105 please, 805, brightly beams our father's mercy
from his lighthouse evermore, but to us he
gives the keeping of the lights along the
shore, 805 please, and
the book of Daniel again this evening, and
we're at the fourth chapter please, the book
of Daniel, and we're at the fourth chapter,
and we're looking very carefully this evening at
every single word in the first three verses,
just looking at those first three verses of
Daniel chapter 4, and before we get into
studying this properly and seriously and carefully, let
me remind you of some things that I
have already said about this great and mighty
book of Daniel.
There are 12 chapters, and most of the
great bible teachers and commentators, they divide these
chapters into two sections.
A great part of the book no doubt
is historical, and another great part of the
book is philosophical, but when we began I
said that we would keep our three-fold
eye on the book, looking at it in
a three-dimensional sense.
It is historical, and it is prophetical, but
we must not miss the spiritual.
Not just history we want, and it's not
just prophecy we want, because the things that
were written aforetime, whether they be history or
prophecy, they were written for our learning, and
that's something we must keep in balance all
the way.
So remember that we're looking at history and
prophecy, but gathering the spiritual lessons together as
we go along.
You remember when we started the first chapter
that we saw this great king, Nebuchadnezzar, this
first Babylonian emperor, we saw him crossing the
Syrian desert and invading the little land of
Palestine.
You remember he destroyed Jerusalem, you remember he
ransacked the temple of God in Jerusalem, you
remember he brought away some of the golden
vessels that were in the temple of the
Lord, you remember that he brought Zedekiah the
king captive, and in his cruelness he killed
his two sons before his eyes, and then
with fierceness and brutality he put out the
eyes of Zedekiah.
You remember that he brought some young princes
with him as captives, lads who were only
14 or 15 years of age, Daniel was
one of them, and you remember that Daniel
took his stand in Babylon as a lad
against the brainwashing of the Babylonians.
Then we went into that great second chapter
where the king, Nebuchadnezzar again, had this mighty
vision, and Daniel was the one that found
the secret and interpreted the dream.
You remember the vision, a man with a
head of gold, with arms and breasts of
silver, with belly and thighs of brass, legs
of iron, feet of iron, and toes, ten
toes made of iron and clay.
And we had a whole night looking at
the interpretation and the meaning of this mighty
vision, and we had another great night looking
at the ten toes, the last outward expression
of this great image.
And the common market that we're about to
enter into just now may well be the
ten toes of Daniel's image and the last
outward expression of the times of the Gentiles.
And just before we went on holiday we
were at that great third chapter where Nebuchadnezzar
again set up this image, 90 feet high,
and demanded the whole world to bow down
and worship.
You remember how the three young Hebrew princes
withstood the king's wishes and entered into the
fiery furnaces as witnesses for God.
Now we're at the fourth chapter this evening
and we're coming to the end of the
day of Nebuchadnezzar.
He's going to die in this chapter and
see it out.
Belshazzar will take over in the next one.
But you know something really happened to Nebuchadnezzar
at the end of his day.
God took a dealing whistle, and remember although
he was a mighty Gentile monarch, and though
he was cruel and fierce and brutal, he
was a tyrant, yet God bent him.
And the many great Bible scholars believe, and
I believe with them, that he got gloriously
saved at the end of the day.
He became a converted king.
You see there is nothing too hard for
the Lord.
I think that we'll be able to prove
tonight that he was a changed man.
We're not going to deal with the experience
that changed him this evening because we're keeping
that for next Tuesday.
But when God gave him this great experience
and changed his heart, then the king made
a proclamation to the world.
And it's the proclamation of this converted king
that we're dealing with this evening.
Just look at the wording of chapter four.
Nebuchadnezzar the king, he's writing this himself.
Unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell
in all the earth.
And you'll mark the word all people and
the phrase in all the earth.
Because he was the first great Gentile monarch
that ruled the whole entire planet.
He was the first Gentile world power.
And after his experience with God, he's writing
to all people, nations, and languages that dwell
on in all the earth.
And this is the first thing that he
wants to say.
Peace be multiplied unto you.
Now, immediately if you had any spiritual insight
at all, you would detect that there's something
wrong with the man.
There's something changed.
Because Nebuchadnezzar was never a man of peace.
He was a warrior from his youth.
He had gone to war again, and again,
and again, until he had conquered all nations,
and all people that dwelt on the earth.
He was cruel.
He had put the sons of Zedekiah to
death even before their father's eyes.
And then he had taken the eyesight away
immediately.
He had brought these young princes to Babylon,
and he was determined to brainwash them and
make them Babylonians.
But he's changed.
He's talking about peace.
Peace be multiplied unto you.
He wants everybody to have peace.
Now, he's a changed man, I tell you.
Of course, we'll get into this just in
a moment.
You'll find that we have an experience with
God.
And as experience begins in verse 4, we'll
begin the experience next week, but just look
at it now for a moment.
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in mine house,
and slithering in my palace.
And it doesn't make a matter where a
man is or who a man is, and
it doesn't make a matter if he's slithering
in his palace.
God can take a dealing with them.
And this experience with God begins here in
verse 4, and it ends in verse 34.
Have a look at verse 34 for a
moment.
And at the end of the days I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven.
And it's a great moment when a mighty
king lifts his eyes towards heaven.
And mine understanding returned unto me, and I
blessed the most high.
That's a great phrase, isn't it?
Oh, God has brought this fellow to his
knees.
There were many gods, remember, in Babylon, I
could name you quite a few just now.
Oh, but he's looking past them now.
His eyes are on the most high.
I blessed the most high, and I praised
and honoured him that liveth forever, whose dominion
is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is
from generation to generation.
You know, he's been through an experience.
Look what he says about the inhabitants.
And all the inhabitants of the earth are
reputed as nothing.
And he, that is the most high God,
doeth according to his will in the army
of heaven.
And among the inhabitants of the earth, and
none can stay his hand or say unto
him, what doest thou?
And a lot of people would need an
experience like this, wouldn't they?
Because a lot of folks think they can
do what they like down in this planet.
Ah, but they can't, you know.
Because God may take a dealing with them
yet.
And although they may be flourishing in their
wickedness, God can bend them, you know.
And God can break them.
And terrorists can be terrified by God, you
know.
And God starts, you know, big men are
not so big.
And this man is learning things.
He's learning that God doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven, and among
the inhabitants of the earth, and none can
stay his hand or say unto him, what
doest thou?
And he puts this to it, he says,
at the same time my reason returned unto
me.
I think that's the only time in life
you get real sense, when you bow your
knees and acknowledge God as the most high.
That's when you get real sense.
And for the glory of my kingdom, mine
honour and brightness returned unto me, and my
counsellors and my Lord sought unto me, and
I was established in my kingdom, an excellent
majesty was added unto me.
You know, when a man gets saved, God
doesn't do his business any harm.
When a man gets saved, God doesn't do
his family any harm either.
When a man honours God, God honours him.
This always goes like that, it will always
be like that, because God has promised them
that honour me.
I will honour, and he just can't break
that.
He can't talk like that and then break
it.
And he honoured Nebuchadnezzar because Nebuchadnezzar was now
honouring him.
Verse 37, Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol
and honour the King of Heaven.
This is great chop out of him, isn't
it?
Yes, he's saved, you know.
He'll be in heaven one day, this fellow.
Wonderful things happened in this old planet of
ours.
Saul was starstruck.
That cruel, fierce Pharisee who stood with a
sneer on his face while Stephen was thrown
to death.
God bent his knees, saved him.
Death to the public, all, was brought back
from the swine trough.
My, David was brought out of the horrible
pit.
The demoniac in the tombs, someone whom the
devil had taken absolute control of, and you
would think there was a lot of them
in this land of ours.
How will God save them?
For any sakes, whatever you do, don't limit
God.
God can save Nebuchadnezzar, and God can save
Saul of Tarsus, and God can save the
prophet, and God can save the demoniac, and
God can save the drug addict.
God saved me when I was a drunkard.
Yes.
So, this is Nebuchadnezzar, the king, at the
end of his day, and he's had an
experience with God, and God saves him.
And we'll look at his experience very carefully
and fully next week, but tonight we're just
looking at the universal proclamation of a converted
Nebuchadnezzar.
That's what we're looking at this evening.
I promised myself when I'd come back to
the class that I wouldn't keep you as
late as usual, or that we're going to
try to knock a minute or two off,
and let you get time to get to
your car and get home, if I can
work it, about a quarter past nine each
evening.
This is fair in these days.
Very difficult for me.
More difficult for me to cut it short
than go it all the way.
But I want to try to do this
for the class.
I think that you can see that this
is a universal proclamation from this converted king.
It's on to all people in nations and
languages that dwell in all the earth.
And in this proclamation, he wants to tell
the world three things.
First of all, he wants to tell the
world what he desires.
He desires peace for the world.
And I want to talk to believers about
that this evening.
And if you're a believer at all, this
should be uppermost in your mind, not to
trample over Roman Catholics or buffer anybody about.
We need our peace, and we should be
the advocates of peace.
Let's get that quite clear.
I shall prove that before we're through with
this tonight.
Because this is what this king desired, that
the whole world would get peace.
And then he wanted to tell the world
not only what he desired, but what he
believed.
You see, verse 2, he says, I thought
it good to show the signs and wonders
that the high God had wrought toward me.
And I want you to get the phrase,
the high God.
You know, this is what he thought about
God now.
You see, when Daniel, Sadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
had come to Babylon, he had given them
Babylonish names.
In fact, Sadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are the
Babylonish names for these young Judean princes.
And he had given them names all connected
with his gods.
There were many gods in Babylon.
In fact, it's called in history the city
of gods, where idols galore.
But he's talking now about the most high
God.
I think this is tremendous, you know, that
he can see this.
And he not only wants to tell the
world what he desires and what he believes,
but he wants to tell the world what
he knows about God.
You know, he'd come to know God.
Look at verse 3.
How great are his signs!
How mighty are his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
And his dominion is from generation to generation.
Fancy old Nebuchadnezzar getting to know all that,
the way down in Babylon at the end
of his day.
And some of us believers don't know it
yet.
So this is what we want to think
about this evening.
We want to think about what the converted
king desired for the world.
And what the converted king believed about God.
And what the converted king knew about Jehovah.
I think it's most interesting, you know, that
this man was so changed.
He was a rough diamond.
He was a cruel, fierce, tyrannical monarch, you
know.
And yet now this man is desiring peace
for the world.
You know, the day that some of us
came to know the Lord, we were not
much to write home about.
I was a deep-dyed reptile scarlet abominable
sinner.
Sometimes when I think of some of the
things that I did, I close my eyes
and can't go on with it.
I was guilty of a thousand things I
wouldn't like to tell you.
And I could tell you now that if
they were suddenly written on that wall, I
would get out and never come back.
But I was saved, you see.
I had an experience.
And God changed me.
Something happened inside, you know.
I didn't join the Unionist party or anything
like that.
I had an experience with God.
And you know, when a man has an
experience with God, the first thing that happens
to him is this.
Let me go over this with you very
carefully.
We're way back at Romans.
The letter to the Romans, chapter 5.
Romans, chapter 5.
See the last verse of chapter 4?
Paul's talking about our Lord Jesus Christ who
was delivered for our offenses and was raised
again for our justification.
And some of us can remember the very
moment when we had revelation of the that
Christ died for our offenses.
Not for one or two of them, remember.
For everything that could be laid to my
charge.
Everything was laid on Him.
You see, if some of the sins that
I've committed were left out at Calvary undone,
oh no, He didn't have to do it,
you know.
No, He was delivered for all my offenses.
Every one of them.
And He was raised again so that I
could be brought in justified before God.
And the word simply means just as if
I'd never sinned at all.
My children's law.
And then chapter 5 begins, therefore being justified
by faith.
The moment I placed my faith in the
Christ who died and rose again, look, I
became justified and because of that we have
peace with God.
You know, that's a great thing, you know.
It's a terrible moment when you feel yourself
a guilty, condemned, undone, unclean, scarlet, wretched sinner.
But it's a mighty moment, you know, when
the burden of your sin rolls away.
When you stand justified before God.
When in your heart and soul for the
first time you have peace with God.
It's a great thing.
That's where you are tonight.
I'm not asking you of your Presbyterian.
I'm asking you, have you peace with God?
That's what I'm asking.
Did you get it by faith in Christ?
That's what I'm asking.
Now, you know, this thing grows deeper and
bigger, of course.
Have a look at this.
This is Philippines and it's chapter 4, please.
Paul's letter to the Philippines and it's chapter
4.
And this is what Paul says to these
believers at Philippi in verse 6.
He says, be careful for nothing.
And as the other translation says, be anxious
for nothing.
The same thing, of course.
And you know, these are days when many
anxieties might well cling to your mind.
But if you're a child of God and
you have peace with God, then you should
learn this, to be anxious for nothing.
But in everything, no matter what's happening, what
sort of burden's coming on your mind or
heart, just go and pray everything by prayer
and supplication with thanksgiving that you request from
me known unto God.
Just go and tell the Lord about it.
Just throw your burden on the Lord.
You know what happens?
See, next verse.
And the peace of God, which passeth all
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds.
You know, there's a difference between peace with
God and the peace of God.
You would know that, wouldn't you?
You see, the moment that any little fellow
staggers to the Lord Jesus and puts its
full trust in him, he gets peace with
God.
Doesn't necessarily mean that he's got the peace
of God.
But it's there for him, you know.
He has to learn this.
This is a part of the Christian life.
Not to let things get in on you.
Not to let them weigh too much.
Not to take them to bed until you
can't sleep.
Take them to the Lord.
Don't be anxious or over-anxious.
Just by prayer, just tell the Lord about
it.
Somehow, you know, when you take it really
to the Lord.
The peace of God.
Wish I could expand that.
You wouldn't expect me to, would you?
No school in the country could teach you
to expand the peace of God.
You know what I'm talking about.
The peace of God.
Remember, Hitler never disturbed the peace of God.
And the rebels and the bombers never disturbed
the peace of God.
Wonderful thing.
Can I really have it?
Peace of God in my mind?
I assure you I can.
Belongs to me.
Worth more than all this world aside.
Peace of God.
My mind.
But you know, you don't only find peace
and feel peace.
You know, you've got to follow peace.
Let's have a look at Hebrews.
Hebrews chapter 12 it is.
Hebrews 12.
Verse 14 now needs to be read very
carefully.
Just watch it.
Hebrews 12.14. Follow peace with all men.
Then there is a comma there.
And holiness and there's a comma there too.
Follow peace with all men and holiness.
Without which no man shall see the Lord.
You know that's a text that's been abused
in the land.
I went to teach at a big conference
once.
Not tell you where, doesn't matter.
I just arrived into the hall.
It was packed and the chairman came to
meet me.
Very nice to me.
And then I spied a big bomber right
across the hall.
It said without holiness no man shall see
the Lord.
And it said Hebrews 12.14 underneath.
I said to the chairman at the back
of the hall.
Who told you that was Hebrews 12.14?
It is, it is.
He says indeed it's not.
But it is, he said.
Well I said have you got a Bible?
And look at it.
Now what he had up on a banner
and it's there all the time all over
this land you know.
And it's baloney.
He had without holiness no man shall see
the Lord.
That's not what's in that book.
Have a look at what's in the book.
It says follow peace with all men.
Then there's a comma.
And holiness.
What does that mean?
It means I'm to follow two things.
I'm to follow peace.
And I'm to follow holiness.
The emphasis is on the word follow surely.
And then it says without, without that following
my, if I'm saved at all I'll follow
peace won't I?
Oh I'll not be at peace with all
men.
And I'll follow holiness but I'll never be
properly holy down here.
Because if I'm never following peace or holiness
I'm not saved.
I'll not see the Lord.
So I read it out to you bold
chairman.
With, it says follow peace with all men
comma and holiness comma without which no man
shall see the Lord.
I said is that your text?
He says that's our text yes.
Then he says you mustn't even be able
to see right never mind read right.
I said look let's get at peace meaning.
Follow peace with all men.
That's what it says yes.
And holiness yes.
Without which no man shall see the Lord.
Do you see what you've done?
You've taken the word without.
You've brought it over onto the other side
of holiness.
You've taken the comma away and you've said
without holiness no man shall see the Lord.
You've made a new text.
You were not allowed to write a new
bible.
So what I did that afternoon I preached
on the text for them.
Of course you see I'm following peace but
shall I assure you I was in a
lion's den.
I was nearly torn asunder they can't even
read some of them.
Did you ever muddle this up?
Oh how sweet that is.
I can nearly pick them up from here
you know.
They don't like it.
It's a terrible thing to annoy you isn't
it with the truth.
You'd rather have some old stuffed thing wouldn't
you.
Go and learn God's word and be honest.
Stop fiddling about with God's truth.
It doesn't say any such thing in this
book as without holiness no man shall see
the Lord.
Not a bit of it.
It says I'm to follow after peace and
I'm to follow after holiness and if I
don't do it I'll not see the Lord
sure I wouldn't be saved.
But I follow after peace.
If I find peace and I feel peace
I'm following after peace but not at the
expense of truth.
Oh no not at all.
You remember what the Lord Jesus said when
he was giving out these beatitudes and massifies
it blessed are the peacemakers.
You know friend you're not only to find
peace and see you peace and follow us
to peace it's to follow us to peace.
It's a very difficult thing to do sometimes.
You see I was preaching in Mr. Orr's
church once great victorious church I call it
Mr. Orr's and little fella came up at
the end of the meeting and said pastor
I'm separated from my wife and I know
she loves you.
I said no easy on her a wee
bit.
She said I don't mean it that way.
I mean she thinks he said you know
she comes to all these meetings she just
adores you.
You know what I mean.
She said if any man can do anything
for me you can do it.
You go and see her and I want
her back.
I said look here I'm not just as
soft as you think I am.
If your wife left you she left you
for something.
Tell me what it was and don't tell
me a lie.
He says well I was running about with
another woman and I got venereal disease and
she caught me on she threw me out.
I said well I'll go and see her
tomorrow.
Not promising you anything but I'll see her.
So I went to see her the next
day and this lady opened the door and
said I love you great to see you.
Oh give me tea and all.
She said did John send you?
I said he did yes.
She says you know he's never told anybody
the truth about this thing.
I said I think he told me.
He says what did he tell you?
I said he told me he was running
with another woman he got venereal disease and
you caught him on and threw him out.
She says it's the first time he's ever
said it and that's all I need.
I'll summons you as a witness and I'll
get rid of him.
And let me tell you she summons me.
Yes Lord McDermott's son who is Mr. McDermott
Queen's Counselor he is dope and all as
he is.
He summoned me brought me into his office
and he had a great big sheet written
out.
Pastor Mullins, Ralph Newergan talks to so and
so and he told me so and so
and I went and seen his wife and
told her.
She said sign that and I just took
it and tore it up and threw it
in the rest people's house.
She says that's my property.
He says well it's in your office you
know.
My own fellow would annoy me.
He says you won't do this.
I said no I most certainly will not
I'm not going to court to get anybody
a divorce I don't believe that they should
get one and I will not go.
She says I summons you.
Summons me subpoena comes from the Queen and
you're bound to go.
So I went along.
Sutton McCorton was his father who was Lord
Chief Justice.
McDermott came up onto the bench and I
was determined that they wouldn't make me speak.
You know you can drag me there and
I went to honor the Queen and the
subpoena you bother screwing my arm to make
me talk don't you.
You sit like a dummy.
Bother with a fellow who sits like a
dummy you know.
And one of the Queen's counsellors told me
if you take this attitude they'll send you
to the Cromwell for six months.
Well I can't put up with the holidays
but I can stick to Cromwell for six
months.
I says it doesn't make a matter what
way you talk to me I'm not saying
anything in this case you get that out
of your mind.
But you see the court had just opened
and old Lord McDermott had just sat down
and flopped.
He went off the chair and flipped it.
And I thought the Lord was on my
side now.
I didn't pray that the old fellow was
saying remember that.
Oh no.
So they had to postpone the court.
Coming out of the court another Queen's counsellor
put his arm round me and said what
are you doing here.
I told him.
He said you know young McDermott can't it
summons you.
And he knows he can't it summons you.
There's another law he thinks you don't know
it.
When you go in between two you're called
a reconciliator.
You're trying to reconcile them.
Queen Victoria passed a law that you can't
it summons a reconciliator.
Well I said he's done it.
Can you get me that and write it.
Can you give me the statute book and
all about that law.
Because I'll need it.
But McDermott found out that I got it.
And when the court reassembled he never called
me.
I'm waiting on him yet.
But I want you to see that when
you become a peacemaker you can get into
trouble by being a peacemaker.
The Lord Jesus was the greatest peacemaker this
world had ever seen.
And yet men were divided around him.
They were divided at the cost of two
thieves.
You know this peace is a wonderful thing.
You get it when you trust Christ.
And when you get the feeling the experience
of the peace of God in your mind.
And then you follow after it.
And then you not only follow after it
but you fast to it as much as
you can.
Because you foresee the day when this world
will know peace it never knew before.
Tell me this now.
Have you had an experience with God?
Have you peace with God?
Have you ever experienced the peace of God?
Do you follow after peace?
Do you fast to peace?
Tell me what sort of Christianity you have?
You want to shoot somebody?
Or throw stones?
But I'll tell you this.
If we're believers we should be like Nebuchadnezzar.
Let peace come.
We should be the Christian banner.
We should be our desire.
This old fella learned this the way down
in Babylon.
Let's get back to Daniel chapter 4.
I want you to notice this.
Verse 2 he says I thought it good
to show the signs and wonders that the
high God had wrought towards me.
You know in verse 2 he said this.
And that's verse 2.
The high God.
You see verse 34 just go down the
chapter a bit.
At the end of the day thy Nebuchadnezzar
lifted up mine eyes onto heaven and mine
understanding returned to me and I blessed the
most high.
I wonder do we really believe tonight that
God is the most high?
Quite sure about this aren't we?
Because I haven't any doubts about it.
I woke about half past four this morning
put the light on and got the book
and I remember holding it tight and closing
my eyes and saying Lord you're up there
somewhere seated upon the throne and this book
tells me Lord that you're made higher than
the heavens.
There's nothing higher you know.
There's no one higher.
Have we got this?
It's time we believe we've got this.
It's a wonderful thing you know.
He's the most high.
You know what the word most high simply
means?
The first time it's used it's used in
Genesis 14 where Melchizedek met Abraham.
He was the priest of the most high
God.
Possessor of heaven and earth.
That's what it means.
All that we knew.
All that men knew that God owns this
world.
The arrow they don't own it you know.
Nor the unionists.
Nor Andrew Purcell.
Nor Green or White.
Nor Communists.
Nor Romanists.
No!
God owns this.
I wish we could get the grasp of
this.
This old fella got the hold of this.
Bypassed all the angels.
Knocked them down all round them.
Most high God!
Oh that we could see this.
Friends this is what we need to see
doesn't it?
You know he went a bit further than
this.
See verse 17 chapter 4 verse 17.
This matter is by the decree of the
watchers and the demand by the word of
the holy ones to the intent that the
living may know that the most high ruleth
in the kingdom of men and giveth it
to whomsoever he will and setteth up over
it the basis of men.
I wish that we could get the hold
of this that the most high he ruleth
in the kingdom of men.
I think that sometimes we don't believe this
you know.
But I'm absolutely sure of this.
This isn't just a fantasy with me.
I believe that God is in control of
all things.
I believe that God is ordering everything at
this moment according to the counsel of his
own will.
I believe the most high sits in the
heaven and even lasts sometimes.
He that sitteth in the heaven shall last.
God is still on the throne.
I wish we really believed it.
We sing it sometimes but I don't think
we believe it.
But I can tell you this that Ned
you could never have believed it.
You see verse 35 that's one we were
at a moment or two ago.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed
as nothing.
And he doeth according to his will in
the army of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth and none can say his
hand or say what doest thou.
This is what Ned you could never believe
about his God.
He believes he was the most high God.
He believes that God ruled in the kingdom
of men.
He believes that God doeth according to his
will.
I wish we could just grasp that tonight.
Do you believe?
Are you out for tea?
Do you believe that God is the most
high?
Do you believe that he rules in the
kingdom of men?
He believes that he does according to his
will.
There's nobody going to shove him around you
know.
I wish that we could get all the
rebels to understand this.
They won't shove God around.
He's the boss you know.
You know Ned you could never not only
had an experience that made him desire peace
and that he wanted to tell the world
what he believed but he wanted to tell
the world what he knew about God.
Look at this.
How great are his signs.
Verse three.
You know the signs that God has used
have been wonderful.
I don't want to touch the signs tonight.
The greatness of God's signs.
Because one of these nights when we come
to another chapter we'll have to deal with
the sun and the moon and the stars
and they were put there for signs.
When God threw them into space they were
put there for signs and for seasons.
But for signs most of all.
Of course when the Jews were looking for
a sign the Lord Jesus said I'm giving
you not only the sign of the prophet
Jonah.
When the unbelieving nation of Israel would not
believe that the Holy Ghost had come God
gave a sign.
The sign of tongues.
It was a sign gift not to them
that believe.
To them that believe not.
Of course people would read that.
I hear about them talking in tongues where
there's it must be the glory of God.
Because it's a sign not to them that
believe.
But to them that believe not.
And you would need to have the unbelief
of that.
And if you read it very carefully it's
the unbelieving Jews.
So the Jews need to have unbelieving Jews.
We're not going into the signs tonight.
The signs in the heavens or the signs
on the earth or the signs of Jonah
or the signs of an apostle.
We'll do that just another night.
But look at this.
How great are his signs and how mighty
are his wonders.
There is a text for you young preachers.
How mighty are his wonders.
He's the God that doeth wonders.
He did wonders when he created all things
by the word of his power.
You know the greatness of his wonder is
seen in creation.
It is passion that was done.
It is commanded.
And the sea and the mountain stood fast.
Yes he has done wonders in creation.
Let me tell you he did wonders in
inspiration.
See the book.
He took a lot of men you know.
Some of them were kings.
Some of them were shepherds.
Some of them were armed and learned and
ignorant men like me.
Oh but that doesn't make any difference when
God picks you up.
You don't send God to school surely.
He's quite capable of taking the things which
are not and making a fool out of
those who think they are something.
Yes inspiration is a wonder.
Because you know that incarnation was a wonder.
It's a mighty thing you know.
The mightiness of God's wonders.
How that the second person of the trinity
came to the blessed virgin's womb and took
upon the form of a son.
Don't ask me to explain it.
I don't know.
I just believe it.
God is capable of making worlds.
God is capable of writing inspired writings.
God is capable of incarnation.
God is capable of substitution.
Taking every sin of mine, laying it on
Christ and letting him bear it away.
All wonders.
Do you see the greatness of God's signs
and the mightiness of God's wonders.
Look this old king had got this.
How great are his signs.
How mighty are his wonders.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
So everything that belongs to God must be
everlasting.
If God gives me a gift it must
be forever.
He wouldn't give me it and take it
back next week.
If he gave me a gift of eternal
life then it was forever and ever.
If he set his love on me.
He can't love me one day and then
give me up.
Oh he doesn't love like that you know.
It's everlasting.
Everlasting love.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
It will never end.
It's not the end of his God.
The old king had got this right you
know.
How great are his signs.
The greatness of God's signs.
How mighty are his wonders.
The mightiness of God's wonders.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his
dominion is from generation to generation.
You know this is the unchangeableness of God's
dealings.
God will always be around you know.
He's around in the last generation.
He's around in this life.
He'll be around in the next one.
It cannot change.
This old king had a great experience to
bring him into the joy of these things
and next week we'll go into the experience.
I didn't make the time.
I'm nearly 25 past.
It's very difficult for a boy like me.
God bless you.
So I'll just sing two verses of 657.
There comes to my heart one sweet strain.
A glad and a joyous refrain.
I sing it again and again.
Sweet peace.
The gift of God's love.
We'll sing the first and the last verse
of 657 please.
Dear Lord help us to experience the peace
of God in our hearts and minds.
Help us to believe that thou art the
most high and that thou rulest and that
thou doest according to thy will.
Help us to know something of the might
of thy signs and of the greatness of
thy wonders.
Help us to believe that thy kingdom is
forever lasting and that thou art the unchanging
one.
Part us in thy fear.
Lead us to our homes and safety.
Bless us for thy name's sake.
Amen.