Would it surprise you if the Lord Jesus were to come
this hour? Would it surprise you if before
I had finished preaching, or before we leave the Lord's table
we had come to celebrate, before we reach our home, if the Son
of God should suddenly appear and gather his elect unto himself. Probably it would. Probably it
would. And that's our shame. It ought
not. It ought not. We should always
be waiting for him. ever constantly expecting his
glorious appearance. We should be standing on the
tiptoe of anticipation, looking for Christ's glorious advent. The world doesn't expect him.
It goes on with its mundane pleasures, eating, drinking, marrying, and
giving in marriage. When the scripture speaks of
it being that way, as it was in the days of Noah, that's nothing
unusual. Men in every generation eat,
drink, marry, and are given in marriage. In other words, the
Lord is telling us that in that day, it should be like it's always
been. Men will live like cattle awaiting
the slaughter, concerned with nothing but the grass of the
earth. concerned with nothing but the
mundane cares of this world, without the least thought of
Christ's coming, of eternity, and of judgment. But his own
family should ever be looking for that blessed hope and the
glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, our text this evening is
Revelation 16. Here the Lord is describing for
us by his servant John the terrible judgment, the vials of God's
wrath that are poured out upon the world in generations preceding
the coming of our Lord Jesus. In every age these vials have
been poured out to one degree or another until finally the
consummate wrath of God is poured out in the destruction of the
world. And just before he describes that seventh vial, the terrible
wrath of God and the final judgment of the world, the Lord Jesus
speaks this word, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that
watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they
see his shame. Now, the title of my message
tonight is watching and keeping. I want, if God will enable me,
to stir up my own heart and to stir up yours to a sense of expectation,
of anticipation, looking for and hasting unto the coming of
our God and Savior. The promise of Christ's coming
should fill our hearts with expectation, with diligence, and with faithfulness. In this passage, our Lord gives
us three things to which I direct your attention. First, there
is a fact promised. Behold, I come as a thief. Second,
a blessedness promised. Blessed is he that watcheth and
keepeth his garments. And thirdly, a warning posted,
lest he walk naked and they see his shame. Now here's a fact
proclaimed. Behold, stop, pay attention now,
listen, listen, I come as a thief. Behold, I come as a thief. He's just pronounced these terrible
vials of wrath. He's just revealed to John how
that God pours out his measured judgment upon impenitent rebels,
how that God, by his acts of judgment, reveals the certainty
of eternal judgment. He's revealed to us how that
in that last day the forces of Antichrist shall be gathered
against Christ, and he will defeat them in what is called the terrible
day of Armageddon. And then our Lord says, now don't
look for this. Look at this. Behold, I come
as a seed. Look at this. Behold, I come. Our Lord Jesus Christ will come
again. He that once came in humiliation
will come again in glory. We have his own word for it in
this text. One of the last things that our
Lord said to his disciples before he left the earth. was recorded
in John chapter 14 in verse 3. He says, if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself
that where I am there you may be also. The very last thing
that our Savior tells us in the closing of the book of inspiration
is this, surely I come quickly. And those words may be translated,
most certainly, I am coming quickly. Our Lord is now on the road back
to the earth. He is traveling as fast as wisdom
permits to the regathering of his people in that glorious day.
He is not waiting to come. He is not tarrying. He is not
delaying his coming. He is coming right now with every
movement of providence. With every tick of the clock,
he draws nearer. He is coming now, and suddenly
he will appear. Suddenly, without warning, without
sign, without posting notice, without announcement, suddenly
Christ Jesus shall appear in his glory with power and dominion
over all things. Our Lord has promised to come,
and to come in person. Some try to explain away the
bodily advent of Christ, his personal coming. by saying that
he comes for his home when they come to die and the Lord Jesus
comes down and carries them back into heaven. Now in a sense that's
true. Our Lord Jesus Christ does come
and call his saints home to glory one by one by the power of his
grace when they have finished their course on this earth. But
that will not answer the meaning of scripture when we come to
talk about the second advent of Christ. There is a great day
appointed of God when our Lord Jesus Christ shall personally
return to this earth. Turn with me to Acts chapter
1. Acts chapter 1. There are many, many scriptures
we could look at. Let's just look at two or three.
In Acts chapter 1, the apostles were standing gazing up into
heaven because the Lord Jesus had ascended up into heaven.
And they were looking at him. I expect we would, too. They
saw the Son of God begin to arise before them. And he ascended
up, up, up, until finally a cloud received him out of their sight.
The angels of God escorting the Redeemer back to glory, and they
just stood there gazing, awestruck. And the angel appeared to them,
and they said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? What are you doing standing here?
This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall
so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
In other words, this very same person, in this very same body,
in this very same manner, shall one day descend again from his
lofty throne in glory to make himself known in all the earth. Over in the book of 1 Thessalonians,
1 Thessalonians 4, The Apostle Paul describes the coming of
Christ in language that could not mean anything except a personal,
bodily, visible return. The Apostle says in verse 16,
The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with
the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the
dead in Christ shall rise first. And then in our second Thessalonians
chapter 1 and verse 7, Paul says, To you which are troubled, rest
with us. when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them
that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power,
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired
in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed
in that day. And then over in Revelation chapter
1, the book of Revelation chapter 1, the apostle gives us another
revelation of Christ's second coming in his bodily personal
return. Revelation 1 and verse 7, Behold,
he cometh. Notice it's in the present tense.
Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him. When Christ comes again, Somehow,
he's going to arrange it so that everybody sees him with their
eyes. Every eye shall see him, and
they also which pierce him, and all the kindreds of the earth
shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. Now, this is what
I say. He who went up to heaven shall
come again from heaven to the earth. Our Lord will as certainly
be here again in a body of glory as he was here once in a body
of shame. He has promised it, and every
redeemed sinner may confidently say with Job, I know that my
Redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon
the earth. And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God, whom I
shall see for myself. Mine eyes shall behold, and not
another, though my reign be consumed within him." Christ Jesus is
coming personally to this earth again. That very man who lived
in Galilee, that very man who was born of the Virgin Mary,
that very man in that very body which died upon the tree shall
one day descend from heaven and every eye shall see him. Every
eye shall see him. The great plan and purpose of
God in redemption requires our Lord's second advent. Turn over
to Hebrews 9 and I'll show you. It is part of God's purpose.
that as Christ came once to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself, he must also come a second time without sin unto salvation. That is, he must come without
sin unto the final accomplishment, unto the final grand act, unto
the final stage, the final completion of our salvation. Hebrews chapter
9 and verse 26. Our Lord Jesus, if he had offered
sacrifices like all other priests must often have suffered since
the foundation of the world. But now, once in the end of the
world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifices himself. And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once
offered, one time he was offered, to bear the sins of many. He
was made to be sin. He bore our sins unto the wrath
of God, and he put our sins away, and now unto them that look for
him." Are you looking? Are you looking for the Son of
God? Are you anticipating the glorious return of Jesus Christ
to them that look for him? Shall he appear the second time
without sin? Our sins are gone, Bob. He took
them. He's coming again without sin.
He's coming without sin unto salvation. That is, unto the
final completion of salvation. As he came to purchase his elect
out from under the curse of the law, he must come a second time
to gather his people that he has so dearly bought. As he came
once to have his heel bruised by the serpent, he must come
again to crush the serpent's head and to dash his enemies
in pieces. As he came once to wear a crown
of thorns, he must come again to wear the crown of universal
power, praise, and monarchy. As He came once to be crucified
of men, He must come again to be glorified among men. The purpose
of God in redemption cannot be complete until Christ comes again
for the redemption of the purchased possession. This is what Paul
says in Ephesians 4 and verse 30. He says we're sealed by the
Holy Spirit of promise until the redemption of the purchased
possession. That is, until Christ finally
makes this thing of redemption fully accomplished by the resurrection
of the dead, by the judgment of the world, when he shall have
reconciled all things unto himself by the blood of his cross. Yes,
there is a day coming in the which all things shall have restitution
unto God, when God shall set all things right, when Jesus
Christ shall have finally completed the work of his covenant engagement
as our sheriff did. God's purpose in redemption will
not be fulfilled until the church, the New Jerusalem, comes down
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,
and the heavenly bridegroom comes forth riding upon a white stallion,
conquering and to conquer, King of kings and Lord of lords. And
so he shall come. The man of Nazareth will come
again. None shall fit on his face then. None shall deride
him then. None shall mock him then. In
that day he will no longer be the song of the drunkard, but
rather every knee shall bow before him, and every tongue shall confess
that this very Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
The crucified one shall come again. Those very hands that
still bear the nail prints, those very hands that were once nailed
to the cursed tree shall hold the reign of sovereign dominion
and the scepter of righteousness by which he shall judge the world,
and all men shall acknowledge that his judgment is right. Our
Lord Jesus Christ, by those very hands, shall reign over all things
gloriously, without rival, and dash all his enemies to pieces. Our Lord will come in his own
appointed time. How many there are who ask the
question, when will Christ come? I'd like to have a nickel for
every time somebody's asked me that question, when will Christ
come? Multitudes through the centuries have tried to figure
out the time. We got a fellow running for president
who a few years ago said he was coming in 1980. He missed it. He missed it. Well, when will
he come? Thousands of books have been
written on the subject. Men point to signs and they say,
now after these things happen, the Lord will come. All of these
curious speculations about prophecy, now listen to me, all of these
curious speculations about prophecy are tricks of the devil, all
of them. Your scheme and the next fellow's
scheme, all of them are tricks of the devil by which he endeavors
to turn our hearts away from Jesus Christ. I want to show
you some scripture. Turn over to Matthew 24. Matthew
chapter 24. This is not the first generation
to ask this question. When is Christ coming? And our
Lord promised his coming, his second advent. His own disciples
asked him the question. Matthew 24 and verse 3. He had
been describing the judgment of God that would fall upon Jerusalem,
the destruction of the city in 70 A.D. how that God would cause
that city to be utterly destroyed. He would cause the heavens to
shake. He would cause the stars to be turned into darkness. That
is, all of the light that was once in that nation of Israel,
all of the light that was once involved in the temple and in
the sacrifices and in the priesthood, all of that light that was in
the covenant or in the ark of the covenant and in the tables
of stone, all of that light shall be turned to darkness and that
nation left in desolation. And the disciples said to him,
verse 3, as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came
to him and they said privately, tell us, tell us, when shall
these things be? That is, when shall the destruction
of Jerusalem be? And he answers that question
in the next few verses of the chapter. And they ask another
question, what shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end
of the world? And our Lord never answered the
question. He never answers the question. But in verse 30, let
me see, in verse 36, he says this concerning his coming. Now
this, he says it plainly. He says it so plainly, nobody
can mistake it. But of that day and hour knoweth
no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. Now what he's telling us is this.
In the Word of God, we have absolutely no light by which we may determine
the time of our Lord's coming." That's what he's saying, buddy.
There is absolutely no light in this book by which any man
can determine the day or the hour of Christ's appearance.
Absolutely no sign is given. And this is according to God's
wise purpose. You see, it is God's purpose
that we may always be expecting his coming at any moment, in
such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man coming. Our Lord
never one time, never one time, our Lord never once told us to
look for the signs of his coming. Now you search the scriptures,
search your maps, Not one time in the Word of God does our Lord
tell us to look for the signs of his second coming. Not one
time, David. And yet, men spend years studying
the signs of the coming. They spend years studying signs
of the approaching advent of Christ. Our Lord never told us
to look for any sign of his coming, but ever to look for him to come. Ever to look for him coming.
We are not to be looking for the regathering of Israel in
Palestine. I hear these fellas on television
and radio. When I was in school they taught
it and I've got books. I've read books on top of books
on top of books on top of books about the regathering of the
Jews and oh the great prophetic significance of Israel being
regathered as a nation and the great significance of all the
world looking to Israel and all the events of the Middle East
It doesn't mean a thing. It doesn't mean a thing. God's purpose is not wrapped
up in Israel. It's wrapped up in the Israel
of God. It's not wrapped up in the seed of Abraham physically,
but in the seed of Abraham spiritually. God's purpose is not wrapped
up in the Jews in Palestine. It's wrapped up in his elect
throughout the world. We're told we ought to be Looking
for the rebuilding of a temple in Jerusalem, and the reestablishment
of a priesthood, and the reestablishment of sacrifices, for those things
will surely mark the coming of Christ. Ain't so. Ain't so. If they should build another
temple in Jerusalem, it doesn't mean a thing. If they should
reestablish a priesthood and call it the Aaronic Priesthood,
it doesn't mean a thing. If they should begin to offer
sacrifices upon a Jewish altar and call them the Oracles of
God, it doesn't mean a thing. Jesus Christ has come and turned
the temple upside down. Not one stone was left standing. He destroyed that physical temple
so as to make it clear that God never shall again be worshipped
at Jewish sacrifices on Jewish altars by a Jewish priesthood,
but we are the temple of God and he is worshipped only through
Jesus Christ, his blood, and his righteousness." That ought
to be plain as a note on your face. We're not commanded of
God to look for some earthly millennial kingdom. Folks talk
about the coming of the tribulation period. They talk about the coming
of an earthly millennial kingdom, when Christ is going to set up
a reign for a thousand years, and then after that thousand
years is over, Christ is coming in His glory. Oh, no. No, no,
no, no. No. A thousand times no. We're
not commanded to look for the gathering of Israel, the rebuilding
of the temple, the tribulation period, or the millennial age.
We're commanded ever to watch for Him who is coming. Look for
him who is coming in his glory. It's always harmful, I speak
as I do, because it's always harmful to look for or anticipate
any sign or any prophecy that must be fulfilled before Christ
comes. It's always harmful. I'll tell
you why. Because you start looking at the signs. You start looking
for the prophecy. You start looking for the fulfilling
of those things. We keep you, we constantly keep
an eye on what's going on over across the water in the Middle
East. Oh no, that's not what God intends.
It's always harmful to look for signs and prophecies that must
be fulfilled. For such an understanding of
any prophecy would cause men to imagine that our Lord will
delay his coming until certain things must first be accomplished.
And that is not the language of Scripture. The language of
Scripture is, behold, I come as a thief. The language of Scripture
is, behold, he's coming, and every eye shall see him. It is
never, after this is done, he shall come. Not one time is it
written that way in the Scriptures. Not one. will come as a thief,
as a thief in the night. Now that doesn't mean he's coming
to steal what doesn't belong to him. It means he's coming
unannounced. It means he's coming without
warning. It means he's coming without sign. It means he's coming
without anyone to introduce his coming. It means he's coming
suddenly, unexpectedly. Suddenly and unexpectedly. Only the foolish will sleep.
Those who are wise will watch for his coming. Now, this is
a fact proclaimed. Behold, I come as a thief. But secondly, here is a blessedness
promise. Blessed is he that watches and
keepeth his promise. With these words, our coming
king promises blessedness to those men and women who, in anticipation
of his coming, are watchful and keep their garments. What is
this watching? What does he mean, he that watches? Throughout the scriptures, whenever
we read about Christ's coming, whenever we read about the end
of the world of judgment and eternity, we're exhorted to be
watchful, watchful. And I'm calling for you and for
me. As we stand now upon the brink
of eternity, anticipating the coming of Jesus Christ our King,
be watchful, be watchful. Be watchful because the days
are evil. Be watchful because the enemies
are many. Be watchful because of the deceitfulness
of sin and the deceitfulness of your own heart. We must watch
against sin, the lust of our flesh, and the cares of this
world. Let these things bring a sleepiness,
a slothfulness upon us, and turn our hearts away from Christ.
Turn over to Matthew 13. I want everybody here to turn
to this chapter and read this one verse. A more solemn warning than this
you will not have. He also that receiveth the seed,
verse 22, Matthew 13, 22, he also that receiveth the seed
among thorns is he that heareth the word. Now thus far, everybody
here, see it. You've heard the word. You've
heard it. Almost all of us have faith in the word, faith in the
gospel, faith in Christ. and the care of this world. You
know what that is? Bobby, that's you taking care
of Judy. That's what it is. Judy, that's you taking care
of Bobby. That's the care of this world. Wes, that's you taking
care of those boys and taking care of your wife. The care of
this world. That's your job. That's your
home. That's your family. That's your
life in this world. The ordinary legitimate, lawful,
responsible care of the world, the care of the world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But, Pastor, we have to live
in this world, yes? Well, no. No, I don't have to. I just have to die in this world.
That's all I've got to do. While I live, I have to exercise
responsibility, yes. Well, what if the responsibilities
of the cares of this world take me away from the worship of Christ
and the Word of God and the faith of Christ? What if
it did? than the cares of this world
have got you. That's it. Out here, I had never seen wild
sweet potato plant, I don't believe, until we moved to Kentucky. Out
here in this garden, every year, there's a little old bitty plant.
You hack that thing off, dig it up, pull it up, and it grows
faster than anything in the garden. It grows faster than anything
in the garden. And you can have a stalk of corn out there a foot
and a half, two feet high and let that thing get around that
stalk of corn and leave it a couple of weeks and you can forget that
stalk of corn because it will gradually choke out the life. That's what
the terror of this world will do if you don't watch, if you
don't watch. I'm not suggesting by any means,
you know I'm not suggesting that we be irresponsible. We have
responsibilities in this world as men we must meet, but we dare
not allow the care of this world to interfere with our worship
and service and obedience to Jesus Christ our Lord. Lindsay,
you can't do it. Can't do it. I've got one daughter,
a special girl. like yours is to you. I love
her. I've got a wife. I love her.
I have to care for them. It's my privilege to care for
them. But I dare not, I cannot, I must not allow my care for
those ladies to interfere with my obedience to the will of God
and my worship of Jesus Christ. Can't do it. Can't do it. We must watch against Satan and
his temptations and devices by which he seeks whom he may devour. Oh, the craftiness of Satan.
It's amazing what he will use to devour your soul. And he'll do it with you never
knowing it. But you never know him. You'll
do what seems to you the most reasonable thing in the world.
You'll take your heart away from Christ. We must watch against
those ministers of Satan who lie in wait to deceive and would
by their false doctrine turn us away from the hope of the
gospel. You're confronted with it. You're confronted with it
every day. And you have more difficulties perhaps than some
others. We meet here on this hillside, few in number, small
band of believers gathered in the name of Christ. And we're
confronted with the success and with the riches and with the
fame and the fortune and the influence of the religious world
around us. And the sheer mass of numbers
opposed to the gospel we preach tells the flesh you can't be
right and all these folks be wrong. And so we begin to seek
ways of compromising and seek ways of conciliating. Seek ways
by which we can broaden the scope of things. Be careful. Be careful. Don't you allow the
doctrine of Antichrist to draw you away from the hope of the
gospel. Salvation is either all Christ and his righteousness,
or it's all man and his doings, one of the two. Salvation is
either altogether the work of Christ or altogether the work
of man, and when you mix one and the other, you have ruined
your soul. Satan's got you. He's got you. And we must watch, carefully
watch it, lest we be overly concerned with the things of this world. worldliness, the love of the
world. You know what it is? Most people think that worldliness
is dressing a certain way, dressing like other people in the world
dress. They think that worldliness is women wearing makeup, earrings,
lipstick, men wearing their hair a certain way or wearing certain
kinds of clothes or wearing jewelry or not wearing jewelry. The things
of worldliness having to do with where you eat, where you go,
what you do, things of that nature. Now, those things may or may
not be the result of worldliness, but I want to tell you something.
Worldliness is the love of this world. It'll destroy your soul. You
can't love the world and love God. No, you can't do it. Can't be done. Can't be done. If you love the fame of this
world, the riches of this world, the possessions of this world,
the applause of this world, the approval of this world, you don't
love God. And I'll tell you, I'll tell
Don, and I'll tell you, Whether or not you love the world, what
do you live for? What do you live for? I can't answer the question for
you, but I'll tell you this, you answer the question and you'll
know whether or not you're in love with this world. If you
live for this world, it's because the world's got your heart. If
you live for Christ, it's because Christ's got your heart. We look
not at things which are seen, but things which are not seen.
For the things which are seen are temporal. The things which
are not seen, they're eternal. One of the old writers said,
don't build your nest on any of the trees in this forest,
for they're all marked to be cut down. And if you build your
nest in any of them, your nest is going to fall with them. Don't
set your heart upon the world. Or if I could say anything to
my daughter that would save her from heartache, that would save
her from misery, that would save her from a life of constant discontent,
constant turmoil, don't set your heart on this world. Don't do
it. Don't do it. And there is with all of us far
too much love for this world. You ever see a child, a little
baby? I don't even know whether they got them anymore or not.
They still have those little bottles with soapy water in them with
the wand. When I was a kid, we used to
have those things. You'd blow them, make a bubble. Blow real
soft and easy. Make a great big bubble. And
then chase that thing. Try to catch it. Every now and
then, I'd see some child chasing after one of them bubbles. Reach
out for it and the bubble be gone and just cry, just cry. That's so silly. Yeah, it is. I expect it, though, out of a
child. You suspect that, you know, your little baby, he doesn't
know any better. It's his heart set on that little
bubble. But now, if you used to see me,
get me a bottle of soap bubbles and make me a big one. Just blow
that wand and make it so big. And then I start running around
here chasing the thing. You'd call somebody with one of those
long flee jackets, ties around them. Come take him away, he'd
pop the cork. And then if I reached out for
the bubble and the thing bursted and I started to bawl like a
baby, you'd say, well, Don, what's the matter with you? That's what
I'm saying to you and me. What on earth's the matter with
us? What on earth's the matter with us that money and property
and life in this world can be so important to us that it gets
us bent out of shape when things don't go the way we think they
ought to? I know what's the matter with us. There's too much of
red earth in this piece of red earth. This watchfulness is involvement
in our master's business. In the passage we read earlier
in Luke 12, we're told that this watchfulness is to be engaged
in the work of Christ as stewards of God, to be engaged in serving
him. That's what it is to be watchful.
To be watchful looking for Christ is to labor for him every day,
looking for him. to labor for him, whether you're
building a house, or whether you're working selling groceries
or pumping gas, or whether you're in school, to be constantly engaged
in his service, doing what he's put in your hands to do, with
anticipation that soon he shall be here, laboring quickly, diligent,
for his sake. A year or two ago, Jimmy was
sick. I believe it was Jimmy. Went over to stop by to see him.
I was on my way to Lexington or somewhere. I knocked on the
door and Donna was doing her housework. I think we were putting
up tomatoes. I'm not sure. She said, Donna,
I hate you had to catch me this way. That's the best way to catch
a woman, doing what she's supposed to be doing. Wouldn't want to
catch you anywhere in the way. Wouldn't want to catch you sitting
down watching soap operas. When you've got a house that needs
to be taken care of, it needs to be tended to. Wouldn't want
to catch you standing around gossiping with your neighbor,
but rather engaged in the work put in your hand for the glory
of Christ. That's the way we're to look
for Christ, to watch for Him. To be watchful is to wait for
our Lord's return with the lights burning, to wait for Him and
living, acting, as though we lived in the immediate prospect
of our Lord's immediate return. God give me grace to live in
constant expectation of Christ's spirit. It's our responsibility to keep
the watch until the appointed hour. Maybe he'll come in the
first watch of the night, maybe in the second, maybe in the third.
I don't know. But he's appointed watchmen,
you all designed to watch. And to watch until their watch
is over. And that's our responsibility.
While we're here in this generation, we're in line of a great history
and succession of watchmen in the Church of God. Now, in this
generation, we're the watchmen God has appointed. Let us diligently
keep the watch. And we're to watch for our Lord's
return with the anxious thought of opening the door as men welcoming
their master home. I was trying to figure out a
way to illustrate what I'm talking about. When I was a boy, I had a little old five-pounder.
Wasn't good for anything. But man, he loved me. He loved
me. Some strange reason, that dog
didn't have any better sense than to stay at my feet all the
time. I'd go off to school, and then
I'd go into work in the afternoon, throwing papers, and I'd get
home. And when I got home, that dog'd
hear my bicycle right up in the driveway, and he'd be jumping
on the fence, trying his best to get out after me. I mean, he'd just wait for me
to get home. Well, the thing about it today,
Faith's got a little kitten. That little cat lays at the garage
door, and when he hears her car drive up, you hear that cat outside
before you can get inside, anxious for her to get there. I said,
well, I don't like being compared to dogs and cats. I wish I was
just that anxious for his return. Just that anxious. So that with
every event of Providence, with every tick of the clock, my heart
beats fast, waiting for him to come. Blessed is he that watcheth. Let us ever watch over our souls,
watch for our Lord with expectant heart, but there is no more. Blessed is he that watcheth and
he that keepeth his garments. What is this keeping of our garments
that our Lord speaks of? As we watch for Christ's glorious
advent, we must keep our garments. And I think two things are implied
here. One, we must keep our garments,
the garments of our lives, our conversation, unspotted from
the world. You don't need to turn there.
Let me read James 1, verse 27. Pure religion and undefiled before
God and the Father. That's the kind I want. It's
this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction
and to keep himself unspotted from the world. God give me grace to keep myself
clear of the world's corruptions, greed, ambition, selfishness,
mean-spiritedness, hardness, lasciviousness, Keep my soul,
keep my heart, keep my tongue, keep my hands, keep my feet. And yet, it's my responsibility
to do so. It's my responsibility, as I
live in this world, day by day, day by day, and day by day, as
it's moment by moment, Charles, moment by moment, to deny self-destruction
and world destruction. and live soberly, righteously,
and godly in this present evil world for Christ's sake. That's
our responsibility. Now, we must constantly deny,
that is, say no to ungodliness, because that's what we are, brother.
That's what we are. That's our nature. The ungodliness
that all other men practice is the ungodliness that we are by
nature. That's what we are. And so we
constantly say no, no, no, no! Saying no to a God. And when
we have defiled ourselves, go again. Blessed be God, go again
to that fountain that is open for cleansing, for uncleanness,
and for sin. That fountain of Christ's precious
blood, and wash again in that fountain. That's how we keep
our God. keep our garments, keep them
clean. But principally, the text is admonishing us to persevere
us in the faith. Our Lord is telling us to keep,
to cling to, to hold fast the profession of our faith, to hold
fast the garments of salvation, that is, to hold fast Christ
and his righteousness. Now, those are the garments of
salvation, and my friends, My brothers and sisters, we must
hold them fast. It's called persevering faith,
so that we never let go of him. He's king, just king. We must cling to his blood, cling
to his righteousness, never allow anything, any doctrine, any experience,
any trial, any man, any person, any temptation, not even any
fall, to move us away from the hope of the gospel. You know the difference between
the true believer And the unbeliever, the mere religious professor,
is the true believer, cannot and will not forsake God. He just can't do it. He just
can't do it. The unbeliever, the religious
hypocrite, sooner or later will. Sooner or later he will. Oh,
Peter. Oh, Peter. He takes the cussing
from everybody. I'm going to tell you something
about Peter. When Peter was standing there
warming himself by that fire and with his mouth he cussed
and denied his Lord who was standing there about to be crucified in his heart He was still clinging
to his master. That's right. That's right. So I don't know what you're talking
about. Some of you did. Some of you did. You see, Peter,
Peter did just about what you or I would have done if we'd
been there. He was scared to death. He was
scared to death. There stood the one whom he owned
as king, whom he trusted as savior, beaten beyond recognition as
a man, given over to the hands of the
Romans to be crucified. And here stands Peter in the
courtyard, trembling with fear, trembling with fear. But in his
heart, he could not, would not, and did not forsake him. Couldn't
do it. Couldn't do it. I'll give you
the proof of it. The Lord came to Peter and he said, Simon,
lovest thou me? And Peter said to him, Lord,
you know all things. You know all things. These fellows here, James and
John and Matthew, they don't know everything. All they know
is what they've seen and heard. But you know everything. You
know what I said, and you know what I did. But you know what
I am. You know what my heart is. You
know, Lord, in spite of everything, I love you. I've got no hope
but you. I've got no righteousness but
you. I've got no goodness but you. I've got no pardons but
you. I've got no masters but you.
You know all things, you know that I love you. Judas did the
same thing Peter did, only difference is he did it with his heart.
That's the only difference. And I'm telling you that those
who are truly born of God cling to Christ. They cling to him
in good times and in bad. They cling to him when they stand
fast, and they cling to him when they fall. They cling to him
when they serve him faithfully, and they cling to him when they
fall servant to their own lust. They cling to Christ and will
not let him go. They will not let him go. But
what is the blessedness to those who watch and keep their garments?
The blessedness is found in the watching and in the keeping.
For this watching and this keeping has a way of detaching you from
the world, teaching you contentment, peace, and joy while you live
in this world. And the blessedness shall consummate
in eternal salvation. Now, one last thing. Here is
a warning posted. What if you don't watch? What if you don't keep your comments?
What if you let go of Christ? What if you turn aside from him? Our Lord commands, Blessed is he that watcheth and
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his
shame. You see, those who cling to Christ,
persevering in faith, shall be saved." When the bridegroom comes,
they will have a wedding garment on, the garment that he provided. But the warning is this, if you
do not hold fast Christ alone as your only hope, as your only
righteousness, as your only acceptance with God, in that day you will
be found naked and you will be cast out into utter darkness. A fact proclaimed. Behold, I
come as a thief. A blessedness promised. Blessed
is he that watcheth and keepeth his comments. A warning posted. Lest you be found naked and your
shame exposed with all the world. Christ is coming again. We're about to celebrate his
memorial, but it is also a celebration of his promise. He's coming. He's coming. He's coming soon. Soon he will appear and summons
us to stand before the bar of his great white throne. How will
you appear before him? Will you appear speechless? What are you doing here? You
don't have on a Godhead. Oh, you can brag about your fig
leaves now and you can pat yourself on the back and congratulate
yourself for your goodness now. But in that day, speechless. Not a word to it. And your own
speechlessness will be your eternal condemnation. Or will you stand
before his bar with the garments of salvation, robed in his righteousness,
washed in his blood? Let us watch. God give us grace
to watch. Diligently watch over your soul. Watch for him. Anticipate his
coming and keep the garments that he's missing you. Cling
to his life. Cling to his blood. Let nothing
move you away from the hope of the gospel. For Christ's sake. Amen.