Let us commence our services today by singing together hymn 362. The tune is Ascalon 567.

How pleased and blessed was I to hear the people cry, Come, let us seek our God today. Yes, with a cheerful zeal we haste to Zion's hill, And there our vows and honours pay.

Hymn 362, Tune Ascalon 567.

Let us read together from the Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Matthew, reading part of chapter 24 and part of chapter 25.

The Gospel according to Matthew chapter 24, we'll commence reading at verse 29 and we'll read down to verse 13 in chapter 25.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man come in clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender and putted forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. So likewise ye, when ye see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. But of the day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.

But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch a thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh, who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season.

Blessed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But, and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord, today is his coming, and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him. and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. And while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. And the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.

May the Lord bless the reading of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal God of heaven, We do desire to bow before thy great and glorious majesty. We desire a spirit of true worship. We come as poor sinners. And we think of that dear woman that came to thee when thou was here upon earth, Lord Jesus. And we read she worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. And perhaps there is one or another here that have come to this house of prayer this morning and that is their petition, Lord help me. We pray that thou would send them help from the sanctuary and strengthen them out of Zion. We pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God our Father and the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and abide with us as we gather around thy Word today.

Without thy heavenly power, O Lord, no sweets the Gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly dew. Therefore, we pray that we may have a little of the dew of heaven upon our branch, and that thou wouldst come and open the word of truth unto our hearts and to our understanding, and that thou wouldst guide us into thy truth. We come like the psalmist of old, show me thy ways, O Lord, teach me thy paths. Let thy word be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Grant that the word of truth may have the living power of the Spirit of God in it, to reach into our very souls, and that the light of truth may shine in our hearts, that we might be brought to realise what we are, as poor guilty sinners before our holy heart searching God. The sweet psalmist of Israel prayed, O Lord, search me, O God, and try my ways, and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting. Lord, grant us thy divine direction in thy word, in thy truth, and graciously grant that the divine power and the heavenly unction of the Holy Ghost may attend the word of God this day, and that the word preached may be in power And doesn't the dear Apostle have that witness? For our gospel came unto you not in word only, but in power, in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance. We pray for thy heavenly power, and that we pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst convince us of our sin, and lead to Jesus' blood, and to our wandering eyes reveal thee secret love of God.

Blessed Holy Divine Spirit, without Thy heavenly power, O Lord, no sweets the Gospel can afford. We pray for Thy heavenly power, Thy divine unction, to rest upon the reading and the preaching of the Word of God, and that there may be signs that shall follow the preaching of the Word.

Precious souls may be converted unto thee. May the power that brings salvation be exerted in the Word. Lord, we pray that we may feel the presence of our Heavenly Father in drawing us into spiritual things, in drawing us unto Jesus Christ, For none come except the Father draw.

We pray for that heavenly power to be known and felt in our hearts, and for thy great name's sake. Oh, we do pray that we may have that sacred experience that we read of in thy word, for God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, have the Father.

Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously grant these wonderful blessings. May the Lord Jesus Christ stand in our midst. May he speak to our hearts. May we behold his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Lord, we thank thee for that wonderful glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray, most gracious Lord, that we may touch the head of his garment. We may draw from that fullness that is in Jesus Christ. We may know that vital union and communion with thee, even today, as we gather around thy word.

and to hear the prayer, O Lord, of our opening hymn, that we may feel thy presence. I love to meet among them now, before thy gracious feet to bow, thou vilest of them all. We come, Lord, to confess our sins and our wanderings and our backslidings.

We leave undone things that we ought to do, and we do things that we ought not to do, and we find a law within our members that when I would do good, evil is present with me. We prove the truth of thy word, the flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and the one is the contrary to the other.

Lord, we do pray that thou hast been with us in this world and its journey, that thou wouldst deliver us from the temptations of Satan, that thou wouldst deliver us from the power and dominion of sin, that thou wouldst deliver us from the illumines of this vain world that has to death ten thousands earths.

Lord come and deliver us today, come and shine into our hearts, come and powerfully speak to our souls, come and seal us with the Holy Spirit of promise whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Remember our brethren, the deacons, and give them needed grace, wisdom, and help. We do thank thee for them, and pray that thou wouldst richly bless them.

Remember each one of our brethren and sisters in church fellowship. Have mercy upon each one, and Lord, we do beseech thee. Remember our beloved brother and sister in Holland, and bless them there, that as they listen to these services online.

And Lord, we pray for the young of the flock, the little ones, the children, all that thou hast richly blessed them, that thou hast put the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, into their hearts. Remember, Lord, the young friend, each one, and have mercy upon them, and bring them to live in vital, saving faith in Jesus Christ. and guide and direct them in all matters. Lord, we do pray for parents that they may be given wisdom and grace and help to bring up their children in the nurture and in the admonition of the Lord. We pray that thou wouldst graciously bless the families as they keep family worship. Lord, thou hast promised to be with those that keep their morning and evening vows.

Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst graciously bless all in the midst of the journey of life and guide and direct and teach and lead and undertake for each one. Remember the probables that have wandered away and stretch out thy almighty arm and cause them to be in want and cause them to return.

O Lord, we do beseech Thee for Thy great namesake. And O Lord, we do pray that Thou in Thy precious mercy would graciously send out the glory and light and power of Gospel truth into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets and fulfil those wonderful Gospel promises. that we plead before them, I will bring thy sons from far, and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall come from the north and from the south, and from the east and from the west.

O Lord, do appear, and do grant an engathering, and do grant an building up, a renewing, a reviving, a replenishing. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children, Grant that the word of the Lord may have free course and thy name may be honoured and glorified.

Remember those of us that are in the evening time of life's journey. And that graciously guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom. And at the appointed time grant an abundant entrance into that heavenly kingdom. We do humbly beseech thee.

Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst hear prayer from all thy servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, and that thou wouldst set them free and at liberty, and that thou wouldst graciously grant that divine anointing, that fresh anointing of the Spirit, and grant signs to follow the preaching of the Word, We pray thee, the great Lord of the harvest, that thou wouldst send true labourers into the harvest, that thou wouldst build the walls of Jerusalem, that thou wouldst return unto Jerusalem with mercies.

Arise, arise, O God of grace, into thy rest descend thou in the ark of thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with salvation. and thy sanctuary shalt allow for joy. O abundantly bless the provision of thy house and satisfy her poor weak brain, O Lord, we do beseech thee.

We pray from all the hills of Zion and from down the nation that thou would return, that thou would make bare thine holy arm, that thou would send out thy light and thy truth, that thou would return in thy power and in thy glory as thou used to be in the sanctuary.

Lord, we do pray that thou, in thy great mercy, would graciously hear prayer for our nation, our leaders, give wisdom, give guidance, give direction, give understanding, if it could please thee, and graciously bless our king and the royal household with that rich grace that is in Christ Jesus.

Remember those that go forth from among us that labour in the word of truth among the nations of the earth. We think of Iain Satter and that great work he does in so many different countries in the distribution of thy word and the exposition of it. Lord, supply their every need. Remember them on battle mission and be with thy servants there and graciously grant them that divine anointing of the Spirit and the wonderful work of grace to be seen in the midst of them there.

Lord, we do pray that thou in thy great mercy would remember to Savannah Education Trust and that great work that they are doing in Ghana, that it all may redound to the honour, glory and praise of thy great and holy name.

We thank thee, Most gracious Lord, for every mercy of thy kind providence, they are new every morning, and great is thy faithfulness. We thank thee, most gracious God, for thy word, for our house of prayer, for the liberties that we have to worship thee. We thank thee, most gracious God, for Jesus Christ, for the incarnation of the Son of God, for the wonderful glories of Christ, and the fullness that is in Christ.

We thank thee that he was made of a woman, made under the law, and that he has brought in everlasting righteousness for his people, have him fulfilled and honoured and magnified, that holy righteous law, on the behalf of his people, thereby bringing in everlasting righteousness. We thank thee for the sacred, holy sacrifice of Calvary, where the lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled.

Oh, we do thank Thee for that reconciling grace that is in Christ Jesus. We thank Thee that He died for our sins and rose again for our justification and has bodily ascended into heaven and seated at Thy right hand.

Gracious God, Incline thy ear, be with us now as we turn to thy word. Come and touch one's lips with a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen.

Let us now sing together hymn number 938. The tune is Pearly, 721.

When thou, my righteous judge, shalt come to take thy ransomed people home,

shall I among them stand?

Shall such a worthless world as I

who sometimes, I'm afraid to die,

be found at thy right hand.

Hymn 938, tune 721.

where you're feeling to need the Lord's gracious help, I would direct your attention to the prophet Jeremiah chapter 8 and read in verse 20.

The prophecy of Jeremiah chapter 8 verse 20. The summer is ended and we are not saying it. The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saying it.

Jeremiah is often referred to as the weeping The reason being that he was the prophet that was raised up of God before the Babylonian captivity and he prophesied and was greatly persecuted for it that the children of Israel would be taken into captivity into the land of Babylon advised the king and the children of Israel that they should give in and the Lord was going to solemnly judge them because of their iniquity, because of their backsliding, because of their sinful lives, because of their idolatry, because of their uncleanness.

And he wept. In a sense, we can see Jesus Christ who wept over Jerusalem. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thee? And we see the spirit of Christ in the Lord's servant Jeremiah as he warned them of the solemn judgments that were going to come upon them because of their sin, because of their iniquity, and because of their unrighteousness.

You see, my beloved friends, These deeds are written for our instruction in the Word of God. Attached to the prophecy of Jeremiah, almost like an addendum, is the book of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. And those Lamentations were written when he saw the fall of Jerusalem, and he saw the captivity of the children of Israel, and he saw all the Nobles and the royal house of Israel taken into captivity. And he felt overwhelmed when he saw all this happening. He prophesied it for years. And he saw it come to pass.

You see, and then we have this little verse. very applicable to us today, as all the world of God is. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. Maybe there's one or another here, and you say, well, what do I need to be saved from? Maybe you're ignorant that you're a sinner. Maybe you're ignorant there is a holy law of God that curses anyone that sins against God, that breaks his holy law.

The word of God declares unto us, by the law is the knowledge of sin. And that holy law is God's holy law. and attached to that holy law is a solemn curse. Cursing is every man that doeth not all things that is written in the book of the law to do them. We all have sinned. This is the testimony of God's holy word. We all have sinned. David puts it in that way. that we go forth from the womb speaking lies and hypocrisy. That is in our very nature.

You might say, well why are we born like that? Because Adam fell into sin. In the word of God it says, as in Adam all dark. God, he said to Adam at Eve of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that was in the midst of the garden. The day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

The wise woman of Tekoa, when she came in before King David, she said to him, for we must need thy, and be as water spilt upon the ground that cannot be gathered again. We read in the epistle to the Hebrews, as it is appointed unto man once to die. Why is it appointed unto man once to die? Because we have sinned. We have sinned. We've come short of the glory of God. We've done those things that we ought not to do.

You see, what it says there in Hebrews chapter 9, as it is appointed unto man once to die, so after death the judgment, once to die. We read in the word of God in the epistles of the Romans, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. We must all appear. And if we haven't been saved from our sins, then we should be lost forever. We should be lost forever. It's a very solemn thought, isn't it?

And what we have here, that the Holy Spirit has put on record, is the swift passage of time. The harvest is past. Here we are in November. The harvest is past, the summer is ended and we are not saved.

We read that when our Lord Jesus Christ was sent into this world and the angel said unto Mary and to Joseph, thou shalt call his name Jesus. for he shall save his people from their sins. And the word of God declares there is salvation in none other. There is none other name that is given unto heaven whereby ye must be saved but the name of Jesus Christ. That's the only saviour of sins. There's none other name. It's Jesus Christ alone that can reconcile us unto God. It's Jesus Christ alone that can deliver us from the curse of the law. How did he deliver his people from the curse of the law? He was made a curse for them. He that knew no sin, that's Jesus the Son of God, The only sinless man that has ever lived on this earth. He that knew no sin was man's sin. This is the wonderful glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That the Lord Jesus Christ bared the sin of many. The Lord Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities and the chastisement of our peace was upon him.

This is the central theme. The very heart of the gospel is a crucified saviour. Paul the Apostle said, I determined to know nothing among men, saying Jesus Christ and him crucified. This is the one thing needful. This is the one thing needful. As the hymn writer says, I without him perish not. We should be lost, not because we all have sinned. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Therefore, we should ask that the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

How many here in this chapel, you have to say, I'm not saying it. I'm not converted. I've not been brought to live in faith in Jesus Christ. I've not become a follower of Jesus Christ. It's a solemn thought, isn't it? And if we live and die like that, we'll be lost. we shall be lost forever. I felt very much drawn to read those chapters that we read in the Gospel according to Matthew because the Lord Jesus Christ there, he gives us those solemn warnings and admonitions of his second coming. We have recorded in Holy Scripture in the New Testament of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. of that wonderful act of redemption when he suffered and bled and died for his people on the cross of Calvary. And the wonderful message of the gospel that the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleansed us from all sin. How vital is that precious blood of Jesus Christ When we read together, I pray that these things will be laid to heart.

It says in what we read together, verse 29 in Matthew, immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man, that's Jesus Christ, coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

There's that lovely little hymn that we sing, isn't it?

Prepare me, gracious God, to stand before thy face.

Thy Spirit must the work perform,

for it is all of grace.

In Christ's obedience clothe and wash me in his blood.

So shall I lift my head with joy among the sons of God.

We need preparing, preparing for that great day when Jesus comes a second time without sin unto salvation. And we've often drawn your attention to that verse that we read together, verse 31 in Matthew 24, the very first act of Christ when he comes a second time, he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other. The Lord's people come from every nation, kindred, tongue, and tribe and people. It's made abundantly clear, again and again, the gospel is to be preached among all nations. Why? Because the God of heaven has in all nations a people that he has chosen in Jesus Christ. And in that glorious person of Jesus Christ, they have been redeemed. In that precious sinatonic blood of Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven. Our sins are forgiven. This is the wonderful glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And again, on this theme that we have, the passing of time, the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24, verse 32, he says, Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When its branches yet tenter and put it forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh. See the harvest is past, the summer is gone, it's ended. It says here, you know that summer is nigh. So likewise, when you see all these things, That is, these terrible things that will happen on the earth, know that it is near, even at the doors.

And these words, he says in verse 35, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. This blessed book, the Bible, my word shall not pass away. And you think of what his word says, the soul that said it, It shall die. It shall die. Because the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Eternal life. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

And he says, no man knoweth the time of when these things will happen. It says in verse 36, of that day and hour. Notice these things are all to do with time. We live in a time state. We have a beginning, we have an ending. There's a day of our birth and there is the day of our death. Day of her birth and the day of her death. And all that happens in between. All that happens in between. We're fast pacing on. The old saying is so true, time waits for no man.

But when Jesus comes again, that will be the end of time. You think of the times and the seasons. They're all controlled by creation. The sun, the moon. The sun rises, the sun goes down, and the day is gone. The moon comes up, and the night is here, and so it carries on. God made time. God made time. And when the Lord Jesus comes in power and great glory, all these things shall be dissolved. All material things shall be completely dissolved.

You see, if our hope is only in this world and in the things of this world, And in the things that we possess, or the things that we want to possess. What a solemn thing that is. Because all of this will pass away. All of this will pass away. And then he gives us this warning this day. But of that day now knoweth no man. No, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Now we know that the days of Noah were full of violence. And the reason that the Lord destroyed the earth at that time with that great flood and only Noah and his family were saved was because the Lord repented in that it made man upon the earth. Because the earth was full of violence and wickedness. The Lord who says there in Genesis, for I know that the imagination of the heart of man is evil continually.

And he gives us this Noah's flood as an illustration. For as in the days that were before the flood, They were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the flood came and took them all away so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. The vast majority of mankind rejected the message of Noah. Noah was a preacher of righteousness, but they laughed him to school. Noah told them he would build an ark by the instructions of God and that God was going to solemnly judge this world with a great flood. And they laughed and they mocked. Now, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the coming of the Son of Man. When we tell men and women that unless they are brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, then they are in danger of eternal judgment and of damnation. They laugh, and they mock, and they scorn.

But you see, I knew not until the flood came and took them all away, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then he gives us a graphic illustration here, and this is the coming of the Son of Man. Then shall two be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinded at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left. What a time of separation that would be.

And then the Lord Jesus here, he gives us this admonition, this warning. Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord Time is pacing on, and we know not what hour the Lord hath come. In verse 44 he says, Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man is coming. Such an hour as ye think not. When you're not looking for Him. You see, blessed are they that are waiting for Him. are waiting for you. It says it in the book of the Proverbs doesn't it? Blessed is the man that waited daily at my doors. Inquiring, where? In the house of God. Inquiring, praying, seeking.

How many of us are praying souls? How many of us are seeking souls? How many of us have been made spiritually minded? See, someone mourns here, friends. It speaks of those that are not ready. It says in verse 48 of chapter 24, but if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my Lord, delay it is coming. and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour when he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Someone thought, isn't it? We read in the book of Psalms, the wicked shall be turned into hell and all nations that forget God.

Then he gives us another illustration here. And this of course comes even closer to those of us that attend the meetings of grace and the house of God. The king then shows in this chapter 25, there can be 10 virgins, 5 wives, five foolish, they all made a profession of the name of Christ. They all professed that they were believers in and followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. But the Lord Jesus who tries the brains and the hearts of the children of men, he knew those that had a false faith, They all had faith. They were all virgins. They all had lamps.

But what was the distinguishing mark between those foolish and wise virgins? It couldn't be seen from the outside. When it speaks of lamps, you know, we often think of a lamp and you see an oil lamp and you can see the oil in the lamp. Well, it wasn't like that then. You couldn't see the oil. And when the bridegroom came, which is the coming of Christ, when he comes in power and great glory, it says at midnight there was a cry made, behold the bridegroom coming, go ye out to meet him. And all those virgins arose, the wise and the foolish, and trim their lamps. They were preparing It was then that the foolish Persians realised that they had no oil in their hands.

What does oil represent in this parable? It represents grace. It does right through scripture. Grace is often likened unto oil. This is the oil of grace. five wise virgins had grace. You might say, what made them? Because they were born again. Because they'd been brought to live in faith in Jesus Christ. Because they'd been brought to follow him, to see him as the saviour of sinners, of their sins. They'd been brought to see and realise that Jesus is the way to God. Jesus is the way to bliss.

I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.

But the foolish, they had just a head knowledge of religion. They didn't have grace. They were not truly converted. that were not truly brought to living faith. They thought they were. They thought they were. They thought they were going to heaven. They thought they were going to glory.

They asked the foolish, give us of your oil, let us have some of your grace, for our lamps have gone out. But the wise answer say not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but going you'd rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves. What a solemn thing to come to the end of life and realize that you do not have grace. You thought you did.

There's many warnings in the word of God warning of the need of grace, warning about false religion. If you think of the parable of the wheat and the tares, that's the parable of our Lord Jesus Christ. And he interprets it unto his disciples. He says the wheat is the word of God which is sown under the ministry of the world and sown in the heart And it brings forth fruit, it brings forth wheat. But the tares, he says an enemy has done this. The tares was among the wheat.

Now I understand that you cannot distinguish between the wheat and the tares until the fruit comes. And surely that teaches us, as Jesus himself said, by their fruits you shall know them. And when the fruit comes, the wheat is there, clear to see, but so are the tares. An enemy hath done this. See, these parables, they are very searching and very separating.

Do you, do I, have the oil of grace? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that saves from sin and Satan's power? The wonderful grace And love, well, is something that runs right through scripture, isn't it? Grace, the grace of God, like an heir to oil.

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. The bridegroom is Christ. The bridegroom came. And they that were ready went in with him to the marriage and the door was shut. Solid thought isn't it? The door was shut.

Again we go back to Noah and the ark. And when Noah and all those animals and his family were in the ark, we read the Lord shut him in. That was his safety, his security. That ark is a beautiful type of Jesus Christ. You see, Noah and his family were shut in to the ark. Nobody else could get in. And here in this parable of the ten virgins, it's exactly the same. The five were ready. And they went in with him to the marriage and the door.

Afterward came also the other virgin saying, Lord, Lord, open to us, open to us. And he answered and said, Verily, Verily, I say unto you, I know you not. What does he mean, I know you not? Well, he didn't, the church Believers were given to Christ before the foundation of the world. And when they were given to him, he knew them. They were given to him by the Father, and he knew them. When he came to this sin-cursed world, he came for his people. He knew them. When he lived his holy sinless life, it was for his people. That which we can't do, he has done. He came to fulfill the law. He said, I come not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that's what Christ has done. And in that fulfilling of the law, that is the perfect obedience and righteousness of the church. We have no righteousness of our own, but the believer has a righteousness in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is their righteousness. That holy obedience. In Isaiah it's called a robe. the robe of his righteousness. It covers our nakedness.

And then when the Lord Jesus suffered and bled and died on the cross of Calvary, it was for his people. Those lovely words in Isaiah. You think of a crucified Saviour. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes. We are healed. When he suffered and bled and died for the sins of his people, he knew his people. He knew who he was suffering and bleeding and dying for. He knew them because their sins were laid upon him.

These others, I know you now. We read in another place here in the Matthew's Gospel, and that many shall say in that day, Lord, Lord, but he will say, depart from me, I never knew you, I never knew you. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

You know, this in our text, the harvest, in the book of the Revelation, we have a very graphic description in chapter 14 of the end of the world, of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the way that it is set before us by the Holy Ghost there, It is the highest. Firstly, if we look just at verse 13 in Revelation 14, And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth, yea, set the spirit, that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, that die in Christ. And those that die in Christ, they're eternally saved. They can never be lost.

And then from verse 14 onwards, it says, I looked and behold a white cloud and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man having on his head a golden crown and in his hand a sharp sickle and reap, you take a sickle to reap. And another angel came out from the temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, thrust in thy sickle and reap, for the time is come for thee to reap for the harvest of the earth. He's right. Notice that this is the first. This is the first harvest. And it's a wheat harvest. We read in scripture, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. This is the reaping of the church. The reaper, of course, is the glorious person of the Son of Man, as it says in verse 14, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the first thing it will do, it will reap the church. Just like we pointed out in Matthew. first act is to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth.

And then it speaks of another angel, in verse 17, and another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle, and another angel came out from the altar which had power over fire and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle thrust in the by sharp sickle gather the clusters of the vine of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe that is the harvest of the wicked it's called in scripture the grapes of wrath so we've got the harvest of the church ripened and the harvest of the world ripened. The heart of the church is ripened for eternal glory. It speaks in the book of Job. It doesn't come in as a shock of corn, fully ripened. And the Lord's people are being prepared and they're being ripened.

Now my beloved friends, what are you being ripened for? Are you among the living in Jerusalem? Are you among them that the seed of the words have been sown in your heart that you've been brought to live in faith in Jesus Christ? Or are you the grapes of wrath? It's a terrible thought, isn't it? Ripening for eternal destruction.

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth cast into the great winepress of the rot of God, and the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even out of the horse's bridle. You see, my beloved friends, these events graphically set before us in Holy Scripture.

Let me ask you that question again. What are you ripening for? Are you ripening for eternal damnation? The great rot? Or are you ripening for eternal glory, the wheat harvest? Has the seed of the Word been sown in your heart? Have you been brought to living, vital, saving faith in Jesus Christ?

The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. What a solemn thought. Not in our book. Stop! Sinner, stop! Before they'll further go, sporting on the brink of everlasting woe. All that the Spirit of God would stop you in your mad commitment.

You know, these things are not just in isolated parts of Holy Scripture. There's a very similar word Harvest that is found in Isaiah chapter 63. It says there, who is this that cometh from Eden, with garments of basalt, this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength, I that speak in righteousness, mighty to say, you say that's Christ. Absolutely, that is Christ.

But I've heard it interpreted in a way that it's the first coming of Christ and he says there's red in Nine of Power and they say that's his precious blood, my beloved friends, it's the second coming of Christ. Just read more closely, it's Christ coming, but he's coming to judge the wicked. He says, it says, wherefore are red in Nine of Power, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-field?

This is the end of time. I have trod on the whiteness alone, and of the people there was none with me. I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled on my garments, and I will say all my raiment, for the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. The day of vengeance is in my heart. It's the same day, the year of my redeemed is come.

Which side of the line will you be in that great day? And I looked, and there was none to help. And I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore my own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury upheld me. And I will tread down the people in my anger, and make them drink, drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

It's a solemn, solemn warning, my beloved friends. So I do pray that the Spirit of God will take these solemn warnings and place them deep in your heart of the great need to be prepared for that great day when Jesus comes.

The harvest is past, the summer is ending, and we are not saved. May the Lord have his blessing.

Let us now sing together hymn number 698. The tune is Rudman, 991.

pause my soul and ask the question, are thou ready to meet God? Am I made a real Christian, washed in the Redeemer's blood? Have I hewn to the church's living head? Hymn 698, tune Rutland 991.

Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us Amen.