In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of rejoicing in the Lord regardless of the circumstances. She encourages the audience to trust in the Holy Ghost and to let go of earthly chains and focus on the glory and grace of God. The preacher also reminds the listeners that nothing happens by chance and that God is working all things together for good. She shares personal testimonies of how God has saved and served her, both spiritually and physically. The sermon concludes with a discussion of sanctification and the differentiation between those appointed to wrath and those appointed to salvation.

The last chapter of 1st Thessalonians, and again I've given you the notes beforehand so that you can easily follow the Bible reading as we get along down through this wonderful chapter. This chapter divides very easily into two parts. First of all, we have a number of differentiations made by the apostle in this chapter. He points out the difference between the Lord coming to the earth for his saints and the day of the Lord on earth for sinners. And there are a lot of marked differentiations in this wonderful chapter, and we will need to get them all on the line tonight so that this great subject, the day of the Lord and the Lord coming to the earth for his saints, that we'll see the difference between these two great differentational works of God. Then in this chapter, not only have we a number of differentiations made by Paul, but we have a number of exhortations given to us by Paul. And very wonderful and practical exhortations are here for us this evening. These are the two parts of the chapter. You will notice that the chapter begins tonight with the word box. Of course, that immediately tells you that Paul is changing the subject from the last chapter. Do you remember how we dealt with last week's chapter? We dealt with it like this. In the first eleven, twelve verses, we talked about the practical results of Christianity. And then in the last part of the chapter, we dealt with the personal return of Christ. But did you notice that when Paul got down to the first eight verses of chapter four, and in those eight verses he was talking about sanctification from fornication? Do you remember how I went into all the details of this sanctification from fornication? And when he got up well over to these young believers, then in verse nine he said, Bosh! Now he was changing the subject again. He was changing from practical sanctification to brotherly love. He wanted to say a word to them about brotherly love. Bosh! I trust in brotherly love. You have no need that I write unto you. And then when he came down to the thirteenth verse, he said, Bosh! And he changed the subject again. So that he changed from the practical to the dispensational. And he began to teach them the great dispensational truth of the Lord Jesus rising from the throne of heaven and coming to the air to meet every believer. And we went into all the details last week of the Lord's return for his own. And when he got this wonderful truth of the Lord coming to the air for believers over to them, he said, Bosh! again. And that's at the beginning of the fifth chapter. And that's where we see him making a differentiation between the Lord coming to the air for his saints and the times and the seasons, which doesn't apply to the church at all and have nothing to do with the air but have to do with the earth, the times and the seasons. I wonder, do you remember anything about this phrase, the times and the seasons? But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no image that I write unto you. You see, in the last verses of chapter four, he had to write to tell them about the Lord coming to the earth. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no image that I write unto you. So that is differentiating between the Lord coming to the air for his saints and the times and the seasons. They're two different things altogether. Let's go back to Acts, chapter one, just for a moment. The Acts of the Apostles, chapter one. And here we have our Lord Jesus Christ walking out to the Mount of Olives just before he ascended up into heaven. Now, just to get the connection, we'll read from the first verse. The former critiques have I made all theophilous, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandment unto the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible truths, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. He being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Now I want you to get the hold of that question. You see, they were still very limited in their outlook. These men that were standing round him now on the Mount of Olives, they were all Jews, and of course the uppermost thought in their mind was, the kingdom back to Israel. And of course they thought now that the Lord out from the grave, and glorified, living in the power of an endless life, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? It just came from their very souls. Now here's the reply. And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. Tell me this just quickly now. Does the times and the seasons have to do with the touch? Go on, I'm sorry. It is not for you to know. Is that plain enough? It's not for the touch. It's to know about the times and the seasons. The times and the seasons have got to do first of all with Israel. They have a connection down here on earth. I'd like you to get the hold of that, because that's very important. There are a whole lot of Bibles to be delivered to you. It's not for you to know the times and the seasons. You fellows have got a far bigger job on. You're going to be indwelt by the Spirit of God, and you're going to go out unto Jerusalem and to Mary, and unto the uppermost parts of the earth, and you're going to be witnesses unto me, and that's your job. Yes, he was teaching them the thing to leave alone. The Father will get without. So that you see this, that the times and the seasons have a connection with Israel on earth, when the kingdom indeed will be restored. And Paul is making a differentiation, but in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, he said, yes, the Lord will come to the earth, but of the times and the seasons there's no need that I write unto you. That's a different thing altogether. I think it's well to see that differentiation. Let's go back to 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, and I want you to notice this. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall come of the thief and the night. Now he's making a differentiation here between the coming of the Lord for his saints and the day of the Lord for sinners. That's a different thing altogether, isn't it? In chapter 4 it is the coming of the Lord for his saints, but the day of the Lord will come of the thief and the night. Now the day of the Lord is a terrible time of desolation that's not very far distant in the future for this whole world. So does that make a connection with us? We'll have to see. Let me give you one or two things about the day of the Lord. You remember how I took you over this, but for us young believers and those who've just come to the class, we'll get through it a little bit. Let's go back to the prophecy of Joel chapter 2. Joel chapter 2. Now take your time and find the place because this is a Bible reading and you'll need to know the words. I'm here tonight not to teach sermons. I'm here to teach you the book. Now here is what the prophet Joel said in the second chapter. Joel chapter 2. Go near the trumpet in Zion. Sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble. Dr. Bullinger, that great Hebrew scholar, points out that those who would re-land should have a capital T and a capital L because there's only one place on earth that God calls the land. That's the land of Palestine. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble for the day of the Lord cometh. It's my turn. My Israel would need to tremble. You see, the times and the seasons and the day of the Lord are just the same thing. You've no need that I write on to you about the times and the seasons for you as I may propagate up the day of the Lord. It's just another way of saying it. And the day of the Lord has a connection with Israel. When God, by tribulation and wrath and fury, will purge out every bit of the wrath from the nation before the blessed king of kings takes it over and makes it number one kingdom on earth. Watch this verse. Verse 2. It will be a day of darkness and of gloominess. A day of clouds and of thick darkness. As the morning spread upon the mountains, great people and the strong, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the ears of many generations. A fire devoureth before them. Behind them a flame burneth. And the land is as the garden of Eden before them. And behind them a desolate wilderness. They and nothing shall escape them. You could go on reading the chapter. You'd only get all the details that we've discussed this long ago about this horrible, terrible, dreadful day of the Lord that's soon to come. Have a look at it again, described in the New Testament. Come to 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter 3. 2 Peter chapter 3. Verse 8, just to save time. But, beloved, it's like a descent here, remember, and that's why he uses the word beloved. Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord of a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not flat concerning his promise that some men count flatness, but is long concerning to us words, and not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Is that the same thing as Jew and First Thessalonians? Of course it is. Now watch this. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, any of the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth, of course it's got to do with earth, all truth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. He then that all these things shall be dissolved. What manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation with God in it? My dear friends, let's get the hold of this. You know, Paul's talking in First Thessalonians about the times and the seasons that really have an application to Israel, and about the dreadful, horrible day of tribulation that will come upon the earth, the day of the Lord that will come as a thief in the night, a day when the land of Palestine will be blistered, a day when the elements shall melt with fervent heat. Mind you, some years ago the expositors behind this book had trouble expounding these things. You have no trouble tonight? Every man with common sense in this meeting knows that this is verily possible, it is. Yet lesser let loose the heart of the power they have, and the whole world will be blistered in so many seconds. That's just the way we live. Only, you know, we've got a hope. We're not going to be here when it happens. We're not going to be here. I said last week they needn't spend forty-three millions building anything on the Yorkshire Mills for the church of Jesus Christ. God will look after His own. He lets us out, puts us away. Who is going to keep you above it all? We'll meet Him in the air. And then the times and the seasons and the day of the Lord will come. Paul is differentiating between the coming of the Lord for his faith and the day of the Lord for sinners. That's why he put the bot in there. Now let's go back to it. There's quite a number more of these differentiations. First Thessalonians, chapter five. Watch it again. You'll read from verse one now. After having said in chapter four about the Lord coming to the earth for His faith, he said, But of the times and the seasons therein you have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord shall come as our faith in the night. Remember that couldn't be the Lord's coming for His church. Why the Lord's not coming for His church as our faith in the night? You know, you don't know when the feast's coming, do you? It doesn't turn the telegram on breaking wind tonight, does it? Why not? Then it may be this. The church happens to know the Lord's coming. Didn't we read in the first chapter of first Thessalonians at the end of the chapter? What did we read? All right, we'll go back and see. The first chapter ended like this, didn't it? Verse nine, at the end of the verse, speaking of the conversion of these Thessalonians, he said, You turn to God from idols. That was their salvation. To serve the living and true God. That was their occupation. What is this? And to wait for His Son from heaven, even Jesus. Now, in the Revised Version it reads like this. To wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, who shall fully deliver us from the wrath to come. Well, the wrath to come is in the day of the Lord. And that will come upon the earth, where it is as a thief in the night. But we're expecting the Lord to come at any moment. We're waiting for Him. He's not coming like a thief in the night. Some people talk about the Lord coming about being a thief in the night, but nothing to do with it. We're actually waiting on Him tonight. We're expecting Him to come. One of the great saints had in a study before him every day a little cream picture with these words, Perhaps today. And he saw this every morning, and then he remembered. He might come to the... We may be long. We'll wait for the thief. You don't know He's coming. The thief bit has got to do with the day of the Lord. But we're waiting for God's Son from heaven. Let me tell you on this one. He may come whoever's making love. And God's petting you if you're left behind. You'll still enter the day of the Lord. And you'll not know a sign until He comes upon you with a thankless hand. Do you see the differentiation he's making? Do you see the differentiates, first of all, between the Lord's coming to the air for saints and the times and seasons on earth? When he differentiates between the coming of the Lord for the saints and the day of the Lord for sinners. And here he's differentiating between saints expecting God's Son from heaven and sinners not expecting the thief and the knife. These are great differentiations, aren't they? Now, watch this. I want everyone to watch the word in here as I read it open again. Verse 1. But of the times and the seasons, brethren, it is often said, believe, says brethren, what you, that's the same crowd, you believers of my need that I write unto you, for yourself, you believers ought to know, for when you shall say, oh no, oh no, he changed it, didn't he? How did he change this to another phrase? For when they shall say, didn't he just change it? Ah, because this, he has got nothing to do with you. He said, you know, you brethren know this. I don't need to write to you about the times and the seasons. You know that the day of the Lord will come as a thief and a knife, you know that. For when they, the ungodly world, shall say, tell me what they're saying now. Boy, I saw in that great magazine called Life, a big banner spread across a wonderful hall that held about ten or twelve thousand people waiting for Eisenhower in India somewhere. The Prince of Peace has come. Well, if they think Eisenhower is the Prince of Peace, they're bluffed. And he went all round, just talking from here to there and there and there. Drained the foundation for peace. You see? He's a bigger fool than I thought he was. Well, here's what your book says, and it has said it a long time. When the ungodly world shall say, peace and justice. Is that what they're saying tonight? That's what they're saying. We're going to cut down the armies. We're going to make a pact. We'll not make any more of these terrible things. We're going to be all good boys and sit up in the corner. You wouldn't believe that, would you? You'd be a fool if you knew. When the world shall say, peace, I'm sure they've written to us, then cometh sudden destruction upon them. Then sudden destruction cometh upon them. What a world it will be. You know, friends, we're always very near to this. Do you know if America, by their wonderful money-making ideas, taken Russia into a corner financially, well, Russia might make a hole in the wall to get out, and the blast might start. I have a conviction in my mind that one night Russia will go and blast America. And I tell you that all the Americans are waiting for it to come in. Men with sense live and breath. But I want you to get this, that this sudden destruction is coming upon the world. How will you be? One of these days the soldiers come in suddenly too, and bless God he'll be in the air before the bomb will go in the air. He'll just come one of these days. He'll lift us up. We, the Jews, are suddenly delivering. Oh, they're wondering how they can beat the atomic bomb, aren't they? I'll tell them. Put their trust in Christ and they'll beat it. The only shelter from its harm is Christ. When God blasted the earth, it wouldn't be one year of salvation that I knew of, that was the ark, it was Christ. So when God blasts the earth in a few weeks' time maybe, by the Lord Jesus we'll just have picked ourselves out of it just like a flash. Do you see the differentiation? We're waiting for sudden deliverance. The only way of escape is by the air through Christ. And the world will get sudden destruction. And did you see it twice? When we were living and doing at best, and they shall not escape. And then we'll be doing better at best. And they shall not escape. They shall not escape. Do you see how well Paul can preach sanctity? Well, when they shall say, peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them. As to veil upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. God pity the man that left behind. Then he comes back to the believers again, who said, but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that not day should overtake you the peace. You see, that day, the day of the Lord, the day of sudden destruction, the day when the land of Israel will be blistered, the day when the elements shall melt the serpentine, he says, that day shall not overtake you the peace. Oh, not at all. He said, you don't belong to the kingdom of darkness. You know, God hath planned this for the kingdom of darkness. You know that our man and woman in this meeting tonight, I'm sorry to say that you're still in the kingdom of darkness, sir. You're not saved, you're in the kingdom of darkness. You belong to the darkness. When a man gets saved, this book says, he's translated out of darkness into marvelous light. This meeting's divided in two. There are the children of darkness here. There are the children of light. There are God. That's what God said at the beginning of the Bible prayer after. And here's the teaching. Watch it. Verse 5. We are all the children of light and the children of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others, but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the night. They that were drunken are drunken in the night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the great plate of faith and love and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to laugh. When you should say hallelujah behind that. God hath not appointed us. God hath appointed us to obtain salvation. I thought these people were saved. Oh, they were saved. What does it talk about obtaining salvation? Oh, well. Ah, you know, salvation is a tremendous big thing. You know, I think that people don't get the full effect when they use the word salvation. You see, friend, when I was a poor, lost, down-and-out hell-deserving guilty sinner on the broad road that led to destruction, I was in desperate danger of going to hell. One day I met the Savior and I got saved from hell. I've never been here. And you know, when I was standing on the broad road that was leading to destruction, I had a load of sin upon my conscience, and the guilt was weighing me down. But I got saved from the burden of sin. It rolled away. And you know, when the Lord saved me from hell and rolled the burden and saved me from the burden of guilt, then he began to save my body. Christ Jesus came into the world not to destroy man's body, the Bible says, but to save me. He saved my body. Then he saved my character. Then he saved my home. I've got three lives he has to make clean. Saved my home. Then one day he's coming to the earth to save me from the wrath of the wrath of God, who has appointed me to obtain salvation by the coming of Christ. Oh, what a wonderful thing. My, there's a differentiation made between those appointed to wrath, those appointed to salvation. Do you see all the differentiations? Look up your notes just now. Paul makes the differentiation between the Lord coming to the air for saints and the times and the seasons on earth. He differentiates between the coming of the Lord for saints and the day of the Lord for sinners. He differentiates between saints expecting God's son from heaven and sinners not expecting the thief and the knife. He differentiates between saints with a blasted hope and sinners with a false hope. So when man says, peace and safety, it's a false hope. He differentiates between sudden destruction and no escape and sudden deliverance, the only escape. He differentiates between the children of darkness and the children of light. He differentiates between sleepiness and brokenness and watchfulness and soberness. He differentiates between those appointed to wrath and those appointed to salvation. Didn't he work it out well? My, that dot came in in the right moment, didn't it? Dot. My, Paul can see the things that are really different, can't he? Now, I think that that will do for these differentiations that Paul makes in the first eleven verses of this chapter. And they impart these expectations in the next eleven verses that will take us to the end of verse twenty-two. And I want to take time at some of these expectations that he gives to these saints who are waiting for God's son from heaven. And the first thing he says is this. Verse twelve. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves. You know, this is an expectation I think that we should take time to look at very carefully. You know, young believers should get to know that God hath placed on the local church real them that rule over you. But you know that some of you youngsters rebel whom you don't want to rule over. No, you don't want to know those that rule over you either. You're rebelling. Put your nose to the book now and learn that God treat with you for once in your life. Oh, I know that some of you are not even in a legal tax. Oh, you're a free lot. You'll do as you like. You'll just obey the book in front of you, won't you? We just want a remission of your rule. Well, you'll be the ruler and you'll do everything and you'll do as you like and you'll disobey God's word and you'll make a new order of things, won't you? No, you won't. You'll have to learn that God hath order and that there's some of us who have been placed in the place of rulership and some of you, you fellows, would give us teach. Would you? Would you learn from the nightfall that there's two, that mean evil? I will catch some of you to learn and explain some of you. How do I do? Oh, you say, have I got to give you up with the more I have? Yes. We're only a free elder to you and not one of us ever dared once to lord it over God's heaven. I think that I can speak for the other two and myself that we're very humble sort of men. But remember at the back of it, we happen to be the rulers here. If you get out of it, and if you don't like it, get out. That just happens to be God's will. But some of you, you fellows, don't want it, do you? I mean, you have to change the way you live. Now, in God's house there are rulers. Them that rule over you. Oh, boy, some people don't like you to talk up to them. They'd like to take the meeting off you. Happens to be that God sent me here as a ruler and as long as I'm here, I'll rule. And I'll not be asking you what I'll be doing here. I've been too long on my knees and too long at the butcher to take any mentions from some of you we love. I wish you would learn. And if you're not in the church, it's plainly well where somebody would rule over you. Just how would this apply to you tonight if you haven't got any ruler, or you want to be the boss of your own life? Well, that's not God's order. This happens to be you as you're young and rapidly. So I'll tell you a wee bit behind it. Watch it. Verse 12 again. We beseech you, brethren, to know them which live among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you and to esteem them very highly in love for they'll not take... Happens to be you're to love a character like me. I don't. Happens to be that. Do you know sometimes when I've got to take some of you aside and put my arm round you and tell you off? Don't mind me, there's quite a number of you here who know that I would do it and have done it. Even then, you're to love me. I'm only trying to keep you on the middle of the king's highway, son. I've got to give an account for my stewardship here. And if ever I take you aside some day and put my arm round you and say, look, you're getting there. I'll say something to you. You'll know I'm acting as a ruler for your good and for Christ's good. And just remember the new verse that's at the end of this chapter. Be at peace among yourselves. Well, there's always somebody disturbs the peace, isn't there? You could hardly even have a big assembly without getting somebody to take over the church. They'd disturb the peace. Well, now, if you've got something to say, would you come along and talk to the rulers about it? And stop trying to take the reins and rule the thing yourself when you weren't sent to do it. Because if some of you had this Bible class for about two weeks, you'd empty it. And that's just enough for you to know that you must come along and have a chat with the rulers. And thank God for the men here beside me. There are rulers in this place like I've never seen anywhere else. My, the problems that the three of us have faced together. I thought it would be your heart good to know, but that's our business. That it's good to learn these things, we would pass them by. Now, having talked to them about their regard for rulers, he goes on now to talk about their behaviour among the rebels. He says, Now we have got you rebels, warn them that are on the way. Paul was well aware, you know, that some saints love to take the bet between the teeth. But I knew that. I said, I need warning. I need to be gently warned that they're not allowed to be rebels in the assembly of God's people. You need to warn me on this. And then you need all these things. What's it? Comfort the feeble-minded. You know, in an assembly, you don't only get the honour, you get that feeble-minded person. So then you leave such a form of Paul up to them. And you find them under the doom of a tree and depressed and cast down and dismayed. You know, they need comfort. The joy to be allowed to do this work, you know. Find out the feeble-minded. And here's a lovely little bit. Support the weak. I tell you, I think that that phrase often repeats, what a witch sometimes is. Support the weak. You know, you'll get a soul who has truly trusted Christ, who has put it all on the altar, and yet there's something in that soul's life that really knocks them down again and again and again. It's a witchery, you know, that phrase. It makes me think a lot. It makes me grieve. And do you know, when you've trusted Christ, there are times when it's very fool-proof. Because of Christ, there are times when it's very fool-proof. Because of this temptation, there are times when it's always God who needs support, not criticism. Some of you will take a knee. I will learn to support the weak. These are great exhortations. What should we do? They expound themselves, these, without me going too far. Be patient toward all men. Why, that's a tremendous one. You know, that doesn't mean to be only patient toward all the saints, but patient toward all the sinners. And we have to be patient. Sometimes, you know, somebody comes and says, you know, somebody said this about you. And some sinner criticizes you. Some sinner slanders you. So you've just got to be patient. If they start in the face of Jesus Christ, God alone knows what they do with a character like me. Just be patient. And then it goes on, yet once more, see that none render evil for evil unto any man. Forever follow that which is good. This among yourselves and to all men. Mind you, that's something that needs practicing. Even if some young fellow has become unruly, even if there are rebels, even if they won't take the admonition, even if they don't recognize him. Ah, be good to them. Never do evil for evil. Just be good. How lovely we are. This is how you should behave yourself among your brethren. You should have regard for your rulers. Then this is your behavior among your brethren. Now comes some lovely expectations. They come very quick. You would think they were coming out of a machine gun. Rejoice evermore, pray without cheating and everything gives thanks. They just come like that. You know, this is how you can glorify God in your life. You know, this is one of the expectations that really makes you sit up and say, Rejoice evermore. You know, I have a dear woman in hospital and about four weeks ago we thought we were going to lose her and she came very near the edge of eternity and then she picked up and was doing wonderfully well and then yesterday again she had to go in for another slight operation and yet this wood rings in the ears, rejoice evermore. You say, how can it be done? I'll tell you how it can be done. It's the Holy Ghost that takes your heart and mind and lets it away above the things of time until you see nothing to no one but the blessed Christ of God is on the floor. Turn your eyes and look to Him in His wonderful face and the shade of that grows strangely dim than the light of His glory and grace. Then you're able to quote the text, Though the fig tree shall not blossom and the labour of the olive shall fail and there's no head in the stall and there's no meat in the field that I will rejoice in the Lord by His hand is on the head everything is gripped and mastered and come to by Him. Nothing will happen to Darshan. He knows. He cares. He loves. He prays. That's His name. He's working all things together for good. So then you can rejoice in the Lord, can't you? Thank God we have the Lord in times like these. Rejoice evermore. And you know, if you rejoice, you'll pray, won't you? When you tell Him everything. Oh, how you turn out your heart to Him. You pray without fainting. You bring every little squibble of your soul. You bring every little thought. You bring every little detail. In everything you pray with prayer and supplication. You pray evermore. I'll tell you this. If you're looking up and you're talking, you're a good saint in everything. My, oh, thank the Lord. Wonderful Christ of God that I'm with you. And if your life is rejoicing in this poem, and praying in the dark, and thanking in the valley, you're a glorified God. That's how you're a glorified God, son. What wonderful lexicon. Couldn't Paul preach? The more I read this, the further back I get what a preacher he was. Now, these are wonderful expectations. Our regard for our rulers. Our behavior among our brothers. Our glorying in our Lord. Then here's a lovely one. Christ, not the Spirit. You see, that's our submission to ourselves. You know, when you get saved, born again, you're indwelled by the Spirit of God, then you should be filled with the Spirit. And two things will keep you from being filled. You can grieve the Holy Ghost. You can grieve him by your character, untruthfulness, or ungraciousness, or underhandedness, dishonestness. That's your character. You can grieve the Holy Ghost by your character. But you can quench the Holy Ghost when you're not prepared to serve the Lord when He wants you to serve Him. So did the Lord want some of you fellows to take a Sunday school class? Oh no, you wouldn't do that. Well, you're quenching the Spirit. Now, did the Lord want you to do some little job for Him? Well, you're quenching the Spirit. You know, I came in here one day just in through the door. I was wanting milk out of here somewhere. I don't know how I'm going to say this, but I'm saying it anyway. And I saw my brother Carson down on his knees putting boards in along there. I said, I didn't know you were doing this. I said, you know, nobody knows you do these things. He said, I don't do them for anybody. I do them for the Lord. I said, I should be. Why, you could put boards in for the Lord, couldn't you? There's a thousand ways for you. Tell me, what are you really doing for the Lord? Just warming a seat in the church? Just coming to the Bible class for mental entertainment? Now, you're whisking your lips. Take your time and find out what the Lord wants you to do. Know what works well for you to do. And I'll tell you, you know, he was shocked. Now, when I prayed, Lord, will I go to Lothian? And I had about 700 in the class that day, and the Lord said, yes. My, then, the old boy began to shake. But you should never quench the Spirit. I told, well, I'll do what you want me to be, dear Lord. I'll do what you want me to do, dear Lord. Let that be the attitude. Quench, not the Spirit. That's your submission to service. Now, here are wonderful principles, and I think if you get them into your soul, not into your head, it will be a blessing to you. The first one is, despise not prophesying. Now, I think that that needs an explanation before we go on. You know, when Paul was writing this letter to the Thessalonians, this is his first letter out of the fourteen that he has written in the New Testament. Paul almost penned all our New Testaments. He penned fourteen letters, and the first one he penned was 1 Thessalonians. So you see, that when these Thessalonian converts got together on Lord's Day morning to remember the Lord and to worship at His feet, remember they had no New Testament written. Have you got a Bible like what we've got? Oh, no. But God knew all about it, and God gave them special gifts in the early days. Of course, first of all, they had the apostles, they were their great gifts. Then secondly, they had gifts called prophets. You see, the Church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. So the prophets were just men gifted by God to stand up in the morning meeting and preach these very things that we are touching now without a New Testament at all. They brought the Church New Testament proof without a New Testament. And you see, if some humble brother would stand up in the morning and without a Testament begin to tell the saints certain things to do, you think there'd always be somebody to despise him. Always. Always. So we have an open meeting at the table in this place. And sometimes some of our brethren, my last Sunday morning, there was a very humble old saint here among us that upped to speak at the table. And in his own wonderful way, he brought us a message from the Lord. And I think that I could truthfully say this, that I've never heard him stand to his feet, but it always did me good. I never despised a humble brother, you know. So you know, you should learn never to despise the man that ministers God's word. No matter who he is or where he is, if he's a true child of God. Never despise him. So that's the first thing. Don't despise the preacher. And then the second one is this. Prove all things. You see, we can prove all things very easily now. You can prove everything by the word of God. No matter what any man says, bring it to the book and find if it's according to the testimony of God's word. Prove it. And if it's the truth, you hold on to it. It's for your good and it's for your edification. So that you're not to despise the minister, but you should prove the message. And then, here's a lovely little bit. Abstain from all appearance of evil. My, you know, there are certain things that any of us could do and I suppose it would be lawful for us to do. But you know, the world might take it up in another way. You see, these days I'm the cook down at our place. Some cooking, I'm telling you. But you know, ladies, I've learned a whole lot of these things. I'll be very easy on you from this on. I get fed up with this cooking. And then I take the car and I go up to a dear lady who's in the meeting and I walk up a hall and I say, give us a drop of tea. And you know, I was just saying to her the other day, you know, if they see me coming in here every morning at eleven o'clock they'll have got something to say about you and me. Ah, but it's true. That's the world we live in. And you see, rather than let them get a chance to talk, you should abstain from the very appearance of evil. These are wonderful principles. Don't despise the preacher. Prove the message. But walk circumspect for the day of evil. These are principles for our practice. And so we've got down through the differentiations made by Paul and the expectations given by Paul and the end of this first letter to the Thessalonians was a great benediction. He says, I'm the very God of peace, sanctify your holiness. And I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body. And in my Bible it says, the fond glimpse at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some people talk about holy sanctification. And they say, you know, you can get to a place by closing your eyes and surrendering everything you have until you are absolutely sanctified soul and spirit and body. Well, let me tell you. How about we look at John's Gospel, chapter 17, for a moment. John's Gospel, chapter 17, and verse 17, and our Lord Jesus Christ is praying for the faith, which the very theme of Paul was praying for. And when the Lord's praying for them in verse 17, he says, sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth. And usually when a fellow tells me that he's endlessly perfect, holy sanctified he calls it, the first thing I ask him is this, have you read every word in this Bible? And in all time I've had the answer, no. And I say, well, I would want to know how you could be perfectly sanctified when you haven't even read the book that sanctifies you. Happens to be that you're sanctified through the truth. And the man that tells you that he's endlessly perfect, he's telling you that there's not a phrase or a command or a promise or an exhortation or a warning in that book that he's not perfectly keeping and he's a liar. Are you keeping every word? Are you keeping every phrase that we read tonight? Never mind going out of the chapter. Let's get the hold of this, you're sanctified by the truth. And you can't claim holy sanctification if you're breaking one phrase of his book. But the Lord wasn't saying any such, or Paul wasn't praying for any such thing. He was praying that when the Lord Jesus Christ comes and we rise to meet Him in the air, and these bodies are changed and faith gives place to sight, then body, soul and spirit will be eternally set apart for the Lord. And he says, I trust at that moment when you meet Him, you'll be found blameless. Mind you, he didn't say you'll be found spotless, you'll be found faultless. Didn't I point out to you the difference between blameless and faultless before? I said the wee fellow was copying the heading on the copybook one day. You remember how it used to be in Copperclay. And do you know what he made up his mind? That he would just copy it down exactly as it was on the top line. And he went very careful over every letter and watched it. And did everything that he could do to make it exact. And the teacher came round and looked over his shoulder and said, oh, it wasn't faultless. But the wee fellow was blameless. Now that's the difference between faultless and blameless. And Paul claims that when you rise to meet Him and at last you are perfectly His forever, I hope you'll be found blameless. I hope you'll not be doing anything you shouldn't do when you come. He was a fine believer. What a lovely prayer he ended this on. One or two things just as we close this chapter. Look at them. I think it's a lovely thing that he says about God. Faithful is He that calleth you who also will do it. My God's calling us on to perfection. And He'll do it. It was a lovely wee bed. Brethren, pray for us. All the great, wonderful apostles praying, asking these young believers to pray. Brethren, pray for us. I greet all the brethren with a holy kiss. But you need to know the customs of the Far East to understand us. You see, we greet one another with a sheikhan. And they greeted each other with a kiss. But the emphasis is not on the kiss. The emphasis is on the word holy. With a holy kiss. You know, you see two fellows standing with their heads together and they're talking about another brother and they're cutting him into pieces and then he turns the corner and the other fellow says, I'm glad to see you. There's nothing holy about that. That's not a holy sheikhan. And how dreadful if it would be two sisters standing together and then she would turn and kiss the other on the cheek. It wouldn't be a holy thing. Ah yes, it's all in the book, isn't it? Brethren and sisters. There's just one thing that I want to get over to this meeting in the last seconds and it's this. From everything that I know of the prophetic teaching of God's word and I've studied it thoroughly for years and for everything that I can see happening in the nations around me I feel that we're at the very end of the age. In my very soul tonight I'm perfectly persuaded and I'm sure that the coming of the Lord is desperately put at hand and if Jesus Christ shall take the church out so you big men in this meeting tonight you'll be left behind for the dreadful horrible day of the Lord and I'll tell you this we bet you'll not escape. You'll not escape. So there's only one place that you can flee for refuge tonight. That's to Christ. Men and women in this meeting on faith I beg of you to look at Calvary. I beg of you to look at the Lamb of God again. I beg of you to look at the sacrifice in your own health. I beg of you to look at the glorious resurrection and put your trust in the cross work and put the arms of your faith round this living Savior and bless God's salvation with all its fullness of meaning will be yours for all eternity. Will you come? God bless you. Let us pray. Lord Jesus we thank thee for thyself. We thank thee for the old blood thin rugged cross. We thank thee for the mighty sacrifice for sin. We thank thee for the precious cleansing ruby blood. We thank thee for the glorious resurrection. We thank thee for the wondrous exaltation. We thank thee Lord that thou art coming again. We thank thee tonight we know thou art coming soon. And with everything in our being we say even so come. Lord Jesus, oh Lord there you would step out of heaven and call us home. Speak once more in mercy for these unsaved men and women in this living and draw them to thyself for salvation. We thank you Lord that as we see the darkness and the dreadful horrors that will come upon this field of time we bless thee thy blessed rock of ages we are hiding in thee. Bless thy work for saint and sinner for the glory of thy name. Amen.