Treasured Truth

October 5, 2008

October 5, 2008

Morning Meeting

  • Hymn 150 - Thou art the everlasting Word

  • Scripture:

    •  John 1:1,14 - We just sang “Thou art the everlasting Word”. In verse 14, we find that He entered time.
    • Revelation 19:11 - Here is the same person. This scene is after the rapture and the marriage supper of the Lamb. This is the same Word of God. “Worthy art Thou.”
    • Isaiah 9:6-7 - Mr. Darby puts: “The Father of eternity”
    • Matthew 1:18, 21, 23
  • Hymn 184 - There is a name we love to hear
  • Prayer 
  • Hymn 179 - Brightness of th’ eternal glory
  • Prayer
  • Scripture: Phillipians 2:10-11 - We’ve sung and read about many titles that the Lord had, but here it says that they will bow to the name of Jesus.
  • Breaking of Bread
  • Hymn 20 - Lord Jesus! We worship and bow at Thy feet

  • Ministry:

    • Luke 15:24
    • Revalation 5:9
  • Prayer 

Ministry — Gordon Burgess

Luke 15:24 “And they began to be merry.” This is a parable, but it shows what our portion will be when we are with our Saviour. Revelation 5:9 “And they sung a new song.” Now I don’t know what song we will sing, but it will be given to us as we begin to be merry in the presence of our blessed Lord. He is eternal, as we have seen. No beginning. No ending. We will have all eternity to sing and rejoice with Him. Truely, it is more than we could ask or think. 

Children’s Meeting — Gordon Burgess

Hymn 341 – Jesus bids us shine

prayer

Have you ever been to a wedding? What’s the main attraction at a wedding? It’s usually the bride, dressed in her beautiful white dress. I’d like to talk about a wedding today. Read Revelation 19:7 – 9. We’ve looked before at the tribulation and how it will start at the rapture. While it is going on on earth, we will be in Heaven at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Our lives will be reviewed and we will receive rewards for what we have done for the Lord. Right before the end of the tribulation, there will be the Marriage of the Lamb; we—the whole Bride of Christ—will be married to the Lord Jesus Christ. The bride will be made up of all those who were saved between Pentecost and the rapture. We read that God has chosen all those who will be part of that bride; we are a called people.

I mentioned that we will receive rewards at the Judgement Seat of Christ; I think one of these rewards will be a white robe, so that when we get to the Marriage, we will be beautifully arrayed in white apparel. What will happen if someone was saved near the end of their life and did not have much time to live for the Lord? Will he get a reward? Our rewards are based on the opportunities we had to live for Him; if a person saved on  his deathbed shares the gospel with a nurse, he may recieve a greater reward than someone who has been saved most of his life but has not lived for the Lord. Also, our motives will be judged as well; if we are only trying to get a reward, we probably won’t. If we just want to shine for the Lord, we will be blessed.

Then we will be married to the Lord; this will be something we can’t imagine until we get there. It will be incredible to enter into a personal relationship with the very Son of God. We will be His cherished bride.

Not read vv. 11 – 14. This does not sound very peaceful. After the marriage, the Lord will come to judge the world, and we will come with Him. The vesture dipped in blood is a symbol of the avenging character of the judgement He is about to execute (Isaiah 63:1 – 4); the armies are typical of all Christians. We will be his bride-companion at this time. May we look forward to this time, when we will be with our Saviour!

Reading Meeting — II Peter 3:11 –18

We have noticed that Peter is trying to stir up the Jewish Christians in his epistles. We have seen how there are scoffers, mocking the coming of the Lord. We have seen a “timetable” here of the events that will take place: the rapture, the day of the Lord, and the day of God. We ended last week with v. 11: what effect should this have on our lives? We should live today in light of eternity. We’ve been reminded of the judgement seat of Christ; the world and its works will be burned up (v. 10), and “only what’s done for Christ will last.” The things mentioned in ch. 1 :5 – 7 are a good example of treasure laid up in Heaven. We still must work down here; we have jobs to fulfill and that is not wrong. But our focus should be on the Lord.

What is our hope? We have seen the hope of His coming, the love of His appearing, and now we have in v. 12 the hasting of the day of God. All these things should be part of our hope. We have seen how we will be part of His bride after His coming. During His millennial reign—the day of the Lord—Jerusalem will be the center of the world. It will be a time of blessing and fruitfulness all over the earth. Most importantly, the Lord will finally receive the honour and glory he deserves. Usually, a king loses his kingdom either by death or by losing a battle. The Lord will not die, nor will He lose a battle, but at the end of His reign, He will hand the authority over to His Father, who will bring in the day of God. The day of God will begin with the burning of the old creation and the building of the new one. We will be with the Lord at this time, administrating over the new earth; Revelation 21:9 & 10 and following describe our position.

Hymn 41 – The Heavenly Bridegroom soon will come,

Prayer