McIntee, Arnot: Security In Insecure World

It's a pleasure to be here in Tabaspar. I wish I could have been here in time for the Lord's Supper, but, uh, unfortunately some family responsibilities took my time. Some of you know that my wife has been bedridden for ten months. It will be eleven on the twenty ninth of this month, but, uh, Alzheimer's and congestive heart failure have taken their toll. So as a family, and we happen to have the joy of living with our son and his wife, we just have to take turns and work out shifts. And that's difficult because they're very involved in Camp Lai Loli, and they're away pretty well every weekend. So I thank God for my sister-in-law Joan and two granddaughters who will be looking after Helen in my absence. You might not realize this, but it's a special day for me because my twin sister is here in the service. You didn't know I had a twin sister, but I do. You see, we both trusted Christ on the twenty seventh of February, nineteen forty four. And I'm referring, of course, to Eunice Irwin, my one and only sister. Now, I'd be glad to tell you how old I was when I trusted Christ, but I'm afraid you'd want to know how old she was. And I'm not going to walk into that one, but it's a joy to see Eunice and Paul with us this morning as well. If I were to give my subject a title, I'd like to think this morning about security in an insecure world. You don't need to be told that, eh, the fact that we are less secure within the last five days, that's no surprise to you, but certainly with the turmoil and the events in the Middle East, I don't know what you think, but I believe with all my heart we are getting ever closer and ever more quickly closer to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're seeing things shape up in the Middle East and in other areas of our society that are indicative of the Great Tribulation. And if that's the case, that means the Lord Jesus Christ must come. He must come before the tribulation sets in. How many days we'll have, of course, we don't know. But he's the one who said, behold, I come quickly. And the church around the globe is saying tonight, or today, even so, come, Lord Jesus. We're eagerly awaiting the moment when he shall come. I heard recently of one of the great evangelical preachers in our society, having made the statement that while many churches are busy entertaining their membership, that the doctrines of the Word of God are rapidly slipping away. That caused me to think, and I've enjoyed recently thinking about the major doctrines of the Word of God. Be it inspiration, be it the Godhead of Father, Son, Holy Spirit, be it grace, or whatever other doctrine or attribute you wish to consider, they will all bless your soul. But I'm thinking this morning about security, and I'd like to consider with you the subject of the eternal security of the believer. Beloved, if you have accepted Christ as your savior, and I hope and pray everyone has, you are secure in the Lord Jesus Christ. You will never be lost. Now, I realize, of course, that this has been a battleground for these, for theologians for centuries. But the fact remains, once saved, always saved. Unfortunately, some would teach that it's possible to lose your salvation, and that if you lose it, you must accept Christ again. Others say that you may be saved, but you are not fully saved until you have been baptized. Now, as far as I read my Bible, neither of those statements bear the scrutiny of the inspiration of Holy Scripture. Thinking about the possibility of one being lost, having once been saved, I would like to ask the question at the outset. For you and me to be saved, what did it take? It took the death, the burial, the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that is a biblical fact, that's a historical fact. Now then, if one could lose his salvation, is it necessary for the Lord Jesus Christ to return to the, to the planet and die again? That would be heresy. My Bible teaches me that the plan of salvation as presented in the Word of God, and for which the Lord Jesus Christ died, is a salvation that is lasting. It will last not only through time, beloved, but through eternity. And so we praise our God for the greatness of such. Remember, the Lord Jesus Christ died for your salvation, and may you and I enjoy it to the full. Let's read for our scripture text this morning a very well-known passage in the tenth chapter of the Gospel according to John. And let's read in at verse twenty four. Then came the Jews round about Jesus and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you believe not, the words that I do in my Father's name, they are witness of me. But ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them to me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. So we pause and ask God's blessing. Father God, in the precious name of thy beloved Son, the one we love and for whom we're waiting, we would commit this hour. Please, Father, bless every believer, and for those who are unbelievers, we pray collectively that they'll trust the Lord Jesus before this hour is over. This we pray in our Savior's precious and ever worthy name. Amen. The Lord Jesus Christ stressed on numerous occasions during his earthly ministry the important fact that to believe on him, to place one's faith in him, is to know sins forever forgiven, never to have to face that responsibility again. Let me give you just three verses quickly at the outside of my meditation. John chapter five verse twenty four reads like this: Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth in him that sent me, now get this, shall not perish, but have everlasting life. If you believe, you will not perish, you will have everlasting life. Let me ask you this morning, do you have everlasting life? Eunice and I have a father who is in heaven today because he, as a young man, believed John five twenty four when Jesus said, he that heareth my word and believeth in him that sent me shall not perish, but have everlasting life. He's passed from death to life. Another verse from John three six is John three sixteen. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him, what, should not perish, but have everlasting life. And on the twenty seventh of February, nineteen forty four, in the city of Vancouver, I accepted Christ as my savior. And when that word was told to my folks via telephone that night, shortly thereafter, Eunice accepted him too. And so we're spiritual twins, and I thank God for it. But listen to the great Apostle Paul, as in Romans chapter six and verse twenty three, he says, for the wages of sin is death. One doesn't need to explain that. You know what wages are. You receive them at the end of the work week or whenever. But sin pays wages, and those wages are eternal death. But then he says, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Friend, if you are saved this morning, rejoice and enjoy the fact that you are, that you have accepted the gift of everlasting life. If not, I plead with you before you go out this chapel, put your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to know the preciousness of sins forgiven and heaven assured. Tuesday evening, following our prayer meeting, I went to visiting a home where I knew a good brother was very, very close to going to heaven. And he's a man who has lived for the Lord. He has delighted in the Lord. He shared the Lord. But, although he can't communicate with us now, we know, and he knew, that he would be safe and eternally secure when the time comes for him to leave this land for the eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter ten is speaking about sheep. Now, I'm confident that there are many here who know far more about sheep than I. As far as I'm concerned, there are sheep, and there are sheep, and there are sheep, but that's it. But those skilled in that discipline, you know the intricacies of the sheep, their likes, their dislikes, their habits, their frequencies, and so on. But the Lord Jesus, as we read in John chapter ten, he said, uh, my sheep in verse twenty seven— my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. So this is a picture of men and women, picture of you and of me, who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Our souls have been saved. We are now his sheep. We belong to him, and he belongs to us. The scene opens in the passage that we read of the Jewish critics making so much, or asking in such an intense way, I might add. Uh, they said to him, uh, don't deceive us, don't prolong this thing, but let us know, are you the Christ? Are you the Christ? Tell us plainly. He had already done that, and as far as his critics were concerned, they failed to believe it. They believed he was an imposter. They nailed him to the cross. And beloved, as lovingly as I can say it, that is why Israel is going through the turmoil it is at this hour. And the only thing that they can be sure of is that this infallible, inerrant book says they're going to experience a worse time. A period of three and a half years called, uh, the tribulation. But in the last three and a half years, it's called the Great Tribulation. So that no tribulation, no sorrow, um, no misfortune will ever fall upon a nation or has ever fallen upon a nation, such as Israel has gone through in its lifetime. And the tragedy is this, that the worst is yet to come. Read the book of the Revelation, lay it aside your newspaper, and you'll see how even now things are being fulfilled. I was going to digress there, and I won't, but recently we, several years ago, was it two thousand and four? the tsunami that hit the coast of Indonesia and the Indian Ocean rim. I'm convinced that that was a sign from God. He says it in Matthew chapter twenty four. There will be earthquakes, numerous earthquakes in various places, but the time is not yet. Beloved, wake up. Jesus is coming. If you're a believer, you are safe and secure for all eternity, but if not, you are exposed to the law of a holy God. His words and his works, in verse twenty five attested to the fact that he was no ordinary carpenter from Nazareth. He was God incarnate. He was the one who worked those miracles. He was the one who raised the dead. Beloved, listen, God has a plan, and you're in the plan. If you're not saved, to be saved this morning. If you are saved, you can rejoice in the fact that you're glory bound, and finally you'll make it to the streets of golden glory. But what was the response? His words and his works had attested to his greatness, his uniqueness, his godliness, but then he has to say to them in verse twenty six, you will not, you believe not because you're not my sheep. You just don't believe. And the Lord Jesus Christ was able to say that with all authority, and he says it to you this morning. If you're not saved, you're not one of his sheep. You can't be safe in the. But for those who are, we praise God, there is safety and security. The Lord Jesus Christ draws a contrast, and he says this: His sheep hear his voice, and they follow him. And those who refuse to hear his voice are in the wilderness of sin, awaiting the wrath of a holy God against sin. I repeat the text, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. There is only one condition under which you became a believer and I became a believer, only one condition under which individuals in this company can become believers, and that is by simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging first, I'm a sinner. I have a conscience that bears testimony to it. I have the word of God in all of its authority that clearly states all have sinned. That includes everyone in this chapel. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Our God. One of the great studies would be the holiness of God, the justice of God. Doctrines, beloved, that we as believers should not lose sight of. Maintaining his holiness and standing for it. Nearly two hundred times in the word of God is faith, or the word believing used. And beloved, I repeat, the only way you can be saved and secure for eternity is to place your faith and your confidence in him. I'm sure there are some in this company, and you disagree with the speaker. You're prepared to say, well, really, uh, I don't go for this faith stuff. I'm going to do the best I can. I'm going to labor, and I'm going to work, and I'll secure my sa- my salvation that way. What did the great Apostle Peter say? Neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Acts four and twelve. I trust and pray that you know that truth, and as a sheep in the fold, you're following him. You're obeying his will and his wish, and as a result, you have a life assured in eternity. You don't work for salvation. When people tell me that, I like to ask them, how do you know when you have done all you need to do? Of course, they can't. I remember interviewing one of my staff at Niagara College a number of years ago. Very fine, moral, upright individual. And, uh, it was that time of the year when, uh, you called each subordinate in for an interview, and then you went over the objectives that you had established together a year previous. Jim was in my office, this Scott, articulate, abrasive, as he sought to hide, really, what was a heart rather soft. We went over all the objectives and somehow got onto spiritual things. And I said, Jim, let me ask you a question. Are you a Christian? Are you a believer? Do you know you're going to heaven? He paused for a moment, and then his usual articulate, uh, well-ordered style, he started to tell me he was going to heaven because he had done good works, always paid a hundred percent on the dollar, tried to help his neighbor, went to church regularly, all these things that you've heard so many times. I said, Jim, I believe you and I commend you, but I got a question for you. Tell me, if you could get to heaven by doing those things, why was it necessary for God to give his only son to die for you on a cross outside Jerusalem? I can still see the perplexed look on his face. Then when finally he spoke, he said, Arnett, I never thought of it like that before. And there's a lot of people who haven't thought of it that way before. This morning, my friend, we don't get salvation through works. We do good works because of our salvation. We have the mind of Christ. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, and we want to do those things that bring honor and glory to him, for his glory, not for our future security. And so, it's important to know that you have heard the voice of the Lord Jesus, and you have responded to that call. My sheep hear my voice, and they follow me. A number in this company will remember that awful day when the message hit the airwaves that five brave young missionaries had been slain at the end of Alca Lances in Ecuador. I knew the father of Ed McCully well, and Ed McCully was one of those young men, a brilliant, they were all brilliant young men. Jimmy Elliott had a master's in English and others with similar qualifications, but they gave it up, they heard the voice, and they followed the Lord. Subsequent to their martyrdom and burial along the Kurei River, small plane took the five widows to fly over the burial site, and as they did, one of those wives said, I heard him say, come follow. My soul went after him. My gold grew dim. Who would not follow if they heard him call? Would you follow? Oh, I hope you will, and or you have. Number of years ago, a Bible student was walking through the, uh, countryside, and he saw a large flock of sheep being tended by a shepherd, engaged them in conversation, and asked of him, was it true that if he named one sheep in that large flock of grazing animals, that that sheep would come to him? The shepherd proved to him that it would happen. Call the sheep's name, and out of a hundred bowed heads, one raised his head and started toward the shepherd. Friend, the call of the Lord Jesus for you is, will you accept him as your savior? I hope you will. I hope that you're enjoying your salvation this morning. And if you are, there should be some things that prove you are. See, this book says, by their fruits ye shall know them. And you have every right to look at me and say, Arnon, where do I see the fruit in your life? And I the same with you. There should be obvious manifestations in our personality, in our conduct, our character, and everything else that we belong to Christ. And like hanging from a branches, uh, heavily laden with fruit, there should be those virtues and Christ-like qualities that hang from the branches of my Christian life, and you the same. And so, who are the sheep? They're you and me. And the Lord Jesus Christ has made a place of comfort and abode for those who know him as Savior. And so we want to live a God-honoring life, not to get salvation, but because we have it. God forbid that we who are believers should turn back to sin. And yet, I heard just last evening of one who had done that. Never met the man, but the man who told me was in tears. A man who was a Bible college student, a man who'd gone to the foreign field, and a man who'd fallen into sin. You see, in the Roman epistle, the Paul speaks about superabounding grace. Here's a pile of sins that were the height of this microphone, but he says, where sin abounded, grace did superabound. God's rich favor in wanting to give you salvation superabounds your sin. But Paul could possibly have been thinking. I'm sure he did from the tenor of the text when he says, why, some might be saying now, well, if God's grace works like that, let's give it added opportunity, and we'll go on and sin. We have license to do it because his grace will super abound over it all. Friend, that's heresy. Paul says, God forbid. How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein? If you're saved this morning, as far as that world is concerned, Paul writing to the Corinthians, it should be dead to you. There's nothing appealing about a dead body. But the world should look at you and say, as far as I'm concerned, you're dead. Like one young lady I sat across from at a wedding reception, and she said, Mr. McEntee, where do you folks get all your jollies? Well, I told her where we got our jollies. Our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, our fellowship with one another, and enjoying all that God has to offer. Interesting thing about that young woman. I performed the marriage ceremony for her younger sister, saved from a Roman Catholic family, and who has gone on well for God. That young woman, ten, fifteen— no, twenty six years ago, couldn't stand the pressure of a classroom. She almost went insane and had to be committed. She's working in a store now as a clerk, complete with her bachelor's and teaching degrees. What's the point? Friend, if you and I know the Lord Jesus, he came to save and to abundantly bless us. And so we rejoice in that. That's part of our secure salvation. John, in his first epistle, writing in three and two, he says, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him. Sheep. Sheep. You and me. Sheep that have been procured by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, again, I read for twenty seven, at the risk of doing so, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. He said in verse eleven of the same chapter, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Think of it, my friend. The Lord Jesus died for you to make you a sheep within his fold. Do you appreciate it this morning? Oh, I hope that you do. And so salvation has been procured for those of whom Isaiah wrote in fifty three: he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. We wandered in our sin, but he sought us out as the shepherd went after that one of one hundred sheep that was lost until he found it, and he made it his very own. And that's what he's anxious to do with you this morning. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Friend, if you know Christ, you're redeemed, you're saved, you're safe for eternity. The Lord Jesus again in John chapter ten, and it's a precious chapter to read. If you're looking so for some reading material this afternoon, go to it. Verse nine says, the Lord Jesus said, I am the door by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved. The picture is of the Eastern Shepherd of ancient days. He's watched his sheep, he's cared for them, the night of danger is about to encircle them, and he calls them in, and as he checks them over, going through their wool, sees there are no bruises or marks, he lets them go into the fold, and in they go. And when the final one is in the fold, what does he do? He lays down across the opening of the fold, and he says, I'm the door. No one can get out, and no one can get in without meeting me personally. My friend, that's the picture of the secure believer in Christ. Of course, in the natural as well as the spiritual environment, the sheep still have predators who want to destroy them. It's a fact. And so we must then stay close to the shepherd. Listen to the words of the beloved Peter, this time in First Epistle, chapter five and eight: Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, is going about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. You are saved, and all Satan can do, the best he can do, is to destroy your fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and he'll do all he can to steal your passion, a passion of love for God. He'll destroy your Christian character and your testimony. He'll bring before you activities that challenge your mind and your heart in an effort to get you from walking with the way, in the ways of the Lord Jesus Christ. He'll take your devotion of heart love from you if he can. How sad. I'll never forget sitting across the table at a senior's dinner. The man who had been my Sunday school teacher in early years sat across from me. He'd gone into the world, not immoral, but business had captured his heart. And I'm sitting there across from him and his wife, and I said, you know, calling him by name, I remember when my dad took me to see you making ice cream, and then you gave us a scoop of the stuff right out of the machine. Take my words for it, it's better frozen, but that's what you did. I've always admired you. Oh, he said, talking of his business, we made a lot of money, and I knew he did. Made a lot of money. And his wife, a believer who had remained true and loyal to God, is at his side, and she said, yes, but we lost our testimony. Who wants the money? It's going to be melted down. The important thing is to make sure you have Christ. And so the sheep have been procured, and the sheep were to know the security of the Good Shepherd who gave himself for the sheep. I love the way this verse is rendered. John ten twenty eight, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish. And I understand that that word never is a double negative. I'm not a Greek scholar, believe me, how wish, how I wish I were. But then he says, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. Did you notice the word man is in italics? And that simply means this, as the, uh, scribes were transcribing the scriptures, they came to something, they just couldn't make it out, and so they put in words that are in italics to make the flow of the text more smooth. But what are they saying? What is the word of God saying? Neither shall any person or thing pluck them out of my hand. I like the way, um, Mr. Weymoff renders this verse. Listen carefully. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish through the ages to all eternity. They shall never by any means be destroyed, and so one is able, and no one is able to pluck them or snatch them out of my hand. It's W. E. Vine, the noted commentator. He says this, translating the verse or speaking about the verse. The negative is a very strong one. It simply means this, they shall never by any means perish. Well, drink it in. If you're saved, beloved, take it in. Not long ago, a dear sister in our assembly passed away, and I can remember so many occasions when that godly woman would come to me and say, Arna, I don't think I'm saved. Nothing could have been further from the truth as far as my observations were concerned. And so we'd sit down and go through the precious word of God until she says, yes, I'm saved now. I know I am. Beloved, thanks be to God for the eternal quality of our salvation. He keeps, and he keeps eternally. You see, our God is a promise-keeping God. In Titus, Paul writes, and he says, one and two, the God which cannot lie is promised. Now, all the authority of the deity is behind this statement. You can't perish. You can grow cold in heart and wander and lose the benefits of your salvation here on earth and rewards to come, if that's the way you want to live, believe me, I feel heart sorry for you. You're a loser here, and you'll be a loser there. So maybe it's time to take a good, hard look at your life and say, am I saved? Why am I saved? Because one day I trusted the Lord Jesus as my savior, and I'm glory bound. Our God keeps his word. Reference was made to the flood. God kept his word to Noah in the deluge, and the day came when they walked out of that ark. God kept his word to Lot's family, those of us, those of them who would do what he bad, and yet God kept them from the fire, the cinder, the smoke. He promised that, and he's promised it for you and me. And in a coming day, beloved, I believe with all my heart that he will spare believers from the awful period of the tribulation. You can't watch images on a television screen and not be concerned if you are not saved. We are believers, and all this and all of that activity just brings the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ closer. No, God cannot lie. The Savior said in Luke twenty one thirty three, heaven and earth may pa- will pass away, but my words shall not pass away. So he says you're saved this morning because you have put your faith and your confidence in him. Go in then for living out that salvation. And if you're not saved this morning, please make it a matter of utmost importance. Let me remind you as I close, the sheep knew the shepherd's voice, but the sheep had to be close enough and in fellowship with him to hear that voice. Is it possible you're not walking close to the Lord this morning? If so, please speak to the elders or to myself, and may God get you into fellowship with him. Say with David, Lord, restore unto me my salvation. No, this is the way it is. Lord, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, so that the joy burns with all of its intensity within you. Beloved, they were close enough to hear and to identify with that voice, and they preferred the voice of the Savior and the fellowship of the fellow sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ made the statement, a stranger, they won't follow him. Is it possible you're following a stranger this morning? I hope not. They shall never perish because they are being kept firm in the hands of a father in heaven. Assuming my pen is the individual, what does he say? He says, I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish. They're in the hand of Christ. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. Beloved, you're safe in the grip of Christ and in the grip of Almighty God. Praise God for it. Enjoy it, live it, show it, and may God bless you as we bow to pray. Father, we thank thee this morning for thy wondrous love. We thank thee for salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and pray that all here have trusted the Savior, if not, that they will. And for those of us who do and enjoy to the full, may we, by God's grace, live in the full enjoyment of our Christian life. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's just sing one verse, shall we? Three hundred and ninety four.