What a name. The thought crossed my mind that the Lord
told us to be of good cheer. The reason being is that He was
a man of sorrows. He, Scripture says, bore our
sorrows. And therefore, we should be of
good cheer. He had a right to be sorrowful.
The man of sorrow is acquainted with grief from his youth up
as our sin substitute. Well, here we go again. I'll
say the same old thing. Same message, mostly the same
people. Sunday after Wednesday we do
this, don't we? You're not going to hear me say
anything you haven't heard hundreds of times. Why do we do this? I don't know if you read the
Bulletin article by my pastor, but I thought it was good. I
put it in there for you to read. I read it. That's why I put it
in there. And I typed it. It took a while, but it was good. Why do this again? Because we're worshiping. We
come here because it's a great honor and
a privilege, not only our reasonable service to worship God, set aside
a couple of hours a week to thank our God for watching over us
every moment of every day. It's certainly a reasonable service
isn't it? And a joy. As Peter said, Lord
thou hast words of life. This is life. This is life. Christ is life. These words are
life necessary to sustain our life and savor of life to life. Life needs to hear it. Need to
hear it. Can't live without it. It's like
food. Can't live without food. And
it's the love of God's people's heart. It really is. It's not.
It really is. God's people love this. Love
to worship God. Love his word. Love each other.
Look forward to seeing each other. And love together at the table.
That's what we're doing. We're sitting down. You're sitting
down. You've got the easy part. It's the good part. And we're
sitting at the table like families do. It's an enjoyable time. Last night my daughter treated
me to an early Father's Day dinner took me out and the rest of us
too she's a working woman now got more money than i do but
uh took me out and i so enjoyed that older you get that's that's
about it sit around the table with those you love and eat good
food well that's what we're doing that's why we come here Why we
need to come here? And why do this again? Well,
the apostle told us that so much more, as you see the day approaching, exhort one another. That's what
we do when we gather here. Every time we're exhorting one
another, hey, he's at the door. I mean, he really is. If Christ does not come back
to this earth real, real, real soon, which I think he is. But he's going to come for somebody
in here. Yes, he is. We've seen it happen. It's unexpected at a time when
you think not. And it's not Peter who greets
people. It's the Lord himself who comes
for his people. So the time is short, and We're
preparing to meet our God. We're going to our long home
from which we have not returned, Scripture says. We're preparing. And as I said, I believe his return is very
soon. So very many things, if you have
any discernment at all from Scripture, and just open your eyes real
wide to see the time. Paul said you have no need to
second best known he said you have no need that I should write
on the times and seasons so you ought to be able to tell. Our
Lord said the parable of the fig tree ought to be able to
discern the signs of the time just like a farmer reads You
know the sky and the sailor reads the sky and the farmer reads
the seasons. It's very easy. You just open
your eyes and listen to God's word, which we're going to do
right now. That day is very near. Verse thirty here in Matthew
twenty-four, the Lord said, Then shall appear the sign of the
Son of Man in heaven, then all the tribes of the earth shall
mourn. They shall mourn. Africans and Chinese and Japanese
and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn. Scripture says weep
and wail over the revelation. Mourn. Why? It's over. But God's people are not going
to mourn. In a moment, the twinkling of
an eye, when that last trump shall sound, we'll be changed.
All of that we read there, the Lord, it's a simultaneous thing,
the removal of His people. There's not going to be one moment's
fear or trepidation or worry or anxiety of God's. Not one
second. It's just like you're going to
sleep. Not one second. But the world will, greatly more. In verse thirty-one, the Lord
went on to say, And he shall send his angels with a great
sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect
from the four winds. Just as everyone all over the
world shall mourn, God has a people from every tribe, kindred, nation,
and tongue. There are Chinese who are going
to rejoice. There are Japanese, Africans
who are going to rejoice. Great gatherings. A great gathering
shall gather together. Why? He's going to gather all
his people together to go worship. For a long, long time. We're just doing right now. We're
just practicing. What are we going to do forever? A great gathering of worship
servants. Verse thirty two he said now learn the parable of
the fig tree when his branches yet tender and put it forth leave
you know that summer is not you know what's up so like when you
see all these things know that it is near now he said no that
he is near even at the door. He's at the door there barely. He said I say of you very truly
it's true. Well. Verse thirty four he said I say
and you barely truly I say and you this generation shall not
pass. Till all these things be fulfilled.
The Lord said many things throughout this chapter. And he said this
generation shall not pass away it's not going to end. until
all these things be fulfilled, all of it, until he comes. This
generation shall not pass until he comes,
this generation. Now, does it not behoove us to
find out what this generation is? Certainly not talking about those
few years that he lived on the earth, is he? Now, this generation, Peter said
this in his letter, and as I said, these things are clearly seen
from Scripture. 2 Peter 3 is a clear warning and things that give
us an understanding of the times. 2 Timothy 3 and 1 Timothy 4,
and just on and on we could go. Luke 17, Matthew 24, Revelation,
on and on. The Lord said through Peter don't
be ignorant of this one thing. Everybody wants to know when,
when, when. Don't be ignorant of this one
thing and a day is a thousand years. A thousand years is a
day with the Lord. The Lord said this generation
shall not pass away till all these things be fulfilled. There were two thousand year
generation in scripture from Adam to Abraham. Two thousand
years. Give or take a few years. Man
counts years. You know they get lost in the
shuffle. Don't be going by modern calendar. Jewish calendar has. It's not
as late as Jewish calendar says it. At any rate two thousand
years from Adam to Abraham. And then there were two thousand
years approximately from Abraham to the Lord Jesus Christ set
foot on this earth. Two thousand years. That's a
generation. Are you with me? This generation,
I believe, just lets you in on a little something. And I wouldn't
dare predict the day. No man knoweth. Our Lord plainly
said that no man knoweth. But the day, the seasons, the
times, and the seasons. Just as in Noah's ark day, the
Lord, a hundred and twenty years there went by and then it was
finished. And then seven days passed. Nothing happened. You go and learn what that means.
I believe the Lord doesn't do anything new. For those who have eyes to see.
Well, when? People ask, when? And most people
ask that because they're just trying to buy a little more time.
How long do we have? David, the psalmist who looked
forward to Christ's coming, David who said, oh, I'll be satisfied. When I wake with I like David
said how long over how long David said that few time. Oh, how long
Lord how long do I have to stay here? When are you coming in
the time for you to act Lord? They make boards your law Lord.
Rim the heavens and come down Lord. How long? How long? God's people still say that.
not buying time, but they really want the Lord to come. Even so,
come quickly, Lord Jesus, they said. He said, I'm coming quickly,
and they said, even so, amen. Come quickly, Lord. And our Lord
said, no man knoweth, verse 36, no man knoweth day and hour. But as we said, times and the
seasons can be known from Scripture. Well, the Lord said many things,
but now he's going to describe the day or the times of his return, how things will
be during his return, when he comes, how things will be. Verse thirty-seven, this is a
conclusive statement, as the days of Noah were, so shall also
the coming of the Son of Man be, as the days of Noah. Now, Peter, as I said, Peter
wrote of this, same thing, brought up the flood. and second Peter
three. And he said this and here's.
Clear evidence also he said the Lord said through him. That in
the last days the very last day scoffers shall mock shall come
walking in the lust of their flesh and shall mock saying where
is the promise of his coming. All things continue as they have
been. Everything's going on like it
always has been. We don't believe he's coming.
And as we noted before, I believe around 2000, Y2K, that everybody let out a collective
sigh of relief, even those who did not believe yet were somewhat
fearful. They wouldn't admit it, but they
were. And it happened, went by. It wasn't 2000 years. They don't
know what the year is. But they thought it was around
2000. And it came and went, and another year went by, and another
year went by. Remember us studying that at
that time? Remember saying that at a time
when you think not, it's not going to be what everybody's
looking for. A time when you think not, like
seven days. You know, the ark was completed,
and then Noah went in the ark before a drop of rain fell. Where was Noah? where he always
was. You'll find out where he was
120 years before that. Peter said, this is what men
are willingly ignorant of, the flood. You know what he said,
Vicki? He said they're willingly ignorant
that the world was destroyed by flood. One of the things,
he said creation first, that willingly ignorant of creation.
creation, if God created this world, then he owns it. That's why people are so dead
set on disproving, trying to disprove that God is the creator. If they can disprove that, then
they have nobody to answer to. Right? If you make something,
you own it, and you can do with it what you will. God made this
planet and everybody in it, which Scripture says. Earth is the
Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and the inhabitants
thereof, and he does with it what he pleases, what he pleases. That's God of the Bible. He created it. And Scripture
says one of these days you're going to fold it up like you
do a vesture. Put it away. It's his. So they're
willingly ignorant of the creation and the flood. What was the flood?
What was the flood all about? Why did God, why did the flood
happen? Was that the ice age? Incidentally,
all the things they attribute to the ice age, I attribute to
the flood. And we'll not go into that. The flood is a stark picture of God's hatred
of sin and how God was angry with the wicked every day and
God will punish sinners he will put them away. As in the days
of Noah, he said in verse thirty-eight, as in the days that were before
the flood, verse thirty-eight, the days preceding the flood,
and I want every eye, young and old alike, to look at this. As in the days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving and marrying,
until the day, the very day that Noah entered into the ark, that
very day, they were doing this, eating, drinking, and marrying.
Business as usual, in other words. Things were going on like they
always have. I started this message by saying that. Here we go again.
Same old, same old. I hope it's more than the same
old, same old to some. Business as usual. Folks were going on with their lives. They
were going on with their lives. They were confronted by this
Noah. He was a preacher. Noah was a preacher, and everybody
heard the sound of that hammer. Poof, poof, day in and day out. Poof, poof. They wished that
hammer was not heard. They wished somebody would sure
silence that fellow. It's driving us crazy. It's a
reminder. Every day was a reminder to them
of the things that Noah was saying. Judgment's coming. God doesn't love everybody. God's
going to destroy everybody. But God is merciful. God is gracious. God is love. God will spare those that get
in His path. Whosoever will, let him come. Come into the ark. Because God is angry every day. They all heard it. But they were
going on with their lives. And after a while, you know,
you hear something and you don't hear anymore. My grandparents, my father's
parents, used to live in Rome, Georgia, a little one-horse town.
And I do mean one-horse town. They had the old party line on
the phone, you know. The general store right next
to their house with a potbelly stove and a nail keg and a checkerboard
and the old man sat at it all day long. I don't know what they
did. I don't know what they did for a living. As a kid, all I
remember them is sitting playing checker. Uncle Lawrence's. He wasn't my uncle, but everybody
was your uncle. Uncle Lawrence's general store, Henry. I remember
going on the meatus plate. I probably had a red bone hound.
I don't remember, but honestly. And party line, you know, Sarah,
get me. But they lived, I mean, as close
as from here to that front door from the railroad track, their
house. I mean, they was that close. And that was, I've been going
there since the 50s, since I was a little child. My school had
a few steam engines running at the time, I don't know. Could
have. But anyway, I remember the first
time we went there and my grandmother had a feather bed, you know,
oh, we loved to sleep in that feather bed. You know, we'd just
sink in the middle. All four of us. Kids. But anyway, I remember the first
time we went there and a train that night, we were sleeping
in that feather bed. And that train ran right over
top of us. I thought it was. The house was
shaking, and I thought, we're all going to die. I distinctly
remember that. But you know, after we'd stayed
there a while, didn't even know. Didn't even
know. It passed through that night.
Somebody said, did you hear the train? No, that train didn't
come. Yes, it did. That's the way this
preaching is. I've only done it 17 years here. Man, that's nothing. 17 years. My pastor's done it
50 something years. Noah did it 120 years. Eight people. How serious is this?
Hannah, eight people. Believe God. We're talking eight
people. People. We're smarter than that generation.
We're dumber. We're dumber. Eating and drinking. Now, the
Lord's not condemning young people. The Lord is not condemning eating
and drinking. He did it. He ate and drank a lot. Somebody'd
invite him, he'd go there. And they called him a glutton
and a winebibber because he did that. Remember? He ate and drank. He enjoyed
it. You think he enjoyed eating with
his disciples, eating at the table? One day he was eating and drinking
at a place that he didn't particularly enjoy, the Simon Pharisee, but
he's waiting on somebody. He's waiting on the guest of
honor, his guest that he had called personally. And lo and behold, she came in,
sat at his feet. That's another story. But the
Lord ate and drank. He's not condemning that. Not
condemning marriage. Oh, no, no. He's the one that ordained it.
He's the one that said it should be. It's not good for a man to
be alone. Let him have a wife. It's a good thing. The first
miracle he performed was at a wedding. He made the wine for it. Wine,
scripture says, made for a feast. He made it. Here, enjoy yourself. It's a happy occasion. Celebrate. Yeah, he did. Only an old prude,
somebody that doesn't know God, would say there's anything wrong
with those things. God giveth us richly all things
to enjoy. But now here is the problem. It's when we. Love those things so much. We forget God. That we don't
give God a thought and that's what was going on in the days
of Noah. They were eating and drinking, which is lawful. They
were marrying and giving and marrying, but they just, you
know, some woman, her daughter was going to get married. And
she was just consumed with it. And the Lord's Day would come
around and she didn't show up. I got a wedding to plan. There's a much bigger wedding
that you had better be a part of. That you better real be concerned
about. It's called the marriage supper of the Lamb. Because the
time will come when there will be no more marrying and giving
and marrying. Those that have wives will be
as though they had none. Scripture says. Then the flood came. Our Lord
said the flood came. Verse 39. The flood came and
they knew not. They weren't expecting it. They
just didn't. Why weren't they expecting it, you understand?
Somebody had been warning them for years, hadn't they? Why weren't
they expecting it? Whose fault was it? It wasn't
the preacher's. It wasn't God's fault. God sent
Noah. It was their fault. I got all of my blood can't.
Destroy them all that destroyed them all. All of. That they. Scripture says in Romans one
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness.
But you know most speaks most folks fear tsunami more than
they fear. People on the West Coast. They
keep telling them it's going to happen. It's going to happen.
And they attribute it to natural causes, don't they? Out there
in the ocean is a fault line, you know. There's going to have
an earthquake and a tsunami is going to happen. Everybody's
afraid of tsunami. And don't give God a thought.
The wrath of God clearly revealed from heaven. You know how many people, you
know there are millions of people that die every day. Right now as we speak, since
we've been meeting together, literally thousands of people
have died. And people don't give it a thought.
But they're waiting on the big one. And God's removing them. Like cattle. Like a farmer going
out and getting the cattle slaughtered. Every day. Every day. People
don't give it a thought. Carry on their lives. Like I see people
all the time at these funeral homes. Don't you? People come
and they're forced to think about death, to think about eternity,
just for a moment. They're forced to. And they're
forced to show a little respect and dress up and all that. They
don't want to be there. It's an uncomfortable situation. They
have to be there. They go through it and can't
wait to get out. And then, let's forget about that. Let's go on
with what we were doing. That's what the Lord said. That's
what the Lord said. And the flood came. Go to Luke
17 with me now. We're going to look at something
else here in Luke 17. This is another account of what
our Lord is saying here in the days of Noah. Luke 17. Days of
Noah. And what that indicates, the
days of Noah, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage.
You know how much an average wedding cost today? Anybody know? I mean, not average,
but most people spend ten to twenty thousand dollars. That's funny, isn't it? Anyway, what I'm trying to say
is those things indicate prosperity. Eating and drinking, there's
an abundance. Rich and increased with good. Married and given
and married. A time of great prosperity. Scripture does not
teach, and you're looking at it, that there will be some kind
of worldwide dearth or whatever. There'll be a famine, all right.
It's not bread. It's the hearing of God's word
though there are more bibles and less people here. And God's
word. But prosperous that these indicate
prosperous that. And. From Genesis four listen
to me from Genesis four through chapter seven that's when Jeff
seven when the flood came. From Genesis chapter four chapter
seven the Lord describes in great detail the world and the people
in it. And he mentions people that build cities, architects,
builders, contractors, and so forth. They build cities. He
mentions cattle barons, men that have great herds of cattle and
so on. He mentions arts and crafts,
people that do those things. Musicians, musicians. He mentions gigantic men. He
said in those days they were giants, big men. Men were bigger,
taller, stronger, faster. Athletes, more than ever before. beautiful women. He mentions
beautiful women. He said the daughters of men
were fair. Oh, they were good to look at. That sounds like today, doesn't
it? It's like reading a headline.
In verse twenty-eight, he says, verse twenty-seven, they did
eat and drank, married, wives. They were given and married until
that day. Prosperous day. Men of great stature and A twenty-eight man. He says, likewise
also as it was in the days of Lot. And everybody in here knows the
story of Lot, don't you? Lot, who lived in Sodom. He says, Again, in verse twenty-eight,
they did eat, they drank. In other words, business as usual,
life as usual. They bought. Here they were buying
things. They sold. Prosperity. Again, that's prosperity. People complain today about gas prices,
don't they? Well, I don't see them running out buying, everybody
buying Honda Civics. No, I got plenty of money. My
big old Tahoe gets six miles a gallon. No problem. We're just paying the same prices
that Bill Clark paid 25 years ago in Europe. Right now. This is just a spoiled, rotten
country. Anyway, prosperity. Got all kind of money. Buying,
selling, see that? I drank and ate, they bought,
they sold, they planted, they built it. You've got to have
some money to build. You hear that, Sam? You've got
to have a lot of money to build and prosperity. That's what that indicates. Now again, there's nothing wrong
with these things, nothing wrong with building. Do you know that
we're going to do these things in the new earth? Isaiah 65 tells us that. Plant
gardens, build, eat, drink. The Lord says He's going to eat
and drink with us. There's nothing wrong with these things. But
do you know what Scripture says about a man just plowing his
field that doesn't know God and doesn't give God the thought?
A man plowing his field? It's just wicked. It's evil on
the side of the Lord. Right now there's somebody out
there putting up hay. Well, that's a good, honest profession
and a good thing, putting up hay. It's evil to God. This is the day the Lord has
made, where God's people meet together to worship God for that
hay that he grew for them. And they're out there not giving
God a thought. Well, they will someday. And man, they will someday. They'll have a long time to think
about it, won't they? What men do not have in all their
thoughts right now, they won't naturally be able to get out
of their thoughts someday. Won't ever be able to get it
out of their heads. plowing of the wicked, plowing,
planting, building, eating, drinking, whatever it is, without giving
God a thought, it's evil to God. Evil. Don't thank God, worship
God, set aside a little time to worship God. Where did Lot live? All right,
it's in the days of Lot. Where did Lot live? Where did
Lot live? He lived in Sodom. They were
prosperous days. And what kind of place was Sodom?
It was the most wicked, vile city on earth at that time, or
we think it was. At least it's the only one that
the Lord mentioned at the time. There were others. There were
cities of the plain. Do you remember that he also
destroyed the cities of the plain? Not just Sodom, but other cities.
Because lots say, well, let me go to this city. He said, get
out of there. Get out of there. Don't go there. Should have gone
to the mountains with you, Uncle Abraham. He lived in Sodom, a decadent
place. So what we're seeing is these were both prosperous times,
very prosperous times, and they were decadent times, wicked times,
wicked, wicked times. And he says in verse 29, this
is something that the world scoffs at and laughs at and talks about,
fire and brimstone. It rained fire and brimstone
from heaven. You don't believe that, do you? You believe that,
Laura? Fire and brimstone, God's gonna
rain fire and brimstone. And a preacher that preaches
that, he preaches fire and brimstone. Well, who said that? Just who
said that, Catherine? Who was the first person to say
that? Some wild man standing on a street corner with a sign
on his hand, the end is near? It was Jesus Christ. Fire and brimstone. He's a preacher
of fire and brimstone. Fire and brimstone. It rained.
It rained down fire and brimstone. Destroyed them all. Destroyed
them all. Decadent times. God said in Noah's day, He said,
He saw that the wickedness of man was great, that is multiplied,
widespread in the earth, and that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil. Continually. Every day. Only evil. No good thoughts came
to his mind. He just sat, devised evil on
his bed and woke up and carried it out. Every day. Scripture
says that God looked down, the earth was filled with violence.
Violence. Second leading, second or fourth
leading cause among young black men of their death is homicide. Something like 30 or 40 percent
of them don't live past 24 years old. killing one another. Violence, violence. And God says,
I will destroy all flesh from the earth. I'm going to do away
with it. But, in those days of Noah,
this is the way it was. But, you want to hear a light,
a little bit of light, a little good news? Noah, found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. One man. That's one more than
deserved it. That's one more than deserved
it. But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God being gracious. Lot did too. Scripture says God
being merciful to him, laid hold on him. Had not God laid hold
of Lot, he wouldn't have come out. God laid hold of him. warned
him, sent three men. One of them was the Lord himself. But Noah found grace, and as
I said before, Noah found grace, so where'd you find Noah? Where's
grace found? Where will you find grace? Where
will you be when you find grace? What did Paul say, where he going
to be found? Noah thought, I want to be found
in that ark when that wrath comes through it. I'm just going to
work on this ark. I'm going to believe God. I believe
this ark is going to be my salvation. God told me so. One way. One
way. And he told everybody that it
came about one way. And his life was that ark. His life was that
ark. His everyday life was that ark. His life was literally in
that ark. That ark was going to save him.
And his whole life he lived by faith in that ark. Every day
he spent, Deborah, thinking about that ark. That ark was a Not
a part of his life, it was his life. It's not just a good story. Noah found grace. So where did
you find, how do you know so much found grace? Where will
you find them? About the things of God. As Christ
said, I must be about my father's business. As Noah found Grace, he was found
in that ark. In, about it, around it, talking
about it. Every day, every day, his conversation
came around that ark. You know it did, didn't you?
Sure. Every day. Somebody, and anybody he ran across, they got
a pitch on them. You know how long it would take
to put Black Mammy all over? Oh, man, I wasn't supposed to
say that. Tar. That's just, folks, that's,
everybody here calls it that. I got a new digital recorder.
I am going to edit that. Put black tar all over that boat. You know how long it took? He
did it inside and outside, which is a picture of, are you going
to hear anything else I say? It's a picture of the blood of
Christ. It covers in and out. It covers
us from the wrath of God You're in Christ. He won't touch you.
Not one. Not one. God does not punish
you for anything. That art took it all. Every way. And God did that to his son on
Calvary's tree. And he became a bloody Pope. Blood, and that blood made Pope
pitch Eation from my soul. I was in Christ at that time,
and that blood Like the mercy seat, John, that blood covered
me completely. And you know what? He was on
the inside, too. God said, you know, Noah, you take that pitch
and pitch it on the inside. What do we need on the inside?
No, he didn't say that. He just did it. Meaning nobody's coming
out, nothing's coming in, and nobody's going out. You ever
tried to open something that's been pitched shut for a long
time? Big door, massive door. Elephants
could get in. God, Scripture says, shut the
door. God shut the door. God shut him in. God said, Come,
because God was in the ark. He said, Come thou, and thou
and thy house, all thy house, come. All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me. And when his house came in, that
was it, the elect. Few, many were called, 120 years, few were
shown to come. And they came into that ark,
and the scripture says, God shut the door. After seven days. Seven days. That was the hardest,
most trying days of tribulation that Noah ever went through.
Harder than 120 years. Seven days of waiting. We're
in those seven days, right? Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes,
we are. And the door is open. But ain't
very many people really believe that this is going to happen,
and that Christ is really the only way. Everybody, no, God
loves us. No, He doesn't. No, He doesn't. The love of God is in that ark.
Melanie, come on. Come with me. Okay? Are you coming? It's getting dark. What do you say? Well, there was a seam on the
outside. Somebody had to pitch it. No seams. Like that road that
Christ walked. Seamless. Without seams. You're
safe, Noah. You're safe. Well, we were talking
about Lot, weren't we? Lot found grace. Noah found grace
because Noah was found in the ark. And we find grace Grace
of God, if we're found in Christ, in Christ, about Christ, thinking
of Christ, talking of Christ. He is our life. We've found grace.
That's it. And it says a lot found grace,
too. But, you know, a lot... You know, you wouldn't know this
unless God said it. But scriptures called him Just
Lot, didn't they? Just Lot. His lot was vexed. That just man was vexed with
the conversation, vexed every day. He hated living in Sodom. He went there, shouldn't have
gone there, but he did. And he about perished himself
and his family. His son-in-laws did. And his
daughters ended up being real bad. And he lost his wife. Sodom. What would a man give in exchange? He did. Well watered, nice city. Well, he was in Sodom, but he
was not of Sodom. Can you do that? He lived in Sodom, but he didn't
live for Sodom. Barbara, he conducted
business with a bunch of Sodomites, but they were not his intimate
companions. They were Lot's wife. The second shortest verse in
all of Scripture. The Lord said, remember Lot's
wife. Lot's wife did not truly believe. Lot's wife was thinking about
her home. Lot's wife was thinking about
her friends back in Sodom. Lot's wife did not want to leave
them and go with God's people. She wanted to stay with her friends
in Sodom. So she longingly, Scripture says,
looked back. Where are you going, Lot? Where
Ruthlee and the rats come. Come with us. OK, it looked like,
no, her heart was in Sodom. and with her sodomite friends. So she stayed in Sodom. And she got what sodomites get. Anybody in Sodom worth that?
No. Let me read this in closing.
You can look at it with me if you want. It's worth looking
at. In closing, Hebrews 11 says this about it's the chapter of
those who died. They all died. Everybody dies.
Everybody dies. Abel died. Noah died. Abraham died. Isaac died. Jacob died. Sarah died. They
all died. But these all. Verse 13 says
died in faith. Everybody in here If you go before
me, we're going to lay your body in a box. Oh, may you die the death of
the righteous. May I be able to stand over your
coffin with some amount of assurance so that I can preach with some
peace and some joy. It's the hardest thing on earth
to do is to preach a funeral to somebody that you don't have
any... You just don't think they know.
I don't want to do it. I don't want to ever do it again. But I'll have to. These all died in faith. In faith? In who? In what? In
who? I said it right. In Christ. In
faith. They hadn't received the promise.
It said that they'd see them afar off. And this thing is not as afar
off for us. Now is our salvation nearer than
when we first believe. And we're persuaded of them.
You persuaded, John Cheesley, you persuaded of this. You know
whom you have believed and are persuaded. Persuaded and confessed. What did they confess? The strangers
on this earth. And if strangers on this earth
are strangers to the people of the They just say such things. Do you say these things? You
say these things with me, don't you? Jerry, you say these things,
don't you? They declare plainly that they
seek a country. Truly, if they had been mindful
of that country, like Lot's wife, truly, if they had really, really
had it in their hearts and minds where they came from, where they
came out. Children of Israel, all the charter
members died in the wilderness. Nobody over 20 said to them. They came out of Egypt. They
all wanted to go back. They wanted to stay there. But had they, these other men,
been mindful Truly, they would have had opportunity
of a return, but now they desire a better country. That is a heavenly. So, God. They're not ashamed to call the
brethren their brethren. These are my brethren. I'm a
companion of them that fear thee. That's it. They're not ashamed
of that, and so God's not ashamed to call them. You'll be ashamed of me and this
evil and adulterous generation. I'll be ashamed of you. You confess
me, I'll confess you. You're the friend of God, like
Abraham? He's our friend here. And there
is a friend. Let's stick it closer. And so
he had prepared for them a city. A city. An everlasting city. And he writes a whole lot about
that. You know, a city. heavenly Jerusalem coming down.
It's going to come down for those who look for it. Those who look for it. Those
who believe it. Those who are right now in Christ. It's coming. When you look back, who are you
coming with? Who are you going with? Where
are you going? What are you looking for? What's your life? Who's
your life? Do you believe all these things?
It's no cunning and devised fable. It's the word of Jesus Christ.
He said, Heaven and earth shall pass away. My word. He's at the door. And he said,
and this is what just knocking at the door. He's not, man, you know that
he's not standing outside everybody's heart's door. He's at the church.
We're hearing it. We're hearing it. Open the door. Come in and suck
with you. Suck with you. I'll tell you
more. Like those disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were sorrowful. He said,
why are you sorrowful? And he revealed himself to them.
And they said, well, come on in. Come on in the house. Don't
leave. Come on in. Stay with us. We want to hear
some more about this. And so he did. Man, they were
happy. Oh, were they happy. Their hearts
burned. And from then on, they were one
accord with God's people. From then on, waiting on his
coming. And for every one of them, he came. Every single one
of them. These all died in vain. It'll
happen for us. Each one of them. If the Lord
doesn't come and take us all collectively, wouldn't that be
wonderful? Wouldn't that just be wonderful? I'm hoping my dear
old folks go together. They might not. But then again, I might go with
them. We all might go together. Wouldn't
that just be wonderful? You know, he said this, listen.
They said, when, Lord? The last thing he said. Where
the body is, the eagles gather. Do you know what that means? When he left, they were gathered
together. He comes back. The body is. What are they doing? Waiting. Waiting all along. He's coming. All right. Let's
stand. I'll dismiss this in prayer for
a few extra minutes, but it's necessary. Our Lord, let this
be more than a Sunday sermon. Let it be Through your Holy Spirit,
take this word, your word, your word, which shall not pass away,
which shall not return void to you. You who wrote it, said it,
spoke it, taught it, must apply it through your Holy Spirit. Lord, take this word and apply
it savingly, effectively upon the hearts, not the heads. It's just in our minds we will
Be convinced by something else. Influence. But if thou, Lord,
take up residence within us, Christ in us is our hope of glory.
And we in him. The Lord come, we pray. By your
word, create the new creature in Christ. Let these old things
pass away. All things become brand new in
Christ. New creatures. looking for thy
coming. This is our hope, our pray, ourselves,
our children, our neighbors and all. May they hear us give that
dire warning, solemn warning, get to Christ. In Christ's name
we are met here today. In honor of thy word, his glory,
so great salvation. Amen. I don't know. I don't know. Okay. Okay. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.