I commence our service this evening
by singing hymn number 739. The tune is East Nor, number
841. No help in self I find, and yet
have sought it well. The native treasure of my mind
is sin and death and hell. To Christ for help I fly. The friend of sinners lost, a
refuge sweet and sure, and nigh, and there is all my trust. Hymn number 739, the tune is
East Nor, number 841. The native treasure of my heart to sin and death and hell. To Christ for help I cry, burden
of sinners lost, Her refuge sweet and sure, and mine, and thine
is, O my trust. ? O country, make us praise ? ?
And to thy churches shine ? ? For they're rising high, well in
praise to thee ? And there I am to die. In every time of need, I have my soul in hand. ? And take me for all eternity
? ? And take me to the end ? ? And when the hour is near ? that
flesh and blood will flare. Do Thou ignore, raise Thou ear,
and be my gateway home. May the dear Lord help me to
read this evening from the book of the Acts, chapter 9, down
to verse 31. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter
9, down to verse 31. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenance
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high
priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues,
that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or
women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed,
he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him
a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth and
heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus,
whom thou persecutest. It is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. And he, trembling and astonished,
said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto
him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what
thou must do. And the men which journeyed with
him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth,
and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man. But they led him
by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days
without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was
a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias, And to him said
the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here,
Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise,
and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire
in the house of Judas, for one called Saul of Tarsus. For, behold, he prayeth. And hath seen in a vision a man
named Ananias coming in, and put in his hand on him, that
he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord,
I have heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done
to thy saints at Jerusalem, and there he hath authority from
the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the
Lord said unto him, Go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto
me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the
children of Israel. For I will show him how great
things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went
his way, and entered into the house, and putting his hands
on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared
unto thee in the way, as thou camest, hath sent me. that thou mightest receive thy
sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there
fell from his eyes, as it had been scales, and he received
sight. Forthwith, and arose, and was
baptized. And when he had received meat,
he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with
the disciples which were at Damascus. and straightway he preached Christ
in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that
heard him were amazed, and said, Is not this he that destroyed
them which called on this name in Jerusalem? And came hither
for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief
priests. But Saul increased the more in
strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus. proving that this is the very
Christ. And after that, many days were
fulfilled, and the Jews took counsel to kill him. But their
laying awake was known of Saul, and they watched the gates day
and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by
night and let him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul
was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him and believed not that he was
a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought
him to the apostles and declared unto them how he had seen the
Lord in the way and that he had spoken to him and how he had
preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was
with them coming in and going out to Jerusalem. And he spake
boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the
Grecians, but they went about to slay him. Which, when the
brethren knew, they brought him to Caesarea, and sent him forth
to Tarsus. Then had the churches rest throughout
all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, and were edified, and walking
in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost
were multiplied. We'll leave the reading there,
friends. May the dear Lord bless the reading
of his holy word to us each and help us each in prayer. Dear
Lord, we have this great privilege we have this honour bestowed
upon us that we can come to the throne of grace. And so we do
beg that thou wouldst help us once more, Lord, as we come before
thee audibly, before thy people, thy saints, those that are heirs
of glory, help us, Lord. Oh, we do pray that thou wouldst
grant prayer into each of our hearts that we might know to
whom we address. Lord, may we not come as one
did and he addressed himself. But may we come as the other,
that poor beggar. Lord, have mercy upon me. So
we do pray, Lord, this evening, that thy word might find a lodging
place in our hearts. Turn out all those things that
have been with us today. Turn out all those things, dear
Lord, that may be with us now, that we might have brought into
the sanctuary. We pray that thou wouldst turn
out the buyers and the sellers. And may thy house be a sacred
place, and may our hearts, dear Lord, be the house of prayer.
Oh, we do beg then, as we come before thee, that thou wouldst
remember this people, that thou wouldst bless them indeed and
help them. May they be strengthened in the Lord, and may there be
many added to their number. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
continue thy work here, and bless us. Oh, we do pray that thou
wouldst lead them to Jesus, convince them of their sins, and may they
be repenting and be brought by the hand of living faith to supplicate
thy name, to be found at thy dear feet. Lord, we do beg that
thou wouldst raise up from among the young those that will honour
thee, those that will take places of those who have gone. Lord,
we do pray earnestly, that in our churches the work of God
might be seen, that thy glory might appear unto thy servant,
unto their children. And, O Lord, we do pray that
thy people might rejoice in thee. So do help us now as we gather
around this precious time-honoured Bible, and in this time-honoured
sanctuary, this eternal word. Lord, little do we really appreciate
it, Little do we really understand it. Lord, thou dost show us something
and we see our ignorance. Thou dost shed a little bit of
light on it, dear Lord, and we see how dark we are. And so we
do pray this evening that we might be found in the light.
Oh, that thou wouldst lift up the light of thy countenance
upon us each and do us good. Oh, we would plead for their
dear pastor, do remember him, where he is. Help him as he speaks,
dear Lord, we do pray, and give him that strength, give him that
help that is needed, we do pray, and bring him home in peace and
safety. And dear Lord, we do pray that
he might be strengthened once more at the weekend to come amongst
them and to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ. Oh, we do pray,
dear Lord, that thou would continually help thy servants wherever they
speak, wherever thou hast allowed a door to be opened, a door of
utterance. Dear Lord, we pray that thou
would speak for them and through them, that there might be something
done. There might be something of value
done, dear Lord, not a tickling of the ears, not something emotional
that lasts a few moments, something that is eternal, something that
will last, something that will never leave us, something that
will stir us up. Oh Lord, we do that thy word
might be sealed upon our hearts. For sweet application we pray
for it, Lord, earnestly. And so do help us all as we gather
this evening. And may there be a volume of
prayer come up unto thee for this service. Lord, for what
a privilege it is if thou wilt descend to our need. What a privilege
it is to find the Holy Spirit amongst us. Oh, Lord, we need
so much, thou knowest. And so may we not take these
things for granted, but may each time be a complete privilege
to us, Lord. Do help the deacons here. Remember them and be with them.
Strengthen them for the work, Lord. We do pray that thou wouldst
help them with the burden and the burdens that come upon them.
We pray that thou wouldst remember them in the work. And Lord, We
pray for the church here and those elderly ones. Lord, we
pray for them. We think of them and remember
them, Lord, and pray that thou wouldst bless them indeed. And
we do pray for the chapel at Hanover with the loss of those
two, Lord, Frieda and George. Lord, we do beg, oh, that this
might have that sanctifying effect upon the others. Lord, that there
might be those things done in the worthy name of Jesus concerning
these eternal matters. Lord, we so easily and quickly
brush things off of time, but when it is in eternity, how different
it is. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
help the dear Jameson family. Do be with them, strengthen them,
and uphold them at this time and in the future. Lord, we do
pray that their hearts might be strengthened. And Helen, with
that affliction that is upon her body, we pray for her. But Lord, we pray that these
things might be for the furtherance of the gospel. These things might
have a saving effect upon each. And Lord, we pray for Frieda
and the family. We pray for them as they gather
around the grave tomorrow. Be with them each, Lord, and
help them, and thy servant that takes the funeral. And Lord,
may we lay these things to heart, that there is a day when our
name shall be called, there is a time when we must appear before
thee, and lest thou does come again, Lord, these things will
fall out to each one of us. And so we do pray for that preparation,
continually, Lord, for we often feel so unprepared. Oh, Lord,
we cannot even prepare ourselves for prayer meetings, let alone,
dear Lord, to stand before Thee. Oh, poor man, in all his wickedness
and all his afflictions and infirmities. Oh, Lord, we need Thee so much. And so do remember us in our
poverty, Remember us in our lowest state, Lord, we do pray. And we pray that there might
be those to come and glorify thy name. We pray for those in
hospital, those laid aside. We pray, dear Lord, for those
parents that have the realization of what happened to their children,
their babies in hospital. Lord, we pray for them earnestly
that these things might be sanctified to them. and that they might
be brought into life. Oh, we do beg, Lord, there's
so much that we could ask thee to do, and yet, secretly, behind
the scenes, we know that thou art working. We know that thou
art doing those things that are in thy decrees. And so help us,
dear Lord, to pray for those things. Everything else, we do
beg, Lord, though it be prayer, or seem to be prayer, and may
it be turned away. And dear Lord, just we do beg,
answer those things that we pray according to thy heavenly holy
will. And so Lord be with each one,
those that mourn, those that are widows and widowers, and
dear Lord, many have walked that way many years, we pray for them. And we pray, dear Lord, that
thou would help those that are lonely, those that need comforting,
those that need supporting. Lord, it is a secret path the
child of God walks, and yet thou canst come to them each. Lord,
we thank thee for the supply of every need. Thou hast proved
again even today, my God shall supply all your need according
to his riches in glory. And dear Lord, we believe that
thy people can plead this every single day, that the Lord has
supplied their need. And so watch over us now and
help us with thy word we do beg, forgive our many sins, wash us
in that precious blood so freely shed for thy dear namesake. Amen. Continue our service by singing
hymn number 330. The tune is Carlyle, number 17. Your hearts, ye trembling saints,
down from the willow's take, loud to the praise of Christ
our Lord bid every string awake. Though in a foreign land, we
are not far from home, and nearer to our house above, We every
moment come in number 330, June Carlyle, number 17. Whose broad stripes and bright
stars, through the perilous fight, God save the grace of Christ
the Lord. Amen. Praise to thee, Amen. Oh, say does that star-spangled
banner yet wave The sun is setting. O praise to thee, O praise to
thee, O praise to thee, O praise to thee, O praise to thee, O
praise to thee. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? ? God's mercy and his gentleness
? ? All is well and safe for me ? And make me flesh again. ? Gave thee a voice and power ?
? Great still the vibrancy of your songs ? ? Ringing in the
days of old with glory ? ? With silence we call thee ? ?
We'll raise to God his heavenly throne ? ? While he stands on
high ? May the dear Lord help me to
say a few things from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 9 and
verse 6. I'll read that as a text, verse
6. Acts of the Apostles chapter 9 verse 6 and he trembling and
astonished said Lord What will thou have me to do? And the Lord
said unto him arise and go into the city and it shall be told
thee what thou must do Really, it's this point, isn't it friends?
What will thou have me to do and the Lord said arise and go
and so we have this beautiful chapter of a man and that is
just like you and me, rebellious, hard-hearted. Why do you think
it says, and he trembling and astonished? Why? Why was he trembling? What did he have to tremble over?
Paul, or Saul as he was then, he didn't tremble at anything.
Ah, but something different came into his life, didn't it? The Psalmist said, tremble over,
The inhabitants upon the earth tremble. He says the Lord reigneth,
let Israel tremble. Friends, I ask you and me really,
have we ever trembled before God? You know we're living in a day
where there's no trembling now. No trembling. There's no astonishment. No. This part is moved to one
side, you don't have to understand or go through this part. This
is too harsh, trembling and astonished. No, friend, if you're being brought
by the narrow way. It's the narrow way we need to
be in, friends. It's not one foot in one way
and one foot in another way. It's completely being removed
from one way and put into another that we weren't born in. And
we see it clearly, don't we? Saul of Tarsus was not born in
the narrow way. And we all have a bit of him
in our nature. rebellious, hard-hearted, not
yielding, stubbornness, pride, as the Lord opened a door into
your heart for you to have a little look, because nothing else will
do it, you can't see it yourself, you might feel guilty a few times,
you might feel your conscience disturb you, but it's when the
Lord opens the door, then you see Him, and He did just that
for us all, And he trembling and astonished. He thought that
he should be fighting against his name. So did you and so did
I. You wouldn't admit it now, would
you? You wouldn't admit it being sitting in a strict Baptist chapel,
would you? But you fought against him. You
did. You fought just like Saul did,
with hand uplifted high. I will not have this man to rule
over me. That's what you said. You say,
no, I didn't say that. God heard you say it in your
heart when you were born. When you were born, friends,
you said it. You were born in sin and shapen in iniquity and
you can't get away from it. Nobody can. So this is just to
highlight a little bit of what Saul was. And yet we can't point
the finger at him, we can't throw a stone at him. But the mercy
is, listen, Heaven called him. Heaven called him. Saul, Saul,
he stopped him. He stopped him. You think, have you ever read
of Paul trembling afterwards when the Lord spoke to him? No,
no. He looked forward to those times.
He looked forward to those days. But here, friend, Oh, you can
see the terror that went through his heart. But isn't it a mercy? It didn't cut him off. It could
have cut him off. The man had letters in his hand
and he had the authority to go and drag all the Christians,
men and women, out of the chapels. The Lord could have stopped him.
He could have died on the spot. Do you see how big mercy is,
friends? You know, when we plead for mercy, we're pleading for
eternal mercy. Not just for this mercy that
we have upon one another, to be kind, to be compassionate,
that's lovely, isn't it? But you're talking about God.
You're talking about the Eternal One, had no beginning, no end.
He lives forever, He's always lived. And there's a character
here that He's always loved. He's always loved Him. Right
back in eternity, friend, Saul's name was brought up in the councils
of the covenant. We let him go this far, then
we stop him. Do you know it breaks your heart,
doesn't it, when you think of you and me? He let us go this far. He said,
no further, no further. Send for them. I've got something
for them to do, something better. And here we have it with Saul,
don't we? He fell down astonished, and he said, he said, what will thou have me
to do? Well, he says in Ephesians, and
he clears all this up for us, doesn't he? He says, but God,
who is great in mercy. He tells them. If you had said
that about Saul years before this happened, he would have
pushed you away. But now he says, God, but God.
who is rich in mercy. He felt it. He knew it. And oh,
dear friends, sometimes don't you want everybody to know? Those
of you that know the Lord, don't you want to whisper His name
into everybody's ear? Don't you, friends? Don't you
want to tell them of the dear Lord Jesus? You don't know who's
His. You don't. The very people you
turn from, friends, could be walking their way to glory. The
apostle says to us all, examine Yourselves. He didn't say examine
your neighbor. I know it's how, I know the walk
friends that Jesus said, didn't he? He said, by their fruits
you know them. But you don't know what a kind
word, what a word might do. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? But he didn't even know he was
doing it. Didn't know he was doing it until it was open to
him that he was actually persecuting the Lord Jesus. You know, As
I think back, and I would confess before the Lord, and it is a
personal thing, but those thoughts I've had about different Christians.
Friends have just come into your mind, haven't they? You know,
don't you? It's not something premeditated,
where you think, why is the Lord allowing this? Why does the Lord
allow that one or this one? Paul didn't know that he was
persecuting the Lord. Have you ever been brought up
sharp, friends, that your thoughts are persecuting the Lord? You
don't have to do it outwardly. The Lord says, if you think it
in your heart, you've done it. So we have this here with this
man, and if we can find a stubborn man, an unwilling man, a rebellious
man, we've got one. We've got one. In all of the
scripture, we've found one. And friend, you and I need mercy
just as much as he did. Just as much. And I feel more
and more as we go on, we need mercy more, don't we? We do,
don't we? You feel you tasted mercy in
the beginning, but you're still pleading, Lord, have mercy on
me, aren't you? You're still pleading, Lord, remember me,
aren't you? And he does. So he says, what
will thou have me to do? Now, what a beautiful word this
is, isn't it? if you're an exercised soul.
If you're one like Saul that's stubborn and going your own way
and doing your own thing, which we all want to do and we wonder,
don't we, when we are not born again, we wonder, although sometimes
afterwards we do, we wonder why we can't mix. We wonder why the
Lord stops up our way. We wonder why the way is so narrow,
don't we? But look what the Lord brought
him to. And he knows how to bring each one of us to it, friends.
He knows. You think sometimes he doesn't
know. He knows you. He knows you. He's known you
from all eternity. It's a job for us to grasp that,
isn't it? We can only believe it by faith
that he knows me. If you met a man in the street
and he said, I knew you before you were born, you wouldn't believe
him, would you? You say, how could he? How could
he have known me? Throughout this sacred word,
friends, he's telling us he knew us before we were born. And so we see this as he comes,
what will they have me to do? Now in this position, Paul is
now down on his knees, isn't he? What will they have me to
do? And the Lord knew before time began what he wanted him
to do. But the amazing thing is, and
it is an amazing thing, isn't it? If you really meditate and
look at these things, why did the Lord allow him to go so far? How many people did he hurt?
How many poor ladies did he pull by the hair, screaming? They
only wanted to worship, and yet he dragged them to prison. Why did the Lord allow it? It
was good for them, you say. How can it have been? Look at
the trial of their faith, friends. But look at the beauty of their
faith. They held on their way. They were dragged to prison and
they held on their way. These were all things that tormented
Paul afterwards. That's why he said, forgetting
those things which are behind. He heard those people. He heard
them praying. He heard them pleading with the
Lord as he was locking them up. And they held on their way. Looking
forward, pressing toward the mark. Do you ever look back and
you're ashamed? Do you ever look back and you're
guilty? Do you ever look back and you think, Lord, I can't
look back. I just can't look back. Help me to look forward.
Blessing he does, isn't it? It's the only thing that'll help
us in life is the Lord with us, helping us to look forward. But
what will thou have me to do? Now, is this a question in your
heart and is it a question in mine? There may be something
upon you. It may have come upon you. There
may be something coming. And this prayer will be squeezed
out of your heart. Because isn't it good to start
everything with the Lord? Look at this first word he says,
Lord. Isn't that lovely? It starts with the Lord. Have
you started those things that you're in with the Lord? Because
if you have, there will be profit to you. not monetary not always
monetary there will be profit eternal profit to your never
dying soul if you start with the lord in everything i'm not
saying you take up with the lord i'm saying if you inquire of
the lord first it's when you don't it's when you think you can do
your own thing you children and young people we've all been there
And we think we know what to do, what's right. Why should
we listen to our parents? They don't know. They don't know. If you've got godly parents,
and I had, I've still got a godly mother, but if you have them,
remember how they learned that. Because it's not natural. They learned in the school of
Christ, And sometimes, you know, I think back to how my dad used
to advise me, and I never realized he'd been to the School of Christ.
I didn't know what it all meant. And I thought, well, how can
he advise me? He knew how to advise me. He did. And his father before him had
advised him because they were all found in the school. And
friend, it's such a beautiful thing. If we are following on,
what will thou have me to do? It's one of the most beautiful
prayers that we could ever pray. Because it's handing our lives
over to the Lord. It's handing everything we have
over to the Lord. Lord, what will they have me
to do? I don't know what to do. And if you've come to a crossroads,
if you've come to two ways, three ways, four ways, which way are
you going to take? How do you know whether the Lord's
down that road, or that road, or that road? Without asking
Him. It's a sad thing and we've done
it, but we've gone in one pathway and he wasn't there. You think
friends, it's a blessing he didn't let us carry on that way. We
had to go back. Had to go back. And start again. And then he
led us right. You see this old body, this person
of us, we need teaching so much, just like Paul did. There he
was, a great Pharisee, he had all the authority in the land
to do what he was doing, and now he's come to this. I don't
know what to do, what will they have me to do? And if you're
walking out this path, and sometimes the Lord's people have to come
here, we can see this, what the hymn writer said here, he said,
surrendered to the crucified. That's where Paul was. He gave
up his whole life. You think he still had the letters
in his pocket when he prayed this? He still had those writings
in his pocket. It doesn't say what he did with
them, but we can imagine what he did with them, can't we? It's
just the same as you and I, with all those old things when the
Lord spoke to you, what did you do with them? Hold tighter to
them? Did you let them go? And a beautiful thought comes, I
hope he tore them up so that the others didn't go and do what
he was gonna do. But, what will thou have me to
do? Now, we don't know what to do,
do we? In all of our lives we don't
know what to do, and so we must ask heaven. And how many times
do you think this question has been asked in the courts of heaven? You couldn't put a number on
it, could you? How many times has the Lord's people asked in
their life, what will thou have me to do? You know this could
be for a child, starting out, it can be for those in their
espousals, Lord, what will thou have me to do? It can be for
somebody in middle life, Lord, what will thou have me to do?
But what about the end of life? What about when we come down
to the river? Lord, what will thou have me to do? Are you going
to rest on yourself? Are you? Are you going to rest
on your own arm? I'll tell you now at your give
way he says rest on me that's what we're gonna do we're gonna
rest on him but just briefly it says and the Lord said now
this man's plea was answered on the spot he cried and this was it this
is we can't even express what it says here What will they have
me to do? This was from an empty heart. This was from a man in agony.
This was from a man that was a sinner through and through.
What will they have me to do? And the Lord answered him. And
sometimes I was thinking, why doesn't the Lord answer us? Are
you empty enough? Are you empty enough? Empty souls
are filled, aren't they? Half empty and not filled, you've
still got a bit of self in you. But when you've got nothing,
you've got absolutely nothing, Paul needed an answer. He couldn't
move a muscle further without an answer. Lord, what will they
have me to do? Look at the compassion of Jesus.
He didn't say, well Paul, well Paul, look what you've done.
Paul, look into your, nobody else knows Paul, but I know. He didn't say that at all. Look
what the dear Redeemer says. And the Lord said unto him, Arise
and go into the city. Do you know, it's so beautiful,
isn't it? The words of Jesus, he doesn't
hold anything against his people. No, away with all that, friends.
You've got a heart like it and I have where we hold things against
people. You've got the heart of Christ and the mind of Christ.
You'll never hold anything against anybody. He didn't. Does he hold
something against you? When you go to pray does he say,
I remember you, I remember what you did? No. What does he say? Come unto me, come unto me. I know he corrects and he chastens,
I know all this friends, but here he could have absolutely
torn Saul apart. He didn't, he didn't. He was chosen from all eternity
and he loved him. He loved him with all his heart.
And he says, arise, Saul, arise, and go into the city. Now this
is a lovely little word, isn't it? And he never expected to
ever hear it from the lips of Jesus. Do you know, friends,
it's from the lips of Jesus. From the very heart of heaven,
arise. Arise, Paul. I don't hold anything
against you. I've paid everything for you.
Right. You know, I think of, there's
many characters, if we were to just dip into their accounts,
like dear Paul, dear David, when he, he didn't know he was going
to fight a giant. He didn't know that he was going
to face Goliath that day. He didn't even know he was going
to a fight where they was all stopped. What will they have
me to do, Lord? Take lunch to your brothers.
Just as simple as that. Take lunch to your brothers.
And they said, why have you come out the naughtiness of thine
heart? He hadn't come out the naughtiness of his heart. He
had come by divine command. And do you know, because it happened
like it did, it was the first step towards the kingdom and
he didn't know it. The first step. to put in the
crown on to be the king of Israel and he didn't know it. Think
of you and me, friends. Where's the Lord leading you? What's he doing with you? You
know, we can so easily reject him, can't we? We can so easily
go against him, we can grieve him. We can grieve him for something
that he's doing for us, for our benefit. David could have said,
I'm not going. I'm not going. Why should I go?
But you know, I often think David went equipped. The Lord didn't
say to him, take this sling with you, did he? He didn't tell him
that. And so he doesn't tell you and
me to take prayer with us because he expects us to take it. He
expects us. That shepherd boy never left
that sling and the sling never left that boy. He had it by his
side all of the time. And it makes me wonder whether
even as the king he kept it close. Friend, that delivered him many
times under the Lord. He did that sling. That must
have had a prized place in that palace. The little sling that
delivered Israel. Have you got that little sling,
friends, that you prize? Where the Lord answered you,
one stone, one stone, one promise. That's all you've got to live
on, friends. I know we hear people, don't we, And sometimes it grieves
you in your heart. They've got four or five promises.
Perhaps they've got ten promises. I don't know where they get them
from. I don't actually know where they get them from. If you've
got one from the lips of Jesus, just one, just one little stone,
it's round, it's smooth, it's been worn away, and yet it's
as fresh, as fresh as the dew in the morning. What will thou have me to do?
Gideon, look at Gideon. I'm not going with less than
3,000 men. Is that how you feel? The Lord started whittling them
down. Less, less. Is he doing it to you? Less and
less. Lord, I can't go with 300 men.
Naturally speaking, friends, it was ridiculous. 300 men! I've got 3,000 that were willing
to come, but now only 300. Lord, you can hear it from Gideon's
heart, can't you? Lord, what will they want me
to do? He said, arise Gideon, arise. Light the lamp. Go to
battle. Isn't it wonderful, our God?
He didn't say, Gideon, take your sword and hold it high with all
the other weapons. He didn't say that. said light
the lamp and break the picture that's when you ask the lord
what will they have me to do do you know i think of jonah
he was a minister of the gospel wasn't he a preacher and he was
settled where he was he was settled why disturb a man that's settled
he was preaching why disturb him that's not god's way Was
he too much? Was he too settled? God doesn't
tell us his secrets, does he? He doesn't tell us his mind.
But was Jonah in a barren place? Was Jonah in something settling
down too much? So God said, arise and go to
Nineveh. Oh, Jonah. Jonah, just like here. He didn't come out, Lord, what
will thou have me to do? He ran, he fled, didn't he? He fled, but the Lord didn't
let go of his hand. Didn't let go of him. You might be running
from God, but he won't let go of you if you're his. He holds
his hand, the people's hand, wherever they go. And you know
he went down and caught the ship and went down into the sea and
the whale and they threw him over and the whale vomited him
up. And what did he say? Lord, what will they have me
to do? Look what it cost him. He could have said it in the
beginning. Arise and go to Nineveh. Have you got to arise out of
something? Is there something before you? You know, I really
believe this is a word from God for you. Whoever is listening,
arise and go. You've got to arise up and go.
You've got to go out of something. You have friends, you've got
to get up. It's no good laying where you are anymore. It was
no good Paul or Saul laying on the ground anymore, was it? What
good was a man laying on the ground to God? It was no good
at all. Arise Paul, there's something
for you to do. Many lives to be benefited from
the preaching. Many lives have got to be restored. Many lives have got to have a
precious Christ displayed to them. It's not ours to complain,
ours to grumble about or put up arguments
or obstacles, it's ours to obey. You know you find that with children,
don't you? Sometimes they don't obey, do they? Sadly, you don't have to tell
them not to obey. They don't obey. Just don't obey. You can keep
telling them, telling them, but they won't obey. Because there's
something in us that is disobedient. I'm a friend of a little child's
like that before its parents. What are you like before God?
Disobedient. You're disobedient before God.
You say, well, I've tried to be obedient. You know in your
own heart, friends, if he said arise now and go, would you? It's only the power of the Holy
Spirit within the breast, within the heart, that can make any
sinner arise and go. And you see this all so beautiful
tying into the eternal God, don't you? That the Holy Spirit was
working in Paul, the actual ministration of the word was from Jesus and
the Holy Spirit working in Paul arise Paul when he got off the
ground he was a different man he's totally different when you
got off the ground were you different? you know what I mean don't you?
when the Lord pushed you right down to the ground he emptied
you right out and he held you down there with his hand didn't
he? then he says arise Look how we got up. Got up so different,
didn't we? And yet nothing had changed,
but the outlook was different. Everything had changed. And why? How had it changed? Because the
glorious gift of faith is given. That's the only thing that changes.
If you haven't got faith, friends, nothing will change. If you've
got faith, everything changes. It does. Just one little grain
of the gift of faith, the faith of God, and your outlook on life,
outlook on everything will be different. It will. It's when
faith is so low and at such a low ebb, what happens? What happens? Everything gets worse, doesn't
it? Things pile up in front of you, don't they? Molehills become
mountains, don't they? And all those troubles that you
have in your heart, what do they do? They rear their ugly heads
without faith. But you let, if the Lord grant
you just a drop of faith, watch what happens. I will make all
my mountains away and they're gone. They're gone. Arise, Paul,
and go. It's a lovely word, isn't it? It's used so often in our language,
English language, arise and go, but if the Lord speak this to
you, if the Lord really tell you to do something, I know you
put up those things, well, he doesn't really know the position
I'm in. He doesn't know where I am. He knows it's not possible
for me to get up, arise and go. He knows that. He knows I've
got no supply at all. He knows that I'm inadequate.
But he's not asking you to explain your position. He's not asking
you to tell him. He knows your position through
and through, better than you do. What's he asking then? He's
just commanding you to arise and go. And you know friends,
if you obey, if we're obedient children, What do you think happens? Everything falls into place. You might not believe it, but
that's what the child of God is walking out. It is, friends.
You know, I've said at Staplehurst before that when our children
were small, we used to have this little piece of wood with different
shapes in, and a little hammer, or they would just use their
hands as children, and for learning, And they would put the square
ones in the round ones. They kept trying. They did not
understand that a square one had to go in a square one. They
didn't understand it. And then the triangular one,
instead of thinking, well I've tried that already, they try
and put the triangular one through the circle and it wouldn't work.
Do you know, it's fascinating watching them, because they just
couldn't understand it. It's fascinating watching a child
of God trying to work out his way. It is strange. You're still
trying to put those squares through the round, aren't you? You can't
do it. You can't do it. Who can do it?
When the Lord, the Blessed Spirit comes upon a man or a woman,
the square goes in the square and you didn't touch it. The
triangle goes in the triangle and you didn't touch it. You
can see it all just falling into place and you didn't touch it.
Isn't it beautiful? This is what Jesus was doing
for Saul. He tried his utmost in those three days to put a
square in a circle. He tried, he couldn't do it.
But God had already ordered Ananias. Look how beautiful Ananias said,
didn't he? He said, Lord, I have heard much
of this man. He put up a complaint, didn't
he? Oh, he said, Ananias, he's a
chosen vessel unto me. He's a chosen vessel? I'm sorting
his life out, not you. You're not sorting his life out
Ananias, I'm doing it all. And Ananias, I like that, as
we read that, did you see that Ananias didn't even knock on
the door? The door must have been opened, he must have heard
Paul, Saul howling. He must have been weeping his
heart out friends. He was lost. He was a lost character. This isn't pretend stuff. This
is a real man's life. And he was weeping, he was in
darkness, he was blind, he had no faith, he had nothing. All
he had was sin. Sin upon sin upon sin, mounting
up around his room. And then Ananas just walked straight
in. He didn't knock, I just suddenly realised as I was reading that,
he didn't even knock. He could hear what was going
on on the other side and his heart was rounding. By faith
he could see a child of God. By faith he was made the deliverer
of the message. And he put his hand on his shoulder.
Friend, nobody put their hands on Paul's shoulder. Nobody. He
was a commanding officer. Nobody touched him. Ananias did. Because now, friends, now we
saw that he was a different character. He saw past all this soul that,
you know, Jesus had said he's a chosen vessel and to me he
would put his hand on. I said, brother, Don't you love the way the Lord
works? Don't you, friends? Don't it really melt your heart
sometimes? Those two would have never met, never met, only because
of Jesus. That's the only reason they met.
Friends, it's often like that, isn't it? With spouses. You'd
have never met only because of Jesus. It's like that in life, isn't
it? In finance or business or whatever
work life you're in, you would have never met anybody there.
Only because the Lord put you there, because Jesus. Oh, you
must exalt his name, friends. Because these two came together
and they were brothers. They were brothers. Because he
had obeyed God. They both obeyed, really. Ananias
had obeyed the Lord, mainly Paul had obeyed the Lord and he said
arise and go into the city and he told you and Ananias took
such a beautiful message didn't he he said to him brother Saul
Jesus that appeared to thee in the way do you know friends he could
have said I don't know why he appeared to you I don't know
why he appeared to you he could have said I've heard so much
about you Jesus said you're not worth it. Paul would have agreed
with him, but he didn't say anything like that. He said Jesus had
appeared unto thee in the way. And look what happened. I believe
this happens. You might not understand it happening,
but this actually happens to a child of God when they're born
again. Scales fell from his eyes. He looked up upon Jesus. He looked
up upon the just one. He saw him. He saw him by blessed
faith. He'd never seen him before. Yes,
he'd heard his voice, but now he saw him. Job said, I have
heard with, by the hearing of the ear, but now, friend, have
you got to this stage in your life? But now, mine eye sees
him. He sees him. Took a long time for Job to get
there, didn't it? But he got there. Took three days for Paul,
Saul to get there and he got there. he looked upon that just
one and he loved him he loved him do you know there was such
an attraction in Jesus that Saul couldn't take his eyes off him
for the rest of his life for the rest of his life he kept that eye of faith fixed
on Jesus you read his writings from a man that was in absolute
despair He was despairing that the next drop, the next step
he took, he would drop into hell. And so he kept his eyes fixed
on him. But it's to be obedient, isn't it? I was thinking earlier,
you know, the whole creation, trees, grass, plants, whatever
they are, they're obedient to God. That's just obedient. They just do as they are told. But man, he's so disobedient. Man has to ask God what to do.
A tree doesn't ask God what to do, does it? It does it. It grows. But man, because he's so fallen,
doesn't know what to do. So he asks Him. You read this chapter again,
because it is lovely how the Lord works. Listen to this word,
I want you to just read this from verse 17, the last part,
where I was saying, Jesus had appeared unto thee in the way,
as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy
sight, and this is it, isn't it, friends? And be filled with
the Holy Ghost. You've got a sinner that has
so deeply died in sin, he's such a wretched man, and he would
admit it, he would actually admit it, is going to be the house
of the Holy Ghost. How? How, friends, does the Holy
Ghost dwell in your heart? How can it be that the Holy Spirit,
the God, the person of the Holy Spirit can dwell in the heart?
How can it be? Only because of the shed blood
of Jesus. It's the only reason you've got
faith. It's the only reason you believe in God. It's the only
reason you've got anything. It's because that blood was shed. It's the only reason. It's the
only reason you have one good thought toward heaven. It's the
only reason you'll ever have pardon of sin. If you need your
sins pardoning, I really wonder whether sometimes friends, people
don't need their sins pardoning today. They don't need it. They can brush it away and forget
it. But the Lord can't forget it. He'll never forget it. Do
you know, friends, He'll never forget it for all eternity to
the wicked. He'll always remember their sin. But look at the beautiful
thing He says to the child of God. Thy sins and iniquities,
I will remember them no more. How can God say that to us? Because
of the precious blood of Jesus. That's the only reason. Thy sins
I have cast into the depth of the sea. Do you know, lately
in our generation, they're finding out the depths of the sea, aren't
they? They're finding out that right down at the bottom of the
sea, there's still life. There's still things unknown
to man down there. And God says, I'll cast the sins
of the people into the depths of the sea. What's he mean? Are
they gonna be dragged up then? Are they gonna be found again?
No, he doesn't mean the sea here, does he? He means the eternal
sea of his precious mind. I will forget them, cast them
into the mists. I'll put them behind my back.
Oh, arise and go into the city. How many times? And it shall
be told thee what thou shalt do. Now, if you're an exercise
person, and there are different exercises, aren't there, for
the Christian. And the Lord, it's not, friend,
I want to say this rightly, but it's not worth taking up an exercise
just for an exercise. It's not worth trying to be something
if the Lord hasn't got something for you to do. It's like Paul,
or Saul, he only called Saul. He didn't call all the rest of
them. There was lots of men with him. He only called Saul. They
heard a voice, but they saw nobody. But if you've got an exercise,
and whatever that exercise is that the Lord has given you,
have you ever come into the Lord's house, and it's been described,
Have you ever actually come in to the Lord's house and the servant
of God or the minister who's preaching has touched it? How
do you think he knows? It's a sad thing, friends, if
you've come into the chapel and the Lord never mentions it, isn't
it? It's a sad thing if you've taken
up something and the minister never touches on it, never. Is
it real? You see, these things are real
right the way through, friends. There's nothing surface here.
It's real. Did Saul go back to persecuting? No, the Lord turned the whole
lot round. My old pastor, the dicker, Mr. Tyler, he used to
say this, the Lord polarizes. He turns it right round. He completely
turns it over and now pulls the persecuted one. They want him. They want him because of the
name of Jesus. He wanted the people because of the name of
Jesus, now they want him. You see what the Lord does? And
he can do that with you and me. He can turn you right over, right
upside down. So those things you thought would
happen, they don't happen, but something else does. The Lord's
a wonder how he works, you know. He's such a sovereign, isn't
he? How he works. He changes. He changes everything. He changes men's hearts. And
we think, how did that happen? He changes them because it's
not in his decree. I ask you kindly, but are you
seeking the Lord's will in something? Because this is really what Saul
was doing. He was asking the will of heaven.
What is the will of heaven concerning me? You've been asking the Lord a
long time. Saul didn't know what was going to happen, but Jesus
did. I like that, don't you? Because how many times do you
go into prayer and you think, Lord, I just don't know what
to do, I just don't know where to go, and I don't know what
path to take, and can't we be comforted that Jesus knows? Aren't
you comforted? You know, right down through
to old age, aren't you comforted? I will carry you, even to whoreheads. Even to those last days, I still
carry it. You don't know, do you? And do
you know, there's many that have wondered whether to go into Bethesda
or whether to stay at home. There's many that wonder whether
to go and live with this one or live with that one. The Lord
knows. What will they have me to do?
Arise and go, he said. You know I preach somewhere and
this has nothing to do with me at all. It's only to exalt the
precious Lord. I preached somewhere and it was
the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and I just preached
it and this man came up to me afterwards and he said did you
know I was going to be here? I said no I didn't know at all. Okay and he walked off. He obviously had an exercise
and the Lord had spoken to him through the word and I was as
amazed as he was that the Lord had used his word In the sanctuary
that day, isn't that beautiful? Don't you fall at his feet sometimes
of a night? Just before you go to bed, don't
you thank him? Not just for helping you through
the day, but thank him for who he is. Thank him for what he
is to you. Is he anything to us? Does he
really mean something to us? Is he our all? I know this is a personal thing
for whoever says it, but I asked a man once, we were talking,
and he said to me, Jesus is everything to me. I thought, yeah, I know.
I love you too. I thought, I love your heart.
He said, he's everything to me. He said, I can't do anything
without him. I need him all the time. Isn't it lovely when you
meet people like that? You feel such a one. You don't
really know them, do you? But you see, because Jesus brings
people together, he brings, you know, look how lovely it was
on the Emmaus road. They were in such trouble. They
were, they weren't just talking, they were really downcast. Their
heart burnt within them and they didn't even know why. They didn't
know why. Does your heart burn within you
sometimes when you're talking to someone? Don't think that's
just your heart burning, friends. It's the presence. You think
the presence of Almighty God burning your hearts together.
It's lovely, isn't it? It's lovely that he doesn't stay
away. And I like that promise that he gave to his people. I
think it's in one of the Minor Prophets. And he says this, fear
not, my spirit remaineth among you. Isn't that lovely? My spirit
remaineth among you. It doesn't matter about the obstacles
and the fears and the fretting. It doesn't matter about all that.
You leave that to me, he says. My spirit dwelleth among you.
Well, I'll leave you with the whole verse. And he trembled,
and he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what will thou have
me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise
and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou
must do. And he obeyed. I'll leave you with that word,
friend, and he obeyed. May the dear Lord forgive anything
that's been said of me, his amen. Conclude our service this evening
by singing hymn number 60, The Tunisian Godric, number 556. All the elected train were chosen
in their head to all eternal good before the worlds were made,
chosen to know the Prince of Peace and to taste the riches
of his grace. Now, Lord, to us reveal the all-confirming
grace And may we all pursue the shining paths of peace, run in
the way to joys above, and ever sing electing love. Hymn number
60, tunes in Godric number 556. Guided by the light of the sun, Before the world's flood of day. Chosen to be the Prince of Peace,
I'm chased, I'm reached, and I fall. I'm chained. Joyfully we'll gather, To give
you cheer, To know that life on earth Till all things are done, Chosen
to prove salvation, Chosen to reign over all. Now in darkness appears In His
eternal joys He charms the humble slave that makes us all rejoice. His endless glory shines so bright,
it makes our hearts all rejoice. ? Hosanna in the highest ? ? Hosanna
in the highest ? We shall meet once again. Running away to join the one
that never should be found. I will just quote that one verse
that I was meant to say in the Song of Solomon and it's so beautiful. Arise my love, my fair one, come
away, come away from it all, come to me. May the dear Lord help us now. As we come to part, dear Lord,
do remember us and bless this people and their pastor, we do
pray for them. O Lord, seal thy word upon our
hearts, apply it to our hearts, Lord, that it might do us good.
And now we pray that 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 for evermore. Amen.