Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

I Know Thy Works Pt. 5

Let's turn to Revelation 3. We want to pick up on the study we've been in on the seven churches of Asia. Remember, we are studying these things for a number of reasons. The obvious is that all seven of these churches historically are being spoken to in relationship to the great apocalypse, to deal with the coming of the Lord and the time of great tribulation that will come upon all the earth. Basically, we can understand it from this aspect. From an eschatological aspect, we can understand it to mean that if we have the traits of these churches that are being approved of by the Lord Jesus, then we will not go into the tribulation. How many of you would just as soon pass on that? We need to realize that is part of what is being said. He always speaks of being the overcomer and all of the benefits of overcoming. Of course, the great one is that we will come into His presence. We will see Him as He is, and we will be like Him. "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (1 John 3:3). This is part of the motivational aspect.

We are talking about the ability to compare ourselves with this universal letter to the church. This letter was written historically to seven literal churches in Asia Minor, but its influence is to be upon all of us, every generation that is filled with the Spirit. The Master said, "For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call" (Acts 2:29). There is only one church. It is 2000 years old. Geographically, it is all over this globe: the churches in China, the churches in Africa, the churches, as we saw this morning, even in California. It looks like judgment has taken place there, doesn't it? All the rains that are falling out there have washed from the hills there. The rattlesnakes are all over the beach now down there. Isn't it a great place? They have special signs out there: "Five acres of land for sale"-and it's all on a quarter-acre plot! It appears as though they are experiencing some kind of wrath and judgment. In the day that we're living, there will be some judgments against the people of this planet.

In our study tonight, we will talk about those that are worthy to escape-if you watch and if you are praying. The judgment is coming. There is deception in the church today in thinking that because we come into a building like this, raise our hands, sing some great choruses, and enjoy the presence of God, that we are ready if the Lord comes back. That is not necessarily the case. In the third chapter of Revelation, in the letter to the church of Sardis, he said, "These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and [what's the next one?] heard, [Being a hearer of the Word is insufficient if you're not a doer.] and hold fast [to that which has become a reality to you, which you received readily of the Lord: the admonition to be a light in a dark world.], and repent [of the state you find yourself in today and look back with zeal to that which you first received]. [Very similar to what we saw in the church of Ephesus.] If therefore thou shalt not watch [this is the theme for tonight, watchfulness], I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life [How many of you think this is going to be an important letter? This is the key:], but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches" (Revelation 3:1-5).

The city of Sardis had the most prosperous inland church. We all know of the churches with harbors that lent themselves to trade and to all of the great trade routes of that particular day. They were the affluent areas. The inland cities, of course, were naturally not as prosperous. Sardis, however, was a very prosperous city. Why? It had gold. A lot of jewelry was being exported from their regions. It was a very fertile land. They had many, many orchards. It was like the wine country in Northern California and Central California. They were very fertile lands; the vines did tremendously as did all of the fruit trees. It was just absolutely a beautiful fertile valley with a river flowing adjacent, giving them access to the harbor at Smyrna, which was only about 30 miles west. We realize that this was a place of prosperity. It was a place of natural prosperity.

As we draw a little bit upon the flavor of that particular day, we will see that what is distinct about this church is that they didn't have a Balaam hanging out. They didn't have any Nicolaitans, and they didn't have a Jezebel. Hmmm. We've seen the consequences of all of those external perversions. We've seen the effect of the external (the false doctrine, those who were making merchandise of the people by the Balaam spirit, those that were preaching the gospel message for gain). As we saw, the Balaam spirit expressed, "I cannot speak against what God has blessed, but I will tell you how to bring deception and how to bring the people of light into darkness." It was being propagated by spiritual leaders as its major agents, as we studied that out. What was the doctrine of the Nicolaitans? A doctrine of compromise, a doctrine of lasciviousness, the Gnostic spirit to the max. We saw that the Jezebel spirit was talking about not only compromising in our morals, but also compromising with the world's system. The Jezebel spirit speaks of, to put it in twentieth-century vernacular, getting in bed with the world's system, allowing the government to come in and dictate how the gospel could be preached, when and where it could be preached, and saying that the gospel message is not sufficient in and of itself so you need to back it with private industries to sponsor the message of the gospel. "Get in bed with the world" was the message of Jezebel-"Use their methodology, go ahead and water it down, make it palatable, and you will have great success in the world's eyes."

Sardis didn't have any of that. We will find out tonight that having external opposition is good for you. There is nothing worse than having things too easy. There is nothing more dangerous to us as a church than not experiencing external pressures and tribulation. What did we see in the church of Smyrna? What was taking place as we looked at the church of Smyrna? Those people had all of their wealth taken from them, and they were under severe persecution. They were being indicted for their faith, being brought in, as we know, and the sword was there, the sword of Rome. They were able to deal out the death penalty at their own will to those that professed the name of Jesus Christ. Thirty miles away they were being killed, but here in Sardis, there was no real opposition. I wonder why? What is it here in this apathetic church? That's what we are going to talk about, a church absolutely apathetic. You will find out one thing. Doctrinally, they appeared to have all their ducks in a row. There is no comment made by the Lord about them being off doctrinally, like He made to the other churches. They could reiterate to you all of the great teachings that they heard, that Paul had brought in the three-year revival at Ephesus that caused all of Asia to hear the gospel. That's how the people here in Sardis were saved, when Paul was ministering in Ephesus for three years. You remember it tells us in the Book of Acts that all of Asia heard the gospel, and they believed. This message went out. Those in Ephesus said, "The whole world is taken up with this gospel," and people were excited about it. Then, in only a few years, Sardis is growing cold. They have the doctrine, but they don't have zeal for one thing. What is it? The return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you living your life tonight in expectation?

Maybe morally you have it all together. Because you have a great moral life, you are not committing adultery; you're not down at the temple orgies or involving yourself in all of that lascivious behavior that some of these other churches did. You say, "We are not like them. We have it all together. We are alive in Christ." You have the reputation that you are alive, but you are dead, because He will appear to those that are looking for Him. He will not appear to those that are just moral. He will appear to those that are looking for Him. We saw the admonition that came to the church in Ephesus: Return to your first love. He commended them for what? He said the one thing that I want to tell you guys is this: "I thank God that you have a hatred for evil. I thank God that you have tried those that say they are apostles and are not, but in fact, have found them to be liars."

We sit here today because of our righteousness and because of our zeal for the truth. We, as a church in Sterling could be commended, as I said, just like that Ephesians church. We are a people that will make it be according to the Word of God, or we won't receive it. We don't care what your reputation is. We don't care what your denomination is. We don't care what credentials you have. If you are not speaking the Word, we don't want to hear it. The Lord says, "Well done" for that. But because of that, we have the reputation that we live, but we're dead. He didn't say that you are dead in the sense that you aren't bringing forth fruit. He didn't say that you're dead in the sense that there is nothing being done externally. He said it's an apathetic spirit for the coming of the Lord. We're caught up in the world. We're caught up in getting a reputation of how spiritual we are. We are caught up out in the streets witnessing. We're caught up building a work for God. We're just not looking for His return. He's talking to the Sardis church here. When I say "we," I'm not talking about us here. I'm talking about the church of Sardis-and some of us that are here. Catch that spirit. This is what is being said. As we were relating to you, the key statement here is watchfulness. "Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast [that which you have received]" (verse 3).

What was the message of the apostle Paul? Jesus Christ was crucified; He rose from the dead; He ascended to the right hand of God the Father; and He is coming again for a church that is without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Hold fast that which you have heard. Don't become an earth dweller. Don't begin to get so caught up in the things that you're doing for God in the ministry that you lose sight of the fact that everything here is temporal. Even the things that we're doing for God that appear to be so good and so necessary are all temporal. Nothing here that we are doing outside of winning souls and discipling them to finish the race will last. This is what this church at Sardis was missing. He says (look at the end of verse 3), "Repent." Repent of worshiping ministry; repent of worshiping good works; repent of making the gospel a temporal endeavor; repent of trying to reform the social order and make the world a better place to live. This isn't your home. We are pilgrims. We are passing through, just sojourners here on this planet. He has gone to prepare a place for us, and He said, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:3). "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you" (verse 2). I know the word "mansions" there is better rendered in the Greek "dwelling places." Some people get offended by the term "mansion," because we as Christians are supposed to be "just little peons, poor, and barely getting by." How many of you know a shack in heaven will outdo anything you build down here?

I was thinking and looking at the different rains that they were getting in Southern California. I saw Big Sur got nine inches in four days down there, and other areas got even more than that. I was thinking a little bit about Hearst Castle down in that area, in San Simeon. I thought it would be interesting to watch that baby come sliding down, wouldn't it? Hearst Castle-the most expensive single-family private dwelling ever built in this nation. If you've never been there and get a chance out that way, go check it out. It's a lot of fun. Back in 1919, they spent $54 million just for the house. It's the highest peak in the area, and he owned everything he could see. What he could see was 14 miles of California coastline. He owned it all. I can't remember how many hundreds of thousands of acres he owned. As you know, property values went up. When he died, he left the money to his family. The sad part was he only left them slightly over a billion dollars, and they couldn't even pay taxes on the place. I love it! Everybody wants their land to appreciate-"Boy, I hope it goes up! I'm going to have it paid off here pretty soon." Then you see that with all of the inflation and the different things that are taking place here, you have a billion dollars, and you can't pay taxes on your house. So they gave it to the state, and they made a museum out of it. I said all that to say this: he's in hell today. It doesn't do any good to build mansions down here and not lay up treasures in heaven. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36). I can appreciate the different fine things that they did. You couldn't reproduce that house today; the craftsmen aren't around. The things that were hand carved by the European craftsmen of that day you can't even reproduce. Much of it was not replicas; he brought actual ruins from Greece and Rome and had them set around the pool area. Gorgeous! Inlaid with true gold. Caught up with the cares of this world.

There's a story about Hearst that goes like this. He had the largest art collection of any individual in the world. You ought to see the tapestries and the paintings that are in this place! It would just blow you away. He had the world's largest private art collection. He had heard of this one painting, and he said, "I have to have it." You know, lust-you just have to have some more. He said, "I have to have this painting." So, he diligently sought for it and couldn't find it. Finally, he hired a man who was an art detective. He put this man on the trail of this piece of art, and it didn't take him a long time to find it. He finally found this piece of art that Mr. Hearst had to have-had to have it. It was vitally important! He was being so distracted by this; his thoughts were on it so much (that there was something he wanted that he couldn't possess) that it kept him from producing. So he said, "I have to have it. This thing is costing me money!" Almost like the Hunts in Texas when they were so wealthy before they had the collapse in silver. They asked Old Man Hunt if he gave up smoking for his health. He said, "No. I finally sat down and calculated what my time is worth. The time it takes to trim my cigars, do [whatever they do with the fancy ones], and light them costs me $2,500 in time." Anyway, Hearst had to have this thing. His time was valuable, just like Mr. Hunt's. He said, "I have to redeem this." The man finally found the painting. Where did he find it? Which wealthy competitor of William Randolph Hearst had this piece of art? How much did he have to pay for it when he finally found it? You know what he paid for it when they finally discovered it? Nothing! Why? It was in his warehouse in storage. He already had it and didn't even know it. "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

We are talking about watching and praying and being ready when the Lord comes, about not being entrapped with the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things that enter in and choke the Word of God out of our lives. This is what is happening here in Sardis. These people are beginning to get caught up because of the lack of external opposition. Because they are not under the fiery trials that the rest of the world is, because they are now left at ease and are enjoying the good things of life, they are losing their first love. The Master is speaking to them here, and He says, "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that [you are alive]." "Everything externally looks good: You come to church every service, and you go into the neighborhoods, reaching out. You are doing all of these things, but you're lacking something. You are not watching for My return. I will come on you as a thief in the night, and you shall not know what hour I will come upon you."

It is vitally important for us to grab that principle and understand that as we sit here tonight, our thoughts can't be, "What a great time we had in worship! We're going to be taking communion in just a moment and enjoying the presence of the Lord" without accompanying each of those with the thought, "Am I ready? Is what I'm doing preparing myself and those around me for the coming of the Lord, the Day of Judgment?" The moment will come when no more works can be performed, no more pure doctrine preached, no more admonition or encouragement given to a brother or sister in discipleship. We will all stand and give an answer for the works that we have done. You have the reputation that you're alive, but you've been-doesn't it always come down to motive?-doing it with an earthly, temporal motive.

Let me show you something in Mark 13 and Matthew 25. I think it's an interesting passage. Just grab the two places in your Bibles; they're not that far apart. In Mark 13, verse 33, he starts along these lines. The Master is speaking. Actually, let's start at Chapter 13, verse 32: "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants." This is, of course, speaking of us, the church. He has given us all power and all authority over all the power of the devil, and nothing shall by any means harm us. So here we are, a church given authority. We have been given the keys to the kingdom. We are left here to rule and to reign in His stead. He has taken this journey, and we have been given this great power. Each of us-as we know the sister parables to this-has been given certain talents to use. If you don't use the talents you have, what does the Bible say will happen? It will be taken from you and given to somebody that will use it. This is part of the principle behind these parables, these statements.

"[He] gave authority to [those who are ruling and reigning in His behalf], and to every man his work, and commanded [every] porter to watch." When we talk about "watching," we are not talking about a casual, every-once-in-awhile, glancing up. Any of you that have ever been in the military know what it means to be on watch. This is something that takes place around the clock. In time of war, if you were on watch and found not watching, what was the consequence? It could be the death penalty. Today, they would probably say, "That wasn't nice, that you got all of your company killed. But we understand things are tough out there." Watch! The word in the Greek has that connotation to it. Our minds immediately go back to the prophet's statement that we are declared to be the watchmen upon the wall.

As we are watching and looking at the times, and we are discerning the circumstances around us, as we see the judgment of God that is coming upon this nation, upon this land, the Bible says that we are to cry out to those that are around us, "The sword of the Lord! Judgment is here! Can't you see the day we are living in? Repent! The day of the Lord is at hand." To not be caught up with that message in our mouths, to not be aware of the hour that we're living in, to be intoxicated by the cares of this world, He says, will cause us in those last days to have their blood on our hands. That is the type of watching we are talking about here. The watchfulness has the consequences of personal preparation and-what is so vitally necessary-the declaration of the judgment that is at hand.

Are you watching? Are you really watching? How carefully are you living your life today? Are you living it as though Jesus could come back at any moment? Where are your thoughts right now as we're dealing with the severity of this (the name of the overcomer, the one who is found watching, will not be blotted out of the book of life)? Are you already anticipating tomorrow's workday, or what you will eat tonight when you all hang out down at Roy Rogers after the service? How real is the imminent return of Jesus to you? Is it so real that you come in contact with anybody tomorrow that you don't tell, "Jesus is coming back!" This is what He's saying to us. This is the magnitude of this passage, as you read the letter to the church of Sardis. You have a reputation that you're alive, but you're just as dead as the world, because He is coming and you are not going with Him. You are an earth dweller; you are caught up in the world and don't even know it. You have been blinded, lulled to sleep in your religion.

Look what he goes on to say. We are back at the thirteenth chapter of Mark. He commanded the porter to watch (verse 34). "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Watch! This is the word of the Lord to us: Watch! "Watch and pray," Luke says, "that you enter not into temptation." We are not only talking about the watchfulness of our daily living and our obedience to Christ (the watching and praying that we enter not into temptation), but we are also talking about the blessed hope, watching for the soon return of the Lord Jesus that absolutely, absolutely motivates us in sharing what we have freely received.

Turn if you would, for just a second, to Thessalonians. Let me show you something in the Thessalonians passage. First Thessalonians, Chapter 5. These are the epistles that have the most to do with the return of the Lord Jesus, a couple of little short books that we need to be very aware of in the day that we're living. "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. [What is it that comes upon those who are not watching? Darkness. There's a mist of worldliness, the earth-dwelling spirit that causes you to be in darkness like the rest of those around you, unaware of the day that's upon us.] Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us [what?] watch and be sober." The word "sober" here means "to be alert and under control."

Do you have self-control? We talked about soberness here lately. We talked about it in our temperance teaching. As we are talking about self-control, we are talking here about that aspect of alertness. Remember, we said this morning that we are not being called to total abstinence from everything that this world is involved in. We are called to abstain ourselves from the spirit. In fact, we are engaged in, as John 15 said this morning, the same worldly effects. You go to work tomorrow at whatever company it is. You go in there, sit down, look at the guy next to you, and you both bang away on your computers, doing the same thing, and they are going to hate you, right? What you are doing here is something "worldly," if you please. You are there, working in the world's system, but many of them have a different spirit. Many of them are trusting in that company for their paycheck. You are trusting in Jesus. When the boss comes down and says, "When the phone call comes in, I want you to lie for me," you say, "No, I can't do it." A lot of Christians can justify it-"This is my job description. I have to do what he tells me or I'll be fired." Let's not forget the Word of God: You lie, You fry. That's not Scripture, for those of you that don't know. The Bible says every liar shall find himself in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). This is part of the spirit that we are talking about.

Let's get back into the Thessalonians passage. I want you to grab hold of this thing. "Watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober [alert, under control], putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation" (verses 6-8). What is the blessed hope? What is our salvation? We are not saved until Jesus comes. We are not saved until we lay down this flesh. We are being saved; we have been redeemed, purchased. We are regenerated, born again, but, we are being saved. We have the hope of the culmination of this thing in the coming of the Lord when corruption takes on incorruption and mortality takes on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:53). I want Him to come, don't you? I want to finish the race. Aren't you ready to lay down this flesh? How many of you are tired of lugging this thing around? How many of you are tired of fighting its appetites? The one I hate most is sleep. Don't you hate sleeping? I hate to sleep. What a waste of time. Eating I don't mind that much, but sleeping I hate. All of these different appetites, things that pertain to being citizens of this planet through father Adam, one of these days will be over. We won't have to sleep anymore. We won't have to cry anymore. We won't have to diet anymore, those of us that have metabolisms that are in reverse. We will be able to eat that fruit that grows on the highway of life, where the river of life descends from the throne of God, from the tree whose leaves are the healing of the nations. It is beyond description. No more fear, no more lust-for those that are watching. A moment of discipline for an eternity of liberty and freedom.

He says in Thessalonians that watching is synonymous with putting on the breastplate of faith, the helmet of salvation. "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord." We could go through and deal with many of the Scriptures that relate to watchfulness, watchfulness to abstain from lasciviousness, from sin. It's interesting to look at the different passages. I think we are probably most familiar with the one I quoted earlier: "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation...." But I didn't finish the verse. "...the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." In our inward man is that desire to do the will of God, but this flesh is the weak link. So be sober. Discipline it. Nothing in your natural man wants to watch, to be sober, or to be disciplined. He says, "I have gone away, but have given you authority to rule. Do not become apathetic and be found wanting when I come."

Let's go back to Revelation. We will finish with this so we can take communion. "Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy" (Revelation 3:4). In the rabbinical traditions of this day, periodically, within the synagogues and in the society here, the priests would take a survey of themselves and of those that were part of the synagogue. If a priest was found to have any moral lapses, his white robe would be taken from him. The white robes had different borders that were symbolic of different things. Yet when a priest was found lacking, he would have a black robe put upon him and would actually be excommunicated from the synagogue in these particular times. There is reference to that. It was part of the Asiatic traditions of the churches. He is relating to this. "[I want you to know that] He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life." There was a book running itself in this particular area. Today, we have church rolls, baptism histories, and all of theses different things. Very similar things were taking place back then. We know that was the natural book. We are all very aware of the eternal book associated with our relationship with Father.

Here is the last point that I want to make for tonight. We are going to wind this thing down. The key is this. He says here, "The few names in Sardis which have not defiled their garments, I want to talk to you guys for just a moment. I want you to go back and clearly understand what I said about your works." Go back to verse 2. Look at it. "I have not found thy works perfect before God." That's what we want to finish on for this evening. The word "perfect" here means "to be complete," but it has another aspect of completeness here that we don't always think about. The way this word is used is not only "completeness." He says, "You haven't fulfilled [a better word for this "perfection" here] the works that I have given you to do. It is not fulfilled, the task that I set before you [that we read about over in Mark 13]. [Remember, He left them authority to do a job.] You haven't finished what I gave you to do."

Beloved, if you believe that Jesus could come back at any moment, you cannot go to work tomorrow and not tell somebody. It's impossible! When you know that a man is standing there, his eternal fate on the line, knowing that His eyes of fire (that we read about this morning) will pierce into his heart and judge him according to his works, every man for the evil and the good that he has done, not only for every action, but for every thought, knowing that the sword is raised to come down and bring judgment, and knowing that this man is going to experience an eternal hell, but that he could escape if you would just say something. I don't believe it is possible for a person whose has been forgiven and bought with the blood of Jesus to be confronted with that situation and not say something. How many of you think that a true believer-a man who has been forgiven, a man who has been washed by the blood of Jesus, those of us who have freely received from God the gift of grace and love, who have been called the sons of God, whom the Commander has told to go into all the world and preach this gospel, to shout from the housetops what we have received in secret, to freely give what we have freely received freely-when faced with the situation that I just shared, would not say something? Then there really must only be one explanation. We really don't think He's coming now. Oh, we believe He is coming, just not in the manner that He said He was-imminently. We have the reputation that we're alive, because we believe He's coming. We will preach it. We'll preach it systematically. We will put this thing in proper biblical exegesis. We will give you the right doctrine. We just don't have the right response to the requirement placed upon us. We have the reputation. That word "reputation" means that you're known. You are known as a church who believes, but you're not watching.

Father, we thank You for the Word of God. We ask that Your Spirit would speak to us very clearly. Let him that has ears hear what the Spirit says to the church. Who are those with the white robes, whose names are not blotted out? The ones that are watching, the ones that are fulfilling the work, the ones that are going forth in the highways and the byways and compelling them to come, living a life of righteousness in their neighborhoods, whose lives are a witness and not just their doctrine, those who are not just putting a tract on a door. They can watch our homes. They see that we don't bicker back and forth as husband and wife like they do. They see that our children don't sass us back but love and honor their parents. They see that there is discipline. They see that there is love. They see that there is sobriety in our home. We are walking in light while the world is in darkness. They are being overcome, but we are not children of darkness. Our lives, our families, are lights in each neighborhood. "There is something different about those people." That's what we are talking about. It's not just verbalizing. It's not just the preaching. It's living this gospel like He is coming back tonight. That's why when there is conflict between us as Christians, between husband and wife, we are not to let the sun go down upon our wrath. We don't know when He is coming-midnight, noon, when the cock crows. He will appear to those that love His appearing.

As the brethren come, we're going to fellowship at the Lord's table and enjoy His presence tonight. I trust that each of us will have heard what the Spirit says to the church and not be found wanting-our lives' decisions being made like He's coming back any moment, making every decision from the eternal perspective. We are to be wise in this generation. We will not take the time now to speak the other side of this. We know the Bible says to occupy until He comes. We know the Bible talks about being wise in this generation. We know that the Word of God talks about the natural aspects of preparing, saving, and many other things. He says, "Don't say, ‘Tomorrow I will do this.'" He said, "Say it this way: ‘If the Lord wills, I will go and do such and such.'" Those are the watchful; that is the spirit that we have to operate in.

You see, when the government, such as in Thyatira and Pergamos, persecutes you and makes you do certain things, then the opposition is obvious. In these times of prosperity and ease, we have to be careful that we are watching. There is no more dangerous time of preparation for the Lord's coming than that which we are experiencing in this nation right now. We can take this aspect that has been given us, hear what the Spirit says, and apply it to each of our lives to be found watching and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

As Gary plays and our hearts are open to what the Spirit of the Lord has been ministering, each one of us has heard by the Holy Spirit what we need to hear. That's what I just so enjoy about the genius of the Spirit of God and His omniscience and omnipresence. As you stand and speak the Word of God, one message is spoken and hundreds of messages are heard. The Spirit applies it to each heart and says, "Here's what you need to do." We can get together afterwards and discuss what we heard, and we both heard different things, but we've been edified and stirred to be about the Father's business. If you have ears, hear what the Spirit is saying to the church.

Let's honor Him. Hold these elements, and we will all partake together. If you are a Christian, if you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, know that you are born again, that you are part of the body of Christ, if you know that if Jesus were to come back at this very moment, you are ready to be in His presence, then we invite you to partake with us. If you are not a believer, don't partake. You will eat and drink to yourself damnation, the apostle Paul said. If you aren't right with God, do not partake of these emblems here. Paul also said to get right. If there is something in your life that you can take care of right now, then confess it, make it right with God, and then eat-go ahead and partake. But, be aware that when we take these emblems into our hands, eat this bread, and drink this cup, we are saying, "I no longer live, but Christ rules my life." To partake of these today and then go out and live your own way tomorrow is mockery. It's blasphemy, and you put yourself under the judgment of God. But if you can eat and drink worthily, there is no damnation. There is justification. We are pronounced right with God; our names are written in the heavens; and the devils tremble as we go forth in His name. Thank God for it. Let's sing it together as we are served. "Create in me a clean heart, oh God/And renew a right spirit within me...."

As Gary plays and our hearts are meditating on what the Spirit of God said, ask yourself where you are tonight. Is seeing Him as He is the most important thing in your life right now, you just want to see Jesus? Every man that has that hope will purify himself. I just want to see Jesus. The Book of Revelation has depicted Him in a way that conjures up all kinds of expectations: feet that shine like brass; hair that is white as wool; eyes of fire; a voice that sounds like many thunders; a two-edged sword that comes from His mouth; His loins are gird, of course, with the same armor that we've been given, truth. His innermost recesses are truth. Truth is what means everything. He is a holy God. He is a righteous God. Aren't you looking forward to the day that you see Him? We are going to fall at His feet as dead. We are going to stand before Him, and everything that we've done is going to be tried. A lot of what we've done will go up in smoke, but the Bible says we will be preserved. I know a lot of what I've done will go up in smoke, but I have some stuff that will remain. Paul said, "I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown."

We are talking tonight about finishing the race, longing for the return. When it's all over, there will be a pile of ashes lying there. He reaches down and pulls out a crown for us, looks into our hearts, and says, "Well done, good and faithful servant." The Scripture says we take the crowns (the great rewards that we received), just throw them at His feet, and cry, "Holy, holy, holy!" We will sing the song of the redeemed. It is written for us. No one else can sing it. The angels can't sing it; all the living creatures around the throne that worship God can't sing it. It's a love song from the redeemed. As the old hymn says, "It will be worth it all when we see Jesus." It will be worth it. All the trials of this life we count as nothing when compared with the glory of His righteousness and the peace of His presence. Stand before the Lord. Honor Him and begin to worship Him. Thank Him for the love of God.

We are that of the church of Sardis referred to as that which remains. Out of the professed church today, very few people are talking about Jesus' coming, but thank God there are still some of us that remain. Strengthen that which remains. Strengthen one anther. Encourage one another. Go find some other people out there that believe it and encourage them, because the majority isn't going to believe it. They are caught up in this world. But we are to strengthen that which remains. Even in Sardis, even in this day, there's a remnant. Don't you love Him? Aren't you intoxicated with the thought of His return? Until He comes, He has given us a promise. He said, "This is My body, broken for you. Take and eat it in remembrance of Me." He says, "By My stripes you're healed. My body bore your sin that I could bring to you deliverance from sickness, deliverance from the power of sin in your members, if you will just recognize that. I, that knew no sin, was made sin for you. I have proclaimed you the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Remember that when you eat this bread. The price was paid. The prototype was exemplified. A man can live free from sin's power. I did it. You are recognizing it by eating this bread, and you know that it is Me living in you now."

Let's thank Him for it and partake in Jesus' name with thanksgiving. You are worthy, Lord. You are worthy, Jesus. Be healed in the name of Jesus! Just look to Him right now and be healed. Look to the Healer right now and let the wholeness of God surge into your body. Those with chronic disorders, don't accept them. Don't accept them. They don't have any right. In Jesus' name, be healed. It doesn't matter how many years it has been there. Tonight you are free. Today is the day of salvation. According to your faith it is unto you.

He took the cup and blessed it and said, "This is My blood, the life of God, the blood of God." Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. By the shedding of God's blood, all sins are remitted-a perfect work. He said, "If you will come into the light, fellowship with Me, and walk as I walked, we will commune together and My blood will cleanse you from all of your sin." We are in His presence tonight. We have chosen to be children of light, as we saw in Thessalonians. We are not blinded by the darkness of this world. We are children of light. The day will not come upon us unaware.

We've come to the light, and because of that, He said, "My blood will cleanse you. You will be ready. You will hear the trumpet's blast. You will hear, ‘Come up hither.'" But you have to be in the light! He said to drink all of it and be whole. Let's partake in His name. Drink all of it. Take everything the blood provides for you. Lord, I will take it all. I don't just want one area in my life cleaned up. I want to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. "There is a fountain filled with blood/Drawn from Emmanuel's veins." Let's honor Him, thank Him for the cleansing, and thank Him for the life.

As Gary continues to play, and we have now partaken of that cup, we recognize the blood of Jesus. If you're here tonight and you have never been born again-I'm not talking about being baptized as a child or about living a moral life. I'm talking about making Jesus your Lord, believing that there is no other name under heaven whereby a man can be saved, and hearing the words of God that say, "Don't call me ‘Lord' and not live the way I tell you to live." I'm talking about being able to say with the apostle, "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21), being able to testify, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). If you don't know the reality of that blood in your life that can make you say "amen" to those statements, then ask the person that brought you here tonight, "How do I get this? How do I get right with God? How can I know I'd be ready to meet Him if Jesus were to come back tonight, like the Word of God says could very likely happen?" If you seek Him, you will find Him. Of those that come to Him, He will turn none away. We have some here tonight that need to make that decision. We have people here tonight who have a mental acceptance that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, but are not living accordingly. You couldn't worship God tonight because there was no life in you. You mumbled some of the words; you watched the people around you who were caught up and enraptured with His presence. You thought, "When are they going to stop this?" You need to be born again. Don't leave here tonight without the free gift. Today is the day of salvation. Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "Watch. Just watch." Go in peace. God's love go with you, in Jesus' name.

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