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Where is this world's playing? The whole world.
Is gone.
There was.
A good night.
Who did you see?
Oh, Cortana.
Could we read in Isaiah chapter 48?
Isaiah 48.
I'm going to read it out of the.
And the translation Isaiah 48 and verse 21.
And they thirsted not.
When he let them.
Through the deserts.
He caused the water to flow out of the rock for them.
Yeah, he clayed the rock and the water scushed out. And then also in Psalms 78.
Psalm 78 and verse 72.
00:10:00
And he sat down.
According to the integrity of his heart.
And let them by the skillfulness of his hands.
Does seem rather than that we are getting close to the moment when we're going to be raptured out of this world, I would like to suggest.
First Thessalonians four and five in these three readings that we have in these meetings.
Not thinking to focus so much on the first part of chapter 4.
The second part, which deals with the rapture.
And then the 4th chapter or the 5th chapter which deals with the day of the Lord, which is that day of judgment.
What's taking place in the world today seems to be developing towards that.
What we see around us is developments that remind us that we're getting close.
For the rapture there is no sign and so I suggest we read chapter 4. But what can see mainly on the latter part? I don't know if that's suitable. Why I desire my brother to?
Suggest something else if that's the case.
I have to stay for some minor what I have to say ports in my heart good.
Considering.
What?
Time. I don't think it would be harmful to spend some time going on the first part of chapter 4 as well. The time of this world was very strong from all good.
I want to group chapter 4 course.
First Thessalonians chapter 4, verse one. Furthermore, then, we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more.
For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus, For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.
That you should abstain from fornication. That everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel.
In sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles, which know not God, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despises.
Despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit. But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you. For ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another, and indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia. But we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more, and that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business and to work.
With your own hands, as we commanded you, that ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also which sleep in Jesus.
Will God bring with him for this we say unto you, by the word of the Lord.
That we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.
00:15:09
To meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Well, these incentive the 1St chapter, along with that the last part of verse nine and the first part of verse 10. These Thessalonians had turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven.
Chapter 4 two, I just wanted to point out how the chapter begins. We found in verse one there is that sad exhort you by by whom, by the Lord Jesus. So this isn't exaltation by the Lord Jesus and you go to the end of the chapter. It tells us that because of this now we'll go into what these are there wherefore comfort one another.
With these words. So these words are very important, isn't it? As we mentioned as a brother, Brother Bob mentioned with the last eight. And sometimes, I should say often we look at the bad things. We look at how bad this world has become. We get discouraged. But yet in this chapter, the latter part give us the hope because we're not of this world as we're saying, we're not of this world that faded away. And then the first part of the chapter is our brother mentioned. That is good because.
This is how we are to walk. We are to walk as a light to this world, even though this world is coming to its very end.
It's called the Enoch chapter, hasn't it? Because Enoch walked with God and then Hebrews it says he had this testimony that he pleased God.
So to walk to please God through a world that is completely corrupt, brother and I have been incredibly amazed at how corrupt things are turning in our country and we need to be aware of it, not to be mixed up with it, but we need to be aware of it to not get mixed up with it. So he says, furthermore then we beseech you brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus.
That as ye have received of us, how you ought to walk, and to please God.
So you would abound more and more just like to make this comment as we start to go over this chapter that you'll notice in Mr. Darby's translation that.
From verse 15 to verse 18 is a parenthesis.
And I think it's good because he's talking to these Thessalonians believers that evidently had had lost some of their relatives that believed and they thought, well, they're not going to be here when Jesus comes back to establish his Kingdom.
At the end of the great tribulation, so he says in the verse 14 and I want to connect that verse 14 with the first verse of chapter.
Five. But notice verse 14, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again.
Even so them also which sleep in Jesus.
Will God bring with him?
That means when he comes in his Kingdom, he's going to bring those that have fallen asleep in Jesus.
OK, but if they've died, how did they get to be with him?
And so verse 15 through 18 is a parentheses that shows how those that have died and gone to be with the Lord and are buried, how they get to be with Him too, so they can be brought with him as well.
And then he starts in chapter five with the what relates to.
The second coming at the end of the Great Tribulation, when he's going to come with his Saints.
00:20:06
The times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that are right unto you, for yourselves know perfectly the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. That's his coming at the end of the great tribulation. So I just like to clarify that I think it helps to understand this chapter connection with the rapture, the what the apostle Paul received as to the rapture of the believers at the end of this period of grace which will take place.
At any moment now.
It's helpful for us to understand that the Old Testament knew about the appearing of the Lord Jesus. And if you look at Zechariah chapter 14, they had been given a little light as to that event. And he speaks of the appearing all throughout the Old Testament, particularly the prophetic scriptures, the prophetic part of it. But in Zechariah chapter 14, right at the end of verse five, it says, and the Lord my God shall come.
And all the Saints with the.
Now they knew they would come with the Lord Jesus, but they didn't know how it would be possible for the Saints, those Old Testament Saints, to be with the Lord Jesus, to have their bodies there and to come to be with him at his appearing. And so Paul was given that revelation. It's a part of Paul's doctrine. What we've just read in First Thessalonians chapter 4, particularly here, verses 15 to 18 refer. It really is the revelation of God. It's.
It's verse 15, verse one, verse 15, right at the beginning it says this. We say unto by the word of the Lord.
It was a revelation of the risen Christ and glory to Paul. And so he tells, he gives further details in first Corinthians 15. How is it that they were going to appear? What kind of condition would their bodies have? Well, it's Paul's doctrine. He tells us how the body would be changed and goes into it as well, speaks of it in connection with redemption, the redemption of our bodies in Romans chapter 8.
And so this is really very significant. It's a part of Pauls doctrine. And so here these first eight verses, I've just referred to it brother Bob, but just it's a paragraph. It's a paragraph in the you see it in the Darby translation. If you don't have a Darby translation, I highly recommend it because you have the proper paragraph definitions in that translation. And so he's giving.
There the Lordship of Christ, if this is true, that the Lord Jesus is coming and we should live in the expectation of His coming, it should have a practical effect upon our lives. And so he gives that little bit of definition of the practical holiness that is ought to be characteristic of every believer as a result of the Lord's coming.
That's why the apostle Paul doctrine is so important. We find among Christendom that sometimes they'll say, why Paul, you don't need Paul's doctrine. They, they drop it for various reasons. But Paul gave us a lot more insight. He, well, let me give you an example. When he spoke to the Ephesians elders told them he will see, they will see his face no more. But he told them three things. I think it's in connection to our chapter.
Turn with me just briefly to Acts chapter 20. There were three things that he said to them. Acts chapter 20 he said when he was with them he said this verse 24. The latter part he said, I have received of the Lord Jesus.
To testify the gospel of the grace of God, that's the first thing he did, and that's the first thing we ought to do. We've been saying that in our hymn.
In our opening hymn about the grace of God. And the sad thing is some of us stop there and don't go any further. It is good to be reminded that we have been saved by grace. It is good to be reminded of the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. But that's just the beginning of things, isn't it? So Paul said that yes, we didn't stop to proclaim the gospel of the grace of God. And then if you go on in the verse 25, then he said, I have gone preaching.
00:25:05
The Kingdom of God, a brother earlier mentioned about the Kingdom, someone is going to be, oh, I should say Kingdom is going to have a king. There's going to be a king coming, the righteous king, he's going to reign in righteousness. That's part of the thing that we look forward to and actually walk in the moral side of that Kingdom to come. But then there's one more thing. So you have preaching the gospel of the grace of God, the Kingdom of God.
And then in verse 27, he said, I have not shunned to declare unto you all the council of God. I think that's very important to be remembered. I know the word shunned is not. We don't use that often. A shun simply means to cut off or to stay away. I didn't stop. I didn't cut off telling you, I want you to know the whole council of God.
Well, here we just talk about part of the Council of God. Paul talked about a lot of the counsel of God in his in his epistle. He talked about the mysteries. But one of the important mystery is you can look this up afterwards in Ephesians and Colossians, the mystery of God. But what is that?
The mystery of God is that there is going to be a body on earth but ahead in heaven. That's the mystery of God that the Old Testament saying didn't know about that. Then there is the gospel of Christ, that we as part of the bride will be air and joint air with Christ.
What a wonderful mystery to be revealed. So here it's expanded towards that. How would we achieve that? Well, He's going to ****** us out of this world. That's the rapture. We're not going to go through tribulation because we're too weak to withstand a lot of those. That's why those owl of temptations, we're not going to be there. He takes us out and He doesn't just take us out, He takes us out to be with himself.
From Bob, I have a question for you in verse 16. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, and with the voice of the Archangel, with the trump of God. Isn't he going to bring my mother, father, and grandmother, and those with him?
Aren't they riding now? Isn't he going to bring him with him?
He's going to raise them from the dead so that they can be with him when he comes in power and glory at the end of the privilege. Aren't they coming to the clouds with him?
Because that's when he raises the dead, when he gets in the cloud. So my question is, why must that be assigned to a future appear?
I just say that that takes place before the appearance.
The Old Testament says they didn't have knowledge of the distinction. They had no knowledge of the.
Rapture at all, it wasn't a part of the revelation to them. And So what he's telling them here in chapter 4 verses 15 to 18 really is that there was an event that's going to take place before the appearing. And so we know that it's going to.
Take place approximately 7 years, maybe just a little more than seven years before the appearing of the Lord Jesus. And this is something that has been lost and christened them. It's the air of covenant theology to blend those two appearances of the Lord. The Lord Jesus will come and he'll come in two different phases, you might say. The first will come. He will come to take his church. And so this is what he's saying to them here by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent or not go before them which are asleep.
So at that time.
The bodies of the Saints will be raised, those that have died, and their spirits and souls will be reunited. They'll stand on the earth just as the Lord, the head of the church, stood on the earth, and they'll have their bodies will be glorified. And then you and I who are alive, our bodies will be changed, Paul says in First Corinthians 15, in the moment.
In the twinkling of an eye, we'll all be standing on the earth.
Our bodies change, and then we'll all go up together to meet the Lord in the air.
00:30:00
Approximately 7 years later, just a little more perhaps will come with Him, because we will have been with Him for all that time. As the tribulation period, the beginning of sorrows and the tribulation period unfolds, we will be with the Lord. So at the rapture, the bodies of the Saints will be raised glorified condition and their souls and their spirits will be reunited to their bodies.
Then we will rise together.
My question though, was not about that.
When Jesus comes to the clouds.
He's going to lead them in glory, and then he's going to raise their bodies for their He's going to bring them with him to the clouds. There they will be raised and we will meet them in the clouds. I don't understand why it must be assigned to the appearing when he's going to do that, and we know he's going to do that.
Why must this verse then be assigned to the appearing? It doesn't wreck anything. It doesn't promote covenant theology or anything. It just consistent with what it says is that he's going to come. He's going to bring my grandmother and my mother and my father with him, their soul and spirit, to the clouds. And then he's going to raise their bodies. And then we follow immediately changed, and we will meet together in the clouds.
That's where he says it's going to take place. So why assign that to an appearing? Why take it out of the context of where it is and make it about the appearance? We know that there's an appearing and it's a separate event and it's seven years later approximately, as was said. But why jerk that out of the context and make it mean something that has to do with the appearing when I know that they're coming and I'll see him in the clouds?
I don't believe it's taking it out of context brother. I think if you see that as Mr. Garvey put the parentheses from verse 15 to 18 that what he's talking about in verse 14. Even so them also will sleep in Jesus will God bring with him and he's talking about the appearing he will bring those. Why is that he appearing if he's bringing their soul and spirit with him. They're not raised yet.
They're coming with him from the place where he is here. I agree that that's going to take place, but that's not what he's referring to here. Why not? That's that's what he's referring to is the appearance. And so it connects with chapter five in the first verses there. Well, that's the exit. That's what I don't understand, and maybe I'm just stupid. I don't understand why it must be the appearance. Why is this the appearance? What's here in the context says it's the appearance and William.
God bring with him well, He's not from heaven to the cloud.
The entire book, we can't narrow it down to just this chapter. So if we look at what chapter 3 is bringing out, the apostle is looking first in chapter 2, looking forward to the appearing of the Lord and the end of the chapter, and the Saints would be his crown and rejoicing at that time at the appearing. And then in chapter two, he takes up the afflictions of the Saints.
And in the end of the chapter.
He because of the coldness of the day and what they were passing through. It could show the affections and he takes that up and he says the Lord make you to increase and abound. Verse 12 of chapter 3 and love one toward another and toward all men, even as we do towards you. The end to the end He may establish your hearts unblameable and holiness before God, even our Father at the coming.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his Saints. So there's the context, It's really the appearing. And he takes up the subject of their hearts being established in affection, love and light holiness. And then he expands on that subject of holiness. If we're expecting to come with the Lord at his appearing and the establishment of His Kingdom, what is our life? Should it not be in full conformity to that hope and expectation?
We should not be walking as it says in verse 5 as the Gentiles which know not God similar to the expressions of the sentiments and the hymn that we sang. Why would we want to have any part of this world in its ways if our hope is the appearing really is what the context is his Saints coming with him and so I think then when we come to verse 14 and the the reassurance to the Saints of those of their brethren.
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Who have died?
And they're really looking for the appearing, and they're not intelligent yet as to the truth of the rapture and those things that surround it. It's the appearing that they have. They're waiting for the Son of God from heaven to do what? Establish His Kingdom. Well, they're going to miss out when He comes. And they're not thinking about us coming with Him. They're thinking about His coming and setting up the Kingdom. He's going to expand and fill out their understanding now of these events.
And so he says in connection with those who have died, they're not going to miss out that the Lord Jesus died and rose again. He's going to bring those which sleep in Jesus with him.
When he sets up his Kingdom, he's going to have all the Saints with him. Well, the first question you're going to ask is.
How is that going to happen?
How is it that he's going to bring them with Him when he comes? Well, then he explains in this parentheses how that's going to take place. First he's going to raise the debt, and then together we're going to be caught up with the Lord. Now we're with the Lord. We meet him in the clouds, in the air. That's how we're all going to be with him at his coming, Those who died and we who are alive, that's how we'll be with Him when he comes and sets up his Kingdom.
And so in Revelation that says, behold, he cometh with clouds, that's his appearance. Meeting him in the clouds is the rapture. And we don't want to confuse those either by just seeing clouds in both verses. And so really I think that's why it's the context. What has been the context of the book up to that point is the appearing. And this little parentheses brings in the truth of the rapture, which you do not find previously.
And less part and he explains how is it not only that the dead are going to be with him when he comes, but what about us too? How are we going to be with him when he comes if he comes with all the Saints? Well, first he's going to catch us all up to be with him. And so it's not him bringing the souls that are in heaven, disembodied spirits with him in verse 14. That's not the subject. It's bringing all the Saints with him when he comes. How's he going to do that? Well, first he's going to.
Raise the dead, all caught up together, where we're the Lord, and then when he comes and his appearing, we're all with Him.
Does that help?
Sorry.
My mind of confusion is this, where are the Saints who are dead already? And I think that's the question because some people think that, well, if they are with Jesus.
Then they're already up there, so why would they be raised again? So I think someone may have to clear up the question, when a St. died, where is he? Is he really in glory? We sometimes use that phrase. We sometimes use that saying he's with Jesus. We know there's some truth to that. Maybe somewhere to expand that more while the body is still under grave.
Better.
Yeah, that's where they're at.
And if I should die tonight or today, in the next moment I expect to open my eyes and see his face.
They are there with Him. That is the hope. We are not waiting in some waiting room someplace. That's the wonderful thing about those who've been redeemed by the blood of the blood of Christ is that it should they close their eyes and death here, the next thing they see is their Savior's face and His presence. And I don't know how long it will seem between then and the rapture, but it'll probably seem like a few minutes because of the glory of that place. It's not our glorification.
But the glory of the place is there and being in the presence of Christ is that is the blessed hope that we we have is that we will go to be with him. And then the rest of the blessed hope is this. I mean, is that wrong?
You can comment on that rather than just one thought here.
Very good outline of the chapter that we have, and if there's a little confusion, maybe that could be.
00:40:10
Taken up after after the meeting. Steve, I, I just you, you were very clear in your in your explanation. I appreciate it very much personally for myself.
I was just thinking about the Lord Jesus. When he went to the cross, he gave up the ghost and they took him down and they prepared his body and they put it in the tomb.
And on the third day, the city would rise. And in Acts chapter one, you recall that origin of where?
Those ones were there, the angels, those men and wife, they said, You men of Galilee, this one with whom we see going up, and the clouds will come again in life manner, and so on.
And so it was then that they saw in that day. And though I think I understand what you're getting at, Steve, we're not going to be so concerned with who's with him and that day. And these ones in Thessalonica, they had lost sight of the resurrection. They maybe even lost sight.
Of those that were alive, he takes up the resurrection, but he mentions Enoch. We touched on it in Hebrews 11, but in Genesis 5 it tells you of Enoch and how old he was when he was here. And then it says he was no more and he had been taken up alive. And so Paul comes in with his brotherly lovely, he speaks about it and he explains to them that as we have in his parentheses, what's going to happen? And he just comforts our hearts with that thing. And I think that we really now, I believe we really need not get too far from that thing.
You know, Paul went in there to explain that to them so that they would have a real understanding that in that moment.
We which were alive would not go before those which had already gone into the grave. And so in First Corinthians 15, but thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And so those ones that were in the grave would be caught up as we've already taken up, and we would remain alive, would be caught up together with them in the air. And the blessings in you and I is when we all come back together.
I don't think Paul meant any more than that there.
Concern those who had died would miss out on the coming of Christ, but when you look at this.
Explanation of what is going to take place.
It's a revelation made to the past of Paul. It's unfolded in a wonderful way.
The coming of Christ for the Church actually effects those who have died firstly.
Because it says the dead in Christ shall rise first. But of course it's all going to happen so quickly, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. But I just find it interesting that the concern is about the dead.
Those who have died.
They're the ones that are influenced first by the return of the Lord Jesus for the church and something else. Reference has been made to Enoch.
And Brother Robert referred back to Zechariah how that the Lord was coming with all of his Saints.
Now what is amazing to me is that this was revealed to Enoch back in Genesis, and the ground that we have for that is Jude. It tells us here in Jude.
14 And Enoch also the 7th from Adam prophesied of these say.
Behold, the Lord comes with 10,000 of His Saints to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him. So sometimes we wonder, just how much did Old Testament Saints?
Know about the future.
And if we only had Genesis, we wouldn't really know that this wonderful.
Future revelation had been made known to Enoch, but we read about it in Jude, so it's a wonderful book that we have, and I believe that.
00:45:00
You know the appearing of Christ.
Ought to indeed have an influence on our walk and our ways, and that's brought out in the first part of this chapter.
There's something else I noticed in the first part with respect to abounding. Now if you back up to chapter 3 and verse 12.
The apostle says the Lord made you to increase and unbound in love one toward another.
And toward all men.
Verse one of the next chapter.
He ought to walk and to please God, so you would have found more and more.
And then we have it in verse 10.
We beseech you, brethren, that ye increase.
More and more, this, to my mind, conveys the importance of spiritual growth.
And that's what God looks for.
And in writing for the Colossians, the apostle Paul, he desired that they would have found in the knowledge of God more and more, you know, I think.
There's really no neutral ground, you might say, when it comes to spiritual things.
We're either growing, we're increasing, we're abounding more and more, or we're going the other direction. It just kind of reminds me of being on a bicycle.
As long as you're moving ahead on the bike, everything is OK.
But you can't just say, well, I'm going to stop the bike.
And expect that everything is going to be OK. It's going to you're going to fall over. So I just mentioned this because it's been a word to my own heart that we might realize that if we're not growing, we're really shrinking.
And.
The Apostle Peter, his desire was that we would grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.
And this is all in view of his return. I believe every chapter here in First Thessalonians ends with the coming of Christ.
What a profound influence it ought to have.
On our walked in our ways.
The apostle John, he spoke about it. You know, you could say that it does not yet appear.
What we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we're going to be like him.
We're going to see him as he is. I take it that's his appearing in glory.
There's always an expression with the verbs that are.
Brother's desire, the beginning of the meeting that we touch a little upon the first part of the chapter here. And of course it's been mentioned by our brother Wally that our walk is something that we should be concerned about, and we have excitation through the whole of the Old and New Testament concerning.
The Christians walk, the Christians standing.
I mentioned this before at a conference some years ago. I was puzzled and reading the early chapters of the Book of Judges where we see a number of kings that were missing.
Their thumb and their great toe. Well, without the thumb you could not grasp anything. Without the great toe, you could not stand or walk. And so that.
Was very puzzling to me, but we have these exhortations and I was like like to look at just a verse and Colossians chapter one.
In connection with one of the early verses in Thessalonians that we've read that you might walk.
Worthy of the Lord unto all, pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and.
Not only do we have the word stand and walk, but another verb that's used that speaks and speaking and a verse just came to me a few moments ago and should characterize us as we.
00:50:14
Take up portions of His blessed word in First Corinthians chapter one and verse 10. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That you speak the same thing, and I might add in meekness.
Like to say that in the first part of chapter four of our portion here brethren docs specifically about two things importantly.
Sanctification.
Means setting apart from what this world practices, and especially in connection with this sin of fornication.
Sexual.
Sin committed outside of the bonds of marriage. How important it is it's being set aside completely in our world. How important it is that we respect it.
God has given us sexual desires, and God created it that way.
And there's a place for sexual activity within the bonds of marriage, very important. But to give place to anything outside of that is fornication. And that is what we are to do, to abstain from fornication. Verse four, that everyone of you should know how to possess.
His vessel, that's his own body.
In sanctification.
And honor, the Holy Spirit of God dwells in our bodies. How can I use my body in something that dishonors God? That is not what we are called to brethren. So that is a very important thing that is gone into also in First Corinthians chapter six and seven.
But I want to mention the other thing that is here encouraged.
In our chapter is verse 9 as touching brotherly love.
You need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
There's two mentions of the word love that are two separate words in the grief. The first, brotherly love, is phileo.
It's that love of mutual appreciation and we are told to.
Just read it in Hebrews chapter 13.
Let brotherly love continue. That's what's so precious about these times of conference, when we can get together and discuss things together. We learn our position. We learn to appreciate one another. Brethren, that's important. But there is something else that is added here in our chapter.
Yourselves are taught of God to love one another that's the agape love that's the love that God had toward this world. God loved this world. He gave his only begotten son. That's the love that God has because of who he is not of because of anything that there is of worthiness in us to be loved and so there may come come times when.
With my brother, I have a problem with him. What am I going to do? That's where we need to bring in this agape love, to continue to love. Even though there might not be the mutual appreciation. There's a difference. How am I going to handle that? I'm going to continue to love, brethren, but it's not the same love. It's the love that we are told to love one another. I think that's so important.
00:55:05
Sanctification. But then it also talked about abstain from fornication. I know it was mentioned briefly, I think the word fornication, we don't use that word much anymore, do we? And there are young people don't even know what that word is. So you need to learn it. Parents, is not the responsibility of a school teachers to teach them things of such. It's not a Sunday school teachers responsibility. It's not the assembly.
Its responsibility to teach your children.
It needs to be taught over the word of God and in prayers fornication. And then there's the other side too, that I found perhaps in the practical side. I've noticed among the other things, that when we hear homosexuals, that's a fear. Lesbians, we don't even want to talk about it. I heard the other day they want to pull the kids out of school because the principal is one of those.
Well, at the meantime now, by the way, I'm not saying I support that that's that's a terrible sin before God. But yet in a sense we no longer talk about people who are living in sin. Perhaps the principle at that school prior to that was one who lived in sin, but yet as if it was OK, it's not as well if there's such a thing as a higher degree of sin, we seems to become tolerant.
Lot of the things that this world have accepted and you might say you're being legal. No, we're being what the word of God have to say or even a simple thing is divorce that are unscriptural and we marry afterwards that fornication or adultery. So we need to cling back to the word of God and to abhor those things that are evil. We talk about Enoch. Enoch was in a terror that the world was in a terrible condition.
But yet he preached. You know what's interesting too is we don't know if anyone was saved from Enoch's preaching. Not until his sons, his grandson Noah. And even then, we didn't read up anyone being saved. But we see the grace of God's hand that his family was preserved.
I made a note in my Bible in a reading meeting with Cellars and I'm going to share because I think it helps in this chapter, Chapter 4, verse one. The chapter 5, verse 11 is the personal lives and view of the Lords coming. Our personal lives and view of the Lords coming.
And from chapter 5, verse 12 to the end is the collective assembly light in view of his coming. And we need to keep in mind that our view should be of his comments while we're here. And as you mentioned, those things David reminds me of.
What Wally has said in Bob 2 verse five it mentions the word the lust of concupiscence.
If you don't know what it means, I wrote that down too. Selfish human desire for an object, person, or experience any or all of those things are things that will change your view of His coming, or get your eyes off the Lord so that you no longer recognize it.
It says in verse seven, For God hath not called us unto uncleanness. What brother David Speaking of, but unto holiness first Peter 1000 be holy, for I am holy. So he would have us to walk in these things. And then we have the love that's been mentioned in Chapter 9. And I believe it represent or shows a personal side of love. And it also shows a collective side of what's necessary in the assembly, how we should conduct ourselves with one another because you know, I believe that's the natural heart of a believer.
When we're in guilt with the spirit that we take on that love of God.
We take on the characteristics of Christ and then we walk in them, and then individually, if we do that, then simply collectively.
One follows the other.
It's helpful to see, well, he's addressing the motives if the motives aren't right, then really nothing else is going to be right. So that we've he's worked by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us, how you ought to walk to please God.
Now this world is filled with people trying to please themselves, and so the spirit of the age is to please yourself and to you have rights and so on and just fight for your rights and please yourself.
01:00:09
Fornication was the sin that characterized the Gentile world. God has intervened in the Western world and because of Christianity and the light of Christianity, we were exposed to the light of the righteousness of God and the moral standards of the Word of God in the Western Christian world. But now largely that has been given up during the last 50 years. And so the motives for the believer.
These things affect us and we live in a world that is pleasing itself. So the exhortation that Paul gives is that he says he already spoke to them to walk and to please God.
Their motive was to please the Lord, not to please Himself. And fornication is really to take pleasure without any reference to God at all. I might just say that He brings in another incident. Another possibility is that verse six, that no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter. So the Gentile world was characterized by fornication and even in the assembly it was a possibility of a brother defrauding another brother.
In connection with his wife and so he brings in the governmental actions of the Lord because that the Lord is the avenger in verse six of all such.
As we also have forewarned you and testified, so he brings in this teaching in connection with sanctification. Are we sanctified everything in this world, the advertising and all of the visual arts and all of everything is.
Designed to breakdown the sanctification, the separation of a believer.
From this world that crucified the Lord Jesus, that rejected him, and that has not changed its mind at all. It's still on the same course. So let's take these instructions and consider.
Is it really the Lord Jesus that we're trying to please? Are we doing this to please Him? If the motive isn't right, then we will not have an appreciation for the coming of the Lord, and we will not even take this exhortation to study, to be quiet. Verse 11.
To do our own business, to work with our own hands as we commanded you, to mind their own business and do our own work, and to do it as unto the Lord and not as unto men. That's what he's saying.
Mind their own business, do our own work, Produce fruit for the Lord because He's coming.
The obvious confusion it's been thrown into the mix is to redefine these words. Like right now the Anglican Church in England is going through a process of making a decision to call marriage between homosexuals holies.
They at present do not permit one of their Anglican priests to perform a wedding, but they're also working on that. How can we get there where we can call it a holy union?
Redefining things. So when you read these things like about holiness.
We need to understand what those words mean in the biblical sense and not let somebody redefine it so we can think about it. Why do you think there was such a strong push over the last years for homosexual marriage to be legalized? Because there were religious people in that movement that knew that if they could reach the point where marriage was introduced or the idea that they could be such a thing, redefine that word.
Then it would be more accepting to religious people. And it's it's worked. There are groups and churches now that are working on ways to call this a holy union, to redefine everything. Well, that's the day we live in. And as far as fornication goes, there's still plenty of people in the world that know what it means. But here's the interesting thing. I have talked with a number of young men over the years that will tell me they think it's not a sin, that it was OK as long as you weren't married.
It's nothing wrong with it that that's that's a good thing to do get get it out of your system and then you get married and you settle down and then you stay loyal to one woman. Well, that's a lie too. And I think that there's, it's had an effect on evangelical Christendom to let the guard down and like, it's not really a biggie. Well, it is a big.
01:05:11
Like the connected thoughts that have with the subject of the body. Because it's the resurrection and the bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ with His Saints. Bottle it.
As you have seen him go up into heaven, so He'll come in like manner. He's not going to have just the spiritual appearing in this world. He's coming back just as He went up. He is their man forever, a man in heaven, spirit, soul and body. And God intends to have you and I there with him, not just as spirits, but spirit, soul and body.
That a sister's funeral some years back and mentioned in the funeral that that body lying in the casket was just the empty shell, but her spirit and soul was with the Lord. But you know that empty shell is a precious empty shell.
Those folded hands in that casket had raised children, they had cared for the Saints, and we could go on and on. Our body is precious to the Lord.
And he intends to raise up those bodies and unite them again in a wonderful new state of being glorified with him. But he intends to have us there, spirit, soul, and body. And so the body is important. And in First Corinthians 6, he says in the end of verse 13.
The body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body and God.
Has both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his own power. And so as part of the subject of this chapter. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so them also which sleep and Jesus will God bring with him, just as God raised the Lord Jesus up.
Bodily resurrection.
So He's going to raise his sleeping Saints and those bodies, and what we do in them now is important to him. Their precious bodies. They're not to be misused. He intends to have us there, just like his beloved Son and heaven above with him, His house filled with children just like his Son, not just in spirit and soul, but in body too, and absolute holiness. And if I'm really expecting the Lord to come, and that's my hope.
I'm not going to involve myself in those things that defile the body because I'm looking forward to that. And if I'm going on in a way that's defiling the body in that way, I'm not looking for his coming. In fact, that's the last thing I want to see.
You know, you cannot divorce the theory. You cannot divorce the doctrine of Scripture from the practice in our life. It's intended to have a moral effect. If we're looking for his coming, then I ought to be walking here like I'm looking for his coming. How can I defile the body?
That's going to be just like His when He comes. These things are so intertwined together. It's just one more note so we don't mistake it. But in verse 16, the end of the verse and the dead in Christ shall rise first. That's resurrection from the dead. That's not being raised up to meet the Lord in the clouds. They're going to rise.
First from the dead. That's the first event is the point.
Not that they're going to rise first to meet the Lord in the air, and then later we will. Even if it's separated by milliseconds. No, the thought is the dead shall rise first. The 1St order of events is that they're going to be raised from the dead together. You know, it's a beautiful word together, isn't it?
Together, you know, as loved ones go and our brethren go, that word becomes more precious to us together.
Oh, he'll not separate us.
One group from another. When we are brought into the presence of the Lord in the clouds, it's going to be together. And wasn't that what was burdening their hearts? These deer loved Saints were gone. Oh, you're going to be together.
You know, Mr. Darby and his lectures in Toronto, he had several lectures on the second coming of the Lord Jesus. They're very easy reading and they're very edifying. But he said, you know, there's not going to be an advantage for one over the other.
01:10:12
The dead will not have an advantage, the living will not have an advantage, will all rise together. He likened it. He said, made the statement, you know that the Lord Jesus stood on the earth a glorified man, the head of the church, and he rose bodily and was received to that shekinah glory cloud received by the Lord God, sat on the right hand of the throne of God. And the church is going to have to go up the same way. The body of Christ is going to have to go up the same way as the head went up.
Everyone that is a member of the body of Christ and those Old Testament Saints too, but every one of us he's addressing really the church here and might, might make that distinction in connection with First Corinthians chapter, First Thessalonians, chapter 4. He's speaking specifically of those that are in Christ.
So those that are part of the body of Christ are going to be raised, and those that are alive are going to be glorified.
Will stand on the earth and will rise the same way that the Lord rose and go through.
Satan's realm, you might say, through the heavens, through the 1St heavens, 2nd heaven will go up through Satan's domain and will be paraded in victory before those fallen angels in that whole heavenly host, and in victory will enter into the courts of glory. And so the head is He's the first fruit of resurrection.
The second installment of the Resurrection is going to be at the Rapture, which we've read of here.
The third installment is in Revelation chapter 20. So the rapture, the resurrection, you might say, takes place in three stages, so in chapter 20 of Revelation.
Let's read verse just the last part of verse 4.
Them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ 1000 years.
Then put a bracket just beside verse 5. There's a parenthesis here at the beginning of verse 5A Bracket. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
Brackets then he continues the subject. He says this is the first resurrection. Let me read it again. The last part of verse four. They lived and reigned with Christ 1000 years. The end of verse 5. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath heart in the first resurrection. And so that's the last installment in this resurrection that we've just read up in Revelation will take place just before the appearing of the Lord Jesus.
And that resurrection will take place, and then the Lord will come, and he'll come with all of his Saints.
In verse one of chapter 4, it says as he had received about how you ought to walk God so you would abound more and more. And so they were to walk as they had received it and that raises the question of how did they receive it and that's given in the 13th verse of the previous chapter or sorry, the 13th verse of the second chapter for this cause also. Thank you God without ceasing because when you receive the word of God.
Which he heard of us, He received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. So they had received how they were to walk as coming not from men, but as from God as its source in God. That was really what he's encouraging them to do in this chapter. And so it was by revelation, not by human thought, but by divine revelation that they had received this.
And apart from Revelation, you and I would not know how to please God. And so that's what He brings in in the second verse. For ye know they knew this by Revelation, the commandment which we gave you by the Lord Jesus. And he goes on to speak about what was known by Revelation, about fornication as far as what is and is not pleasing to God. Now that's kind of a preface to a question I have on the 4th verse. I realize our time.
01:15:11
Is almost gone, but I was hoping someone would touch on this. He says that everyone of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor. The knowledge of how we possess our vessel and sanctification and honor, Does that come by revelation or does that come by experience? And whatever the answer is, I wonder if a brother or two might spend just the next couple of minutes explaining to us.
How we know?
How we can possess our vessel in sanctification and honor.
Well, one verse still into that somebody read close to it First Corinthians chapter 6, verse 18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
That's a unique thing. It means that your body is harmed, your brain is harmed, your emotions are harmed, and your spiritual life is harmed. It's a unique thing and it's treated as nothing in this world. So Christians have been affected by that to treat it a lot less than we used to think about it or that the Scripture says about it. So this thought our brother is bringing forward that we need to understand.
Exactly specifically, how to possess?
And gone into a path of sanctification is an important thing, but starting with it, it's a unique sin.
That is destructive.
There are psychiatrists who say that there are many men in this country who have lived lives filled with fornication before they got married that cannot have a normal life with a woman without serious treatment. That's how bad it is. I think it's important too, to mention the the careful when you get on the Internet as deformed ***********.
When you see things that you're not supposed to see.
And to me that poses.
A very real important question for our sisters. You know when Adam and Eve sinned, God gave them clothes to cover themselves. The tendency of this world is to go around as uncovered as possible. So men go get buttoned up right up to the very neck with the tire around there to tire. But women?
Tend to, in this world's way of thinking, to show as much of their body as they can.
That's a quest that's a serious thing for our sisters to deal with, too.
Please sisters, cover yourselves for the glory of God. And brothers, be careful what you look at on the Internet or wherever it might be because that's the way you tend to start degrading this world. Because Satan knows the lusts that are in our hearts and he tries to.
Waken them so that we can be turned out of the.
Way of the Lord. So the Lord help us, dear young brothers, to keep our vessels, our bodies for him. And when I see the way God used men that knew how to do that, oh, I want to encourage you young men. It's so good to see so many young men with a desire to be under the sound of the word of God. Keep your bodies sanctified.
And don't give in to this world's ways of doing it because it's so important.
With your question.
I tend to think that the second part is.
The result of the reflex of the first, so the 1St as you mentioned, was by the commandments that they had been given that knowledge that had been imparted to them.
They were to abstain. The result of abstaining would be that they would possess their vessels and sanctification and honor. One is the reflex of the other, and so one is that the negative abstain results in the positive possessive sanctification and honor.
01:20:13
We can turn to Romans chapter 6 just to give a little foundational truth.
In regards to how we possess our vessels to sanctification.
We have very similar instruction in Romans chapter 6 and verse 13.
It says. It says. Neither yield you, your members, as instruments of unrighteousness.
Unto sin, but yield ye yield yourselves unto God.
As those that are alive from the dead.
And your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
It's helpful for us to understand the foundational truths of the gospel that we're dead as to what we were in Adam and we're alive in Christ and.
We can't, certainly can't go into these truths in the in this meeting, but without these foundation, this foundational understanding of having died in Adam and living in newness of life.
We're we're going to, we're going to struggle.
With the practical side of Christianity, the fundamental truths are are what what really Christianity rests upon. And so I just present that with no time left, but it's important.
It's restricted to six again, 18 and 20.
What no ye that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own. You're bought with the price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God.
So I think briefly it answered to your question, which is excellent.
If we're doing anything that is outside of war, by God.
That is not properly possessing. We don't belong to ourselves, we belong to the Lord, and everything that's done should be done to glorify God.
And I would just briefly just quote this from first young people love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.
Read it to you because I'm 40 Rd. We're 16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flush, lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father. Whatever works. So using these tests to ask yourself is what I'm looking at.
Thinking about talking about doing.
Lord by God is it. It's a part of this loving the world there, isn't it?
And if the answer is it's a lot of the eyes play, subscribe, play, it's not properly possessing. I think your question, Mike is excellent.
For 36 in the appendix.
One of Satan's greatest tricks is to tell you you're missing out. God's withholding something from you. Adam and Eve were in the garden and everything was perfect in every direction. Imagine just looking out. Everything's perfect and there's one tree and Satan says that's the very best, and God's holding it from you.
And it says four times the just shall live by faith. And part of overcoming is understanding that God has the very best for each one of you.
And he tells you what it is in his word, and it's not ever less than the very, very best. And faith believes God and says, OK, that's what I want. And The thing is, the trap is laid in vain for the people who see it. When you see the trap, if I'm going to try and trap you and I, I put out this circle and I and I put this treat in there that you'd want. But you see me do that. You're like Matt, that's goofy. I'm not going to take it. Well, the enemy of our souls is laying a trap every day for us.
And if we see that trap, we say, I don't want that because I know that's not God's best. You're not going to fool me because I know he loves me. So the Lord help us that we have that earnest desire to please the Lord as our brother mentioned that and that we would walk as as our brother Phil said, in the newness of life. We're not here to try harder to try and make The Who we were in Adam do better. He's given us the power of a brand new life in Christ.