what I'd like to do, if I may, I would like to just read what was the word of God. And then do you think we could manage that little quarrel we had on Saturday night, sir? And it'll give the people an opportunity just to see whether this view might work or whether it doesn't. And you'll be able to tell me. So first of all, I want to read, if I may, a few verses in the first chapter of Paul's first letter to the church at Thessalonica. One Thessalonians chapter one. We read from chapter four last evening. I'm going to read from chapter one this evening. I would like to commence reading towards the end of this very wonderful chapter. Verse nine says, For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we have unto you, and how ye turn to God from idols. to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the rock to come. Now be the Lord your plan, his blessing to the reading of his word. Now I'm going to stand by the side here. She's going to put her hand up. I think I've got another land. That's why I hope I fight my own life. And you can ask me to call a boy to do a good thing. Now you can do it correctly. And on Saturday night, we plan a little bit more, a little more, that I'm going to bring you to the point you down a little bit. The whole thing that I'm holding here, they have a few children in front of the board. They have the right thing in mind. But are you a little more than a few of the boys and girls away from you? He goes like it. It's your plan. Or it's your wife. Or it's your plan. No, no, baby. Or it is your love you. Or it is your love you. If you're short. Or it's your old. Or if you're in the great. God love you. He loves you when you're happy. He loves you when you're sad. He loves you when you're eating good. He loves you when you're bad. No matter what you're good at, no matter what you're eating. God loves you. He really loves you. By the way, I'm perfectly able to tell all the news that you're eating at night. Do you remember to watch whether you're good or not? How quiet is it? You won't get under the light here. This is how it's so horrible of something like it. I never have the music for it, at least I have it here. Now you're not a good pianist and play it all, I hope. No? Well, where am I? Just to listen to it. It goes something like this. Thank you. If you like, or if you like, or if you like, or if you like your family, or love you, if you love her, if you love her, He loves you when you're happy, he loves you when you're glad, he loves you when you're glad, he loves you when you're good, he loves you when you're bad, no matter what you look like, no matter what you think, don't love you, he really loves you, don't love you, don't love you, you must believe it, Did you want to go here? You know, I did take these in advance. Ah, thank you. That is that. Now, how would you want to play in key in your husband's play? How did you manage it as well? The band has tried. Come on, come on. Have a go. About this. Thank you very much. Take a few at last spontaneously, if I have wrong for mine. Here we go, if you're black, or if you're white, or if you're black, or if you're black, or me. Oh, lovely. How do you know about the poison girl here? Well, I want to take you, poison girl, take three bigger blocks. Four blocks. Really white. Are you ready? If you're black or if you're white. Let me go. If you're blind, or if you're blind, or if you're blind, or if you're blind, He loved you and he loved you and he loved you and he loved you and he loved you and he loved you and he loved you and he loved you and he loved you and he loved you and him Oh, oh, oh, yes, he really loves you. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Thank you, all my... I'll be great. Everybody, good to find out, where you go? If you plan for it, or if you plan for it, or if you plan for me, Come, come, do. If you pull for it, or if you pull for it, or if you're in the tree, Come, come, do. He loves you and you're happy. He loves to rest and burn. He loves to rest and burn. No matter what will apply, no matter what will be. Go! Go! You hear me now till you go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! You don't have a lot of rent here, if I was just going to say, who? Come on now, everyone for the last night. And the much-important activity is everyone in the back. No, it's not the hell he could be. It's all right. I won't break through this thing. Hockey, when you're ready, all together, if you're black, or if you are. Why, you take the land, right? You know, where do you take the land, right? You know, where do you go? If you're black, or if you're white, or if you're black, or if you're black, or if you're black, He loved you, he loved you when you're empty, he loved you when you're empty, he loved you when you're feeling poor, he loved you when you're feeling poor, he loved you when you're feeling No matter what your life, no matter what you've been. God loves you. He really loves you. God loves you. The Bible said so. God loves you. You must believe it. God loves you. You know I feel like giving you at last. I was very good. Thank you. And thank you for your help. They poured it all out now. And at least my trust they have. My trust they have. Just a word of prayer. O God and Father, we thank thee together tonight. We've been able to sing and smile. And now as we come to thy word, we pray thee that would enable us to be solemn together. And that we might hear thee speak. that we might as individuals may speak, Lord, for thy servant here, for Jesus' sake. Amen. The letter from which we have read this evening is, as you know, one of the earlier letters that the Apostle Paul led of the Spirit of God wrote. The commencement of the church at Thessalonica is one of the interesting, thrilling stories in the Bible. Its record is in the seventeenth of Acts. When Paul on his second missionary journey left Telapai and eventually arrived at Thessalonica, wonderful things were done. Over a period of what we call in England a fortnight, over a period of two weeks, The Apostle Paul preached in Thessalonica, and many, many souls were saved. A church was established, and something happened to God. Lives were changed. The impact was felt in the city. Of the persecution that arose in Thessalonica, I have little to say. I just want to remind you of this. that it did arise, and the Apostle Paul eventually arrives in the city of Corinth. He longed for that church at Thessalonica. And so one day, led by the Spirit of God, he sits down and writes to them. It is a remarkable fact that in the chapters that are contained, the five chapters of this book, every chapter comes to its by reminding those early Christians, those newborn days, that Jesus Christ is coming back again. You know, I meet men and women who come to me and say, when you talk of the coming of Jesus Christ, surely you're talking to men and women who know something of their Bible, men and women that have been on the road for a long, long while. But that's not true. Here was a church. just commence. Here were men and women who loved the Lord Jesus, and had not long been saved, and yet the Apostle comes to them with the most wonderful, with the most thrilling of truth concerning the coming again of Jesus Christ. You will remember that in the first chapter we read these words as the last verse of the chapter to wait for his son from heaven. When I turn over to the second chapter, I read, And what is our hope or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? Then when I turn to the third chapter, I read, To the end he may establish your heart, Unblameable in holiness, before God, even our Father. and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ with all his faith. I look at chapter four, and I read the last verse. Wherefore, in the light of the coming of the Lord Jesus, that I've just spoken about, wherefore comfort ye one another with these words. And then I come to the last chapter, and my heart is stirred, as in verse twenty-three I read. and the very God of peace. Sanctify you holy, and I pray, God, your whole spirit and soul and body, be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's no good coming to me and saying, Oh, sir, these are truths that are too deep for the average person to understand. When we speak of the coming of the Lord, we speak of a subject that's only our heart, that so affects our life that we must know something about that subject. And tonight, with your permission and with God's help, I want to talk about these five verses contained in these five chapters. I want us first of all to remember that when the Apostle came to the city of Thessalonica, He came with a very sore back. He came with very sore feet, for on his ankles there's been great change. And across his back he has felt indeed the fleeting abroad. But he came with a very warm heart. Oh, his heart was near to God. And although physically exhausted, he wanted to share with the men and women of Teflon like her the wonders of the gospel soaring. I want, first of all, for us to look at the coming of the Lord. And as we look at it, I want us to see this truth that leads to conversion. May I repeat that? I want us to see this truth that leads to conversion. When I look at the second chapter, I want to look at the coming of the Lord, not as the truth that leads to conversion. But I want us to look at this truth as it leads to continuous. that conversion is but the beginning of Christian life. There is a continuance in Christian life. When I turn to chapter three, I want to see the truth, not in the light of conversion and not in the light of continuous. I want to see it in the light of consecration. I want us to realize that here is the part that demands our holiness. It demands something in our life. When I turn to chapter four, we'll see this tremendous truth, not in the life of conversion, not in the life of continuous, not in the life of consecration, but we will see it in the life of comfort. Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words. And then I will come to the last chapter eventually, and I will remind you that the coming of the Lord is seen here in the tremendous force. that it leads each one of us to this consuming fact that we should be, in the light of his coming, those that are sanctified in Christ Jesus. First of all, then, let's think of the coming of the Lord in the light of conversion. I think it's a tremendous truth that these people at Thessalonica heard the talk then. Why, the very word that we read reminded us of this, that our gospel came not to you in word only, or it is grand that there is good news. Not necessary for me to remind you that the word gospel simply means good news. And is it wonderful, in the midst of all the trial of this day, in midst of all the problems of our age, there comes good news. the finest views in the world. Most of you have heard this tell the story of that man of God, the mighty Rabbi Duncan. He was walking one day down Christy Street in the city of Edinburgh. His white beard was glowing in the wind. His face was shining, and their parents were set with him on the university in Edinburgh, an acquaintance. And as they walked together down Christy Street, suddenly the acquaintance, looking at Rabbi Duncan, said, Rabbi, have you had good news? The Rabbi stopped, looked at his friend and said, Good news? Why, the best news in the world, the blood of Jesus Christ, so strong, cleanseth us from all sins. I say, do you know any better news than that? That's the finest news. that ever could be given out. If I sang myself tonight with the old Scottish hymn book, the Redemption Song, I would have given out tonight number one-one-one. When ere you beat, you always say, what's the new? What's the new? Say, what's the order of the day? What's the new? Oh, I have got good news to tell. My Savior hath done all things well, and triumphed over death and hell. That's the news. That's the news. And the Apostle Paul came to catch the nighter, as I have come to the city of Augusta with good news. But God said, that Jesus Christ is willing to forgive our sins. Oh, the wonder of it all. But you know, when we change from that news, we remember this. that the outcome of the preaching of that news told the people that Jesus Christ had died for their sins. What he did, because unto them we read, the glory of faith, that he was raised from the dead. The dead, the dead. Or did Jesus Christ die? Praise God he died, and he died for you and me. He gave his life for us. He suffered to you and me. My Bible tells me that God proved his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Oh, the wonder of it all. But not only did he die, but he rose again. But death could not hold its prey. Jesus, my Savior, He tore the bars away. Jesus, my Lord, on a low, as I often say, they placed him in a tube, and rolled a stone in front of it, and set a seal on it, and stood a soldier by it. No stone or seal or soldier could keep that blessed right in the grave, for God raised him again from the dead. Oh, this is the message that Paul preached. This is the gospel. that Christ joined for our sins, according to the Scripture, that he was buried, and the third day he rose against the things or things, there's something more. Not only that Christ rose from the dead, but that he hath delivered us from the lost to come. Oh, blessed be it may, that not only did he join for our sins, but he has delivered us from the punishment of sin. But hell can never claim a pole, but he's trusted the Lord Jesus. For glory to his name, Christ holds the key of hell. He'll never allow one to go into that place who's trusted him. Ah, but listen, what was the outcome? This was the outcome. But when they heard of the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ and the wonder that they had, if they coveted him, been delivered from wrath to come, they turned to God from idle, to serve the true and living God and to wait for his Son from heaven. All the wonder. They turned to God from idle. You know, as one has traveled in many countries in this old world of ours, one has seen many of the idols that men have made. And there is one thing that always strikes me about an idol that men will bow down to. whether indeed I've been in the heart of Africa, in Angola, or way in Mozambique, or in Botswana, when one has seen what one normally hears of, a switch car, and one sees the idols that men bow down to, the thing that strikes me as this, what they bow down to is the theft of their own labor. Oh, come that those idols may be very primitive, that the people that made them were primitive, and it is the best that they can do. My friend, is it not a fact that in this country of yours there are millions of men and women that are bowing down to idols? They're bowing down to the best that they can do. It seems to me, does it seem to you? Does it seem to you that while they may not be idols that one can see naturally with the natural eye their idols indeed? I meet men and women who just would give their life for things. May I repeat that? For things. Oh, they look around and they say what I want in life is things. I'm going to get things. They strive and they labor and they squirt. But all the difficulty is this, that when they've got things, when they've given all their time for things, they find those things can't help them when it comes to the matter of the conquering of death, when it comes to the matter of the conquering of sin, when it comes to the matter of deliverance from the wrath of God. Things don't help. Then I meet men and women who don't bow down to things. I meet men and women who say, it's not things I want, it's theory. Oh, that's what I want. Why? God gave me a grain with which to take. And the theories of men, the philosophies of men, those are the things that I'm going to band down to. I meet many a man and many a young woman who spend their time after the theories of this world. And when they've got them, I know no theory in this world that will bring the forgiveness of sin. I know no theory in this world that will deliver a man from the grave. I know no theory in this world that will bring a man away from the wrath of God and bring him into the joy of God. The gospel does. Jesus Christ does. But if I find men and women who crave after hate, the men and women who crave after teary, I meet so many young people, and they crave after thrills. Oh, that's what they want in life. Thrills! Put me behind the wheel of a masked car. That's the thing. I say, put me on the back of a horse. That's the thing. Thrills! Oh, my friend remembered one. There is nothing wrong with thrills. I wouldn't like life without thrills. There's nothing wrong with theory. It's important that we shall follow man's thinking. There's nothing wrong with faith. If I'm talking to a young man here who's teaching to ask a girl to be his partner for life, let me tell you something. The Bible says if you care not for your own, you're worth the man for those. I hope you'll get things. But what's wrong with things, and what's wrong with theories, and what's wrong with trails, is when you make them your God, when your whole life circles around them. There were people in Temple and I cast, who had oil. The best they could make, they bowed down before them. though they bowed down before them, there was no deliverance from sin and no deliverance from death and no deliverance from the wrath of come. But hallelujah in Jesus there was. Blessed God by his death and his resurrection, he had brought to the throngs of men salvation, conversion. May I ask you, Oh, please, I trust it is not at the expense of carpentry. But may I ask you, are you converted? Are you safe? Have you trusted Jesus Christ? Has he delivered you from the wrath to come? Well, he's willing to tonight. And when they were converted, they waited for God to come from heaven. Oh, the wonderer. I thank God for the opportunity of saying to you tonight, Jesus Christ is coming back again. And are you converted in the light of his coming back again? Because if you're not, death has not been taken away from me. Sin has not been taken away from me. And neither has the walk of God been taken away from me. But if you have trusted Christ, oh, the wonder of it. But then I want us to see not only the coming of the Lord in the light of conversions, but I want us to notice the coming of the Lord in the light of our continuance. You see, I would not give that much, not that much, for a man or a woman that tells me they're a Christian and doesn't show it by their living. Please, I'm not over-concerned about you putting your hand up and saying, I want to be saved. I'm not over-concerned about you coming to the plants and saying, I want to be saved. Oh, I'd love for you to do it, but I'm not over-concerned. But what I am concerned in is this, that you'll go back to your home, back to your school, back to your college, back to your work, to show by your living who you are and whom you serve. All this is the pace. that the world needs to see, not the pace of a man who says, I believe in God, but the pace of a man who says, I believe in God, and I will make that blessed Savior, not just Jesus, but the Christ, my Lord, my Lord. And as I gaze at these glorious words, I remember this. that they not only waited for his son from heaven, but he said, What is our hope for joy or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye. Oh, this is it that you continue in the praise of God. How necessary it is for us to continue. You know, my friend, the apostle Paul at the end of his journey could say, I fought a good fight. I finished the course. I kept the faith. There was continuous. And what Augusta needs is men and women who have continued to live for Jesus Christ, having taken him as their savior. And in the life of the Pact, that one day we shall see him. One day we shall stand before him. Let us continue in our faith. But not only is the coming of the Lord seen in the light of our conversion, but the foregone, and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. How essential it is that all of us here tonight, who know the Lord Jesus' Savior, shall not only continue, but shall consecrate our all to him. And we'll say of the truth, Lord, what I have is thine. seen my privilege over a number of years to lead the Bible readings in the month of March in the University in the city of Cambridge. Every year, over many years now, I always start the first Bible reading reading the same chapter. We open our Bible into the Acts of the Apostles and we read the story of a Peter and a John who wended their way to the beautiful gate of the temple, where they saw a man who was laid. And as we discussed together that tremendous story, and I've done it for years with these young men and women, as we do it, what I try to emphasize is this, that Peter and John used everything they had for the blessing of that man. They used their feet. They walked towards the temple. I say, they used their eyes. They looked and saw a man in need. They used their voice. They spake to him. They used their ears. They listened to him. They used their hand. They stretched it out and caught him by the hand. Best of all, they used their heart as they ministered to him of his great need. I looked into the faces of these young men who in that great university will one day come out to leave maybe the world in their particular sphere. And I emphasize then that what you have in your hands, in your eyes, in your lips, in your face, in your heart, in your mind, God wants it all. He wants it all. Here the Apostles dares to remind us of that great truth, that the end you may be established in holiness of the coming of the Lord Jesus, that we may find ourselves having given all to him, a wall to him, that when I turn the page again, I come not only to the fact that conversion is seen, in the light indeed of his coming. I realize that continuance is seen in the light of his coming. I realize that consecration is seen in the light of his coming. And I remember that comfort is seen in the light of his coming. Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words. Wherefore comfort ye one another with these words. Is it wonderful to know as we saw last night that the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a chant, with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first? We which were alive and remain shall be brought up together to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be, with the Lord. Wherefore comfort ye one another, exalt ye one another, with these words. Oh, my friend, I know nothing that will bring comfort to God's people, like the realization that one day death is to be conquered. The Christ is coming and will be with him and see him. All that was said in the first chapter is true. That the Christ who died to deliver us from death, who rose to deliver us from death, who's coming again to deliver us from the wrath to come. For blessed be his day. He can be our Savior. What comfort to know this? Do you know this? Or have I tonight to look into your cases and say, Oh, my fellow traveler to eternity, with a bang! With a bang! But I come to the last chapter. And the Apostle is not finished with the fruits of the coming of the Lord. For he dares to remind us that this fruit is to be an altogether consuming fruit. The very God of peace will sanctify you, Holy Spirit, soul and body. Oh, by the way, by the way, we are living in a day when there are thousands of people. traveling from door to door, speaking to men and women, leaving literature behind. And they say, Man is not a tripartite being. God is not triune. Harkens to this. Don't you tell me, Man is not spirit, soul, and body. This is the word of God. I never wrote it. Not guilty. Nothing to do with me. God says, God of peace shall sanctify you holy, spirit, soul, body, all the wonder of it, that I may be set apart. For the glory, for that's the meaning of the word sanctified, to be set apart, holy and absolutely consumed with this fact. But we belong to Christ, that we put it in. and we do it blessedly in name. Therefore comfort ye one another, says chapter four, but chapter five, that we may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. My friend, I wonder if I may ask you something. As you have been thinking with me, of the coming again of Jesus Christ. How has it affected you? Do you find yourself seated here tonight saying, Praise God I'm converting? Do you find yourself in this service tonight saying, Praise God I'm going to continue in the Christian faith? Do you find yourself knowing that Jesus Christ may come back at any moment concentrating your all to him, your hands, your feet, your heart, your eyes, your lips, your all to him. Do you find yourself safe? Oh, God. Oh, God of peace. I like that, don't you? We started off, remember. We started off by reminding ourselves that that is the God who died to deliver us from sin, who rose to deliver us from death, and who lives and is coming to deliver us from the lost to come. Thank God there's peace, if you know that. One of my favorite verses is found in the opening verses of the epistle to Timothy, where the apostle says, Timothy, Timothy, Grace, mercy, and peace. Isn't that hallelujah? Grace, mercy, and peace. You know what grace is, don't you? Grace is getting what you don't deserve. That's great. Mercy, mercy is not getting what you do deserve and when you when you get what you don't deserve and you don't get what you do deserve then hallelujah the peace have you got that peace in your heart have you found that savior oh if not oh why not why not trust that savior and trust him enough. Could I help you do that? You see, I want you to sing a few verses of a tremendous hymn. I shudder almost to give it out, not shudder to ask you to sing it, but shudder to sing it myself. But I want you to sing a few verses of number one hundred and ninety-nine take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee take my hands and let them move at the impulse of thy love take my feet and take my own may we sing The first two in the last verse, one hundred and ninety nine. Take my hand. I wonder as we come to the second verse, if I may ask my good-grandfather Jim to come up and see his team, that it's not the tune that we normally think of in my country. As far as I know, I've never heard that tune before. So I'll ask him to leave it, and I'd like you to sing it, and I'd like you to mean it. I'd like to learn it, the tune. But, oh, friend, will you learn the meaning of it by trusting Christ? Take my life, and take my feet, and let them do it. Take my beat and let them be, With Daniel's gift upon thee, Take my voice and let me sing, Only, always Always only for my King. Take my lift and lift and be. filled with messages for thee. Take my silver and my gold. God of my good I will hold. God of my good I will hold. Don't let them take them before they come unto you. Don't let them take them before they leave me know. Because I'm the Lord God. Oh, God. He's God. He's one of them. And he's me, from our heart, to what we're thinking, of our heart. Take my love, my God I bore, As I did its treasure, Lord, Take my all for thee ever all day all for thee so we pray it's called to a quiet prayer oh my god I don't know where your faith is gone I know not by you in church in your heart who are you in church not oh you know that Life, Savior, is coming again. I will be ready for it. You ready? God, Father, and Savior, let us go. Let us let God come and make us change our world. Oh, and Savior, come. the glory of your family. Have you come to this day? He prays in the light of the Father's God, the queen's new spirit of life. We might be willing to trust him. Oh, God, for that relief and prayer comes, until they are picked up to teach the song of Mary. We ought to be ready to hear that There are no fruit in me, my last bread. Our fruit was the most important of all. Through the sight of this platform, and I speak, How is concerning my hand a few copies of that wonderful gospel of gospel booklet? No great value. It is for someone here tonight. And those who are willing to be part of the Lord, will you come to all those people, ask me what will you say of that? The second thing is you will not forget that half past eleven, a will with this mill to be certain. You've forgotten the same as always. The harvest table, half past eleven. The harvest table, half past eleven. And let's make this very clear. If the ladies were full of man, and we're going to have the opportunity of meeting you. That's why I like this. Of course, I think these persons may go to hell. No, I'm not really afraid of it at all. But tomorrow, ah, ha, ha, hello. I'll be speaking just before the matter of course. If you can bring some of your unconfirmed friends, give them the opportunity of meeting. Ah, ha, ha, hello. I'd love to see that sight so full that we can't reach the boys. Ah, ha, hello. Currently, I must say, and it's most important. Dear Mother Gin, you say, It's lovely to see you come in here, but I might ask you to make plans. But I am quite the street to see you if you have something with you, who knows what you know about. Who can I? Who can you get on your phone? Speak to your friends at work, and it isn't. Let them love. Tell them again for all. The water is running off like that, and it's not running off yours. In horror for me, it's no saving. But far enough. And tomorrow night, what I'd like you to do, especially you young people, when you have problems, because tomorrow night we're going to look at God's program, the age of God. We're going to see one God. No, I'm your God, said Pilate. No, I'm your God, and I'm all of these works of the beginning. And I will have so many scriptures to make references that I like them just to take them down. And when you go home, burn them out and see whether it will be any true or not. Don't touch my words. You bring your Bible with you, but most important, maybe more important than what I have. You bring it over. And if you won't have a chance to go to the world where it is, I'll be crying out. So why not? Oh, totally humiliate you. And I have a feeling that God's got nothing to say. Please, you won't come to all of us now. We are yours, all right? For being here, I had a letter from a wife. When it was just a day or so ago, she said, And it ends my heart. It's heavenly. I wish you could step in these the night with me. I'm going to be forward. She's coming over next week. I'm not going to be glad I was living in my next week or where I am. I'd like to know urban dreams. Good night. Good night.