for the help of the Lord. I direct your prayerful attention
to the Gospel according to Matthew chapter 10 and reading for our
text verse 22, particularly the last part. The last part reads,
but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. The whole verse reads, and ye
shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth
to the end shall be saved. There is particularly this promise
that those that endure or continue to the end shall be saved. Now we might ask, well, who?
is being addressed here, who is being spoken, begins in this
chapter with the calling of the apostles and the sending forth
of them to preach. And some parts of the word here,
it seems very clear that the word is specific to them. Then when you have the verses,
like verse 21 before our text, and the brother shall deliver
up the brother to death, and the father the child, and the
children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them
to be put to death, you shall be hated of all men for my name's
sake. And it seems to broaden out much
more than the ministers of the gospel And it goes back again
to those that are preaching. Verse 27, what I tell you in
darkness, that speak in light, what you hear in the ear, that
preach ye upon the house tops. Then we have again in verse 35,
Verse 34, the Lord saying, I came not to send peace, but a sword
upon earth. For I am come to set a man at
variance against his father, and the daughter against her
mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Man's
foes shall be they of his own household. And so is going from
one to the other from what seems to be pointed direct to the Lord's
servants and then to everyone that confesses the name of the
Lord and walks in His ways. And we would be reminded that
the Lord's servants are, in one sense, no different than those
that they preach to. Each one have been called by
the Lord and they are confessing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's just that the Lord's servants
are, you might say, on the wall or on the forefront, and are
more likely to draw attraction or the hatred or enmity of those
that hate the name of the Lord than others. But what a picture
we have of the path for a child of God, in this chapter. Not a smooth path. We are in the world, the world
in which Satan goes about as a roaring lion. The inhabitants
of it, for the most part, they only consult to cast the name
of the Lord down from His Excellency, and they hate the name of the
Lord. The Lord says in John 17, I have
given them thy word, and the world hath hated them. And so we must be sure that if
we are the Lord's there shall be that opposition here below. Satan will not permit God's people
to be left unannoyed and unattacked. He's got those that are not,
he doesn't need to put his enmity against them. But those that
especially are leading others in the ways of righteousness,
if he can get one, say a pastor, he can drag perhaps a whole flock
with him. If he can get a husband or a
wife, he can drag the children with them. And he will try his
best to cause that those, even that begin in the way of God,
will not get to the end. Between the time that Satan first
notices, and remember it's said Satan trembles when he sees the
weakest saint upon his knees, when he begins to watch and see
the difference that grace is making, from that time he will
try as much as he can, before that sinner comes to the end
of their life, that he will turn them away from the faith that
they will not endure And that is His aim. And so here is this
blessing. He that endureth to the end shall
be saved. Unto, Lord, this evening. Firstly, enduring in a way that we are
to endure in. Thinking of what we are enduring
in. And then secondly, what it is
to endure unto the end. And lastly, the certainty of
God's people enduring unto the end. I want to first clarify these two
words. Firstly, the idea of an end. What is being set forth here
is the day of grace. Surely there is an end and not
an expectation shall not be cut off. Our lives here below will
have an end. Our soul will not end, that is
eternal. that never ceases to exist, but
our time here below will come to an end. It begins by conception,
it begins in being born into this world, and our life then
will come to a close and the dust shall return from whence
it came. Thus their heart, and to thus
shout their return, was the Lord's word to our first parents. And in this day of grace, that
is where God's grace is given, that is where the attacks are,
and once we are beyond this world, we are beyond the world, beyond
sight and beyond sin, and we are safe. There is nothing that
can touch a soul once it is saved and brought free from this world. So what is it then, the other
word here, to the end shall be saved? Well we are told in verse
28, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul. but rather fear Him which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell. To be saved is to be saved body
and soul from hell. To be cast into outer darkness
and to endure the wrath of God forever and ever. The hymn writer says eternity,
tremendous sound. to guilty souls a dreadful wound. To be saved is to be saved from
hell and saved to heaven. To be given eternal life and
to enter into that eternal life. Enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord. Whereas the Lord said to the
dying thief, Verily, verily, this day shalt thou be with me
in paradise, absent from the body, present with the Lord. Two very important things to
remember. How many of us are very aware
that one day we must die and that beyond the grave is either
of two places, heaven or hell. And that if no change has taken
place in our life, if there is no turning, no repentance, no
blessings of grace, then there is only one place that is appointed
unto us. That the subject before us this
evening affects every one of us here. Every one of us will die unless
the Lord comes first. And every one of us will either
be saved or be lost. And especially this concerns
those that have begun in the way. It speaks about enduring. But this first point, I want
to really emphasize a way to endure in. What a solemn thing
if we were to endure in the way that we were born. That we continued
in penitent, we continued as we were, continued to be in the
natural body, to be spiritually dead, and say, well, I've managed
to continue and endure unto the end, I've brought up a strict
Baptist, a gospel standard Baptist, and I've got to the end of my
life and I am still a gospel standard strict Baptist." That
person would say, I've endured unto the end. But how can they
be saved when they are enduring in something of which they have
not been converted and that what they have is not saving. It is
vital that if we continue, we're not continuing in an obstinate
position, or in disobedience, or in a way that is not salvation. Now some people will look upon
maybe a conviction of sin and they speak very much of their
evil hearts and how their heart works and their sinnership and
as if it is a badge of honour, but they never progress further
from that. If you see one that is truly
convinced of sin, that is a sorrow, a distress to them that they
are sinners. They can't just rest in that
and say, well, this is one mark of God's people. It doesn't matter
about the blessing of forgiveness or the witness of the Spirit
with my spirit, or that assurance and comfort, or that the Lord
is to be precious. All I have is this one mark that
I've heard the people of God say they're sinners. So I'm going
to endure through my life and I'm going to testify that I'm
a sinner. But never to cry to the Lord
for mercy, to be happy in the malady, but never seek the remedy
or never realize what the malady is pointing to, is a vital thing
if we are to endure that there is a beginning, a right beginning. are beginning by the Spirit of
God, being born again of the Spirit. I give unto them eternal
life. They shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of mine hand." And when the Lord
says that, then He is speaking of endurance, He's speaking of
their security, but He's speaking of the very beginning. giving
of eternal life. And if we are to endure, the
first thing is not thinking, well, how shall I endure, but
where am I now? Where am I now? If death was
to find us this night, where would we be now? Where would
we be? Would we be saved? Where the
Lord finds us tonight, Do we want to endure in this condition
that we are in? And some of you might say, well,
I feel to be in a very low place. I am backslidden, I'm far off
from the Lord, and I would not like to continue in this backslidden,
far off place right until the end. I want a revival, I want
a change. And it's a good thing if that
is our desire. But with the people of God, there'll
be many such changes as that. And the enduring unto the end,
as it were, goes right over such down sittings, uprisings, such
experience of the child of God. We read that he which hath begun
a good work in you, will perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And again, it's a beginning and
it is going to the end, or the end, of the day of Jesus Christ. And so the vital part, when we're
looking at enduring fast, is what is the beginning? Is it what God has wrought in
us? I think we mentioned in prayer
that we might have that or see that in our day, which those
in scripture was able to say, this is the Lord's doing, and
it's marvelous in our eyes. All the thing proceedeth from
the Lord. And it's a good thing to have
a scriptural knowledge of what proceeds from the Lord. and what
is identified as the Lord's hand. A beginning by the Lord, a new
birth. What is that new birth? It's
a spiritual birth. We read the natural man receiveth
not the things of God, neither can he know them because they
are spiritually deserved. It is vital that we have a spiritual
beginning. and He is only the Holy Ghost
that will ever give that beginning in a sinner. That's why the Apostles
had to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from
on high. They needed that power, they
needed that which would turn sinners out of the ways of sin
and to the Lord. We in fact receive the word as
described like this, that many turn unto the Lord. Many receive
the word of God, as many as received Him. To them gave He power to
become the sons of God, even to them which are called by His
name. It is the work of the Spirit
to give spiritual life, to cause that one to receive the word
of God, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and as our Lord
says in John 8, to continue in my word. When we're speaking
of enduring here, that it is a then continuing in that word. Our Lord is very clear. If one
is to be a disciple indeed, a true disciple, he must not just be
a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, but one that is a follower,
a disciple indeed, continuing the word of God, and one that
knows the truth, and the truth shall make you free. And may
we be careful then to see what the Lord has wrought and done
in us as it compares with the Word of God. God's people, like the eunuch,
they don't have theological degrees, they don't know everything concerning
the faith, but they have light. They have the spirit of repentance,
though yet there may be many things in their lives that they
still have not changed or repented on. But they have got the spirit
of repentance. They want to, they are willing,
they are ready to receive the Word of God. And it is that beginning. Cast not away your confidence,
which hath great recompense of reward. And our confidence must
always be in the Lord and who has begun and who then will carry
on. And so, if we are talking about
enduring, that must be attended to first. Where are we? How is the state of our soul? Are we already in the grace?
Are we already caught? Are we in a position to endure
and not needing the word that we must begin first? So I want to look then, secondly,
what it is to endure unto the end. I believe this, you know, with
the assurance of salvation. We do not always have to go back
to the new birth, back to the beginning, back to where the
Lord has begun. The Lord is pleased to give that
assurance and tokens in the enduring, in the continuing. Yes, our text
speaks of enduring unto the end. But may we be able to give thanks
to God that we have been brought even one day more, and one day
more. Do we need to wait until the
end of our lives before we give the Lord thanks? Each trial and
each trouble that come, you think of Psalm 107, where through scene
after scene they fell down, there was none to help. Then they cried
unto the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their
distresses. And through that psalm we have,
O that man would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his
mercy to the sons of men, not waiting to the end, but every
deliverance. When the children of Israel had
Moses sent to them, and he brought the signs, and they believed
that God had sent him, they rejoiced, they believed, and they gave
thanks to God. Then they had fresh triumphs. Pharaoh refused to let them go.
Their tasks got harder and harder. They were so Tormented in their
minds they wouldn't even listen to Moses. Some of you might be
like that. To get into such a place of trouble
and trial and consumed with perhaps one thing that is just consuming
your life and your thoughts and your affections, you think it's
no use going to the house of God, I cannot hear anything.
Whatever is said is not for me. It's not going to help me. The
Lord hasn't appeared, hasn't answered my prayers. In fact,
when I pray, things have got worse. And the children of Israel
had felt like that. And it's good for us to remember
those records like that, because we know in the end, the Lord
did deliver them. He gave them the Passover. He
brought them out with a high hand, a mighty hand. He did deliver
them. But in between time, they had
their sorrows. You would say to them, did you
make a mistake? You thanked the Lord too soon.
No, they didn't. We are to thank the Lord, not
thinking, well, we'll wait and see how it turns out. We'll wait
until a bit longer and then we'll thank Him. No. When the children
of Israel got through the Red Sea, what did they do? They sung
the song of Moses. The Lord had delivered them.
He'd opened the Red Sea, He'd brought them through, He delivered
them and He destroyed their enemies. They sung the song of Moses.
Three days later, there's no water, they're murmuring, they're
complaining. And later on in the wilderness,
again, limiting the Holy One of Israel. is right for us to
mark every deliverance and every help that has enabled us to continue
in the faith one more day, one more week, to survive one trial,
one temptation, those things that are brought against us,
and to give thanks in that way. If we are to continue unto the
end, it is step by step. From the time the Lord begins,
He begins to teach His people, line upon line, here a little,
there a little, precept upon precept. That is how the Lord
teaches and instructs. And he goes on and on teaching
and giving more grace and more health. And to continue is to
continue with the Lord, continuing with us. He will not forsake
the works of his own hands. And the works of his own hands
is to appear for his people, to answer their prayers, to teach
them, to give them to know and love his beloved Son, to give
them the Holy Spirit that shall take the things of Jesus and
reveal them unto the soul. The continuing is a continuing
in the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe with Peter it really
highlights what is important. Our Lord said, Satan hath desired
to have you to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that
thy faith are not. Satan desires all of God's people,
you in plural. But when the Lord's people are
in trial, then I have prayed for thee. That soul is to know
they have a voice that speaks to them in heaven. The Lord appears
in the presence of God for us, and it's for every one of his
dear people. And advocate with the Father. And he's especially, at those
times like Peter was going through, where there's attack trying to
stop him from enduring unto the end. You might say, well, Satan,
he succeeded in a lot of ways. He caused Peter to deny his law
those three times. He read, Whosoever denieth me
before man, shall I deny before my Father in heaven. And Peter,
well, he did deny his Lord. But our Lord prayed that his
faith fail not. The Lord is the author and finisher
of faith. And with Peter, When he came
through that trial, and the Lord had said right at the beginning,
before he went into it, when thou art converted, or when thou
art restored, in other words, Peter, you will be restored,
it's just a matter of time. You have this trial, for if needs
be, this trial, Peter says in his epistles, doesn't he? If
need be, in heaviness, through manifold temptations. When thou
art converted, Strengthen my brethren. Your experience, what
you've been through, strengthen the brethren. You've been brought
through this time of denying me, the time of fearing man,
but through it you've been brought, and at last, you've testified
these three times, Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest
that I love thee. We have a little picture. of
that faith that the Lord has given, enduring and keeping going,
and not letting go of his child. Though damped it never dies,
though sometimes it might seem to be hardly there, yet it flares
up again. It can't be extinguished. We
read of those that, walking sparks of their own kindling, that are
able to keep alive what seems to be a spiritual life within
them. But our Lord says, no man can
keep alive his own soul. And so continuing unto the end,
we'll be proving that our life is in Christ. He is the author
of it. He is the one that is causing
it to endure. And in that way, we continue
dependent on the Lord. Another word is we're growing
grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace and works are opposite. We might think well if we're
going to grow in grace we're going to get better and better
and more like a Christian and more upright and more godly and
that's our idea. But the Lord says, no, more and
more you are going to know, like Ezekiel was told, turn again,
thou son of man, thou shalt see greater abominations than these. More and more you're going to
realize, as the hymn writer says, if ever my poor soul be saved,
tis Christ must be the one. And more and more you're going
to be taught that it is not of works lest any man should boast. and the Lord putting His people
into situations that they find out more of what's in their heart
than they ever thought was there. You know, the fire, it brings
forth those things. I know I've used this illustration
many times before, but never forgotten it in the hospital
where I worked as a maintenance engineer, and where they had
the broken trolleys that were used to take the food to the
patients, stainless steel trolleys, and they're beautifully kept
nice and clean, and they come into the workshop and one had
got a broken joint, so we'd have to weld it up. But as soon as
you put the teak welder on, or oxy-acetylene on, all came out
this black, black goo from this stainless steel. You would not
believe that stainless steel could be so porous that all those
kitchen facts over the years have gone right into this metal
and it looked as if it wasn't there. But you put the heat there
and it all comes out. And that's like us. We think,
oh, we're nice and polished. We're nice and clean. We're respectable. And then there comes this triumph.
And now it comes from our heart, the malice and anger and bitterness
and hatred to one another. And you think, where's that come
from? That impatience. They're fretting against God,
they're replying against God. And all the Lord has done is
show you what was there originally. By putting on the heat of temptation
or persecution, those things are described in this chapter. The Lord told the parable in
the three chapters along, Matthew 13, of the sower. And one of
those was sown ground that had the thorns that were also springing
up. And when the seed was sown and
sprung up, then the thorns, and they came and choked it. The
cares of this world and the things of this world, choking the world. But then there was the one that
was on stony ground, and the Lord described that, that it
sprung up at first, you know, it seemed to be a beginning.
It seemed to be that the seed was taking root and it was a
good beginning, ending up in fruitfulness. But then there
came, just watch in this chapter, persecution and trials in the
family and from outside. And by and by those were offended
and walked back, went no more. The idea taught solemnly by so
many of you, be a Christian, if you do what is right, God
will give you a nice life, He'll give you husband and children
and a wife and family and peace and everything will go well.
The prosperity ministries aim to that way. God has never promised
His people. In fact, He said, in me you shall
have peace, but in the world you shall have tribulation. that
is promised, and when we have the enduring, it is enduring
through tribulation, through trials, the good thing we began
with, wasn't it? Through the trials and through
the troubles and needing of grace and help to continue. That's
just what is set forth in this chapter here. You read there
again, 184. If we then are to endure, we
are to endure still with the Lord. The Lord puts forth his
sheep, he goeth before them, and it is still thee with the
Lord, still in his faith, still in his way. When the Lord puts
forth his people, he puts them in the right way, and they are
to stay in that way, and his dealings with them will ensure
that it is so. That's why I said at the beginning
how it's vital to be put in the right way at the start. It must be the Lord's work and
the Lord's way. And so to continue in that way
is not to go unbroken, Peter ensures us that, but it is to
be recovered again and again. They fell down and was none to
help. Then they cried unto the Lord, and the Lord delivered
them. And each time a token, they had
the Lord on their side. The Lord is answering them. The
Lord is helping them. It is not their strength, not
their mind. Their hope, their aim is in the
right place. He's looking in the right place.
And He's not enduring in our own strength, their own resolutions. It is enduring in the way of
the Lord, in the footsteps of the flock. And each time there
is a token for good and help as the Lord appears for his people. All the aspects that belong to
a child of God, the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning
of wisdom, Holiness, without holiness no man shall fear the
Lord. To be found walking in the footsteps
of the flock, and to be found loving the brethren. We know
that we are passed from death unto life because we love the
brethren. Ptolemy, when you think of those,
and maybe he was restored, we don't know, but Demas, Paul says,
have forsaken me, having loved this present world. And many
of us know those, and solemnly some, even amongst our own families,
who have started in the way, have even been baptised, but
are now no longer in the way, no longer taking a means of grace,
no longer seeking the Lord at all. And it is a most solemn
thing where that is so. But it is just as solemn to be
continuing in a way thinking that we are saved but we are
not, and may in the enduring be given fresh tokens again and
again. We had one time one of the ministers
fraternals down in Wessex, one thing that was said and I think
it tried every one of us that were in that fraternal, it was
suggested that we speak one to another of the Lord's recent
appearances for us and blessings in our souls. And I think there
were some of us that thought, oh dear, I think I've got to
go back quite a way to find such a blessing. And it was certainly
acknowledged, it was a very searching thought. I wonder how many of
us here, if you had to relate Even to a loved one, where was
the last time the Lord really blessed your soul, appeared for
you, answered prayer, gave you a token that you're in the way?
How far would we have to go back? Are we kept as a living stone
in Salem's walls, living member of the Church of God, the life
of God in the soul? To continue is to continue in
the Lord Jesus Christ. When Christ says, Paul, who is
our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him. Paul knew what it was to live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself
for me. That was not just a once, all
the time, living by that faith that God had given him, every
trial of faith saying that it shall work together for good
to them that love God, that Lord knows what he's doing, that I
can trust him, he'll bring me forth from this. The language
of the psalmist, why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art
thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, I shall yet
praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God. And you see those through the
Psalms, what the experience is and the work of faith is always
looking unto God. David at Ziklag, a stalker of
Stonehenge, had lost his wives, his children, the city was razed
to the ground and burnt, but encouraged himself in the Lord
his God. enduring unto the end. Here is
a soul that is like a compass, that is all the time going to
the one place, is going to the north, is pointing to the one
direction. May that be the mark of our pilgrimage
and of our endurance, that we come to our journey's end and
our sights are still running the race, looking unto Jesus,
not just in the beginning, but right through to the end. I want to look lastly at the certainty
of God's people enduring. Patience, continuance, and well-doing,
enduring unto the end. The first thing is this, that
for God's people, the debt is paid. The Lord Jesus Christ has
put away their sin upon Calvary's tree, and that which has been
done and settled cannot be undone. Those for whom he has redeemed
and purchased, Paul says, that ye are not your own, ye are purchased
with a price, ye are redeemed with a price. Therefore glorify
God in your body and in your spirit, which are his. And there
is the security that the Lord says that none shall pluck them
out of my hand. My Father that is greater than
I, none shall pluck them out of my Father's hand. There is
the means of grace that the Lord uses to endure unto the end. And we are to especially to watch
this. How does the Lord use the preaching
of the word, the reading of the word, prayer, our family devotions,
our private devotions, to enable us to continue. Perhaps coming
to the house of God so dejected, so hard, so cold, so tried, and
yet the word is given that lifts us up and encourages us to go
on. And the Lord using the means
in that way, we read in Peter, of those that are kept, by the
power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
unto in the last day. And what is faith? Faith cometh
by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord. The Lord uses
his word to keep his people. When their steps are ready to
fall, when they are ready to go in wrong places, the Spirit
brings his word to remembrance or sends his servants with that
word, and it recovers them. When thou dost turn to the right
hand, or when thou dost turn to the left, thou shalt hear
word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walking in it. To have the word of God as a
lamp unto our feet, a light unto our path, that ensures, where
that is so, the people of God will endure, because the Lord
is giving them that word that hedges up their way, that directs
them in the way, and strengthens them in the way. May we be blessed
with seeing the Lord using this. Why does the Lord say, forsake
not the assembling of each other together? Why does he say, as
iron sharpeneth iron, so the countenance of a man is framed?
Why does he exhort to hear the word and preaching the word.
Why did he say to Peter, feed my sheep and feed my lambs? Why
did he say, when they are converted, strengthen the brethren? Because
all of these things are ensuring that they endure unto the end. Would you take it naturally and
say, I want to endure unto the end, I want a long life, but
I'm not going to eat anything. And when I get sick, I'm not
going to go to a doctor. I'm not going to use that means,
I'm not going to use that medicine. In natural things, we are used
to using means. We know the need of food, we
know the need of medicine, we know the need when we're sick
of a physician. And so in a spiritual way, it
is God that ensures that with his people, that they will endure. And it's when we see these things,
When we have these answers, when the Lord gives his word through
the ministry, we are to be encouraged. The Lord has caused me to endure
one more day, one more week. He that has helped me hitherto,
will help me all my journey through. Daily calls, give calls fresh
to raise, fresh Ebeneezers to his praise. Psalmist when he
comes to the end of the psalm, It begins, the Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. He says, surely, goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And these are the tokens,
goodness and mercy following us ensures we shall dwell in
the house of the Lord forever. May we know what Moses knew. The Lord says, I'll make all
my goodness pass. before thee in the way. He that
endureth to the end shall be saved. Not as speaking of any
uncertainty as this is in our head and in our mind, but it
is of the Lord's mercy that we endure. And the Lord ensures
it. One of the master doctrines of
grace, the final perseverance of a saint. work God begins,
he will finish it, but we are to walk it out, and for our comfort
to notice this continuing. And may we be jealous over it,
Lord, forsake not the works of thine own hands. May the Lord
bless the Word and grant us to endure unto the end and be saved. Amen.