Let us commence our service this
evening by singing together hymn 617, the tune is St. Godric, 556. The new man and the old by no means
can agree. The one in sin is bold, from
sin the other's free. The principles of grace and sin
are constant warfare. must maintain. Hymn 617, Tune
St. Roderick, 556. ? To burn and behold ? ? Thine
own eternal Queen ? ? The morning strain is bound ? ? Prompts him
the others free ? ? The brimship of the praise and sing ? Her
constant off'ring loves maintain. One loves to watch and pray, ? And
hope in Jesus' power ? ? Be all the hates away ? ? And all surrender
to Him ? ? Christ is the King ? ? And hopes and joy ? ? Which
does the old man satisfy ? ? Christ and Him crucified ? Then
you will know to give Not vanity and pride The old man will pursue Long hands with the tilly and
grain, The other pages so gray. Chippewa of grace, on Jesus hurts
the crown, God's sin will change his face, with the Jesus shall reign, the new and
bright, His love to reign the flesh denies. The little page a-told, The roper
can't be wrong, And Christians with a smile, ? Shall sing the
conquest song ? ? In Christ we shall victorious prove ? ? And
live and reign with thee our God ? Let us read together from the
holy word of God in the book of the Revelation and chapter
11. Revelation chapter 11. And there was given me a reed
like unto a rod. And the angel stood saying, rise,
and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship
therein. But the court which is without
the temple, leave out, and measure it not, for it is given unto
the Gentiles. And the holy city shall they
tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power
unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two
hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth, These are
the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before
the God of the earth. But if any man will hurt them,
fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies. And if any man will hurt them,
he must in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven,
that it rain not in the days of their prophecy, and have power
over waters to turn them to blood, to smite the earth with all plagues
as often as they will. And when they shall have finished
their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless
pit shall make war against them and shall overcome them and kill
them. And their dead bodies shall lie
in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom
and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the
people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead
bodies three days and a half, and shall not suffer their dead
bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the
earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send
gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented
them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half,
the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon
their feet, and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And
they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, come
up hither, and they ascended up to heaven in a cloud, and
their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a
great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in
the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand, and the remnant
were affrighted and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second
woe is past, And behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And
the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven
saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and
ever. And the four and twenty elders
which sat before God on their seats fell upon their faces and
worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
which art and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken
to thee thy great power, and hast reigned, and the nations
were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead
that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst give reward
to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints and them that
fear thy name, small and great, and shouldest destroy them which
destroy the earth. And the temple of God was opened
in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his
testament, and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings,
and an earthquake, and great Hail. May the Lord bless the
reading of his most precious word and grant to us a spirit
of real prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, all we do pray for grace to bow before thee. We come as
poor needy sinners Thou art the High and Lofty One that inhabited
eternity. And angels and saints bow before
Thee, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, which is an
art, an art to come. For we do desire a spirit of
true worship, of reverence and godly fear, a sense of our own
sinnership, and a sense, a feeling sense of that wonderful mercy
that flows from the Holy God through his only begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray that as we gather
round thy word tonight, 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 that we may feel
thy heavenly power. Without thy heavenly power, O
Lord, no sweets the gospel can afford, no drops of heavenly
love will fall, but we pray that it may be so. There may be the
divine power and the heavenly unction of the Holy Ghost in
the pulpit and in the pew. The preacher may be given words
to speak and the hearers ears to hear, hearts to receive, Loose
the tongue of the dumb, O Lord, we do beseech thee, thou didst
do these things when thou wast here upon earth, and we pray
that thou wouldst come and do them again, and pour forth thy
blessed Spirit, that there may be mighty signs and wonders to
follow the preaching of the word, and that the glory and light
of the gospel may shine into this village. and into the surrounding
villages and hamlets, and the strongholds of Satan may be pulled
down, and the kingdom of our Lord Jesus set up in the hearts
of sinners. Let thy work appear unto thy
servants and thy glory unto their children, O Lord, we do beseech
thee for thy great namesake. Show us thy ways, teach us thy
path, Send prosperity, O Lord, we do beseech thee. Arise, arise,
O God of grace, into thy rest descend, thou and the ark of
thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with salvation, and
thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. O bless the provision
of thy house and satisfy her poor with bread, O Lord, we do
beseech thee for thy great namesake. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst visit thy Zion, this little corner of thy vineyard,
visit us with thy great salvation. We pray for the little ones and
the children as they come into the sanctuary, that the fear
of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, may be given unto
them. We pray that thy Spirit may enter
our hearts, quicken our souls, bring us from death into life,
renew and revive and replenish us. O most blessed Spirit of
truth, we pray for thy heavenly power and we pray that thou would
revive us as a church and as a congregation and work mightily,
powerfully and effectually among us. Remember the prodigals that
have wandered away, O that they may wander back that they may
return, that they may come in need, in their emptiness and
their poverty, and they may find thy great salvation. Lord, there
is nothing too hard for thee. Oh, we pray that thou, in thy
great mercy, would hear us and have mercy upon us for thy great
holy name. We pray that these things may
be down to the honour, glory of thy name. And thou hast said
in thy word, I the Lord will hasten it in his time. I will
bring thy sons from far and thy daughters from the ends of the
earth. She'll 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, we
do humbly beseech thee. Fill this little house of prayer
with hungry, longing souls, pressing into the kingdom of heaven. Wilt
thou not revive us again? O Lord, we do beseech thee. Lord, bless our brethren, the
deacons, and give them grace, wisdom, and help in all their
responsibilities, not only here, but among the churches of God. Remember all in the path of affliction,
trial and perplexity, undertake for each one, O Lord, we do beseech
you. Remember our dear aged sister,
Ina, in her great age. Remember her with the favour
that thou bearest unto thy people. Visit her with thy great salvation. And, O Lord, remember that we
do pray thee the little children that are brought into the sanctuary.
Bless them each. Guide them, O thou great Jehovah,
bore their ears to the doorposts of thy house, that they may be
among the living in Jerusalem. We do humbly beseech thee. Remember parents and give them
grace, wisdom, and help to bring up their children in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord. Remember our young friends and
all their concerns and needs. Do bless them indeed, O Lord,
we do beseech thee. Remember all in the midst of
the journey of life, and graciously undertake for
each one. Remember those, O Lord, that
would seek a partner in life's journey. Be gracious unto them,
O Lord, we pray thee, and grant that this thing may be fulfilled.
We often think, O Lord, in thy word of those wonderful examples
of Ruth Amarbeitis being brought to Boas, and of Rebecca being
brought to Isaac. Gracious God, may we see thy
work and thy power and thy glory in these things we do humbly
beseech thee. Lord, we do pray that thou would
remember each one of us in the evening time of life's journey,
Remember us with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people.
Prepare us for that great change which must come. Deliver us, O Lord, from the
temptations of Satan, whether he comes as a roaring lion to
devour or as an angel of light to deceive. We pray to be delivered
from his power and from his influence. we do humbly beseech of thee. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember all thy servants as they labour in
word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion. And we pray that thou would bless
the ministry of the word to the good of precious souls and that
we may do the work of an evangelist. We pray, most gracious God, that
thou wouldst hear us in heaven, thy holy dwelling place. And
when thou hearest, O Lord, forgive. We pray thee, the great Lord
of the harvest, to send true labourers into the harvest and
to build the walls of Jerusalem. Lord, we do pray that thou, in
thy great mercy, would remember thy Zion and thy people. We think of thy servants at labour
in the nations of the earth. We especially think of those
that go forth from among us. Ian Sadler in that great work
that he does in so many different countries, in the distribution
of thy word and the exposition of Holy Scripture. Help him,
Lord, supply all his many returning needs. And Remember the Savannah
Education Trust and bless that great work that is being done
in Ghana. Lord, that it may be down to
the glory of thy great name. And Lord, we do pray that thou
would remember them on Bassamission, that thou would increase them
and bless them, grant them good success. We do humbly beseech
thee. Oh, we do pray, most gracious
Lord, for our nation and for the nations of the earth. We
see the terrible wars and bloodshed, and we see man's inhumanity to
man, thousands taken from time into eternity in a moment. Gracious God, we do pray, if
it could please thee to put a stop to war, to bring to naught the
counsels of the ungodly. We see so much, O Lord, of the
spirit and power of Antichrist, and we see it in our own nations,
that rebellion against thy word and against thy ways and against
thy truth and thy precepts. Lord, is not thy chariot hastening
on? Iniquity abounds on every hand.
Gracious God, hear the cries of thy little remnant. Turn us
again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall
be saved. O let thy work appear unto thy
servants, and thy glory unto their children. O Lord, we do
beseech thee. We thank thee for the opportunity
to meet again around thy word. We thank thee for our little
house of prayer, that has been maintained these last two centuries. Gracious Lord, we do desire to
thank Thee for Thy tender mercies and Thy loving kindnesses. We
thank Thee, O Lord, for every mercy of Thy kind providence.
We have a roof over our head and a well-spread table. Thy
mercies are new every morning and great is Thy faithfulness.
We desire a heart of gratitude, of thanksgiving. But above all,
we thank thee for the sacred and wonderful glory of the incarnation
of the Son of God. All we do pray that we may know
and feel his presence here. We thank thee that in him the
law has been fulfilled and everlasting righteousness has been brought
in. in that holy life of Jesus Christ. We thank thee that sin
has been put away and divine justice has been satisfied in
that holy sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We thank thee that he
poured out his soul unto death. He was numbered with the transgressors,
he bared the sin of many. But he rose again, he swallowed
up death in victory, And he has said, because I live, ye shall
live also. We thank thee for that new and
living way that ye has made into the holy place. Our great high
priest who has passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. O most gracious Lord, fill our
hearts with gratitude, with thanksgiving, for all thy tender mercies and
thy loving kindnesses. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and open thy word
to our heart and to our understanding. Come, Lord, for without thee
we can do nothing. We ask for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 524, and the tune is Bliss 824. The gospel brings tidings,
glad tidings indeed, to mourners in Zion who want to be freed
from sin and from Satan and Mount Sinai's flame. Good news of salvation
through Jesus the Lamb. Hymn 524, Tune Bliss 824. The crucial point of life is
gratuity. To do more is enjoyer. Live long
to be free. ? From sea and from sky he turned
? ? And that's why God's word is true ? ? When he tells you
where he shall go ? ? Where he shall go, where he shall go ? For us, His creation, never shall
abate. To Him we're related with fond
rejection. In heav'ns on earth, we sing
a happy chorus, We hold our brothers in Jesus' true love. ? Alleluia ? ? It has all been
well ? ? Ever after it shall arise ? ? In Jesus Christ ? ?
Ever after it shall arise ? O'er the land of the free and the
home of the brave? ? The world is reminded ? ? Their
Savior to rise ? ? In which God of heaven ? ? And Jesus did rise
? ? And the lifting up sin ? ? Yet
it shall not be ? ? And all that mourn us ? ? Shall at death be
free ? ? Bring down in earnest grace ?
? That changer of love ? ? It's good to have faith, love ? ?
Love's my best to have ? ? It's the perfect love ? And the home of the brave. As our national anthem rings
in praise of our brave. greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the 11th chapter of the book of the Revelation. And we will read verses 15, 16,
and 17 for our text. Revelation chapter 11, verses
15 to 17. and the seventh angel sounded. And there were great voices in
heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever
and ever. And the four and 20 elders which
sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces and worshipped
God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art
and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great
power and hast reigned. In the book of the Revelation,
It covers that period of time which we're now in. The period
of time from the first coming to the second coming of Jesus
Christ. And there are many things that
happen in that time. Many great conflagrations, many
great wars. Says, doesn't it, Christ himself
in his teachings, There shall be wars and rumors of wars. Many
things will happen. But in this revelation, we have the number of seven is
very prominent. You notice the beginning of our
text, the seventh angel sounding. There are seven angels and seven
seals. Seven vials of wrath. And the
number seven is so prevalent. Seven last plagues. And I believe that all these
different things are seven seals. In the beginning of the book
we read of a book sealed with seven seals. Seven is the number
of perfection. The number of completeness. that finishes everything. And
so at these seven seals and seven angels and the different sevens,
they all come to completion. And they're not successive. You
don't have the seven seals and it's followed by the seven angels.
They all come to completion at the conclusion of this world,
when the heavens shall depart on fire, and the elements shall
melt with fervent heat, and all these things shall be dissolved.
For the end of all things is at hand, you see, seven, it's
the number of completeness. And the day of God's wrath is
come, and the great day of judgment will then come. And Christ will
appear the second time without sin unto salvation. It's the
salvation of his people. And when he comes a second time,
he comes without sin. What does that mean? It means
that the sin that was laid upon him in the Garden of Gethsemane
and the sin for which he suffered and bled and died, that is the
sins of his church, the sins of his people. He left them in the grave. He
paid the ultimate price. He gave his life of ransom for
all. And there's the completeness
of all things in the person of Christ. There's the completeness
of the salvation of the church. And that seven seals on the book
of seven seals, again, it's the decrees and purposes of God. for his church and people here
upon the earth. Those decrees of the eternal
covenant, there was only one man that could open that book,
the Lord Christ. John says in chapter five, I
wept much. And the angel said, weep not.
For the lion of the tribe of Judah, he hath prevailed to open
the seals. of that book to open those covenant
promises of eternal salvation. And here, what we have set before
us here, we come to the time of that completion and the seventh
angel sounded. See the end of all things. And
there were great voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. And He
shall reign forever and ever. Forever and ever. He shall reign
victorious. We read in the Word of God, He
will bring forth judgment unto victory. And that's exactly what
Christ has done. When the Jews, when they brutally
murdered our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they thought they
were destroying Him. Instead, they were redeeming
the Church. What was an act of malice on
their part, was an act of divine mercy on the part of God, to
redeem His people, so that He should suffer, bleed and die
for the sins of His people. He would take away their sins,
and that hence that word, that when he comes a second time without
sin, their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more, no more. They have been swallowed up in
victory. The evidence that sin has been
completely dealt with and the church is completely justified
is in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If the
church had not been redeemed, he would have never risen from
the dead. But death could not hold him.
We looked Sunday afternoon, it was not possible that he could
be held by the chains of death. Now, this number of completion,
this number seven, the seventh angel sounded, we must just briefly
consider the sixth angel. What happens under the sixth
angel? The spirit and power of Antichrist
prevails. It does. In the beginning of
this chapter, we read of him measuring the city. And he says
in verse three, that I will give power unto my two witnesses and
they shall prophesy 1,203 score days clothed in sackcloth. Now these are the two olive trees
and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. Now that of course is from the
prophecy of Zachariah that when the Lord revealed to Zachariah
those two anointed ones that stand beside the Lord of the
whole earth I have no doubt in my mind that those two anointed
ones are Jesus Christ the Son of God and the glorious divine
person of the Spirit of the Living God. They're the two anointed
ones that stand by the Eternal Father by the Lord of the whole
earth. Now here, he says, I will give
power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand,
two hundred, and three score days, clothed in sackcloth. These
are the two olive trees. You see the candlesticks, the
emblem of the state of Israel today is the candlesticks with
seven candlesticks all in one. And here it says the two candlesticks
standing before the God of the earth. Now there was oil that
came from the two anointed ones that constantly supplied that
land with oil. And so the church that the candlesticks
represents the church of God on earth. The oil is the oil
of divine grace. We think of that lovely word
in Ephesians chapter 2, for through him, that's Jesus Christ, for
through him we have access by one spirit unto the Father. And it says here, and if any
man will hurt them, this is the witness of the church of God
on earth, fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth
their enemies. If any man will hurt them, must
in this manner be killed. These have power to shut heaven.
Let it rain not in the days of their prophecy and have power
over waters to turn them to blood and to smite the earth with all
plagues as often as they will. And when they shall have finished
their testimony, the beast ascendeth out of the bottomless pit. Satan. It says in another place
that he will be loosed for a little season. Now this The period when
Satan ascends from the bottomless pit is the sixth angel, the sixth
vial. It's just before the final victory
of Christ and shall make war against them and shall overcome
them and kill them. This is against the two anointed
ones. and their dead bodies shall lie
in the street of the great city. You might say to me, well, we
know that Jesus can't be killed, neither can the Spirit be killed,
because they are God. What it means, my beloved friends,
is that in that day, when Satan ascends out of the bottomless
pit, the witness of Christ on earth will be greatly, greatly
reduced, and the power of Antichrist shall be very prevalent. in those
last days, in the sixth angel. And it says here, and they of
the people, in verse nine, and they of the people in kindreds
and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days
and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in
graves. And they that dwell upon the
earth shall rejoice over them and make merry. This is over
the church on earth. and make merry, and shall send
gifts one to another, because these two prophets tormented
them that dwelt on the earth. And then we have this wonderful
prophecy, and after three days and a half, the Spirit of life
from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and
great fear fell upon them which saw them You see, the wicked,
the spirit and power of Antichrist, they'll rejoice. The church has
been silenced. The gospel has been silenced.
The Lord's anointed has been silenced. They will rejoice. But when they rise, there'll
be great fear. There'll be great fear. You see, and great fear fell
upon them which saw them. They heard a great voice from
heaven saying unto them, come up hither. And they ascended
up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them. Now look at what happens immediately. And the same hour was there a
great earthquake, and the tent part of the city fell, and the
earthquake were slain of men 7,000, and the remnant were affrighted
and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past,
and behold, the third woe cometh quickly, and the seventh angel
sounded. And there were great voices in
heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world." You see, this
is the end of all things. We read in Holy Scripture, do
we not? The end of all things is at hand. There were great voices in heaven
saying the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of his Christ. And he shall reign forever and
ever. This is the second coming of
Christ. And the four and 20 elders. You
may say, who are the four and 20 elders? It represents, those four and
20 elders in heaven, represent the Old Testament church and
the New Testament church. The 12 tribes of Israel and the
12 apostles of the Lamb. That is what is represented in
the four and 20 elders. The whole of the church of God,
from the time of Adam to the end of time here upon earth. and the four and twenty elders
which sat before God on their seats fell upon their faces and
worshipped God. You see, the end of all things
is at hand. You know, I think perhaps one
of the most graphic illustrations of this is found in the second
epistle of Peter. In that second epistle of Peter
in the third chapter The apostle Peter describes this
end of time and the things that are coming upon the earth. And he says what they were saying
at that time. And he exhorts them, verse two,
that you be may be mindful of the words which were spoken before
by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us the apostles
of the lord and savior knowing this first that there shall come
in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and saying
where is the promise of his coming It's exactly what men and women
say today. And that's exactly what men and
women said to Noah when he prophesied that there was going to be a
great flood and whoever was not found in that ark would be destroyed. They mocked him and they laughed
at him. And that's what men and women say today when you speak
to them of the end of time and of the day of judgment. Where
is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,
all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant
of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the
earth standing out of the water and in the water. This is the
days of Noah, whereby the world that then was being overflowed
with water perished. But the heavens and the earth,
which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto
fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But beloved, be not ignorant
of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand
years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise, as some men count slackness, but his long-suffering
to us will Who is he writing to? He's writing to Christian
believers. He's writing to the church. And hence he says that the Lord
is not slack concerning his promise. He's not willing that any should
perish. What is he speaking of when he says he's not willing
that any should perish? Those that were chosen by the
Father and redeemed in the Son. He's not willing that any of
those should perish. This world will remain while
there are yet vessels of mercy to be called by divine grace. He's long-suffering to us, Lord,
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. All those precious souls for
whom Jesus suffered and bled and died, but that all should
come to repentance. But he said, Be sure of this,
but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night,
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat the earth also,
and the works therein shall be burned up, seeing then that all
these things shall be dissolved, all the things of this earth.
What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation
and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the
day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved,
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, nevertheless we,
according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, Beloved, seeing that
you look for such things, be diligent that you may be found
of him in peace, without spot, and blameless, and account that
the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation. The reason that
this world continues, though the wickedness is so great in
it, is because there are yet precious souls to be gathered
into the church. And may we pray for those precious
souls And may we pray for the in-gathering of those precious
souls, that we might see a building of the wall of Jerusalem, on
account that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation, even
as our beloved brother Paul, also according to the wisdom
given unto him, hath written unto you. Oh, my beloved friends,
may we, may we indeed take heed to the precious doctrine of truth
in God's Holy Word. The time is at hand. We don't
know how nigh, we don't know when it's going to be. The Lord
Jesus said to the disciples, no man knoweth when that day
will be but my Father which is in heaven. He's the only one
that knows that time of the second coming of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ and the seventh angel sounded but we know from
here that it certainly is going to come and there were great
voices in heaven saying the kingdoms of this world have become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever
and ever and the four and twenty elders which sat before God on
their seats fell upon their faces and worshipped God, saying, we
give thee thanks. You know, my beloved friends,
may the Lord fill our hearts with gratitude and thankfulness
that he indeed is in control, that he is God over all, blessed
forevermore. in the sixth chapter of the Book
of the Revelation. We read of the opening of the
seals, and the very first seal that is opened right at the beginning
of the sixth chapter, and I saw the Lamb opened one of the seals,
and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the
four beasts saying, come and see, and I saw and behold a white
horse and he that sat on him had a bow this is Christ and
a crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and
to conquer that was the first seal that's the primary thing
that will happen throughout this period of time right to the end
of time Christ will go forth to conquer in the hearts of his
people, in the circumstance of his people. He will conquer and
conquer. You see, that's the primary thing
that happens in this period of time. The Lord's servants are
anointed with the Spirit and sent forth throughout all the
nations of the earth to preach the everlasting gospel of Jesus
Christ that precious souls may be gathered into that eternal
covenant, ordered in all things and sure. We give thee thanks,
O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come. Again, we've often explained
to you that that is a paraphrase of the name Jehovah, the Lord
Jehovah. He which is and which was and
which is to come. He that was from all eternity.
He that is now. He that is in all eternity to
come. The unchangeable, the almighty
God of heaven. That is what is represented here.
Which art and was and art to come. Jesus Christ the same,
yesterday, today, and forever, and forever. because thou hast taken to thee
thy great power and hast reigned. We read here in the 19th chapter
of the book of the Revelation, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. That is the message, the central
message of the book of the Revelation. And it's the message that is
sent to the church today. that though, as we've read here
in this chapter, how that the great powers of Antichrist shall
be seen and the church will be suppressed, but the Lord will
have his people right to the end of time. And when that last
vessel of mercy has been divinely called by grace, then shall the
end be the end of all things. In the teachings of Christ, the
church, The grace of God is likened to salt. Now we know what salt
does, it preserves. If you put meat into salt, it
will preserve the meat from rotting, from corrupting, and grace is
like that. And the grace is given to the
church, the church of God, to preserve and to keep and to deliver. kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last day. Now this, O Lord God Almighty
which art and was and art to come, because thou hast taken
to thee thy great power and hast reigned. You know, the principle
way that God has taken to him his great power It's in the incarnation
of the Son of God. It is. And the Word was made
flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. He came to redeem His people.
He took to His great power. He came, as we read in John's
epistle, He came to destroy the works of the devil. That is what
Christ has done. He came to take away the sin
of His people. That is what Christ has done.
He came to make His people righteous. That is what Christ has done.
When He was made of a woman made under the law, that He might
redeem them that are under the law. as Daniel puts it in another
way in that he speaks of to the bringing in of everlasting righteousness
and that that bringing in of everlasting righteousness was
done with Christ when he came here the first time upon earth
when he lived for 33 years as a man here upon earth when he
fulfilled and honored and magnified that holy righteous law with
its condemning sentence against every one of us. But because
Jesus came and fulfilled that law and honoured that law and
magnified that law, and then we have those glorious words
in Romans 8, there is therefore now no condemnation to them that
are in Christ Jesus. Why? Because he's reigned. He's
brought in everlasting righteousness. He's fulfilled all that the prophets
have spoken. He's fulfilled all that the law
has said. It's all fulfilled in Christ.
Everything that is prophesied and the holy law of God that
is clearly laid out in the Levitical dispensation, all has been fulfilled
in the glorious person of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. When he cried, with that loud
voice on the cross of Calvary, it is finished. Salvation's work
was done, it's finished. And then he entered into death
itself. He did it himself. It's recorded,
isn't it, in Holy Scripture. Father, into thy hands I commend
my spirit. And in so doing, he commended
his holy human soul into the hands of his holy Father. and
he entered into death, the body without the spirit is dead. It's
fundamental doctrine of our most holy faith. Woe, my beloved friends, unto
those that deny that Jesus Christ had a soul. Because that sacred,
holy human nature that the Son of God took in the womb of the
Virgin. It says in Hebrews chapter 2,
it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, exactly the
same as we are, a body and a soul. And that is what the Son of God
assumed, a true human nature. He lived here upon earth in that
human nature, the Son of God. He wrought those miracles. And he fulfilled the law. And he brought in everlasting
righteousness. And he paid that final payment
to redeem his people. He gave his life a ransom for
all to be testified in due time. But death couldn't hold him.
On the third day, he rose again. He swallowed up death in victory.
We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art and was and
art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great power,
and hast reigned, and has reigned. What a wonderful way to reign.
When he rose from the dead to declare our justification, To be justified is to be declared
without sin. Why? Because Jesus suffered,
bled, and died for our sins, and rose again for our justification,
declared that we're free from sin. We give thee thanks, O Lord
God Almighty, which art and was and art to come, because thou
hast taken to thee thy great power and hast reigned. And now
we read, the Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand,
and if I make thine enemies thy footstool. And so Christ sits
at the right hand of the Father. And then in that day that has
been decreed and purposed, he will come again without sin unto
salvation. He will come and receive his
church unto himself. It says here, and the nations
were angry. and thy wrath is come, and the
time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that they shouldest
give reward unto thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints,
and then that fear thy name, small and great, and it shouldest
destroy them which destroy the earth. You see my, no man knoweth
that day when Christ is coming again, but we know he is coming
again. We know he has been here. We
know that he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We
know and believe that he suffered and bled and died for the sins
of his people. These are the wonderful fundamental
truths of our most holy faith. We know that he swallowed up
death in victory. And as sure as we know those
things, we know that he will come again. He will come again and receive his
church. unto himself. Doesn't the Apostle
Paul in the first epistle to the Corinthians in that 15th
chapter, he speaks there of the final victory of Christ when
he comes again. And he says from verse 50, this
I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom
of God, neither can corruption inherit incorruption. Behold,
I show you a mystery, we shall not all sleep, but we shall all
be changed in a moment in the twinkle of an eye, at the last
trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting?
O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin. and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved
brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord. For as much as ye know that your
labour is not in vain in the Lord, we give thee thanks. O Lord God Almighty, which art
and wast and art to come, because thou hast taken to thee thy great
power and hast reigned. You know, when Christ comes again,
he speaks of it, doesn't he? He says to us in John 14, let
not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. 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, and if I go to prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself,
that where I am, there ye may be also. We give thee thanks,
O Lord God Almighty, which art and wast and art to come, because
thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 854 to the tune Taunton 607. Jesus, Lord of life and
peace, to thee we lift our voice, Teach us at thy holiness to tremble
and rejoice. Sweet and terrible's thy word,
thou and thy word are both the same. Holy, holy, holy Lord,
we love thy holy name. Hymn 854, tune Taunton 607. ? Rejoice, O Bride Unwedded! ? In the land of the living and
in the land of the dead, Thou art my Word, Thou art my
Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word,
Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou
art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my
Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word,
Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou
art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my
Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word,
Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou
art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my
Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word,
Thou art my Word, Thou art my Word, Thou Her chariot's bell had rung With
the Lord at her side. Though the bashful bids have
gone, Let hope give in each time. Worthy thou to be adored, Lord God Almighty, great I am. Holy, holy, holy Lord, King of
my holy place. Saints, in whom thy spirit dwells,
Are at last homes to thee. Beaches, then, in secret towns, and I to be set free. I stand by them, sheltered and
whole, they cry with all their life and shame. Holy, holy, holy Lord We love
thy holy name When his heart did not sleep
at my perfection's door, Use thy name, and God will give
thee holy child of God. Peace, thy kingdom come in blest. Save us from our new things and
pain. Holy, holy, holy Lord, we love
Thy holy name. Just and righteous is our King,
Glorious in holiness. Though eternal, while we sing, We would not visit it. So I heard
the church next door. wonders of mercy, miserable pain. Holy, holy, holy Lord, we love
Thy holy name. 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.