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[0:00] The End The End The End

[1:30] The End The End I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

[2:49] But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

[3:07] I believe often it is appropriate to mention how our thoughts we trust are directed by the Lord to a portion of his work.

[3:23] Tomorrow, if the Lord will, I shall be burying a friend, Mr. Quentin Palmer of West Row, probably unknown to all of you, in the afternoon, Mr. Pond, taking the service.

[3:43] Now in visiting him, and he had a stroke a few years ago, but his mind has remained clear. But invariably, when I have visited him, he has told me of that verse in our last hymn, resting upon his mind.

[4:05] Thou shalt see my glory, when the work of grace is done. And that we believe he has done.

[4:17] And that we believe he has done. And that we believe he has done. And that we believe he has now entered into. That glory, which the natural eye hath not seen, nor the natural ear heard, but which God hath prepared for them that love him.

[4:41] Now when in natural thing some privilege or concession is announced, perhaps by the government or our local authority, do we not examine ourselves to see whether that applies to us?

[5:02] And so before we speak as the Lord enables of some of these things the Lord hath prepared, let us notice it is not for all mankind, but for them that love him.

[5:26] And do you and I love him? That hymn was quoted in the vestry, which seemed to confirm how a minister years ago used to so often sing, "'Tis a point I long to know.

[5:47] Oft it causes anxious thought. Do I love the Lord or no? Am I his or am I not? O Christ, especially when that hymn is mentioned, I often feel the guilts of my years.

[6:07] I've enjoyed singing from an early age. But how often I sung that hymn when it wasn't causing me any anxious thoughts at all.

[6:21] I was mocking God. I was lying. There's no, we can't give any half-truths about it. I was lying. Saying it was causing me anxious thoughts when it wasn't bothering me at school.

[6:40] Do you have to say with me, God be merciful to me, the sinner? Well, let us be quite clear what love is.

[6:58] Because there are few words that are so misused in our language. People may say, I love an article of food.

[7:09] I love a windy day. I love this, that, or the other. When life, enjoy, or interest would be a far more appropriate word to hear.

[7:22] Where there is love, there is a willingness to make sacrifices for the object of that love.

[7:37] If a person were to say to you, I love my work, and you said to them, are you willing to pay your employer to allow you to work, I think you'd soon find they didn't love their work.

[7:52] that they might enjoy. But the parent who gets up on the cold winter's night to see to their ailing child does not do that for reward or for wages.

[8:08] They are motivated by love. By love. And if you and I have a love to the Lord, a love to His people, then there will be sacrifices to be made.

[8:29] Real religion costs something. I don't mean in pounds and pence, though it may do that. If your religion costs you only a little, it's only worth a little.

[8:44] And if it costs you nothing, it's worth nothing. I mean in many sleepless hours, in many anxious prayers, many searchings of the Scriptures, concern for the souls of loved ones, and of course, concern for your own soul.

[9:08] Now I read from that last chapter of John, well known, concerning the Lord, asking Peter that question three times.

[9:24] three times Peter denied his Lord and Master. three times the Lord said, love is thou only.

[9:37] I know not the man. And denied with oaths and curses. Three times he had denied his Lord and Master.

[9:50] Three times the Lord said, love is thou only. I think of Delilah's words to Samson in the book of Judges.

[10:05] After he had lied to her three times concerning where his strength lay. And she said, how canst thou say thou lovest me when thou hast mocked me these three times?

[10:20] Perhaps someone here, in that sense too, has mocked their Lord three times.

[10:34] Perhaps three times you had laid upon you the burden of the ordinances of his house. And three times you've turned away from them.

[10:45] How canst thou say thou lovest me? John in his epistle writes, we know that we have turned from death unto life because we love the brethren.

[11:08] Loving the brethren did not bring us from death to life. That was the quickening work of the Holy Spirit. But the evidence by which it is known is a love of the brethren.

[11:25] And if we love the Lord, we shall love his people. We shall love his word. We shall love his day.

[11:36] We shall love his commandments. In the 14th chapter of John, the Lord spoke there so solemnly, if ye love me, keep my commandments.

[11:58] And then he gives us that evidence of whether we love him. He that hath my commandments laid upon him and keepeth them, and keepeth them.

[12:11] He is not a hearer only, but I do. And keepeth them. He it is that loveth me.

[12:23] And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father. and I will love him. And will manifest myself to him.

[12:39] And then again, if a man love me, he will keep my words. And my Father will love him and we will come unto him.

[12:51] Make our abode with him. And then the opposite. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings.

[13:06] And the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father which sent me. Do you love the Lord?

[13:22] We are told not to love in word only, but in deed and in truth.

[13:34] Well, one feels much more might be said concerning love. And these things God hath prepared for them that love him.

[13:55] God's love to his people had no beginning that is in eternity past. But their love to him has a beginning in time.

[14:11] In a way we could liken it in the family. The parents have a love to that child before it is born.

[14:23] Perhaps have chosen names for that child, boy or girl. They have a love to that child before the child is born. The child does not immediately love its parents when it's born.

[14:40] But sooner or later it does. And the thought here for you dear younger ones, if I were to ask you do you love your father and mother, I'm sure you would say yes of course I do.

[14:56] Well how would I know it if I was in your home? Would it not be by your obedience to them? By your treating them with respect?

[15:12] By keeping their commands? That would show that you love not in word only, but in deed and in trust.

[15:28] Now in the context, and we may perhaps touch more upon that in a moment, concerning this wisdom of God. God. This verse is a quotation from the 64th chapter of Isaiah.

[15:49] And there we read in the fourth verse, for since the beginning of the world, men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen.

[16:08] O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.

[16:21] But you may say here, the apostle quotes it, them that love him. But surely there is no discrepancy between those two expressions.

[16:35] If we love someone naturally, do we not wait for them? if the wife has been shopping and the husband does not say, well, she said she'd be in the car by eleven o'clock, so I'm going home.

[16:53] She'll have to walk several miles. I'm not going to wait for her. No, we would say that he would show by his love he would wait before her.

[17:05] and how much more so spiritually do we wait upon the Lord? Do we wait for answers to prayers?

[17:20] Very few prayers in Scripture and I believe very few in the experience of the Lord's people are answered immediately. We do have that example when Peter was sinking in the deep and cried, Lord, save me, and he immediately the Lord put forth his hand and caught him.

[17:44] He didn't catch the Lord's hand, you notice. The Lord caught him. But that was one of the few prayers in Scripture and answered immediately.

[17:55] Though there may be a fear in your experience and mine, for the most part it is a waiting time. And he oft tarries till men are faint.

[18:10] Then comes as the poet says at evening light. But oh for grace and patience to wait for him.

[18:24] Some people are more patient by nature. Some of us perhaps are impatient. Hymn 300 is one of my favourite hymns.

[18:38] For patience when I raised a cry, fresh burdens made me roar. My foolish heart would then reply for patience pray no more.

[18:50] I fancied patience would be brought before my troubles rose, and by such granted help I thought to triumph all my woes.

[19:04] But Christ has cleared my misty side, and taught by him I find that tribulations working right produce a patient home.

[19:19] The apostle speaks of it in the epistle to the Romans. Tribulation worketh patience, patience experience, experience home, and hope maketh not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.

[19:42] from experience we have proved the Lord has answered prayers, though often in a mysterious way after a long delay.

[19:58] And that experience encourages us to hope that he will answer prayers yet again that have been unfilled and answered to the present time.

[20:17] I have not seen nor heard these things of God are not known by natural wisdom as we read in the 14th verse.

[20:34] the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually designed.

[20:57] a man by study and the gift of ability may understand from the Scriptures the way in which the work of salvation is done, that God has chosen a people elect in eternity past, that in his time they will be born again, being born of the Spirit, they will know they are sinners, they will repent of those sins, they will pray for forgiveness, and in the Lord's time they will have the measure of assurance he sees fit to give them that those sins are forgiven.

[21:48] A man may know all that in his mind and much more, and yet be destitute of grace. destitute of grace.

[22:01] Do you and I know these things from my personal experience? It is only in natural things when we experience them ourselves that we understand.

[22:20] the most eminent gynecologist may know all the theory of the birth of a baby, but if he is a man he does not really understand, not like the mother who has given birth to the baby.

[22:42] When I was instructing in the army many years ago in technical subjects, we were told to make those we were instructing carry out the work themselves.

[22:57] And this proverb was quoting, I hear, I forget, I see, I remember, but I do, I understand, I understand.

[23:16] in that wonderful 107th psalm, which sets forth by many parables, the experience of the Lord's people, it concludes with this verse, who so is wise, yes, made wise unto salvation, the wisdom that we have in this chapter, who so is wise, and will observe these things.

[23:47] There's a difference between seeing things and observing them. When our children were little, we used to buy them observer books, so that on a journey they could not only see a river, castle, or whatever, but read about it and understand.

[24:06] whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord.

[24:23] That word loving kindness takes my thoughts to a time when Mr. Camper Blueton had come out of hospital, and he illustrated it like this, that in hospital he said he had been nursed with much kindness, but when he came home, his wife nursed him with loving kindness.

[24:52] You see the difference? And so the Lord has that loving kindness to his people. neither have entered into the heart of man.

[25:12] The heart in scripture often sets forth, normally sets forth, our affections, our desires. In the epistle to the Hebrews, we have a somewhat similar word to this verse.

[25:37] This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord.

[25:48] I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a Peter.

[26:05] To know the gospel truth, the new covenant, in our mind of understanding. If we do not have it in our mind, we shall fall into error.

[26:18] We need it in our mind, but we also need it in our hearts of affections and desires. And I do like that, I will write it.

[26:34] Yes, a person may give a verbal assurance that they will do this or give that away, but it has no legal force unless it is in writing, in writing.

[26:51] And of course, often before witnesses. I have not seen, nor heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared.

[27:13] There are things on earth he has prepared for them as well as those things in heaven. He has prepared for them the mercy that they can come to in their prayers, providential things, yes, nothing is too small to cry about, but especially spiritual things.

[27:47] Do you bring them to the mercy seat? I wonder if you've ever compared Solomon's throne with this mercy seat that we read of in Hebrews, let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find help in time of need.

[28:11] Concerning Solomon's throne in the ninth chapter of the first book of Chronicles, you read there was not the like in any kingdom, and there were six steps that led up to the throne, but there were lines on every step.

[28:29] At each end, there was a line. As you and I approached this mercy seat, I had not thought to touch from this that comes to one's mind.

[28:41] We have to be aware of the law of a pharisaical pride and a demanding spirit. But the other extremity, there is another law, slavish fear and unbelief.

[29:00] And we have to pass safely through between those two extremities. Bunyan's pilgrim, after he had ascended the hill difficulty, he met a man timorous with his back to the celestial city, returning to destruction.

[29:21] And Timorous said, turn back, there's lines in the way, you'll be slain. Christian, dare not, could not return. He continued to advance, he saw the lines, he continued to advance, but when he got nearer, he saw the lines were chained, and their chains were not long enough for the lines to harm him, if he kept to the middle of the line.

[29:52] him. But especially, God has prepared that precious blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of the sins of them that love him.

[30:17] Prepared as it was literally nearly 2,000 years ago, though the patriarchs and others saw it by faith before it was accomplished in the day.

[30:34] But prepared for those that love him, and with that love to the Lord, there will be a hatred of sin.

[30:45] I feel the word hate should be used very sparingly, but no term should be too strong for our detestation of sin.

[31:03] And if the Lord has granted us a grain of faith to believe that Christ suffered in our Roman place for our sins, then sin will be exceedingly grievous to us.

[31:24] That prayer of dear Javis of all, O that thou wouldest enlarge my coast and keep me from evil that it may not grieve me.

[31:39] He did not want to be evil not to grieve him, but he wanted me kept from evil because it did grieve him.

[31:53] It may surprise younger friends, but I think older ones will agree that the older we get, the greater sinners we feel today.

[32:04] I think a few years ago I spoke to you from that word in Romans, there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, and doubtless quoted the case of that woman in John A.

[32:21] when the Lord said to the Pharisees, let him that is without sin cast the first stone, and they went out from the oldest down to the youngest.

[32:39] Doth no man condemn thee, no man Lord, neither do I condemn. No man can call Jesus Lord, but by the Holy Ghost, there is no condemnation for them which believe who are in Christ Jesus.

[33:03] But especially of course the things in heaven is spoken of as a prepared place for a prepared people.

[33:19] But don't forget, so is the other place. So is the other place. He will say to those on the left hand, depart ye cursed into everlasting for prepared for the devil and his angels.

[33:35] men. But to those on the left hand, as we read of course in Matthew 25, the right side of the side of honor.

[33:56] When a queen entertains a fine monarch, the guest, the honored guest sits at her right hand, come ye blessed of my friend, blessed by being given that love that we have touched upon, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

[34:30] heaven is not wages for good works, it is an inheritance. And yet how many thousands are still asking that foolish question, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

[34:54] If I were the richest, wisest man in the country, I wouldn't become king when the queen dies. And what does Prince Charles have to do if the monarchy continues?

[35:06] Nothing. It comes to him through his sonship and inheritance. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

[35:25] He will go on to speak of what they have done for his people. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, showing their love to the brethren, that they have passed from death unto life, ye have done it unto me.

[35:50] people. We do not know a great deal concerning heaven. Most of what we do know is in the book of Revelation.

[36:04] We read there of blessings that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death, natural death or spiritual death, neither sorrow, neither natural sorrow, or even sorrow over sin, for all will have been forgiven, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.

[36:41] so what must it be to be there? But what should be the greatest object of our desire for him?

[36:55] Not these negative things, but something that is positive. Thy shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads.

[37:14] If we had been born blind, had a marriage, had a family, someone said tomorrow at twelve o'clock, you'll see clearly what you want to have put in front of you, it wouldn't be the bank balance, it wouldn't be the new car, it would be those we love.

[37:34] I've heard their voice, I've felt their touch, I long to see them face, to face, no more to see through the glass darkly as the apostle nights, or through the lattice as we have it in the Song of Solomon, they shall see his face.

[38:03] In the hymn based on the sayings of brotherhood, one verse goes like this, the bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face.

[38:19] I shall not gaze at glory, but on the king of grace, not at the crown he giveth, but on his pierced hand.

[38:31] The lamb is all the glory, in Emmanuel's land. As it is written, I hath not seen, nor hear, heard, neither have ended into the heart of man, the good, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

[39:04] But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit.

[39:16] When something is said to be revealed, by implication it was previously hidden. In the 53rd of Isaiah, we have those searching questions.

[39:32] to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? And in those days of manual work and physical warfare, it was the arm that did the work.

[39:50] Has the work of salvation been revealed to you? Not in theory or theology, but in personal experience of it, in your heart.

[40:08] I feel one of the great weaknesses of our generation is there is so little speaking of what the Lord has done for us. in the penultimate chapter of Malachi, you read, they that fear the Lord, and remember the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, they that fear the Lord spake often one to enough.

[40:38] Not once in a lifetime when they came before the church, but often. what did they speak of? Their aches and pains?

[40:51] Some scandal? No, surely, what the Lord had done for them, or what they were praying he would do for them. And the Lord hearkened and heard it, and the book of remembrance was written before them, for them that thought upon his name, and they shall be mine, saith the Lord.

[41:18] In the day that I make up my shield, they were his from everlasting past in the covenant of election, but they will be manifested as his, as at that judgment day.

[41:34] For we read, he shall separate them, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats, and when they appear at his right hand, they will be manifestly his.

[41:48] Will you and I be amongst them? God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit, and for the most part the Holy Spirit teaches by the scriptures, by the scriptures.

[42:11] God is when we are studying, perhaps to obtain some qualification, here we search and read again and again those particular things applicable to that qualification, but sooner or later we may gain it forget much of what we've learned.

[42:41] Though having passed, of course, shows that we had the ability to learn it, but how much more should we study the word of God? And speaking from personal experience, the more one studies it, the more one feels we do not know, or rather, put it this way, the more one feels we only know a small fraction of that which is to be known.

[43:13] And as we read, holy men of old spoke, as they were inspired by the Spirit, and these things the Holy Spirit reveals, us.

[43:29] But let us always at least pray in our hearts, if not allowed, before we open the Holy Word of God. The Scriptures are a perfect map to show us how we should walk in providential things and in spiritual.

[43:54] But if I had a perfect map, if such as that map exists in my car, and the car was in darkness, the perfect map would not profit. Pray for light to shine upon this Holy Word when you take it up, that he may reveal these things by his Spirit.

[44:21] And as you search the Scriptures, pray for the Scriptures to search you. Ah, to search you, to search me.

[44:35] For the Spirit searcheth all things. Oh, would we not rather be corrected and put right rather than left to go on in the wrong path?

[45:01] The Spirit searches all things. The way you and I walk in providential things, our conversation, our thoughts, thoughts.

[45:20] We may have a certain measure of control over our words and actions, but how little control we have over our thoughts.

[45:31] And the thought of foolishness is sin. How close that comes. And oh, as the Holy Spirit reveals those sins.

[45:46] Should we not then see for that precious things that God has laid on, the salvation through Jesus Christ and his sin-atoning blood?

[46:03] The Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him, even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.

[46:31] Well, may the Lord reveal our portion to be in these spiritual things and that we may see in his time those glories laid up in heaven at the appointed time for those that are prepared to love him.

[47:02] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. The collections taken last Lord's Day amounted to £125 for the church fund and £25 for the Jara fund.

[47:26] We thank you for your giving. Subject to the Lord's will, anniversary services will be held here next Saturday. The afternoon service commences at three o'clock and the evening one at 6pm.

[47:43] Tea will be provided in the interval and a collection will be taken in support of the Gatsby Memorial Christmas Fund and also the chapel fund.

[47:55] I should say also Mr. Ramfottom is engaged to preach on that occasion. Subject to the Lord's will, Mr.

[48:07] John Rosier will preach here next Lord's Day and the ordinance of the Lord's Supper will be observed after the close of this evening service.

[48:19] Hymn 968 tune 494 Hark my soul it is the Lord tis thy saviour hear his word Jesus speaks and speaks to thee say for sinner lovest thou may him 968 tune 494 him to him him his testimony hoc in tier one he Thank you.