Luke

[0:00] The word which I trust the Lord has laid on my heart to bring before you this morning you will find in the Gospel according to Luke chapter 2. The second chapter in the Gospel by Luke, verses 13 and 14.

[0:19] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

[0:36] The second chapter in the Gospel of Luke, verses 13 and 14. I want to speak to the children and the young people for a few moments.

[0:50] And I have tried to find a story which would illustrate something of what our text is about. I want to think particularly this morning of those words, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

[1:09] And I found a little story which I think illustrates the text very well. It speaks of how through the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, A man was reconciled and brought to love the people whom he despised.

[1:30] And this was only because of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ that dwelt in these people's hearts. The scene of the story is set in the wintertime.

[1:44] It may well have happened around about Christmas time, but that doesn't really matter. It happened in Holland during the last war.

[1:55] And in Holland, you will know that it was occupied by the Germans And many of the goods and belongings of the Dutch people were taken from them.

[2:13] And more than that, some of the German soldiers were billeted in the homes of the Dutch people. And in one such home, the home of Pastor Herzhold and his wife, A German lieutenant was Billeted.

[2:34] The lieutenant's name was Swartz. And the pastor's name, his Christian name was Johann, And his wife's name was Teresa.

[2:49] I mention those because I shall refer to their names. Now this story was told by a pastor once to a group of young people.

[3:00] He also was wanting to illustrate something of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ And what that love could do. And he told this story to illustrate it to them.

[3:13] So we have the home of this pastor and his wife, Johann and Teresa and the young German lieutenant who was billeted with them, Lieutenant Swartz.

[3:26] And this German lieutenant, he despised this old pastor and his wife. He did everything that he could to make their life uncomfortable.

[3:38] He would come in with his muddy boots on and walk all over the house. He would swear and curse at them. He would do all sorts of horrible things just because he hated them.

[3:52] And one day, Johann and his wife Teresa were kneeling in prayer and they were praying for this German lieutenant and asking God to help them love him.

[4:05] And Lieutenant Swartz came in and he saw them there on their knees praying for him. They weren't conscious that he had come. And he shouted at them to get up.

[4:18] He said, there's no God and it's no use you praying for me. And so this rough treatment went on. Well, one day, Teresa said to her husband, God has shown me how we can break down the antagonism of this Lieutenant Swartz.

[4:44] And so that very evening when she did his room where he slept, she placed a vase of flowers. By his bedside. The lieutenant came home from his work, went straight to his room, and within seconds he was out again with the vase of flowers in his hand, which he smashed on the kitchen floor.

[5:07] And the glass and water and flowers were scattered all over the floor. And he said, don't you ever do that again. A few days later, Teresa had cooked some special little rolls, and she had saved some of their butter, which was very scarce in Holland during the war.

[5:29] And when Lieutenant Swartz came home, she gave him some rolls and some of their butter. And he took it from her and threw it on the floor.

[5:41] And he said, give me those rolls and that butter that is on the table. So, meekly, she gave him the rolls that were for herself and her husband, and the little bit of butter that was left, she gave it to the lieutenant and he took it to his room.

[5:59] And she then scraped up the butter from the floor, picked up the rolls from the floor, and that is what they had to eat. And then, again, a few days later, she made some special little cakes, something like we have at Christmas time.

[6:17] The children will know what I mean, little cookies, they call them. And she placed some of these cookies on a plate by the lieutenant's bedside.

[6:28] And that time, he didn't throw them down, he didn't curse and swear at them, he had the courtesy to say thank you for the cookies.

[6:40] And then, as time went on, Teresa noticed one morning, and remember all the time they were praying for this man, this rough soldier. She noticed that the lieutenant had very many holes in his socks.

[6:55] He often came in from his work with his feet wet and his socks wet and full of holes. And so she took some of his socks and she washed them and she darned them very carefully and she dried them and then laid them on his bed.

[7:13] And when he came in and he found them, he thanked her very much. And she said, well, any time I shall be very pleased to mend your socks for you if you just let me have them.

[7:25] And then her husband spoke up and he said, you know, Lieutenant Swartz, we would like you to eat with us tonight. We have something a little bit special and we would like you to share our meal with us.

[7:40] The lieutenant agreed to. And on several occasions after that, he had a meal with them when they had something special to eat. And one evening, he actually stayed while Johan read the scriptures and committed themselves to God for the night in prayer.

[8:02] After this, Teresa placed a copy of the New Testament by his bedside. And she noticed as the days went by that the New Testament was used.

[8:14] And then one evening, Lieutenant Swartz came home and he had very sad news. He said that the authorities had said that all of the wind generators that they have in Holland, you will have seen them, the windmills.

[8:35] And in those days, all of the houses had a little windmill on the roof which drove their electric generator. And Lieutenant Swartz said that the authorities had said that all of these generators must be taken down and given to the German government.

[8:54] And Johan and Teresa had saved for many years. They were very poor people. And they had saved for many years for their electric generator. And they were very sad to think that they were to lose it.

[9:08] But Lieutenant Swartz said, no, there's no need for you to lose it. If you take it down tonight while it's still dark and hide it, no one will know. And so Johan said, well, it's very heavy.

[9:21] I'll go and find someone to help me. He was gone a long time and he came back and there was nobody to help him. And so the Lieutenant said, well, never mind.

[9:33] He said, let me have some of your clothes so that no one will recognize me. And I'll come up on the roof with you and we'll take it down. And so the German Lieutenant went up on the roof in his strange clothes that didn't fit him very well.

[9:48] And they took the generator down piece by piece and hid it away. And as the Lieutenant went to his room that night, he said to Johan, he said, pray for me.

[10:00] I need your prayers. Within a few weeks, the German was moved on. Lieutenant Swartz had to leave Pastor Herzhold and his wife.

[10:13] And before he went, he said to them, could I have the copy of the New Testament? I would like to buy it from you. And they said, you cannot buy it because it is our gift to you.

[10:29] And there the young pastor finished his story. And the young people to whom he was telling the story, they said, well, that's very wonderful how that German came to love the Lord Jesus Christ.

[10:45] But did Pastor Herzhold and his wife ever hear anything from that German Lieutenant after he left them?

[10:56] And the pastor answered, yes, he did. Yes, they did. Because he said, I'm the German Lieutenant. I'm Lieutenant Swartz.

[11:09] The man who had told them that wonderful story was the very man to whom it had happened. And that German soldier who was so hard and so unkind to those poor people in Holland, because of their love, you see, they just won him by love.

[11:29] Instead of being angry with him and ill-treating him in return, they just showed him love. And through their love, they won him.

[11:40] They won him over. And God, by his Spirit, quickened him into life, so that he became one who followed the Lord Jesus Christ.

[11:51] Now then, that's just exactly what God has done in the person of Jesus Christ. We have all sinned.

[12:03] We shall see this from our subject. We have all sinned. But God, instead of punishing us for our sins, he sent his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

[12:20] He manifested great love, as we read in the Epistle to the Romans, while God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

[12:36] God has won his people by love. He didn't punish them into submission. No, he loved them into submission by the work of his Spirit.

[12:53] So, you see, there is a wonderful parallel between Pastor Herzhold, Johann and Teresa, his wife, and Lieutenant Swartz, who became, eventually, Pastor Schutz, who told the story which I have just told you.

[13:14] Now I want to look directly at these words. And I want to concentrate particularly on the 14th verse. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill towards men.

[13:28] And I suggest to you that we have, in this verse, the main message of Christmas. This is what Christmas is all about, what is told us in this 14th verse.

[13:46] And I want you to notice how this message was made known. The angel, and it may well have been Gabriel, the same angel that came to Mary and to Joseph, that the angel, it says, came to the shepherds and gave them the news.

[14:07] The angel came and gave them the news, and he told them what to do. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them.

[14:18] And then, after the angel had told the shepherds about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and what his coming meant, and where they were to find him, and how they were to recognize him, and as I read, I thought, how striking that is.

[14:38] You know, it would have been strange, wouldn't it, for the shepherds to have been told this. The angel says, this is how you'll know the Lord Jesus. This is how you'll know the one whom God has sent.

[14:55] The one that is born to be Savior, Christ our Lord. This is how you'll know him. You'll find him wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.

[15:09] Now, the shepherds would have thought that that was a strange thing. They would have expected to have heard of much more grand surroundings than a manger, and for the babe to be found there.

[15:25] But anyhow, after the angel had told these things, we then read that there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, so the one angel was joined by a multitude of others, and together they praised God.

[15:45] Now, why did they praise God? Why was there this multitude of angels that together praised the Lord our God? Well, it was because of the message that they brought, and the message was this, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

[16:07] So then, this is the main message, and it was brought by a multitude of the heavenly host. Now then, notice they say three things, glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and then goodwill toward men.

[16:29] Now, I suggest to you that the first thing that they said is because of the second two. They say, glory to God in the highest, because on earth peace, goodwill toward men.

[16:47] It was the thought of their message of peace on earth, and goodwill toward men, which caused them to say, glory to God in the highest, and to praise God, as they did this multitude of the heavenly hosts.

[17:07] Now then, why is this? Why was their message on earth peace? This is what I want to particularly think of this morning.

[17:20] Why was their message on earth peace? Well, because this is what is connected with the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[17:33] And did you notice how when we read those words of Zacharias, after John had been born, and after he had been named, and you'll remember that Zacharias had been done for approximately nine months, he hadn't been able to speak a word, but when he wrote on the writing tablet, his name is John, then his tongue was loosed and he was able to speak, and he uttered this wonderful prophecy concerning John the Baptist, and concerning our Lord Jesus Christ.

[18:10] And one thing which he says about Jesus in verse 79 is this, to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.

[18:26] Jesus was given then to guide our feet in the way of peace. This peace on earth then is very definitely and it cannot be separated in any way from the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, this peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

[18:52] Now, I want you to think with me for a moment, why was this necessary? Why was this most important announcement that was made concerning the birth of Christ, this important statement of on earth, peace, why was it necessary?

[19:14] well, we can very simply explain this. It is because men from the beginning of the world had sinned.

[19:28] They had sinned and come short of the glory of God. And yet God who had made them, who dwelt in the heavens, was still holy, holy, dwelling in light which no man could approach unto.

[19:47] On the earth there was trouble, there was turmoil as a result of sin. In many people's hearts there was trouble and turmoil as well.

[20:02] There was no peace. But now at the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, this announcement is made, peace on earth, goodwill toward men.

[20:15] This message was necessary then because of the sin of men upon the earth and because of the holiness of almighty God.

[20:29] And we can go so far as to say this, that man in his natural state was at war with his maker. man in his natural heart says we will not have this man to reign over us.

[20:47] We desire not the knowledge of thee nor thy ways. He is against God. And so there is trouble, there is conflict between the natural man and God his maker.

[21:03] just think for a moment about Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. You will remember that they were made like God, they were holy, they had no sin.

[21:20] But Eve was beguiled by the serpent and she disobeyed God's command and sin entered into the world and Adam sinned with her.

[21:32] up to that time they had known peace. They had known peace. They had no trouble in their heart. There was no conflict, there was no toil there.

[21:44] They were in perfect peace living in the garden of Eden with the animals and with the beautiful things which God had given. There was nothing but peace.

[21:56] God had come down to talk with them and Adam and Eve had spoken to God as we may speak one to another face to face. But what happened after Adam and Eve had sinned?

[22:11] We read that when the Lord God came to talk with Adam in the cool of the day Adam heard his voice and he was afraid and he hid himself. Why?

[22:23] Why was he afraid? Because he had sinned? Because he had disobeyed God and the one who had communed without any fear with his maker is now afraid of him.

[22:40] And you think dear friends and young people as well, when is it that you are most afraid? I will tell you, it's when you've done something that you know you shouldn't do.

[22:53] It's when you've got a guilty conscience. you're either afraid of being found out or if you have been found out you're afraid of the punishment that you receive.

[23:08] And sometimes it may be that you are ashamed of yourself or to God that we were always ashamed of ourselves. But you have a troubled heart and maybe if you say your prayers that evening you can't say them quite so thoughtlessly quite so readily as you may have done on other occasions.

[23:33] Why? Because you are conscious of the fact that you have a guilty conscience before God. That you've done something which is wrong with which he is displeased.

[23:46] But never forget this that our God is willing to pardon. He is always ready to forgive the repentant sinner.

[23:56] Never forget that. But you see now why it was that this message was necessary because man has a guilty heart because he has offended God because he is against God and peace must be made and this was the promise.

[24:17] Now then I can only deal with this subject very briefly this morning but I want to turn to a number of different references which will help to illustrate this point.

[24:32] How is this peace made known to us? Well now in Ephesians the second chapter we read this for he is our peace.

[24:44] Who is it referring to? It is referring to Jesus Christ. It is referring to the one whose birth the angels heralded of whom they said this is the tidings peace on earth.

[25:01] And Paul in writing to the Ephesians says for he is our peace. Jesus Christ is our peace. And I had very much on my mind that line which our dear brother mentioned in prayer in the vestry.

[25:22] You know Jesus is our peace because he was born a little babe in the manger at Bethlehem but he was born to die. He was born to die.

[25:35] If Jesus Christ had only been born, if we could only celebrate his birth and nothing else, there would be no hope for us. but he was born to die.

[25:49] And that is why Paul says concerning him, he is our peace. And then there is another very wonderful word in the second of Corinthians and the fifth chapter we read this, to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself.

[26:19] God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. Not reconciling himself to the world.

[26:30] No. Because you see God had manifested his love towards us because he had already said from all eternity that he would send his only son.

[26:48] God was already reconciled to that fact that in the fullness of time he would send his only son to die for his people upon the cross.

[27:00] No, he was reconciling the world unto himself. He was making peace between God and man. God and sinners reconciled as we sing.

[27:16] And it was all in and through the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now then, if Jesus is our peace, as we read just then from the epistle to the Ephesians, for he is our peace.

[27:38] How is he our peace? How is it possible that Jesus Christ could be our peace? Well, now we read again in that same chapter in the epistle to the Ephesians, but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace.

[28:08] That is how Jesus is our peace, by his blood. It is because Jesus was born to die, it was because he gave his life a ransom for many upon the cross of Calvary, that is why it is, he is our peace.

[28:30] That is why the angels sang, peace on earth, goodwill toward men. And we read in the epistle to the Colossians and the first chapter, for it pleased the Father that in him, that is in Jesus, should all fullness dwell, and having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself.

[29:06] How did Jesus make peace? By the blood of his cross. It was because Jesus Christ was born to die.

[29:16] It was because after his life here upon the earth, he didn't turn his back on what he came to do. No, he set his face to go up, he set his face steadlessly to go up to Jerusalem.

[29:32] He was determined to fulfill what the Father required of him, to go to Calvary's cross, to die there for his people's sins, to shed his blood.

[29:45] So we read then that he has made peace, made peace by the blood, of his cross.

[29:56] And then we read again in the 10th chapter to in the Acts of how peace is preached through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the blood of his cross.

[30:14] Now then, how is this possible? Why is it that the blood of Jesus Christ speaks peace to the heart? Well, I want to tell you a little story which some of you may have heard which will illustrate this and I will tell it as briefly as I can.

[30:32] There were two brothers in Greece, brothers, sons of a very rich merchant. One of them, the elder, loved the Lord Jesus Christ and sought to serve him.

[30:45] the younger was a ne'er-do-well. He spent his life wasting money and living in a very wrong way.

[30:56] His elder brother tried to show him that it was wrong, tried to show him that the only life which was worth living was a life lived for Jesus Christ, but the younger brother would have nothing to do with it.

[31:11] And in the end he forbade his elder brother to speak any more. about the Bible or about the Lord Jesus. But the elder brother said, well I shall still continue to pray for you.

[31:24] The younger brother went from worse to worse and in the end one night he was involved in a fight. And during this fight he drew his knife, he stabbed a man, and that man was killed.

[31:38] And the younger brother realizing what had happened fled towards his home. His clothes were stained with the blood of the man that he had just killed.

[31:50] When he got home early in the morning his elder brother heard him come in and he went to find him. And there he saw his brother completely broken with his blood stained clothes on and he realized what had happened.

[32:06] He said to his brother, go quickly to my room, put on some of my clothes, leave your clothes there. And they changed their clothes.

[32:17] The elder brother put on the bloodstained clothes of his younger brother and the younger brother put on the elder brother's clothes. And then the police arrived.

[32:30] And of course they arrested and took away with them the elder brother. The young one who had done the crime who had killed the man was left in the house.

[32:43] In the course of time the elder brother was tried and he was condemned to death for the crime which he had never done. Before he was executed he was given one last request and he asked if he could write a letter to his brother.

[33:05] And he wrote a letter very simply very short something like this. Dear brother today I stand condemned for a crime which I have not done which you have done.

[33:20] Today I must die in punishment for a crime which I have not committed which you have committed. And he said I want you to know that this is just what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me.

[33:36] he died for my sins. He died for crimes that he had never committed. He stood in my place just as I stand in your place today.

[33:50] But the story doesn't end there because after the elder son had been executed the authorities found out that the younger son in actual fact was guilty.

[34:02] And so some of them tried to bring him to trial. But there was a law which said this, that once a crime had been atoned for, once someone had suffered for a crime, even the guilty party could not then be made to suffer.

[34:22] He was acquitted. Now what a wonderful illustration that is of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus died in his people's place upon the cross.

[34:35] And there is a law passed that no one else can be charged with those sins which he bore in his own body on the tree.

[34:46] No other sinner can be asked to die if Jesus died in their place. So you see, there is now peace between wicked men and a holy God because Jesus bore their sins in his own body on the tree.

[35:08] He has made peace by the blood of his cross. He died for all those whom the Father had given him from all eternity, all those who are in the covenant of grace.

[35:22] So that we say this, in the words of the hymn writer, payment God cannot twice demand, first at my bleeding short his hand, and then again at mine.

[35:33] He cannot. And remember to illustrate the point of that simple story of those two Greek boys, a true story, incidentally, Jesus has made peace by the blood of his cross.

[35:49] I want to pass on from here. And I want you to notice that this peace is to be known. It is to be known.

[36:01] It's all very well to speak in generalities about these things. That's good. That's blessing. But an even greater blessing is for this peace to be known in our hearts.

[36:17] And my dear friends, I say it is to be known. Why else would the angels have come with these glad tidings and said peace on earth if it was not to be known?

[36:31] And I want you to notice a scripture that we have in the 14th chapter of the Gospel of John. And in the 27th verse, we have the very wonderful legacy which Jesus Christ left to his people before he went to the cross of Calvary.

[36:50] And he said this, peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you.

[37:02] Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Peace I leave with you, he said. My peace I give unto you.

[37:14] This is the legacy which Jesus Christ left to the church, to his own people. And again in the 16th chapter of John and the 33rd verse we read this, These things I have spoken unto you, this is Jesus, These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.

[37:42] That in me, in Jesus, ye might have peace. And he then goes on to say, In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

[37:57] Oh, there may be tribulation, but still this peace, this peace is to be known. And remember, it is peace which passes all understanding.

[38:11] But then there's another wonderful word, just in case you have any doubt in your mind that this peace is to be known. There is a wonderful word in the epistle to the Romans in the 14th chapter, and it says this, For the kingdom of God, it's speaking of the kingdom of God, is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

[38:40] It is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. This peace then is to be known. And Paul, in praying for the Romans or in extending his wishes to them, in the following chapter he says this, Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.

[39:06] Well, now would Paul have wished that? if it were not possible, indeed not. He was praying, he was wishing for them something which they were to know, through the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing.

[39:26] you know, there are two wonderful paintings, though I have read, that hang side by side in a particular gallery which wonderfully illustrate this point.

[39:40] They are both seascapes, they are both of very stormy seas. In one, there is just the sea, driven by the wind, and the waves are running high.

[39:53] In the other, the waves are just the same, the wind is obviously blowing, but in the center of the picture there is a rock, and in a cleft of the rock there is a dove sitting on her nest.

[40:08] The one picture speaks of trouble and of turmoil, of the strength of the sea, and the trouble which it causes. The other one speaks of peace.

[40:21] In the middle maybe of the same sea, but in a rock, in a cleft of the rock, that dove shelters, safe and secure.

[40:32] What a difference! The first picture is the picture of the man who is without Christ. He's like the storm tossed sea. The second picture is the picture of the man who is in Christ, safe in the rock, sheltered in the cleft of the rock, as top lady sang, rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee.

[41:04] Also then this piece is to be known, it is to be known in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And then, just very briefly in closing, and you must bear with me for a few moments.

[41:22] This piece is to be sought, dear friends. It is to be sought. Eliphaz, when he was speaking to Job, he said this, Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace.

[41:39] Acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace. We need a sermon to explain that text, but I just leave the thought with you. My dear friends, there is only one thing that can bring peace, and that is to acquaint ourselves with our God and with his gift in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[42:05] And then we have that wonderful word in the prophecy by Isaiah, Thou will keep him in perfect peace, who, whose mind is stayed on thee.

[42:20] Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee. I've sometimes illustrated that by think of a man crossing a raging torrent on stepping stones.

[42:34] And each step he takes, he's afraid that he's going to fall into the raging torrent and be washed away. And in the middle of this raging torrent, there is an oaken post driven firm into the bed of the river.

[42:51] And as he comes to it, he grasps it to steady himself and to steel his nerve so that he can press on again to get to the other side.

[43:01] He's staying himself, you see, upon the post. Well, the prophet says, Thou will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.

[43:13] Oh, it's if when we're crossing the turbulent sea of life, we are enabled every now and again by God's grace to clasp Christ as it were, and to stay ourselves upon him.

[43:28] And oh, what peace it brings. My dear friends, I suggest if you've never felt a little bit of this peace within your heart, then there's something wrong, because Jesus has made peace.

[43:42] by the blood of his cross. Just one last point. The children can remember this. Peace has five letters.

[43:53] P-E-A-C-V. And I just leave this thought with you. This peace which the angels spoke of in that heavenly chorus, it is personal peace, personal peace.

[44:10] It is to be known by all of the Lord's people. And remember, should there be one who is troubled here at this time, Jesus freely says, come unto me, and I will give you this.

[44:24] It is personal peace. It is enjoyable peace. Oh, the joy that this peace brings to the heart. Remember what Paul said, the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.

[44:40] It is enjoyable peace. And then thirdly, it is attainable peace. This is not something which God has put on a shelf out of his people's reach.

[44:52] No, it is attainable. It is to be known. It is to be sought after. And then fourthly, it is a certain peace. peace. You know, when this peace is given to a person's heart, it is unshakable.

[45:08] Some of you know personally, and others may have heard, of a friend who died recently after a very long illness. Well, I say a very long illness, relatively long, a number of months.

[45:22] And from the very beginning of that illness, she was given this peace of God in her heart. And although she knew that she was suffering from something which she could never be cured from, naturally speaking, which would cause her death, and that very soon, her peace was unshaken.

[45:44] It was a certain peace. And this certain peace is to be known. And then finally, the last letter E, it is eternal. Eternal.

[45:56] Oh, this peace, if it is known, it is not only for this life. but it is for the life to come. Now, dear friends, how is it with you?

[46:07] Some of you young people, how is it with you? I can tell you this on the authority of the word of God, and many people will bear testimony to this, that you will never know true peace outside of Jesus Christ.

[46:24] You think of those three men who, who many years ago, died on the ice cap at the South Pole. There was Scott, Bowers, and Dr.

[46:38] Wilson. Well, we know for a fact from his diary that Birdie Bowers, as he was called, he loved the Lord Jesus Christ, and so did Dr. Wilson.

[46:48] Wilson. And Captain Scott, with his last strength, wrote in his diary that he died in the presence of two of the greatest gentlemen that this world has ever known.

[47:01] And Bowers, in his last letter to his mother, said that he could die safe in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. What was him that gave him peace in that blizzard in the South Pole as he knew that he was dying?

[47:19] It was the presence, the indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, dear young people, when the Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph had quite a long search.

[47:38] They went to a number of different inns, and they had the same reply at every one. No room, no room. Some of them, no doubt, said it very harshly because Mary and Joseph were poor people.

[47:53] Some of them said it very sadly because they just had no room. How is it with you concerning the Lord Jesus Christ?

[48:06] Is your answer still as the innkeeper's answer was, no room, no room? Is there still no room in the inn of your heart for the Lord Jesus Christ?

[48:23] Oh, there is a hymn which says this. There are two hymns. One says this, there is room in my heart, Lord Jesus. There is room in my heart for thee.

[48:36] And unless anybody should question me for quoting those lines, there is a hymn in Gatsby's which says this, we bow as sinners at thy feet and bid thee welcome to our heart.

[48:51] And that is the gospel. Oh, dear young people, dear friends, come to the Lord Jesus Christ, bow at his feet in humble repentance and bid him welcome to your heart and you shall know this peace of God which passes all understanding.

[49:12] Amen.man. Original Simulator Theory Of Salvadorunde Man field over Barcelona divine deduction mangbral還 Image Arab послеähltули över Joker Executing mashed ответ pentru repet abilityakeritions