Well we're going to look this
morning at 1st Samuel chapter 4. I was reminded the other day
when I was preparing, something I was reading, I was actually
reading something that Don Faulkner had written. about this chapter
and uh... he actually quoted me because
i remembered i wrote an article for evangelical times when bill
was editing evangelical times i wrote an article on this very
chapter of the scriptures and uh... he quoted me and i'll read
out that quote This is what was said. Sadly, there are those
who sincerely want God to be honoured and worshipped aright,
yet they fail to do consistently that which alone brings him honour.
The unashamed, unambiguous preaching of Christ and the gospel of substitutionary
atonement and particular redemption in Christ must be central to
all our worship and preaching. Well it was true then, I believe
it's a lot more true today, more true than ever today. In that
chapter of 1 Samuel chapter 4, we read about the time when the
ark of God, the ark of God, this box, the ark of God was taken
from Israel. And when it was taken, God's
glory departed from Israel. And when God's glory departed
from Israel, all hope that the people had of eternal peace went
with it. When they used to meet in the
way that was given to Moses, well it was the patriarchs before
him, but it was specified so clearly in the laws of how God
was to be worshipped, when Israel worshipped in that way they had
confidence, they had confidence that they had peace with God,
because what that symbolised looked forward to the gospel
of grace, when Christ The God-man would come and save his people
from their sins. With that ark of God gone, they
had no way of worshipping God. And so with it, all hope of eternal
peace departed. The glory of God departed. So
it is today when the preaching of the true gospel, the true
gospel, not the man-made gospel that sounds like the true gospel,
when the preaching of the true gospel of Christ is removed from
churches, you know what you can write over the door? We've said
it before, we'll say it again, it's just as true. You can put
a big label above the door, Ichabod. Why Ichabod? Because the name
means the glory has departed. Why has the glory departed? The
gospel has departed. And with the gospel's departure,
all genuine, true hope of men and women has departed with it.
First of all, what was the ark? Secondly, how did it represent
preaching? And thirdly, what is Ichabod? I've entitled this message, God's
glory and Ichabod. First of all, what was the ark? Now, you don't have to turn to
it, but if you want to, turn to Exodus chapter 25. Exodus
chapter 25. I'm going to assume, I know I've
preached on this passage before and I'm going to assume we've
read the passage, you know what happened, you know 4,000 were
killed and they went and got the Ark of God and then even
with that 30,000 were killed and the sons of Eli, Hophni and
Phinehas were killed as God said he would do. You know the account,
you know the stuff, so I'm not going to labour that in any detail. I want to focus on what was the
Ark What was the ark? Exodus 25 verse 10, just follow
with me a few verses down to verse 22. This is God telling
Moses what they need at the centre of their worship. They shall
make an ark of shitting wood, two cubits and a half shall be
the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof,
and a cubit and a half the height thereof. And thou shalt overlay
it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it. And thou shalt make upon it a
crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings
of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof.
And two rings shall be on one side of it, and two rings in
the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of
shitting wood, and overlay them with gold. and thou shalt put
the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the
ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings
of the ark, they shall not be taken from it. and thou shalt
put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee and thou
shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold two cubits and a half shall
be the length thereof and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof
and thou shalt make two cherubins of gold of beaten work shalt
thou make them in the two ends of the mercy seat and make one
cherub on one end and the other cherub on the other end even
of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubins on the two ends
thereof And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on
high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces
shall look one to another toward the mercy seat shall the faces
of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy
seat above upon the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the
testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee,
and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from
between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony,
of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the
children of Israel." Well, that's what it was. That was the prescription.
That was God's prescription of what the ark was to be to Moses. It was a box, 1.14 meters long,
so about four feet long, thereabouts. sixty three centimeters by sixty
three and for those of you that don't do centimeters that's that's
uh... what's that probably about two
feet in either direction so the coffee table I know people listening
online can't see it but there's a coffee table in the middle
of the room and that's about the size of the Ark of the Covenant
thereabouts that's what it was it was made of wood The King
James version, we've got the old original name of it, Shittingwood,
from the common wood that grew in that part of the world. We
would call it today Acacia wood, and you will find in more modern
translations, it's always translated Acacia wood. It is thought very
confidently thought, you know the burning bush that Moses saw
when God came and spoke to him, that that was this shitting wood,
this common acacia wood, this ordinary wood, and the poles
were made, the poles with which they bore it, with which they
carried it, you know, the priests carried it, and there was this
not solid connection but loose connection through rings, because
this thing was so special, This thing was so special. And though
it was common wood, it was overlaid with gold. It must have been
very thin leaf gold, beaten very, very thinly. You know, like they
decorate the monument. If you go and see the Albert
monument opposite the Royal Albert Hall in Hyde Park, it's glistening
with gold, well it's a very very thin leaf gold, I imagine it
was something like that because otherwise it would just be too
heavy to carry because gold is so dense but on the top of it
was a solid gold mercy seat with cherubims upon it and the priests
and the priests alone were to carry this ark and inside it,
it was a box, inside it were the tablets of the law that God
had given to Moses on Mount Sinai you know the Ten Commandments
that were on two tablets the first set were broken because
of the sin and the disobedience of the people of Israel, but
he gave them to Moses again and those two tablets of stone, and
it says they were written by the finger of God, they were
inside this box there was also a gold pot. How did God feed
the children of Israel for forty years? He gave them manna from
heaven. Manna means what is it? They
didn't know what it was. It was like honey and coriander
but it sustained them and it fed them for forty years and
some of that manna was collected and kept in a pot in the Ark
of the Covenant never to go off and Aaron's rod Aaron's rod was
different from the rods of the magicians of Egypt because they
threw them down with a challenge on the ground and Aaron's rod
budded. It budded with almond blossom.
An ordinary dead rod blossomed. That was in there as well. The
lid, as I've said, had a gold mercy seat. The word for mercy
seat is that doctrinal word, propitiation. mercy seat, turn away anger,
turn away the anger and the wrath is what propitiation means. The
man, the publican who was praying, you know when the Pharisee was
praying I thank you God that I am not as other men for I do
all these wonderful things and the publican He said, I'm not
as this publican here, and the publican would not even look
up, but looked down and beat his breast and said, God be propitious
to me, a sinner. God be merciful, God be a mercy,
God be propitious to me, a sinner. there were the cherubs and the
cherubs were to look down on the mercy seat and if you read
further on the mercy seat is where the blood of the sacrifice
was to be sprinkled first the blood of a bullock for the cleansing
of Aaron himself and the priests, and then the blood of other animals
as specified for the sins of the people. And they were to
look down on the blood, because that spoke. It's simple, but
it spoke. it's symbol but it spoke of reality
which is the blood of Christ cleansing us from all sin and
it was kept this ark this holiest thing was kept in the holy of
holies in the temple you know now we count nowhere as any more
holy than anywhere else you know the holy land is not the holy
land it's the geographical place where the Lord Jesus Christ walked
in his earthly ministry but it's no more holy than this room that
we're sitting in now The inner sanctum of one of the great cathedrals
of this land are not in the slightest bit any more holy than the room
that we're in now. In fact in many ways because
of the profanity that goes on there they're very much less
holy. It was kept in the holy of holies and the priest, the
high priest, once a year on the day of atonement went in there
with the blood of the Passover lamb And there, God says he would
meet. If you want communion with the
God who has made us, you cannot have communion with the God that
has made us on the basis of being a sinner when he is holy. God
is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. But, but, at a place
which is called propitiation, the mercy seat, with the blood
of the sacrifice sprinkled there. This is what God says, verse
22 of what we just read. There I will meet with thee,
and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat. If
you want to know God, if you want God to know you, if you
want to talk to God, if you want to commune with God, you must
come to the mercy seat. and there must be blood there,
only with blood, because without the shedding of blood there is
no remission of sins. You cannot come to God. You cannot
find peace with God. You cannot find acceptance with
God. You can find nothing other than
judgment. It is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God, for our God is a consuming
fire and cannot tolerate sin. But where there's the blood of
an acceptable sacrifice, only with blood is the remission of
sins an acceptable sacrifice. A vicarious substitute, I know
that's tautology because vicarious means a substitute, but It works. It works. A living, working substitute. One standing in the place and
counted for every aspect of it as being equivalent and equal
to the ones he represents. That was the Lord Jesus Christ.
Symbolically, in the Old Testament worship at the Ark of the Covenant,
everything was in symbol. Everything, do you remember a
message I brought maybe a couple of years ago now? about the blueprint. Old Testament worship, you know
you have a building, I guess for this house at one stage there
was a blueprint on a draftsman's table, there was a drawing, he
imagined what it would be like, he measured, he drew it, and
the builders built it according to the blueprint. The Old Testament
is the blueprint for the Gospel. The Old Testament pictures is
the blueprint for the Gospel. Symbolically in the Old Testament,
when the priest went in there, satisfaction was made to the
law of God. The people were justified. The
saints of the Old Testament went to heaven. We know from our studies
in Revelation, when we did that, Satan wasn't happy with that.
Satan, the accuser of the brethren, accused them as not being justified.
For, in truth, all they'd done was animal sacrifices. He couldn't
see what the symbolism was pointing to. This was representing Christ's
atonement for his elect. Christ's atonement. Atonement
at one meant how Christ made God, who is holy, and his people
that he chose who were sinners, children of wrath even as others,
who cannot be together for the sin separates them, there's a
great gulf made atonement, made them at one by making satisfaction
through the sacrifice, through the death, through the blood
of an acceptable substitute. Making satisfaction, bringing
about justification, bringing about peace. What a wonderful
term is justification. If you're in the dock with a
charge hanging over your head in the court of law, there is
no sweeter word than justification. Let him go. When the judge declares,
you may go free. All charges against you are dismissed.
Peace. Acceptance. When the Ark of God
was taken by the Philistines, Israel had no way of worshipping
God. Israel had no hope of atonement,
of ever being at one with God. Israel had no access to God. Israel had no acceptance by him. Without the Ark of the Covenant
in the tabernacle at Shiloh, without the Ark of the Covenant
there was no hope of salvation. There was no peace with God. For God is angry with the wicked
every day except there be an Ark of the Covenant. Except there
be the blood of an acceptable sacrifice on the mercy seat.
All there was was just a fearful dread as responsible sinners
of falling under the justice of God. And that's why they all
cried. All the ones that knew what it
meant in Israel when they heard the Ark of the God had been taken
by the Philistines, they cried with a dreadful cry. There's no hope for us. There's
no more salvation. Some in Israel saw this, and
looked forward by faith to Christ. We know not all of them did,
for not all Israel is of Israel." You know, that's what Paul says
in Romans. It's not just those who are children
by birth, but those who are children by faith is the true Israel. Many of them, many of them, perhaps
the majority of them, for so many were slain that day, For
the majority of them, the Ark of God was no longer, sorry I'm
pointing at the coffee table because it's the same shape and
size, but you know what I mean. Just imagine it's there. The
Ark of God had become to them nothing other than a good luck
charm. They just, you know like a lot
of people say, oh I'm going on a journey, I'll put my Saint
Christopher necklace around my neck, or I'll wear my, I'll take
my rabbit's foot with me, or I'll take my four-leaf clover,
or any other superstitious nonsense. I'll cross my fingers. How many
times do we hear it? Oh, on the television, the presenters
say, oh we're all got fingers crossed, as if that's going to
make any difference. Good luck, child. Good luck,
child. Just a good luck charm. Help us defeat the Philistines,
was what they were saying. Ah, we've just suffered a defeat,
they've killed 4,000 of our people. We're the slaves of the Philistines,
we need to get out. What are we doing wrong? I know!
Go and get the Ark of the Covenant out of the tabernacle at Shiloh
and bring it to the battle. Ha ha, if we've got that with
us then, oh yeah, we'll see them off. But God had told Eli, via
Samuel, that he was going to bring destruction on his family.
That he was going to take his wicked, evil sons, who he did
not restrain, he was going to take them out of the way. God
had told Eli he was going to do that, and he did. At first,
4,000 were slain in battle. And then, with the good luck
charm, for God to teach them that it wasn't a good luck charm,
God taught them it was not a good luck charm. 30,000, 30,000 were dead, were killed, including
his sons, Hophni and Phineas. Now then, second question. How
did the Ark represent Christ? How did this box in the Old Testament
represent Christ? It had a mercy seat on it, a
mercy seat, and I've already said that is propitiation, that's
the same word The same word that's translated mercy seat is the
word that's translated propitiation. Meaning anger turned away. Just
anger turned away. How is it turned away? When justification
is accomplished. When satisfaction is made. When
the law which has been offended, the justice of God has been offended
and cries out for penalty and the penalty is being paid and
the law says enough. That's enough. That will do.
That's plenty. Romans 3.25. The redemption that
is in Christ Jesus, of whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood. 1 John chapter 2 verses 1 and
2 and then chapter 4 verses 9 and 10. If any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he
is the propitiation. the mercy seat for our sins.
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that
God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through him, here in his love, not that we loved God,
but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation
for our sins. How does the Ark represent Christ?
The mercy seat. Christ is the propitiation. He's
the mercy seat for our sins. How does the art represent Christ? It was made of common wood. Our
Lord Jesus Christ was clothed in the same common humanity that
we are, yet without sin. Made in the likeness of sinful
flesh, yet without sin. He was made of a woman. He was conceived of the Holy
Ghost, but he was made of a woman. He had our human genetic makeup. humanity, common wood, common
wood represented his humanity but it was overlaid with gold
which represents his divinity that he was God indeed it had
a crown around the rim representing the fact that he was a king he
was a king look at the book of Hebrews chapter two, you should
know this, I quote it often enough Hebrews two in verse fourteen,
just listen for as much then as the children, who are the
children he's talking about? the ones the father gave to the
son before the beginning of time he's elect just as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, yeah? you and me we're partakers
of flesh and blood like everybody else he, Christ also himself
likewise took part of the same why? that through death as a
man he might destroy him that had the power of death, who is
that? the devil with his accusation
of sin before the law of God and deliver them who through
fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage for
verily he took not on him the nature of angels but he took
on him the seed of Adam, no it doesn't say that does it? He
took on him the seed of Abraham, the seed of Abraham, the children
of faith, the children of the covenant, the children of the
promise, the seed, the promised seed, little s, who were united
to and in the seed that came from Abraham, capital S, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, in all things In all
things it behoved him, he had to be made like unto his brethren. Our Lord Jesus Christ had to
be made like of the same substance as the people he would save because
only as that he could die the death of a man in the place of
sinners. that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. Christ
has covered all the law's demands for his people by his death as
the Passover lamb as the mercy seat was covering the lid of
the box, and the lid of the box was covering the tablets of the
law that were in the box, Christ has covered all the law's demands
for his people. And as the blood spoke peace,
the blood of Christ, as the Passover lamb, delivered his people from
the condemnation of their sins. Romans 8, verses 1 to 4. Let
me read this to you. There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son
in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in
the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Do you see how Christ had to be clothed in flesh he had to
be in the likeness of sinful flesh so that he might condemn
sin in the flesh and pay its penalty and redeem his people
Jeremiah 23 verse 6 this is his name, he's speaking of the Redeemer
this is his name whereby he shall be called the Lord our righteousness
and I love it because you know a few chapters later on In Jeremiah
it says, speaking of the church, this is the name by which she
shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. Just as he is
the Lord our righteousness, his people are the righteousness
of God in him. Romans 10.4, Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to them that believe. You can
try and try and try by the works of the law to achieve righteousness
and you know that you will never achieve it for Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to them that believe. It was
blood on the mercy seat that signified atonement and communion
between God and sinners. It symbolized it on the Ark of
the Covenant, it symbolized it, it didn't actually accomplish
it, it symbolized it but with Christ and his blood, it actually
achieved it. Let me read this to you, Hebrews
chapter 9 and verse 12. Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 12. You see, they used the blood
of, you read Leviticus, we were reading this morning in Leviticus,
the blood of goats and the blood of bulls, neither by the blood
of goats and calves, I didn't achieve it. But by his own blood,
Christ's own blood, he entered in once into the holy place,
having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls
and of goats and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the unclean,
sanctify sanctifies to the purifying of the flesh, in other words
he's talking about it being symbolical, how much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the
living God? You see, it was just symbol.
with the Ark of God it was just symbol with the blood of animals
but with Christ it was actual with Christ salvation was completed
it was accomplished when he cried it is finished on the cross salvation
was accomplished and it was accomplished without any contribution of legal
obedience on the part of the people he saved get that clear
get that clear there are so many who will tell you most of what
I've told you so far, but they'll say, ah, but you're under an
obligation for legal obedience. No you're not. No you're not. Does that mean you live as you
want? Does that mean you live in blatant open denial of what
God wants? No, of course you don't. The
love of Christ constrains you, but it's not with any legal obedience. It's with no religious ceremony.
No religious ceremony. People go on pilgrimages. People
go to this thinking it's doing them some good in terms of heaven. It's doing them no good whatsoever.
People are sticklers for doctrine. I'm a stickler for true doctrine,
but you know the type of thing I mean where it's dead, where
it's dry as dust, where it's dead, where every eye has to
be dotted and every T has got to be crossed. No, that doesn't
contribute anything to salvation. In fact, it does the very opposite.
Or personal piety. You know, if you live a certain
way, yes, Christ has saved you, but only if you live a certain
way. No, He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. No man
comes to the Father but by Him. What the Ark was to Old Testament
worship Gospel preaching is to New Testament worship. What do
I mean by gospel preaching? Do I mean that limp-wristed nonsense
that's trotted out in no end of what call themselves evangelical
churches? Absolutely not. That's a gospel
that never saved anybody. That's a gospel that did no more
than make salvation a possibility. That's a gospel that is based
on an utterly shaky, sandy foundation that will fall away come the
day of judgment. It's a justification which is
based on nothing other than the work of doing of the believer
who believes rather than on the faith of Jesus Christ who accomplished
all things. what the ark was to Old Testament
worship, true gospel preaching, which is gospel preaching which
says God chose a people in Christ before the foundation of the
world. Christ covenanted to come in union with those people and
represent them and stand as substitute and be made their sin and bear
the law's penalty and guilt in their place and die on the cross
and shed his lifeblood that justice might be satisfied and having
done that to make them the righteousness of God in him. It's particular. It's particular. You say, why
do people, why do religious folks hate the true gospel above all
other things? It's particular redemption. Particular
redemption. Let's call it as it is in the
five points of Calvinism, though I don't like using names. It's
limited atonement. The death of Christ is limited
to those the Father gave to him before the foundation of the
world. The death of Christ does not have the capacity to save
the whole world if only the whole world would believe. That is
a lie. That is not true. The death of
Christ was very, very specific. Why was his name Jesus? to make
it possible for everybody who might want to be saved to be
saved. Does it say that? Of course it doesn't. Call his
name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. No,
the ark was the glory of God demonstrated in symbol. The ark in the Old Testament,
that box, was the glory of God demonstrated. What is it in the
New Testament? gospel preaching is God's glory
demonstrated and revealed. Again, I've told you this many
times, Exodus 33, Moses said to God, show me your glory. And
God said, you can't see my face, but when he pressed him, show
me your glory, this is what God said, this is my glory. I will
be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. You know, show me your glory.
You would think it would be the earthquake, wind, and fire that
Elijah saw. But God was not in the earthquake,
the wind, and the fire. Where was God? In the still,
small voice. The still, small voice that speaks
the truth of salvation. The people gathered at the temple
outside the Holy of Holies. They gathered there in anticipation,
looking. Is he going to come in and come
out? Because if he didn't do it right, He'd be killed. God
would kill him, stung dead. If he didn't go in and do it
right, God would kill him. And they gathered, because if
the priest came out, they knew that they symbolically had been
cleansed from their sins and had acceptance with God. So we
gather, week by week. People, don't get the wrong terminology,
but tune in, if you like, to the internet to join with us
and to other sermons. Gather to hear it. often, regularly,
in certain hope of acceptance, which brings peace, and we never
tire of coming. Do we? Do we ever tire? We shouldn't
ever tire of coming. You know, as the priests, if
you read about the priest's robes, they had bells and pomegranates,
symbolical, sewn on the hem, and the idea was that there was
a chiming, a constant chiming, and that was saying, I'm still
alive, I'm in the holy of holies, you can hear the chiming, I'm
in there, it's accepted, and the gospel preaches to you as
we hear it week by week, the old, old story of Jesus and his
cross. The ark was carried by the priests,
it was heavy, it was a burden. The gospel, the gospel is a burden
that God puts upon anointed gospel preachers. It's carried as God
prescribed. How is the ark to be carried?
Only by the priests and only with those gold overlaid staves
that was through the rings on, you dare not touch it any other
way. Don't ever dare put it on a new
cart. You think what happened to Uzzah
in 2 Samuel chapter six and verse three when they went to get it.
And they put the ark on a new cart. And Uzzah reached out his
hand to steady it, and God struck him dead. David was angry with
God. What did he do that for? Because he violated what God
had said about the ark, how it symbolized that which must not
be touched. Preaching is God's prescription
for carrying the gospel. Not some new cart. What are the
new carts? They've been using it for quite
a long time. The new cart of drama is not the way to proclaim
the gospel. The new cart of, oh, well, let's
all gather around and have dialogue, is not the way to proclaim the
gospel. Oh, let's have some entertainment.
People won't come to church, but they'll come for some entertainment.
Let's give them some entertainment. I know, I know, let's have a
sports event. We'll get them to come along
to a sports event, oh I know, let's offer them catering as
they go by, let's offer them ice creams and burgers and things
like that. And you name it, every other gimmick, new cart, new
cart, new cart. What does God say? Preach. Declare. Declare. Why? Is God trying to
save everybody? No. God is calling the people
that in Christ he redeemed from their sins. You see, to distort
the Gospel, that true Gospel, in any way, is to destroy it. You know what Paul said in Galatians
1 about those that were coming in and adding little bits to
the Gospel of Grace? If any man come and do this,
let him be accursed. So then Ichabod, what does Ichabod
mean? What is Satan's objective? We
saw in Revelation Satan seeks to establish his unrivaled kingdom
of heavenly attainment. Satan's trying to tell people
you can get to heaven but what does he say it doesn't need?
It doesn't need divine justice to be satisfied. That's what
Satan says. He says you can get to heaven
without there being a need for any divine justice to be satisfied
And to do that, Satan must get rid of the gospel. To do that,
he must snatch away gospel preaching. In churches, Satan is not bothered
about accurate creeds, he's not bothered about denominations,
he's not bothered that the people are immoral people, He's not
bothered that the right order of church discipline is in place.
He's not bothered that there's mutual recognition and support
from other like-minded groups of people. He's not bothered
about these people having a social conscience to do good works.
His aim, Satan's aim, is to get the preaching of Christ, and
the preaching of Christ alone, out of the pulpit. And when he's
done it, Ichabod, the glorious departed, Beware that we don't
neglect the Ark of God. We need God's help. We can't
do it without God's help. Without Him we can do nothing.
True gospel preaching, the purity of true gospel preaching, that
He might never take it from us, that He might give us it through
His Word, by His Spirit. We don't need Bible colleges,
we don't need other organizations and denominations to advise us,
we just need the Spirit of God and someone that God has anointed
to bring the message. Beware that we don't neglect
it. Beware that we don't put in its place false gods, and
legal duties, and evangelical enterprises, and mysticism, and
morality, and social reformation. You know, campaigning regarding
poverty, and abortion, and society morality. I know we'd like to
see things more moral, but I'm telling you, reforming society
isn't going to cause anybody to be saved. The preaching of
the gospel will. And that's where our efforts
should be. You know, a lot of this is all good stuff in its
place. We should do whatever we can to do good works where we're given
opportunity, but don't think for one minute that we do that
in the place of preaching the true gospel of Christ. No, our
objective needs to be that of Paul. I determined, he said,
1 Corinthians 2 verse 2, not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and him crucified. He said, for though I preach
the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is laid
upon me. Yea, woe is unto me if I preach
not the gospel. For any listening and trying
to make the best of a bad church situation, ask yourself. Ask
God to show you. Should the church you attend
really have Ichabod written over the door? If so, come out and
seek the preaching of Christ alone. Why? For there is none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. Amen.