Gibbs, Alfred P: The King's Garden ~ Bible Study

Our story tonight is another parable story, an earthly story with a spiritual meaning. The King's Garden. Story that illustrates in a wonderful way God's way of salvation. How a person can be saved and then go on to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. The story of the King's God. Now this story begins, as all good stories ought to begin, with the well-known words, once upon a time. Once upon a time there lived a great king in a golden palace on the hills of eternity. And this great king in our story illustrates to us what God is. God is a great king above all. Make no mistake about it. God is great for many, many reasons. God is great in power. When God wished to bring this earth into existence, he did so by speaking. He spake, it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast. God is great in power. He is almighty. He is omnipotent. He can do everything except deny himself and lie. Then God is great in holiness. God hates sin and must, because of his holy character, punish sin, either in the person of the sinner or the one who bears the sinner's sins and dies in the sinner's stead. And third, God is great in love, and God is just as great in his love as he is in his power and his holiness. So this great king in our story illustrates to us what God is. God is a great kingdom of all gods. Now this great king planted a lovely garden, and in that garden he caused to grow those trees, the fruit of which brought glory to his name, and such flowers as brought pleasure to his heart. And around that garden, he placed a high wall, so high that only he could look over that wall into that garden and see the person who was living therein. Now this garden, in our parable, illustrates what your life and mine ought to be. God wants your life and mine to be his garden, in which such fruit as love, joy, peace, long suffering, goodness, meekness, gentleness, faith, and self-control shall grow. Such flowers as honesty and obedience and purity shall develop and thus bring pleasure to the heart of God. That high wall around the garden tells me this, that around your life and mine, God has put a high wall so that no human being can look into your life. Even though your father and mother know you very well, they cannot look into your life. They don't know what you're thinking about. They don't know everything that you've done today. No, indeed. But God knows every thought that has ever entered your mind, every word that has escaped your lips, every deed that was done when you thought no one was looking. Known as a God of all things. All things are open and naked to the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Separating you from every other boy and girl on earth is this great high wall. When God made you, he broke the mold. There'll never be another boy or girl just exactly like you. I've got a twin brother, and although we know each other very well, yet between my brother and myself there's that high wall. He's never looked into my life, I've never looked into his life. He's never seen to my eyes or heard to my ears or thought to my mind or acted to my body. He thinks and sees and hears and acts for himself. So every individual is a personality distinct from every other person on the face of the earth. Only God himself can look into your life and know exactly what has taken place. Now, in this wall, this great king placed a gate, and this gate could only be opened with the consent of the one who lived in that garden. We shall see that person in a few moments. This gate was kept shut by means of three bolts, and before that gate could be opened, each of those bolts had to be drawn. I'll tell you the names of the bolts, and then maybe you can guess what that gate represents. The first bolt was called intellect. That's the ability God has given us, enabling us to obtain and retain and reproduce our knowledge. That's why we go to school and don't like it very much. But believe me, if you didn't go to school, you'd be a dumbbell, all right. And so go to school and do your homework and get A grades if you possibly can. Bring pleasure to the heart of your parents. Intellect. Don't despise intellect, but don't glorify it. The second vote was called emotions or feelings. That's the way we react to what we know. We like a thing or we dislike a thing. That's part of our emotional getup, the emotions. The third vote was called the will. That's the ability God has given us, enabling us to determine upon a course of action and carry out that determination by an act or a series of acts. Now then, your intellect plus your emotions plus your will equals your personality. So that gate represents your personality. And listen, the Lord Jesus will not come through that gate into the garden of your life unless you are willing to draw each of those bolts, the intellect and the emotions and the will. So God in his word appeals to your intellect. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. He appeals to your emotions. Behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow. He appeals to your will. Any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether I speak of myself. And so God's word appeals to your intellect, it stirs your emotions, and the purpose of it is to cause your will to determine to receive Christ as your savior. The Lord Jesus will not come through that gate unless you are willing. He stands on the outside and says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him, and he with me. Now, in this garden, this great king placed a beautiful little house. Isn't that a lovely house? Wouldn't you like to live in a nice little house like that? Well, I'll tell you something, you're living in a much nicer house than that right now. Now, this house had five doors. You only see one in the picture, but it had five doors. I'll tell you the names of those doors, and maybe you can guess what that house represents. The first door was called eye door. Second door was called ear door. Third door, smell door. Fourth door, taste door. And the last door, touch door. Oh, I hear some bright boy or girl saying, I know what that house represents. It represents my body in which I live. Splendid. My, that was bright. Sure, that's exactly what it is. That house represents your body. And through those five doors, you receive impressions from the world around. You see, you hear, you smell, you taste, you touch. But remember this, you are not your body. Your body and you are two different things. One of these days, you are going to leave your body. What do doctors say about a body when the person has left his body? They say that body is what? It's dead. What do they do with dead bodies? They bury them in the ground. I've been to hundreds of funerals in my time, girls and boys, but I've never been to the funeral of a person yet. We don't bury persons. We bury bodies, that's all. The great question that you must ask yourself is this: where will I go when I leave the house which is called my body? Well, it all depends on what you do with the Lord Jesus while you're living in that house. If while you're living in that house called your body, you trust the Lord Jesus as your savior, and you're saved by God's grace, then your spirit will go to be with Christ, which is very far better. But if while living in your body, you never trust Christ as your savior, you reject and despise or neglect the salvation which God has provided at such infinite cost, then your spirit will be lost to weep and wail and gnash your teeth for all eternity. So you see, a great deal depends on what you do while you're living in your body. Now the king furnished that cottage with everything necessary for the convenience and the comfort of the one who occupied that house. Paste a copy of his holy word, furnish it with all that which was calculated to make the person that lived in it very, very comfortable indeed. And here is that person. His name was Will. What's his name? Will. Isn't he a fine looking? Clear eyes, an honest face. Yes. The king said, Will, I'm going to put you in that garden, and you shall be the master of that garden. You shall live in that cottage, and Will, so long as you cultivate those trees, the fruit of which bring glory to my name, and you cultivate those flowers that bring pleasure to my heart, so long will you be the most fortunate boy in all the world. There now, Will, I place you in charge of this beautiful garden. And there is Will placed in the garden. I wonder who Will represents. Would you like to see Will tonight? I can tell you how you can see Will tonight. When you go home, the first thing you do, go to the bathroom, and right above the place where you wash your hands, you'll see a medicine cabinet with a door, and that door has a mirror in it, right? All right, now take a good look into that mirror, and there you'll see Will looking at you. Oh, you say, Will represents me. That's right. Even though you're a girl, your name is going to be Will tonight. Hi there, Will. Yes. God has put you into the garden of your life, and listen, you are responsible what takes place in that garden. You are responsible, and God will hold you responsible. But the time is coming when we shall all give an account of the deeds done in the body. So you see, while it's a great privilege to live, it's also a great responsibility. And remember, only as we cultivate those trees and those flowers that bring glory and pleasure to the heart of God, shall our lives be what God intends they shall be. Think of beauty and of joy forever. But, said the king, I'm going back now to my golden palace on the hills of eternity. But between my golden palace and your cottage, I've constructed a telephone wire. And Will, I want you to keep in constant touch with me by the royal telephone. When you wake up in the morning, I want you to call me up and thank me for the good night's rest I've given to you. And then, when you sit down to breakfast, call me up again and thank me for the good food I provided for you. And then at dinner, call me up again. At supper, call me up again. And before you put your head upon your pillow at night, go down on your knees and call me up once again and ask me to take care of you during the still watches of the night. I wonder what that telephone represents. What do you think? Why, prayer, of course. Say, did you call up the king this morning when you got out of bed? Or were you in such a breakneck hurry you never even troubled to go down on your knees and pray? Even though you're not saved, girls and boys, get down on your knees and pray. Acknowledge God. God is in heaven. God is good, and God has been gracious to you. God has given his precious word, his beloved son. I hope when you sit down to eat your meals, you bow your head and you give thanks for the food, for every good and perfect gift coming from above, from the father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow cast by turning. You know, some time ago, I went to visit a friend who has a lot of hogs on his farm, and when the hog feeding time came, he gave his hog call, you know, pokey, pokey, pokey. And my, those pigs came running to the troughs, which were filled with lovely hog swill that smelled to high heaven. But you know this? I didn't see one of those hogs stop for a moment, cross its front legs, and lift up its snout toward heaven, and thank God for the nice hog swill. Not one of them gave God a word of thanks. They just plunged right into it, and some of them actually got into the trough and lay down in it. And do do do do, there they were, making hogs of themselves. Yeah. You know, some folks are just like that. I've watched them in restaurants. The food is brought to them, and they just dig right in. With just about as much consciousness of God as that hog. Never even give God a word of thanks. Never even give God any acknowledgement at all that he is a supplier of all their food. Give us this day our daily bread. So, girls and boys, remember that royal telephone. Now there is Will. He's in the garden. He's the master of that garden. The king has placed him there, and my Will just felt full of pep and animal spirits. He couldn't contain himself. He jumped up and down, and he clapped his hands, and as he jumped and clapped his hands, he shouted, it's mine, it's mine, it's mine. This lovely garden's all mine. I'm the master of the garden. Oh, no, you're not. Say, where did that voice come from? Oh, I must have imagined it, thought Will. And so he jumped and tapered around and clapped his hands and shouted, it's mine, it's mine, it's mine. This garden's all mine. I am the master of the garden. Oh, no, you're not. And Will looked, and now he saw from whence that voice came. For there, standing outside the gate, was an evil-looking stranger with a scowl on his face and a sneer in his voice. Ha, said the stranger. Your garden, nonsense. Master of the garden. Piss off. If you're the master of the garden, where are your servants? You can't have be a master unless you have servants. I know that master of yours. I know that king. I know him better than you. He's a hard master. He reaps where he hasn't sown and picks up what he hasn't put down. He's nothing but a slave driver. He gets folks like you to believe that they are the masters of the garden in which he places them, and then toward the end of their life, after they've worked their fingers in the bone for him, he comes and puts chains around their wrists and around their ankles and takes a great big whip and drives them, drives them to his service. Master of the garden, nonsense. But, said the stranger, if you let me come in, ah, what a difference that will make. You see, said he, I'm a gardener to trade, and in the sack that I've got with me, I've got some wonderful seeds. I've got some wonderful saplings, and if you let me come in, I'll be your servant. I'll do you what, what you want me to do. You'll be the master because I'll be your servant. I'll call you sir. And oh, what a wonderful change we'll make in this garden. Why, you'll be able to do what you like and go where you like, and say what you like. You'll be the master of your own fate and the captain of your own soul. You know, the moment I saw you, I said to myself, there's a boy that won't be content to be a slave any longer. You don't want to be a slave, do you, Will? No. Why, you're telling me the truth, inquired Will? Why, of course, said the man. Well, I think I'll go and read my Bible. Don't you read your Bible. Only sisters read the Bible. You're not a sissy. You're a man. Look, you've got long trousers on. Well, I'll go and call up the king. Don't you call up the king. He'll only tell you some more lies. Come on now, be a man, don't be a mouse. Obey the nobler instincts of your red-blooded manhood, if any. Come on now, get the old backbone to work. Open that first boat. And thus encouraged, Will, rather hesitant at first, but gathering courage, walked up to the gate, took hold of that first bolt called intellect, and he pulled that bolt. Good, said the stranger, that's fine. My, what a boy you are, what a strong boy. I can see you're not content to be a slave any longer. Now try that second bolt. And so Will took the bolt called emotions, he pulled that bolt. Splendid, splendid. Now for that third bolt, the last boat. So Will took that boat called the Will. He pulled that boat called the Will, and the gate flew open, and in came that evil stranger with a triumphant leer on his face. And as he shook Will by the hand, he laughed and said, Ha ha ha ha, now I'm your master. He was just going to say master, but he suddenly remembered, now I'm your servant, sir. Now, sir, will you please shut the gate, please, sir? Thank you, sir. Now, sir, will you please put in the first bolt? Thank you, sir. And every time the stranger said sir, it made Will feel very important. My, imagine, he's calling me sir. I really must be the master of the garden now. Now, will you put in the second bolt, please, sir? Thank you, sir. Now the third bolt? Thank you, sir. Now then, said the evil stranger. What do you think I'd better do? Well, said Will rather importantly, I think you better get busy in the garden with those saplings of yours and those seeds. Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. And washing his hands with invisible soap in equally imperceptible water, the evil stranger bowed to Will and made his way into the garden to do his dirty work. I wonder who that evil stranger is. Well, he represents two things. Sometimes he represents sin, sometimes he represents Satan in this story. Just now, he represents sin. By the way, have you let sin come into the garden of your life? Don't you tell me you haven't, because you have. The first lie you told, in came sin into the garden of your life. First time you disobeyed your father and your mother, and don't forget that's a sin. Sin came into the garden of your life. First time you lost your temper and did those nasty things, in came sin into the garden of your life. First time you allowed that evil thought to dominate your mind, in came sin into your life. Yes, every evil act, every sinful word and deed and attitude is a sin against God, and that's a tragedy with all of us. We've all opened that gate and allowed sin to come in to that beautiful God that God intended for his own glory and for his own pleasure. Well, the evil stranger got busy. There he is. He uprooted all those lovely trees which the king had planted. In their place, he planted his horrid saplings, and the ground of this garden was so fertile, scarcely had those saplings been planted before they began to grow right before one's very eyes. And in just a short time, branches came out from the trunk, and fruit appeared upon those branches. There's that evil stranger doing his dirty work in that lovely garden. And remember this, if you're not saved, that's what sin and Satan is doing in your life right now. Yes. Planting those horrid, horrid saplings, and the fruit is going to yield a dreadful, dreadful harvest. Not only so, but he uprooted all those lovely flowers which the king had planted. In their place, he sowed his noxious weeds, and the aroma from those weeds had a strange effect upon Will. His mind became sort of woozy. He wasn't able to think straight. He wasn't able to reason properly. He got the idea that God was his enemy, that God didn't love him, that God didn't desire the best for him. There's that evil stranger sowing the seed. Sow a thought, reap a word. Sow a word, reap an act. Sow an act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Don't forget, girls and boys, you're sowing in your boyhood and in your girlhood seeds that you must reap in your manhood and your womanhood. Don't forget that. What was Will doing in the meanwhile? Calling up the king? No, indeed. Though Will didn't know it. The moment that stranger came in, that phone service was discontinued. That telephone wire was broken. Communion between Will and the king was broken. Sin had come in. There is Will. What's he doing? Wasting his time. Reading soft books that'll bring no glory to God. Wasting his time and wasting his energies, wasting his health and his strength, just like that prodigal did we heard about last night. There he is. Doesn't mean anything to him that he's opened the gate of his life and allowed God's enemy to come in. Doesn't mean a thing to him at all. Utterly careless and indifferent. I wonder if there are any girls and boys like that here tonight. You're sinners. You've sinned against God in thought and word and deed, and it doesn't seem to affect you in the slightest degree. You can eat well and sleep well and play without one thought of God, without one thought of your sins, without one thought of death, without one thought of what comes after death, without one thought of eternity. Yes, there's Will. One day Will walked out from that cottage, and there was a gardener waiting for him with a smile on his face. Good morning, sir, said he as he bowed low before Will. I see you've come out to see your garden. Good. I've been very busy on your behalf. Look at these lovely fruit trees that I've planted. Look at that luscious fruit growing on the branches. My, said Will, it certainly looks nice. Would you like to have some of that fruit? Indeed I would, said Will. Then I'll go and get you some, said the stranger. And he hurried and brought forth a sample of the various fruit trees. And as he handed a piece of fruit to Will, he said, take this. It's an abomination to the Lord, but it's an ever-present help in time of trouble. What kind of tree is it? Ah, said the stranger with a disarming smile. What's in a name? A rose by any other name smells just as sweet, just as a skunk by any other name smells just as bad. What's in a name? It was really the tree of lying. And Will took a bite out of that fruit of lying. Mm, tasted good. Remember the time when you told a lie and your father and your mother believed you, and you got out of a spanking? Remember that? Maybe you thought you were smart. You weren't. You were just a little liar, that's all. Now try this. And he gave him another piece of fruit. It was from the tree of cheating. Instead of doing your own homework, copy the homework of the boy or the girl next door to you, and then take it to the school and represent it as your own work. So that when the teacher says, Jim, is this your own work? Did you do this yourself without any help? Yes, ma'am. Jim, I wish I had more boys like you in my class, more honest and trustworthy and reliable and hard-working boys like you. Thank you, Jim. Thank you. I appreciate your cooperation. What's it make you feel like? Kind of skunkish? Well, that's just what you are. So crooked you can hide behind a corkscrew. Then the third tree was the tree of bad temper. When you can't get what you want, fly into a rage and start hitting, kicking, biting, scratching, or hair pulling according to your sex and your desire. But let me give you a word of warning. Make sure that the person that you kick or hit or bite or scratch or whose hair you pull is smaller than you. Otherwise, a tragedy might take place. Why, that boy might hit you back hard and you hit him. That's unthinkable. So always make sure that the person that you hit is smaller than you. Bad temper. Then he gave him fruit from another tree. Impurity. And Will ate of that fruit. And my, that fruit tasted good going down. But the next night, that night, as Will tried to sleep, he couldn't. That fruit lay undigested upon his conscience. It began to speak for itself. And my Will, which was gripped by dreadful cramps. His conscience kept accusing him, Will, you're a liar. You told a dirty lie. You're a liar, you're a liar, you're a liar, you're a liar. Oh my, how bad Will felt. Will, you're a cheat. You copied that homework. You told a lie in the bargain. Ha, you're just a cheat, a crook, that's all you are. Will, you're a coward. You hit that boy that was smaller than you. Will, you're impure. And oh, Will thought he'd die that night. The pain was so great. He roared from one side of his bed to the other, cold beads of perspiration rolling through his brow. And as he caught his sleep in vain because of the pain, he said, if I can only live till the morning light, I'll never tell another lie. I'll never cheat again. I'll never lose my temper again. I'll never disobey my father or mother again. I'll never be impure again. Oh, if I can only live till the morning. Oh, oh, oh, oh. And about four o'clock in the morning, he fell into a fitful doze. He awakened at about ten, feeling like something the cat had dragged in and wouldn't even eat. And as he staggered out into the garden, the first thing he saw were those trees, the fruit of which had almost killed him the night before. What do you think he did? He took some more. What? Took some more of that fruit that had almost killed him? Why, sure. Isn't that what you've done? You remember that first lie you said, oh, I'll never tell another lie, and you didn't either till the next time. I'll never cheat again, but you did. I'll never disobey you again, daddy and mommy, but you did. I'll never lose my temper again, but you did. I'll never take anything that doesn't belong to me again, but you did. I'll never be impure again, but you were. Yes. And the next night, he was sick again, but not quite so sick as the first night. He ate some more the next day. Why, it hardly affected him the third night. And at the end of a week, why, he never thought of the consequences of his sins. To see him sleeping in his bed, you'd have thought he was a little angel dropped down from heaven, instead of which he had a heart just as black as only sin could make it. Yes, yes. But what Will didn't notice was this. As he ate that fruit, his face began to change. He lost that honest, pure, decent, upright look which the king had given him, and he got a kind of a hangdog, furtive, shifty look about him. Couldn't look you right between the eyes. Look at him. He didn't know he looked like that until one day, when he was rummaging around in the old cottage, he saw something sticking out over one of the shelves. He stood on a chair, and he picked it up. Why, it's a looking glass called the Word of God. My, said Will, here's a looking glass. I haven't seen myself for I don't know how long. He took one look into the glass, and he almost died of shock. No, that can't be me. It can't be me. No, no, no, I don't look like that. But down deep in his heart, something said, Will, that's exactly what you look like. Look at your eyes, shifty. Look at your hair, all matted and filthy. Look at your clothes, all ragged and torn and filthy. Look at your hands. To see him sleeping in his bed, you'd have thought he was a little angel dropped down from heaven, instead of which he had a heart just as black as only sin could make it. Yeah. Yes. But what Will didn't notice was this. As he ate that fruit, his face began to change. He lost that honest, pure, decent, upright look which the king had given him, and he got a kind of a hangdog, furtive, shifty look about him. Couldn't look here right between the eyes. Look at him. He didn't know he looked like that until one day, when he was rummaging around in the old cottage, he saw something sticking out over one of the shelves. He stood on a chair and he picked it up. Why, it's a looking glass called the Word of God. My, said Will, here's a looking glass. I haven't seen myself for I don't know how long. He took one look into the glass, and he almost died of shock. No, that can't be me. It can't be me. No, no, no, I don't look like that. But down deep in his heart, something said, Will, that's exactly what you look like. Look at your eyes, shifting. Look at your hair, all matted and filthy. Look at your clothes, all ragged and torn and filthy. Look at your hands, black, stained with sin. That's what that fruit has done, Will. Your face is like the gardener. My, when Will saw himself in that mirror, he was shocked. You know, that's what the Bible is. The Bible is a mirror. If you want to know what God thinks of you, read the third chapter of Romans if you're not saved. It'll tell you exactly what you are in the sight of God. There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth. There is none that doeth good. There is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way. They are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not so much as one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That's why the Bible is so unpopular in many quarters. All folks like to have it in their homes. Makes a handy base for a doily and a vase of flowers on top. Makes the house look sort of respectable, but the Bible is seldom. Its message is never read or believed. My, when Will realized what that had done to him, he was shocked above measure. Yes, there's the monster artist. Sin is a monster artist. There is man as he came forth from the hands of God in the beginning. We are told God made man upright, but man has sought out many inventions. But the monster artist, sin, with the pigments of malice and deceit and hate and shame and lust and pride and lies and hypocrisies and blasphemy and cruelty have debased the beautiful image that God has placed upon man into the likeness of the devil himself. That's what sin does, girls and boys. It drags you down and robs you of your manhood and your decency and your character and your soul. It will rob you of heaven too if you die in your sins. Well, and we'll realize what that truth had done for him, he said, I know what I'll do. Down in the woodshed, there's an axe called Good Resolutions. I'll take that axe. I'll chop down those trees. And so he rushed into the woodshed. He came out with that sharp axe called Good Resolves, or Good Resolutions, and he laid about him with a wheel. Chop, chop, chop, down went the first tree. Chop, chop, chop, down went the second tree. Chop, chop, chop, down went the third tree. And all the while he was chopping down those trees, do you know what the gardener was doing? Leaning against the woodshed and laughing. What are you laughing at, said Will. I'm laughing, said the gardener, because though you're cutting down the trees, the roots are still in the soil. And look, the trees you cut down a moment ago, they're growing again. And as Will looked to his horror, he saw that the trees which he had cut down had already grown to full height again, and the fruit was hanging from the branches. And worse still, he still had an appetite for that fruit. And so Will realized how utterly impossible it was for him to clean up his own garden. I hope you discover that fact. All your good resolves to live a better life in the future won't atone for the sins of the past. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. The Bible describes that man is without strength, helpless and hopeless, and deserving only of eternal judgment from the hands of a holy and a righteous God. No, you cannot, by your good resolves and by your own willpower, clean up your life. That's why Jesus said to one of the most religious and moral men of his day, you must be born again. What you need is a new life. You need a savior. You need someone who will give you power to live the kind of a life that you'll bring pleasure and honor and glory to the name of God and the Lord Jesus. And so Will realized how utterly helpless he was, and those trees grew back again. And worse still, Will, having that appetite, ate of that fruit, even though he knew it was dragging him down, even though he knew that that stranger that came in to be his gardener was gradually gaining the mastery over him, and that he was no longer in control of his garden, but sin had become his master. Yes. Know ye not to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his bond slaves ye are, whether of sin unto death or of obedience unto righteousness. One day, while Will was in that garden, wondering how it was all going to end, he heard a knock. He didn't know where it came from. He listened. The knock came again. He looked, and there he saw someone standing outside that gate. Oh, what a lovely man. So noble. Eyes so loving and gracious and kind. He was a king. We'll realize that because he wore a crown, only instead of wearing a crown of gold, he wore a crown of thorns. In one hand, he held a lamp called the Lamp of Truth. With the other hand, he knocked at the gate, and as Will noticed, he saw there was a scar in the palm of each of those hands. He saw there was a scar in each foot. And as the Savior knocked at that door, he said in a voice like as the voice of many waters, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him, and he with me. And Will inquired, who are you? And the Savior answered, I'm the only son of the great king who placed you in this garden. And Will, the king knows all about you. He knows how you opened that gate and allowed sin and Satan to come in. He knows the ruin and the devastation that sin has wrought in your life. He knows all about it, Will. But listen, the king still loves you. What? The king still loves me? In spite of all I've done? Yes, in spite of all you've done, Will. The king still loves you. And I'm the proof that the king loves you. The king loved you so much that he sent me from that beautiful golden palace on the hills of eternity to come into this world of sin and shame in order to make a way by which you could escape from the consequences of your sins. In wonderful love and marvelous grace, I left the ivory palaces above. I came first of all to Bethlehem's manger. I lived a holy, perfect life on earth, and then I went to the cross. I allowed wicked men to nail me there in order that on that cross, the great king might take all your sins and put them on me, and Will, I was willing to bear them. All your sins were laid upon me. I bore them on the tree. The God who knew them laid them on me, that you might, through believing on me, have the forgiveness of all your sins, have a new power in your life. Will, I loved you. I bore your sins. I died for you. I accomplished all the work needed for your salvation by the shedding of my most precious blood. I died and then rose again, and in the power of an endless life, I now stand at the gate of your life. Will, won't you let me come in? If you do, I'll forgive you all your sins. I'll give you eternal life, and you'll never perish. I'll clothe you with the garments of salvation. I'll impart to you a power in the strength in which you can live a life to my glory. I'll turn this wilderness of weeds that sin has made your garden into a beautiful garden, even the king's garden. I'll fill your heart with joy. Oh, Will, let me come in. I loved you. I gave myself for you. I want to be your savior and your lord and your friend. And you know, Will felt his heart moving. And before he knew reali- before he really realized what he was doing, he went to that gate, and he tried to move that first boat called Intellect. But that boat had become rusty, and as he tried to move it, it made a rasping noise, and that rasping noise aroused the attention of the garden. And when he heard that rasping noise, he knew what was happening, and so he ran down to that gate, and hiding behind Will, for he dared not look into the face of the Savior at whose hand he'd received his greatest defeat at the cross, he whispered, Will, what are you going to do? I'm going to let the Savior, the Lord Jesus, the only Son of the great King, who loved me and bore my sins and died for me. I'm going to let him come in to be my Savior and my Lord and my friend. He's promised to change this wilderness into the garden of the Lord. He's promised to clothe me with the garments of salvation and cleanse me from all the filth of my sin. He's promised to put a new power within me. Don't you believe him? Don't you believe him, whispered that gardener. He only says that in order to more easily to gain access into your garden. Why, the first thing you do when he comes in is to destroy these fruit trees. You can't live with. You can't live without the pleasures of the world. You can't live without its shows and its dances and all the rest. Why, your life will be miserable. Instead of being happy, you'll be sad, singing psalms and praying all day long. No joy whatever. Don't you let him come in. Don't you let him come in. And underneath his robe, he's got a pair of handcuffs and a pair of shackles. He'll put them on your hands and feet, and then he'll drive you to his service. Don't you let him come in. Don't you let him come in. Don't you let him come in. And you know what Will did? Will listened to the voice of Satan, and Will actually said to the Savior, no, I won't let you come in. And the Savior looked at Will, and to Will's astonishment, he saw two tears running down the cheeks of the Savior as he said to him, Will, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy help. And then the Savior turned his back on Will and walked away and left Will in that garden with the devil for his company, poor company. Oh, when Will saw the Savior turning his back and walking away, his heart felt like lead. He walked slowly back to the cottage. Just seemed to him as though the sun had gone behind clouds, never to reappear. Oh, thought Will, what a dreadful thing I've done. I've sinned away the only son of the great king, the one who loved me enough to go to the cross, take my place and bear the punishment due to me and die for me and rise again, and I wouldn't have him. I wouldn't have him. I listened to the voice of that gardener, whom I now realize is my enemy. Oh, what shall I do? What shall I do? Oh, I wish, I wish I'd let him come in. I wish he'd come back again and knock at the door. I'd let him come in next time. But the days pass, and the weeks pass, and the months pass, and the Savior didn't come back. Does Will look happy? No, he's miserable. That's what sin does. Makes you happy for a while, and then by and by it makes you very, very miserable. God has linked sin and sorrow together. And what's, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder. He hasn't been reading his Bible. You see that spider's web? There's Will, utterly miserable, his head buried in his hands. Oh, he's thinking, if only he would come back again, I'd gladly, gladly open the door. And after many months, we'll listen. Why, there's that knock. There's that knock. Quicker than it takes to tell, Will ran down to that gate. Will ran down to the gate, and there was the Savior, still as loving and gracious as ever. The Savior hadn't changed. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, but all Will had changed for the worse in the interval. The Savior said, Will, as I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Will, I don't want you to die unsaved. I don't want to have to cast you into hell. Oh, Will, I loved you. I gave myself for you. Why will you die? Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto God, and he will have mercy upon him and unto the Lord, for he will abundantly pardon. Oh, Will, open the gate of your life. Let me come in to be your savior and your lord. Yes, said Will, I'm going to let you come in. And he went to that first boat called Interlink, and as he tried to move it, along came the gun. What are you going to do now? I'm going to let the savior come in. Don't you let him come in. If he comes in, he'll throw me out. Good, said Will. I'm sorry I ever let you come in anyhow. I'll be glad to see the last of you. And so Will took that first bolt called intellect and said, oh Lord Jesus, I know I'm a poor, lost and guilty sinner. I know that if I die as I am, I'll be lost forever, and I deserve to go to hell. But I do know that you love me and that on the cross you bore my sins and died to me. And I know that if I trust you as my savior, you will save me. And he pulled that first bolt of intellect. Then he took hold of the bolt called emotions and said, Lord Jesus, I earnestly, ardently desire to be saved. That's the emotions. And he pulled that bolt. And then he took that third bolt called the will, and this is what he said. Jesus, I will trust thee. Trust thee with my soul. Guilty, violent, helpless, thou canst make me whole. I trust you now as my savior. He pulled that third bolt, and as he did so, the gate flew open. In came the savior. And as the savior came in, we'll, we'll hear something like go like this. What was that? That was a devil running away as hard as he could. For the moment Christ comes in, out goes Satan. He breaks the power of cancel sin and sets the prisoner free. There's that lamp of truth shining on Will. Never did Will realize as much as then how filthy and guilty and lost and wretched and ragged he was. There he stood with a lamp of truth shining on him. He said, Lord Jesus, look at me. Look at me, I'm filthy, I'm lost, I'm guilty, I deserve to go to hell. But oh Lord Jesus, I do believe you love me and you died for me, and I've taken you as my savior. There he stood, his eyes cast down. Suddenly he heard the savior say, Will, look at me. And Will looked up into the smiling face of the Savior, and the Savior's hand was outstretched. He said, Will, take my hand. And Will took the Savior's hand. And you know what the Savior said? Will, your sins are all forgiven. Oh my, did that make Will feel good. Will, you are now saved. Will, you now have eternal life. Will, God's Holy Spirit now indwells you. Will, you now are the partaker of a divine nature. Will, you are now born again. Will, you are mine and mine forever. My, Will felt like jumping for joy. Would you like the Savior to say that to you? But if you want him to say that to you, do what Will did. Take your place as a lost sinner. Open your heart and receive Christ by faith as your Savior, and the word of God will assure you, as the Savior assured will, that your sins are forgiven, that you have eternal life, that you're indwelt by the Holy Spirit, that a new nature is yours, that you are saved by God's grace for time and all eternity. Now, said the Savior, let's have a look at that garden of yours. I'm going to be your gardener as well as your Savior, but with this difference. You are going to cooperate with me in this garden so that you shall grow in my grace and in the knowledge of myself. And the Savior took that lamp of truth, and he walked toward that tree of lying. Oh, that wretched tree. And as the shades, as the light of that lamp shone on that tree of lying, what happened? That tree just withered and died. Everywhere the Savior took that lamp of truth, light shone upon those trees, they withered. And as Will saw those trees withering, he was glad. He had a new mind. He had the mind of Christ. He was a new creation in Christ Jesus. He was glad to see the power of sin broken in his life. Now then said Will, Lord, take my life. Let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. And the Savior planted lovely trees that he brought with him. And Will began to eat of the trees that the king had brought. And as he did so, his face began to change. Who do you think he began to look like? He began to look like the Savior. People said, my, look at Will. He's becoming more Christ-like day by day. Yes, he began to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. And every morning before he went to school, he took a walk in that garden with the Savior. I walk in the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses, and he walks with me and talks with me and tells me I am his own, and the joy we share as we carry there no mortal has ever known. And the Savior said, Will, the only thing that can hurt you is sin. The only thing that can grieve me is sin. Will, if you do sin, don't hide it. Come and tell me about it. Confess it to me. Turn from it with loathing and detestation, and I'll restore to you the joy of your salvation. Will, give me your constant love and your loyal devotion and your wholehearted service with my love constraint. And you know what Will replied? He said, Lord Jesus, take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take my moments and my days and let them flow in ceaseless praise. And he did. From that time on, Will went on for God. Every morning as he awakened, first thing he did was to read a portion from the word of God. That's how the Lord Jesus speaks to those who know him as their Savior. He speaks to them through the pages of Holy Scripture. And after the Savior had spoken to Will through the Bible, what did Will do? Will spoke back again to the Savior. Yes. There he is on his knees, communing in prayer to his loving Savior. So he went on to middle age and old age. One day he went to be with Christ, which was very far better, but his life was the King's garden. Oh, to have one soul under heavenly cultivation, no longer a wilderness, but a garden of the Lord, walled around by grace, planted by instruction, visited by love, weaned by heavenly discipline, and guarded by divine power. One soul thus favored is prepared to yield fruit to the glory of God. But outside of the gate of your life, if you're not saved, stands that same Savior. Saying as he did to Will, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and sup with him, and he with me. What are you going to do with the Lord Jesus? Oh, why not say from your heart, just now my doubtings give oar, just now rejecting no more, just now, Lord Jesus, I throw open the door of my heart and my life to thee, and as a poor, lost and guilty sinner, believing that you love me and you bore my sins and died for me on that cross, I take you now as my own savior, henceforth to own me as the Lord of my life. And if you really do that, suit the action to the word, you'll discover that your life will become the King's garden. May he grant it for his name's sake. Amen. Let us pray. We commend ourselves now into thy hands for thy blessing. We thank thee for this lovely story, and we pray thy blessing on every unsaved person here tonight. Oh, may that person, this very night, come to that point in their life's history when they shall swing open wide the door of their heart to allow the Savior to come in, to be their Lord and their friend forever. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. The lights on, if you please. Thank you. Tomorrow night at half past seven, the story of the artist's studio.