Children—R. Dear
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Well, boys and girls, I'll share a little secret with you.
If I had known before I came to this conference that I was going to be standing up here this morning, it it's possible that I might not have showed up. But anyway, with the Lord's helpful trust that He'll give us something this morning, and I was.
Mr. Brinkmeyer gave me this little card with my name on it and it said Sunday school and I wondered where did he ever get that card? I wondered where that came from anyway.
I got that here and.
Anyway, sure, good to see you all here, boys and girls. And we're just going to pretend like I was told that I'm just talking to the boys and girls. So I'm going to concentrate on these front rows here and there's anybody else back here. The boys and girls want to come up here. That's just fine because we're just going to pretend like there's nobody else in the room. OK, It's just us up here.
Now, first thing we're going to do is sing a bit. So, umm, maybe we could swing like the 1St and the last first of each one, if that's all right, that we give out and we'll take turns. How about a girl? Does a girl have one first and then we'll get the boys? How about one of the girls?
From the hem sheet here.
More.
Oh, OK, fine. Right over here. Which number would you like?
#40 OK, yeah, that's good.
Why don't we sing 1-2 and five of #40 Jesus loves me.
Jesus loves me, this I know for the Bible tells me so little one for him belong. They are weak, but he is strong.
Yeah, he is right.
You know, boys and girls, forgive me for repeating a personal little incident, but I remember one time in the hospital where I was working once a little girl came in and she was supposed to have a test and.
We wondered how we're going to keep her still for so long. She was just a little tight about that high maybe. And so we had her under the machine and I thought, well, maybe we could just maybe if we just whistle a little tune, maybe it'll help keep her quiet and still. So I started whistling, just kind of softly.
Like that. And she perked right up and she said, hey, I know that song. She says, I said, you do. She says, yeah, I said, would you like to sing it? She says, yeah. And so she started breaking right into the song. And here's the way she sung it. She says, Jesus loves us. This we know. And that sounded, you know, good. I I had never heard it that way sung before. And so I said to her, did did you ever sing it? Jesus loves me. And so he started singing it that way. And then she joined right in. And we changed all the uses to me.
00:05:16
But I never heard it sung. When Jesus loves us, this we know. And that's very true. But you know, boys and girls, it's so wonderful to know that Jesus loves me. And you can point to yourself and say that means me. Okay, how about a boy now? Okay #16 okay.
Whosoever heareth shall chap the sounds and the blessed time.
Around forever.
That word whosoever has another little song tells us that means me too, doesn't it? This song isn't on the Backpage of our hymn sheet. But whosoever means boys and girls too doesn't. It means each one. Wonderful to know that the gospel of God's grace goes forth to boys and girls everywhere, and it means each and everyone.
Now who? Let's see, we're ready for a girl. Now how about a girl? Okay.
12 good #12.
This one goes quick. Let's bring all of #12.
Just.
You know, it's wonderful to know boys and girls that.
The way of salvation has been made so plain and simple. You know that even a little child can come and you know, to come to the Lord Jesus, the word come, you know, it's, it's the word that even the youngest probably could understand. I can remember my little niece when she was just barely able to to talk, she'd say come, come like that. She knew what that word meant. And you know, boys and girls, it doesn't matter how young you are, you can come to the Lord Jesus. He wants you to come to him.
OK, let's have. Let's see. Is it the boys turn this time? OK, how about you?
Eight, OK.
#8.
First and last of #8.
Shall we get?
Yes, boys and girls, the Lord Jesus is coming and He could come any day now. And this kind of fits in a little bit with what we want to talk about this morning. So I tell you what, maybe we'll not sing anymore right now. And if we have time, maybe we could sing up a little later. But right now, let's ask for the Lord's help, OK?
Our blessed God and loving Father, we just.
00:15:02
I know maybe boys and girls where you go to Sunday school, you might be used to saying a verse. And I, I wasn't going to ask particularly that anyone say a verse today, but I don't want anybody to be disappointed if they had looked forward to seeing a verse for Sunday school. So is there anybody this morning who wants to say a verse?
If you just raise your hand, you're more than welcome to say a verse. Otherwise, I think we'll just.
Pro ceed with what I had to say. OK, any hands go up? OK, there's a little boy over there who's got his hand up. Would you like to say a verse? Fine.
I'm sorry if I don't know your names, all OK.
OK, that's all right. That's good that you're ready anyway.
Well, I tell you, boys and girls, I brought something with me here this morning. And this is something which you will all identify readily, I'm sure. And.
I think maybe I can. Maybe I can set this. Well, let me just hold it up here for the moment and everybody see this.
OK, and what do we call this thing I have in my hand this morning, huh? OK, how about this little boy in the stoop here? What is this thing for? Or what is this called?
A clock, right? This is a clock. OK, and what do we use a clock for?
OK, telling time, right? Well, our subject this morning isn't exactly a clocks or not exactly time, but in a sense it's a very specific time.
And.
How many, how many boys and girls here this morning know how to tell time? Raise your hand if you know how to show you what time it is. I don't know. Maybe I'll put that down there. Can you see it? All right.
And a low but.
Who knows how to tell time? Oh, that's good. You got quite a few here. That's good. Well, OK, can you tell us what time this clock says over here? I got the hands lined up pretty good. That's the second hand. I couldn't do much with that. What time? 12:00 That's right. 12:00 And you know, boys and girls in a, in a 24 hour period of a day, we have two. 12:00 Right. We got noon.
Noon is the time when usually.
The sun is up in the sky and we are probably having our lunch or having having dinner or whatever a lot of times and then we have another 12:00 which is 12 hours later and what do we call that?
If I had a if I had a say I had a black or black dog or a Black Horse and say he was totally black, what might be a good name for him?
What do you think? Midnight. That's right, midnight. Well, boys and girls, that's what I want to talk about this morning. I'd like to look at some scriptures to talk about midnight and.
You know, some very dramatic and momentous things have happened at the hour of midnight in the word of God in the Bible.
And no doubt in secular history too, no doubt things have happened at the hour of midnight.
A member in school reading about the midnight ride of Paul Revere. Did you ever hear about that one? Yeah, he warned the colonists. I think that the the British were coming and they better get ready.
And you know, in our house we have a beautiful clock that was given to us.
And every night, well, every time at noon and at midnight, this clock goes, it gives the chimes, and then it goes bong, bong, bong, bong bong bong bong bong bong bong bong bong bong. Like that. And I'm not always.
Awake to hear that, but sometimes I do and it's kind of I kind of like to count them just to see I know that's the most number of bongs it's going to give and I know that it's working all right if it if it does 12 of them so.
Now let me ask you boys and girls, what would you say most people are doing at the hour of midnight? At the midnight hour? Or maybe I should say, what are most boys and girls doing at the midnight hour?
Okay, George, sleeping. Yeah, that's right. I think that's safe to say that most people are at the hour of midnight are sleeping and.
00:20:08
They're either sleeping or trying to get there.
Umm, I know last night I wasn't sleeping too well myself, but I could sure tell. I looked at the clock, it was a little after midnight, but.
It was quite apparent to my ears that others in the room were sleeping. So sleeping is at the hour of midnight. Generally we're sleeping.
But you know, boys and girls, the first thing passage I want to look at in the scriptures is in.
In Exodus, and I'm going to read verses there, we'll try to move along because I want to look at 3:00 or 4:00.
Incidents that happened at the midnight hour.
And if we look at Exodus, I'm going to read in Chapter 11 first of all.
And verse 4.
Exodus 11/4 and Moses said thus saith the Lord about midnight.
Will I go out into the midst of Egypt?
In all the first born in the land of Egypt shall die from the first born of Pharaoh who sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first born of the maidservant who is behind the mill, in all the first born of beasts.
And now if we look at Chapter 12.
And let's read verse 12, for I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast.
And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt.
And now if we look at verse 29 and it came to pass that at the midnight that at midnight.
The Lord smote all the first born in the land of Egypt from the first born of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne.
Unto the first born of the captain who was in the dungeon, and all the first born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
You know, boys and girls, this is a very, very sobering story.
And God gives us this little picture in His Word in the Old Testament.
It's a picture to us of judgment, of the judgment of God that's going to fall upon this world, that's going to fall upon sinners.
And you know, boys and girls, I don't think there's any one of you here probably who hasn't been to Sunday school before and knows.
That God tells us that we are all sinners, that all have sinned. Does that include boys and girls too? Yeah, sure does, doesn't it? That's boys and girls too. And, you know, we remember the the story here, how that God's people were down there as slaves in Egypt under the ******* of Pharaoh and and the Egyptians.
And.
Their work was so hard and it was becoming increasingly more difficult, and it was almost unbearable. But the Lord said that He was going to deliver his people from there, from that place, from Egypt. And we just read in Chapter 11 That He said all the first born in the land of Egypt shall die.
And.
That he would pass through the land of Egypt.
And everyone of the houses of the Egyptians, there would be somebody dead in that house. And that's exactly what came to pass at midnight. At midnight it says that the Angel of the Lord, he went out into the land of Egypt and he smote all the first born.
Now there was a difference though, boys and girls.
Because we don't believe that there was anyone in the among God's people where their first born was slain.
And so God made a difference. He made a difference between the Egyptians and his people there in Egypt.
Now I'm going to ask you boys and girls, what was the difference?
How come nobody was slain?
Among the Lord's people there.
How come nobody was slain? OK, can you tell us?
00:25:01
That's exactly right. You know, we didn't read probably the most important part here, boys and girls, but in chapter 12, and it says at the beginning of the chapter that every man should take a lamb according to their house.
And they were to slay this lamb, the little lamb.
Was to be slain. His blood was to be taken. It was to be sprinkled on the door, on the sides of the door, and on the top of the door. Blood was to be put there. Now did the little lamb, Did he have sinned? Did he deserve to die?
What do you think?
Did the little lamb deserve to die? No, no, no, boys and girls, the little lamb didn't deserve to die. He wasn't a Sinner. But you know, boys and girls, this is a little picture to this is a little picture to us of what the Lord Jesus has done as God's Lamb. You know, boys and girls, it's the precious blood of the Lord Jesus who is slain on the cross. It's the precious blood of the Lord Jesus that was shed there on the cross that shelters.
You and I, if we put our trust in Him and the Lord Jesus that shelters us from the judgment of God against sin.
You know, the wages of sin is death, and death is the penalty for sin.
And we read that everyone in the land of Egypt, all the Helms there, somebody had to die.
And so boys and girls, it wasn't because God people are any better than anyone else. It wasn't because they were better than the Egyptians or that they bad things or something like that as Egyptians. It wasn't that at all, but it was because they had the blood on the door. Now boys and girls, we want to ask each one of you here very plainly.
Do you have the blood on the door, as it were? Have you asked the Lord Jesus to wash your sins away in His precious blood? That's what the Lord Jesus desires to do and invites you little boys and girls to come to Him and have your sins washed away this morning.
When I see the blood that says I will Passover you.
Now, how many here are the first born in their family? You know what that means? It means like you'd be the oldest one. Let's say you're the oldest one in your family.
Yeah, there's a number here. Yeah. Well, that's all I'm to think about, you know.
If I was there that night and.
Do you think there might be scared that maybe I was in our house there and.
With my brother Wally and I would, I would think why, you know?
Is there something going to happen to him tonight?
You know, you know, But would I have to be scared? Do you think I'd have to really be scared? Why not?
OK.
OK, he said. If we're Christians, that's right. But how do we get to be a Christian?
Who can tell us that? OK.
That's right. OK, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that brings us right to our next portion of midnight in Acts Chapter 11, No 16. I'm sorry, Acts chapter 16.
Acts 16 And here's something that happened at midnight.
Now this was quite a story Here it says in verse 25.
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the.
So that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awakening out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been flat. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas.
And brought them out and said, Sir, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house.
Now, boys and girls, isn't that, isn't that a story? You know, Paul and Silas were there in that prison. And the reason they were there in prison was because that they had been preaching the gospel and telling people about the Lord Jesus. And there were those who hated the name of the Lord Jesus and they were very angry, very vexed about that. And so they they beat them and they.
Saw to it that they were thrown into prison, and this prisoner or this.
00:30:05
This jailer here, the Philippian jailer, he took them and he.
Right there in the inner prison. And you know, it says here though.
And he put them in a stock too. That would be a miserable condition to be in, wouldn't it?
They're probably bleeding and having a tremendous amount of pain and and then they have shoved their feet in the socks and down there in the darkness and here it says. And at midnight, Paul and Silas, they start to to sing and pray. They prayed and sang praises. Isn't that wonderful, boys and girls? Think of it.
Anywhere down there in that prison, you know, it's all dark. Down there was the inner prison. It was probably dark in the daytime, let alone at midnight. But it says they they were down there singing. At midnight they start singing and the other prisoners heard them. What a testimony that must have been.
And then something happened. What happened?
OK.
What happened?
Yeah, they had an earthquake, didn't they? And the doors came open, flew open. Has anybody here ever been in an earthquake?
No, probably not. Well, some hands go up in the back here. Yeah, yeah, There was just an earthquake a couple, three days ago in Bolivia. I think of La Paz, where I understand a number were killed.
I was, I felt the tremor one time. I remember in Oak Park where I used to live, that I remember the, my mom's China closet, the dishes started rattling all of a sudden. So I'm like this, you know, and the cups were, you know, hitting together and wondered what was going on there. There was a little tremor from an earthquake. And I remember one time down in Lawrenceville, I was staying there and I, I still remember I was up in a bedroom staying at, at Tim Buchanan's house. And I was up in a bedroom and there was a metal bed, I think. And there was, there was no carpet on the floor and.
All of a sudden the bed started shaking at night, and I wondered what is going on here. The bed started shaking. I really didn't. It lasted for about a minute. And I thought, you know, I had something to do with the plumbing or something like that, you know, or I wasn't sure what it was. So. But it turned out he told me. He asked me the next morning if I felt that last night. And sure enough, yeah, I sure did. And he said, yeah, that was a little tremor from an earthquake that was centered somewhere else. I don't know, but.
Anyway, boys and girls, this was really an earthquake though, and you know, the doors flew open, the foundations were broken up. It says that the prison.
And we're shaking the foundations of the prison. And the doors were open and all the bands came off the prisoners, you know, they, they had them in chains probably so they couldn't get away. All the chains come off them. And so this poor jailer, he thinks, well, this is the end for me because it would be his life for theirs if anybody got away then.
His superiors would see to it that he was put to death and he thought, well, what's the use now? You know, rather than them kill me and I'd be humiliated like that, I'll just, I'll just kill myself.
What a what a sad condition, isn't it? But you know, boys and girls, the Lord intervened and Paul calls out and he tells them, no, don't, we're all here, Do thyself no harm. And it says he sprang in there with a light. Well, you know, boys and girls, that man was really in earnest.
He was in the darkness, wasn't he? He needed the light. And he sprang in there. That means he jumped in there real fast. He wanted to get in there. And he, he, he fell down before him, it says, and he says, what must I do to be saved? He wanted to be saved. He realized that he was lost. And you know, boys and girls, if you don't have the Lord Jesus as your Savior, then you're lost too. You know, you're lost too.
All we hope, boys and girls, that there's nobody here who's still lost. Now Paul and Silas, they told them believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. And that's the same message, boys and girls, for you and for me today, to put your trust in the Lord Jesus, to believe on him and you'll be saved. We hope that each one here has done that.
Now we're going to look at another midnight scene in Matthew 25.
Matthew 25, we have another.
Midnight.
Scene.
We're doing this a little quickly. I don't like to do that, but umm.
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We read here that the Kingdom of heaven is liked unto 10 virgins, 5 wise, 5 foolish. They took their lamps.
And they went out to meet the bridegroom. The bridegroom was coming.
And it says that the foolish, they took their lamps, but they had no oil in them, and the wise they took oil in their lamps.
So everybody had a light to start with, it looked like.
And then it says that the well the bridegroom tarried. They all slumbered and slept.
That's what's usually happening at midnight. They weren't watching or sleeping.
But it says at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh.
Throw ye out to meet him.
And it says all those versions arose and trim their lamps. And the foolish said, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are gone out or going out. But the wise answer saying, not so, unless there be not enough for us. And you, you go rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bride boom came.
And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgin, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
You know boys and girls.
The Lord Jesus is this Bridegroom.
And he told us in his word that he's coming again.
And boys and girls, he's coming again soon.
And you know, boys and girls, we want to ask each one here today, Are you ready if the Lord Jesus should come today, if the Lord Jesus should come this very day or even before this meeting is over, about 5 minutes or so, Are you ready for the coming of the Lord Jesus? Or would it be that like we had last night that you would be left behind because you didn't have the Lord Jesus as your savior? Oh, boys and girls, that would be so, so sad to just we, we, we don't even like to think about it.
Be left behind to know that maybe dad and mom are gone to be with the Lord Jesus and here I am still here for boys, boys and girls. It doesn't have to be that way. If you ask the Lord Jesus to be your Savior, put your trust in Him and ask Him to wash your sins away and His precious blood, he'll do that for you boys and girls. He'll do it right now as you sit there in your seat. If you ask Him to come, hit your heart and then you don't have to be afraid if the bridegroom comes, if the Lord Jesus comes, you'll be ready. And it says those that were ready, they went in and boys and girls, the Lord Jesus is coming soon to take all those who put their trust in Him, to take Him home to heaven.
That could happen anytime now, boys and girls, anytime. Old boys and girls, we hope and trust and pray that you'd be ready, ready for the Lord Jesus to come.
I want to read another verse about midnight in Mark Gospel.
Chapter 13.
Mark, Chapter 13.
And verse 35.
Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the Master.
Of the House cometh.
That even or at midnight.
Or a car growing. Or in the morning. Yes, boys and girls, the Lord Jesus could come anytime.
We don't know when he's going to come.
He could come anytime today, he could come this morning, he could come this afternoon, he could come tonight, he could come at midnight.
Boys and girls, don't wait, don't wait. Be ready. Be ready for the Lord Jesus to come. Put your trust in Him. He wants you to come to Him and have your sins washed away in His precious blood.
I'd like to refer to one more thing in closing.
And this is referred to in each of the Gospels and.
Perhaps while we're here in Mark, we can look at chapter.
14.
No, I'm sorry. Chapter 15.
We've been Speaking of the 12:00 midnight.
But you know, boys and girls, there's another 12:00 we talked about, and that was at noon.
And you know, in the 15th chapter of Mark here and in the end of the other gospels.
We have the the wonder story and the sad story of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus, God's beloved Son.
00:40:11
And we're told of all the cruel and inhumane and wretched things that a man's heart could devise against the Lord Jesus.
When they put him there on the cross, and all the things they did to him just before he went to the cross, and after he was on the cross there, all the cruel mocking and scourging the crown of thorns.
The robe, the smiting, the nails.
The mockery, all these things the Lord Jesus suffered from the hands of man, but you know, boys and girls were told.
In verse it says let's see verse.
33.
After the Lord Jesus was hanging there for the first three hours it says, and when the 6th hour was come.
There was darkness over the whole land until the 9th hour.
When the 6th hour was coming, we believe, boys and girls, that the 6th hour is was 12 o'clock 12:00 noon, when the sun is high on the sky, suddenly everything became black, dark, dark as midnight. And no, no human eye could penetrate that darkness.
When boys and girls, the Lord Jesus was bearing the judgment of sin from a holy and a righteous God, He was bearing that judgment in His own body on the tree. Then God shut out all human eyes from that scene.
Only God knew what was transpiring there. Only the Lord Jesus knew. But you know, boys and girls, the Lord Jesus was bearing your sins in mind. You put your trust in Him.
And the Lord Jesus, he bore that judgment and eternity of judgment in those three hours of darkness. He drank that cup and he drank it to the last drop. He didn't leave anything, boys and girls, He didn't eat anything. For you and I to suffer from the hands of God for our sins in that way.
He drank along until he could stay at the end of that time.
He said first he said, why hast thou forsaken me? And we know why. It was because he was made sin and God was judging sin. But boys and girls, then he could say it is finished, and boys and girls the work is finished for your salvation and for mine.
And so once more, boys and girls, we plead with each one of you, and the Lord Jesus would plead with you and hold his arms out to you and say, come to me and be saved. Have your sins washed away from my precious blood. Lord, boys and girls, the Lord Jesus wants you. He wants you this morning.
If a person goes to a lost eternity, boys and girls, not because the Lord Jesus didn't want you, because you didn't want, you didn't want him. Anybody who goes to lost eternity is true. So we trust that each one here has put their trust in the Lord Jesus. And if you haven't done so, boys and girls, do it now. Do it right in your seat. Ask the Lord Jesus to come into your heart, be saved, wash your sins away. Let's pray.
Our blessed God and loving.