Thoughts on the last battle

Hello and welcome to the Daily Grind podcast the ministry of Faith Baptist Church the daily podcast Monday through Friday and Andy Betts go myself. Today. We're going to be using our Bibles as well as to be 365 days of Spurgeon devotional. You don't have a Bible readily available. You can download the Logos Bible Software at logan.com, or if you want to use the 365 days of Spurgeon devotional. You can also download that at lowes.com. However, it is not free totally optional at the slides on the screen for listening and not looking at the slides. It's in the podcast notes below. May 13th 1855 thoughts on the last battle first text we're going to be looking at is Psalms chapter number 116 19 verses we're going to be reading the whole chapter feel free to pause and take a moment while you find that in your Bible. Any Psalms chapter 116 and verse number one, we see. I love the Lord because he has heard my voice and my supplications because he has inclined his ear unto me there for a while I call upon him as long as I live the Sorrows of death can past me in the Pains of Hell got hold upon me. I found trouble and sorrow then called I upon the name of the Lord. Oh Lord. I beseech thee deliver. My soul. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yay. Our God is merciful the Lord preserve. It's the simple. I was brought low and he helped me return unto thy rest O my soul for the Lord has dealt bountifully with c. For that was delivered my soul from Death mine eyes from tears and my feet from falling. I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believe therefore have I spoken I was greatly Afflicted. I said in my haste all men are liars. What shall I Render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me. I will take the cup of Salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of always people precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of the same ole or truly. I am thy servant I am a servant in the son of Vine handmade dollhouse loosen my bonds. I will offer to be the sacrifice of Thanksgiving and we'll set call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of the people of an in the presence of all his people in the courts of the Lord's House in the midst of thee Oh Jerusalem crazy the Lord Today's message is going to be called the thoughts on the last battle the sermon delivered on the Sabbath evening of May 13th, 1855 by the Reverend Charles Spurgeon at the Exeter Hall and strand.

Well, the Bible is one of the most poetical political of books though. It's language is Sublime yet. We must remark how how consistently it is true to Nature. There is no straining of of a fact. No, no fact, no glossing over the truth. However, dark maybe the subject while it lights lights it up with Brilliance yet does not deny the Gloom connected with it. If you will read this chapter of Paul's epistle, so justly celebrated as a masterpiece of language, you will find him speaking of that which is to come after death with such exaltation and Glory that you feel is this be to die then it will not excuse me, then it were well to depart at once.

When has not rejoiced and whose heart has not been lifted up or filled with the Holy Fire while he has read such sentences as these. In in a moment in a twinkling of an eye at the last Trump for the trumpet shall sound in the Death Shall be realized she shall be raised Incorruptible. We shall and we shall be changed for this corruptible must put on incorruption and this Mortal must put on immortality. So when does corruptible shall have put on incorruption in this Mortal Shell Shell have put on immorality then shall be brought to pass the victim does the saying that is written death is swallowed up in Victory. Oh death, where is thy sting o grave? Where is thy Victory yet with all that Majestic Majestic language with all that bowled flight of eloquent. He does not deny death is a gloomy thing yet his very figures and Playa. He does not laugh at it. He does not say, oh it is nothing to die. He describes death as a monster. He speaks speaks of it as it having a sting. He tells us we're in the strength of thy sting lies. And even in the exclamation of Triumph imputes that Victory not to an aid flesh, but he says thanks be to God which give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, there's a couple things I want to discuss about obviously the context of this is the text of this is his death and if we go back to Where Andy was first reading?

And let's see if I can find it.

There we go. What shall I Render unto the Lord? This is birth number 12 of Psalms number 116. What shall I Render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me. I will take the cup of Salvation and I'll call upon the name of the Lord in verse number 14. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all those people precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints and want to talk about a couple things here to Parts. There's a spiritual death and there's a physical death When you accept Jesus Christ, you you die spiritually in the sense of you're not following Satan anymore or you're not being controlled by Satan anymore. You're having a rebirth or what we refer to as born-again. We were filled with the Holy Spirit or falling price. The death is also so important to to acknowledge that that regeneration of yourself. That's being filled with the Holy Spirit is that your motives in your goals are now changed of what was tempted and what was control than what was influence of the world or of your flesh by Satan as for now being with the Holy Spirit and being one with God and having that rebirth. Now, your focus is influences is spiritual. So I want to clarify and Jesus spoke of this with Nicodemus of having that second birth. That's spiritual birth. We have the physical we have the physical birth which were born with our mother and then we have our spiritual birth, which were where we accept Jesus Christ and that death of of Satan or that death of getting out of the control of Satan is something to Rejoice about we call that salve. So I want to bring that point you. That the vows that we take or the the Rejoice that we take our and I only use these thousands of certain kind of specific. Statement is when we confess with your mouth and believe in thine heart that we accept Jesus Christ. Okay, we are actually dying dying of Satan and being reborn into Christ That's one. I want to discuss the second death. I want to discuss. Is that physical death the physical death of our body dying up on this Earth? And what happens is once we die upon this Earth. Our spirit is present with the Lord. Okay. So once we die here we meet Lee present with the Lord and we're up in the air up in heaven and imuran forage and ran with it with him for eternity. That's us as being saved or having that rebirth or that regeneration that I spoke of a little log. And I want to bring this into context that there are many religions that are out there. that have just a physical death. There is no. Spiritual death they just have a physical death. Now as Christ was saying to Nicodemus are on our use this as again as an illustration where he was talking to explain that could give me that there has to be a second birth. Okay, that's acceptance of Christ. And that's Turning Away of the world and accepting it as accepting Christ as your personal savior. That's that second birth. So with that second birth, there is also that death which is to the world in the death of being trolled of Satan and being influence of the world and the influence of Satan.

But there's religions out there that that just died. How many people died in people that believe people that invest? money dollar box after dollars and spend constant hours of works and constant hours of struggle of confusion because there are some religions that are confusing.

And they have a death. in the ground a death that is paid. It is paid by the wages of their sin. Which is eternity in hell?

And I want to bring up those points because of what and he's going to say right now on his point. But there's got to break your heart. It's got to break your heart that people are dying and they're going to hell. Got to break your heart that there's opportunities to be able to reach other people at you. Tell them about Christ and we don't take those moments and I don't want this to turn out to be a witness in her testimony or a soul winning lesson, but you got to be sitting here wherever you may be right now and just thinking, you know, we just had Mother's Day my grandmother before my grandmother before my grandmother and my presently my mom right now. Are they saved are they going to heaven if they're not going to heaven? What can I do right now for they can have when they have their physical death here on Earth that they're immediately present with the Lord and they're in heaven for eternity and I can go up and be there when I die or called upon by the Lord. Another they're there. I'm going to try and see if there's got to be a fire within you right now when you hear about there's people that are dying and going to hell there has to be a fire. There's not a fire right now. Then we need to we need to re-evaluate ourselves. Did you ever have that first? I mean skews me that second birth that Christ was talking about where your regenerated or your your born again where you accept them as your personal savior?

And you're filled with the Holy Spirit. And you know you're going to heaven and you know that you're a sinner and that you know that Christ died on the cross for that for all our sins for our sins. So I just want to put that in perspective of a lesson as we go on to talking about. the Victory and also the death so Not just keep the other sites that when we don't do what we did last time.

All right, we're making sure that you're at the right slide for an open will be confused or rat. So we're squares and pulled this from is from 1st Corinthians chapter 15 chapter 15 verses 1556 through 57 and says the sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law, but thanks be to God which give us the victory through Jesus Christ. So the death has been that death is what is hell that's going to help with the strength of sin is the law of the new lock the new testament, which is Jesus Christ, but thanks be to God would give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and you happy and rejoicing knowing that Christ died on that cross and he took away your sin and forgave your sin and you're going to heaven. Again, you got put yourself a check Daddy. What it what do you got? I'm thinking. Not thinking too much. I think you covered most of it pretty well, but I'm thinking of you know. When we talk when we when we sent you talking about putting it in perspective. And if you if you're talking to someone who doesn't believe in absolute salvation. Possibly a Buddhist ER, you know, maybe a Catholic it would they would tell you in depending on who you talk to. They would tell you that would seem arrogant to know that there is such a thing as absolute salvation. And I think that's an interesting thing is most other religions. Don't teach absolute Redemption. They teach you do this you do this you try to do this you try to live like this and maybe Still go to heaven. Maybe you'll pay off all your karma and you won't be reincarnated to live another life again, and maybe you won't spend an eternity in purgatory the Christian worldview in the Bible teaches absolute Redemption. Once your saved you can't be unsaved. Once you're going to heaven you're not going to hell and I think that's an important thing to realize is there are so many people that believe that's not even a possibility to know for sure. Okay, and then there's others that believe that there is a one-way ticket to that. Okay, but that one way ticket is dying in the most valuable way possible to good examples are Muslims and current modern-day Muslims as well as the Japanese during World War. I know a little bit more about the Japanese in World War II. Then I do about the Muslim. So you sat as an example that time. The Japanese people viewed at the Emperor as their got he was a god similar to how the Egyptians viewed fair at the God. So in when they were in World War II when the Japanese country was fighting it was viewed as a one-way ticket to Paradise to heaven to die for ampere i e die in battle. So a lot of people would sign up to be kamikaze pilots, which you know, we we we know about the flu in the ship's a sunk ships. They did enormous enormous damage to naval fighting in the Pacific Oceans and that's but that's the reason that they did it now not all of them volunteered some of them some kamikaze pilots report but a good chunk. Sign up to become Kazi pilot because they wanted to go to paradise at with absolute knowledge or in their mind absolute Redemption to go to paradise and it's a sad thing that you know, if they weren't safe that they didn't go to heaven, but I think it's an important thing to realize as a Christian that most other religions don't teach that there is one absolute way to go to heaven and that's I think that's the saddest thing in the most important thing when you're talking to someone else who doesn't believe the way you do. To speak on the Muslims date. They have the same the same teaching as well. Is it that they died in the Warriors state that against an Infidel that they'll go up to heaven immediately what they referred to as Paradise again, just like the Japanese. I just realized and brought the two together and how similar the ideology is within those two religions, but you bring up an excellent point when we do talk about those things of people having that absolute. You know, we we got to be thankful that we have an absolute Canon of scripture. That we can read in that we can study and that we can speak and preach and teach. And we know you know the beginning of the story and we know the end of the story through and through our through our Bible that The Preserve word. And you know, I think of all just on that topic of itself of the The Hulk and in that there's many religions out there that can't read anything that can't study anything that there is a you know, they have pamphlets are printed for them that are in their pews and the only read that segment that's there on that Sunday or on that whatever day it may be and that's all they read. They don't have a Bible in their house or they don't have a word in their house in really for me. I think without the without the whole it without Holy Bible at the house or without the knowledge of the Holy Bible that creates confusion, you know, there's there's a certain religions that don't encourage people to study their religion or there's I think of some other sex of sex of religion where they have a holy bible at their Ward and only certain people can go into that Holy library and read those books and the rest of the people are living in confusion You got to be very thankful for what we got. With with what's available for the saved Christian today? We have a complete Canyon of the word of God. We have an absolute salvation of redemption out. And did you mention that word Redemption that that's a very few of the theological term that's used quite a bit and you know speak I can give you my layman's terms of you know, 1 + 2 equals 3, but go ahead and tell me what Redemption is. I would say and I don't actually know the the direct definition way. I've always thought about it is redemption from your sins is someone else redeeming your sins from you in this case Jesus redeeming our sins on the cross and taking those sins away from assets away. I've always thought about it and that's a very astute answer. I'll give you my Layman's phone paid for my son's phone paid the price. Okay, that is someone redeemed. Okay redeemed me. Okay, so there's a You know, there's a lot when we talk about what is the Christian? Why are we so excited about being a Christian? Why do we want to continue and strive and tell others about Christians and bring it from all this and packaging this all up for everyone to understand is you know, we have that rebirth. We had the whole Canon or the whole word of God that's available to us. We have an absolute salvation. We know what's going to happen. There is no confusion and with all those things. I just mentioned to you right there. Just those little bits of sentences that brings. Peace. That brings peace to us. You know when I was a young married guy, I'm on my on my wife and I first got married one of the most nerve-wracking things for us with finances. Because we guess what we didn't know what was going to happen next which bill was going to come or what then we were young. Do you know as we got older and we realized if we can put maybe 100-500 in the bank as savings we had security with that $500 and we had peace knowing if we had a big large extra expense that came up we could pay for it. Do you know that $500 can be used like that? assurance and Redemption of Christ are absolute salvation. does not run does not run empty its overflow at this says and it's not like that. Like I told you about that $500 in you use a quick and never ends. We have we have an absolute in eternal. forever Protection no one will pluck us out of his hand. Nothing to be taken away. We will be with him. God will always rule. He's always in control sovereignty of God and always need to do and be as Christians is be at peace knowing that everything is taken care of God has taken care of everything for us that's going to listen to spurges next point of what he was bringing in this message. It says death is no laughing matter. Before the Christian in need not to be a crying matter either. and I'm going to talk about this on this point here because You know, we talked a lot about death. I talked a lot about the Christian Life. I talked a lot about the Securities that we have is being a Christian. I talked about the rebirth as being a Christian but death is no laughing matter. Regardless. Okay, no one wants to die right before the Christian and you not being a crying matter either meaning that you know, if when we die, we should be there once when a fellow Christian dies, we should be trying about because now they're absent from the body present with the Lord as it says in the word of God. They're up there in heaven with Christ's rejoicing being with him. So we should be happy for that.

But I also want to bring this point that. We don't know when death is going to happen to us. Okay, and that's not something for us to worry about because God knows when that's going to happen. But I think with that in retrospect, we need to count every moment as an opportunity to live for him. And I want to bring this and close it with this does next point in prizes when the final point and this isn't within the maturity of the maturity and the growth of being a Christian is service. doing doing work for Christ is called a service and I'm not telling you that you got to go to a theologian assessment and Seminary or you need to go to some kind of Bible College online or you know, you got to go pack up the van or the car or the truck and go to a Bible College. I'm talking about doing service now. What service are you doing for Christ? You know we have the Great Commission that tells everyone that we have a service which is to tell others about Christ, but beyond telling others about Christ and having a beating Institute eyes within our church. What what service are you doing for Christ's right now. Are you maybe volunteering or being a service for your local church? How can you be a service to the local church? I'll tell you what. If you go up to your pastor text him right now and save Pastor. I want to be a service for Christ at the local church. I'm sure he'll give you a plethora a list of things that that you can help with. No not talking about. No, maybe this will be in the parking lot. I'm sure he has a list of things that could be a great service for nachos you if you have a family including your family as well. I think one of the most important things especially when I am stressed out and I have a lot on my plate. the most rewarding thing for me to clear my mind and to get me focused is do work for the church I do a lot of the media if I have a stressful time I'll start packing away in building something on the website or I'll start hacking away and figure it out something to do on social media on podcasts or any any sort of platform that I can do right now especially since I'm still at the stay-at-home order but you know do you want to work for cries pleasing now we're serving and pleasing price for not serving and pleasing us or the pastor or the church that's just you know gravy But our main focus is to serve him Andy.

Something that is often forgotten is one of the most important things in one of the most vital things one thinks it's most needed any church, you know, if you can't do anything else, you know, if you don't feel like, you know, maybe God doesn't want you to go Soul winning necessarily, you know out with knocking doors or what not her going on a missions trip or whatever. Whatever may be the most important things that everyone can do just take a moment and pray for your pastor. Just pray for your church. Absolutely. No doing a work for Christ isn't necessarily a physical with physical thing and you know anyone who's prayed for an extended. Of time though. That's just as much work as knocking door. It's so just you know, just keep in mind when when people are talking about doing work for crisis not necessarily something physical be something as simple is sitting on your couch and saying God The church needs help right now. God. Please bless the pastor, you know, it doesn't necessarily have to be physical and I think that's something that's often forgotten. And you know, I've been brainstorming my you know that ever since we got on this covid-19.

That's a simple thing. That's the simplest simplest things you can do and you know, like Andy said another thing is I was just be nice to people be nice and love people. I don't think that's mentioned enough to people today. Just being nice and just loving people just 11 on people. So that's what I got for today. Let me take this next. Well, I got one more verse for you. Got to take you from where the Reverend Charles Spurgeon was taken that point from us from 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 verses 13 through 14, but I would not have you to be ignorant brother and concerning them which are asleep that ye sorrow not even as others, which have no hope And I'm 14 and says for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so damn also, which sleep in Jesus will will God bring with him. Again that we have the word of God. Once we die. We're with Heaven. We're in heaven.

When I want to do is go ahead and bring your attention to share this podcast. Click on the share button. Also join us online at Faith Baptist, El Paso. Org and I join the community at faithlife.com Faith, El Paso and on Facebook at facebook.com 4 / Faith, El Paso and join us for service. We have an online service that's on Sunday at 11 a.m. Mountain Standard Time and also 6:30 p.m. Mountain standard time and also Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. If you wish to give to this ministry or to the ministry of Faith Baptist Church, please go to Faith Baptist. El Paso. Org gift. And again, we thank you. We appreciate you listening to us and we encourage your comments and your rating. And God bless and have a good day.