Go with me if you would now to
Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7, I am going to list this verse
as our text. because this is the verse that
the message came from. But we're just gonna use something
from this verse to move on through the scriptures. Messages come
in different formats. They come in different formats.
Sometimes it's a story. Sometimes you hear a message
and it's a story. Sometimes it's line by line,
verse by verse. Sometimes it's point by point. We'll say I have three points
or I have five points. You got an intro, you have a
conclusion. Sometimes it's a word study through
the scriptures seeing what all the scriptures have to say about
a particular subject matter. And that's what our format will
be tonight. All right, that's what the message
will be tonight. As I was studying for the message
this morning, from Matthew 7, 21 to 23, three words caught
my attention and they held my attention. And I believe they
brought me to this message tonight. Those three words are in verse
22. Matthew 7 verse 22 says, many
will say to me, and here they are, in that day. In that day, that's the title
of this message. In that day. Now, this morning
we saw that our Lord was describing that day as the judgment. And it is. It is. But that's not all that it is.
When our Lord says, in that day, that's not the only thing that
he is referring to. He and his apostles mention it
many times. It's mentioned in the Old Testament
many times. And it refers to eternity. In
that day is referring to never ending eternity, never ending
eternity. I've had it in my mind before.
Sometimes my mind wanders and you think about events in order. the way that we have events in
order down here. Well, you have the judgment,
you know, that's a day. And then when that day is over,
you move on to the next day. And that's not how it is. There is only one day in glory. There's only one day. The scripture
says there is no night there. The day of judgment is the day
of everything else. It's the day of all of it. We're
not gonna be bound to time. We're not gonna be bound to past,
present or future like we are here on this earth. Abel, you
know, Cain killed Abel. Abel was the first believer to
be carried into glory. And from our point of view here
on this earth, he went a long time ago. That was a long time
ago. But from the point of view of
eternity, he went today. All right? He went today. A dear brother from the church
in Crossville just went to be with the Lord. A very dear brother,
Brother Gary Spreaker. The Lord called him home. And
do you know when he went? Today. David went today. Uh, Moses went today. The apostle Paul went today. Everybody goes today. Our Lord
gave a parable of those working in the field and some went early
and they got a penny and some came late and they got a penny,
but everybody got the same thing. All came today. All of God's
people go today. Now, there is much that I don't
understand about believers leaving this world and going to be with
the Lord. That's a serious understatement. There's much that I don't understand.
The scripture says to be absent from this body is to be present
with the Lord. Absent from the body, present
with the Lord, all right? So believers leave here and go
to be with the Lord. But in that day, the Lord will
come back and he will bring all of the souls who have already
gone with him. And they will collect the body
that they had on this earth. And they're gonna come out of
the graves that they were put in. and they will be in a glorified
state. We will all be changed in a moment
in the twinkling of an eye. This mortality will put on immortality. Corruption is gonna put on incorruption. He's gonna change our vile body
that it may be fashioned like His glorious body, but it's our
body. And we will collect it and then
we'll be in this glorified state and we will see him coming and we're gonna rise to meet
him in the air. And where I'm going with that
is I don't know what that means for those who go. I don't know
what that time is between those who go and come back and go again. What body are they in? I don't
know. There's a lot I don't understand about this, but I don't need
to. It's irrelevant to me. The Lord
said that's how it's gonna be, and by His grace, He's given
me faith to believe Him. So I don't need to know. I just
don't need to know all that. He's told me everything that
I need to know, and if He reveals more, then we'll have more. But all I know is all of it is
that day. And again, we just have to remove
the whole thought process of time for all that. We won't be
bound to time anymore. But the judgment, His return,
and eternal existence with Him, all of it is that day. And our
Lord has written to us many times in this Word that He does not
want us to be ignorant of that day. We just read that in our
Scripture reading. Brethren, I would not have you
to be ignorant of these things. The Lord has written to that
over and over again. In the Scripture, He has plainly
told us about that day. And I, as I go right now, I'm
begging him, Lord, please help me to convey some of these things
that you've allowed my eyes to be open to in the scripture.
I hope he'll let us get ahold of this. It, it just, well, it can't be put into words,
but. Our Lord has said throughout
His Word, I believe there is so much in here that if He would
send His Spirit and faith to open our eyes, just like that
servant of Elisha, when he prayed, Lord, open his eyes, and he saw
the mountains around him were full of horses and chariots of
fire. You know, I believe the Lord
could let us see horses and chariots of fire in this. It's here. I
believe it's all here. We see through a glass so darkly,
don't we? Bits and pieces. But our Lord
has written these things and he said, I'm telling you these
things so that you won't be overtaken when it comes to you. You're
not going to be shocked when it comes to you. You're going
to expect these things to come to pass and God's people will.
We read these things, we hear these things, and he's preparing
us for these things. Turn with me, if you would, to
1 Thessalonians 5. First Thessalonians five, verse
one, it says, but of the times and the seasons, brethren, you
have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly
that that day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. It's gonna come unannounced. How many times has he told us
that? So when that happens, we're not gonna be shocked. When as
a bolt of lightning, trumpets resound and this happens so fast,
we're not gonna be shocked. Don't turn, but Acts chapter
one tells us that this same Jesus is coming back. When we see him,
we will know him and we won't be shocked. We won't be shocked
at all. Across my page right here, 2
Thessalonians 1 tells us that he's coming back. If you look
at the end of verse 7, 2 Thessalonians 1 verse 7 says he's coming back
with his mighty angels. When you see this, don't be shocked. When you see him come back with
a number of angels that no man can number, Verse eight says, in flaming
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord
and from the glory of His power, when He shall come to be glorified
in His saints and to be admired in all them that believe, because
our testimony among you was believed in that day. That's how that
day is going to go for all those who are outside of Christ. But
for all who are in Christ, and don't let me confuse you, but
look back across your page. This time chapter 4, 1 Thessalonians
chapter 4, verse 13. I would not have you to be ignorant,
brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not,
even as others which have no hope, For if we believe that
Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in
Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the
word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the
dead in Christ shall rise first, Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another
with these words. And then in chapter five, right
here, he said, I'm telling you these things so you'll be prepared
in that day. I'm telling you how all this
is gonna go. You'll know and you'll understand
and you'll say, yeah, this is exactly what's supposed to be
happening. And that's what God's people will do. Yeah, this is
exactly what's supposed to be happening. Chapter five, verse
one. Of the times and seasons, brethren,
you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know
perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in
the night, For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with
child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in
darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You
are all the children of light and the children of the day.
We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore, let us not
sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they
that sleep, sleep in the night, and they that be drunken are
drunken in the night. but let us who are of the day
be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an
helmet the hope of salvation." All of God's people who were
chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son, and called by the
Spirit have been given the light of His Word. And from this light
we have received faith, hope, and love, for the salvation that
Christ has given to us and will give to us, the salvation he's
accomplished for us in that day. And what I want us to do for
the rest of our time here is I want us to see this light.
He said, this is not gonna overtake you. We're the children of light.
We're the children of the day. I want us to see this light.
I want us to read a few of the scriptures. There are many. I
wanna read a few of them that he's given to us, where he is
telling us what to expect in that day. And I hope that, I hope this
will bring an amazement. This has just brought amazement
to me. I hope this will bring excitement.
I hope this will bring comfort. I hope this will make us just
overwhelmed for that day. I pray we'll be prepared for it.
He keeps saying, watch, be sober, look. I pray it'll make us do
that. All right, scripture to scripture.
The first one is Matthew 24. Matthew chapter 24. Matthew 24, verse 35. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth
no man. No, not the angels of heaven,
but my Father only. Only God knows the day of His
return. Only God knows. The angels don't
even know. That's just an amazing thought
to me, that the angels don't even know. If any man makes a
prediction that he has figured out the day, count on it. It's not the day. It's just not. It is not the day. Verse 36,
of that day and hour knoweth no man, No, not the angels of
heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were,
so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the
days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered
into the ark. "'and knew not until the flood
came "'and took them all away, "'so shall also the coming of
the Son of Man be. "'Then shall two be in the field,
"'the one shall be taken and the other left.'" We are going
to see that happen. In that day, that is going to
happen. Verse 40 says, two shall be in
the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women
shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the
other left. What will make the difference? It'll be the one that the father
chose, the son redeemed, and the Spirit called, that's the
one that will be taken. It'll be the one who is the product
of God's work and God's will and God's desire. That's the
one who has received the grace and the mercy of God in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose total hope is in the Lord Jesus
Christ. The one who has been loved with
an everlasting love, that's the one that's gonna be taken. That's
the one who has been bought with a price. That's the one, the
one that belongs to Christ. That's the one that's going to
be taken, the one that is His, all right? The other one who
is still in his or her rebellion, the one who hears this and says,
I can't stand that. I don't like God's sovereignty.
I don't want the choice to be his. I'm not going to believe
that. The one who is left there is the one who's going to be
left here. That's the one who's going to
be left alone. That's what makes the difference. But that will
happen. That will happen. We just read
in Thessalonians that when he comes back, It's going to be
grace and redemption to His own, and it's going to be wrath and
destruction to those who are not His own. This scripture right
here, what we just read, tells us that the ones who will be
taken, they are going to be delivered before Destruction comes to the
other ones. I used to wonder about that.
I used to wonder, are we gonna stand here and witness the judgment
of this earth? And not according to this. One will be taken, one will be
left. We're gonna be taken before the
judgment comes, all right? And we don't need to be shocked
when this happens. Don't be shocked. That event
should not overtake us by surprise. He's told us it's gonna happen
in that day. Now here's another thing we can expect to take place.
Look with me at Matthew 26. Matthew 26 verse 26. And as they were eating, Jesus
took bread, and blessed it, and break it, and gave it to the
disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took
the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink
ye all of it, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which
you shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you,
I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine until
that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."
There is going to be a marriage supper of the Lamb. There is
going to be a wedding reception for the bridegroom and his bride. How long is it going to last? Who says it's ever going to end?
I've never read that it's going to end. It may last all day. That feast
and celebration may last all day. The culmination of what
he said that wine represented, this thing is built on the blood. And he said, you take this and
you drink this in remembrance of what I did to bring you to
me and to join you to me. And there is going to be a celebration. There's gonna be a great celebration
in heaven. And our Lord is going to serve
his wine that he made. He is going to serve that blessed,
sweet, satisfying wine. They said, oh, you've served,
you know, our Lord, first miracle, he turned water into wine. They
said, oh, you saved the good wine for last. Don't be surprised. Don't be surprised. Number one,
if you're sitting at the feast, the celebration of the marriage
supper of the lamb, and he hands you a glorious, delicious glass
of his wine. That picture, don't be surprised
if that picture doesn't go away. And we celebrate with him. That's what it's gonna be. It's
gonna be a celebration. All right, go with me to John
14. May the Lord open our eyes to
this. I just don't even know what to
say to this. John 14, verse 19, it says, yet a little while and
the world seeth me no more, but you see me because I live, you
shall live also. Now watch verse 20. At that day,
you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I
in you. Now, honestly, may the Lord open
our eyes to this. Verse 20, He said, at that day
you shall know Don't now, can't really now. But at that day,
you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I
in you. We cannot fathom three persons
being one. Talk about the Father, the Son,
and the Spirit. And we're talking about one God,
one God. But he said at that day, you're
gonna know this. If he is in the Father, If He
is, think about the amazement of that statement. He is in the
Father. If He is in the Father, and if
we are in Him, then we are in the Father. And you talk about
a statement that just rolls off the tongue. I mean, what does that even mean? What does that say? And here's
my response. I don't know. I don't know. but I will know in that day.
He said, I will know, you will know in that day. In verse 10
right here, he said, the father is in me. If you look at chapter
14, verse 10, believest thou not that I am in the father and
the father in me? The words that I speak unto you,
I speak not of myself, but the father dwelleth in me. He doeth
the works. If He is in us and the Father
is in Him, then the Father is in us. And He said in that day, you're
gonna know. You're gonna know. You're gonna experience the oneness
that I have created for you with God. You're gonna know it in that
day. Look at John 16. John 16 verse 23, it says, and in that day, you shall ask
me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name, He will give
it you. When he says verily, verily,
he means this is of a truth of a truth. He said, whatever you
ask the Father for in my name, He'll give it to you in that
day. In that day when you are without sin, without error, everything
you ask the Father for, He'll give it to you. Everything. Verse 24, He said, hitherto have
you asked nothing in my name. ask and you shall receive, that
your joy may be full. These things have I spoken unto
you in Proverbs, that means parables, but the time cometh when I shall
no more speak unto you in Proverbs, but I shall show you plainly
of the Father. At that day, you shall ask in
my name, And I say not unto you that I will pray the Father for
you, for the Father himself loveth you, because you have loved me
and have believed that I came out from God. Is that not amazing?
He said, in that day, you're going to ask. And He said, I'm
not going to say to you, well, I'll go ask the Father for you.
I'm not going to say that to you. He said, you go ask the
Father directly yourself. The Father loves you just like
He loves me. And whatever you ask, He's gonna
give it to you. He's saying right here, you think
you know oneness with God now? You think you have some kind
of grasp of oneness with God? You know, we say oneness with
Christ. What that means is oneness with
God. It almost sounds blasphemous. But He's saying, you think you
know something of oneness with God now, just wait. Wait till
that day. In that day, you're gonna know
it. You're gonna experience oneness
with the Father, oneness with the Son, oneness with the Spirit,
us in them, them in us. We try to, our little minds try
to fathom, what's it going to be like to try to get an audience
with Him? He will be in us. We will be in
Him. It's like saying, how do I get
an audience with my mind? What would it take for me to
get an audience with my thoughts? I can't fathom what He's saying
here. I just cannot fathom. But He said, in that day, you
will. You're going to know it. And He said, I'm telling you
this so you can be excited about it. I'm telling you this so that
you can expect it, you can hope in it, you can wait for it, trust
in it. He that has the Son has everything. Everything. So with all of this
being said, Let's close with this promise, all right? 2 Timothy
4. Turn with me to 2 Timothy 4. In 2 Timothy 1, that's where
Paul said, I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that
he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against
that day. All right, that's where Paul
said that. And in 2 Timothy 4, verse 8,
he said, henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness
which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that
day." And that crown of righteousness is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. He is the crown. He wears the
crown. We're the body. He's the head. Any crown that's given to us,
we're gonna say, place it on my head. He is the crown, He
wears the crown. And Paul said, we have the promise
of receiving Him in that day. Verse eight, henceforth, there's
laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love His appearing. To every child
of His who is looking for and waiting for and longing for His
appearing, Paul said, you are going to receive Him at that
day, in that day. Oh, happy day. Oh, happy day. What a day, glorious day that'll
be. All right, Brother Dwight, you
come and lead us.