1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,280 Now open your Bible. Turn in your Bible to the 2 00:00:03,280 --> 00:00:07,040 prophecy of Amos. We're going to read from Chapter 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:14,400 7 and in the verse 10, in case anyone's thinking, just in case 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,480 I'm not trying to be funny, where is Amos? 5 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:26,720 If you can find the book of Isaiah, come forward then to 6 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:32,479 Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel, come to the end of Daniel and 7 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:38,200 you'll get to Hosea. And after you get to Hosea, 8 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:43,720 you'll come to Joel and then you'll come to Amos. 9 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:50,840 So we're wanting to read from Amos Chapter 7, verse 10. 10 00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,640 It's good to hear the rustling of the paper. 11 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:00,200 If you're having real difficulty, look up the index, 12 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:05,319 come to the page number under Amos chapter 1, and then you can 13 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:14,600 flick forward to Amos Chapter 7, Amos Chapter 7, verse 10. 14 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:21,240 Now let's hear the Word of God. And we're reading, of course 15 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:29,520 from the Authorised Version, Amos Chapter 7, verse 10. 16 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:37,400 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel, sent to Jeroboam, king 17 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:42,520 of Israel, saying, Amos, hath conspired against thee in the 18 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:48,600 midst of the House of Israel. The land is not able to bear all 19 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:56,920 his words, For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, 20 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:01,960 and Israel shall surely be LED away captive out of their own 21 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:08,840 land. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O 22 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:15,920 thou seer, go flee thee away into the land of Judah, and 23 00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:22,600 there eat bread, and prophecy there, but prophecy not again 24 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:30,440 anymore at Bethel, for it's the King's Chapel, and it is the 25 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:36,600 King's court. Then answered Amos, and said to 26 00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:43,440 Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was IA prophet's son, 27 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:49,880 but I was an herdsman, and a gather of Sycamore fruit. 28 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:54,720 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock. 29 00:02:55,520 --> 00:03:00,800 And the Lord said unto me, Go prophecy unto my people Israel. 30 00:03:02,000 --> 00:03:06,160 Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord, thou sayest 31 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:11,200 prophecy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the 32 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:15,480 House of Isaac. Therefore thus saith the Lord, 33 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:21,120 Thy wife shall be in harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy 34 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,960 daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be 35 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:30,560 divided by lying, and thy shall die in a polluted land, and 36 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:35,760 Israel shall go into captivity. 4th Of his land. 37 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:43,600 Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me, and behold a basket of 38 00:03:43,600 --> 00:03:46,960 summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what? 39 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:52,240 See us die, and I send a basket of summer fruit. 40 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:58,560 Then said the Lord unto me, The end has come upon my people 41 00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:02,840 Israel. I will not again pass by them 42 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,320 anymore. And the songs of the temple 43 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:10,040 shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God. 44 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,720 There shall be many dead bodies in every place. 45 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,360 They shall cast them forth was silence. 46 00:04:20,200 --> 00:04:26,200 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor 47 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:30,800 of the lamb to feel, saying, When will the new moon be gone, 48 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:36,320 that we may sell corn, and the Sabbath that we may set forth 49 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:41,920 weep, making the ifath small, and the shekel great, and 50 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:47,280 falsifying the balances by deceit, that we may buy the poor 51 00:04:47,280 --> 00:04:51,360 for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes. 52 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:55,720 Yeah, and sail the refuge of the wheat. 53 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,160 The Lord has sworn by the Excellency of Jacob. 54 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:06,680 Surely I will never forget any of their works. 55 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:08,680 Amen. We know the Lord will stamp with 56 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:12,080 his own approval and divine blessing this reading of His own 57 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:17,520 precious and infallible word. And we do welcome you here this 58 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:19,400 evening. We thank you for coming, and we 59 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:23,640 pray the Lord will richly bless us as we fellowship together. 60 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:30,680 Now my text this evening is taken from Amos chapter 8 verses 61 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,120 one and two. Thus hath the Lord God showed 62 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:38,360 unto me, Behold the basket of summer fruit. 63 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:44,520 And he said, Amos, what see us thy And I said, a basket of 64 00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:47,720 summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The 65 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,920 end has come upon my people of Israel. 66 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,080 I will not again pass by them anymore. 67 00:05:55,520 --> 00:06:00,320 They have entitled this message Spiritual lessons from the 68 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:08,280 basket of summer fruit. Let's think first of all of the 69 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:14,200 prophet that is addressed if you look at chapter 8 verse one. 70 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:20,600 Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me underline the word me 71 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:29,360 and he said, Amos, what seest thy and I said a basket of 72 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:33,920 summer fruit. Now let me point something out 73 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:44,720 to you that Amos is one of the most unlikeliest men called, 74 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,520 chosen and commissioned by God to be a prophet of the Lord. 75 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:55,800 He was a contemporary of Isaiah, the evangelical prophet of Hosea 76 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:01,360 and Joel, and they had this one thing in common, that they were 77 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,800 all called, chosen and commissioned to be prophets of 78 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,400 the Lord. I'm sure that people were 79 00:07:07,400 --> 00:07:11,240 surprised when they heard that Amos was among the prophets of 80 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,920 the Lord. Most likely he was probably 81 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:18,520 surprised himself. What do we know about him? 82 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,920 Well, if you turn to chapter 1 and look with me at verse 4, we 83 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:29,440 read the words of Amos who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa 84 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:35,160 which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of 85 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:39,000 Judah and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joaz king 86 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:49,800 of Israel two years before the earthquake, Tekoa was his home. 87 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:56,080 Tekoa still exists to this day as part of the territory of 88 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:59,920 Judah. And from chapter 1, verse one, 89 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:03,480 we we learn he was working as a herdsman there. 90 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:06,360 In other words, he was a man of the land. 91 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:10,280 He was looking after the sheep and the oxen and the goats and 92 00:08:10,280 --> 00:08:16,280 the camels, A countryman. And he was sent to Israel to 93 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,120 preach to the Northern Kingdom. Now if you come with me to 94 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:25,160 Chapter 7, we read there in verse 10 about a man by the name 95 00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:29,920 of a Messiah. He was a false prophet. 96 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:35,919 He is called the priest of Bethel, and he sent to Jeroboam 97 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:39,640 king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in 98 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:41,039 the midst of the House of Israel. 99 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:45,360 The land is not able to bear all his words. 100 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:51,480 Now Bethel is in the northern Kingdom of the territory of 101 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:54,280 Israel. This is the days of Jeroboam, 102 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:56,720 the son of Nebad, who called Israel the sin. 103 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:02,080 Bethel by this time is the apostate centre of religion, and 104 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,160 into that apostate centre came Amos. 105 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:08,520 And he faithfully preached a message against the king. 106 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:11,320 And the message was this, that Jeroboam's going to die by the 107 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,960 sword, the northern Kingdom will be LED away into captivity. 108 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:19,320 And he stood in the King's Chapel or in the King's court. 109 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,760 Now look at verse 12. Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O 110 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,560 thou seer, now is it not interesting? 111 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,920 And he told him, Go, flee thee away into the land of Judah. 112 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:35,360 In other words, go back to where you come from, and there in that 113 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:39,920 land your homeland, eat bread and prophecy there, but prophecy 114 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:43,600 not again anymore with Bethel, for it is the King's Chapel or 115 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,640 the King's sanctuary, and it is the King's cord. 116 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,920 Now listen to Amos's reply, verse 14 name. 117 00:09:50,920 --> 00:09:55,800 Amos then answered Amos and said to a Messiah, I was no prophet, 118 00:09:56,280 --> 00:10:00,640 neither was IA prophet's son, but I was a herdsman and a 119 00:10:00,640 --> 00:10:06,200 gatherer of Sycamore fruit. And the Lord took me as I 120 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:10,320 followed the flock. And the Lord said unto me, Go 121 00:10:10,320 --> 00:10:19,600 prophecy unto my people Israel. Now you see Amos is saying to 122 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:26,880 him that I was not a prophet nor a prophet's son, but I was a 123 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,240 herdsman. I was looking after the sheep, 124 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:32,760 the goats, the cattle, the camels. 125 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,200 I was also a gatherer of Sycamore fruit. 126 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:40,680 In other words, he he worked in the farm part time and also he 127 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:45,040 looked after the fruit of the field at other times. 128 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:51,040 But he says from that place the Lord took me and the Lord said, 129 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:58,200 go prophecy against Israel. He was an ordinary man. 130 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:04,840 He was a man from the country. He was a hard working man, a man 131 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:10,000 who was a tender of the sheep and the cattle, a man who also 132 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,120 gathered fruit for a living. Now get the picture? 133 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,400 Amos is one of the most unlikeliest men that God uses, 134 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:23,000 and yet he's a country, ordinary hard working man called into 135 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,360 God's work and God uses men like that. 136 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:29,960 God often calls ordinary men into his work. 137 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:36,280 God uses a hard working man to bring his word forth to preach 138 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,360 in the land of Israel. He was not pretending to be from 139 00:11:39,360 --> 00:11:42,080 the ruling class. He was not pretending to be from 140 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,520 royalty. He was not pretending to be from 141 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:48,920 a great theological school. He was a simple hard working 142 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:52,000 man. And this is who Amos is. 143 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:56,160 I want you to see that. A shepherd, a gatherer of 144 00:11:56,160 --> 00:12:00,240 Sycamore fruit, and yet God called him to be a seer and go 145 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:04,080 preach and prophecy unto my people, Israel. 146 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,600 I can remember years ago when we were at the Bible college down 147 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:13,720 in Lawrence Town, Doctor Maureen Geiler from Ohio came. 148 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:18,680 He was asked to do the devotional lecture one day in 149 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:21,000 the place of the Reverend Austin Allen. 150 00:12:21,560 --> 00:12:24,400 He quoted from Charles having Spurgeon that day. 151 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:30,080 And the quotation was this. Let each man be himself. 152 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:37,400 And he pointed out that God calls different men to preach. 153 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:40,640 I remember the reference well. I wrote it down for you. 154 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:44,600 See your calling, brethren, First Corinthians chapter one, 155 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:47,840 verse 26. How that not many wise men after 156 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,640 the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. 157 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:55,800 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound 158 00:12:55,800 --> 00:12:58,560 the wise. And God hath chosen the weak 159 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:02,640 things of the world to confound the things which are mighty and 160 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:06,360 base things of the world, and things which are despised that 161 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:08,960 God chosen. Yeah, and things which are not 162 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:14,400 to bring to naughty things that are that no flesh should glory 163 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:17,680 in his presence. And one of the things that 164 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:20,840 Doctor Geithner brought out in that lecture was this. 165 00:13:21,240 --> 00:13:24,520 A preacher should not go beyond his own experience. 166 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,400 Let me illustrate. Suppose I was to tell you now I 167 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:35,280 want you to fast for 12 hours everyday and I want you to spend 168 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:40,080 12 hours in prayer everyday. If you want to go to your room, 169 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,920 get on your knees 12 hours every day, seven days a week. 170 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,120 And then after that I want you to go out and also give out 1000 171 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,720 tracks every day. I'm telling you to do this and 172 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,480 that as a spiritual exercise in the reading of the scriptures. 173 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:02,800 But here's the point, if I don't do it as your pastor, then I 174 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:07,680 can't expect you to do it. I have to give the lead. 175 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:13,840 I have to set forth an example. And that's exactly what the 176 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,640 point means. A preacher should not go beyond 177 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,600 his own experience. Remember we read in the book of 178 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:25,760 Ephesians and Ephesians chapter 5 and it says this, Be there for 179 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,000 followers of God as dear children. 180 00:14:29,200 --> 00:14:32,080 Be there for followers of God as dear children. 181 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:35,840 Paul had set an example and he called them to be followers of 182 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:41,600 God as dear children. Amos was the most unlikeliest 183 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:45,560 person to be called into God's work, and yet Amos was a man 184 00:14:45,560 --> 00:14:48,800 given a divine revelation. If you go back to our text, 185 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,800 think of these words. Thus hath the Lord God showed 186 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,600 unto me. Now what had God shown him? 187 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,960 God had given him 4 visions. The basket of summer fruit was 188 00:14:58,960 --> 00:15:02,840 the last. 1 Chapter 7 verses one to three. 189 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:08,760 He saw a plague of grasshoppers. Chapter 7, verse four, he saw a 190 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,040 judgement of fire upon the field. 191 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:16,360 Chapter 7, verses 7 and 8, there was the test of the Plumb line. 192 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:21,280 Plumb line was used to measure. And then chapter 8, verses 1 and 193 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:26,600 2, the 4th vision, a basket of Somerford. 4 is the number of 194 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:30,560 completion. 4 visions, one after the other. 195 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:32,720 It's like being invited into an art gallery. 196 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:37,120 Here's a plague of locusts, here's fire, here's a Plumb 197 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,960 line, and here's a basket of summer fruit. 198 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:45,600 Nothing coincidental. Don't easily dismiss this. 199 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:51,000 Amos has been shown. This Amos has been privileged. 200 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:56,000 It's remarkable that the Lord has revealed what He is going to 201 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:57,560 do. And who does he reveal it to? 202 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:01,960 He reveals it unto His prophets. Remember what he says in Amos 203 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:06,760 chapter 3 and in the verse 7. Surely the Lord God will do 204 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:12,760 nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants, the 205 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,520 prophets. See, the mind of Christ, the 206 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:21,320 mind of God, has been given to the prophets, and God revealed 207 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:26,160 his mind to Amos, one of his prophets, through these visions. 208 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,480 And he told them, through these visions, go prophecy unto 209 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,160 Israel. Amos, why are you here in 210 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:36,520 Bethel? This is the King's Chapel. 211 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,040 This is the King's court. Here's the answer. 212 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:44,480 Because the Lord God have sent me, He has shown me these 213 00:16:44,560 --> 00:16:47,080 things. I have come to reveal them unto 214 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,000 you. I've been given this remarkable 215 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,600 privilege. You see, he's a man, a most 216 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:56,040 unlikely man called into the work of God, but he's a man 217 00:16:56,040 --> 00:17:00,440 given a divine revelation. He sees and knows the mind and 218 00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,560 will of God. He must as a man with a word 219 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:08,200 from God, a personal word. That's why God has chosen him. 220 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:11,680 That's why God has called him. God commissioned him. 221 00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:17,640 Go prophecy Chapter 7 verse 15 unto my people. 222 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:22,119 The word prophecy means to preach, and he whom God calls 223 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:26,640 God equips. Think of Amos coming as a man 224 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:31,000 with a word from God. God had made him to see, and yet 225 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,520 God also had made him to hear his word. 226 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:40,840 I often think of what and Asiah said in Chapter 7 and in the 227 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:47,920 verse 12, O thou seer. He knew, like Samuel, that Amos 228 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,520 was a true seer of God in the land. 229 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:57,000 He was part of a long line of seers, as I've said, all the way 230 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,560 back to Samuel, and he could look back to the past as a seer. 231 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:05,960 He could look to the present time, he could look to the 232 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,560 future, his immediate future and his day and generation, but also 233 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,360 the apocalyptic future that was coming, things which will come 234 00:18:13,360 --> 00:18:17,480 to pass in the land of Israel. I tell you something else about 235 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:19,280 him very quickly. He was a man of prayer. 236 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,680 Did you know that Amos interceded when the Lord showed 237 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,240 him the plague of locusts, Chapter 7, verses 2 and three? 238 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:31,840 Do you know that Amos prayed again when God showed him the 239 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:36,960 fire devouring the land? Verses 5 and 6? 240 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:40,400 It's strange. When God showed him the vision 241 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:43,520 of the Plumb line, there's no mention of prayer. 242 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:47,840 Nor when he showed him the basket of fruit, there was no 243 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:50,000 mention of prayer. What did that mean? 244 00:18:50,720 --> 00:18:53,960 He left off praying. He wasn't going to pray for 245 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:55,400 Israel any longer. Why? 246 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,080 Because the judgement that was coming was real. 247 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,840 It was sure and certain. And if you look at chapter 8 248 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:07,640 verse 2, it says, Amos, what seest thy and I said a basket of 249 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,240 summer fruit. Then saith the Lord unto me. 250 00:19:10,240 --> 00:19:13,480 Then as Houghton, it means at that time the end has come upon 251 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,920 my people of Israel. I will not again pass by them 252 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:23,000 any more. Amos, whom God called and chose 253 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:27,920 and commissioned was an ordinary man to stand in the gap for God, 254 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:32,920 an unlikely man given and shown a divine revelation, a man with 255 00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:38,520 a a unique message, a word from God, a man of prayer, and yet a 256 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:43,600 man who was faithful with a message about judgement to come. 257 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:46,560 And that's the type of man that Ulster needs. 258 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,080 That's the type of man we need in our pulpits in the free 259 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:50,960 Church. That's the type of man that's 260 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,520 needed in every pulpit in every church. 261 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,720 And that's the first point, the prophet that is addressed. 262 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,920 Notice secondly, the portrait that is presented. 263 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:07,400 If you go back, it says in verse one, thus hath the Lord God 264 00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:11,760 showed unto me and behold, what a basket of summer fruit. 265 00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:15,480 You can underline that. And come to Chapter 2. 266 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:21,560 And he said a follow up. He must what see us thy and I 267 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:31,040 said a basket of summer fruit. Now what does the summer fruit 268 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:34,080 speak of? Think of the portrait that is 269 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,200 presented. A basket of summer fruit. 270 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:41,080 What does the portrait represent? 271 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:48,640 You see, the basket of summer fruit is always associated with 272 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:53,960 the harvest, and I believe that it's associated with the final 273 00:20:53,960 --> 00:20:57,160 harvest of the year. The final harvest in the Land of 274 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,920 Israel has to do and is connected with the Feast of 275 00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:03,280 Tabernacles. It's the last Jewish feast in 276 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:05,600 the yearly calendar. Remember the Feast of Passover, 277 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,920 blood sacrifice of the Lamb, the feast of Pentecost 50 days 278 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,640 later, the pouring out of the Spirit, and in the climax the 279 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:18,720 feast of the Tabernacle corresponds to our September or 280 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,680 October in around that period. And it represents this, that the 281 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:27,160 harvest is all safely gathered in, and the gathering in of the 282 00:21:27,160 --> 00:21:32,120 harvest is a time of great joy and rejoicing, but it's also a 283 00:21:32,120 --> 00:21:35,680 time of great joy and reminiscing. 284 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:42,440 You see, when they looked in the basket of fruit, it reminded 285 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:47,480 them of something. It reminded them of this, that 286 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,080 preparation had to be made before the winter. 287 00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:55,120 And it's not exactly what Paul said to Timothy, second Timothy 288 00:21:55,120 --> 00:21:59,600 four and two, do thy diligence to come before winter. 289 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,800 And has God not made preparation for us? 290 00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:05,960 You think of the personal work of Christ. 291 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:09,160 Christ was born for us. Christ lived the sinless life 292 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:12,640 for us on our behalf. He died an atoning death. 293 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:18,120 He was bodily rose again for us. He ascended. 294 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:21,120 He stands at God's right hand as our prophet, priest and king. 295 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,160 You've got to think about the reality of a second coming again 296 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:27,680 into this world. All the preparation has been 297 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,600 made and that help us to think of the cross work, the Son of 298 00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:34,120 God who loved me and gave himself for me. 299 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:39,360 And the chief question is this. Are you prepared to meet God? 300 00:22:39,920 --> 00:22:41,920 Are you prepared for God's eternity? 301 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,200 Do you know and love Christ as Lord and Saviour? 302 00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:51,040 Why? Because the winter is coming. 303 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,280 How will you fare in the winter of suffering? 304 00:22:55,640 --> 00:22:57,440 How will you fare in the winter of ill health? 305 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,520 How will you fare in the winter of devastating news? 306 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:05,120 Suppose you're lying up in the hospital and you're told we've 307 00:23:05,120 --> 00:23:10,000 got to amputate one of your legs or your two legs, or you get 308 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:16,240 news that just leaves you better and bruised in that sense, 309 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:20,560 because it's hard to suffer, especially when you get bad news 310 00:23:20,560 --> 00:23:25,440 about your own ill health. This is what the portrait 311 00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:29,840 represents. This is what the portrait says. 312 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:33,200 It speaks of preparation before the winter. 313 00:23:34,560 --> 00:23:38,400 The basket of summer fruit is always associated with the final 314 00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:41,000 harvest of the Feast of Tabernacles. 315 00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:45,360 I want you to think not only of what the portrait speaks, but 316 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,120 the way the portrait speaks. What is this basket? 317 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:52,120 What's in it? Summer fruit. 318 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:59,680 They think of the beautiful fruit that is represented in 319 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,080 that basket. I can tell you it's delicious, 320 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,840 but I can tell you this, before the fruit was ever put into the 321 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:11,800 basket, the seed of that fruit, regardless of what kind of fruit 322 00:24:11,800 --> 00:24:17,720 it is, had to be sown in the soil, had to be cared for, had 323 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:22,320 to be nurtured. And then God, remember, caused 324 00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:26,080 the rain to fall, the sun to shine, the wind to blow, and 325 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:28,280 then the fruit eventually grows in the trees. 326 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:32,080 I was coming through Armagh, especially in the Round Lock 327 00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:36,000 Gaul yesterday, and I was noting the the 100 of hundreds of apple 328 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,720 trees that were in the various orchards. 329 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:44,840 And you see the gospel. The gospel, as I said this 330 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:49,440 morning, is a message of God. But that gospel has been 331 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:52,240 nurtured by God from the very beginning. 332 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,120 Think of the first gospel promise. 333 00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:57,200 What was it? It was Genesis chapter 3 and 334 00:24:57,200 --> 00:24:59,440 verse 15. And I will put enmity between 335 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:01,520 thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. 336 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:06,560 It shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel. 337 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:09,000 You see? Think of Adam and Eve, their 338 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:11,240 life in the garden. They worked in Eden. 339 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:14,760 Adam was the chief gardener, Eve was the helper. 340 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,600 They tended to the trees. They give names to all the 341 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:21,360 animals. How long were they there? 342 00:25:21,360 --> 00:25:25,840 A few months, a year, a few years, I don't know. 343 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:31,680 But they were put in probation, they were tested, the tree of 344 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:35,800 the knowledge of good and evil. God told them not to eat of the 345 00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:38,760 fruit of it, For in the day that thou eatest thereof I shall 346 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:42,000 surely die. Genesis 2 and 17 But you know 347 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,600 that they sinned. You know that they failed in a 348 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:49,760 state of sin and misery, and you know about the first gospel 349 00:25:49,760 --> 00:25:52,560 promise. Remember what God did. 350 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:58,560 God killed an animal. God shed the blood of that 351 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,600 animal, and I believe it was in the sight of Adam and Eve, and 352 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,120 they could have the smell of death. 353 00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,800 They got the sight of blood. And remember what we read. 354 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,840 But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth a 355 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:13,320 son made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were 356 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,760 under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 357 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,360 And how did God do it? Speaking of Christ, But he was 358 00:26:20,360 --> 00:26:23,560 wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. 359 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:27,960 The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes 360 00:26:28,360 --> 00:26:34,240 are we healed. The beautiful fruit is 361 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:39,240 representative, but think of the beautiful fruit ripened. 362 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,120 Did you pick it up there? I believe this basket of fruit 363 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:47,680 is really Sycamore fruit because he says in verse 14, but I was 364 00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:51,720 an herdsman and the gather of Sycamore fruit. 365 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:56,840 I I know very little about Sycamore fruit. 366 00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,600 I've only learnt this. How do you ripen Sycamore fruit? 367 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:08,800 If it's untouched by a tool or human hand, when you go to eat 368 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:11,880 it, it'll be better. You'll not be able to eat it. 369 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:14,520 It'll be thrown away. What you have to do with 370 00:27:14,520 --> 00:27:17,560 Sycamore fruit is you have to take a little tool and you have 371 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,880 to score the surface. In other words, you have to mark 372 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:25,760 the fruit. The fruit is only sweet to taste 373 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:29,320 when it is bruised by a human hand. 374 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,560 You think of our Lord Jesus in the cross. 375 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,320 Without the shedding of blood. There's no remission. 376 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:40,800 And when the Bible talks about him being bruised, that's what 377 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:45,560 it means from Genesis 3:15 to Isaiah 43, right all the way 378 00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:47,800 through to 1st John chapter one verse 9. 379 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:51,320 The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all said, 380 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,880 if the Sycamore fruit is only ripened by bruising, then we've 381 00:27:54,880 --> 00:27:57,920 got to think of our Lord Jesus being bruised in Calvary, 382 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,800 suffering the terrible consequences of sin. 383 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:06,320 For on behalf of sinners doing this for you and me, I remember 384 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:10,640 a man in Calvin. He was invited to a gospel 385 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,960 mission. He swore to the preacher, I'll 386 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:15,960 never darken the door. I want nothing to do with your 387 00:28:15,960 --> 00:28:18,880 gaudy or gospel. And then the third week of that 388 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:22,240 mission going on, he run out of the house, having got his 389 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:25,960 dinner, jumped on his tractor, give a big shout. 390 00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:27,880 They had to go out and carry him in. 391 00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:30,720 He broke a couple of desks on his back. 392 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,720 He lay on traction. The wee preacher went to see 393 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:36,280 him. We call him John. 394 00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:40,920 And he said to John lying in the bed, you know, John, the only 395 00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:43,120 time pigs look up was when they're the brother of their 396 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,240 back. You're a pig farmer. 397 00:28:45,240 --> 00:28:50,640 You know that God has put you in your back, John, because God is 398 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,320 speaking to you and he was spoken to you. 399 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,160 And after getting out of hospital, he started coming to 400 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:00,880 those gospel meetings. The mission was long over, but 401 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,240 the faith mission was still there in the weekly meeting. 402 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:06,200 And that man came to faith in Christ. 403 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,080 See it? Sometimes God has to bruise and 404 00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:13,200 break the Sinner. Many individuals are unable to 405 00:29:13,200 --> 00:29:17,040 sleep. Many individuals are suffering 406 00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:20,000 ill health, frailty if they're freedom. 407 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,120 And what does that teach us? Why do these things happen to 408 00:29:24,200 --> 00:29:25,360 us? Why do we get ill? 409 00:29:25,360 --> 00:29:28,040 Why do we get sick? Why do we have colds and flus? 410 00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:30,600 Why, why? Why do we feel unwell many 411 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:32,840 times? Well, is it not the teachers 412 00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,600 that we're not here forever? Is it not the teachers that were 413 00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:38,800 dependent on Him? For in Him we move and live in a 414 00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:41,600 being? Does it not teach us that God is 415 00:29:41,600 --> 00:29:45,080 his own way of speaking? Just to remind us I'm still 416 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:47,400 here, you know I haven't gone away. 417 00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:54,480 Does it not remind us that we need the Lord one day? 418 00:29:54,480 --> 00:29:59,200 We're accountable to Him. Think of the beautiful fruit not 419 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:05,080 only representing the beautiful fruit ripening, but think of the 420 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:09,200 beautiful fruit revealing. What does fruit reveal? 421 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,800 Does it not speak of prosperity? Are we not encouraged to eat 422 00:30:14,800 --> 00:30:16,480 fruit? Fruit is good. 423 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:19,640 I hope you love apples and bananas and blueberries. 424 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,240 I do, and every time I think of the fruit, I think of God 425 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,320 supplying our temporal needs. Fruit is good for you and I 426 00:30:26,320 --> 00:30:31,080 encourage you to eat fruit, but also think of God supplying our 427 00:30:31,080 --> 00:30:33,080 spiritual need. It's fruit. 428 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:36,160 And every time I think of fruit, I I think of the fruit of the 429 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:43,240 spirit In Galatians chapter 5, verse 22 to 25, a nine fold 430 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:48,080 fruit. See Amos was different from a 431 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:50,880 Messiah. A Messiah was a man of the 432 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:56,240 world, a man of flesh, a man with the works of the flesh. 433 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:01,120 But Amos was a sea of man. He was sanctified, sustained, 434 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:05,080 and satisfied. And the basket of beautiful 435 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:09,240 fruit revealed the prosperity and blessing of God to you. 436 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,880 But think of this and have to be quick. 437 00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:15,280 Think of the beautiful fruit rotting. 438 00:31:15,280 --> 00:31:19,720 Do you know the bowl of fruit you bring into the hospital to 439 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:22,440 someone who's ill? Or the bowl of fruit that comes 440 00:31:22,440 --> 00:31:24,480 at the harvest time? Or the basket? 441 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,200 It doesn't last very long. Sure it doesn't. 442 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:29,400 If you were to take it home and say, you know what, that's 443 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,200 beautiful, I'm not going to open that. 444 00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:34,320 I just keep it for a while. Well, what would you discover? 445 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:36,200 Put it in the good room and go in and look at it. 446 00:31:36,440 --> 00:31:39,800 Leave it for a week. It begins to perish. 447 00:31:40,400 --> 00:31:44,080 It begins to go off. You can sit for a time, you're 448 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:47,440 given a window of opportunity to partake, but if it's not eating, 449 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:49,680 it becomes putrid. If it's not eating, it's 450 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:54,040 perishable and a basket of fruit rapidly spoils. 451 00:31:54,320 --> 00:31:56,880 There's a a very quick deterioration. 452 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:02,040 There's a time to partake. And like a basket of spiritual 453 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:07,560 fruit, God is saying my people have spurned me. 454 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:13,400 My people have spurned me and forgotten me and forsaken me for 455 00:32:13,400 --> 00:32:16,200 a life of sin. And even though I've called them 456 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:21,120 through my servant to repent and get right with me, they've 457 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:24,680 refused. And the window of opportunity is 458 00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:29,000 fast closing. The time to partake will soon be 459 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,800 over. And if they don't partake, then 460 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:37,800 like that basket of rotten fruit that's rotting, they will be 461 00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:42,320 like rotten fruit in my sight. There's a limited time to come 462 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:44,760 to Christ today. If he will hear his voice, 463 00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,400 harden not your hearts. Come now, let us reason 464 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:48,520 together. Thus set the Lord. 465 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:51,120 Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. 466 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,840 I want you to think, thirdly, of the punishment that has 467 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:02,960 prophesied. I've already told you the basket 468 00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:06,120 of summer fruit speaks of the end of the harvest. 469 00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:13,520 It it speaks of the end of the period of God's grace and mercy. 470 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:19,040 It speaks to us that God's judgement is real and the 471 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,000 children of Israel were right for judgement. 472 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:26,880 He says in verse 2. The end has come upon my people 473 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:30,120 of Israel. I will not again pass by them 474 00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:33,640 anymore. You see, this is a dramatic 475 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:36,800 figure. This is an illustration of God's 476 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:41,520 judgement. Israel was right for judgement. 477 00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:44,720 I will not come again. Pass by them. 478 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,400 In other words, I'll not be divinely intervening. 479 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,480 I'll not listen to intercession and prayer. 480 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,520 Why did he most leave off praying when he saw the vision 481 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,120 of the plum line, the vision of basket fruit? 482 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:03,480 It's not mentioned. No prayer been offered. 483 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:06,680 Why? Because the harvest has passed. 484 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,960 It's the end of the line for the Northern Kingdom. 485 00:34:12,679 --> 00:34:15,440 God's judgement is slow and sure. 486 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,880 It is certain. And it came 40 years later with 487 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:23,520 the invasion of the Assyrian army into the Northern Kingdom. 488 00:34:24,159 --> 00:34:26,920 See the good news of the Gospels, the saver of life. 489 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:31,800 But the good news of the gospel, if it's rejected as a saver of 490 00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,440 death unto death, we can apply that to the individual. 491 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:38,000 We can apply that in the life and witness of the church in 492 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:42,080 Psalm 9 verse 17 it says the wickets will be turned into hell 493 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:46,600 and all nations that forget God. The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 494 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:50,520 chapter 10 verse 28 fear not them which can kill the body, 495 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:54,159 but rather fear him that the party through both body and soul 496 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,960 into hell. What were these people guilty 497 00:34:57,960 --> 00:34:59,520 of? Our time has gone. 498 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:02,200 Read the chapter. They were guilty of oppressing 499 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:04,320 the poor. Chapter 8 and four. 500 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:09,360 They were guilty of acting the part of a hypocrite. 8:00 and 501 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,800 5:00. They were guilty of idolatry. 502 00:35:11,800 --> 00:35:14,760 They had a great loaf for money, the ones that the Sabbath over, 503 00:35:14,760 --> 00:35:18,360 so they could go out and trade. These were days of deceit, days 504 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:22,360 of honesty, days when they sold men and boys and girls and young 505 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:27,680 people in in into slavery. And what was the result? 506 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:33,160 Verse 11 Behold the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will 507 00:35:33,160 --> 00:35:36,080 send a famine into the land, not a famine of bread nor thirst for 508 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:39,600 water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. 509 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:45,400 They wanted to replace the word of God and it's not what's 510 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,640 happening in our day. 10 commandments abandoned. 511 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:50,360 It's not what's happening with the Lord's Prayer. 512 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:55,280 Little of the word of God in society, in churches and in 513 00:35:55,280 --> 00:35:57,840 homes. Many of God's professing people 514 00:35:57,840 --> 00:35:59,560 know very little of the word of God. 515 00:36:01,720 --> 00:36:04,640 It's a per state. The punishment that has 516 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,840 prophesied. Let me finish, our time is gone. 517 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,200 I want you to think of two men walking down the road. 518 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:13,400 They come out of a gospel meeting. 519 00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:19,440 One was called Duncan. The other man's name I don't 520 00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:21,240 know. But they come to a fork on the 521 00:36:21,240 --> 00:36:23,960 road. We call him Johnny. 522 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:26,680 And Duncan says to Johnny, what are you going to do? 523 00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:30,440 And Johnny says to Duncan, what are you going to do? 524 00:36:31,040 --> 00:36:34,520 And Duncan says I've got home to get saved, come to ask Christ to 525 00:36:34,520 --> 00:36:38,080 be the Lord and Saviour. Well, I think I leave it away. 526 00:36:39,480 --> 00:36:42,720 Johnny went on about his business, became very 527 00:36:42,720 --> 00:36:48,960 successful, very wealthy, ended up as an old man in a nursing 528 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:54,000 home. Duncan, he went on home, came 529 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,320 into the farmyard. Mother's light was on. 530 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,880 He presumed Mother was still up reading the Bible and praying 531 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,120 for him. He went into the barn, he got 532 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:05,240 down to his knees, baled hay, and he cried unto God for mercy 533 00:37:05,240 --> 00:37:09,600 and salvation. That Duncan was the Reverend 534 00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:16,040 Duncan Campbell and caught used in revival a very ordinary man 535 00:37:16,040 --> 00:37:20,760 from a country background. The other man, Johnny, was in 536 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:23,760 the nursing home. One day there was this young 537 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,880 girl from the Faith Mission come in to conduct a meeting in that 538 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:29,000 home. She conducted the meeting. 539 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,160 Johnny was there, and she would round them all with the wee 540 00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:34,560 gospel tract. We tract for you, Sir. 541 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:37,320 We tract for you, dear, to give them the wee gospel tract. 542 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:38,880 You know what Johnny said to her? 543 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:43,320 Away with that. I don't want that. 544 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:48,360 I made my decision with Duncan at the crossroads when we parted 545 00:37:48,840 --> 00:37:53,120 as young men years ago. It was not a terrible tragedy. 546 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:59,160 He lived with the knowledge that God had left him alone to pursue 547 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:03,120 his own way, and God was not speaking to him. 548 00:38:05,280 --> 00:38:08,400 That's a terrible tragedy, terrible place to be. 549 00:38:09,760 --> 00:38:15,760 The punishment that has prophesied, the prophet that is 550 00:38:16,280 --> 00:38:22,000 presented and the portrait that is presented. 551 00:38:22,560 --> 00:38:26,520 May the Lord bless this word, this basket of summer fruit to 552 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:28,240 our hearts. You've been so patient.