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.
We see #40 in the appendix.
The heavens which now conceal Him, and councils deep and wise in glory, shall reveal Him to our rejoicing eyes #40 in the Appendix.
Kill to the Lord's son.
Great.
Song.
Went to the time of one night and.
All the way here shall grow.
Here he runs to pray for Graham.
Till.
Three.
You can take away transgression and rolling everywhere to you.
The heavens where it's now counting and consulting and voice and glory.
Breathing on him to our dreams of everything in life.
He shall come down.
By showers.
And join.
Flowers.
Where he runs out.
Shall be.
And righteousness.
In mountains from here to.
Our live gold.
And shall fall down.
Before him and go, and him says pray.
All day sunshine.
For him and his praise of people saying.
Yeah.
Right. And father, we just look to the ears once again we open thy word.
We pray that we might remember that it is a living world.
And that it would touch our hearts and conscience.
Described a day for my health and the leading of life Spirit was pray in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Amen.
So.
Thank the customer. Verse 14, I think you talked a little bit about the 13th 1St, but because kind of the subject is during the Kingdom and attend that 13 first, perhaps we could start with 13 first.
First Peter, chapter one, verse 13.
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance. But as he which has called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written.
Be holy.
For I am holy.
And if he call on the Father, who, without respect of persons, judge us according to every man's work?
Past the time of your soul journey here in fear.
For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your Father, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
Who barely was foreordained before the foundation of the world that was manifest in these last times for you.
Who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead?
00:10:03
And gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God.
Seeing you have purified your souls and obeying the truth through the Spirit.
Unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with the pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.
For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever.
And this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto you.
It might be good first just to say.
Some people read a little bit, maybe King James and so forth, that the.
Chapter in Isaiah 18, the second verse of the seventh verse destroyed that whole chapter. They look at it in a far different way. They interpret it.
Bald headed Ethiopians instead of.
Land it's great to be so just good I know some people use.
That beside the point, the other thing is that my exercise was that the suffering.
That we go through as believers and sometimes.
Paul knew why the Lord gave me McCord and the flesh it was to keep him low. He'd been in the 3rd heaven. He was in danger of being puffed up.
These displeasures just like yours and mine.
So he knew why God gave him that. But there are other things where we see James put the desk almost immediately after the Lord has gone to heaven. The Lord.
Taught him. He walked with him. He took him up to the transfiguration of the mountain. Showed him what it was going to be like in a Kingdom. Almost immediately, he allowed him to be put to death. Peter.
He rescued, we don't know why. So there are things that we don't know why, what, what a Christian father, Baxter, his toddler. We don't know why God allows those kind of things. There are some things that we do know that God chases us and or brings these things into our life, and I believe that we ought to.
See, if you find out, is there something in my life that needs to be a threat that we don't know why God would take a man like Jim that was 60 years old.
So there are some things that you just have to leave the Gods hand. But we do know that there's different ways in which we are going to be, we're going to have to suffer in this world and Christian and chapter. We said this before, we didn't bring it up.
I'm doing this just so we don't jump on a horse and ride off in all directions. You know, we want maybe.
Subject and then get back to the first chapter. But in the second chapter you, you get it's really suffering. In the 19th verse, you get the suffering of conscience. We might have to, you know, it might be quite easy if we're working for a company or something to, you know, take a little soap and take nothing here, take some pens. It takes chill. But for conscious sake we have to suffer. We can't do what the world does. They might take these things and think, well, that's just fine.
And there's many things that we can't do because of consciousness.
So that's the second chapter, but just to break it out. And so maybe some haven't seen this, maybe all have seen it, but in the third chapter we get.
And then 17th verse says where is better if the will of God be sold that you suffer for well doing whether there are evil doing and so the part of the first would say, but if you suffer from righteousness sake and that would be suffering for righteousness sake have to do something else righteous got to know a man who has a specific example, a man who has a construction company and he.
They got a great big settlement. They can and his partner said I cannot get my cash. He said you will get it out of the bank because we don't take things under the table. That's being righteous.
00:15:10
So now the next one is in the in the 14th, in the 14th verse of the third chapter, the 4th chapter.
Says Beloved think it's not strange concerning the fire trial which is to try you so some strange attack thing happened, but rejoice in as much as your teachers of Christ suffering.
So we suffer for Christ's sake, you know, if you give other gospel tract or suffering for Christ sake.
Do your reading the gospel and you're being persecuted or your people are don't like to be around you anymore because you're identified with Christ and then in the 5th chapter.
Well, it's because your adversary, the devil, is a roaring lion walking about, seeking.
It's suffering because it.
I don't know what how do you?
Satan's opposition, Satans opposition. Okay, that's good. Now we go back to the chat, right? But I thought maybe that we should just finish that subject so you know, we're not.
Disorder. I'm glad you took us through it.
The hope there seems to be he's putting the soap that ridic the Kingdom before him isn't.
In that 13 first, that supports what we have. These things are very important. We should be, you should be thankful that God has revealed again to it what's going to happen to this world, you know?
Say this and be quiet for that God purpose that man would have dominion over this earth.
That was glory of man was a gods glorious creation ten of the biological.
Universe so.
Satan tempted him. He lost that.
So if there's no Millennium, if there's no reigning of Christ of man ruling over this world, then God is lost. Satan is one. It affects the glory of God. So that God is going to have a man, he's going to have dominion over this earth, and he's going to rule for the glory of God like Adam should have for 1000 years.
Amen. It's imperative. Yeah.
So these aren't just things that should not affect our lives. If you really believe that, and this world is is reserved for fire, why would you want to settle down here?
It should separate us.
Those things are practical. That's just what I'm saying. Every doctrine has a practical effect.
Everything massages your heart. Some things are things that exalt the glory of God, and we ought to be interested in what is for the glory of God.
Got a question?
In Matthew 13.
And verse 41.
Says, The Son of Man shall send forth his angels.
And they shall gather out of his Kingdom all things that offend, and then that do iniquity.
And then?
Verse 43. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun and the Kingdom of their Father.
00:20:07
In our chapter we had.
An inheritance.
That's held out in contrast to an earthly inheritance.
That was is laid up in heaven.
For us in verse 4.
So what we're looking at?
The cell, the grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ looking on to his appearing in the establishment of the Kingdom. Would you say that the portion of the believers that Peter is Speaking of in connection with the Kingdom would be more and the aspect of.
Shining forth in the Kingdom of the Father, a heavenly sphere of things.
Versus the Kingdom of the Son of Man where everything is gathered out that offends is Peter more the heavenly side and portion of the believers in in coming Kingdom?
Peter seems to be occupied with the government of God, which is more the sphere of, of earthly things. It is kind of striking in Matthew 13 where it's speaking really of of what call, for example, calls the judgment of the quick, the judgment of the living. And as we were saying the other day, that it's something we tend to forget and we focus on judgment at the great white throne and we forget that there is going to be judgment that takes place.
When the Lord bears his arm on this earth to remove out of it everything that offends, I personally don't know whether the angels will do that with with with directly, or whether they will use some other instrumentality.
But.
They will do it, and it will be a devastating judgment from God on the earth.
But the expression.
Kingdom of their Father believe is the heavenly side of the Kingdom.
And that would be more what we have with Peter.
So when the Lord Jesus comes to earth, he comes to Israel as Son of David, Messiah to the world.
Early takes the takes his place as the Son of Man.
And after we're gone, and he comes into this world and disappearing, he comes to the consternation of those that have left behind at that time. And it's the Son of Man coming as a thief in the night. No true Christian should think that the Lord will come upon them as a thief in the night. Nobody wants a thief in the night.
You know that's not a figure you would use of something that you expect with happy expectation.
Something you don't want to happen in this world will not want the Lamb to come upon them in that way suddenly and for destruction. So that's the judgment of the living.
You only have missed it, but can you go back over that thought of the Kingdom of the Father and.
Understanding connection. I know the reverse is mentioned, but well, I just was thinking that, you know, we we were expressing the thought that.
The hope is in connection with the Kingdom, but what aspect of the Kingdom? There is a side of the Kingdom called the Kingdom of the Kingdom of the Son of Man on this earth, that everything is gathered out of that offense, but there's the Kingdom of the Father.
In which the righteousness righteous shine forth. And that's a heavenly spirit of things. So Peter speaking to those who once really had an earthly hope for an earthly Kingdom.
Now he's Speaking of a hope of a Kingdom, but we want to be clear that it's not an earthly hope and an earthly Kingdom that's being set in front of them. It's a heavenly hope. It's a heavenly inheritance and a heavenly aspect of the Kingdom, which I think is called the Kingdom of the Father.
And is it, Is it an oversimplification to say that in the Kingdom of the Sun righteousness reigns, but in the Father and dwells?
00:25:05
But there's still activity putting down evil in the Kingdom of the Sun like we have in the 13th chapter.
But in the Kingdom of the Father, when everything is, if I can put it.
You know, wrapped up and delivered to the Father, as it says in First Corinthians 15, we get a different state of things where righteousness is pleased to dwell. There's no more governmental action.
Yeah, I think that's right from what we read of the of the Kingdom.
1000 year Reign of Christ.
There will be a need for government.
And Christ will be the head.
We're all things, including of the Earth.
There will be there will be peripheral people, people born we we can only sort of connect the dots of what we have in the prophetic scriptures, but.
Right. It's righteousness will reign at that time, and righteousness will return to the sphere of power and authority. Whereas when the Lord was here, righteousness was over here and authority was over there, and they were just disassociated from one another during the reign of Christ. Authority, righteousness will be together, as you say, at the end of the thousand years when this world is melted and folded up like a garment.
Peter teaches us later, and he creates a new heaven and new earth, righteousness as well. There will not be the need.
In that sphere, for anything to be addressed in a judicial, governmental way that that will all be passed.
And then that aspect of the Kingdom called the Kingdom of the Father. There's nothing to offend, nothing to be gathered out that way. And Peter says it's an inheritance that's without corruption.
So there is a time when during Daniel 70th week.
Between the time of the rapture of the Saints of God, first resurrection and the fury of Satan will be cast out of heaven, and it will be for rejoicing.
Heavens at the present time, or the sphere of conflict, just like the earth, or in a similar way to the way the earth is a sphere of conflict, spiritual conflict from a time when that will be ended.
Things will be according to God.
In the heavens.
Certainly no was in Peter didn't have a hope of the Lord coming back to earth and then raising.
What you get this is hope that was laid up for them. The inheritance incorrectly made it not away reserved in heaven for you SO.
This has to do.
When we come in at that time.
That the revelation of Jesus Christ so.
We mentioned he was supposed to pistol especially brings before us the government of God in connection with the righteous.
We're not going to take on the government, broaden connection unrighteous, but the first epistle is the government of God in connection with the righteous.
We've spoken of the suffering that we experience in this world. So in these next few verses 141516 we really have presented believe this is the children of the father, and if we're children of the Father, then the father disciplines.
And.
So it says it's a meeting children, not fashioning yourselves according to the form of lust and your ignorance. Their Christianity should change the way that we live. We don't live in a particular way to achieve a particular end, but because of who and what we are, it should change the way that we live. We we cannot continue to live in.
And now former lust. Now many in this room, myself included, were safe as a young child, but it doesn't change the way that we live. So in the 4th chapter he speaks. Here he says that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh. To the loss of management, to the will of God.
And so on.
Before that he says for he that has suffered in the in flesh have ceased to sin. You know Christ suffered because he was holy and he was made sin for us who knew no sin. But we suffer because we have a nature that wants to sin, that lust after sin. And even though we are to reckon that as being dead and counted as crucified, it's still very much alive.
00:30:30
Until the day that we have taken out of the scene and so we constantly.
Have to remember the place where that old nature and probably someone else can clarify and say this is better on time zone, but we still have those desires within us that lots of the things that are not appropriate. And so it says in our chapter verse 16 because it is written to ye holy for I am whole.
I think it's often mistakenly thought that grace somehow lowered God's standard and that the holiness that God showed in the Old Testament.
Is somehow no longer applicable, but God's nature has not changed God's holiness has not changed God's standard did not not change. He did not lower the bar. That was not how we're brought into salvation. It's through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that we brought into salvation. And so not to digress, but that's why at the end of Romans 3 it says there's a.
Read it because I won't be able to.
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid, Can we establish the law? The gospel didn't make a void the law. It didn't blow the standard that caught had. It didn't make the law of power so we could get over it. No, not at all. But rather Christ has in going to the cross.
Has suffered for our sins taken he was made sin for us who knew no sin and.
We have now made the righteousness of God in him, the law, the standard the God of establishment Israel was, was upheld. It wasn't lowered in any way in the gospel. And so we are likewise told upon to be holy, just as Israel was called upon to be holy. Now have separated people. And in Leviticus 20, you can turn to it at the end of that chapter. God separated among himself, himself, and they were called to be a holy people. As a result, we likewise have been separated to him and we're called to be a holy people. Nothing about the standard of God is in any way changed or being lowered. And so Paul says to Timothy, it's a little out of context.
I keep myself pure. These are practical exhibitions to us particularly as well today when Bruce spoke about the, the cell phone, well, the, the Internet, you know, we can connect ourselves with whatever evil we want in our own privacy so that anyone knowing God knows. And that expectation particularly, I'd say to a young man, keep thyself here. Repeat that to yourself frequently, often. Keep yourself pure.
You know, the desires that we have, the lust of the flesh, the pride of the three things mentioned there in First John, they don't see. Since you get older, perhaps in some respects they may lessen, but they never cease. You know, of a laboring brother no longer amongst us. And this is not a criticism of him. This is reality. He said if there was a pornographic magazine on the table, he would not trust himself in the same room with that magazine. But we don't have magazines anymore. We have what's called the Internet. Don't trust yourself with it. Don't go where you might be found.
I'm able to resist that temptation. That temptation doesn't die as you get older. It doesn't.
And so again, these these things in these buses, again, my point is simply very, very practical.
The law is wholly just and good, but at the same time the whole the law was not the full expression of the nature of God. We get that in Christ. And so if anything, as you say, not only is the standard not lowered. It's infinitely higher because the law would say do not steal the Lord Jesus went about doing good and we're called to walk in his steps and in specifically in his steps. The the the word of God would tell us now with a new life is they let him that stole steel no more, but rather let him work with his hands that thing which is good and it may have to get.
In the to him that has need. And so Christ is the full expression of of of of God and and that's the one that is before us as an object that we might follow and walk in his steps as you say.
00:35:17
You and I have that very light in that.
Life has been imparted to us. We have that lies in us, that desires those things and once was good. But you said we have another nature in there too that will go after those things, but we're not trying to do these things.
With something that's impossible to do it because we have a life containment.
It's empowering our soul, but a spirit will be.
That's what it says in chapter four. He that has suffered in the flesh or suffered in flesh has ceased from sin. You know, if I am thirsty and it's a nice hot day today and I think we all got thirsty, if I don't take a drink, I will suffer because of that.
So, but we live in a world today that says follow your natural desires and you are.
Going to put yourself if you don't.
If you have homosexual desires to sue them because you are not fulfilling yourself if you don't pursue them.
I have lots of desires that are inappropriate.
That would be, even in men's views today, inappropriate to pursue. If I was a kleptomaniac by nature and I saw something that I just prayed, I might just grab and take it because both the world's logic would say, well, if you don't, you're going to harm yourself psychologically.
I as a heterosexual male, I have attraction towards the opposite sex.
Let's say I never married.
Does that give me liberty to satisfy those desires that God indeed has given me in a way that's contrary to His word? No, it does not.
Has not been there's so many different things and I picked on an issue that happens to be very current in our society. But there are so many things that little things in life that we have a natural desire and and we have all different fence, all different vents that we naturally lost doctor, but they are not holding. They are not good and we need to resist them. And in resisting them we will suffer. That is good and right and proper.
We don't suffer to make us help secure, that's what.
Islam teachers, Hinduism teaches why and a better nails and make yourself here. It's what Christianity tried to do that that doesn't work but we have a new nature within us that did lakes as was already being said to do the word of God. We need to be that new nature.
And it's helpful to realize that grace.
In our lives is the power for us to walk to please the Lord.
And I can't remember where I I I read a very helpful little paper.
Pointing out that grace is the power of holiness.
And that is a good thing to.
Because if you sit here even with a new nature as a believer and a fallen nature, and you say, well, that's it, Nick's right, I want to really be holy. And then you start, you know, you know, like pick yourself up from your own bootstraps, so to speak, and improving yourself and, and those kinds of things, you will be disappointed.
But Paul wrote to Timothy to as a son, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus and the attractive power of grace.
Linking us to the object before us, Christ, and the things which concern our Lord Jesus Christ.
An attractive power.
In allowing ourselves in the new life to be attracted and to act on that attraction.
Is the way to have to walk in, in, in holiness, in a practical sense in this life, We are in our position.
Holy brothers.
That's our standing. That's the place that God has assigned us. Now, do you think of yourself as a holy person? I was sitting right in that seat a couple years ago in a reading meeting.
Another brother was sitting like right here, and he got up to pray.
00:40:03
And he prayed this. He said, Father, keep us holy.
And I mean, he went on with his prayer. How was his prayer?
Perhaps, you know, we're praying and I'm thinking.
Wow.
Do I realize that I am?
Holy, and that I should be praying to God to keep me that way. Or is it something way out here that I aspire to it? OK, maybe three years ago, I don't remember, but it has an effect upon me ever since. We need to reckon ourselves the way God does, and then we need to lay hold of the resources which are positive and good and forward, that we might not fall into the the various snares that are around us, and they are myriad.
Walk in the Spirit is God's way not to fulfill the lust of the flesh.
And I've known people that take us take.
I would like to battle. You just can't sit around all day not smoking.
It doesn't work.
Trust me.
Lord delivered me from that early in my conversion.
But Lord can give you grace to overcome these things and you won't be sitting around not doing something. You'll be taking up with that which is positive. Walk the Spirit going forward that way, independence upon him He won't fulfill. Flesh is frosty.
Did they cost you though?
She felt it and and if we just think, well, I'm just going to pray and God's going to deliver me from it and I and I and I want to say that there aren't certain habits that God and and individuals that God hasn't delivered them in that way.
But.
When we deny the flesh, there is a suffering that goes with us. Yes, there is a cost.
There is a.
He loves us too much to let us go our own way or get away with things either. You know, He is our Father, and we call upon Him as our Father and He doesn't chasing us like our earthly fathers did just for their own pleasure, but that we might be partakers of His Holiness. And the Father does purge the branches that they bring forth more fruit. And so if we don't.
Walk in a path of obedience. Obedience.
He says if he call on the Father who without respect of persons judges according to every man's work, pass the time of your soul journey here in fear. He loves us too much just to let us go our own way, just like any father with his children. You're not just going to step back and say, Oh well, I hope you know, I hope they come around and decide to be obedient. If they're not obedient, father will step in and and he'll bring it discipline.
And.
In order to bring them back into the path of obedience, because really, that's the only happy pathway.
And so that's the object of his discipline, is that we would be partakers of His Holiness, that we would be holy and be like him. And that's a happy path sometimes.
We say we've heard someone say. I think at some time my parents said this to me.
I'm I'm disciplining you to show you my love.
And I didn't feel the love, as they say, but that's not why we discipline. We discipline our children to show them the holiness of God, that they might be partakers of holiness, to walk in the right path because we know that's going to be the only safe and happy path for them.
The motive is love.
It's not to show them love.
Because we load and go, Because He loves us, He does discipline us. If we were without chastening, then we'd be illegitimate. We would not be his children at all.
So explain this or should I should I just?
Walk kind of bearing that God might you know, because I do feel a lot of times that I need a good reading time to help you lock even your time with that than than being able to.
Comprehend how much God loves, but give us, give us a little word on in fear. What does that mean?
I think that is in, in the fear, in the sense of respect, not in the fear of the rod dropping, but you know.
If we go on and the deliberate path itself will, we are going to be afraid. We will be, because we know that that could come. I knew a young man and he got so far away from the Lord, you know.
00:45:13
Every time he would get into a car, he thought, this is my last ride.
Every time. Why? Because he knew he was like a fruitless branch in the line, and there was a fear there when he got back in a path of obedience and going on to the Lord. He's still under the Father's discipline. But it wasn't the same thought, you know, in that way. But we can get far enough away where we know we got it coming, so to speak, and we don't want to get that in that way.
But it's a it's a fear of respect that we would not want to disappoint him.
Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We read in Proverbs and probably a lot of the young men. I know it was my habit when young and I still sometimes do it today to read a chapter a day along with the calendar in the book of Proverbs and you'll see that early on the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As Steven said, it's not fear like God has a big, huge.
Law that's going to fall on you, but it is healthy respect for the for the dignity of the relationship we've been brought into and.
An affectionate parent that earns the respect of his or her child puts a strong motive in that child's heart to not want to disappoint that child. You have respect for your parents wisdom. Then you say, well, I know they are looking for the best for me and they've said this, so I think I should do that and that those are natural things. And and of course the Spirit of God wants the young person to morph from the natural relationship, wholesome natural relationship.
Into the spiritual one. What a wonderful thing that God is our father. I had a wonderful natural father just.
Dearly. He handled us so wisely and so well, so graciously.
And and then.
I now have a God is my father and.
And so we have that we're kind of primed for that same relationship and it.
It's a it's a good thing. You know it's it's the same reason why in first John two if any man sin writing to a believer if any man's sin, we have an advocate not with God says with the father, because we are in the family of God now and we have the privilege of that family chasing. I was a little kid in the neighborhood and especially in the summer.
My mom ruled with a rod of iron and this 8:00 or whatever, you come in, you go to bed and.
You know, there was no air condition. You could hear all the kids playing still out there. And it's like, but what about him? But what about they're not my son? You know, In other words, I have no relationship with them. I don't punish them when they're bad. I don't organize their life. You were in the family. This is the way we're going to roll. And so it is with you and me. An unbeliever may go on like a beast.
A man looks up, he's built that way. A beast looks at the ground, and an unbeliever may go on like a beast and not have the privilege of chastisement. We have the privilege of chastisement from a father who was always all loving as a purpose.
Strange that we ever.
That's why it says if he called the father. The point is it's a bundle package. You call on the father to supply your needs when you know.
For him to undertake for you and make a claim on his love, well, his discipline comes, but it's.
It's a package deal.
Be correct to say that the word if there is the if that we could say in the English language, since since you call on the father because that's what we do. We're his children, we call upon him. That's the nature of our relationship.
I think we often have a very negative view of discipline and and as I.
Father and I perhaps did not always carry out discipline in the right and appropriate way. And so I have a fact that I have an effect on my children as to how they perceive the discipline. That's unfortunate, because in Ephesians 6 it says He causes provoke not your children to wrath, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. In Hebrews 12, it says, My son, despise not thou. The chastening of the Lord will faint without reduced of him.
00:50:12
So we're hastening industrial, in fact, the same work.
We we then tend to think of all discipline as being punitive. In other words, that rod that strikes when we do something wrong. Another way to look at discipline is the coach with the athlete you know he puts him through.
Painful experiences, not because he's punitively punishing him, but because he wants to get the most out of him. And so God's discipline is of that nature too. It's the stroke, as has already been said.
When we fail to listen, you know God's God is a loving father and we have the Spirit of God within us that allows us to cry. ABBA Father, I think it's so important that we learn from a very young age the value of prayer. Even the little children in this room should take to heart that they can anytime go to God and call upon him as a father. Father, maybe your earthly father will let you down and what treats you, perhaps always as you should.
So you have a father and I'll say Heavenly Father means one context to distinguish him from our earthly father. So you have a heavenly Father you can go to anytime you want and cry ABBA Father and he loves you and he will direct you when you don't listen. When I don't listen that that directing it's a little more.
Positive. I don't think that's an inappropriate word because alcohol in Hebrews 12 Says he's scourge with everyone that he loveth. So there are times that we need a scourge and we need a good spending.
But that's not where things begin.
And we have a him as a beautiful lion that says that he will never cause his child and needless here, never.
I wonder if there is also the thought in this thought of passing so dirty.
Passing the time of our social journey here and here there isn't also the thought of of a fear of grieving him, a fear of of displeasing him. And because he goes on, you'll notice at the end of that 17 verses of Poland and then he goes into the cost of our redemption and I have felt myself rather than I had a.
A greater sense of what cost the Lord should gain my soul. Wouldn't it make us perhaps more careful that we wouldn't do anything? That would be dishonoring to Him, knowing the immense price that He had to pay for our redemption. We were not redeemed with a corruptible thing.
Silver and gold, but it goes on to say precious price and I, I just feel in my own soul I could range over that. Wouldn't it? Make me more careful when I was tempted to do something that I know it's going to dishonor him that if I do this.
It says if I can carelessly sing or acting indifferent to what she paid for.
Should be should motivate us.
It should cause us to walk in here and not care. How can we walk carelessly now? We do I, I own that. I do.
The word here for Sergey is really foreign residents.
I'm a foreigner to this country.
Lived here for longer than I even lived in Australia, but when I first came here it took probably 2 years before I actually felt at home in this country.
Find that odd? But just everyday little thing would catch you? That's different.
And remind you that your environment here, you're not a local. And if you feel out of place in this, well.
Good, good. That's a good thing. We should fill out a place in as well. We have foreigners here.
Someone said that it says sent to be risen with Christ set your affections and he said it should be set your mind on things above and so as someone has said you are what you eat and so we've heard a lot about that. So some people eat certain things doesn't agree with them, but you are kind of what you feed upon on your mind and I let these and you have he says you're gird up the loins of your mind.
00:55:12
So we're going to have girded mine, not just let it.
Float around and.
All kinds of different thoughts. Then it says sober. So a sober mind. And then there's a hope here for the revelation of Jesus Christ. And I thought that's a optimistic mind. But then the children, it's an obedient mind. There's obedient children. And like the brother just said, the fear of God. That's a reverent mind for the quality. So it's you are it's a lot to do with what you think about is an object.
Going to get your life used to be that you never went to one of these conferences. Somebody didn't say there is no substitute for communion. You can hear this old brother. There is no substitute for convenience. You know what there is no substitute for communion. And so that's a part of you are being led by the spirit. What does that mean? We we live by the spirit. That's what Galatians says, but we're don't walk by the spirit.
That's communion, you know, and, and if you can resist a lot of temptation if you're in communion when that temptation comes and so someone has said, and you know, like you were saying in the law, you know, we.
We, there's a scripture that says that the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in US who walk not after the flag, but after this terror. We had a brother. I probably given this illustration when he had a brother to have difficulty with that if you're not under the law, then you're lost. How, how can you explain that to him? And I thought of this illustration. There was a, a speed trap in this town.
It was engineered so that nobody's going to get through this town without at least 1 Ticket, and we're going to get a lot more tickets for most people.
Nobody's ever gone through that speed trap without even a ticket.
I come through it. He says how many tickets did he get? He said I didn't get any tickets. He said you're lying. Nobody can get through this feed trap without getting a ticket. I said I didn't get a ticket, so how do you do it? I said I knew nobody man who built this feed trap. And he said don't you worry about the signs, don't you worry about the law. You just follow me and when I stop, you stop. When I speed up, you speed up. When I slow down, you slow down.
How did I get through that? Not because I was under the law.
But because I was under the person who built that speed trap, and that's an illustration. You are not under the law because that the Spirit of God would never lead you to coven. He would never leave to lie. He would never leave you to do anything that's in that law because it's righteous and it's holy. But you're not under the law, you're under the Spirit. But you're going to walk in the Spirit. You're going to be in communion. And that's how you are in communion, isn't it? But.
Talking into the Lord, not just in the state of the state, but when you go out there and it's where it's the real world.
What is spell after and it takes effort. You have to different television. You have to turn up the loins of your mind. You have to thank God's spot.
Because let's be honest, what our brother back here is just said.
Would have been totally inappropriate.
20 years ago.
The young people are living in a world where it's totally appropriate.
You would have never heard those things. There's no need for it because the world was not like it is today for you.
But what he says absolutely true.
We add the value of relationship brought home one time when we were visiting some folks.
And talking about being preserved and his sister, who is now, I suppose, 60 years old.
Told me that it wasn't too difficult in high school for her to stay away from some of these bad.
Suggestions like why don't you come over, we're having a party tonight, or are you going to the dance Saturday? Because she said I had a relationship with my father.
01:00:05
And I knew my father would not like me to go to those places and do those things.
So when?
The opportunity came up, she said. I thought about my father and I loved my father.
And I didn't want to disappoint them.
So I didn't take up those opportunities.
So, like her brother, Byrne has said, relationship is a great.
Salvation to us in a practical way.
Keeping that close communion with the Lord, because if we don't, we tend to start drifting.
In Second Corinthians chapter 5, without turning to it, but there are a number of motivations in there, as you say, to want to please the Lord. The one you mentioned reminds me of the verse that says the love of Christ constrained us, and that is a wonderful, happy and positive motivation. There's also the shortness of the time.
There's the judgment seat of Christ.
There are a series of motivations that would fall under.
A lot of things that John is bringing out is to the fear of the Lord.
Love of Christ is a wonderful restraint, but as I think the world has a saying, out of sight, out of mind.
And that kind of thing. We're not occupied within our rubber wax cold and other things will rush in.
We're going to find ourselves stumped.
But it would be nice to move along a little in the chapter with a little time that's left and.
In the verses 18.
And so on in the next couple verses we see.
As John alluded, the motivation of remembering.
And great work that was being done by God on our behalf through the sun, not redeemed with vain, with a a.
Corruptible things with the precious blood of Christ.
For ordained before the foundation of the world manifest in these last times review.
And so by him.
Not in him, but the work, we realize it's by him.
Believe in God, raised him up from the dead, gave him glory.
Faith and hope might be in God.
We are attached through faith.
To the one who has been.
Raised and given glory as a man.
This is to be.
Powerful motivator for us.
Hour by hour, day by day life.
I know probably most of us pray.
Like Nehemiah, you know, he was put on the spot and he immediately prayed. I don't think he.
He had to give an answer and he prayed and that was was was admirable and virtuous.
I was thinking how Daniel prayed three times a day.
We really methodically.
He was, I assume, a busy working person with responsibilities and he got away.
You might try that sometime.
Is it yields really really good fruit in your life quickly?
Takes diligence to be able to get.
Get away from the.
Schoolmates or from the workmates in the middle of the day and.
Do that and have your prayer list and date and.
Elevate your soul.
And it'll keep your mind focused on the things that matter.
It's easy to get distracted.
Just a suggestion.
It's a good suggestion.
Friday, I think it was, I walk past the conference room in my office. The lights were off and I noticed a colleague kneeling on the floor.
Unfortunately, Moslem.
But.
I don't this taken the wrong way but.
Because they do it. The Muslims don't know how to spray. I, I don't say that in a nasty way, but we, we hear these other religions and they have very good prayer times and so on. They are not praying in the sense that we pray. They are not. They're reciting something. A Muslim, there is a form of prayer that's a free form that is not used very often, from what I understand.
01:05:09
But the reverence they have for their what they think is the word of God, their pattern of prayer, and so on.
Might make us pause and think.
There's this false Their religion is false. But what about us? We have the true word. God is living.
We get that. We value it not to, not to put it in a shrine and bow down and worship, but that's not the point. Which is almost what they do. But we get that prayer, we avail ourselves of it. Prayer meeting. But they're long, long pauses between prayers. What? Why did we find it so hard to pray?
My it searches my own heart.
But you know, prayer is so essential. It's a the Lord prayed all night.
He prayed and felt the necessity of it. As the Son of Man is especially heavenly, why do we feel it less so?
By the way, you don't have to go to doc conference room and deal down on the floor.
You could walk around the block. I'd only be too liberal or loose enough. I think you can walk around the block in the quietness is separated from school work, whatever it is and and pray.
In the.
In the airplane airport and there's 1000 people around here.
And there's a little him that doesn't never leave our sweet retreat. You could fill these things.
And probably really necessary, but.
Well, how is my soul purified when I have obeyed the truth?
Every religion of man tries to improve what's in wood by attacking what's output, and we never ever achieve it.
The best you can do is you have a lump of coal, you can cover it with gold and you have a gilded lump of coal and.
Every religion of man attempts to do that. But with Christianity there has been a work within us. Law could never accomplish that work with Innocent made a demand upon man, and the man of righteousness upon man, and the man came up short. But now there has been at work in US very good.
This is this is. This is what is absolute but.
The subjective side of it is a is the next part of so seeing that you have purified your souls and obeying the truth that happened when we were born again and believe. But then you get the practical side of it.
Under one claimed love of breath.
So what is absolutely the other one practically?
Very good, brother quoted. I think it was Bruce the other day from Philippians. It is God which worketh in you.
Both to will and to do abuse. That's a nice verse. So we we hopefully from the platform, when we preach the gospel, we speak about the work of Christ that was for us outside of us done in time some time ago. And it's important to preach the facts of the gospel so that when the Spirit of God works in the soul, they can lay hold of it. They can lay hold of those words.
Like Cornelius did, he laid hold of the words, and it made. Is that that?
Could be safe, but we also realize and we don't preach it from the platform.
That it takes a work of God in the heart.
Because the quickening power to turn a soul from death to life is in God's hand, in God's prerogative, and.
01:10:04
You see here in this verse that having purified your souls and obeying the truth and Spirit.
God works in the heart, gives us life, says let there be light just like in the first.
Versus the Bible.
He didn't say in sovereign power and grace, let there be life in my dark soul.
Would have been. What is that life? How does it manifest itself?
That's faith. Here's the word, place, hold of it. You think it's something all that we've done at first when we believe the gospel.
And then we learned that he's drawn us and brought us in and we say, how does? Why me?
And that's that's the question that will remain unanswered in a certain sense throughout all eternity.
Why does it through the spirit marked out in my Bible and I just looked in the new translation, it doesn't have that.
Do you have a thought on that?
No, I I don't. I have.
Got the brackets around that my Bible to remind me that it's not supposed to be there.
But it's really been born again isn't so so it's because you get that in the next first being born again. And so that happened. You know, that was a sovereign work of God. We didn't have anything to do with our first our first birth. We didn't have any do with our second birth. But so but it happened. Seeing that you have verified your souls and obeying the truth.
Then unto I'm saying love. This is the result.
The unfeigned love of the breath.
See that you'll love one another.
In John chapter 3 we learned that as believers we were born again. We were born of water. End of the Spirit.
And it speaks of the word of God, but the figure is water, and it associates the work of bringing the word to us with the effect upon us, because water washes and it makes clean. Later on in John chapter 3 we read about the blood.
And as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up and so on. We leave read about the other side of it, which is expiation and the blood of Christ and the work done for us. God has also done a work in you to give you to believe. It's giving you a life and.
As the Lord said to his disciples in in John 13 when he washed their feet.
I said if I don't wash your feet, you're not going to have a part with me.
You're not going to enjoy communion like.
Says you are all have been paid.
So it is that the effect of the sovereign work in US is to make us clean. We were guilty.
And God has addressed our guilt through the blood of Christ on Calvary Cross.
Was working filed as well and he's made.
There's moral defilement and there's judicial guilt. The work of Christ has addressed all.
And so it is when we speak of the moral effect inside of us. It's purifying work that has been done. We are now children of obedience. We desire to obey the truth. And what comes up out of that life? Love.
A lot of correct collectors said, I think I it just comes to me why that's not there because most of this verse is absolutely the new birth does give us a love for our breath, so it says. So let me read it like that.
Seeing He have purified your souls, and obeying the truth, and the unfeigned love of the brethren, that fact.
Now it says, see that your loved one another.
With a with a pure heart, fervent.
That's the way it should. That's practical.
Being born again gives us a love for our brother.
So what part were you saying is the practical part versus the absolute? Okay, I mean, I'll just read it again. And this is this is a fact. Seeing that you purified your heart, your souls, and obeying the truth unto unseemed love of the brethren, that's a fact.
01:15:01
The Newburgh gives you the love for your breath. Now, it says the expectation is see that you love one another with a pure heart verbally. That's the exhortation. That's the exhortation.
Time is up, I just wanted to make a comment. I think the reason this is brought in here is because Israel were born corruptible state. They were a natural family but there is now a beef family.
And so we have.
Not a corruptible state of the incorruptible. By the word of God there is a new family now, and there is connected with that and love.
We sing #316.
#316 we are by Christ Redeem cost.
Precious blood.
We are by christening.
And.
Swear, I know.
It's over.
Pray.
Lord.
Itself.
When Christ is on.
Morning shines, we shall his glory.
Strength.
Place.
And we?
And.
All the rain.
Shall see them face to face.
Where I'm satisfied.