Preparation for the Coming of the Lord 5 – Prayer and Preparation

[00:00:00] Luke's gospel, chapter 21. [00:00:16] We will read from verse five the 21st chapter of Luke's gospel, from verse five. [00:00:32] And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and offerings, he said, as for these things which ye behold, the days will come in which there shall not be left here 1 st upon another that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, teacher, when therefore shall these things be? [00:00:59] And what shall be the sign when these things are about to come to pass? [00:01:05] And he said, take heed that ye be not led astray, for many shall come in my name, saying, I am he, and the time is at hand. [00:01:16] Go ye not after them. [00:01:18] And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified, for these things must needs come to pass first. But the end is not immediately. [00:01:32] Then said he unto them, nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be great earthquakes, and in diversity places, famines and pestilences. And there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven. But before all these things they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors. For my names sake it shall turn unto you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand, or to gainsay. [00:02:24] But ye shall be delivered up even by parents and children, and brethren, and kinsfolk and friends. And some of you shall they cause to be put to death. [00:02:36] And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. And not a hair of your head shall perish. In your patience ye shall win your soul. [00:02:50] But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains, and let them that are in the midst of her depart out. And let not them that are in the country enter therein. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe unto them that are with child, unto them that give suck in those days. For there shall be great distress upon the land and wrath unto this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles until the times of the gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows men fainting for fear and for expectation of the things which are coming on the for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud of power and great glory. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draweth nigh. And he spake to them a parable. Behold the fig tree and all the trees, when they now shoot forth, ye see it and know of your own selves that the summer is now nigh. Even so ye also when ye see these things coming to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away till all things be accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and that day come on you suddenly as a snare, for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth, but watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the son of man. [00:05:15] Series of Bible studies that we have been taking has been all to do with preparation for the coming of the Lord, not to do with the events of the end or the sequence of those events or the controversial matters associated with prophecy concerning the end. But we have been looking at the very practical commands and instructions that the word of God gives to the people of God concerning not only the coming again of the Lord and the final phase of the age, but also the end times in their entirety. Now, it would take far too long to go over all those different points that we have been considering. I can only suggest for those who've not been with us, that you get the tapes and listen to those studies. But our burden has been to put onto tape as well as into our hearts, particularly and specifically here, what really the Lord has said to us about being prepared for the end times and his coming. [00:06:36] Now, tonight I wish to take three matters that may not immediately appear to have great effect or consequence upon us, but which I believe will have very much value in the days that lie ahead. And my prayer for this evening is that these things will be so deposited in our hearts, and especially amongst those servants of the Lord or those who will serve the Lord in the future, that. That the Holy Spirit will be able to bring back these things when they are required in the years that lie ahead. [00:07:18] First of all, I want us to consider the need of specific prayer in relation to the end. The need of specific prayer in relation to the end. If you turn to the Gospel of Matthew and chapter 24, and we will read verses 20 to 23. And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath, for then shall be great tribulation such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now. No, nor ever shall be. And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved, but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. [00:08:18] And then in mark 13 and verse 18, mark 1318 and pray ye that it be not in the winter, for those days shall be tribulation such as there hath not been the like from the beginning of the creation, which God created until now, and never shall be. And except the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved, but for the elect's sake whom he chose, he shortened the days. [00:08:56] And then Luke, the gospel of Luke that we've already read, chapter 21, verse 36. But watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the son of man, our Lord, referring to the tribulation and distress during the final phase of the end times, told us to pray in a quite specific way and manner. He told the disciples that when that time came upon them and they were to flee, they should pray that it would not be on a Sabbath nor in the winter. [00:10:04] That is, he said, not in the season of the winter rains and exposure to great cold. [00:10:15] You have to remember that, of course, in Israel in particular, there is only a one period of the year in which there is a heavy rainfall which can come at any given point, either November December or February March. And when those rains come, they can come down the valleys or the wadi's 3rd, 30, 40, 50ft high. [00:10:42] A year or two back when we were there in September, there was a southern thunderstorm which was very unusual, deluged the Bethlehem region with water, and eleven young people lost their lives who had been told not to go on a ramble in a wadi from a kibbutz. They had gone, but they went. And of course they saw only blue sky above them. They couldn't see the black clouds right up, 4000ft up. It was not. [00:11:11] They couldn't see it because of the mountain, the sides of the gauge, the ravine, and the result was that suddenly they saw a wall of water coming down the thing, and just two or three managed to escape with their lives. [00:11:25] This kind of thing happens again and again. And our lord was saying, now, when this period of tribulation comes, pray that the time of tribulation be not in the winter, when there could be a sudden rainstorm that could cut off all means of escape or possibility, especially for those of you who've got young children. He prefaced these words with woe to those that give suck or are nursing or pregnant in those days. And then also, of course, he had told them to flee to the mountains. And in the wintertime, although in Israel you get very high temperatures in the summer, in the winter you can get very severe cold at night. And if people were suddenly to flee and not go into the hotel, not to take an overcoat, remember, he said, don't go back. To even take a coat or an overcoat or any of your possessions. Just go straight out. Well, they could easily die of exposure from the cold weather in the winter. Now that is the technical side of it. He said, pray that it be not on a Sabbath, because Jerusalem had very stout walls indeed, and the old city still has. But in those days, the gates were closed at sunset on Friday, an hour beforehand, and were not open till 1 hour after sunset on Saturday. And there was absolutely no way of getting out of the city. So the Lord said to them, pray that it be not the distress doesn't come suddenly upon you on a Sabbath. Also, there was no means of transport at all. Now that's just the technical side of what our Lord meant. The Lord Jesus did not mean that they were to wait until the time for escaping had come to pray. [00:13:21] You see, though we read here in Matthew 24 that he said, verse 16, then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains. Let him that's on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in the house. And let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak. Woe unto them that are with child, to them that give suck in those days. And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath. He didn't mean at that point. Pray, he meant, and in the light of all this, pray that this time of distress does not come to you in the winter nor on a sabbath day, that your flight may not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath day. Surely he meant, and pray ye that when ye see, when you see these times approaching, they were to start to pray specifically in this manner. [00:14:32] These verses had their first fulfillment, in fact, in the siege of Jerusalem from the year 66 after Christ until the year 70 after Christ, which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the dispersion of the jewish people to the ends of the earth. It's interesting to note that because of this detailed prediction and the advice given by our Lord, and in particular Luke's version of it, in Luke 21 20, but when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, he didn't say abomination of desolation. You note that he was not afraid to change the word abomination of desolation. For when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies. Now, the actual abomination of desolation was, in fact, Titus standard, which was set up on the brazen altar in the temple. That was the actual abomination of desolation. Of course, going right back to the abomination of desolation that Daniel spoke of, that was when a statue of Zeus or Jupiter was set up by Antiochus IV, the original Antichrist, on the brazen altar. Now, Titus did pretty well the same thing, only he put up the standards of the army, which were dedicated to roman and greek gods, on the brazen altar. Now, that is the technical abomination of desolation. But Luke was not afraid in this version to say, but when ye see Jerusalem encompassed with armies, in other words, don't wait till you actually see the abomination of desolation technically going up on the altar when you see Jerusalem surrounded by the armies. No, that's the abomination of desolation in principle. [00:16:32] Now, when you see that out, it is a very interesting fact that because of the detailed predictions of our Lord and the vice he gave, and because of Luke's way of putting it, the whole christian community in Jerusalem fled in the early part of ad 66 out of Jerusalem. Lockstachenbarrel. And as far as we know, not a single christian suffered in the destruction of Jerusalem, because they all fled down through the wilderness of Judea, across the river Jordan, to a place called Pela, now in the land of Jordan, on the other side of Jordan, beyond the river Jordan. [00:17:14] There are, however, enough factors in these verses, in Matthew, in Mark, and even in Luke, to make us realize that there awaits a still more exhaustive fulfillment of these prophecies. Now, I'm not going to go into this, because I don't really feel it is in our brief for these studies, and we have talked about it when we've talked about in our Matthew studies now, Mark's studies. But I will just give you a few verses in Matthew 24. For anyone who's never gone into this, and it is in verse 22. [00:17:58] And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. [00:18:05] But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. Now, we cannot say that that had reference to the original destruction of Jerusalem and the temple and the dispersion of the jewish people. [00:18:21] It must await a far more exhaustive fulfillment. Then look at verse 27. For as the lightning cometh forth from the east and is seen even unto the west, so shall be the coming of the son of man. Well, the son of man did not come at that point, but our lord relates what he has to say here to his coming. And he says, where the carcass is, there will the vultures be gathered together, meaning that some marvelous, irresistible magnetic force will draw all the real believers who are ready and waiting to the Lord when he appears. Then again, look at verse 29 and the following verses. But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, the moon shall not give her light, the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven. And then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heaven to the other. In other words, there are enough factors in these verses to make us realize that we have one of those amazing prophecies and predictions which can admit of more than one fulfillment. Now we have that, of course, in the Old Testament, a certain number of the prophecies which were partially fulfilled in the return from Babylon, but which have been more exhaustively fulfilled in our own day. [00:20:01] And here we have another example of this kind of prophecy. One of the reasons why I personally believe in the inspiration and authority of the word of God is that somehow the Holy Spirit has so brought forth a word that it can apply to two or three situations and really be a legitimate interpretation and still have a final, exhaustive one. Well, now, I hope that makes sense to you all. [00:20:36] In other words, whilst there has been a fulfillment of these words of our Lord, it is quite clear that there is yet an exhaustive and final fulfillment of these words to come. [00:20:50] Now, apart from the clear cut advice and instruction of the Lord, for those who will be involved in that final phase. [00:21:01] To them he gives specific advice, particularly to any who should be living in Jerusalem or in that area, that they are to flee to the mountains of Judea, that they are to pray that it is not in the winter nor on a Sabbath day. [00:21:20] There are also, apart from that clear cut advice, there is also a deeper lesson for us all. [00:21:30] What is that deeper lesson? [00:21:33] In spite of the fact that the Lord foreordains all things after the counsel of his own will and that all the events of the end are totally within his sovereignty, we discover that the day or the season can be changed or altered. [00:21:57] Did you get that? [00:22:00] You see, many people seem to think that the Lord has got everything so worked out that there's no point praying about things like that. You wouldn't dream of praying, Lord, would you alter things so that it's not on the Sabbath and not in the winter. In other words, the day of the week can be altered and the season of the year can be changed. Now think. [00:22:24] The Lord does not mock us in instructing us to pray about such a matter. [00:22:31] In answer to believing, travailing prayer, our flight can be changed to a helpful day and in a helpful season of the year. [00:22:44] What a window this provides under the whole matter of the sovereignty of the Lord and those iron caste systems that either go one way or the other. We either say that everything, the Lord has ruled everything and it cannot be changed in any way at all. Write down to detail. He has fixed the day. He has fixed the season or the other, which simply says, God just follows man and how things go. He overrules it and just to it and uses it and so on. It seems to me that we have a window here into this whole matter of the sovereignty of the Lord. We know very well that the Lord is in charge of all things. We know very well that the Lord is using evil, that his own purpose be fulfilled. We know that every single thing is foreordained according to the counsel of his will. [00:23:44] The prophecies will be fulfilled exactly as predicted, but the details can be altered within the framework of the whole in answer to believing prayer. [00:24:03] Now I would never have thought thought that concerning that final phase of distress and tribulation, the like of which the world has never seen nor ever will see again, that we could pray to the Lord that it be not on a certain day and he will hear us because we have prayed and will see that it is not, that it will not be on a certain season, and the Lord will hear us and change that otherwise I cannot feel that the Lord just mocks us by saying, and pray ye that your flight be not in the winter nor on a sabbath day. [00:24:47] Furthermore, there is a right time to flee. [00:24:53] Listen carefully to me on this matter. It may not mean anything to you now, but there may come a day when it will mean everything to you. [00:25:01] Once the siege of Jerusalem was fully underway, it would not matter whether it was summer or winter, a weekday or a sabbath. No one could escape. [00:25:19] And indeed, we know from history that after the first few months of 66, Titus ringed the city and allowed no one out and no one in to to such an extent that they ate their own children. [00:25:37] The jewish historian Josephus gives us a vivid description of those last days of Jerusalem. Therefore, it's no good waiting two or three years to suddenly pray, o Lord. Now, we don't want our flight to be on the Sabbath or in the winter. The point is, there's a right time to flee, and that's why we mustn't doze spiritually. That's why the word is but watch ye at every season, making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these things coming upon the face of the earth and to stand before the son of man. It's just here that we need to be alive to the Lord, and we need to be watchful. Furthermore, let me say this, that in those days there will be such a pressure in the atmosphere that the whole tendency will be weariness, which means that unless we find inner reserves and are alive and awake to this whole situation of the enemy's devices, we shall be lulled into some kind of sleep like the rest of the world. And as we mentioned in one of our earliest studies, it will spring on us like a spring snare. [00:26:55] Suddenly it'll close on us. [00:26:58] Now, that's why we need to be alive and watchful. We need to take to our hearts the Lord's words in Luke 21 36, watch ye at every season, making supplication. [00:27:14] We may not be in the final phase yet. [00:27:18] And what I've had to say, I say deliberately, you younger brothers and sisters will, if you live to a normal age, will undoubtedly see these things come to pass. And that's my burden in these studies, that whatever happens to me or to others, these things we have said will have been written in your hearts and minds and will come back to you at the right time. When there may be no church gatherings, no possibility of fellowship back into your mind by the spirit of God, will come back, something which will be the saving and delivering of your physical life, your survival, maybe to the coming of the Lord. Or maybe it will save you from a breakdown, mentally, physically or spiritually, because you will remember now. I remember now. That's the word of the Lord. It's in my heart. It's come back to me now. The Lord said this and this and this. [00:28:14] That's why we have this burden of putting over these things. Now, we may not be in this final phase yet, but there will be many events leading up to it in which we can learn the lesson of specific prayer. Supposing some of us get caught in the Gog and Magog war, which I believe will come before that time. Well, now, if that is so, is it not true in principle, that though the Gog and Magog war must come, the Lord can change things? As far as details go in answer to prayer, are there not many other events in which we can learn this simple lesson, that although they are sovereignly foreordained of God, yet things can be changed in details, in answer to believing prayer? [00:29:05] What a lesson then. What a lesson this has to us. Our Lord said, pray ye, in the light of these terrible things, pray that your flight be not on a sabbath nor in the winter. [00:29:18] Then there is another thing that I want to underline this evening, a second matter. Actually, in all the matters we've been taking. I think it's the 12th matter, but it's the second matter in this evening's thing. And that is it comes right out of this last point. We find it in Matthew, chapter ten and verse 23. But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next. For verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel till the son of man become. [00:29:54] And then, of course, we have those words that we have already read in Matthew 24, verse 16. Let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains, the word flee. And then again in verse 20, your flight. Pray that your flight be not on the Sabbath or in the winter. Here is the second point. When they persecute you in one place, flee to the next. [00:30:24] Never thought you'd get a Bible study on that here, did you? When they persecute you in one place, flee to the next. The Lord gives us practical advice, practical advice to his disciples as to what to do when, because of persecution, things become impossible for them in one city or area. He says that they are to flee to the next. We ought to be careful of being. Now, listen to me. We ought to be careful of being more spiritual than our Lord. [00:31:03] Now, of course, I mean, in inverted commas, can never be more spiritual than our Lord. But, you know, that kind of spirituality, you see, it is very easy to say, I'm going to stay, come wind, come weather. Our Lord did not say that. [00:31:20] He said, if they persecute you in one place or one area, flee to the next. [00:31:26] Don't be more spiritual than our Lord. Don't think that it is being sort of spiritually commendable to stick to your guns, necessarily. When our Lord said that when they persecute you in one place, flee to the next. [00:31:50] I have no doubt at all that there are times when the Lord clearly directs his servants to stay and not to flee. [00:32:01] It is, however, interesting that the emphasis of God's word is on fleeing, not staying. [00:32:11] Isn't that interesting? [00:32:14] Of course, we are dealing with the final phase again. But it still has a lot of lessons for us. [00:32:21] Now, certainly, the early church understood this matter clearly. When a period of fierce persecution hit the church in Jerusalem not long after its beginnings. The believers scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. The result was tremendous increase. Now, youll find that in acts, chapter eight and verses one and verse four, if you just want to look it up so that you've got it quite clear. [00:32:53] And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered aboard throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Now, verse four. They, therefore, that were scattered aboard, went about preaching the word. The result of this going about and preaching the word was that in the most wonderful way, all over the place churches came into being. [00:33:24] In the year 66 after ChrIst. The whole church in Jerusalem fled across the Jordan. And survived the massacre and destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 after ChrIst. Now, it is interesting to remember the experience of the early church in this matter. They were not afraid to flee. It is, of course, a technical point, but it appears that it was the hellenist believers who were scattered and not the hebrew believers, because it says, the apostles were not scattered. So it would seem that the original, you know, the Jews at that time were divided into two main groupings. There were the Hebrews who were the palestinian Jews, or the, we would say, israeli Jews today. And then the hellenist Jews, that is, the Jews of the dispersion, who were greek speaking. The Hebrew Jews were Hebrew speaking and much more conservative and traditionalist. And the hellenist were greek speaking, weren't afraid to use a greek translation of the Old Testament. And were tremendously forward looking now, Stephen was a hellenist, and although Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was brought up in a hellenist community. [00:34:44] So it is interesting that when that persecution first came to the church in Jerusalem, it seems that it was stirred up over Stephen and therefore all the hellenist believers. They were the ones that were scattered everywhere. Whereas the Hebrew. Thats only a technical. But the lesson is the same, that they were not afraid to flee when the persecution arose. They didn't just stay, they fled. [00:35:13] There are so many lessons in this matter. I wish we could spend a lot of time here. It is interesting also to remember the experience of our brethren in China. [00:35:25] As far back as the early part of the second World War. [00:35:33] The Brethren in Howden Road in Shanghai were aware that finally communism would somehow rather take China. They had already suffered in the north of China from it. And particularly some of them, like Brother Li, suffered very greatly at the hands of the communists with the water torture and other things left him with a refusal ever to believe anything that the communists said. [00:36:02] The church sought the Lord in those early days as to what it should do. And there were two or three things they did. First of all, they took a copy of all the ministry three times. They kept one copy in Shanghai, one copy in Hankow and the other they sent to Hong Kong when the Japanese came. In fact, none of those manuscripts were destroyed. And it seemed as if all danger passed. It was to do with war and not just communism at that point. But it was when the communists came in 1949, they destroyed all the manuscripts in Shanghai and all the manuscripts in Hankow. But the manuscripts in Hong Kong have become the source of all the written material of watchman knees ministry. And thus all over the world that ministry has got. Isn't it amazing that these men had the foresight all those years before to get together and they were aware that trouble was coming, you see, by the spirit of God. [00:37:01] Then again, on this matter of communism, they got together and they planned. I have my own views on the matter as to why watchman knees stayed. Think I'm probably right, but I shall wait till one day we talk with the matter. But the fact of the matter is that those brethren got together and there was much discussion as to whether they should all go, or if not all, who should go. [00:37:28] And the result was that it was decided amongst themselves that certain brethren should go when the time came and others should stay. Of course, our dear brother Stephen Kong, who was with us, was one of those that was very, very close to watchman knee. Indeed, he was like Timothy to him, and he wanted to stay. But it was brother knee who made him get on that last plane, which was the last plane that left communist Shanghai. [00:37:57] Because later Brother Ni changed his mind, which is interesting because it shows how human we all are. And when in the two years following, there was such tremendous open air meetings and every communists cleaned up the whole city, got rid of corruption, pornography, all that was swept out. And there was no corruption in government, local government, national government. It all seemed marvelous. And as far as the gospel was concerned, they were actually helped by the communists to have big open air meetings. Then, of course, Brother Ni was allowed to go out to Hong Kong and went out to Hong Kong, talked with brother Stephen and others, and said, come back. Come back. But it was Brother Lee who had had such bad experiences at the hands of the communists, who forbade Stephen to go back and thus saved his life. [00:38:48] Now, of course, we know all was within the hands of the Lord. There's no doubt about that. But you see, the interesting thing is this, that our brethren had this experience of praying about this matter. They weren't just taken by surprise. [00:39:05] They were prepared for it as to what they should do. And it is right for us, whether in the final phase or even in events before that, that we should face these things in the word of God. And as to what the law tells us to do, there is another little point. There are many of you dear older folks, and I wish to be, to not be in any way disrespectful, but there are a lot of you older folks that would never be touched by the communists. They will just let you meet, and they will let you, in one sense, have peace, because they believe that you will, in course of time, die anyway. You younger ones may have a more hard time if such a thing ever happens here or somewhere else. You understand? But even so. But the ones who have responsibility in the work of the Lord, they are marked people. [00:40:02] We may be allowed to have a certain time, but within a few years we shall be swept, as they've done in Cambodia now and Vietnam. All the believers have been with responsibility in the work of the Lord. Catholic, Protestant are being taken in a systematically purged or wiped out. [00:40:19] This is the way things are done, and therefore we have to face this kind of thing as to what we should do. If the Lord clearly directs us, you are to stay, then we must stay. [00:40:32] Now, we have to face the fact, and I'm sorry to have to bring you back to this, but we have to face the fact that the major problem in fleeing is the whole matter of family relationships and possessions. [00:40:48] Jewish experience of the Holocaust provides ample evidence for this, that the reason so many did not flee was because of business connections, because of material possessions, and above all, because of jewish family life. [00:41:10] People just could not bear to get up and go. [00:41:15] Now, we have dealt with this whole matter under our points three and four, and I can only say that you must go back to the tape and listen to that on the matter. When we spoke about holding material possessions lightly and this whole matter of marriage at the end and what to do if we have families and so on, we've sought to deal with someone. But you understand, you must face this problem. The whole problem in fleeing is simply to do with families and with possessions. [00:41:41] More families, I think, than possessions. Of course, it depends on character. [00:41:48] Maybe some people possessions more than family, I don't know. But the fact of the matter is the whole of history tells us what happens on this matter. And that's why we have to be very, very clear and realistic in our approach to this matter. Now, there is a third thing I would like to underline this evening, 13th and overall third this evening, when arraigned before hostile authorities, there is no need of premeditation as to what to say. [00:42:21] Again, you may think, what on earth are we doing spending a whole evening here talking about being a rainbow for hostile authorities? But it may well be that it will be the salvation of some here in years to come, if not in this country, in other parts of the earth, where you may be found. I want to look at it. Therefore, I want you to turn to Luke 21 and verses twelve to 19. [00:42:50] But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you and shall persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors, for my names sake. Settle it therefore in your I'm sorry, it shall turn unto you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay. Or again in Matthew, chapter ten and verses 19 and 20. But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your father that speaketh in you. And mark chapter 13 from verses nine to 13. I will not read those verses. I will leave you to read those yourself at leisure. [00:43:54] I think that one of the greatest fears you and I can have, especially if we are devoted to the Lord and his testimony is the possibility of letting him down, of compromising when it comes to the final and acid test. [00:44:18] I don't know if you have a fear like that in your heart, I'm sure. I think some people are just afraid of getting hurt, as on, well, that's the lower level fears, just afraid of insecurity or what might happen. But I think that many who really would not normally fear have got a deep seated fear that, put to the acid test, they would let the Lord down, that if once they were tortured, once they were pressurized, once they were brainless, they would compromise. And this is a deep inner fear that we will not sometimes even bring out into the open, but we suppress, but which is nevertheless there. [00:44:58] These words of the Lord are therefore full of encouragement and comfort. They have been given to us for the precise reason of delivering us from anxious fear and worry over this matter. [00:45:15] Now, what wonderful words they are. When you really look at them, listen to them. Let's just look at these words as found in these three lots of scriptures. First of all, Luke 20 113. It shall turn out to you for a testimony. [00:45:32] What wonderful words. We have a promise from the Lord, a specific promise to do with being arraigned before hostile authorities, anti God, antichrist, authority. [00:45:47] It shall turn out to you for a testimony. Far from letting the Lord down, it shall turn out to you for a testimony. [00:45:56] Praise the Lord. [00:45:58] Do you notice how he said, it shall turn out for you a testimony. Not the Lord will overrule it and make a testimony out of it, because when you fell, somehow or other he dragged you through. [00:46:08] But it shall turn out to you for a testimony. [00:46:14] The Lord will use you. [00:46:18] Wonderful. [00:46:20] The Lord will use such times to fulfil his purpose. [00:46:24] However severe the test, the Lord can use it and use you and turn the whole thing to glory. Now the second thing. Luke 20 114. Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand. How to answer? [00:46:45] Well, isn't the Lord wonderful? [00:46:49] He says, don't let any thought of the thing come into your head. Don't sit there one day in some cell sort of going round and round and round and round. If they ask this, I'll answer it this way. If they answer, how shall I answer that? Oh, dear, dear, dear. Supposing I let the Lord down, how will I do it? How shall I say it now? I'll think of don't get into a state of pre stage nerves, says the Lord. Don't meditate beforehand as to how you shall answer now, I think that that, again, is a wonderful word from the Lord. [00:47:28] Do not get into a terrible state of worry and nerves trying to work out what to say. Now, you may feel that this is so far removed from real, from reality tonight, but believe me, in another 20 years, for some of you, it may be the most terrible reality. [00:47:47] Then into your heads, when you're so confused and bewildered the enemy is trying to panic, you will come. These words of mine, spoken years before when we talked about being arraigned, before hostile authorities don't meditate beforehand. What you shall answer now. Matthew 1019 puts it even more beautifully. It says, be not anxious how or what you shall speak. Now, isn't the how and the what the chief two worries? [00:48:26] You see, some of us have the gift of the gab. [00:48:29] Not so many, but there are some of us who've got the gift of the gab. Now, those who've got this gift of the gab and can very easily say something. You see, we're not worried. We're worried as to how, whether there'll be the authority, whether there'll be the clarity, whether there'll be the impact, whether. Whether somehow or other, we'll be able to overcome all that atmosphere in a hostile court. When you remember that in Russia, every time a believer is convicted, the whole court, from judge down to jury, to everybody, stand and clap. [00:49:13] And that's why when I was in this, the Bible, Wales, the Bible college of Wales, the two russian boys said they cannot bear the charismatic meetings when everyone stands and claps. Because for them and the believers in Russia, they associate it with the court procedures against believers. [00:49:35] We think, how? [00:49:37] How will I stand up to it? Will I be able to speak with authority? Will I be able to speak with vitality, with clarity? Will my mind, after all they've done to me, be clear enough? The how or the what? [00:49:50] Be not anxious how or what? [00:49:56] Wonderful words of grace. The Lord's thought the whole thing out. [00:50:01] It is marvelous to see this. Settle it. Settle it in your heart. Not to indulge in premeditation, but simply trust the Lord. [00:50:14] Now you will say, but I can't. How could I trust the Lord? I mean, sort of standing before. Do you remember some of you being in the company for some years, years and years ago, in after times, we took one or two aftertimes to read what at least I did to read to you passages from that. [00:50:32] The sufferer's mirror, a book from 1570 or 80. We only had the last portion of the Alphabet of the sufferers who died under bloody Queen Mary. [00:50:46] But oh my, how we we couldn't help laughing at some of those things those people said to the judges and to the magistrates and to the bishops before they died. There was only one explanation. Wisdom came into those mouths, such as some of those people had never possessed. [00:51:09] Settle it, therefore in your hearts, not to indulge in premeditation. Sleep like a baby, put the whole thing out of your head, and it becomes to the third point. [00:51:20] Matthew 1019 it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak in that hour, not even a few hours before. [00:51:34] In that hour it shall be given you what you shall speak. Now will you notice three things, what ye shall speak. Secondly, it shall be given unto you. Given, not worked up, worked out, it shall be given unto you. And thirdly, in that hour, what a tremendous promise. Then fourthly, Matthew 1020, it is not you that speak, but the spirit of your father that speaketh in you. That surely is the most tremendous promise of all. If the spirit of the Father has never spoken in you before, that will be the one time he does. [00:52:28] If you trust him implicitly and obey him in this matter, you will find the spirit will speak through you. How wonderfully gracious the Lord to give this promise, and how we need to store this promise in our hearts for the future. Many could be saved from breakdown by this promise in years to come. [00:52:54] The spirit is going to speak through me in the hour that I need to say something. [00:53:02] Fifthly, Luke 20 115 I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or gainsay. Luke 20 115 if it is the Holy Spirit speaking in us, then we can understand this. [00:53:25] I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or gainsay. [00:53:34] It is very interesting, isn't it, that we have some fulfillments of this in Stephen when he was arraigned before hostile authorities and martyred. What a message that man gave, a message such as the people in Jerusalem had never heard in the whole of their lives. In many ways it was as marvellous as anything our Lord had said, because it was the spirit that spoke in him. [00:54:00] And when I think of some of the things Paul said before hostile authorities, my word, King Agrippa said at one time, Paul, you almost persuade me to be a Christian. [00:54:15] Given in that moment. Sometimes these words will you please all listen to me carefully on this matter? Sometimes these words of our Lord have been taken as a general principle by some in the ministry of the word of God. [00:54:35] That is, by some strange way, whether they feel that coming before a congregation is being arranged before hostile authorities, I do not know. But there is an idea among some brethren that you don't do anything in the way of seeking the Lord, of getting from the Lord or anything, a word from the Lord or any kind of study or anything like that at all. You just sort of go along and in the moment that it comes, you stand up and you have a wonderful word given to you. Well, I've seen this kind of thing, and it is wonderful when people do sometimes speak under the anointing of the spirit of God and they've not had a thinking. There have been times when I've stood up and not had a single thought in my head till a few moments before I had to speak, and sometimes to quite large congregations, but that has been the exception, thank God. [00:55:26] And generally speaking, I've already got something that I thought I should give, and just a while before I knew that that was not the word for that time, and then you were left with a complete vacuum. But that is a different matter. [00:55:39] Just to think that one can walk into the work of the Lord and just open your mouth and sort of trust the law. What happens is a terrible sameness comes into the ministry at a very poor, shallow level. [00:55:54] You can never be used by the Lord like that unless you work very hard in Bible study. Then when you have really got much of the word into your heart, then the Lord can sometimes bring you a word just like that into your heart. [00:56:12] But don't please misinterpret this in this way. When we find ourselves in such circumstances and situations, we can also experience specific grace made available to us by God himself. So if you come one day into specific circumstances, arraigned before hostile authorities, you will also know specific grace. Praise the Lord. You'll have an experience that you'll go into the presence of the Lord with, that others won't have had, and people will say, you were marvelous. And you will say, well, I don't know, I didn't feel marvellous. [00:56:55] You know very well it was the Lord. [00:56:59] Well, now, finally this evening, let's close on this, because some might well feel that those three points are somewhat morbid. [00:57:08] Let us finally close on this matter, 14th in our overall fourth tonight. Do not be terrified, but look up and lift up your heads. The Luke 21 nine. It says, when you hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified. [00:57:29] The end is not yet immediately. [00:57:33] And then he says in Luke 21 28, when these things begin to come to pass. Look up. Lift up your heads, because your redemption draweth nigh. There can be little doubt that many christians, when they begin to look realistically at what the word of God says about the end times, become very fearful and anxious. [00:57:59] This is even more true for those who are actually living, as I believe we are in the beginning of those days. You notice that it says, when you hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified. And then he says, this isn't the end. This is the beginning of the end. [00:58:22] However, listen to me. Running away from our fears is no antidote to fear, nor the burying of our heads in spiritual sand. [00:58:38] Indulging in some form or another of christian escapism will not help. When the test comes and finds us out, the only answer is to face squarely our fears. Now, to face what it is that gives rise to our fears. [00:59:10] Now, you see, if only we do this, we'd find half our fears. [00:59:15] The fangs can be taken out. [00:59:23] It's not just facing the fear that's the symptom. It's facing what gives rise to it. That is the root. [00:59:30] Now, if we, in the time we have available to us, were to start to face what are the root causes of these fears, it would be a very great deliverance. [00:59:46] Such realism is, however, only half the answer. The Lord told us clearly that when we see these things begin to come to pass, we were to look up and lift up our heads. [01:00:03] He describes the future for the true believer in four glorious words, your redemption doth nigh. He didn't say, your fiery ordeal draws near, or terrible tribulation comes upon you, or fearful persecution draws near, or the falling away of the many is coming to pass. [01:00:41] He said, your redemption draweth nigh. If he said fiery ordeal, he wouldn't be so wrong. If he said fierce persecution, he wouldn't be wrong. If he said a terrible tribulation, he wouldn't be wrong. If he said the falling away of the many at the end, the love of the many, growing cold, faith turning into cynicism, he wouldn't be wrong. [01:01:09] But our Lord never did mention any of that. He looked through it all and he said, your redemption draweth nigh. It is our redemption which draws near. And when there is no way out, you will not be able to go back, you will not be able to go sideways, and you will not be able to go forward, and you certainly won't be able to go down. The only way will be up. [01:01:36] And that's why he says, look up, lift up, your head, your redemption draweth. It is from heaven that our salvation will finally appear. [01:01:50] Isn't that wonderful? [01:01:53] It's a glorious thought. [01:01:55] He will appear and we will be caught up to be with him. [01:02:01] Now, if we keep our eye on this, it will be a tremendous encouragement to us because, you see, once we start to move into the final phase, well, thank God it's not open ended. It's not going to just go on for centuries and centuries and centuries. We know very well that there is an end. [01:02:22] Praise the Lord. And that means if we survive, we shall survive to the coming of the Lord. [01:02:30] Now, of course, ive often said, I dont know which is the greatest miracle to die and be put into the ground and ones body to go to dust in the few years that lie between now and the coming of the Lord. And then at the coming of the Lord to rise and not a hair of your head to have perished and the whole lot restored and you get there before those who are alive. [01:03:00] I don't know whether that's the best, or whether it's best to somehow survive the whole thing and see the Lord face to face without dying. [01:03:12] I don't know which experience I would prefer. [01:03:17] I've always liked being a little bit sort of unusual, I suppose when I think of all the other saints they've all had to die. It's rather nice being in the few that didn't. I don't know. [01:03:28] The point is, one has to leave it with the law, whichever experience. But both are going to be tremendous experiences and neither are going to actually sort of prevent the other. It's going to happen at once when the Lord appears, when the trump of the great archangel sounds, the dead in Christ rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them. [01:03:48] So shall we be forever with the Lord. Oh, what a wonderful thought. Our redemption dwarf. Because some people would say, but just wait, we are redeemed, aren't we? What does he mean, your redemption? [01:04:04] We are the redeemed, aren't we? Of course we are the redeemed. It's just like the salvation lass who sat in the carriage with Bishop Taylor Smith. [01:04:14] And because in those days salvation army tended to feel that perhaps Episcopalians weren't over clear on being converted, she tried to pluck up courage to ask the bishop whether he was saved. [01:04:32] And finally she did and she said, sir, are you saved? [01:04:37] And he looked at her for a great humour, he looked at her for a few moments and he said, what do you mean? [01:04:45] Do you mean have I been saved. [01:04:48] Am I being saved or shall I be saved? Because you know that, that the three tenses used of salvation. [01:04:58] We have been saved, we are being saved, and we shall be saved. Now, it's the same with redemption. [01:05:06] Isn't it wonderful? We are redeemed by the Lord, but we have redemption bodies to come. The apostle Paul glories to which he says, the redemption of our bodies. [01:05:20] Now, of course, those of you who are younger, you don't know too much about aching bodies or decay and all those kind of things that come with. Once you get a little older, in over 26 or 27, I mean, you begin to realize that these bodies are decaying things. And then you begin. This begins to mean something to you. In the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, in the twinkling of an eye, a single second, our bodies will be changed. [01:05:59] Now, I don't know if you've ever seen the twinkling of an eye. [01:06:04] Of course, all of you who are married, I suppose at some point you've seen the twinkling of an eye. I don't know. [01:06:11] But you know, when a person's eye sparkles, it's, isn't it? You don't see it for hours. You don't say, stop, I'll get a photograph, my camera, and catch the twinkling of your eye. You can't do it. The eye twinkles. It's gone so fast. But the Bible says in one corinthians 15 that in the twinkling of an eye, the change of our bodies will take place. [01:06:44] Well, don't you think that's something to look forward to? So if we've got to endure a bit of persecution and a bit of tribulation and a bit of upset and a few other things, thank God we've got something far more wonderful to look forward to and to help us to prevail and to endure. We had this wonderful thing that in the twinkling of an eye, these old bodies will be changed in an instant, in a second, think of it, we shall see the dead right raised, our own bodies changed, and all of us together. What a party. [01:07:22] It is amazing, isn't it? You see, perhaps you don't realize it, but the apostle Paul will be there, and John and James and Thomas, and you'll have Augustine and Jeremy, and you'll have hus and Calvin and Luther and John and Charles, whether George. They'll all be there, but not one of them will be left out. They'll all be in this party together, not just all of us and those we know who've fallen asleep in our generation. But all right the way through, going right back to the beginning of the church. Oh, it's tremendous. Look up, lift up your head. Your redemption. To us, it's something. We don't mind a little bit of trouble, do we, if that's going to be the end of it. [01:08:08] No wonder the old saints said, this is a blessed hope that purifies the soul. [01:08:17] Well, in the word. The Lord said, not a hair of your head shall perish, even if you are martyred, because he said, in that connection with being reigned before hostile authorities, and some of you they will kill. [01:08:33] And then he said, and not a hair of your head shall perish in your patience, win ye your soul. [01:08:46] Is it any wonder that we are told to lift up our heads? You know, when people's heads go down, it's because they're heavy, disconsolate. [01:09:00] One of the lovely things about the charismatic renewal and this moving of the spirit is the way people lift up their heads in prayer. [01:09:10] It's a new sort of sense of just being able to lift up. When you're justified, you can lift up your head unashamed because he's cleansed you and declared you righteous. Wonderful. [01:09:28] Is it any wonder that the Lord says, lift up your heads. Look up, don't look around, be very depressing. You've only got to read those verses about men's hearts fainting for fear and all the things that are happening. Don't even look up just to see the stars being shaken and the moon and the sun. But look up in that spiritual way to see the Lord. Lift up your head. [01:10:01] I like to think of it like this. I once heard an old divine when I was young in the Lord say this, and it came back to me this afternoon when thinking about this, let us not dwell on the contortions of the chrysalis. [01:10:16] Let us dwell on the emergence of the butterfly. [01:10:24] Don't let us just think of all the tribulation and trial and trouble that we have to pass through. Let us think of what it's going to end in. [01:10:36] And then we shall be encouraged and strengthened, and our hearts will be lifted up, and we shall be able to go forward together into all that the Lord has for his own. Don't be terrified. [01:10:51] Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption dwarf. [01:11:00] Shall we pray? [01:11:07] Dear Lord, we do pray that we shall not be those who just go under because of morbid fears and just a kind of negative approach to this whole matter. [01:11:19] We've talked, Lord, about some serious things tonight but, o father, we pray that we may not only be realistic and face squarely our fears. But, Lord, may we look up and lift up our heads. May this thought that our redemption draws near capture us, Lord, thrill us, exhilarate us that we may be apprehended for thyself, Lord, and prepared for that which thou dost want for eternity. [01:11:58] And so we ask all this with thanksgiving in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.