the notices for the week. If the Lord will, Pastor will
preach next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. There will be
a prayer meeting on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. There will be no
service here on Thursday evening as it is Thanksgiving at Cranbrook. Mr Stephen Hyde is engaged to
preach at 3.30 and 6.30pm. Collection is for their free
Bible funds. May the Lord help us to commence
our worship today with hymn 418, Tune Warwick 258. To our Redeemer's glorious name,
Awake the sacred song. O may his love, immortal flame,
Tune every heart and tongue. Hymn 418 to Warwick 258. you God rest ye merry, and let not
your sorrow, nor your pain, ? Is the home of the brave ? of mortal undisclosed imaginations
that most stretch in He hath His way, and throne of
life. And the white rose of bliss,
And gave birth to thee and I, of thy praise. Hail to the rising sun ? And to thee ? ? May every heart
be filled to say ? ? The Savior died for thee ? May we read together this morning
in God's holy word from the gospel according to Matthew chapter
25. Matthew chapter 25. then shall the kingdom of heaven
be likened unto ten virgins which took their lamps and went forth
to meet the bridegroom five of them were wise and five
were foolish they that were foolish took their
lamps and took no oil with them but the wise took all in their
vessels with their lamps While the bridegroom tarried,
they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry
made. Behold, the bridegroom cometh.
Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose
and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said unto the wise,
give us of your oil. for our lambs are gone out. But the wise answered, saying,
not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but go ye rather
to them that sell and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to
the marriage, and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other
virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. He answered and said, Verily
I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh. The kingdom of heaven is as a
man traveling into a far country who called his own servants and
delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents,
to another two, and to another one, to every man according to
his several ability, and straightway took his journey. And he that
had received the five talents went and traded with the same.
and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received
two, he also gained other two. And he that had received one
went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's money. And
after a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth
with them. So he that had received five
talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou
deliverest unto me five talents. Behold, I have gained beside
them five talents more. His Lord said unto him, well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful
over a few things. I will make thee a ruler over
many things. and to thou and to the joy of thy Lord. The altar that had received two
talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents.
Behold, I have gained two other talents beside thee. His Lord said unto him, well
done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over
a few things. I will make thee ruler over many
things. enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. And he which had received the
one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an
hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering
where thou hast not strawed. And I was afraid, and where entered
here thy talent in the earth? Lo, there thou hast that is thine, His Lord answered and said unto
him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I
reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to have
put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should
have received mine own with usury. Take therefore the talent from
him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. Unto every one that hath shall
be given, that he shall have abundance. But from him that
hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. Cast ye the unprofitable servant
into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. and the Son of Man shall come
in his glory, and all the holy angels with him. Then shall he
sit upon the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered
all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats. and you shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto
them on his right hand, come ye blessed of my father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I wasn't hungered and you
gave me meat, I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a
stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me. I was
sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came
unto me. Then shall the righteous answer
him, saying, When saw we thee in hunger and fed thee, or thirsty
and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger and
took thee in, or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick or in
prison and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and
say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto
me then shall he say also unto them
on the left hand depart from me ye cursed into everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels for I wasn't hungered and you
gave me no meat. I was thirsty and you gave me
no drink. I was a stranger and you took
me not in. Naked and you clothed me not.
Sick and in prison and you visited me not. Then shall they also answer him
saying, Lord, When saw we then hungers, or a thirst, or a stranger,
or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch
as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not
to me. and these shall go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. God bless to us the reading of
his holy word and teach us to pray. Dear Lord Almighty God in heaven
above, do help us now to bow before Thee rightly in prayer. Do give unto each one of us the
heart to pray. Keep us, Lord, from prayerless
prayers. Keep us from grieving Thee. Lord,
keep us from words alone. Lord, we do pray that we might
be enabled to pour out our hearts unto thee. We might make a request known
unto thee. Lord, may there be that thanksgiving
also. Lord, how much we have to be
thankful for We are thankful to find thee
at his room and before the throne of grace. We are thankful for thy word and
the exceeding great and precious promises and the glorious truths
of the gospel. Lord, there are those searching
solemn things, and we have read of them. Lord may we be thankful
for these things and may there be that effect in our hearts
as we read thy words. We do pray Lord that as we read
thy word that it might read us. That there might be that right
consideration in the searching of our hearts.
Lord, that we might have the prayer of the psalmist give me
understanding. Lord, how ignorant we are and
how little we know. Lord, we do pray that thou would teach
us in thy word. That which I see not, teach thou
me. Pray, Lord, that there might
be that even this day from thy word which
is applied to us. There might be something, Lord,
that will be sown by thee on the good ground. Lord, may our hearts indeed be
prepared, prepare us to receive thy word. Lord, may there not be the stony
ground the wayside, the thorns and the thistles, and that which
would choke the word and take the word from us. Now after law
we confess it is so. But we do pray, Lord, that there
might be that opening up of our heart, that thy word might enter
in. There might be a breaking up
of our fallow ground. or that there might be that which
will enter in and bring forth. So Lord we thank thee for thy
word and we thank thee for thy house. That we are able once
more to meet in thy house with thy people around thy word. Lord
may we have a solemn realization of thy presence with us. May it be noise that Jesus was
in this house. May we not be left to
come carelessly and half-heartedly into thy house. May it be the fulfilment of that
word, there, there will I meet with thee. Lord who meet with us here, we May this be, as it was for Jacob,
a meeting place between heaven and earth. We pray then that thy word might
be blessed to us, that thy word might appear in our hearts, that thou would keep us from all distractions,
from all the things of the past week, and all that may be before
us are spared in this new week. May we come apart for a moment
and rest a while. May our hearts be taken up with
thee. Give us, Lord, a desire to worship thee. May there be
that. Seeking after thee. Seeking to
hear thy words, seeking to do it. Seeking to walk rightly in
thy ways. May there be that right desire in our hearts after the
living God. How much there is in our lives,
in the world, in our sinful hearts that would
keep us from them. May it be for a closer walk with
a calm and a heavenly the light to shine upon the road
that leads us to the land. Lord, may we know these things
for ourselves. We pray that each one of us, Lord, might be quickened
by grace and made alive. Those, Lord, who have been quickened
and you hath he quickened who were dead, in trespasses and
sins, Lord, how we need to be made more lively. Lord, how dead we can be, how worldly we
can be. Lord, may we know more of that
resurrection, to lift us up from the things
of this earth, to draw us unto We pray for each one then gathered
here, any who are not able to be here who would be if they
could. We pray for our dear friend the
pastor of this cause of truth to help him today and the black
boys. We do bless him and his labors
there today and his labors here week by week. We do pray Lord
that He might know the sweet consolation
of the gospel, that he might be comforted and strengthened
by thee, or that he might be enabled to comfort others by
the comfort wherewith he himself has been comforted of God. Remember him in all his needs
and help him, we pray. We pray for the deacons here
to help them and strengthen them in all their responsibilities. We pray for one at the desk,
to help him in all that it means. One at the desk at Hanover, we
pray for him there and thy servant there. Thy blessing to be known
in that place. Lord thou knowest how each one
of us have come into thy house the deeds that we do, the knowledge that all our
thoughts are known unto thee, thou knowest the thoughts that
come into our mind, every one of them, whether they are right
thoughts or wrong thoughts. Lord thou knowest if there are
those who have come into thy house with a heavy heart, Those
who were cast down. Lord, any who may feel to be,
they're passed by, forgotten. Lord, we do pray that they would
appear. May there be for each one that
help from the sanctuary and strength out of Zion. Lord, those who have a particular
burden, remember them especially. May thy word be applied with
power. We pray for each of the children
and the young people. We thank thee for them. We pray,
Lord, thy watchful care over them. Help them in their education. Help them in the family. Lord,
keep them from the many evils that abound. May they be brought to see thee
early, to see that there is but one thing
that is needful. Give that help to parents, the
responsibility and privilege that is theirs. Lord, we do pray that there might
be a seed to serve thee, raised up here, Lord, there might be
that continuing of thy church in our land and throughout
the world. There might be that generation
following. We pray for those with the heat
and burden of the day, many responsibilities, many difficulties, many hard
things, pressing things. Lord, do give that grace to help
in time of need. May there be that which is known and fails of thee, that
help from above. Lord, may we not be too busy
for thee, too swallowed up with the things of this life. and to forget that there is a
God in heaven. We pray for those who are older,
those who cannot do what they once could, those in pain and
suffering. Lord, do grant that help that
is needed day by day and hour by hour. Lord, you be a friend that loves at all times,
a brother born for adversity. Lord, whatever our age or our
situation, we each have a solemn eternity before us. Lord, solemn
if we are not prepared, solemn if we are not ready. We do pray,
Lord, that it might not be so with any one of us. It might not be said to any of
us, in that day depart from me, I know you not. So Lord, do stir up our hearts
and help us to consider thee. Lord, give us that real living
faith in the Son of God. Lord, do grant that we might
each have that good hope through thy grace. with safety on earth
and after death in the plenitude of heaven. We pray for those who have sad
hearts, those who are bereaved, those who are cast out, those who are perplexed and do
not know which way to turn. Lord may it be that lifting up of their eyes
unto the One who is all wise, full of compassion, plenteous
in mercy and truth. Lord, help us each to lift up
our eyes unto Thee. Lord, as we have that mountain
of our own sins, Lord, we would look to Thee who has laid down thy life for
sinners such as we are. Lord, may we have sight of it.
May it be a wonder to us. The Lord Jesus came down into
this world to save sinners. Lord, may we lay hold of these
things by faith. Lord, do help us as we turn to
thy word. Open it up to us each. Give us
ears to hear and hearts to understand. Keep us from anything wrong in
thy sight. May the words of my mouth and meditation of our hearts
be acceptable, Lord, in thy sight. We ask for the forgiveness of
our many sins. We do forgive our poor prayers
and make up where we fail. We ask all things for Christ's
sake. Amen. We'll now sing Hymn 76, tune
Milgate 372. There is a period known to God
when all his sheep, redeemed by blood, shall leave the hateful
ways of sin, turn to the fold, and enter in. Hymn 76 milgate 372 ? And true love shall be forever
more ? ? Shall be forever more ? O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave? In sin's compassion they wander
far. In dust and rust and silk and
wool, And stone and gold and sheep and frown, Frenzied, docile, and pure. Legends
of a hundred dreams here and there. Still heart and feet will ever
stray With creeping thoughts to rest ? There is a cross they shall carry
on ? ? And they shall rise again from the dead ? Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave of faith, nation, and world, beyond the heavens
of this world, and speak The chants and thrills, the pulsing
air, the sound of stringed instruments. Here by the time rose from the
dead God, hope, and praise to James
Coyle of Renewal. Complete dependence upon the
Lord for his help. I ask you to turn this morning
to the book of Amos. chapter 4 a few words in verse 12 Amos chapter 4 a few words in
verse 12 prepare to meet thy God prepare to meet thy God I don't think it's still there
anymore but there used to be a lorry trailer up by the side
of the A1 at M, near Doncaster, with this text on the side of
it. I used to travel up there very
regularly, at least once or twice a month. And there, right by
the side of the motorway, with thousands passing by, were these
words, prepare to meet thy God. It would be interesting to see
the responses when I was traveling with colleagues. Very often it
would go quiet. Sometimes they would sneer and
they would mock. But what this morning is our
response to this text. Prepare to meet thy God. It speaks of a meeting between
ourselves and Almighty God. A meeting that one day will take
place. We do not know when that meeting
will be, but we know it will come. We know it's certain. We
know it can't be delayed, it can't be postponed. Perhaps many
of our meetings, they might be cancelled, they might be delayed
for one reason or another. That meeting will not go ahead.
It will not be so with this meeting. Every one of us will have to
stand before the Almighty God. Every one of us. will have to appear before God. Every one of us will have to
meet Him, whether it be at the end of our lives, by the hand
of death, we are taken from this earth, or whether it be at the
time of the Lord's second coming, because that day is appointed.
when he will come again and judge the earth in righteousness. Prepare to meet thy God. When
we have meetings, whatever it might be, we can think of them
formally, meetings at work for some of you, church meetings
for some of you, meetings with friends, meeting with whatever
it might be, whoever it might be, for whatever purpose. There is more or less a preparation
for that meeting. There is that which is done in
advance, to prepare for that meeting, to prepare for that
time. Sometimes there's a lot of preparation, a lot of work
goes into it, a lot of thought. How often do we think about this
meeting? How often do we consider That
day in which we must stand before the Holy God and give an account. Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. Just very briefly the context
surrounding this verse. In the book of Amos, we have
this man Amos, a herdsman from Tekoa, just south of Bethlehem
as I understand it. And it's so often with these
prophets they were speaking in a time of darkness, a time of
transgression, a time of the judgment of God upon Israel because
of their sins. At the top of this Bible it says
God's judgment against Israel for their many iniquities, lamentation
for Israel, and exhortation to repentance. And here the Lord
is speaking, speaking to the people here of their sinful ways,
All that he has done to them, all that he has given them, given
you cleanness of teeth in your citizen, all that I have done
to you, yet you have not returned unto me. He says, I've taken
these things from you. I've warned you of the way in
which you are walking. I've given you a lack of bread,
yet you've not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I've withholden
the rain upon you. Even that time when it was most
needed, three months before the harvest, the latter rains. He said, I showed you that it
came to one place and not to another. You've seen this has
come in my hand. You've seen my sovereignty over
the earth. Yet you have not returned unto
me. Save the Lord. He continued his punishment,
his warnings to them. I have smitten you with blasting,
with mildew. with the burning wind, with that
mildew, and the punishment of their crops, that which they
were growing, the palmerworm devoured them. Yet you have not
returned unto me, saith the Lord. Well, how do we respond to these
words? Yet have you not returned unto
me? Return unto me, says the Lord, and I'll return unto you. Keeps coming in through this
chapter four. Don't be afraid of these, what
we call the minor prophets. They're not minor in their importance. It's very important for us to
read them. It speaks to us of the Lord's mercy to unworthy,
failing, backsliding sinners. There are these gems that we
have through the minor prophets. that shine through the darkness. But this word keeps coming through
in this chapter, yet. You've had this warning, yet
you've not returned unto me. You've had another warning, yet
you've not returned unto me. I've warned you again, I've taken
this from you, I've taken that from you, yet, in spite of all
that, in spite of what I've done, in spite of what I've said, You've
not returned unto me, saith the Lord. This is the word of the
Lord. May it be so to one or more of
us this morning. May it search us out. You've
not returned unto me. You've gone your own way. You've
done your own thing. You thought you knew best. You
thought you didn't need me, says the Lord. You thought you could
manage yourself. You thought you could go your
own way. sinful ways. You've gone in the ways of wickedness,
you multiply transgressions. Your heart is not after me, says
the Lord. You've not returned unto me.
The Lord even says I've overthrown some of you. Some of you were
permitted to escape. my judgment. Some of you were
as a firebrand plucked out of the burning, yet have you not
returned unto me? So we come to this verse of our
text, Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel, it sets
forth the judgment of God upon them. Because I will do this
unto thee, prepare to meet thy God. Because that judgment is
coming, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel, that they may see,
that we may see, that there is one who reigns and rules, one
who rules in the heavens and rules in the earth, the very
creator of all things. For lo, verse 13, he that formeth
the mountains, he that made the mountains, he that created the
wind, Declareth unto man what is his thought, maketh the morning
darkness and treadeth upon the high places of the earth. It's the Lord, it's the God of
hosts. The Lord, the God of hosts. It is his name. And this is who
one day we will meet. One day we will see him. One
day we will stand before him. How will that meeting be for
us? How will it be for us? You prepare
to meet thy God, your own, your Israel. Well, you can imagine
why we read that chapter, Matthew chapter 25. Also, I direct you
to the previous chapter 24, the last part of that chapter, concerning
the signs of the coming of the Son of Man. Of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, but not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Verse 36. We are told in various
places in Scripture that that day will come upon us as a thief
in the night. That is, it won't be expect it. That is, it won't be when we're
looking out for it. You know, so it is naturally,
you children, you think of the illustration when a thief, in
the wrong way, they want to break into a house or somewhere, they
go perhaps when it's dark, or they do it when they can't be
seen. They do it when they won't be
expecting. And so it is with the coming
of the Son of Man. It will be sudden. It will be
unexpected. Throughout history there have
been those who have tried to predict when it will be. They say it will be this day,
it will be that day. The Word of God is very clear. Of that day and hour knoweth
no man. So it will be sudden. It is certain
that that day will come. That day is appointed. And it
will come suddenly. And then also it will be final.
There will be no going back. There will be no second chances. As in the days that were before
the floods, they were eating and drinking, marrying, giving
and marrying. These things we might say they were right in
themselves. They were doing that which we
might say was good for them to do, was necessary for them to
do. But they were swallowed up with
it. They were overtaken with the things of this life. Until the day that Noah entered
into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away so should also the coming of
the son of man be have it again in scripture compared
to the snare of the fowler a trap the hunter sets a trap for an
animal perhaps and it's hidden it's not known where that trap
is by the animal if they knew they would avoid it You know, so it is. It's unexpected. Like a thief in the night, like
the snare of the fowler. So it is, as it was in the days
of Noah. Sudden destruction. Sudden death, where we have the
sad reminders of it around us. Even in the past week, the reminders
of sudden death. Not only for the older ones,
but also for the young. Prepare to meet thy God. Perhaps
when we're young we think, well, we can prepare when we're older.
We'll have a lot more time then. But well, two things very simply,
you may not reach old age. Old age is not promise. Three
small years and ten is not a promise. We do not know when our last
days will come. And then, there's no promise
that you will be given more time, if you do reach older years,
to consider these things. Left to ourselves, we'll go further
and further. As far from God as sheep can
run. and prepare to meet thy God. So we have here in Matthew, watch
therefore ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. He will
come in a moment, so many things we speak about a deathbed, we're
not promised a deathbed, we speak about middle age, What will be
the middle of our lives? We may have already passed, even
the young may have passed the middle of their lives. We do
not know what's there for. We know not what hour your Lord
doth come, but He will come. We will have to stand before
Him. And how will that meeting be
for us? If the good man of the house
had known in what watch the thief would have come, he would have
watched. He would not have suffered his
house to be broken up. This is, in the midst of many
solemn verses, a very solemn verse in itself. If, if he had
known, he would have watched. Not whatever you hear can say
you've not been warned of these things. If you had known, How solemn
to come to the end and not be amongst those who are prepared.
It would be too late then to say if I'd known I would have
watched. I would not have suffered my
house to be broken up. Therefore be ye, you, also ready. For in such an hour as you think
not, the Son of Man cometh. Then we have the well-known words
of the Lord Jesus, the 10 virgins. It's well-known, but do we think
about it? Or do we prefer to think about
other things? Don't take it for granted. Five
of them were wise, and five were foolish. On which side do we
come today? If the Bridegroom should come
and say to us today, come to meet me, on what side would we
be? Would there be something within? Would there be that work of grace
in our hearts? Would there be that oil of grace
within us? Would there be some good hope
through grace? Perhaps a little hope, perhaps
a feeble hope, perhaps a fainting hope, but would there be something?
If these ten, they look the same from the outside, they would
have looked the same, their lamps themselves would have looked
the same. They have that profession, that all of them But with five there was nothing
within, nothing on the inside. They that were foolish took their
lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took all in their
vessels and with their lamps. You notice what the cry was?
That at midnight there was a cry made, behold the bridegroom coming. Go ye out to meet him. Here is the meeting with the
heavenly bridegroom. Five of them were prepared to
meet the bridegroom. Five of them were not. But notice this. All of them,
all ten of them, slumbered and they slept. First they slumbered,
and then they slept. How is it with us in this? Whether
we may say, well, I hope I have something within, some good hope
through grace of what the Lord has done for me as a sinner.
Maybe each of us are brought to that place. But all of them slumbered and
slept. And so it is with the Lord's
people at times, they slumber, they sleep, they need to be stirred
up, they need to be awakened. They need to be lifted out of
their sleepy condition. It makes me think of those that
we read of, the things we read of concerning the disciples in
the last days of the Lord Jesus before he went to Calvary. He says what? Could you not watch
with me one hour? One hour? They all slumbered and slept.
We need to be sterner. We need those thorns in our nests
to be sterner. To consider, how is it with us?
How do we deal with the swellings of Jordan? This cry was made, go here out
to meet him. There's a meeting to take place. And all of them went to this
meeting. You're foolish. You're arse. You're wise for some oil so they
could go, so they could get to this meeting. But the wise said not so. They
could not. Take of the all of others, and go ye rather to them that
sell and buy for yourselves. And, here's another solemn word,
while they went to buy, the bridegroom came. While they went to buy. You know
it would be a solemn thing if we come to our end and we've
Sat under the preaching of the Word of God, you've had your
faithful pastor, and the truth that he sets before you. You
come to the end, you say, I should have listened. Solemn thing if it's too late. If that time comes, it will be
too late then to say, I should have listened more.
I should have considered what was said. While they went to buy the bridegroom
came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage. To this glorious meeting between
the bridegroom and these five, the door was open to them, and
then the door was shut. They that were ready, we might
say as we consider our text, they that were prepared, they that were found ready and
waiting and watching for that day, when the Bridegroom came
and said, come to meet me, they were ready. Yes, they were sleeping, But when they were weighed in
the balances, they were not found wanting. They had that which
was within, the inward work of the Spirit within them. That's
what this teaching of the Lord Jesus is setting forth. And the door was shut. So we
have these solemn things concerning the last days. We've said they're
certain, we've said they're unexpected. and they are also final the door
was shut then they came these other five
the foolish Lord Lord open to us Lord Lord we are coming back now we are
coming again the answer is said verily I say unto you I know
you not. I know you not. I'm sorry if it should be spoken
to any of us in that day. I know you not. The Lord Jesus
speaks to his disciples in the gospel concerning those that
make that outward witness, that outward profession, those who
seem to be religious, those who seem to be that a Christian on
the outside speaks of those who keep the
outside clean, but inwardly there's nothing there but filth and pollution. He said, many shall say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not done this? I think
it's also in Matthew. Lord, have we not done some good
works? Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? Lord,
Lord, have we not done many wonderful things? And he shall say to them in that
day, I never knew you. I never knew you. They were resting
on themselves, on what they had done. on their own works, not upon
the work of Christ. Prepare to meet thy God. Cease
from your own works, bad or good, and wash your garments in my
blood. Watch therefore, be prepared,
be ready, And when that day comes, you say, well, how can I make
myself ready? How can I prepare myself for
that day? Well, you can't. I can't. Nothing that we can do will make
us ready for that day. You know, to be found watching, praying,
How often do the Lord say to his disciples, watch and pray? Pray that we might be ready?
One of the hymns says, great God in whom we live, prepare
me for that day. Is it our desire, our prayer,
that we might be made ready? The Lord, you say, I cannot do
it myself. I cannot make myself any better.
I cannot make myself righteous. And the more we try to make ourselves
better, the worse we will become. But to look to the Lord, to plead
for His mercy, to look to Him in faith. Lord, remember me with the favour
that Thou bearest to Thy people. Lord, visit me with Thy salvation. they that were ready, that went
in. As these things set before us,
the all of grace, it speaks to us of that which is given, that
which is given so undeservedly. We do not deserve the least of
the riches of His grace. But the Lord who is more full
of grace than we are of sin, and has that to bestow to his
people, to those who are brought to, call upon him for it. You have that lovely word in
James, but he giveth with more grace. And so he does and he
gives, he giveth and he giveth, and he giveth again. May we be
helped to ask, to seek after these things from our hearts.
We might have that grace in our hearts, there might be that watching,
that prayerfulness, for when that time will come, it may come
as a thief in the night, but however suddenly it comes upon
us, we might be found to be amongst
those who are ready. I think of one of the old hymns
and it speaks of in those days when there was a death, they
would ring the church bell. And the hymn says this, oft as
the bell with solemn toll speaks the departure of a soul, let
each one ask himself, am I prepared? Should I be called to die? It's vitally important unless we should come to our
end and not be ready, not be prepared, prepare to meet thy
God. So this meeting then between
us and almighty God, it will be unspeakably solemn
if we are not prepared. But what a mercy if we, by grace,
through faith, have been made ready, have had our hearts prepared
to meet our God. And what a meeting it will be
there. We have at the end of that chapter 25 of Matthew that
we read, the very, very solemn separation, the striking The
separation between the sheep and the goats, between the saved
and the lost. When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and shall sit upon the throne
of His glory, there shall be gathered all nations. In that
day every eye shall see Him, be read of it. Those who mocked and despised
him here on this earth. Every eye shall see him, let's
come closer, those who have the form of godliness but without
the power. Those who look like the others,
and are all in their lamps. Every eye shall see him, and
each of the Lord's people. Every eye shall see him. and before Him shall be gathered
all nations and He shall separate. He shall separate them one from
another. There is this clear distinction, solemn distinction
that is made between those who are the Lord's and those who
are not. And then shall the King say, you know those who have said
in this life, we have no king but Caesar. Those who have said,
we will not have this man, the king of kings, to reign over
us. They will listen to the words of the king of kings then. Then shall the king say in that
day. What has he got to say? One thing
he has to say to the sheep. Another thing he has to say to
the goat. One thing he has to say to the saved, another thing
to the lost. To the sheep he says this, come. To the lost, to the goats he
says, depart. What a meeting. Come ye blessed of my father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you. from the foundation
of the world. You see, heaven is prepared for the Lord's people. Heaven,
as it has been said, is a prepared place for a prepared people. Those who have, in this life,
been brought to a good hope through grace are prepared for that place. in those mansions that are prepared.
The Lord Jesus said in John, in my father's house are many
mansions. If it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for
you, I'll receive you unto myself. There I am. There you may be
also. So what a glorious, blessed meeting
it is for the Heavenly Bridegroom and His Church. When that day
comes, it will be not to be shut out like those other five, but
to go in with Him, with Him to the marriage, and to be shut
in with Him forever. Far from a world of grief and
sin, with God, eternally shut in, in that place that is prepared,
the many mansions, the place where there shall be
that new song sung to all eternity, worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you, those who are made means to inherit These glorious things,
the inheritance of the saints in light, prepared for you from
the foundation of the world. And there is, of course, the
lesson here concerning doing good to those and that love that
is shown to those in need. The Lord says these things, as
you've done it to them, you've done it to me. But to consider that this meeting
are the sayings of the Lord Jesus, of the King. Then shall he say
unto them on the left hand, depart from thee that ye cursed into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. These shall go away into everlasting
punishment. You know this word everlasting?
Our poor mind, at least my simple mind, we can't understand what
it means. Everlasting. Everything in our lives is time
bound. We have a time for this and a time for that. But everlasting,
it will last forever and ever and ever and ever. we punishment, but the righteous,
but those who are prepared, those who are brought to trust in the
Lord, not into punishment, but into everlasting life. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, whosoever,
however poor, however sinful, however bad their background,
however much they have failed, whosoever believeth in him, should
not perish, but have eternal life. Those who are in the sheep,
they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out
of my Father's hands, but the righteous into life eternal. Prepare to meet thy God. Prepare to meet thy God. So we have this very solemn distinction
before us. The vital need for each one of
us, may we realise it. The vast eternity is near and
getting nearer. We are standing on the brink
of it. And you say, well, I deserve
to perish, or so does every one of us. You say, I can't see a
way by which I can be prepared. I can't see how I can be saved.
Go back to that word, whosoever. Whosoever believeth in him should
not perish. I'll just direct you in closing
to what we have in Amos in the following chapter. Verse 15, here's a little word
for your encouragement, I hope, this morning. It may be, it may
be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant
of Joseph. So it was in those days, there
was that hope that even in this darkness, even with all their
iniquities, there was hope for Israel. There is an exhortation
to repentance, to turn again from your evil ways. Seek good and not evil, that
ye may live. Hate the evil and love the good, and establish
judgment in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of
hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. It may be
that we think of the words of Jonah, Who can tell, who can
tell, though by my sins deserving hell, that I will not despair? If all, who can tell and prepare
to meet thy God? Amen. We'll close with hymn 698 to
dismissal 671. Pause my soul and ask the question,
aren't thou ready to meet God? Am I made a real Christian washed
in the Redeemer's blood? Have I union to the church's
living head? Hymn 698 Tune this special 671. I summon the suppression, and
you are ready to rejoin. ? Lamb of God, I now pray thee,
Lord ? ? Worship, worship ? ? Our Redeemer's blood ? ? Have I sinned
yet? Have I sinned yet? ? ? Through the church's living room
? ? Am I lifted by His Spirit ? ? Am I lifted by His Spirit
? ? God shed glory ? ? For His heritage
? ? God shed honor ? ? From Thy head ? ? Hail, ye fountains ?
? Hail, ye fountains ? ? In His kindness to help the earth
? ? Hear my humble, righteous prayer ? ? Riding high ? ? Ever shall be God exalted ? ?
Ever shall be God exalted ? ? Ever shall be God exalted ? He will keep me in the silence
of His grace. And He will set no stranger ?
Through His gracious care and love ? ? Thou art our God ? ?
Great Lord, angel of salvation ? We can tremble, we can tremble
in His love. Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the love of God, communion of the Holy Ghost
be with us all. Amen.