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We pray for.
God.
Exercise.
Today, Oh my God, it's the end of the day. I can't remember being browsed in all of you.
Verse 8, brother.
Chapter 5. Verse 8.
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I Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 8.
But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith, and love, and foreign helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another.
Even as also we do. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake, and be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly. Comfort the feeble minded, support the weak, be patient toward all.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man, but ever follow that which is good both among yourselves and to all men. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing in everything. Give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit, despise not prophesying.
Prove all things, hold fast that which is good, abstain from all appearance of evil, and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. Brethren, pray for us.
Greet all the brethren with unholy kiss. I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
When I was a child I grew up on a farm and if my dad went away and said I had a chore to do or some task.
My tendency was to wait till the last minute.
But if my mother reminded me that Dad's going to be home at 7:00 as the time approached, I get concerned about finishing that task.
Because I had told my dad that I would do it. So I procrastinate until the last possible minute. I don't know if you have children like that, but some of you may have but when the.
Thought that he was just about to arrive was in my mind. It got me busy and I was thinking about that Bernie bracket and I were reminiscing a little bit about the early days. In between 1975 and 1985. There was kind of a revival that took place at the factory that worked. And eventually there were about 70 people in the factory that got saved between all three shifts. And there were multiples from them, their families that got saved and through the community in that.
But there was something interesting that took place. We would often I was sharing this with someone else, we'd say you got your Rapture shoes on.
And the thought was we're all wearing steel toed boots and stuff, and they'd be quickly left behind if the Lord shouted. But we were thinking about being ready for the Lord's coming. And we often did that and talked with each other, talked about the Lord's coming a lot. And it had an effect on how we conducted ourselves with those thoughts in the front of our minds, constantly talking about and speaking about it with each other. And.
Questions and all of that kind of conversation and I was thinking about that as we're having these meetings.
Now having those thoughts in the forefront make a difference. There's a sanctifying effect. The Spirit of God works to sanctify us, but there's a sanctifying effect at what's in your mind and what's in the forefront and what you're anticipating and this anticipation of the Lord Jesus eminent return because you can think about it. And a young person I did as a young person if the Lord came.
And he found me doing this.
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How do you answer that if the Lord came and I'm in the middle of this?
Or as our brother said about in our hearts and minds there when we first get saved, there may be rooms that we don't want the Lord to visit.
Well, it makes a difference when you think about that, the Lord's imminent return and coming for us. And then too, when we plan things, you know, there's nothing wrong with, as our brothers and several have said, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be married, wanting to develop a career, wanting to have some kind of job or business or whatever. But I remember a brother saying recently, we need to hold on to those things loosely.
I like that thought that they're important to do because if you just sit around and you're a young person and you don't make any plans for anything, life, well, I'm just satisfied to work at Denny's and flip burgers or something. That's complacency and planning, but holding on to things loosely with this idea in the back of your mind that the Lord is coming soon. Go ahead, get married, go ahead, plan for your career, plan a job. Do that. But keep in mind that.
He's coming soon and then does that thing that you're going to do, is it going to interfere?
With whatever gift you have from the Lord and whatever opportunity you have from the Lord to share the gospel with others.
And is it something that you hold loosely or does? Is it something that has you in its grip? That's another thing, you know, Scripture tells us that we are to.
Lay aside every weight.
That tells us.
Also, the sins that easily beset us put them away. Both of those things can hinder.
And that when you have in the forefront of your mind, hey, the Lord might come today. And when you get up in the morning and some of your first thoughts are after you greet the Lord and speak to the Lord as Lord, maybe you're coming today. And in light of that, you spend your day and you even begin your day, your prayer in your reading as you think how that relates to the Lord's coming, it makes a huge difference. And I was thinking about that period of time, how going to work.
And I didn't like the job that much. It was a welding job. It was hot in a factory. It paid well. But you know what? When people were getting saved and we were talking about the Lord's coming every day with fellow believers, I started looking forward to going to work.
It made a difference in my life and it made a difference in everyone there.
That's a good admonition, Sam. In our verse 8 here, it says we are of the day be sober. You know we're not on a on a cruise ship until we get home.
We're in a battlefield and we're not looking for someone who's just shooting Nerf darts.
He wants to take us out and kill us.
John 1010, deceived cometh not, but to steal and kill and destroy. And you, dear young people, he puts traps out there. He's not just trying to trip you up, He's trying to destroy you. This is for reals the next thing here. It says put on the breastplate of faith and love. My dear, beloved brother Steve Hall said. I have a little note. That's the bulletproof vest of confidence in God, because we're going to take hits down here.
We're going to get bumped. It's going to happen. And if our focus of life is ourselves, if we're the center of our solar system, we're going to question how could the Lord let this happen? What, like because I'm just supposed to have a wonderful life? Isn't that why God saved me? No, He saved me to conform me to the image of His Son. He's the center of the solar system, not me. And I'll tell you a brief story. When I was 19 years old, I just got married to the most amazing woman in the whole world.
We moved to Ohio and we were going to rent this apartment. And I said, Lord, just make it plain if we're supposed to live here. It was brand new. The water had never been turned on. And the guy said we have sulfur water. Well, I'm from Walla Walla, WA. I've never heard of sulfur water. And we're moving in and everything. And I go to wash my hands and I turn on the kitchen sink and anybody in here who doesn't know what sulfur water is.
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It was so gross. I was like, Nope, we're leaving just like that, babe, pack up, we're out of here. The thing is, if I'm looking, I want my life to be perfect and I go and do this. I unloaded all my stuff. Now I got to pick it all back up. And I'm like, Lord, why? How could you let that happen to me? I thought you liked me. And it makes this whole big trauma. Instead of saying, Lord, what are you trying to teach me?
And the Lord used that as an opportunity to show me that He could guide me, that I could trust Him.
That he had a plan. And the next one is the helmet of the hope of salvation. Where there is no hope, the people perish. I don't know how many couples I've talked to and they give up because they say it's not going to matter anyways. Well, guess what your farm looks like if you give up? It's all 100% weeds. Well, I'm not going to do anything anyway. It's not going to matter anyway. I'm not going to study for that test. I'm going to fail anyway. That's where the devil gets us.
We believe the lie that he, the Lord, isn't going to be faithful. That isn't going to matter. It does matter. And we need that helmet on, that he's for us because we're going to get bumped out here and that we have the confidence in him.
Chapter in verse 8 where we began it says but. And so in Mr. Darby's translation there's a semi colon and so we're not of the night and so but.
Let us and the Spirit of God is giving us the instruction that the Christian pathway.
Is an appeal to the heart and the affections of God's people and God is not giving us commandments as he did to the Old Testament Saints. And so he's appealing to us and the affections are really tender of those that are newly saved. And so the apostle is addressing those and with the intelligence of what the Spirit of God is bringing out is that the affections need to be guarded. And so he says here who are but let us who are of the day.
Sober, and so we're to be cognitive of the dangers that are about us and not to be intoxicated with the pleasures of this world and so on. I believe that's what he's bringing before us. And then putting on the breastplate of faith and love. And so the heart, the breastplate covered the heart. It covered the it's a picture of protection of the affections for Christ. And so they had been just newly saved.
In that verse, that is so.
Familiar to us in verse chapter one that they turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven. What will damage those affections, which will cool those affections is not having the heart guarded. And so they needed to have the breastplate of faith. That's confidence in God and the object, the object of Christ himself, the breastplate.
The affections preserved for Christ himself and the affections, the love to know him as the source of love. And so he says this helmet too really protects our thoughts and the hope of salvation. So we have a a hope, we have a deferred certainty, but we have a hope of not only eternal salvation. But I believe here he's Speaking of our practical salvation.
It's possible to have a saved soul, but a lost life, and he wanted their affections to be preserved so that they would not only have a saved soul, but a saved life.
Everything in this present world tends to make us walk by sight, Paul says in 2nd Corinthians 5. We walk by faith, not by sight. I think that's such an important thing to keep in mind because everything here is geared to make us walk according to what we see around us. And I don't say we ignore what we see around us. We don't shut our eyes.
Now we use our eyes, but what controls our life is what God has told us in His Word. And that's so important to keep the focus on what God has said in His Word. We walk by faith, not by sight. Lord, help us to do that.
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It's interesting to consider some of those Old Testament.
Men of faith, Abraham, God said I'm going to give you a son when he had no son at all. I mean, it was pretty severe test of his faith. And when Sarah suggested that he used another option to have a son, why he didn't consult the Lord, he would have did what Sarah told you.
And then the second time Sarah came to him and says, cast out the bondwoman and her son, and Abraham didn't want to do that. But this time Abraham went to the Lord, and the Lord says you do what she says.
Brethren, when our wives say something to us, we need to listen. But don't do just exactly what they say. Take it to the Lord and do what the Lord tells you to do. That time, Sarah was right.
And so we walk by faith. But then I think of the awfulness of the test that God gave to Abraham. Take thy son and only son Isaac, and offer him for a burnt offering.
There is no record of any backtalk on Abraham's part saying well, Lord, he didn't you say that this was the one. No, no, top.
He simply obeyed. That's the obedience of faith. How important that we exercise faith in these last days. It's tough because this whole world is geared on going by what you see.
Lord help us in that. Another person that was a man of faith is David.
Can I? I must say I'm amazed at the simplicity of his faith when he goes down in obedience to his Father to see his brethren at the war. And there he sees that giant, and he says, I will go.
And fight the giant. And to David, it wasn't a question of David versus Goliath. It was a question of God versus Goliath.
And brethren, that's what it's about. It's not a matter of if you are able for this situation, it's a matter there's God up to this situation. And so we trust in him. We walk by faith. And David went forward and I, I'm amazed. I have often thought about David as he approached that giant and the giant looked at him in disdain and says, come here, I'll give your flesh to the birds of the field and the fowls.
To the beast of the field, and the vowels of the air. And he says, you come to me with a sword in the spirit. The spirit I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, whose whose armies you have defied.
The simplicity of faith is is beautiful to see that's what we're called to brethren, but on the breastplate of faith and love and then like has been mentioned the.
Helmet of the hope of salvation in the Ephesians. That's the helmet of salvation.
It's a little bit different focus, but here's the hope because it's talking about the question of the Lord's coming.
And, O brethren, things down here are not what you want them to be. So often there are situations in life that are difficult, that are inexplainable. Are you going to give up because of that?
Put on the helmet of the hope of salvation at a moment's notice. The Lord's going to give that shout, and we're going to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. We're going to be transformed into bodies.
Like his body of glory, Incredibly wonderful to think about it. And then we'll be with him in that eternal day. O brethren, this is what is ahead for the believer. Put on the helmet of the hope of salvation.
He made his efforts to David and here we have the word face.
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What is the middle letter of the word faith?
I What is the middle letter of the word pride?
I But in the one case the eye is trusting in the Lord. In the other case, the eye is trusting in oneself. And that's what characterized Goliath the giant. There was pride. And you know, pride goes before destruction, but.
David, on the other hand, he was trusting in the Lord, and he was successful.
Somebody said faith is spelled.
FAITH.
Make an acronym forsaking all I take Him, and when our trust is in the Lord.
We are on solid foundation, solid ground.
Brother Kelly said someplace faith to those that don't have it seems to be arrogance.
David's brothers thought he was arrogant.
Hooli.
He had confidence because, oh, by the way, I killed the lion and the bear, and you know what? I grabbed the lion by the beard and smote him. Yeah, the Lord delivered him into my hand. This guy, you know, he never calls him a giant.
And when he goes into battle, he runs at him. You think there's faith in this man? Yeah. You see it demonstrated. He runs at him. Do you run at your problems? When you're facing a giant, do you run at it? David did. He ran right at it. He picked up five stones. Why did he pick up five? Because he was ready for the other four brothers.
He was ready for the other four brothers that might pop out of the back of that army. He was ready for them and he had confidence in the one he had learned to trust when nobody was watching. And that's the thing. You hear, brethren, over the years talking about the Hitherto's we have in our lives. Every one of us has Hitherto's in our lives. And you have Hitherto's you've heard about from your parents and you've had Hitherto's that you read in Scripture and you have Hitherto's that you've heard stories of from your older brother. All of those things help us. So your own Hitherto's that have come in the past.
David knew in the mountains with the sheep what God could do. When's the last time you grabbed a lion, bite a beard, or even had an opportunity to do such a thing? He did. And oh, by the way, I killed a bear too. Is that arrogance? No, that's confidence in the God who delivered him, and confidence in the God that you've gotten to know and who has helped you in the past. And you have some Hitherto's should help you to face a new challenge, a new giant.
A new Goliath with confidence because it's the same God. And then run at him.
You're in a very different position, perhaps a better position than say David, because David had to learn. He got a lot of training when he was racing sheep. We in this case have been put on a different ground. There is no training required. You're handed this defensive helmet and breastplate and so on. But we have been put on a different thing. I know we spoke on that the other day.
We have been brought from darkness into light. Do we need to be reminded of that? We have been given a new life. You know our our brothers spoke on the church there. You remember he mentioned when the Holy Ghost came down that rushing wind is said to be looking. Mr. Darby's explanation is like a breathing noise, as if to me a new life.
But this is a spiritual life that God has given us, not only a new life, but now we have the Spirit indwelling in US.
Helping us so there is no strength of our own. It is all dependent on Him. And what's all been said is true. But now we have more admonition as if it were. Now do we have confidence that God will take us through. And that's why those helmets of salvation. You know how many times we hear someone say, I don't believe I'm a Christian anymore. Satan knows how to cast doubt.
Into one's mind. We need the word of God. We need the Spirit of God to help us to be more conscious of what the Lord Jesus is to us. So here. And we need one another too. That's why we're told to comfort one another with these words, because sometimes.
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We can't touch everybody. I know in a large group like this, there are people that we don't get along well. I shouldn't say that. We don't have a lot of similarities, so perhaps we don't click. I guess that's a better phrase. And there are some that you just naturally click and the Lord wants you to use that too. Someone that you can touch, Encourage them. We can't touch everybody, but encourage those who are around you. Comfort one another with these words.
Good to connect verse nine with the hope of salvation.
For God hath not appointed us to wrath.
That's a connecting word for.
So put on a helmet as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, and so its salvation looked at the end of the path.
And it's salvation from wrath. Well, we know we have the salvation of our souls now, as Peter says.
Salvation from eternal judgment. This is salvation from the wrath that's coming upon this world. And so part of what the apostle Paul had given the Thessalonians and the little time he was there was not only that the Lord was coming, but that there was judgment coming upon this world. And so in chapter one.
We'll connect those two together. Verse 10 and to wait for his son from heaven.
When we raised from the dead, even Jesus or Jesus our deliverer.
From the wrath to come.
And so it's looking on really to the wrath of God that's going to fall on this world and tribulation. Romans chapter 5, we get another verse.
Verse 9.
Romans 59.
Much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
That's again the same thing. That's what's coming upon this world. Let's look one more connection in Revelation.
A letter to the Church of Philadelphia.
He says to Philadelphia, verse 10 Because thus kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
We've been, we have our hope and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Deliverer from that coming wrath, and we need to have our thoughts as to what is going to take place in this world.
As we wait for him to come to be protected by that truth that we've been delivered from that coming wrath, and that is the certain end for everything in this world is going to be to fall under the judgment of God in that great tribulation. It's not going to get better. It's not going to improve. It's going to come under judgment. And we need to have our thoughts protected by that or we could go all over the place in our Christian pathway involved with all kinds of activities.
That really are a denial of the fact that this world is under judgment and it's certain to come. So it protects our thoughts, this hope of salvation from the wrath that's coming. And isn't it wonderful? The Lord Jesus bore the wrath of God for us will never pass through it. His church will never pass through the wrath of God because he has taken it all for us. Now there are those who say well, the wrath of God.
As the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation is turning a little over in Revelation.
And chapter.
6.
We get the 6th field and verse 12, and then under the 6th seal we find in verse 16, I said to the mountains and rocks fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come.
And who shall be able to stand? These verses take us up to the middle of the tribulation. And they say the great day of His wrath has come. And so there are those who preach that the church will be raptured halfway through the tribulation. But we've got to go through the 1St 3 1/2 years. That's not the wrath of God, they say. It's not. That doesn't happen till the 6th seal. And under the 6th seal we get raptured. Well, what's the key to that? The key to that is Revelation 4:00 and 5:00.
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We see before any seal on that book is open, the entire company of the resurrected heavenly Saints are there in the four and 20 elders complete. Not one is missing. We're all there before 1 seal and that book is open. No, the rapture is not going to happen under the 7th seal.
We're we're going to be all there before one of those seals is open. We're going to witness the opening of those seals by our Lord Jesus Christ. He's delivered us from the coming wrath.
We want to have that clear in our thoughts because it's going to protect us.
In the first reading Meaning of Suspension, that with this the 4th chapter was the Enoch chapter. The deliverance from the wrath is the Enoch deliverance. He was called out and is taken out of the world. Noah makes it through the flood, but that's carrying him safely through. That's a picture of the remnant of Israel being brought through the time of wrath. But here we have a different way of obtaining salvation, not going through the raft.
Of the mouth oriented oriented entirely entirely differently differently here.
This is one of the passages. First is one of the passages in Scripture in the New Testament that we can use and that clearly teaches us that the church will not go through the Tribulation period. Brother Steve has mentioned another one in connection with Philadelphia and we have that assurance that the church will not go through the Tribulation period. So the word salvation here is used a couple of times in our chapter, verse 8.
The hope of salvation, we could say, apply it to the rapture. We ought to have that blessed hope, what Titus address calls the blessed hope, which is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ for us to rapture us out of this scene. But this salvation, the second word here, the second time it's used to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
The It'll be a practical salvation if we're going to be saved out of this scene.
We're not a part of this world and so let us who are of a day be sober. We're not a part of this scene that's going to fall under judgment. We're separate from it. We're heavenly citizen. We're a heavenly a body of believers might just point out that there's a couple of other ways that salvation is used. It's used very little, very few times in connection with eternal salvation, the eternal salvation of soul. But in Philippians chapter 2, that word salvation is used to gain.
And it's used umm, I think it's in chapter 2 The.
Chapter 3 that.
Verse 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. So it's really there is the salvation of the assembly.
You and I live in a scene the assembly is the assembly of the Lord Jesus were gathered to his precious name in the assembly is the object of the enmity of Satan himself. And so we have different dangers that come into the assembly and that we need to with fear and trembling, knowing our weakness and yet the strength of God that the assembly can be saved from the different dangers that come against it. So salvation is spoken of in different ways.
In the scriptures and here, we're going to be saved out of this scene.
By our Lord Jesus Christ.
I can back up and go to chapter one for a moment. I'm going to read in three different places and I ask you to watch for 3 words.
As we read them, faith, hope, love. Now let's go to chapter one, when Paul writes to these babes in Christ, these new believers, and he's explaining to them what the Christian life is all about after having been with them for a very short period of time. And so we'll read. Remember the three words, faith, hope, love.
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Verse 3. Remembering without ceasing.
Your work of faith.
And labor of love.
And patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father.
Now chapter 4 again or chapter 5?
And verse A.
Let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and foreign helmet the hope of salvation.
I'll go forward to his second letter.
That apparently was written not all that long after the first one.
Second Fells Thelonians, chapter one.
Verse three. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, for it is me, because your faith groweth exceedingly.
And the charity or love?
Of everyone of you, all toward each other aboundeth.
Where is the hope?
Chapter 2.
Verse 2.
That he be not soon.
Shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us. But the day of the Lord or the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means.
For that day shall not come except. And he goes on to explain.
The three pillars of Christian life on a daily basis, our faith, hope and love.
And the apostle Paul here in these new believers begins with it. And if you go to the other epistles, you'll find the same three brought out as he writes to his brethren in the different assemblies. And it is the.
Necessary 3 aspects of our daily life as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith, hope and love. And it's wonderful to see without developing it at any detail. There's already been a lot said on it that in the very beginning, what did it result in them? Where there was faith, there was worth, there was labor.
Immediately in their lives that faith caused them to be active in the things of the Lord. What about love? Immediately and their life was the labor of love going on for others and one another, and those about them put them to work in love. And the third, what about their hope?
They got to be like the Lord Jesus right away, the man of faith who's waiting for the Lord to come the most. Is it somebody in this room? I'm going to suggest, no, I'm going to suggest that the greatest expression of faith in the hope and the expression of patience is Jesus Christ.
He is the man, more than any other, looks forward.
To having you and I in his presence. And he's waited patiently for 2000 years for that hope to be realized of having his own with himself. He's the man of patience. And these Saints here were entering into the enjoyment of it. And so then when he gets to the 4th, 5th chapter, he tells them that they're going to be conflict.
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On those three things, and they needed the protection, and it's already been explained to us a little late. Recite it in slightly different words. What controls your heart, controls your life?
Whatever is most important to you in your heart here this afternoon is what has the greatest influence on your life this afternoon and tomorrow and the next day. And so the breastplate is that which is necessary to protect.
The most vital aspect of what we are our heart. And where's your faith? Is it in your head?
In faith, believe in thine heart, the Lord Jesus.
And consequently, that same armor that's in Ephesians 6 speaks about that need of protection of the heart. And then when it comes to the hope, it says the helmet because it's protecting the mind.
Is protecting the mind and thinking about the address that we just had and some comments made in that address is so important that if our mind does not have correct doctrine, we can't have correct walk.
Our thoughts are going to be wrong unless our thoughts are formed by the language.
And the truth of the Word of God. We need to be so occupied with God's Word.
As the source of giving us right thoughts, in Romans chapter 13, it says of some there, what did they need concerning their mind? Well, what did these people in Thessalonica need? Their minds? That the day they were saved and they'd only been saved a while, What was in their minds?
Their minds were full of wrong thoughts.
That they had accumulated in their lives all the way up to the point of their salvation.
And so they needed the transforming process of Romans 13 that says, be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. That is, they had to replace all the thoughts that they previously had with new ones, ones formed by God and God's thoughts that we each need and consequently.
We need.
Daily, to have our thoughts formed by the scripture rather than by the news or by what we're going to get at school or work or anywhere else. There is that When it's in the spiritual or moral realm, our thoughts need to come in that way. So what happens in in when he writes the 2nd letter?
It wasn't very long there after, but he's already got to help them because.
One of those three things they didn't have anymore in its proper way. What should be and what is for us, Each one we should grow. And so he's able to say to them the joy he found when he writes his second letter, he says your faith groweth exceedingly.
Next time I see you, will I see you groan?
Well, I outwardly when they're little kids, next time I see them, I'll know they've grown. There isn't any question about it. They've grown. It's a wonderful joy when we see each other occasionally when we in the conversation can see in a brother or sister growth. And sometimes it's pretty evident that God has been at work in that life and developed growth. And so here was faith growing.
Charity exceeding.
That love between them was active. It was growing.
But what about the hope?
Well, they receive false information. They had false communications that played with their mind. And what's the consequence when we allow things that are not of God? Well, an important point really is Paul said you got the truth.
And even if somebody said it was from me, you already know what the truth is, so don't accept it.
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Don't accept it, refuse it. And then he goes on to show what the consequence of having their mind played with. He sets it, he corrects it in the second chapter to reestablish to them the truth of the hope that was set before them and why what they had heard was wrong. And so we often, in fact most of the epistles, not all, not the first one here, but the 2nd and many of the epistles were written to a correct.
Wrong thinking and wrong teaching that the Saints had, and so we're constantly exposed with it and thank God that He has used even that as a means of His way of revealing to us truth that we can walk in. So brethren, we need faith, we need hope, and we need love as a constant of our everyday life. Brother Bob mentioned Abraham and being told to offer his son.
And he said that there wasn't, there's no record of him arguing with God about the matter or reasoning like, oh, wow, why, why are you doing this to me? None of that. But there was an inner conversation. And we know about that because the New Testament tells us. And it illustrates what you're saying, Don. He believed God, what he had told him. So when he was told to go to the mountain and sacrifice his son, his inner conversation, you know, the devil attacked him. We don't hear that conversation, but you know what happened.
But he goes OK.
What do I know? God told me this boy is going to have children. So faith reasons to what's next? I'm going to see a resurrection.
That's where Faith took it on based on what God had told him, Faith took him, oh, I'm going to see my boy resurrected. That's not what happened. Maybe in type it did, but that's not what happened. But Faith didn't take him to some wild argument or mad at God experience didn't he believed he was going to see a resurrection.
Commented on in the sense that we from the very beginning or taught certain things. But brethren, sometimes it takes a long time to learn them and we don't want to give up just because we fail. Abraham is a wonderful example of a man who failed in faith. When he started his journey in life, he was told to go out.
And leave his family where he'd been grown up.
And he laughed, but he couldn't leave his family behind as he was told to. That was a lack of faith. He was told where the promises were going to be to him. And he got there into that land and.
The conflict came up and what did he do? He left the place of promise and went down into Egypt and caused a lot of grief for himself with respect to the protection of his wife because of what he did. And yet God in infinite grace brought that man back into the place and caused his faith to grow so that when it came to the test regarding Isaac, he had learned.
And as Sam has said, we see him excel in it, and we find that same record given to us in Hebrews 11 as a wonderful example of a man of faith. But at the same time, just like the Thessalonians, it didn't last very long before they were in trouble. So often in our lives, things start out and there's the immediate initial joy of salvation and then.
The reality of everyday life hits us pretty quick and sometimes we don't live up to what we have already known. But I just say it as a matter of encouragement that God never gives up on His work to fulfill His ultimate result of making us like Christ.
I think that's a really good point. Yesterday there was a dear brother said to be. It would be nice if we spoke a little bit more about the path back to him when we have difficulties in our life. And I think that you explained that very well with Abraham there. It's good for us to recognize that as we come to Christ and are saved. The path is not an easy one. Sometimes it's difficult. I know myself, I've gone through difficult times in my life, and I'm thankful that the Lord can draw me back to Him and that there's a path back to Him.
00:55:14
I was thinking of all these points being brought out.
Really indicates to me that even through chapter 4 and into this part that we're in in chapter 5 that we need to be occupied with.
Upright things or righteousness and.
The brother said our minds get filled with thoughts that aren't right at times, and we often refer to that verse in Ephesians 5, the washing of water by the Word and how much we need to take up His word and read it daily says that He might present.
That He might present it to himself, a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing that should be holy and without blemish. And that's what He's preparing us for right now while we wait for His return. It goes on in this portion. We often use the word comfort because that's what it says. But really he's exhorting. He's saying to exhort one another in these things, to stir each other up in them. And we need to help each other as we move from the individual aspect here. And then verse 12 and the assembly side of it.
Her collective side of it, I should say. And then also it says to edify, we need to build each other up in these days. And when I think of chapter 4 there it said that we might increase more and more. It reminds me of a verse.
In Proverbs.
Chapter 4 I believe.
I'm merely thinking of how difficult it is.
For each.
Often we hear over and over again how dark this world is. And that itself can be rather depressing, how dark this world is, how dark it is. And you know it is evil. It's truly evil. It's going to mention in this chapter a little further on, it's purely evil. It's run by Satan. You can't serve 2 masters, you can only serve one.
And so, as we hear it over and over again, surely we lose sight of the coming of the Lord.
Sure we surely we lose sight of any moment we would hear that shout we spoke of yesterday and be caught up, but I just really enjoy this verse in Proverbs 4 as we increase more and more it says in verse.
But the path of the Jostens is the shining light that shineth more and more under the perfect day.
The way the wicked is as darkness, they know not of what they stumble, but the.
Path of the justice is the shining light that shines more and more on the perfect day. We can't shine more and more, dear ones, if we don't take up with him, if we don't get caught up with him. Upright things. And he says occupy till he come. He's be occupied with him until he come.
And then shine brighter more and more into the perfect day. You won't see the darkness. The light would be so bright. And as we go along together, brother read in Philippians chapter 3 There I think a little further down it says Paul says, but follow together after me. He says that's the example of Christ is what he's indicating. There he was walking in the ways of Christ, Lord Jesus.
And so we too can go along together, following after him in those ways. And would be so bright.
Can't be caught up with the darkness. We can only be caught up with him.
Please remember that these dear things are suffering. They were suffering persecution, They were losing their personal property. They were some of them were losing their lives perhaps and so he says he presents to them at the end verse nine that they would obtain their obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. That really is the final deliverance that they would have at his coming at the rapture who died for us that whether we wake.
That is, whether we're alive at the coming of the Lord Jesus.
Or whether we sleep, that is, that there would be those that would perhaps die before the Lord came to be absent from the body and present with the Lord either of those two conditions, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do. And so they were to use this hope, the teaching of this blessed hope.
01:00:13
That the apostle had brought before them in chapter 4, verse 13. Really. Verse 15 to 18.
They were to use this to build up one another and to encourage one another and to present to one another the fact that there was a final deliverance and the Lord Jesus would come himself for them. And so then in verse 12 begins a different subject of it's helpful and I've said it before. You notice if you have a Darby translation, there are paragraphs and the Spirit of God uses these little bits of teaching. Chapter 5, verse one.
Down to verse, the end of verse 11 is a paragraph, and he's got a subject in mind and he's teaching in connection with that particular subject. Then in chapter, in verse 12, now he begins really his final.
Encouragement and instructions as to the what it would be to be a believer in that day and for us as well, and the instructions that are given that they might go on in an orderly way.
The first thing he brings before them in verse 12 is that those that are in oversight. Now this isn't translated very well in the King James translation, but it says I'm going to read it in the new translation. But we beg you, brethren, to know those who labor among you and take the lead among you in the Lord and admonish you and regard them exceedingly in love on account of their work. So this is referring to those who are in oversight in the local assembly.
He's not Speaking of those that perhaps might take a lead in public ministry or anything like that. He's Speaking of those that are in oversight. And so they might they. The assembly was young, he was only there for maybe 3 weeks.
And he gave them some instruction, he taught them as much as he could, and then he was really forced to leave. And so he writes this letter. And as those that are new believers and a young fresh assembly, the Spirit of God was going to raise up those that would protect them and that would shepherd them. Let's look at Acts chapter 20 just to show that it's there's an act of God. It's the sovereignty of God.
In connection with oversight, God raises up those that will be shepherds for the flock. It says in verse 28, Acts 20, verse 28, take heed therefore unto yourselves is speaking to those that are in oversight and to all the flock over the witch.
I think over the which we're in. I think it's Darby translation, the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost hath made you overseers. This is their work twofold.
To feed the Church of God, which he had purchased with his own blood. And really they were to they were to feed and then they were to watch in verse 31 and remember.
And so they were to be watchful, they were to feed the Saints of God. God raises up shepherds and that's the sovereignty of God in another place. It's, I think it's first Timothy chapter 3 verse one. It says it is. This is a true saying. First Timothy chapter 3 verse one. This is a true saying if a man desired the office of the Bishop or a shepherd.
He desireth a good work. A Bishop then must be blameless. And so those in oversight are raised up of God. And it's the sovereignty of God in that sense that he does raise up those that are self sacrificing and addicted to the service of the Saints. But then there is responsibility and there are those that are exercised to take up that work. And so that's what you have in second in first Timothy chapter.
Three. So here he's Speaking of their response to those who would be raised up of God to be a help and a protection to those of the Saints in that assembly.
In verse 10 it says who died for us, whether we wake or sleep, whether we live or die. As our brother said, we should live together with him.
01:05:05
And I just want to make this point to you that are younger than me. Nobody gets out of here alive.
Think about that. Nobody gets out of here alive. What is my life for?
What is the point?
If we live in view of eternity and we realize I'm not going to take anything out of this world except for people that I touch, that's it. My house is going to burn, my car is going to burn, everything I own is going to burn.
Why am I here? What is the point that we should live together with him?
That we would be in fellowship with the Lord Jesus and He wants that to be good enough. And it's not that we don't. I remember when I was 18 and I was like, oh man, I can't wait to get married. I'm not saying that's wrong, but to understand that's not ultimately going to fulfill us. That's not going to last our whole life. Eventually I'm going to die, or my wife's going to die, or both of us are going to die together, or the Lord's going to come. This life isn't going to last forever. So make what you do count.
Make it last, invest it on the other side and the second thing here in verse 11, our brother mentioned here, comfort yourselves together and edify one another even as all she do and I think you are saying.
Edify and comfort was absorbed and I just want to say to us, are we willing to get dirty with one another? There's a couple in our assembly that's been a huge help to me. Like I cannot. I feel like the guy saved my life. He didn't physically.
But he and his wife were such a help to us. They were willing to get dirty. They were willing to come to our house. They were willing to work with us. It was such a help. Not in judgment. It's so easy. You, you run into somebody, oh, how are you doing? Oh, it's so easy to get a rock and throw a rock at them. Are you willing to get off your high horse and say, wow, that could happen to me?
Wow, I'm really sorry. Let's see what we can do to put this together.
It means everything to the assembly, it means everything to the assemble, to the individual. And it builds up love. It builds us up. We go through a trial. There's a brother. He stood at the podium in Walla Walla and he was almost in tears because he couldn't hold his life together. And I said you and I are going out to lunch and I took him out to lunch and that meant so much to him. Did that cost me? Sure it did. It cost me a meal, cost me some time. What is he worth? He's my brother.
That's what the Lord is trying to exercise us in our hearts about these things and as we get to what our brother was sharing.
In the collective sense. But do I care about you? I can't affect you if I don't care about you.
All I well, I can affect you. I can drive you away if we want. As those of us who are older, if we want to make a difference in the lives of the younger, we have to reach with love. We have to reach their heart.
What comes from the heart goes to the heart. The Lord help us, every single one, that we would care. And I feel it. I feel it right here. This conference has been such an encouragement.
We need godly companions on the way home to glory, don't we? We see here in the verse 11 wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another is also you do I believe there's about 21 another who can go through love one another, care for one another, edify one another's about 20 of them. We need godly companions on the way home to glory. We think of pilgrims progress in the next story. One of his companions turned back. Another one was martyred. Another one was with him in the prison with giant of despair.
We meet companions and godly companions. You can look at an individual, look at their three or four closest companions and you can accurately predict the outcome.
The closest companions. It's very important. We need one another. We need God, the companions who can teach us the Word of God. I was thinking of these Thessalonians. There's the admonition in chapter 2 That says they received it as the Word of God. But we turn back to the three weeks that our brother Robert mentioned in Act 17. It says there were others.
There we were more noble, more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and search the Scriptures daily whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed also honorable women, which were Greeks, and of men not a few. But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. Then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go, as it were, to deceive. But Silas and Timothy are both there still.
01:10:04
Isn't it good that Silas and Timothy are both there still? It sounds like they were just sending Paul to the sea. Goodbye. But they had those three weeks of teaching. They have this letter. They have another letter, and Silas and Timothy abode. So it was very important for Paul to stress to look at those who are in authority, those who are teaching, those who are admonishing. We need one another. You know, our brother has mentioned the connection of faith, hope and love. And they when they just lost one, they lost hope and they had a problem.
There because they lost hope. With the exception of maybe third John, almost every single epistle in the New Testament says either the Lord Jesus Christ Christ, Jesus our Lord Jesus Christ our Lord, or our Savior Jesus Christ in the 1St 3 verses. When we come to Christ, we come to Christ. He's our Messiah, He's our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sometimes people, they come to Christ, but they need to make him Lord.
Of their life, there needs to be the divine authority of scripture to follow.
And they need to live the life of some people who maybe have tried to make Jesus Lord. But when you look at their life, you look at their personal behavior, their home, their work life, is it consistent with the character Matthew, Mark, Luke, John of a life of Christ? Do they have the meekness, the gentleness, the sweetness, the wonderfulness in their life? Christ in you, the hope of glory. When we have Christ, we have everything, the Lord Jesus.
Christ that needs to be reflected in our heart and our life, even as faith, hope and love need to be intertwined. We need to be intertwined with one another. There's like 20 of them. Look it up as an exercise. I saw this one time and it had 20 points. I didn't memorize them. I should have. But we need the scriptures. We need to be reminded. Peter says, I'm reminding you again, don't you already know it? But I have to remind you again. And even Paul, Paul wrote in his scriptures, we need to encourage others who we respect and trust in the faith.
It's obvious from the two messages here that the brothers for maybe years had thought about those in.
Addresses thought about those subjects, the towers in the wells and the the distinction between the Jews and the church. It's very important. Sometimes these things come over years. I was thinking when we were reading about two of the pieces of the armor. If you count prayer, there's seven, but there's six listed in Ephesians six. Well, this is about our brother said 8054. If you go to Romans 13 and mentions the armor of light, that was about AD 60. And then Ephesians 6, which has the full armor, that was about 8064.
So over a span of about 10 years. So sometimes in our life there's there's things that are learned or understood over time. And maybe if you're preparing for a message or you're seeking to help someone, things may come to you as an epiphany and all at one moment. But some things God will work. It is God that worketh in you both the will and the due of his good pleasure. He may work with us over many, many years. We need godly companions on the way home to glory to help us if one falls and the other can help them up. How many times even Abraham went flat on his face?
We need one another, we need to encourage one another. The journey is nearing the end and what a blessing we can be in our daily lives will be encouraging one another.
I think back to the time in my life when I had possibly one foot in the world and one foot in the assembly.
I was going along every day figuring I had it worked out and meeting time would come.
I would try to find an excuse not to go.
Or maybe I would let my wife go to meeting and I'd put the kids to bed.
Well, the week that I would go, there would be a brother that would walk down the hall with me.
And he would say, Jonathan, you need to be out for the weeknight meeting with your family.
Maybe a whole month would go by and I'd leave the meeting and that brother would walk down the hall with me again. He'd say, Jonathan, you need to be out of the weeknight meeting with your family.
He kept reminding me and reminding me another brother would call me and I'd see his number on my phone.
And I wouldn't want to answer it because I knew what the message was going to be. Missed you at the meeting last night.
And so, you know there's a responsibility here. It says, we beseech you, brethren, to know them, which labor among you. You can't know one another. You really can't love one another. You really can't trust one another unless you go to meeting and be with each other. Proverbs 1824 Men that have friends must show himself friendly. And so, dear ones, we have to be together in order to connect with what our brother is saying back here. We have to be together.
01:15:19
And we have to trust our brethren. How would you know who has the oversight? How would you know who the Shepherd is if you don't go? Why would you ever listen to him if you don't trust him? Why would you think he has a care for you if you don't love him?
So how would you know if that?
Your faith is probably Wayne God's sour.
And so I merely point out that having one foot in the world, one foot in the assembly, does not work. It is not being occupied with Christ. It is not being prepared for his coming. We can't encourage each other that way.
Has the sense of recognizing them, and I believe so. You could read it that way. We beseech you, brethren, to recognize them.
Who those that God has raised up in oversight, those that are true shepherds, what do they do? They labor among the Saints and they take the lead. It's not correct to say over you and the Lord, but they take the lead in the shepherding work in the Saints among the Saints. They may teach as well as we could read other passages, but they.
Admonish you. And so he gives them three examples here. There's labor, they take the lead, perhaps in ministry, but perhaps in the work of oversight in the assembly. And they admonish you. No one likes correction. And you know, the shepherd often times gets his shins kicked. And there was a shepherd in Portugal, I believe it was, and he.
In those areas they have circular enclosure for the sheep. It has Stonewall approximately 6 or seven feet high. And a shepherd has will lie in the doorway, which is about maybe 24 inches wide. And one shepherd brother asked him how come he had so many scars on his shins. He says, well, that's from lying across the doorway and at night kicking at the wolves to keep the wolves out of the.
The sheep away from the sheepfold.
And so the shepherd is a very thankless work at times, but the Spirit of God here with this young group of believers that had accepted Christ as Savior, were looking for His coming. They had that blessed hope before them. Their hearts needed to be tender towards the Savior, protected, and they needed to recognize that the assembly was organized by the Spirit of God. It wasn't just a group of brethren and like a democracy that we're so accustomed to, but that God would select in His wisdom and raise up by His power those that would be self sacrificing.
And for the preservation of that assembly, that they would labor among them. And so that's why he says to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. What would the result be? There would be peace. And there is never a blessing in an assembly when there are those that are striving against the oversight that God has raised up. There isn't a peace in the assembly because there's a striving against the work of the Spirit of God.
In how he has raised up those in oversight. Now they'll answer to the Lord for how they go on, how the assembly goes on under their watch. We might just look at that in Hebrews chapter 13. I think it's being referred to before.
Verse 17. Hebrews 13. Verse 17.
It says obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves.
It doesn't mean to the way they want it done is the way they should it should be done and their opinion is a higher opinion so on. But they present the word of God in certain situation and so we should submit to that.
Says obey them rule, have the rule over you and submit yourself for they watch for your souls as they that must give account that they may do it with joy.
And not with grief, for that is unprofitable for you and so those that are in oversight.
01:20:06
Will give account of their stewardship. You might say their oversight during the time that they had responsibility because the flock is the Lorde flock. It's not theirs and it's the price that was paid was the blood of the his own son. The price was paid at the Cross of Calvary that he might have those that were blessed in his presence. So this is just he's giving them instruction. This young assembly young group of believers.
To recognize those that God had raised up to care for them, not to treat them shoddily.
Cultivate fellowship with those who are older in your assembly. Sometimes you see them all in a group of young people. That's fine. It's nice to have fellowship with one another. But cultivate fellowship with older ones and learn to ask good questions. That's a good way to learn, I must say.
I've been impressed at the end of Matthew's Gospel, the Lord Jesus gives the command Go therefore and teach all nations. It's really make disciples, discipleship. And I have accompanied older brethren in my youth today into Latin America. And I must say I learned immensely, not only about what they talked about, but the way they acted.
And the way they handled situations.
It was incredibly important learning for me. And so I just want to encourage you to do that. To know those doesn't mean they're perfect, they may make mistakes, but respect them because they're a little older, they have a little more experience. And so I remember an older brother in the assembly where I came to when I was 18 years old and Oak Park, IL, and I had quite a bit of confidence with him and I went up to him one time and said.
What do you think about this situation?
He says, you know what, I don't know what to answer you, but I'll get back to you. And it was a few days later, he came back to me in another assembly meeting and after the assembly meeting and said, here's what I want to share with you. And I must say I thoroughly appreciated and respected him in that. I just want to mention too, that word admonish includes correction.
But when there is confidence you can take correction, and I've been, I can tell you about times when I've been corrected by my older brother. I must say it was kind of a jolt at first, but when I stopped and considered and thought about it, it was extremely helpful in my understanding of the Scriptures. Let me give you one word or one verse that talks about.
Admonishment, too, that I found very helpful.
In Romans chapter 15.
And verse 14.
He says.
I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren.
That ye also are full of goodness.
Filled with all knowledge.
Able also to admonish one another. Notice that admonish doesn't start the list. First comes.
Full of goodness.
And so we need to think of as a brother that needs some admonishment. Have I shown goodness to that person? Am I filled with all knowledge? Sometimes you go up to a person to correct them and you don't have the whole picture and you get into the fray and you try to admonish them and it doesn't get over it well, very well. It's important to be filled with all knowledge and then able also to admonish.
Brethren, we need admonishment. I need it.
But let's learn to take it. And again, I say it to my younger brother. Totally. Fellowship with your older brother.
You're describing people that have grace in the way they do it. We jokingly have a little thing back home where I admonish one of my brothers, don't be get off my lawn guy. But the way you treat people because that guy, you know what happens? They get on his lawnmower. Don't be that guy. Don't be that guy in spiritual matters. Don't be the get off my lawn guy. It won't be received well and maybe you should just consider it anyway. But.
01:25:17
Grace, a lot of grace that comes. I heard a description of different ones who were.
Thankful that they received help and admonishment from different ones and it wasn't from a get off my lawn guy.
Sing 191.
191.
We mentioned.