Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Exalted Praise being given to the Lord Jesus through eternity. Revelation 5 and verse 9. And they sung a new song.
Saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation.
And they sung a new song which will never end. Lord Jesus, we look forward to the moment.
We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
We would live our own way, delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
So then, death Burke is in us, but life in you.
We having the same spirit of faith according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken.
We also believe and therefore speak.
Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
For all things, or for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, and through the Thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
For which 'cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are returned, are eternal.
Brother Ed, you must have had some thoughts to go back to the 8th, 1St. We don't want to lose them.
Well, I was thinking of this thinking of this wonderful chapter.
The sorrow of the world work at death.
But what we possess as believers. I read a verse last night and I want to go back to that and justice read it again in the prayer meeting. That's the third, third chapter of the first Epistle.
And it's in connection, I think, of what we have in Ephesians 1, where it says he's not only head of the church.
But he's head over all things to it. Now that would include all the circumstances, whether we would consider them good or bad or that may be good or bad. But I was thinking of these two verses in the end of the third of First Corinthians.
It says verse 21. Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours.
Whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come.
All are yours and your Christ, and Christ is God's if we can just think of these verses in this way that God has put us into the various assemblies in which we find ourselves.
Whatever is at work in those assemblies, whatever he's doing to the praise of his own glory, if I can put it this way, it's like a link and a chain. You start here and you just work up and it just goes right up to the top of the one who allows the whole thing to happen in this world. It gives us great comfort, brethren, when we can see the sovereignty of God in that way.
00:05:11
That these things are working for us, as we have in this chapter, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory Bread. And we've been through some momentous things the last little while. And I think it's a comforting thing to our hearts to realize that God is at work in those circumstances. Sometimes it may not seem like it, but we know that he is what I do, he says in John 13. Thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter what a comfort these verses are to us.
In view of what we have there in verse eight, we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.
We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. You know, brethren, sometimes we insist a lot on the on the our responsibility before God and we would not minimize that. That's important. But a bitter cup can never be really appropriated and realized until we realize that a sovereign God.
Is at work for our good in this pathway, it helps us to meet those bitter cups. I just want to turn with you 2 to the first chapter of this book because I want to point out something there too. It's very lovely.
2nd Corinthians chapter one.
And verse 8.
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble, which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above strength in so much that we despaired even of light. But we had the sentence of death written in ourselves, or the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver in whom we trust will yet deliver us. These verses are such a comfort.
We realize that in every vicissitude of our life we have a loving father who is at work and he is going to have his way. And in the end we're going to be we're just going to stand before that throne in wonder, love and praise. We see his perfect ways with us.
So what we have in verse 8-9.
Need not only be the breaking down of the vessel A it could also be the afflictions of the gospel, or it could be the combination of both in the Christian life.
Has often been mentioned about Paul and Silas who were in Philippi and how they got their backs beaten and perhaps bleeding and.
Then they were thrust into the inner prison.
And we often think about them.
Talk about them praying and singing praises to God.
But let's remember, too, that they did feel what they what was done to them. And it was midnight when they finally got around to it. Brethren, I don't know if we would ever gotten around to it, but at least they did get around to it. At midnight they prayed and sang praises. There was the breaking of the vessel, but the light shone forth out of that dark prison, and that jailer came out of there a saved man.
That's an illustration of it.
It's very instructive for us.
That it's the life also of Jesus that might be manifested in his mortal flesh.
It says in first John two he saith the vitamin E that saith he abideth in him ought himself also walk, even as he walked.
The life also of Jesus sets the Lord Jesus Christ before us as a man here below.
And.
In those circumstances.
He is the pattern for us as children of God. Now there is a connection in Ephesians Chapter 4 that I believe sets this before us, what we have in our chapter here, both in the exaltation of Christ and our occupation with Him, there in glory and in the patterning of our life after himself as he walked in the scene. And that's Ephesians 4.
00:10:17
We will not read all the verse 17 and 18, but you will notice there that he describes the activity of the nations walking in the vanity of their mind, in verse 18, darkened in their understanding, estranged from the life of God.
And then he says in.
Verse 20 But ye have not so learned Christ.
That's the Lord Jesus Christ at the right hand of God exalted that we had in our earlier verses of our chapter. And then it says, if you have heard him and been instructed according to the truth, as it is in Jesus, so we have him set before us, as that one who always did that which pleased his Father, the one of whom the Father said he is.
Almighty like.
And I've enjoyed putting it this way. When we pattern our life, when we look at that light of the Lord Jesus Christ and as he walked here below and pattern our life in that manner, we are looking at a man who.
Shows us everything that man should be to God.
But that's not all we see in him. All that God is to man. And so the truth, as it is in Jesus, is that walk of perfect obedience and submission to the will of another.
In suffering, even to the point of death. And so it's wonderful that it's the life of Jesus that is manifested so that we can walk as he walked.
I think it's also nice to see that verses 8:00 and 9:00 that we've looked at really have a connection with verse 7 and verse 7. There's a contrast between the Excellency of the power of God with us. That's the contrast in verse 7, the power of God at work. In contrast that it's not be us and our own power. And then there's four.
Comparisons really in the 8th and 9th verses which reflect that fact. The first one is we are troubled. Well, that's really our side of it. But God acts in power so that we are not distressed. God has his power at work even in the weakness and the suffering that he allows in the vessel, that he maintain it to his own glory in the circumstances in which he places it for for the good.
Of the vessel itself or the person that bears that vessel. So then it's we are perplexed.
But what does God come in and do but not in despair?
We're persecuted. Does that mean that we have to just give up? No, it says, but not forsaken. And so God himself comes in, and He's not going to forsake us in that situation, but he's going to go with it, through through it, with us. As the Lord Jesus said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. And so while God may allow these things to come in with the purpose of good, He's always in them himself. And then the 4th one is cast down.
Well, we might say, well, I've got to give up. Like there's no hope for me. My circumstances are too terrible.
No, the answer of God is but not destroyed. Who keeps it from being destroyed? It's it's God, our Father with His great power, who is working on our behalf.
And so Peter tells us in his first epistle in verse five that we are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. And so all the power of God is operative toward us to keep us from being destroyed, keep us from being discouraged, keep us from realizing that there is no resource so that we can walk with him through it, and arrive at that salvation that he has provided by his power.
Kept by the power of God. It's very interesting too that that's true of the those of the Dispersion, as well as applying it in the words of faith to us. He writes that to the Dispersion. And here they were, as far as men are concerned, lost identity, but kept by the power of God. And there on the day of Pentecost to witness this wonderful new thing that God has begun. And so he His eye is upon all of us, and not one circumstance enters into our and our lives, except it's ordered of God, as we've been told before by others.
00:15:11
In perfect love and perfect wisdom.
Would this be a correct thought then, that all the resources of the Godhead are going to be used to bring us home safely to glory?
There's a beautiful thought.
In Isaiah 63 verse nine, we'll need to turn to it necessarily, but it it's to me that I don't know that astounding is the right expression.
In all their affliction He knew what they were going through, and all their affliction he was aware, doesn't say that in all their affliction He was afflicted to think of that statement.
State clear statement of Scripture concerning his Old Testament Saints, that in all their affliction He was afflicted. And can we say it's any less today for us who are members of the body of Christ and the Angel of His presence saved them?
In his love.
And in his pity.
He redeemed them, and he bare them and carried them all the days of old. Whatsoever things are written aforetime were written for our learning that we, through patience and comfort of the scriptures, might have hope.
That expression that you use with being afflicted indicates how far he went.
In identification with his own, I was often consternated by that expression in the 60.
Night Psalm verse 4 where it says my sins and my iniquities were not hid from thee.
Well, the hymn writer has very well put it. He confessed our sins and bore them as his own. So, being afflicted with all their afflictions, we see his identification in them, songs with a remnant, and certainly with us. It's all on the way to Damascus was sad. Why persecutest thou me? The Lord was already in glory. But it shows how bound up we are in unity now without risen and glorified mind.
We are bound up in unity with him in his present position.
And now our lives down here, we have to realize our position too.
Is dead and buried with Christ and risen again. And this is what we have in verses 10 and 11. Just like to say a little bit more about what it means to be to bear about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. What does that mean?
If we go back to the Epistle of Romans, perhaps it helps us to understand it in Romans chapter 6, because if we don't understand our position.
It is hard to know how to apply it practically. Romans chapter 6.
And beginning with verse one, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Notice it says we are dead to sin. Does not say we should be dead to sin, says we are dead to sin. Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized unto?
Into Jesus Christ we're baptized into or unto his death. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like is Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father. Even so we also should walk in newness of light. So when Jesus died on the cross, he died for our sins. Like was said, He identified fully with them and took them.
In his own body He bore them on the tree, and he died. Now we accept him. We accept his work for us.
And God looks at us in that same position that He took for us. He died. He was buried. We died to sin as well. We are buried with Him. And in baptism we identify ourselves with him in that death. And also it includes the thought in verse four of resurrection. We are identified with him in resurrection.
00:20:17
Now how is that supposed to be shown out in our lives when sin presents itself to a believer in the Lord Jesus?
What is the response?
If you have a dead man laying on the floor up here, maybe he was a drunkard in his life.
Let's see if he will take a glass of beer now. Will he grab a hold of it? No, you say? Why not? He's dead. That's what you and I are before God. We're dead, and we need to apply that in the same 6th chapter of Romans and verse 11 it says likewise. Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead.
Indeed unto sin but alive unto God thru Jesus Christ our Lord.
So that when sin presents itself in any way that it does in this world, we take that position. I am dead. I remember how I struggled with that as a young person, a particular thing that may not have seemed that serious, but I felt it was grievous to the Lord, and I felt out of communion when I got into it and I confessed it to the Lord. And each time I got up with more determination not to do that again.
And I just went ahead and did it again until the Lord showed me the simple truth.
That all you're struggling is not going to get you the victory. What gets you the victory is simply believing what God has said in his word. You're dead. And when the temptation came up again, I remember I simply said I can't struggle against this. I just accept what God says, I'm dead. And a dead man does not respond to the temptation to sin. So this is what we need to apply practically in their lives and really believe this is what it's meant in our chapter.
It says always bearing about in the body. The dying of the Lord Jesus we carry in our bodies. He died for me. How can I, if he died for those sins of mine? How can I, when it presents itself, participate in that thing? I cannot. I say no to that. Then the life of Jesus, that life and resurrection, can be manifested in my body.
Well, I think that's very, very important and we have a lot of young folks here and.
Years ago, going through this very chapter, the demonstration was made like this, which is absolutely wrong. It's like playing Cowboys and Indians and you know, you go, bang, you're dead. That's not what we have here at all. What we have here in the 11Th verse is you've already brought out is that God sees you as being dead.
With Christ and God sees you there. You accept that. And that's what we have in Ephesians 2. It says that he were risen and seated in heavenly places in Christ. That's where God sees us. We're no longer here a Sinner. In fact, let me say this, that we're not saved sinners. That's not a right expression. We're sinners. We're, excuse me, we're not sinners saved, We're saved.
From sin, you know you're not a Sinner. After you've been saved, you may sin, but you're not a Sinner.
God says I see you as dead in Christ. And look at the sixth verse, knowing this, that the old man is crucified with him. If if we've been crucified with Christ, how then can anyone say, well, that's the old man. That's not a correct expression. In Corinthians 5, Second Corinthians 517, which is just ahead of us, it says ye are a new creation, a new creation. Behold, all things are passed away.
Behold, all things renew. God sees us as being dead and buried with Christ, and that's where we start. And with that knowledge, we know that we're on the ground of salvation. We know that God sees us already in heaven, seated in Christ. And as Bob has already said, how can we go on with those things that are defiling and dishonorable to the Lord? God sees us as dead. Let's consider it that way. It's not that we pretend to be dead. We are dead.
00:25:08
Is that not what is typified in the in the crossing of the Jordan when the 12 Stones were put in the bottom of the river?
When the children of Israel crossed over and 12 were put on the shore. When the waters came back over those stones.
They couldn't see those stones anymore, but God saw them. And that's the picture of you and me. That's where God sees us.
In the death of Christ. And so we those 12 Stones on the other side, we might say, typifies ourselves in resurrection.
And it was also on Gilgal, where they were, where they had the cutting off of the flesh, where they circumcised. And they always had to come back to that point after a victory. Or and it's good for us to come back to that point over and over again, is it not? But to always remember that that God sees us, He he doesn't see us in the flesh anymore that's under the waters of death, but he sees us as typified in those stones on the on the the shore of Canaan. Do you remember who put the stones in the middle of Georgia?
No, it was Joshua. Joshua put them there. That's the figure of the Lord Jesus.
He's the one that did that work, brother. It was 12 men out of the 12 tribes that took a stone out of the Jordan and put it on the shore, which is typical of resurrection. And that's what's seen and that's what's our responsibility to show resurrection light. But it's not for you and I to.
Count the, I should say.
The flesh is not put in the place of death by us, brethren. It has been done by the Lord Jesus on the cross of Galveston. That is done. We are dead. That's the way God sees us, and it's for us to recognize it. And that's what that word. Reckon yourselves to be dead unto sin. That's what it means. Think that way. Now think that you're dead to sin. Recognize the fact that you are. Yes. Ephesians, 421-2223.
The rendering there is not right. Let's look at it and let's remember it and correct it in your Bible if you haven't already done so. That's a wrong rendition.
Verses 24/20/22.
That he put off.
Wrong, wrong. Entirely wrong. We cannot put off concerning the former conversation. The old man. The old man has been put off in verse 24 and that she put on wrong, wrong expression. It's having put off, and that was done at Calgary and having put on in verse 24 the new man that was done at Calvary, now the 25th verse. Wherefore putting away Lying.
And so on. Be angry and sin not, et cetera. Now turn to Colossians 3. You get almost the same expression, but there again in plus and three verse nine, let not one be lie, not one to another, seeing that she have or having put off the old man and having put on the new man.
And then in 12, verse 12 put on therefore as the elect. Now that's the responsibility to do that. But brethren, don't be mistaken about the fact that the old man was crucified with Christ, that the old man was put off at Calvary, the new man was put on at Calvary. You had nothing to do with it, nor will you ever have anything to do with it. It's been done. And starting with that as the foundation on the basis, then we can do the other thing, because God has already put us in a position of a new life.
Two Corinthians 517.
Ye are a new creation. God took the old ship and sunk it, and he built a brand new ship.
Verse however, in the Nation chapter 5 and verse 25 that says this ye that are Christ have crucified the flesh with its affliction and lust. That at a point in history we accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. We accepted God's judgment against us. We agreed with God that we were what we were and have come to an end. Now these expressions that our brother correctly has called to our attention simply means to be in the state of having done this.
We did it when we accepted Christ. Now continue in that state and by faith reckon to our account what God has done for us.
00:30:09
Things with what Bob said about the 12 Stones in Jordan, It's very profitable to see the the God side and the experimental side in. In numbers 32 and verse five there were two tribes that said well, for said they If we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession and bring us not over Jordan.
And later it's 2 1/2 tries the two were first mentioned. My point is this God, as far as God was concerned and the action of Joshua, all 12 Stones were put into the Jordan and all 12 and 12 Stones were taken out. But there are dear Saints of God and there may be amongst us that experimentally they really don't want. They have chosen something of not going into the promised land.
And all 12 tribes were eventually carried away captive. But these were the first to be carried away captive. And if we are not going to be in the good of death and resurrection with Christ, and we want to stay on the wilderness side of the Jordan, they were allowed to under certain circumstances, But God intended those 12 Stones in and 12 Stones out. But experimentally they didn't want it. And our hearts need to be careful that we are not in the same position.
But they were told the extent of the land, but they had to put their feet on them. That's the point. The other thing is you can look this up sometime. I don't have the time, but I believe that the date for when Israel came up out of the Red Sea and when they came up out of the Jordan, the date is exactly the same.
Trace that out Sometimes very. It's a very interesting study.
The time of their coming up out of the Red Sea.
In the time of their coming up out of Jordan, now we know it was separated by years, But as far as God is concerned, morally the time, it's exactly the same time. If you look at it now that I believe the point Spirit of God is making is this. That the death of Christ has seen for us in the Red Sea has delivered us from the power of the enemy. But now in connection as we know with the Jordan, it's our our having died, you know, with him. But the dates I say are exactly the same. You can look it up sometime exactly the same thing.
By faith they pass through the Red Sea, as by dry land, which the Egyptians are saying to do, were drowned.
By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down.
What you think there is that also the thought of responsibility. And you know, we've spoken a lot about our position, which is glorious and the foundation. But we are exhorted to walk in the spirit and we shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. I don't think it speaks of the flesh as being dead. We we have a struggle with the flesh perhaps every day. So there's the responsibility side that comes in there and I think we shouldn't forget it.
Although our position, glorious position, is in Christ, and we are God looks upon us as having died with Him. We have the responsibility to keep that old nature in the place of death, and we have the power to do it because we have the Spirit of God to give us strength to overcome. But I don't think we can regard the flesh as dead. It is it will act at any moment in our lives and bring dishonor on the Lord.
Says walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh, and we we have that responsibility to.
Apply the sharp sword that we have brought before us there in that chapter, Joshua Five. It was to be applied to themselves at Gilgal before it was applied to the enemies in the land. Which brings before us just what we have in our chapter.
Keeping the old nature in the place of death where God has put it practically.
Not allowing it to to manifest itself in our pathway, is that right, brethren? Well, it is in one respect if we understand what we're talking about as to the flesh.
The flesh, correctly has been stated, is not dead, it's condemned.
What the law could not do Romans 8 three in that it was weak through the flesh, that is, it was addressed a natural man.
Man who had that evil principle, rebellion and hatred against God, what the law could not do God in the sending of his Son.
00:35:08
In the likeness of sinful flesh, the identification of that blessed man with us.
Has condemned sin and the flesh.
Which means.
It is there, varied and pushing to get out.
And the only way it can give expression to itself is through these members. Beloved, yield your members unto God unto holiness.
Or yield your members unto sin unto death, so it is there.
Condemned, and we have a precious privilege by faith of agreeing to that. But it is the will of man that lets that evil principle work. Now there is a distinction in what we refer to as the flesh, and what the apostle says in the 6th of Romans as to the old man. The old man is our standing in Adam before God as condemned.
That is forever done, Adams history, one brother has said.
The cross is the end of Adam's history outside of paradise.
There is no standing before God and Adam anymore if a man does not have.
Affiliation does not have affinity with Christ and resurrection. He has nothing. God has nothing to say to him except judgment. But that old principle of rebellion and sin against God has been condemned, and we have taken sides with God against it. It's buried and always seeking to give expression to itself, and it has to be reckoned with. And we reckon correctly that it's dead. We take sides with God, We wrestle with it. We wrestle with it. We'll never win.
But we believe God. Now there is an analogy. Here you take the gospel address to sinners, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. You saved to a converted center. Where are your sins? They're gone. Oh, how are they gone? They Christ died for my sins. I believe that I have peace. They're gone. Well, what about the flesh? It's condemned.
But I held reckon with it, and I take sides with God, and in faith believe that God hasn't has been pointed up to us, revealed to us, that true character of having been condemned and set aside, then we have power over it by the Spirit of God as has been set. We walk in the Spirit and we never let him out.
It is interesting that it never does really say that the flesh is dead. What is dead is we are brethren, we are dead and we are responsible to show that truth that we are dead, buried and risen again. That is what scripture says and I remember the story told of a man who professed to be a believer who was caught stealing in.
When he was called to account by the judge, he says it was my flesh that did it. So the judge says, well, we'll send your flesh to prison and you'll go along to keep them company. And I think we have to realize that we are responsible in showing out that truth, that truth that Christ died for us and in accepting what Christ did for us then that is our position dead.
Very risen again with Christ. Tremendous to get these things into our soul, to enjoy it in reality, in the soul. This is the truth, brother. This is the truth of my position. You look at me, you might see it sometimes. Other times you might not see it displayed very much. That is the question of my responsibility. And that's what you were talking about, John, I think. And that is different. And that's why I think it is. It says we.
Are dead and dead with Christ, and buried and risen again. But it never says exactly that the flesh is dead.
Himself and his flesh. He said that in me. There was a present statement at the moment he said it in me, that is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, and that's true of you and me and everybody else.
And I trust that what I said didn't give license to someone to go out and sin. Our standing is secure. It's perfect. It's forever.
00:40:09
The Newman was put away at Calvary's Cross, and this I'll stand on the rock forever. The old man was the old man was put away at Calvary's cross. The new man was given to every Christian. We had nothing to do with it. That's scriptural and I'll stand on it. But the scriptures that follow say that we must. And let's read one of them in Ephesians 4 again.
The 25th verse. Wherefore putting away now? This is responsibility. Putting away lying. Speak every man truth with his neighbor, or we are members one of another. Being angry and sin not, let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth and grieve not the Holy Spirit. These are all personal responsibilities.
That does not it. I categorically say this. It does not change the truth of what was done at Calvary's cross. The old man was put away, crucified with Christ. Romans 6, verse 6.
The Christ God put on the new man on everyone that received Christ as Savior. God took away the old man of everyone that received Christ the Savior. That's done.
It'll never be done again, but we still have a responsibility to keep the flesh in its place. And those are the scriptures I just read.
And so it's like 2 tracts of a railroad. We stand in perfect acceptance before God, but we have a responsibility as to our walk.
Difficulty lies beloved.
In what one brother has said.
The flesh is condemned and the old man is dead, but I die hard when the Lord Jesus Christ pointed up.
That in John chapter 6 concerning the flesh.
That there is no good in it. How does that expression? How is it said there?
And they went away and walked no more with him.
The flesh profiteth nothing. Thank you, brother. The flesh profiteth nothing. Well, there are some who couldn't accept that and they went away. But it is difficult because we have living members to.
Use in that way, if we choose to let them be used in that way, and so we die hard. But we have to simply, as was pointed up at the very beginning of this subject, we believe what God has said, and He makes it good in our soul, and it gives us power over it.
When I just look at Luke 9 for a minute, there's another feature here I think that we should bring in because I believe it's important.
It's in connection with what we're speaking up here.
Luke Chapter 9.
And.
Yes, verse 23, he said unto the mall. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. You see, I left something out there.
Daily.
Let him take up his cross daily and follow me, for whosoever will save his life shall lose it.
But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. Well, I believe. It's important to believe that's a dimension that we can bring in here. By the way, if we don't take the cross up daily, we're not going to take it up at all.
And so that's, that's a very important feature, brethren. And I believe as we get into his presence and we're in communion with him, we will learn what that cross is for, for the day. It's important that and we've heard these things about how the old man is gone the day Ed Wilson got saved, it's like God reached down and killed him. And then I was raised in newness of life with Christ. But that old flesh within Ed Wilson is not very nice. And so that's why it has to be dealt with on an ongoing thing. It's a it's a struggle continually.
Let's not fool ourselves and say that it isn't because we walk outside these walls. We see things and right away we're enticed and and there's all kinds of temptations and all of these different things. The only way in which it's done is, is to pray, I believe without ceasing. It's it's to apply those scriptures and that's why we need them every day. We need to apply them to our lives and walk in the good of them and then we're going to overcome evil with good. But I say that the daily thing.
00:45:11
Is really, I believe, the idea of a moment by moment thing. We're in a real struggle and we're not fooling ourselves that once we get saved, that's it. We have nothing more to do with it. Galatians makes that very clear now. The the, the deeds of the flesh are manifest. It says which are these? And it gives all that horrible list. But then it gives us the fruit of the spirit too, doesn't it? I don't say fruits, it's the fruit. Singular but seen in different aspects. And someone gave me a lovely list. It's really lovely.
Various aspects that comes out there. Love in training, love suffering, love yielding all of these things is is such a lovely thing. I got a list here in my thing. I think Rube gave it to me one time and it's been such an encouragement to me to just dig that list out. Matter of fact we're coming over the border. The last time the guard fisted out and my bottle case and he looked at I don't know what he was expecting to find but anyway he fished it out and that's what was written on it and he quickly put it back in the case. I don't know he's a Christian or not but anyway that's that's the way it was. But.
That's that's our that's our pathways believers, not only the the putting away.
Of these things practically, but that the life of Christ might be seen in US.
My mercy here, it says.
So then death worketh in us, but life in you would that be that the Apostle Paul was so thoroughly a dead man that the life of Christ was manifested in him towards the Corinthians. Now this should have been true the Corinthians as well, but evidently it wasn't. By the 1St Epistle you can see that the life of Christ was not manifested in them.
Which is a warning, I believe, to us all. I think it's something Eric Smith said 30 years ago. I was listening to it on a tape recently and I believe it serves as a warning to us all.
The thrust of it basically was his brethren, don't familiarize yourself with the word of God unless you're prepared to walk in what it says. He said this. He said the truth enters by the conscience. He said just because a man is well read does not mean that he's well taught. Now, that's a powerful statement, but a very necessary one, and I believe one that's good for us in the present day in which we live. It's a dangerous thing to traffic in the truth of God.
If we don't mean business with God because we're going to be tested on what we profess to have, may it be a wonderful reality within us that that truth has entered by the conscience into our heart. About 30 years ago there was a book put out by the I Forget what Environmental Agency Put It out.
It was concerning the climbing of Mount Everest. The first American climb was done a certain face, and somebody went up and came up another face, but it was a little bit of a poem and I'd like to look it up and and copy it out. But basically it said, and it has spiritual overtones, we're not too interested in Mount Everest in our reading, but not interested at all. But what it said was because of the difficulty of the climb, the coldness, the pain.
The everything is against you. If you don't really aren't really dedicated in in going through what it entails, you're not going to make it. And I believe that for us as believers, it's not that it's that terrible a thing, but if we have our eye on the Lord, then that's the strength. Not myself, not in yourself, but again, the difficulties and what we do, we Slough off. We Slough off as if it was climbing Mount Everest, but it's not.
It's being walking with the Lord in grace. But we have to accept that there are difficulties and there are things that we deny ourselves. I don't want to be denied. I think it's pretty great to do this and do that and do the other. But if we set them aside, because it is step by step, isn't it? With the Lord, the Lord of glory set aside all his own rights so that we could be brought into blessing.
Now, we who profess to be followers, are we going to glory in our rights and defend our rights, or are we willing to lay down our rights even to the point of death, that there would be blessing for others? And I think that's where this verse 12 Comes in. It is death worketh in us. But life in you and every farmer knows, to get a crop, you put seed in the ground. And that seed, what happens to it? It dies. It's gone.
00:50:12
It seems like a waste. How many bushels of corn are they farmers of Iowa putting into the ground? Just.
Rot and die, but it is in that death it gives life to another plant and there is much fruit. That's a principle of the word of God, the same principle that applied in the case of the Lord Jesus. Now the Lord turns to us and says he that loves his life.
Shall lose it. And he that hates his life, that's a pretty strong word in this light. We'll keep it until life eternal.
#254.
254.
Death and judgment.