Good evening, friends, and thank you for coming for this annual meeting of Trinitarian Bible Society. Each year we try to have a meeting where we explain a little bit of the work that we're doing, but also that we ask for your prayerful support. It's one of the signs of the times, the last times, it says, when the word will go to every nation, every tongue, and every kindred. And then shall the Lord come on the clouds, who can tell. Let us open God's holy word to Revelation, the book of Revelation, chapter six. We will read Revelation chapter six from God's holy word. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, come and see. And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat in him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer. And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was red, and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given unto him a great sword. And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse, and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny, and see thou hurt not the oil on the wine. And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see. And I looked, and behold, a pale horse, and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw unto thee all to the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell in the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them. And it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand? Thus far the reading of God's holy word. So before we listen to Reverend Hochfort's topic and sermon in this evening hour, I just, as always my custom, I like to give you a little update on some of the things that have occurred in the past year since we met, it seems as if it were yesterday that we were here together with the, we had a pastor from Iran last year. But many things have happened. In the first place, as Reverend Hochfort mentioned in his prayer, Pastor Stehauer is no longer able to be a board member. He was very, he fell very ill in the month of May, just a month after he was voted in as a board member once again. And the doctors really didn't think he was going to pull through. But yeah, our times are in the Lord's hands. So Pastor Sterr is now in assisted living, but he is no longer able to be with us. I know that his Hart is with us, he's here in his thoughts and prayers, and I think maybe even listening along, if it's possible, by the church telephone. Many, many years as that dear friend worked for the Trinitarian Bible Society here in Grand Rapids. In fact, he was very influential in the beginning of the work of the Society here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. working out of his basement with the love of his heart, sending one Bible here, two Bibles there, one Bible here, and so forth, until we have what we have this day. But also we think of another very solemn thought. Last year, if I recall, that we remembered the volunteers, and I mentioned even by name, Mrs. Kaiser, Susan Kaiser, who is now in eternity. Yeah, she has passed from time to eternity. stricken for the fourth time with cancer, and yeah, always taking a low place. When she came to the office, she never wanted to talk about herself, but we may believe that for her, it became a better exchange. But Lord, we ask the Lord that he may also help her husband, who still comes faithfully to help us every Thursday in packing the Bibles, faithful, faithful, and show that love for the word of God, but also that we may have desire that others would have it. You know, I think that's something that if we know something of what the beauty of the blessed, the preciousness of God's word, then we will want everyone to have that because we know that the Lord uses his word and his spirit to call out of darkness to that marvelous light. The projects. We have the projects as you read the quarterly record, and we're always glad to see that there's interest in the news of the Society, the quarterly record, but also the meetings. The Chinese project is being carried out in our office. It's a project of TBS London, but it is being carried out in our office. They have now completed the first draft of the New Testament. So the project is going on very well. That's a complete translation from scratch. There was a Chinese Bible, but they felt that there was so much that had to change that it would be easier and better and more faithful translation to begin from the beginning, to try to translate the New Testament and then the Old Testament. And the Spanish also, we may be thankful that the Spanish grows very well. We have just printed a printing in Brazil of 35,000 New Testaments with Psalms and Proverbs. So we have the poetic books of the Old Testament done. That would be Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. We're just finishing the Pentateuch, which are the first five books of the Bible, Genesis. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and we are now starting the historical books. So we're prayerfully hopeful that we may be finishing the entire Spanish Bible within two years, which is Yeah, it sounds like a long time, but for those of us who have been working on it, it's a light at the end of the tunnel. It's so humbling to see the interest in God's Word in other countries. I hope someday to give a presentation of a trip that Mr. Rowland, who is here in our midst, Mr. Paul Rowland, we welcome you from London, England. He is our General, International General Secretary, CEO of the Trinitarian Bible Society. He and I made a trip to Nigeria in May of this year. And when you see the hunger, those people will walk sometimes for miles, miles. The news got out that free Bibles were being given away. The next morning, there were police Policemen and policewomen that were there had come from the neighboring village, walking, because they said, we hear you're giving Bibles. They can't afford a Bible. We have a Bible in every room, perhaps, or each one has their own Bible, but they can't afford their Bible. I'm scheduled to speak at a conference regarding the pure translation of God's word in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Now, when I was a missionary working for the mission in Bolivia in 1993, we made a trip, Reverend Bazin and myself, to Cochabamba, and we asked if there were any other Reformed churches there, and they knew not what we spoke of. They had never heard there was one Methodist church, there was one Pentecostal church, but they said, we don't know what you mean by Reformed. We said, have you ever heard of Calvin Luther? Nothing. Now there are more than 700 reformed churches just in the city of Cochabamba. And this coming Friday, I hope to be there for speaking about Bible translation. And we had to stop the inscription, the registration because there were 750 people that had enrolled to hear about faithful Bible translation. It's 750 in a city in Bolivia. And here we are in a city How many churches are in Grand Rapids? I think once we broke a record in this city, I've heard that records were broken for the number of churches in a square mile in Grand Rapids. But we, yeah, we have our Bibles and we can be complacent with that. But do we not have a love, and I speak, I am so thankful you're here, but I think, is there not a love for the soul of our neighbor who doesn't have the word? Or is it just for us? May we be given much prayer that also our neighbor may have what we have. Look at when that man found the lost sheep, he went and told everyone. When the prodigal son came home, he went and told everyone. My son, if we truly find that love for the Word of God, if the Lord works that in our heart, we will want that others also hear that precious news of death in Adam and life in Christ. So we may be thankful for the work of the society. We may be thankful for the blessed work that we have. It doesn't come without its trials, and we should be surprised if there weren't trials, because in the time of the 1600s, in the time of what's called the Middle Ages, Satan tried to keep the word of God from the people. We know that in the history that those who had the Bible were sometimes even martyred, and it was forbidden to translate the Bible into the native tongues. Well, Satan was not successful there because we know that the Word of God was then translated into many tongues. So then what does he do then? He tries to pervert the translations by changing them, coming up with new, quote-unquote, new manuscripts, which are not new, but they're ones that deny the divinity of Christ. So it's just as we see in the Garden of Paradise, when Adam and Eve, Satan came to them and he took away from God's Word, he added to God's Word, and he changed God's Word. Well, that's just what modern Bible translations do today. And that's what the Trinitarian Bible stands for, to stand for the faithful and true translations of the Word of God. We would never say they're perfect, because there's only one perfect Bible, that's the original Hebrew and Greek. But we may believe that the Bible we have, English, the authorized King James English version of the Bible is the most faithful Bible that we can possibly have in the English language. May it be blessed to you and our souls. And we covet your prayers, friends. We know that it's a work that is many times forgotten, but also we know that there are many who are praying for it. Sometimes the letters we receive, the little notes that we receive of people who remember this work, it's encouraging. And I have to say that there are many times that I may say what a humbling thing it is to be even involved in this work. If one only has to look at their past and think, who am I? That I'm in a work where we're translating, revising, and distributing and promoting God's Holy Word. May He bless His Word tonight as we hope to hear a message from Reverend Hockfort. And I will now turn it over to you, Reverend Hockfort. Thank you. What a privilege, dear friends. to be together for the work of our Trinitarian Bible Society, who strive in a good way for the pure translation of God's Word. Not to water it down. but to have it translated out of the original languages, as was mentioned already, close to the original languages, because it speaks with authority. Not a human authority by changing. No, no. Divine authority. Closely connected and related to the pure translation is also the sound preaching of God's Word. For there are many attacks, many people doubting the credibility of the Bible, putting Christian marriage behind it. Has that really happened? Is this really true? Do we still need this in the times in which we live? And that's maybe what they thought it meant, but we think differently. We live in that time and day and age, right? I think, I suppose, my opinion is, I, it's all pride. What is it about? Speak, Lord, thy servant here. What is it about? Our eyes are unto thee, and to the hills from whence our help cometh. Precious work which is done in the TBS, precious work. We may still have our King James Version, the authorized one. And then one thing more. What does it help us? If we are busy with it day and night, reading out of it day and night, if it is not applied unto the heart, so what do we need? But the one riding on the horseback of the white horse, who's going out to conquer and conquering, may send the arrows of his word. and my heart. That's what we want to think about in this evening. With the help of the Lord and awaiting his blessing, Revelation 6, and especially the second verse, And I saw and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. who goes forth to conquer, conquering and to conquer. So briefly think about three main thoughts, his appearance, his battle, and his victory. His appearance, you read it, he that sat on that white horse who had a bow and a crown was given unto him. His battle, especially mentioning that he had a bow. And his victory, he went out conquering and to conquer. So his appearance, his battle, his victory. We've read a chapter from the Revelation. of which sometimes people say, and the revelation of St. John, actually not true. It's the revelation of the exalted Christ given unto John. John didn't reveal anything, no. Christ reveals. And to John, who is on Patmos, banished for the word of God, and the testimony of Christ, and you see the enmity against the sound Word of God. It was in his days, as in our days, that will never change. But the Lord stands above all things. Oh, they wanted to silence the Word of God. But instead the word was silenced, the Lord has used all these things for good. And he appeared unto John on Patmos. It worked for him. His word will never be silenced. Whatever happens, even if a government would force us to hold our peace, his word will never be silenced. You see that in the history, that even the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church. And maybe there will come again such a time. We don't know, the Lord knows. And when the Lord reveals Himself unto John on Patmos on the sand of the sea, then as the Elf and the Omega and the Beginning and the End, then we see right away the fruit of God's Word. John, he fell as dead at his feet. Oh, the majesty, the authority, and the power of God's Word, and of Him, the Word that became flesh. It's a place where the Lord brings all His people, doesn't He? And he works with majesty and power in the heart. He all humbles them on the battlefield of grace under his mighty hand. He brings them all in that place, not dead at his feet. Oh, that's what they learn to experience. I've deserved it. I'm worthy of it, but as that. worthy that he would put his foot upon my neck and make me his footstool. To in that way, by the word, also to be encouraged, as John was encouraged when the Lord took his hand and raised him upon his feet and comforted him, fear not, for I am the first and the last, and he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive at all eternity. John may experience what David experienced. When I walk in trouble, so he will restore the faltering spirit. By God's word, always by God's word and by his spirit. Recently I had to speak in my own congregation to preach about the second petition. thy kingdom come, the precious explanation our fathers give in the Catechism. But he wants to work by his word and spirit, to touch the heart for a moment, personally. John had the same there on Patmos, all by himself. forsaken by man, but not by the Lord. The Lord has word there for John. He has to write unto the seven congregations in Asia Minor. The Lord himself, by his word, does church visitation to see how the case stands there. The all-knowing who tries the hard and the rains. Word for the churches also in 2018 in the United Kingdom, in the United States, in Canada, all over the world, in Bolivia, the Spanish-speaking countries, everywhere, where he looks down from heaven upon all mankind, but where he also makes sure that his work will continue. And what a privilege. if the work of the TBS and the preaching of his word may be used as little tools in his hand. That's also why in his appearance, John, after he had written unto those congregations, was led into a vision. The children maybe know that a dream and a vision, that's different, right? A dream you do at night when you sleep, but a vision, Some of God's people in the time of the Bible received it when they were awake. Whereas to say the bodily senses stopped working and the Lord gave spiritual senses to see things, which they had never seen. John was given to look higher than the cloudy heaven and the starry heaven into the heaven of heavens, the third heaven, where he was given to see a throne and the Lord himself sitting upon the throne. The rainbow round about, vertically round about the throne as a sign of his faithfulness, despite my unfaithfulness. And 24 seats horizontally round about the throne together with the four beasts, which had eyes from before and behind, singing day and night to the honor of God. That's why the Lord has made us, hasn't he? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. was and is and is to come, and thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for thou hast created all things. And then Johnny saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne a scroll, a book. Now, it wasn't a book like we have nowadays. There was a scroll, pages kind of glued together, rolled upon a stick, a scroll, and they wrote upon it. from within and from the inside and the outside and rolled together and sealed with seven seals. that in those days when a letter or a scroll was sealed was the proof that it was important, the contents was important. And only the one unto whom it was addressed was able to break the seals to open it and to read it. That's why often the weapon of kings or the people were pressed into those seals. John saw that book in the hand of the Lord. It's the book of his eternal counsel, his eternal good pleasure, his secret will, his hidden will, of which Moses says in Deuteronomy 29, verse 29, that the secret things, the hidden things are for the Lord, and the revealed things are for man. Well, the book of God's counsel that has to be fulfilled. Regarding that book of God's counsel, in the right hand of the Lord, John hears a voice with power, who is worthy to open and to lose it. And then it becomes clear, no one is worthy, no one is able It's explicitly said, John, he wept because no one was able. And John wept much because no man was found worthy to open and read the book needed to look their own. That was the self-knowledge and other fruit of God's word. Because John didn't only weep because others were not able. He also, and most importantly, wept because he himself was not able and worthy to open that book, to read it, and to fulfill that job. And on the glimpse in his own heart as unworthy. and are the fruit of God's word. When the Lord works by the arrows of his word, a weeping people, godly sorrow, a grief because of sin, a grief because of the distance between God and my soul, a grief because I am unworthy. Grief and guilt, one of the Psalter sings, my soul oppressed. and the more grace don't think the more grace the higher they climb and the more they become no, no the more grace the lower they bow the unworthier they become the more they learn to know themselves that's what John experienced there on Patmos weeping because of all his shortcomings But that is the way the Lord comforts. Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith the Lord. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem. And he comes over. speak to the heart of a weeping people, an unworthy one in himself. And one of the elders, one of those 24 elders, the representatives of the church out of the Old and New Testament, had 24 children. You know that is two times 12. Right. Twelve prophets. Twelve sons of Jacob. Twelve tribes. Twelve minor prophets. Twelve apostles, the Church of Old and New Testament, which the Lord gathers by His Word and by His Spirit. That elder says, Weep not! And there was not a comfort on loose grounds. Now, it's not a comfort to comfort to pat one another on the back and to say, all those tears, they are for sure not out of yourself. The Lord gathers them in his bottle, so don't weep. No, no, no. God's people cannot be comforted except they may hear it out of his mouth. Weep not. Behold the lion out of the tribe of Judah. He is worthy. take, to lose, to open, to read, to fulfill. And now what do we read? The Lamb out of the tribe of Judah. Then John said, and behold, lo, behold, and lo, I saw in the midst of the throne and of the beast and the elders standing a lion. Right, children? No. Pronounced as a lion. Revealed as a lamb. Announced as a lion because of him conquering and to conquer. Revealed in the way he conquered Satan. As a lamb brought to the slaughter. As a lamb done for his shearers does he owe but not his mouth. That's why the angels and the saved people, the slain and the altar, could give him all the honor and all the glory. Thou art worthy to take to open the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and thou has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of all kindred and tongues and nations. And has made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign forever. You see, out of all kindred and nations and tongues. That's ultimately the purpose of the work of the TBS too. That in all kindred and nations and tongues, they may receive the Bible. They may read the Bible. They may be instructed by the Bible. Friends, may I ask you and myself, we have the Bible in the pure translation. We read the Bible, don't we? We read the Bible, but has the Bible ever read you? Has the Bible ever read you, showed you, opened you in my eyes for who I am before a holy and righteous God? Did it ever become a hopeless case in your life? Like John who fell at the feet of Christ, like John who was not worthy to receive and to open in his unworthiness, and that we comforted. All that we see in the appearance of Christ, that's already a vision with so much comforted, comfort, a comforting vision. The Lamb, he fulfills the hidden secret counsel of God. Why? Because together with his Father he has purposed it from the quietness, the silence of all eternity. So that book in the hand of the Lord speaks about the eternal good pleasure in which the Lord was a step ahead of sin and Satan. In which the Lord has devised a way because he knew that he would create the world good. Of which he could say it was very good. But of which he also knew that we would fall away willingly and voluntarily in order never to return. And friends, if the Lord would have done with you and me what according to what I deserved, we deserved, we would have not have a Bible, no. He would have left us in our fallen ruin. He would have cast us away. We would only have heard one word out of his mouth. Depart from me. And that's still the most sound word, what we deserved. But what a wonder, that scroll, that book, sealed quietness of eternity, those thoughts of peace, of that way unto salvation, of a people chosen from eternity in his pleasure and given unto Christ and to the Lion out of the tribe of Judah who became the Lamb of God. And who could say at the end of his official labours that he had finished the work which the Father has given him to do. And who could say on Calvary's hill, conquering Satan, it is finished. A book, a scroll of his counsel. That's why Christ couldn't stay in death. But that he rose from the dead. And he ascended into heaven. When the angels could sing, who is that king of glory? It is the Lord mighty and strong, the Lord mighty in the battle. That's secondly what we read in our text. Not only his appearance, also his battle. Because he comes forth to take that book. to open it and to read it and to fulfill it. Seal after seal is broken. Revelation 6 speaks about the first six seals of that royal scroll which were broken. And the first four seals speak about horses. A white, a red, a black, and a pale one. Time and again, one of the four beasts cries. The one looking like a lion, the one looking like a calf, and the one with the face of a man, and the one as a flying eagle. And we know the horse is an animal used in the battle, not because of his power, because of his speed. Children is the number of the world. Four corners of the world. Four winds of the world. The Bible speaks about that time in the game North and East and South and West. So it says that the world in the last days and we live in it. And if I'm not mistaken, we are almost at the end of it, is in the midst of battle. Because three out of the four horses have a very serious meaning pointing to the judgment of the Lord. The red horse, the black and the pale. Red is the color of blood pointing to war. Black is the color of famine, hunger. And pale is the color of death. Those three horses point to the judgments of the Lord. Time and again when one of the seals is opened, the judgments of the Lord come because of mankind having left the Lord. Many die. And yet, maybe you would think that doesn't go good. Yeah, it does go good. Sometimes people say that it's not going so good in the world. What I tell you, it does go good. It goes even better and better. Because it goes from the moment to the moment that the world will come to the end. And that he will be all in all. And don't have too little thoughts about the Lord, because his counsel will stand. He shall do all his pleasure. You know what, I find such a wonder in this chapter. Neither the red nor the black nor the pale horse is the first one to be revealed. The first one is the white horse. And I saw when the lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of the thunder, and one of the four beasts saying, come and see. And what did John see? And I came, and behold. That means pay attention. It's important what we read. Behold or lo. It says, it is asking my and your full attention. So important that it even will determine where we will be in eternity, when eternity will come even in this very day. A white horse and the one sitting on the horse having a bow and a crown was given him and he went forth conquering and to conquer a horse. Maybe you would say I do not understand that so much. Because a horse in the time of the Bible was an animal used in war. Horses were before the chariots. An ass and an ox was used in the field to plow. The horse was used in the war. By its power it made the enemy scared and nations thought by the horses we will get the victory. That's why Israel was not even allowed to have horses. So that they could not boast in it. And always comparing scripture with scripture, right? One of the principles of the Reformation and the Second Reformation. And time and again when the Lord gave an awakening like the Great Awakening, and when the Lord works in the life of a person, they always are led back to God's Word. Psalm 20. Some trust in horses. others in chariots, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. As the Bible says, a horse is a vain thing for safety, neither shall he deliver any by its great strength. That's why the Egyptians with all the horses and all the chariots, they drowned in the Red Sea when Moses stretched forth his arm with the staff. Unfortunately, Solomon deviated from that commandment to have no horses. He had 1,400 chariots, 12,000 horses, and the Lord complained, the land is full of horses, and there is no end of their horses. And even Jeremiah, he had to say woe to them that have horses. John sees in our text a horse. Is that according to the Bible? Oh yeah. Abba God. He says it already. The Lord did write upon thy horses and thy chariots of salvation. Is that not contradicting? No. Zechariah says, speaks about the horse of his majesty and the battle of the Lord. That is what John sees, the horse of his majesty and the battle of the Lord, not used by man in their own strength, but used by the Lord in his almighty power, in his omnipotence. Because Christ, who is sitting on the horseback of that white horse, he could say, unto me is given all power in heaven and on earth. That's why he came. That's why he fought the battle against the prince of darkness. That's why he received this church from the silence, the quietness of eternity. And that's why he, the entire time of his life, but especially at the end of his life, fought against the prince of the darkness. Satan always tried to let him sin. Even at Calvary's cross, they said, if thou be the Christ, come down from the cross and we will believe in thee. That started at the beginning of his official labors. And Satan said, when you kneel down for me, I will give all these empires unto you, power and strength. Christ said, thou shalt only bow before the Lord thy God. And I cannot bow before you. Satan. And at the end, he could not come down from the cross. Because then it was all in vain. Then there would be no salvation. Then there would be no Bible. Then there would be no church. Then there would be no people of the Lord. And now he arose. he goes forth conquering he conquered Satan when he said it is finished Satan's head bruised promised already in the first promise in the Bible Genesis 3 I will put enmity against thee and the woman thy seed and her seed thou shalt bruise its heel but it shall bruise thee the head Satan you will be conquered you can think you will be the victor But you will not be, you will be conquered. And now Christ goes forth conquering not only Satan, he is conquered, he is reset, he is bruised, but he goes forth conquering hearts of enemies. He's sitting on the horseback, the white horse. What is that horse pointing at, dear friends? It's pointing to the Word of God. The gospel of free and sovereign grace without the works of the law. Comparing scripture with scripture, right? Psalm 45, gird thy sword. upon thy thigh, O Most Mighty, with thy glory and majesty, and in thy majesty ride prosperously, ride prosperously, because of truth, and meekness, and righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Christ fulfills. He's sitting on the right horse. He sends his servants to whom he wants and when he wants with the Word. With the pure translation of the Word, given. In Holland, they remember it had this year, 1618, 1619, the Synod of Dort 400 years ago. The King James Version was there already. Time and again, the Lord gave spiritual awakenings, and I say that again, he brought them back to the pure translation. It's a wonder, if you ever consider that, that is a wonder, that we still have that King James Version and its authorized version in our homes. We are not exchanging the authorized King James Version for a modernized one, do we? And in our schools, and in our churches, Satan goes about as a roaring lion. He wants to make that Word of God powerless, and you hear that all over. of that King James Bible or the Dutch Statenvertaling. That is hundreds of years old. We do not even understand that anymore. Maybe you've heard that as well. Maybe your children or grandchildren have told you once. What's your answer then? Ah, maybe the TBS should do something about it. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. You should do something about it. Our children, they're able to read math, to learn math and science and all difficult terms. Don't tell them anything about a computer or so, huh? They know about bits and bytes and difficult terms and yeah. Shouldn't they be able to read God's Word? That shows authority. I call that spiritual laziness. and the fruit, and not the fruit of grace, but the bitter fruit, the lack of the work of the Spirit. We should not be discouraged. We should continue the work in the TBS, the translating it in a pure translations in the languages that the word of God may go out as he has promised, as he has said, go ye therefore teach all nations. baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to keep it, teaching them to observe it, to not deviate from it, nor to the right, nor to the left. Keep it. Preaching of God's Word. Thou shalt be my witnesses. If he may do the work that way in the TBS, that would be a wonder, would be noticed, oh yeah, my witnesses. I may speak about the work of God through his word. That's why it goes out to whom he wants and when he wants, in Bolivia, in North America, in the United Kingdom, in Holland, in Africa. all over the world, in Asia, where the word may bear fruit, where it is preached in a sound way, law and gospel, death in Adam, life in Christ, poor sinner, rich Christ, and how they come together that should not be forgotten, and may be preached One way, one aim unto salvation, one aim given unto salvation. Two ways unto eternity. No, no, not two ways to salvation. Not one for the Jew, not one for the Gentiles, no, no, no, no. Two ways, a broad way, a narrow way. Three things we need to know, whether it be good, Will it be well for time and eternity? The knowledge of misery, deliverance, gratitude. Don't make that order up as you hear nowadays so often. God is a God of order. And the work of the Lord in the four corners of the world all over. That's the ultimate purpose of the TBS. of those that with love for the Word of God. No, that's the ultimate purpose of the Lord Himself, because He said it in Matthew, in His last sermon before His sufferings, once about His coming again, that it will be preached into the entire world, and then the end will come. Christ sending out his servants, to tell the wicked that it will not be well with them, but God's people that it will be well with them. Of which Isaiah said already, to the law, to the gospel, Isaiah 8 verse 20, to the law and to the gospel, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. I just mentioned it this afternoon when I visited Pastor Stehauer in a good moment there. And he told me, we may not deviate. I said, no. You know what I sometimes say to our children? Children, listen. Well, you have two tracks of a railway. and the one deviates one-tenth of a percentage. You don't even notice that, do you? In the long run, the train is derailing with all its sad consequences. The train of the church, simply said, will derail if we deviate from the pure translation and the sound preaching of it. because God is not mocked and he will not give his honor to someone else. Full counsel has to be preached. Christ is the victor. He received the victory sitting upon the back of the white horse. It's white. It's pure. It's never sinned. And he sits. To sit is in the Bible the image of rest. Although I do not hope that you sit in church tonight to rest a little. No, no. There's nothing more intense than to listen attentively to what the Lord has to say unto us. Christ sits. He rests from the battle. And yet he goes forth conquering and to conquer till the last one has been added. And that's the last thing, his victory. The gospel of sovereign grace goes out to draw out of the darkness and to his marvelous light. We need to be justified as a wicked one. To be saved as a rebel is the only way. Why? Are we then rebels? Ah, friend, ask for uncovering light. In Adam, we became rebels, enemies. And we have taken upon us the armor of unbelief. Ephesians 6 speaks of the armor of faith. But in paradise, we took upon us the armor of unbelief, the shield of unbelief, the sword of our words and the words of Satan. Is it that God has said, changing God's word, twisting it, making from the exclamation mark a question mark? It's man. And you're still here. And I'm sure those involved in the work in the TBS, in the United Kingdom, in the United States, hear that time and again. Is it actually true? Can't it be different? Why should we have this translation? The international standard version or whatever kind of Bible. They have them even now in the street language of our days. That's mocking. That's mocking. Oh, stick with it. Stay with it. Christ goes out conquering. And when we read Psalm 45, we read about the sword of the Spirit, that's God's Word, and we read about the arrows. Sword on his thigh, the sword that is still etched, going even, piercing to the division of the center of soul and spirit and of the joints and of marrow. John sees a bow here. And that's a weapon to attack. A bow and arrows, children. Arrows could be sent from a long distance to smite something from a long distance. Well, that's exactly what the Lord does. May he say it with due reference. from even from the distance of the quietness of eternity, before the foundation of the world, he has decided that that would be the way to conquer his enemies and make from his enemies friends. And that's why he still is using the arrows from his word, sending them from the bow of his word. And arrows are sharp. heart of the king's enemies, whereby the people fall under thee. But in a war, the arrows are meant to kill. When the Lord sends the arrows of his word, they are meant to grant life. You understand it? Oh yeah, to give the death blow to the old man. I must die that a new man may live. And the Lord smites on the battlefield of grace like King Ahab. Arrows sent in its simplicity by a man and it hit King Ahab between Joins in the harness, and he said, turn thine hand and carry me out of the hosts, for I am wounded. And the arrows of God's word hit us. They smite us. Now we experience exactly the same. Wounded, right? Weak and wounded. I implore thee, Lord, to me thy mercy shall. That's the godly sorrow. That's the experience of the breach between God and my soul, made by myself. Not Adam, no, no, I have done that which is evil in his sight. We can wound it because of the knowledge of self in the light of the holiness and the righteousness of God, who cannot have communion with sin, who doesn't smooth it over. But who says, pay me what thou ow'st, who places the sinner before the mirror of his sinned against all the commandments, and inclined to all evil, and yet pay me. Do they want to? Yes, they do, because of their love. In the time of the war, in the Bible, We read about the fiery darts, the arrows dipped in oil, put on fire, and if such an arrow would smite you, you would die for sure, it will put you on fire and burn you alive. It's what Satan uses. Ephesians 6, you can read it over. But the arrows of the Lord, they are dipped in the oil of love, they break the hardest humble understanding, bring at his feet in the inner room. Tears as me by night and day, oh the arrows of his word that accuse me. And you know what that sinner says? It's worse, it's much worse as I experience. Why? You know what David said when he experienced that? Psalm 38, thine arrows stick fast in me. That's not just an arrow that hits and let's pull it out and throw it away. No, no. It sticks fast. That sinner can never remove it. It breaks them. No bandage of any pharmacy will help against it. It is a deadly wound. What is the cry of those on the battlefield? In nature, thirst, thirst. What is the cry of those slain on the battlefield of grace? My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God. As the heart panteth after the waterbrook, so my soul panteth, thirsteth for Thee, the living God. wounded, to bow before him, to bow under him, coming to the end with all attempts to remove those arrows and to work myself up to get the Lord on my side. Done. How long did we fight? Ah, maybe you must say, I still fight. You're right. By the last breath, God's people lose themselves. And that's why the Lord brings them under his hand, time and again. That's why he makes room for Christ, time and again. That's why he strips the sinner of self, of his works, even of the fruits of grace as a ground for salvation, and brings them in the place that they unconditionally bow under God. Trouble soar, he will restore the faltering spirit. Sinner that cannot save himself pointed to Christ. Fear not, weep not, the lion who became the lamb is the one. who's worthy to receive the honor, who's going out conquering. And all the people, the further the Lord leads them on their way into salvation, the more they experience that the Lord still has to conquer them. Or do you think that it is in the life of God's people, once converted, always converted? Yeah, yeah, that's true. At God's side, it's true. But they don't always see that. so much deviating, so much remaining sin, and sometimes the struggle and the attacks from within and without, as ever anything happened, yes, once converted, always converted, but no falling out of grace, no, no. But they do not always have the comfort of it in their life. And that's why, time and again, I need to be humbled. I need to be smitten. I need to be proud I'm the God. I need to receive open eyes for Him sitting on the horseback. And when you may hear about the fruits of that work in the TBS, sometimes your heart may leap. hear about the work in the congregation, in Beckwith, in Kovel, in what denomination or church you attend at Sunday, where the truth is preached. It doesn't matter. It's with one church. And the Lord gathers them. And one day they will come together, also from Grand Rapids. There will be one flock. will be one shepherd. He is all in all, and he doesn't conquer anymore, because the last one has been conquered. And he will gather his people and bring them home. How is that now? In my life, in your life, we should come to a close. Have the arrows of God's Word ever smitten us? There's a difference. Some people, many people, the arrows which are sent out, they completely miss. Other people, the arrows maybe injure a little bit without going in. Maybe touch a little. And others, the arrows go in. Many people, arrows sent out, and they have not even touched them any moment. Hard. No impressions. Continuing. What a danger. Because then one day it will be heard, those that would not that I am king in their life, bring them hither. Slay them before my feet. Make haste for your life's sake. Ask if those arrows may smite us. Or maybe you may not deny that you have felt those things in your life. Well, may I ask you, when you may say, God's word struck me, where has it brought you? What was the fruit? Some people are maybe bruised by the arrows, but not smitten by it. It goes right along. It may be touches, it may be injuries, a pain is felt, maybe a little blood is seen, but the arrows don't stick, they go further, they leave a scar behind, a wound behind, they leave an impression behind, maybe a few tears. The authority of God's Word is felt, but they have not broken, they have not gone into to touch the vital organs to smite the sinner. They have not gone in to touch the heart and to smite. It's dangerous. They are known in the Bible too. Demas, Judas, Esau, Cain, Pharaoh, others. I did impressions, but they were not saving. Those impressions, they went away and they could continue further. They maybe felt the pain for a moment, but they could go on. Spiritually the same. Dangerous. Don't keep that for saving work, but ask that those arrows may smite hard. For the blessed people who may not deny that. fall smitten as that at his feet, and who have no rest until they find it in him. Eternal wonder. That church militant will one day be gathered in the church triumphant. While they may sing, O blessed Lord, are they that know the joyful sound, who, when they hear Thy voice, Thy word, in happiness abound. I hope, I pray, I wish, that to the ended work of the TBS may be blessed, and the preaching of God's word, and to our soul. So be it. May I first of all thank Reverend Harker for his address this evening, and may the Lord's blessing be upon it, and may we be encouraged to continue in prayerfully supporting the work in which we are engaged. The Word of God among all nations for the glory of God. and the spiritual good of our fellow men. Thank you, brethren, for being here this evening and supporting the work.