Have you ever tried to imagine
what that's going to be like when the Lord, thousands, all
His saints, thousands, ten thousands, ten thousands and thousands come
with Him in the sky? We're not only going to see Him,
we're going to see them. So shall we. The dead in Christ shall
rise first. We'll meet them in the air. What
a gathering. We're going to sing after this.
What a gathering. Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Our Lord is talking here to His
disciples. These were men that He called, He chose, He's elect. Is that you? I believe He's called
me. I believe I'm one of the elect
because He's called me. Called me by the Gospel. I really
do. I believe I've heard His voice
and continue to hear. Still calls. Your children, you continue to
call on them all your lives. You love them. You never quit
calling on them. Lord is our Lord and they call
on Him. These disciples believed Him. They really did. I do too. I really do. There was a time I didn't. I do now with all my heart. They
knew him. How well did they know him? As
well as you could. As well as a human being can
know him, right? I know something of him. They
loved him. They really did. They loved his
person. They loved his voice. They loved
what he said. They loved being with him. They
loved being around him. They loved to talk about him.
Do you? They hung on His every word. They hung on His word. I remember
some went away and our Lord said, will you also go away? And Simon
Peter said, to whom? Where? This is life. You're our
life. Is that you? They were totally dependent on
Him. They were completely dependent on Him. Are you? So he says to them. You see who
he's talking to? Those he chose. Those he revealed
himself to. Those that believe him. Those
that worship him. Those that love him. And those
that have no confidence in themselves. Those that are totally dependent
on him. Those that hang on his word. So he says, this is for
you. He said unto His disciples, verse
22, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, nor
for the body, what you shall put on. The life is more than
meat, the body more than raiment. Take no thought. Now He's not
talking to their wives, who are mothers of their children,
who have to take thought for what they're going to fix. The
food they've prepared and the clothes and all that, right?
There's no evil in that. That's not what He's saying.
Don't ever give any thought Boy, you know, sometimes I'll ask
India, I say, what's for supper? She said, I hadn't thought about
it. I said, well, I want you to think about it. That's your job. That's the job
of a wife and a mother. It is. He's not talking to them. He's talking to men who left
their homes, left their families, left their jobs. They lived every
day waiting on him to provide their next meal. Do you not think
that there were times, Simon Peter, I picture him as a pretty
big fella, you know, pretty voracious appetite, don't you? Times his
stomach would be growling. What are we going to eat, fellas? They didn't have any money. They
weren't raising crops. They'd given up their fishing
boats and all that. He's talking to them. Do you
understand? He's talking to them. Did they
worry about their families? They left their jobs. They were
the providers of their homes. They left. They left their boats
and nets and their families. Were they ever worried about
their wives and children? You know they were. That's not
always unbelief. It's love. The Lord is saying to them, Don't
worry about this. Take no thoughts. Surely they did. What about,
you know, worried about food? What about taxes? One time Peter
Simon came and said, Lord, we owe taxes. He said, well, go
down and cast a hook in the water. Pay your taxes. Well, they found
out. Then they find out over and over
again, we haven't provided one thing for ourselves or our family. We haven't done anything. You remember in Isaiah, he said,
I girded you though you didn't know me. He feeds everything,
everyone, everything. They were finding that out. Nothing
was up to them. Ever. Ever had been, ever will
be. He just told the parable of a
rich fool whose life was his farm, his fruits, his goods. That was his life. That's all
he talked about. He was taken up with them. He said, take your
ease, my soul, take your ease. Thou hast much goods. These were
goods to him. These were his life. And Simon
Peter and those boys, their nets and their boats, those were their
life. That was their life. That's all they thought about.
And there was a time when a certain thing, all I thought about, never
gave God a thought. And if God had taken my soul
then, my, my, isn't He gracious? And our Lord called that man
a fool. He said, you're dying tonight, then what about these
things? What our Lord is telling them,
verse 23, the life is more than meat and body, the life. The
life. That's what He called it, didn't
it? The life. You know, that's what John said, the life was
manifested. Remember that? The life. He that
hath the Son hath what? Life. He that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. Call it what you want. It's not
life. If it dies, it's not life. Whatever
is your life that dies, then you've lost your life. It's called the life. That eternal
life, Christ said. The life is more than meat and
the body than raven. He's telling them and us two
things, I believe. He's teaching them and us that
real life, true life is eternal life in Jesus Christ. that this
life is not life at all. We're in the land of the dead.
We're going to the land of the living. The things that are seen are
what? Temporal. The things that are not seen
are eternal. Everything in this world dying, it shall die. It
will die. Everything, including us. But
now, he that believeth on Christ never die. Do you believe that? That's what Christ said. Spiritual
life. Christ said, I am the way, the
truth, and what? The life. There is no true life
except in Christ. In Him we live and move and have
our being. He that hath the Son hath life. If so, if you have life, you're
taken up with Him. You really are. Not things. Oh,
we're flesh, and the Lord knows we're flesh. He knows our frame,
and often we do get taken up with these things. But this is
what the Lord is saying. This is who He's talking to,
His disciples. And Simon Peter, you know, after
the Lord arose, and he hadn't seen Him for a few days, he was
on the earth for 40 days. It appeared to them several times.
And they didn't know what to do themselves. Simon Peter, he
wasn't going back to be a fisherman. He just said, we've got to do
something. Our families need food. The Lord
was not with them the whole time. We've got to do something. John,
James, I'm going fishing. They said, we'll go too. Catch
a little mess of fish and sell it and send it home. Our Lord wouldn't let them do
that. It's not your life. You gave
that up. So He says to them in verse 24,
consider the ravens, sparrows, and another plane. They don't
sow or reap. They don't have barns. He just
told them about the rich man who had a barn. They don't have
barns. God feedeth them. How much more
are you better than Look at verse 25. He said, which of you taking
thought can add to his stature one cubit? That's 18 inches. And listen to it. He said, if
you're not able to do that thing which is least, why take thought
for the rest? Now brothers and sisters, I'm
5'7 and shrinking. Ben, warrior back there is 6'7.
I don't know, maybe a foot taller than me. How did he get like
that and how did I get like that? God. He purposed it before the
world began. There was a time when I would
have liked to have added two inches to my statue. The Lord
says you can't add... It's nothing for him to do this
or that, nothing. Turn bread into wine, turn five
loaves and two fishes into food, to make this one that way, this
one this way, that's nothing. Eighteen inches. What he's saying
is, you cannot change one thing about yourself. You can't do it. You can try
all you want to. January 1st, you can make all
the resolutions you want to. January 2nd, you've blown it.
It's what I'm going to do. Turn with me to Psalm 139. Psalm 139. Science calls it genes. God calls it Him. His predestination. Don't you love predestination?
God has predetermined, ordered all things, and they're sure,
and they can't be changed. You can't change yourself. And
bless God, you can't change His mind, His will, His covenant
once He's purposed it. Hallelujah! Predestinated all
things. What the world hates, I positively
love! This will remove all our fears,
and our doubts, and our worries, and our murmur, and our complaint.
I wish I was this, I wish I was that. If only I could this, that,
and the other. Look at Psalm 139 verse 14. David said, I will praise thee
if I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works,
and that my soul knoweth right well. Verse 16, thine eyes did
see my substance, yet being unperfect, and in thy book all my members
were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there
was none of them. In other words, God predetermined
everything about me before the world began, and nothing and
no one will change one thing about me. And above all, His people, He
chose, He elected, He put in the Lamb's Book of Life, gave
to Christ, predetermined whom He foreknew, He did predestinate
whom He predestinated, He called past tense. Whom He called, He
justified. Sounded like it was all over
before it began. It was. He declares the end from the
beginning. Things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel
is sustained. I've spoken it, I'll do it. I've purposed it,
it'll come to pass. If I chose you, you're saved. If I've given you to Christ,
nothing can change that. Do you like that? Who wouldn't
like that? I'll tell you who wouldn't like
that. Self-made men. Self-made women. Self-righteous
men and women. No. Look at me now. Look at what
I've done. The child of God says, oh, don't
look at me at all. Because in my flesh dwelleth
no good thing. In fact, the older they get,
the worse they seem to be in their own sight. Till finally
they say, I am not better, I am worse. God be merciful to me,
the sinner. You know what? That's mercy. That's the mercy of God, to show
you that you can't change one thing about yourself. You can't
add one in. Keep from sinning one sin. We're kept by the power of God.
We're saved by the mercy of God. We're saved by the grace of God.
We're redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah. I'm feeling better already. I
want to be taller. Well, forget that. I told you
about ordering this package from... I was playing
basketball, football, all that, and I wanted to be taller and
bigger. And so they sent me a bar to hang from. Hang from this,
it'll stretch you. It didn't. It didn't. God made us. and recreated us,
and nothing and no one can change it. Aren't you glad about that? Our physical makeup. We can't
add anything to the length of our body or the length of our
lives. It's saying don't take thought
for what you should eat or drink. Anybody? Well, if I eat healthier,
Well, you might feel better, but you're not going to add one
second to your life. You know, I buy all these supplements. I quit not to grow, but just
to help things that are falling apart. And I bought so many of
them, and I've swallowed them all at one time. You know, they
tell me it's good, and I swallow it, hook, line, sinker, and buy
all these. And I think it's helping, but
after a while, I think, what's helping? Which one of them? And I quit taking them. I can't
tell any difference. The length of our bodies and
length of our lives have been determined by the Lord. Our days
are determined. Months with the Lord. Our bounds
are set. Cannot pass. Isn't that peace? Shouldn't that
be peace? So what are we afraid of? Huh? God has already determined the
means that we're going to die from. And nothing and no one
can change it. You can't stop it. Nothing you
put on your face or seclude in yourself is not going to stop
it. Why would you want to do it? The life. Ecclesiastes 7 says death is
better than birth. We just don't believe it. So, you know, they're not telling
us to abuse our bodies, you know, your quality of life might be
better, I don't know. Do we want to live here forever
or do we want to live with Him forever? Now, I'll tell you what food
we need to be concerned with. And surely, our Lord is telling
us this. He said, He that eateth my flesh
and drinketh my blood, he hath life. He that doth not eat my
flesh, live on me, and my blood hath not life, hath no part in
me. Is this gospel the best food
you can eat? Do you really say like David,
or Ezekiel, thy word was sweet to my taste. David, sweeter than
honey, sweeter than the honeycomb. My dad used to eat the honeycomb,
honey and the honeycomb. He liked the comb, really chew
on that comb. When I tried it, I couldn't get it out of my teeth.
I thought, what's he like about that? Same way with the gospel. You know, he'd been chewing on
it a long time. That's what clean animals do.
They chew on the cud. But he'd been chewing on the
gospel every long time. I don't see nothing in that.
What are they singing these songs? I'll be glad when I'm gone from
here. I don't sing these songs. I actually thought that. But God. I mean it with all my heart.
I love the songs of Zion. Don't you? Love them. When the Lord blesses it, there's
nothing sweeter. There's nothing better. There's
no one I'd rather hear about. No one I'd rather study. There's
no one I'd rather come and hear about than the Lord Jesus Christ.
You can have anybody and everybody in this world. Put them all together.
Worth hanging. But God's Son, oh, can you get
enough of hearing Him? Some can, obviously. This is
how you know Him. His disciples, this is how you
know Him. When you go away, Simon Peter
said, to whom? Who? You're our life. And we're
not going anywhere. We look at this in our text,
it says in Luke 12. He said in verse 27, Now consider
the lilies, how they grow, they toil not, they spin not. Yet
I say unto you, Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like
one of these. If then God so clothed the grass,
which is today in the field, tomorrow cast in the oven, how
much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith? Down in
verse 30, it says, don't seek these things. That's what the
world is all about. Isn't that what the world is
all about? Eating and drinking and what we should wear and fashion
and so forth and so on. Do you ever think about this
thing? Sure you do. Did I pick out this tie? Well,
sure I did. This is a pretty new suit. It's my birthday suit. Somebody
gave me money. I bought a birthday suit. What
do you think about it? How do I look? We're vain creatures. We do,
don't we? Did you look in the mirror this
morning? Did you? Anybody? There wouldn't be a mirror in
your house if you didn't have vanity. He knows our friend. But are
we consumed with these things? Oh, I hope not. That's what the
world is consumed with. All you see is eating and drinking. you know what else, and clothing
and this and that, the most materialistic affluent society in the history
of the world is all people think about. Well, bless God, I believe He
set my affection on things above. There is a clothing that you
need to be concerned about. There is a garment that you absolutely
need to be wearing. You understand me? Because we're
naked when we come into this world, and we're going to go
out naked. And we don't want to stand before God naked. Now,
do you know what I'm talking about right now? Do you know
how few people know what I'm talking about right now? But
we do, don't we? Our Lord Jesus Christ had one
suit of clothes, one pair of shoes. Maybe 30 years. The children
of Israel had one pair of shoes and one set of clothes for 40
years. What's he showing them? I'll provide for you. What he's
showing is something much deeper than that. That the garment that
he provides will last forever. That the shoes he shod you with
to walk by faith through the wilderness of this world will
last. You'll walk through it and not be overcome by it. Our
Lord had one garment, and when He was hanging on the... before
He hung on the cross, they stripped Him of that garment. Remember? And they said, let us not rend
this garment. It was a seamless garment. Let
us not rend this garment, but cast lots and see who gets it. So they cast lots, and one soldier
got that garment that belonged to the Lord, that covering that
our Lord wore. Who made that garment, by the
way? I believe he did. I believe he wove it. But somebody got it. He was stripped
naked on the cross and somebody got that garment. Who got it?
A soldier. More than that. There was a myriad
of people that got his garment. A myriad of people, a multitude
of great people, which no man can number, got the garment of
Jesus Christ, that's His blessed robe. That's the robe of righteousness. That's the wedding garment. And
every one of them, we're naked, we came into this world, and
physically, materially, yes, our clothes are going to rot,
but if you're wearing His righteousness, you're not leaving this world
naked, you're leaving it clothed. You're going to stand before
Him dressed in righteousness and not your own. Clothed in
beauty, not your own. Accepted, but not in yourself,
in the Beloved. There is a garment that you need
to be wearing. Surely He's telling us that,
isn't it? Right then, our Lord says this,
look at verse 31. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God. And Matthew says, and His righteousness.
What is the kingdom of God? One time Christ said to the Pharisees,
Kingdom of God cometh not with observation. The kingdom of God
is among you. What's that? It's Him. King,
the dominion of the king. The king is here. The one who
made this world is here. The one who reigns and rules. The one who has a kingdom, an
everlasting kingdom of his reign and rule, there's no end. He's
come to bring his soldiers, his servants, out of this, his subject,
out of this plane into his kingdom of righteousness. Wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Christ is our righteousness.
He said all these things. The Lord keeps calling them things.
Things. The things of this world. Things.
Things. Things. Things. Things. It's
all they are. Stuff. Stuff. Then He says in
verse 32, Fear not, little flock. Oh, I love this verse. Fear not,
little flock. Do you know how often the Lord
told them and tells us to fear not? Wish we weren't so fearful, don't
you? Fear not. If we really believed Him, we
would not fear anything. Fear not. Fear not, little flock. Most of God's church now and
throughout time has been little. Little to the world. They're
little to themselves. Do you think you're somebody
great? Do you? No, God has chosen the weak things,
things that are not. You think you're nothing and
nobody? You feel like you have little faith? If you're not little,
flock, sheep, sheep, flock, sheep, flock together. A man back there
said, can I hug you? I said, you can kiss me. That's
what sheep do. Can you imagine a shepherd saying,
you're getting too close now. No, no, it's got to huddle together. If you're huddled together around
the Lord, if the Lord is your shepherd, you don't have a thing
to worry about. You shall not want. You walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, you fear no evil. Why?
He's with us. Is that a statement of faith
or is it a person? What's wrong with me? Me? Fear not, little flock. It's
your father's good pleasure to give unto you the kingdom. What
do you take pleasure in? Wesley, you take pleasure in
doing things for your children. You love your girls, don't you?
Yeah, you do. I know you do. Sure do. You love that, don't
you? How much more? You're heavenly
father. The Lord taketh pleasure in them
that fear Him, and then the hope in His mercy. It gives Him great
pleasure. It pleases the Lord to make you
His people. Who? Chief of sinners, Mary Magdalene,
thief on the cross, publican, the harlot, Rahab. It just pleases
Him. You reckon He'd save me? It just
pleases Him. It gives him great pleasure. Good pleasure to give you the
kingdom. It's a gift. And he says, sell
what you have, provide bags, wax not old, treasure in heaven. Faileth not, where no thief approacheth,
neither moth corrupteth. Mike Anderson told me about years
and years ago they got this brand new vehicle. What was that car? It was a Dodge or a Plymouth
or something big, shiny, put all the options on this brand
new car, gorgeous car. and put it in a vault, a steel
vault, enclosed in concrete, did all they could. Remember,
did all they could to preserve this gorgeous, at the time, years
ago, it sold for, you know, $8,000. But it is everything. It's everyone's
dream to have this. And in some way or another, whoever
dug it up was going to have this brand new car. Well, 50 years
later, was it mine? 40 or 50 years later, dug it
up. There was nothing left of that
car. It was a pile of rust. Ain't
nobody could have fixed it. Moths and rust doth corrupt. Thieves break through and steal.
If your treasure is Him, Christ, the pearl of great pride, then
nobody and nothing can take it away. He says, don't invest in
this world and things of it, but heavenly things. Treasure
the truth. Treasure this gospel. Treasure
this that we have right here, because this is what we're going
to be doing in glory. Treasure. Is Christ your treasure?
Is He really? He knows. He knows. And nothing
and no one can take away. An inheritance incorruptible
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. And He says,
after trials and tribulations and trouble, you know what you're
going to receive? Simon Peter said, the salvation
of your soul. Then our Lord tells us very quickly,
let your loins be girded with about your lights burning and
you men that wait on your Lord, their Lord, when He will return
from the wedding. Loins be girded. What does that
mean? Well, He started, He said this
all the way back in Exodus 12. Remember, it's the first time
this is mentioned. He said, gird up your loins.
What's happening? In Exodus 12, God said, I'm coming
through. I'm coming. Taking you out. I'm going to destroy Egypt. I'm
going to smite them. Gird up your loins now. Put the
shoes on your feet. Scriptures talks about being
girt with the truth. Don't be at ease. This is not
where you live. Put your clothes on. We're leaving
here. That's what he's saying. Put
your clothes on. You're wearing your clothes. What's our clothes? The garment of Christ. You got
that on? Okay. Shoes on your feet. Are you shod
with the preparation of the gospel? Preparation for what? Meeting
Him. Staff in your hand. Got your
staff in your hand? What do you lean on? What are
you waiting on? Hope from Washington? Or hope
from heaven? Is this the staff you lean on?
Huh? Thy word. Remember thy word unto
thy servant upon which thou hast caused me to hope, to lean like
the Shulamite maiden. Who is this that cometh up leaning
on her beloved? He's looking to Christ, lean
on Him. Staff, is He not the staff? Eat this lamb, eat it. Go in the strength of it. Why?
You're going out of here. The Lord's coming for you. Now, if He come tonight, or if
He come tomorrow, or if He come the next day, God's people are
not going to change a thing. They're still doing what they're
doing. Right? When he told Daniel, Daniel said,
when is this going to be, Lord? The last thing he told Daniel,
go your way, then. Go this way. Go till the end. Just keep... Daniel was calling on his Lord.
Daniel was worshipping his Lord, wasn't he? Daniel was loved of
the Lord. The Lord was his life. And he lived in this world, but
he was not of it, was he? He was looking for his Lord.
He said, I'll come. Rahab. She's waiting on Joshua.
She's waiting. One day they came. They came. Waiting. Watching. Loins girt. Lights burning. What's the light?
The world's in darkness right now. Anguish of spirit. Aren't they? And no light. There's no light
at the end of this dark tunnel, is there? Oh, brothers. We're
not in a dark tunnel. Oh no, we're not in a darkness
even as others, are we? Huh? What's light? Christ is our light. We walk
in the light of Him. In thy light we see light. We
see He's doing all this. We see He's bringing us out.
He's our shield. He's our reward. He's everything. That's light isn't it? That's
understanding, and that's peace, and that's comfort, that's faith,
and that's how you'll keep from being overcome. Light. And he says, waiting and watching.
Oh, the psalm says, blessed is the man that heareth me, watching
daily at my gates. What are the gates of God? The
Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places
in Israel. It's his church. His church,
when the Lord told His disciples to go to Galilee, before Him,
He'd meet them there. They were all there except Thomas. And later on, he wished he had
been. Let us not forsake the assembly of ourselves. Watching,
waiting, waiting at the gates. Lot sat in the gate inside of
him. You remember that story? You
know what he's thinking, don't you? He sat in the gate. Lot
was sitting in the gate. You know what he was thinking,
don't you? I want out of here. If the Lord destroys this place,
He'll destroy me with it. I don't feel like I'm any different
than they are. I have no influence over my sons, my daughters, my
family, the mess. Oh, although it be not so with
my house, oh God, come get me." You know what? He did. He sent two angels. And they
lay a hold of him, being merciful, said, Lot, we're taking you out. We've come to get you. Waiting
at the gate. So, our Lord said, be ready in
a time when you think not. I remember Spurgeon asking this
question one time on a sunny, beautiful day. Not today, but a sunny, beautiful
day, the Lord's day in the spring or summer or whatever. He asked
his people, do you think the Lord's coming today? Do you think
He's coming today? And most everybody, well, no,
probably not. He said, at a time you think
not. And this world, as in the days of Noah, not giving it a
thought, don't want him to come. Like it here just fine. What
about you? If you're waiting on him, you
say, come quickly. Lord Jesus. And if it wasn't
for those you care and love about, you want to be in the ark, you'd
say, come now. Sooner. Make haste, O Lord. Come and get me before I fall
to this world. Is that your desire? Come and
get us, Lord. Come and get us. We're going
to sing a closing hymn.