity. There's a chance. Now we don't know how long we have to live. We don't know when the Lord Jesus is coming again. This simple statement, the coming of the Lord Draweth nigh. I remember 3 young men who came to some gospel tent meetings that were being held in the town of Curling Newfoundland.
Several years ago. And these young men, they came, I suspect, as I watched them several nights in a row, more to disrupt and moth than to listen to the gospel message. And one night after the gospel meeting, they were standing around outside the gospel tent, they lit up their cigarettes, they were laughing and talking. And I went out and I put my arm on one of them and I said, young men, is it worse?
The risk?
Is it worth taking the chance and saying we'll have another opportunity to be saved tomorrow?
And put it off tonight. You know what they said to me? It shakes me to this moment to tell you what they said to me. They said we'll take that chance. We'll take that chance. You know, Man is a gambler by heart. He likes to take chances. Just watch a line up at the lottery counter when there's an increase in the jackpot. Man is a gambler but oh, don't gamble with your soul. Don't gamble.
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With time, because in eternity there's no time.
You know, sometimes we talk about spending eternity and it's that's OK because the Spirit of God in scripture puts things in a way that we can relate to within the the realm of time and distance and physical limitations.
But there is in a sense, we really can't spend eternity. We spend time.
But how can you spend something outside the realm of time? We've had it in these meetings before. Eternity is not millions and millions or even billions and billions and billions and billions and billions of years. That's not what eternity is. Eternity is completely outside the realm of time. And you know the man who lifted up his eyes in hell that we spoke of earlier?
You know, he was already in a lost eternity. He was already in a place of torment when the Lord Jesus told the story, and that story was told some 2000 years plus ago. And he's still there. And he'll be in the lake of fire, in the bottomless pit, forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and on and on and on and on. How solemn.
But you know, for those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, isn't that wonderful? To think that the price has been paid for our entrance into heaven and that we are looking forward, anticipating the coming of the Lord Jesus, anticipating what is ahead after we leave this world. But why are how can it be? Because the Lord Jesus paid the price on Calvary's cross, if I can put it simply for our purposes tonight.
Without being irreverent, the Lord Jesus paid the ticket for us.
The other day I went to go for the meal and I was talking to someone and moving along quickly. And as I went down the hall I forgot that I needed a ticket. And the brother that was handing out the tickets get grabbed me by the arm and said you need this to get your meal. I couldn't go to that meal. I couldn't sit down at that meal without a meal ticket.
And you will never sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb in heaven.
Unless you have that ticket, that ticket paid by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Some of you will appreciate this at least. But when I leave for the airport, which I do very often, I have a BTP checklist. You know most things if you forget, you can replace when you get to the other end or do without. But there's three things I want to make sure I have because I cannot replace them and I cannot do without them. My Bible.
My ticket and my passport. BTP Tonight we have the Bible to tell us the way of salvation. God has made it so plain that it says a wayfaring man, though a fool, may not err therein. Timothy was told that from a child he had known the Holy Scriptures which were able to make him wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The Word of God. The Bible. The ticket.
The work of Calvary, the blood of Christ, the passport, the Lord Jesus himself, He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. We have Bibles in our hands tonight. But do you have your ticket and passport with you? Have you? Have you obtained it? You don't have to buy it. It's already been purchased. I didn't have to buy the the meal ticket.
To go into the meal, know all I had to do was receive it from the one who was offering it and say thank you and go and partake of the meal.
The Lord Jesus has secured our ticket and passport to heaven at great cost. You know that meal ticket that was handed to me as we went into each meal this, this weekend? That ticket was free to me, but I know someone had to pay for it. Those meals weren't cheap. Those meals had to be paid for. But thankfully we were able to go in and enjoy those meals because the price had already been paid and the price of redemption and salvation has already been paid.
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And it's being offered freely to whosoever will, whosoever will may come.
And take of the water of life freely.
But I'd like to go, and Justice read with very little comment what the Lord's coming is going to mean to those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Let's go to 1St Thessalonians, Chapter 4.
A portion like this never grows old to my soul, and I trust it never grows old to your soul either.
I thrill every time I read of the second coming of Christ. I thrill every time I think of what it's going to be to be with and like the Lord Jesus in the Father's house. And here we have the Apostle Paul.
Writing by divine inspiration to these believers at the at Thessalonica who were a little bit confused, they didn't quite understand how all this was going to play out. It's true they had turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, but they weren't sure how it was all going to work out. And the Apostle Paul picks up the pen of inspiration, and by the spirit of God he writes these glorious words.
Verse 13 of chapter 4 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so also them also which sleep with sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For we 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 that are asleep.
I'll listen now to these glorious words. They throw my soul, for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.
With the voice of the Archangel and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
As believers in Christ, what comfort would we have apart from this glorious hope?
If we couldn't speak of the coming of Christ and the Father's house and all the glorious things that we've had in these meetings.
What comfort would we have if we had come together this weekend and we had discussed politics and the situations in this world and where it's all going? Would there have been any comfort in that? Not a bit. You know, I travel quite a bit, as most of you know. And because of my status with the airlines, you know, when you have these super elite diamond cards and whatever, it just means you spend too much in the time in the air and just hard work no matter how you look at it. But nevertheless, we're thankful for the perks that the airlines provide along the way.
Makes life a little easier sometimes. And I have the opportunity to be in the business lounges of the major airports in the parts of the world where I travel. And in those business lounges you are rubbing shoulders with the top echelon of the corporate and political world. And usually on one end of the lounge there's a large screen television with CNN on it, depending what country you're in. On the other end, there's another.
Flat screen, uh TE television screen. And it might have BBC or CBC or some other national uh uh news network. And 24 hours a day the news is being broadcast. And I watch people as they watch these newscasts and it's certainly not good news. But as they watch these newscasts and they realize that they are dealing with an interplay of economic, political and social forces that are beyond their control and it's not.
If the elastic's gonna be, uh, going to snap. But when? And as I watch them, I read their faces. If there's any proof that we're at the end and the Lord's coming is C is near, It's the fact of what I see in the faces of the upper echelon of this world. Men's hearts, failing them for fear and looking for those things that are coming on the earth. And I've even had them turn away and say to me, where is it all gonna end? How? What's going to happen?
How can it go on? Men recognize that things are winding down.
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That there's not good news. That there's really not going to be a major world turn around.
We are right at the end.
We're not looking for better days down here, but we are looking for that glorious time.
All to be gone in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, because as we had here, when the Lord Jesus comes forth and gives that shout.
Every believer, every Christian in this room is going to go.
And every St. of God who's died from Abel on down is going to be raised from the dead, and we with them are going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. What comfort this gives?
Our souls.
Later on, in the second Epistle of Thessalon to the Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul calls it a Good Hope. I like that now. Wonderful that we have a Good Hope. There's a lot of hope in this world, but it's false hope, and it's hope that never comes to fruition. But we have a Good Hope every time I read that expression, Good Hope, I think of something we learned in social studies when I was a boy in school.
Concerning the exploration of the Europeans who were trying to find a trade route to to India and the Far East, to bring the spices and the silks and the commodities of the Far East to England and Europe, to add to the niceties of European and British culture. And I remember learning about a man by the name of Bartholomew Diaz and as history tells us in 1488, Bartholomew Diaz.
Was the first European on record to round the southern tip of Africa.
But he rounded it under such adverse circumstances that he aptly named it.
The Cape of Storms. But when he returned to Portugal and reported to King John, two under whose auspices he had sailed.
King John decided that the name Cape of Storms was not a name that would encourage further exploration.
And so he renamed it the Cape of Good Hope, which name it bears to this very day.
And yet it was, I believe, nine years later, until another European attempted to round the Cape. His name was Vasco da Gama, and Vasco da Gama did indeed round the Cape and find a trade route to the east. And for many years that route brought the silks and the spices and the other niceties that added to the culture of and comfort of the Europeans. That wasn't really the Good Hope they expected. I really wonder.
But all when we speak of the Lord's coming is a Good Hope. That's exactly what it is.
I don't suppose any of us who know Christ as our Savior tonight really realize what is ahead.
Really understand or get a full grasp of what is ahead. But I'll have to think that this moment is so near at hand when we're going to hear that shout and be safe home. And I want to end this meeting by reading the end of the book. The end of Revelation. The last chapter, The 22nd chapter of Revelation. I think this is so thrilling. Revelation chapter 22.
And verse 20.
He which testifieth these things sayeth surely. I come quickly. Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
If we were to back up in this chapter, we would find that this is the third time on the last page of God's Word that we have these words, that he's coming quickly 3 confirmations before he closes the book. Lest we missed it the first time in verse seven, he gives it to us again in verse 12.
Lest we missed it the second time in verse 12 before he closes the book.
He says again. Surely I come quickly. Do you realize these are the last recorded words of the Lord Jesus in scripture?
The last recorded words of the Lord Jesus in Scripture are the confirmation that he had made so long ago in the upper room to his disciples. I will come again and receive you unto myself the last recorded words of the Lord Jesus. Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so. Come Lord Jesus. These are the last recorded words of the people of God in Scripture.
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The last recorded words are a response from the heart. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Is that the response from your heart tonight? If you don't know Christ, it's not the response. If you know Christ, I trust it is the sincere and genuine response of your heart.
Amen. Even so come Lord Jesus, and he closes the book. Well, not quite the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Be with you all. If I can sum it up in another way, surely I come quickly. That's the last promise of scripture.
Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus. That's the last prayer of Scripture.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. That's the last provision of Scripture.
In this precious, these precious verses, we have the last promise, the last prayer, and the last provision. Because I just want to say to the hearts of those of us who know Christ, if the Lord Jesus leaves us here another few moments, another few days, His grace is sufficient for whatever we face when we leave this room. Because maybe there's someone here and you say, oh, it's been so wonderful to be here, to have this little Oasis away from the world and the cares of and burdens of school or work.
But we've got to go back to all those things, and maybe your heart is burdened as you think of what you're going to face tomorrow.
Or this week, if the Lord leaves us here. But I want to tell you, if he leaves us here, there's this last provision of Scripture, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Is it all we need? My grace is sufficient for thee. Do we need more grace? He giveth more grace. Is it just to a select few of all we received Of his fullness and grace upon grace? What a resource we have. But oh, again, I want to impress upon our souls the Lord Jesus is coming. Yes, indeed he is. If you're not saved tonight, well, I pray you can just bow your head and talk to the Lord Jesus.
As I said earlier, it's as simple as this. Just confessing that you're a Sinner, receiving his gift of eternal life, receiving that salvation that he is offering to you, being washed in the blood of Jesus and knowing that you're on your way to heaven. It's as simple and easy as that. It's not complicated, but I beg of you, don't get out of your seat tonight until you're saved.
And for those of us who are saved, let's go home with a fresh appreciation.
Of the truth of the coming of the Lord Jesus, that it might have a practical, purifying effect on our lives.
And may we look up every day and long to be with him there in the Father's house.
And may the response of your heart and mind be Amen even. So Come, Lord Jesus, let's pray.
Open Mtg. 2
Revelation 21,22