The Old Trailblazer Broadcast

This is the Old Trailblazer Broadcast. This is Pastor Alva Pendorver coming out again this morning, riding Old Dan, giving another study in God's Word. We're looking at the coming of our Blessed Lord, the reality of His coming. In our study or two before we were mentioned, the authority of God's man, and I want to just briefly go there again for just a moment.

God's man is responsible for at least three things. Marry the young, bury the dead, and then preach the gospel. Now, first of all, we marry the young folks. That's our responsibility. And I encourage our young folks to get married.

We've got so much of that now going on where they don't. You just shack up and all those things. But it gives me opportunity to mention some of the things, what the Lord tells us about marriage and those things, and the marriage ceremony. I enjoy those things. I appreciate it.

I've married a lot of young couples, some old couples. And then bury the dead. That's a great opportunity to preach the gospel. I don't go there to a funeral and heap laurels on the dead. I hardly ever mention the person's name in the dead.

I don't. Oftentimes, I lay my hand on the brow of that individual, cold, clammy. And I mention that there's nobody here. This body is just a carcass that's still here. The soul has gone on. If they're saved, they've gone on to be with the Lord. And then, the third thing, preach the gospel.

That's what we're commissioned to do. Preach the gospel. What is the gospel, you say, trailblazer? Well, the word gospel means good news. It's good news to a guilty sinner. It's not good news to everybody, but to a guilty soul, one who's been awakened, shown that they're sinful sinners from birth, and alienated from the Lord. You know, the scripture says the prodigal son, when he was a great way off. Well, that's where every soul is, according to the word. A great way off from God, spiritually, physically, whatever. And there's no way to get back, except looking to the Lord. And I bring that in my burial services many, many times.

I think it's a great opportunity. I don't go there and heap laurels on the dead. You know, those things are all sealed. I said, where death finds you, eternity will hold you. No more purgatory, no such a thing. I was raised in an orphanage where the Catholic people were in charge, and she'd done gotten older and died. And I mentioned that there was no purgatory.

I didn't do it critically, but they had four Catholic nuns sitting on the front row of the chapel, and they got up and left out when I said that. But my friend, they're wrong. They don't know. No such a thing as purgatory. You can't tell me.

You can't find where it is. And so, it's not God's word. So, I must be true.

I have to be true to people. The only thing I attempt to do is to be true, and the Scripture says, reprove and rebuke with all longsuffering. We were looking there at what the Apostle Paul said in the Thessalonians. He says in Thessalonians 4, 1 Thessalonians, We'll be caught up together with the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.

Now, that's what we do. We comfort folks with the words that the Lord is coming back. Oh, you know, people want to be comforted in the barrel and all. I've seen people have to be dragged away from the coffin, crying and squalling and cutting up and going out to the cemetery.

Or drinking beer. Ten minutes earlier, they're crying and squalling over the dead body. But my friend, that's all so terrible. In the 5th chapter there, in that 23rd verse of Thessalonians, we find, he's talking about the coming of the Lord and calls upon believers to patiently wait. Takes patience, doesn't it?

Takes grace to wait, my friend. Oh, I visited the sick many times. Many times I remember, well remember, one old saint of God was suffering, had a real bad case of cancer and was dying. And I went to see him in the hospital over there in Mobile, Alabama. One night, he was over there and went by to see him. And he was, I think, died the next day or two.

But I went to see him and I told him who I was. He was in terrible pain. And he said, Pastor, Pastor, I want to go home. He lived in a little old town called Biola Battery, Alabama.

Little old fishing town. And that's what he was, an old fisherman. He said, I want to go home, Pastor, but not to Biola Battery. I thought that was so great. He wanted to go home to be with the Lord.

I thought that was so great, my friend. One day, Paul, while he was in prison, wrote to Timothy. That young preacher, he had brought up from youth. And he said, Timothy, my boy, I'm aged now.

Oh, man. And I've come to the end of my earthly life. For I'm ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand. I've fought a good fight. I've finished my course. I've kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right, the righteous judge shall give me at that day.

And not to me only, but to them also which love his appearance. Now, my friend, one of the one of the dreams of my life or my admonition, I want to be able to say I have fought a good fight. I finished my course. I've kept the faith. Henceforth, there's laid up for me, the old trailblazer, a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge shall give me at that day.

And not only to me, but all them that love his appearance. Now, that's my desire, my friend, to be able to say on my dying pillar, I have fought a good fight. Oh, I'm not equipped. I'm not really what you would call a great man of God or none of those things. No, I'm just an old sinner. Just an old sinner the Lord picked up and saved one day. Brought me to see that I was lost. Brought me to see that I was a sinner by nature, by birth, by choice, and that I loved sin. And that showed me that I was a far off from a holy God. I did. I was. Most folks don't know that, my friend.

This particle son said he was a far off. But that's what we all are by nature. We don't love the Lord.

Oh, well, you know, everybody loves Jesus. No, no, that's not so. But listen. Listen now.

Let me go back to our study. Paul was soon to walk down. That Apian Highway to the place of his execution.

That's right. He knew he was going to be executed. And the thing that cheered his old heart and his old worst guard body was the blessed Lord. The hope that his Lord was coming back. The Lord Jesus Christ, who had stopped him on that Damascus road one day and said, Saul, Saul. That's what his name was. Saul of Tarsus. Saul, Saul. It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks. Paul knew it was coming.

He was. He said, Timothy, when he comes, he's going to give us a crown of righteousness. He's not going to rebuke me for looking, for his coming, for waiting for a crown, for his coming, but praying for his coming.

There'll be not one word of rebuke, but a crown. And Timothy, he'll give that crown of righteousness to everyone who loves his appearing. Are you looking forward to his coming? Who looks forward to his coming? Are you looking forward to the coming of the Lord, my friend? Are you afraid that he'll come? Are you not ready to meet the Lord?

My friend, this is the most serious question that I could ever ask a person. Are you ready to go be with the Lord? I know that we have a fantasy world that we're living in, that Jesus loves everybody and that everybody's going to be saved, but that's not so, my friend. No. Someone asked the Lord one day, are there few that's be saved? Are there few?

I believe there will. I don't believe it. Do you know of any folks who are saved? I know lots of church members.

I do. But, my friend, that's what we're talking about. It's a lot of difference in church members. That's right. The scripture doesn't say anything about just being a church member, does it?

Oh, no. I remember when I was just a church member. I just thought I was going to get up Sunday morning with plenty of time to go to church. Didn't need to worry about no other. But I didn't know anything about the love of God. Oh, the love of God that passes all understanding, my friend. Did you know the Lord loves sinners?

He does. He loves sinners, my friend. You don't be ashamed to be a sinner. It's not ashamed to be a sinner. It's ashamed to not trust the Lord.

That's right. But, my friend, every man by nature is a sinner, and we must be redeemed. Have you been redeemed? We sang a song here, Redeemed How I Love to Proclaim It, and Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. You know what we don't hear anymore?

Anything in the messages that you hear on the radio. You don't hear anything about the blood. Oh, my friend, folks are ashamed to say they're saved by blood. But without the shedding of blood, there's no remission of sin, no forgiveness. Without the shedding of blood, the Lord told them that night there in Egypt, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you.

I used to wonder what that meant. It meant that the death angel was coming through there and taking the life of every firstborn, of every home, every camel, every goat, every chicken, everything. And the Lord said, when I see the blood, it meant that the Lord, his angel, followed there, followed the death angel, went before the death angel. And when the death angel came there to that door and the blood was sprinkled on it, the Lord lay Hisself over that door and the death angel struck him instead of striking the firstborn of that family. And the next morning, those folks woke up and everything in there that they owned was dead.

The firstborn child, the firstborn camel, the firstborn donkey, the firstborn everything. Oh, my friend, it was the final blow there when Pharaoh finally said, let those people go. The Lord had ten plagues. Every time He'd just look and say, well, I'm going to, but He didn't.

He'd let them go, say go, but then He'd take it back. But this particular time, all of those firstborn were killed. Can you imagine those plagues? All of the frogs and the lice and the blood in the rivers and all that, but none of that compared to the death of the firstborn. Oh, Pharaoh's firstborn, I don't know who it was and he don't either, but my friend, it was the final blow and he said, let my people go. And then when he let them go, agreed to it, he chased after them till they got to the Red Sea and the Lord, you ever read those stories, my friend?

Go back and read that. But they came to the Red Sea. They had a pillar of cloud over them during the day and a pillar of fire by night, and they came to the Red Sea.

They were murmuring and complaining even then. And finally, they went in the Red Sea. The Lord had closed, opened up the water and the dry land. They went on the dry land. People say, oh, no, no, they went. No, it wasn't no mud and nothing.

It was dry land. And then after they got on the other side, the Lord closed the water back up on Pharaoh, all of his chariots. They said now they're still finding chariot wheels in the Red Sea.

I don't know if that's true or not, but I hear it on the radio and the news sometimes. But my friend, are you aware that the Lord's coming back one day? All of those things. We used to have an old man here to preach once forth. He'd say, I don't know how long the Lord's going to put up with us.

And that's been 40 years ago. And I don't know this morning how long the Lord's going to put up with you and me and with this world like it is now. Are you ready to go if the Lord comes today with a shout? I don't know what that shout. I believe it'll be Hallelujah. Holy, holy, holy glory to God in the highest.

I don't know. But it'll be a gracious shout. I believe we'll hear it and then go to be with the Lord forever and ever and ever. Eternally, my friend. Oh, I can't even fathom I can't even imagine what it will be. It will be no sin, no sin, no pride, no loss, no loss.

Oh, we live in a lustful world. Oh, my friend. Pastor, don't don't cut the message. Don't compromise with your people. Lord, don't let him do that. Don't let our folks do that. Don't let me do it, Lord. Don't let me hide the word. Let me bring it out forcefully.

And then listen, remember, this is the old trailblazer. Pastor Penn Darvis, remember my mailing address. Post Office Box 1810, Walker, Louisiana, 70785. But my phone number here, area code 225-664-8658. I'm always here early in the morning, Central Standard Time.

Goodbye and God bless you. If you missed part of today's broadcast or would like a recording, the old Trailblazer broadcast is now available for download to your phone, to your iPad or computer via podcast. Find out more about our podcast by visiting our website at radiomissions.org. That's radiomissions.org.