I please God to bless us together
this morning as we consider his word. Let us turn to the Gospel
of Matthew chapter 13 and we'll read verses 47 and verses 48. The Gospel of Matthew chapter
13 and reading verses 47 and 48. Again, the kingdom of heaven
is like unto a net that was cast into the sea. and gathered of
every kind, which when it was full they drew to shore, and
sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad
away." As we read the New Testament
and in particular the words, the physical words that Jesus
spoke, we cannot but be impressed by the fact that Jesus again
and again set before the people the truth that there were those
who were of the true Church of God those who were eternally
blessed and those who were not. Indeed those who were never saved
and those who would never go to glory but instead would spend
eternity in hell. Now we have this as an example
set before us time and again in the New Testament and it is
of course written in that way to be a beacon for us, to direct
us, to instruct us, so that we may realise there is a right
and there is a wrong, there is a good and there is a bad. There is a separation in the
truth of the things of God. As I mentioned, there are eight
parables in this chapter, very significant, very important. And we come down to this last
parable, and we have the picture the Lord gives of a net being
cast into the sea to catch fish. That's not a hard illustration
for us, isn't it? I'm sure many of us have seen fishermen cast
their nets into the sea and catching fishes. and they draw in the
net, and when the net's drawn in, well, there are two types
of fish. There are those which are good
and can be eaten, and there are those which are bad and cannot
be eaten. And therefore there is that separation. Those which are bad are thrown
back into the sea. And we're, I'm sure, familiar
with that picture. And that's the picture we have
here in these two verses. You may say, well that's okay,
but what's the significance of that picture? Well the Lord tells
us what the significance is in the following two verses. He
tells us, so should it be at the end of the world. The net
was cast into the sea. It was okay. It was there dragging
the fishes along. Then it was brought to land.
When the net was tightened, the fish couldn't get out. Tightened,
brought into land. Then there was that separation.
So we have this picture. So should it be the end of the
world. The angel shall come forth and sever the wicked from among
the just. And she'll cast them into the
furnace of fire. there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth." That's a very solemn position, isn't it? And again,
it's a picture, I'm sure, which we can think of. Wailing and
gnashing of teeth. That means when things haven't
gone right, you know we perhaps understand wailing, because things
haven't occurred as we might have wanted them. We see people,
don't we, so upset and gnashing of their teeth because things
haven't worked out as they wanted. Well, that will be the condition
with everyone who is classified in this parable as bad. And,
well, there won't be any coming back. There won't be any more
swimming in the sea. They'll be lost forever and through
eternity. there will be then this gnashing
of teeth. The gospel net is thrown very
wide. The gospel net is the preacher
of the gospel, it's thrown very wide and many people are gathered
in under that general premise of the gospel net. But not all
who are gathered in are good, are saved. There are many who
are bad. And the great question for us
is to know that we are amongst those who are right. We see around
us today many people who pretend to have been, who are Christians. We might consider, well, perhaps
they're gathered into the net. But we might say, well, what
does their life demonstrate? Does it demonstrate that they
are gathered into the net? I read a couple of days ago in
the magazine, which perhaps many of you get, it's sent round to
most houses in Surrey, I think it's called a Surrey magazine,
and there's an account now of a chap called Shane of a group,
I think it's Boys' Own, I'm not too familiar with these kind
of things, I was when I was a student, but I'm not now, thankfully.
I think it's a pretty famous group. And this chap, he speaks
of how he came to faith. That's how it's put. He came
to faith, and he classifies himself as a Christian. He goes up to
a church, he lives locally here. He goes up to a church in Lewisham
every Sunday. Again, I don't know any details
of that. But the problem is, He carries on his life. He carries
on his lifestyle. He says that the faith has made
a wonderful and tremendous difference to his life. Well, I can't comment
on that. But the real significant thing
is that God's work produces a great change. Because that change means
that we are now a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. That may
not all happen immediately, but there will be a change, there
will be a difference, and difference is very clearly set forth. We
know that we have changed from death to life. And that will be a wonderful
blessing. Now this gospel, you see, gathers
in many, many people. And today as we look around,
and I'm sure we can look around, I look around, and I'm often
mystified about people who classify themselves as Christians. And I do not really know, of
course, their individual lives, so I cannot really comment. But
I do know the Word of God sets before us a very clear and important
standard. And what we don't want to be
is found about those that the psalmist describes. Now, the
psalmist has a very vivid description of those who are not true believers. For those are just classified,
as you might say, as Christians. And these are the words in 49th
Psalm and verse 14. It says, like sheep, they are
laid in the grave. Now I believe that has a very
wide encompass, doesn't it? It's not people who are just
way outside. I believe there are many people in the professing
Church of God who we might classify as good people, and they're buried
like sheep. But you see, death shall feed
on them, and the outcry shall have dominion over them. In the
morning their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. You see, they weren't sheep.
but they've been laid in the grave as sheep. My friends, you
and I don't want to fool people, don't we? We don't want people to say,
well, I think he was a good person. You know, we hear it said, don't
we? I think he was a good person. Why do you think that? Well,
he appeared to be alright. He or she may have gone to all
the services, may have dressed in all the right gear, and appeared
to be a good, honourable Christian. But there was no life in the
soul. And terribly to say they were
laid like sheep in the grave. Now you see, it doesn't matter
really what we think of people, it matters what God thinks. It matters what God thinks of
you and me today. and tomorrow, and to know that
we are amongst those who are those who've been caught in the
net, but are those who are a vessel unto honour and not to dishonour. So we see the picture here, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the
sea and gathered of every kind. Now I believe the Apostle Paul
gives a very clear description really of the difference of these
two types of people and when he wrote to his son Timothy remember his son was a preacher
and he was instructing him in those things that he should know
and giving him a very clear picture of those who were right and those
who were wrong And he gives a picture of those who were wrong, and
he also gives a picture of his own life. And it's good to have
a picture of the Apostle's life, because we have there what it
means to be a Christian. So, in the second epistle of
Timothy, and the third chapter, we have a picture. Now let me
just start by centering this situation on the fifth verse
in this third chapter and this is what it says having a form
of godliness but denying the power thereof from such turn
away it's not having a form of godliness just a form of godliness would
do us no eternal good But if we possess goldenness with the
power from God, then you see there is the evidence of this
blessing of eternal life. Now, Paul speaks to Timothy in
this turn. He says, this know also, that
in the last days perilous times shall come. Now, are we in the last days?
Well, we can analyse it by following through these details. And these
perilous times, the word perilous is a broad word, it doesn't necessarily
mean a physical perilous, it may do, but it also may mean
perilous times by many deceivers who come and say, lo, here is
Christ, and lo, he is there. And we are told not to go after
them. And so the Apostle tells us what
will occur in these last days. For men shall be lovers of their
own selves. Lovers of their own selves. You might say, well, I suppose
that could be true. Well, I believe it is true. Lovers of their own selves. And
let me give you an illustration. Now, I'm not a Facebook man.
I haven't got Facebook. But I do see sometimes, a little
on Facebook through my children and grandchildren. But what does
it portray? What does it portray, Facebook?
Well, it appears to me that it generally proves this. They are
lovers of their own selves. They tell everybody about what
they're doing, what they're bought, where they're going, all the
wonderful good things which are coming before them. Is this not
then true? Men shall be lovers of their
own selves. Yes, they like to portray what
they're doing, who they are. You be careful, if you've got
Facebook, I'm not speaking against Facebook, but you be careful
on these things, you don't portray the wrong things. Just remember
a statement like this, men should be lovers of their own selves.
And they shall be covetous. Well, people have always been
covetous. But perhaps more so now than at any time. You only
have to see them if you're going about homes. You see children
with umpteen toys. You throw them away and they
put them in a corner and they want something else. They want
another toy. They want another game. They
want something else to do. covetous, not only children. You've got to think of people
in their covetousness. How they want to change this,
they want to change that. They want to have new furnishings
in their house, they want to have new kitchenware, they want
to have new cars, they want to have new furniture. Oh, they're
covetous for this and that. They want to have new clothes.
They want to follow the latest fashions. And that covers us. I have a
wardrobe full of perfectly good clothes. And that covers us. Now, just be careful not to be
numbered amongst those who just have a form of godliness. You
see, we may pretend to be alright. We may pretend to have a real
religion. But you see, these things point
against the reality. And I come on to what Paul spoke
in a short time about himself. And, well, not only are they
covetous, they're boasters. They boast of what they've done.
And you come and speak to people, instead of saying, well, how
are you, they tell us what they are. What they've been doing. They don't ask what you and I've
been doing. They speak about themselves. They're boasters.
Isn't it true? You ponder that, you think of
it. Perilous times shall come. Proud. How proud people are,
aren't they? Today, we're all proud, aren't
we, by nature? We are. And it's one of the biggest curses
and one of the biggest sins and one of the things that make us
groan. Because of pride. Blasphemers. People today, They
blaspheme, don't they? You go about the town, you travel
around, you hear people blaspheming. Do you know, be very careful
you don't blaspheme yourself. You say, well, I don't think
I'll ever do that. You'll be surprised sometimes. It's very easy to fall under
the spell of the devil and say things you never meant to say. Never thought you would say.
You didn't intend to say it. The devil produces words which
come out of your mouth while having a form of godliness.
So the next cast gathers in all types. And then disobedient to parents.
Is that not true today? Children are disobedient to parents.
They speak out very strongly, no I'm not going to do that.
They're told to do this and that and they utterly refuse. And
they go on their own way. Unthankful. Again. People accept
things and for the most part they're not very thankful. And
then unholy. Unholy. A lot of people are not
holy, are they? They're unholy. Without natural
affection. Again, there's not a natural
affection there was years ago. There isn't that natural affection
between children and parents. There are so many split homes
today. So many separated situations. Children's alliances are torn.
And there's often not that natural affection. Truth breakers, yes. People say they do this and turn
around and do something different. They're truth breakers and they're
false accusers. Again, people today we find accusing
wrongly. They're false accusers. Incontinent. You might say, what does that
mean, incontinent? Well, it really means following their own line of government.
They're not prepared to bow down to the laws of the land. They follow their own way. Every
man does that which is right in his own sight. They're incontinent
and they're fierce. And then you see they're despisers
of those that are good. Now, remember what this is specifying,
and don't forget, it's referencing those who have a form of godliness,
and those who are drawn in the net, those who may appear to
have a form of godliness. And yet you see, if you analyse
carefully, you will find But they're amongst these people
which describes them. And they are traitors, and they're
heady, and they're high-minded. And then, worst of all, they're
lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God. That's a very
potent consideration, isn't it? You see, if we're given the opportunity
to indulge in pleasure, to indulge in leisure, rather than worshipping
the God, the true God, and we opt for being a lover of pleasure,
rather than lovers of God, we come under this condition, having
a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof from such turn
away. Oh, it's a tragic situation.
But it's so very true. Well, we have a little description
of what happens to such people. But then, the Apostle comes on
to this. And he then tells us about himself. Now, we might think, well, Paul,
he shouldn't be a proud man. Paul's not a proud man. He's
just explaining the effect of the grace of God in his life. thankful to be able to declare
it. It's a wonderful thing in our lives, if we're able to demonstrate
the effect of the life of God in our souls, as it was. Now, the vast difference is this. Paul wasn't able to do these
things by the power of God. You see, having a form of godliness
of denying the power Paul possessed the power of God in his soul.
The power of God which has changed him, the power of God which enabled
him to do that which was right. And so we have this description
that he says, but thou hast fully known my doctrine. It wasn't something that the
apostle kept under wraps. It wasn't something that he didn't
speak about. The Apostle Paul, by the grace
of God, was able to declare plainly what he believed. Now you might
say, well it's okay, Paul was a preacher of course, he was
to do that. We must never hide under such a situation like that,
because all of God's people are his servants in one way or another,
and our lives should demonstrate the doctrines of God, the doctrines
which we believe, the doctrines which we follow, and the doctrines
which have been made a blessing to us. So here we have this statement. He's able to say that it's fully
known. Now you see, Paul was caught in this
great net. My friends, he was able to give
a good testimony. He wasn't among those who would
be cast out as bad. He was amongst those who were
classified as good. And again, not for that which
is good in himself, not which he had done in his own strength. He tells us very clearly, he
said, I can do all things and what's the secret through Christ
that strengthens me. That's what the Apostle's secret
was. And my friends, that will be
your secret and my secret. And you see, he was making effectively
his boast in the Lord. He wasn't boasting of what I
Paul's done. He's boasting of what Christ
has done in him. And so he comes and tells us
then, fully known my doctrine, manner of life. The Apostle's
manner of life was to be seen. He didn't have to hide it. He
didn't have to appear to be one person when he went into the
synagogue and yet when he went home he was a different person.
He didn't have to pretend that when he was in the synagogue
he was one person and when he went on holiday he was someone
else. Or perhaps when he stayed away. No. He didn't have anything
to hide in his manner of life. And again this is the the evidence
of God's power within, because he would be able to say, like
the Apostle Peter, he was kept by the power of God. So, he was
able to say that was fully known. My doctrine, manner of life,
purpose. He had a purpose. God had given
him a purpose. What was that purpose? To serve
the Lord. That was the purpose. that God had given to him. And it was evident, wasn't it?
People didn't have to say, well, what's Paul doing? What's he
doing? They knew what Paul was doing at every opportunity. The
Apostle proclaimed the truth of God. He was in Athens, a foreign
place, in the marketplace every day, proclaiming the truth of
God, reasoning and arguing with the people. Wow, that's a good thing, isn't
it? Would be a good thing if we're moved by the Spirit of
God, so that we're not amongst those who are classified like
this. Having a form of Godliness, just an outward shell, with no
inward being. Purpose, faith. Oh, my friends,
true faith is centred in what Christ has done. And let us be
very clear, and I want to be very clear on this, that faith
is not something that you and I generate ourselves. Because
if it was, it would not bring honour and glory to God. But
faith is given to us by the Spirit of God. And the Apostle Paul,
when he wrote the Ephesians, he spelt it out very clearly
in the second chapter in the eighth verse, For by grace are
ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the
gift of God. And he explains the reason. Not
of works, lest any man should boast. You see, if we were able
to claim faith ourselves, what we'd done, it was our strength,
God wouldn't be glorified, you'll claim the glory yourself. God's
a jealous God. He will have the glory. Be very
clear about that. And so the Apostle Paul was able
to confirm that he'd been given this gift of faith. And it is
an evidence of the life of God in the soul without any doubt.
And he was able to say that he wasn't amongst those who just
had this form of godliness. He'd been gathered in the net.
But here's a division between those who are right and those
who are wrong. and therefore we're thankful that we have a
testimony of God's servant Paul here in this way, which tells
us, faith, long-suffering, we need to be long-suffering, we
don't need to be hot under the collar, we have to be very patient,
patience, he comes on and says, patience, long-suffering, charity,
patience, love, or patience, and it's the evidence of the
life of God in the soul and the wonderful gift it is to walk
in this way. And then he tells us also persecutions. Yes, the Church of God, the true
Church of God, are persecuted. And again, if we're just amongst
those who have a form of godliness, we probably won't have any persecution.
We haven't said, we haven't done anything which will bring any
persecution. We just sail along in a very
calm way until we come to the day of our death. What a change. My friends, no
blessing then. We've had no persecution. The
Church of God are persecuted in one way and another. And it's
a test of our religion. It's a test of our true state. Persecutions afflictions, and
he gives a little list, which came unto me at Antioch, and
I cone in at Lystra what persecutions I endured. But the Lord was with
him. He tells us, but out of them
all the Lord delivered me. What a blessing to know that
although you see we will Walk this path. God is with us, and
there are times of deliverance. Maybe short, maybe long. But
we must remember, this is the path of those who are blessed
with the power of God and religion. Because that power is not of
themselves, and that power enables them to do that which is right,
and that which is God honouring, and that which is for God's glory.
And then he sums it up in this way. Yea, and all that will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Well, my friends,
the Church of God, the living Church of God, will desire and
believe to live their life unto the Lord, unto God. And we come back, don't we? to
that grace and wonderful statement. You are bought with a price.
You are not your own. Don't think you can. Don't think you have
any liberty in pursuing your own agenda. You don't want to
be laid in the grave like a Christian, and yet you are not. Well, here we have this net cast
endlessly and gathered of every kind. every kind, good and bad. And my friends, you and I will
be gathered in amongst one of these, who are in this net, this
gospel net. We've been under the gospel net.
Bless God for it. You've heard the gospel, all
of us. Bless God for it. We're under that net. My friends,
do we have the evidence of the blessing of the Lord? and that
therefore we are bought with a price. And that price, my friends,
never underestimate it. And may that price ever get greater
in your understanding. The price was the death of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It was the price of blood. The Lord Jesus Christ gave his
life as that sacrifice for sin. My friends, to know he gave his
life as a sacrifice for you and me. so that we should not go
to hell, but that we should be blessed with a wonderful gift
of eternal life and be saved eternally and be able to praise
God forever and ever. Oh, may we have that praise in
our heart to our God for the truth of God, which is in our
heart, the gift of God that we receive, the evidence of it,
which proves to us the power belonging unto God. We couldn't
produce anything real ourselves. As I sometimes said, and it's
worthy of repetition, the evidence of the work of God in the soul
is very simply this, that God has done for us that
which we could not do for ourselves. You think of that, you ponder
that. See whether you can conclude that that has occurred in your
life. That God has done for you that
which you could not do for yourself. What is it? It's the evidence
of God's power. Well, here we have this statement
again in the Kingdom of Heaven. is like unto a net which was
cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind, which when it
was full they drew to shore, and sat down and gathered the
good into vessels, but cast the bad away." And then the description,
what does it mean? So should it be in the end of
the world. And my friends, that will come,
don't think it won't. And you and I will be there. The angels shall come forth.
and sever the wicked from among the just. There will be a great
division and shall cast them into the furnace of fire. There
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Well my friends today
may we all be very concerned and may we be blessed with the
wonderful evidence from God himself that he has given us the blessing
of eternal life demonstrated by the power which it was attended
by, which shows to us that it was not of our flesh, it was
His great and glorious gift, so we can conclude and say, amazing
grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Amen.