Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn 178. The tune is sweet name
730. Abundance of good folk I find
are gathering goodness for the wind to scatter it about. They seek with human care and
skill their vessels with good wine to fill, but all the wine
leaks out. Hymn 178, Tune, Sweet Name, 730.
? The spoken word I find ? ? The
God-brand-goodness of Him ? ? To scatter in the mountains ? ?
May He be with you ? and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care, and care, and care, and care, and care,
and care, and care ? Always try and strive for the
better ? ? Some patience will not take, some patience will
not take ? ? Hail, all the many ? ? Toster years ? ? And many
times ? ? And many tears ? ? We have at home ? you Be that which Jesus gathers not,
make thou that servant with his part. Thus can the soul be told. There be a goodness, love can
stand, without it is by human hand. It dies as soon as dawn. They bleed and shatter, O the
blood, They reap and gather, O the turn, They take the lost
I see, The Lord did that, He struck
my heart, With my own weeping, He took heart, And gathered all
with me. In Christ my treasure gathered
is, My fixer-upper, my all is, My fixer-upper, ? If he betreateth them just so
? ? And they play out in open court ? ? They'd rather have
proof it's fact ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 50. Isaiah,
chapter 50. Thus saith the Lord, Where is
the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which
of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for
your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions
is your mother put away. Wherefore, when I came, was there
no man? When I called, was there no nun
to answer? Is my hand shortened at all that
it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I dry up
the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness, their fish stinketh, because
there is no water, and dieth for thirst. I clothe the heavens
with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. The Lord God
hath given me tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak
a word in season to him that is weary. He wakeneth morning
by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God hath opened mine
ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave
my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off
the hair. I hid not my face from shame
and spitting, for the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall
I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. He is
near that justifies me. Who will contend with me? Let
us stand together. Who is mine adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold,
the Lord God will help me. Who is he that shall condemn
me? Lo, they all shall wax old, as doth a garment. The moth shall
eat them up. Who is among you that feareth
the Lord? obeyeth the voice of his servant that walketh in darkness
and hath no light. Let him trust in the name of
the Lord and stay himself upon his God. Behold, all ye that
kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the
light of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled.
This so you have of mine hand, you shall lie down in sorrow. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is and art and art to come, We bow before thy glorious and
eternal majesty, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the one true
God, and there is none beside thee. We come, Lord, this afternoon
to worship thee. We come to call upon thy great
and holy name. May there be one and another
here that have come like we read of those in the Gospels, if I
might but touch the hem of his garment. May there be some poor
hungry souls here that desire to hear the voice of Jesus, that
desire to see his countenance, that desire to worship in his
holy hill of Zion. Oh, we do pray that it may be
here as it was with those that approached the Lord Jesus when
he was here on earth. in his public ministry, and the
thousands that flock to hear him. And that, Lord, we pray
that there may be that same hungering and thirsting after thee. Thou
hast said thyself, Lord Jesus, that blessed are they that hunger
and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Lord,
we pray that thou wouldst grant us a spiritual appetite and that
thou wouldst guide us by thy blessed spirit here this afternoon
in the opening of the word of God. Guide us into thy truth. Guide us, O thou great Jehovah.
Pilgrims in a barren land, we are weak, but thou art mighty. Hold us with thy powerful hand.
For we do pray, most gracious Lord, Thou wouldst guide and
direct us into Thy truth. That Thou wouldst not leave us
nor forsake us. Do not leave us to our own wisdom.
And we think of that solemn word that Thou didst speak to the
church at Sardis. Thou hast a name that Thou livest
and yet art dead. And we pray, Lord, that if that
is the case with any of us here, that this day might be the day
when life shall be given, and light and understanding in thy
word, and a realisation of our lost condition, and that Jesus
is the only Saviour, Jesus is the way to God. Sinners can say,
and none but they, how precious is the Saviour. And we pray that
it may be so, Lord, with us here this afternoon, that the Lord
Jesus may be made precious. We pray to be delivered from
that solemn condition that we've read of, walking in sparks of
your own kindling. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
deliver us from such a condition. And Lord, as it was with the
disciples, and they said, is it I? Oh, most gracious Lord,
we do pray that thou wouldst search our hearts by thy good
spirit, search us out of every refuge of lies, and bring us,
O Lord, into that stripping time when thou wilt take away all
that which is of the flesh, burn up those works of the flesh,
those things of the flesh, and bring us in as poor, guilty,
wretched, helpless, hopeless, how deserving sinners. we may
truly be brought like the hymn writer declares, nothing in my
hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling, fowler to the fountain
fly, wash me, save you, or I die. Lord we do pray that there was
grant, that quickening, that convicted work of the Holy Ghost
in each heart. that realisation that we're lost
and ruined in the fall, and that realisation that we need a Saviour. We need one that is able to save
unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth. O gracious God, to incline thine
ear we humbly beseech thee for thy great name's sake. Thou art
a God that hears and answers And thou hast said, come unto
me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek
and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls. May
poor sinners find rest for their souls. Here this afternoon, as
we gather round the word of God, the rest of faith, may we be
enabled to cast all our cares upon thee, and have that sacred
realisation, for he careth for you. We pray to be led of the
Spirit, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God. And we pray that we may be proven
to be the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty, that
we might hear thy voice and see thy countenance and worship in
thy holy hill of Zion. We thank thee Lord Jesus, that
thou art the way, the truth and the life. We thank thee that
thou hast made a new and living way into the holy place, that holy law that we have broken,
every one of us. We thank thee that thou hast
fulfilled it, honoured it, magnified it, and brought in everlasting
righteousness. And we will bow in humble adoration
and praise unto thee. the wonderful glory of that everlasting
righteousness of Jesus the Son of God. We thank thee that glorious
everlasting robe that covers the nakedness of thy people and
fits and prepares us to stand with a wedding garment to stand
in the presence of the Triune God. We thank thee for that glorious
sacrifice of Calvary where sin has been put away, where divine
justice has been satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled.
We bow, Lord, in humble adoration. What is this scene of matchless
grace? Tis Jesus in the sinner's place,
heaven's brightest glory sunk in shame. Our Lord, we thank
thee for the cross. It is all our hope for the precious
blood of Jesus that cleanses from all sin. O most gracious
Lord, we pray that thou wouldst fill our hearts with gratitude,
with thanksgiving for the fullness that dwells in Jesus our head.
We thank thee that he died for our sins and rose again for our
justification. and that he's now bodily ascended
into heaven and sitteth at thy right hand, and that we have
indeed a great high priest who is passed into the heavens, Jesus
the Son of God. We will bow in humble worship
before thy glorious majesty for that new and living way that
thou hast made into the holy place. We pray that as we bow
before thee we may have that sacred realisation tis he instead
of me is seen when I approach to God. Oh we do thank thee that
there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man
Christ Jesus who gave his life a ransom for all to be testified
in due time. O Lord, we thank Thee for every
mercy of Thy kind providence. We thank Thee for our little
house of prayer. We thank Thee for the supply
of all our many returning needs. We thank Thee for Thy Word. This
is the Word by which the Gospel is preached unto you. O Lord,
we do thank Thee for Thy Word, the Word of Thy grace, which
is able to build us up and to grant us an inheritance among
them that are sanctified. O Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
bless us then as a church and as a congregation. Remember all
in affliction, trouble and trial and perplexity, those in temptation,
those that feel to be far off, those that are in bondage. Lord,
remember those that are in bondage but don't know it. Awaken them. O Lord, to that realisation we
do humbly beseech thee. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
bless parents and give wisdom and grace to bring up their children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Pray for the young
friends that they may be richly blessed of thee and brought to
living faith in Jesus Christ, that thou wouldst guide them
in all the paths of providence, and those that would desire a
partner in life's journey, we pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst
hear their prayers and grant their petitions. May they be
like Hannah, that the Lord had granted the petition that she
asked. And we do pray, most gracious Lord, that any that may be here
in trouble or trial or perplexity, that thou wouldst grant delivering
grace in our Lord Jesus Christ. Grant, most gracious Lord, thy
blessing upon our dear friends in Holland, that thou wouldst
bless them where they are and undertake for them, thou knowest,
all their needs and all their concerns. And we pray, most gracious
Lord, that we may each be able to pray for one another. We may
be able to bear one another's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. We pray for the prodigals that
have wandered away. Lord, may they wander back. We do humbly pray then for thy
great namesake. Lord, what a great rejoicing
there would be to see the prodigals return. Remember all in the midst
of the journey of life and grant thy divine guidance and blessing. And Lord, those that wander hither
and thither, we pray that thou would stretch out thine almighty
arm, that thou would cause them to be in want and cause them
to return. Lord, it is thy work, and we
long to see thy work and thy power and thy glory. We long
to see, O Lord, what the dear apostle could say, for our gospel
came unto you not in word only, but in power in the Holy Ghost
and with much assurance. May the glory, light, and power
of gospel truth shine into this village and the surrounding villages
in Hamlet. Bring our sons from far and our
daughters from the ends of the earth, O Lord, we do beseech
them. They said they shall come from the north and from the south
and from the east and from the west. Lord, may we see Zion's
offspring come, may we see a building of the wall, may we see thy power
and thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Remember
those of us that are in the evening time of life's journey and favour
us with a gracious preparation for that great change which must
come sooner or later. We pray to be prepared and guided
and directed unto thy heavenly kingdom. We pray, most gracious
Lord, that thou in thy precious mercy would remember all thy
servants as they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of
Zion, set them free, set them at liberty, grant that they may
dip their foot in oil and be made acceptable unto the brethren,
Remember our dear brother in the coming Lord's Day. May he
come up in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. We do humbly pray thee for thy
great namesake. Lord, do draw us now unto thyself. Do unstop the deaf ears. Do open
the blind eyes. We do humbly pray thee for thy
great namesake. And we pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest, and
to graciously build up thy church, and grant the settlement of pastors
among the churches, and that it may be to thy great glory
of thy holy name. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar, we ask for Jesus Christ's
sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 283. The tune is Chester, 879. "'Tis a point I long to
know, oft it causes anxious thoughts, Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I His or am I not? ? Therefore I die not today ? ?
The way for us is an endless night ? ? You are like the rising
sun of my life ? Where are you, Lord? ? God bless America ? ? God bless
America ? This is what I've come to demand. This is what I've come to demand.
? Christ will reign ? ? Through
all the ages to come and reign and rule ? Till we meet again in heaven's
shade, And I hear my child's cry. Since this day, O my dear, You
and I have known Thee, ? O give them rest, O Lord ? ?
As my forehead shall go in ? ? My forehead shall go in ? ? To thy freedom rest I give ?
? To thy freedom love I give ? ? And for His chains to ease ?
? Truth to the present ? ? Heart to the past ? ? Life, life, life,
life, life, life ? ? Rejoice in the Lord ? ? From
the roost ? ? To God be glory ? ? Evermore raise ? ? And with
gladness ? O come, O come, O come, O come,
O come, ? And all I pray ? ? If I have
not that faith of old ? ? Help me to live again today ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would again direct you to the 50th chapter
of the prophecy of Isaiah, reading the last two verses for our text. Isaiah chapter 50, verses 10
and 11. Who is among you that feareth
the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh
in darkness and hath no light, let him trust in the name of
the Lord and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a
fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the
light of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled.
This shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow. We spoke this morning from verse
10 and we pointed out that these two verses are very distinct
one from another. It's a completely different subject
in each verse. that is quite sweet and precious
as we read through the chapter of the great God and the prophecies
concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 4, the Lord God hath
given me the tongue of the learned, and this is quoted in the New
Testament regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, that I should know
how to speak a word in season to him that is weary. He wakeneth
morning by morning. He wakeneth mine ear to hear
as the learned. That's our Lord Jesus Christ.
His delights are with the sons of men. And he goes on, the Lord
God hath opened mine ear and I was not rebellious. neither
turned away back. That's the Lord Jesus in his
sufferings, in his sorrows. His Heavenly Father gave him
a divine commission, a divine commandment to redeem his people
from sin and Satan's power, from the curse of the law. This is what he means, it speaks
of it in the book of the Proverbs in particular, how that he was
sent of God in those eternal councils and several times in
the New Testament it is spoken of how before the foundation
of the earth the Lord God hath opened mine
ear. He was given a divine commission
to fulfill the decrees of the eternal covenant the eternal
covenant of salvation. It's often been said, wrongly,
that the doctrine of election excludes people. It doesn't. It's just the opposite. It includes. Were it not for
the doctrine of election, nobody would be saved. Nobody would
be redeemed. Nobody would be delivered from
sin. There'd be no new and living way into the holy place. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise
pass down. Those are the eternal decrees
of God. And he says, the Lord God hath
opened mine ear, that's Christ. and I was not rebellious. You
think of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane.
We spoke of it this morning when the sin of the church was imputed
to Christ. That's inclusive. The sin of the church was imputed
on the Lord Jesus Christ. He laid upon him the iniquity
of us all. Were it not for that, No man
would be saved. No man would be saved. And here
in verse six, he says, I gave my back to the smiters. This
is Christ in his sufferings. This was written probably 500
years before Christ was here upon earth. I gave my back to
the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair. I hid not my face from shame
and spitting." And we know the shame and spitting that the Lord
Jesus had to endure. It's recorded in the Gospels. They spat upon him. They smoked
him. The smiters. It speaks in the Book of Psalms,
again prophetically concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. when he
was whipped with a whip that had wire in
it that tore his back and tore his skin that's pilot sent him to be scourged
it's a whip of many cords to scourge and we cannot really enter into,
can we? The awful sufferings of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the humiliation that he passed through. For the
Lord God will help me. I know it's a great deep, but
when the Lord Jesus was here on earth as a man, He lived by
faith as a man. By faith in his heavenly father.
And this is the prophetically spoken of him here in verse seven.
For the Lord God will help me. That's the voice of faith. Trusting
in his eternal father. For the Lord God will help me.
Therefore shall I not be confounded. But it doesn't matter what the
sufferings are, what the agonies are, what the sorrows are, what
the grief is, what the darkness is, what the desolation that
he passes through. When he cries out, my God, my
God, why have I forsaken? Hast thou forsaken me? The Lord
God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded. Therefore have I set my face
like a flint. Beautiful prophecies. And I know
that I shall not be ashamed. He set his face as a flint. He
was determined to save. And he could say here in this
prophetic way, he is near that justifies me. Who will contend
with me? Let us stand together. Who is
my adversary? Let him come near to me. This
is the great captain of our salvation. Behold, the Lord God will help
me. Who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they all shall wax old,
as a garment the moth shall eat them up. That's the language of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the wonderful glory of our Lord Jesus Christ in his
sufferings and in his sorrows. Now we want to look at verse
11. Behold, when we read behold in scripture
your notice has got a comma after it behold it means take notice
take good notice of what is being stated because here in this verse
we have a most solemn warning a most solemn admonition behold all ye that kindle a fire
that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light
of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall
ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow. Walking in our own light, our own supposed light, the kindle of fire. What's it
speaking of? Fleshly religion. A carnal religion. A religion
that is not of the spirit of God. The kindle of fire that
all you that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with
sparks give off light, walk in the light of your fire and in
the sparks that you have kindled. There's a verse in the book of
the Proverbs it's spoken of twice and when something is mentioned
twice in Holy Scripture it's because the Holy Spirit is giving
a most solemn warning. There is a way that seemeth right
unto a man, but the end thereof is death. It seems right, it
looks right, it sounds right, but the end thereof is death. Behold all ye that kindle a fire,
that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light
of your fire, in the sparks that ye have kindled. it's we don't
need to go beyond our chapels but if we look at what we might
say Christendom as a whole that in holy scripture the true church
of God is always spoken of as a remnant which means a part
of the apostle says that a remnant
shall be saved according to the election of grace but a part
of. And if we really analyze it,
if you look at the whole of the Christian church, the vast majority,
and it was so with the Jews in the Old Testament, and it is
so in the New Testament, walk in the sparks of their own kindling. It seems right, it looks right,
it sounds right, but it's wrong. There is a way that seemeth right,
but the end thereof is death. It seems right to a man. You know, my beloved friend,
when we've either been introduced to chapels or you've been brought
up under the sound of the truth, it's very easy to deceive yourselves. Because you're always at chapel
and you're Faithful in everything you do And you live a morally
upright life, and I wouldn't reside from that in the slightest.
I think it's a very good thing Please don't misunderstand me
But that will never save your soul Look at the Warnings that our
Lord Jesus Christ gives to the Pharisees now the Pharisees are
a prime example Of walking in sparks of your own kindling I
thought they were better than everyone else. The Lord Jesus, he gives us that
illustration in the Gospels of the Pharisee and the publican.
Two men went up onto the temple to pray. The one a Pharisee,
the other a publican. And it says of the Pharisee,
and this is a very solemn statement, he praying with himself. His prayers never reach beyond
himself. He, praying with himself. In
actual fact, you look at it closely, there's no prayer. I thank God that I'm not as other
men are, even as this publican. I fast, I do this, I do that,
I do something else. He was walking in sparks of his
own kindred. He was absolutely sure he was
going to heaven. He was absolutely sure he was
righteous. Self-righteous. Self-righteous. It's a solemn thought, isn't it? In my mind it just
went to the epistles of the Hebrews and there in the epistles of
the Hebrews is a very solemn word in the second chapter first
chapter speaks of the wonderful glories of Christ and the glory
of his name and the wonder of his grace and the second chapter
he says therefore because the Son of God has spoken therefore
we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have
heard lest at any time you should let them slip. For if the word
spoken by angels, he means by that the giving of the law, it
was given under the ministry of angels, if the word spoken
by angels were steadfast and every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape? If we neglect so great salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him. God also bearing them witnessed
both with signs and wonders and with divers miracles and gifts
of the Holy Ghost according to his own will. You see these things
it says in the fourth chapter of the Hebrews again a solemn
admonition let us therefore fear lest a promise being left us
of entering into His rest, and the rest is Christ, is to live
by faith in Christ, any of you should seem to come short of
it. For unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them,
but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed
do enter into rest. Those that didn't have faith. Or there are some that think
they have faith. But it's an intellectual faith,
it's a historical faith. It's a faith arising from their
own intellect in the Word of God. And the reading of the Word
of God and they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and that's
all they need. They believe the letter of God's
truth. There was a man, Sanderman, and he went into error. He was
a minister among the strict Baptist churches many, many years ago.
And he slipped into great error. You just read the Word of God. This was his doctrine. You just
read the Word of God. You accept what you read on the
page of Holy Scripture, and you're a Christian. And he said that
is what it is to believe. You know, my beloved friends,
there's far more to real religion than just giving agreement intellectually
to the Bible. It's good and proper that we
read the Bible. It's good and proper that we believe what's
written in the Bible. But if it's only intellectually,
the apostles speak to it, not written with pen and ink. but by the finger of the living
God upon the fleshy tables of the heart. It's with the heart
that man believeth unto righteousness. You know the apostle speaks of
it in the Romans, he speaks about the Jews. He said that being ignorant of
God's righteousness, they went about to establish their own
righteousness. Their own righteousness. Behold,
all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with
sparks, walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks
that ye have kindled, this shall ye have of mine hand. Ye shall
lie down in sorrow. Here in the prophet Isaiah, he
speaks of the bed being too short and the covering too narrow. And that's what it means there,
in that way that the bed is too short, the covering too narrow,
it's insufficient. An intellectual religion is insufficient. It will never save your soul.
Don't deceive yourself into thinking that because you come to chapel
because this, because that, because... There's only one way that you
and I can ever be saved, it's if the Holy Spirit enters the
heart If the Holy Spirit quickens a soul, that's the only way that you
and I can ever be saved. It's the divine work of the Spirit
in the heart. The natural man, that is us as
we stand, the natural man, does not understand the things
of God or the things of the Spirit of God. They are spiritually
discerned and we by nature do not have spiritual discernment. We're fallen, we're sinful, we're
born in sin, we're shaped in iniquity and we need to be given
spiritual life before we have spiritual discernment. We sought
to speak this morning and we looked at the second chapter
of the Proverbs and there describing what it is to have the fear of
the Lord, what it is to seek the Lord, know our need as a poor sinner,
to know that God is holy. Not just to read it and think
well you understand it but to know it in the heart, you feel. Joseph Hart in one of his hymns
he says to see sin smarts but slightly but oh to feel or he
says to own with lip confession is easier still but oh to feel
cuts deep beyond expression when you feel and you know that you're
a sinner that you're lost that you're undone that you need a
saviour behold all ye that kindle a fire
that compass yourselves about with sparks walk in the light
of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled this shall
he have of mine hand he shall lie down in sorrow oh my beloved
friends there is a way that seemeth right unto a man but the end
thereof is death it is we think of those seven churches
of asia and the message that the Lord sent to the seven churches
of Asia. And some of those messages were
exceedingly solemn and searching. It makes you think, what would
God say? What would Jesus Christ say?
Because he was the one that sent the messages by John unto those
seven churches. What would he say about Lambrus
Chapel? What would he say about the people that gathered there?
What would he say about the members that are in that chapel? The
church members? Now the solemn message that the
Lord Jesus sent to the church at Sardis, thou hast a name that thou livest,
and yet art dead. What a solemn thought, isn't
it? That what it means is, thou hast a name that thou livest,
they declared and confessed the name of Christ. But they didn't know the inward
work of the Holy Ghost. Thou hast a name, you made a
profession that you love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity
and in truth, but in actual fact you don't. You made a confession
of that and the members of the church at Sardis have made that
confession. They'd been baptised and they'd
sat at the Lord's table. He that searches the hearts, He said thou hast a name that
thou livest, and ye are dead. They were walking in sparks of
their own kindling. It's the same that this is what
happens and we see it happen in the day in which we live and
you get the Apostle he gives a warning about the servants
of the Lord in the epistle to the Corinthians. about those servants of the Lord. They profess to be a servant
of the Lord, but they lead people astray. He said, no you not,
that even Satan has appeared as an angel of light. He's speaking
of the gospel ministry. He's speaking of a minister in
the pulpit that is not born again, that does not know the reality
of real religion in his heart, and he deceives the people. No
you not. Now, if the devil does something,
he'll do it well. And if he was to send a minister
to Lambeth's chapel, he wouldn't come with all bright clothing,
he'd come with a black suit and a black tie, and you would think,
oh, he's a very solid, sober man. That's how the devil deceives. That's how the devil deceives.
By their fruits, ye shall know them. Behold, All ye that kindle
a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the
light of your fire, and the sparks ye have kindled, this shall ye
have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow. You shall lie
down in sorrow. What a solemn, solemn thought,
isn't it? To think that you're right, to
believe that you're right. Think of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He warns us on more than one occasions in the gospel. Many
shall say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord. And I will say unto them, depart
from me, I never knew you. And they will say, but we have
cast out devils in thy name, we preach in thy name, we've
wrought miracles in thy name. Depart from me ye cursed. They thought they were right.
They were thought they were doing the Lord's will, they thought
they were true believers, they thought they were spreading the
gospel. To me, friends, I cannot think
of anything worse, anything more awful, to go through life believing
that you're a Christian, believing that you're a follower of Jesus
Christ, believing that you're a believer in Jesus Christ, believing
that he suffered and bled and died for you, and you go and
you spread the gospel word and that's exactly what the Lord
Jesus speaks of but he says I never knew you. You thought you knew
me but you didn't. This is a terrible thing isn't
it? Can you think of anything worse coming to the end of your
life coming to the day of judgment? And the Lord says depart. You were expecting him to say
come But he says depart, I never knew you, I didn't suffer for
you, I didn't die for your sins. That's a solemn thought isn't
it? It's this way that seemeth right to a man, but the end thereof
is death. We have some very solemn characters
in Holy Scripture that speak of these things, that are an
illustration of these things. You think of the first king of
Israel, King Saul. When he was first appointed by
Samuel, when Samuel was looking for him, he hid among the staff.
Humility. A little bit later on, after
he was anointed king, he was prophesying. He said, is Saul
also among the prophets? He appeared to be a good man. appeared to have true humility. But what was it that really showed
that King Saul was not a good man, not a godly man? Disobedience. He was constantly and continually
disobedient to the command of the Lord and that is what exposed
him was king of Israel for 40 years and that is what exposed
him, his disobedience. He did not follow the Lord in
his holy commandments. He did those things that you
ought not to do. He offered a sacrifice because
Samuel was late in coming and so in his impatience he actually
went himself which is absolutely entirely the office of the priesthood
he went and offered a sacrifice before the Lord. And Samuel said
to him when he came, thou hast done foolishly. And Samuel eventually
had to tell him, the Lord hath rejected thee from being king
over Israel. And then we see the terrible
end of King Saul. We see his foolishness and he
was even going to slay his own son Jonathan because he ate honey.
against the King's command. The people were faint. They'd
been battling all day and they were faint and ready to fall.
And King said, no, you mustn't eat anything, you must fast.
What a foolish man. How can somebody go fighting
all day long without any water, without any food at all? Because
all Jonathan did was put his stick into honey and licked it
and then was condemned of his father. The people rose up and
would not allow him to condemn him. But it just shows the foolishness
of King Saul and his disobedience. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft
and great idolatry. That's what Samuel said to Saul.
The Lord hath rejected thee from being king. And we read that
after that Samuel never saw Saul after that. Disobedience. And what was the end of Saul?
He fell on his sword on Melchior Barth. He was left to utter despair. The night before he died, he
went to visit a witch, the witch of Endor. See, it's just all
these things expose that this man that appeared to be godly
was not godly. Was not godly. He was walking
in sparks of his own kindling. The Lord said, He gave them a
king in his wrath, and that was King Saul. Of course, following
him was King David, the man after God's own heart. So he was left to slay himself,
to murder himself. Behold all ye that kindle a fire,
that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light
of your fire and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall
ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow." That's what
happened to Saul. He lay down in sorrow, without
hope and without God in the world. He resorted to witchcraft, without
hope and without God in the world. The other one, of course, that
he stands out, I think, even more is Ahithophel, that he was
David's, pretty well what you might say, David's prime minister.
it said that he was a man of such wisdom and such understanding,
he was obviously intellectually very brilliant, David depended
on him. But not only did he depend on
him in the affairs of state, he was a man of great integrity,
there's no doubt about that, and great wisdom. It says so
in Holy Scripture, it says that the words of a hitherto were
counted as the very oracles of God. David says of him, I think it's
in Psalm 55, we went to the house of God together, we took sweet
counsel together. David felt knitted to Ahithophel
spiritually. Yet when Absalom rose up against
David, Ahithophel joined the insurrection
against David. proved that he was not a man
of God. Not a man of honour. And when
his counsel was not followed, he went and set his house in
order and he hung himself. See the end. The end of the hypocrite. Because that's what a hypocrite
is. It's somebody that professes
something that they're not. That's what a hypocrite is. We
read in scripture the hope of the hypocrite. Then of course, in the disciples, the first preachers
of the gospel were Judas Iscariot. He walked with Christ. There's
no doubt he would have been baptized. He was a minister of the gospel. And yet in the end, there were
signs even during his life. It is said in John's gospel that
he kept the bag with all the money. And it's intimated that
he stole from that bag. He wasn't faithful in what he
was given to do. He that is faithful in that which
is least shall also be faithful in that which is greater. And
Judas was not faithful. We do not read that the other
disciples suspected him. No. They thought he was called
of God and he was going to glory and he was a follower of Christ.
But he betrayed his Lord and Master for 30 pieces of silver. And as it's intimated in John's
Gospel, he wasn't faithful and looked after the money that he
looked after for Christ and all the disciples. And then he went
and betrayed his Lord and Master for 30 pieces of silver. What
was the end? Well, he regretted what he'd
done. He didn't repent, he regretted what he'd done. He threw down
the 30 pieces of silver and he went and he killed himself. That was the end of the hypocrite.
No hope. Without God in the world, no
hope. Behold, all ye that kindle a
fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the
light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled,
this shall ye have of mine hand. Ye shall lie down in sorrow. I do hope that the effect that
this service has on you will be as we read in the Word of
God, like David says in the Psalms, search me, O God, and try my
ways and see if there be any sin or wretchedness in me and
lead me in the way everlasting. I pray that this will be a warning. It will be a warning, a solemn
warning. We have the Parable of the Ten
Virgins. Those ten virgins represent the
whole of the Christian Church. whole of the christian church
and the lord jesus said five were wise and five were foolish
they all appeared the same they all had lamps they all made a
profession that's what that means they all appeared to be followers
of the lord jesus christ but the lord said that you see
the ones that were wise had oil in their lamps that oil represent
in scripture grace. Yet they had grace in their hearts.
The others thought they had grace, but they had no oil in their
lamps. They had no oil in their lamps. My beloved friends, do
you have oil in your lamp? Do you have grace in your heart?
Have you been born again of the Holy Ghost? Have you been brought
as a poor wretched sinner to Jesus Christ and found him as
the only savior of sinners? And you're brought to cast all
your care upon him. See, we find people among the
churches sometimes and you feel, you doubt sometimes whether they
have grace. They're very effervescent. frothy and bubbly and People
say oh, what a what a gracious person that they can talk a lot.
They can speak a lot about spiritual things supposedly But you wonder
what depth there is there? Whether they've really known
themselves as a sinner whether they've really known and embraced
Christ as the only Savior of sinners Whether they're walking in sparks
of their own kindling May the Lord search each one of our hearts
as we think of these words, and as we go home, may it abide with
you, and may that be the language of your heart. 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. Behold, all ye that kindle a
fire that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the
light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled,
this shall ye have of mine hand, ye shall lie down in sorrow. May the Lord add his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 938 to the tune Colwyn Bay, 903. When thou, my righteous judge,
shalt come to take thy ransomed people home, shall I among them
stand? Shall such a worthless worm as
I, who sometimes am afraid to die, be found at thy right hand. Hymn 938. Tune Colwyn Bay 903. you. To be found at thy right hand I'd love to meet O Mamma Mia,
with all thy gracious deeds above, but I'll not stop and go. ? And then I lay the piece in you
? ? O children, we shall remember you ? ? And love from then shall
flow. ? Filled and created by thy grace,
Becometh, O God, thy great grace, In this exceptant day. ? Thy glory, praise to the heavens
above ? ? Glory, praise to the heavens above ? ? Glory, praise
to the heavens above ? ? Glory, praise to the heavens above ?
And be above the mistakes we've done, When men are taken to cancer,
Perceived by smiling face. ? Then thou didst offer the thirsty
? ? Unhealthily to drink ? ? And shalt be returned for suffering with
me ? 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 each, both now
and forevermore. Amen.