My text tonight is Mark chapter
13. Verses 31 through 37. When you found your place there,
turn back, if you will, to second Peter chapter two. And I want
to repeat what I said to you at the beginning of our worship
service this morning, second Peter chapter two. This really is what inspired
our preparations for the message tonight. As you know, Harold Campion made
a prediction sometime back that the Lord was coming last night,
the 21st of May, And his prediction obviously,
like his previous predictions, fell to the ground. He said that
this would be the end of the world, Judgment Day coming, and
actually the end of the world coming, I think, the 21st of
October, and all the saints were supposed to be taken out yesterday.
This is numerous predictions can't be made of this kind. I've
never said anything to you about them in the past because you
didn't know who Harold Camping was and I didn't think there
was any need for me to expose you to the nonsense. But the
news media had been flooded with mockery and laughter and jeering
and scoffing in the past week because of this man's foolish,
unbiblical, horribly ignorant prediction of the Lord's second
coming. Peter says there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privately shall bring in
damnable heresies." Damnable heresies are heresies that either
persuade folks to believe damning doctrine, false doctrine, are
heresies that turn people from the gospel of Christ, heresies
that prevent folks from hearing the gospel. They bring damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. Now, the word
bought there is not the word that's commonly translated redeemed,
to buy out of. It is rather the word that you
would use when you buy a piece of property. If you buy a piece
of property, you own it. You can do with it what you want
to. The property is not moved, it just is there. You buy a piece
of land, you don't pick it up and move it somewhere else. It's
yours, you bought it. When you redeem something, you've
hocked something at a pawn shop and you go buy it back. You pay
the price and you take it out. When you've redeemed something,
you have purchased a slave with a price and you brought the slave
out of bondage into liberty. Our Lord Jesus, as a man, bought
the right to rule the universe by his obedience unto death as
Jehovah's righteous servant. He bought the whole world in
that sense. Remember in Psalm 2, the Lord
God said to his son, ask of me and I will give thee the heathen
for thine inheritance. That's the result of his obedience
unto death. Our Lord Jesus, when he finished
his work of redemption at Calvary, said, or when he was finishing
his work on this earth just before his death at Calvary, he said,
I finished the work thou gavest me to do. Now, O righteous father,
give me the glory that I had with thee before the world was.
Thou has given him power over all flesh. He holds power, dominion
over all flesh to give eternal life to those whom he redeems. to those whom he purchased with
his blood, for whom he made atonement to give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given him. Now I stress that in this passage
because there are multitudes, the vast majority of people object
to, despise, and hate the teaching of scripture that Jesus Christ
actually did accomplish the redemption of his people at Calvary. He
did not die to make salvation possible for anyone in general. He died to accomplish redemption
and obtain salvation for God's elect, all of them in particular. And that which he died to accomplish
he has accomplished. Never fall for the absurd, heretical
doctrine that there's some sense in which Christ made atonement
for all men. He did not. If he made atonement
for everybody, everybody's going to glory. All right, read on.
These men then deny the Lord Jesus and bring upon themselves
swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious
ways. All the ways of false religion
are pernicious, horribly evil, compared in scripture to harlotry,
compared in scripture to the work of a whore, compared in
scripture to fornication, adultery, and idolatry, pernicious ways. Now watch this. By reason of
whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. Mr. Camping's prediction has given
opportunity for folks to mock God and laugh at God and laugh
at the worship of God and the gospel of God. To mock and laugh
and scorn the plain declarations of scripture with regard to Christ's
second coming and judgment, the fact that you soon and I soon
must meet God in judgment. soon. Bill Raleigh's soon. You're going
to meet God. Me too. In judgment. Strict, unbending, unequivocating,
absolute justice. We don't. And through covetousness
They shall with feigned words, with pretense words, with words
that really cover up their intent, words that really cover up their
meaning, make merchandise of you, whose judgment now of a
long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. All right, back to Mark chapter
13. It is my great privilege and
my awesome responsibility to speak to you tonight, eternity
bound men and women, men and women who soon must meet God
in judgment as God's ambassador, as God's messenger. My responsibility
to tell you once more that soon you must meet God face to face. You're going to cross over that
river that will carry you out of this changing temporal world
of time and sense into a world in which all things are unchanging
and eternal. Soon you must die and I must
die. Like Amos of old, I urge you,
prepare to meet thy God. Pay no attention to those who
mock and deride and belittle these things." When Paul knew
the time of his departure was at hand, he said, I'm now ready. I'm now ready. What a statement. Ready to meet God. Ready to meet God? Are you? Ready to meet God? Yes, bless God, I am. Ready to meet God in all his
strict holiness, justice, and truth. For I am robed in the
righteousness of his darling son and washed in his blood by
which all my sins taken away. And in the person of God's Son,
I am as holy as the Holy One. I'm as ready to meet God as Jesus
Christ himself is ready to meet God. You don't dare say that. Let
me see if I can say it again. I'm as ready to meet God as God's
own Son is ready to meet God. How can that be? I'm one with
him. Are you ready to meet God? If I were you, I'd settle that
question. Are you prepared to meet God? The title of my message
tonight is No One Knows When. Let's read together Mark 13,
beginning at verse 31. The one speaking is Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and that hour
knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither
the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch, and pray. For you know not when the time
is. For the son of man is as a man
taking a far journey who left his house and gave authority
to his servants, to every man to his work, and commanded the
porter to watch. Watch ye, therefore, for you
know not when the master of the house cometh, at even or at midnight,
or at the cock crowing or in the morning. Lest coming suddenly
he find you sleeping and what I say unto you, I say unto all,
watch. Our Lord Jesus says twice here,
no one knows when he will come. No one knows when he will meet
God in judgment. No one knows when Christ is coming. No one knows when he will meet
God in judgment. Let me call your attention to
four things in this passage. First, a promise. Our Lord Jesus
makes a promise, actually two promises in verse 31. Heaven
and earth shall pass away. That's the first promise. All
creation and all things connected with this present creation. All
things involved in the curse, all things affected by and infected
with sin, all creation shall soon pass away. This present
heaven and earth shall soon be dissolved, burnt up with the
fire of God's holy wrath. Last Sunday night, when Jim Grant
and I were driving down to Kingsport We had a little bit of clearance.
I decided to take him across Cumberland Gap, going through
Jonesville, that area that kind of breathtaking in and out. And
we crossed over through Jonesville and went into the mountains,
had this gorgeous overlook. And I said to Jim, there's not
anything wrong with God's creation except sin. Isn't that beautiful? One of these days he's going
to rid the world of sin, make all things new. This shall pass
away and be made new. Turn to first Peter, second Peter,
I'm sorry, chapter three. Our Lord Jesus said earlier in
Mark 13, in those days after the tribulation, the sun shall
be darkened and the moon shall not give her light. And the stars
of heaven shall fall and the powers that are in heaven shall
be shaken. There's no question that's talking
about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. But if you read the
chapter carefully, you'll recognize there are things that are spoken
here that cannot be absolutely limited to what took place in
70 AD. Clearly, our Savior is talking
about the end of the world and his second coming. Look here
in 2 Peter 3, verse 10. But the day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night. In the which the heavens shall
pass away with great noise and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat. The earth also. And I love this,
I don't think I ever noticed it until I was preparing this
message last night. The earth also and the works. Everything anybody's ever done.
The works that are therein shall be burned up, seeing then that
all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought
you to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Seeing is how
this whole thing called time and earth and all the relationships
in it and all the experiences in it and all things connected
with it shall be dissolved. Oh, how devoted you ought to
be to Christ. How we ought to live, not for
time, but for eternity. Verse 12, looking for and hasting
unto that is walking on this earth in utter devotion to the
son of God, hurrying toward the coming of the day of God wherein
the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements
shall melt with a fervent heat." Brother PJ, he said, we all be
looking forward to this. This is not something to be dreaded,
not for God's sakes. I tell you again, and I've said
many times in recent years, look through the book, read it carefully.
If you find me any place in this book, If you find any place in
this book where there is a person who believed God, who looked
at judgment and death and eternity as something to be dreaded, please
call me and let me know immediately. It's not there. It's not there. If you trust the Savior, if God's
love is revealed in you, that perfect love that casteth out
all fear, there's no reason to fear meeting God in judgment.
No. Hasten to it. wherein the heavens being on
fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with a fervent
heat. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for a new
heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore,
beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent
that you may be found of him in peace without spot and blameless. Look back at 2 Corinthians chapter
4. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 18. Paul speaks in verse 17 of our
light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a
far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Verse 18, while
we look not at the things which you see, We don't have our hearts
set on the things that are seen. Our minds, our lives are not
focused on the things which are seen. Other people, yes, but
not God's people. But in things which are not seen,
how come? For the things which are seen
are temporal. The things which are not seen
are eternal. Eric, Cody, getting ready to
go off to college in the fall. Wrapping up your high school
years. Casey's in college over Lexington. Prepare for life and
career. Prepare with diligence. Prepare honorably. Work diligently. You ought to be the best of students
and the best of employees wherever you are. If you represent God,
you ought to be the best at what you do. The best at what you
do. But don't set your heart on it. Don't set your heart on the career.
Don't set your heart on the fame. Don't set your heart on the wealth.
Don't do it. Don't do it. For the things which
are seen are temporal. The things which are not seen
are eternal. We live in a world in which everything
is temporal and passing away. We're going to a world where
everything is permanent and eternal. Now, which do you think you ought
to consider? Which do you think you ought to set your heart on?
We're living in a world where everything's a vapor. We're going
to a world where everything's substantial. We're living in
a world where everything is just vanishing. We're going to a world
where nothing vanishes. We're living in a world where
everything's passing away. We're going to a world where
nothing passes away. The bliss of heaven is permanent. and everlasting. Permanent, beholding my Savior
face to face. Everlasting. And the torments
of the damned in hell is permanent and everlasting. Our state in this unseen world
of eternity Depends entirely upon our relationship with the
Son of God. Now. Entirely. If you're washed in
the blood of Christ. Robed in his righteousness now.
You will be clean and holy forever. If Christ is your Savior now,
he will be your Savior forever. If you're one with Christ now,
you will be one with him forever. If you love Christ now and are
loved of Christ now, you will love Christ and be loved of Christ
forever. But if you meet Christ in judgment
as an unbeliever with no atonement for your sins,
with no righteousness with which God Almighty will look upon you
with favor. You meet Christ in judgment as
you are by nature, fallen, depraved, corrupt, God-hating, hell-bent,
deserving eternal damnation. You will forever be separated
from Christ. and light and life into everlasting
darkness, destruction and misery. He that is holy, let him be holy
still. He that is filthy, let him be
filthy still. He that is clean, let him be
clean still. He that is unclean, let him be
unclean still. Your only hope for eternal life,
Your only hope of eternal salvation. Your only hope is the free saving
grace of God flowing to sinners in an abundant stream of mercy
through the blood of Jesus Christ the Lord. There is a fountain
filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins and sinners
plunge beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains. Heaven
and earth. shall pass away. Will you? Will you pass away into everlasting
hell? Here's our Lord's second promise.
But my word shall not pass away. My word shall not pass away. The word
of God liveth and abideth forever. Our Lord said, so shall my word
be that goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return to
be void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing where to I sit it. Forever, O Lord, is
thy word settled in heaven. What's this referring to? It
speaks about God's word. Is it referring to the written
word of God, the decrees of God, the will of God, the Christ of
God? Yes. It refers to the immutable,
absolute certainty of God's word in every detail so that all the words of inspiration stand forever. Stand forever. This is God's word. This is God's
word. I hear folks sometimes say that's
just words on paper. That's God's word. That's God's word. Treat it like
it. His words of decree, that is
everything God spoke in eternity in the sovereign purpose of grace
and predestination. stands forever. His words of
doctrine stand forever. No variation, no change, no alteration. His words of grace stand forever
and shall not pass away. His promise, his words of promise,
every one of them are yea and amen in Christ Jesus. Never yea
and nay. And his word of wrath and judgment
stands forever. Look back in Mark 13 verse 32.
Now here's a problem. First a promise, now a problem.
And let me spend a little time here. But of that day and that
hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the son, but the father. That's a problem. If the Lord
Jesus Christ is himself God Almighty, as the book declares he is, as
the doctrine of the Trinity necessitates that he is, if he is equal with
the Father and the Spirit, if he who is our Redeemer is omniscient,
omnipotent, almighty, all-knowing God, then how can it be said
that he's ignorant of the day and the hour of his second advent. Now you've got to admit that's
a pretty big problem. How do you handle it? The fact
is the answer is simple and plain. So simple and plain that there's
no problem at all. Compare scripture with scripture.
The Lord Jesus Christ is exactly who and what he claims to be. God and man. As fully God as if he were not
man, and as fully man as if he were not God. God and man in
one glorious person. He must be both the perfect man
and God, absolutely God and absolutely man, else he could not be our
Redeemer. His obedience as our representative
and his death as our substitute could merit us nothing except
his manhood be united in one person with his Godhead, giving
infinite merit and efficacy to his obedience and death. He is
God and man in one person. But our Lord Jesus at various
times manifest himself as God and manifest himself as man.
He was and is God, omnipotent and omnipresent. While he was
on the earth, he said he's the son with the father in heaven. Lord said. He was down here on
earth in a body, and yet he's the omnipresent God. Omnipotent. Omnipotent. He has the power
to raise the dead with his will. He can do anything. He's God.
He's God. But the scripture tells us that
One day he was walking through Samaria and he sat down by a
well side and asked a lady for some water. Actually, she wasn't
a lady. That's using the word very loosely.
And he said, give me something to drink because he was thirsty. Now, this may come as a shock
to some folks. God doesn't get thirsty. God doesn't get thirsty. He ate. Because he was hungry. God doesn't
get hungry. He is God, fully God, and man,
fully man. He said to his disciples, as
God, our friend Lazarus sleepeth. Nobody told him that he was dead.
Nobody sent a report to him, said no need to come down to
Bethany now. Lazarus is already dead. He said, our friend Lazarus
sleepeth because being God, he's fully aware of all things at
all times. And when he got to Bethany. He
did a strange thing. He said, where did you bury him? Because he is man, really and
truly a man. As God, he gave milk in Mary's
breast by which he was sustained as a man. And as a man, he had
to have the milk of his mother's breast just like any other child.
As God, he knows all things and rules all things. As man, he
learned to walk like any other child learns to walk. He learned
to talk like any other child learns to talk. He grew in wisdom
and in stature, not as God, but as a man. So when our Lord Jesus
speaks here and says that no man knows, not the angels of
God and no man, no, not the son, but the father only, when Christ
is coming, he is declaring to us that he really is a man. These three things I want you
to take from verse 32. He who is our Redeemer must be
both God and man and one glorious person. That's the first thing.
If Jesus Christ is not God, absolutely. He's no Redeemer. He's no Savior. And you're yet in your sins.
Number two, learn this fact and learn it well. Nobody knows when
Christ shall come. No one knows the day or the hour,
or can even come close at giving you a guess when Christ is coming. No one. The language of scripture
could not be more clear. Of that day and that hour knoweth
no man, know not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son,
but the Father. As a man, our Lord Jesus did
not know. Our Lord's disciples in Acts
chapter one were, they were still so confused, so confused. They were still looking for an
earthly kingdom. They still thought he was going to establish a Jewish
kingdom on this earth. And the Lord was about to leave
the earth and they said, wilt thou at this time restore again
the kingdom to Israel? And the Lord Jesus said, that's
never been my intent, never been my intent. And he said to them,
It is not for you to know the times and seasons. Not for you
to know. And then as he was taken up into
heaven, these two men stood by in white apparel. And here are
these disciples of the Lord. Here they are. They're standing
there gazing, just gazing up into heaven. What you standing here for? Go
do what he said for you to do. This same Jesus who's taken up
from you shall in like manner come again and he will receive
you unto himself. But he will not tell you when.
Why? Because you don't need to know. Because you don't need to know.
Let me offer you some advice when you're studying the scriptures.
If God doesn't tell you something in the book No need for you guessing
what he means. This is not the hiding of God
and his will. This is the revelation of God
and his will. Don't speculate about things
the Lord's hidden. Things revealed are deep and
profound. No need to speculate about those
things that he has not revealed. Somebody, I was hearing Brother
Brother Larry, you'll forgive me if I critique you a little
bit. Message you preached last week on our Lord's priestly work. I believe Paul wrote the epistle
of Hebrews. I've said that so many times. You know what? If the Lord wanted us to know
who wrote it, we'd know who wrote it. Is that right? It doesn't
matter who wrote it. The Spirit of God wrote it. That's
who wrote it. It didn't matter who the author was. Well, I believe
it was Luke. I believe it was John. I believe
it doesn't match up with... And I know fellows who won't
speak to each other because one of them believes one thing and
one another. What stupidity! What stupidity! What God's revealed
is in the book. And if He hadn't revealed it,
you don't need to know it. And that's especially true with regard
to our Lord's second coming. No one even has a hint, not even
an idea, when Christ is coming. Oh, but... Oh, the signs, the
signs, the signs. Why don't you show me one? Why
don't you show me one? I challenge you. Show me somewhere
in this book a sign of Christ coming again in his glory. We're never told to look for
signs. He fulfilled the signs of the Old Testament in his first
coming. And when he comes the second
time, he comes as a thief in a night. A thief in a night,
this is how he comes. At 7 o'clock, I'll be here. Here's
the sign. No. No. Comes as a thief in the
night. That is, he comes without announcement. He comes with no indication.
And it's intended that way. It's intended that way. Well,
but if we study hard enough, this camping fellow, he thinks
he's a theologian and thinks he's a mathematician and a scientist
and a philosopher, all wrapped up into one. He's a civil engineer. He also stayed to building buildings.
But he figured out a mathematical equation by the numbers and the
dates and the years and just put it all together. This is
it. He's coming. You know, that sounds so impressive.
Oh, he studied so hard and so long. He's been so diligent. Look at his Bible. It's big and
it's worn out, thick with age. And he's been devoted in studying. Let me tell you, just I got a
hint. I just got a hint of a notion.
Mark's a pretty good mathematician. Got to be to go through what
you went through in school. I don't think you can figure it out.
And I'll tell you why. If the Lord Jesus The only perfect
man who ever walked on this earth. The only man whose mind was not
corrupted with sin. If he didn't figure out a mathematical
equation, you ain't likely to figure what happened. Just not
likely to happen. Your mathematical table is flawed
somewhere. It's not a matter of searching
out for a code, something secret in the book. This book's not
written about that. It's written about Christ and
redemption and salvation and faith in Christ. That's what
it's about. It's not about Israel and Palestine.
It's not about the Jews and the Arabs. It's not about oil and
the big bear in the north. It's about Christ, our Redeemer. Here's the third thing. Not only
does no one know when Christ is coming in his glory, Nobody
knows when Christ is coming for him. Nobody. Nobody. I find it utterly amazing
that we're so blatantly ignorant in this matter. David said, there
is but a step between me and death. Oh, I would to God I could learn
to live. that consciousness all the time. There is but a step between me
and death, but a step between you and death. I guess you read
or heard reports of this new procedure the doctors have come
up with, and you can take these certain tests, check out your
DNA, and they can tell you how long you're going to live. On
your way there, you might get hit by a truck, and I'll bet
you die. There is but a step between me
and death. I knew a man who abandoned his family several
years ago, professed faith in Christ many years. When he left, he left a note,
said, don't you contact me, and I don't want any of the folks
down at the church to contact me. Don't want to hear from anybody.
And he took off to see his girlfriend. He's driving down to the interstate,
running 55, 60 miles an hour, and there was a rock been hanging
up there Who has any idea how long? Who has any idea how long? And he's fired by it. And the
rock just dropped right on his head. Crushed the car flat and
him in it. God Almighty has from eternity
ordained the time and the means by which you shall leave this
world. He's ordained the time and the
means. Our dear friends Don and Denise
gave my wife a bag full of asparagus the other night, and she loves
it. She loves it. Had some today
for lunch. I didn't eat any. I didn't. I wasn't even tempted. Oh, but
it's good for you. Not that good. Not that good. Oh, but you gotta eat healthy.
Well, exercise some judgment. But if you want gravy, go ahead
and have it. It'll be all right. What do you mean, Brother Dunn? You'd
be cavalier? Never. Never. I do mean don't
care. I do mean don't fret. Don't worry. I'm going to meet God soon. And I want to tell you something. I'm either lying or I'm telling
you the truth. There's no in-between ground. The sooner, the better. The sooner, the better. And at the appointed time, I'm
leaving here. I have a friend, a young lady, Shelby, and I took
her to camp for nine years every year. She's in church at Fairmont. Her husband was in the Air Force
out in Arizona. She went out one day to meet him out in the
field for lunch. Bright sunshine that day. Wasn't any fences around.
No trees around. Just an open field in Arizona. And God sent a lightning bolt
out of the sky and struck her dead right where she stood. Just
like that. What do you say about that? What
a terrible tragedy. What a terrible accident. God
did it. That's all you say about it. God did it. And at the appointed
time, you're leaving here. Young or old, rich or poor, in
strong health or in ill health, at God's appointed time, we're
gone. And as soon as God takes you
out of this world, you're going to meet God in judgment. Turn
to 2 Corinthians 5 again. 2 Corinthians chapter 5. I know there's a day of judgment
at the end of time. Following the general judgment,
there will be a general resurrection. You'll stand before the great
white throne and Christ will be your judge. But you're going
to meet God in judgment just as soon as you draw your last
breath. How wilt thou do in the sweating of Jordan? It is appointed
unto man once to die. And after this, the judgment.
Look in 2 Corinthians 5 verse 10. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ. That everyone may receive the
things done in his body. That everyone may receive the
things done. In body. According to that he
hath done. Whether it be good or bad, you're
going to get exactly what you deserve. Exactly what you deserve,
everybody. Everybody, everybody goes to
hell, gets exactly what they deserve. That's the reason the
scripture speaks of greater condemnation. There are measures of condemnation,
measures of torment. Men shall receive exactly what
they deserve. Some men sin against greater
light than other men. You'll receive exactly what you
deserve. And all who enter into glory
shall receive exactly what they deserve. Merle Hart, listen to your pastor
for a minute. Listen to me now. Do you trust
the Son of God? You're one with Him. And He has
made you meet to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints
in light. Worthy of glory. Can you grasp that? worthy of
God's smile and God's approval. How can that be? In Christ, I
fully obeyed God perfectly. And with Christ, I was crucified
and fully satisfied all the fury of God's justice. Knowing, therefore, the terror
of the Lord we persuade men. All right, look back at our text. Mark 13. Our Lord gives a parable. That's
the third thing. Verse 34. For the son of man is as a man
taking a far journey who left his house and gave authority
to his servants. gave authority to his servants. And I scolded Larry a little
bit. Bobby, I'm going to scold you
a little bit. Don't ever refer to yourself as a lesser servant. You're just as fully God's servant
as I am. We are his servants who serve
him where he put us with what he's given us. His servants. Well, I can't preach. There's a lot of things I can't
do. I can preach because that's what he gave me the means, opportunity,
and ability to do. We're co-laborers in the kingdom
of God, his servants, his servants. You ladies who serve our Redeemer
just as truly his servants as your pastor or the Apostle Paul
or David or Abraham, his servants. His servants over his house given
authorities, his pastors to rule his house. That's clearly what
he's talking about here, but he gave authority to his servants.
And to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore, for you know
not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight,
or at the cock crowing, or in the morning. Our Lord Jesus describes his church as his house.
Not yours, not mine, not the Baptist house or the Protestant
house or the Catholic house or the Episcopal house, it's his
house. Not the preacher's house, not the deacon's house, not the
elder's house, his house. His voice of authority is the
only voice of authority in his house, his house. That's the
way it is with every proper household. is much smarter than I am. I
recognize that. She has better judgment than
I do about most things. I recognize that. I often consult
with her about lots of things. But when all said and done, there's
only one person whose voice of authority must rule the house. If you're going to have any kind
of peace in the house, if you're going to have any kind of joy
in your house, and that's my voice, My voice, I happen to
be the head of the house. Christ is the head of his house
and his people gladly hear his voice and obey his voice. It's
his house. And the Lord Jesus has left his
house for a long journey, not abandoned his house, not abandoned. He just went somewhere else for
a little while. He left his house on this earth. I've done so many times. I've
left and been gone for a long time, a long time. And sometimes
I'm in a place where I can't even call home. Sometimes I'm
in a place where I don't have any telephone service, and my
wife wouldn't hear from me for several days at a time. You never
dreamed that I had abandoned you, did you? No. No. As soon as he gets a chance,
he'll call. I'll hear from him as soon as I can. As soon as
he gets an opportunity, he'll call. And when I left, I'd make
plans to come home. I planned that to start with.
I never bought a ticket to go somewhere I didn't also buy a
ticket to come home. Never. Our Lord has just been gone from
his house for two days. Just two days. And he's on his
way back. Behold, he cometh. He cometh. Well, what are we to do? He gave
each of us our work. And he gave us a responsibility.
Here's the last thing. Here's the post. Watch and pray. Watch. Do what he gave you the
opportunity, the means, the ability to do. Pray and watch. Now, she can't do it anymore
because the doctors tell me I've had too much macaroni and cheese
all my life. But used to be, used to be. When I would take off somewhere
to go preach and be gone for a while, Shelby would always
wonder when I'd come home. She wanted me to give her the
exact time. I always pushed it out a little
bit just in case I had a flat tire. I didn't want her fretting.
But I'll tell you how she would watch for me. She'd be working
around cleaning the house and washing Ironing, taking care
of scrubbing the floors, cooking, and she'd put some macaroni and
cheese in the oven. Something else, but it'd always be macaroni
and cheese. Put macaroni and cheese in the oven, and she'd
go look out the window. Then she'd go back and do something
else, check on things, and a little bit, she'd come look out the
window, see if she saw my car driving up the driveway. And
then she'd go back and do what she's supposed to be doing, doing
what she could. I'd been working in the garden
and then she'd come, look, see if I was coming up driveway.
And then she'd see me coming up driveway. And what she'd do? She'd light out the door. He's
home. He's home. That's just exactly
how we're to serve our Redeemer, looking for him all the time.
Put your hand to the plow and never look back. But always look
up, looking for and hasting to the day of God. Soon Christ shall
appear in his glory, and when he does, he will call us out
to meet him and happy we shall be forever. Are you ready right
now to meet God? Only If you're one with Christ,
by a living union of faith, oh God give you that faith and that
life that only He can. Amen.