Testament and returning to the book of Numbers. The book of Numbers and the 23rd chapter. The book of Numbers chapter 23. 23rd chapter of the book of Numbers and beginning to read at the verse 1. Numbers chapter 23 and the verse 1. And we read, And Balaam said unto Balak, built me here seven altars, and prepared me here seven oxen and seven rams.' And Balaam did as Balaam had spoken. And Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. And Balaam said unto Balaam, Stand by the burnt offering, and I will go peradventure. The Lord will come to meet me, and whatsoever he showeth me, I will tell thee.' And he went to a high place. And God met Balaam, and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, Return unto Balaam, and thus thou shalt speak. And he returned unto him, and lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he and all the princes of Moab. And he took up his parable and said, Valak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. Or shall I curse him God hath not cursed, Or how shall I defy whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him. Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like His. We'll end our reading here at verse 10, and we know that God will add His own blessing this evening to the reading of His own Word. Could I just pause for a moment tonight to co-join and to share in the word of welcome tonight, and for everyone who has come out to the Old Time Gospel Campaign. We're very glad to see you on a cold winter's night. It's nice to come into a building that's comfortable, that's warm, I do trust it'll not be too warm and you'll not go asleep. And sometimes that can happen. We had a lady who fell asleep in one of our churches and the minister pointed down to the committee man that was sitting beside her and he said, would you please wake her up? And he just shook his head because it was the minister's wife and he didn't want to have fallen out with her. And, of course, if the minister put him asleep, then he should have wakened him up, shouldn't he? But, you know, it's been good to be here, and night by night, we've had a sense of the Lord's presence. And we are so glad to see you. And we do trust tonight that the Lord will richly bless you. I have only one complaint, and that's the suppers that you have every night. There's a 12-basket spool for the preacher and the singer, and one or two hangers on. And I've come here like the prodigal son in the far country, and I've gone home like the fatted calf. But whoever, keep them coming anyway. I'll endure it. But I do want to thank you for all your kindness. Now, in a final moment of service tonight, I want to draw your attention to the verse 10 of our Scripture reading. And in the latter part of the verse, we have the words of Balaam when he said, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." If you read into the Word of God and you study the life of Balaam, the false prophet, you will find that Balaam is one of the strangest characters to be found in the whole of the Word of God. We find that his name occurs in the Bible somewhat 61 times in the Word of God. He is reminded as the false prophet who came to curse the people of God. Do you remember, Howard, that the children of Israel had come out of the land of bondage? They were now on their destination to the land of Canaan, and they were going through the wilderness. And they were coming through the land of Moab, And no doubt the king of Moab and the princes and the rulers of that particular part of the land had heard what great things the Lord had done by His almighty power on behalf of the children of Israel. And the king of Moab, and along with the princes, thought that they would hire this prophet for a price, that they would summon him to the royal court, and they would charge him that he would pronounce a curse upon the people of God Israel as they were coming near to the land. Now you'll find here that Balaam, as he got alone with God and met with God, he discovered that he could not curse those whom God had blessed. For you see, in the Word of God, God says of His people that no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. And the Bible reminds us that if God be for us, who can be against us? And so we find that Balaam, this A howling prophet realized that there was something special, spiritual, there was something supernatural about the people of God, that they had the triune blessing of God resting upon them. And as Balaam looked at these people and heard that the hand of God was upon them for good, Balaam prayed these strange words by a way of a prayer, And he cried out, let me die the death of the righteous and let my last stand be like his. Now when it came to life, Balaam had made many foolish choices, but yet when it came to the great a fact of death, Balaam here wanted to make the right choice, the right decision. And his cry was, let me die, the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. Now, as you look at these words from the lips of Balaam, the prophet, there are three simple things that I want to consider with you this evening. Now, I want you to notice, first of all, that we have a solemn reality, that there is a solemn reality spoken of in these words. Listen again to the words of Balaam when he said, Let me die the death of the righteous. And Balaam faced this, a great fact of life, that it's appointed unto man once to die. And Balaam recognized this truth, that Balaam one day as an individual would go the way of all flesh, and eventually that he would have to die. Now, when you come to the Word of God, you will discover that this is what the Word of God teaches us. That it's appointed unto man once to die. but after death the judgment. I wonder, have you ever stopped to think of this solemn reality, that you're a creature of time heading for God's eternity? And where will you spend eternity? Some years ago, there was a lady who was saved and knew and loved the Lord, but her husband was out of Christ and showed little interest in the things of God. This lady kept on praying that the Lord would answer prayer, and that the Lord would speak into his heart, and that the Lord would save her partner in life. One Lord's Day morning, she was unwell, and she was unable to go to church, and her husband decided to go to church by himself. And after he came home from that morning service, it was an evangelical church, where the gospel was preached, the woman realized there was something different about her husband, and she could see that there was a change in his life, that something had happened as a result of that service. Her husband very quietly confessed to her unspeakable delight the fact that in that morning meeting, in a very quiet way, but in a very In a sure way, he had come in to experience Jesus Christ as his own and personal Savior. And the lady looked at her husband and she said, Tell me, dear, what was it the minister said that spoke to your heart and that brought you to Christ? And the man looked at his wife and he said, Dear, I don't remember what the minister said. It wasn't so much what he said, but rather it was what he read. Oh, she said, What did he read? What passage? of the Word of God, did he read? And he said, well, he read that passage of the Bible from Genesis chapter 5 that gives you the genealogy of Adam, tells you how old Adam was, how long he lived. And then you'll find after all of the sons of Adam's race except Enoch, these words, and he died. And he died. And he died. And he died. And so on and so forth, down the whole of the chapter. And he said, it was just those words, sitting in the house of God, that spoke to my heart, that one day it will be said of me, and he died. But where would my soul be in eternity. Realising this solemn reality, this man passed from death unto life and embraced Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour. I wonder, do you ever stop and think of this solemn reality? The Bible says we all must needs die Every one of us, doesn't matter who we are, will be called to pass through the valley of the shadow of death. We will go to the house appointed for all living, a living spoken of by Job. And one day you will say farewell to this old world and you will take the last step of the journey, a solemn reality. Let me die the death of the righteous. One day, you're going to die. You know, in Lisburn, not far from where I preach, we had a dear old preacher and evangelist, and he worked with the Irish Evangelistic Band by the name of Frank Marshall. And Frank Marshall was an old-time gospel preacher. And he would go with the Irish Evangelistic Band down the south of Ireland and different parts of the province. And he would have gospel missions and he would preach the gospel. But he was not only a great preacher, but he was a great worker and visitor. And he would go round the farms and he would go round the homes. And he would ask the farmers and the farmers' wives and the workers, the farm labourers, to come to the mission. And one day Frank went to a farm and he noticed the farmer was working in the field and he had a fork in his hand. And Frank went over to him with his Bible in his hand to speak to him and invite him to the mission. And the farmer knew who he was, and he turned, and he said, if you don't get out of this field, he says, I'll put this pitchfork clean through you. I don't want you. You're gory. You're gospel. I want you to get out of the field. And if you don't get out of the field, I'll put the fork clean through you. And Frank beat a hasty retreat, and he left. And he was trembling. But you know, the next day, God spoke to Frank Marshall. Frank, go back to that man. speak to him about his soul. And Frank Marshall, in fear and trembling, obeyed the Lord. And he returned to the same farm. And he came to the same field. And there at the side, the farmer was standing, leaning, crumpled up on his pitchfork. And when Frank got closer to him, he discovered he was a corpse. He was dead. The life of the body had gone out of his body. And the man was now in eternity. Listen, dear friend, there's a solemn reality here. God is not mocked whatsoever a man soweth. That shall he also reap. And this man turned his back upon God. And in the end, God turned His back upon him. And this man missed the opportunity of being saved. You see, the Bible says that he that ofteneth being reproved, listen, and hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be cut off, and that without remedy. That word remedy simply means that even the cross itself in all its power can do nothing to save the man or woman who goes out to a lost eternity. Tell me, It's going to be you. You've heard the gospel. You know the way of salvation. You maybe heard it before. I was even born. And tonight you're still without Christ and standing in need of salvation. Yes, there's a solemn reality. Let me die the death of the righteous. But then I want you to notice quickly that there's a sincere request here. Because listen to what Balaam says. He says, let me die the death of the righteous. Listen. And let my last end be like his. and fill him with all his foolishness and waywardness in life when it came to stirring death, the last enemy in the face. He wanted to die the death of the righteous person. Now, that word righteous there means the person who is in a right relationship with God. And when Balaam said, let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like His, he's saying, let me die like the godly man, the man who knows God, the man whose faith and trust is in the Lord." Now, when you look at the death of the righteous in the Word of God, I want you to notice that the death of the righteous is a precious death. It's a precious death. In Psalm 116, verse 15, David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he says, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. And I want you to understand that the death of the righteous is precious in the sight of the Lord, because they're His saints. Now, a saint is someone who is not canonized, but rather cleansed by the precious blood of Christ. That's what makes a man or woman a saint of God. That's what makes them righteous. They've been to Jesus for the cleansing power. and they're washed in the blood of the Lamb. Do you ever notice that the death of the righteous, how precious it is to the Lord? If you read the book of Acts, you'll find that we have the story of the first Christian martyr, Stephen by name. And you remember hard that he was condemned to death and he died by them throwing stones upon him. The Jewish way of execution. And Stephen, as he was dying, he looked towards heaven, and he saw the Son of God standing, waiting, ready to receive Him. Now, that's tremendous, because when you read the New Testament, it talks about Christ sitting on the majesty of high, the symbol of the fact that the work of the cross is finished. But yet, when it comes to the death of the saints, my, the Lord's standing. And it seems that the Lord is standing to receive them to glory. It makes their death precious to the Lord. And it makes their death precious to the believer. But I want you to notice that the death of the righteous is not only a precious death, But the death of the righteous is a peaceful death. You see, the righteous man or woman is the only person who can die at peace with God. And very often, I've gone into a graveyard and maybe the man has been ungodly and no thought of God. And they're putting the tombstone or the gravestone at peace. And it's a lie! They're not at peace. They were never at peace with God and life. And they had no peace with God in death. And they certainly will have no peace with God in the lost eternity. But oh, what a difference when a man or woman is saved to have the peace of God that passes all understanding. I love that story of the visit of the Christ child along with his parents, Mary and Joseph, to the temple. And do you remember old, devout Simeon? nor that he took the Christ child in his arms. And he said these words, Lord, now let us thy servant depart in peace according to thy word. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation. And old Simeon could die a peaceful death because he had looked to Christ He beheld the Saviour of the world, the Prince of Peace Himself. And He could die the death of the righteous, a precious death, and also a peaceful death. He knew that it was well with His soul. Tell me, friend, when you come to the swelling of the Jordan, to that last moment of life, when you have to die, will you be able to say it is well It is well with my soul. But then I want you to notice that the death of the righteous in this sincere request is not only a precious death and a peaceful death, but thank God the death of the righteous is a prepared death. The righteous man has made preparation for death. You see, in the book of Amos chapter 4 and verse 12, God gives us this message, and He says, prepare to meet thy God. And the righteous man is a man or woman who has made preparation to die. I think of a man, he was a businessman, a thoughtful man in many ways, and successful in business. He made an appointment to see his minister one day. And the minister met up with him and he said, it's just a wee bit of business, I want to talk over with you. He said, I've been settling things about if anything was to happen and I was to die and so is my wife, I'll not have any trouble or bother. And he said, I just want to settle the matter of a family plot, a grave for myself and my wife and my family. And the minister sat down with him and sorted out all the arrangements and He had a family plot for his burial. The minister was a saved man, and after all the arranging had been done, he turned to the businessman and he said to him, tell me, tell me, you've found a resting place for your body, but have you got a resting place for your soul, which is more important? Do you know Christ as your Saviour? And the businessman was a bit taken back. And he said, you know, I've never thought about it. You're the first person ever to ask me that question. And before long, many minutes were passed, he found the Prince of Peace as his own and personal Savior. And maybe I'm talking to some man or woman today, and you could take me to the very place where your body is going to be laid. But my dear friend, where will your soul be in eternity? Tonight, we were coming down the road and I was speaking to my friend who brought me along to the meeting. There was a big sign for the Joyden Lopp Centre. And I said to him, have you ever been there? I've never had the opportunity myself to go down. Have you ever been there? And he said, no. But you know, some time ago there was a program on television and it was all about Joey Dunlop and his name's famous throughout the world for his achievements in racing the motorbikes. And it was his brother Robert was being interviewed. And the interviewer turned to Robert, at the end of the interview, and he asked him this question. He said to him, how would you like to die? How would you like to die? Meaning, would you like to die like your brother? Would you like to die in the saddle? Would you like to die in a race, racing a motorbike? Robert, I don't know whether he saved or not. I wouldn't know any of the Dunlop family. But he turned to the interviewer and he said this, I would like to die the death of a Christian." I thought that was a tremendous statement. Do you know what he was saying? He was saying in the words of Balaam, let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his. Because it doesn't matter what you achieve in this world. The only thing of value you'll take with you will be your eternal. immortal soul. Can you see a solemn reality here? Let me die. He faced up to the fact that he was going to die. Can you see a sincere request here? Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like his. But you know, as I think of these words in closing, there's not only a solemn reality and a sincere request, But you know, there's a sad regret here. There's a sad regret here. Because as you study the life of Balaam and how that he went on to live from that moment, you'll discover that Balaam didn't die the death of the righteous. As a matter of fact, as you read the book of Joshua chapter 13 and verse 22, you'll discover that Balaam died by the sword of the armies of the children of Israel on their onward march to the promised land. They died and he perished. He never made it. And the sad truth is, if you read God's Word in the epistle of Jude in verse 11, you'll find that this man, Balaam's name, is co-joined with Cain and Korah, two other apostates. Men who had religion, but men who hadn't God. And sad to say, Balaam, from the evidence of God's Word, Balaam died the way he lived. Balaam died the death of an ungodly man, a man without God, without Christ, or without hope in the world. Tell me, is that going to be your death? You ever think of the words of the Lord Jesus in John chapter 8, verses 21-24? And three times the Lord Jesus I said to those who were gathered round, ye shall die in your sins. Ye shall die in your sins. Ye shall die in your sins. You're not going to die the death of the righteous, but rather you're going to die in your sin. You know, the reality is the road to hell is paved with skulls. of those who had good intentions. Nobody intends to go to hell. Everybody wants to be saved. But sad to say, they don't die the death of the righteous. You know, W.P. Nicholson and his life story. He tells when he was a boy, he loved to go down to Bangor. He would mitch school. I don't know if you have that word in Coleraine. He would mitch school. That's a good Belfast word. And he would take wee holidays of his own and go down to the harbour and he loved to watch the boats. But there was an old ungodly sea captain. And my, these young boys just idolized him. And could he curse and blaspheme. He was just of the calibre of John Newton. And he would curse and he would blaspheme and would almost strike fear into the hearts of these young boys. But you know, it doesn't matter who you are, you eventually have to die. The old sick dog was cut down with serious illness, with cancer. He came to die, and he died a slow and a very painful death. And the neighbours said that such was the shouts and the cries of this man on his deathbed, seeking mercy, seeking peace, seeking forgiveness. It was terrible. The heavens seemed to be as brass. And there was no answer. They failed to find peace with God. You know, the Bible says, God says, I will mock when your fear cometh. I will laugh at your calamity. Ye shall eat of the fruit of your doings. And whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. And it's possible for you to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and to come to the end of life's journey and to discover that you've sinned away your day of grace. Do you remember the words of Jeremiah? The summer has ended. The harvest has passed. And I'm not saved. Is that you? God has given you the summer of opportunity, of opportunity to get saved. You've hardened your heart. It's sad to say at the end of the journey on the broad road, you're going to be lost forever and ever. Oh, I wonder tonight, will you come? Will you say, let me die the death of the righteous and let my last end be like His? Or I wonder, are you going to continue on in your sin? You know, there was a tragedy not far from our church, and somebody died in very tragic circumstances. And a lady who I knew was in a shop in Balna Hinch, and she overheard the shopkeeper talking to a friend. And she says, you know, it would frighten you, wouldn't it, the way you can be cut off? And you know, these Christians, they tell you you need to make preparation. But I'm just going to take my chances. I'm just going to take my chances. Is that you, friend, gambling with your soul? Let me die the death of the righteous and let my last day be like his. When you come to that middle cross of Calvary, there's a cross on either side. And there was one man and he died the death of the righteous. And with his last breath, he cried out, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom. And the Lord looked at him and he said, Today shalt Thou be with me in Paradise. He went home to be with the Lord. And sad to say, the other man, he died in his sin. He didn't make any preparation. He didn't call upon the Lord for mercy. One went to heaven and died the death of the righteous. The other went to hell and died the death of the unrighteous. Oh, I wonder how you're going to die. Do you ever stop to think about it? I wonder, has the Lord spoken to your heart tonight? God is stressing and laying it before you tonight. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Behold, now is the accepted time. O, turn, while the Saviour in mercy is waiting, and sail for the harbour light. For hard do you know, but your soul may be drifting over the deadline tonight. Friend, don't wait till tomorrow. Tonight could be God's final call. May the Lord write His Word upon our hearts. We're going to sing together, closing, Hymn of Invitation. It's the one that our sister was singing tonight. We'll just sing Four verses, just as I am, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bid'st me come to thee, O Lamb of God." Well with her soul, and she was offended.