Please turn to 2 Corinthians 4:18.
We look not at the things which are seen,
but at the things which are not seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal;
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
May we have a short word of prayer?
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for gathering together at this time. We know that Thou art here in our presence, and we are in Thy presence. Prepare our hearts that we may be able to hear what Thou hast to say to us.
O dear Lord, we want Thee to be honored and glorified. We want to know Thy will. We want to follow Thee all the days of our lives, and Thy will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. We give Thee this time, and may all glory be unto Thyself. We ask in Thy name. Amen.
What is the glory of the Lord?
Our Lord Jesus, as the Son of God, has glory with His Father from the very beginning. But this is not the glory that we are talking about. We are talking about the glory of the Son of Man.
By the mercy of God, the Son of God came into this world and became a man. He lived upon this earth for thirty-three and a half years, and during His time on earth, He obeyed His Father in all things.
He never did anything of His own. Whatever He said, He only said what His Father had said. Wherever He went, He only went where His Father would have Him go. During those thirty-three and a half years, He was absolutely obedient to His Father. He never did anything of His own, but did all things that His Father required of Him.
After He had lived thirty-three and a half years on earth, He had lived such a perfect life that, so far as He Himself was concerned, on the Mount of Transfiguration He could have gone back and returned to His Father. But He did not.
Instead, in obedience to His Father, He came down from the mount. He set His face toward Jerusalem, and there He took our sins upon Himself and died on Calvary’s cross.
So this is the glory that we want to look into, brothers and sisters.
We were all sinners, destined to eternal death. But our Lord Jesus, the Son of God who became the Son of Man, lived such a perfect life.
We know of the Mount of Transfiguration. When He transfigured Himself in glory, Moses and Elijah appeared and talked to Him about His exodus. So far as our Lord Jesus was concerned, He had lived such a perfect life that He was qualified to be raptured from the mount.
But, dear brothers and sisters, if our Lord Jesus had done that, there would have been only one Man in heaven, because He was the only One qualified.
But thank God, because of His great love for us, He was willing to come down from the Mount of Transfiguration. He set His face toward Jerusalem, and there He died for our sins.
So this is the glory of the Son of God that we are looking at.
Brothers and sisters, just think for a while. A perfect Man, who did everything according to His Father’s will, never rebelled against His Father. He only went when His Father ordered Him to go, and He only said what His Father wanted Him to say. He lived completely for His heavenly Father.
I always feel that the Mount of Transfiguration was a tense time. Moses and Elijah appeared, and they talked about His exodus. So far as He Himself was concerned, He could have departed from the Mount of Transfiguration and returned to His Father.
But if He had done that, there would have been only one Man in heaven, because He alone was qualified. But, dear brothers and sisters, because of His tremendous love for us, He came down from the Mount of Transfiguration. He set His face toward Jerusalem, and there He died for our sins.
Just think for a moment. We were sinners. Our life on earth is very short, perhaps a hundred years. But, dear brothers and sisters, what we deserve is eternal death. There is nothing good in us.
But thank God, our Lord Jesus came into this world to save the lost. He took upon Himself all our sins, and He died in our stead. So this is the glory of the Son of Man that we are talking about.
Some may ask, “If I set apart time to behold His glory, how do I do it?”
I remember when the Lord first saved me. I was a young man of fifteen. I used to get up early in the morning, before everybody. I would go downstairs into a room, shut the door, and there I would spend an hour before the Lord in devotion.
I would kneel before the Lord. I would be quiet for a while. I would meditate on one verse of Scripture, and I would pray over it. I would read the Bible again and again. I wanted to finish the whole Bible in a year, and this was what I would do.
Brothers and sisters, to me it was a glorious time, just to be with the Lord, thinking about Him. Meditate on one verse; pray over it.
I did this in my early days for a number of years, and I found it most helpful.
So, brothers and sisters, as we gather here this morning, I would suggest that this is what you do in the early morning. I hope you will get up before everybody. I hope you can spend some time before the Lord—if not an hour, then at least some time.
I hope you will take one verse in the Bible that is conducive to meditation, such as a verse in the book of Ephesians. Take one verse, read it over and over again, meditate on it, and pray over it until it becomes the food of your day.
When you are free during the day, think over that verse. That verse is the food of your day, and you will find that it is most helpful to your spiritual life.
I do not know what you have been doing after you were saved. Have you spent time before the Lord? We cannot be spiritual if we do not spend time before the Lord.
I hope that you will get up early, before everybody. I hope you will spend time meditating on His Word and make His Word the food for the day. That would be a great help to you.
So may I ask again, “If I set apart time to behold His glory, how do I do it?” I can tell you what I did.
I was saved by the grace of God when I was fifteen. I was usually the first one in the family to get up. My father got up very early. He was very prompt; at six o’clock in the morning, he got up. But I beat him. I got up before him.
I went downstairs into a room, shut the door, and spent an hour before the Lord. I would kneel before the Lord in quietness. I would read one verse in the Bible that was conducive to meditation, such as a verse in the book of Ephesians.
I would think it over and over and over again. I would pray over it until it became the meat for me for the day. I found it most helpful.
So I do hope that all of you who have been saved by the grace of God will do this. Before everybody gets up, take time to get up and be with the Lord, because there is quietness.
Take a verse from the Bible. Meditate on it. Pray over it until it becomes the food of your day. I did that in the early years of my salvation, and I found it most helpful.
Now the question may be, “What if I cannot feel the Lord’s presence? What do we do?”
Of course, the Lord’s presence is very important. We live in the presence of the Lord. And if we do not feel the Lord’s presence, what do we do?
Usually, the reason why we do not feel His presence is because our hearts are far away from the Lord. If our hearts are close to the Lord, we will sense His presence.
After you are saved, you will feel His presence with you. I was brought up in a Christian family. My father was a pastor, and he loved the Lord.
We had family devotion every day. Before supper, he would gather his children—all seven of us—into the sitting room. He would read from the Bible, and he would ask all of us to kneel down and pray. Then he would lead us in prayer. This was our daily life.
He never asked any one of us to pray, not until I was saved. Then he began to ask me to pray sometimes. This was our family devotion, and it helped me throughout my Christian life.
How do we behold the Lord when we are feeling down or depressed?
Brothers and sisters, our feelings may change, but the Lord never changes. So when you feel depressed, what do you do? You go to the Lord, open your heart, and say, “Lord, search me, and see if there is any evil thing in me. Lead me in the way everlasting.”
We expose ourselves to the Lord’s searching. He, by His Spirit, searches our hearts and begins to reveal what hinders us from drawing close to Him.
Then we confess our sins and have our sins removed. Then you will sense the presence of the Lord with you.
So the number one thing is this: in the early morning, set yourself before the Lord. Pray, “O Lord, search me and see my heart. See if there is any evil in me. Lead me in the way everlasting.”
If you do that, the Lord is faithful. He will surely reveal to you if there is anything that stands between you and the Lord. When the Holy Spirit begins to reveal it to you, confess it. Claim the blood of the Lord Jesus, and you will be cleansed.
You will find your spirit refreshed, and you will be able to fellowship with the Lord.
Now, this work of transformation is not your own work. The work of transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit.
After you believe in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God comes and dwells in your new spirit. He is the life of your new spirit. He is there to teach you, to reveal to you, and to guide you, that you may live close to the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, after you have believed in the Lord Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit in you, in your new heart. Do you know that?
Why does the Holy Spirit come and dwell in our hearts? He is there for one reason: He is there to lead you into spiritual life. We cannot live a spiritual life without the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
He is faithful. He will show us where we have gone wrong. He will touch our conscience and enable us to repent. If we cooperate with the indwelling Holy Spirit, He will lead us step by step into a holy life, a life that will be pleasing to the Lord.
And this is Christian life. Christian life is not an outward walk, following certain orders and commands. No. Christian life is an inward life.
The indwelling Holy Spirit is responsible for our spiritual life, and we are responsible to cooperate, to obey, and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. This is Christian life.
So, brothers and sisters, as Christians we are not living an outward life by following certain rules and regulations. We are living a spiritual life by following the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
He is faithful. He will show us what we have done wrong. He will show us where we should go. He will enable us to repent. He will lead us into a spiritual life, and this is Christian living.
I believe that all who have believed in the Lord Jesus have had such an experience. Christianity is not an external thing. Christianity is an inward way of life.
The indwelling Holy Spirit will never leave us nor forsake us. Even though we rebel against Him, do not follow Him, and want to go our own way, He is so patient.
He is still there, continually and constantly reminding us of the way of the Lord. So Christian life is an inward way of life.
I believe, brothers and sisters, that you who have trusted the Lord have experienced this. Suppose there is some place that you used to visit before you were saved. But after you are saved, when you are going to that place, the Holy Spirit within you begins to speak to you and says, “You who are now a Christian, this is not a place for you to be.”
You struggle over it. You may continue to go, but in the evening, when you begin to pray, you cannot pray. You feel that you have sinned against the Holy Spirit. You have to confess, repent, and return.
Then your fellowship with the Lord will be renewed. And this is Christian life.
So, brothers and sisters, may I again emphasize: Christian life is an inward life. It is not following some rules and regulations. No, Christian life is following the indwelling Holy Spirit.
Where He leads you, you go. Where He forbids you, you stay. You cooperate with the indwelling Holy Spirit, and your life will grow by leaps and bounds. This is the way of Christian living.
Obey the Holy Spirit, and He will transform you from glory to glory.
Even sometimes when we rebel against Him, when we will not listen to Him, and when we insist on going our own way, He will not give us up. He is persistent. Thank God for that.
He will continue to touch our conscience and enable us to see where we have gone wrong, until we return and go His way. This is the way of Christian living.
So this morning, my burden is this: since the Lord has saved you and has given you the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead you, it is for your good that you learn to obey and to follow.
Do not insist on your own way. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in the way of the Lord. The more you cooperate with the Holy Spirit, the freer your spirit will be, and the closer you will be to God. This is Christian living.
Thank God that He does not leave us alone. If He should leave us alone to walk the spiritual life, we could not do it. He has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is faithful.
There are often times when we rebel against Him and walk contrary to Him. He suffers, but He will never forsake us. He is faithful to God and to you.
So, brothers and sisters, thank God. We who are the Lord’s have been given every provision to grow from grace to grace, from glory to glory, until we see the Lord face to face.
What if the Lord should come back this morning?
When the Lord left His disciples on earth, He said to them:
I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come again,
and will receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.
This is a promise of our Lord Jesus. He promised His disciples in the first century, and during that first century, those who loved the Lord expected the Lord to return in their lifetime. Were they wrong? No.
If the church is ready, the Lord shall return. But unfortunately, century after century has passed, and the church has not been ready. It is not we who are waiting for the Lord’s return; it is the Lord who is waiting for the church to be completed.
Dear brothers and sisters, now we are in the twenty-first century. So far as I know, all the prophecies that precede the coming of the Lord have been fulfilled. There is nothing more. The next event will be His coming.
I always feel that we are living at a very thrilling time. Brothers and sisters, the Lord may come back at any moment now. What if He should return now? Will this auditorium be emptied? Will there be serious loss left behind?
The Bible says that the evil servant says, “My Lord delayeth His coming.” So he begins to eat and drink, and he begins to beat his fellow servants. Suddenly, his lord returns, and he will be cut asunder. He will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, regretting what he has done.
Interestingly, people are more interested in outer darkness than in the millennial kingdom. They do not ask questions about the millennial kingdom; rather, they ask questions about outer darkness.
Now, what is outer darkness? Are you anxious to know? Why are you not more anxious to know about the kingdom than about outer darkness? Is it because you feel that you are not ready?
Of all the books that I have read, there is only one book that tries to tell us what outer darkness is. This is a book by Robert Govett. He is a literalist; he interprets the Bible in a literal way.
This is what he says about outer darkness. He says that when the Lord travels, there is brightness with Him, full of light. But surrounding the light, there is darkness. When the Lord returns, He will shed off His darkness, and that becomes the outer darkness in the Scripture.
Now, this is Robert Govett. He takes everything literally. Whether his interpretation is right, I do not know, but at least it is an interpretation.
Do you desire that, when the Lord returns, you will go with Him into the millennial kingdom and reign with Him for a thousand years? Or would you rather be in outer darkness, with weeping and gnashing of teeth, repenting? Which do you prefer?
It is for you to choose. I believe everyone wants to reign with Christ in the millennial kingdom instead of repenting in outer darkness.
You remember in Matthew 25 the ten virgins. The Bible never calls people in the world virgins, because in God’s sight they are adulterous and unclean. Only those who are cleansed by the blood of Jesus are called virgins.
There were ten virgins. Ten is a number of responsibility. These ten virgins represent all the believers from the first century onward to the coming of the Lord.
They are virgins because they have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. They all have their lamps; that is, they all have life. But the wise virgins have extra oil in their vessels, just in case the Lord should delay.
But the foolish virgins filled their vessels with things that they considered precious instead of oil. They all went out to meet Him, but the Lord delayed, and they all fell asleep.
According to this interpretation, these ten virgins represent Christians throughout the centuries, from the first century onward. They all have their lamps; that is, they all have life.
But the wise virgins have extra oil prepared. The foolish virgins fill their vessels with other things that they consider more precious. Because the Lord delayed, they all fell asleep. That is to say, they all died.
So the ten virgins represent Christians throughout the centuries who had died because the Lord had not returned. But suddenly the voice came, “The Lord cometh,” and they all rose up. That is resurrection.
The wise virgins poured their extra oil into their lamps so that they could go out to meet the Bridegroom. But the foolish virgins did not have extra oil. They went to buy oil. Whether they got it or not, I do not know—most likely not.
But when they returned, the door was shut. That is to say, the kingdom door was shut. They were shut out of the kingdom and cast into outer darkness, with weeping and gnashing of teeth, repenting.
Brothers and sisters, which do you prefer? Do you prefer to go with the Lord into the kingdom and reign with Him for a thousand years? Or do you prefer to be cast into outer darkness, with weeping and gnashing of teeth?
If it is up to you to choose, I believe every one of us would choose to go with the Lord into the kingdom age and reign with Him, instead of being cast into outer darkness. But unfortunately, many do not.
Now, that does not mean that those who are cast into outer darkness are unsaved. They are the saved ones, repenting during the kingdom age. For how long, we do not know. But at least they are given another chance to repent.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord is coming. Are you ready? He loves you. He gives you opportunity after opportunity to repent.
By the grace of God, sooner or later they will be completed. Because in Romans 8 we are told that whom the Lord has called, He has saved; whom He has saved, He has sanctified.
The Lord will not stop His work, and we all will be with Him in eternity. This is the mercy of God.
So this morning, I present this before you, dear brothers and sisters. You have a choice to make. I believe you are wise enough to choose the kingdom instead of outer darkness.
The Lord has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son. This is the eternal purpose of God. He wants every believer to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus.
Whom He has called, He has saved. Whom He has saved, He has sanctified. He will not leave us out. But, brothers and sisters, there is a difference. It can be a difference of a thousand years.
So this is the burden on my heart this morning. I want to plead with all of you: the Lord is coming. Be ready.
As soon as the call comes and the Lord has come, let us all go up, meet Him, and enter into the kingdom for the glory of God. May the Lord bless us.
Shall we pray?
Thank You, Lord, for loving us. Thank You for loving us to the uttermost. Thank You that Your salvation goes all the way and never stops until Your full purpose of conforming us to Christ is fulfilled.
O dear Lord, we commit all the brothers and sisters here this morning into Your hands. We pray that we will be those who are ready to respond to You, and when the call shall come, we will say, “Lord, here am I. Take us, that Thou mayest be glorified.”
We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.