Gospel—J. Hyland
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Let's begin the Gospel meeting with hymn #9 on the Gospel hymn sheet from every soul by sin of prep. There's mercy with the Lord and He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word. Let's stand and sing this number 9 and if someone will please start it.
We will save you now.
May drive and all the way to the ground.
And.
Pay What's the name of you?
And save you now.
In hand with all delayed you are.
41.
08 God began all day, Christine all Day.
Umm.
Turn with me first of all in our Bibles this evening to the Book of Ezra.
As for Chapter 7.
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Ezra Chapter 7 and I want to read the last clause of verse 12.
Perfect Peace. And at such a time, before I comment on this, I'd like to read another portion. It's in Luke's Gospel chapter 2.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 2 and verse 13.
And suddenly there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. I have it on my heart this evening, and seeking to present us simply and clearly as possible from the word of God.
To look at some scriptures that bring before us the subject of peace, you know peace is on everyone's mind today. Just this past week, there were peace talks took place in Washington and.
The Prime Minister of.
Egypt was there or Israel, I'm sorry.
The Palestinian leader was there. Egypt is later on going to get involved. the United States, of course, were the ones that invited these parties to the table. And peace, peace talks and summits and negotiations have been going on for years and years in connection with the Middle East and in other parts of the world. But, you know, I thought of this verse as I heard about these peace talks this week. I thought about this verse in the book of Ezra.
Perfect peace. And at such a time, and yet you say, how can this verse be true at such a time as we are in the history of this world, How can someone get up and talk about perfect peace?
Before I explain a little bit as to how we can do that, I want to just read just some statistics. And even if these statistics are somewhat accurate, they show that there is very little, if any, piece in this world, nor has there really been peace for many, many centuries and millenniums. Just listen to these statistics. These are statistics put out by the Society of international law.
In London.
And they say that in the last 4000 years of man's history there have been simp only 286 years of peace and that in those 4000 years there are has been an estimated some 3.64 billion people killed in various wars and skirmishes. They also say that in the last 300 years.
There have been 286 wars in Europe alone.
In recorded history there has only been peace 80% of the time and that over 8000 peace treaties have been made and broken. Not very promising statistics are they? I remember 2/1 Time being in Flanders fields on the border of Belgium and France and as we all know there are thousands of thousands of people buried in Flanders fields.
You drive around those graveyards and there are gravestones as far as the eye can see.
I've stood at the meningitis where there are 56,000 names engraved on stone tablets of men and women that were never found to bury in Flanders fields.
But I remember going to a museum in that area called Deadlines. When I went to that museum three or four years ago, it had just opened and it is a very sober look at the two great wars that took place in Europe.
The First and Second World War. But what impressed me most was just before you leave that museum, there's a monitor, and there is a scroll of dates on that monitor, a continuous scroll of dates and wars that have taken place since the last World War. And I stood there and watched those dates. Now, some of those wars were small wars, civil wars in various places.
Other of those wars, if I were to speak of them tonight, many of us would remember when those wars took place and they were perhaps more significant and so on. But what impressed me was as I watched those dates scroll by, there has hardly been a year since the last World war that there hasn't been some conflict, large or small, at some point, somewhere in this world. There is no peace in this world outwardly tonight.
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And yet Ezra says here, perfect peace. And at such a time, and we're going to go on with the Lord's help. And as we look at various scriptures, we're going to see how well there is no peace in this world outwardly. Yet tonight we can preach a message of peace, a piece of in an inward peace and peace with God, and peace as to the future, and how the uncertainties of life can be erased in a moment.
By coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. And so I read here in Luke chapter 2.
And here again, we might wonder. We might ponder as we read these words.
Spoken by the angels at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ as they announced to the shepherds this wonderful news that the Lord Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, that the Creator of the universe had come an incarnation into this world and was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying in a Manger. And as they announced this good news, heaven breaks out with this wonderful announcement. Peace on earth.
Goodwill toward men. But you say, Jim, how does this go along with what you have just told us, the statistics that you have just read, what we see and read in the news every day. Well, you know, again, there will be no peace in this world until the Prince of Peace comes back. Because if we were to go on in the Gospels and we will mention certain things as we look at certain scriptures.
The one who lay in Bethlehem's Manger, the Prince of Peace himself come down to earth. He was rejected. He was eventually taken out and nailed to a Roman cross. They set away with him, away with him, crucify him. They sent a messenger after him saying, We will not have this man to reign over us, and that is why there is no peace in this world tonight. They chose Barabbas over the Prince of Peace, a man who was characterized by three things.
He was a robber, he was a thief, and he was on trial for sedition or insurrection, which as we know is rebellion against authority. And what do we find today? Violence and corruption and rebellion against authority not only practiced, it's all we've been practiced from the Garden of Eden down. But it is preached and glorified, and it has become full blown since the Prince of Peace was rejected, and not until the sun of righteousness rises with healing in his wings.
Will there be peace for this earth? But you know what the messy agenda there, What a sad message we would have to proclaim. But you know, in Isaiah 54, it speaks of those who proclaim good tidings and peace. And that's what we have to proclaim tonight. We have good tidings. We have the gospel to present, and we have a message of peace. We're not going to preach World Peace here tonight.
But we're going to preach peace. And so with this in mind, I'd like to go to a further scripture and it's in the book of Job.
Job, Chapter 22.
Job, Chapter 22.
And verse 21.
A point now thyself with him.
And be at peace. You know tonight peace is not found in peace talks and summits and negotiations. Peace is not found in signing treaties that are not worth no more than the paper on which they are printed. No peace tonight in connection with the gospel is found in a person a point now thyself with him.
And be at peace. Who is the hymn that is referred to here?
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Well, Job perhaps didn't have the understanding that we have because he didn't know the Lord Jesus as the Son revealed an incarnation the way we do tonight, but all for our purposes tonight. The hymn is the Lord Jesus Christ because he is the only one who can give true and lasting peace. Now I want to make it very clear that we're not again, we're not talking about outward peace.
Even in the circumstances of our lives, I'm not going to stand here and tell you if you receive the Lord Jesus as your savior, that you're going to have everything become peaceful and happy in your life. I'm not going to tell you it's all going to be smooth sailing from here out. But what I'm talking about again is an inward peace in your soul. Oh, you know, the storms of this life do rage.
The world is getting worse and worse as it sweeps on to judgment.
But you know, peace is not found in the absence of adverse circumstances.
It's found in the presence of God and his Son, the Lord Jesus. It comes from knowing God as our Father.
It comes from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. I'm going to repeat a little illustration that's often been used in this regard, but I've enjoyed it. I've had opportunity to visit some of the great art galleries of Europe. I'm very interested in art, and I've had opportunity to visit some of those galleries and see the paintings of the Old Masters. And I have never seen this painting of which I'm going to refer, to which I'm going to refer.
But you know, I am told from history that many years ago in Europe there was an art contest.
Put out to some of the great artists of Europe and there was a reward for the person, the artist who would depict best the subject of peace on canvas. And we're told from history that many artists took up the challenge of that contest, took paint and brushes and put set to work to paint what they felt best depicted piece.
And when the day came of the exhibition and the judging and those paintings were unveiled, there were some beautiful paintings.
Of some very tranquil scenes, fields of tranquility.
Animals grazing quietly in green pastures, calm seas and beautiful sunsets. But none of those paintings were chosen by the judges as the best depiction of peace.
The painting that was chosen, believe it or not, was a painting of a waterfall cascading hundreds of feet over a precipice. And if they say it was so well depicted, you can almost hear the roar of that water as it crashed to the rocks below.
But out in front of that waterfall from the bank was the branch of a tree, and on the very end of that branch.
There was a bird's nest with a bird sitting quietly on her eggs. There in the front of that falls, with the roar of the falls in her ears, she could sit there resting in her creator, so to speak. And there on her eggs she sat in perfect calm and peace. You know, the small things of creation often teach us, doth not nature itself teach us? And the artists had depicted it in this way.
And the judges felt that this was probably the best description of peace of any of those paintings. And that's why I say it's not in the absence of difficult circumstances. It's not in making a peace treaties and having cease fires and all that. No, it's found in a person. It's the trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you don't know the Lord Jesus, my prayer is that tonight you would take these words to heart, these words spoken by Elizabeth.
A life has so long ago in the years of Job, a point now thyself with him and be at peace. You know when we present the gospel, we don't present social reform. We don't present reformation. It's not simply theology. No, what we present or who we present is a person, and to know that person is to have true and lasting peace. I'd like to develop this a little bit by going to the book of Romans for another scripture.
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Romans chapter 5.
Romans chapter 5 and verse one.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, here we it speaks of being justified by faith, and those who are justified by faith, they have peace with God. Perhaps you've heard it. I've heard it many times. The question raised, have you made your peace with God? You know, I could never make peace with God, but I don't have to make peace with God tonight because the Lord Jesus has done it for me and to come in simple faith.
To trust in the work of Calvary, to trust in the Lord Jesus, is what is going to give peace Tonight you remember the story of the Philippian jailer in Acts chapter 16, And there we find him in that jail. He'd fallen asleep and there was a great earthquake that shook that jail. And there were two missionaries in that jail that had previously been locked there, and after they had been beaten and ill treated. And that Philippian jailer, when he woke up, his heart was troubled.
He was afraid, he was scared and he came in and says he came in trembling.
There was number peace in his soul, but you know, there was a gospel message presented to him on the cold, damp floor of that dungeon that night. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And oh, tonight it is faith. It's believing. It's simply to trust in the Lord Jesus.
You know, I watch people.
As they hurry to and fro, especially at the airports.
And I watched their faces, because what has struck me in recent time is the fear.
That's written on people's faces as they hurry to and fro, as they conduct their business, as they're shuffled around this planet. You can tell by the very look in their face, on their faces, the very fear in their eyes that men's hearts are failing them for fear and looking for those things that are coming on the earth, and that there is no peace in their souls that they have troubled hearts.
But all the remedy, I say.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ being justified by faith We have peace.
With God, you know, some of us in this room have opportunity on occasion to go to countries where something other than the true God, or someone other than the true God and his Son is considered our worshipped. And you know, it's a very sad thing to go to a country in an area of the world where they bow down to idols of wood and stone and other commodities. It's a very sad thing to to hear people wail out their hearts.
To someone who is in the tomb, someone who is in the grave.
There's no peace. And what has struck me in visiting some of these places is to realize that people are trying their whole life to appease their gods or their gods. They're trying to make peace. And yet I suppose, having spent their life trying to make peace with their God or their gods, they realize deep down.
Let's say cannot, cannot do it. Recently some of us in this room stood at the three great pyramids in the Giza desert. And you know, those pyramids are the burying places of some of the great Pharaohs that ruled in Egypt in the glorious days of that nation. And you know, those Pharaohs and those of their day, they spent their whole lifetime trying to prepare for the next life, trying to make put things in order. So hopefully.
Peace was made with their gods. Were they able to do it? Oh, no, Oh no. They left great monuments behind. You know, the Great Pyramids are the only one of the Seven World wonders of the world that are still standing today. There they are as a monument to a glorious time in the history of the Egyptians. But where are those Pharaohs who were buried in those tombs? Oh, if they didn't know the true God.
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They're in a lost eternity. They may have spent all their time and gone to great lengths and great wealth to try to prepare for the next life, but if they didn't know the true God, how misconstrued their efforts are and were. I was reminded recently of a story about a man, a doctor, who was born in Scotland on May 13th 1839.
His name was William Patton McKay and he was brought up in a Christian home.
He, like many here, had a mother who prayed for him daily and constantly. But you know, as he hit the teen years, he shook all that off. He decided that Christianity in the Bible wasn't for him.
And at 17 years of age, he finally left home to go off to university.
But before he left home, his mother gave him a Bible, and in the front of that Bible she inscribed his name, a verse of Scripture, and put from love with love from mother. She took that Bible in his luggage as he laughed. But William McKay had no time for the things of God or God's word, and when he got to university, he began to live like the prodigal son with riotous living.
But he was a very brilliant young man, and he kept up his studies even though he'd go out on drunken brawls on the weekend. He lived fast and free, as we would say. And finally, to get some more money for another binge, he sold the Bible that his mother had given him.
As the years went by, he did very well in his studies and he graduated with honors and he became a very famous surgeon.
In Scotland, his thrill was when the ambulance pulled up in front of the emergency door to be able to take a patient that others had given up on, an accident victim that others had given up on and bring that person back and uh, restore them to health and and so on. And he became very famous for his ability to do just that, cases that everybody threw up their hands and said they were lost.
William McKay would often be able to pull them through.
But one day they brought in an accident victim and as William McKay assessed his victim, he realized that this man wasn't going to make it. And the patient finally said to him, he said, doctor, what's the prognosis? And William McKay, he'd become very hardened to these cases. He just shrugged And he said, oh, you'll you'll make it OK.
The man said no, I want to know the truth. Is this a life and death situation? Because Doctor, I have peace and I'm ready to go.
Those words really struck home to William McKay and after a hesitation, he said. Well Sir, he said. I'm afraid you have it best 3 hours to live.
A perfect a look of perfect peace came over that man's face. He said That's OK, doctor, and he repeated his statement. I have peace.
And I'm ready to go.
As hardened as William McKay had become to life and to these cases, he felt a little softened. And as he was about to leave the room, he turned back and he said, is there something I can do for you in your dying moments?
The man said yes, as a matter of fact, there is something you can do in my jacket pocket, there's my last paycheck and he said I wish you would have it delivered to my landlady. And he gave the address.
He said I I owe her for my, uh, my rent. And he said whoever you send to take the check to the landlady, if they would simply say to her, can you send him the book? I would appreciate it. Doctor McKay said. What book? Oh, he said the landlady will understand the the, the request. Well, Doctor McKay made arrangements for someone to go from the hospital with the paycheck to the landlady and to ask for the book.
Doctor McKay went on on other floors of the hospital to make his rounds to other patients, but he couldn't get the words out of his mind. Doctor, I have peace and I'm ready to go. He kept thinking about this patient and finally when his rounds were completed, he went back to the emergency floor and he met the nurse who had helped him attend to the patient a few hours earlier. And he said to the nurse, he said, what about my patient?
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Did he get what he wanted? She said. Yes, he did get what he wanted, but he died a few minutes ago.
Doctor McKay said What was the book that he wanted? Was it a bank book or something like that? She said. Well, it's still under his pillow. Why don't you go in and see?
Well, Doctor McKay went into the room and he reached under the pillow.
And he pulled out a book, all right.
He pulled out a Bible.
And as he pulled out that Bible and looked at it, it fell open.
And in the flyleaf he saw his name and the verse his mother had written there so many years before with love to her son. And God used it to strike his conscience. And he took that Bible under his arm, and just as fast as he could go without looking conspicuous, he made his way up to his private office several floors above, and he fell on his knees with that Bible in front of him.
And he turned to the Lord Jesus Christ, and he found that inward peace that he had never found.
In the fast life he had lived, or in the ability to heal so many who had come in with seemingly hopeless cases.
And the first thing he did was to call his mother, who thanked God was still living, and got the news that her prayers had been answered and that the Bible she had given him so many years before had been used by God to convict him of his need, bring him to his knees.
And bring him to the Savior, you know, William McKay wrote one hymn that we know of.
And this is the hymn. We praise thee, O God, for the Son of thy love for Jesus, who died and is now gone above. Hallelujah, Thine the glory. Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah, Thine the glory. Amen and Amen. What a hymn for a man to write who for so many years had run from God without peace in his soul, but saw a man dying with perfect peace.
And realized that he had something that he didn't have. What would you do if you were on that hospital bed this evening? Would you be able to say I have perfect peace and I'm ready to go?
Serious question, isn't it? I'm going to tell another little story before we pass on.
Not a farmer, some years ago on the East Coast of California of the United States.
The New England coast. And this farmer farmed a tract of land that was very open to the storms that rage sometimes along the East Coast of the United States. We've all heard about Hurricane Earl this week and how Hurricane Earl has been coming up the East Coast of the United States. And this farmer farm this tract of land and he found it very hard to keep a hired hand because when the storms raged, it became.
So difficult to keep things in order and keep things battened down and the doors bolted and so on, that fired hands would come and go, and they were very hard to retain. And so one time this man, he needed another hired hand, and he put an ad in a local paper, and he got several answers to that ad, but none of the ones that answered this ad and that he interviewed seem suitable.
And many of them, when they realized the situation, they weren't willing to stay anyway until one man came into his house. He seemed a little bit like an unlikely choice for a hired farm hand, but he interviewed him, the farmer interviewed him and explained the situation. And this man, this potential farmhand, gave a very, very strange reason why he felt he could take the job.
He said, Sir, I can always sleep while the wind blows all but, the farmer said there's some ferocious winds that blow along this part of the New England coast. He said, Sir, I can always sleep while the wind blows. Well, the farmer thought this was a rather strange response, but he was desperate for a hired hand and so he decided to try him out. And this hired hand proved fairly efficient. And then one night.
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The wind began to blow. A storm raged along the coast and over that farmland.
And the farmer heard his windows rattle. He felt the building shake.
And he got up and he went outside, and he came and banged on the door of the hired hand. And he was appalled to find that his hired hand was sound asleep. He went inside. He shook him in his bed. He said to him, Don't you know there's a storm raging.
The hard hand opened his eyes and looked into the face of his employer and said, Sir, I told you I can always sleep while the wind blows.
The farmer thought he should fire fire him right on the spot, but.
He decided instead to hurry outside and see what he could do to secure what possessions he felt might be left and get in, what animals might have not yet blown away with the storm. And as he went out and around the farm, he was surprised to find that there were tarts over the haystacks. And they were secure, very secure. The chickens were in the chicken coop, the cattle were in the barn, the horses were in their stable, The barn doors were were were barred, the windows were shuttered tight.
And the farmer realized what the man had meant, that when a storm was approaching, he didn't wait until the storm hit, that he made preparation and enduring that storm, that hired hand, unlike the farmer himself, could sleep in perfect peace knowing that he had made the proper preparations. And I think you see what we're trying to say very quickly. Are you ready tonight? Do you have peace with God? There's a storm of judgment coming on this world.
You know, the condition of things we see in this world tonight is not going to get any better.
I don't put any stock in the peace talks that they had this past week in Washington, DC. In fact, if you listen to the report of those peace talks, it sounds very iffy and flimsy at best. And I doubt there was much accomplished, even though there was great expense to bring these leaders together. And things are only going to get worse. And it's going to end with a storm of judgment over this world, like this world has never seen nor can they even anticipate.
But are we ready for that storm? You can have perfect peace tonight, as we said, by knowing the Lord Jesus as your savior. I'd like to read a further verse in the Book of Colossians.
Colossians Chapter One.
Colossians, Chapter one and verse 19.
For it please the Father, that in him should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself, by him I say, whether they be things on earth.
Are things in heaven? I read this portion because I want distress for a few moments. The value of the blood of Christ. You know again, we could never make peace with God. But the Lord Jesus went to Calvary's cross, and there he lay down his life. He could say, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work that thou gavest me to do. We sang a hymn at the beginning of these meetings.
This afternoon.
God is satisfied with Jesus. We are satisfied as well.
And I know there are just so many here this evening who are trusting in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who have availed themselves of that precious blood. And so here we find he's made peace.
Through the blood of His cross. Because God has taught mankind from the very beginning that if there's going to be blessing and if there's going to be peace in the soul, it must be based on the death and the shedding of the blood of an innocent victim. That's what all those sacrifices showed in the Old Testament. When I see the blood, I will pass over you, he said to the children of Israel the night they were going to leave Egypt after the destroyer had passed.
Through the land. And so he's made peace through the blood of his cross.
You know, over the history of mankind there have been a number of summits or parliaments held UH in connection with the great religions so-called of this world. But one of the most notable was held, I believe in the city of Chicago in 1893, and they say at that parliament there was hardly a Western religion and Eastern cult that wasn't represented there.
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And for days different leaders of those religions and cults presented their case presented their religions and why they felt there was virtue in what they vote what they believed. There was a Christian man name was Doctor Joseph Cook who attended that summit that parliament and he waited till the last day of that summit and till he was the last speaker and he arose and.
He addressed the audience and he used Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare's play Macbeth as his example.
And those relie those leaders from around the world. Most of them would have been familiar with Shakespeare's writings. I grew up in Canada, where we studied a lot of Shakespeare and I enjoyed English and literature and took extra classes in it. And we read a lot of Shakespeare. And I enjoyed Shakespeare from a literary standpoint, and especially his play on Macbeth.
But there is a lady there, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife, and she had blood stains on her hands.
Not literal blood stains, but she had the stain of murder on her hand, on her conscience. And Joseph Cook. Doctor Joseph Cook, When he stood up and addressed that audience he drew from Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth, he said, I have a lady to present to you, Lady Macbeth, and she has blood stains on her hand, and those blood stains are troubling her conscience day and night. They're driving her mad.
Now who? Who has the remedy? Who in the audience can offer Lady Macbeth peace? Whose religion can get rid of that blood stain on her hand and give her conscience peace? They say. There was dead silence in that large audience. He waited to see Who would dare to stand up, but no one did. All those religions and cults were dumb.
In the face of such a case.
Doctor Joseph Cook looked heavenward. He said. I'm going to call witnesses.
The Apostle Paul.
In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sin.
Let's call another one the Apostle Peter, redeemed not with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood.
Of Christ. How about a third witness, the Apostle John. The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin.
You know it is only the blood of Christ tonight that can cleanse away sin.
It's only the blood of Christ that can give you a purged conscience tonight.
It's only the blood of Christ that can make you comfortable in the presence of God and fit for the presence of God.
It is only the blood of Christ tonight that can give you title to heaven.
You know, there's a day coming when multitudes, thousands, times 10, thousands and thousands of thousands are going to be gathered in heaven and they're going to sing. And what are they going to sing about? They're going to sing about the blood of Christ. They're going to sing about the blood of the lamb that has redeemed out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. What a day that's going to be. And again, I know there's just so many here who are going to join in that song.
But all tonight the question is, has the blood of Jesus taken care of your sins? If the blood of the Lord Jesus has not taken care of your sins tonight, you are still lost. You are on your way to hell.
And you have no peace, you say, Jim, you, How do you know that? You can't see into my heart. No, I can't see into your heart. But I know if you don't have the blood of Christ, you don't have peace. I do know that because there is no other peace. There's no other inward peace tonight than knowing the Lord Jesus and the value, the cleansing value of the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, you say. How do you know blood cleanses sin?
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I can't tell you how blood cleanses sin, but I know it does. I've experienced it in my own life.
For almost 50 years I've known the cleansing power.
Of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it gives me a thrill every time I hear.
Of the blood of Jesus. It gives me a thrill every time we talk about the Lamb of God.
Who takes away the sin of the world? Does that give your soul a thrill? Does that give your heart a thrill tonight? If it doesn't all tonight, God loves you. The Lord Jesus died on Calvary's cross. He gave his life. He shared his precious blood. And God is commanding his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. The Lord Jesus loves you. I delight to echo with the Apostle Paul.
The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Can you truly say that if you can, you have that inward lasting peace?
But let's go on to another portion in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 13.
Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 20. Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus.
That great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His His will. Well, I read this because I want to speak for a moment of peace in connection with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we have here. We have the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, because we've spoken of the death of Christ.
How important when we present the gospel to stress the death of Christ Because with the the wages of sin is death. And the Lord Jesus has died on Calvary's cross. He's died for my sins. I trust you can say he's died for your sins. The Lord Jesus shed his blood. He's made peace through the blood of his cross. But you know there's something else too. So wonderful. And that is the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
You know again when you go to other countries where they bow down to dumb idols or they pray to someone who's in the tomb? Oh, what a sad, pitiful thing it is if you ever heard people wail out their hearts at the hour of prayer.
And pray to someone who's dead, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's just about tears your heart out to hear it. It's a sad, sorrowful thing. But oh, tonight we have joy in presenting the gospel because we present one who's risen from the tomb. And I want to stress the resurrection for a few moments tonight, because if Christ be not raised, your faith is in vain and ye are still in your sins. But thank God he was raised again for our justification.
And on the resurrection morning the stone was rolled away, so that those who came early could have a complete testimony that the Lord Jesus had bodily risen from the dead, and they could hear those glorious words. And were there ever such glorious words announced in this world as those words announced, He is not here. He is risen. Come see the place where the Lord lay. You know we have a tomb in Christianity.
It's not the great stone coffin where Mohammed lays. It's not the tomb of Buddha. It's not the grave of Confucius. It's not the pyramids of the Pharaohs that reign at one time in Egypt. No, it's a tomb. But it's a tomb that's empty. And the Lord Jesus, when he came forth from the dead, he remained on earth long enough to give complete and ample testimony to his own.
That he had not just risen in spirit, but that he had risen bodily. He showed himself to about 500 brethren at one time he said to his own Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bone, as ye see me have. And you know you are responsible tonight to the Lord Jesus. He's a risen man, and you're responsible to him. He's your savior tonight, if you'll have him.
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But you know, if you won't, the day is coming when you're going to stand before that man.
Yes, you are. You're going to stand before that man and you're going to look into his face and you're going to see him as your judge. In that connection, I'd like to go back to the Book of Isaiah for a moment to give a solemn warning. Isaiah, Chapter 57.
Isaiah chapter 57 and the last verse of the chapter verse 21. There is no peace, saith my God to the wicked. Not a solemn statement. There is no peace saith my God for the wicked.
But you know, this verse has a far more reaching meaning and impact.
Than just the fact that there is no peace now in your soul if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because when we consider this, we think of an eternity.
Lost and in hell, where there will be no rest, Where there will be no peace. A place where, as the New Testament tells us, there's weeping and gnashing of teeth.
A place of torment if we were to take time and go over to Luke's Gospel.
We find the Lord Jesus telling about a man who went there and in hell. He lifted up his eyes, being in torment.
And he wanted one drop of water to cool his tongue, to get him and to have momentary relief.
You know, it's interesting to me that he never asked to be released from there. You know, when people are are in a bad situation, usually what they want is release. I suggest that he realized his destiny was fixed, but what he wanted was momentary relief, somebody to come to him. But he had to learn that not only was there no release from that awful place, but that no one could come even with momentary relief.
You know, when the volcano went off in Iceland a few months ago, my wife and I were in Europe and, you know, it was a very helpless feeling to be on another continent and know there was no way off. I said to my wife one night, I said, if one of our daughters calls and there's a family emergency at home or something like that, there's nothing we can do about it but trust the Lord. There's no way off this continent until things settle down and they put flights back in the air. It was a very helpless feeling.
But all I thought of what a helpless feeling it will be for those who end up in a lost eternity, with no peace but continual torment and the agony of a conscience. It says where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, the agony of a conscience that will remember a gospel meeting like this, and will remember the word of God that was spoken in their ears as to a point of refuge and salvation, and yet realize that it is no longer applicable to them as such. That's why the Lord said the word that I have spoken.
The same shall judge him. In the last day we've had a number of scriptures read and quoted.
If you go to a lost eternity, one of the things that will cause you unrest and torment and agony and the absence of peace for all eternity will be the memory of the verses from God's Word that we have read and that we have quoted tonight. But before I close, I'd like to turn to one more portion, just a few pages back in the 26th chapter of Isaiah.
Chapter 26 and verse 3. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee. You know, we began with those words in the book of Ezra, perfect peace. And at such a time, yes, even at such a time in the world's history as this, we can have perfect peace in our souls. We can have that inward calm and rest that comes.
From knowing God is our Father and the Lord Jesus as our Savior, and here we find that there's perfect peace.
When we have our minds stay on the Lord Jesus, how often those of us who know the Lord Jesus have enjoyed this verse knowing he'll keep us in perfect peace as our minds are stayed on him as we trust him in the circumstances of life. And I wouldn't want to trade places with anybody that isn't a Christian, I see the frustration.
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On the highways and at the airport every day they talk about road rage. I think airport rage is even worse. People frustrated with a delayed flight, people frustrated because a flight is canceled and bad weather and all this kind of thing, and they lash out at the agent behind the counter and those who are around them. You know it's hard enough when you have the Lord, at least someone who knows the Lord. I'm always thankful I can step back and say no, Lord, just give me the grace to get through this.
Just keep my mind stayed on thee. Help me to trust you. And obviously you don't want me on that plane this afternoon. Just give me the grace to get through it. So that's hard enough. No wonder people who don't know the Lord lash out at the first person in in front of them. They want, they need to blame. They need to blame someone. But all how wonderful to have that piece. This is a positive side of of Christianity. Not only is there a happy eternity, not only is there rescue from hell and heaven ahead, but in the interim there's a wonderful piece that comes in the circumstances of life.
It's the peace that the Lord Jesus left with his disciples. My peace I give unto you.
Not as the world giveth, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Do you want that peace tonight? Oh, at the end of this gospel meeting, I plead with you to come to the Lord Jesus, come to know him. There's nothing like it. You can have perfect peace and at such a time, peace for eternity, peace of knowing where you're going when you leave this world and when the Lord Jesus comes to know that you're going to be gone, to be with him.
And peace in the circumstances of life while we go through this world. We won't turn to it, but I'd like to just quote a scripture in closing. It's in Romans chapter 15, verse 13. Perhaps this scripture sums up best what is on my soul tonight and my prayer for you if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, is This might seem like a strange verse to apply at the end of a gospel meeting, but if you don't know the Lord Jesus.
And you don't have that inward peace that we're Speaking of. This is my final prayer for you tonight. Now the God of Hope fill you with all peace in believing. Oh, just believe, and you'll find that wonderful peace that he so desires you to have. Let's pray our God and Father.