[0:00] ...of the house of wine, and this banner, who was meaning, was land. My friends, there are different types of scents.
[0:14] And as I have said to you, and as you often know yourselves, the preacher of the Gospel must always strike a banner, and not be one's high.
[0:30] There are doctrinal scents that deal mainly with doctrine. If you find this especially in the impetus to the Romans.
[0:42] Then there are experimental scents. And if you want to get a sample of that, read the Book of Psalms. Then there are practical scents.
[0:54] There are sounds being scattered through the epistles. Now this is an experimental text, and I'm going to speak on it from that point of view.
[1:07] And when we speak about an experimental text, and preach an experimental sermon. We don't expect everyone in the audience to be able to follow.
[1:20] Because everybody in a congregation hasn't got every experience. But there are some in the congregation who I believe will know in their own experience what this actually means.
[1:42] Of the Church of Christ means what she says. That Christ brought us to the pan-quytic house. And that her banner is banner over her, was in her.
[1:56] So without taping at any more time, by way of introduction. There are some thoughts to which I want to lead you to my song.
[2:12] First of all, and you know that this is a love song between Christ and the Church. Sometimes the Church sometimes the Church speaks to him and tells about him.
[2:30] Well now it is the Church who speaks here. She says, he brought me to the pan-quytic house. Well now, first of all, let us consider the place to which she was brought.
[2:47] She calls him the pan-quytic house. And we want to know what this means. Well, it means in the first place that if he brought her, she was not always there.
[3:03] And that's true.
[3:17] In this case, I see all of the cases. There is a time, without speaking to smell of the sinful alienation between Christ and the soul.
[3:31] There are times when Christians are not in the pan-quytic house of Christ. Yet there are still Christians as those who are.
[3:47] But they are just not feasting with Christ. There is a time of fasting in the Christian life. And that's true. There is a time of feasting. Now this is a time of feasting.
[4:01] So, it means then that she is not always in it. She was always in it. And what does the pan-quytic house mean?
[4:13] It just means the ordinances of the gospel. The priceless ordinances which we profess.
[4:27] Now, if you know what these are, you've been taught enough to know what these are. They are putting them very briefly. They are preaching the preaching of the word.
[4:44] That is Abba putting helps which Christ has prepared for his church. The preaching of the gospel. Now, what would we do for our souls without the preaching of the gospel?
[5:02] Would the word be enough on the Sabbath day? No. If that were enough, then the Lord would not have established preaching.
[5:12] But the Lord appointed preaching because it was meant to be a bad-quitting house for his people. A place for the souls would be fed.
[5:27] Well, now, friends. You who are Christian people here today, and who have been visiting to my ministry for so long. If your souls are not fed, not by me, but by the preaching that I do, then it is a fearful reflection on the preaching.
[5:52] It is a fearful reflection of me. You see, what I mean is that preaching ought to be to your souls like a duck would to the hamper.
[6:08] No man should never come inside a church door without feeling the better of it inwardly.
[6:20] And if you don't, there's something wrong. And I'm not saying it's wrong with you. I'm saying it's wrong with the minister. It can't be wrong with the Bible. It can't be wrong with the text.
[6:33] So it must be wrong with the minister. There is nothing more pathetic than a famishing soul in presence of food.
[6:46] Do you know what a difficulty doctors have in this wedding? Well, they come across a bifun who has no appetite whatsoever for food.
[6:58] And the food is there. But these people have no appetite and they do their best by their medicines and by their cooks to make their meat. But they have no appetite.
[7:10] Well, now, if it is the case that we have no appetite for the food that God provides in the gospel, in the preaching of it, there is something wrong with the preaching.
[7:26] And I will tell this very strongly. If you think of all the different types of experience that are present to you, even in one day, there are people who are very happy.
[7:42] There are people who are married couples, people who are getting on well in the world. There are people who are sad, people who have recently been believed, people who feel something wrong with them physically, people who are depressed mentally.
[8:02] there are all sorts of experiences. Now, the point that I make is that unless the preaching of the Gospel meets with you and helps you and is a backwood to you, in your circumstances, there is something very far wrong.
[8:24] Right, that is one thing. And then there is the backwooding house of prayer. Prayer is a marvellous thing. Prayer, we would die if we couldn't pray. If we couldn't pray, we really couldn't live.
[8:43] The prayer is a marvellous avenue by which we get nigh unto God. It is a private access to the palace of the King. You try to get into the palace without the warrant and you see what will happen to you.
[9:07] There are guards clearing their feelings. There are men at the gate. They won't let you leave unless you have a warrant. But the point that wrote the prayer is we always have a warrant.
[9:25] And there are no guards to keep us out from the presence of the King. And when we come into the presence of the King, it is a backwood to our souls.
[9:37] Now friends, I never said and I never would say to anybody to stop praying. I never said that. And I would never say that. But I am saying this and I shall always say it.
[9:55] But if our prayers are torn up, and if they go unanswered, and if they mean nothing but that we bend our knees and address some invisible testimony, why?
[10:11] Then there is something wrong with prayer. Remember that prayer is as much God speaking to you as it is you speaking to God. And when you pray, you get into the backwooding house. God keeps you so.
[10:33] Then of course, the word is the word. And the Bible is inestimately precious. And what is a backwooding house?
[10:45] Now what would you do? What would you do if things went against you in his family life? Or in your professional life? Or in your physical life?
[10:59] What would you do? What would you do? What would you do? Try to get comfort? Try to tell it to somebody? Go to the doctor where that has its uses as far as it can go.
[11:13] But what I suppose you would do is you would go to the Bible. And before now, you would come across something in the Bible that would meet your needs. It would be a backwood to your soul. The word and error of the sacraments as well.
[11:37] Now there are some Christian people here today. I believe that with all my sight. I believe there are men and women here who have been converted long ago. And have never yet sat at the table of the Lord.
[11:55] But whatever else may be said to them. This is said to them. They are missing a feast. A banquet of which they would otherwise take part if they would be jailed. They are missing a meal that would satisfy their souls by not coming as they ought.
[12:19] But now it's not. We'll know that much about what the house means. Let me go on very briefly to tell you. But there is only one door leading into it. You can't, you can't get in in any way you like.
[12:40] The door. The door is the door of the generation. The door of saving grace. Whatever you care to call it. Jesus said, I want the door. Now my friends, there is no way into communion with God but through Jesus and us. No way at all.
[13:01] You can't. You can't. You can't. You can't. You can't organize a series of meetings. And have a wonderful time. And that will be communion. You can't do that. Communion is a thing by the same.
[13:28] communion with Christ. And it is only through Christ that communion is had with a Father and through the Spirit that communion has had with itself. Now that is the only door.
[13:46] If you try to give it to yourself, you'll fail. But if you seek it through Him, you'll fail. And the houses founded upon a rock, it is perfectly safe. I would like to emphasize that to you. It is perfectly safe. The Gospel audiences are safe. And if nothing else is safe, for our souls but Gospel audiences. You've heard me say all these things before, but it won't do any harm to see them again. Supposing you saw a vision of ages. That would be no token that you are a saved soul. Supposing you heard a voice on Heaven audibly with your natural ears, calling you by name. That would not be a sure token that you are a child of God. But if you trust in the promises of the world, if you make use of the Gospel
[14:56] Lord's verses, then that is a sign, a sure sign, that you are a child of God. That's how I say, that it is the only saved house. The rest have not saved. And it is ruled with the blood of Christ. No drop of wrath will never seep through it, because the blood is so light. And then again, Jesus himself is always present in it. In his backwooding house. Whoever exists there, he is ever absent. A marriage is not a marriage, and you don't have a bride's rule. And he is the bride's rule. And the church is his bride. And whoever is absent, the bride's rule is not. And he is the bride. And last of all, the bride's rule. And the church is not a woman. And if they can, the head is turned away. Now let me just talk to you for a moment, the way some people talk. They say, oh I am poor, and what it, hunt千 or worthy. I am unworthy to sit at the Lord's rent. I am unworthy to pray. I am unworthy to pray. I am not like the rest of the Lord's people. And I am just at the tail end. I am not like them. I feel I am not like them. I feel that, something missing. Well then, who said the story is
[16:39] I read the story of that poor man, young man, who left the far away country and came rugged and filthy just as he was.
[16:54] And a father ran and embraced him and told them to wash him and to clothe him and to keep him.
[17:06] Now my friend, this is it. Whatever you feel like today as a Christian, if you feel the worst, the finest of the bad, you come and I tell you on a warrant of heaven by my God that you will not be turned out.
[17:30] Whosoever cometh unto me, I will in no-one's come death. It doesn't matter what we like. Oh, friends, I can kill my testimony.
[17:46] Just the same as Sam Wardle of the Forty. And I wish that I am going to quote in a moment that if I stood on my own merit, I would never have had a woman's communion with Christ before.
[17:59] Nor would I hope to have it again. But I don't stand upon my own merit, but upon a merit of grace. And then the second thought is, who brings her to the banquetting house?
[18:12] She said, he brought me to the banquetting house. That is Jesus Christ himself. None else can. You know, it doesn't matter who he is. Well, now, you see, it's just like this. Sometimes when I come to church, sometimes you may like myself once.
[18:32] And sometimes you feel like I am speaking right direct to yourself and to your case. And other times I preach, and your mind wanders and I just have got nothing at all for you, nothing whatsoever.
[18:48] And you get bored and you get interested and you long to get hurt. Now, you see, that's the way with us all. We all take that. But now, why is that?
[19:01] If we're Christians, why is that? Because of my friend, because of this. It's the holiest man that ever was, and the best creature that ever was stood in this foot.
[19:14] He cannot take it to the banquetting house of himself. He cannot make the world defectual. He cannot get the action of the Spirit. It's God who gives it.
[19:27] And in this, I am going to give you an encouraging sign. If you are able to, to get communion with God anytime you want, if you're easily moved in religious services, then I would, I must say, begin to doubt that you have very much good in your life.
[19:56] very much good in your children, indeed any at all. But if you are one of these people who strive, who long to get communion with God, and you can't get it.
[20:09] If you strive to get it. If you strive to get it. I don't mean people who say they would like to get it done then or get God all day long. I don't mean that. That's only a box.
[20:22] If you strive to get it. If you strive to get it. And you can't get any means of hiding it. Then it shows you that you can't give it to yourself. But that nobody else can give it to you. That you depend upon Christ. I must accept a special I like. I must accept a special I like to do.
[20:42] And then you notice that it is an act of condescending grace. He brought me to the bad goody house. I am reminded of David and Mephibosheth. And David was king.
[20:57] And Mephibosheth was lame on both his feet. And you remember he called and said, a dead dog. And he couldn't have amazed and said more than that.
[21:09] And David said to him. Now Mephibosheth is in. You are going to sit at my table forever after. And I am going to feed you. And you will be sitting with me. At the table. With the king.
[21:23] And then Mephibosheth. And then Mephibosheth called himself. But a dead dog like me. He didn't matter to David. He was doing it for Jonathan's sake. And so Mephibosheth got that privilege to the rest of his life.
[21:40] But what I must have come to be. But then friends. When you think of what you are. When you think of all your sins. You will bear it. Your prayerlessness. Your destructive thoughts.
[21:58] When you think of all your sins. When you think of all your sins. When you think of all your sins. And yet God gives you communion with Christ. Is it not an act of condescending grace?
[22:11] Now this is what I come to mention. That verse. That beautiful verse that you have. In Mrs. Cousins. Poem. What Samorica would say. He says. I am my beloved. And my beloved is mine.
[22:33] He brings a poor sinner. He brings a poor sinner. Into his house of wine. I know no other merit. I know no other stand. No. Not in her glory. In the manhood of land. Even in heaven.
[22:58] In the manhood of land. Where he brings a poor sinner. Into his house of wine. I know no other than that. Where he brings a poor sinner. Into his house of wine. I know no other than that. Now the third thing is. How does he bring them? Well. There are certain preparations. Before he brings them. Let me just mention them very briefly. Just two or three preparations. That he makes. First of all. He washes them in his own.
[23:27] He washes them in his own blood. You can't get in without that. No friend. You can't get in without that. You must be washed. His eyes will not be holding in good tea. In anyone.
[23:45] In anyone. And if you try. To get communion with God. And you walk in darkness. And then you say that you get it. You lie. And you don't do the truth. You can't.
[23:58] You can't. Now I don't mean by that. You must be perfect. Before you can have communion with God. All I'm saying is that you must be washed. In the blood. From your sins. You must be justified. And be generous.
[24:11] And be generous. You must be. I remember. I remember. In the paragraph. One man tied it. But he didn't get off of it. And when the king came in. To inspect the guests. He said. To this man.
[24:27] Friend. Why did you come in. Why did you come in. He did with the wedding garment. And he told him. He told him. He told him. To bind his hand and foot. And cast him into the water.
[24:41] To the darkness. You can't deceive the king. You must have the robe of righteousness of Christ on you. Before you get into the house of wine.
[24:53] You can't. Don't deceive yourself. That you can do. In other words. I say that because I am convinced. I am convinced. During my ministry. I am convinced.
[25:08] that there are people who are such low parents of the gospel. That so really believe. That they are Christians. Or they are not. People talk to me. And they say. Oh I do my best. Oh I pray. And things like that. But that's not the point. That's all at all. That's not Christianity. That's not real good fiction.
[25:34] Real conviction. That's to be united with God. And to do what God tells us about. And this is part. To be clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
[25:46] He says, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah, Jehovah. To be conformed to his image. We must be健康. And another thing is, you know when people go to weddings, I suppose, and to many special things, at least this is through a book, the ladies, most do I suppose, and I look at the men, they put on some kind of perfume, as a rule, I suppose this is generally true, they want to sort of to smell nice, put on a little perfume before they go out.
[26:24] There is a perfume that you need before you get into the house of wine, and that is the perfume that comes from the love you have to God in your heart.
[26:36] God must smell, as it were, this perfume that you love. You can't get into yourself if you don't love it. You won't let you in if you don't love it. You must smell that perfume. And then you are fitted by obedience.
[26:56] You can't get in if you are in the way of disobedience. Not that obedience is an error, but if we are obedient we shall eat the good fruit of the land. But I have other two or three thoughts to make, and I feel brief because the time is passing.
[27:13] Who are the guests? This is in the back of the games. Who will be there with you? A family of shame, of course. Men else. But I am sorry to say that not all, even a man, would be there.
[27:32] Now friends, in the Church of Christ, unfortunately, there are people who are out on the doorstep. There, as it were, as if somebody came to the door of this church, if they didn't want to come in, and put his ear to the keyhole, and put his ear to the keyhole. Well, he might hear the sermon, but he would lose the atmosphere completely.
[27:58] He wouldn't get the atmosphere of worship that we have in the dark. Now, this elder brother in the parliament would not go in because he grudged his brother to the place that the father gave him to him.
[28:14] But in the Church of Christ there are people who are like the eldest son out of the fridge. And there are other people who, to use an old child of praise, are half-bend.
[28:27] They get one day to where the master of the house is, practically to his presence. John, male, the bosom of Christ, at the supper. He may be sat at the heat of Christ in the house of Ben.
[28:44] But that isn't it. The whole, at the end of the son, will simply be in the bosom. John did. And there are some in the house of Christ, like that.
[28:56] And then, in this barcoding house, there are no grudges, one against the other. No, they don't. Nobody grudges another's place in the house.
[29:10] See, this is the difference between natural things and spiritual things. If I am not mistaken, the more we get of temperate things, the more greedy we get, the more we want to them.
[29:32] See, the Bible says that he who loves silver is never satisfied with silver. And you may say, and I may say, well, if I had ten thousand pounds, well, I would give so many five hundred to this and to that.
[29:48] I am not so sure that you are giving more now than you would give if you got that much. And the same is true of me. But that is not the case with spiritual things. The more you get of Christ, the more you want to share Christ.
[30:08] But they used to have an old story about it, the more you want to share Christ in the past. A few days, of two people who went down to the shore at one time, or down at the shore, and I found the cask, washed them by the waves.
[30:25] And they took the fan out, and tasted what they said, and discovered that it was well-matured whiskey. Well, of course, they decided that they wouldn't share it with anybody, they were going to hide it in the sand.
[30:42] They would be coming now and again with their lungs and getting a portion each. But anyway, before they went away, they had a good drink, a real good drink.
[30:57] And their strength goes into the head and loosens the cup. And they got well done, up there, went up and down the road through the village, telling everybody to come and taste what they got.
[31:11] Taste what they got. See, and this is exactly a symbol of the love of Christ. When you get Christ into your heart, instead of keeping him to listen to yourself, you want to tell everybody about you.
[31:26] You want everybody to share with you what you've got. You don't grudge in anybody. He's pleased. And among the guests it is love and pain and humility and forgiveness.
[31:41] When are you going to be ashamed when I tell you that you're in a bank of God against Christ? No friends, let us witness to him and let us see that with a banner.
[31:52] There are a hundred more things that I would like to say about this. But the clock is there and it's there to be. Looked at and kept by. And I have to stop.
[32:04] But I want to plead with you. Whether you're Christians or not, see to it that before the night is out, you're getting to the bank of the house with Christ.
[32:16] And if you want to get there, you never want to go out. You will go out. You will go out. In this world. And you'll have your times on habit and poverty and coldness and pleasures.
[32:29] But one day take you into the bank with the cancer of death. And you'll never want to go out. And you have one reason to pray. Let us pray.
[32:40] Do thou grace this Lord to us and help us and bring us into thy house of wine, though we are wine and worthy.
[32:53] For Jesus' sake, do thou bring us in and keep the sons of wine with us.