Derksen, Marvin: Luke 19_1 ~ Fairview

Now, once again, a very warm welcome to all who have come tonight, and trust that God will bless his word. And if you don't know the Savior, then understand that the Lord Jesus is inviting you to himself tonight, because the Lord Jesus still receives sinners. It's his desire, it's his purpose, and he's interested in you tonight. I'd like to read on the Gospel of Luke chapter nineteen, and we're going to read it verse number one. Luke's Gospel chapter nineteen. and verse number one. And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho, and behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, that's among the tax collectors, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was, and could not for the press or for the crowd, because he was little of stature. And he ran before and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, for so much as he also is a son of Abraham, for the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Now, a second reading in the first book of our Bibles, Genesis chapter seven, just one verse there. Genesis chapter seven and verse number one. Genesis chapter seven and verse number one. And the Lord said unto Noah, come thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. Now, one final verse in the last book of our Bible, Revelation chapter four. Revelation chapter four, and again, we'll just read the first verse. Revelation chapter four and verse number one. After this I looked, and behold, a door was open in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me, which said, come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. Now God will bless these readings. I would like to speak very simply tonight, and primarily on the first portion that we have read, but I'd like to speak tonight of these three calls that we have read at the first of our Bible, the last of our Bible, and in the middle of our Bible. Over the past few nights, we have been trying to stress the fact that God is calling in nineteen ninety four here in Fairview to individuals in a very, very personal way. We noticed the other night that God three times over says in his word today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. God is calling. God has in these last days spoken to us by his son. And tonight, his call comes to you again. And I trust you understand by now, as you've sat in various gospel meetings, that to miss the call of the Savior is to miss heaven. The two go together. To miss the call of the Savior is to miss him, because you see his voice is linked with his person. When we receive him, we're receiving his word. And that's why what you do with this call in the gospel is the greatest issue of your life. You can climb to the top of the, of the highest ladder as far as the social prestige of Vancouver, or you can go right to the top of the stock market or the financial world, and people will applaud you and recognize you and, and, you know, invite you their way. But friend, if you miss the call of heaven, you've missed everything. And so we have read of three very, very simple calls. We have read of this call from the Savior to this tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus, and the Lord said, Zacchaeus, come down. You know, the Savior's saying the same thing to this audience. Before blessing could ever come to that house, a man had to come down. And before a person ever comes into the good of God's salvation, there is going to be a coming down. There is going to be a humbling. There is going to be an admission of my need. And the call of God in repentance tonight is a very simple call, come down. I wonder, will you be willing to humble yourself tonight under the mighty hand of God when you hear his call and come down? We have read in Genesis chapter seven another very, very simple call, but what a difference it made. From the inside of that ark came that call, Noah, come in! And eight people, just eight people responded to that call. Why, if you'd watched them that day, you'd have wondered, what are they doing? Must be, must be out of their minds. But those eight people had heard the call of God to go in. And a day came when they entered in and God shut the door. And the judgment of God fell. And I want to say there were an awful lot of people in that world at that time that wish they had gone in. And I tell you tonight, friend, that there is a day coming if you don't obey that call. You come to a the wrong side of a closed door, you'll have wished you'd gotten saved in those Fairview meetings when you heard the call of God, but you're on the wrong side now, and the door is closed. But those eight people, they responded when God said, come in. What a call. They went into salvation. They went in through that door to safety, to security, to sustenance, to satisfaction. And you know, when a person obeys the call of God and steps in, you notice the welcome sign is out. Come in. The door's open. The Savior's inviting. And when men and women respond to that call, they pass from death to life. Tell me, friend, what side of the door are you on tonight? On the outside or on the inside? That's the call for salvation. But we have read in Revelation chapter four a call that could come tonight. When the Savior himself will say in very simple language, come up. I'm thankful that I'm anticipating that call, and if that wondrous call came tonight, I'd be glad to say goodbye to this world. Mind you, I have three boys not saved. It's with a heavy heart that I preach the gospel in Vancouver at this time. But as I look at the faces of some of you tonight, raised into the sound of the gospel, somehow the prayers of your parents haven't affected you, and the tears of parents haven't softened you, and the preaching of faithful men hasn't stirred you, and the finger of the Spirit of God hasn't moved you. I hope you understand that there's a day coming when a call will be given, and a day of grace will come to a close. For us, it'll be rapture. For us, it'll be heaven. For us, it'll be his presence. For us, it'll be joy unspeakable and full of glory. For you, the separation of that call will bring you into endless night, an endless weeping, an endless gnashing of teeth. Because you see, that call to come up is for believers only. Come down, it's where we got to start, isn't it? Come in, trust you'll come in tonight, and if so, then, friends, you'll be ready for that soon coming call when the Lord will step from heaven and he'll receive his own people to himself. I'd like to speak primarily tonight of this first call that we have read of, Luke chapter nineteen, because you see, this day that we have read of in Zacchaeus's life was his greatest day. Oh, he had other, other milestones. He had other important dates that he no doubt looked back to, anniversaries and so on, but this day outshone them all. But as I look at Luke chapter nineteen, I- I'm made aware that there are three, at least three, could I say, turning points. In this, in this account. Three places where a man had to come to a choice as to what course he was gonna go. And the very same thing is true of you tonight. That God is bringing you to a, a place where decisions will be made, where there will be a turning point, and God desired that you would come to this fork in the road and that you might enter in. When I think of Zacchaeus and his life, I made aware that there came a turning point on that day when he decided that he must get to the Savior. Luke nineteen tells us he sought to see Jesus. Now, it wasn't always so. Because, you see, here's a man, and, uh, his career had been a success. His bank account was bulging. His house was likely one of the marvels of Jericho, i- i- if I can just kind of let my imagination run a bit. He was rich. Isn't that what people want tonight? He set his sights high. Because you see, for a lot of people, they're convinced that to have money is to have happiness. And that to have this world's goods is to be satisfied. And that to have security, uh, i- i- is is to really have everything in in in your grasp. And so here's a man, and uh, that was his goal. And he accomplished it. But you know, as this man traveled down the road of life, somehow, somewhere, he began to evaluate things. Do you know tonight that money will take you everywhere in this world except to heaven? And money will buy every single thing that you want in this world if you get enough of it, except happiness. And here's a man, and as he weighed it all up, he realized that he was wanting. Tragic, you know, what people sell their souls for? I recall hearing of a young man who, who just lived and ate and drank motorcycles. It was his, it was his be all. And one day he was going down the road, there was an accident. To make a long story short, the young man's life was snuffed out. And the day of the funeral came. As his friends and relations and neighbors and associates gathered in that graveyard, they noticed something very, very unusual. There was a, there was a very large grave that had been dug. Super large. And as that service was being carried out, they watched as the body, the, the coffin that held his body was lowered down, and then right alongside of it, his motorcycle was lowered down. And reporters gathered after that funeral service, and they asked the mother, why, why did you do it? Why did you put the young man's motorcycle alongside of the coffin? She said, very simply, it was his life. You know, while no one really does it anymore, I wonder, friend, what would they put beside your cabin? For some people, they might as well just put a hockey stick because hockey is their life. And for others, they might as well get all the gold and all the money and stocks and bonds and put it down there because for a lot of people in Vancouver and in Newfoundland and around the world, money is their life. For other people, you might as well take the diplomas off the wall and put all the career diplomas there because education is their life. And for other people, you can put all of their good works alongside because a lot of people somehow think that life is all wrapped up in, in doing good things for people, and they figure that that's going to take them to heaven. Tell me, friend, what is your life? What makes life tick for you? Here's a man, and as he sized it all up, and as he went down the, the charts of his bank account, and as he fingered all the, the securities that he had put into his life, there was still an emptiness. There was still a, a vacuum. There was still an unhappiness, there was no peace. And a day came when this man said, I must get to see Christ. And a turning point came. I wonder, has there ever been a moment in your life when you have determined, I must get to the Savior? Because unless that day comes, friend, you will never get saved. Don't fool yourself. Some people think, you know, I'll, I'll get it somehow, and I'll just kind of slide my way into heaven. Nobody drifts into heaven. And here's a man, and he said, I must get to the Savior because I need him. And the day came when he heard that Jesus was coming into Jericho. I wonder if, I've wondered sometimes whether perhaps Zacchaeus knew Matthew, and he knew what a changed life h- h- his, his fellow colleague had, had experienced. Matthew had, had heard the call of the Savior, and his life had been changed. You know anybody alongside of you whose life has been changed? One of the ways that God spoke to me. Perhaps he heard of what the Lord Jesus had done in the lives of others right in his hometown, and as he watched and understood the reality, he thought to himself, my, if, if, if, if that's what salvation does for them, then I want it. Have you ever had that desire? Has there ever been a, a moment in your life when you have honestly said, as far as God is concerned, I would like to be saved. Or is it just something that you hear about all the time, but you really don't care any very much about it? Here's Zacchaeus, and he came to a turning point in his life, and the Bible says he sought to see Jesus. Earlier in these meetings, I, I told you about a, a young woman by the name of June Sweetland, who on that dance hall floor, New Year's Eve, came to discover, I'm lost and I'm going to hell. God saw that desire put there by the Spirit of God. And as that woman reached out and a- and longed to find peace but didn't know where to find it, God, by his grace, brought a Christian right alongside of a backdoor neighbor. And that's Christian began to speak to June. I recall the, the night I got a call from, from that woman by the name of Wanda, and she said to me, she said, Marv, uh, June would like to be saved. Could you come down and talk to her? I said, no, Wanda, you talk to her. Oh, she said, what am I going to say? Well, I said, just tell her how you got saved, and then take some of the scriptures and just explain what God is saying to her. She's all right. So she went back and sat down with June and just explained to her how she got saved and what the Lord Jesus had done at the cross. Three or four days later, I got another call. Juana said, Marv, June still wants to get saved, and she can't see it. Could we come to Gander for a talk? Now, this is not just across the city, this is two hundred miles away, in the dead of winter. I says, be glad to have you. And on a Saturday afternoon, those two women set out in the dead of winter to come up to the town of Gander, not to go shopping, but to have a talk about how June could have her sins forgiven. Did God despise that? No. Sunday night, we were having a series of meetings thirty miles further on down the road, Mr. Funson and I. And sure enough, to our amazement, there they were, having driven another thirty miles. And June Sweetland sat in her first gospel meeting. It wasn't hard to preach that night, because you see, here was a woman who sought to see Jesus. Isn't it tragic that there are people here and you have never come to that place, when when you would honestly like to come to the Lord Jesus more than anything else in the world. You know, it it didn't surprise me to have a phone call Thursday of that week indicating that June had gotten saved. Because you see, when a person seeks the Savior, they'll discover that he's already seen for them. But it was a turning point. But there's another turning point, because you see, as this man went down the road to see Jesus, he ran into, into problems. And so will you. You start heading for this road, you're going to run into a lot of traffic. You're going to run into a lot of opposition. You're going to run into hindrances and roadblocks, because you see, the enemy doesn't want you to get to the door. He doesn't want you to get saved. And here's a man, and he had vowed in his heart, I, I must get to the Savior, and he started that way. But he ran into problems. Couldn't see over the crowd, couldn't get through the crowd, intense. What was he going to do? And you know tonight that there are people, and they come to a gospel meeting, and they get stirred, and they say, I must get to the Savior, and they start for, for that open door, but they run into problems. And instead of pursuing it on, they decide it's too much, cost is too much, price is too high, not worth it, and they turn aside. You see, here's a man, and he had to decide, was it worth going in for? How much did he want to see Jesus? From what we understand from Luke nineteen, it was the consuming desire of, of his life. And instead of being turned away from that, those problems, this man began to run. He ran down the road as fast as he could, got ahead of the crowd, and he climbed up into a tree. Can you imagine some of the executives down here in Vancouver climbing up a tree with their attaché case just to see Jesus? Oh, come on now, that, don't be foolish. But Zacchaeus did. Because you see, this was the number one issue in his life. And until a person comes to the place where they want salvation more than anything else in the world, they'll never get it. But there came one more turning point, because here comes the crowd now. There's a man peering down through those branches, through those leaves, and he's got his eyes only on one person. It's, it's Christ, it's the Savior. And deep in that man's heart is that longing, if only, if only he'd come my way. If only he'd stop and and talk to me, but I'm too crooked. I've sinned too much. I've gone too far down the broad road. And as he watches, the Savior comes along, and all of a sudden he stops, just like he's doing tonight. And he looks up. Zacchaeus looks down. And the Lord Jesus said, Zacchaeus, come down. Now, do you ever stop to think what that would have, what that meant for, for Zacchaeus? Zacchaeus has a personal call. Come down. When I think of that command, that invitation, that call, I'm made aware, number one, that this was a call of exposure. And you know, there are people, and they would love to be saved, but you know, they don't want to be singled out. We all have that. We're proud, and pride is the greatest curse and one of the worst sins in keeping people from getting to the Savior. All kinds of people want the limelight, but nobody wants the search light when God's focus comes upon my life and upon my future and my lostness. It's embarrassing, isn't it, when you're pulled over by the RCMP and he comes up and cars are whizzing by, and you know that they know what your car is like, and the policeman shines his light in or or asks for ID. Hasn't happened very much, but it has happened to me, and I'm embarrassed. I don't like it. When I'm singled out. It's embarrassing when you're in a in a in an airport terminal and all of a sudden your name comes over the PA system, and you wonder, what did I do wrong now? What do they want? But tonight, friends, the call of God comes to you personally, and he wants you to come into the open. You're gonna have to be exposed in your sin, and that will touch our pride. There are young people here, and perhaps you'd like to be saved, but you don't want anybody to know it, that you're troubled. There are perhaps people in this meeting, and you have been stirred, and perhaps you even have even wept, but you've brushed them away because you don't want anybody to know that you're thinking about it. It's pride, friend. God says come down. When the Lord Jesus called to Zacchaeus to come down, it was a call for confession. He was coming down to face his sin because the Savior knew all about him. He knew his name. And you'll notice that this man didn't come down and start to kind of negotiate with the Lord. Now, Lord, you know, it'd be very nice to have salvation, you know, if we could just have it this. He didn't do that at all. He came down to face the one who knew all about him. But you know, when he came down, he came down for acceptance. You see, the one who called to him was the one who was, he was going to receive. And Zacchaeus received him joyfully. It was a call for salvation. As this man came down into the open, he identified himself with the Savior, and his life was changed. You'll understand even from the latter part of that, of that story, that that man's past life was addressed, because you see, when God's salvation comes in, it affects all that we are and all that we've done. There is forgiveness. God does say through the blood. When a man gets God's salvation, a power comes in that was never there before. That's why God is saying to you tonight, come down, humble yourself, come clean with God, acknowledge your sin. When Zacchaeus heard that call, at that turning point, he said, I'll come gladly. And he received him. He went to the, the Lord went to his house. And the man's life was changed. Do you notice, as I sit down, did you notice what the others said? They kind of shook their heads. And they said, see that? He's gone into a house of a man as a sinner. You know, that gives me great comfort, because God doesn't always save clean sinners. God saves sinners whose lives have been marred and marked by sin for years. And tonight, that's why we tell you he's calling to you. He's stopping right by your life tonight. He singled you out. He's told you, he knows where you are. He says very simply, come down. Would you do that tonight? Would you receive him joyfully? Because verse ten tells us the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus, he has come to seek and to save those that are lost. First Thessalonians chapter four. First Thessalonians chapter four, verse thirteen. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God. The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now, just as we're passing by here, let me say that last eight— the eighteenth verse doesn't apply to those in our meeting not saved, because we can't comfort them. But what he's talking about here is comfort the ones who are saved. And of course, these people were worrying about those who were already dead, what's going to happen to them? And he's just explaining to them, when we're taken up into heaven, we'll not prevent those that are already gone, they'll be raised too. Now let's look over the page to the second Thessalonians, chapter one. Second Thessalonians chapter one, verse six: Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you, and to you who 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 them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. Wherefore also we pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of his calling and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our, by our gathering together unto him, that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letters from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, so showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things, and now ye know what withholdeth that he might reveal in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned, who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. For those that are meeting tonight who are saved, we have read very comforting words. But for those who are not saved, tragedy. Because if you're found wanting in the day when the Lord Jesus comes, it's going to be a terrible time. What you, it's not hard for you to see what I'm thinking about for the meeting tonight is the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, that in the world today is looked upon as a kind of almost a joke. You've heard people say before now that so and so's as slow as the second coming of Christ. Well, the Lord Jesus said when they're starting to say things like that, that's when he's going to come. And the different things that's happening in the world right now is only proving and showing to us very, very conclusively that the coming of the Lord is imminent. Therefore, therefore, it is most important for every person in our meeting tonight, search the foundation. Yes, the Christian. Now let that soak a minute. Because I want to tell you something. If the Lord comes and person left behind, there's no way out. There's no second chance. I was telling him at the table this morning, yeah, I was preaching at the time. I'd been down to Bryn Mawr to a conference, and I was coming home with two Christians, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. We stopped off in Hartford. We stayed the night. Mr. Fite was there, and there was a woman there that wasn't saved. She was staying there too. The next morning, when I woke, I heard them downstairs talking, the host of the house and Mr. and Mrs. Thompson. Now, I don't remember, but there must been, I must have dozed off a minute or two, and it wasn't very long. And when I came to again, the house was in silence. And the thought that struck me, could it be, is it possible the Lord has come and I'm not saved? I don't know, it can't be. But it aroused me to the point where I put on my clothes and I went out into the hallway, and there was a door open into a bedroom, and I knew that Mr. Feight was there, so at least he was in the house, and so I'm down and took a look in. I could see someone in bed, but I couldn't tell if it was him or the old woman. Now I'm going to tell you something. There was something come over my soul right then that I began to think, what in the world is it going to be when he does come? I went downstairs, they're not home. The car was out in the driveway, but they're not there. I was some glad when, uh, fifteen minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson come back. The other two had gone to work. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson come back, and I realized he hasn't come yet. But then he could have left them too if they were saved. See what I'm getting at? If that, and that was only just a moment of searching, probably, but it was just a moment. If that was so real to me, what will the coming of the Lord be to those who are not saved? Christian's children, I can see them t- dialing the phone to some other Christian's home and having them answer, and it's only the children that answer, or maybe an unsaved man in the house. And they ask the question, is your mother there? Is your father there? No, they're not there. Johnny Boulder came up to my house one day. I just remember now. Johnny Boulder come up to our house one day when we're living in the out, out in the country. He hadn't, he wasn't saved yet. He was a man of sixty at least, and he came into the yard, and he says, I had a dreadful dream last night. I said, what happened, Johnny? He says, I dreamt the Lord Jesus had come. In fact, he says, I could see that big door on the chart, and it was wide open. And he says, I thought I've got to get in there. So he says, I started towards it, and he says, it just kept closing, and before I got to it, it closed. Listen, that door there tonight is wide open. That's the same door, but it's this side of death, and it's this side of the coming of the Lord. Same door. There's only one door, but when that door is closed, it's God that shuts it. And it was in the days of Noah, it was God that shut the door of the ark, and nobody could break the bolts, the locks, or anything else. God shut it. My friend, in this meeting night, you were not saved. I want to say very emphatically, it's time you got this matter settled. The Lord is coming. Johnny says, I had a terrible dream. He says, I got my car in my dream, and I come up here to the, and he says the children are running around the yard, and I said to them, where's your father and mother? Well, they said they're gone, they must have went to the store or something. And so he said, I quickly ran up to Mrs. Cutler's place, another Christian, and their children are running around the yard there, and I said to them, where's your mother? Well, they said, we don't know. She must have went down. And he says, I just came to this conclusion, the Lord has come. And he said, I woke in a sweat. I said, Johnny, what's the reality going to be? I want to tell you there's going to, that there's, that there's a sad day coming for people in Vancouver. There's a sad day coming for some of you boys and girls in this meeting tonight, and some of you older people are not saved because he is coming, there's no doubt about it. He said he would come, and he's proving it. And that Bible's just as modern as nineteen ninety four because the things that's happening right now is what's going to take place before this happens. We read of some of them here tonight, and if we'd read in Malachi, Zechariah fourteen, we would have found that one day in the new- in in the near future, Israel is going to be surrounded by all the nations. And God is going to come and step his foot on the Mount of Olives. They're going to be, half of them, taken away in captivity. Before that, the women will be rifled and ravished, and my friend here, they're all gathered around, and you know, remember the the Gulf War? I heard so much about Israel and the Arab nations and what was going on. I went and got a, saw a big globe in the house one day, and I started to look for Israel. I could hardly find it. Just a little dot about the size of a pea, and all the nations all around it, all those enemies. And there she sits in the side of the Mediterranean. It would seem as though all they'd have to do is just push it off. And they've tried it, but God looks after them. What a God they have. And that's the God we have tonight. There was a time when Nasser was coming with all his armies, and he was coming across from Egypt, and two little super cops kept them at bay. What a God we have. There was a time when Russia came down just a few years ago, and she had a hundred tanks, military, uh, tanks, and those, the last of the, the very latest, and they were all lined up, and Israel takes one shot with that new weapon they have and disred- disintegrated the whole bunch of them in a matter of two seconds. We're living in dreadful days, but I want to tell you, there's a day coming when God is going to allow the nations to gather around them, and they're just going to be in a perilous condition. Do you know that the seismic engineers have found out just a few years ago that there's a fault running east and west through the Mount of Olives. And if we'd read in Zechariah fourteen, we would have found that when the foot of the Lord Jesus Christ hits that, that mountain top, it's going to split asunder, and half is going to the north, half is going to the south, and the valley running between, and those people that are surrounded by the nations, they'll run into it. You would think they would run away from it, but it's their only hiding place. And the one that, my friend, will stand on the Mount of Olives, he's the one that's coming in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that have been not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he's saying to them here, his people, he says, don't think about that yet, because there has to be a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed. That's this person here. And when he comes after the coming of the law, after this takes place, the man of sin will be revealed. And if you think the world's in a mess tonight, I can tell you it will be a hundred times worse than then, because there'd be nothing holding back. Here we read tonight that the Spirit of God is holding back. He's keeping back, he's letting, as it were, he's holding back an avalanche of sin that's coming in upon the scene. And the Christians that are in the world tonight, there is a, a thorn in the flesh of people that are around them. The Christians, it's the light of the world, that's going out when the Lord Jesus comes. And the light of the world will be extinguished, and the blackness that will settle down in this scene, I know there'll be still sunlight. That's not what I'm talking about, but the darkness. And I want to tell you tonight, there was a time fifty years ago when you could get up on a platform and preach for an hour and a half from the back of a hymn book. You only needed John three sixteen to do it, but you can't do that now. We're finding the powers of darkness against us, even on the gospel platform, and any man that's preaching the simple, plain, unadulterated gospel of the grace of God, he feels it because there's a power against him. That power already working. But the Spirit of God is holding him back to a certain extent. But when this takes place and the, the Holy Spirit of God escorts the bride into the heavens above, into the air, this poor godless world will be left bereft of God altogether. And I want to tell you, if it's bad for a young person to go down the streets of Vancouver tonight at night, and I don't suppose there's too many women that would dare to do it in some of the back streets. I know in some of the places in Los Angeles and these other places, men and women even themselves won't do it. Listen, if this world isn't the mess it's in tonight, what will it be when the Spirit of God is gone, when the light of the world is gone, and the gospel has no more rays of light to penetrate the darkness of this poor godless scene. Oh, my friend, you're in a terrible, in terrible condition tonight, not saved. By down there in Los Angeles, they're going out and picking up women of the street, as far as I'll go with it, taking them into a warehouse, stringing them up without any clothes on the wall, taking a hack, taking a chainsaw, and all the time the video was going. You would wonder what kind of people is in the world today that wants to watch that kind of thing, as they cut the limbs and take that person apart. Friend, we're living in a dreadful time. I say again, if the ni- the iniquity doth already work in this world tonight, and if you could take the lid off of Vancouver, you would be shocked to the very core, and you would likely blush to the very roots of your hair. Things is going on politically. Yeah, it's rotten. I can tell you from experience, for I've had a lot to do with the governments of Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec, and I want to tell you that the governments tonight are rotten. When this whole scene tonight is grappling for something of truth, and they can't find it. And the Spirit of God is holding back an avalanche of sin. But when he has come and taken his bride out of this world, oh, what a dark night it's going to be. When the man of sin comes forward, he's permeated with sin. You know, there's only two of them that's ever going to go to the lake of fire, whatever the judgment bar of God, uh Two people. Every other person will have to be at the great white throne to show their sin and they'll be brought up in all its blackness and darkness, but these two are going straight to the lake of fire. They're permeated, they're pregnant with sin. The man of sin. Every person is a sinful man, but this is a man of sin. Dark picture, isn't it? Treadful. What's going to happen to this poor godless scene? But I want to say this. Before that happens, seven years before this happens. If this is so close tonight, how close this must be. It's coming then. Those were saved as from this poor godless world into the mansions of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to dwell with the Savior of sinners for all eternity. And as we fall at his feet and the story repeat, and the lover of sinners adore, I want to tell you, friend, you don't know what you're missing when you're missing out on salvation, even in this life. But in the life to come, and as the nearer I get to the end of the journey, and it isn't too long at the very best, but the longer I go on and the more I look into this book and the more I see what God says about heaven, and he hasn't told us very much because we couldn't take it in. And the Apostle Paul himself could say he'd been caught up into the third heaven, but he comes back and he can't tell us. He says it's words. There's no word to tell it. There's no word to describe it. No language should tell you what was in heaven, and he just leaves it there. Friend, I want to tell you the coming of the Lord is near, and those of us who are saved, we're going in from this poor godless world with all its turmoil and strife and disappointments, and there'll never be another tear, and there'll never be another heartache, and there'll never be another pain, but for all eternity to be with Christ. I can hardly wait. If it wasn't for the fact... if it wasn't that I'm thinking right now of a nineteen-year-old girl that I have to say goodbye to. She's not safe. Just entered college in Toronto. She's been troubled in the past. But what will it be? Won't even have time to say goodbye, I'm glad of that. For the rendering with- rending would be too much. But I want to tell you, those of us who are saved, we're going in and we'll be changed and we'll be like unto him. And we'll never remember them again. We'll look at it the way God looks at it, or we'll be like himself. His coming is near. Brandon, it's me tonight. Are you ready for that moment? You see, these two play- these two comings, they look like two comings. It's all one, but just two different stages, that's all. But there's a lot that goes in between, and maybe there's somebody in the meeting, and I want to say this before I stop. There's maybe somebody in the meeting, like, and you have in the back of your mind somehow, like my brother, my son-in-law had, oh well, if I don't make it when the Lord comes, I'll have another chance. I want to tell you, according to this book, and I want to read it again to you. Listen what it says. For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion. Why would God do that? That they all, that they should believe a lie. Why would God do that? That they all might be damned. Why would God do that? Because they believe not the truth. That's why. And anybody that's heard the truth of God. Sin and judgment and the coming, uh, and the Lord Jesus had died for the sins of the world. Anybody that's heard the true gospel and didn't believe it will be sent strong delusion that they'll believe a lie instead. Why? That they might be damned, because they believe not the truth. Yeah, Gerald said one day, he said, well, he said, if I know that the man of sin is coming, and I know that he won't allow anybody to buy nor sell without the mark in his hand, in their hand, or in their forehead. And even that's here now. Did you know that? In the States, in a lot of places, they're putting a mark in the forehead of those who have Alzheimer's, so that they can find them. They're trying to get it put into the children so that when they're kidnapped, they'll be able to find them. The mark in the hand or in the forehead. The forerunner is already here. He said, I know that when he comes, he says, I know that, and he says, I won't bow down and worship him. I said, Gerald, don't talk so silly. He said, what do you mean? I said, how long, because his little girls at that time, his daughters, my grandchildren, they were only this high at this time. And I said, how long are you going to watch those two little girls crying for a piece of bread? And you won't be able to buy it unless you hit the market. Are you going to see them cry? Are you going to let them starve? Well, I said, I couldn't do that. Well, I said, you better stop and think of a book to sing here. Because God will send strong delusion that they'll believe a lie instead of the truth, because they believe not the truth. Now, my friend, as I come to a close tonight, I want to say that all these things, and these things are happening. If we'd have read in Matthew twenty four, man, dear, just stop and think, earthquakes in diverse places, and they tell me today, I was told today that Vancouver is just sitting on a power keg, and they're waiting for it to happen. What? Green Earth. I tell my brothers, time we're getting out here. Yeah, in Los Angeles, they go on with all their sin and corruption and all the rest of it, and all of a sudden God just gives a little shake, and their great highways hold earthquakes in diverse places. Fearful sights, he says, and in twelve seconds, God took a mile off St. Helens in twelve seconds that would have taken the engineers with all their equipment twelve years to do. God just gives a little shape. And people, they bury their dead, they straighten their highways, and they go on just the same as ever. My dear friend, we're living in a dreadful scene. It's coming close to the end, and this poor godless world is staggering like a drunken man. And it won't be long until we hear the shout, those of us who are sane, we'll hear the shout, come away, my love, my fair one, the winter is past and gone, and the singing of the birds has come, and from the sad groaning creation of Earth will rise in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. What a moment. Oh, I can't imagine. I can't imagine what it'll be like, and I can hardly wait. I'll say this and sit down. Maybe I told you before, when I was about eleven years of age, my father took me to the big Belfast conference, Three thousand people, twenty five in the main auditorium and five hundred in another room. Sixty six preachers up there on that platform, some of them with long beards and some of them with little goatees, and those men, they looked like, I- I was thinking some, some of them looked like Peter and some of them looked like Paul, and oh, I could just, I could just, oh. And those men would come to the podium pole there, and they were shaking in their seats because they had a word from God. And they'd open up the dark things of scripture so the little boy of ten sitting in the, up here near this front could understand what they're talking about. Teachers, oh man, dear. A lot of those men that sat up there wouldn't dare come to that pole. Oh man. Frank Knox gave out that hymn, number eighty. I'm but a stranger here, heaven is my home. And as that crowd stood, and I stood along with them, I started to sing, but I had to quit. When those three thousand voices blending together, some bass, some tenor, some carrying the alto, and there they are all blending together. And as I looked around that great big all, big gallery there, I thought, my, what's heaven going to be like when ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands and a number that no man can count as they begin to sing unto the Lamb. I can hardly wait to hear it. I can hardly wait to see the one they're singing to. And every throat will be tuned to heaven's music as they sing on to the Lamb. Oh, my friend, he's coming, and he's coming soon. I'm almost to the seventy mark, the three score and ten, but I really don't expect to die. I may have to. I was close to it seventeen years ago, but I really don't expect to. It can't be much longer. And you'll come. Dad and mom will be gone forever. Children left behind. Fathers and mothers left behind some. And the children. Friend in this meeting tonight, stop and consider. Your soul is more precious than anything in this world, and no grave digger's ever going to cover it. They may cover your body, but when you were born into this world, you were born with necessities that will last as long as God lasts. Tell me where the tomb of God is, and I'll tell you when you'll cease to exist. But he never had a beginning, and he'll never have an end. For those of us who are saved, that's good news, isn't it? It's forever. Those who are not saved, it's to be shut outside, to come to that door and knock and say, Lord, Lord, open up. And it's not one of us inside that will be able to open that door. The door's open at night. He says, come in, shall we pray. Our God, our Father in heaven, in the worthy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we draw near to thee at the close of the meeting, and we realize that some of these days, time will be like this meeting, it'll come to a finish, and then eternity. And oh God, as those of us rise into the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to be with them forever. Those who are not saved left behind. What a moment. Oh God and mercy, look down upon them tonight. We can't save them, and we can't even make them to think about this thing seriously. But thou art able to speak, and thou art able to show them their condition. We pray, Lord, that thy presence may be a felt reality tonight, as that boys and girls and men and women make their way home. Take them home in safety, we pray, and grant thy blessing in their salvation, and to thee we'll be careful to give the praise, the honor, and the glory in his worthy and precious name. Amen. In number two hundred and five. time is gone again, so we'll just sing the first.