I please God to bless our souls
this evening as we consider his word. Let's turn to the book
of Daniel, the twelfth chapter and the last verse. The last
verse in the book of Daniel, which is the thirteenth verse
in this twelfth chapter. But go thou thy way till the
end be, for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of
the days. Daniel was a very favoured prophet,
and one who was greatly blessed, but also one that gave very clear
testimony of his faith in his God. And we have the example
that he set in the midst of exceedingly difficult situations. He was
indeed a faithful man and a glorious example to us today, to the Church
of God. So that even when the laws of
the land instructed the people to bow down to a false God. He refused to do so. And when
they were told to only pray unto that God, he continued praying
to the true God and he didn't hide himself. His windows were
continually open and people were observing him praying to his
God. What do we conclude from these
things? Well, we conclude this. Daniel's
religion was true. It was God-given. It was very
important to him. He wasn't willing to compromise
the truth of God. And how different it is today,
isn't it? People are very willing to compromise
the truth of God if it's going to affect the way they live and
the things they do and how people think of them and how they evaluate
them. People are more concerned about
the praise of men than the praise of God. Well, we know that Daniel
was not. And we know how Daniel was wonderfully
delivered when he was thrown into the lion's den. and what
was he able to say? God has shut the lion's mouth.
God can do everything and God my friends today can support
us individually in our times of need when we are faced with
a difficult decision whether we're going to serve God or whether
we're going to obey man. Perhaps refusal to obey Man's
wishes may be severe, but they won't be as severe as being thrown
into the lion's den, will they? Daniel knew the outcome. He knew
what the response would be if he disobeyed the word of God,
or the word of the king. But my friends, he was more concerned
about the will and word of God. And so how wonderful it is that
we have such an example Him and then his three friends, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego, another example. And they were thrown
into the burning fiery furnace. And they were willing to be thrown
there. And they said that if it was
God's will it would deliver them. But if not, they would endure
it. Again, willing to do that which
was right, and unwilling to do that which is wrong. And so may
we recognize the wonderful testimony of such people recorded in the
Word of God, not just for an interesting account, but for
our instruction. And of course, the present time
we live in a land where there is a lot of tolerance, not as
much as there used to be, but there is still tolerance and
we're thankful for that. But the time may come, it may
come in our lifetime, unless the Lord should return when there
may be times of great difficulty and great temptation to deny
the Lord of life and glory. You see, it may not be in so
many words. It may not be that we say, well,
I don't believe in a God anymore. It may just be by our actions
that we Submit ourselves to the will and the whims of men and
women rather than to the gracious word of our God. Now we should
never think that if we disobey our God we can get away with
it. You see, God knows all about us. And God knows exactly what
we're thinking and what we're doing. And we should always desire
to do that which is right in the sight of God. and not worry
what people think or what people do. The Word of God is very clear
to the Church of God and it's this. It is through much tribulation
that we should inherit the Kingdom. Of course life will not be easy,
but the great issue is that to God's people there will be a
glorious end. A glorious end, because his people
will go to glory. and all the trivial difficulties
of this time state will be forgotten, passed away, and we should have
entered into that place of eternal happiness, where there's no sin,
no crying, no trouble, no trials. Well, what a wonderful prospect
then for the Church of God, and it's really, and Daniel is directed
to this at the end of this 13th chapter, He was blessed with
wonderful visions, wasn't he? Some of those visions are relatively
easy to understand, some are impossible to understand. And
we are not intended, I believe, to understand them. But they
are there, recorded, so perhaps when the end of time comes, we
shall then understand them. In the same way that people didn't
understand the prophecy in many times, with regard to the birth
of the Saviour. But of course, when it came to
pass, then you see how obvious it was, and how it had been prophesied
all those years ago. And so, my friends, there are
those things which are prophesied, which are not revealed to us. The things which are revealed
belong unto us. The things which are not revealed
belong unto God. And down through the ages men
have wasted many hours and perhaps years trying to investigate and
conclude what some of the hidden secrets in the Word of God mean.
But my friends, we are not to really delve into those things. And here Daniel was told precisely
that. He was told, but go thou thy
way to the end be. There had been these words which
had been spoken, which we read together by that one who was
clothed in linen, and he'd spoken of those times which were difficult
to understand and Daniel wasn't given to, able to interpret them. And so he's told in this way,
but go thou thy way till the end be, for thou shalt rest and
stand in thy lot the end of thy days. Now that was a wonderful
testimony given to Daniel. My friends what a wonderful thing
it would be if such a testimony is given to us because it speaks
really of that rest that remains to the people of God and it speaks
also that there is a lot in glory for us. There was a lot there
for Daniel, a place reserved, reserved in heaven for Daniel.
My friends, by God's grace, there's a place reserved in heaven for
all of His people. We won't pass out of time into
eternity and find that we're not expected, that there's nothing
reserved for us. Almighty God knows all about
us. He knows what He's gone to repair. He tells us, doesn't
He? I go to repair a place for you. If I go to repair a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there ye may be also." The Word of God is very positive
with regards to these things. And such words should be an encouragement
to us as we pass along through this life, this difficult life,
this wilderness journey, And it's never been anything other
than that. But I believe the children of
God are able to look forward. They're able to look beyond the
things of this life. And of course sometimes the things
of this life seem exceedingly important to us. And we spend
much time concerned about what we should do and where we should
go. But the great question is, Where shall we spend eternity?
That's the great question. That's the necessary answer that
we need to know. Where shall we spend eternity? Certain it is that all of us
will be found in eternity. The Word of God is very clear.
But what a mercy if you and I have that good hope through grace,
that we shall spend eternity with the Lord. And with the whole
Church of God, that number that no man can number, what a scene
it will be. And we're told, I have not seen
nor heard what the Lord hath reserved for those that love
him. We only just on this earth see
through a glass darkly. We don't have any true comprehension,
but we do know it will be a place of indescribable beauty and wonder. And the great blessing is that,
of course, Christ will be there, our great and glorious Saviour.
And as we are, of course, on the earth at the present time,
surely our desire, surely our concern should be to praise our
great and glorious Saviour. Praise is comely, and the Lord
is worthy of all our praise. The problem is, our praise on
the earth is still tainted with sin. We're not free from it,
but in glory there will be no sin. And we shall praise the
Lord with a perfect heart, nothing to hinder that perfect situation. And so as we move along in this
life, may our eyes be directed to the Lord Jesus Christ and
his finished work and the glorious position that is reserved for
the living Church of God. We read together that chapter
in the Corinthians where the Apostle Paul so directs us, doesn't
he, to those things which are eternal and those things which
shall come to pass. And he tells us, he says, but
by the grace of God, I am what I am. And how true that is with
regard to every child of God. It's only through his grace that
you and I are what we are. Otherwise you would be totally
taken up with the poor things of this world. It was God's grace
that had converted the Apostle Paul and it's no less God's grace
which has converted us and I do pray that all of us here tonight
may have the wonderful evidence that the Lord has called us out
of darkness into the glorious light of the everlasting gospel. That is the most important thing
that we need to know. We can have tremendous knowledge
and the things of time, impress many people with our wonderful
skill and ability, but we'll have to leave all those things
behind. My friends, it's a blessing then
to know the important thing, which is that we are born again
of the Spirit of God. Are we able to confirm that we
have a good hope in God's grace, in God's mercy, that we do believe
that we have passed from death to life? The Lord has come and
touched our heart. He has come and called us out
of nature's darkness into the glorious light of the everlasting
gospel, so that we're able to come and declare with the Apostle
Paul in all humbleness, for by the grace of God, I am what I
am. Now, says the Apostle, and his
grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain. I laboured
more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God
which was with me." Now I know the apostle was a very favoured
apostle, but you see all the Church of God are called to serve
the Lord. There is no room for people who
try and escape and say, well of course I'm I wasn't called
to do anything and I just carry on. Well, the Lord does call
his people to serve him. In whatever situation it may
be, to be made willing to be found serving God. There's no
greater blessing, there's no greater favour than to be found
serving the Lord. Doing those things of which he
would have us do. Seeking that we may be directed
for those things that he would have us do. What did the Apostle
say when he was converted on that Damascus road? What was
his desire? What was his first prayer? Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do? It's a good example, isn't it? For all of us today. Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? Let me think of the great and
glorious work of the Saviour. in redeeming our souls, the enormous
cost. We should never get away from
that. We should never want to get away
from it. We should always weigh up the value of our soul and
realise how the Lord gave his life. Dying upon that cross,
shedding his most precious blood to redeem our soul. What a cost,
what a debt, isn't it? You and I owe to our God. Are we therefore to wander on
through this poor old world for a few years, just pleasing ourselves,
just wandering on, doing our own will, ignorant of seeking
for God's direction? Well, the Apostle Paul desired
that God would direct him. And so, my friends, may all of
us here have that real concern to know what God would have us
to do. What wilt thou have me to do? Not the next-door neighbour,
not our friends, no, ourselves. Religion is so very, very personal. And so he comes and tells us,
and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain, but
I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me. And I do like the honesty of
the apostle. We might think, well, the apostle
was boasting. No, he wasn't. He was just being
truthful. And he wasn't suffering from
mock humility. Mock humility is a great curse
when people sit in that position. But here was the apostle, honest,
but he told us how he obtained it. It was not him, but it was
the grace of God which was with me. And what does that do? It
brings honour and glory to our great and glorious God. But then, really, what I wanted
to say was, he moves on to this. Therefore, whether it were I
or they, so we preach and so ye believed. And then he comes
to this, now if Christ be preached, that he rose from the dead, how,
say some among you, there is no resurrection of the dead?
How many people today do not believe in the resurrection?
And he goes on, you see. to clearly explain that if there
was no resurrection, there's no point in preaching. There's
no point in coming here this evening if there was no resurrection. But can we not be thankful that
there is a resurrection and that the Lord Jesus Christ was the
first fruits of that? He rose from the dead. He rose
from the dead and as we ponder this morning in the 8th chapter
of Romans, We are more than conquerors through Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ,
He conquered. And I think that you and I, by
His grace, are more than conquerors through Him. And what does the
Apostle go on to say? If in this life only we have
hope in Christ, we are all but most miserable. But now is Christ
risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that
slept. For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead, realising that the
Saviour was a real man. For as in Adam all die, even
so in Christ should all be made alive." Well, it's only in Christ
that the Church of God are made alive. And what a favour it is
to be found amongst the living, the living in Jerusalem, the
living that shall praise God. Well, here then, Daniel, this
man of God, as he came in his old age, coming towards the end
of his life, and the Lord spake these words of comfort to him,
go thy way till the end be. He knew not how long he had to
live until the end would come, but he knew there would be an
end. And so the Lord tells him, but
go thy way till the end be, for thou shalt rest. There is this
wonderful rest to the people of God. And we're thankful for
it as we travel through this world to look ahead and to realize
that God has provided that. The rest, there is a rest that
remaineth for the people of God. And so we should not be too concerned
about resting in this light, should we? Because there is that
glorious scene of rest to come to the Church of God. Plenty
of time to rest in eternity. Although of course in eternity
we know we should never be tired. Never need any sleep. No night
there. Perfect light. and glory. Again, so difficult for us poor
sinners to realise as we become tired and weary. And yet you
see in glory there's that endless day. No night there, endless
day. And so here is Daniel encouraged,
for thou shalt rest and stand in thy lot at the end of the
days. It would seem that the Lord here
is directing his servant Daniel to that eternal position, when
he would be found there in glory, standing in his lot, that lot
which God had prepared for him. I always think it's very wonderful
to think that we as unworthy sinners, that the Lord God has
graciously looked upon us and has prepared and has reserved
a place in glory. Because if our names are written
in the Lamb's Book of Life, none can be omitted. There won't be
any vacancy in glory. But all are reserved. No one
will be able to come and take your place or my place. Just
think of that. And from eternity past, before
the world were formed, the Lord ordained this great and glorious
prospect for his church. Those who he had loved with an
everlasting love. Those that he had determined
to save. Those that he would save. and bring at last to be with
him for ever and ever. Well, it's a wonderful thought,
is it not? Sometimes to look beyond the things of this earth. Now, our flesh, of course, is
very strong. And our flesh, our natural self,
clings to the things of this time, this world. Yes, and we
don't want to let the things go. But bless God if you and
I possess that new nature, that new nature which does look beyond
the things of time into the glories of eternity. And is it not that
we are so thankful therefore to believe like Daniel will be
there in glory in that place, in that lot that the Lord has
preserved and reserved for him to think likewise, the living
Church of God would also be found, the whole Church of God, in a
similar situation. We have a little view of what
the scene will be in glory in the Revelation. John on the Isle
of Patmos was blessed with a little view and he tells us in the 7th
chapter, and he says, And after this I beheld, and lo, a great
multitude, which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds,
and people and tongues, stood before the throne and before
the Lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. Here we have just a little glimpse
of what it indeed would be like in glory. And cried the loud
voice, saying, Salvation to our God, which sitteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb. Now, I firmly believe that the
living Church of God won't come to glory without having spoken
these words or sung these words or cried out these words upon
this earth, or at least in very similar words. Because it is
so essential that we acknowledge what God has done for our souls
and be able to come and say from our heart, yes, salvation to
our God, which sits upon the throne and unto the Lamb. We
will desire I'm sure to praise this great God who has caused
us to hear his great and glorious voice, turned us from the ways
of evil, turned us to that right and good way, that way which
leads to eternal life. And then we're told, and all
the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders
and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces
and worshipped God saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be unto our God
forever and ever. Amen. And as I've said a number
of times before, Everybody will bow the knee to Almighty God. Here we have this scene here,
the angels bowing down. All the Church of God will bow
down before God on this earth. And yet all those who do not
bow down to God on the earth will bow down on that great day
of judgment. There'll be no atheists there.
that all understand, that all realise how they've been taken
in by that adversary of souls, the devil, and that they are
eternally lost. Oh, what a terrible, tragic scene. And yet to bless God, if he's
given us that wonderful knowledge of life in our souls, so that
we desire, and my friends, I hope we all desire, to praise our
God for what he's done for our souls. in giving to us the glory
of salvation, the saving of our souls, so that it is well with
our soul. When asked that great question,
is it well with our soul, we can say humbly, but to the glory
of God, yes, it is well with my soul because of the great
wonder of redeeming love, of what the Saviour has done. So
we have this picture here saying, blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be unto our God
forever and ever. And I'm sure that the true Church
of God desire to speak these words while upon the earth. It
won't be a strange position when we get to glory because this
song would have been our song on the earth. And one of the
elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are
arrayed in white robes, and whence came they? And I said unto him,
Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Oh,
you see the importance of the precious blood of the Saviour,
so that we are washed, washed in the blood of the Lamb. Without
shedding of blood there's no remission, let us not pass by
that great and wonderful truth. Therefore, are they before the
throne of God, All those who are blessed like this, who've
come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and
made them white in the blood of the Lamb, therefore, are they,
it's because of this great and glorious truth, therefore are
they before the throne of God. And they serve him day and night,
it's a figure of speech, of course, in his temple. And he that sitteth
on the throne shall dwell among them. Yes, the Saviour will be
amongst his people forever. No more going away, no more hiding
his face. But there you see, to be enjoyed
throughout eternity. It's a picture, it's a scene
which our poor finite natural minds just can't really enter
into. Here we see us through a glass
darkly. It's just a misty impression
of what it would be like in glory. But thankful we are that the
Lord in his great mercy and providence did declare and show to John
the wonderful picture that he was able to describe to us. And so we have this here, therefore
are they before the throne of God and serve him day and night
in his temple. And he that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them, they shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sunlight on them, nor any
heat, for the lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall
feed them. and shall lead them unto living
fountains and waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from
their eyes." Yes, there will be no crying, no sadness in glory,
because there's no sin. And as we read in Isaiah, the
former things shall not be remembered. Yes, it will be a time where
we shall be taken up with the things that surround us. And
that, not because of anything that you and I have done. Nothing
that Daniel had done to merit his salvation, great although
he was and favoured as he was, he cannot claim any greatness
himself. But thankful to know that the Lord directed him to
this way, but go thy way till the end be. One thing is certain,
isn't it? There will be an end. All of
us will have an end to our life. Daniel had an end. That cannot
be brought forward. My friends, that cannot be brought
back. God is on the throne. God gives life and God takes
life. And so Daniel was told to go
thou thy way. Yes, go thy way to the end be. Press on. Go forward in that
way. that he'd been directed in. And
so, my friends, we should today follow the Word of God, the truth
of God, that which we read in Scripture, the right way. Remember,
the Lord tells us, I am the way, the truth, and the life. And therefore, to follow that
right way, what does it mean? It means to follow the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have such a wonderfully detailed
account of the life of the Saviour, the wonderful example He set,
the wonderful path that He trod. And my friends, although we should
never of course ever come anything near to what the Lord was able
to do, may we indeed desire to be a true follower, a true disciple,
one that confesses the Saviour, one who honours the Saviour.
Remember the word of God tells us, those that honour me, I will
honour, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Some of us lightly esteemed the
Saviour. We didn't count him in much value.
We were happy to really deny him by our actions. therefore what a wonderful blessing
if the Lord has not denied us. He's not turned his back on us
but he's shown us his mercy and he's shown us his love and he's
shown us his grace and he's directed us to the glory of Emmanuel's
land. And go thy way to the end be,
for thou shalt rest. The things of God are sure and
certain. There's no doubt about the things
of God. There are doubts about many things aren't in this world.
Doubt what will happen to us, what we shall be able to do and
how we shall progress. There's doubts on all of that.
But there's no doubt about the end. of the child of God. Because it is to be found in
that place of rest, and to be found standing in that very position
at the end of the days. The days when this world will
come to an end. And we know, do we not, that
that will occur. Perhaps sometimes we wonder,
well, Will it occur? Well, it will occur. And my friends,
the Word of God tells us so clearly about the situation. And the
situation which is developing and how bad it is. The situation which we realise
is amongst us today. We see that men are lovers of
pleasure rather than lovers of God. Men are following their
own ways and not following the way of God. No, they're carrying
on after these sinful things. And the world gets worse and
worse, but the day will come, of course, when the Lord will
return. And when the Lord returns, as
we read in the Thessalonians, that picture of what the Lord
tells us. He says in the first epistle
and in the fourth chapter, for this we say unto you, by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep,
for the Lord himself shall descend." And of course we know that when
the Lord ascended from Bethany, the angel said to the disciples,
the Lord would come again. He would return in like manner. The Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, And
with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
What a picture that will be, won't it? And that resurrection
mourn. Those who died in the Lord will
rise from the dead first. All the graves will open up.
All those who have been cast into the sea will come again. All those who have perhaps been
burnt will be resurrected. Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air. And this is the wonderful statement. And so shall we ever be with
the Lord. Now, are such things morbid? Not at all. The apostle says,
wherefore comfort one another with these words. Yes, the things
of this poor old world will perish and be burnt up. there is a glorious
day for the church of God. And so the apostle he goes on
he says but at the times and the seasons brethren you have
no need that I write unto you for yourselves know perfectly
the day of the lord so cometh as a thief in the night when
they shall say peace and safety then sudden destruction cometh
upon them as travel upon a woman with child and they shall not
escape. I'll just read this last verse.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light
and the children of the day. And that's a wonderful blessing
to those who are taught by the Spirit of God. We are blessed
with that light to observe the sign of the times. The sign of
the times indicate to us that the time is approaching. when
the Lord will return in all his glory, every eye shall see him.
Well, the great thing is to know that you and I are right with
our God. We possess the life of God in
our souls, so that should that time come, when you are on the
earth, we shan't be looking for our religion, but we shall be
amongst those who are caught up to be forever with the Lord. Well, may such a prospect not
be morbid, but be wonderfully encouraging to us. May we be
amongst those, as the Lord spoke to Titus, looking for that blessed
hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. Amen.