In this sermon, the preacher discusses the power of the Word of God and how Jesus used it effectively. He gives examples from the Bible, such as when Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness and how he responded with the Word of God. The preacher also emphasizes the importance of listening to the voice of Jesus, as his sheep hear his voice and follow him. The sermon concludes with a focus on the deity of Christ and how this chapter in the Gospel of John supports the belief in his divinity.

Well, we're going to read and weep again this evening in this mighty chapter. You can see that we're going through from verse twelve to verse twenty, just nine verses this evening, only nine. And if you give me five minutes at each verse forty-five, then we might play extra time both ways, though you would never know. But we'll have to do what the Lord wants us to do, there will be no hurrying over these very precious portions here. And I've entitled this paragraph this evening, The Son of Man, The Lord of Glory, because I'm perfectly sure that this is one of the chapters that the young folks can go to when somebody challenges you about the deity of Christ. Somebody might ask you a question one day, do you really believe that Jesus Christ is God? Well, I think this would be the best chapter in the Bible to go to to prove it. There are three great first chapters that you can go to. You can go to John's Gospel, chapter one, of course, where it distinctly says, the Word was God. You can go to Hebrews, chapter one, where the father speaking to the son says, die from, O God, is forever and ever. And you can go to Revelation, chapter one, and a three-fold cord like that is not easily broken. But I would think that this is the strongest one of the three, because there are some wonderful things here. You remember I was pointing out to you as we finished the class last week that in verse eight God himself is speaking, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending saith the Lord, which is, which was, which is to come, the Almighty. If you take the first two words of the verse and the last two, it reads like this, I am the Almighty. And nobody could gainsay but that is God, because it's said in the middle of the verse, F Jehovah. The word Lord is the word Jehovah. So this is God. Now you can do this sort of deduction very easily, young folks. I am the Almighty. He calls himself Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, so that you can say, the Almighty Jehovah is Alpha and Omega. There's no trouble about that, that's all in the one text, and nobody will argue with you about it. You can talk to anybody like that and say that Alpha and Omega is the Almighty Jehovah. And then you go down the chapter to verse ten, and John is speaking now. John is saying, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and old Williams, the great translator, put it like this, I was in the Spirit on the Sunday, and I'm sure he's right. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice, out of a trumpet saying, I am Alpha and Omega, that's the same person. I don't think he would have any bother about that, it's the same person. And then he makes a little change in it now, he says, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. So that you can conclude this, that the Almighty, the one who describes himself as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last is all one. This is God. There's no troubles with that. There would be no arguments from anybody up to now. And so John hears this voice behind him of the trumpet saying, and the voice goes on to say, and brought Garcia right in the book and send it on to the seven churches. And verse twelve says, where we commence tonight, and I turned, that is, I, John, turned to see the voice that spoke with me. You see, when verse ten came, it says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and heard behind me. So he's turning to see the person who calls himself Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks and don't worry about that for the moment, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one light on to the Son of Man. Is this who was talking? Now if I could prove conclusively that it is the Son of Man who is talking, then there is no trouble at all for evermore with the Deity of Christ. Because the one who says, I am the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, if that is the Son of Man, then the question's over, there are no more arguments. Of course, when some of these boys come round to the door and I corner them with something like this, they try to escape like this, they say to me, yes, this is Jehovah and versaic, the Alpha and Omega, he is the first and the last, this is his voice that's heard. But when John turned to see the voice that spoke with him, he didn't see Jehovah at all, he just saw the Son of Man, and you're concluding that the Son of Man said, I am the first and the last. Now that's a very subtle argument, it's not worthy of even thinking about. I detest anybody who's so wicked. Now watch me very carefully. I turned to see the voice that spoke with me and being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, girt about the breasts with a golden girdle, his head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, his eyes were as the flame of fire, his feet like unto fine brass, as if they'd burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters, he had in his right hand seven stars, out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in the sky. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead, he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not, I am the first and the last. Would you like to argue now, because if you would dare to argue now I wouldn't talk to you any more because I would think you were wickedly stupid. This is the Son of Man that's speaking, isn't it? Is this the Man of Calvary? Because in a moment I shall prove it is, because he says, I am he that liveth and was dead. So that the Son of Man, the Man of Calvary, the one who liveth in the power of an endless life, the Risen Lord, is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Almighty. You like to argue with me after the meeting, because I would tear you apart, you know. You young ones, get the hold of it, that's what I'm taking my time for. When somebody comes round to argue with you about the deity of the Lord Jesus, you just take your time with Revelation 1, and I can tell you you can hold your own with the devil, never mind with these agents. This is the Almighty. Quite clear, isn't it? No arguments. So that's why I entitled the paragraph, The Son of Man, the Lord of Glory. Now we need to get into the details, of course, from verse 12 down to verse 20, and I want to talk for a moment or two about the symbolism of the stars, and then I shall go on to talk about the magnificence of the Master, because there are so many great details here. And then at the end of the chapter, where he lays his right hand upon John and says unto him, Fear not, I am the first and the last, I am he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore, and have the keys of hell and of death. This is a superman, because he's got the keys of death and the keys of hell. This is not just an ordinary refill. There are so many angles you could prove the deity of the Lord from this chapter. We're going to look at this symbolism for the moment, and then at the magnificence of the Master, and then look at the sympathy of the Saviour. And I think it's a very rich portion indeed. You see, there are so many people, when you turn to the book of the Revelation to prove anything, if they're going to be cornered or if it's going to upset their erroneous teachings, they say to me, but this book is full of symbols. God uses symbolical language in this book, and it just can't be understood. Now, it is perfectly true that God uses symbols in this book, and it is perfectly true that there is symbolical language in this book, but it is not true that it can't be understood. It would be very silly for God to write a letter and use symbols that you couldn't understand and then ask you to understand it. There are not only symbols in this book, there are metaphors in this book. Sometimes God uses animal metaphors to bring forth truth the way he wants it. But all the symbols and all the metaphors that's used can be understood because God explains them in the book. You see, the trouble with some teachers is that when you come to symbols like these, see verse 12, I turned to see the voice that speak with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. And you know, they want to make these candlesticks so many things. Now let me say this to you young teachers, you're not allowed to make anything anything. What would you know? You're not allowed to work your imagination and say, I think, or you suggest. Oh no, God doesn't allow you to do that. You're to search the scriptures. And if you search, you'll find a place where God will explain the thing. He doesn't let you loose, you know, with your imagination. See down in the midst of that magnificent portion there where it talks about the Son of Man, it says at verse 16, And he had in his right hand seven stars. That's symbolical again. So that you have this symbolism of the stars, and you have this symbolism of the candlesticks. And of course if you just search and watch and wait, God explains it. And you don't go far here until you get the explanation. The last verse tonight, look at it, verse 20. The Lord is still speaking to John. He's saying to him, The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand are the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. And the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Now there's no trouble with that. That's the symbolism explained. God was just giving John a very attractive vision. He could see these seven golden candlesticks, something that was very precious. And in the midst of them, the Lord of Glory was walking, the Son of Man. And when we begin to examine these churches, we find they were seven literal local churches. Seven churches in Asia. They were local churches. One was at Ephesus. One at Smyrna. One at a place called Pergamos. One at Thyatira. One in Sardis. One in Philadelphia. One in Laodicea. So the symbolism is quite easy here, because God explains it in the very clearest of language. It's the seven churches. You see, the local church is examined continually by the Lord. The Lord walks in the midst of the churches. Comes in here to examine the preachers sometimes. How they look at all the sermons. Measures every motive. How they look at the members, too. You don't hide anything from Him, you know. He knows you're downshifting and you're uprising. And you may fox me, but you won't fool Him. And His eyes go through the whole meeting. Yet there's no trouble with that. You see, the seven stars that He held in His right hand, these stars are the angels. I don't want you to be confused by the word angels. It's an old Greek word. And I know that the correct translation is angels, all right, but the way we think about them at times, we might think that we were thinking about these shining angels from the glory. You see, the basic root meaning of this Greek word that's translated angels here is the word messenger. Because the angels were messengers. Ah, but in these local churches, there were men placed in each church who were messengers. Both the brethren and the likelihood. Whether you like it or not, there were seven churches and there were seven messengers. And there's no getting out of it. And let me tell you, they were responsible for the spiritual condition of the assembly. Because next week when we start, we'll be starting the chapter two. Here's how it begins. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write. Now, our Lord is talking to John. He's saying unto the angel of the church of Ephesus. Now, you'd be wide enough awake to know that our Lord is not commanding John to write to a shining angel. Who would deliver the letter? 5B, of course, wouldn't get you there. No. No, there's the messenger. One of the Lord's messengers too. And he's responsible for the spiritual condition of the church. That's why I must be faithful to the Lord in this place at all times. Because I'm held accountable for this great loss. And I may tread in your toes and know right well I'm doing it. And I assure you I'll tread as hard as I can even when I know that I am not responsible to you. I neither seek your smile or fear your frown. I just have to be true to the Lord. And if you don't like it, you can lump it. Because you'll be held accountable for what you have. Now, there are angels here and there's no getting out of it. There was an angel at Ephesus and an angel at each of the churches. There was a messenger that God had sent there. And this is one of the reasons that a whole lot of re-meetings are only nonsense. Because God's messenger is not there. And you play about with it. And you bypass God's order. And the gifts that God has given you lay to the side. You're going to play it out. I am only fooling your time away. You don't know that you love to play at ministries. You're like kids. Go where the gift is and learn. Thank God for this class. In a bombed town these days, look at it. And I wouldn't keep this going for 20 years if God hadn't given me gifts. You're not just as daft as all that. No, we need to recognize gifts. And we need to know the messengers that God has sent. And we need to listen carefully when God speaks through them. If symbolism and metaphors don't matter, let's go to Revelation 13 for a moment so I show you something about the metaphors. Revelation 13. And John speaking again. Verse 1. And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns. When we come to this, we'll do the whole verse phrase by phrase. Just take the ten horns out now. It is symbolic, isn't it? What does it mean, that phrase? I'm not allowed to even think. It wouldn't matter what I think. That doesn't make no use of me saying, I think that the horns mean this. So that I've got to get down to it and pray about it and say, Lord, what are you talking about? Now, this is a beast that's rising up. He has seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns. Now, come across to Revelation 70. Revelation 70. And John is carried away here in the spirit again into the wilderness in verse 3. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. We're back to the same beast, the same ten horns. Now, down the chapter we've been here, see, verse 12. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings. You wouldn't like to come round to argue with me now, would you? And all the suggestions that you made in your mind just mean nothing unless you worked it out like that. These are ten kings. This is an amalgamation. In fact, this is a picture of the common market. But we're not on that tonight, so we don't need to go. I'm only showing you the symbolism. And the symbols don't need to puzzle you. The answer is somewhere. You need to search and watch and wait, and God will speak. Go back to 13 again till I show you a metaphor that's there. 13, verse 2. And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion, and the dragon gave him his power. Supposing we take the word dragon out. You could take leopard, you could take bear, you could take lion, you could take dragon. Was God mean? Now, as you switch from chapter 13 back into chapter 12, you can see this in verse 9. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan. There are all the words you would need anymore. Serpent, devil, Satan. So that the dragon is the metaphor that God uses to describe the power and the ferocity of the old devil and Satan. So that symbolism, or metaphorically speaking, doesn't hinder you from understanding. That is if you'll allow God to talk to you and you take your time to find it out for yourself. It's just because some folks won't search the scriptures and they want to be clever and they say it suggests this and suggests that and half the time it's baloney. So take your time and let God tell you what it is and it will not be too bad at all. Now let's get back to this first chapter again. Verse 12, And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned I saw seven golden candlesticks, these seven churches of Asia. And in the midst of the seven churches one like unto the Son of Man, and I like this title. You know this is one of the titles our Lord Jesus had in the days of his flesh. You remember again and again he preached like this, The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. And right through the scriptures you'll find that more times than any he was called the Son of Man. And I think that possibly this is the title that John used again and again. John knew him as the Son of Man. Now I want you to get the hold of this. This letter of John's the best scholars say that it was written in A.D. 96. Now get the hold of that, A.D. 96. Supposing to make the sum easy we say our Lord died in A.D. 33. It's 63 years later. But he hasn't changed. He's the same Jesus. Just the same. You know when you don't see a fellow for 63 years there's a bit of a change you know. Bit of a change. You've got to take into consideration when you study this that John must be a pretty old man now. I don't know what age he was when Jesus called him. Supposing he was 20. I don't think he was, I think he was older than that. He was a well-seasoned fisherman. He may have been thirsty. Well is it 63 years later? He's over 90 now. He's an old man. Though his eyes may have been growing dim like the rest of us they might have been sore than in his early days yet he immediately recognizes the Son of Man. He hasn't changed. The lady coming in for the meeting she's just sitting over there I spoke to her tonight. Mrs. Hewitt. Johnny's wife. I said how long is it since I led you to the Lord? Got the thinking cap on you know. 23 years ago I led Mrs. Hewitt to the Lord. 23 years ago. Both her and I were better looking men I can assure you. Yes she was a nice young woman then. Not too old yet but 23 years of her older course. And it was a great night. It was the last night of the mission at Kilicho Main when I pitched the tent there before the church was ever there. She was saved that night. She had been steadfast and unmovable ever since. One of the ones that you would be proud to know. But you know when 63 years rolls past here's John looking at him now. He's still the same Jesus. You know he never changed. And there's a lot more than 63 years rolled past since John turned this and the Lord hasn't changed. And he never changed. He's the same yesterday and today and forever. It will be this same Jesus when he comes again. But you know although it's the same Jesus I want you to see the magnificence of the Lord. Watch this. And in the midst of the seven churches one like unto the Son of Man clothed with a garment down to the foot and gets about the breast with a golden girdle. You know John had never seen him like that before. He'd never seen him dressed like that. You see all the days of his ministry our Lord Jesus wore the robe of a lowly Nazarene. He came from Nazareth and he was known as a Nazarene. And he wore the garb of a Nazarene. And when the soldiers took him to Calvary they tore his garments up they parted his garments among them. That's his outer garment, the Nazarene one. But his under vesture was very precious and for it they cost lots. But we will learn a lot about it later on in this book and I think we will. But he's dressed differently now. He's got the long robe right down to his feet and he's got the golden girdle and it is not round his loins. It is round his breasts. You know this this is a high priest. That's the point that's being made. You know, John is not only seeing this in Jesus but he's seeing him now as our great high priest after the order of Melchizedek. You know, when we talk about anything golden you know what gold is. It's something that never changes. It's something that keeps its value. You know, this speaks of something that's everlasting. And you see it's round his breasts. And every mother here knows that when the baby, when the wee boy falls you pick him up, you hold him near your breasts. This is the place of comfort. This is where all the consolations are stored. You see, this is our great high priest with all the sympathy working for you. The girdle means service. It's a great picture we're seeing because we're seeing this in Jesus. Yet we're seeing him as our great high priest. Have a look at verse 14. His head and his hairs were white, white as white as snow. I wonder how many of you remember when we were in the book of Daniel and that's not too long ago. Let's go back there just for a moment shall I show you this. And we're at Daniel chapter 7. Daniel 7. I think you remember this great vision that Daniel had. This was his first great vision. The other one belonged to Nebuchadnezzar and the writing on the wall was by the hand of God. But this was a vision that Daniel had in the night. You remember he saw four great beasts. Verse 3. And we don't want to go into them now. The first, verse 4, was like a lion and the second like a bear and the third like a leopard. You should be connecting that in your mind with Revelation just now, but don't bother. Verse 7. I saw in the night vision, behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and fathomless. And he watched these beasts. In verse 9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of Days. That's a great phrase. It's a capital A. And it should be a capital D too. In some of the old translations it is. The Ancient of Days. It's a title for God. Whose garment was white as snow and the hair of his head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame and his wheels as a burning fire. Fire is three measured and came forth from before him. Thousands, thousands ministered unto him. One million. And ten thousand times ten thousand, which is one billion. And there was one million seraphims and seraphims around them. And there was one billion angels before him. And the whole picture is the Ancient of Days. And his head and his hair is white. It's like wool. Have a look at what it says in Revelation 1. Because if I were being cornered or tried to be cornered by some of the friends who take away the deity, I would go into a few details in the chapter. You see his head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow. Because it's not only this same Jesus, our great High Priest. It's the Ancient of Days. He's still God, you know. He never ceases to be what he always was. Although at times he becomes what he never had been. Don't forget that. When he took upon the form of a servant, he became what he had never been before. But he didn't cease to be what he always was. He was only God manifest in flesh. Now have a look at this again. It says here in verse 14, And his eyes were as a flame of fire. You've ever seen those sort of eyes that look through you? I get blamed for this. I'm sure more than a hundred times in life folk come here and say he looks through you. Well maybe he does. We had a girl waiting behind the house Tuesday night. Kept me to twelve o'clock after the meeting. And twelve was striking when Harry Edgar and I were leaving. And she said to Harry Edgar in the wee room, she says, he just looks through you. Well I don't think that I'm able to do that. But I'm not afraid to look straight at you. Maybe that's what gets them sometimes. I don't blink about it. But I can tell you the Lord can look through his eyes like a flame of fire. He can set you after you now. You see, he's the judge of all the earth. It's one of the titles given away back in Genesis. It's he. Abraham said, shall not the judge of all the earth do right? And this is the one who's here. You see, this is the wonderful revelation of Christ. This is what this book is all about. You remember that. The book begins in the first verse, in the first phrase, the revelation of Jesus Christ. Well, this is the thought of the revelation of Jesus Christ. You just see him. He's the son of man. This in Jesus. He's always our priest. He's the ancient of days. He's the judge of all the earth. Look at his feet. This is the mighty bit, verse 15. And his feet like on to fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. You know, it's not so many months back when we were doing the tabernacle in the wilderness. And you remember I explained to you about the altar of burnt sacrifice, made of brass, fine brass. It might well have been copper. But it was here that the fire raged. It's here the lamb was raised. And it's here that the fire consumed the lamb. But it never consumed the brass. And you know, one of the differences between the types, the lambs and bullocks and goats that were offered the types, one of the differences between them and the Lord Jesus as the offering, is that in the Old Testament, the fire consumed the lamb. Ah, but that Calvary, the lamb, consumed the fire. That's why the feet like brass are still there, burned in the fire. Yes, he had been way down in the depths where there was no standing. But he has survived. I think it's the Lamb of God that's here. It's the great picture. It's the Son of Man. It's the same Jesus. It's our great High Priest. It's the Ancient of Days. It's the Judge of all the Earth. It's the Lamb of God. See that at the end of verse 15. His voice. As the sound of many waters. By the day that I stood at Niagara Falls and listened to the waters going over, you could hear the thunder of it. I remember quoting the text. His voice. As the sound of many waters. If you listen to the shepherd's voice, you know why we are followers. The sheep hear his voice. He calls his sheep by name. One of these days he'll come to the air and he'll just shout. And only the sheep will rise. None of the goats will move. Just the sheep. Because it will be the shepherd's voice. Yes, you can see the picture developing, isn't it? It's like going through round a picture gallery and seeing a whole jumble and then somebody comes along to explain it. It's wonderful. I know that some of the modern paintings, they would take some explaining. You know about the two wee fellows on the bare feet and rags that went down to the art gallery in Belfast? Come along, here's a great big splash on the wall. Go on, all sheep. The wee fellow says, Johnny, let's get out of this. There'll be a mosque for this. Well, this is really wonderful material. You see, in verse 16 it says, He had in his right hand seven messengers, is the word. Now you're going to get it. He's the master of the messengers. You see, I try to tell all the young preachers around me, you know you're no use whatsoever except you're in the Lord's hand. The Lord needs to pick you up and lay you down at times and shift you here and shift you there. And you'll have to be prepared for that. You have to be a vessel unto on a sanctified meat for the Master's use. Something that he can handle. Something that he can control. Something that he can use to his glory. And if you're not in his hand, you're no use. If you're in the hand of a party, they'll make a mess of you, won't they? Some of the boys won't be directed by a party. They just have to do with the brethren so they're not in the Lord's hand at all. Some of them are directed by politics. They need to be in the Lord's hand. If he's the master of the messengers, you know, he's the great friend that's here. Verse 16, He had in his right hand seven stars. Now watch this carefully. Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. You know, this is the captain of all salvation, and he can use the sword. I think that possibly one of the greatest studies any preacher can ever make in this book, and I mean this, is to just see how the Lord Jesus handled the Word of God. I'll tell you, it'll surprise you. His power came out of his mouth at times. Let me do a bit for the young preachers. Let's begin in Matthew's Gospel. Matthew, chapter 4 it is. Gospel by Matthew, chapter 4. And it's our Lord in the wilderness. And the devil comes to tempt them. Verse 3, When the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Now listen to the Master. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Did you see how quickly he quoted the Word of God? Do you know where the quotation came from? You see, I tested a meeting out once. I was allowed to do this. And I found out of all the believers that were in the meeting, some of them saved for 40 years. They didn't know the quotation or where it was. Well, it's out of the book of Deuteronomy. And you see, some of us would never think of going to Deuteronomy to make it a sword to strike the devil. But it was a two-edged sword came out of his mouth. He was the captain of our salvation and he never failed. And three times here, he quotes, It is written. And each time, it's out of the book of Deuteronomy. So he knew the book of Deuteronomy inside out. Now, let me do this for you. Go on to Matthew chapter 12. Verse 1. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the corn. And his disciples were in hunger and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. And he said unto them, Have ye not read? How quick that was. What David did when he was in hunger and they that were with him, how he entered into the house of God. And do you know where he's quoting from? He's quoting from 1 Samuel 21. He just knew this. You know, this is the two-edged sword that went out of his mouth. And this is what you have to learn to do in life. Not to argue. Not to play your wits against them. If you start to argue with the devil, he'll absolutely confound you. And if you start to argue with Pharisees, they're not much better. Just quote the word of God to yourself. But you have to know exactly what to quote. You have to know the two-edged sword bit. And the battle's over, I tell you, every time. Have a look at this again. This is Matthew 19. Matthew 19, verse 3. The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And be answered and said unto them, now watch it again, hath he not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? There's a lot in that, you know. He didn't believe in evolution. He believed that men and women were created. And I'll tell you a wee bit. He believed they were created at the beginning. Has he not read that he which made them at the beginning, the wee word, sir. Right at the beginning, not a thousand years later. At the beginning. Watch what he said now. Hath he not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female? And said, for this cause shall a man leave father and mother. Where does it say that? In Genesis chapter 2, sir. Yes. My dear friend, he believed the Genesis story. He believed it. It's a two-edged sword. And he really staggers the Pharisees. You see, if you watch the Lord, have a look at Matthew 23 just for a moment. Matthew 22, it says. Verse 23. Matthew 22, verse 23. The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection. And asked him, say, Master, Moses said, If a man die having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. And there were with us seven brethren. And the first, when he had married a wife deceased, and having no wishes, left his wife unto his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third unto the second. Last of all the woman died also. She was a tough one, wasn't she? Seven of them. Too many for them. Verse 28. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? They all had her. They thought they were smart fellows. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read, that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead. If God said, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, he's not the God of the dead, is he? They must have been living. He's quoting from the book of Exodus. Oh, how wonderful our master was. You see, he knows all about Deuteronomy. He quoted the Psalms. He can go to 1 Samuel. He quoted from Jonah. Why, you'll find out as you begin to put together the quotations he quoted from the whole of the Old Testament. You know, when the two were going down the road to Emmaus and they were all confused, it says, Beginning at Moses, the first five books of the Bible. Beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, knew all the prophets. He expounded onto them in all the scriptures. This is this two-edged sword that went out of his mouth. That proves him to be the captain of all salvation. And dear young men, you learn this book and learn to quote it and learn to quote it correctly. Because the misquoted, you're helping the devil. You know, misquotations are terrible. Two boys came to the door, not so long ago, Mormons they were, talking about there's no going to heaven when you die. I said, I don't think you could say that now. And I purposefully misquoted the thing. Purposefully, let me tell you. I said, you know, the Lord said to the dying thief, this day shalt thou do with me in paradise. And the big fella jumped on us, you see. He thought I didn't know. I was only opening the gate for him. It's not right to do that, but never mind. He said, ah, this day. This day means he's looking away forward into eternity. This day. I said, you see, Master, it's not this day at all, it's today. The book says today shalt thou do. But I knew what he would say, you see, anticipates. Learn to quote it correctly. It is not a sharp, two-edged sword if you're misquoting it. You'll have blunted the weapon and the devil will use it. It's too awful to finish this wonderful magnificence. Have a look at it again. You see, it's the same Jesus. It's our great High Priest. It's the Ancient of Days, the Judge of all the Earth, the Lamb of God, the Shepherd of the Sheep, the Master of the Messengers, the Captain of all Salvation. See the last bit of verse 16. On his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. You know, he's the altogether lovely one. You know, in those verses, 13, 14, 15, 16, you have a revelation of Jesus Christ given by God the Holy Ghost and it brings to you the magnificence of the Master. You know, no wonder this happened to John. Verse 17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet to the death. You know, John had no quibbles about worshiping the Lord Jesus. And the Lord Jesus didn't stop from either. You remember when Peter came into the house of Cornelius, why Cornelius and all the Gentiles fell down at his feet. Peter said, Stand up! I am a man like thyself. The Lord Jesus allowed people to worship him. When he calmed the storm, they, every man in the boat, it says, they all fell down and worshipped him. Here's John at his feet. John's just worshiping at his feet. There's no self left in him. I fell at his feet to the death. And here's the lovely bit. And he laid his right hand upon me. Oh, I think you're going to see the sympathy of the Saviour here. You know, there was a tenderness in that touch. You know, sometimes the old folks seem to think the Lord has forgotten all about them, not a bit of them. When you're youthful, days are gone. And old age is creeping on. And your body bends beneath its load of care. He will not leave you dead. He'll be with you to the end. He'll touch you, you know. You know, this moves me sometimes when I think of this old man. When I think of this prisoner, for he was a prisoner on this island, a prisoner of the Lord, of course. When I think of this suffering saint, when I think of this man who may have thought that everybody had forgotten about him and nobody cared, I want you to get this. The Lord of glory came and touched him. He'll touch you. He won't let you just be forgotten about. He is not unmindful, you know, to forget your labour of love in the past days. He just touched you. What a touch it was. One thing, the Lord coming to touch you is just to clap you on the back. Yes. Who is attending this matter? Says, he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not. You know, he has come to comfort you, hasn't he? He's the comforter here. He said, Fear not. I am the first and the last. You know what he said to John. You know, he's just coming as nice as ever a person can come and clapping him on the back and saying, Listen, John, don't you worry about anything. I'm God. What a person to meet when you're lonely. Somewhere in the shadows, you will find Jesus. And if you look tight enough, you'll find he's God. Says, John, don't you be a bit afraid, son. I'm God. I'm the first and the last. Yes, I'll tell you this, there's faithfulness here. It's the faithfulness of a friend. Where's your Queen? He says, I am he that liveth and was dead. Get the wars in now. A fellow said to me once, in all this resurrection life, it's all nonsense. Oh, I believe that he hung on the cross all right. I think he just swooned in a sort of a coma and then was resuscitated. And he's a liar, I said. He said, you're calling him a liar. If he said he was dead, if you say he fainted, if he said he was dead, which one do you think I should believe? I said, you're just a liar. That's all you are. And to me, you know, you're trying to work out something. I was preaching here on Sunday morning on this word wars. All wonderful things in it. You know, if you go back to John's Gospel sometimes, you'll find, in the beginning was the word. When anything began that ever had a beginning, the word was, it was there. And then it says, the word was God. When you look back, you know, he was God. And then it says, he was rich. Though he was rich, yet for us he was rich. He never was rich down here. He must have been rich before he came here. He was born in this table. There were times he had not regularly fed. But he was rich. He was rich before he came. He was the eternal son. He was tempted. He was tempted in all points like as we are. He was dead. He was buried. That's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, the Gospel that I preached unto you by which you are saved, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and was buried. He was raised again for our justification. He was seen already. Take the word for you to see. It's right through the book like a wonderful string of pearls. He was dead, friend. Yes, he says, I am he that liveth and was dead. And this little bit is very interesting, isn't it? He says, Behold, I am alive. I wrote a book on that one, so three words, I am alive. When Mary was standing at the tomb and her heart was breaking, her whole emotional being had gone bust, he just came out of the gloom and said, Mary. It simply meant, I am alive. I'm alive to help you with your emotional problems. See the man that fished all night and caught nothing. Well, when he sold the net, John Brown, he said, It's the Lord. You know what he was saying with the fish. He said, I am alive. I am alive to help you with your business problems. I am alive to help you with your emotional problems. See the two go down the road to a mess and they don't know who he is or where they are. The faith has gone. The shadows have come. He just came and broke bread. He just said, I am alive. I am alive to help you with your religious problems. I mustn't go into a breach again. He'll be here all night. Friends, this is a wonderful thing, isn't it? This is the truthfulness of the teacher. This is the bit that I love more than any other bit, I may as well say to you. Verse 18, I am he that liveth and was dead. Behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys. There is a mess of that word. Keys of hell and of death that I believe with all my heart. This must make him absolutely superb. He is chosen to be the superman that he is. Nobody else would ever claim to have the keys of death and of hell. Nobody has. Do you know what it means? It means this, that when he rose from the dead and he's alive in the power of an endless life, it means, it means that he didn't break out of the grave. I don't like this bit about breaking out. Talk about up from the grave he arose. One of the verses says he tore the bars away. Bologna, he tore no bars away. That's breaking out. He didn't escape, you know. He avoided death. He stood up. He triumphed. I'll tell you this, round his goble, the keys of death hang now. I'll tell you a wee thing, I cannot die until he puts the key in the door. I'll tell you a thing, and that's a wonderful thing to get the hold of. Because we all have wee pains. Some of us have big ones. And we get wee notions, and sometimes big notions, no matter how long you're saved. Just wonder what's happening to you at times. Not so long ago, I lost about two stone inside two or three weeks. If you have any sense, you begin to think what's happening inside. If it could be cancer, couldn't it? You know, that was quick as lightning. Everybody's the same. We're all built with the same sort of stuff, you know. Then I know this. I cannot die. And I cannot go in through that door of death, of cancer, unless you put the key in the door and turn it. And if that's the door you select for me, then that's the best door I can go through. You know, it begins to steady you up in life. Let me do this. Let's go back to the last chapter of John's Gospel. John's Gospel, chapter twenty-one. John's Gospel, chapter twenty-one. You remember the Lord saying to Peter, Lovest thou me more than thee? And you remember him saying to Peter, saying, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. See, at the end of verse seventeen. Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, feed my feet. And the Lord said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, that is, unto Peter, When thou wast young. It's one of the reasons that I'm sure that these men that Jesus called weren't just youngsters. They'd served at the fishing. He's passed that stage. When thou wast young, thou girded'st thyself, and walk'dst whether thou wouldest. I'm sure that was like Peter. He just did what he liked when he was a young fellow. But when thou shalt be old. It is wonderful if the Lord said that to you. Maybe you're about thirty years of age and the Lord says when you shall be old. He couldn't die young yet. He's bound to go on till he's old. No matter what happens. No matter what epidemic comes. The Lord has said, When thou shalt be old. So he'll be old. There's one thing to it. The Lord said to him, When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands. Stretch forth your hands, do you see? That's the way you do it then. When thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thine hands, and another shall gird thee. So they're going to die, his hands out like that. And carry thee whether thou wouldest not. This spake he, the Lord Jesus, signifying by what death Peter should glorify God. How did Peter die? On a cross. He was crucified. The Lord was telling them when, way back there, long before it happened, because the Lord knew what key would put in the door for him. He said when you're old, they'll crucify you. And history says this, when they went to put Peter on the cross, he says turn me round. I don't want to die exactly like the Lord did. I want to be crucified upside down. And to his credit, he was crucified upside down. But the Lord knew. And the Lord knows how you'll die. He knows the door that you'll go through, and the door that I'll go through. So I went to a big barn the other day. There I already arrested him and Danny, and took him into the barn site, put him again in the wall. The rough little guy came with a gun, and the other fellow says shoot him. And he says, there's a suit against the wall. Peel. Peter remembered what he heard in the class. He's going to kill me unless the Lord turns the key. Never turn the hair on. Two men look at him with a gun, one on the mind to kill. The boy says, who are you? He says, I'm a child of God. I'll go to heaven as you pull the trigger. But you can't do it until the Lord allows you. He says, get your cookies here. This is something that this class of young folks and old folks and me say we've been a whole lot. Nobody can touch you until the Lord allows it. My dear friends, Big Paisley, to his credit, came to see me away about two in the morning. I don't like them coming at two in the morning. I said, you know what's going to happen to you, bud? You're going to get shot, and I'll go step, and I'll get blamed for it. He said to me this, and you know, there's a lot of lovely things about him. A lot of lovely things. He said, Willie, I belong to the Lord. And I'm an immortal until my work's done. There's nobody I'll tell me before that. You got the hold of this. Friends, you know we should shout hallelujah. The Lord has the keys. There's nobody opening the door, only him. And when he opens the door for me, I hope I'll have enough faith to shout hallelujah as I go through. He's a great chapter. He's a great saviour. Next week he has solemn things to say. We're singing that wonderful song tonight. Amazing Grace. 894. We'll just sing the first verse. And we'll sing the third verse. And then we'll sing the verse that's not there. When I've been there ten thousand years, bright, shining as the sun. First, third, and we'll put that other one in. 894, please. We thank thee for thyself. And we thank thee for thy grace. And we thank thee for thy truth. Help us in our fear. With thy blessing. Take us to our homes in safety. And to thee be the glory. Amen.