The assurance of the future, particularly the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, as described in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. It emphasizes that believers should not sorrow like those without hope regarding those who have died, because Jesus' resurrection guarantees their resurrection. The message highlights the promise of Christ's return, the purpose behind it, and the necessity of preparation, urging believers to live lives of loyalty, love, and labor in the present while anticipating His coming.
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I'm not sure what's going to happen afterwards, Matthew. If we may please, the fourth chapter of one Thessalonian, one Thessalonian chapter four, if we may, and what glorious words they are. 14th, the fourth verse or fourth chapter, I'm sorry, of one Thessalonians, and we will commence reading in verse 14. For if we believe that Jesus dawned and rose again, even so then also, which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him?
For this we say unto you by the words of the Lord, that we were to alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, on the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which were alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall they ever be with the Lord. Wherefore come forth exhorts one another with these words.
The Lord will bless his word to our heart, I'm sure. We're going to sing the little chorus first on the sheet. There's a great day coming. That's if I had a few, I'm really happy. There's a great day coming, please. No need for me to remind you of a little of that on my heart tonight. So please, December, what number of it? 11 is it? Oh yeah, number 11. Now, a good singing, and if you believe it's true, let's hear you really ring a night. There's a great day coming. Thank you.
There's a great day coming. A great day coming. A great day coming. Oh, I've gone, oh, oh, yeah. Oh, there's a great day coming. There's a great day coming, a great day coming. When he's coming, he lives for joy. Oh, when you'll be ready, when he's out of fear. Just drop him today, for he's coming, he's near. There's a great day coming, a great day coming, a great day coming for joy. Quite a lot.
Well, not bad. Hands up those that couldn't have sung a bit better if you'd tron. Oh, there's a nice row. Would you like to come up the fun? Oh, I bet. Well, that's most trivia. Hey, you could sing a little better. Let's try it out. Yes, there's a great day. A great day. I mean, why am I? You know, gentlemen, I don't think we get excited enough about it. realize that Jesus Christ may come back at any moment, or that we may be ready. There's a great day coming. We ready then. There's a great day coming. A great day coming. A great day coming. A great day coming. There's a great day coming when heaven appears.
There's a great day coming. A great day coming when we go in. We live before heaven. Oh, when your name and Him appear in heaven. Just come here today, you'll be coming here dear. There's a great day for me, a great day for me, a great day for my soul boy. Amen. That's wonderful. Now, where's our banjo play? Oh, thank you, Mark. Thank you, Mark. Thank you.
And I was told, I don't know why I'm so proud of you today. And we didn't sing I before, so we'll be blind and clear. Thank you, dear. So shall I have a new machine? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, my. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Well, point when I'm supposed to turn it, will you? Well, point when I'm supposed to turn it, will you?
Well, point when I'm supposed to turn it, will you? Well, just you singing that will be sung into that. Well, how much you sing, can't you? Well, hold it high enough and then your voice is over. I mean, see the word. All right. Good. I did. I did. Oh. Let me be a little kinder, let me be a little like this. Let me love my own, my love, my love, my love. Let me praise the Lord, let me be a little more. Let me be a little more like this. Now the will of this one dearly, think a little more for the better.
Oh, and to be a little rainbow Oh, and to be a little rainbow When we die, oh, there's no fire When we go where I will be Oh, and to be a little rainbow With the power of the wind we go Let me think of my name and the rest of the evening. Let me let this prayer and cry there. Sing to the Lord God with my name.
With the light of the day and the light of the hour I pray. For the Father, Lord, the angel is the Father and the angel which does bring me to the second point that I think you have a set of notes have you been a while back brother many of you were interested our brother has them and I think they're free now are they are they Well, you heard him.
Mr. Ruth, did you take a copy of that beautiful duet? You did, sir. What price is that, sir? Oh! Brother, we thought we were going away millionaires. there we go but joking aside I believe the tapes are ready for any of you that are here sure we pray again dear Lord we do ask thee that thou will give to each one of us such a sense now of the presence of the Lord that it may be easy both to listen and to retain and act upon that which thou hast before us in my word speak to us then for Jesus sake amen you will have noticed of course that I have jumped to chapter for the very obvious reason that days pass so quickly but if I may be committed just to pass a very brief and it will be brief comment about
chapter 3 it seems to me that if I would write anything over the third chapter of one Thessalonian I would write this that absence makes the heart grow fonder the Apostle Paul has left Thessalonica but as he is away from those that he's come to love in Christ his heart is continually drawn towards them and there comes a day when he decides that he must know something of them and so young Timothy goes back to Thessalonica and brings to the Apostle Paul eventually news of what was happening in the church.
The Apostle, in now writing this letter to them, has much to say of praise and something of correction and very much of warning. of things that could happen, for he'd seen them happen in other places. Not that they had arisen necessarily in Thessalonica, but they were words of warning. I reminded you the other day, did I not, of that wonderful little story of the founder of the pilgrim preacher, who placed into the center of a ring a man who had been saved from a life of absolute wickedness and sin. And the crowd that gathered around in big crowd it was were just thrilled as they heard how God in wondrous grace had stooped down and rescued a miserable rest.
from going down to the fence. And I confess as I stood there in that ring and listened, I thought I wouldn't like to have to follow that. Then dear Daddy lost the founder of the Pilgrim Preacher. As only he could, he walked in the centre of the ring, stroked his white beard and said, You know friends, it is safer to have a fence at the top of the cliff than an embankment underneath. We have listened to a man who needed an ambulance, and Jesus Christ was the ambulance. Now we're going to listen to a man for whom Jesus Christ was the fence, stopped him from ever falling over the cliff.
He placed in the ring a man who'd been confronted as a child of five years of age. And I can listen to the crowd or see the crowd now. But not one of them moved on. They listened to a man who had heard the warnings of God and had trusted Christ. And there are many warnings in one Thessalonian. Paul is putting a fence at the top of the cliff. He says, don't fall over. Don't fall over. It seems to me there are four things in the third chapter that he says. First of all, he tells them in verse 7 are a people that must bring comfort to others.
I will pass no comment about that. They are a people who must bring comfort. Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you. Would Pope look at us and say, well, there's one thing, we will bring comfort to others as they see our godly walk? Then will you notice that they not only had to bring comfort, but they have to stand fast in verse 8 he says now we live if we stand fast in the Lord no no not get life we live we live you see the just shall live by faith it's not only the just shall get life by faith the just shall live by faith that knowing Jesus Christ you one's life to his, allowing the Spirit of God not to be grieved in our being.
It is that makes life just wonder. I can think of very little more in-city than a life without Jesus Christ. I'll be speaking in the coming week about some of the similes of the saints, And so I will leave it now, sufficient to say God wants us to stand fast, that we might show men and women that we have life and life abundance in Jesus Christ. He exhorts them to comfort, to stand fast, and then please, he exhorts them to offer thanks in verse 9. What thanks can we render to God?
thanks to the Lord and continually. Then we remember, please, that he exhorts them to pray one for another. But with your permission, I would like to pass over chapter 3 and come down to chapter 4. It appears to me that it divides into two parts. First it deals with our attitude to the present, and then it deals with our attitude to the present. with our assurance of the future our attitude to the present and our assurance of the future as he opens up this very wonderful very wonderful chapter he starts off first of all in verses 1 to 8 by speaking of our loyalty in verse 1 he says I want you to walk to please God walk to please God Now here is our loyalty, not necessarily to one another, to start, that comes in in a moment.
But our loyalty to God, oh, that we might walk to please God. Was it not, said of Enoch, he walked with God. And he was not. Oh, please let me forget just a moment that God took him. Let me ask the question. As I walked with God, am I one of those of whom people will say, they are not. That's a lovely chorus. She's walked with mine. For me to live is Christ, to die again. So to walk in this scene that we may be not.
God may see Christ in me. To me it was not the truth you taught. clear to me so did that when you came you brought a sense of of him all that we might walk and walk to please God and then would you notice in verse 2 he not only speaks of our loyalty and our walk but our loyalty and the keeping of the commandments for he talks of those commandments given by the Lord Jesus given by the Lord Jesus I'm somewhat apt to say amen when someone says something that I think is good and you will remember that Mr.
McKenzie in our afternoon Bible readings made this statement he said that he thinks it's almost blasphemous to refer to portions of the Word of God as just the writings of Paul. Well, Paul wrote to the church at Thessalonica, no one will deny that. But here, Paul says this, the commandments are not mine. They're the commandments of the Lord Jesus. Oh, that we may listen to his voice and hear what he has to say. And then would you notice he speaks of our loyalty not only in our walk, only in our obeying of the commandments, for our loyalty in seeking to say in our life our Amen to the will of God, which is our sanctification.
Oh that you and I, says verse 3 surely, oh that you and I might say Amen to the will of God. Oh God, I desire above all else that as I am sanctified in Christ, Never forget that happens when we trust the Savior. Christ is made unto us. One of the four things, says Corinthians 1.30, that Christ is made. Christ is made unto us. Sanctification. But please, that's our position. What's our condition? We are set apart in Christ off.
But are we living it out in our life? Am I walking a sanctified life? Do I start each day and say, Lord, thank you for another opportunity of living for you? Thank you for the day. Oh, friend, I think that I said this the other evening, if I didn't, please, please, please forgive me, I ought to have. But you know, I've never enjoyed life more than I'm enjoying it now I think life's just grand just grand I have to face problems the same as you difficulties the same as you I have a family and grandchildren the same as many of you but to start each day and say thank you Lord for giving me a chance of just living with you and I hope that doesn't sound sanctimonious and sweet to your soul I want to say this to you this is the will of God that I might be thankful for.
But then he goes further and he dares to tell us that our attitude to the present is that we shall be loyal. But then he speaks not only of our loyalty, but verse 9 he speaks of our love. Why he says, but as touching brotherly love, I like that, don't you? I like that. But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are a thought of God to love one another. It is some years ago now that I was in a Bible reading with E.W. Rogers. And the Christian was asked, for we were in 2 Peter 1, the Christian was asked, add to your paint, and one of the things that we were exhorted to add with brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness love.
The question is asked, Mr. Rogers, what is the difference between brotherly kindness and love? Not an easy one to answer, is it? Of course, you Americans wouldn't appreciate that especially at this time of the year. But Englishman would. He said, well, I tell you what brotherly kindness is. Brotherly kindness is on a cold winter night. When you're staying in a home where there's no central heating and no fire in the bedroom, you go upstairs and you get into bed and you find someone's put a hot water bottle there.
Ah, that's brotherly tight. But he said, love, love is when they wrap your pajamas around it. it's that now that's not me that's E.W. Rogers I only know this that God expects you and I to show brotherly love I have a brother in the flesh I only have one brother in the flesh but I have a brother in the flesh boy was converted managed me when I was fighting and so you'll appreciate we know one pretty well brought up together and always together but I know something about Bill and he knows things about me but if you came to me and say I want to tell you something about your Bill do you know what I do I'll take you on the shore and say hey that's my brother I wonder why it is as Christians when someone comes and tells about another Christian we say oh tell us more tell us more tell us more dare I suggest that brotherly love and
love is that which we're needing so much in the church of God today. Not just the words, I love you, the actions that prove we did. But would you notice not only our loyalty and our love, but then six of our labor in verse 11. He says, study to be quiet and do your own business. Oh, oh. study to be quiet and do your own business to work with your own hand this labor affects our testimony this labor affects provision for ourselves and our families we are living in a day especially in my country and from what I hear maybe a little in your country that there have arisen the tendency that says all if things are not going too well ah well the there, they'll provide for us.
Brethren, sisters, God has not removed the responsibility from Christians to care for themselves in the way of providing and care for their families. Oh, I know this, that there are some who, because of physical disability, are unable to provide but any nation that's a nation at all will provide for them. There is a sure thing that if I'd learned anything in Africa, I've learned this, that what used to be the usual thing in Christian circles is seen in heathen circles. Never once have I come across a person deformed because of critics, deformed because of malnutrition, deformed because of labor and age who's been turned from their home.
The whole family will take them in and care for them. This is what Paul is saying. He's daring to remind us that we have a responsibility to labor and labor are. God has no place for laziness. The men and women. I say, may I say this please as a servant of the Lord in some small makers, but after 32 years of preaching the gospel in this and many other countries, I have come to a conclusion that I believe to be an utter, scriptural conclusion that if a man does not work neither shall he eat and that is true among those that labor for the Lord if we look to the Lord to provide our name day by day let us remember that he expects us to work he expects us to serve him and serve him faithfully if there's some here you young folks who at contemplating the service of the Lord.
Will you remember that if an elder is a man who desires a good work, if you're going to step out into the service of God, never, never, never insult God or the people of God by being lazy. I'm glad I said that. But then will you please, he deals in these first chapters as to our attitude to the present, as to our loyalty as to our love as to our labor and then he deals with the assurance of the future and verse partying right to the end oh the wonder of it all he starts off and speaks I do not want you to be ignorant brethren that all sorts of brethren in the Bible you have faithful brethren ignorant brethren never see any blimmyth brethren there but I see all sorts of brethren I do know this though I do know this that here brethren, that he didn't wish to be ignorant.
Now he did not say they were ignorant. He didn't want them to be ignorant. And you parents that have children, when you gaze at your children, you long that they shall, in the academic field, reach some standard, you don't wish them to be ignorant. If that be so in the ordinary affairs of life, how much more are so in the things of God. So the Apostle writes, he doesn't want them to be ignorant concerning those that are asleep. He makes an appeal, of course, to the work of the Lord. And I think that's wonderful, don't you? He makes that tremendous appeal, for he says, but I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others, which have no hope.
For if we believe, If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. He makes an appeal to Jesus Christ and to the Word of God. As if Christ died and rose again, there is nothing he cannot do. Nothing he cannot do. I say, what does the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to you? I just scribbled a few words when I was in Durham I haven't put a tune to it maybe I'll be in and I'll be able I want to see him glorify as heaven's beloved son I want to see the saints enjoy the triumph he has won I want to spread abroad the way, the message of the cross.
I want to leave the world behind and count it all but draw. Oh, friend, I did. I did. I want to see him glorified as having the love himself. I don't want just to hear men and women walk about and talk about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, our blessed name, Jesus, And I want to see him glorified as heaven's beloved son. I want to see this Jesus whom man can survive, the one that God made both Lord and man. And the appeal is made to his death, not just to his death of Jesus, but to his resurrection, the one who rose from the dead.
And then he comes to this great, wondrous truth of the return of the Lord. And with your permission, I want, if I may, just to say a few very simple things now. First of all I want to say a word about the promise of his coming. Lagrange. About the promise of his coming. And then I want to say a word about the period of his coming. I like that. I won't have much to say about that because Brother Morgan's been talking about that all these days. But I want to say a little word about it. I want to say a word not only about the promise of his coming and the words about the period of his coming.
I want to say a word, maybe two words please, about the purpose of his coming. You know what I'm going to say now, doesn't you? I want to say a word not only about the promise and the purpose. I want to say a word and the period I want to say a word about the preparation for his coming. must have been coming. Let's leave just for a moment or two. Let's leave that fourth chapter of one Thessalonian, reminding our heart that the Apostle had made reference to the Lord Jesus. The commandments of the Lord Jesus. Let's go back and talk to the lovely four things that we are.
I say, you Sunday school teachers, what do you tell your children in Sunday school class? Don't you gather them around you and say, now let me say a few things about the Lord. And you turn to the 14th chapter of John, do you not? And you tell them about the tenderness of the Lord. You tell them about the tenderness of the Lord. Let not your heart be troubled. For here were believers who wondered what was going to happen next. The Lord places his hand upon them and says, Let not your heart be troubled. Have you not heard me say something like this before? to 12 from the 11th chapters of John you find this word trouble appearing three times and it's associated with the Lord he was troubled in body he was troubled in spirit he was troubled in soul when you come to the 14th chapter the one who was troubled in body and troubled in spirit and troubled in soul is the one who says let not your heart with us oh the tendon of the root my friend I want tell you this, that I believe my Saviour was a man, every inch of him a man.
A surgeon. What the hair on his face? Fat of him! He was still able to carry a cross halfway up ahead. Don't you tell me my Saviour wasn't a man? He was every inch of him a man. That man was tender filled with compassion all the tenderness of the Lord Jesus let not your heart be troubled I say have you noticed this the trustworthiness of the Lord Jesus I feel like stopping and shouting hallelujah I'm a bit frightened at my left face I only know this I only know this that the tenderness of the Lord is seen let not your heart be troubled but the trustworthiness of the Lord is said, if it were not so, I would have told you.
If it were not so, I would have told you. Oh, how trustworthy is my failure? You can believe his word, rest upon it, and act upon it. But how many times do you Sunday school clap have you said, Oh, how tender was the Lord? How trustworthy was the Lord? But how thoughtful was the Lord? How thoughtful? As you looked at those who had just taken home, for it all for him and he said ah but I go and prepare a place in my father's house of many dwellings I go and prepare a place for you I like that I didn't go around to see this big house that you went to see yesterday did I have to come into one or twofold well all I do is go and have a look at things and see how many things I can live without you know I mean that's all there is but every one of you said it was a wonderful place wonderful house wonderful house i'm glad i got a home i wouldn't like to live in a big old place like that would you you ladies wouldn't not to do all the dusting oh boy dear me i'm glad of this in my father's house for
many dwellings lately and the apostle paul he spoke of at home with you at I didn't ever. You know, I didn't call him the loveliest word, always in the English language. Oh. Oh. So would you notice something more, not only the promise of his coming? Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me, in my father's house, the many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go and prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you again. unto myself, and where I am there ye may be all.
Now that's the promise of this coming. Now how about the period of this coming? You know that day by day, dear brother Phil, has been bringing the signs of the last days before us. I'm certain that every one of us has felt that God has been teaching us. I don't know about you, but I felt myself as he's ministered to us myself. Oh Lord, in the middle of days like this, and I felt sometimes so wait my time. So wait my time. God bless me. Let me go out and tell men and women of Jesus. Let me find myself as one willing to work for the Savior. But as he has been speaking with us, there are a number of things.
Surely he said what before? If I may use slightly different words to you, sir, and yet say the same thing. It seems to me that he points that there are definite signs after the coming of the Lord. There are, I'm making corpse of the 24th of Matthew, there are, first of all, prophetic thoughts, signs that deal and deal definitely with the prophecy that he made. And this is one of the signs that Mr. Morgan dealt with so thoroughly, that there will arise in those last days, some who will say, here is the Christ, or there. Now that's the word of prophecy. The Lord said in the one.
Is it happening today? Mr. McKenzie is often Nigeria. Just a few years ago in Nigeria they had a great statue. Oh, that is the statue of the man who proclaimed himself as president. And at the face of the statue he called himself the Messiah of Nigeria. Of course he spoke over to him and knocked down his statue. But nevertheless, he said, Here I am. Here I am. And that's happening all over the world.
The world is crying. Give us a man. And one day God will say, Why is God to be a man? And a man of sin will arise. And there rue the day that ever after a man. I know this, that there are perpetual signs, there are prophetic signs, that there are perpetual signs. The verse 6 of that chapter speaks of wars and rumors of wars. No, these are perpetual signs. They have ever been with us, ever been with us. And yet I have a strong feeling that as we look around the world today, there are more rumors than maybe ever the ones before.
Please, in case you didn't know. I'm an English the week before I came to America I was in North of Ireland there oh thank God the work of God going on that Lord's Day morning in the Crescent Hall there were 700 of us gathered around the table to remember the Lord that Sunday night I preached to one over a thousand in that hall praise God there were those that protest faith in Jesus Christ. The work's going on. But you see, I go back to Valhalla and my heart's made heaven.
I never thought I'd ever see it in our country. I never thought in my land it would ever be known. I'd seen in Caracas, I'd seen it in other parts of the world, but I'd never thought I'd ever see it in my back. I would walk down into the center of Valhalla and I'd come to the barriers and I'd step through and the soldiers would perch me and I'd go through again and every shop I'd go into. There would be a man at the door that perched me, and every point more alarmed, I was perched. He told us going around with Tommy guns in their hands. My country. We were hearing this afternoon of Lebanon. I was in Soweto, three days before the bloody upright.
It isn't then War and will But the war I'm not guilty Things then Not guilty I didn't like the Bible He said these are signs That are perpetual They're with us And they're signs The Lord said Because you see There's no one else Can do anything with it He's the only one Then will you notice There are not only prophetic signs and perpetual signs but there are political signs for verse 7 says nation shall rise up against nation as to think for more nation shall rise up against nation if he's speaking in some measure indeed of what is happening in my land of what is happening in Spain of what is happening in Portugal of what is happening in Angola of what is happening away younger in Lodin be telling us that there are nations that will rise up within themselves against themselves.
I would value the prayers very much. When I finish here in America, I go back home and I'll be going down to the land that Mr. Morgan started, anyone. I'll be going down into West And I know this, that every day I'll be in a day school speaking to the children, that every school I go to the headmaster will say the same thing if they don't support you do understand none of the children under 8 will understand the Lord the Welsh no English spoken at all English but the second language I'm hoping to go down in some counties where I've been waiting for years for a Welsh preacher to go and somehow they never go and so I've got to go down as an Englishman and try and beat their head against the wall I'd value a prayer for that.
It's not going to be easy. I only know this, that in that little country of mine, never have there been times as there are today, at Welsh nationalists. Every signpost you'll see on the road is written in English and Welsh. So they produced these signposts in answer to the cry of the Welsh nationalists. And they put them up in English and Welsh, and they had them torn down, because they had to be in Welsh and English. I go to Scotland and it looks as though Scotland before long will be breaking away from the Scottish Nationalists have won almost every election if we went to the polls tomorrow there's little doubt that there would hardly be anyone but a Scottish Nationalist representing Scotland oh they're taking this cup of oil in the top of our camps not the English camps Oh, maybe there's much to say.
I don't know, but what I'm trying to get over is this. Did you ever think that would happen? I never did, and I lived there. In addition, did you see that? Not too good a photograph, Mr. McKenzie, sir. Not too good a photograph, sir. I hope your magazine can do better than that next time. photograph in the front of the mystery magazine I wondered why after two years I hadn't got one and then they gave me one and right on the front the photograph of two people here dear friends of mine here Tommy Wilson and dear Kenneth oh how many times would he translate it for me when I stood in front of Africans and I looked at that land of Rhodesia and I don't wish to enter into the political issues I only know this nation is rising up against me.
Then would you notice something more? There are prophetic, there are political, there are pestilence signs. For verse 7 says, Hammons and pestilences. I do hope that every one of you can, we'll see the slides with you. I hope you. I'm looking forward with great anticipation to seeing something of the work of God in India. But day by day there are thousands dying of pervasions. Little lovely land of yours and my lovely land. And I'm still proud of my land, not ashamed of me in English.
But if I look around, may I say this, that I don't know if there are ever in times of waste like there are today. We waste more food than would kill the stomachs of hunger. And we do it in one family in a week. don't mean this, just somehow we do, that there's pestilence in their past, mangled out, that their physical signs were of seven earthquakes, and diverse places. But this is but the beginning of far out. I don't know anything about the earthquakes in China. Do you know?
All I know it's a little that came out and what we do know is that there were thousands of people killed in the earthquake but they're literally getting dismal ah but it's always dark it's called the dawn hallelujah I say here are here is the period that is coming and I don't know who you are and I don't know what is your prophetic outlook I only know this that no one can read the twenty-quarters Matthew without saying Well, it's very much like the day in which we live.
What's the problem? You know, what's the problem? Well, when, let alone in four, when we're back there, we're telling you. Four of it. Are you ready to say hallelujah? Four of it. The proper to be coming. First, praise the faith. The dead. The dead. you