Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
John, 1723.
Halfway through the verse, that the world may know that thou hast sent me.
And has loved them as thou hast loved me.
Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory which Thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world.
Sing of thy love and.
Continue our Bible reading on Luke 12.
We suggested we just begin with verse 22, although we did already speak of this a little bit. And as was mentioned in the prayer, we'll just move along so we get to verse 40, OK.
Luke 12, verse 22 He said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life what ye shall eat, neither for the body what you'll put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the Ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn.
And God feedeth them. How much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature? 1 cubit, If he then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow. They toil not, they spin not yet. I say unto you that Solomon and all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothed the grass which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms. Provide yourself bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that feedeth not.
Where no thief approaches, nor sorry, neither moth corrupteth. For your treasure is there will your heart be also, but your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for the Lord.
When he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them just sit down to meet, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or in the third watch, and find them, so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the Goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
Be therefore ready also, for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Well, if you remember the threat of things that we took up yesterday.
This carries on, of course, with it, and that was simply that the Lord was preparing His disciples for the time of His absence and He would have them to be bright and shining witnesses in this world. Yet there were certain things that would hinder that and so He sought to set them free of those things so that they would be, uh, what He intended them to be. As we mentioned yesterday in the 1St 3 verses, we have them setting them free from, uh, hypocrisy. And then, uh, in verses 4 through 12, we had the sending them free from the fear of man.
And then, uh, setting them free from covetousness, which was, uh, what we had finished up with verse up to verse 21. And now today we have in these verses the awards work to set the disciples free of worry or anxiety and care.
And then we'll get from verse 35 to 40, the Lord setting them free from from carelessness and worldliness.
And I think these things are so very helpful that we too would be not just like the disciples, we would be like the disciples watching and waiting.
We also mentioned that there was a remedy, uh, for each of these things, hypocrisy. And I just would like to recount those things. And that was, uh, first of all, for as we say, hypocrisy was to judge the little things in our lives as they come up so that we don't become a hypocrite in the, to the degree that he speaks of here, that this would be no hypocrisy at all in our lives. Then the remedy for the 2nd.
00:05:20
Thing which was the fear of man is so that we should fear God. Because we fear God, we will not fear man.
And the third one, of course, to be set free from hypocrisy, I mean from covetousness, would be to not spend our time laying up treasure on this earth.
And I think the words were used simplify. We need to simplify our lives. And much was said there about getting the stuff out of our lives that really hinder us from being free to witness for the Lord like we should. And so I would just like to say for that third one, simplify, simplify, simplify. And then the remedy for what we have before us here is to realize that we are an object of God's providential care and to trust him for our needs.
That's what the Lord brings in here. Why should we be worried about the future and caring about all the things that the average person would care about, You know, food and raiment and clothing and all that kind of thing.
When we have a father up above that cares for us more than the spouse, isn't that beautiful? So we need to realize that we are an object of God's providential care and to trust them for all our needs. That's the cure for worry. It's to trust the Lord. And maybe we could say here, it's just trust, trust and trust.
And we also mentioned that this takes time. We learn through experience to trust the Lord, putting circumstances where we.
Are a little concerned and we learn to trust him and we find out he's as good as his word. He looks after these things and so when our hearts are set free from that, we can be busy in his things. And so these verses tell us that we're not to seek those things that are just mundane as far as life is concerned and making it an object, but we should seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all those things would be added unto us.
These are very clear and simple messages that we get here. And, uh, I think what we've noticed in our previous readings is that we've got sidetracked occasionally on, uh, reading between the lines and we're, we, we're trying to figure out, uh, if we're not to, uh, store up, uh, and hoard as we get earlier on, then maybe, uh, we get confused as to how do we even work and things like that. We need to forget about that. We come to this.
Portion now and uh, verse 27 says they toil not and they spin not. Don't get hung up on that verse.
Should you work? Of course you should work. Should you spin? Yes, but it's the spirit in which it's done and for to get the setting go down to the end, verse 29.
And it is this type of seeking that is, uh, condemned. Seek not what you shall eat or what you shall drink, neither be of doubtful mind. And if you go to the new translation, it says and don't live in anxiety. And so if that kind of seeking, it's that worrying that just obsesses us. And we've all been there and it is a sin. It is, it is doubting God's provision. Now as we go back through this portion from 22 on.
We see that we are told the remedy is in verse 24, to consider the Ravens and to consider these other, uh, of God's creation. God has this ordered, uh, economy of things that he manages providentially. Bruce used that word providentially. He's behind all these scenes and he's caring for even these lilies of the field. He's caring for the Ravens. And I don't know if they're anything like crows. We don't really appreciate them a whole lot.
Uh, but there is this thing I can just visualize of the bird rising up in the morning when the sun rises up, just looking forward to the provisions, uh, that the creator has, uh, set aside for it. And, uh, that's a, that's a wonderful thing. And so it's not that we don't provide, of course we do, but it's the spirit in which we go through our world, uh, not being so occupied and so burdened and so anxious.
Philippians 4 talks about that and, uh, it takes us a while to, uh, come into various necessities of life and trials and tribulations that we realize our anxiety and our worry and our stress didn't add anything to the outcome. Nothing except made us a little embarrassed before the Lord because he is going to provide. And so we, when we look at the creation and all this ordered economy and how he cares for all of it.
00:10:23
And then we find that we are such objects of His care that he gave his Son to redeem us all that He's done for us. It really should.
Put us completely at rest. There should be none of us. I mean we we really should be the most unstressed people on this planet. And yet is it really true?
Well, I'll be the first one to confess that even though I've said all these things, I feel like a hypocrite.
Should we all know that?
When is the sanctuary?
In this sense, absolutely, yeah. It's really pride in a sense, because it's really looking to myself for the source of blessing or provision for myself. And I think that I have the energy and the wisdom to accomplish something that might be for my own good. The Lord just says, you know, every good and every perfect gift cometh down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow turning. And he says you're looking in the wrong direction.
You can't affect anything for your own blessing. And it, if it wasn't for the sovereignty of God, you wouldn't have what you have. And so he says, uh, just, uh, remember that the source of all blessing is from above, from the father and from his heart of love. I'd just like to turn to Colossians chapter 3. And it says there in connection with our energy, it doesn't mean that we should just sit at home and just hope that the paycheck comes in and that there's enough sales in the office and so on that.
We're all very wonderfully provided for. There's energy that's required, it says in Colossians 3 and verse 23.
Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men. And then it says in verse chapter 4 and verse two, it says, continue in prayer and watch in the same with Thanksgiving.
And so when we pray for what we need, we're to watch for it. He's going to provide, perhaps in a way that we didn't expect, but the heart trusts the Lord. The heart feels the provision has been provided before, and there's a heart of love. And the Father has been petitioned for what's needed, and we just wait and trust Him for it.
Sometimes our thoughts are very active within us and we put ourselves in a situation, well what is this or what is that and we start developing a case and puts ourselves into a lot of stress. The Philippians four I think may help us there. Verse four says rejoice in the Lord Alway. And again I say, rejoice, let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing.
But is that sort of anxious there anxiousness there? Be careful for nothing, but then everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds or your thoughts through Jesus Christ. And, and, uh, it's wonderful, uh, sometimes when we find ourselves anxious.
And realizing that we are.
Umm, burdened about many things and we all of a sudden realize and remember that we have a resource and we began to lay those things on the Lord. Things change, don't they?
When he says here, take no thought for your life, he's not saying that we should just live carelessly and don't have any plans that we may make tentatively, uh, in, in, in the presence of the Lord. That's not what he's saying. I know there are people that will come up with this idea that we should just sort of live like transient people because after all, that's what the Lord said. Sell everything you have and go and give alms to others. And that's not the point here, as Wayne mentioned, and we're going to say it again.
When he says take no thought, he's talking about a certain type of thought that is anxious thoughts, anxious thoughts, thoughts that are are worried and essentially sin and worry is a sin. And so he's talking about that sort of thing. Well, before we close in the last Bible reading was asked what the difference was between the ants and the Raven. Well, the Ant, you see, he stores up for the winter. So there is such a thing as storing and having umm, some something in a bank account.
00:15:11
Uh, but the man that we had before us in verses 16 to 21 was a man that did not just have a bank account. He was hoarding material possessions. And that's the difference. You know, an Ant, he stores up for what? For winter? What's that? A few months ahead? He's not storing up for 27 winters like this man was. So there's the difference. You know, we should be wise with what we have and look to the future. The apostle Paul did in first Corinthians chapter 16, he laid out.
To the Corinthians, his itinerary that would last some four or five months, he said, Lord willing, he sought, uh, to be here in this place and in this place, and then he was going to winter here and there, and then he was gonna go on. So it's right to make plans before the Lord and to, uh, have thoughts and take thought about where you may, uh, the Lord may lead you and what exercises that are before you in life and all that. But it's another thing to, uh, to hoard. And that's what the Lord is decrying here.
So the thoughts here are not planning, thoughtful planning in the presence of the Lord. It's anxious, anxious thoughts that are outside the Lord. Really, it's just in the flesh that the Lord is seeking to take away from the disciples.
They'll pass through times of stress, and some more than others. Uh, and during those times, umm.
I think the Lord uses those times of stress to teach us things. And umm, in Psalm 94 there's a verse, uh, 19 in the new translation I'd like to read.
Umm, in the multitude of my anxious thoughts within me. So you know the the psalmist knew what anxious thoughts were, but in the multitude of those anxious thoughts within me, it says.
Thy comforts have delighted my soul.
Who is the resource there that it's not that we may not get anxious thoughts, but when we do, we're able to give them to the Lord because umm, you'd be, you wouldn't be human, would you? If I say you heard news of an accident and your child was involved, Would you not be inhuman if you didn't have some sort of anxious thoughts? But then you're able to take those anxious thoughts and give them to the Lord and help trust knowing that.
No matter what is happening, as we already mentioned, I think as you, Wayne, that or maybe when you were brought Robert, the Providence of God, nothing happens as we had here with even the sparrows. Nothing happens on this planet without God's knowledge. It just does not happen. And that's sometimes it's well, it should always be a comfort, but it's us that is the be are the barriers. I think the passage that George read in Philippians chapter four really give us what we should do when those kinds of situations come to us.
When the anxious thoughts come and you know some of them are, they're beyond your control, that you, you give them to the Lord, as you mentioned, they'll let your request be made known to God. You, you bring it to him. He'll give you a piece about it at such times. And again, I don't speak from experience because we fall. I feel like I've failed in it. But if my father was here this afternoon, he would have turned us not only to the verse that George mentioned in Psalm 94, but also to Psalm 55 and verse 22.
Psalm 55, verse 22.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. And that word burden, there could be a signed portion cast. I assigned portion on the Lord. So he's given this to you to bear for him. And if you do it in the right spirit, in the right way, you can actually bring glory to God in it. And I understand that that word cast could be translated role. Sometimes the burden is so heavy you say I can't cast it.
I couldn't move it, move it in and Charlie said, well, just roll it over on me. Just roll it over and I'll take it. Isn't that lovely and Psalm. Now Proverbs 16 is another verse, a little different. Proverbs 16 verse three, commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thought shall be established. Here you get the idea of planning for the future and this could be translated role, not just commit, but role thy works unto the Lord and that word works apparently has the thought it's a different word in the original language that's usually used for.
Working and so on. I am I'm told that it has the thought of plans.
00:20:04
Plans, role, or commit thy plans unto the Lord.
And thy thoughts shall be established. So the Lord wants us to be orderly in our lives and not just live like transient people because of a misunderstanding of these verses. No, we're to have an orderly Christian life, but it's to be free of worry so that we can be occupied with his Kingdom and his things, the cause of Christ in this world. And we will not be as long as we're taken up with the worries of the mundane things of life. Now notice it says here what you shall.
Turning back to our chapter now, it's, uh, it says what you shall, uh.
Uh, for meat and ramen, what you should have put neither to eat or for the body. So you've got two things there. And as you probably have seen that he brings in the illustration of the Raven to take care of illustrating how God's providential care will look after us in the Department of food. And then he says that brings in the Lilly's to illustrate God's providential care and with regard to clothing. But I have noticed in first Timothy chapter 6 that Paul says to Timothy.
Having food and raiment therewith, let us be content. That's First Timothy 68, which is a verse that goes along with what he's saying here. But I understand Brother Tony mentioned this one time that the word raiment in First Timothy 6 is a broader word than just clothing, and it refers to a covering of any sort. And he said that that really has the connotation of not just the clothing to cover us.
But also a roof over a head. And so the Lord is interested not just that you have some food and have clothing, but also you take care of a place for you to stay. Isn't that nice? And those are the three things you really need when you think about it. I need a place to sleep tonight. And it's, uh, he said, it's implied in that, uh, eighth verse, at least the meaning of that word is, is broad enough to imply that.
What we are brought to face to face with here is a sovereign God who is controlling everything for his own purposes. Now that there are some that lapse into something that's called fatalism, and that is that I have no control over this. Here it goes again. I'm going downhill. Things are going bad, and I realize I can't fight against God. So I just drift on down like a dead fish and I'm not enjoying this one bit. That's fatalism.
Is that what Allah wants us to do? Is, is that what the sovereignty of God, uh, teaches us? Now this is a loving father who is teaching us, uh, along the way. And so when what may seem to be calamity comes, uh, he is just drawing as near to himself. And a sister just recently made this comment.
Uh, after visiting with my wife, ** *** said, you know what? She's participating with the Lord in her death.
And that was an amazing thing for me to realize and it changed right there, uh, some things that needed to be changed for me. And I, I'd like to pass that on that when things come that are difficult, that, that may cause anxiety, even these simple things of life, uh, that are that, which are daily a trial and an exercise. And we don't deny the fact that we do get anxious, that there is stress rises and concern about it. We, we need to participate with the Lord in his discipling of us.
And that's a precious thought to me. So how do we do that as a child with the father? Uh, it is to submit to him and enjoy his love and try to get what he's, what his message is to go there. And so as we come down toward the end of this portion here he is saying that the nations of the world in verse 30 are struggling after these things. I've got something else entirely, uh, beyond that for you. I'm gonna take care of those things.
But I want you to live like the Kingdom is yours. You are you're sons of the king, you're a Princess and you belong to this Kingdom. And I don't want you having the world view of the peasant. Well, you don't know what's going on. You're not participating with the king and anything as a peasant. But I'm going to give you the Kingdom. And so he says here, rather seek ye the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. All of the things that we get hung up on that give us stress.
We should be concerned about the Kingdom, we should be concerned about advancing his causes in this earth. And the more that we do that, we'll find out that's the real cure. It's not some psychological way to deal with worry and stress. Take a course, read a book or whatever. Uh, we need to lose that stuff. The only book that we need is this book here and we need to get involved in his Kingdom. That is to advance his purposes here and.
00:25:25
We find out that we become, there's this little flock that we are moving with and he says, fear not little flock. I've got all of these things under control and it's my good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. I know I'm pushing the chapter on, but, uh, we're half done already. So, uh, Wayne, you mentioned, uh, that fatalism is one of the, uh, the dangers in this and it's like two side, 2 ditches in either side of the road. You have on one side fatalism. On the other side, you have presumption.
You know, we live without plans, we don't live with any thought of of being responsible and having an orderly life and we presum per we presume upon the Lord is gonna look after us. That's wrong too. And down the middle is where we should be walking and that's faith.
So presumption like well I could put this way, faith acts on the revealed mind of God.
But presumption tries to harness God to our plans and try to, uh, manipulate God to support us in our carelessness and so on. And so you have fatalism on one side, but you have on the other side presumption. And both of them, of course, wrong. But down the middle of the road is faith. Faith trusts the Lord. And by the way, I just like to pass on with another older brother. Mr. Keating used to tell us that.
When the Lord said fear not, he said you can count them up in your Bible, but there's some 365 fear knots in your Bible, one for every day. My wife and I looked at it one time and we didn't come up. We had 280 or something. We couldn't find them all. But then someone said, well maybe you should be checking fear thou not. So if we get them all contractions of the thing, you'll apparently come up with 365 fear knots, one for every day of the year.
Isn't that nice? Could we, uh, would the difference be between the resignation? That's what you're talking about? Just I resigned myself to?
Whatever comes into my life or like Romans five and three, it says, you know it talks about our position there in the 1St 2 verses. What we have in Christ can be taken away from us, but we're in a wilderness and so he says and not only so, but we boasted. Mr. Darby says it's glory here but we boast in what tribulation boast in tribulation, yes, because.
The fibulation works, patients and patients experience and experience hope and the hope of one day being with the Lord, but it's going through these circumstances with the Lord and there is great value to that. That's different than resignation, which you're talking about, right? It's a verse that you gave us here, uh, Romans 5. Three is probably the best scripture to put with that expression, participating with the Lord in his ways with you.
The glory and Tribulation also realizing that he's working something that's gonna bring glory to his own son.
I know we've already quoted from Assam, but I'd like to read in the the 37th Psalm. We know that the psalmist really brings out the feelings, the deep, deep feelings and affections that are as they remnant to really go through that tribulation period says in the 37th Psalm verse three, trust in the Lord and do good. So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. That's the principle.
That they're going to really be taught there. And then it says something further and it's for the heart. God doesn't want to have us say, well, you know, the Lord is going to provide and then not have our hearts engaged with them. And so they're going to have the hearts engaged with the Lord. And verse four, delight thyself also in the Lord. That's really what he wants. He wants the heart to be engaged with himself and to just delight in him and to the Spirit of God just gives us this instruction and gospel that our hearts and our minds might be set free.
From that which is characteristic of those that are in the nations around us. And they think that they can do it themselves, but they can't. And for the believer, he's not to act on those principles. So he's going to delight himself also in the Lord. And he shall give thee desires of thine heart. What do we really want as those that belong to Christ? We want what He wants. We want his way to prevail in our lives. That's really what we want. If we wanted, if we were really honest with ourselves, we would say, you know, what I want in the flesh is not going to give me anything that's good. But what the Lord wants, I want by faith, that's what I want. And if it's a light meal today, then I ought to be thankful for a light meal.
00:30:24
And if it's, uh, you know, the consideration for the clothing and so on, it's just a base requirement. But what he wants is the higher motive to be taken up with himself personally. And then it says in verse 5, roll thy way, I think is what it reads in Mr. Darby's translation. Roll thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
Later that same sum, doesn't it say I've been been young and I'm now old and I've never seen the righteous forsaken or begging bread. Now he looks after his own. And as we said last time we were together yesterday, that and we've proven it in our little experiences with a little business. And I know that everyone of you have proven it in your way, in your circumstances, in your life. And yet how slow we are to trust teaching us in this school that we're in to trust Him for the future.
And the more we can get to that point where we've rolled everything off to and to him and, and because he's going to care for us, we can be free to be occupied with the Kingdom of God and the interests of Christ. That's the very point of this here. So he says sell you have and give alms. Now this doesn't mean again, to live like a transient person and just get rid of everything and don't worry about even having $5 in your pocket. Somehow somebody will give it to you and basically.
Uh, that, umm, lifestyle that Scripture elsewhere condemns. Uh, that's not what the Lord is saying. I think the idea of selling is that we, we, there's a change of ownership. We put what we have as far as our possessions are concerned into the hands of the Lord who owns it anyway because he says the cattle upon 1000 hills are mine. But if we were to put it consciously in his presence, in his hands and act as stewards with it.
Really, that's the essence of what the Lord is teaching here. He's using figures of speech and symbols in his teaching. And so it's not a literal selling everything that you have, but the idea of a change of ownership and own that it really belongs to the Lord and put it in his hands and use it As for him. Your car belongs to him, your house belongs to him. Use it for the Lord and that's the point. And then give alms. Well, that's just.
Be free and liberal with the material things that pass through your hands.
That's, uh, that's always a good sign. When you see people that are liberal with what they have, it shows generally, generally I say that there's a good state.
Bruce, what would you say, uh, when a scripture tells us that we're blessed with all spiritual blessings and heavenly places? And I have heard, uh, that we don't have promises for material things as believers and Jews did. But, uh, and, and that verse that you quoted, uh, Paul Wilson one time says some Saints have seen what David never did. You know that God might call us might, might not God.
Call us to.
Uh, die without having food? Uh what?
How? How do those things fit you? You know what I'm I'm saying. The 1St that I quoted was which?
What's worse, did I quote that you're referring to that, uh, have you never seen that? Saw 3722?
Thanks. Yeah, 22 or 23 for Saint Vegas for Grant. But, uh, I've heard of, uh, stories where Christians have, you know, not had enough.
George, what's the answer to that?
Could I suggest John 11?
John 11 And it says, umm, the Lord Jesus, uh, says John 11. Let's read verse three. Therefore his sister sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, this sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. And so the Lord is ordering our circumstances, so that every one of us differs in glory from one star to another. Everyone of us differs.
And when we get home to the glory, our circumstances will have been ordered in such a way in this scene that every note of praise will be slightly different in that glorious scene above. And so one may be called to be martyred, one may starve to death, but one that one that didn't have the food that he ought to have had, perhaps from a natural perspective, Oh, he was glorifying God as he went to the grave, as it were. But there was a there was a purpose in the heart of God.
00:35:23
That that might take place, we don't know the purpose, but you know.
What does it say that, umm, what I do? Thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. We know that was in the Lord's, the upper room ministry, but in, in that connection, you know, we just need to trust the Lord, roll the way upon him and, uh, in that submission, there's gonna be fruit for him. We've got a few things from the eternal perspective.
We're, we're finite creatures and we often view things, uh, on the finite basis. And God wants to lift our eyesight and our view from Mount Pisgah or to view things what he is going to do from an internal perspective. And, and, uh, I'm sure that, uh, when James was martyred, it was a real blow to the Saints. Umm, and then a little while later, Peter was preserved, delivered from prison.
Umm, Herod had thought to do the same thing he did to James, but the Lord said no, umm, why? But we don't know all the answers. But you know, the enemy of our souls. And I'm thinking that all the enemies, the world, the flesh devil, all of them are, are built in such a way to where they're always questioning the goodness of God. And uh, hath God said that started in the, in the, uh, in the garden, right? Always questioning the goodness of God. But faith would rise above that and say.
God is for me.
Period. And that all these things are for good, for my good, that, uh, you know, how wonderful to view things from that way. And so when a trial comes, if we have to say it's difficult, uh, we do get into anxiety, but when we look at who God is, then we know that I don't understand it now. It doesn't make sense to me now, but the God who is weaving things perfectly in his tapestry of love.
It's going to make it all clear to me someday, and I wanna understand it. But for right now, he just wants me to trust. He wants me to wait. And then there's gonna be a wait time when it's all gonna be clear. Hallelujah.
Who am I to question God?
Quote another Psalm. It says in the end of the 84th Psalm. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Now do I believe that I I'm ashamed to think of it. I often times don't and reach out and take something that the Lord didn't give me. No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. I didn't mention this yesterday, but sometimes, you know, we think that we need something.
I have a watch that doesn't work very well. It quits at night. And I've been thinking I should get another watch. So I went shopping for a watch and I saw a couple of nice watches and I thought, well, you know, maybe I'll just wait. Let's just wait. And I, I think that exercise of soul has been good just to wait and not to just instantly want it. And that's the way we are. We just instantly want it. And I thought to myself, well, you know, there may be a time when I'm walking through one of the shops and the Lord will just show me that there's a watch for sale here and I may pick up a watch.
And, uh, you know, no good thing will he withhold these. These verses that we're reading today are practical verses. These are not good theories for other people. This is for me. This is for you.
And then when you go through the exercise while you're waiting.
I just thought of Psalm 105, verse 19 until that time his word came the word of the Lord tried him. That's that's Jacob in prison. It was the wasn't wasn't the fetters, the chains and the ball and the the dank dark conditions he lived in that tried him. It was the word of the Lord because he believed it. He believed it and then you could just imagine him saying like I could have sworn God said this thus thus.
What am I doing here? Why hasn't he provided what he said? So it's not wrong to go through the exercise. It's good for you to go through the exercise because in that exercise, in the depths of it is what changes your character to be more like him.
00:40:04
You have to live in a, in a society where there is instant gratification does absolutely no good for any character at all. Well, as you speak of learning to wait, the, uh, reminds me of the latter part of the chapter. We need to wait patiently. Wait for what? A watch? No, the Lord's coming. He may provide the watch in the meantime if we need it. And he's been very good to us.
But isn't that nice to think that?
Uh, we have the Lords coming before us and we need to be waiting.
That's verse 36. We need to be watching. That's verse 37 and we need to be working. That's 43. Verse 43. When he cometh, he shall find his servant so doing.
Washington watching, waiting, watching and working are what should characterize us in, uh, this time when we look for the Lord to come. Just one comment here about verse 33. Again, I know I'm going backwards. I made mention that, uh, the Lord uses, uh, figures of speech and symbols when he teaches as elsewhere in the Bible, and you need to understand that. But you can see the context of the whole passage that he's speaking figuratively when he says, uh, to sell what you have.
The reason why I say that is as you read on in the verse.
He says provide yourselves bags which wax, not old. And he's talking about a treasure which is in heaven. So a bag is where you would collect something or keep something, but yet he's saying it's in heaven. So you can see very well he's speaking figuratively of some store place or something in the heavens. He's not Speaking of a literal bag here. And as you go all the way through, he's not, he's using these figures. The same with the treasury. He's not talking about a literal, you know, little box with the gold and silver trinkets and diamonds and things like this. And he's talking about what would be very valuable.
And so he's using figures here and let's not stumble over this, that when he says to sell what we have that we're literally just go out and just sell the ranch. But anyway, uh.
He brings in His coming here, and this brings us to the conclusion of really how He's preparing them. And as I say, He's preparing them for the time of his absence, that they would be proper witnesses during that time as they wait for their Lord to come. And it's important to see that when He brings his coming before us here that He's not so much speaking about the rapture or the appearing. He's giving the moral side of things.
That should and the posture that should suit the Saints as they wait for his coming. Luke is a moral book. So if you're gonna start looking at the events of prophecy here, you've missed the point. Let me say that again. If you start looking for the events of prophecy in these verses, you've missed the point. It's a moral application for the soul that we would be ready for Him. And I said waiting, watching and working, or what should characterize us. But he brings us up here because it's possible to be taken up with the theory of the Lord's coming, and yet it has no practical effect on our lives.
And the Lord wants to set that one right. And we can get that way too. Where we were standing in the hallway, we were talking about define nuances, exactly when the Lord would come. And then this would happen and this would happen and this would happen. And we had it, as far as we could tell, all the perfect doctrinal order. But the Lord is saying, but it's got to go farther than that. It's got to get to the point where it has some practical effect on our lives, that it would change our lives. Give you an illustration, Mr. Hajo, This is Albert Hajo.
He said to me one time that, you know, we need to do everything in our lives with the expectancy of the Lord's coming. He says when I take out my lawn mower and I started up, I like to think this would probably be the last time I'll be using this. And he said I'd like to go through the day just thinking in that way. He had the eminence of the Lord's coming before him to such a degree that he was holding things very, very lightly down here. Even though there was responsibility to cut along, Heather's responsibility to work and all this, but we should be doing it in a certain.
Spirit, and that's what the Lord is addressing.
I believe in these closing verses, uh, 35 to 40.
The verse for that verse is verse 45.
Uh, but if that, but, and if that servant say in his heart, so this is not a, a giving up of the truth of the rapture, but it is giving up the heart that is anticipating the Lord, that treasure. And so that takes us back to verse 34. And as we move on in verse 36, it's really a picture of communion of a servant that loves the master.
00:45:01
And is waiting for the Lord when he will return from the wedding and so on. And so it reminds me of Abraham. That expression has always charmed me. Where instead of Abraham that he was in the tents door in the heat of the day.
Out there in the middle of the wilderness, or wherever it was in the desert, maybe in the tent store, in the heat of the day.
Why not just give up Abraham, come on, your life has been so hard. He was there waiting and what happened? He got to see pre Incarnate Christ. All I can say about that is wow, what a, what an incredible answer to someone not leaving their post. And so it's not just floating downstream like a dead fish as as brother Verne, uh, referred to it as resignation, but it's waiting for the Lord when he will return from the wedding and so on.
When he cometh and knocketh, he may open to him immediately if that anticipation.
We we need to live like that. More figures are used first 35 your loins girded. He's not talking literally what? What does that mean?
That's being, that's being active, being, uh, girded up so you're not getting entangled by things of this earth. Gird up the loins so that you're ready to, to serve in an unobstructed way or unhindered way. Is this the treasure Then it says where you're TRA 34th verse where your treasure is.
There will your heart be also if this is your treasure, you know, the Lord and his coming, you know, that's a relationship, that's a relationship that you can never lose. You know, my dogs have died, my pets have died, you know, and, uh, my friends have died and, uh, marriage relationship has died, but there's one relationship that'll never die. And so that's where my treasure is, isn't it?
In this relationships that are important, so he says well your treasure is there. Will your heart be also not in a four car garage.
Fills with automobiles.
No, yeah, that can, that can't make you happy. And it, and it can be, uh, destroyed and the thieves can break in and steal. But this treasure is something that your heart will follow. It doesn't say where your heart is your treasure will be. It says where your treasure is there, where your heart will be. So if we have that, like you say, communion with the Lord.
That's something that will draw our heart and that's our trader will be in heaven, not on earth a amidst everything that's on earth. That'll be our treasure. But what did we really saying in that him? Uh, Norley's by sweet retreat. I heard a, a brother one time speak on that and he said that, you know, I can be in the midst of a crowd.
I never have to leave my sweet retreat. I can still be talking to the Lord and all these things are going on around me.
But I California, I don't leave my sweet retreat.
Can I ask a question? Is this portion, when we're looking at it, if you wanna see it all the picture, especially taking verse 35, it's looking at it as a servant. But is it like if I had asked my wife, I phoned her at lunch time and said, honey, when I got off work, I'm coming home and I'd like to take you out for dinner. Be ready.
Then when I arrive at 5:00 and I get home and find out that she's in her nightgown, nightgown sitting on the couch, that's the way the Lord might find us. We're not. We're not ready. Our loins aren't dirt. We're not ready to move. Our lights aren't burning. We're not standing at the door waiting to open it and go. Is that what this is saying? He's saying no, I'm coming.
Be ready, I'm the one you're supposed to be waiting for. Yet we're down here occupied doing doing things with stuff to put all those phrases together. Is that what this is talking about?
Indeed, you mentioned 2 yesterday that in this discourse of the Word there's a progression. And I think when you get to this last point, if we get that really clear and we are occupied with the Lord and His coming, it will help us with those things that we've talked about before.
Is, if you look at it, all the problems that the Lord wants to set us free of in the beginning of this chapter, Sol Problems that come in when we get our eyes from heaven and down on earth. It's all things on earth. It's like hypocrisy. What does men think of me down here on the earth? It's the fear of men. What can men do to me down here on earth? But when we're occupied with the Lord and our treasure in heaven, those things will be a lot easier to deal with. They just won't come up like that. And the Lord himself, when you study His life as a perfect example of that, He has things in the right perspective. He was there.
00:50:08
On the earth, but in communion with the Father, he didn't have to deal with all those things.
Mm-hmm. Well, he's telling us that we need to serve him, as you've been saying. Uh, uh, Wayne. But what is verse 37? Tell me he's going to serve us. Wait a minute.
What?
Well, that's what it says when he takes us home, we're going to he's going to come forth and service. And somebody asked Mr. Darby, what will he serve? He said he'll serve them heavenly happiness. Isn't that wonderful? You know, I, I thought that we were going to heaven to, to sing the praises of to God and to serve him for all eternity. And I read my, my Bible that when I get there, he's going to praise me and he's going to serve me.
I'll give you 2 verses, First Corinthians chapter 54.
And five it says, Then shall every man have praise of God? God is going to praise us.
What I thought I was going to heaven to praise him. Well, that's true, but here's a verse that tells us that he will actually praise us. Now you know what it means. It's, uh, well done. Now, good and faithful servant, uh, enter thou into the joy of the Lord and so on. And here we have a verse. I thought we were going to heaven to serve him. It turns out that when we get there, he's going to serve us. What a savior.
Heavenly happiness.
What is Ambien?
In other words, heavenly ambience. Is that what you said? He'd service heavenly happiness? Oh, heavenly happiness. It's a Son of Man of Sorrows by Darbion Luke's gospel. He says there you'll serve as heavenly happiness.
Islam has made him so vulnerable that he has become a servant.
And he's become a man, and he's never going to give it a.
And it's just something in love that delights to serve. It does not expect to be served. And that's why the Christian marriage works out so well, because here's two people who are committed, not 5050. They're committed 100% to love each other and to serve each other. And there's no limits to that service. There are no limits to that service. It goes all the way. And so you never see it really until you see it in the Lord.
It's not a one way street, is it? We're not going to just be there.
And be satisfied with the Lord, He's going to be satisfied with us.
One chain of thy neck. That's what what happens when he gets two chains or he sees, he gets both eyes devoted to him. You know, it's a he speaks of being overcome. I can't wait till over to see him overcome and to think that I could do that while we'll collectively do that.
Therefore, be ready also.
Bruce 40 time to close. Maybe somebody could just summarize this a little bit now.
Well, that could be so bold. Don't try to be something you're not.
Don't be afraid to speak the truth and be afraid of men.
Don't be occupied with material possessions, don't worry about the future, and don't let go of the imminence of the Lord's coming.
19 in the back team number 19 in the appendix.