We'll commence our service this
evening by singing hymn number 297. We'll sing the, from verse
three, I'll read the first two verses. The tune is Houghton,
number 808. Jehovah has said, it is left
on record, the righteous are one with Jesus the Lord. At all times he loves them, for
them he died, Yet oft times he proves them, for grace must be
tried. When faint in the way, or lifeless
and cold, or sunk in dismay and none to uphold, yet firm to his
promise, thy God shall abide. But grace, though the smallest,
shall surely be tried. From verse three, hymn number
297, tune Houghton, number 808. you. ? In the shadow of sin ? ? Deep
in the shadow lies ? ? That is in my sight ? ? Moved in my eyes
? ? I'm softened by sorrow ? His praises to honour, O glorious
Deuteronomy, Whose praise shall be triumphant. We give all our hearts to Thee,
Thou shalt be. Angels join the Lord, His glory
to see. that he may go as he hath always
been tried, in Christ to be tested, shall surely be tried. The spirits shall come, the billows
shall sound, the smoke of old age shall pass us through now. And all that you proved me to
stay like a child, I still will love thee, but graciously try. ? Here where we both sleep ? ?
The surely purple moon ? ? Is ever reaching ? ? Its way in
the snow ? ? Yea, Lord, in earth and soul
? ? In worship give thanks ? ? Who
the earth desiring ? ? His praise shall return ? ? He'll force me to live by grace
to His side ? ? The conscience of me to be just like Thine ?
Thanks for all that's happened, that all shall be one. In what
we've done, its grace shall be done. ? And soon from their pain will
bring the end of ? ? Till grace in full bloom will teach them
at last ? When the heaven-hosts sing, John,
preach, and we play, And God, through Christ, our new-born
Son, And God, through Christ, our new-born Son, May the dear Lord help me to
read this evening from the book of Psalms, Psalm 84, 85, and
86. The book of Psalms 84, 85, and
86. How amiable are thy tabernacles,
O Lord of hosts. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth
for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh crieth
out for the living God. Yea, the sparrow hath found an
house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay
her young, even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and
my God. Blessed are they that dwell in
thy house, they will be still praise in thee, Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength
is in thee, in whose heart are the ways of them, who, passing
through the valley of Baca, make it a well. The rain also filleth
the pools, as they go from strength to strength. Every one of them
in Zion appeareth before God. O God, O Lord God of hosts, hear
my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob, Selah,
Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed. For a day in thy courts is better
than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace
and glory. No good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the
man that trusteth in thee. Lord, thou hast been favourable
unto thy land. Thou hast brought back the captivity
of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity
of thy people. Thou hast covered all their sin,
sealer. Thou hast taken away all thy
wrath. Thou hast turned thyself from
the fierceness of thine anger. O God of our salvation, and cause
thine anger toward us to cease. Will thou be angry with us forever?
Will thou draw out thine anger to all generations? Will thou
not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? Show
us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation. I will hear
what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace unto
his people and to his saints, but let them not turn again to
folly. Surely his salvation is nigh
them that fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Mercy
and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the
earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven. The Lord
shall give that which is good, and our land shall yield her
increase. Righteousness shall go before
him, and shall set us in the way of his steps. Bow down thine
ear, O Lord, hear me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul,
for I am holy. O thou my God, save thy servant
that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord,
for I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant,
for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art
good and ready to forgive, and plenteous in mercy unto all them
that call upon thee. Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer,
and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of
my trouble I will call upon thee, for thou wilt answer me. Among
the gods there is none like unto thee, O LORD, and neither are
there any works like unto thy works. All nations, whom thou
hast made, shall come and worship before thee, O LORD, and shall
glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest
wondrous things, thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord,
I will walk in thy truth. Unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my
God, with all my heart, and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward
me, and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. O God, the proud are risen against
me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul
and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a
God full of compassion and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous
in mercy and truth. O turn unto me and have mercy
upon me, Give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son
of thine handmaid. Show me a token for good, that
they which hate me may see it and be ashamed, because thou,
Lord, hast opened me, or helped me, and comforted me. And we leave the reading there,
friends. May the dear Lord bless the reading
of his holy word to us each. May he help us in prayer. Oh,
thou most kind and gracious Lord God, we come to thee now, at
the evening sacrifice, the time for prayer. Lord, we do come
indebted to thee. Oh, we have been brought through,
safely through, most of this day. And Lord, we pray that they
would bring us right through, and that they would help us as
we gather together, as we plead the name of Jesus, as we plead
his righteousness, his merits, his Synatonian blood on our behalf. Oh, may he be seen instead of
us as we approach to God. Oh, we do come, Lord, thou knowest,
just as we are. Oh, we cannot make ourselves
better, Lord, except we make ourselves worse often, and we
feel empty, thou knowest. And yet, Lord, we do pray that
thou wouldst help us to come after thee, to come out after
thee, dear Lord. May we have that principle of
grace within us, that we might be enabled to come to thee by
prayer, prompted by thee, and that we might gain access at
the throne of grace. Dear Lord, we do pray for it
for each one of us, whether silent or audible. that we might have
that access before thee. Lord, we pray that we might have
a note of praise upon our hearts, that thou hast been kind to us.
Thou hast been favorable to thy church. Thou hast lengthened
out her days. We thank thee for this, dear
Lord. And we do pray that there might be a great increase. There
might be a coming again to these sanctuaries, these chapels, these
houses of God up and down the land. that there might be a gathering
in from one and another. Lord, we pray for thy spirit's
divine heavenly work amongst us, amongst thy people, and those
even yet that haven't gone through the new birth. We pray, Lord,
that there might be those wrought upon by thy spirit. We can do nothing. Thou dost
prove it to us time and time again, and we prove it to ourselves
that without me, He can do nothing. Lord, whatever we try comes to
naught unless thou dost bless it. And so we do pray that as
we gather around thy word this evening, thy sacred word, that
it might speak to our hearts. Oh, that we might hear the voice
of our beloved, that we might hear him say, come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I, oh, is no one else
we need, Lord, and I will give thee And so come, we do pray
this evening, Lord, and may thy glory shine within our hearts.
May we know and have those rays of heaven to shine within the
sanctuary that we might draw near to our God. Oh, we do pray
for it, Lord. Thou knowest what is the house
to me. The many times we come, the many
times we go, what is the house to me unless the master there
I see. And we do pray for this cause
of truth here, dear Lord. And we pray that thou wouldst
bless them indeed. Oh, may they have those indeed
blessings from thee. And may they be those, Lord,
that thou wilt use in this cause of truth. May there be those,
dear Lord, to come and testify what thou hast done for them.
And oh, we do pray that the church might rejoice. Lord, help thy
dear servant, their pastor, Uncle Jay, Do remember him, Lord, and
be with him where he is in America, and bless him indeed. Take care
of him, Lord, and do strengthen him for the work. That desire
that is upon his heart, Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
be with him in it to continue in the ministry and to be helped
in it. Lord, help him as he comes in
and out of this cause of truth. Remember him, and may he find
that liberty, and may he find that access. and may he find,
dear Lord, that thou art with him and using him. And we do pray this for all thy
servants. Do remember them, Lord, as many
stand this evening. We pray for them, that thou wouldst
help them. Be mouth, matter, and wisdom.
Be everything to them, Lord. We do pray that thou wouldst
pour in, that they may be enabled to pour out. And may it be so
as a blessing in Malachi, that there shall be not room enough
to receive him. I shall pour you out a blessing,
and there shall not be room enough. Lord, it hardly feels like that
these days, but we believe thy word is true, and we wait with
that expectation for that pouring out into our hearts, into our
midst. We thank thee for bringing us
safely through the hours of another day. Lord, and thy people here,
kept them safe. As they come again, may they
not be disappointed, Lord, send none home, we pray, empty, but
may we glean something. If we've come, dear Lord, with
prayer, if we've come with that urgency in our hearts, we pray
that thou wouldst not disappoint us. But Lord, may there be just
a few grains to glean on the edge of the field. And oh, may
there be those truly, dear Lord, that bring home their sheaves,
rejoicing. Oh, we pray for it this evening,
Lord, May there be a special time together around thy word. May there be those who need deliverance. May there be those, dear Lord,
who need answers to prayer. Do send down something, Lord.
And we pray that they might be encouraged in the way. Lord,
there are many that need doors opening. There are many that
need doors closing. And only thou knowest when and
why thou wilt do it. And so we do pray, dear Lord,
that we might come and cast our care upon thee, for thou knowest
our every care. Lord, may we hold nothing back,
but may we be enabled and permitted to the throne and the feet of
Jesus and to cast our care there. Oh, Lord, and to hear that whisper
come back from the throne, for he careth for you. Do help us, Lord. May there be
much prayer for this service. May we each, dear Lord, have
been at the throne of grace, pleading that thou would remember
us as we gather. And Lord, we would pray for our
nation. What sad days we're living in, what sad times we're living
in, dear Lord, where sin is winked at, sin is taken as everyday
thing, Lord, and the worse it is, it seems to be the better
it is for the world. And we seem to have turned the
creation upside down. We've turned it on its head.
The world has flown really in the face of the Creator. Lord,
we have much to be thankful for that thou hast not cut us off,
but we have much to confess. We really do, dear Lord, each
one of us, because we're all part of the nations, and we pray
that thou wouldst forgive us. In wrath, remember mercy, we
do beg. Remember as dear Abraham pleaded
for Lot in Sodom. Lord, remember thy people. and
don't destroy it. And so we do pray that they would
help us now. We pray for the Dutch friends
that are here, do remember them, and as they travel tomorrow,
go with them, be their guide and their leader. May they be
able to rest and lean upon thee. May they have those safe journeys. And each one of us, dear Lord,
we have much to be thankful for, and yet we take so much for granted. Oh, do forgive us, Lord. But
come once again, we do pray, and enlarge our hearts. And Lord,
we come with that word of the disciples. Sir, we would see
Jesus. For thy dear name's sake, amen. Continue our service by singing
hymn number 1033. Petunia's foundation, number
829. In Jesus combine all the riches
of grace. What glory and grandeur I see
in his face. Jehovah's eternal and co-equal
son took all our transgressions and made them his own. Ye children
of Zion, now dry up your tears For you the Redeemer in glory
appears. Now he lives, now he reigns,
now he dwells in the sky to answer the needy whenever they cry. In number 1033, TUNE Foundation
number 829. He is most humble and gracious
of grace. All glory and praise to Christ
in his place. ? See her as eternal ? ? Her glory
all shall know ? ? Till all her treasures ? ? Then become his
own ? He is the Lamb of God and the
Bride of Jesus. ? Glory in the highest ? ? Glory
in the highest ? ? Glory in the highest ? O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? I will remind thee again ?
? In the fifth day's patience ? ? In time and day of prayer
? ? And in days to come ? O say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last
gleaming? ? Our gracious Redeemer ? ? Where'er we go ?
? His promises show thee ? ? Where truth shall stand ? May the dear Lord help me this
evening to say a few words from Psalm 86 and the last verse,
verse 17. show me a token for good i'll
read the whole verse of psalm 86 verse 17 show me a token for
good that they which hate me may see it and be ashamed because
thou lord has to open me and comforted me show me a token
for good are you too old for a token are you friend have you
got past this desire for a real token Is it something that you
don't need from him now, or is it something that you need all
the time? Well, if you've got the life of God in you, I really
believe this first two words will be very important to your
life. Show me. Show me. What do you want the Lord to
show you? You know, it's easy, friend. I know you could dive
straight in, speaking reverently, go straight to the token, but
if the Lord has never shown you anything, you can't get in there.
You can't get in there, friends, if you don't know yourself, if
you don't know God. It's all very well to display
a lovely token before the people, but who's it for? Who's it for? It's only for those who He's
working in. It's only for those who have
the Redeemer as precious. It's only for those who've been
shown themselves. And the Lord does show us ourselves,
doesn't He? Just to introduce the subject,
friends, show me. That's solemn, isn't it? Show
me. We want the better part, but
we never want to know ourselves. We don't want to know what's
wrong with us. No. We don't want to know anything
that hurts us. We want it all easy. We want
the Lord to just shower us upon, token upon token upon token,
without any work being done. Any groundwork, no ploughing.
All we want is keep planting, keep planting, so that we get
the blossom. Friend, what David went through
here, show me. All these first two words, the
Lord did show him something and he has shown you and I. As he
deepens the work, as he leads us on in the right way, if we've
come through the narrow gate, if we're in the narrow way, friends,
these things are so important, they're necessary to us each.
But if he has, he will show you just a little bit of what you
are. You don't know what you are. You don't, friend. No. I don't know what I am. Until
he shines into your heart, then you see something completely
different. You see who I am. You see then, friends, as everything
lights up in you, everything is dark. Every single thing in
you is dark, dreary. Not negotiable. It's not negotiable,
friends. He shows you who you are. He does. And oh, in the darkness
and the shame of your heart. Then I believe, with all my heart,
you can cry this word. You can't cry it before. Unless you're brought to that
place of the Lord showing you just a little bit of what you
are, and you can't bear it. Don't think you can, because
you can't. If you do know something, you that are older, and if you
do know something of the Lord shining into your heart, you
couldn't bear what you were. Imagine if he showed you, imagine
if he turned you inside out, so that everybody saw it. It'd
be different then, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it be different? We'd
walk with humble heads then, wouldn't we? All pride would
be squashed, wouldn't it? And so David was here, but the
Lord also shows us a little bit of himself, and we can't bear
it. We think we can. You know a man gave his testimony
at the Dicker years ago and he asked the Lord to bless him.
And the Lord did bless him. And he asked the Lord to stop.
He had to ask the Lord to stop blessing him because he was so
full up his poor body couldn't take it. Do you still want a
token? Do you still want a token, friends?
You still desire something from heaven, do you? When you really see these words
What we need really is the Lord to pick us up and put us in the
front of a mirror of His holiness. Then we would understand a little
bit who we are and who He is. It's not until He shows us Himself
and ourselves that we ever understand Him or us. And so that's why,
friends, Jesus said Himself, He said, Judge not. How can you
judge? How can you judge? Well, look
at you! Who's ready to cast the first stone? They all went out,
why? Because he showed them who they
were. Showed them. And David's come right down to
here, and he's asking the Lord to show him his love, his kindness,
he's asking him to show him everything. So different to what the Jews
asked, friends. They asked the Lord to show them a sign, who
he was. He said, no sign shall be given
you. You know, friends, we can fall
into that trap exactly the same as they did. It's a temptation.
Lord show me something. Show me a sign that thou dost
love me. Show me something tangible that I can see and then I'll
believe. He said no sign shall be given you except that of Jonas. Three days in the belly of the
whale. And so we see here friends just
to build on the foundation truth. Show me, yes me, that is so vile,
so wretched, that is undone, me, there's a lot in me, isn't
there? Friends, there really is. If
you go through the pages of scripture, you'll see how the Lord dealt
with me. Each one of them is me. Individuals,
individual souls, me. And now it's your turn. They've
had their day. They've had their day. They've
left it on record, friends. They've had their day. Now it's
ours. It's our day. And so we come
pleading, show me a token, Lord, from the depths that I'm in,
from all that sin. Yes, the spell said I am black,
but come, Lee, because she needed a token and the Lord gave it
to her. And so let's move on a little bit because we need
to know these first words as we take texts like this. We cannot
stride straight into the verse. We can't. If you do that, friends,
you're missing many things. You're missing many points of
divine teaching. You are. You're stepping over
those very things that are important to you and I. They are. You don't
want to get on fast, do you? And have to come back again?
You don't, do you? You don't want to get so many
years down the road in the Christian pathway and you said you haven't
begun. You haven't begun, you've got to start again. You missed
it all out. by his divine grace then, I believe
the child of God moves on slowly, just slowly. And you only run
when he gives you a token. It's the only time you run, friends,
when he gives you a token. When I went before, I'll just
say this personally, when I went to tell my old pastor, Mr. Tyler, he was an old man, a revered
old man, and I went before him and I said, I just, I don't wanna,
run before I can walk. He said to me, he said, when
Christ comes you run, don't you? And he hit it right on the head,
friends. That's the moment you run. Legs
of faith, not these legs. The legs of faith carry you.
They do. Because all of our inner man
is working the outer man. Don't think your outer man's
working the inner man, friends, because it's not. If you've got
the inner man of grace, Your body will follow it. It will. Whatever happens, your body will
carry on with that new man of grace leading the old man. I
know that sometimes it seems like it's the other way around,
but it's not. It's not, by faith. It's not, friends. Otherwise,
we wouldn't be here. None of us would be here. If
your old man was overwhelming and overpowering you, we wouldn't
be here. Why are you here? Why am I here? Because a new
man wants something. He's desperate. He's hungry. He's thirsty. He's desiring something
from the very depths of his heart. He is, friends. And what is it? Dear David's put it into a word.
Can you explain before the throne of grace what you need? Could
you go to God and tell him everything that you need? Or do you have
it here in one word? A token. David is saying, I've
got nothing else I can say. There's no other words. I can't
give the Lord a list. I can't. But I can say one word. It's a token. Just a token from
God. And they come in strange packages.
They come in strange forms. They really do, friends. You
might not see a token as a token the way God sees it. You might
not. Because He wraps it in secret.
He wraps it in mystery. He does. And he knows, not you
and I. When the Lord sends something,
you say, well that's not a token, I prayed so hard for that and
it's not a token. And the Lord says, it is a token.
It is, it's something from my hand for you. It's not always
sweet, is it? Do you give your children sweets
all the time? If you fed a child sweets all the time, what would
they do? They wouldn't respect you at all. wouldn't. There'll be no reverence at all.
But the Lord does give sweetness, but he gives bitter things as
well. He gives unsavoury things. He does, friends. Why? To bring
us to him. If you always had sweet things,
you would never go to him. But those other things he gives
you, friends, is part of the teaching. You won't leave his
school. You won't leave. You won't even
leave a class. If you think you are, if you
think you're really going to grow up and leave, friends, you won't.
You just can't leave. You can't. Because we're in the
flesh and the Lord is in the spirit. And he teaches our spirit
what it should know. And so we have this little word,
a token. And the Lord sent tokens to his
people. And he's still doing it today.
He's still sending tokens. Sometimes, you know, friends,
when you sit quietly, you can hardly believe what scripture
says, can you? You can hardly believe that the God of heaven
has written this book for the vilest sinners out of hell to
read. You just can't believe it. And
yet with his precious grace in your heart, you can believe it. With all your heart that he's
written to us and he's told us to show me a token for good.
Come to me, ask me, plead it before the throne. He's got the
He's got the tokens, friends. I say this reverently, but they're
no good for you if he keeps them. Are they? Are his tokens any
good to him if he keeps them and doesn't give them out? No,
friends. We have such a Redeemer that
he's willing to share. He's willing to give out tokens
to his people. And there are many, aren't there?
I know some of you have experienced many tokens But friend, I believe if you've
got one real token, just one real one, it'll set you in good
stead for time and eternity. It will. Tokens, you've seen
these little machines, haven't you, along the road? Our children
used to like to get a little token and you could choose the
stamp on it wherever we were. And they loved to hold that little
token because it was theirs. You know, if we tried to take
it off them, They've clenched their fists so tight, that's
mine. That's mine, no one's having
it. No one's having it. It was only an old piece of metal
with a stamp on, but they're not having it. Now can't you
see Jesus when he said, except you become as little children,
as little children, you cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven?
How tight are you holding your token, friend? Are you letting
everybody else have it, handle it, or is it yours? It's mine. and no one else is having it.
I know we love to share, but when you come down to the fundamental
things, friends, we need a token for ourselves. Ourselves! And where did you get yours from? Do you know, there's a little
story I read years ago, and a man lay dying, and his little lad
came by his bed. I've said before, friends, what
those little children had to suffer in those days was immense. It was so immense, because there
was no medicine like we have. I know there's a time to be born,
and I know there's a time to die. But this little lad, he
went by his dad's bed, and he was dying. And the man could
hardly speak. And he looked at his son, and
he said, remember, tis all from above. They were
his parting words. And he fell asleep in Jesus.
That little lad never lost that token. A token from a dying saint. Everywhere he went as he grew
up, he used to say, "'Tis all from above." Now friends, what
about you? How have you lived today? "'Tis
all from above." How did you live yesterday? "'Tis all from
above." How are you gonna live tomorrow? "'Tis all from above."
What a spirit of grace, isn't it? To have a little token in
your heart and my heart that means something to us, that is
so desperately precious that you hold it so tight. Now, you
may have a token, it may be a word, a promise, it may be something
from the Lord, but remember, it's come from above. These things
don't come from the earth. They don't, friends. The material
things come from the earth, heavenly tokens come from one place. They
can only come from one place, through the Redeemer's blood. I know we have tokens given to
each other, where you encourage each other and I know there are
those things. And even the world, unknown to the world, they help
the Lord's people and they wouldn't. The world wouldn't give a Christian
a token. It's the farthest thing from their minds to help the
people of God. And yet because the Lord is hearing
His people, I have heard thee in a day, in a day when thou
needest me. I've heard thee. And he sends
a token from somebody. That person doesn't want to give
it. He doesn't want to give it, but they give it. Willingly.
Because it's from the hand of God. These things, friends, are
what the people of God walk in, aren't they? Show me a token
for good. And we think of the token at
a marriage ceremony. I know not everybody gives two
rings, but when a ring is given to the wife, he's telling her
that this is a token of my love. It's only a token, friends. It's not her love. It's not his
love. You can't give love. away, can
you like that? But it's a token. It's something
so that every time she looks on her finger, she sees a ring.
She thinks she loves me. And if it's the other way around,
he looks at his finger and he thinks, she loves me. She's told
me she loves me. Now, that isn't love, is it? Yes, it's a token, but it's not
actually the love between two people, is it? A ring, friends,
you can lose a ring. A ring doesn't grow, does it? It's the same all the time. Your
love between families, spouse and husband, whatever it is,
it grows. A growing love. Now, a token
from God in His everlasting love doesn't grow. It's not something
that's growing, friends. It's eternal. It's always been
eternal. It'll always be eternal. What
grows then? Your love to Him. And He allows
you to understand a little bit more each time of His love to
you. Everlasting love can't change.
It can't change. Can it? We grow to love the Lord
more. He doesn't grow to love you more.
Oh, these things are so vital. The Lord doesn't grow to love
you more. He loves you. He loved you before
time. Exactly the same as he will do
when the time's gone. He won't love you more in heaven.
Because he is unchanging. We are changing all the time.
So just really, Francis, show me a token for good. And perhaps
you've come in tonight. You know, I believe there's many
people came into this dear sanctuary. pleading for the Lord to show
them a token, and he's done it for them. Not necessarily how they've thought,
but it's still a token. It's a token to help them on
their way, and when you have those special seasons of a confirmation
that you're a child of God, an heir of glory, when you have
a confirmation that the Lord really has brought you from darkness
to light, when you have that confirmation that you really
are robed in that lovely white gown. It's a real token. It's a true token, friends. It
is. And what I love is seeing the
congregations and not knowing. That's what I love, friends.
Not knowing who's come in. Who will the Lord bless? Who
will He favour? Who will receive a token? Isn't
it lovely that it's a secret thing of God? As He does it through
the Holy Spirit, working in the heart of a poor sinner as they've
come in, spent all day in trouble, deluded about everything, and
the Lord drops a token straight into their heart. And everything,
everything is right. Everything points out to a precious
Christ, doesn't it? Have you pleaded this before?
Have you, friend? Have you been before the throne
of grace? Would he recognize you with the same words as you
come before him? This poor sinner's been so many
times. But you haven't worn it out,
have you? You haven't worn it out, friends. I was thinking
today while I was at work of those Israelites that came up
out into the wilderness and then up out. Their shoes didn't wear
out. Their clothes didn't wear out. They were just the same
as when they left Egypt And all the way through, nothing wore
out for 40 years. Do you love his word? You can't
wear it out. Do you go to him and say, Lord,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I've got to plead this again. I'm
really sorry, Lord, but I've got to have a token just to help
me on my way one more day. I've got to have something, Lord,
from thee. I'm sorry to keep bringing it. Not one shoe wore out. Not one
shoe. That's our God, isn't it? That's
our God. This is as fresh when you pleaded
it in heaven as when David wrote it. It's as fresh, friends, and
it has the dew of heaven upon it, doesn't it? Aren't they lovely
things? If we can enter into them, aren't
they lovely things? Because you can read those old
stories of a lady, she was pleading for food, they hadn't got anything,
and she sat by the window with the Bible open. Do you do that?
Do you do that, friend? She was obviously sitting there
because she didn't have the light, but dear old lady, she sat there
poring over the Bible, and they said, come to bed, Mum. And she
said, no, I'm not coming. I'm not coming. He's going to
answer me. He's going to answer me. Do you
ever get in that spirit, friend? Do you ever get in that spirit,
friend? Does the Lord ever come upon you, and you can't let him go?
You can't let him go! I know he's going to hansom me!"
And the dear old lady stayed in the chair all night. And the
Lord spoke to her cattle upon a thousand hills of mine. And
they came down in the morning to a knocking on the door. And
there was a cow laying on the front doorstep. And the herdsman
there, he said, this one's broken its leg. He said, you better
have it, we can't do anything with it. And she looked that
way, and she looked that way. And there was thousands and thousands
of cows. Just one of them broke their
leg on their doorstep. She sat up all night for that.
Now I'm not saying by works friends. I'm not saying you have to do
that. But what I'm saying is she was so earnest in knowing
that the Lord would answer her in this very thing. Show me a
token for good. We could go to dear Moses as
he came up out of, he ran really didn't he? He ran away. Do you
ever think of Moses running away? Who was he running from? Well,
first off, he was running because he killed a man. He was running
from Pharaoh. He was running from himself.
And he was running from God. You can see that dear man running,
can't you? It says the meekest man, apart
from Jesus, he was such a meek man, and yet we see him in his
young days running as fast as he can to get away from everything.
Friends, you say, yeah, we know this. We know, do you? Do you
know it? Do you run away from yourself
sometimes? Do you? You run away from everything
with your fingers in your ears and you say, I can't bear it,
I can't bear it, I've got to keep running. And he ran so far,
didn't he, out into the wilderness and I know he looked after the
sheep, but in his heart of hearts he was still running. He was
still running because he didn't go back. And those little sheep, do you
ever think about that little herd of sheep he had? Dear old
Moses preaching, dear old Moses praying, dear old Moses praising,
dear old Moses thanking God that he got away. Little did he realize,
oh friends, little do you and I realize, show me a token Lord. And friend, he really thought
in his early days that he would rise up and lead the people.
But as he came out of Egypt, the door had opened the door
to his school. And he entered. He entered. 40 years in that
school. He learned something. He learned
a lot, friends. It wasn't the same Moses. It
was physically, but it wasn't the same Moses when he turned
the corner. Show me a token Lord. If ever
there was a token, and this is what you and I believe, if you've
been taught of God and have something precious in your heart, this
is what you will be desiring as a token. I wouldn't look down
on any little token, don't misunderstand me, but you want something greater
than that don't you? You want something real don't
you? You want something with substance don't you? You want
something that won't fail you in the time when you need it?
You want something that will go through water and fire, don't
you? You want something real? He turned the corner and there's
a burning bush. What did he see? The person of
the Lord Jesus, incarnate. God said, take your shoes from
off your feet, Moses. He didn't want the defilement
of the world near him because he couldn't because he's holy
but also those shoes have been running from him take them off
moses take them off you've got to come to me just as you are
leave everything behind stop the running from me i'm going
to send you back 40 years i'm going to send you back poor moses heart naturally as
a man must have fainted it must have fainted frank Spiritually,
he was alive. He'd never been alive before
in such a way. I'm going back. The Lord has
brought to pass the promise. He's brought to pass everything
that he said he would do. He's sending me back. And we
know Moses fainted about it because he said this, that he didn't
want to go. Inside, he was running back to
do the Lord's bidding. Outside, He was faltering. He was fainting. Not me, Lord.
No, not me. I've waited 40 years for this
and now, no, not me. Isn't it a lovely thing that
the Lord is stronger than you and I? Isn't it a lovely thing,
friends, that He has power over the heart? Not just the head,
the heart. Because if the Lord turns your
heart as He does the King, the streams in the south, as the
King's heart, He can turn it around and off you go. Off you
go, Moses. But what was the token? The token
was great, seeing what he saw, but what was the token? I will
be with thee. Remember? Held the token tight. Every step back. And believe
me, friend, he didn't run back. He did not run back. He walked
back holding that token. I will be with thee. I will be
with thee. And did he prove him? That first
hymn was lovely as we sung it, wasn't it? You know, the trials,
that's when you need a token. That's when you need a token,
friends. You don't need a token all the time, you're going all
right. It's in adversity, but it should be also that we praise
God that we've got a token in prosperity, shouldn't we? So
he went back and you know the account there that he was, well,
look at the trial he had, but he got a token. they didn't believe
him, they tested him, they contested him, and then they wouldn't let
him go. They wouldn't let the people
go. Was God in it? Don't you feel that sometimes
friends? Is God in this? Is he really in this? Like David
here. This is the reason David wanted a token. Is God with me? Is he here? I think of dear Elijah,
Noah as well, both with the ravens, because Noah sent out a raven
now I know it has a spiritual application I know that friends
of the sinner and I know that the sinner won't come back to
Christ but the the raven went out do you know today I felt
really sorry for Noah he put his hopes in that raven he did
he did friends I'll send out the raven he didn't know what
was going to happen perhaps it'll bring something back But like
you and I proved, the raven wasn't a token. Those things that we
send out, those things that we rely upon, those things that
we hope in, aren't necessarily tokens. They're not. It never
came back. You know he never saw it again.
You want to see your token again, don't you? He never saw it again.
But when he sent out the dove, what a token it was for God to
remember Noah in the ark. He hadn't forgotten him. But
what a token it was. When he sent out the dove, really
he had token after token after token, because the dove came
back. The dove came back, friends. He didn't know it would. He didn't
know it would. He sent it out in faith. You
think he sent it out, Lord, will they show me a token this time?
Will it be this time I get a token? When the bird come flying back
with nothing, he pulled it into the ark. He didn't want to lose
it because there was another time he'd send it out. But he
pulled her in, there was nothing. His heart must have thought,
now what are we gonna do? Now what are we gonna do? You
say, well it was easy for him. He had the ark, he had access
to God, he had everything. Friends, he was a man. He was
a man, just like you and I. The thoughts that you think,
he thought. Except when he's in the spirit of faith, the same
as when you're in the spirit of faith, friends. You're not
always there, are you? No, I wasn't always there. But
the second time he sent it out, I believe he cried out over the
sea. I really believe, friends, with
all his heart, and it must have echoed round that sea, he called
out to his God and he said, show me a token for good. Show it
to me, Lord. It's gotta be, I've gotta have
it now. And look, the bird's coming back. The bird's coming
back. Why did it come back? I know
the spiritual side of it, friends, but I saw a bird, a pigeon, or
a collared dove, as they call, and he was eating leaves. He
had no intention of taking them anywhere. He was eating them.
And this was years ago, I saw it, and I thought then about
Noah's bird, and I thought, the blessed mercy that the bird ever
came back. Because he could have eaten a
lot of leaves before he plucked that one off. But when he got it in his mouth,
the master of creation said, now return. Now return. And that little bird did exactly
as it was told. It took the leaf off, it didn't
know why it was there. Don't think the dove knew, friends.
God knew, and it shows us. the tokens that he gives us.
He plucked the leaf off and he returned and he gave it back
to Noah. And what he was really saying is, this is from your
God, Noah. This is from the Lord. Because
we don't read of the dove anymore, do we? He did his job. I know they sacrificed afterwards,
but that little incident, Noah knew. And friend, have you ever
thought of that little leaf in that ark, amongst all the other
things, what was the most precious thing? That leaf. That leaf. I really believed because if
it was me, I would take that leaf and I would put it out the
way of everything and I'd keep going looking at it. The sea
was still raging. The sea was still deep. But Noah,
when he looked at that little leaf, as a token from God, I
can rely upon him. I can rely upon him. The waters
are going down. And that's why I say, friends,
some of these tokens are so small, aren't they? They're so small.
What does a leaf mean to you and I? It would mean everything
if you'd been on the ark. And it meant everything to Noah
because Christ was in the leaf. If you look in scripture, the
fig leaves, they hid, Adam and Eve, they hid behind
leaves. Go to Revelation, and the leaves
will be for the healing of the nations. You don't think Noah
didn't know all these things. He was a faithful godly man,
and he knew that Christ was in the leaf. And then we can look
at Rahab, the harlot, Oh, I was going to say about Elijah, wasn't
I? About the ravens, it's so strange, it really struck me
that one raven was such a disappointment, such a disappointment to Noah,
and yet they were such a blessing to Elijah. They were absolutely,
it was like the Lord changed their nature completely. And they started bringing the
old prophet bread and meat. Friend, he didn't do that for
Noah, didn't do that at all for Noah, but for Elijah and his
trouble. You think, God did not tell Elijah
how he was going to feed him. You know, you and I, we want
to delve into things, don't we? We say, well, Lord, I'm willing
to do this, but I don't know how I'm going to get on. I'm
willing to go in this path, Lord, but I can't see how I can go
in this path. I'm willing, Lord, to, receive of thee, but I need
something in store. It's you and me. Elijah went down by the brook
with nothing. Where was his first meal coming from? Where was his second meal coming
from? How long was he going to be there? Show me a token Lord. Do you ever think of dear Elijah
about kneeling down to drink some water and in his heart he's
saying Lord show me Show me, I don't know where I'm going
to eat. I don't know what there is to eat. And above him, and I
love that, don't you? It comes all from above. Above
him, the ravens were flying and they picked up his food and they
dropped it where he needed it. Comes from above, friends. It
comes from above. It happened once. Would they
do it again? You know, We can go through this
in providence or in spiritual things, can't we? Will it happen
again, Lord? I've tasted once, I've had a
sip, I've had a glimpse. Will it happen again? The dear
old prophet, he had the brook running at his feet. And as he
got, he couldn't drink it while he was standing up. He had to
get down. And that's where you and I have
got to get, down. You know, the nearer the river,
the nearer the dear Lord Jesus we are, the lower we'd be. He
couldn't drink from standing up, so the Lord knew this and
he just gently allowed him to bend down and drink the water.
He was near to the Lord and the Lord was ready to provide. And
he had everything he needed from the ravens and the brook. We
could go through the whole account of that But it's just these men
and women that needed tokens of old for good. And I believe
the Lord does it today. Just the other one that you all
know very well in scripture, Rahab the harlot. Would have cut her off, wouldn't he? She's not a church person. Don't bless her, Lord. She's
too wicked. Just as the widow woman had been
prepared for Elijah when the brook dried up, so Rahab was
being prepared to receive the spies. They shouldn't have gone
to her house, should they? That wasn't a house to go to,
was it? It had a reputation. You know,
they only had to ask anybody in the city and they would have
said, don't go there. Where did they go? They went
straight there. Why? Because something is going
to happen and I'm going to give her a token of my heavenly love. You know, you look at these characters,
don't you? We would soon cut them off. But
we shouldn't really, should we? We should see what the divine
working of the Holy Spirit is doing. They went there, these
spies, because the Lord was already at work. He was at work, friends,
in this lady's house. She received them in. Not for
company. She received them in as God's
children. She said, we have heard much.
We have heard what thou hast done. The God of Israel has done
throughout the nations. She knew. She knew something. She did, friends. And you know
when they come to go. I wonder how many of us have
got a scarlet cord hanging in your window. I think of it like this. To open
this token, just for a few minutes, to open this word token, it's
like a window. It's like a window into the Lord's
heart. You know, if the Lord gives you a token, you'll understand
just a little bit more of his heavenly love. You'll understand
just a bit more of his fatherly love. You will. You've got to. If the Lord has anything to do
with it, this token is like something that is opening to you. And he
allows you to know him just a little bit more. Just one more thing that I've
read that comes to me and it's about a little school with deaf
and dumb children in. And this missionary man or whatever
he was, he went there to teach a lesson. And he stood up the
front And only he knows why, but the Lord knew. But he wrote
on the board, why has God made deaf and dumb children? Show me a token. This little
girl got up and she was weeping her heart out. And she took the
pen from him. She wrote underneath it, for
even so, Father, it seemeth good to thee. She saw in the writing that was
against them. She saw the beauty of the writing
that was for them. And that's you and I, friends.
These things show me a token for good, Lord. Something that
I can see of Thee. Something that I can understand
of Thee. Something that I can take home and rest upon. Something
that I can rely upon. Isn't it lovely? Well, dear Rahab,
she hung the cord in the window. Didn't she? For all to see. Everybody
could see it. They didn't know what it meant
though. See the difference? When the
people of God plead for a token, you get a token, only you understand
it. Because you think, I've got to
be brief, but Paul the blasphemer, David the adulterer, and the
other sinners, each one was taught differently. Each one knew Christ
differently. The same, but in a different
way. They did. Because the Lord taught them
through that sin himself. David didn't see the Lord and
was fallen on the ground and looked up and didn't know what
to do. David didn't learn that way. Paul did. David learned
a completely different way. They weren't the man from Nathan. So you see, how the Lord gives
these tokens, friends, it's not an easy path. It's not. But it's a blessed path. It really
is such a blessed path, friend. If you was to say it's easy,
you can have tokens all the time, it's not true. It's not true. What is true is the Lord is willing
to give them when you need them. And that for good. What does
it mean, that for good? do your good, don't they? They
actually do you good. You know that lovely word in
Romans 8, I believe it is, verse 28, it says this, all things,
can it mean me, Lord? Can it mean my pathway? In this
token, all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called to do their own will. to do their own thing, no. Called according to his purpose,
his purpose. You know there was an old clock,
I'll just tell you this, there was an old clock at Hurstman
Zoo in the observatory, and in the museum there, and you could
see straight through it. And all the cogs were moving,
so you could see everything, literally everything to do with
a big clock. Fascinated me, it did, it did. I saw these These
little wheels, some are spinning backwards, some are just spinning
forwards, some are moving so slowly that you can hardly see
them moving. But there was everything going
on. That's for good. It's working
for good. Someone might be that little
cogless and moving quickly and the Lord's dealing with you quickly.
Someone might be where the Lord's dealing with you really slowly,
but it's for good. Because it's working together.
It's working for his purposes in our lives. And he is, the
hymn writer says in one hymn doesn't he, I don't know where
it is, but he is working his purpose out. And he's working
it out. If you see all these, this church
of God that's coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon
their beloved, it's working for good. We can't see it. Only from time to time do we
ever see it good. And you know that old clock,
You could walk past it and think it wasn't working. The hands
weren't turning, nothing. When it got to the hour, or the
quarter of an hour, everybody knew it worked. Everybody. It
gave out a loud noise. And isn't that the same when
the Lord gives you a token, friends? Don't you give out that praise
to him? Don't you want to tell others? You can't keep quiet,
can you? When he gives you a token for
good, that's what you wanted! And the lovely thing about our
Lord is that he opens a mouth. He opens it, friends, and you
speak forth his praise. You do. He doesn't hide his tokens. He doesn't give you a token to
go and hide. Do you know, as I was walking
up just around here, the corner, I saw a little bird flying to
the hedge. He was hiding. What's he hiding from? Because
he doesn't know what's out there. So he flew right into the centre,
and I watched him, and he stayed there. The Lord doesn't give
you a token to go and hide like that little bird. No. That bird
will come out as soon as there's food. As soon as it's daylight,
he'll come out. And so it is with the dear soul
that's been quickened and brought to Jesus' dear feet. And they
are some dear feet, friend. They have come out. They will.
He won't hide a token that's for good. He won't. And I'll
just finish off with this. David said, that they which hate
me may see it and be ashamed." Poor David, he was in such a
state, and he wanted the world to see, those that hated him
and were against him, he wanted to see what the Lord could do
for a poor sinner. He wanted them to see the peace
that is in his heart, the calm, and that he wasn't ashamed of
the Lord. And he said, that they may see
it. Show them, Lord, Show them that they are with me. Show them
who they are. And I think that's such a lovely
thing because not from pride Davey wasn't doing that. He's
just saying there is a God in heaven. There is a God in heaven. Well tonight, if the Lord leads
you this evening or whenever, pray for a token friends. And
if you've had one, you know what it was like. Pray for another
one. Pray for them. You can only have
three tokens. He didn't write it. He didn't
write it. He didn't. Show me a token, Lord. As they did show me last time
when I was in something, so show me now in something. And one
of the blessings of the Church of God, a token to the Church,
is when a poor sinner comes and pours out their heart in the
testimony. Do you know that is such a token, friends? Because
you can go along with them, can't you? It's not only a token for
the candidate or for the person giving their testimony, the whole
church rejoices. They do. They rejoice with joy
unspeakable. Why? Well, if we can't appraise
Him, if we can't be thankful, we're told that one sinner repenting,
the whole of heaven rejoices. The angels rejoice in heaven
over one sinner. And yet the church can't. No,
I don't believe it. I believe, friends, when a soul comes to
pour out their heart and say how precious Christ is, all rejoice. Everything is dropped. All bars,
all enmity, everything is gone. Where the name of Christ is being
professed. It is, friends. I really believe
if we're in a right spirit, that's what we should be like. Nothing,
no note jarring, nothing. Everybody on the same page. Isn't
it lovely? Isn't it lovely, friends? Because
the Lord is still doing it. I know he's not doing it so much
in these days, but he's still doing it. And so there should
be more rejoicing when one is brought to know him. Do you know,
you could just go on. It's so open. It's like the Lord
hasn't put a stop to this word. Show me a token for good. Each
one of us know that. Whether each one have received
it, I don't know. Only the Lord knows. But think
when he says, in Malachi, he says, but when I make up my jewels,
they shall be mine. It's like, friends, he's saying,
when I bring in my tokens, they shall be mine. I better leave
it. Show me a token for good, and
it will be for good, friends. It will be for good. May the
dear Lord forgive anything that's been said amiss, amen. We conclude our service this
evening by singing hymn number 736. The tune is Eden, number
327. Show me some token, Lord, for
good, some token of thy special love. Show me that I am born
of God and that my treasure is above. My supplication, Lord,
is this. that all my sins may be subdued,
that all thy precious promises may be to me and for my good. Hymn number 736, tune Eden, number
327. In Jesus' name, the Lord be with
you. And with thy spirit. Amen. Show me that I am all alone And
that my treasure is above ? Hush, all ye nations, know it
is ? ? That Lord Almighty has done this of His. ? Let all thy blessed promises
may be to Thee, and for all thy good. I bow down to Thee, my soul,
and ever pray Thy peace remain. God shed thy good, make the wretches
poor, and let there be full to eat. ? When I was carrying home my heart
? ? And the power of my words and ways ? Where prayers are found, even every part, And each night I, to see you,
I pray. Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's
early light, And give my heart to Thee, O
Savior. Then shall I know that Thou art
mine, And now, dear Lord, we do thank
Thee for Thy Word, and we thank Thee that Thou dost from time
to time answer it. And Lord, we do pray that we
might each be enabled to plead it back to Thee. Help us all,
we do pray, and may it bring forth profit, Lord. And if there
has been anything that has been said amiss in thy holy sight,
we pray that thou would forgive. And Lord, do bless us now. Take
us to our homes in peace and safety and watch over us. And
now may the grace of the dear Lord Jesus and the love of God
and the sweet fellowship and communion of thy Holy Spirit
rest and remain with us each now and forevermore. Amen.