It had to be a Monday. And when we got him there, I
came up and he started coming up. He almost fell. No, he almost
fell on the floor, because it's softness, you know, like grass
roots. And then it came out, and it was silencers. So, I wanted to give him a sneak
shot. How do you do it? Okay. I'm We welcome everybody to the service
this morning. Thank the Lord for blessing us
to gather one more time. We have a lot going on. We have
a lot of sick folks. We have a lot of troubled folks. I'll give you a rundown right
in the beginning of those we want to pray for this morning. Let's remember to pray for Jerry
Malthus and for Roger and Vicki. Remember my daughter Stephanie
this week, Tuesday. She'll have surgery on her spine. This morning, Richard and Janice
text me. They're not here today because
their daughter-in-law, Amy, was taken to the hospital with chest
pains this morning. I want to pray for Amy. I pray for Betty Ravenbark's
granddaughter, Christian. Remember her before the Lord. Continue to pray for Jewel. improving,
but how Billy's down. We want to pray for him. He's
got back problems this morning, unable to walk. We want to pray
for Nikki and her family and the loss of her grandmother this
week. Remember Dave, Dave Toledo and
Joe Schwartz. And I'm sure I miss somebody,
but I've been trying to write it over, Ray's brother, and for
you also, and just lots of folks that we need to lift up before
the Lord this morning. And yet we don't pray for all
these without thanking Him for all the many deliverances and
healings and blessings that he's bestowed upon us. One other thing
that I want to announce, of course you see it in the bulletin, is
our lunch next Sunday. I'm glad to have lunch in a time
of fellowship. I'm not so glad to do it for
the reason that we're doing it, for two families that will be
going on to some other places of life and transfer and Pat's
family and Brandon's family. We just miss him terribly, terribly. I mean that with all my heart.
And then the following Sunday, the 28th, the June Bird from
Ashland, Kentucky, he'll be here preaching for us. I look forward
to that. I need that. And I need to sit
down and just listen to someone else. Let's begin to take our
bulletin this morning and sing the bulletin hymn. And then we'll sing another hymn
and Brother Tim will I went in the congregation this morning
and then I'll preach. This is to the tune of From Every
Stormy Wind It Blows. There is no other light or life
In this sad world of sin and strife But Christ alone, my righteousness,
Who gives me life through His own dead. Maybe a little lower. There is
no other hope or peace Where sin has found and won't release
But Jesus' blood once shed for me Oh, gives me peace and sets
me free There is no other Love or rest in all the earth, with
all its best. But Jesus Christ, the Son of
Love, has brought me rest from God above. There is no other name I'll praise,
None other trust for all my days, But Jesus only be my all, And
give me grace until All right, if you take your hymn
books and turn to hymn number 243. Let's stand together this
morning and please help me all you can. I've got poor voice,
allergy problems, and the pressure of trying to read. It's that same, come thou fount
of every blessing. Come thou fount of every blessing,
tune my heart to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet
sung by flaming tongues above. Raise the mount I'm fixed upon
it, mount of Thy redeeming love. Here I raise my heavenly servant,
hither by thy help I'm come, and I hope by thy good pleasure
safely to arrive at home. Jesus saw me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God, He to rescue me from danger Interposed
His precious blood O to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm
constrained to be Let Thy goodness like a fetter find my wandering
heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel
it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, O, take and
seal it, seal it for Thy Let's pray. Our Father, this morning we come and are reminded again of our
great weakness, our great needs, our great sin, and there is no way that such
of ones as we are could enter into your presence were it not
for our great High Priest and Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ. We approach unto your throne
of grace this day in his holy name and by his precious
blood and righteousness. And we pray that in your grace
and mercy in him, you would hear us and help us and be in our
needs. We lift up before you this day
all these that we have mentioned All these we have called by name
and many more, that we find no ability to help
or deliver. But we look to your great ability
and strength. We pray that you might be to
us, to them, the Lord that healeth thee. That you would raise that
banner over us of your protection and care in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are without wisdom in ourselves
in any of these things and many more, but we pray that you would
in your wisdom Bless according to your will. Do according to
your power and wisdom and grace. Help us, Lord, we pray. As often the psalmist called
out in his need, we lift up our voice to thee. We shout out our
pleadings to thee. We humbly bow before your throne
and acknowledge you as God over all. We praise your blessed and
holy name. We thank you for all that you
do, and most especially for all that you have done for us and
your son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Appointing him as our savior,
and entrusting him with all of salvation. We thank you for him,
and we pray that we might be enabled to worship you this day
in spirit and in truth, that we might be able to worship you
as you are, know you as you say you are in this book, praise
you, thank you, and be saved by you for your glory. Lord, we thank you for all that
you have blessed us to have. We raise up everything and every
situation before thee, everything in this world, everything in
this nation in which we live, everything in our lives, every
issue of body and mind and soul. We look to thee and we pray that
you would help us for Christ's sake. And we make our prayer
this day as we begin to speak, Lord, according to your word.
We pray that you'd help us, grant to us your spirit, work in the
ears and hearts of the ears for thine own glory's sake. Amen. I want you to turn this morning
to the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews. The first chapter, and I'll begin reading and read a
few verses in chapter one. Hebrews 1. God, who at sundry times and
in diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son. whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds, who being the brightness
of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on High. The title of my message this
morning is These Last Days. I was asked a question recently And they asked me this question, are these the end times that
the Bible speaks about? It was a sincere question. And I answered very quickly,
yes, day on. And I say that according to the
Word of God. I don't have a chart. I don't even have a position
on eschatology. That's the study of the end times. I don't have a sensational explanation
on all the symbolism of the book of Daniel or the book of Revelation. I'm not going to the book of
Revelation to sensationalize or speculate on all the beasts
and the creatures and all that symbolism which we could understand more
fully if we read the first few verses of the book of Revelation. It is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. Whatever comes after that, whatever
is predicted or happens is to reveal Jesus Christ. In Revelation 19 John says, And
I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See
thou do it not, I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren that
have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. All those he speaks of in verse
1 here, they spoke concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And many preachers over the centuries,
and many preachers especially in our day, put these last days
as always future. They always stir fear among me. They always speak of things like
the great tribulation. And they tell us that the church
will be secretly raptured before us. Absolutely not. Tribulation is what characterizes
God's elect in these last days. In the world, Christ said, you
will have tribulation. I believe we see that all among
us as the Lord's people in this very hour. In the world, he says,
these things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have
peace, but in the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good
cheer. I have overcome the world. And then the apostles were sent
in Acts confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting
them to continue in the faith and that we must through much
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. And then again in Revelation
we read these words I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty,
but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them
which say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of
Satan. I know your tribulation, God
said, and I know your poverty, but you are rich. The last days, these last days,
that's what in verse 2 the writer of this epistle says, that God
hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. You see, the last days began
with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And they will go to the second
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. They will consummate at His return,
at His second coming. Turn over with me to 1 John chapter
2. This is what the Bible says. It may not be like Clarence Larkin's
chart, where it might not be like some of these fools of prophecy
who take and by fleshly means convey things to us for the fear. But look here in 1 John chapter
2 and verse 18. John writing to the church in
that first century, he said little children It is the last time. And as ye have heard that Antichrist
shall come, even now are there many Antichrists in John's day. Many Antichrists whereby we know
that it is the last time. That's so plain. That's so clear. Rather than looking for some
individual or person, Antichrist, he says even now there are many
Antichrists, many against Christ, and that is the way we know it
is the last time. Many turning against Christ,
who profess faith in Christ, who apostatize, who fall away. That's what that means. John
said they went out from us, which showed they were not really of
us. They're anti-Christ. They're
against the true Christ. And then look with me over in
Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians. beginning in verse 1. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse
1. Now listen to what the Apostle
Paul says here. Now we beseech you brethren by
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together
unto him. We urge you, we encourage you
based on our knowledge of Christ's second coming and our gathering
together in him that you should not be soon shaken in mind or
troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from
us as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive
you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first. An apostatizing, a falling away
from the truth, that the man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Now is this one
individual? No, that's every unbeliever by
nature and by action. Now listen, Remember ye not that
when I was yet with you, I told you these things, and now ye
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time,
for the mystery of iniquity doth already work." In Paul's day. Only he who now leadeth will
lead until he be taken out of the way. most likely referring
to the Spirit of God. He can only do what God allows
him to do, what God has purposed for him to do. And then that
wicked, and that's in capital letters here in the King James,
but it's not in the original. And it simply means and is translated
other places in this New Testament as lawless. As lawless. And then shall the lawless be
revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his
mouth, and shall destroy in the brightness of its coming, even
him which is in italics and not in the original, whose coming
is after the working of Satan, with all powers and signs and
lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. And for this cause God shall
send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. that they all might be damned
who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness."
This is not simply talking about one individual, it's talking
about all the non-elect, all the reprobates, all the vessels
of wrath that will be manifested in this way, setting themselves
up as God, setting their righteousness as acceptable to God and everything
along that, but yet this is the reason the first calls wine. God shall send them strong delusion. That's what it says. Instead of saying that God is
trying to save everybody, or wants to save everybody, or Jesus
died for everybody. It says that God sent these individuals,
as it does in other places, strong delusion that they should believe
a lie. He leaves them to their own sin. But those who deceive, use these things that they call
the things of the last days. They use even these very things
to deceive. In other words, they cause men
to be fixed on these things, interested in these things, deceived
in these things, and not the gospel of Christ. Turn over to
Matthew's gospel. Matthew chapter 24. And listen to Christ as he says here
in Matthew chapter 24 verse 4. And Jesus answered and said unto
them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. For I am of Christ,
and sin deceived many. Remember what it says in Matthew
7? Many shall say unto me in that
day, Lord, Lord, we've prophesied in your name. We've done many
wonderful works in your name. And listen to verse six, and
ye shall hear of wars and rumors of war. Did you watch the news
last night? And almost every day that goes
by, here or there, one country or another, and ye shall hear
of wars and rumors of war, See that you be not troubled. You see, everywhere there's a
reference to these last times, these events, these terrible
things. There's always, to the people
of God, encouragement. For all these things must come
to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be famines, and
pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. All these
things, all these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they shall deliver you up
to be afflicted, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated of
all nations. For my name's sake, surely that's
been the history of the true church throughout the ages. And
then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another,
and shall hate one another, and many false prophets shall rise
and deceive many, and because iniquity shall abound, the love
of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall
be saved. That doesn't mean that they'll
be saved because of their endurance. That means that they will be,
their endurance is an evidence that they're saved. They'll endure,
every one of God's elect, they'll endure to the end, not to be
saved, but because He has saved them. And this gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto
all nations, then shall the end come. Many things, but in all these
things God says to his people be encouraged, be comforted,
And these, in these last days, the events and the attitudes
and the conduct of men, they characterize the very day in
which we live. You could read it like the day's
news. Turn over to 2 Timothy. 2 Timothy chapter 3. Now notice what the Spirit of
God leads Paul to say here. This know also, be aware of,
be conscious of, that in the last days perilous times shall
come. Don't you be waiting for something
down the road. We're here. perilous times all
around us. Four, for men shall be lovers
of their own selves. Never have I seen it like it
is today. Lovers of their own selves. Covetous, boasters. Now these things have been since
the fall, but in these last days They're magnified, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof from such turn away. For of this
sort are they which creep into houses and lead captive silly
women laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts, ever learning,
never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Janus and Jambres withstood
Moses, so do all these also resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds
reprobate concerning the faith. They're not going to believe
the truth. They're not going to know the truth. They're not
going to preach the truth. They're reprobate concerning
the faith. God has given them over to a
reprobate mind. They're just not going to believe
it, preach it, identify with it. But they shall proceed no
further, for their folly shall be manifest unto all men. or all as theirs also was. Go back and read that list. Perilous
times. If you don't understand what
a word means, look it up and what you'll find is this Daniel. These last times. Jude says, but beloved, Remember
ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our
Lord Jesus Christ, how that they told us there should be mockers
in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly
lusts. These be they who separate themselves,
sensual, having not the spirit. So much deception. Now all these
moral things and other issues, earthquakes and everything else,
they all characterize these last times. Tribulation. But nothing
characterizes it like deception. Deception. So much so. And so good a counter. that Christ said that their deception
is such, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. But the blessing is, they will
not, they cannot, ultimately and finally deceive the children
of God. is not possible. And all these negative, all these
fearful, all these terrible things that we read about, rather than
being future, they are now. But these things cannot and do
not thwart the purpose of God. They are the purpose of God. Do you know that? If it happens, it was purposed
of God. God who works all things after
the counsel of His own will. He is the first cause of everything. He is the first cause of these
last days and everything that transpires and happens in it. He will work it for the good
of his people. He will comfort them in the midst
of it. He will cause them to triumph
over it. and all for the glory of His
namesake, the revelation of His power, and the magnification
of these names. He works all things after the
counsel of His own will, especially His purpose of grace. Because it is amidst these happenings
It is in the midst of these things that He saves His people, that
He preserves His people and calls them out by His name. Because that's what He prophesied. Look back again at 2 Thessalonians. Now, we've read that first 12
verses, but look at verse 13. But, all these things are happening,
all these things are purpose of God, all these multitudes
are deceived, all these lawless ones will be revealed and dealt
with by God. But, we are bound to give thanks
always to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because
God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our
gospel to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. All these things will happen
in these last days. All these deceptions, all this
conduct of life, all these manifestations of wicked lawlessness, and all
these things that we can observe by the natural eye, but in the
midst of to the glory of His grace and power. God is saving
that people that He chose to salvation. He's setting them
apart from all this world by His Spirit, and He's revealing
to them His purpose and grace in the Lord Jesus Christ through
the Gospel. Because He said this in Isaiah,
and it shall come to pass in the last days. Most people hate the thought
of the last days. And it shall come to pass
in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be
established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted
above the hill, and all nations shall flow unto him. That's his church. That's his people. That's where
he meets with his people, that body of Christ. Micah chapter
4. But in these last days it shall
come to pass that the mountain of the house of the Lord. That's
Zion. That was always Zion. And here
is Zion, this picture of the Lord's true church and people. And here are all these people,
he says, in these last days that will flock to that out of every
nation and kindred and tribe and tongue. coming to that mountain,
nothing and no one can stop them. They'll come to that mountain
in the midst. They'll come to Christ by faith
in the midst. They'll hear His gospel. Many will fall on every side.
Many will die in unbelief on every side. Many will be these
people that we've just read about in the scripture, but the elect
one, the chosen of God one, the love of God from everlasting
warmth, the redeemed by Christ warmth, they're all going to
flood to this world. And then it shall come to pass,
we read in Acts, say if God, I will pour out my Spirit upon
all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams. That all has to do with the revelation
of Jesus Christ. They're going to see. They're
going to believe. They're going to come to Christ.
They're going to assemble this body which is the church. Because Christ is that one who
was barely foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you. I thought about it this morning. These are sad days. But these are glad days. You look around you, you see
what you see, and it's so fearful, so much a cause to have fear, to
need consolation, danger, perilous. God doesn't sugarcoat things.
There are perilous times. These are the last days. perilous
times, there is much tribulation. But look at our verse again. Look at Hebrews 1 and verse 2. God hath in these last days spoken
to us. You read the last verse in Malachi. You open with the first verse
in Matthew. And there was all that long period
of time that sat under the silence of darkness. The worst thing that can happen
I mean the absolute worst thing that can happen to an individual
is to come under the silence of God. But this tells us in these last
days, God, who by the way identifies himself here as the God of the
Old Testament, This same God, He has spoken to us. He's not been silent to His people.
He's spoken to us. And the scripture says that He
has spoken in grace. He's spoken to His people in
these last days. He's spoken to us. I thought about it this week. Why would God ever speak to me? How could God ever speak to me? Such a wretch, such a sinner,
such a cold and lifeless and indifferent one, such a lawless
one like everyone else. How could God speak to me by His Son. He's spoken unto us. These things are written to the
people of God. He's spoken to us. Us wretched
sinners but chosen objects of His grace. He's spoken to us
by, and actually that word His is not there in the original. So it's saying that God has spoken
to us by Son. By the language of His Son. He's
spoken to us by the Word. The word incarnate, the last
word from God on everything. Especially the word of grace
to his people. And he's spoken to us by son
in his written word. Deceivers say, God woke me up
last night. I had a dream last night, and
God told me this. They close their Bible, if they
had one, and they say, this is the way it is. Men by multiplied millions, women
by multiplied millions, are deceived. Because they do not know what
God said actually and the Spirit of God has not revealed it to
them. God in these last days has spoken
to us by son. He's the mediator. He's the great
high priest. He's spoken to us by his gospel. He's spoken to us in good news. And what is he saying? Now listen,
I'm going to give you the heart of the gospel. I'm going to give
you the good news. I'm going to give you what God
has said to His people. If you have ears to hear this,
if you have a heart to believe this, it's because God called
you to. But this is what God has said,
this one that He has spoken to, By whom He has appointed the
heir of all things, and by whom He made the world, Christ Jesus
the Lord. Look in verse 3. When He had by Himself. Talk about the Lone Ranger. the single person, the man, the
one and the only Savior, Lord, Redeemer, that He by Himself,
single-handedly, without your help, without your works, without
your consent, He by Himself our sins before you were born, without your decision, all by himself, in a way honoring
to God. He by himself purged, that means
cleansed or blotted out or washed away our sins. The multitude of them. The plural
of them. All of them. Now he either did that or he
didn't. Which is it with you? You can't help him. It's done. You can't stop him. It's done. He by Himself purged our sins. All our sins. That's why He came. He was the only one that could
do it. His name is called Jesus because He shall save His people
from their sins. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses
us from all sins. In past tense, he did it by himself. He finished it on the cross. And somebody says, well, I don't
know. I don't know about that. You're deluded. If God lets you
continue in that delusion, you're never one of His elect. Because
His people believe that He by Himself purged, put away, finished. They are no more. My sins, not in part, but the
whole, are nailed to His cross and I bear it no more. Praise
the Lord! His work secured our salvation
and our safety and the fact that all these things will work together
for good to us and who keeps us by the power of God through
faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. It's going to look like in the
last time just like it is right now. And just like God has seen
it from eternity. And at the conclusion of these
last days, God will bring a final end. There are these last days and
there is the last day. The last day. There is an end. There is a hope. There is a glorious
prospect. The last day. You ever worked
on a job to retire? Or ever worked on a school degree
to get it finished? And there finally did come that
last day of what would be. There is a last day. And that
will be the coming of our Lord. The same Jesus shall come again
in like manner. And all these charts, all this
speculation, all like the fool in California who, and other
places and other times who have got people up on a mountaintop
and expecting the second coming, no man knows the hour. Now they may tell you something,
but Christ said no man knows the hour. But it'll be like it was in the
days of Noah. Marrying and giving in Christ. And it won't be a secret rapture. Every eye shall see you. Christ said, And this is the
Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath
given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again
at the last day. No man can come to me except
the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I'll raise him
up at the last day. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood hath eternal life, and I'll raise him up at the last
day. Martha saith unto him, I know
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. He that rejecteth me and receiveth
not my words hath one that judges him, the word that I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last day. And I love this precious verse
in Revelation chapter 7. John saw large group, host. The angel asked him, sending
a hint, who are these? John said, Sir, thou knowest. In other words, I don't know. You know, I don't know. These
are they which came out of great tribulation. They made it. You ever have those days you
think sometimes you just will never make it. There's so much
trial and tribulation. So many things fearful going
on in the world. Won't have enough food. Won't
have enough water. Won't have this and that and
the other. The governments are going to go crazy and all that.
They're already crazy. but his glorious church, John
sees in the Revelation. And the angel tells him, these
are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their
robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. So we'll say, what can wash away
my sins? Nothing but the blood. Sorry,
it's just not true. What has washed away all our
sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And we're in the last days in
our experience. But notice where we are in Christ
that evening. Because when he had by himself
purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the majesty
on high. That's where Christ is right
now. On the throne. He's seated on the throne. Finished
the work. Receiving glory. And all who
are in Him, Paul says in the book of Ephesians, they're seated
in Him in the heavens. We're in heaven. We're on the
throne in our representative and head, the Lord Jesus Christ. So never fear of the trouble,
the trial in these last days. It's happening. It's not pleasant
to watch. It's real. We're already seated. And in
that last day, He'll come again and receive us. So you see these last days are
really kind of the threshold to eternity, to the best days,
the days that never end in the presence of God. Lord bless you
all. Father, we pray this morning
that you would take your word and rather than making your people
fearful, comfort them and bless them and give them an eye of
prospect that they might behold the risen, enthroned Christ. Thank you for it. We pray in
his name. Amen. I wonder if you can hear her. She's still like that.