All Saints' Services/Sermon in Menahga 28.10.2012

Grace be unto you and peace from God, our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Let us quieten our hearts and minds this morning in thanksgiving and prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, holy and righteous God, we come before you this morning, dear Father, with hearts of thanks, thanking you for this day that you have blessed us with, thanking you for the gift of life that you have granted unto us this day. We thank you for the many blessings in this temporal life: our homes and our families, our dear brothers and sisters in living faith. But above all, dear Father, we thank you for this gift of faith. We thank you for your dear Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whom you saw it good to send down from heaven to redeem sinful man.

Dear Father, we ask: keep us in a place of a little child, desiring to hear your precious gospel message and believe it. Remember those, dear Father, who are battling difficulties in this life. You know our lives, dear Father, and we know that you have promised to lift and carry us to that destination there in heaven. Remember those, dear Father, who are in faraway places, battling the onslaughts of the enemy. Comfort and uplift them, and give them power and strength to believe.

And dear Father, we pray on behalf of those who have left your precious kingdom: call them back into this precious fold, so that they, too, could once again enjoy and have this peace of conscience, and be comforted with that, that they, too, could be heaven-acceptable.

And we pray this morning, dear Father, that you would give words of utterance to thy poor servants who are serving you wherever your word is preached. And also, we ask that you would give hearing ears and believing hearts.

And we pray as your Son has taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

We will pause around God's precious and holy word, this time from Paul's letter to First Corinthians, in its fifteenth chapter, verses fifty-one through fifty-eight. This is the epistle text that is set aside for All Saints' Day. And if it be God's will, we will pause around this holy word. The word goes in Jesus' name as follows:

"Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Amen.

We have been gathered around God's precious Word and enjoyed the fellowship of one another this weekend. And these words came to my mind thinking about these weekend services, All Saints services.

We are on a journey, a journey that for us, we pray that it will end one day in heaven. There is, we know, in life, two places. There is heaven, and there is eternal condemnation. God has granted life unto each one of us, and each one of them that is also in this world, God has given life. And when we are born into this world, we understand and believe that each child born into this world is a child of God.

When we think about this, dear brother and sister, what a precious gift it is and what a precious blessing it is that God has seen it good to give us life in a believing home. We have also witnessed in God's kingdom where God has called many from the world into His kingdom.

This gift of faith is such that we do not want to take it for granted, but rather we want to take care of it. It is a gift. Then thinking of this, how do we take care of this gift?

In the world, we have even spoken already about our presentation last night, that be not conformed to this world. Dear brother and sister, it is a battle. It is a battle that we are on, and God's Word speaks of it as such. I often think about this, and I think that if it no longer becomes a battle, I think the enemy has won over us.

When we read these words here, we see that the Apostle Paul wrote, "Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." When the Apostle Paul was writing these words, he was speaking also of when he says that we shall not all sleep. He was speaking of those in this unbelieving world that are sleeping. They don't have that gift of faith in their heart. But he says, "We shall all be changed." And isn't this so, dear brother and sister, that we will all be changed one day when God calls us to the blessed of the righteous in their home in heaven?

He says here that in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, that's how quickly that day will come. We do not know, dear brother and sister, if we will be called separately or if we will be called altogether, and it doesn't matter. But what matters, dear brother and sister, is that faith is on the heart, faith is found in our heart, that we are believing our sins forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood.

That portion of scripture comes to mind where Jesus brought that example of Noah. He was exhorting them at that time to be watchful. We are surrounded today by the corruptness and evil of this world, and the enemy of souls has his way of even lulling us into a sleep, that when we are so surrounded by everything, that we almost get used to it, of the sin and corruption that is out there.

And I even think also how the media and the internet, oh, how it's a place of watching, you dear young and dear brother and sister. The enemy of souls has his way to tempt and entice us. When we go on the internet, how has it been? You look on that page, and there's so many things that you can click on. And the flesh is such that, "Well, maybe I'll just click on this." So we see that. Then the enemy of souls says, "Well, you've already looked at this. Click on this." And so it goes, and that's how the enemy of souls works. He takes just little bits.

It's not so easy to fall into sin the first time, is it? But when we don't put that sin away, then what does the enemy of souls tell us? That, "You looked at that. You can do this. It's not gonna hurt you. You're still believing." This is how he works. He is so cunning, dear brother and sister, that, oh, how we need to be ever vigilant and watchful, even in this area.

I even think of Facebook. Yeah, it's pretty neat in the way a person can communicate, but dear youth and dear brother and sister, be careful. You know, whatever we put on there, God knows what we put on there. God can see it. And even in this, it is a place of watching.

But this portion in Matthew, where Jesus told of that illustration of the days of Noah, He said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only," speaking of that day that will come for each of us, where we will be called from this life to eternity.

And he says, "For as in the days of Noah, before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark." When I read about this, and we think about Noah, he preached, I believe, for a hundred and twenty years, and there were eight souls saved, his family. He must have been fairly doubt-ridden, I would think. But yet God gave him strength to do that will of His, and he was obedient to that call, just as we want to be obedient to God's Word and what the Spirit teaches.

Because when we read further in this portion, he says here, "Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come."

So what does it mean to be watchful? Dear brother and sister, it is this: sins forgiven, and put your sins away as they beset, that we have this healthy fear of God. And what is this fear of God? It is the fear of sin, that when sin besets, go quickly to put it away and believe it forgiven, because that's what keeps our conscience pure and undefiled.

If we do not do this, dear brother and sister, what happens? Sin piles upon sin. The conscience slowly but surely becomes hardened to the things of this world, and it no longer guides us. It no longer warns us of the dangers of sin. Because I know it warns us that first time, doesn't it? And the second, and the third.

But dear brother and sister, we also want our conscience to be bound by God's Word. That if sin has hardened the conscience, then we hear what the Spirit teaches and speaks in the congregation. Because it can become so that, "Well, I can do that and still come to church and believe." This is what the enemy of souls works on, is to harden the conscience, and that's why God's Word encourages us to go quickly to that throne of grace in time of need, so that conscience can remain tender and that it would continue to lead and guide us on the straight and narrow pathway to heaven.

Isn't that how it is? That's why it's so important that we hear the voice of God in the congregation, that it speaks to us, and then we realize that, "Yes, that's me. God is speaking to me." Oh, how many times this has happened in my life, where God has opened the understanding and said, "That is me."

This is why it's important to come to the hearing of God's holy and precious Word, where we can be encouraged and uplifted by and through that gospel message, and where we can believe all sins forgiven.

And even now, dear brother and sister, I wish to encourage you from the heart of God, that believe all of your sins, all of your doubts and fears forgiven in Jesus' name and precious atonement blood.

We are on a good road, dear brother and sister, a road that will lead us to heaven. It's a simple faith, but oh, how the enemy of souls wants to make it difficult. He wants us to question this and that and the other thing. That's how our carnal mind is. The Bible says that our carnal mind is enmity towards God.

Yes, God has blessed us with minds and brains, but yet God encourages us to have childlike faith. Why did Jesus pick up that little baby and hold it up and said, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven?" Those little babies are so dependent on the mother, and that's how we want to be dependent, totally dependent on the mother congregation. That what does the Spirit teach in God's congregation? And dear Father, give me an obedient heart and mind to do your will. Isn't that our prayer, dear brother and sister?

This text continues: "For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory!'"

Oh, what a victory that will be, dear brother and sister, you dear youth, when we can lay down that travel staff of faith and attain that goal where those former saints have gone before. When we even think of them, it encourages us, doesn't it? That destination, He will help us also.

And then this text continues: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" For a believer, dear brother and sister, there is no sting in death, and there is no victory in the grave, because we will be raised one day there to heaven's shore. Isn't it a precious matter, dear brother and sister?

It says the sting of death is sin. Oh, how we pray for those on the outside of this world, that God would effect in their hearts the desire to search for His kingdom. And God will. We have witnessed this, that God leads those on the outside to His precious kingdom.

And this is our prayer, that it would be our prayer that everyone on the outside of this world, outside of God's kingdom, would attain the forgiveness of their sins, attain that gift of faith that God gives.

Maybe there has one come here today that feels in their own heart that they do not own this gift of faith that God is offering. You, dear one, have come to the right place. God is speaking to you. You, even now, can uplift your heart and believe that even that greatest sin of unbelief forgiven, and all your sins forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood. There doesn't need to be that sting of death for you, but rather, you can believe your sins forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood. And there, too, you will own this gift of faith that will one day lead you to that destination in heaven.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Oh, how we... don't we thank God for this precious gift and rejoice in our hearts that God has called us to be one of His own?

Dear brother and sisters, take care of your gift of faith. Put sins away. Do not listen to the lies of the enemy, where he entices you to go and see what's on the outside of the doors of God's kingdom. There is nothing there. We heard it so preciously last night, that there is nothing there.

We are surrounded by dear brothers and sisters in living faith, dear friends that will help us get to heaven. It's a shallow and empty life in that world out there. It pays to believe, dear brother and sister. Uplift your hearts and believe all of your sins and doubts forgiven in Jesus' name and precious blood. Oh, what a victory we have awaiting us there in heaven.

This text continues: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, insomuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." Dear brother and sister, it is a worthwhile journey. The reward that awaits us is so great. Be steadfast. Battle against that threefold enemy. It is a worthwhile battle.

And even though this will be my last service here, it has been good to be in your midst. It has been so refreshing to my life of faith, and I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the goodness that has been extended out to me.

I ask for your prayers for me and my family. Remember us there in Toledo, and may God grant each of you a safe journey to heaven.

Do you want to hear that gospel that can have my sins forgiven? In Jesus' name and always His blessed name. Amen.