Address—R. Thonney
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Let's start our meeting with #168.
168.
The night is far spent and the day is at hand.
No sign to be looked for The stars in the sky.
Rejoice then, you Saints, tis your Lord's own command. Rejoice for the coming of Jesus.
It draws 9. What a day that will be when the Savior appears. How Welcome to those who have shared in His cross a crown incorruptible then will be theirs, A rich compensation for suffering and loss. What is loss in this world when compared to that day? To the glory that then will from heaven be revealed.
The Savior's coming, his people may say, the Lord whom we look for our Son and our shield.
#168.
The night is far spent.
Gracious Father, thanks so much for the hope that shines brightly before us, the coming of our Lord Jesus. We look forward to seeing the face to face at any moment now, Lord Jesus, and how that fact does reflect on our lives down here. Help us this afternoon as we open my precious word to speak rightly.
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And that thy spirit may have liberty to take thy word and bring it home to our consciences.
And hearts we ask thy blessing, Father, not only for ourselves.
But wherever thy people may be opening my word at this time, make it a real blessing.
Father, we pray and give thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Like to turn to start with to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5.
This afternoon to read a verse there.
Verse 10.
Two Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone.
May receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done.
Whether it be good or bad.
My recent trip down to Bolivia, the question of the judgment seat of Christ came up.
Recently up here since I've been back, it came up as well and I thought it's kind of interesting subject to consider perhaps this afternoon. It's an important subject. It's something that really.
Bears on every single one of us.
Because it says very clearly here we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
Now, when we consider this subject for believers, I trust that there is clarity with each one that we're not talking about judgment of our persons. That was settled forever when the Lord Jesus died for us on the cross of Calvary.
The question of the judgment of our persons is settled.
Jesus when he died said it is finished. The whole question of where we stand before God is settled. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. It also says in in John 524 that well known gospel verse.
It says He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me.
Hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death into life.
So the question of our persons, we are accepted in the beloved. We are as accepted before God as the Lord Jesus is. If there is any question as to our acceptance before God, you're going to have to lay that same question mark on the Lord Jesus there at the right hand of God. Do you dare to do such a thing? No, I'm sure no one would dare to do that.
That is our position. As He is, so are we in this world. But what we are dealing with here, and I think it is clear in this verse, if you'll notice it, it says that everyone may receive the things done in His body according to that which He hath done, whether it be good or bad. It's a question of the review.
Of our lives, of our works. This is an important thing to think about. Everything is going to pass in review before the judgment seat of Christ. Every word that I have spoken, every act I have ever done, even the very thoughts of my mind where I let them wander is going, is going to have to be an accounting done for it all.
It says in Matthew's Gospel every idle word that men shall speak.
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He shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. That applies to believers too.
We will give account for our words in that day. They will be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ. It's not a question here of condemnation of our persons. I again repeat, you don't get the wrong idea. It's a question that everything has to pass in review before the judgment seat of Christ. And there's some things that will be burnt up.
And there's some things that will remain. It's a question of our.
Works.
And there you know that verse in Matthew that I quoted every idle word that men shall speak, I often used to.
Admire.
My uncle Bob Tony out in Walla Walla WA went home to be with the Lord just recently.
He was a bachelor brother.
He, if you knew him, knew that he was a man of few words.
And often thought.
It'll probably go a lot easier for him than for me when it comes to the judgment seat of Christ.
O brethren, to be careful with our words.
It means so much.
A brother did something on me one time.
Some of us were invited. This is years ago before I was married. Invited a bunch of us young people over to his house for a meal.
And we were sitting on the couch joking around like young people do, you know?
And be unbeknownst to me, he had set a recorder behind the couch.
And when we were called to the table for the meal, he brought the recorder to the couch and played it back to it.
I must say, brethren, I was thoroughly ashamed to hear my voice.
Couldn't believe it how awful it sounded.
Try it sometime.
It brethren, we're going to stand before the judgment seat.
Shortly the Lord comes. This afternoon we're going to be raptured into his presence.
Taken into the Father's house.
When exactly? Well, when you get to heaven, brethren, it's not a question of when, because we're in eternity. We're not in the realm of time any longer.
But one of the first things that's going to take place is this. That is called the judgment seat. Notice again, we must all appear, is there anybody here that says, oh, that appears to you brothers that are responsible in the meetings? It doesn't really appear to me I'm not that responsible yet. And nobody's accepted here. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
That we might receive the things done in the body according to that he had done, whether it be good or bad.
Remember an old brother who used to say.
In his prayers to the Lord Lord.
Grave and turn eternity on my eyeballs.
In grave eternity on my eyeballs, brethren, we live a brief moment of time here in this world.
It's not going to be very long and we're going to all be gone.
From this world into that eternal day and what you do.
Now what I do now has consequences, not only.
For this realm of time that we are living in, but for eternity.
Is what I do today going to count for that eternal day?
Or is it something that will not?
Last, the test of the judgment seat of Christ. I'd like to go back to the First Corinthians where we have another portion that deals with this First Corinthians chapter 3.
And verse nine, we're going to read from there a few verses.
We are laborers together with God.
Ye are God's husbandry.
Ye are God's building.
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According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation.
And another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed.
How he buildeth thereon Notice that let every man take heed how he'd build it. Thereupon four other foundation can no man lay. Then that is laid which is Christ Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble.
Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire.
And the fire shall try every man's work.
Of what sort it is.
Notice pretty inclusive that.
Statement The fire shall try every man's work. It's not a question of our persons again.
It's a question of our work.
It's going to pass in review in that day at the judgment seat of Christ. Now from verse 14 we have three different cases of how things will go for those that appear at the judgment seat of Christ. Number one, verse 14, if any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon.
He shall receive a reward. Here is a good worker, a real worker, and his work abides. Not only does his work remain, but he gets a reward on top of it.
Isn't this interesting?
Verse 15 #2 If any man's work shall be burned.
He shall suffer loss, that he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.
Here's a real believer, but his work is burned.
And it actually says he will suffer a lot.
No reward spoken of here.
Verse 16 and 17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
And here we have the last case, if any man defile the temple of God.
Him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy.
Which temple ye are? Here we have one who makes the profession of being a believer, and he isn't real at all.
Have an example in Judas Iscariot. Judas was one of the 12 apostles when our Lord Jesus was here in this world.
He passed amongst them, undetected by the other apostles.
He did evidently miracles. He cast out demons. He preached the gospel.
That they were sent out to preach.
Whereas Judas Iscariot right now he is called the son of Perdition.
He is in hell.
That awful.
The judgment of these, of course, will not be exactly. It will not be at the same time as the.
Believer, a real believer has his works manifested, but.
They will be tried as well, and not only is the work bad, but the Workman himself is destroyed. That's a solemn warning to anybody who is president, takes the place of a as a believer and is not.
You're only fooling yourself, you might say. I'm fooling everybody else. You're not fooling merely everybody else. You're fooling yourself.
God knows exactly where you stand. Judas Iscariot didn't fool the Lord for one moment.
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He gave him numerous warnings that he should have picked up on, but he never did.
Sad solemn end to Judas Iscariot.
But I want to deal with these verses 14 and 15 where we have the believer, and I want to say here and read a verse in the next chapter as well that deals with the judgment seat of Christ. Perhaps we should read that to start with here.
It's speaking about stewardship in verses one and two.
And let's read from verse three. But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged.
Of you or of man's judgment, yeah, I judge not mine own self.
For I know nothing by myself, yet am I not hereby justified? But he that judgeth me is the Lord.
Therefore, judge nothing before the time.
Until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness.
And will make manifest the counsels of the heart. And then shall every man have praise of God. Really believe that every true believer will have something that remains in that day of manifestation. Every true believer. I think this verse shows that.
But Paul is saying and because he was talking about the Corinthians there, and I'm sure the Corinthians evaluated how Paul preached.
He didn't have a powerful delivery, evidently, like some did and.
They evaluated those things, he says. Don't judge anything before the time until the Lord come and notice this part, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart.
In other words, at the judgment seat, not only what we do.
Is going to be manifested. The motives behind what we do is going to be manifested and rewarded accordingly.
Sometimes they give the illustration a little child may bring something to.
Their mother or their father that they prepared maybe for their birthday, but it's just a little piece of paper folded and colored, and it has very little worth really.
But the mother or the father that receives it values that.
Why? Because they value the motive behind it.
And the Lord is going to manifest not only the acts.
But the motives behind our actions in that day?
So this is an important thing to remember in connection with this. You know, we have an example in.
The mighty men of David.
Maybe we should read that it's in.
Second Samuel, I think it is chapter 23.
Second Samuel, chapter 23.
And verse 13.
Three of the 30 chief went down and came to.
David in the harvest time into The Cave of a dolem, and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Raphael, and David was then in an hold, and the Garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.
And David longed and said, Oh, that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate.
The three mighty men breakthrough the host of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate.
And took it, and brought it to David. Nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord.
And he said, Be it far from me, O Lord, that I should do this. Is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore he would not drink it. These things did, these three mighty men.
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There are.
Six or five verses dedicated to these three mighty men. What did they do that they have their record written in Holy Scripture for us to read about so many years later? What was it that they brought to David? Was it some tremendous work?
It was some water. Water. Is that all? Nothing more than just some water.
That's all it was, just some water.
But scripture evaluates what was behind their doing that.
And what it costs them to bring that water. Sometimes, you know, we view things that people do for the Lord. And I think sometimes I have been guilty of judging a person wrong. I said, man, that's not much.
Scripture says judge nothing before the time the Lord will make the right judgment in his day. And so we are encouraged not to make judgments now, to leave the judgments for that day of glory. But those men like to think of how they heard that simple desire of David. David, you know, was from Beth.
Probably.
Drunk out of that? Well, a lot when he was a youth.
And he in The Cave of Adulam in his rejection.
And Bethlehem was under the power of the Philistines. The Garrison of the Philistines was there.
And he wished for a drink of there and near. These men took their lives in their hands, just three of them. Can you imagine?
Taken on a whole Garrison, and breaking through the lines of the Philistines.
And I can just imagine them standing there at the well and two of them fending off the Philistines well. One grew water out.
And they broke right back through the lines of the Philistines to take the water to David.
What a tremendous thing. It didn't appear like anything.
That important or that valuable? But it was valuable to David.
And it's recorded in Holy Writ for us to read about today. I think this is beautiful. You're a young person. Be encouraged to do what you do for the Lord. Maybe it turns out that it appears like it's a mess what you tried to do. Remember, the Lord is not going to only manifest the work itself. He's going to manifest the motives that motivated you to do what you did for Him. I think that's so encouraging.
I have to confess that sometimes I've tried to do things.
And it turned out all bad. It appeared like, man, I really made a mess of it.
But that wasn't my purpose in doing it. In that day. The Lord is going to evaluate not only.
What we do, but the motives behind what we do. And those are things that you and I cannot evaluate now. I think it's so important, brethren, we live in a culture, I suppose, that tends to form judgments about things that take place. And so we like to say, well, that is good and that is bad. And I have found in my own experience that so often.
I'm way off in my judgment. A little later I hear another detail and I completely change my.
Feeling about what took place. Why is that? It's because I don't see the full picture.
And that's why Scripture says judge nothing before the time we need to leave those things with the Lord, and He will form the appropriate and just judgment for it all.
But I like to go back to this third chapter, the 14th and 15th verses again.
To me, it's such an encouragement to us to work in view.
Of that eternal day and that which will remain.
For that eternal day, if any man's work abide.
Which he hath built. Thereupon he shall receive a reward.
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Notice it talks about the work that is laid on the foundation in verse 12.
There are six different materials mentioned, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble.
Three of those will remain the test of the fire. Three of those will not remain after the test of the fire. I might be able to fill this whole room with straw, hay and stubble.
And you put a match to it, it's not long before there's nothing left except some ashes.
And here comes the wind, and takes away the ashes. Nothing left.
For all my work of filling this place with.
The straw or hay?
But or I could say even wood.
But maybe work all my life long and I don't think this table.
I could fill that table even with gold and silver.
And precious stones, but put the fire to that.
And that fire is not going to hurt those things at all. They're going to remain after the test of the fire. Oh, brethren, the Lord help us to work in a way that our work may remain, that it may have the approval, the sanction of the precious Word of God that we hold in our hands. There's so much work being done today that is not done.
With the approval of God's precious Word. And that's why we need to read the scriptures.
To understand his thoughts. It's not our work that we are doing for the Lord.
It's his work that he is doing and uses us as instruments.
And then the measure that I understand his thinking, I can be an instrument that can be used with understanding in his work.
Remember when we moved from Santa Cruz and Bolivia over to Cochabamba? It's a nice area to live in Cochabamba, and there's a lot of missionaries there.
And when we went there.
Quite a few of them asked me when I met up with some of them. What do you come here for? Plant new churches?
I said no, Sir.
I'm not going to seek to add anything to the confusion of the multitude of churches that already exist here in this town. My desire in coming here is to work in view of the fact that God began what the Lord Jesus called my church on the day of Pentecost and that continues to this day. That's all my desire to recognize.
But how many people? There are sincere people. I remember a missionary coming in.
Fresh down there, couldn't speak Spanish too well yet came into our book room to buy some bibles.
And he said I've come to plant churches. My heart sank.
A little bit. As if there weren't enough already, he was going to start some more.
O brethren, may the Lord help us to work in the light of His Word. That way, when that moment comes of manifestation and glory, our work will remain, will abide, and there will be a reward on top of it. Isn't that encouraging? We shouldn't work nearly for rewards, but the reward is an encouragement for us.
To work for him in a way that there will be his approval in that coming day.
But then verse 15, If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss.
But he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire.
To me, here is something extremely sad.
A real believer, he is saved, no question about it.
But everything is burned up, as I mentioned before, I don't think that.
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Any believer will be without anything.
Of God's approval in that coming day of glory, I think everyone will have something of praise from God.
But here is one whose work is burned up, and he suffers loss.
In I, John chapter 2, we're not going to look at it.
It speaks the apostle John about being ashamed before him at his coming.
Is that possible to be ashamed before him at his coming? Yes.
That's what Scripture indicates, and here it speaks of loss in connection with the judgment seat of Christ. To see so many years of work burned up. Oh brethren, the Lord search my heart. I hope I'm not just saying it to you, saying it to my own soul how this searches me. I want to work in a way that in that coming day of glory there will be something that remains for him.
I never forget the challenge it was to my soul.
As a young believer, when I went the first time with brother Eric Smith to Bolivia, it was in 1968.
And Bolivia doesn't have a lot of good roads like the US does.
And we left. We flew into the city of Potosi in the South. That the city.
Of approximately 13,000 feet altitude.
And from there we took a truck, Brother Eric Smith, who was older at that time, along with Ramon Alarcon. They sat up in the cab with the driver and the rest of us. We stood in the back of the truck for most of that day jouncing over those roads. And the last 15 miles was down a dry riverbed from the main road into the area where Brother Smith started his work amongst the Indians.
In the 20s, nineteen 20s and.
It is like I say, what happens there is that in the rainy season the rivers get swollen, but when the water dries up, there's no water there and they clear out the big boulders and you just drive down the riverbeds to wherever you want to go.
That at the end of that day we're going to weary. Here was the brethren waiting for us. They knew we were coming, and they had fixed up an arch of branches of.
Of eucalyptus trees that grow in that area.
And Willow trees.
And there they were, standing around singing hymns.
And I never forget dear Brother Smith.
Sitting in the cab of that truck.
And he couldn't get out. It seemed like for quite a while he just sat there with the tears streaming down his face.
To see the fruit of his laborers those many years.
You know, Brother Smith told me about his background as a young person. He had a lot of opportunity to.
Excel in New Zealand. His father was.
A personal friend of the Prime Minister of New Zealand, so he had opportunity to go into the direction of politics.
One of his father's other friends was a sea captain and offered to take him on in an apprenticeship to so that he could be a sea captain. He had opportunities in numerous areas.
But he specifically turned his back on it all with the conviction that God had called him to Bolivia.
To preach the gospel there and his father, who at that time was an unbeliever.
When he learned about Eric Smith's decision to go to Bolivia, it's.
You're foolish, son. Out of my house.
And he got thrown out of the house and he went to medical school. He studied a couple years in medical school.
Never finished that, but he had to work at the same time to support himself.
Brother Smith arrived in Bolivia in 1921.
And the work remains that was started there.
And that's not to glory in men I trust, brethren, but what I see in it so important is that if our lives correspond to what God has shown us in His Word, there will be. Brother Smith is gone to the Lord's presence now, but his work remains. It's going on. And it's so impressive to me to see how it continues to go on those brethren.
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They are anxious to get together to read the word.
There are more conferences in South America. There are than there are in North America. And rather than when they get together for readings, they like to get together for readings. They start the reading meeting when I was down there this time starts at 9:00 in the morning and goes straight through to 12, starts again at 2:00 in the afternoon, goes straight through to 5:00. Once in a while they break it, but generally that's the order of the day. And although you get kind of weary sitting there.
Let me tell you.
The way the scriptures are opened up.
By leaving liberty to the Spirit of God to me is a tremendous testimony to the fact that it is the work of the Lord.
And not Brother Smith's work merely, nor anybody else's work. It is God.
Working amongst his people.
Oh that I would see more zeal amongst the young people here in this country.
To really get into the word, to grow in it.
To put time into it, young people, soon we're going to leave this world. We're going to go into the Lord's presence. Only what's been done in the light of His Word will remain the test of that day. Are you interested in something that will remain in that day, or do you want everything burned up? This is the challenge that comes to my soul. I have to confess that there's a lot in my life.
That will be burned up in that day.
Things I've done for my own pleasure.
Things I've done for myself.
And they're not saying that they're necessarily wrong.
But they're just not things that will remain the test to that day.
And that came home as a challenge, a real challenge to my soul. When I sat, I stood in the back of that truck that day when we got there at eulog, saw those dear brethren there. I said if Brother Smith had stayed in New Zealand, he might have been a powerful, well known figure in politics. He may have had a tremendous bank account. He may have had so many things that naturally speaking, we desire.
But now what does he have?
Remember visiting them there in the nursing home in Montreal on his last days.
Really nothing down here did he have.
But it was all waiting up there. Oh, this blessing that came from that light. Lived in view of eternity. Dear young people, live in view of eternity.
It's great to see some of you.
Taking major decisions in your life, getting engaged and getting married, and starting a family.
Can I encourage you Live simply live.
As scripture encourages this to as pilgrims and strangers.
We live in such a high standard of living in this country and I see that it ties us up time wise, it ties us up.
It ties our means up to all our all the things we own.
To the point where the Lords work.
Is put on second plane if not 3rd or 4th.
How is that going to figure when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ?
Managed to provide for his own, especially those of his own house. And I'm not saying that we should live like hermit.
But I'm saying that we can live, I really believe, more simply.
For the Lord in view of that coming day.
And I'd like to just speak in the remaining time of two in the Old Testament.
That are examples of these two verses 14 and 15.
We have Abraham and we have his nephew Lot.
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Both save souls. Perhaps we would not get the feeling that Lot was a saved soul from the Old Testament, but the New Testament clearly tells us that righteous man. So he was a righteous man. Scripture tells us that.
So he was a saved soul, but they lived according to.
Different principles.
Abraham was the father of faith. He lived by faith.
God called him in his native herb, the Chaldees, to go out to a land.
Where he did not know you would have come up to Abraham and seen him on his way out of ur the Chaldees.
And ask him, Abraham, where are you going? He would have said. I don't know.
God has called me, you might have said.
It might. It looks like he's lost his marbles.
Going where he doesn't know where he's going, but God had called him. He walked by faith. And faith is always based on the Word of God. That's what it's based on. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Oh dear young people, don't take a step, don't make a decision without the light of the precious Word of God guiding you.
But there was Lot and Lot did not live by that principle of life you.
You know it tells us in Two Corinthians 5.
Paul says we walk by faith, not by sight. Abraham walked by faith, but Lot walked according to that other principle. He walked by sight. Let's turn over to the book of Genesis just for a few moments and remain to us and look at it there because it's such a vivid.
Picture of what happens to a person who walks by sight.
Genesis chapter 13 they were having problems.
The herdsmen of Lot and Abraham.
And so Abraham says in verse 8.
And to lot let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen.
For we be, brethren, is not the whole Lamb before thee? Separate thyself.
I pray thee from me thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right.
If thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.
Lot was a younger man, I suppose. He certainly.
Should have given the first opportunity to his uncle Abraham. But it says in verse 10. Notice it very clearly. Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest into Zoar. Then Lot shows him all the plain of Jordan and Lot journeyed east.
And they separated themselves, the one from the other.
So a lot made his decisions based on the sight of his eyes.
I don't say that we close our eyes completely. No, we use our eyes. But don't make your decisions based on the sight of your eyes. Make your decisions based on the principles of God's precious Word, and you won't have to repent of it.
What portion did Abraham get?
Lot took the whole plain of Jordan.
Where it was so well watered, what portion did Abraham get? Verse 14 The Lord said unto Abram, After that Lot was separated from him, Left up now thine eyes, and looked from the place where thou art northward and southward, and eastward and westward, for all the land which thou seest to thee will I give it to thy seed forever. He got everything.
He got everything. Why? Because he left the choice with the Lord, and the Lord gave him everything. Oh, the preciousness of living by faith and not by sight.
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But what happens? A lot Lot it says.
He journeyed to the east. Later on, it says that he pitched his tent towards Sodom. Later on, he's right in the gate of Sodom. That's where the judges sit in those old days. And the gate was the place of judgment and Lot got right in there in the midst of Sodom.
And in the 19 chapter.
Just to make a brief remark about the 18th chapter. I think it's so beautiful.
That Abraham has visitors.
He's a hospitable man, he's a wealthy man, he's got 318 servants.
Anybody that got 10 servants in their house here, please raise their hand.
I don't think so.
Once in a while you might have one come in do some cleaning for you, but.
Abraham was a wealthy man, but he has servants.
And here he has some visitors. I think this is so beautiful that the Lord.
Felt free to come and visit Abraham. It seemed to be a common occurrence.
Would the Lord feel free to come visit you at your house? Did you have time?
Would you have a place for him?
Abraham saw them standing there and he runs to meet them and I love this. He doesn't just command Sarah to.
Fix the food.
Now Abraham is #1.
And running around getting the food together. Yeah, Sarah does her part too.
That Abraham is the one that serves the Lord and those two angels.
That's kind of interesting. Do angels eat? They sure do. Here's the example of it. They eat food just like we do.
They don't need it, perhaps, but they do eat it, and the Lord ate too.
And Abraham was the servant. It wasn't Sarah that brought the food out.
It was Abraham. I think. This is beautiful. Something for us brothers to think about a little bit, I think.
Not to leave all the work perhaps to the sister, but to pitch in ourselves anyhow. That's by the way. But Abraham was the one who lived by faith. And I think it's so beautiful that the Lord did not hide from Abraham what he was going to do, because Abraham knew what it was to walk by faith, walk with the Lord before him. Not that Abraham didn't have his mistakes. He did have his problems in life.
But Abraham, the general tenor of his life, was walking.
By faith.
But in chapter 19, you have the two angels, not the Lord, but the two angels sent to Sodom, and they'd come there to get Lot and his family out of there.
And it's a pretty sorry story.
What happened in that city? Lot immediately seems to recognize these two angels.
And he?
Persuades them finally to come into his house. He prepares a feast for them.
And then the city is on an uproar.
Awful, awful confusion of that city.
What no one realized was it was the last night that Sodom would exist on the face of the earth.
That awful to think about.
Then.
They come and they plug the door, and the lot goes out and calls them brethren.
Oh, how far down can we get when we mix with the world?
Dear young people, God has called us to be separate. We are separate.
The Lord has sanctified us. We are a separate people to get mixed up with the world. You are inviting disaster.
And then he does something even more awful. He offers those men his daughters.
I can't imagine whatever made him do such an awful thing.
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Finally, the men rescue him and pull him in and smite the people with blindness.
And then say.
Who do you have in this city? Tell them to get out. We are going to destroy it and and a lot.
As mentioned yesterday, seemed like one that mocked.
Because he was not living.
Properly in separation to the Lord.
And what happens finally? The Lord being merciful to Lot?
The hold of Lot's hand, and of his wife's hand, and the other Angel of his two daughters hands, and they go.
Forcibly pulled out of the city and told to flee to the mountains.
And not look back.
And so they take off for the mountains and.
Lot's wife looks back and she stays there, converted into a pillar of salt.
Awful judgment. You could pull her out, but her heart was still in Sodom.
He lost his wife.
And they continue on.
And there, in the wilderness, his two daughters get him drunk.
And through his two daughters, he becomes the father of two.
Nations that are a thorn in the sight of Israel to this day.
O the offline he lost everything, everything burnt up.
That's the last we hear of Lot. And like I say, if it wasn't for what the New Testament has to say about Lot, we might not know. He was really a saved man after all. But he was. He was saved. Yet so is by fire. Everything burned up.
Do you want your life that way in that coming day, dear young people?
The way you live tells me whether you want your life that way or not. I want to encourage you to live for God, to live for that eternal day where we're soon going to enter in all its splendor into the Lord's presence.
Don't live for the brief moment of time.
That we are here in this world, and it's a brief moment. It's only a brief moment. I asked Brother Lino Bueno down in Bolivia. He was 99 years of old when he passed away. Sometime before that I asked him, does your life seem like a long life?
No, brother, it seems like yesterday I was a teenager.
And that's the way life is. Life goes awful fast. Don't waste your lives. I plead with you, dear young people, make your life count for God and for that eternal day.
And I want to say we all have.
Things that God has given us.
In Scripture it tells us about spiritual gifts.
They are given to us and we're going to be responsible in that day. The Lord is going to say it to you. I gave you spiritual gifts. What have you done with those gifts? Not only spiritual gifts, but there are what Scripture speaks of, of talents. I like to think of those as natural abilities that we all have.
And there's going to be an account given for those in that day as well.
We have our time. That's a precious commodity, Scripture says redeeming the time because the days are evil.
How many hours are there in a week?
Something like 100 and what, 70 or something like that? 68 maybe?
You work 40 hours, you've still got about 120 hours left. You're going to sleep.
Another part of that away, but you got quite a good chunk of time to use. How are you using it?
Just for your own pleasure, to do your own thing. Do you make time for the Lord?
When it comes to the meetings of the Assembly, are they a priority with you?
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Or is there something more important than being in the Lord's presence these things?
Will be manifest that the judgment seat time is a precious commodity.
There are other things too, and I look at you young people, and I say, what's tremendous energy you have? Use those energies for the Lord. Don't use them merely for this world and present advantage.
Our monies too, or another commodity that we're going to give an account for in that day?
And when we stand there and we see the percentage we spend on ourselves and the percentage we spend on the Lord's things, how is it going to appear? These are things that challenge deeply my own soul, brethren.
The Lord has put us in a country where there is tremendous commodities at our fingertips. How are we using them?
Shortly we are going to re raptured into the Lord's presence. Leave everything here in this world behind.
And then we shall be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ. Lord grant us that we might work in view of being acceptable to Him in that day.
The Lord search my heart, brethren. Perhaps it searches yours as well. Let's pray.
Gracious Father, we ask Thy blessing on my precious word.
Granted to have its way in our lives. We ask Thy blessing, the meetings to follow as well. All in that most worthy name of the Lord Jesus.