together hymn number 494. The
tune is Waverton 565. On yonder glorious height King
Jesus does appear upon the judgment seat with millions at his bar. Behold the awful judges come
to fix their everlasting doom. Hymn 495 tune Waverton 565. ? Glorious light ? ? King Jesus
was born here ? ? And all the judgment sealed ? ? Revealed
to his power ? Behold the offer that is done
to picks and heather, Singers, what have come here,
to stand before the Lord? There's where days fall apart
And they are gone Then sleeps the drowning sinner's girl I must say to God. ? Up now my soul with joy ? ? And
thirst at his right hand ? ? Oh see the power now ? O Jesus Christ, eternal light. This love, my holy grace, This
sin, which bore my pain, This life, redeeming grace, His love hath made my day, And
he shall ever send with me To mansions of his joy. Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Luke and chapter
16. Luke's Gospel, chapter 16. And he said also unto his disciples,
there was a certain rich man which had a steward, The same
was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he
called him and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of
thee? Give an account of thy stewardship,
for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said
within himself, What shall I do? For my Lord taketh away from
me the stewardship. cannot dig or to beg, I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that
when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their
houses.' So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him,
and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, And hundred measures
of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy
bill, sit down quickly and write 50 and said he to another and
how much owest thou and he said an hundred measures of wheat
and he said unto him take thy bill and write four score and
the lord commended the unjust steward because he had done wisely
for the children of this world are in their generation wiser
than the children of light I say unto you, make to yourselves
friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when you fail they may receive
you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in
the least is unjust also in much. If therefore you have not been
faithful in the unrighteous manner, who will commit to your trust
the true riches? And if you have not been faithful
in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which
is your own? No servant can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he
will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God
and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were
covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him. And he
said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men,
but God knoweth your hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among men is abomination in the sight of God. The Law and the
Prophets were until John. Since that time the Kingdom of
God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier
for heaven and earth to pass, the one title of the Law to fail.
Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth
adultery, and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her
husband committeth adultery. There was a certain rich man,
which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fed sumptuously
every day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of swords, desiring
to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table.
Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores and it came to pass
that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried and in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he
cried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and call my
tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said,
Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things,
and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and
thou art tormented. And beside all this, between
us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that they which
would pass from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass
to us that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
Father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house, for
I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they
also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They
have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. And he said,
Nay, Father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent. And he said unto him, if they
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded,
though one rose from the dead. May the Lord bless the reading
of his holy word. Run unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, who we would bow before thy great majesty and call upon
thy great and holy name, shall not the God of all the
earth do right? O gracious God, Thou art indeed
God over all and blessed for evermore. By thee kings reign
and princes decree justice. We bow before thy great majesty,
the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and we desire, O Lord,
to confess our sins. We read in thy word, thus saith
the high and lofty one that inhabited the eternity, whose name is holy. And Lord, we are unholy. We are
unclean. We are unrighteous by our very
birth. We go forth from the womb speaking
lies and hypocrisy. Gracious God, we do bow before
thee now and humbly petition thee to have mercy upon us. We
thank thee for those wonderful words of grace. There is one
God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave his life of ransom for all to be testified in due time. O gracious God, do hear us, we
pray thee. Do forgive us of all our sins.
Do wash us in the precious blood of Jesus. to grant to us real
repentance, godly sorrow for our sin, and faith in our Lord
Jesus Christ, that we may be delivered from the solemn curse
of the law, that we may be delivered from the sin that dwelleth in
us, and that we may be delivered from the temptations of Satan,
who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
And, Lord, also he goes about as an angel of light, seeking
whom he may deceive. Lord, we pray to be delivered. We think of those wonderful words
of grace. When the enemy comes in like
a flood, the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against
him. Lord, deliver us from temptation, we do humbly beseech thee, and
bring us into the glorious liberty of the people of God, and help
us to lay hold of a precious Christ. Grant that we may touch
the hem of his garment and draw from that fullness that is in
him. And as the dear apostle says, that I may know him in
the power of his resurrection. in the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death. To know my Jesus crucified
by far excels all things beside. O most gracious God, I could
from all things parted be, but never, never lord from thee. Gracious God, make us right and
keep us send thy Spirit into our hearts, that there may be
that living witness in our hearts, that we are the children of God.
O most gracious Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst give us that
full assurance of faith, that we may have a view by faith of
the glories of Christ, of the wonders of redeeming love, that
we may believe and rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory,
that we may lay hold of that hope that is set before us in
the gospel. And Lord, we pray that the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God our Father, and
the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit, may rest and abide
upon us here today. We may know those divine drawings
of a heavenly Father. For none come except the Father
draw, that we may know the divine anointing and power of the Holy
Ghost in our hearts sealing the word of his grace into our hearts
we do humbly beseech them that we may have revealed unto us
the Lord Jesus Christ as the way the truth and the life Lord
Jesus come and stand in our midst come and say peace be unto you
we do humbly beseech them We've read in thy word a very separating
portion of thy word. Oh, we pray that thy word may
be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, that we may be
led in that right way unto a city of habitation. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that we may not seek to rely on our good works and to lean
on our own righteousnesses, For, Lord, thy word is abundantly
clear, that all our righteousnesses are as filthy racks. We're all
as an unclean thing. Gracious God, O come, we pray
thee, and reveal Jesus unto us, and that we may lay hold of him,
and that we may be clothed upon with that glorious, everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Christ. and that we may be washed
in that precious sin-atoning blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that we may be reconciled unto thee. Gracious God, we do pray. Look upon us as a church and
as a congregation. Remember our beloved brethren,
the deacons, who give wisdom, grace, and help in all matters. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship. Help us to love each other, serve
each other, bear each other's burdens, thereby fulfilling the
law of Christ. Help us to follow the Lord Jesus
in our daily lives, that we might shine as lights in this present
evil world. Make us fruitful unto every good
work and word and way. While our days on earth are lengthened,
may we give them, Lord, to Thee. May we be enabled to present
our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Thee,
which is our reasonable service. Gracious God, do hear us, we
pray, for Thy great name's sake. We do pray that Thou, in Thy
great mercy, would make us more spiritually minded, By nature,
Lord, we're carnal, we're earthbound. We have a divided heart by nature. But we've read in thy word, O
Lord, that you cannot serve God and mammon. We pray to be delivered
from trying to do so, and that we may serve thee, and that we
may follow thee in our day and in our generation. Remember the
little ones and the children that are brought into the sanctuary?
Lord, do bless them with the fear of the Lord, which is the
beginning of wisdom. Remember the dear young friends
and bless them. Bring them to living faith in
Jesus Christ. Make them true followers of Thee
and of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Bless them with those rich spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. Supply all their needs in providence. and graciously go before them
in each on Trodden's day, and each one, O Lord, that would
seek a partner in life's journey. Oh, we pray that thou wouldst
graciously hear prayer. Thou art that great God that
didst bring a Rebecca unto Isaac, and thou didst bring a Ruth unto
Boaz. Gracious God, there is nothing
too hard for thee. So we lovingly commend to thee
our young friends, and pray that they may be guided and directed
by thee, and that we may see the fulfilling of that wonderful
word. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou
mayest make princes in all the earth. Remember the prodigals
that have wandered away, have no desire to be with us. Gracious
God, we pray, that thou wouldst cause them to be in want, and
that thou wouldst cause them to return, and that we may see
thy wonderful grace in this. Lord, what joy there would be
among us to see those prodigals return. O Lord God, we do pray,
remember parents and give them wisdom to bring up their children
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, graciously bless
the families, and remember, O Lord, we pray, they're all in the midst
of the journey of life, and graciously deliver us from the power and
influence of Satan, deliver us from an evil heart of unbelief,
deliver us from the power and the dominion of sin. Lord, we
pray that the glory, light, and power of gospel truth may shine
into this village, and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and that
many, many precious souls may be gathered. O Lord, we think
of those gospel promises. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth, and they shall
come from the north and from the south and from the east and
from the west. O Lord of hosts, O God of Israel,
O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Let
thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, the Son of Man, whom
thou madest strong for thyself, so will not we go back from thee. O Lord, remember those of us
that are in the evening time of life's journey, and graciously
guide us safely unto thy heavenly kingdom. We do humbly beseech
thee that we may be prepared. Prepare me Gracious God, to stand
before thy face, thy spirit must the work perform, for it is all
of grace. O most gracious Lord, we pray
for a gracious preparation for that great day when we shall
soar through tracks unknown and see thee on thy judgment throne.
Hear us, O Lord, impress these things upon us, the brevity of
life, the solemnity of death, and the tremendous reality of
eternal judgment. Even as thy word instructs us,
as it is appointed unto man, once to die, so after death the
judgment. Remember all thy servants as
they labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. Grant
them, continue that fresh anointing of thy spirit, grant signs to
follow the preaching of the word, and grant that gracious determination
to know nothing among men save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Hear us, O God. We do humbly
beseech thee. We thank thee for all the tender
mercies of thy kind providence. Thy mercies to each one of us
are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. We
thank Thee, O Lord, for the wonderful glories of Christ, the Eternal
Son of the Eternal Father, manifest in the flesh. We thank Thee that
He was made of a woman, made under the law, that You might
redeem them that are under the law. We thank Thee that He came
to seek and to save that which was lost. Oh Lord Jesus, we pray
that thou would let thy work appear and let thy power be known. We thank thee that in that holy
life he lived, he has brought in everlasting righteousness
for his people. He is Jehovah Sidkenia. We thank
thee for Calvary, where the lamb was slain, where sin was put
away, where divine justice was satisfied. Oh, we thank Thee
for that precious blood that was shed and that holy life that
was given. And we thank Thee that He died
for our sins and rose again for our justification. Oh Lord, we
do thank Thee that He has now ascended up on high. He sitteth
at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The Lord said unto my
Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy
footstool. O gracious God, do incline thine
ear, and do help us to serve thee and to follow thee in our
day, in our generation. Forgive all our wanderings, all
our backsiders, and though sin lives in us, may we not live
in sin, but may we live to him that died. May we be surrendered
to the crucified one. 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 666. The tune is Gottsall, 542. With great
and awful power, Jesus the judge shall come to bid his foes depart
and take his children home. How will the wicked quake and
fear when they before him must appear. Hymn 666. Tune Gospel
542. ? And let it evermore proclaim
? ? Jesus has just arrived ? ? To give his holy birth to you ?
? How he loved me and cared for
me ? ? When I was gone and once again ? ? We have never heard
such a song ? ? Nor will we take the plunge ? ? It's all the world
we see ? ? And it is true ? ? Give thanks to our new-founded
home ? ? To our new-founded home ? ? O'er the fields I've grown ?
? O'er the fields I've grown ? ? On the grass I've given ?
? At the hands made first there ? My church did not tremble, Never
once did I know it wrong. Precious gift of your will, Stay
all that Jesus doth. Precious gift of your will, Stay
all that Jesus doth. ? In our hearts today found ? ?
His future, our hope, his glory see ? greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the chapter that
we read, the Gospel according to Luke chapter 16, and we will
read verse 26 for our text. Luke chapter 16, verse 26. And
beside all this, between us and you, there is
a great gulf fixed, so that they which would pass from hence to
you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would come from
thence. My late brother Timothy I was very close to him spiritually.
And he said to me, he said, I find the teachings of Christ extremely
searching. And so they are. They're very
searching. They're very separating. You know, friends, we cannot
sew pillows under all arm holes. and try and comfort you where
no comfort is. You know that it is something
that I constantly and continually remind you of, you must be born
again. And it's a vital, fundamental
truth. And unless you're born again,
you can be very religious, you can be very morally upright,
but unless you're born again, by the Holy Ghost. You're a sinner
before a Holy God. And even when you're born again
by the Holy Ghost, you're still a sinner before a Holy God, but
the difference is you know it and you feel it and you have
to confess it. How many of us here, young or
old, in this congregation know what it is, feelingly, to be
a sinner. To be a sinner before a holy
God. How many of us know what it is
to have to confess our sins to God? We have to go aside in private
to confess our sins. One of the one of the sure marks
of divine grace in the heart, the commencement of the work
of the spirit in the soul. It is like we read of Saul of
Tarsus when the Lord stopped him on the road to Damascus.
Behold, he prayeth. He's not now speaking of openly
public prayer. He's speaking private prayer. Private prayer. And as sure as
the spirit works in the heart, there will be private prayer. There will be something that
goes on between your soul and a holy God. In wrestling, you might say,
what do you mean wrestling? Well, when the spirit begins
to work in the heart, that begins this spiritual wrestling within.
Do you know what it is to pray privately
because you have such a great need? You're a sinner before
a holy God, therefore you have to pray. What
a mercy if you do. And the Spirit of God not only
convinces of sin, but leads to Jesus Christ. He leads to Jesus
Christ as the only Saviour of sinners. Now in those first glimmerings,
when faith is first wrought in the heart, and hope is raised
up in the soul, You don't have the assurance of faith. Some
do right from the beginning, but others, more often than not,
there's here a little, there a little, line upon line, precept
upon precept. There's a gradual realization
of your need as a sinner before a holy God, of your need of salvation,
of redemption, of deliverance from sin and Satan's power. Do we know what it is, my beloved
friends, to pray? And the Lord Jesus Christ, he
calls it another thing. Ask, seek, knock. That's what prayer is. Ask, seek,
knock. How many seeking souls do we
have here? Seeking God for forgiveness,
for reconciliation, because you feel yourself to be a sinner. Now, here in this chapter, there
are some very searching things that the Lord Jesus Christ sets
before us. If you look at verse 10, he that
is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much. And he that is unjust in the
least is unjust also in much. Faithful in the least. You know, I often think, it says
in the Word of God, the way we dress. It says in the Word of God that
a man should have long hair and a woman A man should have short
hair and a woman should have long hair. And often today people
say, well, why do you preach about things like that? That's
not important. Well, the thing is, my beloved
friends, it's not fundamental. But if you show a disregard for
the little things in God's Word, you will also show a disregard
for the bigger things in God's word. If you can just discount
it and say, well, that doesn't matter. Just think of this word. He that is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much. Those little things. May the Lord impress these things. on each one of us. See, if therefore, he says in
verse 11, if therefore you have not been faithful to the unrighteous
mammon, that's the world, or riches, who will commit to your
trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful
in that which is another man's, That means if you're working
for an employer, if you have not been faithful
in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which
is your own? See my beloved friends, we should lay these things to
harm. Verse 13, no servant can serve
two masters. I will hate the one and love
the other or she will hold to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon
and this world. You cannot serve God and mammon. This world in which we live by
its very nature is covetous. The whole of our society, it
tends toward covetousness. And to make you dissatisfied
and you want this and you want that and you want something else.
That is human nature. That is our fallen nature. It's
not satisfied. It covets this and it covets
that and it covets something else. And God's holy law declares,
thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not covet. And yet
we find we have such covetous hearts. And to the true child
of God that is a great affliction, to have such a covetous heart. We have to solemnly confess,
do we not, that we indeed have these things. We have a covetous
nature. We read in the first epistle
of Timothy chapter 6 and in verse 6 he says but godliness with
contentment is great gain for we brought nothing into this
world and it is certain we can carry nothing out and having
food and raiment let us be there with content but they that will
be rich. What does it mean? It means that's
the whole focus of their life. They that will be rich. Doesn't
say they that are rich but they that will be rich and that is
the one focus that they have. Fall into temptation and despair
and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is the
root of all evil. You just think of that. Basically it's saying covetousness
is the root of all evil. It doesn't say money is the root
of all evil. This text is often misquoted
and people say money is the root of all evil. It doesn't say that.
The love of money is the root of all evil, which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee
these things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, patience, meekness, fight the good fight of faith and it
is a fight lay hold on eternal life whereunto thou are also
called and has professed a good witness a good profession before
many witnesses you see and uh he says also in the verse 17
charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded
you know because riches makes you like that You talk to many rich people
and they are very high-minded and they are very superior in
their whole attitude. We're given a charge here, charge
them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded
nor trust in uncertain riches but in the living God who give
us richly all things to enjoy, that they do good. that they
be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate,
laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the
time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. Or that the Lord would impress
these things, no servant can serve two masters, for I will
hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and man. And the Pharisees, also which
were covetous, heard all these things and they derided him. I remember a minister among our
own churches, this happened many years ago, And he told me himself
that on one occasion he was preaching and exhorting his friends to
live godly and to do good unto all men and to give. And a man who was offended at
it in the congregation, he stood up and he had a loose change
in his pocket and he shook his pocket loudly. You see, just
like these Pharisees. And they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are
they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your
hearts. For that which is highly esteemed
among men is an abomination in the sight of God. We have some very searching things
here, friends. Christ says here in verse 16,
the law and the prophets were until John, since that time the
kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it and
it is easier for heaven and earth to pass the one tittle of the
law to fail whosoever put it away his wife and marrieth another
commiteth adultery and whosoever marrieth her that is put away
from her husband committeth adultery a very solemn searching things
and then we have this illustration the Lord gives us here in this
rich man and Lazarus there was a certain rich man which was
clothed in purple and fine linen and fed sumptuously every day
and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus which was laid
at his gate full of sores and desiring to be fed with the crumbs
which fell from the rich man's table Moreover, the dogs came
and licked his sores. But what a contrast between these
two men. And it came to pass that the
beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom.
The rich man also died and was buried. We don't read that the
poor man was buried. The rich man also died and was
buried, no doubt with great acclaim. And in hell, he'd lift up his eyes, being
in torments. Solemn thing, and you and I,
every one of us, we're going to one of two places. It's either
heaven, to be with Christ, which is far better, it's to hell to
be with the devil and his angels, to that place of eternal torment. You know there's a fire burns
in hell and we can only imagine what it must be like to fall
into a fire and the terrible pain as the fire burns up But according to what the scripture
speaks to us of hell, that fire, a natural fire here on earth,
will very shortly consume your body and you'll die. But in hell,
it's a fire that never consumes. It burns forever. It burns forever. But it never consumes that which
it is burning. We cannot even begin to imagine
the torments of hell fire. And in hell he lift up his eyes
being in torments and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom.
What does this mean? Abraham, he was a child of the
covenant. He was called of God. He was
a man of faith. So the way I look at this is
that what Christ is teaching is Lazarus was in that covenant,
that covenant ordered in all things certain and sure, that
eternal covenant of grace and when he died he went into that
Abraham's bosom, into the bosom of the covenant, eternally safe,
eternally happy, What does it mean? It means he
was born again. He was born again. He was a child
of God. He's been redeemed, he's been
delivered. And then this rich man, he cried
and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. and send Lazarus
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and call my tongue,
for I am tormented in this flame. You see, my beloved friends, as it is appointed unto men once
to die, so after death the judgment. After death the judgment. And
we know from Matthew chapter 25 how the Lord Jesus so graphically
sets before us there the day of judgment. When he comes and
he sits upon the throne of judgment, and before him shall be gathered
all nations, the whole world will be gathered before Jesus
Christ in that great, what the old Puritans often called the
grandus Isis, when the great king of all the earth, the judge
of all the earth, He sits on that throne to judge the world
in righteousness. And it says he will separate
them. Who? Christ. It's put in another way in Matthew
chapter 24 when Christ comes to judge the world. It says there
that the very first act of Christ when he comes to judge the world
He will gather his elect from the four corners of the earth.
He will gather all his elect from the four corners of the
earth. And they will stand at his right hand. And then the
others, what he calls the sheep are his elect, and the goats,
all of the people, they shall go on his left hand. They shall
go on his left hand. And he would separate the two.
He would. You know, we often, we've heard
people, some people that would profess themselves to be Calvinistic
in their teaching and they would interpret in the, in the Prophet
Joel, there's a verse there, and it's speaking of the second
coming of Christ. And it says, multitudes, multitudes
in the valley of decision. we hear them interpret that and
they say that is the decision that you have to make whether
you go to heaven or hell or whether you believe in Christ or not
you know friends that is a completely wrong exposition of that word
multitudes multitudes in the valley of decision the whole
world is before the son of God in the great day of judgment
if you're in a court of law and that's what we have set before
us there the grander sizes If you're in a court of law, whose
decision counts? It's not the prisoner in the
dock. It's the judge on the bench. His decision counts. Nobody else's. Whether he pronounces the prisoner
guilty or not guilty, And there in that scripture we have Christ
in the day of judgment. Multitudes, the whole world gathered
in the day of judgment. The decision is that of Christ. And it tells us in Matthew chapter
25 that he will say unto them on his right hand, that's the
sheep on his right hand, come, come ye blessed of my father. Inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. Come. That word is
the most beautiful, the most sacred word that a sinner can
ever hear from the holy God of heaven. Come. You think of the
words of Jesus, 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. Come. My sheep, they know my
voice, and they follow me, and a stranger
will they not follow? When the Lord speaks that word
in the day of judgment, all those on his right hand, those sheep,
they know that voice, and their hearts will leap for joy. Come,
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you
from the foundation of the world. But then it goes on in that same
portion in the teachings of Christ. He says, then shall he speak
to them on his left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Depart from me, ye cursed. You know, just as that word come
is so beautiful and so sacred, that word depart. There cannot be anything more
awful, nor more dreadful to hear from the Eternal God. Lord Jesus
in Matthew 25 in the parable of the ten virgins, He says five were wise, Five
were foolish. They all had lamps, that means
they all made a profession of Christ. Couldn't be seen from the outside,
but the wise had oil in their lamps, and the foolish had no
oil in their lamps. Oil represents grace. You see,
my beloved friends, It's a solemn thought, isn't it? We can think
we're right. And at midnight a cry was made
and the foolish had gone to buy oil. And so them that were ready
went into the marriage supper of the Lamb and the door was
shut. The others they came back and
they said, open to us. He said, depart from them, I
never knew you, I never knew you. He didn't know them in those
eternal councils of the everlasting love of the Father, Son and Holy
Ghost. They weren't given to him by
the Father. He didn't know them when he suffered and bled and
died for his people on the cross of Calvary. He didn't know them
when he died for the sins of his people and rose again for
their justification. He didn't know them. Depart from
me, I never knew you. And in another chapter there
in Matthew, it says, many shall say in that day, in the day of
judgment, many shall say, Lord, Lord. And he will say, I never
knew you. Terribly solemn, isn't it? I
never knew you. There's a solemn word in Revelation
in the Lord Jesus Christ writing to the church at Sardis. What
did he say to the church at Sardis? Thou hast a name that thou livest
and yet art dead. You think of that. Thou hast
a name that thou livest and yet art dead. But Abraham said, son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receivest thy good things, and likewise
Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted and thou art
tormented. And beside all this, it's a very
solemn thing. We read in Ecclesiastes, as the
tree falleth, so shall it be. That means if it falls to the
south, that's where it will remain. If it falls to the north, that's
where it will remain. As the tree falleth, so shall
it be. And this is the truth that we
have in this verse 26. As you die, whatever condition
you're in when you die, that is what you'll be in for a never-ending
eternity. And beside all this, between
us and you, there is a great gulf fixed. It's fixed forever. Fixed forever. There can be no
change. You know, these things lay with
great weight upon my heart, on my conscience, that I should
be faithful, faithful to you as my hearers. It would be a terrible thing
if any of your blood could be laid against me, because I didn't
warn you of the wrath which is to come. I didn't warn you from
God's Word of what is before each one of us. And beside all
this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that
they which would pass from hence to you cannot, neither Can they
pass to us that would come from thence? It cannot change. It is eternally fixed, a great
gulf fixed. You know, we asked you that question
this morning, and I'll ask it again. How stands the case, my
soul with thee, For heaven are thy credentials clear. Is Jesus'
blood thine only plea? Is he thy great forerunner there? Is he? This is a vital thing. The Lord Jesus Christ has made
a new and living way into eternal glory for his people. Are you
among his people? Have you been called by divine
grace? Does his spirit dwell in your heart? These are not
things that you can just brush aside. They are deeply solemn
truths that we're setting before you here. And this man, he says, then he
said, I pray thee therefore, Father, that thou wouldest send
him to my father's house. For I have five brethren, that
he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place
of torment. Abraham saith unto him they have
Moses and the prophets obviously the old testament Moses and the
prophets let them hear them and he said nay father Abraham
but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent and
he said unto him if they hear not Moses and the prophets Neither
will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. We live
in a day, and we have done for over 2,000 years, when one did
rise from the dead, when one did swallow up death in victory,
when one did bring light and immortality to life through the
gospel, when Jesus Christ suffered and bled and died for the sins
of his people and rose again for their justification, and
still men do not believe. See, if one rose from the dead,
if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be
persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Makes me think of that old hymn.
It's not in our book. Stop, sinner, stop before thou
further go, sporting on the brink of everlasting woe. What an unspeakably
solemn thing. is appointed unto you to die. And after death, the judgment. The judgment of Jesus Christ.
And shall not the judge of all the earth do right? There'll
be no miscarriages of justice in that day. No. I often, in
fact, I often direct you to it, don't I? In Revelation chapter
20, very clearly, is the day of judgment set before us. And
he says in there from verse 11, and I saw a great white throne
and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away. And there was found no place
for, there's no hiding place in that day. And I saw the dead
small and great stand before God and the books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books according to their works. And the sea gave up the
dead which were in it. And death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every man,
according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Second death. The first death
is when you die. The second death is when you're
condemned to eternal damnation. But it says in that chapter 20
of Revelation, verse 6, blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection. On such the second death hath
no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall
reign with him a thousand years. You see, The first resurrection
is the new birth. It's to be born again, blessed
and holy, you see. On such, the second death has
no power. They shall be forever with the
Lord. They shall be forever with Christ.
And beside all this, between us and you, there is a great
gulf fixed. so that they which would pass
from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would
come from thence. May the Lord add his blessing. 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.
? And the rocket's red glare, the
bombs bursting in air ? O Canada! Our home and native
land! ? Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, ? ? What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming? ? I love to meet all of them now. They know my precious eternal
love. The rest of them know. What can I tell her who is in
song? What in my name shall be her
crown? When the moment shall draw In heav'n prevented by thy grace,
Be thou here, O God, I invite, Invite and set me free. ? My God, in thy eternal pity ?
? I still my heart with thee bending ? ? Your love to take
all I pray ? ? Let here among my saints be found
? ? And let your pain and strife and sorrow ? ? Pursue thy striving
faith ? 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.