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Verse 3.
How therefore endure hardness?
As a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that worth entangled himself with the affairs of this life.
But he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And if a man also strived for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully?
The husband man, that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
We're going to suffer trouble as an evildoer.
Even unto bombs, but the word of God is not found.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying. For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we believe not yet he abided faithful, he cannot deny himself.
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to show thyself approved unto God.
A Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
And their word will eat as doth a canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have heard saying that the resurrection is passed already, and overthrow the faith of something.
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth. Sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that name of the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
Plea also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call upon the Lord. Out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions, avoid knowing that they do gender strifes.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men apartment to teach.
Patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves if God pervention will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.
Taken captive by him at his will.
It is wonderful indeed, how God the Lord.
Anticipated.
The age in which you and I live toward the end of the Church's history.
And has perfectly provided.
A path for faith.
To honor the Lord in the midst of confusion.
In every dispensation, whatever has been turned over to man has come into ruin and ended with judgment. This age is no different but the faithful Lord.
That's what he's he's called in 2nd Thessalonians 3. The Lord is faithful.
As foreseen for us.
Who belonged to him to have a clean path for our feet and not have to walk alone to his glory?
The Great House has developed in the first epistle. It was in order, and there was behavior taught in the house.
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And now when it's become a great house, and men have introduced something besides the apostles doctrine, there comes separation. But as we noticed in verse two, we have the apostles doctrine, the things which thou hast heard of me. Among many witnesses we referred to the fact that Hull even communicated with the 12.
The gospel that he had received from the Lord from heaven.
Church truth, Christianity begins the other side of the cloud. The 12 had gotten what the Lord gave them while he was upon earth. That's apostles doctrine too. But the Apostle Paul got further revelations from the Lord from heaven, and we may see say, the complete revelation as to Christ and the Church.
And he is. We're checked in with the 12 There in Galatians. 2 Communicated with them and it fit together perfectly. What the 12 had learned was apostles doctrine. Matthew had learned is the apostles doctrine. We have it all in the New Testament. We have it in the Word. And God hasn't made it difficult. We have made it difficult.
And not listen to the word.
It is rather simple to fast for faith in this age when.
What is committed to man outwardly has become the great house and run off the foundation. What are we to do? Stay on it? I remember our dear brother Ersman, who was an engineer, saying that this great house.
Has developed by those who have left. The foundation has become a great house. The extent of the building is out on, as it were, the sinking sand, but it's connected.
It's all the Great house. There's real in it and there is profession in it.
Back in the psalms, I think in the 11Th Psalm it says if the foundation to be removed, what can the righteous do?
Well somebody might remove the foundation from the under themselves but we can stay on it. We can stay right on the foundation. And says here the the foundation of Lord stand to sure we're build Christ builds his House of reality on the solid drunk.
And it's true that every believer is on the solid rock as to being in the House of God that Christ builds, but the house that men built has extended far off from it. So we need to stay on the apostles doctrine and then we can enjoy the apostles fellowship, find out that there are others there who have Nicole on the Lord out of a pure heart and so we can have fellowship in agreement with the teaching.
That the Spirit of God gives to us and it becomes a conflict. So we have three things here.
For those of faith are in a battle soldiers.
And then?
The athlete, The games.
And then the poor old farmer that plants and asked to work before he gets proof.
And we're compared to all of those.
And we can add to it the Workman down in verse 15 the simple way these pictures are brought before us, as those who I trust want to walk the course of faith in obedience to the doctrine that came from the Lord, from the other apostles, and committed to Timothy, as we follow that chain down, who turned it over to faithful man.
And there are still faithful men. Thank God for them, and we're told to follow their faith. Not to follow the men, but to follow their faith.
Just concerning your comments on doctrine, I would say Amen because doctrine is very, very important. I fear that sometimes today the attitude is taken that doctrine is not all as important as perhaps those of a past generation or generations have thought. And it burdens my heart sometimes to hear a OFT repeated statement. And that is that we're not gathered to a doctrine, we're gathered to a person. Now, brethren, that is true.
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Gathered to a person. And as long as we see that person and are occupied with him, and see of him in the midst, we're going to be preserved. But I fear that sometimes those who use that make that statement use it to set aside doctrine as being unimportant down the list, shall I say. But it's interesting that in Acts 242 That the early brethren, they continued steadfastly or persevered, And what was the first thing on that list?
In the apostles doctrine, it was the basis for everything else. It was the basis for fellowship, it was the basis for breaking of bread, and it was the basis for prayer. People that meet for any purpose, whether religious or otherwise, there's some basis, There's some common ground that they meet on societies. They men come together, women come together because they have a common interest. Will I speak reverently? What basis do we come together on to remember the Lord and for prayer and for ministry in the assembly?
It's the apostles doctrine. And let us let no man be dial us as to the unimportance of doctrine. If people try to tell us it's unimportant, brethren, it's very important. It's vital. Paul always headed a list of things. With that, he said all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. And what is the first thing on the list, doctrine, he said. Thou has fully known my doctrine and manner of life, and so I would just echo what our brother said. It's very, very important.
I was struck in reading through church history to find that when the early believers after the apostles passed off the scene, and especially the Apostle Paul, when they began to give up those fundamental doctrines, those principles that they had been taught, especially by the Apostle Paul, that who brought before the church their heavenly calling.
The hope of the Lord's coming and those things that we I trust, hold dear. As soon as they began to give that up, then they it ushered. In the Dark ages, the corporate testimony was lost. The people of God settled down in this world and lost hope, but lost sight of the hope of their heavenly calling. And so, brethren, I just say again, I don't want to belabor this, but doctrine is very, very important. But Timothy is told here in this chapter that if he's going to hold these things and he's going to be faithful and walk in the good of them.
He's not going to have an easy path, and the path of faithfulness is never easy. And it's interesting that Mister Darby translates this third verse. Take thy share of suffering. Now we know nothing, perhaps a physical suffering in a land like this. There may be brethren who for the testimony sake, in the name of Christ, our suffering persecution in a physical way in this world today. But there I I believe two kinds of persecution that one can suffer. One is physical, and as I say, we know nothing about that.
But there is a reproach connected with the name of Christ, It says, Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, and we might have reproach no bearing his reproach. All they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, whether it be physical, or whether it be that reproach that perhaps we suffer. Because those with any dispensation who sought to be faithful to the Lord always found themselves in the minority rather than in the majority. The truth has never been popular.
Christ was rejected. He's still a rejected one. His name is hated today in this world, just as it was 2000 years ago. And if you and I are going to seek to walk in the doctrines that we have been taught the fundamental principles of the Word of God, if we're going to seek to be faithful as to His name and to get.
Gather to his name alone, we're going to find that it is not popular, and there will be in that way our share of suffering. And I would just say this too, in the measure in which you and I are faithful to Christ and to His name. In that measure we will suffer a reproach.
Then would you give us a little bit more thought on a statement you made that the apostles doctrine begins beyond the cloud? Is that excellent? That's Christianity. Yes. There were lost sight of Christ there when he went up in Acts chapter one.
Then then from the other side of the cloud, we're using that as a reference point.
Christ.
Sat down through the Apostle Paul, we may say the.
Whole of the Church truth.
The others referred the church, but the church truth comes through Paul. That's Christianity. That's a heavenly people and it's a reference point and it goes back to Israel was an earthly people. Romans 10/4 says Christ is the end of the law for righteous.
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And so that age is over with and God is seeking out a lot of people for the earth now, but for heaven. So he sent down the heavenly truth, which really takes us out of this world, and we'll literally take us out of this world. The rapture, so close, you know, but it teaches the people how to live to the glory of Christ while we're waiting his return, knowing that we belong to heaven, that this is not our home, this is not our country.
This is not our citizenship. We're taught behavior down here in the first epistle.
Then we find out that men have introduced their doctrines, and we've come to that.
Well, just to refer to your question again.
The statement that Christianity begins the other side of the cloud is that fact that heavenly truth and church truth began after Christ went to heaven. The Spirit of God came down and gave it to us in Paul's doctor. So now Paul's doctrine is so important for a heavenly people.
And but we don't throw out and it all fits together what Matthew taught, what John taught, and the other apostles and I would say the prophets who gave us the New Testament. Paul laid the foundation but he refers to the apostles and prophets as a foundation as well. In Ephesians we won't go into that but we have the apostles doctrine including.
What the apostles learned from Christ and what?
Learned from Christ and given to us. But go back now for doctrine to Matthew chapter 15, to see what the Lord ran into when He came and He came to those Jews.
And what had they done with the law which was God-given?
For that people.
It's like what Christendom has done with heavenly truth.
In Acts I mean Matthew 15.
The Lord says verse 8.
This people.
Draw nigh unto me with their mouth, Professors weren't they, and honors me with their lips.
But their heart is far from it. They weren't calling home the Lord out of a fewer heart. What?
Verse nine, In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. That's what they were doing then.
That that is what has been done in the Great House.
Now what's the remedy? The next verse?
He called the multitude and said into them, Hear and understand. We go right back to the word of Christ coming through, Paul coming through the other apostles, and we've got a solid foundation. Let's stay on it when you say beyond the the cloud.
Are you speaking in terms of?
The death and resurrection of Christ and ascension into heaven. It was beyond that time. In other words, it's this side of the death, burial, resurrection of Christ, the Apostles doctrine. Let's read what it says in Acts one, because that's the changing point. Christ had finished his work. He'd done everything to God's glory he could do down here. He'd ask the Father to glorify him in heaven so he'd glorify him up there.
And from there, now that's the use of the other side of the cloud.
The cloud. The cloud we're talking about is the cloud in verse nine of X1. Yeah, right. Yes, Read it wrong. That's the cloud. Yeah. When he had spoken these things, behold. Well, he had spoken these things while they beheld. He was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. So as far as the world's concerned.
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The Lord, just the Lord Jesus disappeared when he was put into the grave, and they no unbelieving eye saw him after that point. He was only seen by believers after that point. But Christianity had not begun yet, and Christianity did not begin until after the Lord Jesus was in heaven. And so here we see him taken up a cloud receives him out of their sight.
And then, in just a few days, God began an entire new.
Working with man on earth, the Lord Jesus is in heaven.
And Christianity then comes into bearing by the descent of the Holy Spirit. But that's the cloud we're talking about.
Club. Where's where we get the doctrine of Christianity? The Apostle? Yeah, the other side of of this cloud. In Chapter 9, verse nine, he was up. The cloud receives him and they couldn't see him anymore. But later on the ministry comes down from heaven. 2 basic truths of this dispensation are that there's a man in the glory of God and that the spirit of God is here in this world. So I think that's what.
Really has in mind.
My question is, being the word beyond, not meaning before the crowd or before that cloud, but this side of the cloud, isn't it now I'm not. Am I confused? When we say beyond, we mean where Lord has gone. He's not down on earth anymore. He's not working with Israel for an earthly people and use it beyond the cloud. That's where he's gone. And as Bob says from there he sat down the Holy Spirit to form the church.
And to teach. And to teach for the age in which we live. That's what we need in this chapter we've got. And we're going to find out it's a conflict. I tell you, Satan does everything he can to dislodge us from the heavenly side of things, the heavenly calling. So the soldier asked to go back to Ephesians 6 and take that whole armor of God.
And we can't go higher than heavenly standing in that chapter. We're to stand. And having done all to stand and to withstand, we can't go up. And we're not to go down or to remain on that standing of the heavenly calling that belongs to us even now as we're not there physically. But we know it's our home, It's our citizenship. So we're soldiers, and we're going to find out. We're going to endure hardness.
We're opposed even in the end of this chapter. There are those that oppose the truth, and when meekness were to instruct such, Oh, I tell you, the enemy hates the truth of Christ and the body of Christ on earth. And any witness to the fact that Jesus lives and he lives and is represented in that one loaf which shows every member of the body of Christ down here. And so Satan will dislodge us from that.
Blessed position.
Of our heavenly calling, our heavenly citizenship. So it's a battle to stay there.
It's interesting to me that truth, brethren, is not only gained by sacrifice and paying a price, but it is also maintained in the same way. There is no such thing as saying I have gotten the truth, I've arrived, I'm here, and then to sit down and relax.
Because you'll read in the Old Testament, in the book of the Judges, where the children of Israel actually went into the land.
Took possession of it, but then they relaxed, and they reverted in many of their ways to the ways of the people of the land. And little by little the enemy came in until they were totally at the mercy of the enemy again. And I fear sometimes, brethren, and This is why they suggest the extremely important individual focus of this epistle, that we feel that we've arrived at the position of the truth.
Believe there is a position of that we should occupy in relationship one with another here in this world, but never should we treat it in a way that I've arrived and now I can relax and take it easy. No, the conflict is going to be here, all the way home to the glory, and we're going to have to learn that there's going to be suffering involved. And I'd like to connect that second verse where we've been meditating the other day.
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Faithful men with what we have in the 3rd and 4th verses in connection with the soldier, I suppose the greatest lesson that a soldier has to learn is obedience. Obey at any cost.
It doesn't matter. The soldier is trained not to think of the cost, only to think of one thing, the word of his commander, and to go forward according to that word. And I just challenge my own heart. And I challenge your hearts, dear brethren. It's not merely what our brethren say that should carry weight in our souls. They help us. They expound the word. But then it is the word.
That should have supreme authority in my mind. I can bear with a person who perhaps doesn't understand the scripture when I try to explain it to him. Maybe haven't explained it well. I can bear with it. But once the Word is understand and we quibble with the Word.
That is not a good soldier of Jesus Christ really impressed me. Some time ago a brother gave me a book on Israel written by one of the ex ministers of defense, Moshe Dayan, and then the young quick Kipper war over there, the border of Egypt. They had certain outposts, army outposts that were heavily bombarded and their policy was to send.
The commanders right up onto the frontline that they didn't command on the from behind the lines, they were up on the frontline.
And in some of those army posts, all of the commanders in those places were killed off two times in a row, and they just kept pouring men into there. It wasn't a question of losing their life that would didn't enter their thoughts. Their only thought was obey the command of the superior. I say, dear brethren, we stand at the cross of Christ, see him suffering in such intense agony.
To liberate us from the power of Satan and from hell.
Can I read his word and quibble about it? Say I don't think that that applies to me in the way they say it does.
Dear brethren, what kind of soldiers are we?
It really searches my heart when I hear, when we hear the verses like not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together and we allow other things to come in. Brethren, that it's a simple matter to be at the meetings, but there are other things that are more important. Your brother was saying yesterday there there are things that come in sometimes we can't be there.
But if we were really had the word of God, like a good soldier of Jesus Christ, nothing could come before the word of our supreme commander. That would have to be supreme no matter what the cost. And that's why there's so much weakness in the testimony today is because we don't know. I have to confess of times it's that way in my own life, what it means to be.
A good soldier of Jesus Christ, verse four. It says no one man that warth entangled himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
In other words, he may have other things that he has to do in other areas, but when his commander commands something that is first, there is nothing else. It's unquestionably first in his mind. He cannot say, look, my commander, I've got some other business that I've got to attend to today. No, if his commander says it, no matter. Even if it seems to be a very trivial thing.
That's first. That's number one. In his mind, that's a good soldier. What kind of soldiers are we, brethren? These are things that search our hearts. Let's not say that we've arrived. Let's be exercised and view the truth of God that we have written here. Let's look at a captain of our salvation to find the perfect model in what has been said to us in Hebrews Chapter 2.
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Who is the captain of our salvation?
We know him.
We know His obedience. It's stated here in Hebrews 2.
Verse 10 It became him. For him are all things, and by him are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Turn to Chapter 5, Hebrews.
Oh, to thank the one that's ahead in this battle, but the one who has tried the whole course of faith and laid down his life.
Though being God.
Laid that form aside and became a man. Verse 8. Hebrews 5/8 though he were a Son, indeed the eternal Son of God.
Become the Son of Man, yet learned he obedience. There's the word to obey, To think of Jesus, the captain of our salvation, obedient.
Unto death in contrast to the first man who was disobedient unto death. So he comes, he enters into the warfare. He conquers Satan.
It goes perfect through the world. He goes into debt. He conquers death. Though he were a son, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered and being made perfect as to experience as a man, he was the great God who commanded all things. Now as the subject man, the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, wished he not that I must be about my father's business.
He says as a boy of 12 years old, he steadfastly set his face to go up to Jerusalem. He knew he had the work of the cross. Nobody has ever been commanded to work to do like Jesus. He went straightforward. He completed it. He went there through suffering.
Now he gives us the privilege to enter into the conflict in a world that's supposed to us. If they have hated me, they will hate you, He told them. 16th of John. Now we're in the conflict. And as Bob says, there's one thing. Obey. I'll tell you a story on Lemoyne Smith, who's here. I believe he was down our way a year ago.
We had a young brother who had gotten saved a year ago in July.
And.
About three or four months before that, he had signed up with the Marines.
And he was brightly saved down there last year. And he came along well. And Lemoyne came along and learned and was introduced to him. And he gave him one word of advice and he just gave him, as far as I'm no one word of advice said. You, you've signed up. You're, you're, you're in the Marines. You're going there. I'll give you one word to help you get through that service.
Obey.
Obey. Obey. Well, that's us. We're in the service down here. We're in the conflict. There's one word for you and I in our service as good soldiers. Obey Who? Christ. His doctrine? His teaching for us.
Very blessed to realize that not only is there a path of individual faithfulness for each one of us, but full provision has been made for that pathway. No man goes to warfare at his own charges.
We have this illustrated very beautifully in the Old Testament. I would just encourage us to read the Old Testament as well.
Because there we have the truth illustrated in a way that helps us to understand it. And we find that when Israel went in to possess the land, to possess that blessing that God had for them, because their blessings were earthly. But before they went in to possess it, there was a man that Joshua met over against Jericho, and he had a drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went up to that man, and he asked that man if he was for them or for their enemies. And that man said, and we know it must have been the Lord as he.
Appeared in different forms in the Old Testament, but he said of captain of the Lord's hosts. Am I come?
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And it gave them the assurance that as they went in to possess the land, their inheritance, as they went in to enjoy that which Jehovah had for them, there was one who was going before them. And as they kept their eye on that one and recognized their dependence, he was going to fight for them and help them to possess that land and enjoy it.
And, brethren, there's one who's living for us, the captain of our salvation, as we have been reminded, And we're given all things that possess that pertain unto life and godliness. God never asks us to do anything or live in any dispensation or any situation without providing everything that is needed. We noticed in going through our family, reading, that when Israel was in ******* in Egypt, there came a time when.
They had to still make their tally of bricks, but they weren't even given straw. Satan is a hard taskmaster. He takes from us, and the way of a transgressor is hard, but it's just the opposite. In Christianity, everything is provided. The spirit of God has been sent down as the power for our new life. We have the completed word of God as light and instruction for our pathway. We have one who's living for us as our advocate and as our great High Priest. And it's interesting that when Israel went out to fight with Amalek as well.
It says that Amalek swooped smoke behind her part of them, those who were farthest from the captain, those who were farthest from the captain. And so it's good exercise for each one of us to keep our eyes on that blessed one and to realize the provision that he has made for us. And I think too, it's good, in a day of ruin and weakness to look at that which is positive, that which God is still accomplishing. I say that because it's so often easy to get our eyes on the circumstances and on one another and the problems in the assembly.
And I don't mean that we shouldn't be aware of them and exercise by them. We ought to be, and they ought to humble us.
You know, sometimes I visit with my dear older brother, those in nursing homes, and sometimes they just seem so overwhelmed by the difficulties and the day of ruin and weakness, and they're discouraged. They're like those men. And was it Nehemiah or Ezra's day who looked back to the former glory of things and they wept. But, you know, brethren, there's still lots to be thankful for today. And, you know, I was encouraged. I was in to see our brother Eric Smith in the nursing home in Montreal, one who had served the Lord for so many years in South America.
I asked him when he was gathered to the Lord's name. I think he said 1924. And so I said to him, I said, you must have seen a good many changes amongst the Lord's people. You must look back over those years and see a decline and the declining and let the Laodicean state become more and more prevalent. I said, tell me, is there still lots to be thankful for? And he said, Amen, He said, we can still be overcomers, not be overcome. Will it rejoice my heart to speak to an older brother?
Who felt that? Even though there is ruin and we have to hang our heads and say we're part of the Laodicean state of things and indifference to the claims of Christ, yet rather than there's still lots to be thankful for. And even in Laodicea there was an overcomer and God is still in his grace saving souls, the gospel still going forth, He's still gathering to the precious name of the Lord Jesus. He's still preserving his Saints. All these things we have so much to rejoice in, even in these days.
Of weakness and ruin, and everything is provided so that we can, like Timothy, press on and be faithful to the truth. I'd like to read a verse that corresponds, Jim to that portion you mentioned in Joshua, the man who was the captain of the Lord's host. That was for Israel, entering into their promised land in this world, and our promised land is heavenly places where there is conflict.
In Ephesians one, we find what corresponds to that in our day, and it's been a thrill to my soul to get a glimpse of it. This is the present position of the captain of our salvation, Ephesians one, beginning with verse 19. Paul is praying that the Ephesians might have their eyes opened to understand, and they he says in verse 19.
What is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places?
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Far above all, principality and power and might and dominion in every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come and have put all things.
Under his feet and given him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him, that filleth. All in all there's the man that with the drawn sword in his hand, the captain of the Lords host. And as you look up, brethren, into the glory of God and realize that the great captain of our salvation is there, he has already triumphed. We belong to a 'cause that will triumph in the end. There is no doubt about it.
The point is, dear brethren, to go on with their eyes on him. We do have everything to encourage us really and truly, when we look at the Lord, His present position of glory, as head over all things to the Church, all things are brought into subjection to Him.
You got a problem in your life individually, or maybe in your assembly meetings. There's a real problem.
Brother, sister, let me ask you a question. Is Christ head of over the church in that situation? Have you learned to look up to him, to lay hold of him for that situation?
Are we really looking to the captain of our salvation? Or are we looking to some of our leading brethren? Thank God for those that God has gifted to explain to us the scriptures. But brethren, God is jealous for the glory of His own beloved Son, And He doesn't want us with our eyes on brethren, He wants us with our eyes on Christ.
And if we have our eyes and brethren, we're going to stumble around and fall, brethren.
But when we get our eyes on him, there he is, sitting in highest glory, all things made subject to his feet right now.
Oh, brethren, can you go on? There is no lack of power. He has not changed. Not the least, he continues faithful. His word has not changed. His spirit is in amongst us.
We have everything to encourage us to go on, but why do we get discouraged? Because we start looking at each other. If we start looking at each other, brethren, it doesn't take very long to find out. False. To be a preoccupied with it doesn't take long.
And alert give us the grace, and in this to be as well good soldiers of Jesus Christ, to have our eyes on the great captain of our salvation. Brother Bob, I want to thank you.
For calling our attention to that verse in Ephesians.
Which speaks of the headship of Christ.
I have been a soldier.
Was a time in my young life.
When I was invited by the President of the United States.
To be drafted into the United States Army.
And I was taken into the army and spent some time as a soldier.
And as has already been pointed out to us.
The one thing that I had to learn very quickly was that my first.
Responsibility was to be obedient to those that were over me, and so obedience was the main thing that I was confronted with. I had to obey the orders.
Now, the verse that we're considering, I know we've talked a long time about it, and I worry if we're going to get to the end of the chapter during these meetings, but we really want to get a blessing for our souls, and so that's why I'm continuing to speak of the batter of the.
The headship of Christ and being a soldier.
So this group of Christians that sits in this room today?
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Are here because of one basic principle.
Our Fellowship, beloved Brethren of this group.
Is based upon submission to the headship of Christ.
We are not Baptists. We are not Roman Catholics. We are not Presbyterians or Lutherans. We sit here today as believers gathered to the name.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this particular group here in Olympia.
Represents by the grace of God and nothing more.
A group of God's beloved people, beloved people who have sought to obey the headship of Christ.
We are here today in fellowship because we have submitted.
To the headship of Christ in the past.
And that principle is being attacked right now, Extremely.
Vehemently by the devil, and I think it's so important that we we just come to grips with it. Why am I here with you?
It's because I have received.
The decisions of the assembly that have been made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Among the gathered Saints, that's why I'm here with you.
And in fellowship with you.
Assemblies have made decisions in the past.
In the name of the Lord Jesus and thank God, there is a group.
Still.
Which has received those decisions?
As the decisions made.
In the name of the Lord Jesus.
And his headship is recognized when we bow to those decisions. And so may the Lord keep us on that ground, that when an assembly makes the decision in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have no right to do anything but obey and submit to the headship of Christ. And the fellowship of which I am a part, and I thank God for that.
And I thank God that many of you here today are in fellowship with that testimony. We're only here.
Because we have submitted to the headship of Christ and we have received the assembly decisions that have been made in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now this is a basic principle, and may the Lord keep us with that in focus, because when assembly decisions are made.
In the name of the Lord Jesus. And let's remember he is the head and we have nothing else to do.
But to accept his headship and submit, we have no choice in the matter at all.
Our job is to obey, which takes us back to the precious principle in verse three. A good soldier. He obeys.
He has to endure hardship that the path of obedience.
Will not be an easy one.
He is told to endure hardship as a soldier, and let's not you and I think that submitting to the authority of the Lord Jesus is going to lead us into an easy path.
For a path that pleases the flesh, there are many beloved children of God.
Who are seeking their fellowship in that which pleases them.
Maybe they want to go where the music is good. Maybe they want to go where the fellowship is good and the convenient and friendly.
But those are secondary issues. The primary issue is submission. Obedience to the head, our captain, the Lord Jesus. And that is the basis upon which I sit here together with you today. I'm here because by the grace of God, I have submitted to the assembly decisions that have been made in the name of the Lord Jesus. I have nothing else that I can do.
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And be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
So I think that's very important. And perhaps within the next month or the next year, there will be assembly decisions made among us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What are we going to do about it? We must submit to the headship of Christ. We have nothing else to do. We have no choice.
Well, that's to me a very important concept, and May God keep us that we not lose the focus on that. But then it goes on to say in verse four that a soldier is to find his own business.
As a soldier and not to become entangled in the civil affairs of the world.
When I was in the army.
I was told what to do.
And I was not given liberty.
To join with all the other things that were going on around me.
What is our business, brethren, is our business to clean up the slums.
Is our business to see to it that there are no drinking establishments in our communities?
Is our business that of seeing that the best men are elected?
No, you see, we have been drafted into the army.
Beneath the captainship of the Lord Jesus and we've got other business.
Our business is to submit to him and and his business and not to attend to the civil affairs of this world which is ripening for the judgment of God. So that is verse three that were to attend to the business of the Lord and not get all tangled up in the affairs of the world. So you have two things in these verses. One is absolute submission to the heads.
And then separation from that which is not according to his plan and his weight. So though those are the points of those two verses and excuse me for.
Saying more about it because our brethren have already said a lot, but I believe it's so important that we have this in focus. One point we might notice on all three of these examples, the soldier.
The athlete and the farmer is that I'm sure each of them look on to the end.
Soldiers life is rigid and most of them want to get out of it and get through it and get to the end of it.
Well, when athletes in a game, he wants to get the end of it to get to the crown. The goal is before him. The last words we sang in our hymn to bear thy cross and seek thy crown. Now that's the athletes vision at the end of the game.
And he can't make shortcuts and and disobey the.
Rules of the game and be crowned.
That's applicable in our goal before us as down here to enjoy, I think, living for Christ and carrying the bull to bear thy cross. That's the football. We carry the cross to bear thy cross and seek thy crown we find out.
That the person with the cross gets attacked.
We're soldiers and him. We're in the game that ends in the glory. The crown is there. There are no shortcuts to it. It's just going on with him, with the end in view and the portal farming has to work a long time before he got goes out and eat what comes out of the ground. So the end is in view there too. So these similes.
These examples for the man of faith in this age, at the end time of the day of grace, are very instructive and encouraging for us. And certainly the conflict is not going to last much longer. The crown must be very near, and to eat that bread of heaven, well, we can eat it now, you know, feed upon Christ, We do a little bit for the Lord.
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Well, he does so much for us. He supplies us with joy down here. And the soldier has some nice times too, in the conflict to go on for God and result. You can see some victory sometimes in a little sense, and the joys of the game, the athlete. But The thing is to persist right on to the end and have that in view. Brother Clem, you have spent most of your life as a farmer.
And.
I don't know anything about it. I've only been a spectator to farming.
But I admire the farmers.
But I'm told that the farmer is the happiest at the harvest.
Wouldn't it be fun to just have October all the time and no planting? No, no, no, no plowing necessary.
No. No planting necessary. No cultivating necessary, No spraying necessary. Just just have October after October.
Well, our brother Clem would say, Reeves, you need to have your head examined. Farmers, Farmers don't work that way. Most of the sweat of farming comes before October. They got to plow the field, they got to put the seed in, they got to see to it that the weeds are taken out and.
Those that live in dry climates have got to bring some water there and most of the sweating is done.
Before harvest. Well, see, we don't want that. We all want to go out and harvest everything right now, and we don't want to sweat. But if we're going to operate on verse 7 and get the benefit of it, we're going to have to be willing to labor.
And plowing and sewing.
And cultivating and watering and.
Clem, do do you need any patience to be in farming?
Patience, I think, is the longest lesson of life, maybe the hardest too, and you think of the nice thing, Paul said. I have planted A polished water.
But God gave the increase, the Lord said to those disciples. Other men labored year, entered into their laborers, and certainly the time of.
Harvest well, the fields are ripe to harvest, and for you to pray the Lord of the harvest that he sent forth laborers into his harvest. But the plowing does come first for the farmer, and the planting of the seed, and then the watering of it, and the cultivating and the getting out the tears, and then the harvest, and that is the time of happiness. We thank God that this nation has put a day of Thanksgiving. I think it's appropriate.
That those Puritans I believe, who believed in God, they were thankful. And we are thankful when harvest comes. The harvest at the end is drawing near when we'll all be gathered in.
To hunt Ephesians speak so, and what Joshua typifies.
Actually, Ephesians and Joshua are heaven enjoyed ahead of time and there's great conflict in both books. And that's where we are sitting if we have realized our redemption out of Egypt and realized that we are helped through the wilderness.
And then to get in over the other side of.
Jordan and find out that the promised land is full of enemies. I tell you to stand for the truth of God, the truth of the apostles. Doctrine is hard fighting and hard laboring, and it has to be.
Persistence to go on to the end to get what God has in view for us.
When do we discover what our the fruit of our laborers?
Are going to be is that something that we can?
Determine now or are we waiting for a coming day of manifestation?
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Much will be the judgment seat of Christ for the believer.
I thank God that he lets us see some of the fruit of our laborers. And it's wonderful when you're in a gospel meeting and somebody gets saved or three or four or five or doesn't get saved. You know, the Lord lets us see a little bit of the fruit of the sowing of the seed and watering it with tears. Go ahead, Bob. You had something should be an encouragement to each one of us to sow the seed.
Now, brethren, and it's a responsibility not just of a few, but of everyone of us to do the work of an evangelist.
And so we need to be exercised to sow the seed and wait for that coming day, for to see the fruits. We're not going to see perhaps much here, but to wait for that day. I still remember the story I read of a missionary, and I forget just where he went. I think it was to Greenland. And he labored amongst terrific odds for about 10 years and saw absolutely no fruit of his laborers. He got discouraged and went home.
And.
Somebody out else went out to replace him, and it wasn't long when he began to see real fruit. The first brother had sown the seed, the other one had come to reap the harvest. So God does give us to see perhaps something of the fruit now, but the final evaluation remains to that coming day. Still remember Mr. Larson, Somebody asking him because he was a man who worked with tracks.
Through the mail and giving out tracks, have you seen much fruit of your laborers, Mr. Larson? No, I haven't.
That was it. And I don't think he did until the Lord count and call him home. But he was satisfied, brethren, let's not. We don't see too much fruit. Let's continue to labor, sowing the seed wherever the Lord may direct. There's so many people here in this country who are disillusioned, completely disillusioned with life, and we need to shine brightly. The Lord can make the seed grow when he sees fat.
Another thing that's encouraged me is that it is the incorruptible seed ready that we sow. You saw our seed in the ground and I don't know how long it might be there, maybe three weeks or four weeks. If it doesn't sprout and grow on that time, it shot doesn't grow anymore.
The incorruptible seed that we saw brethren made lie dormant in our soul for 5/10/15 years and a special moment God may make that seed sprout and grow the incorruptible seed that we saw.
284.