Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: RJC
Program Code: RJC000026
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00:19 And welcome to the continuation
00:21 of The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:24 Very happy to have each of you here tonight 00:27 and to welcome all of you that are joining us by television 00:31 or through the radio or on the Internet. 00:34 Glad that you're here and tuned in, 00:38 and we hope that as we go through God's Word tonight 00:41 that you will follow along. Be sure and get your Bible 00:45 and some paper and notes that as we study 00:49 tonight the 19th chapter of Revelation - 00:55 The Marriage Supper of The Lamb - 00:57 we're going to see what God has to say about how 01:01 at the end this whole thing is wrapped up. 01:05 All comes together. 01:08 So we hope you'll follow carefully 01:10 as we consider this subject tonight. 01:14 Also we would encourage you to be sure and look at the 01:19 scripture - particularly the book of Revelation - 01:23 because if there's any one book 01:25 that is vital to people today it's the book of Revelation 01:30 because it tells us where we are 01:33 and what's happening... what's taking place in the world 01:36 in preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ. 01:39 So we hope you'll be sure and get into the book of Revelation 01:42 and study it as we take a look at it. 01:45 But tonight we're looking at The Marriage Supper of the Lamb. 01:50 And then after that our presentation - our next 01:55 presentation - is on the Millennium. 01:58 That's where we'll be going... 02:00 which is the 20th chapter of Revelation. 02:02 After the marriage supper of the Lamb 02:05 then you have the thousand years or the millennium. 02:08 And that's what we're going to be looking at. 02:10 And we're going to answer such questions as: 02:13 During this thousand years that it talks about 02:17 where is the devil going to be during that time? 02:21 Where are the wicked? 02:24 Where are the righteous? 02:26 What starts that thousand years? 02:28 What brings it to a close? 02:30 We'll take a look at all those very important subjects. 02:33 So we hope you'll be sure and be with us 02:35 as we get into the subject of the millennium. 02:39 I think you'll find it to be very, very helpful to you. 02:43 We're glad tonight to welcome back the His Voice quartet. 02:49 And they're going to sing for you tonight a song entitled 02:52 Let the Heaven Light Shine On Me. 02:55 And I'm sure you're going to enjoy that. 02:58 As I heard them practicing it it sounded wonderful to me. 03:01 But before they do, Chuck Allgaier is going to come 03:04 and he's going to read with you 03:06 the 19th chapter of the book of Revelation. 03:10 Good evening again. 03:12 If you have your Bibles with you tonight, 03:14 please turn them to the book of Revelation: 03:16 Revelation chapter 19 03:18 and we're going to read that together. 03:20 So if you have your Bibles... 03:21 Revelation 19... let's read together: 07:06 May God add His blessing to His Word. 07:13 Let the heaven light shine on me; 07:19 Let the heaven light shine on me; 07:24 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 07:29 Let the heaven light shine on me. 07:35 Oh, brother you must bow so low; 07:40 Oh, brother you must bow so low; 07:46 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 07:52 Let the heaven light shine on me. 07:57 Let the heaven light shine on me; 08:03 Let the heaven light shine on me; 08:08 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 08:14 Let the heaven light shine on me. 08:19 Oh, deacon you must bow so low; 08:25 Deacon you must bow so low. 08:30 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 08:36 Let the heaven light shine on me. 08:41 Let the heaven light shine on me; 08:47 Let the heaven light shine on me; 08:52 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 08:57 Let the heaven light shine on me. 09:03 Oh, preacher you must bow so low; 09:09 Preacher you must bow so low; 09:14 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 09:20 Let the heaven light shine on me. 09:26 Let the heaven light shine on me; 09:32 Let the heaven light shine on me; 09:38 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 09:44 Let the heaven light shine on me. 09:49 Let the heaven light shine on me; 09:55 Let the heaven light shine on me; 10:01 For low is the way to the upper bright world; 10:07 Let the heaven light shine on me. 10:13 Let the heaven light 10:17 shine 10:21 on 10:27 me. 10:51 Gracious Lord, 10:55 we look forward to the day that You will come back. 11:00 That indeed heaven's light will shine upon us 11:04 and that we all might be gathered around that great table 11:09 and to enjoy the feast... 11:15 the great marriage supper that You prepared for each one of us. 11:21 Bless us this evening as we open Your Word. 11:26 May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts. 11:30 May it give us wisdom, understanding... 11:34 that we each may prepare our lives and our hearts 11:39 to be with You. 11:40 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 11:51 Well, the great controversy is ended. 11:54 The victory is won. 11:57 Time of the marriage supper of the Lamb has come. 12:03 Conflict is over. 12:07 And it says here in Revelation 19... It says: 12:23 Now watch carefully as John picks up... 12:27 reaches back and picks up some of the very first things 12:31 in the book of Revelation, 12:33 particularly in the 4th chapter, 12:35 and now projects it clear to the 19th chapter 12:39 because this is what he says: 12:54 So he said this woman - Babylon - who has 12:58 done this... all this to the servants of God 13:01 down through the ages - now He has avenged... 13:04 avenged on her the blood of all the saints. 13:13 Come to an end. 13:29 So what John is trying to get across to us here, folks, 13:33 is that the things that he said and told in the 4th chapter 13:38 those visions have been given to John 13:42 all down through the book of Revelation 13:44 that we've studied here 13:46 and they have now come to a completion... 13:49 to an end. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures 13:53 and the angels are all there saying this has happened 13:57 as God said it would. 14:19 And you find that same thing there in the beginning 14:22 of the book of Revelation 14:24 where it speaks of a voice as a great thunder 14:26 and as many waters proclaiming God's greatness. 14:31 And so this is the time in which the marriage supper of the Lamb 14:37 has come. Babylon is no more. 14:41 All the false systems, all the religions, 14:47 all those that were in opposition to God 14:50 and have led people away from what God's Word teaches 14:55 they have come to an end. 14:57 They are no more... Babylon is done. 15:03 And you and I must understand that this a great controversy. 15:10 That this is a struggle 15:13 between truth and falsehood. 15:17 This is a struggle between what is right and what is wrong. 15:22 And look at it any way you want to, folks, 15:27 there is no half way. 15:30 There is no such thing in Christianity 15:35 as there is in many of the other religions. 15:39 There is no such thing in Christianity 15:42 like the ying and the yang. 15:45 Which you understand what I'm saying about 15:48 when it talks about the ying and the yang in false religions. 15:52 That's saying that there is a balance between 15:55 what is right and what is wrong. 15:56 There is no balance in Christianity between what's 15:59 right and wrong. Just doesn't exist. 16:02 It is what is right - what is righteousness - 16:06 what is just, what is good. That has come to the place 16:11 that it has triumphed and God now is in charge. 16:17 The seven last plagues have been poured out. 16:22 God has avenged the blood of His saints 16:28 and His martyrs down through time. 16:31 He has avenged them. He has poured out upon Babylon 16:36 a double portion in the seven last plagues. 16:40 The system of falsehood, the system of corruption, 16:45 the system that led people away from God... 16:47 that whole system has come to an end. 16:53 It is no more. 16:55 And now - since that has come to an end - 16:59 it's time for the marriage supper of the Lamb. 17:05 God's going to gather all of His people 17:08 for this great marriage supper. 17:12 When He has the marriage supper of the Lamb, folks, 17:15 you'll find that as John records it as the Lord gave it to him 17:19 it was patterned after a Jewish wedding. 17:25 That's how the marriage supper of the Lamb is 17:28 is after a Jewish wedding. 17:30 And the elements of conducting a Jewish wedding 17:34 is what you have in the marriage supper of the Lamb. 17:36 So these were the things in a Jewish wedding 17:40 that took place: 17:47 He goes to there; 17:51 pays the dowry. 17:53 There was no such thing as a wedding - 17:58 as a marriage - if he didn't pay the dowry. 18:03 He had to pay a dowry. Maybe it was different - 18:08 depending on what the father asked 18:11 what the dowry was - but he had to pay the dowry 18:16 whatever it was. And by the way, the dowry belonged to the wife. 18:21 She's the one that got the dowry. 18:24 That was her guarantee, if you please, 18:30 that if the home broke up she took the dowry. 18:34 That was her's... and so it belonged to her. 18:38 And there was no such thing as a wedding 18:41 without him paying the dowry. 18:44 OK. Secondly, he then returned to his father's house 18:49 to prepare a place for her. 18:51 After he'd gone to the father, talked to them, 18:55 had paid the dowry for his wife, 18:58 then he goes back and prepares a place for her. 19:03 Because up to that point there was no guarantee of the wedding. 19:06 But once he had paid the dowry 19:10 then it was solid, it was sure, 19:13 and he went back and prepared a place 19:17 where they were going to live. And many times 19:19 there he built at home at... by his father's 19:22 home... that's where he built a home for he and his wife. 19:25 And that was the place that he built. 19:28 After he had built a place, 19:31 prepared a place for her, the bride during this time: 19:38 So it's during this time while he's off building a home 19:44 for them, she is to get herself ready for the wedding. 19:49 This is when she does all the preparation for the wedding. 19:53 That's what took place... they got ready for the wedding. 19:56 And as you read through the scripture 19:58 you find many many cases of that 20:01 where it talks about a wedding and it talks about how 20:05 the bride got herself ready for the wedding. 20:09 That was typical of a Jewish wedding. 20:18 So when the house is built, everything's ready, 20:21 the bride has got herself all ready, 20:24 then he comes back to get the bride... 20:28 claim his bride. 20:32 And then from there he takes her to his father's house 20:35 for the wedding. 20:37 That is how a Jewish wedding took place. 20:42 And this whole story and the marriage supper of the Lamb 20:48 is built on that. And if you understand that 20:51 all of a sudden you can see exactly what Christ did 20:55 because it all falls within what took place here at the wedding. 21:00 For instance, it tells us: 21:10 In other words, a man leaves the home of his parents 21:16 and goes to find a bride. 21:21 Find a wife. Shall leave them. 21:23 Finds a wife. Says he shall be joined to her. 21:27 And God simply takes that whole situation 21:31 and compares it to what He does with the church. 21:43 So he takes that whole scenario 21:47 of courtship, wedding, and all 21:52 and compares it between Christ and His love for the church. 21:57 That's what he has here. All right. 22:10 So he said: "All of it's taken place. You need to rejoice. 22:16 Be merry, for the time has come. 22:19 The wife has made herself ready. " 22:24 OK. 22:36 She is arrayed in fine linen. 22:40 Clean, bright... 22:44 for this is the righteous acts of the saints. 22:50 Hmmm. How does that happen? 22:54 How does that take place? Righteous acts of the saints. 23:14 Said: "Blessed are those who are called 23:17 to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 23:19 These are true sayings of God. " 23:22 Well, let's look at it. 23:24 Christ decided to leave the Father's house. 23:32 Made that decision to come to this earth. 23:38 Came here. 23:52 He came from His Father's house. 23:54 Coming here for what purpose? 23:59 What's He coming here for? 24:01 To pay the dowry... coming to pay the dowry. 24:21 So He was there in the beginning with His Father. 24:25 And He said: "Now I have come to the earth, 24:27 I have done what You've asked Me to do. 24:29 Glorify Me with the glory I had with You 24:33 back even before this world ever existed. " 24:37 So He's coming to this earth to get His bride 24:41 to pay the dowry for her. 24:51 Do you understand that? 24:53 He paid the dowry. 24:57 That means He paid it for you. 25:01 Paid the dowry. Listen to this: 25:15 That was the dowry. 25:17 The dowry required for Him to give His life 25:23 for her. Highest price that could be asked: 25:29 that He would have to lay down His life for her. 25:34 And remember... who gets the dowry? 25:37 The bride. 25:40 Yeah. Paid it. Paid it for her. 25:44 It's good for eternity. 25:48 Throughout eternity that dowry is good. 25:52 It's a guarantee that you and I can be in the kingdom of God. 25:58 That He paid it for us. 26:01 And so He paid the dowry, and after He paid the dowry 26:05 then what did He do? 26:10 Well He went back to His Father. 26:16 Paid the dowry; that was the guarantee. 26:20 There was no question, folks... please understand 26:25 that when He died on Calvary that settled it. 26:30 There was no question after that. 26:34 He could go back to heaven and now He could prepare a place 26:39 for His bride. And so He left. 26:42 And the text that all of you know: 27:11 So He said: "I'm going to go away. 27:13 I'm going to go prepare a place for you. " 27:16 And so He went back to His Father 27:19 to prepare a place for His bride. 27:24 That's what He's been doing... 27:28 preparing a place for you and for me. 27:34 Probably His preparing a place for us 27:42 could be done a lot, lot faster 27:50 than the time that it took for the bride to prepare herself. 27:58 I'm afraid that the length of time 28:01 that we've been on this earth 28:05 from the time that He left to go back to His Father 28:11 to this day is not because He has been slow 28:16 in preparing a place. 28:19 I'm afraid it has more to do 28:22 with the bride getting herself ready. 28:31 How... 28:33 how does she make herself ready 28:39 for Him to come back? 28:42 Well, let's see what it says: 28:55 In other words, it says that this washing process - 28:59 the cleansing that takes place - 29:03 all takes place by the? 29:08 What? It all takes place by the Word. 29:14 In other words, this is how the cleansing process takes place 29:20 is by the Word. 29:29 Are some of you staying dirty? 29:34 Hmmm? 29:36 Are you not being washed 29:39 because you're not spending any time in the Word? 29:44 'Cause that's what's cleansing. 29:46 What does that do... what does the Word do 29:49 for you and for me? 30:03 That all takes place by the Word. 30:06 So dear friend, get out your Bible and read! 30:10 Spend time in the Word of God. 30:12 There is nothing, nothing... nothing that you do 30:17 that's more important than the time you spend 30:21 in the Word of God... 30:23 especially in this day and age. 30:26 That you and I must spend time in the scripture 30:31 if we are going to receive the cleansing 30:35 that He desires to give us. 30:38 Have to spend time in the Word of God. 30:58 Please notice I highlighted that word granted. 31:03 You see, in the original that meant given. 31:09 That's what it means: "to her was GIVEN" - 31:12 if you please - "to be arrayed in fine linen. " 31:16 It's not something that she 31:20 is capable of doing of her own works. 31:24 It's something that was given to her 31:27 totally and completely... and it comes free. 31:33 You can't work for it. You can't buy it. 31:37 The righteousness that you and I need and must have 31:43 is totally without one thread 31:48 of human devising. 31:51 It is completely the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 31:57 Comes no other way. 32:00 But I can't have that if I am not willing 32:07 to spend time with Him. 32:09 I have to spend time in the Word for that to take place. 32:30 Puts upon us this robe of righteousness 32:34 that He alone can give to us. 32:54 See, this is how that takes place. 32:58 Take your Bible. 33:02 Turn over with me... over to Matthew. 33:05 Gospel of Matthew. 33:10 Twenty-second chapter. 33:14 Matthew 22nd chapter. Let's look at verse 10. 33:20 Because Jesus... Jesus told the story 33:25 of a great supper, 33:28 referring to this wedding supper of the Lamb. 33:32 And He had this to say. Let's start with verse 10: 33:35 "So those servants went out into the highways 33:40 and gathered together all whom they found 33:43 both bad and good. 33:46 And the wedding hall was filled with guests. " 33:50 Servants went out and they gathered the people. 33:55 What kind of people? 34:00 Bad and good. 34:02 It doesn't say just good, folks. 34:06 Says the wedding hall was filled with bad and good. 34:11 There in the wedding hall were all kinds of morally 34:17 good people. 34:19 People who had been raised morally good. 34:26 Hall is full of them. 34:30 But the hall is also full of bad people. 34:39 Which is trying to show you that 34:44 there isn't really anything within ourselves 34:50 that makes us acceptable unto Him. 34:57 None of us. 35:01 Let's go on. Let's see... there's something 35:05 that is a common denominator among them. 35:08 Look at verse 11: 35:11 "And when the king came in to see the guests 35:15 he saw a man there who did not have on the wedding garment. " 35:20 The common denominator among them all: 35:23 they had a wedding garment. 35:27 There were some of them that were good moral people. 35:33 There were some of them that were bad. 35:37 But they had... all of them... had the wedding garment 35:44 that had been given to them by the king. 35:50 That was the thing that made the difference. 35:52 That's what gave them right to be there 35:55 was the wedding garment. 36:00 "So he said to him: 'friend, how did you come in here 36:04 without the wedding garment? ' 36:05 And he was speechless. 36:09 Then the king said to the servants: 36:11 'bind him hand and foot and take him away 36:13 and cast him into outer darkness. ' 36:15 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth 36:18 for many are called but few are chosen. " 36:22 Said: "Friend, what are you doing in here 36:26 without the wedding garment? " 36:28 What... what was he going to say? 36:31 He couldn't say to the king: "Well... 36:35 I couldn't afford it. " 36:37 It was free. 36:39 Didn't cost anything. 36:41 He didn't dare say to the king "I didn't like it. " 36:44 You don't tell kings that. 36:46 So what was he going to say? 36:50 Couldn't say anything... he was "speechless. " 36:52 So with you and I. 36:55 Righteousness of Christ 36:58 is offered to you totally and completely free. 37:05 All you and I have to do is accept it and put it on. 37:12 Covers... covers all our sins. 37:18 To the morally good it covers them, 37:24 and to the bad it covers them. 37:27 This is given to all. 37:31 This is the garment of Christ's righteousness. 37:48 You see... the bride is the church. 37:54 You and I are the guests, 37:58 and we're invited to the wedding. 38:02 It's required 38:07 that we have the wedding garment 38:10 which is the righteousness of Christ. 38:12 Now I'm going to ask you something. 38:17 Are you becoming kinder? 38:23 Are you becoming more loving? 38:28 Are you becoming more gentle? 38:32 Are you becoming more forgiving? 38:37 For that is what is to happen. 38:40 That is the righteousness of Christ. 38:47 This is what must happen to us 38:51 if we're going to do what He wants us to do. 38:56 Now the bridegroom - when the bride's ready - 39:01 the bridegroom is going to return to receive His bride. 39:04 He'll come back and get her. 39:16 Watch again as John reaches back to the very first 39:21 chapter of the book of Revelation 39:23 and pulls out many of the attributes of Jesus Christ. 39:29 Because you have a word description of Christ 39:31 in the first chapter of Revelation. 39:33 Here he comes back with some of the same descriptions 39:38 of Christ: righteousness. "He judges and makes war... " 39:58 The name is called what? 40:00 There must be some relationship 40:03 between this book and the Lord Jesus Christ. 40:11 If you want to get to know Him, 40:16 you find Him right here. 40:19 That's where you find Him. 40:56 Why? Why would He have His name written 41:01 on His robe and on His thigh? 41:06 Why would He do that? 41:10 Because His robe 41:15 is a robe of righteousness 41:20 and He is righteous. 41:22 But you find it's written on His thigh 41:26 because that's a sign of His covenant 41:29 that He makes with you and with me. 41:34 The covenant that He makes and says: 41:37 "I will be your God 41:39 and you shall be My people. " 41:44 And He said: "I'll remember your sins no more, 41:47 and I'll cover you with My righteousness 41:51 and I will be your God. " 41:53 And so here He is coming back and He's saying: 41:55 "I am the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. 41:58 I am your God; you are My people. " 42:05 Gathers His bride. 42:08 Now you have to understand 42:10 that He's the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. 42:15 And since He is that, 42:19 there is a certain amount of... how should I put it? 42:25 cleaning up that He has to do. 42:29 So you have the marriage supper of the Lamb 42:33 where you're invited. 42:38 You're a guest. 42:40 You can be there, and being that you're a guest 42:44 He in His majesty and in His kindness and His love 42:48 gives to you the robe of His righteousness. 42:55 But if you don't want 42:59 to be involved in the marriage supper of the Lamb, 43:02 if you don't want to go to it, 43:04 then there's another supper that you WILL go to... 43:10 whether you want to or whether you don't. 43:13 And both these suppers are pictured in this chapter. 43:19 And it describes it. It speaks of this angel 43:24 that stands in the sun. 43:42 Now this is not the marriage supper of the Lamb. 43:47 This is the supper of the great God. 43:51 OK? Inviting all the birds 43:55 to come to this supper. Watch: 44:19 Invitation... come. 44:25 You may eat the flesh of all those 44:30 that spurned the invitation 44:35 to the marriage supper of the Lamb. 44:38 You see, dear friend... it's your choice. 44:43 It's up to you to choose. 44:46 It has to be your choice 44:49 whether you are going to be a guest 44:54 at the marriage supper of the Lamb 44:56 or whether you're going to be at the supper of the great God, 45:00 of the great God Almighty, 45:03 where the birds will come 45:09 and they'll eat the flesh of all people. 45:28 All in opposition to God 45:33 come 45:37 to war against the King of Kings 45:41 and the Lord of Lords. 45:44 Going to fight Him... be against Him. 46:01 So here he speaks of the beast, the false prophet. 46:05 They're there. They're part of this great group of people 46:09 there, and the beast was captured. 46:13 And the false prophet. 46:27 You see, what it's talking here, folks, 46:29 is this great trinity 46:34 of evil, this trinity that was absolutely opposed 46:40 to God and the teaching of God's Word... 46:43 these are captured, thrown into the lake of fire. 46:47 Someone else is too. 47:01 When it says "they were killed 47:05 with the sword that proceeds from the mouth 47:09 of Him who sits on the horse, " 47:11 what proceeds from His mouth? 47:16 What's the sword? 47:18 The Word of God. 47:21 You see, they one time said something about 47:26 Christ judging and He said: "I don't judge you. " 47:28 He said: "The words judge you. " 47:33 You see, you have to come to the place in your experience 47:38 where when you read what it says 47:41 you're willing to accept what it says. 47:46 I run onto people that read what it says 47:51 but not willing to accept it. 47:55 Or read what it says 47:58 and say it doesn't make any difference. 48:03 I... I... In my own personal experience 48:07 I had to come to the place 48:11 where I decided that I had to give the Lord 48:16 the right to call the shots. 48:21 That I could not go on through life 48:25 calling the shots. 48:28 That I had to let Him say: "Yes, this is what you do. " 48:32 "Yes, this isn't what you do. " 48:34 And I had to accept that and say: "Yes, Lord. " 48:39 If I'm not willing to do that, 48:43 then He can't do His work in my life. 48:47 He can't do for me what He needs to do. 48:51 The Holy Spirit... the Holy Spirit, dear friend, 48:56 must come into our life and do its work to change us 49:02 and to make us different. 49:04 To make us love one another. 49:08 To make us be kind and tender and loving. 49:11 That is the work of the Holy Spirit, 49:13 and I have to be submissive to that work. 49:17 "These will make war with the Lamb. " 49:22 This is referring to the ten kings, the beast, 49:24 the false prophet. 49:39 You're called; you're chosen. 49:43 You're supposed to be at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 49:49 "These have made war with the Lamb. " 50:07 As we said, the beast, the false prophet... 50:10 they've been captured. They have been cast into the lake of fire. 50:20 Watch: 50:30 So here you have all three - 50:34 the beast, the false prophet, the devil - 50:37 they all have been cast into the lake of fire. 50:39 Which is basically saying, dear friend, 50:42 that He has brought this to an end. 50:46 There will be sin no more. 50:50 It's forever ended. 50:52 And He's going to put an end to it. 51:08 The angel came, invited them to come 51:12 and to eat the flesh of kings and captains 51:14 and horses and so forth. 51:16 And it says "they were filled with their flesh. " 51:19 Now watch as Jeremiah gives you an insight 51:24 into what happens here: 51:36 You understand what he's saying 51:41 when he says here: "I beheld; indeed there was no man. 51:45 The birds of the heaven had fled? " 51:48 Well, folks, he's just saying "supper's over. " 51:50 That's what he's saying. 51:53 The birds have come and they've eaten them. 51:56 There's no man. 51:58 They've fled... it's over. 52:01 Brought it to an end. 52:05 Sin, sinners will be no more. 52:11 Righteousness... God's kingdom will be for eternity. 52:17 To you and to me He gives that wonderful promise: 52:33 So tonight the King of Kings 52:39 and the Lord of Lords is inviting you 52:44 to come. To be part of the marriage supper of the Lamb. 52:50 Dear friend, you may have classified yourself 52:55 as some of those guests that were bad 53:00 but please notice: He had a wedding garment 53:04 for each one of them. 53:06 And that garment covers that person. 53:11 Or you may be this person who has been 53:15 raised in the church. 53:20 You may be one of these individuals that I hear 53:23 say: "Oh, I know all that, " 53:27 but in the depth of your soul you know that you are lost 53:33 just the same as that person that's bad. 53:37 But the Lord simply invites you to come. 53:41 He has a robe of righteousness to cover your life 53:46 that you and I may have the marvelous privilege 53:52 of sitting down and eating 53:55 at the marriage supper of the Lamb. 53:57 Let us pray. 53:59 Father in heaven, 54:01 for Your invitation... we thank you. 54:05 May we each one reach out and accept 54:12 this marvelous gift - 54:14 indescribable gift: 54:17 that You paid the dowry 54:21 that we each can be saved. 54:26 May each one here and those that are listening, 54:29 those that are watching, reach out tonight and accept You 54:33 into their lives we pray. In Christ's name, Amen. 54:37 God bless you; good night. 54:41 In the heart of southern Illinois 54:43 lies a small town named after A. J. Mason 54:48 who came in 1923 with plans for a dream city 54:52 and the largest coal mine in the United States. 54:55 Surveyors laid out the streets and the sidewalk 54:58 and workers built the tallest smokestack in the country 55:02 complete with a Spanish turret 55:05 and decorative cathedral doors at the top. 55:08 Railroad tracks were laid, 55:10 and as word of this dream city spread 55:13 people flocked in by the thousands. 55:16 But as the black coal came out of those deep tunnels 55:20 miners came closer and closer to the end of the dream. 55:25 And after just three years of mining 55:27 an underground river flooded the shaft. 55:31 Suddenly the operations became very costly 55:34 and although Mr. Mason poured millions into his mine 55:39 eventually it was taken over by the bank. 55:42 People left the city in droves. 55:45 Some didn't even bother to take their furniture. 55:47 Soon the tracks lay dormant. 55:50 Weeds grew up around the beautiful train station, 55:53 and abandoned homes gave way to trees. 55:57 Today locals say that Mason is the only town in America 56:02 where you can hunt quail from the sidewalk. 56:05 Although other coal companies tried to revive it, 56:08 Mason's mine never again turned a profit 56:13 and today only a few hundred people are left. 56:16 Mr. Mason's dream went up in smoke. 56:20 All that remains is a beautiful smokestack, 56:24 an old train station, 56:26 and miles of deserted tracks. 56:30 The Bible says earthly treasures are easily stolen 56:34 by thieves and destroyed by moth and rust. 56:38 But our Heavenly Father is building a dream city 56:41 with streets of gold and mansions by a crystal sea. 56:45 He invites us to come live with Him for eternity 56:48 and never grow old. 56:50 The Bible also says that where our treasure is 56:54 there our heart will be also. 56:56 And in this day and age when stocks lose their value 57:00 in minutes and entire banking systems fail 57:04 God invites us to put our treasures in things of 57:08 eternal value. 57:09 Friends, nothing is more valuable than a human soul. 57:14 Won't you help us bring the good news of salvation 57:17 to those who are lost? 57:19 Please, ask the Holy Spirit what He would have you do. 57:25 Please consider what you can do for those who 57:29 still don't know about Jesus. 57:31 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:32 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:48 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:51 through television. Your gifts bring the blessed hope 57:53 of salvation to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17