Address—Bob Thonney
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52.
Ourselves.
Rain.
For you.
And I will see you.
Let's pray.
Well, we just have a little less than half an hour and I trust.
I can share with you the burden the Lord seems to have put on my heart.
Based on a verse in Second Corinthians chapter 5.
2nd Corinthians, chapter 5.
And I'm going to read first of all verse 15 and that he died for all.
That they which live.
Should not henceforth live unto themselves?
But unto him.
Which died for them and rose again.
That's the worst verse I want to focus on, but now I'm going to go back and read verse 14 because it gives more of the context and I think you'll understand it better if we start and with verse 14.
For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again. We were speaking in the reading meeting about judging.
Did you notice that word in verse 14?
We thus judge.
You know the form of judgment like we were mentioning, you have to have evidence.
And light. And accordingly you come to a decision. It's interesting how the Apostle Paul uses verses like that or words like that.
In Romans chapter 8 he says I reckon.
That the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glories.
That shall be revealed to us.
Later on in that chapter, he says, I am persuaded.
There's evidence that needs to be considered. The point is in verse.
15.
This is the burden on my heart is.
To whom do you live? You know we are living in a culture that is.
Man centered more and more so you get to decide.
Your own judgments you make, your own calls, you even this getting to the point to call whether you want to be male or female. It's incredible the darkness that is coming into this world. And why is it? It's because men live to themselves and not to him that died for us and rose again.
00:05:18
Oh, it comes to me as a tremendous challenge, these two verses, the love of Christ constrain of us.
There is no love like his love.
And so I want to go back with you in your minds eye to where that love was displayed in Noah.
Greater way at the cross.
The Lord Jesus.
Who are we talking about when we talk about Jesus?
He is the eternal Son of God.
It just blows my mind to try to think of a being who always was.
I can't grasp it in this head of mine. Everything I know, everyone I know, has a beginning and an end. But here's a person that always was.
The eternal Son of God in the bosom of the Father.
Besides that, he is the creator of the whole universe.
The vastness, the extent of the power, the wisdom that is displayed in the universe.
In Which We Live is incredible.
This is the person we're talking about.
He came into this world, that person he was born.
In a place called Bethlehem and when he was born.
The Jewish people had the scriptures in their hands to tell them where he was to be born. They could tell you the answers.
Maybe you have this book in your hand. Maybe you know the answers. They did not know that he was already there.
And so he passed through this life relatively unknown.
Somebody said to him, are you just a stranger here?
That's what he was, a stranger. He said that foxes have holes.
The birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. You imagine the creator of the universe, the owner of all things, didn't have a place to lay his head. I suppose he passed a lot of nights on the Mount of Olives under the stars.
I suppose he knows what it was to be cold.
What an incredible story.
But where his love was displayed as no other is at the end of his life when he was taken.
And at the end after.
Those thirty oh, those three years of public ministry. 3 1/2 years. How many disciples did he have? 12 Is that all? One of the 12 turned out to be a traitor.
Another of them, another one that said he would never deny him, denied him three times, and the rest, they all took off in different directions. He was left alone and taken by his people before the religious authorities first and then the civil authorities.
There he was as a lamb, as a sheep before her shearers is dumb. He did not open his mouth. You know a sheep after it sheared this kind of ugly.
And didn't he open his mouth in his own defense?
No, he was condemned and he died as a criminal. He was taken outside the city of Jerusalem. This person who's the creator of the universe.
There, his head crowned with thorns, and his back plowed upon by the Roman scourge, they nailed him to that cross.
And as they lifted up that Christ to put it into the hole, it disjointed him. All my bones are out of joint.
He can say reproach has broken my heart and I'm full of heaviness, and I look for some to take pity. And there were none and for comforters, but I found none. No one, no one.
00:10:03
There he was hanging on that cross. They said he's the Son of God. He said he's the Son of God, of God, who likes him, wants him, and let God deliver him. Did God deliver him?
Incredible.
Where love went out.
Will have continued.
Yes, His love is eternal and you can never ever get to the end of it.
But the worst trial of all was, as he was hanging there, and those abject physical sufferings, and the sufferings of his soul, and God clothed the whole scene with darkness. And in those hours of darkness God laid on him the iniquity of us all, and the judgment of God, and all his fury fell on him for three hours.
There is no cry from that center cross, only at the end.
Cries out, My God, my God, why is thou forsaken me at any moment? Did he say this is too much? I'm not going to handle this, I can't handle this.
Never, never, never.
That's why Paul says the love of Christ constraineth us.
Let me tell you, dear young brother and sister in the Lord Jesus and older ones to there's something in that just grabs my heart.
It's not a matter of people standing over me and saying you've got to toe the line or else we're going to get on your case, no.
It's an inward constrainment and when you know that love as was displayed at the cross.
It will make a complete difference in your life.
The love of Christ constraineth us, he says. Because we thus judge, we're forming a judgment here. If he did that for us, what does that mean? It means that we were all dead.
We were all dead in trespasses and sins.
And then verse 15 and that he died for all that they which live.
Should not henceforth live unto themselves?
But unto him which died for them, and rose again.
In other words.
It's not a matter of Maine.
And what I want any longer, it's a matter of him and what he wants for me.
That's what's come under such tremendous challenge in today's world.
People think they have their rights. Aren't we living in a democracy?
Don't you? I have my rights to say what I want, to do what I want. If it were a matter of just you and me, yeah, you're right. But that's not the matter. We're forming a judgment, completely different basis. The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
How can I, when I see that he gave all for me? How can I say, yeah, I'm saved, thank God I'm saved now I'm going to have a great time in my life and do what I like to do.
Does that fit into the picture?
Young person, older person, brother and sister in the Lord Jesus.
That doesn't fit and I see that we are living in a culture that is humanistic.
I have to say, brethren, as I stand here, please don't think that I'm just pointing the finger at you. I'm pointing the finger at me because as we pass through this culture, we're affected by it more than we like to think we're affected by it. And I think it's best for us to.
Bow our heads and recognize that this culture has affected us in our thinking.
And that when it comes to decisions in life.
And you need another car. What kind of car do you like?
Brother, is that the question?
If that's a question we don't have.
It straight, yet the basis of our judgments. It's not what I want, it's what He wants for me. That's what's so important. It's not unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us and rose again. He gave everything for me, being who He was. Now can I say I'm going to do my life like I want it?
00:15:28
And I want to challenge each one here. Please bear with me on some practical things that are very simple.
Do you take time to be with the Lord in reading the scriptures?
I mean serious time if he paid his life for you.
Isn't it consistent that you would take not just 5 minutes a day?
But a little more I heard on a recording the other day the whole Epistle of Philippians read. You know how long it took.
15 minutes. The whole epistle. 15 minutes.
Do you have time for the Lord? I want to challenge you to take time. You say, Oh, I'm so busy.
Take time to read the scriptures, How important it is. More and more we are coming under the influence of this godless culture and we tend to come under its influence. And we need the washing of water by the Word. We need it daily.
Sometimes say.
Every day we take time to eat something, don't we?
Generally two or three times a day, sometimes even more than that. We're eating for our body. How about your soul?
Isn't your soul important too? Yes, take time to read the scriptures.
#2 I want to focus on is the matter of prayer. Somebody has said when we read the word, God is speaking to us.
When we pray, we are speaking to Him. Both are necessary to maintain fellowship. Simple things perhaps. But I want to ask you, do you take time to pray? I mean real serious prayer. You know what I find if I wait till daytime?
There's too many distractions. I can't pray right? I have to get up during the night.
To pray and I find when there's quiet, complete quiet, then I can get into the presence of the Lord. It takes concentration. I don't find prayer easy. I find it's a it's a labor get into the Lords presence. I have a little place where I go in my house to kneel down and pray.
I sometimes think as I kneel down, it's just a common place in my house, but I'm not just coming into that place.
In spirit, I'm going into the very presence of God.
I'm coming before the throne of grace in heaven.
There, at that throne, there are God's mighty angels.
Millions upon millions of them, and as I approach, they have to break rank and open as I come in right before the throne, because I have liberty to come before that throne. Oh, the tremendous privilege of prayer. I don't think we.
Really.
Evaluated properly, you know what Martin Luther said? He said I have so much to do every day. I dare not take any less than three hours in the morning to pray. We probably say, well, I don't have that much time. I'll just say a few words of prayer as I'm running out the door.
No wonder that man did what he did in his lifetime.
O brethren, the Lord give us time to pray, to have fellowship, to walk in fellowship with him, to listen to his word, to pray. I had a brother say to me one time in South America, he says, I don't have any time to read the Scriptures, but I pray. I say, well, that's like saying to God, why?
00:20:06
God, I don't really have any time to listen to you, but I want you to listen to me.
Does that sound right? He says. That's kind of lopsided, isn't it? I said. You're right.
So upside it, and if you want more results to your prayers, I suggest you take time to listen.
So those are things that we really need to pay attention to. Another one I want to encourage brethren is being at your local assembly meetings. Don't neglect them. I know especially when you're in high school and college, you think, well, test coming tomorrow, I better stay home.
And prepare for the test. And I'm not laying this on you.
As a rule, but I want to exercise your heart.
Is that test that important?
That you can lay aside eternal matters.
I remember as a young man I lived with another young brother who at that time was in medical school and quite demanding.
Course of study he had but when it came to the reading meeting he was always there. Even then he when he had a test coming the next day he said I will get back home and I will study.
I have to. I'll stay up all night. But he says I don't want to miss the assembly Bible reading. And I, I've found in my own life, dear young people, that the what I've gleaned in the assembly meetings has been so valuable. It's like a treasure trove in my heart. Now, yes, maybe you go and there's just a few brothers sitting around.
And it doesn't seem like there's very much there to glean.
But I've found that a little here, a little there.
A little over in this wide and it becomes a real treasure. I thank God that I did not neglect the assembly meetings, the prayer, and the reading meeting. Lord encourage you to do that. If He's given everything, do you think you have the liberty just to set aside those meetings? Scripture says clearly.
For not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of Samius.
But exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day approaching.
Another area I'd like to encourage and let me read for this in Acts chapter 24.
A verse that the apostle Paul spoke. Acts chapter 24.
And verse 16 herein do.
I exercise myself to have always.
A conscience void of offense toward God.
And toward men. Notice that verse. He doesn't say. I always have a good conscience.
No, it doesn't say that.
Herein I exercise myself. In other words, it was a daily exercise.
What comes tomorrow is going to be another fresh exercise. But to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward man.
Important conscience is that which man got when he was in the Garden of Eden. You remember God said that there's one tree in that garden that there were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Conscience is a word that con. Take that off and what you have is science or knowledge.
With knowledge.
Before.
They ate of that tree. They were innocent without the knowledge.
Of good and evil.
So once they took of that aid of that tree.
Immediately they knew that they were naked and they hid themselves from the presence of God.
They had conscience, and every human being has a conscience.
Even a little child has a conscience. How do you maintain that conscience?
Dear brother and sister in the Lord Jesus, we're living in a world.
00:25:03
Where so many have TV's and it's incredible how much time you can waste between behind that box. Another thing is the Internet and *********** is a plague. Do you exercise a good conscience?
It's so important. If your conscience accuses you of something, don't neglect the voice of conscience. Recognize something's wrong.
And judge it walk in self judgment before the Lord.
Before we get to the end of our meeting, I want to read the What Paul Writes to Timothy and First Timothy chapter one.
Verse 5.
Now the end of the commandment.
Is charity love out of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned? Verse 19.
Holding faith and a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning faith, have made shipwreck.
So when conscience accuses you, step back. Look at what you're doing.
And recognize if it's not right, judge it in the presence of the Lord.
You know the Apostle Paul is a good example he was before.
The Jewish Council in Jerusalem and he said to the Jewish Council.
Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest said to one of the servants that was near him, give him a slap on the cheek.
And Paul reacted. God shall smite thee, thou whited wall. You asked me to be smitten contrary to the law, Somebody said, Are you reviling God's high priest? Immediately Paul recognized his error.
And he said, I wish not it was God's high priest, brethren, for it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. Immediately he judged himself. Brethren, the Lord help us to cultivate a good conscience before God. Is there something in your life that is bugging you that you know is not right and you're just kind of sheltering it? You're kind of hiding.
From your brethren or from your parents?
Don't do it. It's going to master you. It's going to take you down. Maintain a good conscience. And so let me go back again to just present that challenge that comes so powerfully to my own heart in 2nd Corinthians 5.
Verse 15 He died for all.
That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again.
Let's pray.