Until He Comes

I'd like to read from Luke 19. Luke chapter 19, and we'll read from verse 2. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans. And he was rich, and he sought to see Jesus, who he was, and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

And he ran and climbed up into a sycamore tree, for to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying that he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood and said unto the Lord, Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, for as much as he also is the son of Abraham.

For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem. And because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediately appear, he said, Therefore, a certain noble man went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.

And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But the citizens hated him, and sent a messenger after, saying, We will not have this man reign over us. And it came to pass that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom had given the money, and might know how much every man had gained by trading.

Then the first had ten pounds, he gained ten pounds more, and the next one five, and the next one hid his pound in a napkin. But when I think of this here portion of God's Word, Zacchaeus was a person that sought to see the Lord Jesus. Now, someone would say, well, this is a ministry meeting.

I sometimes think that we need a little bit more gospel once in a while in our ministry as well. And like Mr. Hamilton used to say, every conference in the afternoon should have one good gospel message. But here, when I think of Zacchaeus, he sought to see the Lord Jesus, he ran to see the Lord Jesus, and when we think of that tonight, and then this afternoon, and there was a press in his life, and he was little in stature, he was a short man, he couldn't see over the crowd, so he had to climb a tree.

And he climbed up the tree. Now, tell me this afternoon, how come Zacchaeus sought to see the Lord Jesus? There's only one reason that Zacchaeus sought to see the Lord Jesus, and that was because the Holy Spirit of God was working in Zacchaeus. It was the Spirit of God that made him to seek the Lord Jesus Christ.

And no sinner ever came to the Lord Jesus outside of the Holy Spirit of God dealing with them, and convicting them of their great need of a day of salvation. And if someone here today that are not saved, if you had thoughts today about getting saved, or about thoughts about losing your soul, or being down in a sinner's hell, that's the Holy Spirit of God that is dealing with you. And dear ones, this afternoon, treasure them thoughts when God is dealing with you, and trying to draw you to the Savior, that you might be saved.

So Zacchaeus, when he saw the Lord Jesus looked up into the tree, there are many look-ups in this passage of the Word of God, the Lord Jesus looked up into the tree and he said to Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, the urgency of it. So he came down, but is that all he did? He came down, and he received Him joyfully. Isn't that wonderful? Remember the day that you received the Savior, you put your trust in Him, and what peace flooded your soul, knowing your sins forgiven, and a surety of a home in heaven? Then Zacchaeus goes on to say, and they murmured that he was going to be guessed with a man that is a sinner.

And then a little later on, Zacchaeus said, Lord, if I have taken anything by false accusation, I will return him fourfold. Now, in that day, if you took something from somebody that wasn't right, you had to make it a fourfold return. If you stole a sheep, you had to return four sheep.

And then the Lord Jesus said, this day of salvation come to thy house. This man, you can see he had also received the Lord Jesus, the complete change in his life. Now he doesn't want to take anything by false accusation.

He's beginning to turn around. He has received the Lord Jesus, and now he has a new life to live. And he's beginning to live it for the Lord Jesus.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone that had been reached and saved, that we could see that change in their life, that they wanted to start living for the Lord Jesus. So it wasn't because he said that he would return all that in what he had taken by false accusation. That wasn't why the Lord Jesus told him, this day of salvation come to thy house.

The reason he told him that was because of the time when he received the Lord Jesus. My, what a joy it is to receive the person of the Lord Jesus. But then it goes on to say, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.

Then he says, he gives him a parable. And he said, therefore a certain noble man went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom. Now this was a noble man.

This was the Lord Jesus himself. Who was going, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now this noble man went into a far country.

And now he's going to receive a kingdom for himself. I was in a Bible reading one time. And a young brother spoke up and he says, what if the Lord Jesus would have set up his kingdom immediately? Looking, he said, looking at it hypothetically.

Now you cannot look at scriptures hypothetically. He said, if you look at that hypothetically, what if the Lord Jesus would have set up his kingdom immediately? What would you answer him? I said, he did not set it up. He went to receive that kingdom.

Then the next question he had, what if Adam would not have sinned? Yes, but he did sin. Sin came into the world by one man's disobedience. He refused the revealed will of God.

And he brought sin into the world. So we're all under that sin today. And so was Zacchaeus.

He was a sinner. And I had to find out that I was a sinner. And I had to find out that the Lord Jesus came for that purpose.

And to save sinners. But if you look at that hypothetically. But then he goes on to say he called his ten servants.

And he gave them each a pound. One gained ten. Another gained five.

And the other one hid it in a napkin. How sad. How many are hiding their pound, what the Lord Jesus has given them, in a napkin.

And he tells us here to occupy till he come. I was going through the state of California one time. Several times.

But this one time, I was going through California. And I was going up towards Oregon. And I saw a cafe or a restaurant.

And the sign said, Heaven on Earth. And I thought, well, I'm going to stop at that restaurant. And I stopped at that restaurant.

And they made real nice cinnamon rolls. So, this cinnamon roll, when it came, it was four inches wide each way. And I thought, my, I can never eat that whole thing.

And I thought, if I ever bring my wife out here, I'm going to buy her one of them cinnamon rolls. So, the day came that my wife and I, we drove up on that highway. And I bought her a cinnamon roll.

I said, you like them, don't you? Oh yes, she says. So, he brought the cinnamon roll. And you'd have to hear my wife laugh.

Because she laughs pretty loud sometimes. But that's beside the point. And the young lady that waited on us, after she came the second time to give us a little bit more coffee, she says, you got some papers in your shirt there.

She says, yes. I said, I do. She said, finally, the next time she'd come back, she said, what do you do with those papers? Oh, I said, we hand them out to different individuals.

The next time she came back, she says, could I have one of them papers? You see, I was all occupied with that cinnamon roll. And sometimes we all get occupied with the cares of this world. And we're not thinking about a soul that needs salvation.

So the girl says, finally, she says, can I have one of them? I gave her one. And she started reading it right in front of me. Why, she says, this is what I've been looking for for a long time.

I've been looking for something that would give me peace. Friend, wouldn't it be something if there would be someone here today looking for peace? Some soul that would like to be saved more than anything else in this world. So many times we get so occupied with the cares of this world.

And we're not concerned about loved ones that need salvation just like Zacchaeus. I think of this, dear ones, today. We do not look at Scriptures hypothetically.

The Lord Jesus went into a far country. He was going to go to the cross. And we'll go and read that in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 now.

1 Corinthians chapter 11. And read from verse 23. It says here, For I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you that the Lord Jesus the same night in which He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He breaked it and said, Eat, this is My body.

Do in remembrance of Me. After the same manner also He took the cup. When He had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in My blood.

This do ye as oft as ye drink it in remembrance of Me. For as oft as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye shall not be happy to show the Lord's death till He come. That's a tremendous privilege that we have to come together to remember Him.

Luke's Gospel is the only one that records this that it's in remembrance of Me. And that is the doctrine of the New Testament. When I think of this here, but Paul got a word from the Lord.

He received this word directly by the Spirit of God. And I think of that tonight, this afternoon. And you think of the Lord Jesus.

I think of three looks here. A look within, before I remember Him. And a look to Calvary and what He has done.

And then look in the future in anticipation of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when we think of that, you know dear ones, I sometimes think that we really don't enter in to the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. When we consider the Lord Jesus, when He was on the cross, He thanked God.

When Luke gave thanks for that bread, what was he thanking God for? He was thanking God that He gave Him a body that He would be able to present it as a sacrifice for our sins there at the cross of Calvary. What tremendous truths we have in God's Word. We have this privilege that we can come together every Lord's Day to refresh our minds of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We cannot begin to refresh our minds enough for that privilege that we have to come together in remembrance of Him. And to think each brother that gets up and offers that praise to Him, it refreshes our hearts of what the Lord Jesus passed through. As our brother has already mentioned in his prayer, we can exalt Him in His resurrection.

We can extol Him in His ascension. And we can say that He was made very high. You say, don't say He was made very high.

It just says He was very high. But when He went to the cross and finished the work, He was made very high, dear brothers and sisters. And here we have that privilege.

Each Lord's Day to come together to remember Him. I sometimes use a little illustration. My mother was about two weeks from being 99 years old when she went into eternity.

And if I would have been out somewhere 400 miles away from home, especially out in the state of Nebraska, they would have said, aren't you going home for your mother's funeral? No. I knew my brother. I was close to her all the time.

I don't have to go home for her funeral. What would she have thought of me? I know she's in eternity, but I think of the Lord Jesus. If I wouldn't come each Lord's Day to remember Him, what would He think of me? To think of what He did for me.

He went to the cross. And there He died. There He shed His precious blood that we could be redeemed.

That's love beyond compare. Greater love hath no man than a man to lay down his life for his friends. Oh, that we could just get a touch of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He endured oceans of sufferings that we might know. Oceans of sins forgiven and a surety of heaven in anticipation, looking forward to that day when He's going to come to receive us unto Him very self. What a day that's going to be to be right in His presence and to be with Him and like Him throughout the countless age of eternity.

That should touch every one of our hearts today. You know, sometimes, we really don't enter in to all the sufferings that the Lord Jesus passed through. And I hear it mentioned so many times that in those three dark hours, listen dear ones, there was six hours of sufferings.

And I wouldn't say that that's when His visage was so marred. In those dark hours upon the cross. But we know that His visage was marred more than any man.

And the only thing that I could ever say that it possibly could be in those dark hours, when I think of Abraham and Isaac. When Abraham took Isaac up to that mountain in the land of Moriah. And Isaac reached the highest pinnacle of surrender that day.

And Abraham reached the highest pinnacle of offering that day. He offered up His only son. And then God provided that ram.

No one ever saw what took place up there on that mountain. No one ever saw what took place in the dark hours of our Savior upon the cross. My, when we think of that today.

To think that He could come in and deal with sinners like us. And save us from a lost eternity. Now over to 1 Timothy 4. 1 Timothy 4 and we read in verse 11.

It says here, these things command and teach. Now that's a command. To teach.

Let no man despise thy youth. Think of that. Here's Paul telling Timothy, don't let any man despise thy youth.

You young brethren, don't let anybody ever despise your youth. God wants you. He needs you.

He can use you. And be a trophy for Him. It says, let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers.

Now to be an example of a believer. What would be a good example of a believer? One who really had a love for souls. One who went out and lived a life that was pleasing to God.

One who walked worthy of the vocation were with their call. Isn't that wonderful? That Paul could say, Timothy, I want you to be a good soldier. I want you to be a soldier for the Lord Jesus.

And that means you're under the control of another. We are all under the control of God. And we should be thankworthy of that.

So then it goes on to say, a believer in Word, in conversation. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we would have the right thoughts on the Word of God. The Word of God in conversation.

My, to have the right conversation. That's quite a thing. I don't know if you've ever had experiences like this in Christian's homes.

And you'll start talking about the Word of God. And the first thing, somebody will bring something else up. And you get your mind completely off of the Word of God.

You start talking about the things of this world. Now I know we have to talk about some things of the world. But our conversation be as such that it would be pertaining to the Lord Jesus Himself.

I was out in the state of California one time. And there were two servants in the home where I was staying. And I brought up the question about the Lord Jesus being in the Garden of Gethsemane.

And He went just a little further than anyone else ever went. He said, if it were possible that this cup would pass from Me, nevertheless not My will, but Thy will be done. And I said, I'd like to have a little help on that.

And one of the brethren says, well, you brought the question up. You give us what you think. So I explained it a little bit.

And we got to talking on that. And that was about 10 o'clock and we were still talking about it at 12 o'clock that night. And the next morning, that servant came to my room.

He says, brother, he says, I really appreciate you bringing up that subject before the Lord's Supper this morning. My, when you think of it. To get taken up with Him.

Our conversation to be taken up with the Lord Jesus. Isn't that wonderful? And then, to have the right love, right charity, and have the right spirit. You know, that's quite a thing to have a right spirit.

One time I spoke on that at Cedar Falls. And a brother came up to me after the meeting. And he put his hand on my shoulder.

And he says, brother, I enjoyed that word. To have the right spirit. There was times I didn't have the right spirit.

And I could say the very same thing. There's been times in my life that I didn't have the right spirit. But wouldn't it be wonderful if we could always have the right spirit.

So then, in faith, in purity, till I come, give attendance to reading. Now, he exhorted Timothy to give attendance to reading. And that has two meanings to it.

Give attendance to reading for yourself, Timothy. But in conversation, an exhortation to others. It's not only for yourself.

But, study the word of God to exhort to others. And, till he comes, we should do that. And then, the gift that God has given us, we should never neglect it.

That, neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. Meditate upon these things. Give thyself holy to them, that thy profiting may appear before all.

Wouldn't that be wonderful? If the profiting would appear before everyone. Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrines and continue in them. For in doing this, thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.

So this is what Paul exhorted Timothy. you do this until you come. Remember the Lord Jesus until he comes.

Be occupied with him, with the pounds until he comes. That means, do service for him until he comes. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we would all be taken up with the Lord Jesus.

I sometimes wonder what I'm going to be doing when the Lord Jesus comes to the air to receive us unto his very self. And then we're going to be with him and like him throughout eternity.