You have heard me say often that
I am not trying to tell you so much how to live as preparing
you to die. It should not be a morbid subject
to God's people. We just read Spurgeon said The
thing that we seem to dread the most is the greatest possible
thing that could happen to them. And I know it's others that we
worry about and will greatly miss. We don't want to lose them. It's the most dreadful thing
we can think of, to lose them. The Lord knows that. His scripture says he came to
deliver them who all their lifetime were subject to fear, fear of
death. He lived 33 years. 33 years.
And there's so many. Robert Murray McShane at 29.
What? 29. David Brainard, 29. Spurgeon
was 58. That's young to me. Fifty-eight. Several in here. My sister, 42.
My brother, 21. My best friend, 15. On and on
it goes. You know. I love what Brother David Pledger,
we were in Houston and he brought the Bible study from Psalm 23.
Wonderful. If it's recorded, you need to
hear it. And he said, you know, believers don't worry, shouldn't
worry anyway, so much about death. But what we worry about at Calvary
is dying itself. Dying. We worry about the way we're
going to die. That's wise, isn't it? We do. But the Lord has that. He's already
ordained that too. And he gives grace. He does,
doesn't he? You didn't think you'd get through
that, did you? You did. His grace is sufficient. And
in the whole scheme of things, in the whole, in light of eternity,
a moment, Scripture talks about in a moment, the twinkling of
an eye, that's a blink of an eye, in the blink of an eye,
no pain, no suffering. No tears, no sorrow, no sin,
no death. Now, come quickly, Lord. That's what God's people say.
That's what those who know the Lord, or rather, are known of
the Lord. That's what they say. Because
the love of God has been shed abroad in their heart. They really
do love God. They love Christ. They want to
go and be with the Lord, which is far better. He has become
their husband. He's their elder brother. I would love to see my elder
brother. I often think what it would have been like if the Lord
hadn't taken my elder brother. I know we'd see we'd be like
that. But it is. And He does what's right. It's
His. It's His world. It's His people. Everything in it. Everyone in
it. The earth is the Lord's. The fullness thereof, the world,
they that dwell therein, it's the Lord. The Lord giveth, the
Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. But for God's people, those He
loved, those He gave to Christ, those that Christ died for, Christ
said, it's not death, it's sleep. When you get older, don't you
look forward to going to sleep at night? You young people, you
can't enter into this. No way. You cannot enter and
go to bed. Many of us are sometimes asleep
at 8.30. And a young person thinks, oh, that's
awful. I've got the rest of the night
ahead of me. And you'll find yourself just
wanting to go to sleep. I just want to lie down. and
rest, and wouldn't it be wonderful if it didn't wake? There have been many gone before us,
and they could tell you if they were here. And I don't know what
that shout of the archangels was going to be, and I'm just
using the holy imagination that it might be. He told you something. I know this is going to be the
bridegroom cometh. You ladies, did you look forward
to your marriage? Did you count down the days? Why you would
look forward to that, getting ready to marry us, I don't know.
But brethren, this is it. We've got a bridegroom, Bonnie.
We've got the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back for his bride.
And he said, if it were not so, I would have
told you. Where am I? 1 Thessalonians. He reminded us in chapter 4. This is the believers now. Those
outside of Christ. Those that don't know Christ.
Man, I don't know what to say to you except call on the Lord. Repent. The kingdom of God is
at hand. It's at hand. That young 15-year-old friend
of mine, best friend of mine, he didn't know the Lord. He didn't
know the Lord. I pulled his dead body. I had
his dead body in my arm. And I tried to resuscitate him.
He didn't know the Lord. Now, I don't know where he is
right now. That's of the Lord. But, to believers, And unbelievers,
those who don't know the Lord, I urge you, I urge you, I beseech
you. Be reconciled to God. Call on
the name of the Lord. Repent. Cry unto Him. Call on Him. Ask Him to reveal
Himself to you. That's all I can say to you.
But to those who know Him, it says that we are rather known
of Him. loved by Him, revealed Himself
to us. We believe, verse 14 of chapter
4, that Christ died and rose again, and those that sleep in
Him, God will bring with Him. Christ is going to come someday,
with all the saints. That's unbelievable. I say that
all the time because I don't know another way to put it. It's
just unbelievable how, just wonderful. Paul kind of says, unspeakable.
I hadn't seen. He hadn't entered into our heart.
We just can't believe it, but it's going to happen. Christ
is coming with all his saints. They're all coming back. And
then we, verse 15, are alive and remain. It's still here when
the Lord comes. We won't go before our brethren
that slept. Their bodies are going to raise
from the grave. He's going to raise these vile
bodies, be fashioned like unto His glorious body. And we'll know them. We'll know
them. But they'll be forever young
and new, as it will be. And they'll rise first, and we
which are alive and remain will be caught up together with them
in the air to meet the Lord, and we'll ever be with the Lord.
So he says, comfort one another with these words. But now, he says, of the time
and the season, verse 1 of chapter 5, these times and seasons, brethren,
you have no need that I write unto you. He has written of these
things. Our Lord has told us about these
things. Go over to Luke chapter 17. Luke 17. Our Lord spoke at
length on these things. And jot this down, Matthew 24
and 25, the Lord, all of both long chapters are dealing with
His coming. The last days. Read it for yourself. Here is a shortened version in
Luke 17. Luke 17. beginning with verse 20. When he was demanded of the Pharisees
when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them. Now listen, they were just religious. They didn't know the Lord. And
what they were really concerned about was end times and all that,
prophecies and these things. They wanted to know. They demanded
of Him. That's what they were really
interested in. They weren't interested in Him,
but they were interested in prophecies and end times and prophetic things,
thinking themselves to be in the kingdom. Does that remind
you of this generation? You could attract a big crowd
by announcing, I'm going to preach on the end times. preach on the
prophecies. Contract a huge crowd. We'd have
to rent out the Civic Center. Okay? But announce you're going
to preach on Christ crucified? You know who you'll get? Those
that love Christ crucified. That's it. Because lots of people
are interested in the end times and not interested in the Lord
who's coming. And they're not going to be with
Him. And they don't know him. And
they're going to be shocked. He said that. They're going to be
shocked. But Lord, Lord, he said, I never knew you. Well, that's what these Pharisees
were like. He said, verse 20, the kingdom
of God cometh not with observation. Neither shall they say, lo here,
lo there. Well, that's going on, isn't
it? Look, they're building the Temple
again, over there on the dome of the rock. That'd be pretty
obvious, wouldn't it? Wouldn't the whole world say,
what's going on here? Look, people have 666 on their forehead. Huh. Something's happened. That ain't,
it doesn't come that way. That's not what that means. It's
hidden. It's hidden. Especially from the wise and
the prudent. The kingdom of God, verse 21, is within you, among
you. That's what he's saying to the
Pharisees. The kingdom. What is kingdom? It's the dominion
of a king. It's the sovereign reign and
rule of a king, isn't it? That's the kingdom. Kingdom. Alright? Is there a king? Yes,
there is. His name is Jesus Christ. Does
He have a dominion? Yes, He does. Where is His dominion? Everywhere. He reigns over you, your children,
everything. Now, God's people know that.
Why? He's taken reign over their heart,
their mind, their soul. He's within them. He's within them. They believe
and are sure that He's Christ, the King, their King. It's not
like religion says, accept Jesus as your personal Savior and then
make Him Lord. No, sir. Barnard used to say,
you can't have Jesus as Savior if you don't bow to Him first
as Lord. The first thing you'll realize before you even believe
you're saved is you'll realize He's Lord, like Saul of Tarsus,
and you'll think, I don't know if I'm saved or not. He might
send me to hell, but I know this. He's Lord. And for all who fear Him and
know He's Lord, reigning and ruling, they call on Him. And
He says, I'm your Savior too. I'm your Savior. Read on. Our Lord says, the days
will come, verse 22, said unto the disciples. Now you see who
He's talking to. He turned from those Pharisees,
he turned his back on those Pharisees, and now he's talking to his disciples. Verse 22, The days will come
when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of
Man, and shall not see it. The days of the Son of Man. All
through this Bible, it speaks about the day of the Lord, the
day of the Lord, the day of the Lord. It means that it's all
It has to do, it's all concerning with God's Son. That's why God
created the universe. And every day is the Lord's day. Every day has something to do
with God's Son. He's the King. He is rounding
up His subjects, His people, bringing them into His kingdom.
That's why this world still exists. Every day. All right, he says,
I'm leaving. That's what he's telling his
disciples. And as you'll say in the verse 23, see here or
see there. Go not after them. But they'll
say Christ is here, Christ is there. He said in Matthew 24,
many false Christs shall arise. Don't believe them. Because verse
24 says, as the lightning that lighteth Lighteneth out of the
one part under heaven, shineth out of the other part under heaven,
so shall also the Son of Man be in his day." The day he comes,
his day. I shall see him. But first, he
must suffer many things, be rejected of this generation, not only
in himself on the tree, but in his people. And as it was in
the days of Noah, remember? Read on, verse 26 with me. So
shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. They did eat,
they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage.
There's nothing wrong with these things. God giveth us these things
richly to enjoy them. But if you don't give God a thought,
this is what's going to happen. The day that Noah entered into
the ark, the flood came and destroyed them all. Read on. Likewise, also, as it was in
the days of Lot, they did eat, they drank. Our Lord ate and
drank, didn't He? They bought, they sold, they
planted, they built. Nothing wrong with that. He told
man, Adam, to do that, plant. It was their life. Sodom was
their life. They never gave God a thought.
So the same day, the day Lot went out, or how did Lot go out? The Lord pulled him out. The
Lord being merciful to him, laid hold of him, which is what I
want the Lord to do for every person in this room. lay hold
of by the Gospel, by the Word of God, give you a good shaking,
give you ears to hear, eyes to see, a heart to receive, and
show you that this is all perishing. And I want for Christ to say
to you, you're coming with me. He laid hold a lot, brought him
out of Sodom, and it rained that day. rain fire and brimstone
from heaven and destroyed them all. Destroyed, destroyed, destroyed. Now that, what our Lord says,
destroys all this talk about God loving every person. Doesn't
it? Doesn't it? You don't destroy
people you love. It rained fire. What's that?
Wrath and judgment. You don't rain wrath down on
somebody you love. Right? And that is what every single
person deserves from God. That's what I deserve. Not deserved. Deserved. And it shall be, verse 30, thus
shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Most people don't believe it.
They don't believe it, Mary. They sure don't believe that
He's coming again. They laugh, they mock, they scoff.
Don't they? Do you believe, Mary Clark? Do
you really? She says, I do. Flesh and blood revealed unto
you. But your Father which is in heaven,
he's coming for you. And Stephen, isn't that wonderful? Think about it. Trying to comfort
God's people. I don't have no words of comfort
for those outside of Christ. But warning, warning. If you
look to Christ, you know Christ. If you're found in Christ, you're
in that ark. Noah's ark. Our Lord's the one
that said it, didn't He? Like Noah's ark. Outside of the
ark, God was wrath and hatred and judgment, wasn't He? Inside
the ark, God's love. And I say unto those that they,
the Son of Man, it says, Like the scripture says, lift
up your heads. We hang our heads, don't we? We hang our heads because of
all the troubles and sorrow and sin and all that. But he says,
lift up your heads, your redemption draweth nigh. We just read, now
is your redemption nearer than when we first believed. Growing
old, we ought to look forward to it. And I have, I do. Many
of us have often said, if you could go back and be 30 years
old again, would you be? No, no way. No way. I'd like to undo. I'd like to
go back and redo and undo and not do some things I did do and
do some things I didn't do. But no, I don't want to go through
that again. You know why? Because I'd probably
do it again. Because it was God's will. If we could get a hold
of that, that would give us peace and comfort. I messed up. I was
a bad husband. I was a bad father. I was a bad
citizen. I was a bad son. I was a bad
this, a bad that. But God, it's all in His purpose. Like Scott said, he wouldn't
change a thing. And we're going to look back someday and say,
oh, you did all things well. and even our sins. David's greatest sin that brought
him the greatest pain and suffering and caused the greatest reproach
upon the government, that caused great suffering and pain upon
all the nation of Israel. You know what came out of that?
Solomon. You know what came out of Solomon? Jesus Christ. On down the line. Tamar, Rahab,
Solomon. You know why? Because He's numbered
with the transgressions. And all these sins, even our
sin, is going to redound to His glory. Even our sin. We wouldn't do it that way. But
God did it that way. And we behold His glory even
in our sinfulness. Your redemption draws nigh. Turn
with me. I mentioned Rahab. Go back to
Joshua chapter 2. Find that little book of Joshua
chapter 2. See, those that look forward
to being with the Lord that they love. And you can't fake this. And as I said before, we don't
want to leave those we love, don't want them to leave us.
But it's got to happen. It's going to happen. And this
is why it's good that we don't know the future. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad you don't know
what tomorrow holds? Because if you did, and if it
was suffering, you couldn't take it. But the
Lord does. And His promise, as thy days,
so shall thy strength be. Day by day, and with each passing
moment, strength I find to meet my trials here. And just keep
reaching down in the barrel like that widow, and what you'll find
is, it will never run dry. Meal for the day. Right here
it is. Here's the barrel. Keep reaching. That cruise of oil and that barrel
of meal will not fail until the Lord comes. And you'll see. You
just wait. You'll see. That's the story
here. Rahab, the harlot. Who is Rahab? A whore. Everybody in here knows what
that is. Should I gloss over that? Is
that too sensitive for our children's ears? That's what the scriptures say. She lived her whole life,
if you can call it that, to gratify the flesh and for money. She
ruined herself. She sold herself. And brethren,
really, every single human being is doing the same thing in one
way or another. She is a harlot. She lives in
Jericho. And the Lord said, I'm going
to destroy Jericho. I have cursed this city. I'm
going to burn it up. That's what the Lord said. And
He told Joshua. You know what Joshua's name means? Savior. It's Jesus. Joshua. Now, He's a Savior. But when
He comes back, you know what He's going to do? Destroy them. Alright? Rahab's living in this
town of Jericho that's destined, ordered by God, to be destroyed
because it deserves it. It's a decadent, godless, wicked
city. It's under the curse of God.
It's going to be destroyed by Joshua. And this was no fable.
This is the truth. Neither is what Scripture says
about this world. Now Joshua sent spies into the
land. He sent two men. Two men. into the land of Jericho. Had
they not heard? Had not Jericho heard about Joshua
coming? Yes, they heard. But God, but
Joshua sent two men into that decadent place. For what reason? They were sent to this harlot's
house. Where did they go? Where did
the Lord, where did Joshua have these men go? Harlot's house. The worst person in town. To
do what? To save her out of that place.
And the message of them to her was Joshua's coming. Joshua's
coming. And the fear of the Lord was
in her. And the fear of Joshua. And the fear of these men. And
you know what it says? She received them with peace.
She received them gladly in her house. She hid them. Thy word
have I hid in my heart. Here in Habakkuk, the Lord sent
His Word to me one day, the chief of sinners. And by God's grace,
I received it. To many as received Him, to them
gave He the power, the right to become the sons of God, the
fear of the Lord, the love for His Word. Thy Word have I hid
in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee. That's what
I say. Or as she received the Word,
she believed what they said. She believed that Joshua was
coming to destroy this place. But, she said, and she went up
at night. She couldn't sleep that night.
And she went up to these two men and said, is it true? Is
Joshua coming? They said, yes, it is. She said,
I heard that. I know. I believe it's true.
But she said, would you please? I know he's coming. Would you
please have mercy on my family? That's the first one she pleaded
with. Would you please have mercy with my father, with my mother,
with my children, with my brothers and sisters, with everybody?
They said, we will. They said, we will. If they're in this house with you
when we come to destroy this planet. And here's the token,
they said. Well, let's read it. Here's the
token. Chapter 2, verse 12. She said, I pray you swear unto
me by the Lord. Give me your word on it from
the Lord. I've showed you kindness. You'll show kindness unto my
father's house. Give me a token. Give me something
that, a promise, something that is a sure evidence that You'll
do what you say, that you'll save a life. My father, my mother,
my brothers, my sisters, and all that deliver our lives from
death. And the man answered and said,
our life for yours. Be it or not, this is our business.
It shall be when the Lord hath given us the land, we will deal
kindly and truly with them. So she let them down by a cord,
a rope, a line through the window. As they were leaving, Down in
verse 18, the men, they're going out her window on this line.
It was a scarlet line, red. And they said, we come into the
land, bind this line of scarlet thread in the window that you
led us down by, that all the Word of God hangs on. And you bring your father and
your mother and your household into this house where the scarlet
line is, where we see this scarlet line. We're going to take you
out. You have God's Word on us. Now,
long before this, the children of Israel were in a house. The
children of Israel were living in Egypt. And the Lord said,
you put the blood of a lamb on the doorpost in the middle of
that house, and everybody, harlots, publicans, and thieves that are
in that house, God said, when I see the blood, I will pass
over you, and you're coming out into a lamb that floweth with
milk and honey. You have my word on it. That's the token. That's
the sure token. That's the exceeding precious
promise of God who cannot lie. When I see the blood, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. And when I come, you're coming
with me. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
It's all yea and amen to the glory of God. Those who believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, those whom Christ died for, are coming
out. And one day, brethren, listen
to me. How long was it before Joshua came? Anybody know? It doesn't say. Those men did
not tell her when Joshua was coming. She hadn't. And so she waited. What's she
waiting on, Bonnie? Joshua. And very few people in
the city believed this. And as time went by, she was
telling them. Don't you know? She's telling them, Joshua's
coming. You need to be in the house where the thread is. It
wasn't everywhere, Margaret. And she told them, you know that
she did. And quite often somebody in curiosity says, what's that
line hanging out the window? Oh, let me tell you about it.
It's our only hope. This is the token. This is the
promise. This is the gospel. What do y'all do down there? One thing. Preach the gospel. It's our only hope. This place
is going down. But those who believe Christ,
who are in Christ, hanging on Christ, are going up. Is that all y'all do there? Rahab,
is that all you talk about? Why wouldn't I, Rahab says, why
wouldn't I talk about the weather? Why would I talk about perishing
things? He's coming tomorrow. Are you
sure about that? Maybe. Huh? You're making this up. No, I'm
not. They didn't know. She didn't
know, Amy, but she's waiting. You know what we're doing here?
What are you doing? They're waiting on the Lord. Our Lord said where the carcass
is, that's where the eagles get. Our Lord said, go to His disciples,
go before me in the Galilee, and I'm coming for you. I'm going
to be there. Where two or three are gathered,
I'll be there. That's why we're here. Tell us
about His coming. I need comfort. We go out of
here, just no sooner out of here, we're like Lot. We're like Lot's
wife. Our Lord said, remember Lot's
wife. She was that close to coming
out. That close. He said to that young
ruler, you're not far from the kingdom of God. Meaning, he was
standing there, Irene. Christ was standing there. You're
sitting here hearing of Christ. And some of you have never bowed
to Him. Today is the day of salvation. I'm telling you, the ark is open.
Will you listen to me? Oh, when I get good and ready,
it's best to say it. Felix said it. When I get a little
more convenient, say it. Boast not thyself of tomorrow. It's true. Why will you die? Our Lord said
he that believeth hath baptized shall be saved. I didn't say that. Christ said
he can't lie. Well, I'll wait when I get married,
when I have my career. It might be tomorrow. Trying to scare
me. Yeah, I am. Fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom. Well, one day, Rahab's waiting. What's she doing? She had a Bible. She's reading it. She's calling
on the Lord. You know she is. She's praying.
She's calling on the Lord. She's waiting, hoping just to
come. You know what? A trumpet starts
sounding loud and clear. It went on for seven days. The
trumpet starts sounding. You know what? So she heard that
trumpet. What is that? She went to the
window. She heard that trumpet. And the
people all around said, what's that noise? Would you tell them to stop?
That's what this preaching like you're hearing right now sounds
like to the world. Don't holler, preacher. That trumpet was loud. And Rahab, Sister Hope, Rahab
said, sound it louder. I want my mother to hear it.
I want my father to hear it. I've been telling them all along
the trumpet's going to sound. Say it loud. I want my son to
hear it. I want my daughter to hear it.
I want my son, my daughter, my father, my mother. I want my
brother to know Christ. Huh? Preacher, don't get... I didn't say this. Jesus Christ
said it. Brethren, your blood is not on
my hands if I leave here today. He told Ezekiel, warn them. But
I'm telling you, trumpets go sound and Christ is coming and
all that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. After that seventh
day, you know what? Those two men came back in that
house, up that scarlet behind and said, we're here for you,
Ab. Joshua said, come get you. Me? Yes, he said he would. Come on,
we're going. Oh, she jumped out that window.
Climbed out that window. And she watched that city thaw,
and the ash and the smoke rise, like locked, turned, saw the
sun. And then you know what? Now she
was a harlot. She was living in guilt, in shame,
in sin, in misery, in loneliness. She didn't have many friends
in the world. She was living with all that guilt and that
shame, and they brought her And they said, Joshua wants to see
you personally. Joshua has told us to bring you
straight to him. And she said, me? She said, yes, you. He sent words
just for you. And she came in, and brothers
and sisters, Dan, when she came in and saw Joshua, he said, honey,
this is all yours. All her life was over. Her past,
her sins, her sorrow, her grief, her suffering, her pain, everything
was over. Forgot all of that. Joy with
Joshua. And I didn't make that story
up. And that's the story of Jesus Christ and his people. And the
trump shall sound. Paul said it over and over again.
And the dead in Christ shall rise. And the angel of the Lord shall
say, I know he's going to say, the bridegroom cometh. And they
that have oil, that's the Spirit of God. Those that are waiting
on him, blessed are they that wait on the Lord. That's who
he's coming for. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. He
says comfort one another in these words. Nothing to fear for God's
people. It's going to be a glorious thing. Glorious thing. Trump's
gonna sound. And, well, I didn't get to the
rest of the verses, but that's all right. That's all right. Told you the truth as it is in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to Christ. That's what I
say. All outside of Christ and to
those in Him. To whom come. Keep coming. Keep
coming, gathering together with us in the house under the blood. We're waiting on the Lord, and
he's going to say, Lo, I come.