you The notices for the coming week
are God willing as follows. Pastor will preach here next
Lord's Day at 10.30 and two o'clock. Also on Thursday evening at seven
o'clock. There'll be no prayer meeting
this week on Tuesday evening. There'll be a church meeting
here on Tuesday, the 9th of May. Let us commence our services
today by singing together hymn number 303. The tune is Hollinside,
514. Jesu, lover of my soul, let me
to thy bosom fly, while the raging billows roll, while the tempest
still is high. Hide me, O my Saviour, hide. Till the storm of life is past,
safe into the haven guide, O receive my soul at last. Hymn 303, tune Hollingside, 514. This is the door of my soul.
Let me to thy bosom fly. Now the tempest in its power,
I fear my Saviour now. Till the storm of life is past,
Safe into the haven bright, I'll receive my soul at last. ? What a refuge hath my God ? ?
Thanks by helpless soul of me ? ? Be thou near me not alone ? ?
Still step forth and come for me ? ? All my trust on thee is
made ? ? All my help from thee I pray ? Cover my defenseless head With
the shadow of thy fame. Come and Christ out of my heart. All in, all in, in I find. Raise the coal up, clear the
flames. Heal the sick and lead the blind. Kirsten, her name is my name. I am all of righteousness. Man, I'm full of sin, I am. I want to ? Truth and praise ? ? Angels praise with thee we stand
? ? Praise to God the almighty King ? Never kneeling, straight
to the ground, Make and keep me now within. Thou, O Light, the fountain of
? When in earth be taken from thee
? ? Spring thou art with me in my heart ? ? Rise to glory, tell
it to me ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the Gospel according to Matthew and chapter
13. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13,
and we will read down to verse 43. The same day when Jesus out of
the house and sat by the seaside. And great multitudes were gathered
together unto him, so that he went into a ship and sat, and
the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many
things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went
forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds
fell by the wayside, And the fowls came and devoured them
up. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth,
and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness
of earth. And when the sun was up, they
were scorched, and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, And
the thorns sprung up and choked them, and other fell into good
ground and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold,
some thirtyfold. Whoe'er these to hear, let him
hear. And the disciples came and said
unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered
and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall
be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath
not, from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. Therefore
speak I to them in parables, because they see not, and hearing
they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah, which said, By hearing ye shall hear,
and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and shall
not perceive. For this people's heart is wax
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and should understand with their
heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed
are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.
For verily I say unto you that many Prophets and righteous men
have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen
them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard
them. He, therefore, the parable of
the sower, when any one heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth
it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which
was sown in his heart, This is he which receiveth seed by the
wayside. But he that receiveth seed into
stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon
with joy receiveth it, yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth
for a while. For when tribulation or persecution
arises because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that receives seed among
the thorns is he that heareth the word, and the care of this
world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and
he becometh unfruitful. For he that received seed, but
he that received seed into good ground is he that heareth the
word, and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth
forth some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. And another parable put he forth
unto them, saying, That the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man
which sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his
enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat. and went his way. And when the blade was sprung
up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the
servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst
not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath
it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath
done this. The servant said unto him, Wilt
thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest
while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with
them. Let both grow together until
the harvest. And in the time of harvest I
will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares,
and bind them in bundles to burn them, and gather the wheat into
my barn. Another parable put it forth
unto them, saying that the kingdom of heaven is like to a grain
of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
which indeed is the least of all seeds. But when it is grown,
it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that
the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Another parable spake unto them, that the kingdom of heaven is
like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures
of meal till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus
unto the multitude in parables, and without a parable spake he
not unto them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken
by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, I
will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation
of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude
away, and went into the house, and his disciples came unto him,
saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He
answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed
is the son of man, the field is the world, the good seed are
the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children
of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is
the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers
are the angels. And as therefore the tares are
gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of
this world. The Son of Man shall send forth
his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth, Then shall the righteous shine forth as a sun in the kingdom
of their Father, who has ears to hear. Let him hear. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own precious Word. Grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is, and art, and art to come. We bow before thee this
day, thy day. We come as poor sinners before
thy great majesty. We call upon thy great and holy
name, even the name of Jesus Christ. This is the name the
Father loves to hear his children plead. O gracious God, But we
do come then in that precious name of thy Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ. We come and seek and hope to
find a portion for our soul. We come, most gracious Lord,
that we might catch a glimpse of yon lovely man, even our Lord
Jesus Christ, that we may touch the hem of his garment, that
we may draw from that fullness that there is in him, that wonderful
virtue, salvation, redemption, deliverance from sin and Satan's
power, the glorious liberty of the children of God. We pray
that we might taste and handle and feel of these things as we
gather together around thy word. We do humbly beseech thee. We
pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God
our Father, the sacred fellowship of the Holy Spirit may rest and
abide with us. We pray that the word of truth
may be open to our heart and to our understanding. It may
be with us as it was with Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened.
O most gracious Lord, we pray, that it may be so, and that we
may worship thee in spirit and in truth. We confess our sins
and our sinfulness, our wanderings and our backslidings. We leave
undone things that we ought to do. We do things that we ought
not to do. Gracious God, we pray to be delivered
from the power of sin and that the wonderful grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ may overcome in our hearts and in our lives,
and that we may be surrendered unto the Crucified One, and that
while our days on earth are lengthened, may we give them, Lord, to Thee. We pray that Thou wouldst bless
us as a church and as a congregation. Remember our beloved brethren,
the deacons, and bless them. Remember each one of our brethren
and sisters in Christ in church fellowship, and bless each one. We do humbly beseech you, those
present and those not able to be present. And Lord, we pray
that we may love each other, serve each other, bear each other's
burdens. We pray that others may be gathered
into the church, that they may come and tell to sinners round
what a dear Saviour they have found, and point to thy redeeming
blood, and say, Behold the way to God. Lord, we pray that thou
wouldst graciously send out thy light and thy truth in our midst.
May the power that brings salvation be exerted in the world. May
the Lord Jesus Christ be exalted as a Prince and as a Saviour,
for to give faith and repentance and remission of sins. May we
see the fruits of righteousness among us as a congregation, and
may we be fruitful unto every good work and word and way. Help
us, most gracious Lord, to live to thee. We do humbly beseech
him, deliver us from living to ourselves. Gracious God, we do
pray that thou wouldst Send out the light and glory and power
of the gospel into this village and the surrounding villages
and hamlets. Fulfill the wonderful promises
of thy word to thy church. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth and they shall come
from the north and from the south and from the east and from the
west. And thou hast said, I, the Lord,
will hasten it in his time. And thou hast said, I will yet
be inquired of the house of Israel to do this thing for them. I
will increase them with men like a flock. O Lord of hosts, O God
of Israel, O thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth. Let thy hand be upon the man
of thy right hand, the son of man, whom thou madest strong
for thyself. O Lord, we do pray that thou
wouldst bless the little ones and the children as they're brought
into the sanctuary, that the blessing of the Lord that maketh
rich and addeth no sorrow with it may be their portion, that
the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, may
be placed in their hearts. Lord, we pray that thou wouldst
bless the dear young friends and undertake for them Bring
them to living faith in Jesus Christ. Bring them to follow
Thee and to serve Thee in their day and in their generation.
Constrain them by Thy grace. We do humbly beseech Thee. Be
with them in all the paths of providence. Graciously guide
them regarding their education or future employment or a partner
in life's journey. Lord, we lovingly commend them
to thee and to the word of thy grace, which is able to build
them up and to grant them an inheritance among them that are
sanctified. We pray for the prodigals that
have wandered away, that have no desire to be here, or that
thou wouldst cause them to be in want and cause them to return. There is nothing too hard for
them, There is none that are beyond the power of thy grace.
Oh, do hear us, Lord. We do humbly pray thee and grant
a day of real prosperity. Remember parents, give them grace
and wisdom and help that they may be enabled to bring up their
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Remember parents
in family worship and help them to raise the family altar. Lord,
remember that we do humbly beseech thee those in the evening time
of life's journey. Oh, we pray to be prepared for
that great day when heart and flesh shall fail. We shall soar
through tracks unknown and see thee on thy judgment throne.
Oh, Lord, do prepare us for that great day. We do humbly beseech
thee. Make us ready, but we pray Most
gracious Lord, that thou wouldst bless all thy servants as they
labour in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion today, that
thou wouldst set them free and set them at liberty, and send
out thy light and thy truth, and return in thy power and in
thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. We pray thee,
the great Lord of the harvest, to yet send true labourers into
the harvest, to build the walls of Jerusalem, O gracious God,
incline thine ear, we do humbly beseech thee, and bless thy word,
and bless the assemblies of thy people, and instead of a decline,
may we see an increase. Instead of a falling away, may
we see a building up. Instead of instability, may we
see stability. O gracious God, incline thine
ear, we do humbly beseech thee, that we pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou wouldst bless our nation, especially, Lord, in this coming
week, in the coronation of our king and the queen, and we pray
that thou wouldst bless the royal house, bless the royal house
with thy rich grace, with that true wisdom which cometh from
above, we do humbly beseech thee, We pray that thou in thy great
mercy would remember thy servants as they laboured in word and
doctrine in the nations of the earth. We think of those that
go forth from us. Ian Sadler and that great work
that he's doing in Africa and India and Pakistan and Burma. Lord help him. We do humbly pray
they supply all his needs. Remember the Savannah Education
Trust and that great work they're doing in Ghana. Remember the
Mombasa Mission and thy servant that labours there. Oh, that
thou wouldst give thy word good success. We do humbly beseech
of thee. Lord, we thank thee for all thy
tender mercies. Many and great are thy mercies
and thy loving kindness. Oh, we thank Thee that Thou art
God over all and blessed forevermore and that Thou art able to do
abundantly more than we can even ask for a thing. We thank Thee
for that profound mystery of Godliness of God manifest in
the flesh, even our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for His
holy life and that He has fulfilled Thy holy law on the behalf of
His people. We thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for the bringing in of everlasting righteousness in
his glorious person. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the Lamb was slain, where sin was put away, where divine justice
was satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled. O most
gracious Lord, we thank thee that he poured out his soul unto
death He was numbered among the transgressors, and He bared the
sin of many. We thank Thee that He died for
our sins, and rose again for our justification, and is now
bodily ascended into heaven, and sitteth at Thy right hand.
Oh, the glories, the wonder of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Him
we know the love of our Eternal Father, and through him we receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. And we desire a heart of thankfulness,
of gratefulness, of praise. Oh, do grant it to each one of
us. Make up in giving, O Lord, where
we do so fail in asking. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. We ask for Jesus Christ's
sake, Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 538. The tune is Affection, 277. By
nature, none of Adam's race can boast of goodness in God's sign. Sin plunged them
all in sad disgrace. Now nothing merely human's right. Hymn 538. Tune affection 277.
? I wish to know you ? ? Where
there's grace ? ? And words for goodness ? In the temple it shall be spread,
And the heathen the human tribes. ? Who made the world what it is
now ? ? Heaven and earth swell to Him ? ? Christ the King ? When I get to that lowly spot,
where the holy light from heav'n afar In Him they strangle, leap, and
nudge, His righteous penalty, in His turn, their end. ? Of this they sing, of this they
purge ? ? No promises can come from heaven above ? ? Come all ye free men, free in
one ? ? Church of this kingdom, come and join us in song ? ? And that in many things ? ? All
must know ? ? The everlasting life ? ? Of grace and grace ?
? And holy, blest Him are ? ? God,
Jesus, Maker, every Christie ? ? Yes, he remains his grace to
shine ? ? And his hope now in Christ is near ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I direct your attention to the 13th chapter
in the Gospel according to Matthew. And we will read verses 36 to
43 for our text. Matthew's Gospel, chapter 13,
verses 36 to 43. Then Jesus sent the multitude
away, and went into the house. And his disciples came unto him,
saying, Declare unto us the peril of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them,
He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man. The field
is the world. The good seed are the children
of the kingdom. but the tares are the children
of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is
the devil. The harvest is the end of the
world, and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares
are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end
of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth
his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father, who hath ears
to hear let him hear. Very clear from these parables
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the parable of the sower and the
parable of the tares, that there is good seed and there is evil
seed. There is good ground and there
is barren ground. What a solemn thought and how
searching and separating are the teachings of our Lord Jesus
Christ on these points of doctrine. And the disciples, they said
unto him in verse 10, why speakest thou unto them in parables? They use these parables as an
illustration of the truth. and it doesn't lessen the force
and power of the truth because it's a parable he answered and
said unto them because it is given unto you that's to the
disciples to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven but
to them it is not given and whosoever hath to him shall be given and
he that hath he shall have more abundance but whosoever hath
not from him shall be taken away even that he hath. How separating and how searching
are the teachings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Church of God, the Church
of Jesus Christ here on earth is portrayed as a mixed multitude
and there are so many different ways that this is set before
us in the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ that it is always
a mixed multitude. The devil sows his seed and the
Son of Man, that's our Lord Jesus Christ, sows his seed. And they're sown in the same
field. Christ says here, the field is
the world. And of course he sends his servants
to sow the seed. He that goeth forth and weepeth
bearing precious seed shall doubtless come again with rejoicing. Of course the primary interpretation
of that word is Christ. He that goeth forth bearing precious
seed When he came forth through his father, when he came into
this world, he bore precious seed. His church that were given
to him by the father, chosen by the father, redeemed
by the son, sanctified by the Holy Ghost. This good seed, their eyes are
opened. Their ears are opened. See, this
reoccurs through these parables, who hath ears to hear, let him
hear. Do we have ears to hear? Do we
have ears that are open to the truth? We read of Lydia, the seller
of purple, whose heart the Lord opened. My dear beloved friends,
that's what we need the Lord to do for us, to open our hearts. to receive the seed of the Word, or that the Lord would do that
for each one, young and old, that the seed of the Word may
be sown in the heart. We notice here with the parable
of the sower, when the Lord Jesus, He gives the interpretation of
And he said to the disciples in verse 18, hear ye therefore
the parable of the sower. And when we read this, we can
read ourselves. Has the good seed of the word
been sown into your heart? When anyone heareth the word
of the Lord, the word of the kingdom. We read in Romans, Chapter 10. Faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of the Lord. Hence the emphasis, constant
and continual, he that hath ears to hear, let him hear. When the
Lord Jesus sends those letters unto the seven churches of Asia,
he says the same thing. Emphasize. My beloved friends,
Has the Word of the Lord entered your heart? That's the vital
thing. It may have entered your head,
but has it entered your heart? The Apostle says, the letter
killeth, the Spirit maketh alive. We need the Holy Spirit to open
our hearts to receive the Word of the Lord. That it may be sown
there. But the Lord Jesus here, He clearly
says, when anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth
it not, then cometh the wicked one, as Satan, and catcheth away
that which was sown in his heart. This is he which receives seed
by the wayside. Not good ground. Not cultivated
ground. ready to receive the seed. He that receiveth the seed into
stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon
with joy receiveth it. Yet hath he no root in himself,
but dureth for a while. What a solemn thing to just have
a temporary religion. It dureth for a while. But when
tribulation persecution arises because of the word by and by
he is offended. He also that receives seed among
the thorns is he that heareth the word and the care of this
world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and becometh
unfruitful. You know in both of these parables
the great thing is is the fruit and the seed sown in the heart
will produce fruit, eventually. As the Lord says in the parable
of the sower, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn
in the ear. There's fruit. The fruits of
righteousness. The fruits of a loving, gracious
heart. doing good unto all men, especially
unto the household of faith, the fruits of faithfulness. These fruits brought forth in
the life, in the walk, in the conduct of the child of God. But you see, he says here, he
also that receives seed among the thorns is he that heareth
the word, and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness
of riches, choke the word. he becometh unfruitful the word
is choked what a solemn thing to be in that condition where
there is no fruit it's strangled but he that receives seed into
the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it which also beareth fruit, and
bringeth forth some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. But there's fruit. Oh, my beloved
friends, do we bear fruit? And this is
the vital teaching of these parables, that where the seed of the word
is sown into good ground, there is fruit that will be brought
forth. And you see this bad seed, as
it goes straight on in verse 24, the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a man which sowed good seed in his field, but while
men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat.
You know, friends, there's always been false prophets and there's
always been false teachers. And there was even in the days
of Christ false prophets and false teachers. There was in
the early church. And those false teachers, the
apostle speaks of them in the epistle to the Corinthians, in
the second epistle, and he says about that we should not be amazed
that Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. And the
direct relevance of that word is he's speaking about the gospel
ministry. So even Satan is changed and
you're an angel of light. And those false teachers, well,
they bear bad seed. The tears. The tears. But you see, the solemn thing
is this, my beloved friends, you cannot tell the difference
between the tares and the wheat until the fruit comes. They look
both the same until the fruit comes. And then you can clearly
see the tares and the wheat. And they said concerning the
tares, the servant said unto him, verse 28, Wilt thou then
that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay, lest while
ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
We need much wisdom, my beloved friends. Let them both grow together.
But this is a deeply solemn thought, isn't it? Let them both grow
together until the harvest. And in the time of the harvest,
I will say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares,
and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into
my bar. You see, he's talking here of
the Church of God, and that within the Church of God, the Apostle,
he speaks of it himself, doesn't he? He says, not all Israel is
of Israel. Not all, the Lord Jesus himself said, many shall
say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, and I will say unto them,
depart from me, I never knew you. They thought they knew him,
but he didn't know them. Some thought, isn't it? We can
think that we know the Lord. We can think that we're doing
the wrong thing, the right thing. but we can be completely wrong.
And these teachings my beloved friends are clearly and emphatically
set before us by our Lord Jesus Christ. Then Jesus sent the multitude
away and went into the house and his disciples came unto him
saying, declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. Now clearly and how emphatically
that does the Lord Jesus Christ declare unto them this distinct. You see, you look
broadly at the Christian Church and you can see some false teachers
and prophets are very clear to see. Others aren't. Others aren't. He that soweth the good seed
is the Son of Man. That's the glorious person of
Jesus Christ. He's the Son of God that was
manifest in the flesh. He's the preacher of preachers,
the teacher of teachers. That's the glorious person of
our Lord Jesus Christ. He sows the seed. He sends the
Spirit forth into the hearts of his people. The foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal upon it, the Lord knoweth
them that are his. They may be in a place where
they're surrounded with tares, but they're still that wheat.
Let them both grow together until the harvest. But what a solemn
thought, isn't it? It makes you think, of the Lord
Jesus here in Matthew chapter 25 and he says there concerning
the great day of judgment how that he will separate the sheep
from the goats the sheep will he place on his right hand and
the goats on his left hand he will separate and it's the
same here in the harvest He will separate, let both grow together
until the harvest, and in the time of harvest, I will say to
the reapers, of course it's the angels, gather ye together first
the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the
wheat into my barn. So, and there in Matthew chapter
25, the two clear instances of this separating teachings of
our Lord Jesus Christ. We just mentioned how that he
will separate the sheep and the goats in the great day of judgment. And he will say to the sheep
on his right hand, calm. What a beautiful word, isn't
it? What a lovely word, calm. You blessed of my father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of
the world. Surely there is no more glorious,
blessed, sacred word that the God of heaven can speak to a
poor sinner. Come, you blessed of my Father. Inherit. What does the word imply? It can't be purchased. It's freely
given. An inheritance is something that
is freely given. And this inheritance that he
speaks of here, it is freely given. The grace of God is freely
given. Freely receive. Freely give,
he says. Or have you, have I, received
this good seed into the heart? He that soweth the good seed
is the son of man. The field is the world. The good
seed are the children of the kingdom. But the tares are the
children of the wicked one. The tares are the children of
the wicked one. What a separate and solemn teaching
this is of our Lord Jesus Christ. The enemy that sowed them is
the devil. He transforms himself into an angel of light. He makes himself appear to be
a Christian. He makes himself appear to be
in subjection to Jesus Christ, the King of Glory. But it's a
total deception. Christ in his own teaching says
that he was a liar from the beginning. That is Satan. The enemy that showed them is
the devil. The harvest is the end of the
world. The reapers are the angels. See, there's a time of reaping
to come. The Lord Jesus Christ, he speaks
of it, doesn't he, in the Revelation chapter 14 and verse 14. We have
there revealed the glorious person of Jesus
Christ when he comes to judge the world in righteousness. And I looked, and behold, a white
cloud. Upon the cloud sat one like unto
the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, in his hand
a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of
the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the
cloud, thrust in thy sickle and reached For the time is come
for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. This is
the wheat harvest. This is the true harvest of the
Church of God. And he that sat on the cloud
thrusting his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. That is, the Church was reaped. But it goes on changing to grapes. This is the grapes of wickedness,
the grapes of wrath. Another angel came out of the
temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And
another angel came out from the altar which has power over fire
and cried with a loud cry to him that hath the sharp sickle,
saying thrust in thy sharp sickle and gather clusters of the vine
of the earth for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust
in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the
earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden
without the city, and blood came out of the winepress even unto
the horse bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred
furlongs. See this again, this separating
between the wheat and the grapes. And this idea that is put forth
in the teachings of Christ and in the message that he sends
to the churches, that we're all ripening for something. If we are the tares, we are ripening
for eternal destruction. If we are the true wheat, We
are ripening for eternal glory. My dear beloved friends, what
are you ripening for? What fruit is being brought forth
in your life or will be brought forth in your life? The field
is the world. The good seed are the children
of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked.
The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the
end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. Here in, I think it's in Matthew
24, the very first act of Christ, when he comes to judge the world
in righteousness, it says he will send his angels to the four
corners of the earth, and he will gather the elect unto himself. That's the very first act of
Christ when he comes to judgment. The Son of Man shall send forth
his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity, and shall cast them
into a furnace of fire. There shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth. It's a solemn thought, isn't
it? This is what the word of God
teaches. This is what the word of God
sets before us. My mind, it just goes to that
portion of scripture in Isaiah chapter 63. And again, we have a revelation
of Jesus Christ when he comes to judge the world in righteousness. And again that same point is
being made of the grapes of wrath. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, this that is glorious
in his peril, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I
that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Who is it? It's
Christ. Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments
like him that treadeth in the wine-valley? This is Christ coming
to judgment. I have trodden the winepress
alone, and of the people there was none with me, for I will
tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and
their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will
stain all my raiment, for the day of vengeance is in mine heart.
Notice this, and the year of my redeemed is come. What awaits
you? What awaits me? Is it the day
of vengeance? Or is it the year of the redeemed?
Have you been born again of the Spirit? Has the seed of the Word
been sown in your heart? Have you been brought to fill
your lost estate? Have you been brought to that
wonderful desire to love and follow and serve our Lord Jesus
Christ? He's been made precious to you.
His love has been shed abroad in your heart. redeemed of the
Lord. See, he says, I looked and there
was none to help. I wondered that there was none
to uphold, therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me
and my fury it upheld me. And I will tread down the people
in mine anger and make them drunk in my fury. I will bring down
their strength to the earth. You see these two types of people
clearly set before us in the Word of God and very distinctly
just think of that last chapter of the Old Testament Malachi
chapter 4 and again we have exactly the same truth two types of people
at the end of the world. Here in these first two verses
of Malachi chapter 4 is Christ. For behold, the day cometh that
shall burn as an oven, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble.
And the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord
of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
What does that mean? It will leave them neither root
nor branch. Well in the book of Job, Job speaks of a tree
when it is cut down. The stump is left in the ground. And the scent of rain, it will
grow a grain. It will send out branches and
it will start growing again. So what does it mean here? That
it shall leave them neither root nor branch. It will be a complete
destruction. with no hope of recovery. That's
what it means. The day that cometh shall burn
them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither
root nor branch, totally lost, totally ruined, for ever and
ever, to be in that place where the fire is never quenched, where
the worm dieth not. Solemn solemn thought but then
it goes on straight away in Malachi 4 into verse 2 but unto you that
fear my name the son of righteousness shall the son of righteousness
arise with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth and grow
up as calves of the storm. You see my beloved friends these
things are vividly and solemnly sat before us in the word of
God. But my mind was very much drawn
to the later those teachings of Christ not too long before
he was to suffer, bleed and die for the
sins of his people. And seemed to stand out so much
to me Matthew chapter 21 and it says in verse 44 and whosoever
shall fall on this stone shall be broken but on whomsoever it
shall fall it will grind him to powder. What does that mean? Who is this stone? It's Christ.
Upon this rock I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not
prevail against it. Whosoever shall fall upon this
stone, that is coming as a poor, penitent, ruined, wretched, helpless,
hell-deserving sinner, falling upon Christ, pleading for mercy,
looking for grace, looking for deliverance, a poor, broken-hearted
sinner, coming to Jesus Christ, looking to Jesus Christ, casting
all your care upon Him, for he careth for you. Oh, to know this
true brokenheartedness. Unto this man will I look, to
him that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at
my word. You see, whosoever shall fall
on this stone shall be broken. A poor broken sinner, a poor
helpless sinner, a poor ruined sinner, a poor lost sinner, a
poor hell deserving sinner, and yet falling on Christ, broken,
ruined in yourself, helpless, fowler to the fountain fly, wash
me, Saviour, or I die. Whosoever shall fall on this
stone, that's on Christ, looking to him for mercy, pleading for
him for salvation, for redemption. The Lord Jesus speaks to such
souls, come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and
I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
of me for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest
for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden
is light. Come unto me. What wonderful
words. of loving kindness, of grace,
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and whosoever shall fall on this
stone shall be broken. Are you a poor, broken-hearted
sinner? Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You see, a poor, broken-hearted
sinner coming to Jesus Christ, Look into Jesus Christ. Look
unto me, all ye ends of the earth. Does that describe where you
are, the ends of the earth? Look unto me. Who is speaking? Christ is speaking. Look unto
me, all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved, for I am God,
and there is none else. There is none other name that
is given unto heaven, whereby ye must be saved, but the name
of Jesus Christ. And the blood of Jesus Christ,
God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin, from all sin. And that glorious, everlasting
robe of the righteousness of Christ, it clothes the poor sinner. Whosoever shall fall on this
stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it
will grind him. that will grind him to powder.
What an awful, solemn thought. Then if we just for a moment
look to chapter 22, and these things rather stood out to me
yesterday when I was meditating for this service. Verse 11, chapter
22, and when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there
a man which had not on a wedding garment And he saith unto him,
Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a wedding garment?
And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants,
Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth, for many are called, but few are chosen. A wedding
garment, in this spiritual sense of the word, is the glorious
everlasting righteousness of Christ. Who are these that are
arrayed in white garments? From whence came they? You see,
these are they that came out of great tribulation and washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
are they before the throne of God? They have a wedding garment.
You cannot be in heaven without a wedding garment. The illustration,
of course, he sends his servants here in
chapter 22 to preach the gospel of the kingdom. We need a wedding garment. We
need the righteousness of Christ. We need our nakedness covered.
And this is the only thing that will cover your nakedness. is
the glorious everlasting righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is the
only thing that will wash away your sin, the precious blood
of the Lamb. The precious blood of the Lamb,
of Jesus Christ. Do you have a wedding garment? Can you echo in your heart the
lovely language of the hymn, my hope is built on nothing less. than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Can you echo the language of
the spouse when she says, my beloved is white and ruddy, the
chiefest among 10,000? She's speaking of Christ. White,
he's pure, he's holy, he's fulfilled and honored and the law for me. He's ruddy, that's red. He shed his precious blood. to
satisfy the demands of divine justice, to open a new and living
way into the holy place. He lived a life that we could
not live. He died a death that we could
not die. He lived a life that was pure,
that was holy, that was righteous. He offered a sacrifice that was
pure, and holy and righteous, he died the death. For the sins
of his people, for the transgression of my people was he stricken. He was, even our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, my beloved friends,
these separating things are set before us in God's holy word
that we should be warned. And here in the 24th chapter
of Matthew, and we read there, we preached on it not too long
ago, you look here at verse 42, and watch therefore for you know
not what how your Lord doth come, but know this that if the good
man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come,
he would have watched and would not have suffered this house
to be broken up, Therefore be ye also ready, for in such an
hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. The Son of Man
cometh. Then of course if we go into
chapter 25, and I was perusing through these chapters the last
two days. We have the parable of the wise
and the foolish virgin. Again it's another illustration
given by Christ as he does here in the power of the wheat and
the tares. The church is a mixed multitude. Then shall the kingdom of heaven
be like an under ten virgins which took their lamps. That
means they made a profession of religion. That's what it means
in that parabolic way. They took their lamps. They professed
the name of Christ. They professed to believe in
Christ, they professed to follow Christ, they were baptised in
the name of Christ. They made an open profession
of his name, that they loved him, that they desired to serve
him and to follow him. They took their lamps and went
forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise and five
were foolish. They that were foolish took their
lamps and took no oil with them. What does it mean? What does
oil represent? Grace. It represents the divine powerful
work of the spirit of grace in the heart of a true believer.
The foolish virgins didn't have that. They didn't have that. They had
no oil in their lamps. They had no grace in their hearts.
They made a profession of the name of Christ, they professed
to love him, they professed to serve him, they professed to
follow him, but they had no grace in their hearts. But the wise took oil in their
vessels with their lamps. And this is the point here, while
the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And
at midnight there was a cry made, behold the bridegroom cometh.
The bridegroom, of course, is Christ. When he comes at the end of the
world, behold the bridegroom cometh. Go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose
and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the
wise, give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. And the
wise answer say, not so, lest there be not enough for us and
for you, but go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the
bridegroom came. It was too late. It was too late. They were lost forever. And they
that were ready, you see, you go back to what we've just looked
at in the previous chapter. Be ye also ready, for at such
a time as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh. These foolish
virgins were not ready, the wise virgins were ready. And they that were ready went
in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut, finally,
completely, and the door never to open again. For all those
that were in Christ, that had the grace of God, that knew Him
in sincerity and in truth, that had been born again of the Spirit,
brought to save in faith in Jesus Christ, to cast all their hope
upon Him, they went in, and the door was shut. They were shut
in, and they were shut in eternally, forever and ever. But the foolish virgins, And
afterward came also the other virgin, saying, Lord, Lord, open
to us. But he answered and said, Verily
I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for you know
neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.
The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do
iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous,
these are righteous in Christ, then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father, who hath ears
to hear, let him hear. May the Lord have his blessings. Let us now sing together hymn
number 941. The tune is Arizona 284. Jesus, my Lord, my life, my all. Prostrate before thy throne I
fall. Fame would my soul look up and
see. My hope, my heaven, my all in
thee. Hymn 941, tune Arizona 284. Jesus, my Lord, my life, my all. God's strength in full, like
mine, like all. Thank goodness, Lord, O come all ye faithful joyful
and triumphant, Here in this land of sin and
burden I bear with cross, sin's guilt, and crown. Thou who save and keep the blest,
with nothing give to give me rest, Filling the pages of my sheets Help me tell the Word and speak
to Him my good and God my great. ? Who made it out bravely ? ? Without thy peace ? ? And Christian
school ? I do not have my soul away. Outspread thy darkness into day. I long to hear thy calling voice,
? As He can be, my soul rejoiced. ? ? Sway, peace be still, and
come and live. ? Thy peace and help are mine to
give. Then filled with grateful, holy
love, Thy stolen praises forever, And with delightful joy recall Now, may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each. Amen.