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A joyful day of glory.
Also thing #130. Next we have him. The Lord has made us to rejoice #130.
With Christ, our thing begins.
Our daughter and love for heaven.
Are good.
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I swear that's my sweat. Also Jesus.
Pray blessed God, our loving Father, we have good cause to rejoice.
For that was given to us.
The greatest promises.
Eternal promises. Promises which man can never make.
And all will be fulfilled in Virginia and in the Amen, all made possible.
On a righteous basis through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ in Calvary. Our God maintaining thy own character and bringing poor law sinners into blessing. Whoever would have imagined such a wonderful plan of salvation for transceeding man's highest thought? We thank the our gracious God and Father for this.
Will praise Eve for all eternity.
With our children, bless thee, our God, and we thank thee, Lord Jesus, with thy unspeakable gift.
And yet we look to Thee for Thy direction and help this afternoon. We pray Thou direct us to the passage that should be before us. We commend many of our dear brethren even now. Journey homeward, that Thou would see them safely on their journey. Pray to for blessing on the gospel to follow. We ask all the Thanksgiving in thy name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen. Amen.
We've considered these things in Second Peter chapter One might have to do with our present time and our.
Life and responsibilities.
Here and what we exhibit, and then we spoke a bit about the Millennium.
Like saying on the Lord's transfiguration, might be nice to pick up what comes between those two things. The Lord's return in the rapture. That would be an encouragement among God's people. I think that would be a nice subject take up.
Have you a scripture to suggest Brother Bruce?
But I was thinking of starting in John chapter 13 towards the end and the first few verses of chapter 14 and then reading.
Chapter that we're so familiar with First Thessalonians 4.
Are generic versions, so reverse it is.
John 13 at the beginning I was thinking beginning at verse 36.
Reading to John 14, verse 6.
And in Thessalonians.
Chapter 4.
Starting with verse 13.
I realize that there's a little shift there between verse 1415.
It all goes together 13 to the end of that.
Go ahead and read it for us, you'll make no mistake that way.
I'll be happy to.
Verse 36.
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John 13, verse 36.
Climate leader said unto him, Lord, whither goeth S? Jesus answered him, Whether I go there cannot follow me now, but thou shall follow me hereafter, Follow me afterwards. Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake. Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lie down by life for my sake? Barely bear the extent to thee. The **** shall not crow. Shield hours denied you Christ.
Letting all your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. My Father's House of many matches were not so I would have been. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am.
There ye may be also, and whither I go ye know, with the way you know.
Thomas says unto him, Lord, we know not whether it thou goest, and how can we know the way? Jesus says unto him, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
First Thessalonians, chapter 4.
Verse 13.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep that you saw are not even as others which have no hope for.
We believe that Jesus died through His skin, even though them also make you sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we stand to you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven to the shower with the voice of the Archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which our lives remain shall be caught up together.
With them in the clouds meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Could we say the pathway to where the Lord is now led by the cross and the grave?
And the ascension and Peter couldn't follow the Lord through that pathway.
And so it wasn't yet opened up yet, and we have it opened up to us, as you pointed out in the reading of First Thessalonians chapter 4.
But he had prepared a place.
For the people of God, the abodes were there in the eternity of God. Pass.
Prepared for us and the counsels of God, and he went to the cross to prepare a son's place for us there.
And in my father's house are many mansions who were there waiting for us, but we were not yet prepared for that place.
He had expected that he would set up the Kingdom.
And but he's telling them now.
That by going to the cross, he was preparing a place for them.
Far more blessed than the place they would have as Jews, reigning with Him on earth the Father's house.
First of all, to know God as Father and to have a place in the Father's house.
You know this word Mansions.
Conveys the idea that it is a fancy place, but that is not the thought conveyed. There are many of both, you know. It's wonderful. I'm sure it is not like these poor huts that are bred in Malawi live in.
But it is not the emphasis on how beautiful the place is, the emphasis is on the relationship that we will enjoy in that home.
The Father's house and the Lord Jesus has prepared a place for us, there for all of us, and.
So he is saying now.
Don't be troubled by my going away. I'm preparing something much better than what you were looking forward to when you first came to know me, looking at at me as the King, the Messiah. And so how wonderful. There's a place for all of us in that house, the Father's home.
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What a wonderful.
Hope it is, and this is to be a comfort not only to the disciples at that time.
It's to be a comfort for us, comfort one another with these words we read in Thessalonians. So what a comfort, you know, when we get older.
The body is deteriorating and.
What a wonderful thing that we will be with the Lord Jesus, like Him, have a new body, but especially to enjoy that relationship and nothing to hinder in any way the flesh, the world and Satan can no longer trouble us and.
Will be delivered from them all.
But above all, we will be with him and.
We will see the Lord Jesus and be with him. I'm looking forward to seeing my mother and father and many loved ones that have gone before my son.
And there will be great comfort to see them again. But.
The most wonderful thing is that for the first time you look upon that blessed One, see him face to face, the one that so loved us and gave himself for us, and then to be in the Father's house and enjoy that family relationship. See, this is what John's riding spring before us, the family of God.
You know Paul's fighting peaks of the body of Christ, the House of God.
And the bride of Christ, and so on, that is brought out in.
The Revelation.
But still.
At the father's house, the family relationship is so wonderful.
We can already enjoy that.
And in spirit, as the hymnator says, in spirit, there already we soon ourselves will be.
Hopefully.
That in our souls we often dwell on that which will be eternally our blessed portion in the Father's house.
And Windsor Castle, there are the abodes.
At the residence of the Queen and Lady Baden Powell, the founder of the Girl Scouts, was not particularly wealthy, and so she was taken in and given to live out her days in the abodes. And so that's really the thought here in my father's house are many abodes is they were there, I believe, for all eternity.
That God had that, that in my Father's house are many mansions, but the work of the Lord Jesus Christ going to the cross because he went to prepare a place for us, the sons place. Lady Diana came from one of the grandest homes in England, Althorp, and yet when she arrived in Buckingham Palace she felt like she didn't fit in. The young man that I referred to yesterday who was in this grand house, he was invited into the home, but he didn't fit in or belong there.
But because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross is that we're going to belong in heaven. It's not as though when he said I go to prepare a place for you that he went with it. If I may put it this way, I saw and hammers to make extra rooms for us in heaven. It they were there already, if I may put it that way, but he went to prepare a sons place for us there and prepare us for that place so that we fit in and we belong. Young people often go up to high school and they don't feel like they fit in or they're worried if they go to this conference if they're going to fit in and so on.
But when we get home to heaven, we're going to look about and we're going to just fit in perfectly because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
And that is why a Sinner would not be happy in heaven.
He is not prepared for that place. He would be very unhappy in heaven at Sinner. He would ruin it because he doesn't have a nature that delights in what is going to be heaven is going to be all about.
My brother Lundy staying on a certain occasion, that Father's house is the inner circle of heaven.
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And it's been reserved for Christ in the church. It's not a matter of renovation. And that is being used for something now and then there will be the change. But to think of it being in preserve for the greatest council in God's heart, that his Son should have a bride for all eternity. So to think of our heavenly calling.
And we could be called up this afternoon.
Right up to that cloud where he's coming to meet us like Isaac did Rebecca.
And then to usher us with dignity and love into the Father's house, into the inner circle. And we can't begin to fathom what that will be like, but to think of all the attendance of heaven looking on to this glorious scene.
So the preparation of that house really is that there's a man there, one of our own kind.
If we were going to meet angels or going to meet God himself, we wouldn't know what to expect. But when we arrived, there will be instantly at home and at rest. We won't have to say, oh, we got to get used to where we are. No, we're at home. We're home at last, beyond the reach of sin and sorrow and temptation. And never grieve that tender heart again anymore.
When we arrived there.
I suppose we get something of it in the last verse of that hymn. I think it's number 76 in our hymn book.
They're no stranger. God shall meet thee, stranger thou in courts above. He who to his rest shall greet thee, greets thee with a well known love.
Not to put any servant of the Lord on a pedestal, but one who was on his deathbed way back in the 1800s apparently made the remark. He said, well, it will be a strange thing to be in heaven, but it will not be a strange Christ. It will be 1 whom I have known and loved for these many years. And that is really what it will be like when we get there, won't it? Because our brother was saying.
What will immediately make heaven feel like home will be the fact that our blessed Savior is there.
As a man, there's already a man there in the glory, a glorified man. But then he is going to change our bodies to make us fit for that place. And when we get there, what do we see? We see one, a man who hung on Calvary's cross, The one who loved us and died for us. The one who rose from the grave, The one who has been there all along, living to make intercession for us.
And immediately, as you say, we will feel at home because he is there.
When Peter said, why cannot I follow thee now, he didn't realize the weakness of his own heart, did he? You know, it says in Jeremiah 17 nine that the heart is deceitful and incurably wicked. He wanted to follow the Lord here.
It was a young man and John Mark's Gospel, the 14th chapter who went further than the others and to follow the Lord. He says he followed the Lord but he fled from them naked. It was probably Mark himself.
Shameful. Later on in the 21St chapter of this book, the Lord tells Peter, follow me. When the Lord tells him follow me, why he immediately starts to wonder about Peter and others. You know, what will this man do you know? But here the Lord was going to the cross, and no one was to follow the Lord. If you turn over to the third chapter of Joshua, you find that there was to be a space of 2000 cubits between.
The ark descending into the Jordan River and all the people. And so the Lord was going to go alone. In fact, when He takes Peter, James and John into the Garden of Gethsemane, He was separated from them about a stones cast. The Lord was to be alone at this time, but in glory. Why will be with Him? Many abodes of room for all the Saints. All the Saints will be there. I think that's the thought of the many abodes.
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In the father's house, Brother Reuben, do you think it's possible in Joshua 3 when it says there will be?
2000 cubits between that arc and the people that it's suggested that there's 2000 years between the death and resurrection of Christ and are going into that place.
You never thought of that?
Because there is nobody in heaven, and we're going to see that in First Thessalonians 4 with a body now.
He alone has a body in heaven. There is a real man in the glory, and it is a most blessed thing.
Would say too, that there's not either anyone in the Father's house without a body. And sometimes we speak of those. And I would never want to take that term away because it's it's, it speaks something to our hearts. But we say of those who have gone on to be with the Lord, that they've gone home. And certainly the place where they are now is the home of present, home of their soul, that they look forward to the Father's house the same way that we do.
They've exchanged their waiting place. But you know, the apostle Paul still has the same hope that we have. He has not laid down his hope. He still has the same hope. He's expecting the Lord to come just as we are. And all the believers that form the Church of God by the indwelling Spirit of God are going to be brought into the Father's house at the same time. And I think that.
Our chapter would bear that out, that the Lord said He would go and prepare a place.
I will come again and receive you unto myself. Are there some that are going to be received unto him before the others? No, not at all. We're all going to be ushered in, you know. None of us have seen that house. Not even the apostle Paul or any of those early brothers and sisters in Christ that have gone on before. None have seen it yet but the Lord Jesus alone. You know my.
Bride saw the home. She was going to that bachelor's home before she ever went in. Her sister saw it, felt bad for her, probably I saw it. But none of us have seen the Father's house yet. Not one. It's not that we're going to be caught up and knock on the door and the Lord's there and he answered it and let us in. He's going to come and receive us to himself. We're not going to knock on that door, but He's going to his work, carry his pride across that threshold.
And introduce her to every, how should I say, every wonderful delight and treasure that's in that home, and all the father's love. And I think the best description, at least for my own soul. Perhaps there's some Old Testament account that would speak to us of the father's house too. But I just enjoy that account of the prodigal son, perhaps the only language that we know as we are in these bodies of humiliation that can give us any description of the father's house.
Is when the elder son approached that house, he said he heard the music and the dancing and I think, I can't think of another scripture perhaps that conveys the as that little hymn says, it's love and light and song.
It's important, as you said, nobody is at the Father's house now but those who have departed.
The intermediate state between death and resurrection for the Saints is absent from the body.
Present with the Lord, to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better. They're already with Christ. But as you say, the Father's house, nobody is there at this point, you know. But how wonderful to know of our loved ones that have gone before. They're with Christ, you know, and what a wonderful portion is theirs already in the conscious enjoyment of His presence.
You know, but the Father's house includes more, you know, and.
We all will be there, you know, and we will be brought into conformity to our blessed Lord. He liked him and with him forever. And with all the things that I'm looking forward to, that we all should look forward to that. And notice too in Thessalonians that is a present hope.
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Paul says we who are alive.
You know, in other words, that statement indicates that he was expecting and it wasn't expected hope, a present expected hope at the time when the apostle Paul was rising in, you know, and.
If that was a present hope, then.
Certainly should be on our minds and our hearts now.
You know it cannot be much longer and the Lord will come and take us home.
But will we be ashamed?
You know the judgment seat of Christ.
Will be.
That which comes first after we're taken home.
And we will view our lives. We will not be judged, but what we have done will be judged. Whatever was, of course the glory of God will be rewarded in what was not will suffer loss, not that we ourselves be lost.
But there is going to be a loss and we will see it.
And but how wonderful, as we already indicated, everyone will have reward from God. There will be something in the life of everyone that he can acknowledge and recognize. But.
We ought to live our life in view of the judgment seat of Christ as believers and please Him.
And we ought to ask him many times. Lord help me.
To live pleasing to thee. To do your will, not mine. You know we make many Boo boos. Unfortunately many times we do what we want to do but.
It is not impossible for the Christian to be governed and guided by the Lord's will and by the Spirit. The Spirit indwells us.
He can use the Spirit and desire us to use the Spirit to direct us in a path that is pleasing to the Lord.
But.
The day is coming.
When we will stand before him there and our life will.
Run before us like a movie.
Everything will be seen.
And we will not be judged, but we will judge ourselves.
We will.
Recognize that which was not for God, even that which we thought might have been for God. We'll see it with his eyes.
Not the way we see things today and but there's something in the life of every believer that.
God will recognize and reward, but we ought to be exercised that.
We will live, as I already said, in view of the judgment seat of Christ, you know, to really.
Ask the Lord, help me to please thee to do what is your will.
And he has a will and a path for all of us. It's not the same for everybody.
But there is a path for every believer.
Believer can live for the glory of God and able by the Lord through the Spirit.
What is the condition, as Brother Stephen was saying, of those that have gone on before the 16th Psalm says, Moreover, shall my flesh rest in hope? That's always the language of scripture is that those that are laid to rest. Pauls flesh is resting in hope. His body is in a grave somewhere. Thankfully we don't know where it is, but the flesh of the Saints are waiting for that resurrection morning.
When they're going to be caught up, that's where First Thessalonians comes in. I just say this in connection with sleep, that we learn in Scripture that we may be asleep as to our soul in life, but we're not asleep in our souls in death. Our flesh sleeps. And that's why in Matthew it says after that he arose the bodies of the Saints with the bodies of the Saints which slept, arose and walked about in Jerusalem because.
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It always speaks of our bodies sleeping, waiting for that resurrection mourn.
And so they are there when it says in scripture, thou wilt not leave my soul in hell.
Thine holy one to see corruption. We know that when one dies that one is in happiness and in bliss. We get that and the rich man and Lazarus like 2 doors with paper over them and you know one goes out one door and they're an eternal torment and the other one goes out into happiness. But the veil is taken further apart now and we really see what the end is of those when they're raised to be with Christ.
Today shall thou be with me in paradise. Paradise is an old Persian word which means garden of delights.
Father's house. I wonder if that may bring before us more of a permanent condition.
The Father's house is first mentioned in the Book of John.
And back in chapter 2.
It might be good to look at that.
As we'll see, immediate contrast.
In verse 16 is where the word is used. He said unto them, as soul does.
Take these things hence make not my father's house and House of merchandise and so.
There was that in this world which was called the Father's house.
And yet it's fairly obvious from this passage that was it could be used in a corrupted way, that there could be degradation brought to that, that it was had a certain element of instability about it in that man's responsibility.
Could ruin it.
But Father's house that we have brought before us.
Is quite different. In this way I go to prepare a place.
Now it doesn't actually say it's going to prepare you.
Out of this passage, but to prepare a place, so that place has not been there before.
And in what way did the Lord Jesus Christ prepare?
There's many. There's several ways that we can look at you can mention.
But he died. He gave his life.
That's not something that had ever happened before.
Very death to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Serve to prepare a place.
And was mentioned by brother Ron. The Lord Jesus Christ then ascended as a man.
And as a man.
In that place he prepared.
And what kind of preparation was really needed?
It's in contrast with what we have in chapter 2, because when the Lord prepared.
Which is related to his death and his ascension. We now have a place there for us.
Which will never be corrupted. It can never go downhill. We will be in a place where we will forever have communion with God uninterrupted.
There really could be something like that. Until Christ died.
Because apart from Christ, death everything that is outside of God.
Was corruptible.
And we see the evidence around us, don't we? It's very obvious.
But now that we're in Christ.
And that we've been saved. Not simply preserved, but, but saved.
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That place is now formed, and through that great salvation and the death of Christ.
Where there will never be a slippage of any sort forever.
Not just a place where God is, but a place where humans can be.
And that is unique. And if we rest back on our pillows, we really say that is impossible.
But because he went to prepare a place, we now know it's not impossible because he prepared me and now it's ready.
And some wonder about those who've gone into jail.
You know, in Scripture.
It's a joy to realize that's mentioned several times.
That the spirit, that the soul especially, but the soul and the spirit have attributes.
And scripture points out that those attributes that belong to soul and spirit.
Are equivalent to attributes that belong to the body.
Is it the body? No, it's not the same.
But its attributes are there.
And so, even though we may not know exactly.
What transpires when one passes from us?
We do know that there is a place prepared because we are on the other side of the cross.
And we do know that they have all the attributes.
To enjoy and to appreciate.
And to enter into what is there, it's a wonderful thing.
And it's a wonderful.
Hope that is set out to the believers.
And it's good to emphasize it and to comfort one another with those words.
Your comfort one another with those words. Theology has a few phrases what we're familiar with. Another one I wasn't very familiar with until just recently, but.
We talk about full sleep. We know that's quite wrong, but there's another one that has been given the term soul rest.
By those theologians that think people die and go to heaven and kind of the way was described to me, kind of cuddle up to Jesus and just like a little baby child not aware of its circumstances, there they cuddle up and rest and are.
Appreciating it and but I don't believe that that theological point of view is correct either. We're there in the knowledge.
Of Christ, and we're there in the appreciation of what the Father is.
As we are there in enjoyment of what has been accomplished.
Across.
It is important to realize sometimes mistakes are made, statements are made that are not correct for instance.
Heather and Eve in the garden before they fell, 1412 with them.
He came to visit them.
Dwelling of God with men is only possible because of redemption.
That is when you hear for the first time that God would be dwelling with men. You see that already in the Old Testament.
And.
But the temple?
Here in chapter 2 is spoken of as the Father's house. He dwelt among His earthly people in that place.
And but they didn't dwell there with him.
You know they were not as we are going to be in the Father's house.
But how wonderful that redemption has made it possible that God can dwell with men, and men can be in the presence of God. Of course, it's really the Lord Jesus.
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That we will see. We never need to see more than him, to see God in Him. The fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily first in the second chapter of Colossians verse 9.
So we never need to see more of God than to see the Lord Jesus. And we have seen God, and what a wonderful thing it will be. And there is a Father's house prepared.
And we will be there in that house with all that belonged to the Lord Jesus.
And redemption has made it possible.
And already.
When we think of the presence of the Lord Jesus in the midst of the two and three gathered to His name.
You know what a wonderful truth that is that He is in the midst and He is not in the midst of everybody that makes a Christian profession. You know, the Spirit gathers around Christ and He doesn't gather in division.
So many mansions or abodes, and we look forward to being there and being there with the Lord Jesus and with all the redeemed. Do we not miss our brethren in Christ? If we do not miss them, there's something radically wrong with us.
What about those that at one time walked with us and the enemy has succeeded to draw them away?
Do we not miss them?
But the time is going to come, that day is going to come when we will be all together.
And I have often said I'll be just too happy at the judgment seat of Christ to change my mind and my ideas as to anything where I had wrong ideas, you know, and accept His way of seeing.
Things and submit to that, joyfully, happily.
Well, the father's house.
And.
There's not going to be any change. We'll be there forever and ever and ever.
And what a future we have. Beloved Saints of God, we ought to.
Often in our minds, and when we pray and talk to the Lord Jesus, we should express the desire to be there.
And that he would come and take us whole.
To be delivered.
You know, salvation, I think it already has been mentioned at this conference of our souls is present then salvation, that which preserves us, and then now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. That is what we're talking about when the Lord Jesus comes and takes us home.
Salvation is seen in that way as well. Now, is our salvation nearer than when we first believe?
What a day that will be when he comes and rescues us and brings us to himself and removes anything that.
That at the present time still so often hinders us to a fuller enjoyment of the Lord Jesus, and that which we have in him even Mars our fellowship with fellow believers, well, the Lord Jesus.
Might come today, I wouldn't mind that one bit if we would. I'm sure most of us here would mind that one bit if He would come today, take us home and to be with Him and like Him and to see Him as He is. We shall see Him as He is. What a wonderful future we have, beloved Saints.
From Paul's desire was that the Saints not be ignorant. I was struck. I was at a funeral and the brother here spoke at that funeral, at the grave on resurrection on that verse. Moreover, shall my flesh rest in hope. There were quite a few believers there that I didn't know, but we're true believers in the Lord. And as I traveled about in that city.
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I was astonished at how many came up to me and said are we really going to know each other in heaven?
And I met a dear man who'd worked for me years ago, and his son had grown up and died in an accident, 18 years old, on his way to medical school. And I said, won't it be wonderful to sit down with him and see him in the glory and recount with him the ways and purposes of God? The lie that we heard about last night, these hard questions to answer? And they looked at me through their tears. And they said, do you think we'll really know them in heaven? Paul doesn't want us to be ignorant.
When we lay the body of a loved one in the grave, the flesh is resting in hope for that day that our brother spoke of a little earlier along with the apostles.
All he's waiting for, just so long as we are, he's in as has been brought before us in the conscience, intelligent enjoyment of the Lords presence now in Paradise with the Lord, absent from the body and present with the Lord, his flesh resting in hope. But now he says, I would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep. Their bodies are asleep, and as is brought before us, not their souls that we sorrow as others that have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also would sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. You're going to be raised together and we're going to have real bodies there and we're going to know each other. And we get a little foretaste of it is standing in the other room looking around and seeing brethren chatting at each other. And here we know difficulties and frictions come in among brethren, but it is a little foretaste of heaven.
We're going to know each other, we're going to meet each other, and we're going to be able to recount the ways of God with one another, to walk to see the Lord Jesus Christ and to walk with one another. God doesn't want us to be ignorant of that because the pathway doesn't end as people think, in some happy spirits drifting around up there and heaven. It's we're going to know each other as real men.
And no unbeliever is ever spoken of as being asleep. That is strictly a statement used for believers.
That have died and it is connected with the body. The soul doesn't sleep. There are those who teach the soul sleep. That's a wicked doctrine you know the unbelievers are already in torment as already referred to in Route 16, but.
The believer is the one that is asleep. As to the body, the soul is alive, enjoying the presence of the Lord Jesus. There is no such a thing as soul sleep. But I hope if there's anybody in this whom there isn't safe yet, if you should die today.
From that very moment on, you'll be in torment like the rich man.
He isn't really in the body.
But the sufferings that he is experiencing is explained for those who are in the body in physical terms. You know he wants to have a drop of water to cool his tongue. Even death is not granted him. You know hell is terrible. God isn't willing that any should go there. He didn't make it for man.
He made help for the devil and his angels.
But if you follow the devil, then you keep him company there. And really there is no company in hell. I heard people say, well, I'll have a lot of company in hell, a lot of friends of mine out there. Can you have company in outer darkness?
You know that's what hell is spoken of. Outer darkness. If there would be no light at all in this room and perfect darkness, could we enjoy each other's company? We wouldn't see each other.
And, well, hell is outer darkness, eternal separation from God, spiritual dead.
And when they stand before the Great White Throne in Revelation, although their race, they have a body.
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And they're cast into hell physically as well. The body will be in hell, not only the soul, but they stand there and they're spoken of as the dead.
They're raised, but they're spoken of as the dead.
Dead in sins and trespasses. Death is used as that which speaks of separation from God. Dead in sins and trespasses.
And eternal separation from God. At the present time, those who are dead in sins and trespasses can be made alive and can be reconciled to God. But once they stand before the great white throne in our church, they cast into the lake of fire. You know no change possible any longer but those who are alive in the body now and not safe.
I hope you don't.
Reject the Lord Jesus. Don't refuse to accept that you are a Sinner and that you need to repent. Acknowledge that you're a Sinner. That's what repentance is all about. And then not just repent.
Nobody was ever safe without repentance, but repentance alone didn't save anybody.
Repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus is what says and there is still an opportunity. The opportunity is still given today.
But it might end this very day for anyone who has heard the gospel and rejected or neglected to accept it.
But what a serious thing it is. And is it possible that children of Saints end up in hell, having been exposed to much of the truth? I believe that one of my father's brothers is in hell.
You know he grew up in a Christian home.
But rejected it, didn't accept faith, lived in sin.
My father was able to talk to him two weeks before he was killed in a bombing rape, trying to speak to him and make him accept the Lord and savior. He rejected it all. Two weeks later there was a bombing raid and he was killed, torn to Shrek, you know a farm explode very near to him.
Well, I'm sure he is not with the Lord Jesus, you know, in spite of the fact that he had heard from a child on the truth of the gospel.
And my father again was used to speak to him two weeks before he was killed. Isn't it sad to think that those that have heard the truth, heard the gospel over and over again, might end up in the lake of fire? I hope there's nobody in the audience that will be in that place. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, that all come to repentance and to faith in the Lord Jesus.
I should think that Peter was kind of confused. Lords answer those questions.
Mile later on.
The Lord seemed to double speak here, doesn't they? And he says.
So can't stop follow me, but thou shalt follow. So I was wondering about that myself. Speak up to going to the cross, or speak of heaven or both. I like to look at it this way.
I'll just start the This portion opens the same way our chapter in the readings open. Simon Peter. Simon, who speaks of his whole nature, will say. We'll call it that.
Caesars new together, of course, by gospel born again, but we still have the old nature.
So something in the take place.
Before.
The Lord could say yes, as it were, and that is the Simon part would not go the old nature, a change that takes place.
And so, but yes, Peter fire Peter was trusting in the Lord. He was saved. He would be in heaven.
And so it brings us, of course, in the First Thessalonians that change. So this is what I've enjoyed with this little portion here.
01:00:04
Well, he's spoken of as the first begotten from among the dead. He's not the first one who rose from the dead. As we know, even in the Old Testament, those rose from the dead, but they died again. But the Lord Jesus Christ was the first one to go into death and to rise with a body that could never die again. And Peter could not follow the Lord because.
He was the way, the truth, and the life. He had not yet died and risen and ascended into the glory.
Ascended into heaven, and so he is marked out the way for us.
Just like to comment on the little portion and 1St Thessalonians 4. You know I read this many times. Years passed and never really sunk in exactly what the Spirit of God was bringing before.
My soul 1St 15 through the end of the chapter verse 18 is a little parenthesis. If we looked at the 1St chapter First Thessalonians, we would see the manner of their salvation, and the entrance at the gospel head unto them was to set them in a position.
Of waiting for the Son of God from heaven. They earnestly looked for that Savior who had redeemed them to come back to this earth and, and have his rightful place. And they were waiting to welcome him. That's really the position that they were in. And so it was somewhat a position of ignorance, you might say. And the apostle Paul wanted to clear them up and set before them what was really their proper hope. Now they have the coming of the Lord as their hope, but they did not understand yet.
That our proper hope is waiting to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. They were really waiting for the Lord to come back and take his rightful place here and welcome Him. Well, meanwhile some had died who were believers and they were grieved and you know, in their thoughts and the ignorance of their thoughts, they said they're going to miss out here We are waiting for the Lord to come and they're going to miss out. They've died. What's going to happen?
And they were grieved. And so this first verse, verse 4, verse 14, if we believe.
That Jesus died and rose again. Even so them also which sleep in Jesus God will bring with him. And then if you skip the parentheses, it goes on to the fifth chapter. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you.
That goes on to Speaking of the times and seasons in connection with the establishment of the Kingdom here on earth and the Lord having His rightful place.
And so the apostle by the Spirit of God is saying, don't grieve, brethren, when he comes back to this earth, that Son of God who you're looking for and ready to receive and welcome him, he's going to bring all those that have died in Christ with him. He's going to have them with him. Well, then the question comes up, well, how is that? How is it that they're going to be with it? And these, this parentheses then opens up.
To our understanding by the Spirit of God, how it is when the Lord returns to this earth in power and glory to set up His Kingdom, He's going to have his own with him.
So the Old Testament Saints be raised in these last two verses that we're reading of in First Thessalonians 4.
I believe 1St Thessalonians 4 refers to the hope of the church. But in First Corinthians 15 we had the statement all that our Christ that is coming that refers to all the Saints. But here I believe that refers especially through the Saints in Tesla, Nikon, comforting them as to those who have fallen asleep. But we need to have all the truth of God.
All the Scriptures that deal with that wonderful truth of coming for his own, all that are Christ that is coming. That includes the Old Testament Saints. You know He died for them.
Their sins were not truly atoned for by the blood of animals. The blood of goats and goats cannot put away sin Hebrews, but God accepted their sacrifice in view of what His Son would do.
When the Lord Jesus died and shed his blood, he made atonement not only for us who lived after the work. He made atonement for all those who died in faith previously, and they are all Christ, and they will have part with Him at His coming.
01:05:15
There's a little key to that, Brother Heinz. In First Corinthians, it's all that our Christ. But here the Apostle Paul uses a characteristic phrase.
In Christ and it's part of the apostles doctrine that those who have been saved in this present dispensation of grace joined by the Spirit of God into one body to our head in heaven our in Christ. The believers from past dispensations are not properly speaking in Christ, but they belong to him they're Christ but not in Christ in Christ is a very.
Specific.
Thought in Paul's doctrine helpful.
Can we sing #323?
The Lord himself shall.
Awaken.
Forever.
Happy thought in our hearts right now. It's not the heaven we're going to.
We're going to enter there and to think of that blaze of glory that will encompass our souls so that we'll never experience an unhappy moment in glory. And I believe it's normal.
That we should be looking forward to the judgment seat of Christ.
And we might say, well, if everything comes out in my life, I think I'm going to be embarrassed and so on.
I think that the Spirit of God would take that away from us and realize that we enter those bright courts of glory. It would be song, praise and worship forever. And realizing that now if there is any unhappiness in our hearts because maybe of our state of soul or our will is at work or we have issues with our brethren, that's the unhappy, but we're only going to have it here and so.
01:10:07
We'll be unhappy there if we're expecting some unhappy thought to possess our souls. And time has come for the gospel.
Just would like to read one stanza.
On the Gospel sheet before we pray.
The gospel of thy grace, my stubborn heart hath won. For God so loved the world He gave his only Son, That whosoever will believe, shall everlasting life receive. Shall we pray?
Our loving God and our Father.
We thank thee this afternoon for thy great love.
We thank thee, blessed Savior.
That we have had thy word open in this last meeting.
We thank thee, Lord Jesus.
The tower of the Savior, sinners.
We pray for sinners in this room this afternoon.
Those that have never received thee as their personal savior.
We pray as we open Thy word together this afternoon.
That thou will give help by thy spirit.
Be nothing said that would hinder the gospel going forward.
The spirit might be led this afternoon and soul might be saved.
With thy honor and for thy glory.
We ask these things, we give these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The gospel really has been preached already.
We've had the joy of hearing the gospel twice already.
Night before last was faithfully given forth. The last night was faithfully given forth, and we had the gospel already today in this last meeting.
I thought of this hymn.
The stubborn heart, oh, the heart of man, the heart of boys and girls is stubborn.
Willful because of sin, but God loves you and God loves me.
Oh, isn't it wonderful, the love of God.
I'm going to tell you a little story.
But before I tell you a story, I want to read one scripture, and this scripture has been read before. But when I was asked to give the gospel, I call in the name of the Lord to help me, to guide me, and to lead me and direct me. And this is the verse in Job 33 that came to my soul.
And it's the verse 14.
For God speaketh once.
Yeah, twice.
Yet man perceiveth it not, or deserve it, or understandeth.
This story is about two boys.
About the age of you boys in the front on this side.
And it happened in the Midwest in the 40s, long time ago.
On a farm.
In the Midsummer.
And they'd cut the grain with a binder and they'd put these bundles and little bundles all together, eight of them and one on top, to be waited until a threshing crew came through to thrash the green out of that that bundle.
And so when they came to this farm.
There were two boys there.
And this machine was started up. The bundles were thrown into the machine.
The straw went out the back end and a pile gilts went in a wagon on the side.
Usually the sun was shining brightly.
That day.
These boys were out there having fun, as boys like to do. They were running up and down the straw pile.
Choicing. Rejoicing. Happy.
01:15:01
Until one fell into a hole.
In that straw pile.
How do I know this story?
I was that boy.
Dad had warned me, he said. Don't go up into that straw pile. How could a disobedient boy?
And I had along with me a boy that was a couple years younger and all we were having fun.
But I went down without a hole over my head.
The straw was coming in was covering the hole up.
What do you think I did?
They cried for help.
All of a sudden I saw a hand come down through that hole. What do you think? I did said no, I don't want it. I grabbed that hand as quick as I could and I was pulled out to safety.
For the love of God.
The mercies of God. I didn't deserve it. I was disobedient. I disobeyed.
That's God's love. I deserve to die, be punished for my sin.
I could have pulled that boy in and the straw would have covered us. They would have never known where we were at, where we were at for probably quite a while.
But oh God, was watching this boy.
I heard the gospel before and that's why I'm concerned about your dear ones, your young ones, your older ones.
You've heard the gospel God speaks once.
Yeah, twice. I didn't listen.
Through going to school, we came home, we had to walk a mile and a quarter to get home one night.
I opened the door, called my parents.
There were the dishes on the table, there were some overhauls and shirts on the chairs.
What do you think? I thought the Lord has come. I knew it. I knew the gospel. I knew that the Lord could come at any moment.
But I put it off.
God warned me twice.
Oh, the love of God.
And it was shortly after, in the middle of the night, in the blackness of night, before we were in the farm. There was no lights, it was dark. I cried unto God, and I told him I was a Sinner, I needed to save him.
Do you think he heard me? Yes, he did.
And I stand here redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Are you saved tonight, this afternoon? Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ? Has he spoken to you? I'm sure he has.
Oh, I deserve to be punished forever.
With the devil and his angels, but all God's love.
God's love was poured out to me. Oh, he wants you boys and girls. He wants to save you now.
He wants you with himself in that glorious scene that we've been speaking about.
Open your heart's door and receive him now.
Receive him now.
Just a few more verses.
What else became before me was in First Corinthians chapter 15.
The Gospel.
First Corinthians chapter 15, verse 3 For I delivered unto you, first of all, which also received Father Christ diverse sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and he rose again according the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, and then of the 12 The gospel good news.
God's good news to you and I.
Christ died. He died for you. John's Gospel, chapter 19 and verse 28.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said I thirst.
And now there was a set of vessel full of vinegar, and it filled a sponge with vinegar, put upon a histopath, and put it to his mouth.
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said it is finished.
It is finished. He bowed his head and gave up the ghost. All that work of redemption was finished. Christ died.
Verse 40.
Then took the body of Jesus and wound it in linen.
01:20:00
Let's go back first to verse 32. We can't miss this. Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the first of the other, which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs.
But one of the soldiers with his spear pierced his side, and forth with came to our blood and water.
Anita sought for a record and said his record is true.
And he knoweth that, he says true, that she might believe all, that you might believe the good news that we have to tell you this afternoon.
Christ, Jesus came in the world save sinners. Christ died for you.
And then down in verse 40 and they took the body of Jesus and wounded living clothes, the spices of the manner of the Jews to bury.
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden. In the garden a new sepulcher. Wind was never manned, yet laid there they did, there laid they Jesus. Therefore, because the Jews preparation day for the sepulchre was knight hand.
Jesus died. He was buried.
Is was that the end? No.
Let's go on. Let's go to Chapter 20.
Eight of Matthew.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 28.
And verse one. And the end of Sabbath, as it began to dawn for the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other merit to see Sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake. For the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him that keeps keepers did shake, and became dead men. And the Angel asked her, and said unto the woman.
Fear not ye, for I know ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here.
Come see the place where the Lord lay. He rose from among the dead. He's living on high in the glory. He's calling for sinners to come, just as you are. Oh, he wants to save you, dear boys and girls and young people. He wants to save you now.
Another story.
Which is a touching one too. We had a neighbor that lived a wicked life. He was known to be a wicked man. The gospel had been presented to him.
He wouldn't have it, and so he got very sick and had to go to the hospital in Des Moines.
We asked our dear brother Whitaker if he would go to see this dear man.
And so he willingly went to see this man.
Sick nigh unto death.
And you know what this man told Brother Whitaker? He said if I had to live my life again, I'd live it the same way.
But you know the report came that when he died, they were screaming all up and down the hall.
As he went into a lost eternity.
Without God.
Is true.
If you don't accept the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, the precious blood that was shed there, that soldier put that spirit in.
You'll be lost forever and you'll be cast into the lake of fire. Oh, how solemn. We've heard that just a little while ago I had another neighbor.
The tractor rolled over. He was pinned under the tractor for about 3 hours.
The acid out of the boundary. He could see it flowing, flowing toward his face. He couldn't move.
He called and he hollered, and no one there he was out in the field.
And it kept flowing and flowing and it came into his eye.
His eye is blind today. He couldn't do anything about it. He was tied. He didn't didn't call upon the Lord. He didn't know the Lord, and I don't believe he knows the Lord yet today.
Oh, I've talked to him about the Lord. Others have talked and you know what he told me? He said. I have my own thoughts about God.
He had his own thoughts about God.
Oh, how solemn God tells us faithfully and truthfully.
That we're sinners, and that He came to save sinners, seeking to save that which was lost. Oh dear ones, this afternoon I urge you, if you're sitting in that chair stealing your sins.
01:25:09
Don't listen to the enemy, Satan, he'll drag you down to hell. And we had brought before us the blackness and the darkness.
Or to think you're going to have a conscience.
A conscience that will eat on you. In that lake of fire, that confinement where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, you'll remember this very meeting.
Because you're responsible to God and it'll eat on you through all eternity.
Or don't listen to the enemy. Come. Come just as you are. Tell the Lord Jesus, yes, I know I'm a Sinner.
And I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, and it will save you this very moment that you sat in that seat.
Oh dear ones, I heard you one more time. Come to Jesus. He's willing, He's ready. He wants to save you. He wants you to be in that glorious scene with Him forever happy. Don't put it off. God speaketh once. He ate twice.
God spoke to me twice. I don't know if there would have been another third time.
But I thank God, the depths of my soul that He worked in my heart. All praise to Him, He did it all. I didn't deserve it.
I deserve to die, to be punished for my sins forever.
But oh, God loved me so much that He sent his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, down into this world.
To shed his precious blood, that I might be saved. He's done it for you too. Will you come? Come just as you are. Behold now accept the time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Shall we pray?
Our loving God and our Father.
How we thank the for this wonderful time we've had together these three days, to be over Thy word and with the Gospel given forth so many times. We pray if there be any soul in the room this afternoon.
That is never accepted as their personal Savior. All may they listen to Thy Spirit pleading with them. May they open up their hearts door and receive Thee as their personal Savior.
We count upon thee, Lord Jesus.
We bless and we thank Thee for all what I was done. We owe it all to Thee, blessed Lord Jesus. And now we pray for our dear brothers and sisters that have invited us and have been so kind to us that thou have blessed them.
Help them, Lord Jesus.
They've been so made such a blessing to us. They've been so kind to us. Reward them richly, blessed Savior, and now we thank you for the food that spring being prepared for us. Thou has seen about us, Lord, giving us all things.
We just pray the blessed to our bodies, we not forget those that are traveling or will be with them. Keep them in the palm of thy hand. May they arrive home in safety for each one of us. Here too, Lord Jesus, as we separate, but thou keep us in the hall of thy hand. We ask these things, we give thee thanks, We pray thee, Lord Jesus, in thy worthy name, Amen.