Well, it's lovely to be back
again. Good to see you. Zion, eh? So I bring greetings
from Zion up over to Zion down under. The Lord's people, I have a friend
who says that when he is asked how things are, he always wants
to say good. Things are good. How are things
in your church? Things are good in the church. What's happening? And he gets
a little frustrated when people say, oh, how terrible things
are and how bad it's become. He says, that's tantamount to
saying that God's not getting it right. For some reason he's
lost the thread, but the people of God are perfect. The church of the Lord Jesus
Christ is a holy church. It's a glorious church, and it
is glorious because it is in Him. And we do lament to see
the state of our society around about us and Certainly it is
clear that the Lord Jesus Christ in his own life looked upon Jerusalem
and there was grief in his own heart at the state of that city
and the trouble that no doubt he knew was about to come upon
it. But let us too remember that
the Lord is good to us, that he is providing for us and sustaining
and upholding us. And it's a wonderful thing that
we can share together and we can come in his name and be so
at ease and at peace with one another in this place. And the
Lord Jesus Christ will be uplifted in our midst this evening, I
trust. We've had some busy days in the
past couple of days. The Lord Jesus Christ was the only
one who knew how and when and where he would die. Our Savior
knew exactly the circumstances of his life. He knew that he
was making a journey to Jerusalem in order to suffer. He knew that
when he got there, the priests would organize his arrest, that
he would be handed over to the Romans, that he would undergo
the brutality of the soldiers anger and mockery. He knew that he would die. You and I, we do not have such
knowledge about our own passing. And I don't suppose that there
are any of us who were present yesterday, didn't think a little
of our own mortality as we sat together in the cemetery and
thought about the body of our sister being laid to rest. We
don't know how we will die, we don't know when we will die,
we don't know the circumstances of our passing. That knowledge
belongs to God alone. and he has an appointed time
for each of us to die. It will not come too soon, nor
will it be delayed. It will come precisely when the
Lord ordains it to be. So the question is not when will
we die, except the Lord should come and take his church, his
people, to himself. We know that that appointment
is made. The question is not when will
we die. The question is what will we
be doing until that time? How will we be living until that
time? What will we do until then? It's not a matter of how, it's
not a matter of where, it's a matter of what shall we be found doing
at that moment. We must not fret about fulfilling
that appointment. It will be a good day, the day
that we die. It will not be a bad day. It will be a good day. The Lord
will prepare us for that day and the Lord will take us to
himself. There will be a love for him
at his appearing. and all our circumstances are
controlled by our Saviour. We are safe in the hands of Christ
who loves us, who cares for us, above and beyond all things in
this world. What are we frightened of losing? What are we reluctant to give
up? What are we scared of leaving
behind. What good thing will God deny
to his people? A little verse in Ephesians chapter
3 verse 20 it says, Now unto him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the
power that worketh in us. We are entitled as the children
of God to ask the Lord for anything. And we should. We should be ready
to go to the Lord and ask him for those things that we need
and for those things that we desire. It is our lack of faith
and it is our lack of imagination that prevents us from asking
much more than we do and prevents us from taking comfort in the
knowledge that the Lord in his goodness is providing everything
that we require. He is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think. And we have every encouragement
in Scripture to go to the Lord and to ask such things of Him
as we desire. And what is more, We should expect
more from Him than we ask for. We should expect better from
Him than we ask. Our Lord can do more than we
can ask or think or imagine or conceive in our own minds. And He is pleased to provide
for all the needs of His people. In Matthew chapter 7, the Lord presents this to his disciples
in the context of a father and child. He says in the seventh
verse of that chapter, ask and it shall be given you, seek and
ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone
that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to
him that knocketh it shall be opened. What man is there of
you, whom if his son asked bread, will he give him a stone? Or
if he asked a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more shall your Father which is in heaven give good gifts
to them that ask Him? Our Lord will supply all our
needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. He delights to give good gifts
to His people. He rejoices when He can dispense
His bounty to His people. And if we do not receive immediately
those things that we request, it is only because the Lord is
waiting to give us more and better than we asked for. Exceedingly
abundantly more and better than we asked for. I wanted to direct our thoughts
this evening, if I may be enabled, to the Apostle Paul's anticipation
of his own passing. I want us to turn to 2 Timothy
chapter 4. The Apostle Paul knew that it
was coming near the end of his life. He knew that this earthly
pilgrimage of his, the ministry that he had been engaged upon,
his evangelism, his preaching, his doctrinal teachings and writings
were coming to an end. His life was drawing to a close. And he had in his heart, he retained
in his heart, a sense of anxiety about the well-being of the Church
of Jesus Christ. He knew that the gospel would
be rejected when it was preached. He knew that there would be people
who would come into the church who would suppress the truth
of the gospel. He knew that it would be abandoned
by many in the church. He knew that the Word of God
would be altered, it would be diluted, it would be distorted. He knew that men would turn away
from the truth and adopt fables. He knew that true preachers of
the Gospel, following after the pattern that he had set, would
be few and rare and marginalized. He knew that those left after
his departure would be called to endure afflictions. And knowing all of that, knowing
all of that, he anticipated the day of his death in peace. Listen to what he writes in the
fourth chapter of 2 Timothy. I'm going to read the first eight
verses. I charge thee therefore before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and
the dead at his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the word. Be instant in season, out of
season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with
all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts they
shall keep to themselves teachers having itching ears. and they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables. But watch thou in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered,
and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good
fight. I have finished my course. I
have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but
unto all them also that love his appearing. I am now ready to be offered.
The time of my departure is at hand." What a comfort the Apostle
Paul possessed. Despite all of the foreboding
that he was able to communicate here to Timothy, all of the anxiety
that he felt for the sake of the Church, he had a contentment
and a peace in his own soul. knowing that the comfort that
he had was drawn from the knowledge that he was safe in the hands
of the Lord Jesus Christ, his righteous judge. He says, I have
fought, I have laboured, I am about to die, but I have maintained
the faith, I have held true to the things that the Lord committed
to me, and these things I know. We're going to think about some
of the things that the Apostle Paul could speak about here in
this 8th verse. Some of the things that he knew
as he faced his own death. And I want us to think of them
for ourselves. I want us to think about them
personally. I want us to think what it means
to us to be living in this world, to see the trouble that is all
around about us, to be aware of the very anxieties being fulfilled
that the Apostle Paul spoke of, to see the way in which fables
are pursued and truth is despised, how people with itching ears
draw to them men who will preach doctrines that satisfy their
own human lusts rather than the truths that the Apostle Paul
lived and died for. How it is that the Lord Jesus
Christ, instead of being lifted up and worshipped and praised
and adored and magnified in the churches, is marginalized and
set aside. How that men become center stage
and the labors and the works of men take on this great priority. And the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ is left unspoken and undeclared. The Apostle Paul says, I have
a crown of righteousness. It is a lovely thought that here
is this man as he is preparing to lay down his life, as he looks
back on his service and he looks forward to the coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ for him. He is able to say to this young
man, Timothy, I have a crown of righteousness. This is a crown
of righteousness. Who wears a crown? A king wears a crown. Princes wear crowns. People that are honoured wear
crowns, and the Apostle has a crown of righteousness. Here is a man
who has known much trial, much hurt, much tribulation in his
life. But he looks forward to that
royal inheritance that he has in Christ. That righteousness
which God alone can give. That righteousness which comes
to the people of God by the service and the labours and the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a picture of glory and
a picture of excellence. It is a crown of incorruptible
life and hope and joy that the Apostle speaks of. He is anticipating
eagerly That time when he will sit amongst the princes of God. That he will be in the presence
of his Christ, seated there in glory, in that kingdom which
is prepared for the people. It is a crown of righteousness
that the Apostle Paul looks forward to. And it is a crown of righteousness
because it comes from a righteous God. It is the gift of a righteous
God to his people. Paul was an heir of that gift
and the glory that attached to it, and it is his legitimate
possession. It is bestowed rightly uprightly,
righteously upon him as a man. There is a propriety, there is
a properness about the way in which the Apostle Paul is in
possession of this crown of righteousness. He says, I have a crown of righteousness. Henceforth it is laid up for
me, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, shall give me. It is His crown, it is His righteousness
that the Lord Jesus Christ is pleased to bestow upon this servant. It speaks of the perfect holiness
of the Lord Jesus. It speaks of the blessedness
of that heavenly state which the people of God are prepared
for. It speaks of the saints who are
there in that place and all that is to be given and granted to
them, where they will live entirely without sin, entirely without
wickedness, for all eternity in the presence of the holy,
righteous God. It is a crown of righteousness
that the Apostle Paul looks forward to possessing. And he says that
this crown of righteousness will be given to him by the Lord,
the righteous judge. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
one into whose hand the church has been committed. Right back
from before the foundation of the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ
had this people, His people, the elect of God, committed into
His hand. to be cared for, to be provided
for, to be supplied with everything that was needful for their holiness. And the Lord Jesus Christ, that
righteous judge, is the one who bestows upon his people that
righteousness which they require, the crown of righteousness. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the righteous judge. He is the righteous judge
of all men, That is a great comfort to the elect of God. They stand
before the One who knows them and loves them and has known
and loved them from all eternity. The fearful are the reprobate,
they ought to quake at the promise of judgment to come. If men could
understand the significance of being laid in that grave, if
men could understand the consequence of passing into eternity without
a saviour, If men could realize what it is to be, to be in the
presence of a holy God without a righteousness granted to them,
then they would tremble at the thought of it. But Satan has
so blinded the eyes of men that they cannot see the direness
of the predicament in which they are in. In Acts chapter 10 verse
42 we read, And He commanded us to preach unto the people
and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to
be the judge of quick and dead. The judgments of the Lord Jesus
Christ will be righteous. They will be just judgments.
They will be proper judgments. They will be righteous judgments. And the punishment will meet
the crime and the grace of God will be the portion of those
who are found to be in Christ on that day. His judgments will
be evidently seen to be true and upright and manifestly fair. And his people will be blessed
in their substitutionary state as he, as their representative,
stands in that judgment hall, intercedes for them and speaks
on their behalf as that one who has accomplished all justice,
all righteousness on their behalf. The Apostle Paul says, Henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord
the righteous Judge shall give me at that day. He shall give me. It's laid up
already. It's a wonderful thing to think
that soon we will lay down this body and enter into the fullness
of all that the Lord Jesus Christ is even now preparing for His
people. I go to prepare a place for you,
and if I go I will come again. It is laid up. Life after death. Peace after suffering. Inheritance after trial. Here is the entering into the
glory of that purchased possession. This is Christ's own people,
bought with blood, clothed with righteousness, prepared for His
presence. And that great inheritance is
laid up for us. It's there. It's prepared. And
the Lord Jesus Christ shall give it. It is laid up in the eternal
purpose of God, laid up in the covenant of grace, laid up in
the inheritance. That will has been written. The names are there in place. The blessedness is assured. We will enter into the fullness
of that earned reward of Christ's sacrifice upon the cross. as the Lord is pleased to bestow
upon His chosen people, upon those to whom He gives the gift
of faith, upon those who cleave to Him and trust in Him and see
in Him their all in all, He shall bestow such righteousness as
will fit us for the eternal presence of God. It shall be given. It is certain, it is sure, Christ
himself will distribute his blessings to his people. It will be given
to all those that love his appearing. The Apostle says that he is looking
forward to experiencing the blessedness of this crown of righteousness
which the Lord has prepared for him. But not to me only, he says,
but unto all them also that love his appearing. Timothy was a
young man. He appears to have been somewhat
of a nervous disposition. It was said to those that he
was ministering among that they were to be careful for him, that
they were to look after him. And yet, the apostle gives him
this comfort. as he, the great apostle Paul,
the one who had been used so mightily of the Lord, was passing. committing that charge, committing
that responsibility. I charge thee therefore before
God and the Lord Jesus Christ, preach the word, be instant in
season, out of season, do the work of an evangelist, committing
this role into the care of Timothy and those like Timothy who would
come after the Apostle, who would follow in those paths and who
would preach the Lord Jesus Christ as the Apostle had done. He gives
them this comfort and encouragement. Do we find such comfort there
ourselves? All the Lord's blood-bought people,
all of them, all of them that love His appearing, have this
crown of righteousness laid up for them in glory. We love His
appearing. We look forward to His return.
The Lord Jesus Christ has appeared before to us, has He not? Have we seen Him? Have we known
Him? Have we experienced something
of an appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ to us? Those of us who
have known something of our own sinfulness, who have known something
of the bearing of the burden of judgment and condemnation,
know what it is to have an appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ to us. We struggled. We endeavoured
to unload that great weight, that burden of inadequacy, that
burden of not having done enough, that burden of not being up to
the mark. And we would labour, and we would
struggle, and we would seek to do good, and we would seek to
do better. And sadly, there were many who
would set before us a structure or a pattern of do's and don'ts,
which they would tell us, if you do this, you'll get rid of
that burden. And if we tried, we did not find
that we got rid of that burden. We found that that burden was
ever present with us until the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ,
until The Lord came to us and we saw Him in His perfection. We saw Him in His glory, taking
our sin and carrying it all away, taking our unworthiness and bearing
it in his own body. We love the appearing of the
Lord Jesus Christ when he first revealed himself to us as the
saviour of our souls and the bearer of our burdens. We loved
him. And do we not love His appearing
when He meets with us in the way? As we travel back and forth
and the Lord draws nigh in the way, perhaps He meets us when
we are studying quietly together, perhaps in prayer, perhaps in
our scripture reading, perhaps in the fellowship one with another. But more particularly, He appears
in the midst of his people when two or three are gathered together
in his name. There am I in the midst, he says.
He says I'm there and though we are but few, he's there in
the midst of us. We were thinking a little before
we began our service that The coming to the service, the coming
to hear the gospel, the coming to this place of worship where
we meet with the Lord's people is not a burden to us. It is
not a chore. Why? Because we love the appearing
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He appears for his people. And
we love that appearing. The Lord Jesus Christ appears
for His people in the presence of His Father. There He intercedes
for us. And do we not know our own sinful
state even yet? Knowing that our sin is forgiven
in Christ is one thing, and that is the hope that we possess of
all the great blessings that the Lord Jesus Christ has for
us. But look at me, and I tell you, I am yet a sinful man. Look at me and I tell you that
this man standing here cannot go through one day, one hour
of one day, one minute of one hour without sin besetting this
old fleshy body. But the Lord Jesus Christ appears
for me in glory. We love the appearing of the
Lord Jesus Christ because he takes away our guilt, because
he takes away that weight, that burden of sin which besets us. We love the appearing of the
Lord. We love Him who first appeared
for us as He came into this world and He took our place and went
to the cross. He appeared for us as our advocate. He appears for us now as our
intercessor. We love Him who has given us
all things, who comforts our souls, who bestows His favours,
who supplies our needs, who stands before us and amongst us in the
meeting of the saints. We love Him. And soon He is coming
for us. If He takes us in death, that
is one thing. Henceforth I have laid up for
me a crown of righteousness. If He comes and the dead in Christ
rise first, then we will all meet with Him in the air and
we shall be ever with Him. Soon the Lord Jesus Christ is
coming back. We shall see Him and we shall
be like Him and we shall love His appearing. Like Paul, soon
we are all going to die. Hebrews chapter 10 tells us,
it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living
God. But our Savior declared to the
comfort of his apostles and every child of God hereafter, I will
come again. I'm going away to prepare for
your coming to me. I will come again and receive
you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also. May we
learn to love him and look forward to his appearing. May we prove
in this life, His enduring love towards us. And may He encourage
us to anticipate all that great store of blessedness, that righteous
crown that is laid up for me, prepared for me in glory. And may we carry with us that
sense of anticipation that while one has gone before us, soon
we will be joined to him eternally. And the body of this flesh will
be laid down and we will enter into the fullness of his provision
for all eternity. Henceforth, that is laid up for
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but
unto all them also, that love is appearing. Amen.