A Short Sermon
"COME TO THE WEDDING"
Yes I want to give you a very cordial invitation to go along with me. I'm on my way and I'd like to take all my friends with me.
He said the wedding was sure to be and you will have to buy the wedding garment. You can't borrow. He said those who would not put out their wealth for the wedding garment were poor, blind, wretched, naked, and dead. I think that would be a sorry plight. Better get ready. You've got to go somewhere you can't stay here. I have the directions as to which way to go and what you must take along with you. There's a special food necessary to eat and drink. You can't eat any old stuff, nor drink things that will burn you out inside. One look from that great Master is sufficient to see you inside and out. I really would like to have you go along with me. You don't have too much time to get ready three score years and ten and that includes all our time to get ready, buy our clothes to size and grow to that size Yes I know we have sorrow but all that is necessary. Those trials are the dark threads we weave in our lives and we will not know why they are there until God unrolls the pattern of our lives and explains their necessity.
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The way to the wedding is by the highway and there is only one highway as of Ephesians 4. There is a highway and a low way, but on that low way there are rocks and mudholes and its dark and the end is death. But on the highway there is light and plenty of it. Places to go and such beautiful scenery and such good company. Get ready and let's go to the wedding together.
Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom and the church is the Bride and so the church is called "The Church of Jesus Christ." Isn't that plain? It's verily true. Doesn't that sound good to you? Come to the waters of Salvation. Get down on your knees and drink from the living fountain and ask Him to anoint your eyes that they may be opened to see the wonders of His law and you will thank Him that you heard this invitation, "Come to the Wedding."
A MOST INTERESTING EXPERIENCE
In my first year under appointment I was preaching in a school house nine miles west of Hartington, Nebraska. I had a good crowd, the house was packed, all the standing room was taken. The last man squeezed in by the door and it was given to me that he was one of the sheep. You know Jesus said, "My sheep know my voice." Well this fellow kept working his way up towards me and when I got through preaching he was standing right in front of the pulpit. When I dismissed he said, that's the first I ever heard the Gospel preached and I knew it is true and I want to be baptized tonight. It was ten below zero and nine miles to the river and I tried to persuade him that he had not heard all the story and he should wait and he said, no, I want to be baptized tonight. I don't care how cold it is. I finally got him to agree that I would go home with him and we would talk it through and then if he
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insisted I'd baptize him. I went home with him and talked that night through and baptized him the next day.
THE LORD DIRECTS SOME TO THE CHURCH
You will remember the case of Cornelius who prayed to God always and feared God with all his house. An angel came to him and told him what to do, as in Acts 10.
When I was pastor in Spokane, Washington a man came to the 11 o'clock service one Sunday. I noticed he was a stranger and paid good attention.
After service he introduced himself and remarked, "I suppose you wonder why I'm here. " I said no, we have several strangers here today. He said I had an experience I'd like to tell you. I said I'd be glad to hear it. He said an angel appeared to him in a dream last night and told him to come to the little white church on the corner of Third Avenue and Smith Street and he would hear the Restored Gospel. I said he told you right. He said when can you talk with me, I said come home with me for lunch. He went, I talked to him that afternoon and three evening that week and baptized him the next Sunday.
THE LEEKS AND ONIONS
In conversation with a friend the other day he said he wanted to borrow a dozen of my records and he'd take them home with him and play them over and get my line and then he would have me over some evening and he'd have a man there to talk it out with me that really knew his onions. That put me to thinking, and said immediately he'd better know his leeks as well as his onions for I was going to look up the leaks that have crept in to the sectarian world. I decided to put them on a record so all my friends might have the benefit of them.
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We sometimes hear people say, wouldn't it be nice if we could have been at Pentecost or at Antioch as of Acts 13 or at the beautiful gate of the temple.
You ask me why? Why at Pentecost we could have heard those unlearned Galileans speak the wonderful things of God under the gifts of prophecy and tongues. At Antioch we could have met those prophets face to face and talked to them. And most anywhere we could have met the apostles and heard them preach right down the line and tell the people the wonderful things that God had delivered to them in the everlasting gospel.
Hi, there! Can you see that? Those gifts have faded out. They have leaked out and the creeds of the sectarian churches do not contain them. There has been a leak and it just kept right on leaking until they only have Deacons, Elders and Evangelists, or Pastors, Elders and Evangelists, or Priests, Cardinals and a Pope, or just Missionaries. Whereas, Jesus Christs needed, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Elders, Seventy, Priests, Teachers, Deacons, Bishops, and High Priests. Shall the church say to Jesus Christ He didn't know, when God told Him how? Luke 22:29.
The sectarian churches have substituted men of learning with capital letters after their name, such as D. D. or L. L. D. Shall the church say to Him that framed it, He had no understanding.
He taught Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Laying on of Hands. Some leave out Repentance, Most all leave out the Laying on of Hands. You remember that fellow that tried it without water. He ended up in Hell. Don't go away, hear the rest of the story. Well I'm glad you stayed. Be this known unto you and hearken to my words. Jesus Christ does not permit those leaks. He said in Matthew 5:19, "Not one jot or tittle will in no wise pass from the law till all is fillfilled and in Matthew 24, "Heaven and earth
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will pass away, but my word will not pass away," and in John 12, "The word I have spoken will judge you in the last day. That last day has not come yet and what are you going to do about those things that have leaked out. He taught the laying on of hands for the healing of the sick, also for, the confirmation of members in the church, and for the ordination of the ministry and also for the blessing of little children.
The creeds do not contain this. What are you going to do about that? The Laying on of Hands is a blessing to the whole church, as well as the babies.
Hi, there! You had better wake up from that long, silent slumber. Jesus Christ is the author of this. He said teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I am with you unto the end of the world. The end of the world hasn't come yet. Shake off those fetters that have bound you. Break those chains asunder. You can't patch up a home made craft. The Lord God will not permit it to sail into the Celestial Harbor. It must be the Ship of Zion, manned by God called and anointed men after His own order. For no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron, Hebrews 5:4. And then you can make the journey by adding to your Faith, Virtue, Knowledge, Temperance, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness, Charity, and then your armour will shine. Those sailing on home made craft will see your cruise and call to you for help, and you can help them. Come and drink from the living fountain. Get abroad the Ship of Zion and get acquainted with the crew.
Jesus Christ put them there to man the ship, and everyone is needed. He laid the keel of His own ship, and charted its course. You can't go on a man made ship and reach the Celestial Harbor. A man made ship will reach a
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terrestrial or a worldly reward or harbor. Let us go to the reunion together and sing the songs of Zion. The songs of everlasting love and joy.
May God bless you. Amen.
ANOTHER EXPERIENCE
When I was pastor of the church in Spokane, Washington, I went out to visit one day and was going to a place down on Magnolia Street. I was walking on Fourth Avenue in the 2500 Block East, I saw a man coming, driving a milk wagon, suddenly he swung up to the curb opposite me and said, "Well! who are you?" I remarked, "I am the pastor of that church on the corner of Third Avenue and Smith Street. He said, "I had a queer experience.” I said, "What was it?" He said, "A voice spoke to me and said," There is a servant of God, stop and listen to his story." He said, "When can you talk with me?" I said, "Right now." We talked for a while. I made a date to talk with him that evening. We talked it through. It is needless to say what he done about it. Who wouldn't?
WILL YOUR ANCHOR HOLD
Well if you made the thing yourself, it won't hold only for a little while. If God made it, it will hold. For what God doeth, it shall be forever. This anchor that we talk about is something that we hold to in life, and if it is something that we have invented or put together, it will not last only for a little while. Now what I meant is, if we put together a scheme by which we invite people to our standard, it will not have those eternal qualities.
A worldly law will receive a worldly reward or as Paul said a terrestrial reward. A heavenly law will receive a
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heavenly reward. Therefore God has thought out His own
plan of salvation. In Isaiah 5, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.
So God designed the plan of salvation and gave it to Jesus Christ and Jesus gave it to them. Luke 22:29.
If we adopt it and take hold of it we wear his yoke and that is our anchor. We did not make it, God made it, and it will be our duty to wear it. What He says that is it. Paul said, I received not the Gospel of men, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. That is the rock upon which Jesus Christ built the church, and that is the anchor that we hold to and it will stand. So when we look for the material by which He builded the church we find that material came from Heaven.
Hence Paul in I Corinthians 12:28, God set some in the church; first, Apostles; second, Prophets; third, Teachers; then Gifts of Healing, helps, governments, and diversities of tongues, and no amount of talk could change this pattern. Any building that does not have these parts and leadership cannot come to perfection, nor receive that heavenly portion needful to the fullness of Christ.
If the Lord build not the house, they labor in vain who build it. If you leave this out of the story, please tell me why. Is your faith in the strength and wisdom of men or in the authority of God?
God's way is the best way though you may not see. God's way &hall be my way, come and we'll all go in together. Peace be in your hearts today.
Amen.
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PRAYER
When I was in charge of the Spokane District, I decided to go to Lewiston, Idaho one week end as that was in my District. I had quite a few items of business to attend to before I went and spent most of the day down in the city. Something kept telling me I was not going to Lewiston on Saturday. So when I came home for supper I remarked to my wife, "Something has been telling me all day I was not going to Lewiston." She said, "So it has to me." I said, "Well' I'm going." She said, "I wouldn't be too sure about that." We sat down to supper, the telephone rang. It was Brother Tignor calling me to come to Wenatchee, 175 miles southwest. He said Paul's little boy was near death with pneumonia, get Grandpa Leach and get on that eight o'clock train. I said 0. K., we will be there.
I only had a few minutes to get to the train and it was two and one half miles. My wife went with me to bring the car back, we drove to Brother Leach's home. Brother Leach was a blind man, but a very gifted man. I ran in and said, "Grandpa get your coat and hat, we have got to go to Wenatchee and we have ten minutes to get to the train. " I took hold of his arm and said we must hurry. He said, "Hold on, Oscar, I don't leave this house without prayer." I said, "We can pray when we get on the train." He said, "I still won't go without prayer." 1 said, "Well then you do the praying." We got down on our knees and I thought he never would get through. But when he did I took hold of his arm and said, "we've missed the train." He said, "Don't be so nervous, we haven't missed that train."
I drove as fast as I could, and just as we entered the station the gates closed and the train started. I shouted,
Get that gate open and stop that train." He did and
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we got on. The conductor came along and I remarked, "Is this train late I " He said, "Yes." I said, "What held it up?" He swore and said he didn't know.
We arrived in Wenatchee on time and went to the home and the nurse met us at the door and said you can't come in. The little boy is too sick. We told her we were coming in, she better call the father (they did not belong to the church). She called the father and he said, "sure let these men in, I sent for them." She said, "don't you touch that child." I remarked, "Sister you be quiet and kneel with us in prayer." She said, "No, I won't." I said, stand up then, we are going to have prayer."
We had prayer and administered to that little fellow and she stood at the foot of the bed as mad as she could get. We took our hands off that little fellow and she said, "I saw the change. " I said, "Well you can go to bed, the little fellow will be all right.' She said, "No, I won't." We went to the hotel, got to bed about two o'clock. Paul Tignor was down there before daylight to tell us the boy is O.K., and I sent the nurse home. I said, " That is a good place for her. "
So I learned the lesson over again that prayer is in order, no matter what the hurry.
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