[0:00] The Lord said, I will give it to you. Come thou with us, and we will do thee good. For the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go, but I will depart to mine own land, and to mine kindred.
[0:24] And so on. The Bible is full of the invitation of the gospel.
[0:45] And when God invites men and women to come to Christ in the gospel, he does it genuinely.
[0:58] He means what he says. It's not as though he's issuing an invitation to people, and then saying to them, it's no use, I'm not genuine in what I say.
[1:15] And here we have an Old Testament instance of the invitation of the gospel, the free and the full invitation of God's blessed gospel in the world.
[1:31] Now, you know that the wilderness journeys of the people of God, the people of Israel, are symbolic of the Christian walk through this life.
[1:48] It's so like the experience of the Christian. In fact, the church of God in the wilderness is the Old Testament equivalent of the church in the New Testament, and the church in the world in the 20th century.
[2:10] There's no difference in this respect that in all ages the church of Christ were living and walking by faith of the Son of God, who loved them and who gave himself for them.
[2:27] And here we have God's people in their journeys. And Moses addresses this invitation to Hobart, his brother-in-law, the son of Jethro or Raguel.
[2:44] Both names are used in the Bible. Now, the first thing that I think we should look at tonight is the man who is invited in this place, Hobart, the son of Raguel.
[3:01] What a wonder it is that here the son of the priest of Midian Jethro should be invited to come with the people of God.
[3:14] You know, friends, God sends invitations to the most unlikely places. He sends invitations to Midian. He sends invitations to Inverness.
[3:27] He sends an invitation, friends, to even the likes of us tonight. And he says to us to come with the people of God. And then you'll notice, secondly, after having looked at the one to whom this invitation is given, we'll look at the basis on which this invitation is given.
[3:50] We are on a journey to the place of which God said, I will give it to you. Do you know the basis on which we invite you tonight, who are still not believers in Christ?
[4:06] The basis on which we invite you to the gospel blessing is surely this. God has said, I will give that land which you are journeying to use.
[4:18] And it's on the basis of God's own word and God's own promise that we invite you to come to Christ this evening.
[4:31] Then thirdly, we're going to look at the blessed invitation which Hobab received. Come thou with us. Come thou with us.
[4:41] It's a very simple invitation. On the outwardly anyway, it's a simple invitation. And a genuine invitation. Come thou with us.
[4:53] And then there's a promise attached to the invitation. And the promise is, we will do thee good. And there's an assurance which unbejureds that promise.
[5:06] For the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel. And then we'll just look sixthly and finally at this. The response or the initial response that was given to this invitation by this man Hobab.
[5:23] I will not go. I will return to my people. And to my kindred. First of all then we're going to look at the man Hobab.
[5:36] And isn't it wonderful how this man in God's providence is brought to the point where the gospel invitation is addressed to him.
[5:49] He was a Midianite. He was a man of the desert. A man of the wilderness. And yet the wonder of it all is that the God of Israel, Jehovah, should reach this man with his invitation of grace.
[6:06] And he should reach to him in such a way that he would be close to Moses. A preacher of righteousness. A preacher of the gospel.
[6:17] Because you see Moses married this man's sister. The borough. And by means of that marriage this man was brought close to the covenant blessing of God.
[6:34] And you know that's the way it is with many in this gathering tonight. There have been providential ways in which God's sovereignty has brought you close to the invitation of the gospel.
[6:51] Some of you perhaps grew up in homes where the gospel was honored. Some of you grew up in families where the Lord had a place.
[7:02] Do you ever stop to think of the privilege that has been here if that's the case? And on the other hand, some of you, it would appear almost by chance, have been related by marriage.
[7:19] Or in some other way to those who love the Lord and who love his cause and who love his gospel. But you know I've got something to tell you my friend tonight.
[7:31] And I've got to tell you this, that there's no chance in the kingdom of heaven. It's not by chance. It's not by luck. It's not by any mere such thing that you've been brought close to the kingdom of God.
[7:48] No, no. It's all in the plan of God's providence. The very fact that you sit in this place tonight is another link in the chain of the providence of God for you.
[8:03] The very fact that you should be addressed with the invitation of the gospel is another link in the chain by which God has a plan to draw near to your soul, my friends.
[8:18] Oh, but you're a fortunate man because in the providence of God you've been brought to a place where this invitation would be addressed to you.
[8:32] Look at the privilege he had. He had the privilege of hearing the gospel from the lips of a man of God, Moses, that servant of the Lord, the chief of all Old Testament men.
[8:49] Imagine the privilege that hope of that, that the gospel should be preached to him, presented to him so tenderly, so wonderfully by a man who had the burden of his soul on his heart.
[9:07] Here he is, standing and listening to this gospel invitation. But what basis is the gospel presented to him on?
[9:19] Well, the gospel is presented to him on the basis of God's people being on our journey. We are on our journey.
[9:30] That's the way the gospel was presented to him initially. We are on our journey. You know, my friends, every one of us in this building tonight is on a journey.
[9:44] We're on a journey through life that will lead us inevitably to death, to the power of God's judgment, and to the great eternity.
[9:56] We're all of us on that journey. And you're on it, and I'm on it. Do you ever stop to think, my friends, that you are really on this journey?
[10:09] And who knows, but some of us here are very close to the end of our journey. Do you know how close you are to the end of that journey?
[10:20] Through life? I'll tell you how close you are. You're so close that one last breath can take you to the end of the journey on which you are through life.
[10:35] It's short. It's uncertain. You don't know what a day nor a now might bring forth. My friends, are you ready to meet with your major when you come to your journey's end in this world?
[10:50] You see, this man, Moses, he had an assurance and assertion about the journey on which he was, quite different to many who pass through this world.
[11:04] You know, I'll guarantee you that everyone in this gathering tonight would say to me, I hope to go to heaven. I want to go to heaven. I'm sure you do. I'm certain you do.
[11:17] You want to get there. And somehow or other, you, whether you're a Christian or not, whether you're in Christ or not, you cherish some hope that you're going to heaven, don't you?
[11:31] And it's strange the way people build their castles in the air. One of the favorite castles that people build is this, I'm going to heaven.
[11:44] And if you were to ask the majority of men in Inverness tonight, how do you know that you're going to heaven? They would answer you something like this, well, God is the God of love.
[11:58] God is the God of love and he wouldn't send anyone to hell. God is the God of love and he would have mercy on me somehow, sometime, somewhere in life he'll have mercy on me.
[12:15] So people build their ethereal castles in the air. Oh, friend, it's not your hope for heaven. That God is the God of love and he wouldn't send anyone to hell.
[12:29] So let me tell you, my friend, you're deceiving yourself. The word of God gives you no warrant to think like that because the Bible tells me of men who lifted up their eyes in hell.
[12:45] The Bible tells me of those that were lost in the twinkling of an eye when death came. Their opportunity was ended and the gospel invitation that had so tenderly been addressed to them came to an end and no longer would they have the opportunity to repent and to believe the gospel.
[13:12] We're on a journey, but you see, this man had a certainty about the journey on which he was. He had an assurance that he was on the way to the promised land.
[13:24] What was his assurance? We are on a journey to the place of which God said, I will give it to you. Do you know what his assurance was based on?
[13:36] His assurance was based on the word of God himself. And do you know this? You couldn't have based your assurance on any better foundation than on the foundation of what God himself has said.
[13:54] We're on a journey to the place of which God has said, I will give it to you. And you know, my friend, God's children, God's Christian in the world is on just that kind of journey.
[14:10] He's going to heaven. And how does he know he's going to heaven? Because God has said to him, I will give this land to thee.
[14:20] He's going to the promised land because God said that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
[14:33] Oh, what a person it is that the believer is going to heaven. Did you ever hear of the little gospel booklet that Queen Mary used to give out?
[14:46] She was a good queen. She used to give out a little booklet to many of her friends. And this is what it was called, safety, personty, and security.
[15:01] Safety, personty, and security. And you know where that's to be found? It's to be found in the gospel promises of God to his children that they are going with him on a journey to heaven itself.
[15:16] And they're going to be with him for all eternity in that land of which he said, I will give it to you. Are you on your way to the promised land tonight?
[15:28] You're on a journey, just as I'm on a journey. Both of us journey on together. But where, my friends, will we spend eternity?
[15:41] Where will you spend eternity? That's the most important question that you could take tonight. Where are you going to spend eternity?
[15:57] It's not just any journey, you see. It's that journey of which God has said, I will give this place to thee. Read Psalm 105.
[16:10] And there you hear about this journey. And in it, you hear that God says, I'll give Canaan's land to thee.
[16:25] I'll give you Canaan's land. God is going to give Canaan to his own people. They're going to the promised land. Now let's look at the invitation.
[16:39] Come thou with us. Now on the face of it, this is the most wonderful and the most simple invitation that anyone could ever receive.
[16:54] A very simple invitation. Come thou with us. And we'll look at the three aspects of this invitation.
[17:06] It's a personal invitation. That's the first thing. Come thou with us. It's addressed to you.
[17:17] Come thou. It's not just meant for someone else. There are people, you see, who think that the gospel is meant for everyone else in the world.
[17:29] But Hobart could be of no mistake. He could make no mistake after this invitation. No, no.
[17:40] It's addressed to thee. This invitation, my friends, is personal. Isn't it wonderful, you know, when the gospel begins to work in sovereign blessings in the lives of men and women and boys and girls?
[17:58] Isn't it wonderful what happens? One of the first things that happens is this. Somehow or other, what used to be like sweet music played on an instrument, something that was so general, becomes personal.
[18:19] That's what happens when the gospel begins to come with blessings to people. It becomes personal. Can I ask you tonight, has this gospel invitation that Christ gives become a personal invitation to thee, to you?
[18:41] Come thou with us. It becomes personal, you see. And then secondly, the second aspect of this gospel invitation is this.
[18:55] It's an imperative cover. Do you know, my friends, when God begins to work in power in the souls of men, always, inevitably, this is what people have found, that the gospel invitation becomes unimperative in their lives.
[19:16] It's necessary for them to take it to this invitation. Before now, they were able somehow to shrug it off. But no longer can you shrug it off.
[19:31] It's unimperative come. Did you ever hear tell of the note that Victoria sent to one of her retainers?
[19:45] It had just a few words on it, but it came with all the authority of her majesty. And this is what it says. Come to me.
[19:57] Come, as you are. Come now. Come now. That's the way King Jesus sent his invitation to men and women.
[20:12] Come to me. Come, as you are. Come now. Come now with us, said Moses to Hobart.
[20:22] What an invitation. An invitation to come means that there shall welcome for you in Jesus Christ. that not only is this invitation personal and this invitation is unimperative, but it's an invitation to our real fellowship.
[20:43] Come now with us. You know, my friends, tonight, there are some of the Lord's people in this gathering and they've been praying for you.
[20:54] I believe that. I believe that the Lord's people in this church are a people who are praying for the blessing of God to reach the unconverted among us.
[21:06] I believe that that's one of the burdens of their heart that God would hear their prayers for souls that are still Christless and their longing to see their prayers answered.
[21:20] And how would they see their prayers answered? By sinners coming with them. You know, God's children long for your fellowship.
[21:32] Sometimes you may think that the Lord's people have something against you. And you know, it's a common thing for people to feel something like that because people are ridden with guilt.
[21:47] That's the way man is since he sins. He's ridden with guilt from top to bottom. From the crown of his head to the sole of his foot, he's full of wounds and bruises and putrefying souls.
[22:06] But now, then, the reality of it is this. God's people cared for you. and they are concerned about you and they are longing to have your fellowship with them and they're wanting you to be saved.
[22:22] They're crying for your salvation to God. They're wanting your fellowship. They're wanting you to be with them on the way to heaven.
[22:36] You know, it's been said genuinely, I believe, that nobody nobody wants to go to heaven alone. He always wants to bring his friends and his acquaintances and his loved ones with him to Christ.
[22:54] And I believe that that's what we want for the congregation here. I believe it's what God's people in the fellowship here want for you.
[23:05] They want you to come with us to heaven. them. They don't want to see a sinner in Inverness lot. They don't want to see one of the congregation lot.
[23:18] No, they want you with them. Come thou with us. And you see, this conviction is under girded with a Nashuran.
[23:33] And it's this, the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. We will do thee good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.
[23:48] Do you believe tonight that if you were to join the people of God and to turn your faith toward Christ and to seek his mercy for your soul, do you believe that he would do you good?
[24:01] do you believe that he would do you good? Well, you know, friends, I do. And I'll tell you how I feel this. I don't feel that anyone ever perished seeking for Christ.
[24:17] I don't believe that for one moment. Whoever might perish, the seeker for Christ will not perish. And take that as a word from heaven to yourself.
[24:30] If you're seeking Christ, that's one person who will never perish, the seeker for God and his Christ. It's full, this invitation is full of the promise of good.
[24:47] We will do the good. You know, you might think that to be one of the Lord's people, to be with the Lord's people would be a wonderful thing.
[25:01] Oh, well, yes, it is. But there's one thing lacking to be with the Lord's people. It is to be one of them, to be one of them.
[25:14] And you know, countless generations in the Church of Christ have found when people have attached themselves to the people of God and taught the Lord together, they found again and again down through the history of the Church that these people were blessed in their joining together with the people of God to seek Christ.
[25:46] If you were to come tonight to seek the Lord with the people of God, if you were to make this great, great commitment to be a seeker after Christ, do you think you would lose on it?
[26:03] Do you think you would? Ah, well, I'll tell you, there are people in this congregation probably and they think if they were to start seeking the Lord, turning their faith to Christ, they think, yes, that's certain, I would lose on it, I would lose so much on it.
[26:23] What would you lose? you would lose the pleasures of this life, you're saying. Oh, how many young people have been duped by the devil into thinking, if I were to turn my face Christ forward, I would lose the pleasures of this world, the pleasures that the world has to give me.
[26:49] Do you know, my friend, the pleasures of this world might one day mock at you, because you chose them rather than choose to speak for Christ.
[27:01] One day they might mock at you, and you're lost, lost forever because you would rather have a short lifetime of the pleasures of this world and not know Christ.
[27:17] A short lifetime of the pleasures of the world and not know Christ. Ah, yes, it promises good.
[27:28] We will do the good. We will do the good. The invitation has a promise of good tonight for you if you will come to Christ.
[27:39] Do you know, there's wonderful blessings to be found in Christ. And what's the chief blessing that a sinner will ever find in Christ? Do you want me to tell you?
[27:49] the chiefest of all his blessings is surely this, forgiveness of your sins, forgiveness of sin, pardon, that's the greatest blessing that Christ could offer you.
[28:05] And you know, you really do know, deep down in your heart, you know, that of all the blessings that you need, you need this blessing because you are a sinner in the sight of God and you need the blessing of God's own pardon and his deliverance from your sins.
[28:27] You need the blessing of pardon. My friend, I'm going to tell you something tonight.
[28:39] If you were to come with the people of God to Christ, there shall pardon await you. a pardon awaits you. A pardon that the people of God themselves cannot give you, although they would love to give it to you.
[28:56] It's a pardon that only Christ has authority to give, and he gives it through his own word, and through his own cross, and through his finished work on the cross of Calvary.
[29:13] I know that this pardon for sinners in the gospel. How do I know it? Because I know that what Jesus did on the cross was enough to give pardon to the vilest and the most heinous sinner.
[29:30] I know that. And I feel that there's someone maybe in here tonight saying that's all very well for you minister to say that. But what about me?
[29:41] I've been such a great sinner. Friend, you're not too late. You haven't sinned beyond the reach of God's pardoning mercy.
[29:52] You haven't. How do you know? I know because I see you here still under the gospel. Don't let the devil duke you into thinking that you're beyond the reach of mercy.
[30:07] See for Christ while you still have time. Go to him and ask him to have mercy on you the sinner. Seek him now.
[30:22] Oh yes there's good in this invitation for you if you will come with us. We will do thee good. The Lord's people will do thee good.
[30:33] Yes you know they will. They'll do you good. Do you know of any people you would rather be among than the people of the Lord tonight? The people who are on their way to heaven.
[30:46] Can you think of any company that you would rather keep than the company of God's children tonight on the way to heaven? Can you think of any better company?
[30:58] Why then is it so that thou dost not come with us? Hobab? Why is in this gathering of the saints that take place as they gather to Christ?
[31:14] Why is it my friend that you're willing to live in the church of Christ simply on the fringe of the church but not come closer than that?
[31:27] Oh why is it that you're content on the fringe? Will you not come into the heat? Will you not come into the warm? Will you not come home?
[31:38] Because you see that's what it is when a sinner comes to Christ it's a sinner coming home. The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath thy everlasting arms.
[31:53] What does that mean? The eternal God is thy home. Oh sinner isn't it time that you thought seriously coming home?
[32:05] Haven't you wandered long enough on the hills of forgetfulness? Haven't you wandered long enough away from God? Is it not time that you are coming home?
[32:18] Come thou with us and we will do thee good. For the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel. How do I know that there's good awaiting you with the people of God if you were to turn your faith Christ word tonight God word and Christ word for mercy how do I know it?
[32:41] I know it tonight because God has spoken good concerning Israel. God tells me that his own people are on the way to heaven. God tells me that there are blessed people.
[32:55] You don't believe that some of you young people. You don't believe that God's children are happy people blessed people do you? Do you think that God's people have long faces that flip them up all day long because they're facing temptations and trials and difficulties and problems of living for Christ?
[33:18] Let me tell you what the psalmist says about the people of God all greatly blessed the people are the joyful sound that Lord do you know that sound come thou with us and we will do thee good for the Lord has spoken good concerning Israel he's told us the greatest of all blessings are awaiting God's people who come to him he's told us for example that there's a blessing for them in the world they know the joyful sound we have heard the joyful sound Jesus saves Jesus saves my friend have you heard it have you heard it the greatest message in the gospel for sinners that God has salvation full and free and ready for anyone who will but come to Christ tonight have you heard it oh there's a blessing here in the world to be a
[34:26] Christian you don't you can't see it some of you young folk you can't see it you think God's people have so many difficulties so many problems so many trials they have that but oh they have a blessing that God himself can give them none but God himself can give them and none but God himself can keep from them oh will you not come with us then come with us so that you'll know the blessing of the joyful sound oh greatly blessed the people are the joyful sound that know you know it would be like joy bells in your heart if tonight Jesus was to set you free it would be like joy bells in your life that tonight the Lord were to whisper to you go in peace your sins are forgiven you it would be the greatest joy you could ever experience in the world joy unspeakable and full of glory you know that's what
[35:32] I pray for you that's what I want for you I want that joy for Christian young people in Inverness in great great prayers I want you to know that joy in your own heart the joy of release as Jesus comes in and as he sets you free and as he makes you one of his children I want you to know that joy but I want you to know something more than that that's only a forecast you know what I want most of all for you my dear hearers I want this that you and I will be together in heaven that's what I want for you I want that we'll be together in heaven adoring the blessed saviour who loved his people and who washed them from their sins in his own blood do you know this I only know of one way in which you and I can be in heaven come thou with us and we will do thee good for the
[36:41] Lord has spoken good concerning Israel God promised his promised land in Canaan to these people and hope whoever you are tonight will you not come with us and join us I remember as a young fellow there was a song that sometimes we used to sing that had a chorus something like this come and join our happy crew we're bound for Canaan's shore the captain says there's room for you and room for millions more oh will you not come and join us on this journey on this voyage of discovery as we go onwards to the heavenly shore why why will you stay back why are you content with the shallows will you not come out and join us in the great voyage that leads men to heaven and to home and to happiness forever for the lord has spoken good concerning history and that's how i know it's true because god said it's true and you know who said it's true the god who never lies said it's true that's who said it's true the god who never lied and the god who cannot lie did you know that there were things that the bible says god can't do did you know that one of the things that the bible says god cannot do is this he is the god who cannot lie the god who cannot lie he would cease to be god if he lied or if he could lie he would cease in a moment of time to be god if it were possible for him to lie he is the god who cannot lie and the god who cannot lie has said we will do thee good for the lord has spoken good concerning israel he's told the people of god that there are blessing awaiting those that come to christ he's told the people of god that there's heaven awaiting them at the end of their journey he's told them all that but look look at the initial reaction of hobab to this invitation verse 30 and he said unto him i will not go but i will depart to my own land and to my own kindred oh how many there are my dear friends how many how many who have said concerning the invitation of god and his christ i will not go but i will depart to my own people and to my own kindred that way you three the summons of the sovereign lord the king of kings i will not go just think of this for a moment tonight if the queen of britain were to send you an invitation to come to meet her at buckingham palace she said reply reply to this summons what crass indifference on your part it would be to say i will not go and yet you know sabbath after sabbath in the gospel of redeeming grace the king of kings invites you into the palace of mercy and you're saying to him sinner you're saying to him i will not go i will not go oh what what awful awful impudence it is to say to christ i will not go there's so many things you're saying holding me back so much that means i cannot go oh why sinner why do you say to god i will not go i'll tell you why the bible gives me the answer why so many refuse the invitation of god's mercy and it's simply this because man loves darkness rather than light because his deeds are evil and it's that the reason why tonight you will not go to christ you will not go to jesus because you love your sin so much that it stands between you and life everlasting in christ oh is it true that your sin means so much to you tonight that you will not go but you will turn to your own kindred and to your own people who are your own kindred and your own people tonight well i'll tell you you've got a choice in that matter tonight either they are the people of god you remember ruth's resolution thy people shall be my people and thy god shall be my god or else you go to satan and to his people oh friend you know what the lord says to you this is what he says to you oh daughter hearken and regard and do thy near incline likewise forget thy father's house and people that are thine then of the king required shall be thy beauty vehemently because he is thy lord to thou whom worship reverently my friend when are you going to come with us when are you going to turn your back on the world and its ways and turn your eyes upon
[43:20] Jesus to look full in his wonderful face that the things of earth would grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace let's let's pray oh lord go will who go who and