A minister who spent some time in the mountains of India told of standing in the twilight and listening to a call from the ridge below. He said: "Away, through the stillness," came the call; and from the ridge above me came the response. Then, a moment later, I could hear a faint call from another ridge far away --- sounding like a distant echo.
    What did it mean?
    It meant that the man on the ridge above me was passing word from the one on the ridge below me to another on a ridge far beyond himself. The first man could never have reached the other except for the man who stood on the MIDDLE RIDGE and passed on the message.
    Oh, that each of us could realize that somewhere today there is a man down here who will not hear the call of Him up there unless you and I are willing to take our place on the "middle ridge" --- and pass the message on! God sends no telegrams, but He has commanded each of His children to pass on the message of salvation to others -- one by one.
    Each of us has a responsibility to urge the lost and dying to "Look to the Lamb of God". There they may find life and salvation. But, if we fail; their blood will be upon our hands

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'Time WAS is past, thou canst not
    it recall;
Time IS thou hast; employ the por-
    tion small;
Time FUTURE is not, and may never
    be;
Time PRESENT is the ONLY TIME
    for thee.'

    It is time to seek the Lord, (Hos. 10:13); today He may be found (Isa. 55:6-7).
    It is high time that careless, slothful and indifferent church members "awake out of sleep" to serve the soon-coming Lord, (Rom. 13:11).
    It is time for the Lord to do a work in the earth, (Psa. 119:126); we may be "laborers together" with Him, (I Cor. 3:9).
    Will we avail ourselves of this WONDERFUL OPPORTUNITY while it is ours to employ?
    The greatest torment of all eternity will be the consciousness of "what might have been".

    "Heavenly Father: forgive me for turning off the alarm and going to sleep again last Sunday morning. I thank you, Lord, that I can hear. Many are deaf."
    "Forgive me, Lord, for closing my eyelids so tightly to shut out the Sunday morning light. Thank you for the beautiful day. Many are blind."
    "Forgive me, Lord, for losing my temper during the Sunday morning rush --- when socks were lost, the children were annoying, and all those heads of hair needed combing. Thank you, Lord. Many are childless."
    "Forgive, Lord, my failure to return a friendly greeting as I hurried to my place on Sunday. I thank you for Christian friends. So many are imprisoned in far-off places --- away from friends and loved ones. Let me not forget them."
    Forgive me, Lord, when I find fault with the Sunday School. I thank You for men and women who so invest their time as will enable them to open unto us the riches of your precious book. So many do not have the opportunity of learning your perfect will as I do.
    "And Forgive me, Lord, when I complain about the length of the service, or the hardness of the pews. I am thankful for a place to worship with my brethren. Many can only worship under trees, or on dirt floors, or even in prison."
    "Forgive my ingratitude, Lord, and help me to be more thankful for the many blessings, so undeserved, that your rich grace affords. And, let my life count for your glory."

    For some time it has been a matter of deep interest and growing concern to observe the intellectual "twistings and turnings" of men whose salvation I have no reason to question.But, ISN'T IT STRANGE that so many are dogmatically committed to the defence of technical distinctions that God has NOT made? And that they often viciously denounce the teaching of much he HAS clearly set forth in His unerring Word of truth?
    ISN'T IT STRANGE: that brethren who zealously oppose the manipulations made by many modern translators (to substantiate their own philosophies) can actually reject the clear language in which their "accepted translation" sets forth certain divine truths? That those who insist on the "all-sufficiency" of the "inspired Word of God", and the "perpetuity of the New Testament church" will actually seek assistance from the "harlots of Protestantism" to avoid accepting what God HAS SET FORTH, with all simplicity, in His Word?
    Where, for instance, does the Word of God clearly distinguish between Christ's coming "for" His saints, and a later coming "with" His saints? -- the two "comings" being separated by a number of years? Do not the Scriptures, rather, teach that "to be absent from the body" is to be "present with the Lord", (2 Cor. 5:8); see Phil. 1:23)? Is it not also true that when Jesus returns He will bring "with Him" (I Thes. 4:14) the spirits of all those who "sleep" in Him -- to be reunited, "in the air" with their bodies which are raised AT THAT TIME? Is not this also the

time when living saints will be "translated" --- changed into His likeness? And WHO is meeting Whom? Do the Scriptures ANYWHERE clearly state that the saints are going off somewhere with Jesus (away from the earth) for a number of years to await a DIFFERENT COMING for Him to establish His kingdom? Then why do men preach it? Why teach it?
    Is it not true that the Scriptures DO STATE the resurrection will take place "at the last trump" (I Cor. 15:52)? Is there any Biblical reason for rejecting the idea that this "last trump", and the "trump of God" (I Thes. 4:16 -- both connected with the resurrection) are the same as the "seventh trumpet" -- the last of a series in the book of Revelation (11:15-19) -- which also locates the resurrection? And, is it not clear that His coming, under this trumpet, is to begin His universal reign on earth -- raising and rewarding His saints, pouring out His wrath on all ungodliness, and exercising righteous judgment in the earth? But how many are willing to believe God's Word -- simply comparing Scripture with Scripture?
    Why will men INVENT distinctions God did not intend to make? Or why will they reject those He has made?
    Enroute to the Garden of Gethsemane, following the institution of the Lord's Supper, Jesus spoke to the representatives of His little flock, saying: 'And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even th Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but

ISN'T IT STRANGE? -- Continued

ye know him; for he dwelleth WITH you, and shall be IN you', (John 14: 16-17). But how many people are willing to teach that the Spirit is dwelling "IN" the New Testament church, and those connected with it as body-members, in a sense that is nowhere said to be true of anyone outside that relationship? How long since you heard, or preached, a sermon on this distinction that Jesus CLEARLY MADE?

    ISN'T IT STRANGE that entire systems of prophetic interpretations have been built around superficial distinctions that God has NOT MADE? And that the superstructure of the doctrine of assurance, as held by many, rejects a distinction -- clear as the sun -- that He DID MAKE?
    And, ISN'T IT STRANGE that so many who appear so sincere are so lazy they will not seriously study God's Word and allow the Spirit of truth to make it real to them? What a contrast with John the Baptist, who spent 30 years in preparation for a ministry that lasted only six months! But His was a powerful, effective, and lasting ministry! He prepared the way for the Lord. He was a "VOICE" -- not an "echo".

A church with a brotherly hand,
A church with a Christlike smile,
Is a church that will draw and
    command
All hearts on life's lonely mile.

A church of believing prayer,
A church that is spirit-filled,
Is a church where the lost will
    care
And rebellious flesh be stilled.

A church with a faith that's     true,
A church with its heart aflame,
Is the church that God will endue
To the glory of His name.

    WELCOME to the services of Landmark Church. If YOU have no regular church home, we INVITE you to worship with us at "the church that values souls above statistics".