Aberdeen Conference: 2010
Table of Contents
1 Kings 17 - 18
Address—S. Bambauer
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.
Appreciate how the brethren here have adjusted and made due.
In uh.
Situation that was unexpected. How the Lord comes in and takes care of things. The Lord is good.
Could we sing number?
331.
And I'll have a brother start that so I don't embarrass myself.
Leviticus 26 verse 10 says in Ye shall eat old store and bring forth the old because of the new. And so I thought we could look a little bit at First Kings chapter 17. Uh, with that encouragement.
The new unfolds the old.
The new is hidden in the old, The old is unfolded by the new. It comes to life all the little stories.
Pastoral scenes.
Family issues.
Journeys.
That we find in the Old Testament have poignant lessons for each one of us.
In chapter 17 of First Kings, we are looking at a.
Period in history about 900 BC.
The Kingdom had been divided for about 100 years.
Things had.
Gone into great declension in the.
Northern 10 tribes of Israel.
And God sends a prophet.
To speak to edification.
Building up.
Comfort. Exhortation. Finding up.
Stirring up so Elijah Elijah does first Kings chapter 17 and Elijah the tishbite.
Who was of the inhabitants of Gilead? Said unto Ahab.
As the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand there shall not be due, nor reign these years, but according to my word.
Sometimes.
In our lives.
Seems like the moisture just dries up.
The enjoyment of God.
And his Son, Lord Jesus Christ.
And there are usually probably issues that needed to be dealt with.
To stir us up.
If he withholds the rain, it's for our good. If he withholds something, it's really for our good. He really wants our attention. He sends the prophet and it says in the word of the Lord came unto him saying.
Now what we hold in our hands in liberty, in our land, and we're thankful for it.
The Word of the Lord.
The Lord spoke by the prophets in the Old Testament.
We have their words.
What God chose to inscribe that for our prophet?
How can we do without the word of God?
To know where we're going.
And why we're going and how to get there.
I remember.
In Naval aviation in the Gulf of Tonkin. Back in the.
Late 60s.
There was an aircraft that came up from Czech down below in the hangar Bay where they were doing maintenance.
And the crew down there, the maintenance crew, said that they needed somebody to give it a check ride.
And I was assigned to that, along with the fellow I flew with. I was in the back seat, he in the front.
So we took this airplane up and shot off the catapult and there was a cloud cover about 6000 feet.
So we went up above that with a solid cloud cover and began to do checks on the instruments.
On the different faculties of that F4 and starting to write down a laundry list of things, we wanted to submit to the aircraft Maintenance Division to have it fixed so that it would be ready for combat.
We intended to get up and fly in a large circle. As we did these checks, we couldn't see the carrier, the tack, and the navigational device was just sitting there spinning. That was one of the obvious things that needed to be fixed.
00:05:10
We didn't have our instruments.
So we just flew in a lot of.
Circle with about a 40 mile radius.
Saundered around up there, writing these things down. Cloud cover 6000 feet. We may be bet 7000 feet.
We were probably up there about 1/2 an hour doing these checks, writing it down. Pretty soon we saw a break in the clouds and we both looked down at the same time. And there was land down there. We had strayed without instruments, right over enemy territory.
And I told my pilot John, we need to point this thing to the east and light fires.
So we did.
Therefore, we didn't.
Got a good meal back on the ship.
We fled from the wrath to come, but the importance of instruments in the aircraft.
When you don't have any other reference points. Now what reference points do we have?
In this life to make our way through it.
Well, we could pick up the Wall Street Journal.
Times, News magazine, local newspaper, listen to the news on the radio, all of these different sources, uh, we could, uh read books on how to get ahead in our business. All of these self help things. We can go to college, we can go to school and some of these things are valuable.
But if we don't have this book?
We're going to be running in circles over enemy territory in a stupor.
The word of the Lord came unto him.
Get the hints, then turn the eastward and hide thyself by the book Heareth that is before Jordan, verse 8. And the word of the Lord came unto him saying.
Get the dazz which belongeth to Zaidan Dwell there God gave him directions in a place.
Place of comfort.
Of encouragement.
There was a widow woman there. I have commanded the widow woman there to sustain thee.
Verse 10 So we arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks.
And he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee a little water in a vessel that I may drink, and I wish she was going to fetch it. He called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake.
She was destitute. No rain, three years, no crops.
No rivers to draw from semi arid land.
Drop no deep wells.
No damned up rivers for lakes.
No technology in these things to sustain us through a draw.
Have not a cake, but a handful of meal and a barrel. What a fixture of this world.
Scratching and plowing through here trying to find something to sustain us.
So precious little was available to her.
I am gathering 2 sticks that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.
26 She's gonna rub together and make a fire to hold two sticks, body and soul, together as long as she can.
Natural instinct, But she knew she was going to die, Elijah said unto her. Fear not.
Go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake 1St and bring it unto me.
But a desperate request this woman must have thought that that was.
That he would have.
The first of the menu.
When she was going to prepare it for.
She and her son prepare it for her and her son, and then perish.
Right on the edge of life.
When the Lord approaches to us.
In our desperation.
He wants the first place.
He doesn't come to just do her quick fix it.
He wants a place in our life. He wants communion with us.
He wants us for his enjoyment.
00:10:00
He's not looking for the rich of this world.
They may certainly come, and many have.
It's not riches that impress him.
Here is a soul in destitution.
And he comes to her aid.
But he makes that claim.
How many times?
Do we stagger through life and come to a crisis and then just say, Lord, get me through this one?
Maybe he does, Maybe we don't say thank you.
We get on our bike and keep pedaling to the next crisis, ask the Lord to do it again.
Does he have a place in our lives?
Is this woman going to give it to him?
Satisfy that request. He wants us for himself.
Food and ramen.
He is more than able.
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, verse 14, The barrel of meal shall not waste.
Neither shall the crews of oil fail. This is the Spirit of God taking the word of God and and feeding us on the person of Christ. The meal, the fine meal.
To sustain us.
Until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
Until he has finished with this dispensation.
Now you might think it doesn't make too much sense to be talking about destitution.
To accompany a company of us that live in a land of wealth.
Where we eat all we can and then we eat a little bit more.
And we're more than sufficed and we dress well and we're warm.
In the winter and were cooled in the summer and never in the history of man.
Has man enjoyed such affluence and comfort?
As in Western civilization.
And Western civilization has been monumentally blessed.
By the Lord himself.
Well, the Gospel left Jerusalem.
And it went to Greece and became a philosophy. It went to Rome.
And became an institution, got up into Europe, became a culture.
Came to the United States and is a grand enterprise.
But the Lord is looking for reality through all of this.
We noticed my wife and I on a trip to Europe last year.
Going through Paris, Bergerac, Lyell, different areas, London.
Hardly find a church.
Skeletons shelves.
Well, it's not going to go on like that forever.
There will be a shaking.
But she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, she obeyed the obedience of faith.
You might say it doesn't sound logical. Doesn't have to. We don't have to stop and reason when the Lord clearly tells us something. It's the obedience of faith that he's looking for.
She went and did according to the saying of Elijah.
And she and he and her house did eat many days she ate in communion.
With God's messenger. Now Christ is God's messenger.
He came to reveal the heart of the Father.
He shows us.
As he says to Thomas, hast thou been so long with me? He had asked to see the Father. If you had seen me, you had seen the Father.
And there was this communion.
She and he and her house.
Did eat many days.
Do we long for the simplicity of that?
This is beautiful. This is life.
And without Christ, it's empty, in spite of all the wealth. Why are people in such a wealthy situation, as we see running to and fro?
To this dainty.
To that excitement, to that bit of entertainment.
To this bit of ecstasy.
00:15:02
To this thing and that thing.
And yet the soul is lean.
Not so with this widowed woman. She did eat.
And he did eat, and her house did eat.
Many days after day after day, he is faithful.
These are the issues of life and the barrel of mail wasted. Not neither did the crews of oil fail. He's an all the way home saviour. He will be with us. He'll never leave us nor forsake us.
Ah, do we see then in these stories in the Old Testament?
How they're drawn out by the truths of the new.
According to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
Chapter 18 Then it came to pass, after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah.
And Elijah moved when the word of the Lord came to him.
He could be at the right place at the right time. He could nourish the widow woman.
And her son.
But now he has quite a task. God is going to send him to a different person. Go show thyself unto Ahab.
Go show thyself unto Ahab.
What if he said to me, go show thyself to Richard Dawkins.
Or some curmudgeon.
Political ruler?
But he goes.
Elijah went.
To show himself under Ahab.
I really have a lot of respect for those who are able to do this.
And don't fear, man.
There was a sore famine in Samaria and Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house.
We'll go down to verse.
17 of our chapter.
Obadiah brings Ahab to meet Elijah in verse 16 and in verse 17, and it came to pass when Ahab saw Elijah.
That they have said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
The question of is evil. Why must be Elijah's fault?
Things go wrong. People blame God. Why does he allow such evil?
One of the salient questions you ask.
The population today.
Present God to them. Why did he allow the Holocaust? Why did he allow?
Hurricane Katrina. Why did he allow the oil spill?
You know, some of these evils are man made.
The whole created scene. It says in Romans 8 groans and travails until the redemption.
Sin has affected the whole show.
Ahab has the temerity to ask.
Elijah.
This is your fault.
The man will say it's God's fault.
How did this happen?
You know, the population of the world, I suppose, is seesaw, So I read.
From the beginning of man to 1900 was about 6 billion people.
And then in the population explosion of the 20th century.
There were that many in just the 20th century, 6 billion people.
For an accumulation of 12 billion people.
About half of which are here now.
12 billion people.
I'll have sinned.
All have sinned.
00:20:08
Number of sins committed by man on this earth in the history of man.
To do the math.
You need a calculator.
How many?
Of these things have we added.
Well, with God there is forgiveness that he might be feared.
But there are consequences.
And evil ravages. Here the Prince of Peace came. He was cast out.
And man has the audacity to say, Why does God allow evil?
Sin shakes things. It tears things. It gouges things. It rips and bites things. It's savage.
It destroys relationships.
It does so even among believers, if there's carelessness and if we don't keep short accounts.
This is the human predicament.
Adam sinned. We received Adam's nature and we fall to it.
That was the first Adam. The last Adam came.
Born of the Virgin.
Wholly pure, no sin in him born a man.
Of Adam's race, but not of Adam's nature.
Sinless one. That's what the virgin birth was about, so that he would not inherit.
Adam's sin nature.
And he came to restore that which he took not away.
The ravishes of this poor earth.
And he was cast out.
There are consequences for that.
But as many as received him to then give you the power to become the sons of God relationship.
He finished the work.
I don't know how many billions of sins we got to.
As we began A feeble attempt to calculate.
He died for all.
And that he died for all.
All we're done.
He bore the sins of many.
He died for all his propitiation.
He died for the sins of many. That's substitution.
Well, you get this beautifully pointed out.
In Leviticus, I think it's chapter 16 with the two goats.
And the scapegoat Aaron took put his hand on it and confessed the sins of the people. Israel's picture of God's elect.
Let that go into a land uninhabited.
Christ forsaken on Calvary's tree.
It was 1/5.
Man, there was no other.
The Blessed Lord Jesus.
What beautiful pictures in the Old Testament to illuminate these truths?
And then the grace of God brings the word of God.
To the rebel against God.
Who says art thou that troubles Israel?
And so there's going to be a demonstration here.
I have not troubled Israel, but thou verse 18 and thy father's house.
Forsaken, the commandments of the Lord followed Balaam.
This is the cause, root cause of evil in the world.
And it affects.
Everybody.
We all live here.
Ahab had 450 prophets.
Of the Groves 400.
They ate at Jezebel's table. That was their nourishment.
False religion.
Sensuality.
Disobedience.
Self will.
00:25:01
Man's ideas how all of these things come together to form.
400 and 400 and 58150.
How many times?
As man engineered some kind of a religious idea, pawned it off onto infatuated man and gotten the following.
There is none other name given a man among men under heaven, whereby we must be saved.
God has sent one man.
And he is the object of faith in God because he is God's provision.
And as I said, that goat into a land uninhabited the Lord Jesus.
Taking our sins upon himself, all those sins, as Aaron put his hand on the goat and confessed them there, everyone laid upon him at Calvary as he bore them there in that three hours of darkness.
All the sins of the believers.
From Abel on to the end.
How many sins would that be?
I don't even know how to calculate that.
And I doubt that there are as many of the elect believers in all the dispensations as there are the multitudes.
But what a burden of sin he bore.
On Calvary.
So Ahab sent all unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount Carmel.
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, how long halt she between two opinions.
What a statement.
Choose you this day who you will serve, we often hear.
If it be the Lord God follow him, but if Baal follow him.
And there's no response. The people answered him. Not a word.
Then set Elijah on to the people.
I only remain a prophet of the Lord, but veil prophets are 450 men.
Well, there's no use flowing with the majority.
We want God's word.
We must have God's word.
In the beginning was the word.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Beginning We were created in God's image and likeness.
Images to represent unlikenesses for communion.
What a privilege for us as redeemed.
What an occupation.
To enjoy.
The Lord and to know that he enjoys our company, that we're not putting him out.
We're not wasting his time in his presence.
He's not condescending.
To put up with us, it's his joy.
It was the very purpose.
Of creation in the 1St place, and so he has restored.
Everyone that comes to Christ.
In the beginning was the word.
Where is that beginning?
God in Trinity, in communication.
In enjoyment of each other in eternity.
I had a little boy ask me once, what do you do in heaven? Will I take my puppy there?
Will I get bored?
What's gonna occupy Occupy Us There?
We have just a little glimpse of it now.
In human relationships, husband and wife.
A father and a son.
These times and these things are precious to us.
God in communication in the beginning was the Word.
Man created after his image.
A speaking species and articulating species, the only one of its kind.
This is a great mystery. This what we're doing here.
We have an alphabet of 26 letters and each one has a certain sound described to it. We learn those sounds 2-3 years old, four years old, kindergarten. We write them down. We learn what they sound like.
00:30:11
ABCD and so on. 26 of them comprehensive. Three or four. We couldn't make too many sounds.
We put them together in an aperiodic sequence that is not just say VAVA, where we get Bah Bah Bah Bah, from which we get the word Bah Bah long and it doesn't mean anything.
So we learned how to put these sounds together to form words and that in an aperiodic.
That is not a predictable.
Or a repetitious way.
We put them together, not haphazardly.
But in a specified way.
And outcomes. A word followed by a word making a sentence, making a paragraph, telling a story, communicating one to another.
How complex this is when we stop to think about it.
And as I have been speaking here for a little over half an hour, all of these words flowing out the reading of the scripture.
Some thoughts about them coming out of the mind through these vocal cords. That's not enough. There has to be a wiring diagram to the mind.
Poly wanna cracker, just won't do.
If I stood up here and said Polly want a cracker 700 times, wouldn't be saying very much.
To traffic in these deep thoughts.
To speak of God.
To speak of love concept, how do you define love? I don't know how to define love.
But I know it by experience.
How do you how do you define light? I don't know how to define light.
God and nature is light and love. Can I define God? No. Can I enjoy God? Yes.
In communion with him on his terms.
Marvelous.
Man scratching around down here looking for the essence of life, the reason for life, the purpose of life. Trying to figure out how we're to behave with each other. Building laws, trying to sort that out.
Trying to figure out where we came from, where the whole show came from, Where is it going? When is it going to end?
And none of those questions can we answer not one.
Until we find the answers right here.
Here is we get where we get the answers to the very issues of life.
Our origin?
How did the organic spring from the inorganic?
How did that happen?
How did particles marry the laws of nature so they got animated?
And move and form.
And make things and do things.
In the beginning was the Word. He is the Creator God.
God has created all things by his Son.
All those intricate, delicate questions that have no answers are found right here. The very first statement in the begotten in the beginning. God.
We find in John 11, that's the Lord Jesus, that person of the Godhead created.
Out of nothing.
The heavens.
That's the whole expanse of space and all that's in it.
And the earth.
This little.
Marginalized place in the universe.
That is hospitable to man with atmosphere, all of the physics that go to make up.
How the Earth moves where it is the third one out from the sun.
How it rotates its angle. We call this the entropic principles, those.
Things that come together.
That make it just right to support life on this earth by accident.
We have a master designer.
And all of these things are mere creation.
The human being. What an intricate being.
00:35:04
What is man? David said as he sat out under the stars and looked up and got a glimpse.
Of space.
And Infinity, and in eternity, and said, What is man that thou art mindful of him?
That he would come down to commune, that he would take that journey that led him knowingly to Calvary's tree, and he set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem.
And there he went, knowing full well what was before him submitted himself.
To the hand of ruthless, savage man.
In all his enmity toward, God submitted himself to that that he might go to Calvary's cross to glorify.
His father, and to redeem a bride for himself.
Does the love of Christ constrain me?
Well, it certainly should when I stop to think about these things, but you know.
How it is if we absent ourselves.
From the reading of the scripture, if we're not diligent in these things daily in our own lives and with our families and in a collective way in the assembly, the reading meetings.
The times together.
Will wither.
Because we are dependent.
And we cannot do without this nourishment any more than we can do without our natural food.
And we would wither if we didn't take our natural food, and we will wither in our souls.
If Christ is not the object of our readings in Scripture, to see His beauty and His glories.
To answer to his request, as we did this morning.
To have our hearts touched.
Every Lord's day we need it, but it is also.
What God delights in.
To see the response of his own to his matchless grace, to answer to his request, his simple request, this do.
In remembrance of me and how we need that remembrance.
What the Lord Jesus went through for me, for you?
How long hauled she between two opinions? No response. They answered him, not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people. Verse 22. I only remain a prophet, 450 men.
Take two bullets, Let them choose one for themselves. Cut it in pieces. Lay it on wood, Put no fire under. I will dress the other block. Lay it on wood, put no fire under.
And call thee on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord.
And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God.
And all the people answered and said it is well spoken.
At first, in the end of verse 21, no response that was to their conscience.
Now to their test. It is well spoken.
We'd be willing to see this display.
And Elijah said unto prophets of bail.
Choose you one bullet for yourselves and dress it first. Your many call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.
They took the Bullock which was given them and they dressed it and called on the name of Bale from morning until.
Morning even until noon saying O bail hear us there was no voice.
Nor any that answered.
Mute gods made of stone.
They leaped upon the altar which was made.
Religious activity.
It came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said cry aloud, for he is a God.
Either he is talking or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey or prevent per adventure you sleep with and must be awake.
And they cried out, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till blood gushed out upon them.
How savage man is to himself.
How masochistic man is to himself, cutting, bleeding, crying, calling.
Blood gushing out.
This is involved in many religions.
00:40:01
Not just back 900 BC, still in many religions, and it came to pass, when midday was passed, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any answer, nor any of that regarded the plaintiff's time was given.
And Elijah said unto All the people come near unto me.
We're gonna get near enough.
To the Lord to hear his voice.
From his messenger.
The one he has sent, the one has spoken. The faithful witness. The faithful and true witness.
Come near unto me, and all the people came near unto him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
Now when we look at Christendom, and I don't want to make blanket statements, there are many, many that love the Lord and mean business.
But Christendom?
As we often say, the church is in ruin.
And there are so many egregious things that go on under the umbrella of Christendom.
That you could hardly count them even if you wanted to.
And we probably shouldn't want to.
And they were cutting themselves.
You know, life without Christ is hard.
It's hard.
Life is hard enough. We live in a violent scene.
But he's been here and he's been through it and he escorts us all the way home.
Elijah verse 33 put the wood in order.
To put an order, there's order could go to the New Testament, especially to the Epistles.
The Gospels tell us about the death of Christ on Calvary's tree, his life here.
The epistles the consequence.
The result? The reward.
Puts the wood in order. Cut the Bullock in pieces, laid him on the wood, fill 4 barrels with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood we are going to see here now that.
The story that we read here that God gives us the account.
Of what is, what is his mind? What is real is not just a natural phenomenon that is the result of time and chance and history and movement and people and ideas coming up with another religion.
Fill 4 barrels with water and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. This is not going to be natural, for this is a test of fire to see which is acceptable before the Lord.
And he said do it the second time. And they did it the second time and said do it the third time And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar and filled the trenches about there with water.
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of that evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near. And he said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel.
And that I am thy servant.
God is Christ came, and Mark is the perfect servant.
In John he is the Son. In Matthew he is the Messiah.
And Luke is the son of man.
He fulfills all of these things.
God, manifest in flesh, have done all these things at thy word. How important that is.
Then he makes a short prayer in verse 37. He is the dependent man. Hear me, O Lord, hear me.
That these people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart.
Back again.
Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice.
And the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water.
That was in the trench.
My God. My God.
Why hast thou?
Forsaken me.
The fire of God's judgment comes down.
00:45:04
And he has made sin for us.
And God turns his face from his Christ.
And he bears my sins in his own body on the tree.
I have a substitute.
I can say that he died for my sins and he bore them.
I can tell the lost. He died for you. You may come.
Otherwise, you will die in your own sins. You have no substitute. You will come and be saved, or you will restrain and find excuses.
And be lost and die in your sins, and be judged for your sins.
And just as they were in life.
Cutting themselves, weeping and wailing, gnashing their teeth at God. So will it be an eternity in the lake of fire. Weeping sorrow, wailing, desperate sorrow. That's at the end of Isaiah 17.
And gnashing of teeth.
Enmity against God as the Eternal Ages roll.
This man on Calvary justified God in his humiliation. His judgment was taken away.
The Sinner will never be repentant, even in the depths of judgment.
No, not in time or eternity.
So there is no escape.
And that's all there will ever be.
And it is a place of darkness, outer darkness, because there is no light there. God is light. Christ is the light of the world.
They are in separation from God and there is no light there. They are an outer darkness.
What have we been saved from?
What did we trade?
A few ephemeral pleasures for a season.
For the very meaning of life.
And it's not that we have to say, oh, I got to not do that. I got to not do that.
We turn our eyes to God, and in doing so, as the Thessalonians did, they turned from idols. Christ is enough.
But we need to be diligent. You and I both know that. We all know that there needs to be a diligence.
Day in and day out, putting 1 foot in front of the other and taking the pathway that leads to eternal life.
Hand in hand with the Savior that accompanies us, never leaves us, never forsakes us, and is waiting too for us, that he'll receive us unto himself there.
The hearts of these people are turned when they see this great sacrifice.
According to Elijah's.
Elijah's prayer that thou hast turned their heart back again.
The fire fell consumed.
All that was there, he was reduced to ashes for us.
When the people saw it, you know, the first time. Verse 21, no response.
End of verse 24 about the offering. It is well spoken.
But now here is yeah and Amen.
They fell on their faces.
It was not the voice of the philosopher who got a vision.
This is the voice of one prostate before God.
The Lord He is thee, God, not one of the 450 or 851 of many.
He is be gone.
They say it again, the Lord he is the God. Verily, verily.
Truly, truly, and they add their Amen.
And when we add our Amen to the work of Christ on Calvary's tree, we can say verily, verily.
God hath raised him from the dead.
He seated him at his right hand.
By his resurrection life there, he intercedes for us, saves us day by day.
Keeps us all the way home.
00:50:01
Will, gather us together there. What a grand reunion all the people saw. It fell on their faces.
And made this response they didn't see.
I don't have I I know I got to say the Lord, He is gone. It's expected of me. I got to do that. It's a requirement, Law says. Somebody told me to say that this is a spontaneous response from a renewed part that has come to Calvary and seen.
The work of Christ.
There for him, not for the masses.
Though, but for him.
Elijah said unto them, And now there is a turning to Christ. There's a turning from the idols. And he says, Take the prophets of Baal. Let not one of them escape. They took them, and Elijah brought them down to the brook, Kaishan, and slew them. There there was a complete work.
It's not one foot in the world.
And one foot in eternal life. They meant business.
They destroyed that which was previously their occupation.
That meant so much to them that had kept them and blinded their eyes from the things of God.
Elisha said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat, and drink, for there is a sound.
Of abundance of rain.
Verse 45 The heaven was black with clouds.
Wind and there was a great rain.
Ahab Rd. and went to Jezreel.
The hand of the Lord was upon Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran, and we are running the race.
In 390 BC.
The second hegemonous nation of Daniels 4 The Needs and Persians came down to attack the third Hegemonous nation of Daniel.
The Greeks, you know there were four.
Babylon, the Medes and Persians, Greece and Rome, and then the Messiah.
And then he was cut off.
The battle as the Medes and Persians under Darius.
Came down man is always, he's never satisfied with what he has always wants as the rich man said just a little bit more that'll suffice just a little bit more. So it is nationally.
Hegemony just means the most powerful nation on earth in that day.
Right now it happens to be the United States, and that day it was the Medes and Persians. The tide was going to shift to the Greeks.
390 BC.
Little town north of Athens called Marathon.
Darius shows up with his troops. The Athenians show up with their troops and the battle is engaged and it's fierce.
And at the end of the battle, after several days, the Athenians had conquered.
The Medes and Persians.
Although outnumbered, they conquered the Meats and the Persians.
Good news.
The fellow named Philippides.
A messenger there at the army, he runs from Marathon back to Athens.
You know how far? 26 miles.
That's how long a marathon is. It's where we get that he runs 26 miles back to Athens.
He runs into town and he draws the crowd.
And he.
We won.
And he keeled over and died.
The cry of victory from the cross is it is finished and he bowed ahead and gave up the ghost.
He laid down his life, and then he took it up again.
And as our Savior in the glory our High Priest, there he brings us.
All the way home, and rightfully so, with every right to do so in view of the work that he did, God adding his Amen to that work and raising him from the dead and exalting him to that place.
00:55:05
At his right hand. What a savior we have.
Our God and Father, how we thank Thee to be able to draw out from these passages these.
Eternal truths to be encouraged to put away the idols, to look to Christ.
To turn to God, turn our back on the things that don't matter.
Help us now our God and Father, in view of all that thou hast done, and thy matchless love, and sparing not thy beloved Son.
To draw us on, We thank thee for thy grace, thy thoughts toward us. Thou hast so much invested in US that thou wilt never let us go. And we thank thee. We thank thee for the day, the time together.
The provision here by undertaking for our dear brethren here for all the ministry, the word of God, the fellowship together. This Father indeed is our life, and we thank thee for.
The name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Be Still
Address—J. Hyland
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.
Turn with me first of all, please, to the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes, Chapter 9.
Ecclesiastes Chapter 9 and I just want to read the first part of verse 10.
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it withal, or do it with thy might.
I read this verse at the beginning of the meeting because we're going to go on with the Lord's help and look at some scriptures that bring before us the need in our Christian pathway of being still. You know this is a day of activity, but you know there are times in our Christian pathway where we have to learn to be still.
But before I do that, I'd like, by way of introduction, to just make some comments in connection with this expression we've just read.
Because in further comments on the subject of being still, I don't want to give the impression that activity isn't important and relevant in its place. You know, as we were saying at Lassen with the young people, God never encourages laziness or slothfulness in any aspect of our Christian life, whether it's in our personal lives, in our business lives, in our assembly life.
In our spiritual life, whatever it is, God always encourages.
Spiritual energy. And I don't want to take away from that this afternoon. And so I begin with this verse here where Solomon records by inspiration these words that whatever our hand finds to do, were to do with our might. And again, whether it's our schoolwork, whether it's our job, whether it's helping out in the local assembly, whether it's some little service for Christ that he gives us, and we'll speak of those things as we go along.
But we are to do it with all our might, and there needs to be real energy of faith with us. You know, you young people, you have a lot of energy. And I know some of you are disciplined enough that you get up early in the morning and you maybe go for a job or you have a membership at the gym and you go two or three times a week and you workout. And that's good. Scripture says the glory of young men is their strength. But you know, there's something that's even more important than physical exercise. Timothy Timothy was told that bodily exercise profits for a little time.
But he also was told that he was to exercise himself rather unto godliness. And if there's going to be proper activity in our lives, and a proper balance in our lives, then there needs to be that spiritual energy and exercise, and it takes discipline, just as it does in natural things. And so again, whatsoever thy hand find us to do, do with all thy might.
But as I say, I'd like to look at some scriptures this afternoon that bring before us another aspect, another side of things.
This is a day of real haste. This is a day of activity, and you've heard me say before, but, you know, it just seems that we are all young and old on a treadmill of society that seems to be pumped up faster and faster all the time. And it seems hard to slow the treadmill down sometimes. And I know it takes all. You have young people to survive in the daily grind of life in which you find yourself.
I know your curriculum at school is full. I know that it takes all you have to survive in the workplace today and to keep up.
With the changes that are going on all all the time in this fast-paced world. But that's why I believe we need to again exercise special discipline in our Christian pathway. If there's going to be the proper time spent in quiet and stillness. And if there's going to be a real understanding of God's dealings with us in our lives. Because if we are just always in a rush in our Christian pathway.
Ever going to learn the lessons that God has for us. We're never really going to understand his purposes and ways with us. We're going to miss a great deal. There's an expression in the world haste makes waste and we might apply that this afternoon. Now young people, as we speak of these things and look at these scriptures, I don't want you to think that I've arrived. Sometimes my schedule is too full as well.
00:05:13
Sometimes I rush too much as well, and So what I want to take up this afternoon, I hesitated to take it up, but I felt before the Lord it would be as good for my own soul as anyone's. And so I trust that you will take it from the Lord in that way. And if what exercises my own soul this afternoon from the word of God exercises yours as well, then so be it. Let's first of all connect four portions of scripture.
First of all, back in Exodus chapter 14.
Exodus Chapter 14.
And verse 13.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
Which he will show you today. For the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.
The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
And then in the book of numbers.
Numbers, Chapter 9.
Numbers Chapter 9 and verse 6. And there were certain men who were defiled by the dead body of a man.
That they could not keep the Passover on that day. And they came before Moses, and before Aaron on that day. And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man. Wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord?
In his appointed season, among the children of Israel, and Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you. And then in first Samuel.
First Samuel, Chapter 12.
And verse 6 And Samuel said unto the people, It is the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your Father's up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your Father's, And one more portion for now in the book of Job.
Job, Chapter 37.
Job chapter 37 and verse 14. Hearken unto this O Job, stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
Well, the first thing I want to speak about is standing still, as it's brought before us in these four portions that we read. We know the story well in Exodus. We know that the children of Israel had been under the ******* of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
And God had told them, having heard their groanings, that he was going to redeem them and deliver them from the hand of Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
And he did just that. But where we read here in the 14th chapter, we find that they had eaten of the Passover with the blood upon the door they'd been brought out. And now they had come to the banks of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel looked back and they saw the Egyptians pursuing them from behind and all how frightened they were. But, you know, God hadn't brought them to the banks of the Red Sea to let them be taken back and made slaves again in Egypt.
God was not only going to redeem them by the blood of the Passover lamb, but he was going to deliver them by a mighty hand through the Red Sea. He told them that the Egyptians, whom they had seen that day, they would see no more.
And Moses tells the children of Israel to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
You know, it's very interesting. But later on there were some battles that the children of Israel were to fight.
Because you know in our Christian pathway there are some spiritual battles in the wilderness. The children of Israel had a battle with Amalek. Amalek is a picture of Satan's working on the flesh and Satan seeking to hinder our walk with God through this wilderness world. Later on they had some battles with the enemies as they entered the land of Canaan and those enemies speak of Satan's work to hinder the people of God from enjoying.
00:10:17
Their inheritance. Those things that we were Speaking of this morning in Ephesians Chapter One.
That rich panorama of spiritual blessings, because in the measure in which you and I seek to enjoy what is ours in Christ.
The enemy is going to be there in one way or another to rob us of that enjoyment. But here was a battle that they were not going to fight. They could not fight this battle, nor were they required to. God was going to deliver his people. And aren't we thankful that we look back to that time in our lives when God delivered us fully from the enemy? Not that there aren't still those battles, but positionally we've been delivered from the enemy.
In this world, we're no longer part of it. You know, the children of Israel, after being delivered by the mighty hand of God through the Red Sea, they never got back to Egypt. And thank God they never did. In their hearts, they returned into Egypt. And you and I in our hearts can return to this world. Our hearts can go after and crave the things of this world if they're not full of Christ. And we're not careful. But we will never be part of this world again.
And so they were to stand still and I just want to say before we pass on.
If there's someone here in this room and you haven't experienced in your soul this deliverance, oh stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. He wants to give you full deliverance. He wants you to look back and see that the work has been done done by God's almighty Son. And he wants you to have that peace that comes from knowing that you are redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and that you are delivered from this world.
Because it's the cross of Christ that does separate us from this world.
God forbid that I should boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
By whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. But then we find in the book of numbers something else. A question had come up. There was a difficulty Now a question had come up in connection with the defilement that came through the touching of a dead body. And there were those who, having touched a dead body, could not keep the Passover as God had instituted.
And they wondered what should be done.
And so Moses, in desiring the mind of the Lord in this matter, he commanded that they stand still and hear the word of the Lord. Now, I don't want to go into the typical teaching of what we have here. I simply want to make an application for the encouragement of us all, but especially those who are younger. You know, when we're younger and matters come up amongst the people of God may be a difficulty in the assembly, and there just doesn't seem to be scripture to answer the question. You know, the initial reaction so often is.
Something has to be done to straighten out this problem. We've got to act. What are we do? What are we going to do?
You know, in business there's a 800 number and a speed dial and high speed Internet and a website to answer every problem and difficulty. But you know, God doesn't operate that like that in spiritual things. If we're going to know the mind of the Lord in certain matters, we're going to have to stand still. Now, that's not to say there aren't infallible guidelines in the word of God to answer every question and difficulty that arises.
Amongst the people of God.
Even in 2010, know the Canon of Scripture is complete, and there's a principle to guide us in every step of those decisions that have to be made not only in our personal lives, but in our collective lives in the assembly as well. But you know it, we're never going to know the mind of the Lord in certain matters unless we just stop and stand still, unless we take the time to go through the exercises that he may allow, because he doesn't always give the answers right away.
Often he allows us to go through certain exercises, but if you and I are willing to stop and to be exercised before the Lord prayerfully and in searching the word of God.
Then in his own time and way, he's going to give us scripture. He's going to reveal his mind so that when we take the step, it's going to be according to what he would have us to do. And young people, brethren, if a situation arises in the assembly and there doesn't seem to be the light to act on it at the time, then all we can do is commit the matter to the one who is head over all things to the church, which is his body.
00:15:31
And leave the matter with him be exercised before him until such time that he reveals his mind, so that we can take that step in confidence, knowing that it is according to the word of God.
You know, there was a difficulty in Corinth in the New Testament. It was a very serious problem. And when Paul wrote to them, he left nothing unexplained as to how they were to take up that matter and deal with it for the clearing of sin from the assembly and the glory of the Lord. So that when they finally took the step, they had the authority of God's word for what they did. They acted in the name of the Lord with the authority of God's word. And here we find back in the days of Moses.
That they did nothing until they had a word from the Lord. And this is vital. Again, I know we want everything solved immediately, and I want to be careful and temper my remarks because we can hold back too. When we do have the mind of the Lord. When He does show us what we are to do, we don't want to hold back either. We need to act for the Lord's glory. But I say I believe that we need to wait to wait on the Lord.
Is the exhortation so often given us, and when they waited here, when they stood still to see what the Lord had for them?
Why? The Lord reveals His mind. He left nothing unexplained, and everything was clarified for them. And there was a provision made even in their failure. And maybe sometimes we feel we failed, and maybe failed so bad that. Is there really a way through this? Not that God ever justifies our failure, but He makes a way through it. God is greater than our failure. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound. And there was a wonderful provision made for these men.
At that time, when they stood still and heard what he had to say.
Well, as we come over to First Samuel, we find more failure had come in between the days of Moses and the days of Samuel and King Saul, More failure had come in. Don't we feel that way? Sometimes we just feel, well, you know, we get one problem solved, 1 difficulty behind this and something else crops up. Well, you know, young people, there's always going to be difficulties and problems we're going to have until we reach the glory. We're going to have the flesh and we're going to have.
The work of the enemy. But I want to encourage you again. There is a way to go on. There is a path of faith for us even in in failure. And God desires that there would be that spiritual energy and exercise that we spoke of earlier that we might go on in spite of it. And so we find in First Samuel much failure had come in here. The people had desired a king, and God had told Samuel to go ahead.
And to appoint that king. And the People's Choice was King Saul. And we know the sad results that came from it.
But here we find that as this failure had come in that Samuel again.
He encourages the people of God to stand still. He was going to reason with them. He was going to bring the truth before them. They were going to have a rebuke from Sam, from the Lord, through his prophet Samuel. And they were to stand still and listen to it. Now again, we can't bring out everything that's in these portions. I just want to make some applications for our exercise and for our encouragement. But young people, are you and I willing.
To stand still when there's a rebuke given, when there's failure, that comes in. Perhaps we've been part of the failure, perhaps something we've done. Are we willing to stand still and listen? Maybe our older brethren have something to say to us. Are we willing to listen to it? Our brethren have good things to say to us. I know sometimes it may seem so, so sharp. I've had people speak very sharply.
And very directly to me. I haven't always appreciated it at the time, but you know, it's good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. We need that. We need the direction. We need the guidance of our older brethren. And Samuel here had a rebuke. And it was a very timely and seasonal rebuke. The people needed it because of their failure. You know, it's interesting. And I say this to my own soul as one who can no longer be.
00:20:28
Categorized as a young brother.
After this rebuke, Samuel cried all night to the Lord.
On behalf of the people of God. And that's something. If we who were older would cry all night to the Lord on behalf of the people of God, maybe God could use us in a far greater way. Maybe when we do have opportunity and have to rebuke and reprove and correct and admonish, maybe the spirit of it would be a lot different. Maybe it would be taken a lot better. And I just say that to those of us who are a little older, Do we really have the people of God on our heart? I have to confess, I've never spent all night in prayer on behalf of the people of God.
But, you know, Epiphyse, it says he labored in prayer for the people of God. Do you and I know what it is to labor in prayer for the people of God? Well, you know, again, we find that God was so gracious to the people here. He was so gracious. And I know there's brethren here and young people, and your heart is burdened. We have this little Oasis this weekend. But you say, Jim, I've got to go back on Monday if the Lord leaves us here and there's so many.
Problems in the assembly and things aren't often always taken up in the right way. And so on.
But remember again, the Lord is gracious. If we're willing to stand still, let him work, listen to his voice, then he'll pull through for us. It doesn't depend on us, but it does depend on His faithfulness, even when we're not faithful. It says He abides faithful. He cannot deny himself. All the promises of God in him are Yeah, and in him. Amen. To the glory of God by us. His promises depend on himself.
Not anything that we can do.
Well, I read the portion in job two and here we have Eli Hughes speaking to Job.
And you know, with those who spoke to Job, Job had to say at the end of it all miserable comforters are ye all you know, they didn't always speak to him with the right tone of voice. They didn't have the right attitude. But you know, many of the things they said were right. They might not have been said in the right spirit. And here we find that a lie. Who says, Hearken unto this O Job, stand still and consider.
The Wondrous Works of God. Now, if we were to read the context of this chapter, we would find that there is much brought out in connection.
With God controlling the circumstances of the weather and this creation, and aren't we thankful that He is controlling, Our Lord is in full control. It tells us of the Lord Jesus in the New Testament. He upholds all things by the word of his power. And you remember the Lord Jesus asleep in the boat. He was upholding all things by the word of his power, and he arose and rebuked the wind and the waves. He said, Peace be still.
And there was a great calm and as we see the Lord Jesus in full control.
Of the universe. Can we doubt that He isn't in control of your life and mine? If you ever doubt, read Isaiah 40 in this connection. Because there we find that the nations are a drop in the bucket. He measures the heavens with a span. You know people are finding out something of the greatness of the heavens and the universe, but they're not bigger than God's hand. His hand is greater than the whole universe. There He's in full control of everything.
Everything is maintained in its proper orbit by the word of his power. And isn't he interested in every aspect of your lives? Just stand still and behold his wondrous works and his wondrous works in your life too.
You know, I think sometimes when we come to difficulties in our lives, the problem is.
We forget to look back and see what he's done for us in the past. Has he undertaken in past situations? Have we seen his power in our lives? We have over and over and over again. And young people. The older you get and the more you go on in your Christian experience, the more you'll be able to look back and recognize the hand of God in every circumstance of your life. And I would just encourage you in that regard, Look for it.
00:25:08
You know, sometimes we miss it again because of our haste.
Because we don't stand still. If you miss that flight, stop and consider the wondrous works of God. Why has God allowed this? He has a purpose for it. If you get stuck in traffic for an hour, don't get frustrated. I know it's frustrating. I get frustrated. But instead of getting frustrated, think about his wondrous works. Why has God allowed this? He's got something, a lesson, or he's sparing me from something in this. And those are just little things. But look for the work of God in your life. Stop in the midst of your haste.
And say, why has this been allowed? Stand still and behold the wondrous works of God in your life. And so we're always on the run today. We're always in haste, rushing from here to there. But we need to stand still and, uh, observe these things And what a blessing there will be in the midst of the busyness of life today. You know, one of the characteristics of the last days is they run to and fro.
And people are running to and fro today. I see them at the airports every week, people rushing and they're shuffling just as many businessmen to Europe as businessmen from Europe are coming to North America and back and forth. And people get exasperated when the flight is half an hour late and you see it on the highway. They talk about road rage and all this kind of thing. We live in a world of absolute Russian haste. People are running to and fro. It was ever a proof that we're in the last days. It's that verse I've quoted in Daniel.
Now let's go to the 23rd Psalm.
Psalm 23.
And just the last part of verse two he leadeth me.
Beside the still waters.
And then a verse in the 4th Psalm.
Psalm 4.
And verse 4 Standing on sin not commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.
Selah and one more verse in Psalm 46.
Psalm 46 and verse 10.
Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Well, we've spoken of the need for standing still, but here we have something else. Here we have this expression. Be still. But I began by reading this little expression so well known.
Perhaps most of us learned this in Sunday school in the days of our youth, but it says he leadeth me.
Beside still waters, I want to apply this in connection with the need in your life and mine for getting along with the Lord and drinking of those still waters of refreshment that come from the the word of God. How much of the word of God have we in quiet and secret, drunk of in the last week that exercises my own soul? This book is full of still waters, but we need to go to those still waters.
And we need to drink from those waters.
Again, there's much in the world around us that is not still waters. There's much that troubles, you know, there's much often amongst the Lord's people that stirs the waters, doesn't it? And again in your my older brethren will pardon me, but I'm speaking again to my own soul as much as to anybody. You know. We need to be careful as older brethren, that we don't necessarily on purpose.
Stir up the waters in the assembly so the IS the sheep can't drink again. I'm not saying that we don't take up matters that need to be dealt with for the Lord's glory and so on.
But let's be careful that we provide in the assembly those still waters where the sheep can drink.
But as I say, we need everyone of us personally to stop and to refresh ourselves by the still waters that God has provided for us. You know Mary did that, didn't she? When the Lord Jesus came to that home in Luke's Gospel, chapter 10, Martha was careful and troubled about many things. That's the way I am so often careful and troubled activity. And her activity wasn't wrong.
00:30:09
She was serving the Lord as Hostess in her own home in another place. We read that it was Martha's home.
She no doubt felt a special burden and responsibility to make things really nice for her divine guest. But you know, she had forgot to be still. She had forgot to drink from those still waters. And Mary chose a good part and the Lord commended her for it. And so we need to choose that good part. But then we read in the 4th Psalm as well, because here we find David and it is a Psalm of David.
David speaks of beings of communing with your with his heart, upon his, uh, his bed, and being still again. I want to apply this with not so much what we take in, but those times when we commune with the Lord on our bed, in quiet, in secret. Maybe sometimes you wake up in the night, you know, Sometimes it's frustrating when we don't get a good sleep, you know? There are several scriptures that show that, David.
When he couldn't sleep.
He didn't count sheep. He usually talked to the shepherd. He communed with the Lord. He took opportunity of those quiet times in the night season to commune with the Lord. And I suppose he found them invaluable times. But I want to encourage you to take those times. They're going to preserve you, those times that are taken to speak to him in your closet, in your bed. Again, we don't often take that proper time, but it says in Matthew 6.
Thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret, and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. How much time have we taken?
In secret, where nobody else has seen, how much time have we taken to be still? And it's interesting here that he uses this little expression. Cela and Cela appears over 70 times in the Psalms. And as we understand, Selah is simply a pause. The thrust of it is to pause and consider that's not the world we live in today. It's multitasking.
It's moving from one thing to the other, and it just seems that one activity often overlaps the other. But we need to have those sealas in our lives. We need to discipline ourselves. And as I say, more than ever.
Discipline ourselves for those selas when we commune with the Lord. And so let's be still and have those times and those times to examine our own souls as well, you know, in the haste of society today.
There are often things that slip into our hearts, slip into our lives unawares. And I think David used those quiet times in the night to examine his own soul in the presence of the Lord, to just be still to say, Lord, is there something in the haste of society and life today that has slipped into my life that I need to judge and deal with? And so we need those times to deal with those things, because if we don't, those things only take root.
They only grow, they only fester, and they be, and they become a detriment to us.
In following the Lord Jesus in our Christian pathway. And then I read in the 46th Psalm you know so often.
When I stay in someone's home, I find this verse in the guest room of the home. In fact, it's probably the verse I noticed the most up on somebody's wall, particularly in a guest room. Be still and know that I am God, and it's a wonderful verse to consider. But you know, it's very interesting that it's in the context of this Psalm. And commenting on this Psalm, I've often noted that there are three sections to this song again.
Each one ending with a sila. You have a seal at the end of verse 3.
You have a seal at the end of verse seven and a sealer at the end of verse 11.
And we don't have time to comment on these three selas, but we find in a general way, in the first Selah we have what we might say is the power of God. God is our refuge and strength, the very present help in trouble, and so on.
In the second seal, uh, we have what we might say is the presence of God, and in the third and last Selah.
We have the peace of God. Now I realize that this Psalm, like so many of the Psalms, is Jewish and prophetic in its character. And I have no doubt that this Psalm is going to have its fulfillment in a coming day with God's earthly people when they experience in a wonderful way the power of God, the presence of God, and the peace of God. You know, Jerusalem today is not the city of peace. It's not Salem.
00:35:25
No. They understand very clearly in Jerusalem today that their enemies have their missiles pointed at them, and they'd like to do them in in a moment if they could. Israel is not the land of peace today, but there is a day when they're going to experience in a very real way these three things, his power, his presence and his peace. But you know, these Psalms we can take and apply to our set, to ourselves, because while this Psalm is the expression of God's earthly people in a coming day.
Yet these psalms can be applied as the expressions and feelings of the people of God.
In any dispensation in it, their proper application, of course. And so at the end of the Psalm, he says, be still and know that I am God. How can we be still in our souls in the midst of great turmoil, young people? It's to realize that God has a purpose and he's in full control. You know, as you look at Israel today, you have to realize that, well, it seems like they're gonna be obliterated and wiped off the map. God has a purpose.
And he's going to bring that purpose to fruition.
Nothing is going to frustrate his purposes for his earthly people. And if that is true, then is anything going to frustrate his purposes in your life and mine? Any failure in man, Any failure in the government, Any failure in the assembly? No, not for one moment. He has everything in full control. You know when you read the book of Esther, we find that God is not mentioned by name and it seemed like everything was out of control.
Seemed like the people of God were going to be annihilated, but by the time you come to the end of the book.
Is there any doubt that God was in full control behind the scenes? He was working everything after the counsel of his own will and young people? He's doing that in your life and mine. I know it's hard to understand. I know sometimes we don't really see where it's going and how it's going to work out. But remember, he knows the end from the beginning, and he has not only a purpose for your life, but he has a purpose of blessing.
You know, when we read the Old Testament stories of Esther and the three Hebrew children and Daniel and so on, we read those stories with confidence because we know the end of the story. We know what happened to Daniel when he didn't, when he refused the King's meat. We know what happened in the lion's den. We know what happened with the fiery furnace. We know what happened in Esther's case. But, you know, they didn't know the end of the story.
When they had the faith to stand firm, they didn't know what was going to happen. In fact, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said, we're not going to bow to the king, and the Lord is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand. But they didn't know whether they would be delivered by burning in the fiery furnace or being brought through it. They knew one way or other they'd be delivered from the king, but they didn't know how it would work out. Daniel, when he was thrown into the lion's den, he didn't know what the end of the story would be. And you and I don't know the end of the story either.
But let's have confidence in God cast not away. Therefore thy confidence for of such is great recompense of reward. And so he says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. And I know again it has its gonna have its fulfillment and its real application in a coming day when he's going to fight on behalf of his people and he's going to be amongst them and all the world is going to recognize.
Jerusalem as the center and the blessing is going to flow out from God.
Lord Jesus through his people and out to the to the nations and the Lord of hosts is with us. Can anything change that? No, He'll never leave us nor forsake us. Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. And the God of Jacob is our refuge. He's not just the God of Israel. Israel is what we are. By grace Israel means a Prince with God. But Jacob's what we are by nature, and even when we act like men in the flesh, he doesn't forsake us. Thank God. He's the God of Jacob.
00:40:05
Selah, stop and consider this be still and know that I am God. Now let's go to the book of Ruth.
Ruth Chapter 3.
Ruth Chapter 3.
And verse 18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall, for the man will not be in rest until he hath finished the thing this day. Then I want to read an expression in Isaiah chapter 30.
Isaiah Chapter 30.
Maybe it's not Isaiah chapter 30.
But I was thinking of that expression. Well, just quote it. Their strength is to sit still. And then I want to read a portion in John Chapter 11.
Actually, I it is the end of verse seven. I'll just read it, don't turn back to it. But Isaiah 30 and the end of verse 7, their strength is to sit still. The end of verse 15 and quietness and confidence shall be your strength. And then I want to read in Chapter 11 of John's Gospel.
Chapter 11 and verse 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, but Mary sat still in the house.
And then notice verse 45. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. Well, here we have an expression to sit still. We've noticed an egg, some exhortations, to be still and to or to stand still and to be still. Now we're exhorted to sit still. Perhaps this is the hardest one of all. It might be one thing to stand still or to be still.
But to actually sit still in submission to his will, I find very difficult in my life just to get the context of what we have in the book of Ruth. We find that Ruth was in a very difficult situation. We find that she had been encouraged earlier in the chapter to do something that I really don't understand the sign true significance of it. I don't understand the culture of the day, but she was to go in and to lie at the feet of Boaz until midnight.
And I suggest that what we learn from this is that while we're in the midnight of this life, we need to be at the feet of our Boaz. There's no better place for us. Brethren, young people, have you come to some dark midnight in your life, some situation that you just can't see how you're going to get through it? Go to the feet of your Boaz, because Boaz is a very beautiful picture in the Old Testament of the Lord Jesus.
But having been at the feet of Boaz until midnight, she leaves, and she comes to her mother-in-law. And her mother-in-law gives her some further advice. She says. Sit still, my daughter. What good advice it was. Ruth might have been all in the turmoil. She might have wondered how things were going to work out in this difficult situation, but she was encouraged to sit still. How could Naomi?
Tell her daughter-in-law to sit still at such a difficult time. Well, we have the answer right here.
Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall, for the man will not be in rest until he finished the thing this day.
In other words, Naomi, knowing that there was someone in full control of the situation could in could encourage another to sit still even at a difficult time. And that's what I want to encourage you to do. Again, I know it's tough sometimes, I know even in the assembly. And sometimes the reaction is, again, we've got to write some letters, we've got to straighten this matter out. We've got to make some phone calls, We've got to rush some emails out.
Sometimes we just need to sit still in the presence of the Lord. We need to take things into consideration.
00:45:04
From his perspective, you know David, who was a man after God's own heart. It says he sat before the Lord.
Comfortable in the presence of the Lord, even at a difficult time, he could go in and sit before the Lord. You know, David didn't have an easy life. His life was a life of continual problems, continual upheaval, wars from his enemies around him. Death in his family. Knew what it was to lose a young child, to have his son turn against him. He had to flee for his life, domestic problems, and so on.
But he could sit quietly before the Lord. He could commune before the Lord. No wonder he was a man after God's own heart. You know, it's wonderful to be so comfortable in someone's presence that you can sit with that person and maybe you don't even have to say anything. Maybe a husband and wife have experienced this. You're driving in your car together. Maybe you don't say anything for miles, but you sit there and there's a bond. There's a communion.
There's a fellowship that is enjoyed even without speaking. Do we enjoy that fellowship? Because we find that there there, there was one in control of this situation. Boaz was not going to rest until he had brought the matter to fruition and until Ruth was united to him in marriage. And you know, there's a wonderful marriage coming, the marriage supper of the Lamb. And until that time we have one who again is working everything.
For our blessing, if I can put it this way, he's not going to rest in connection with your life and mind, whether it's in our personal lives, whether it's in the family or in the assembly. He's not going to rest until that day when we're displayed with him there in the Father's house. And he rejoices and is glad as the marriage supper of the Lamb is come. And in that day we're going to look back, brethren, and we're going to see all his ways with us. We're going to see his purposes.
Brought to fruition. And so our strength is to sit still in quietness and confidence shall be your strength. Not in busyness and activity as good as that is in its place, but in quietness and in confidence, simply trusting in him. And we have another beautiful example another lady brought before us in the New Testament, and that is Mary again. Martha was one who seemed to be always busy, you know. She seemed to have to be always helping the situation.
Always adding to the situation.
In fact, the Lord had said to her in Luke, thou art careful and troubled about many things. She was cumbered about much serving. Not that the Lord didn't appreciate it, but she needed to take time to sit at his feet. But you know, it's very interesting that Mary, who had taken that time when a sorrow came into that home in John Chapter 11, and sorrows do come into our home, but when a sorrow came into that home in connection with the loss of her brother Lazarus.
You know again, Martha, when she hears the Lord is coming, she runs to meet him.
But Mary sat still in the house. I love that Mary loved her brother just as much as Martha. Mary felt this sorrow just as much as her sister did. Was she indifferent to it in sitting still in the house?
No, she knew that the Lord was coming in his own time and way, and that when he came he was able to take care of the situation according to how he deemed best, according to his will, and for the good and blessing of that little household. And so, having sat at his feet as a learner, she could sit still even in a difficult situation. Now it is true, when they said the master calleth for thee, she rises up immediately. And where does she go?
She falls down at his feet. She was at his feet as a learner. Now she's at his feet in her sorrow. But she had learned that at sitting at his feet as a learner. And so we need to sit still, learn to sit still, even in difficult situations. And what was the testimony? You know, it's interesting that where we read in the 45th verse that it was many of the Jews that came to Mary that believed on him.
Not in Earlier on, the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them.
But when they saw Mary's quiet testimony, when they saw Mary sit still in the house, and that peace that she had even in a difficult situation, it was such a testimony to them that many of the Jews that came to Mary believed on him. And I believe that our quiet confidence in difficult situations the Lord will use as a testimony and blessing to others.
00:50:20
Maybe even others in the neighborhood, at school or at work as they realize that we have something that they don't have.
It says, commit thy way under the Lord, trust also in Him, and he shall bring it to pass. It may not be to pass as quickly or in the way that we had thought or hoped it would be, but if we are willing to sit still and let him work and commit it to him, it will be to pass, and in the way that he sees is the very best for us. Well, I'd like to close with one further scripture. It's in the 107th Psalm.
Psalm 107.
And verse 29.
He maketh the storm a calm so that the waves thereof are still.
They are. Then are they glad because they be quiet? So he bringeth them unto their desired haven. Well, I want to apply this in connection with the end of the story. Because young people, I'm not going to stand here and tell you that if you are still in the presence of the Lord, that you're going to see the end of all the troubles here. You're not going to see the end of it all here. And the older you get, the more waves there are going to be in your life. It doesn't get any easier, let me tell you.
As you get older, sometimes you are younger. I think you look at those of us who are a little older and you think that we've arrived and that we don't have the storms and the waves in our lives that you do. But that's not true. Oh, they may be a little bit different than the storms and the difficulties you face, but they're very real nonetheless. But there is a day when he's going to bring us into our desired haven. There is a day when the waves are going to cease and be still, and that day is when we reach that other shore.
Reach that shore we hope to land on. And that shore we hope to land on is that heavenly shore. And we're almost there. Young people I know. We've been speaking about the Lord's coming for generations. Paul said we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together. He was looking for the Lord's coming in his day. I've been looking for the Lord's coming for many years. My father was my grandfather. But we're almost there. We're almost to that other shore. Are the waves high? Are the winds contrary and the storms difficult?
Indeed they are.
But we're going to be there another day and all storms are going to cease, and we're going to sit down and rest in His presence for all eternity. And that ought not to encourage us now to be still amidst the storms of life now.
And to seek to be faithful and to go on. Well, we've looked at these verses very quickly, but I trust that they will encourage your heart and mind to be to learn to to uh, stand still. To learn to be still. To learn to sit still. And in this way we're going to discern those things that are according to His mind, so that you and I can go on amidst the turmoils and the busyness and the haste of life that we can live for His glory.
According to His will, until that day when the storms are still forever more, let's pray our God and Father.
Brothers and Sisters
Open—B. Christensen
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.
Through this afternoon with the Lord's help, just briefly.
Talk about two relationships.
Our brother in his message this afternoon.
Spoke about.
The husband and the wife.
The father and the child.
And justice these last few days.
Traveling through the state of Oregon.
I was reminded.
Of several other relationships.
That we read about in the Word of God.
A few nights ago we stayed in the Little Sister of Sisters OR.
The next day, we drove through another town in the same state.
And that town was called Brothers.
This is the first time I've driven through a state.
And driven through two towns or cities.
With those names.
I am a geography teacher by profession.
And often.
Note different and unusual names.
But I thought as we drove through those towns of.
Some scriptural examples or some examples in scripture that we might perhaps look at for a few moments with profit.
And one of the first.
Instances that I would like to read about.
This afternoon is found going to look at two sets of sisters.
And two sets of brothers.
The first mention, I believe, of the first set that I'm going to refer to.
Is in the book of Numbers.
And chapter 26.
And one of the sisters that I am going to refer to.
As a young lady.
By the name of Noah.
Yes, a young lady by the name of Noah.
Not the Noah that is mentioned in the book of Genesis.
But this reference is in Numbers chapter 26.
And verse 33.
We're going to read about a man who had a very different name.
I teach school in a district where 1/3 of our students are from India.
And Pakistan.
And it's always a challenge for me at the beginning of the year to learn.
Unusual names.
But here we have a man mentioned in verse 33. It says in Zaloa fad the son of heifer had no sons but daughters.
My wife and I are in the same category.
We have three children, three daughters.
In September of 1969, our first daughter Tara was born.
1970 our second daughter Kirsten was born.
And I thought about.
Kirsten's birth this morning as our brother Dan was speaking in Sunday school.
In the morning after my wife delivered the baby.
The doctor came in and everything appeared to be fine.
But then, in the afternoon, the doctor came in to speak to both of us.
And said.
Your daughter has a 5050 chance to live.
She had something called Highline Membrane disease.
My wife and I.
Or cast before the Lord.
And we claimed Hannah's prayer.
For this child, I prayed.
And the Lord delivered and restored her.
To full health and strength.
00:05:00
Well, when Pearson was born, there was a new relationship in the family.
Tara, who had been born in September of 1969, now had a sister.
Then in a year and a half later.
Both Tara and Kirsten had another sister, Tekla.
And so.
I can relate to Zillowa fat.
He had no sons but daughters.
And it mentions these daughters here in this verse 33. And I'll try to be brief.
Mara, Noah, Hogla, Milka, and Terza.
And we read later.
That because there was no male child, they asked for an inheritance.
They asked for an inheritance.
And to the child of God.
A godly Israelite.
An inheritance was important.
We think in the book of Joshua.
Of Caleb giving his daughter to off Neil.
And we think of her asking for those two springs of water.
She valued that. And what would those springs of water bring before us?
I believe the word of God.
We think of.
Nebeth, who had a vineyard.
And we think of a king and his wife who had evil intentions, who wanted that vineyard.
And would even go to the extent.
Of murdering neighbors.
Nebeth was offered money.
For that inheritance.
But he valued that inheritance.
How much do we value the inheritance that we have today?
That is a searching question.
How much do we value that inheritance?
We'll go on quickly to Second Samuel.
Chapter 10.
We're going to read about a brother here.
And a little later on, several chapters later, we will read.
About his brother.
Two Samuel, Chapter 10.
In this chapter.
We read about David's messengers.
Being abused.
By a man by the name of Hanan.
And we read elsewhere that he was the son of Nahash.
And ammonite.
And we see that he mistreated.
The servants of David.
And it says in verse four he took David's servants and shaved off.
The 1/2 of their beards and cut off their garments in the middle.
Even to their buttocks.
And send them away.
What shame.
We read in First Samuel chapter 25 of Another Man, Nabal.
David sent his servants to Nabal and said greet them in my name of peace.
We read that Nabal was a churlish man.
And didn't offer.
Any comfort or help to David?
But we read later that his wife Abigail.
Dead. Let's go on further. I know our time is going on to the 17th chapter we're going to read about, and I believe that.
The individual that we're reading about here was a brother of Hanan.
In verse 26 rather verse 27 of chapter 17.
Of two, Samuel says. And it came to pass when David was come to maintain him.
00:10:03
That show by the son of NIST of Raba of the children of Ammon and Maker, the son of Emil of Lodibar and Barzilai, the Giladite of Rogelium.
They brought beds and basins and earthen vessels and weed and barley and flour.
And parched corn and beans and lentils and parched pulse and honey and butter and cheap and cheese of kind.
Who did they bring that to? It says for David.
And for the people.
That were with him.
While I believe that this individual that's mentioned here.
Probably a biological brother.
Of Hanan, who abused David?
Now is showing kindness.
To David.
God's beloved, the man of God's choice.
In the world today.
Many.
Make the statement that.
People behave the way they do.
Because they're the products of their environment.
Well, we could go.
For quite a length this afternoon and talk about various individuals.
We could talk about Cain and Abel, both raised in the same household.
We could talk about Jacob and Esau.
Both raised in the same household.
But man is a responsible being, is he not?
And responsible for his own actions. And so there are choices. Choices for good.
And choices for evil.
Well, let's now just go on to the New Testament.
To look briefly.
At a set of sisters and a set of brothers. First we'll look at a set of brothers in the first chapter of John.
Verse 40.
One of the two.
Which heard John speak.
And followed him.
Was Andrew.
Simon Peters, brother.
Now Simon heard the Lord Jesus.
Was he content in keeping that joy?
And that good news.
To himself? No.
Think of those leprous men.
Outside of the camp in Samaria.
When they had seen that, the army had fled.
Says we do not well.
And so they realized that they had a responsibility.
To go back into the city.
And declare that wonderful news.
And So what we see here is personal evangelism.
And I believe in this day in the 21St century, the Lord.
Is working mightily in connection with personal evangelism.
Just recently I read a biography of.
George Whitfield, who lived in the days of Charles and John Wesley.
And often he would preach three times a day.
Out in the fields.
To as many as 20 or 30,000 people that came together.
To hear the word of God.
And I heard a very striking thing a few days ago, brother in the Mount Tabor assembly.
Was relating a fact to me about George Wesley.
He said on one occasion when George Wesley preached.
Benjamin Franklin.
Of the United States was in the audience.
And Benjamin Franklin had a curious mind.
Not that he necessarily wanted to hear what?
00:15:00
George Whitfield had to say.
But he.
Was curious as to how far.
George Whitfield's voice projected.
So on the one or two occasions that George Whitfield preached when Benjamin Franklin was in his presence.
Franklin paced off a distance.
And then he calculated.
The number of people.
That were under the sound of his voice and he.
Was calculated it was about 30,000 people.
That could hear.
George Whitfield, Preaching.
And that's a remarkable thing.
But nowhere do we read.
That Benjamin Franklin.
Appropriated.
Or accepted the gospel.
Accepted the message that was preached.
He had a curiosity, yes.
But we don't read.
That that was mixed with faith. But here we have Simon Andrew, Simon Peter's brother and verse 41. It says he first findeth his own brother Simon and saith unto him we have found the Messiahs who is being interpreted the Christ.
Many years ago, my uncle Guilford perhaps known to some.
Had a.
Rhyme or some rhyming words concerning personal evangelism.
Go something like this.
If each one one.
That is WON.
And ONE.
If each one won.
One How many? One ones?
Would be one for Christ. Or repeat that again.
If each one one.
11.
How many one ones would be one for Christ?
Let's turn over now a few pages in the Gospel of John.
We're all familiar with that.
Household in Bethany.
A place where the Lord Jesus was given a place.
It mentions in the 11Th chapter now a certain man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany.
The town of Mary and her sister Martha.
Well, I believe that we're acquainted with this, well acquainted with this instance that's brought before us.
In the word of God and when our brother was giving the message the other day about.
Sitting still, we see Mary.
Sitting at the feet of Jesus. And what a wonderful thing that was.
We know that Mary, perhaps, was cumbered with much serving.
We know that service has its place.
But we're reminded.
Two that above service we have worship.
But it's nice. I don't want to be too hard on Mary. The Lord certainly was wasn't because we have a lovely statement given in verse 5.
It says now, Jesus.
Loved Martha.
And her sister.
And Lazarus?
Well, there was something miraculous that took place in the home.
Of Mary and Martha.
Lazarus died.
Yes, there was concern.
But there was also.
An opportunity.
For the Lord.
To show or display his power.
And his compassion?
We know that the Lord could have been present there.
And prevented the death of Lazarus.
But the Lord allowed Lazarus.
To pass through the article of death.
We have some touching words here.
And I know our brethren here in Aberdeen have gone through considerable sorrow within the last month or so.
00:20:08
We read in verse 35. It says Jesus wept.
Then verse 36 then said the Jews.
Behold.
How he loved him.
In closing, I have a little piece of poetry that I would like to read.
It says we know him as we could not know.
Through heaven's golden years.
We there shall see.
His glorious face.
But Mary saw his tears.
The touch.
That healed the broken heart.
Is never felt above.
His angels know.
His blessedness.
His children.
Know his love?
Ephesians 1:1-2
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.
And Ephesians chapter one, then on my heart a lot.
And there's somebody else that has another portion. Well, I'll be glad to submit to that too. But this is what I wonder if the Lord may have guided him.
Ephesians chapter One.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God to the Saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus.
Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself.
According to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom, and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ.
Both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in him in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
And whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory.
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and loved unto all the Saints, cease not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.
May give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him the eyes of your understanding, being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us Word, 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.
Far above all principality, and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.
Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
We live in a world, brethren, that is materialistic.
What is come home to my own soul.
So powerfully is that we are very aware.
Of things that are material and we are taught to value them. Things that are not seen, we tend to not think that they are important.
But in this chapter we have probably one of the greatest Panoramas of spiritual blessing in Scripture. But everything mentioned is spiritual. In other words, it's in contrast with that which is material.
In verse three it says he has blessed us with all or every spiritual blessing.
In heavenly places in Christ.
And I find that sometimes we just kind of don't know exactly what that means and we.
We revert back to the appreciation of material things.
00:05:00
Brethren, it's the current of the culture that we are passing through.
And we need to be reminded of the reality of spiritual things.
Says in Second Corinthians chapter 4.
That which is seen is temporal means connected with time. That which is not seen is eternal. So what we're dealing with here in this chapter.
Are things that will last for all eternity.
Things that are material, how long are they going to last? I guess it depends what you're talking about. A car lasts maybe 1020 years.
But everything that's related to time is going to be set aside one day. But what we have in Christ is eternal, and we need to focus and live more in the enjoyment of it. If you look at the end of the chapter, just a brief moment.
In the Apostles prayer to for the Ephesians he prayed that they would be given verse 17, the spirit of wisdom and revelation, the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
That you may know. And then he asked that they might know three things. Number one, what is the hope of his calling?
That is the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ right now. Perhaps we could say from verse 3 to verse 9.
Approximately the second thing is.
What the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints?
And you have that in verses 1011 and 12.
And then the third thing is, what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us? We're to believe according to the working of His mighty power.
And that, of course, is what we have in verse 13 and 14, the Spirit of God Who.
Dwells in US, and it's through that same Holy Spirit that he raised Christ from the dead, and set him in his present position of honor and exaltation, and in that position as.
United to his people, the church, his body. And so it's a little outline, perhaps, in that prayer of what we have in the first part of the chapter. But my burden, I suppose, in suggesting this, is that we might have our eyes turned away.
From What is Material?
To contemplate that which is ours forever. We're living in a world that is shaky.
I mean in every way, not only earthquakes, but the financial institutions of this country are shaky bad.
Ephesians 1:3-23
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.
Ephesians chapter one, and it's been suggested that perhaps we start with verse 3 to tie together what we've had.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom, and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ.
Both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even in him in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
And whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation? In whom also after that ye believe, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory.
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the Saints, ceased not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
The eyes of your understanding, being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints, and 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, far above all principality, and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come, and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.
Which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
Last meeting we spoke about verse four being election.
We were chosen in him before the foundation of the world, and verse 5 is.
Predestination.
The purpose for which we have been chosen.
Not only to save us, but to bring us into a specific position of privilege.
And really, the thought is.
Our King James translation puts children, but it's really sonship being brought into sonship, the privileges of sonship, tremendous position of favor that we've been brought into.
You know, we think of UH.
The parable of the prodigal son.
And how the prodigal son in that far country?
Made-up a prayer and in his prayer, he said.
At the end of it, make me as one of Thy hired servants.
He thought that would be tremendous, to get back there and have bread enough in despair.
But that wasn't the father's thought. And so when he gets back home, that part of the prayer is forgotten.
And the father wasn't interested in having another servant.
What he wanted was a son to sit down at his table.
And to enjoy fellowship with him, to share common thoughts with him.
And that's what God has brought us into brethren.
It's a joy to serve the Lord.
00:05:03
But God doesn't really need anymore servants. He has millions of angels to do his bidding, what he wants, and this is characteristic of the day, the dispensation we live in. What he wants is bring us into the full enjoyment of sonship. So he's predestinated this unto the adoption of children or sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.
What a privilege.
To sit down at the father's table.
To enjoy fellowship with him. To have common thoughts with him.
About his eternal purposes. About his Son, About.
His eternal purpose of making his Son the center of that coming day of glory.
A person may be assigned, he may be a child, and uh, but you never see a truck going up and down the road by Smith and his children. But it's Smith and his sons, because a son is one who is old enough to understand the business. And so the brother has outlined a few things there. You know, we talk about the privilege of sonship, the Old Testament Saints, they had confidence in God, but in the New we have a relationship.
And so we have liberty, liberty to go right into the very presence of God. We just did. Some brothers stood up and took us into the sanctuary, So we have liberty to go in. Somebody has said that.
When Kennedy was president, that there were UH agents there to keep any, UH, foreign dignity from going into his presence unless he was called.
But the doors swung open and in ran this little kid, and he played under his desk and everything. He had liberty because he was a son that those dignitaries didn't have. Then there was there's uh, so there's a dignity too, uh, to sonship.
Uh, we've all heard these, these maybe these are hackneyed stories, but of the UH Prince who was down in the Amazon, UH serving UH with the Royal Navy and UH they all, it was very, very hot. Nobody was around and so they went, uh as it were, skinny dipping. Well, when it got back to England, uh, he was called in. He said it's all right for the other men to do it, but you.
Are next in line for the kingship.
It's not all right for you to do it. There's a certain dignity with a place that you occupy. Well, there's uh many things that go along with uh, uh, being a a son, you know, there's a certain affection.
That one has for his son, but he doesn't have for the children down the street.
And so this is a wonderful, uh, privilege that we've been brought into sunshine.
You get that in John's ministry that we have been brought into the family of God and given the very nature of God, but were sons by adoption and sonship, as has already been said, has to do with the dignity of the position in which we're brought in. It's interesting with Mephibosheth when he was brought by David to the palace, that it says all the the household of Zaiba were servants unto Mephibosheth.
But the Mephibosheth, they meet at the King's table continually. David didn't bring Mephibosheth to serve in the palace. There were lots of servants, as we've as Bob has already said, God has his legions of angels. But what David wanted to do was show kindness to the household of Saul and have one that he could sit at with with in fellowship at his table. Just another little story in connection with the dignity of the position that we've been brought into.
History tells us of the Crown Prince of France many years ago, when France had a royal family and this Crown Prince as a young boy had an English tutor in the palace, and this English tutor found his.
Student very unruly and this young man was really incorrigible and hard to control.
00:10:06
Because he was the Crown Prince of France, he this tutor couldn't really discipline him.
And so, in desperation, he came up with a rather novel solution.
Purple was the French royal color and one day when this student showed up for his English tutoring, the tutor pinned on his lapel a purple rosette and he said as he pinned it on the young Princess lapel. He said this is the color of the French royal family and I can't discipline you because of who you are when you're unruly in the class.
But he said, every time you do something you shouldn't, I'm going to point to this purple rosette so that you will be reminded of the dignity of the position that you have as heir to the French throne. And they say that the effect was amazing. And so this young man learned very early in life that there was a dignity connected with being heir to the throne of France. Well, brethren, if we could just learn thy dignity that we have as.
Of God, sons and heirs of God. It would make a difference in our life. And I remember our brother, Albert Hayhoe.
And whose home assembly? I grew up and under his ministry, he said. One time he sat in a meeting and he listened to his father speak about the evils and follies of pride and self esteem. And after the meeting was over, he went to his father and mustering all the respect he could, he said. Now father, I understand what you're saying, but he said if I didn't have some self respect and a little bit of self esteem, a little bit of pride, he said I wouldn't make sure that my hair was combed.
And my shoes were shined and that I looked presentable.
Well, his father listened to him. And then, very wisely, when Albert was finished, he said, Now, Albert, if you remember at all times that you are a son and heir of God, it will take care of all those things without one ounce of pride. And when brother Hayhoe told us that as a young person it had an impact on us, and I've never forgotten. And I think there's something very good for us to consider as to our practical conduct when we realize that this is the position that we have been brought into.
And that's really what's taken up here, isn't it? It's we. We have brought in responsibility and then that's that's OK. But really, what God, what is being said here is God is saying relax. Let me tell you what I've done for you and you can say, well, but I haven't. Let me tell you what I've done for you.
Nice to see that expression in verse five according to the good pleasure of his will.
We know that the Lord Jesus did not exercise.
So to speak, a will of his own. While here upon this earth he was subject to the Father's will, and it's nice to see a corresponding portion in Matthew Chapter 11.
In verse 25 it says at that time.
Jesus answered, and said, I thank thee, O Father.
Lord of heaven and earth.
Because thou hast laid these things, hath hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hath revealed them unto babes.
The thinking especially of this next verse.
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. Well, this is the pleasure of his will, is it not?
In a slightly different, uh, connection and connotation, but that was ever.
The Lord's, uh, desire to please the Father in all things, and I believe this is.
The aspect of the burnt offering, as we have brought before us in the book of Leviticus.
And if you and I had perhaps.
Chosen or selected the order of the offerings, we would have selected the sin offering, but we.
Uh, see the burnt offering, that which in the Lord's life was pleasing and acceptable unto the Father.
Definition.
00:15:11
I think Brother Bob was giving us a good definition this morning. If you wanna repeat that again, I'm gonna turn it over to Bob because I think Bob gave, uh, a good.
Uh, definition of that.
Election has to do with our persons, Predestination has to do with a position he has.
In mind for us when he chose it.
He, uh, Joseph, and he had in mind to bring us into the full privilege and enjoyment of sons of the body.
Barack Obama, Barack Obama was elected to the to be President of the United States. As a person. He was elected, but he was predestined to take that position of president and to move into the white, to the White House. There was a dignity of position and a place that he was going to occupy. So he was elected as a person we might say was predestined to the president ship and the White House as having been elected. I know that's a feeble illustration, but perhaps helps us to understand the difference.
Would it be right too to use a illustration? If you went to a sales store and you were going to buy lamps and uh, you chose a certain lamp that would be and paid for it. That would be, uh like election. But you could do many things with that lamp. You know, it might be a very valuable lamp and you could stick it down in the basement. Nobody would ever see it.
Or you could put it in the hallway.
Where everybody came in, they could admire it. He's placed us as sons, you know, in that relationship. So I think it has to do with UH where we're placed predestined predestination is always 2 something.
In all these verses kind of go together. You'll notice that many of them have a comma the end of them, and so it goes right on into verse 6.
To the good pleasure of his will at the end of verse 5.
Through the praise of the glory of his grace.
No, brother. And that's what God's going to display in that coming day.
The glory of his grace.
Oh, what a display it's gonna be. It's gonna provoke our praise.
And the praise of the whole creation as it is displayed out, God has brought into focus.
The glory of his grace. And then he goes on to say in verse 6, wherein he hath made us.
Accepted in the beloved.
And I love the Darby translation there says.
Brought into favor in the beloved.
God looks at us in a place.
Of unchanging favor in Christ, in the beloved beautiful to think about.
God cannot look at us.
In any other way than in unchanging favor.
But what if I am disobedient?
He will discipline because of that position of unchanging favor.
That I occupy before him in love. Wonderful to think of it, brethren.
And I find that so many people, sometimes young people, sometimes older ones too, struggle because they don't feel accepted.
I've talked to people that don't feel accepted in their local gathering.
Brethren, let's not worry so much about being accepted by our fellow man.
Let's enjoy the fact that at the highest level possible.
We have been accepted before God. He looks at you and me.
In the place of unchanging favor, and his dealings with us in this life, even while we're still down here in this world, are because of that place of unchanging favor, we are accepted.
00:20:11
In the beloved.
Remember a story that was told and I.
Don't know if I have it very clear but.
It's a young boy in England.
That came one day to He wanted to see the Queen.
And he came up to the gates of the Buckingham Palace.
And of course, the guards held them out.
You come from quite a distance and he was rather disappointed.
Sat off to one or stood off to one side and was crying.
While he's standing there, another young boy came running towards the gate.
And when he approached, the guards stood at attention.
It was the Prince of Wales.
And as he went in, he noticed that little boy standing there crying.
And after he got just inside the gate, he stopped and said to the guards, what's wrong? What's what happened to that little boy? Oh, he wants to see. He wants to see the Queen and.
And he can, because he's just a commoner.
And so the little boy, the Prince said to the little boy. You come with me.
And with that, he went right in to see the Queen.
He was accepted in the Beloved.
Brethren, if God could refuse.
Us to day who are believers in the Lord Jesus, he would have to at the same time.
Refuse his own beloved son. Is that possible?
Absolutely impossible. That's the place you and I enjoy of favor before God in Christ.
Think that to get any thought.
Is to deny the truth of election that's taught here.
And the favor and the goodness of God. And the grace of God.
Now it is true that as many as I love, I rebuke and chase him.
But we never want to give any.
To the thought that we could lose the salvation that God has provided.
Ship with the Lord.
We can lose our enjoyment of these things.
And that's what the spiritual warfare in the book of Ephesians in chapter 6 is about.
Because the enemy knows he can't take these things away from us, brethren. But he also knows if we're not going to walk in the enjoyment of them, he's taking away our power in the Christian life. And so that's the constant struggle, and we need to be aware of that.
He wants this. The Lord wants us to enjoy these things and let the reality of them sink into our souls so they will have its proper effect practically on our lives.
Going back a bit to the uh to the thought of uh of uh. Predestination, I was looking ahead in chapter 2 and I was wondering if this would apply here too in verse. Umm, umm.
Well, you could read from verse 8. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And this is what I was thinking of, for we are his workmanship.
Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
And I was we were mentioning that uh predestination has to do with being with uh something that is unto we predestined unto and here's good works. Well we know that as sinners and before God we could not do any good works. They're all all our works were were under were filthy rags. But to think that God has prepared something for you and me to do that he calls that are good works and these are gonna precede us into glory because we're gonna be close with them there.
And and so God has. There's nothing that we could do to gain God's acceptance. He's gone ahead, and he's prepared everything from the beginning right to the end. And then at the end, he gives us credit for it.
00:25:10
Well, we never want to forget the faces of all this, do we? And that's what's brought out in verse 7, in whom we have redemption through His blood.
And brethren, as we enjoy these precious things, these spiritual blessings, and so on.
Let's not forget that it's on the basis of the blood of the Lord Jesus. You know, there was a great cost to bring us into blessing.
We hear about those who go to other countries to adopt A child, and you know, those that go to those countries to adopt A child, they do it at great cost. There's a cost involved in travel, There's a cost involved in purchasing the child when they get there, and all that goes with it. But think of the great cost rather than to the God and to the Lord Jesus in connection with our being brought into this wonderful position.
That we have now and that we are going to occupy and enjoy for all eternity. And we never want to forget the ground of our blessing. And so we have redemption through His blood brethren. It's a simple statement, but what a precious statement. How profound to think of what it took the Lord Jesus to purchase us for Himself. It cost Him His precious blood.
And we find in Peter too, when he takes up the subject of redemption.
He adds a little something that I think is very precious, and he says we're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
And that is it. Precious to the heart of God. That's God's value. Because I've often said that I am thankful that my redemption doesn't depend on my appreciation or estimation of the the blood of Christ.
My estimation of it may be very feeble at best, but to the heart of God, the blood of Jesus Christ is precious, and my redemption is based on that. And not only so, but it goes on to say that it's not with corruptible things as silver and gold. You know, silver and gold are commodities that change in value.
If you check the price of silver and gold on the world market at the beginning of one week as opposed to the beginning of the next week, you may find that they've changed in value. And so those commodities go up and down. But rather than our redemption is based on something that does not change in value, that blood is as precious to the heart of God this afternoon as when it was shed on Calvary's Cross.
And that blood will be just as precious to the heart of God for all eternity. Well, what a security we have.
Believe in the book of Ephesians. We have the word riches used at least six times. And I was just thinking of that expression at the end of verse 7, the riches of His grace.
I'd just like to turn to a ver a few verses in First Kings chapter 10.
And in this chapter we have the meeting of the Queen of Sheba with Solomon.
And in the early part of the chapter.
We noticed that.
That she came to prove Solomon with hard questions, and so those questions were answered.
And uh, she mentions in verse seven. However, I believe not the words until I came, and mine eyes had seen it, and behold, the half had not been told me thy wispin wisdom and prosperity exceeded the fame which I heard.
And then we have brought before us uh, in.
The succeeding verses that which the Queen of Sheba brought.
To King Solomon.
And specific amounts are mentioned.
In terms of the talents of silver and gold.
But there's a very nice thought and connection with this. And if we looked at verse 13, it says in King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire whatsoever. She asked beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. And so I believe it's this royal bounty that's brought before us when it speaks of the riches of His Grace we can't measure.
00:30:18
That royal Bounty, Can we?
But it's spoken of here.
His royal bounty.
Suppose there's a difference between those two expressions, the riches of his grace. It's been illustrated if a person with unlimited wealth was walking down the street of India and he saw.
A poor ratchet dying in the street and he took compassion on him and and called for the ambulance to take him to the hospital and nursing back to health, no matter what the cost.
Yeah, the man had unlimited wealth, he said. I just want him nursed back to health, but after he was nursed back to health.
Say he told him I would like to adopt you as my son.
I would like to bring you into that relationship. Well, that's the glory of His grace.
And to be in Christ means that we have His position and the sons position, the Lord Jesus position before the Father, His position and favor. The Old Testament Saints were accepted, but they didn't have that relationship that we do. That is a privilege reserved for the Saints of God of this age, and we shall reign with him. That's the inheritance.
Somebody has said that the inheritance in Ephesians is under our feet.
And Peter, it's over our head because that's a wilderness book. But here we're looked at as in in heavenly places, so we will reign with the Lord.
Over all created things.
During the Millennium.
Verse 7 Going back there again. Here is another present possession. We have redemption through His blood.
And then it adds another thing that is based on that redemption.
The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
Brethren, isn't that wonderful to enjoy the fact that we have the forgiveness of sins because of that precious blood that was shed? One of our present possessions is the forgiveness of sins. I'm amazed as I travel around and hear sometimes believers pray.
That many of them still are asking for the forgiveness of sin.
They don't seem to enjoy the fact that it is one of our present possessions.
Interesting people say, well, didn't the Lord teach His disciples to pray, forgive us our sins as we also forgive our debtors. That's true. But remember that that was before the cross, before redemptions price had been paid.
But you look in Scripture.
After redemptions, price was paid by that precious blood of Christ.
You will never again find that we are to ask for the forgiveness of sins.
Sometimes, say when I'm preaching the gospel, even to those who are unsaved, I say, you know what? You don't. Even as unbelievers, you don't even have to ask God for the forgiveness of sins. What you have to do is accept the forgiveness of sins that He's offering you. His hand is extended and he wants to give it to you. And if he's extending it, wanting to give it to you, are you gonna just sit there and keep on asking for it?
That would be not understanding his offer. But look at a simple verse brethren, because I think this is something that we need to understand clearly. I've met up with a lot of believers who don't seem to understand it. Look at Acts chapter 10 where Peter is preaching.
To Cornelius and those in his household.
Notice how it puts it.
In verse 43.
To him, that is the Lord Jesus.
Give all the prophets witness that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
00:35:11
So it's a matter of simply believing God.
Remember one time in the Walla Walla State Penitentiary?
Going on Brother Ted Frazee, and speaking about this matter of the forgiveness of sins. And there was an old man.
Towards the back of the group.
Sitting there, I didn't realize. I of course we don't know what they're in there for.
But after the session was over, he came up and said to us, All these years I've been asking God for the forgiveness of my sins.
Tonight I accept it and thank God for it.
It's that simple. It's a present possession before the God of the universe. I have the forgiveness of all my sins.
How can we know that?
Brother Vern, do you have a document that says you have the forgiveness of sins here in the word of God? The word of God? That tells us, but it's something we possess by faith.
God says it, and we accept.
Now one other thing, as believers sometimes we sin. Should we not ask for the forgiveness of sins when we sin?
Ripshur tells us clearly in one John chapter one.
If any man.
Thank you. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What God wants when we sin as believers, not his, not for us to say forgive us. No, He's already forgiven us.
He's disposed to forgive, but what he wants is confession. And confession brethren goes far deeper than saying forgive me.
When I say forgive me, I'm not really thinking of my guilt. I'm thinking that maybe he's not disposed to forgive me. So I'll ask him that. We don't have to ask that. He already is disposed. What he wants is confession. And to confess means that I have to judge myself and recognize the thing that I did was wrong, that was wrong, and tell him so. And that's what we should do as believers.
But it is important to understand that we have forgiveness of sins.
And it's according to the riches of His grace. I'd like to refer to a verse in Romans as well where we have another result of redemption. Redemption is the basis of all blessing brethren. But notice in Romans chapter 3.
And verse.
24.
Being suffered freely by His grace.
Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So in Ephesians 17 we have forgiveness of sins on the ground of redemption. Here we have something further. We have.
Justification. We're justified freely by His Grace.
Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, God has been so fully satisfied.
And glorified in the work of redemption that the Lord Jesus accomplished at Calvary.
That not only can he not he, he doesn't compromise his holy character.
No. He's been satisfied and glorified. So he can extend forgiveness and he can actually completely declare us righteous in faith in Christ. What a wonderful place is ours. We have redemption through His blood. Oh, let's let those words sink into our souls. What a precious privilege. Breadth.
Save the Apostle Paul had a sense.
In his soul of what the Lord had.
Accomplished in his life.
He referred to himself as the chief of sinners.
And just yesterday, a few of us were speaking and we were referring to the Holocaust which took place in Germany.
00:40:02
In the late 1930s and the early 1940s, and we were specifically speaking about one man.
Who was to accomplish Hitler's design? UH plan of the Final Solution and that was Adolf Eichmann.
Later, Eichmann fled from Germany at the end of the war.
He was apprehended. Finally, he was brought to trial.
And there was an American Baptist ministry missionary that had access to Eichmann throughout the trial.
And this American missionary, I believe his last name was Davis.
Was having.
Some difficulty in terms of whether he could present the Gospel to Eichmann after all of the horrible deeds that he had committed, but he realized that if.
The chief of sinners could be saved with his responsibility of bringing the gospel and the offer of forgiveness of sins to Eichmann.
And when the occasion presented itself, this missionary did present the plan of salvation to Eichmann.
And it was so striking to learn of Eichmann's response. It was a simple response.
And a very solemn response, he said. I neither need nor want the forgiveness of sins. Well, we just hope there's none in the room this afternoon that takes that position that they don't need the forgiveness of sins and reject God's offer of salvation.
Before we pass on, I'd just like to make another comment in connection with what bro brother Bob brought out. Because redemption is more than just the forgiveness of sins. As we read in Romans, there's justification connected with it as well. And again through the blood of Christ. Because it's necessary in in order for us to be comfortable in the presence of God, to understand that we have more than just forgiveness.
Sometimes. Use this illustration. Suppose I broke into Brother Bob's house this evening and I robbed him. And I'm caught down the road with the goods and I'm brought up to the police station and they call Bob and they say, Mr. Tony, we've caught the thief and we'd like you to come down here and lay charges. And so Bob comes down to the police station and he sees who it is and he puts his arm around me and he says, now, Jim, I'm not going to press charges.
I'm going to fully forgive you, and not only am I going to fully forgive you.
But you're welcome at my house anytime. In fact, why don't you come over tomorrow evening and have dinner with me and a nice time and just forget what's happened and I've fully forgiven you. Would I really be comfortable to go over and have dinner at Bob's, or would I ever really be comfortable in his presence again? No. I'd always feel just like a forgiven thief and brethren. We are forgiven sinners, as our verse in Ephesians has brought out.
But we are more than forgiven sinners. We are seen before God in all the perfection of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We've been made the righteousness of God in Him.
When God looks at you, when God looks at me, what does he see? He sees Christ. What is our acceptance? We're accepted in the beloved, and to be justified is to be brought into a position before God where we are seen in all the perfection and acceptance of Christ. Brethren, can we take that in? Do we understand it? It overwhelms us to think about it. But it is the truth of God's word. We're more than just forgiven sinners.
We're redeemed and just by the blood of Christ and justified.
We might just say 2 to clarify some of these expressions that we have in scripture. These words redemption, we sometimes say is to buy back, but that is not really the full thrust of the word redemption.
There's a difference in Scripture, and it's brought out later on in the chapter. But there's a difference in Scripture than being purchased and redeemed. To be purchased is to be bought.
Or even to be bought back, but to be redeemed is to be bought back to be set free.
00:45:05
Later on, it speaks about the redemption of the purchased possession. What is the purchased possession? It's all created things, but all created things have not been redeemed yet in the sense that they're not set free.
This creation is still groaning and travailing under the ******* of sin. The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain, and it's waiting for the that redemption that's coming in a future day. When the Lord Jesus sets this creation free and he reigns supreme in the effects of sin, are not felt in the way that they are now. And so to be redeemed is not only to be bought back, but it's to be bought back, to be set free, the children of Israel.
When they were redeemed by the blood of the Passover lamb.
As we said earlier today, they were not left on the Egypt side of the Red Sea. They were delivered by a mighty hand and set free completely from the ******* of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They were a peculiar treasure to Jehovah. They belonged to him, redeemed and delivered. And brethren, we have not only been purchased by the blood of Christ, but we have been fully set free.
I know we're still here in the presence of sin. Our bodies are waiting for the redemption of the body when we when the Lord Jesus comes. And there's that wonderful change. And we're called away from the presence of sin. But as far as the power of sin we've been per we've been redeemed by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In Hebrews.
Ten we have, and their sins and iniquities Will I remember no more.
Got a record of the number of hairs on my head.
If you could access God's record of my sin, what would you find?
They're not there.
Redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ.
We might mention, too, that as the justification, it has to do with those who are who are capable of sinning in the full light of God's divine testimony.
And and it doesn't necessarily include, say, those who are unresponsible and those who are infants and so forth, but those who are fully capable and guilty before God are the ones who are justified. Is that right?
Yes. And again to go back to the illustration that we used this morning, the the boards of the Tabernacle, which represent individual believers, they were set in two sockets of silver. That's redemption.
But they also were covered with pure gold they were seen in.
God of the righteousness and perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ and as far as those who are do die before the age of responsibility, He came to save that which was lost. But he can't. As far as those who reach the age of responsibility and understand the gospel, he comes to seek and to save that which was lost. And so when that all are redeemed, all are going to be in heaven on the basis of the blood of Christ.
And the work of Calvary, but with those who have reached that age and received the gospel and understand.
Then they're referred to as being justified and in verse eight we find that what we the position that we have in Christianity.
Is comes with intelligence. Mr. Darby translates that that word, prudence, intelligence and brethren. I I think we need to just think about this for a moment, because in the Old Testament there wasn't the intelligence that goes with the light of Christianity.
You know, there were the sacrifices, and the blood of those sacrifices atoned for that sin, and so on.
But the priests and the Levites and the children of Israel who brought those sacrifices?
They didn't really do it as an intelligent service if you had stepped up to the altar in the Old Testament and said to the priest.
Now, why does this have to be offered in the a certain way? Why, just when it's a bird, the head has to be pinched off and the crops and the feathers set aside? And why does this offering have to be filleted in this certain way? And there has to be incense and fire off the golden altar and and and so and so on. What are fire taken and put on the golden elder and from the brazen altar and so on? What? What is the significance? They really couldn't have told you.
00:50:21
They would say this is the way God has ordained it. And we saw what happened to Nadab and Abayu when they violated God's instruction. And there are serious penalties if we don't go along with it. But it wasn't really an intelligent service that they rendered. They didn't have a real understanding of what they were doing. But brethren, we sit here this afternoon. We've gone over these precious things. We've talked about his purpose, about being chosen.
We've talked about being predestinated. We've talked about the the riches of his glory and the riches of his grace and redemption and forgiveness and justification and so on.
Brethren, we have intelligence in divine things. Sonship brings us not only into a dignity of position, but into an intelligence, an intelligent position as as well. And it's a position that was not enjoyed prior to the coming of the spirit of God and Christianity. Oh brethren, what a blessed place we have been brought into.
He's abounded to us in all wisdom and intelligence and we can understand. I know we know in part and we prophecy in part because there are those things that come between and hinder us now.
But brethren, we he's told us all things. We have an unction from the Holy One, and we know all things.
He has given us all wisdom and intelligence.
We need to go ahead. Perhaps we gotta ask a question. And uh, we're talking about the blessings of the heavenly places that a believer in this dispensation has. But when we turn to the 6th chapter, we find that there's all our enemies there too. So uh, it says uh, I just. I'll read that verse. Uh, the 12 first of the 6th chapter, for we wrestle not against blood and flesh, but against principalities.
And powers against powers against the rulers of the darkness of this world.
Against the spiritual wickedness in the Heavenlies. So where we have our privileges, we have the enemies. So maybe someone could define what the heavenlies are and kind of explain this to us.
It's the present position of the believer in the Lord Jesus. We are in a certain way looked at in the three positions in this world.
Of course not of it.
And in a certain way, we're looked at is in the wilderness too, but we are also looked at as.
In the land of Canaan. But Canaan is heavenly is not what we look forward to in the future, but what we.
Uh, I find it to be right now. It is an area of conflict, spiritual conflict. And like we were mentioning a little bit before, the enemy knows he cannot take away our blessings.
But he also knows that he can take away the enjoyment of those blessings, and that is the conflict that we have in chapter 6, and we need to be aware of it. I have noticed, brethren, and.
I don't know how he will work this time, but uh, so many times when we get into the enjoyment of Ephesians chapter one that there is an attack in some way to try.
To dis, uh, distract us and get us worried about things and away from the enjoyment of these things. I remember one time in the Dominican Republic, and enjoying these precious truths and little gathering there is in Rio San Juan in the north of the island.
And I was staying with a brother and he had one room in his house, he had a little store downtown and and we really enjoyed that evening.
This chapter.
At 2:00 in the morning, somebody pounded at his door, he says. Jago, get up. Somebody's robbed your store.
So he gets up, and I watched him as he got up out of the mosquito net and before he went out, there was no rush. He knelt down and prayed.
00:55:07
And then he went out, and he came back maybe about 6:00. I was up by then and I said chuckle, that's terrible. They robbed your store.
He says. Brother, when I think of those wonderful things we were talking about last night, that's nothing. That's nothing. The enemy failed.
To take away from him the enjoyment of that place that is ours in Christ. And that's what the conflict is, brother.
He's going to attack some way. This is an ongoing conflict.
In our spiritual lives.
We are in the heavenlies right now.
Whether we realize it or not, and in the measure that you try to enjoy these spiritual realities, and that's why we try to encourage you to let it sink down into the soul. The fact that we have the forgiveness of sins, how many people wrestle with that? They think they're not totally accepted before God and it takes away their enjoyment and so they can't walk as a Christian ought to walk in the full liberty. That's conflict, brethren.
And there's going to be that. Remember, another place in South America where I was one time and and uh.
We were visiting an older man in his house, I think he said. He was 88 and.
He said to us as we sat down in his home to enjoy a cup of coffee.
He says, Uh, brethren, I ask for the forgiveness of my sins every day of my life.
Went over to Ephesians one and verse.
Canaan, that inheritance and that blessing.
Earthly people, and as you say, it's interesting to note that the real conflict for Israel never began until they crossed the Jordan and went in to take possession of their inheritance. It's true they had a skirmish with Amalek in the wilderness, but the real conflict with for them was when they crossed the Jordan and there were many enemies in the land that sought to keep them from taking possession.
And enjoying what God had for them. And I just want to re echo what Bob said because it's very important.
In the measure in which you and I seek, by grace, to lay hold in our souls and walk in the practical good and enjoyment of what is ours in Christ, the enemy is going to be there in one way or another, to seek to rob us of that enjoyment. It's all ours. But how much do we enjoy? And I'd like to just take a moment and go back to two scriptures in the book of Joshua.
That I think are very helpful and significant in connection with the comments that have been just previously made. The first verse I want to notice is in the 11Th chapter, Joshua Chapter 11.
And verse 23.
So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord had said unto Moses, And Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes, and the land rested from war. Well, Joshua, as we know, is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus, because it was actually Joshua that was raised up as their captain to lead them through the Jordan and into their good of their inheritance.
01:00:07
And here we find that Joshua as a picture of the Lord Jesus, he takes possession of the whole land.
And he secures it as the inheritance for the children of Israel and brethren. That's what we've been talking about.
Our Joshua has taken the whole land, so to speak. He's taken it by the work of redemption, secured it for us and it's ours. He's taken it as an inheritance for his people, for us to enjoy now and for all eternity. But then notice in the 13th chapter.
Chapter 13 And verse one. Now Joshua was old and well stricken in years. And the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, And there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed, you say? I thought Joshua took the whole land. He did. But as far as the practical possessing of it by the children of Israel, there remained at the end of Joshua's life very much land to be possessed.
And, brethren, don't we all? At least I do. I have to hang my head and say that in my Christian experience there remains very much land to be possessed. My Joshua has secured it all. It's all secure in Christ. It's all mine for the taking. But how much of it have I really possessed? How much have I really taken hold of in my soul? Every place that the soul of your foot shall tread upon?
That have I given you for an inheritance.
The Lord had told the children of Israel in the first chapter of the book of Joshua.
But after all those years, they had actually set their foot on very little of what God had for them. And to this day, they have possessed very little. And they will not take full possession until the Lord comes back and puts their enemies down and brings them into that full blessing. But the practical lesson that we learn is it's all been secured. It's all ours. As Bob has been saying, we don't have to ask for it. It's all ours. He secured it.
But the question is how much is left to be possessed by you and me?
Interesting to see in that regard, Jim. Umm. Also, I believe that when the children of Israel were set to go into the land, umm, they were ready to possess it. And they were willing. They had the strength they had, they had the history of God's help for them in crossing the Red Sea and so forth. And so they were no doubt willing and ready. But uh, God didn't allow that, did he? The first thing that happened was they were circumcised.
And they were far from ready to go to war.
And they might say, well why would this why why would God do something like this when we have all this land to possess and and uh we're in no fit condition to do it now. So they read they had to remain there until they were all healed. And I believe we all know that the circumcision is uh is is a type of cutting off of the flesh and that that what we commonly call self judgment and so before we can possess.
These riches that we have and live in the good of them.
We have to realize as we get into Chapter 2 That that it's not a works, lest any man should boast. It's all by grace. And so it wasn't until Joshua met the captain that he realized that God, that it was through through, uh, God's strength and God's grace, that they they could possess that land. And so they had to learn this lesson. And you and I have to learn the lesson that before we can really enter into the good of these things, we have to we have to do with the deal with the flesh, but in US.
Verse eight of our chapter says he's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence or intelligence.
In Spanish, it says he's super abounded.
In all wisdom and intelligence, wonderful brethren.
To learn the truth of God.
There is no one that has a corner on it more than another.
It is for you and I to be diligent in learning it.
To give out there are those who may have a gift in teaching, but to learn it no one is favored above another. We all have this blessing, in that he is abounded toward us in all wisdom and intelligence. And then it goes along with verse 9 having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he had purposed in himself.
01:05:26
So he's open to us, the full councils, what he has in mind, and we are getting close to the end of our meeting here now this afternoon. But verse 10 tells us what those councils are. And somebody has said that verse 10 is a key to the scriptures, What God's eternal purposes are that in the dispensation of the fullness of times at Millennial Day?
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even in Him.
So God has opened up to us the full revelation, those things that were before hidden but now are revealed. We can understand them, brethren. They are opened up to us. And He expects, I guess we could say.
He so, uh, he would, you would think that we would be interested in knowing all those councils.
Of his will.
What a wonderful thing. It's just as if sometime I would, I give this illustration of the president of the United States knocks on your door, brother Vern, and you go to the door and you say, here's the president, he says, Mr. Clark, I've chosen you to be one of my personal confidence and I'm gonna share with you what I have in mind for this country. Say what in the world did he choose me for?
Brother, we're not talking about the president of the United States. We're talking about the God of the universe. And he's opened it up to us. In his word, How much do we understand of the way the world's going today? Do we understand why there's such conflict between Israel and the Arab nations around? There's a reason for it. God is moving the scenes, and if you and I are reading the scriptures, we're gonna understand something. None of us understand that much.
But wouldn't understand something of the mystery of his will. What a wonderful thing that he's opened it up to us.
We should be encouraged to get into the word to understand what he's opened up to us, right? If I could just add one thought to that, uh, with regard to entering into the things that we've had, uh. John 16 and verse 13 says, how be it when he the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. We shall not speak of himself. And so sometimes.
As we take these things up, we kind of feel like we will never come to have these things unfolded to us. Well, we won't, but the Spirit of God will, and He's living in us. He is a part of the Godhead. He has come to dwell within us.
And so we do have that which we need to enter into these things.
That is always by the way of the Spirit of God.
210 One spirit with the lordly light, What power divine doth that sweet word afford?
Forgiveness
Open—L. LaBenne
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.
We have just sung that beautiful hymn.
#140.
O Lord, our hearts are waiting.
The archangels heaven sent cry.
Beloved brethren here today.
The Lord has brought before us through our experience.
That life is only that which we're passing through.
We won't always be here.
We're waiting for that blessed moment for which every other moment was made.
When we're going to gaze into the face.
Of our precious savior.
We're about there. We're going home. Beloved brethren, may the truth of this so speak to our hearts. So grip our hearts that we might have eternity values before us.
Be but before we say anything more.
I would like to turn to the 7th chapter of the Gospel of Luke.
And 1St to read verse 49.
And they that sat at Meat with him began to say within themselves.
Who is this that forgiveth sins also?
May our hearts first dwell upon that blessed that word.
Who Who is this?
Oh yes, who is this on Calvary's throws? Ask for blessing on his foes.
Who is he in deep distress?
Crying in the wilderness, tis the Lord, O wondrous story, tis the Lord the King of glory. And then we have brought before us that he is the one who forgives sins, and this is the thing that one has on his heart today, to speak briefly about the importance, the blessedness, of understanding a little bit of what we learn in God's precious words about forgiveness.
Forgiveness in many precious aspects to our hearts.
You know, I think of the words of chapter Macintosh when he said all the blessedness, transgressions forgiven, Sin covered. This truly is blessedness. And I would just like to mention something here. Beloved brethren, I remember it was approximately 70 years ago.
That I was sitting in a little meeting and her brother was speaking to us about the precious things of Christ.
And in this case I have to tell you, perhaps because my memory is getting more feeble all the time.
But anyway, I've forgotten everything that he said.
But there's something I didn't forget.
And that was his enjoyment of Christ.
His enjoyment of Christ.
And I believe it was a turning point in my life.
And I'm praying today that with each one of us here, that there might be that deep exercise, that Christ may be so written upon our hearts that we might truly see no man save Jesus only.
That we might know something what it is.
To sit at his feet, as Mary did of old. She sat there as a learner. Then we find.
She sat there as a mourner.
And then we find that ** *** sat there.
As a worshiper.
Oh, I've often quoted, and I quoted again those words that were found in dear Brother Darby's Bible, perhaps after he had gone to be with the Lord.
And it goes like this, And so good to be reminded again, Lo, at thy feet, Lord Jesus.
00:05:04
This is the place for me.
Here I have learned deep lessons.
Truth has set me free.
Free from myself, Lord Jesus, free from the ways of men.
Chains of thought that have bound me. Never can bind again.
None but thyself, Lord Jesus.
Conquered this wayward wealth.
But for thy love constraining, I had been wayward still. Can we relate with that beloved brother?
How precious it is to know that we as Job tells us who teacheth like him, that we not only.
Are in the in the school of God, but we're also in the school of a loving father.
Who is weaning us and wounding and wooing us?
From earth to heaven.
And so again I say the desire of the heart of Christ, far more than anyone here could ever feel for each one of us is that Christ might be so written upon our hearts.
That we will return to our own country another way, beloved brother.
You know, I remember. And thinking of the many aspects of forgiveness.
There's a little track that I read many years ago. I don't know if it's available anymore, but it the name of it was forgiveness of sins in three aspects.
I'd like to look at that a little bit, but I'd also like to look at some of the other, uh, ways that we are encouraged in connection with forgiveness. And I tell a little story here of a man that I met.
Some years ago.
In a restaurant.
And he had such a happy smile on his face.
He looked so happy that I went up to him and I said you look very happy. Do you have something to really be happy about?
Do you know Jesus as your savior? And he said, oh, I sure do, and I had the best fellowship with him. And then he told me this. He said, You know, I wasn't always happy.
You see, I'm an accountant and I kept very meticulous records.
Of the wrongs that people had done to me, I had it all alphabetized. I had not only written records, I had them in my computer, and I had so many in my in my mind. And I was on AI was feeling very sorry for myself and I was feeling very angry and I did not have a happy face. But he said the Lord spoke to me.
And then I took those records.
The paper records and I put them in the fire.
And they were all burned up.
I deleted all my files in my computer.
And I asked the Lord to help me to forget.
All those things that I had remembered about other how other people had hurt me.
And he said all the relief, all the joy, the blessedness.
Of leaving all of that behind, of forgetting it and all I think of the precious word of God.
Who that tells us their sins and iniquities?
Well, I remember no more.
In Luke 23.
Verse 34 We read and Jesus said, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. Here we have that blessed One who is a perfect example for us as to the subject of forgiveness.
And then I think of that well known verse that I think we quoted a number of times here.
But so important those words if we confront first John 17, if we confess our sins.
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What does that verse mean?
He's faithful and just to who?
To the Savior, to the Lord Jesus, who there on that cross and how our hearts were stirred this morning and we could say it was good for us to be here. We have seen the Lord. Oh have we truly seen Him, beloved.
00:10:04
Have the things of earth become dim because of the glory of His person, of His grace? But we have seen the Lord, and so we look at that work of Calvary. There were stroke upon stroke of God's holy wrath.
Fell upon that blessed one.
The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Oh, do we begin to enter into what it meant for Him to be made sin for us, the Holy One who knew no sin.
That we might become the righteousness of God in him.
What grace, what infinite love that is. And so there we have it. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And then what? And cleanse us from all unrighteousness?
What a blessed thing it is to know that my sins are gone. They are gone.
They could never come up against me again. They're forever gone. And so I think of Jeremiah.
Who could speak of his compassions that are new every morning of his great faithfulness? And He's with us, beloved brethren, every day He's ever looking down upon us, ever living, to make intercession for us.
That we might be kept, and also when we wander, he restores my soul.
And so we have a Savior who knows everything about us and all beloved brethren here today.
Sometimes I have to be reminded many times.
Of how great that love is.
We had this morning brought before us in the Sunday School. What is the definition of love? I couldn't begin to fathom the depths of that, couldn't begin to but all there's a blessed thing in thinking of how much you are loved, how the Savior is looking down upon you with that great love. He cares about every sorrow.
I would say that as I look into your faces and here I see.
That what I feel in my own heart hearts that are so prone to wander, and hearts that are so easily burdened, and many of us with such deep burdens of such we've been reminded of late those who have suddenly lost loved ones, those who have lost little children, and all Does the Saviours. Does the Saviour care about that? We have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
But was in all points tempted, such as we are sin apart.
He feels what we're going through. And oh, may we feel those blessed arms around us. Beloved brethren, how wonderful it is to see that. You know, I'm reminded of something here too. There are perhaps many of you knew this, but you know the many times that maybe many of us have gone through the word of God and read it. We read it again when we find something else that is so special and new to us may be well known to the brother sitting next to me. And this may be the case as I present this.
And it's this in three books.
Of the Word of God, the very last.
A verse in each of these three books we read something that is most profound and blessed. First, in the book of Galatians we read the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ Be with Thy Spirit.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.
And then in second Timothy, the very last verse.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.
And again in Phile Philemon.
The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit, and grace be unto you. Grace is mentioned in all three.
Unmerited favor, O beloved brethren, as we deal with one another.
Are we willing to give up and to forget every wrong and remember that we are those who have been redeemed at such a cost of how much we have been forgiven and if we would always see one another from the tops of the rocks?
How blessed it would be. And so that is why the Savior has for us. And so we read in in Ephesians 4.
Verse 31. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking would be put away from you with all malice. But I'm thinking of the next verse, especially here, and be kind one to another.
00:15:06
Tender hearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake.
Has forgiven you. Think of these words even as God for Christ's sake, has forgiven you.
All what love there will be if we see one another through the eyes of Christ, our brother, for whom Christ has died.
That verse that I was thinking of in First Corinthians 13, I believe it's verse five. It says in one translation. Maybe it was in the maybe somebody could help me. I don't remember where I saw this. Maybe it was in the margin. But love does not keep a record of wrongs. We've spoken to that and how good that is.
But I'd like to read a little more in the seventh chapter of the book of UH of Luke and here, verse 37. And behold, a woman in the city which was a Sinner when she knew that Jesus sat at meeting the Pharisees house, Uh brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears and to wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet.
And anointed them with ointment.
I'm reading this to get a little bit of the background here first. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself saying this man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that touched him, for she is a Sinner.
To go on.
Surely as we get into the presence of God, we realize.
That we're not simply 50 percent $0.50 pence debtors, but 500 pence debtors.
Well, we'll read on and see what we're talking about here.
Jesus asked, and said to him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee, And he says, Master, say on have we felt in these wonderful days of these meetings that we've had together?
That the Lord Jesus has said, I have somewhat to say unto thee.
Well, we find it here.
The Lord is saying there was a certain creditor which had two debtors, the one owed 500 pence and the other 50, and when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.
Tell me, therefore, which of them?
Will love him most.
Excuse me for a moment while I take a little drink of water here.
He frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most?
Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I have entered into thine house. Thou gavest me no water for my feet. But she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
All these verses are worth many hours of meditation. There's so much for us that we don't have time. I want to be brief as I can.
But how good they are. Verse 45. Thou gave us me no kiss, but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet, my head with oil, thou didst not anoint.
But this woman?
Hath anointed my feet with ointment.
Wherefore, I say unto you, her sins which are many, are forgiven.
For she loved much.
But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
And he said unto her, Thy sins be forgiven thee.
And again that 49th verse, and they sat at me with him, began to say within themselves, who is this that forgives sins also?
MMM, there's something very interesting to notice here.
She did not receive forgiveness of sins because she loved much. That's not what we read, and as we look at the context here, we we will realize that.
00:20:04
She loved much because her sins were forgiven.
And how blessed it is when we see ourselves. I often think of Job when he got into the presence of the Lord. And he said, might I see a sea?
And I abhor myself and repent and dust and ashes we when we get into His holy presence, we get a little picture of what we really are.
I think also the 17th chapter of Luke and just read a few things here. At verse three it says take heed to yourselves. If thy brother should sin, rebuke him, and if he should repent, forgive him. And if he should sin against thee 7 times in the day, and seven times should return to these saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him.
Oh, we wait for that very next time, don't we? Sometimes. And then we hear this thought too. Sometimes. Well, I've forgiven him, but I can't forget.
But isn't it wonderful that the Lord has chosen not to remember? And so I think of the verse that was on the calendar the other day that so spoke to my heart and my conscience. It's this fret not thyself because of evil doers, how often our hearts are troubled because we're looking at things down here.
All they looked unto him, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed. And looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith.
And we see, Jesus, how many verses there are that bring before us the importance of having our vision on that blessed one. And as we mentioned the other day, how beautiful it was when that dear brother said, if you knew the exhibition I had before my soul, you'd have never asked me to go and see the exhibition to see what this world can boast about in their accomplishments.
The vision before our souls, beloved brethren, is coming, glory and all. May we so have eternities, values before us that these things down here will have. We'll see them in a right perspective. Well, I'd like to go on a little bit. I'm thinking of. Uh uh.
The uh, subject here of uh, Forgiveness of sins and three aspects. And they're so important. There's a lovely story in that little tract and I'll try to tell her this briefly as I can. Uh, it was so helpful and and as correctly as I can, I might add. But we find first eternal forgiveness and that is what we've been talking about in connection with salvation, The salvation of our souls and the next one is restorative forgiveness. We've gotten away from our Lord.
And that's why we sin, isn't it?
And then the third one is governmental forgiveness.
And so we have UH, in Ephesians chapter one. We've had this before us. We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
And in Hebrews we read but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sin.
Sins forever sat down at the right hand.
Of God. There was a father of a large family who lived on an orchard.
And well, I think it was 10 children that he had. And he told his children, you've got lots of room in this large amount of land that we have to run around and enjoy yourselves and have a good time and partake of the fruit of the orchard and play games together and do what little children do. And incidentally, we see the little children sometimes running around here after sitting and listening to a meeting for a long time, and it's so delightful to our hearts to see them here.
Oh, let the little children come unto me, the Lord says.
And I think of Zechariah Chapter 8, where we read of little children playing in the streets. This is what little children are designed to do. And then it speaks of the old men. They're sitting. And I like to think they're enjoying watching these little ones as they're doing what God gave them to do. And so how lovely it is to have the little ones here. I know it's sometimes embarrassing to the parents. They feel a little uncomfortable and the children make a little noise. But all I think of the heart of Christ in connection with that, he loves these little ones.
But anyway, to go on with the story here.
The father expresses his desire. Children, I want you to stay within the confines of the uh fence that surrounds the property and don't even get near the edge of it.
But there was one of the sons who became curious, and he would edge closer and closer to the.
00:25:01
To the fence line and he would get up there where he could look over the fence and he saw the young men and children that were playing on the other side of the fence and he was starting to envy them a little bit.
And so, little by little, he became more and more interested. And you know it. It reminds me of something that's so important for us.
How easy it is and how subtly we can get away from the Lord in our souls because of the cares of life.
Innocent things to begin with. Little by little we're attracted to those things of this world. This world is still crying out. Away with him. Will not have this man to reign over us.
Little by little.
Things seem good, the pleasures of sin for a season and we start following those things. We start following those things which are the dictates of our own wicked hearts and we're soon taken away. That happened with this young man. I believe his name was Walter. And Walter he went, he went over the fence and he goes downtown and there's a big fight that is going on downtown and there's a rock throwing. And Walter picked up a rock too. He was with them in this. He'd gotten so far away from the love of his father and.
Of his home and the happiness he had there.
He threw a rock in it went through a merchant's window.
Perhaps some of you are familiar with the story?
And things are broken. There's quite a bit of damage that's done.
And soon the father gets a call from the police station and says, we have your son.
He is guilty of a crime and.
There's a great death that he has incurred because of his.
Bad actions because of his sinful actions, I might add that.
And so will father with a broken heart.
He goes down to the police station.
And he said, what would it take? How much would it cost?
To pay that debt in full.
And now I'm gonna add something to this because I think it was the heart of Christ in connection with this.
Let's say he paid the debt in full.
But let's say he paid the the debt a million times over. What's the cost was?
He fully paid that debt.
The sun is now free.
He doesn't have to stay in prison, you might say. He's been saved. He's been born again.
He's come to Christ.
And now the sun is taken home.
And so he goes up to his room and.
He comes down the next day and wants to eat with the rest of the family and the father, said son.
You know the debt is paid. You're my son. I love you very much.
But there's some things that I want to come home to you. We don't have any happy communion with each other anymore.
How important, beloved brethren, is communion with the Lord to us? How precious is it to our heart?
To be in fellowship with the Lord Jesus.
Well, the sun stays up in his room and 1St he's troubled by it.
And then his brother came down and said.
Father, that Walter wants to speak to you.
And so Walter comes down and says.
Father.
And he pours out his heart how I was not listening. I did not respect what you had to say.
All the sorrow I often think of that verse.
Sin is a reproach to any people.
How many I've seen, young and old, who have chosen a path of their own well, And I've watched the disappointment. I've watched the heartbreak. I've watched the broken lives.
All because I wanted my own will.
I wanted to do what was pleasing to me.
But what a blessed place it was that this young Walter came to. He confessed it all to his father. He owned his disrespect. He owned his hardness of heart. He owned how the focus of the of the things of the world had so captured his heart.
And so now we find a picture of of a sun that has been restored. Now he's there together and he's eating with the family and he's enjoying.
00:30:03
A happy time with the family together. Then the time comes out when all the children are gonna go out and UH and play.
And so Walter gets up to go out and father says Walter, Uh, you can't go out and play with the rest of them yet.
And have we not known something of the government of God, governmental forgiveness?
And so Walter is told that he cannot go out and play in the Orchard with the rest of them.
And he first he's unhappy about it. I thought I was forgiven. I thought the debt was paid an old son it is. It's paid. We're we're we're enjoying each other's company. We're restored. But.
God often allows us to feel something of his government. Why?
Is it in sternness? Oh, it's because of his love.
That he woos and he wings us.
From this earth.
Well, Walter goes on.
And soon learns his lesson and he submits to his father.
He does his schoolwork and gets high grades.
He obeys his father in what he wants him to do.
And soon, the father says. Now you can go out and play.
And may I pardon the personal reference.
But two years ago, on June 24th.
I had a very serious accident.
And I learned soon after that I was being sued for $1,000,000.
And I have to confess.
I knew the Lord was speaking to me.
The Lord is speaking to Me, and I would read those verses, cast thy burden upon the Lord.
And he shall sustain.
I cast my burden on the alarm, but then I take it back.
Cast my burden on the Lord and take it back again.
All the unbelief.
And realize that a loving father was allowing me in his school.
To learn a lesson, I won't tell you that I've learned a lesson.
I hope that maybe.
It's going that direction at least.
But it came to the point where it seemed as though the Lord was saying.
That he loves me and he loves each of you.
More than you could ever love yourselves. He loves you, your children, more than you could ever love them.
And more than that, he never makes a mistake.
I love that little hymn that says be not dismayed what ere betide.
God will take care of you.
The Lord will often bring us to a point where.
We can at least look at it a little bit and.
Thy will be done.
Perhaps a little bit of that.
I wouldn't boast of that. I hoped there was a little of that. It came to the day.
It happened to be the June 18th, that was the day that Richard.
Was suddenly taken home.
So on that same day.
That I received a letter saying.
That everything has been resolved. The man who who was suing you was fraudulent. He was doing this kind of thing for a living.
And he got found out.
Even for him, be sure your sin will find you out.
But what a lesson, and I'm sure that each one of you could probably tell a similar story.
And where you've felt your emptiness, well, what is God doing in all these things?
He's loosening. I'm using the old expression I've heard so many years ago. He's loosening our tent pegs.
He's making us realize more that we're only on a journey. We're not here to stay, we're just passing through.
And it makes me think.
Of this blessed portion in the 16th chapter of the Book of Psalms.
Where we read first of all in that first verse a prayer that should be the prayer of everyone of us every day of our lives.
Preserve me, O God.
For indeed do I put my trust.
Or may that come from our.
There are some blessed things for us to notice in connection with that. First of all, it expresses our great need.
00:35:08
Not that spirit of.
Self-sufficiency.
But there's something more.
For in thee do I put my trust.
I love the remark that I used to hear so many years ago.
Sin and sorrow spring from unbelief of the goodness that is in the heart of God, the goodness that is in in his heart, and it's the goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance all how the Lord would bring us into.
Fellowship with himself, he restoreth my soul.
But there's more than that. You go down and it's the last verse, 11 verses in that.
16th chapter of the Book of Psalms. You can look it up.
We read those words in Thy presence is fullness of joy.
At thy right hand pleasures forever no more. What a comfort these words have been to many who have been bereaved of loved ones, and I think of it in that way too. It has to do with His blessed presence. But I'd like to think of it another way as well this morning as we gathered around himself. Or may we ever treasure such a privilege that God has given us.
Gathered around himself with his presence there, we feel his presence. Perhaps that's what led some to read such beautiful verses. We spoke much of the Lamb of God. We started with that.
And the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.
Oh, what a subject. No subject, so glorious as he. No theme so affecting to us.
You know, I would just like to look at something here before I close with this. That beautiful hymn #103 is enjoying it earlier. Uh, we. It starts out. We'll we'll sing of the shepherd that died, that died for the sake of the flock. His love to the utmost was tried, yet firmly endured as a rock when blood from a victim must flow. This shepherd by pity was led to stand between US and the foe and willingly died in our stead.
Our song then forever shall be.
Of the shepherd.
Who gave himself thus?
No subject so glorious as he, no thing so affecting to us of him and His love, while we sing His praises, our tongues shall employ.
Till heavenly anthems we reign, and Yonder bright regions of joy loveth the way a dear brother used to put it. That scene of coming glory that is before us is the moment for which every other moment was made.
Everything you've been through in life. And I love this little hymn too that says it will be worth it all. When we see Jesus, life's trials will seem so small. When we see price one look at his dear face all sorrow will erase. So gladly run the race till we see Christ.
If just one look at his blessed face well, forever remove every sorrow of this earth.
We could ever know what will the sun sign of His presence prove, what the unmingled fullness of His love throughout all eternity.
Or may our hearts get a hold of this and of what a future we have.
Not only to be with Christ, but to be like him.
To be like him for all eternity. And is it so? I love that hymn.
I shall be like thy son. Is this the grace that he for me has won? And so on, and then it then that verse end.
Thy love hath not its rest. Were thy redeemed not with thee fully blessed. This has brought up beautifully in that 140th hymn that we've just sung as well.
The Father is satisfied. The son is in happy fellowship.
And all I think of a shepherd's heart beloved today.
And I'm thankful for everything I have learned as being one who from my.
Oh, I think 75 years ago.
Sitting there in the meeting, not knowing too much was going on, is probably about.
00:40:02
See, I've been four or five years, 5-6 years old.
It was about at that age, but sitting there.
When I had to get up to say my verse in the class and we think of the little children and what memories there are, and may I just say this about all that. It's wonderful to look back on those times. I'm thankful for such a privilege.
Of the heritage that I have.
How many of us here can join me in that?
I'm sure that most if not all.
But all what a day it will be.
When we're up there in glory and remember all the way that the Lord has LED us these many years.
O beloved brethren, again feebly expressed, but may the Spirit of God.
So speak to my heart and to each one of us here, that we might truly have a new glimpse of the Savior and the things of earth will truly grow strangely dim. We've often heard the story about the little girl who had a a doll that was really ragged and falling apart. And it was so dirty, it was so messed up. And and whatever they tried to do to get it away from her, she would just try. Oh, I want my little my little raggedy Dolly.
But then someone thought of this. They brought her a brand new beautiful little doll, little cloth doll, and she uh they she looked at it and her eyes lit up.
And she dropped the other doll, and she picked up for that. And what made me think of this? What has stripped the seeming beauty from the idols of the earth?
Not the sense of right or duty.
Mr. Seitz.
Of peerless worth.
O May our eyes be open to see more.
Of the beauty of Jan. Lovely man. Where are we gonna find it?
May there be that diligence with me and with each of us in the region of his precious word.
There will find it. Then we can stir up our pure minds by way of remembrance, and have these precious things brought home to our hearts, to our souls. The things of Christ. And you can't read His word. How lovely without being blessed, blessed beyond and and we've enjoyed so much the the that which was impressed upon us. We don't ask for blessings. They are ours.
And I thought of this as things were being said about these blessings.
You know there's a hymn that says count your many blessings. Name them one by one.
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. But now if you sit down, you know, with computers, you can do a lot of things faster than you can just writing on paper, like our dear older brother had to do when we have gotten this precious ministry.
Ministry and all. I would encourage you to read Sound Ministry.
Knowing of whom thou hast learned them to read that which has been proven, that which is of God. Maybe be diligent in this too, and thank God for the help that he has given us in these things.
This way.
We will be searching the heights and the depths of that love. We'll be learning and ask through learning as to how to learn the word of God.
I've often thought of it this way.
There is one teacher.
And it it'll never make us a problem.
When we're sitting at his feet.
That place, that posture of sitting there at the feet of our Savior.
As He speaks to us, as He teaches us from His blessed word, may our hearts be encouraged. Beloved brethren, we've got the glory before us.
Our future could not possibly be brighter than it is. It is. And to quote another God.
Could not give us more and he would not give us less.
He's given us all things even in this life that pertain unto him life and godliness.
Oh, May God bless these thoughts to our hearts each one, beloved brothers.
How Much God Loves You
Gospel—R. Thonney
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.
Ecclesiastes.
Chapter 12.
Read the very last verse of this book of Ecclesiastes.
For God shall bring.
Every work into judgment with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.
Hebrews Chapter 4.
And verse 12.
For the word of God is living.
And powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.
Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight.
But all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
Romans, chapter 14.
Verse 10.
The middle of the verse.
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat.
Of Christ, for it is written as I live, saith the Lord.
Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.
I have a little bit of trouble standing up here at such a distance from you all.
So I asked for a mic that could.
I could distance myself from the podium.
It is so tremendously important.
That we understand.
That we have to do with God.
You don't have to do with me.
So nobody is scared of Maine.
But it is important that you understand the message.
It's necessary for me to come down to get your attention off this platform and come up into the stadium.
Or the seats?
I may do that.
Just want you to listen.
We have to do with God.
And God is.
A being who is intrinsically holy.
And so there is no way that we can escape the question of our sins before God. You have to face the question that you are a Sinner. I have to face that question as well. We cannot avoid it.
Young people, children that have been brought to meetings.
To hear the gospel.
I was brought to meetings to hear the gospel, and I heard it from my youth on.
And I learned in time that even though I was raised in a Christian home.
That I had to do with God myself about my sins. Yes, my mom and dad were believers in the Lord Jesus.
And they taught me those things, and I didn't doubt them. But the time came when I realized that I had to make it personal.
And I had to accept him, the Lord Jesus Christ, as my own.
Personal savior. I'm not just so sure that everybody here has done that.
And that's why I am concerned.
We have to do with God.
Everyone of us before God.
00:05:00
Has sinned. Sin is rebellion against God.
It is lawlessness. Scripture tells us it is doing your own thing.
Is the spirit of the age that I'm going to do what I like to do and nobody better judge me for it?
But I want to tell you that you have to do with God, and you may escape your parents.
You may escape your brethren. You may escape all those that you are accountable to here in this world.
You will not escape your God.
But God has shown himself to be, and this is the wonderful news of the gospel.
A savior God for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, O what a God he is.
And O how he has sacrificed to make possible your salvation and mine.
God takes sins seriously and it is scary to me.
To see the increasing lawlessness that there is in our country here.
It is something that is worldwide the problem.
Not only in the United States.
In Europe, in Asia, I heard not too long ago, even in a place like Iran where they profess the different religion.
They say set one out of every seven people in that country.
Are serious drug addicts because there's such an emptiness in their souls. They haven't found the answer. And it's tragic to think that here in the United States, where so much of the gospel has been preached, that there could be a person that has never really heard the message.
Members hearing the testimony of a man who was a criminal who had a number.
Of homicides to his account and he had been condemned.
To die for his crimes.
But before he died, he heard the gospel. He was about 35 years of age.
And he said before he died, you know, 35 years I passed in this country.
And before that person told me the message of the gospel I never.
Hearing the message.
Is it possible? You know what?
I see sometimes kids sitting in meeting and they are occupied with other things.
I don't know if you're listening. Maybe you are. But it is so vital that you listen not so much to me, but to what God has to say. And you've heard in this word tonight that we have read that it says that we are accountable to God.
God has made us responsible moral agents.
And you cannot escape having to do with God.
Every single sin that has ever been commanded.
Committed on planet Earth, will receive from the hand of God.
It's just punishment.
Every single human being that has ever been born.
Must meet their Creator in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You cannot avoid it. People like to deny accountability.
But the scripture is very clear that you cannot avoid it.
But God is a savior God, and God has sent his own beloved Son into this world.
The Lord Jesus Christ came here to seek.
And to save the lost He's interested in you. He wants to save you.
From your sins and from their consequences.
And so the Lord Jesus Christ, as a human being, came into this world.
And was born in a place called Bethlehem.
Oh, the marvel of it.
There he was brought into this world, the Creator of the universe.
00:10:05
You know, the majority of people in this world had no clue that the God of the universe had entered his own creation.
Now the angels must have been marveling that night.
As they were out there and they saw for the very first time their creator.
Mary, his mother wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in the Manger, because there was no room for him in the inn.
You know, it's interesting. Just got done with the World Cup and the celebrations that take place when the World Cup is played.
And one I was in 1994 in Bolivia with my family.
In the southern city of Dermejo.
And it was the time when Brazil won the World Cup.
And even though we were in Bolivia.
There was such celebration in Bolivia that it had the World Cup had been won by South America.
That for three solid hours there were heavy fireworks going off.
I mean heavy. That really hurts your ears.
They celebrated the winning of the World Cup in South America.
When the creator of the universe came into this world, was there one firecracker that went off?
Nobody seemed to know, even though the scriptures had told where he was to be born.
And more or less the time frame that he was to be born, they had no clue.
Even the religious people that had the word of God in their hands and that could answer the questions.
Didn't have a clue that he had come.
You have the word of God in your hands. Do you know Jesus?
So the Lord Jesus came into this world.
Basically unknown. There were a few that recognized him.
There are six names of people.
That did know him.
And there must have been a few more, because a widow called Anna talked to him.
To all those who looked for redemption in Israel, that the Lord Jesus grew up.
In general.
Poverty.
He never had anything to his name down here, never records that he had his own house.
It never records that he had any animal to ride on as he went through this world.
The Lord Jesus had come from the Father's house, and there was nothing in this world that could attract.
Him, since he had known what the joys of the Father's house were.
And then came toward the end of his 33 1/2 years of life.
He was taken before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor.
And condemned unjustly to the death of the Christ.
The worst death. You study the ways of execution.
That took place through the course of history. I don't think there is any way of execution that equaled the awfulness of crucifixion.
It is interesting to read about it, but people that were crucified sometimes lasted.
234, and sometimes the most strongest, would last even up to five days before they died.
Was the most awful and excruciating time to come.
Why did Jesus choose to come in that time frame? Because he wanted you to know just how much he loved you.
He wanted you to know how much he was willing to suffer so that you could be saved from your sins.
And so the time came when they let him out of the city of Jerusalem. His back had been whipped by that Roman scourge.
His head was crowned with thorns. His face was disfigured with the blows of the Roman soldiers.
00:15:01
And though they took him outside that city of Jerusalem, and they led they.
Stretched out those wonderful hands that had dispensed such blessing in life, and they nailed him to a cross his feet, and there he was lifted up.
Between heaven and earth to hang until he died.
Oh, what an awful, awful crime. And so we know from the testimony of Scripture that he was crucified about.
9:00 in the morning, and he died about 3:00 in the afternoon. For six hours he was hanging there on those nails through his hands and his feet for the first three hours.
Min heaped scorn and ridicule on him. They spit on him.
Not only did he suffer physically, but there were the sufferings of his soul, the reproach.
That broke his heart, he said. I look for some to take pity, and there was none.
And for comforters, but I found none.
They said he said he was the Son of God. If he is the Son of God, let God deliver him now.
For he said he was the Son of God.
Did God deliver?
No, didn't deliver him.
Why not?
Didn't God love his Son?
You know why not?
The reason is for God. Southern loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten son. He loved you and he loved me.
Just that much that he was willing to give.
His own beloved Son.
We've talked about the suffering of the first three hours on the cross.
But I want to say, the suffering of those first three hours on the cross could only condemn us because that's the way humankind had reacted when their Creator came into this world, when they could get their hands on Him, they did.
Their absolute worst and those sufferings could only condemn us.
But I want to tell you about the sufferings that he suffered when it became dark at 12 noon to three in the afternoon. Let me read you a verse in Second Corinthians chapter 5.
That tells us what those sufferings were about.
In the last three hours of darkness.
That were so awful that no human eye could contemplate what was taking place.
Two Corinthians. 521 for he.
God hath made him Jesus.
To be sin for.
Who knew no sin?
That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
In those three hours of darkness.
God.
Made him suffer there.
Why? Because if there was going to be any hope for you and me.
Somebody had to pay the account that had accrued against us for our sins.
God is holy and God Forgives, but he says he is going to forgive.
Somebody has to pay the price.
Jesus knew no sin. In other words, he was completely holy.
When Mary was told that she was going to be the mother of the Lord Jesus.
She was told that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
He was completely holy.
No sin in him.
Because he was God and because he was holy humanity to.
There he hung the Holy One of God, And when God clouded the scene with darkness.
00:20:03
On that cross for three hours is when God took.
Our sins and laid them on Jesus, and then took the rod of his judgment and punished Jesus.
The full force of divine judgment fell in all its fury on the hand of the Lord Jesus.
God takes sin seriously.
He cannot take it any other way.
You know, we even as Christians, sometimes don't take sins seriously.
The verse was read this afternoon.
That God says to the believer in the Lord Jesus.
Their sins and their iniquities I will remember.
No more. When it says it like that, you know what it means.
It means that one time God remembered every one of those sins.
As Jesus was hanging there on that cross, not one was forgotten.
As God remembered those sins and laid them one by one on, and the full fury of divine judgment, that must be satisfied, so that you and I could have forgiveness of sins.
That judgment fell in all its fury on Jesus.
For three solid hours, he hangs there.
There is no sound from that Sinner cross.
From that suffering savior.
But at the end.
The 9th hour or 3:00 in the afternoon, there's a cry.
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
The God that had been his strength and stay.
The God whose will he did to the utmost, forsake him there.
To pay the price of our redemption.
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him.
And with his stripes.
We are healed.
Then he cried.
It is finished.
All that judgment that was rightly against us is guilty sinners.
Was paid for in full by the Son of God.
On that cross somebody has put it this way.
And I think it's beautiful to think about it.
Many sacrifices were offered in the Old Testament time.
Many one sacrifice of peace offering that Solomon offered.
At the dedication of the temple consisted of.
22,000 oxen.
And 120,000 sheep.
Did they ever settle the question of sin?
Never.
They only pointed ahead to another sacrifice.
But when Jesus hung there, that judgment.
Was consumed by the sacrifice in all the other cases.
The sacrifices were consumed by the flames.
But in this case, the sacrifice consumed the judgment.
There is therefore now no condemnation, no judgment to them that are in Christ Jesus.
Oh, how wonderful to know that.
The work of Christ on the cross is finished. It is finished.
And then he bowed his head.
And said further into thy hands I commit my spirit.
And he died.
The creator of the universe.
Made man.
00:25:00
Died as the price of our redemption.
What an awful, awful cost.
Yes, God takes sin seriously.
You may say I haven't seen that bad.
But you know, one lie is sufficient.
To hold you out of that celestial city for all eternity.
You will never enter there if your soul is stained.
With just one single lie.
God takes sin seriously.
After Jesus died, a soldier pierced his side.
And outflowed blood and water.
You know Jesus.
Suffered many wounds in his body.
And I'm sure that blood flowed out of those wounds.
But it never speaks about the blood that flowed out of any other wound.
But then one.
The one that was made in his side after he died.
Outflowed blood and water. Why is that important?
Because that wound showed that he had given the ultimate price he had paid for our sins with his own life. His precious blood was shed to seal it, that there was no more life in that body hanging dead.
On the cross?
Oh, what a price was paid.
Yes, God takes sin seriously.
After three days, Jesus rose from the dead.
And after another 40 days.
Of showing himself.
Alive he is with his disciples. At one time he appeared to 500 rather than at once.
No question that Jesus rose from the dead bodily.
Yes.
They handled him. He ate and drank with them after his resurrection.
He is a living man.
And after 40 days of being with his disciples down here.
One day outside the city of Jerusalem to the east.
The Mount of Olives. He was there with his disciples, and he was carried up into heaven.
There is a man in the glory of God.
Oh, what joy it is to be able to tell it.
Look up into the glory. There's a man sitting there.
In highest glory.
A man of flesh and bones.
In the glory of God, and it is because of his presence there.
That we can say to everyone that believeth you shall.
Obtain forgiveness of sins through faith.
In his name.
We ask that if you haven't done so yet, that you would repent of your sins.
And believe in the Lord Jesus. You know, repentance is important. Sometimes we think we're not that bad.
And you know what?
We need to repent.
I remember that in my own case.
Sorry, I've been brought up in a Christian home and not exactly that bad. I haven't gotten out on the messy side of life.
I had to repent.
I am just as bad as the worst criminal in the United States of America.
No deference, God's word said, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And those sins of yours have to be accounted for. They will be accounted for.
We can't force you to accept the Lord Jesus as your savior.
But we can tell you that there is no other way.
Of being saved from the judgment that's to come.
And we have to mention that before we.
Get to the end of this meeting.
There is judgment to come.
God is a righteous God. And if you refuse to accept.
00:30:04
The way of salvation that God has so graciously provided to all mankind without any exception.
Whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely.
You can come tonight, right there where you're sitting, you can open your heart.
And accept Jesus as your savior.
To them that received him, he gave the right to become the sons of God.
To them that believe on his name.
But if you choose not to accept that offer of mercy that God is making.
Today, you must be accountable still for your sins.
And if you refuse that, you will appear before God in judgment.
The judgment day is getting close.
There are indications in this world.
That we are getting down to the wire.
The Lord Jesus said before he left this world. I will come again.
And we who are believers are expecting him at any moment.
You say, Oh, you're just a small group of Christians.
But it is a joy for me to tell you.
That majority of Christians in the world still hold to.
The pre tribulation Rapture of Christians at one moment to the next.
All who are true believers are going to disappear from this world.
That would happen at this moment. Are you going to be left sitting there?
The judgment of God.
I plead with you.
To think it.
Says the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout.
With the voice of the Archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever.
Be with the Lord. That's what we're expecting to happen at any moment.
But at that part of his second coming, Jesus is coming only to the clouds, and he's going to catch away.
All those who are real believers.
After that, Jesus is going to come back to set his feet down on planet Earth.
Because no one is going to escape meeting with Jesus.
Every one of us must give account of himself to God, and if you do not accept what Jesus has done on the cross to save your soul, you yourself will give an account to God in the coming day.
There are two major judgments in Scripture that I want to point out just before we close this meeting.
One is the judgment of the living.
And the other is the judgment of the dead.
You will not escape even if you die and your body is buried.
You will not escape. You must meet with Jesus.
You cannot escape him.
Oh, how we plead with you to come to the Lord Jesus in saving faith tonight, if you haven't done that yet.
Young people, children, think about it, come to grips with it. It's a matter, it's a personal matter that you yourself must face.
Want to read then in?
The Judgment of the Living. When that takes place. There are many verses that we could read, but I'd like to read in the Book of Revelation.
Chapter 19 How it's Going to Happen When Jesus Comes Back Again to This World.
Because he is going to come.
Remember we said that he went back to heaven from the Mount of Olives?
That's the very place where his feet are gonna touch down again.
On this world, the Mount of Olives.
Let's read here in Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11.
I saw heaven opened.
And behold, a White Horse.
And he that sat upon him was called.
Faithful and true and in righteousness he doth judge.
And make war? Isn't that solemn?
00:35:01
He's going to make war. You know why?
Because this world still hates him.
Been over to.
Europe number of times these last few years.
Especially visiting Spain.
They tell me that Spain.
Approximately 50% of the people are atheists.
When you mention God, it's like you said a dirty word to those people. They hate us so bad.
One time I was there and I saw a man who was selling lottery tickets.
And as I went by his little table, I left a little gospel paper on his table.
And I walked on.
He came running after me, he says. Sir, Sir, take this, I don't want it.
He could have thrown it away, but he wanted me to understand that he hated it.
Dean Rule, who lives in Ecuador, goes to Europe quite often.
Especially to the country of Holland.
Because he's connected with flower growers.
And exporting flowers to Europe.
Said that in the country of Holland.
100 years ago.
97% of people were found in churches on a Sunday.
Today it is only 3%.
People have turned away from God.
And there is a man.
Quite probable that he is alive in the world today.
That when Jesus comes out of heaven.
As we have read here, is going to get his armies together to fight against Jesus.
That's why it says in righteousness he doth judge.
And make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns.
And he had a name written that no man knew but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood and his name.
Is called the Word of God and the armies which are in heaven.
Followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
And out of his mouth gaut a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations.
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron.
And he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness.
And wrath of almighty God, and he hath on his vesture, and on his thigh name written.
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. And I saw an Angel standing in the sun.
And he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven. Come, and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God.
That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses.
And of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men both free and bond, both small and great.
And I saw the beast that's this man that's going to go against Jesus when he comes out of heaven.
And the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war.
Against him that sat on the horse, and against his army, and the beast was taken.
And with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he had deceived them, that had received the mark of the beast.
And that worship his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, with whose sword proceedeth out of his mouth.
And all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
No, friend, if you refuse Jesus, you will meet him when he comes.
To execute judgment. And without any question, the judgment that's just ahead for planet Earth is the worst judgment that has ever fallen on this planet. Oh, how we plead with you to get right with God.
Our time is gone, I meant to mention. Read the verses concerning the Great White Throne judgment.
When this world will be at an end?
Going to disappear and all that's left in space is a great white throne and him that sits on it.
00:40:00
From whose face the heaven and the earth fled away?
And the dead are raised to stand before him. No, you will not escape, even though you die.
Even though you have your body burned and your ashes scattered, you will not escape.
He's gonna call you back in resurrection to stand before God.
And to be judged. And it says, Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast.
Into the lake of fire, and as a soul it stands there, because all those who stand there will be condemned to a lost eternity for having rejected the Lord Jesus as their savior. And as they are cast into the lake of fire, as light fades into eternal, everlasting darkness, the last face they see will be the face of Jesus sitting on that throne, the one who died so they wouldn't have to go to that awful end.
Where do you stand with Jesus?
We plead with you.
To think about it seriously, to not put off one moment more receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour.
For if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved. Let's pray, Father.
Love
Children—D. Hallowell
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.
Yeah, 3943.
OK, who else would like to sing?
OK, Jesus loves the little children. Well, that isn't on the hymn sheet, but we know it, I think, so we can sing it.
Jesus wants the little children.
All my children.
OK, who else has one? They like to think.
OK. Maybe one more. OK.
350.
No, we Can't Sing that one.
Let's try another one, sorry.
OK.
00:05:03
41 OK, that is one of my favorite hymns.
But let's ask God for his help.
Fighting her father.
We just thank thee for each one of these children and each one that is here this morning.
We pray for help.
That thou wouldst give words from thyself.
And ears to hear.
And that the Spirit of God would take the seed of the word of God and.
'Cause it to grow in each heart.
And that the Lord Jesus would be glorified. We just commit the time to thee and give thanks in Jesus precious name.
Amen. Well, how many? Uh, how many?
Have you learned a verse and would like to say it? You know, there's a lot of children here this morning, so I'm not going to.
Make everybody say the verse, But if you'd like to, we would be very glad to hear it.
I'm gonna get a a microphone.
So who would like to say the verse?
OK.
Yes. OK, so it's not thyself, it's tomorrow. For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. Proverbs 27 one.
OK, Kevin.
I was not myself of tomorrow for though, no.
Very good. OK, Paul.
OK, Would would you like this hat?
Let's see.
OK, what? What verse did you learn?
He don't believe it's not the sun. Believe it's not the sun.
00:10:02
Shall not be heard.
3/6.
OK, Who else? OK.
He that believeth on the sun have everlasting life. He that believeth not the sun shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 336.
Very good. OK.
He that breathes on the sun shall have.
Have everlasting life.
He played with my son.
Shana.
Chinav.
But the wrath was gone. Providers on him.
June 336.
Sure. Let's say it just finished.
Nicole, you're so Y Camino la verdad Y da Vida navya muna fabric Napoleon quadrasi, says. Jesus said to him, I'm the way, the truth in life. No man cometh to the bathroom. But by me, John.
4/14/16 Very good. Thank you.
OK. Does anybody else want to say it? OK.
Please understand.
I've ever lived in life.
And he that believeth not.
Believe it not.
Design.
That shall not see it in life.
But the last of God?
Upon him.
Count 336.
OK, does anybody else wanna say it?
Where is my shepherd?
It was my shepherd I shall not want. He made his me to lie down green pastures. He stores myself. He's a walk to the valley of sheriffs. I feel no, it will fall out with me. A lot of my stuff. They can't vote me. I've reversed my table before me and my presence of my enemies. I'm not just my head with oil my cupboard. And so surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all days of my life.
Now, John and the House of Lords forever from 5:23. Thank you very much. OK, well, I'm gonna umm.
You know, I had on my heart this morning to speak about love.
And I just wondered if any of you knew what love is.
Who could tell me what love is? Would you like to tell me what love is?
OK, can you tell me what?
I don't remember.
Who? Who could tell me what love is?
What is love?
Do you love somebody?
Do you know somebody that loves you?
Who? Your money good.
Do you know what love is great?
It's kinda hard, isn't it? Kinda hard to know what love is.
Do you know what love is? What is love? Someone who cares about you. That's very good. OK, Very good. Some we We know what love is. What were you gonna say? Jesus. That's right. That is very good. That is a very good answer.
Well, I could talk a little bit about love.
And, uh, let's let's turn, uh, two kinds of love. We know about human love, don't we? Does your mommy? Your mommy loves you, doesn't she?
I think everybody here has a mommy that loves them. And you know, that is a wonderful thing. We were, uh, someone told us in the meeting in Walla Walla a little bit ago about a little boy and he was born blind.
00:15:03
And it was in in in India and they believe they are in reincarnation.
Which is not true. But anyway, they believe that in a past life he had been very bad.
And so he was born blind. And so they left him all alone.
They didn't want that little boy because he was born blind.
Isn't that a sad situation?
Well, anyway, let's, uh, let's read a verse in the Song of Solomon about love, and then I'm going to tell you a story.
A little bit about love.
See. It's the last chapter of.
Solomon or the second last chapter?
And umm.
It says, uh maybe. Maybe. Does somebody have a Bible that could read that verse? Let's see, there's two parts of verses in Song of Solomon. Eight. Could you read it? Kevin? Uh, let's see the middle of verse six. It says something about love there. Can you read that for me?
Just one clause for love.
Is as strong as death. What does that mean?
Does anybody know? You know? I'll tell you a story that will illustrate this. You know about. Umm.
What's the date today? The 17th?
I think it's the 17th well in UH in 1984 on July 21St.
The Lord gave us a little baby boy.
And he only lived 5 days.
And uh, so umm, when it went about, uh, he was about two or three days old. It became apparent to us that something was wrong with this little baby.
And uh, so we went to the hospital and uh they uh, they said there is something wrong with him.
We're going to have to fly him to Spokane.
And so my wife and our little boy got in the helicopter and they flew away to Spokane. That's about 150 miles from Walla Walla.
And uh, so I tried to get everything together in an order. And uh, then I went up to Spokane to be with to be with them.
And uh, we were there. I was there for a little bit and the doctor called at the end.
And the Doctor knew by this time that this baby couldn't live. His name was Danny.
And he told us that he he just wanted to visit us and see how we felt about it. Danny was hooked up to life support and they could keep him alive for for a while longer if we wanted them to, but the doctor wanted to see how we were going to take it.
And when he could see that?
We would accept it from the Lord if our little boy died.
He told them to disconnect the life support.
And we sat in there and we held this little baby boy.
For the last few hours that he lived.
And they told us later that usually when when couples find out that their little baby is going to die, they just leave it in the nursery and they go home, they go away.
But my wife and I, we took turns holding this little boy.
And then uh.
I think it was about 10:30 or 10:00 or 11:00.
We could tell that his life was gone. He did a little.
A little movement.
Now suppose we had loved this little baby a little more. Do you think we would have, could have kept him alive?
There was nothing that we could do of her.
Her little boy was gonna go home to be with the Lord Jesus.
Well, it's pretty hard. We didn't really want to leave that little baby there at the hospital and go home. My wife's arms were very empty.
And uh, so I asked the doctor.
Could we take the baby with us to go back home to Walla Walla and he uh.
He didn't know what to say, he said. No one's ever asked me that before.
00:20:01
But he made a few phone calls, and he said he didn't think he could arrange it. But he made a few phone calls and he arranged it.
And uh, we were able to take our little baby back to Walla Walla, he said. As long as you take him directly to the Funeral Home and call me when you get there, you can take your.
Baby's body back to Wawa.
And you know, it was a wonderful time. We drove home. It was a three hour drive and uh.
We shed some tears and uh.
And thank the Lord for his goodness.
And by the time we got home.
My wife.
Was willing to give up that little boy to the funeral director.
He only lived 5 days.
But you know everyone of us here, we have an appointment. God tells us in His word that, uh, it is appointed unto men once to die.
And after death, the judgment, and every one of us here in this room, the little ones and the older ones, we all have an appointment.
To leave this world to die, everyone of us has to die. Why do you think that we have to die?
Why do you think we have to die? Do you know who could tell me why we have to die?
Who could tell me? Could you tell me why? Because Adam and Eve sinned.
That's right. And we're part of a fallen creation, a ruined world. Because Adam and Eve sinned. You know Danny? I don't know. He was born in sin, God tells us. And shapen in iniquity. I don't know if he ever sinned.
But uh, he had to die anyway because he was part of a ruined creation. And you know, each one of us have a part in that ruined creation too.
And every one of us is going to have to die. And after death, there's the judgment. And no matter how much anybody loves you.
No matter how much your parents love you, they can't save you from that.
And, you know, God looked down and he saw our situation, and he realized it was totally hopeless. How many people in this room do you think are going to die?
Who can tell?
Every one of us is appointed to die, aren't we?
So each one of us had to die, or someone had to die for us.
And you know the eternal God, the God who can give life. He looked down and he saw our situation.
And he decided he was going to do something about it.
And So what? You know the story.
God became flesh, you know. We read in Matthew that there was a little boy, and he was born, and it says his name shall be called.
Let's see. I have to read it. See, it's a couple of times we read about it.
Umm. And she shall. This is talk. Uh, the Angel talking to Mary.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
And then he fulfills A prophecy. The prophecy is, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.
Which being interpreted God with us.
So when this little boy was born into the world, he was not like any other baby that had ever been born into this world.
This, this little boy.
Was God himself come into this world to take our place?
And you know he died.
So that I wouldn't have to. He died so that you wouldn't have to.
You know, isn't that a wonderful thing?
Has anyone else ever been like that?
Never.
And he died. You know, there's a verse, so I don't remember where it is right now. It says the the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.
And give his life.
A ransom for many.
He wanted to ransom you and he wanted to ransom me.
00:25:04
And so he came into this world, God himself, and he took the place of a man so that he could die instead of you and me.
No, that is amazing, isn't it?
You know, I told you that story about our love for our little boy.
And our love was weak, wasn't it? Could it do anything to save that little boy from dying? It couldn't do one thing.
But you know when God came into this world in flesh, in the person of Jesus, you know we sing to Him sometimes. It says mighty mighty love of Jesus. Greater love was never known love.
That left the heights of glory.
Love that left for me a throne.
So you know the Lord Jesus.
Wants to say every one of us in this room.
Well, you know, I was, uh, so I'm gonna ask you a question. Who can tell me a verse that tells about the love of God?
OK.
Can you tell you, can you say that verse?
Should not perish but have everlasting life. That's what God wants to give every one of us. But you know, I had some verses on my heart.
In the Gospel of John.
Because there's a question there that the Lord Jesus asked one of his disciples, and we're not going to have time to go into too much detail, but there's three questions in.
John, Chapter 21.
So we can know by looking at the Lord Jesus that God loves us, can't we?
And uh, you probably know the story. Kevin. Could you know one of the questions that Jesus asked a man named Peter?
Do you remember what question he asked them?
Do you love me? That's right. You know, suppose, suppose I said, uh, John. Suppose the Lord Jesus was here and he said, John, do you love me? How many people do you think are in this room named John?
Maybe. Maybe they should raise their hand. Anybody whose name is John.
Not very many jobs.
Well, anyway, when the Lord Jesus was talking to Peter, there were two men in that group and their name was Simon. And the Lord Jesus wanted to make sure that Simon Peter knew exactly who he was talking to. And so he said Simon son of Jonah.
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Do you love me?
And you know, when? When the word of God, when God asks a question in his word, who's he asking it to? Do you think it might apply to me, too? What do you think? Do you think he's asking it to you too, Emily?
Mm-hmm. And so he asked that question to each one in this room.
Do you love me?
You know, how do you think Peter felt that day? You know, what had Peter done? Why did Jesus ask him that question? Do you know? Who can tell me?
Kevin.
That's right, he had. He had said he never knew the Lord, and so the Lord Jesus. He asked him a question. Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?
But he asked that question to each one of us.
He goes right down, right down the row. Every one of us. Do you love me?
Do you love me and you know? He asked. He asked Peter that one time. And uh, how do you think, uh, how would you feel?
Umm, see, I'll pick on somebody else this time.
Uh, see, who should I ask? Grace. Suppose, uh, suppose your mommy asked you a question. Grace, do you love me? How would you feel?
That make you a little feel a little funny?
But you know what the Lord Jesus did to Peter? He asked him the same question three times.
Peter answered the question. Umm.
Uh, he's umm.
Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me? And he said, yes, Lord. And the Lord said, Feed my lambs.
00:30:09
And Jesus said to him again, Peter or Simon.
Do you love me?
How do you think Peter felt by that time?
You know, And Peter said, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. Do you think Peter might have been getting a little nervous?
But you know, the Lord Jesus didn't give up.
You know what he did? He asked him again. He said. Do you love me? Do you really love me? Do you?
Peter said.
He said, you know, if you had looked at Peter's life the last few days or the last few days, would you think that Peter loved Jesus?
You might wonder because.
Three times, he said he didn't even know him.
And the last time he cursed and he swore.
To show that he really didn't know.
You know, do you think if someone looked at my life or your life, would they know that you love Jesus?
Is our life different than others?
Does it show that we love Jesus?
You know the Lord Jesus.
Is is faithful and he he probes into our conscience.
You know, in a few minutes, umm, we're going to sit down.
And remember the Lord Jesus in his death.
And you know, that is the greatest privilege that we can have on the Earth, I think.
And if we sing a hymn, it's hot, it's, you know, the Lord. Do you think during the breaking of bread the Lord Jesus is going to say, is he going to say to us, Nick, do you love me?
Have you ever heard him say that in the Breaking of Red?
No, he's not gonna say that is.
But we're gonna sit down there and there's gonna be a table and what's gonna be on that table?
The bread in the car. And you know what the What does the cat speak to us all?
You know when we sit there in the presence of the Lord Jesus in a few minutes?
If we consider those things, is it gonna make us think? Is it gonna probe our conscience a little bit, do you think?
He's not going to say do you love me?
We sing a hymn. It calls it a feast of life. Isn't that an amazing thing? A feast of love for me is spread.
And we're gonna sit down around the Lord Jesus.
And we're going to consider how much he loves us.
He doesn't say, Do you love me?
He's gonna tell us how much he loved us.
And why do you think the Lord Jesus had to die? Why do you think those memorials of his death have to be on that table? Who can tell me?
Why did he have to die? Who did he have to die for?
For me and for you, for each one of us.
And you know, when we sit in this presence to remember him and his death, it's an entreaty to each one of our hearts, isn't it?
He tells us how much he loved us.
And he wants us to consider.
How are we going to respond to love like that?
What do we think of someone that loved us so much? You know, if someone loved you a whole lot, would you like to give them something?
Mm-hmm. You know, I have a present that I wrapped up here.
And you know, the Lord Jesus loved us so much.
That.
Should there be a response from each one of us?
You know the Lord Jesus redeemed our souls.
00:35:04
And everything that we do.
And everything that we think.
In everything we say.
Is like a present that's getting wrapped up.
For the Lord Jesus.
He loves us and we should want to give him a present, shouldn't we?
In fact, he redeemed us. He bought us with his own blood.
And there's a verse in UH Well, there's several verses. There's a verse in First John, it says that we love.
Because he first loved us. That's that's the only reason we love, isn't it? Because he loved us first.
And then there's other things that we read about. Let's see read a verse in.
Romans Uh.
14 I'm going to read it. It says whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord.
Whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lords.
You know every one of us.
That knows the Lord Jesus. As our Saviour, we belong to the Lord Jesus.
In everything that we do, it's like we put it in a box.
For the coming day when we're going to sit down with the Lord Jesus, You know, I really enjoyed it a few years ago, that Brother Mark, the View and Walla Walla, he was telling about the judgment seat of Christ.
And he and he presented it like this, he said. You know, it's gonna be a time when we sit down with the Lord Jesus and he's gonna put his arm around us.
Then we're going to open up the present that we have for him.
And he's going to take out everything that we've done, everything that we've thought, and everything that we've said, and we're going to consider it.
Are there some things in the present that you've made for the Lord Jesus that you?
Wish weren't there.
You know, there's some every, every time. Suppose we said a kind word. You think it would go into the box, go right into the press.
Suppose we got angry with our brother or sister. Do you think it would go into the box?
We belong to the Lord, everything that we do, everything that we say.
Everything that we think it goes into this box and it's like a present that we're going to open up together with the Lord Jesus.
And he's going to go through that everything that we did, everything that we thought and everything that we said.
And we're going to consider it with him.
And you know, do you think he's going to whip us if we did some bad things? What do you think? No.
It's all going to get burned up, isn't it? And you know, we're going to be just as glad as he is to see it burned up.
But you know, the Lord Jesus wants us to consider these things now.
Because now is the time.
That we have to respond to his love. You know, there's an amazing thing.
We've been considering in Ephesians about.
Good works that he has before ordained that we should walk in them. You know, God has a way. He wants each one of us to walk. And if we walk in obedience to the way that God has for us, our lives are going to be, we're going to be happy, aren't we? We're going to be blessed and we're going to be a blessing to those that are around us.
We're gonna be happy, aren't we?
The Spirit of God is gonna bring fruit.
For the glory of God out of our lives. And it's going to go into the present, isn't it?
That we're gonna present to the Lord Jesus at the judgment seat.
Well, God loves every one of us here.
And everyone of us has an appointment with death, unless somebody died for you.
And God has provided has me.
He's provided A savior for everyone of us.
And he wants us to consider our way. Certainly he wants us to live for the glory of God.
Do you think that everybody is going to go to heaven, or are some people going to reject the love of God for them?
Some people reject at all, and you know they're gonna have to face their appointment with death.
They're gonna have to stand before God in judgment, aren't they? What a solemn day that is going to be.
What a sad day for any one of these children that are here if they had to stand before God before the Lord Jesus Christ as their judge, you know?
00:40:12
I trust that each one of you will accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, that you'll accept that amazing love He left eternity. He came into this world to become a man so that as a man, he could die for you.
So that you could be set free, so that you could live for the glory of God and bring joy to the heart of God.
Our God.
Questions from the Word of God
Gospel—A. Coleman
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.
Think it's just the first time. Now you later read it again.
For the word of God is rich and powerful and sharper than any new engines or.
Providing the sender of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrows, and is a Zerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I want to start with this first.
Because for the last month or so I have been jotting down questions from the word of God that I I would like to put forward here tonight these questions.
Are.
Straight from the word of God, not from this person. Here it is the word of God that saves.
And uh, these questions, if there's one here tonight that is still lost, don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as their own personal savior.
I just asked that you could seriously consider these verses that I'm going to read tonight. There are ten of them. They're very important. They're very well known verses. And so I wish that tonight that you would listen intently to what the spirit of God is bringing before you tonight.
It is a serious thing, you know, to reject the gospel. It is a serious thing to go out of a gospel meeting.
Still lost.
It is an insult to God to reject his wonderful offer of mercy. God has, through his beloved Son, offered the very best that his heart of love could give his very beloved Son.
And his precious work on Calvary's cross.
So let's start tonight by singing hymn #13, Man of Sorrows. What her name for? The Son of God who came?
Ruined sinners who proclaim.
Hallelujah. What a savior.
Someone started please?
The first question, Genesis Chapter 3, the first question that was ever asked in this precious Bible that we have opened before us, the Word of God.
Genesis Chapter 3.
Verse 9.
And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him.
Where art thou?
That's a question I would ask you tonight. Where?
Art thou where are you? Before God, where are you? You know what happened here. Adam had sinned.
Indirect disobedience to God and the word of God plainly says, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Adam was shut out of the Garden of Eden forever because he had sinned.
Against God. God cannot have sin in His presence, but He's provided a way through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross.
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
But have everlasting life. What a God we have. How great is our God? Wonderful. What an awesome God we have.
Do you really know this wonderful God? Do you really know him personally? Thank God. I can say that tonight. I know him and I've known him for over 50 years and he has been a wonderful God to me, a wonderful Savior and all the way home. Savior.
And God here, because Adam has sinned. He came in the cool of the day, walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and he called out. Adam, where are you?
What did Adam do?
He had sinned and he was hiding from God. You know there are many that tonight are hiding from God. Yes, they are.
00:05:08
Two young ones here tonight. Little ones, Are you hiding from God?
Do you know this wonderful God?
He's seeking you. You know what I like about this? This. This was the first Gospel meeting that ever went up.
Soon as the reign of sin began, the light of mercy dawned on man.
When God announced the blessed news.
God seeking the Sinner.
You know he's been seeking the Sinner ever since.
He wants you to be found, he says. Seek to the Lord while he may be found. Call ye upon him while he is near. You know, it's often been said that a seeking Sinner and a seeking Savior will always meet.
If you really desire us to seek the Savior, you'll find him.
He's looking for you. He wants to save you. He wants to save you right now, tonight.
MMM. You know what I like about this? Again? I'm gonna say this was the first gospel meeting. You know what I like about tonight? This is the final meeting of this conference, and it's and it's A and it's a gospel meeting and it's the last meeting. And I like that. You know how fitting it is that the last meeting of this lovely conference could be a gospel because God is his long-suffering Mercy is not willing that any should perish but that all.
Should come to repentance.
And he's LA. He, he's, he's provided this gospel meeting tonight so that you could be saved. He wants to give you one more chance to be saved.
And I've seen that over and over and over again in these last few years of how an individual was given one more chance to be saved. He's not willing that you should perish. He says I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turned from his evil way and live. And he says, turn ye, turn ye for a while, will ye die? Does God want to send a man to hell? No, he doesn't. The last thing that God wants to do.
But God is holy.
God is holy.
Adam had sinned. You can't get to heaven with all your sins.
No, you can't. You can't get to heaven without the work of Christ.
The Lord Jesus has gone to Calvary's cross and suffered the untold agonies of Calvary's cross.
And I can say that tonight, as it says in First Peter chapter 2, who himself bore our sins in his own body, and the tree, he bore all my sins. My sins are all gone and I can save tonight.
By the authority of the precious word of God that my sins are all gone, that says the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin, I'm going to repeat it again, the blood of Jesus Christ.
God's Son cleanseth us from all sin. Are your sins all gone? Mine are gone. Thank God. It's all what the Lord Jesus has done for me. He loved me. He gave himself for me.
He washed all my sins away. And I'll tell you, there were a lot of them.
The very worst Sinner.
Its sovereign grace that reaches down and picks up an individual like me and says what a God we have, what a wonderful God, a seeking saviour.
And so this was the first gospel meeting. But then there is another gospel meeting. It's in John 737. And it says that then that last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.
That was the last Gospel meeting.
And you know, dear one, tonight, this might be the last Gospel meeting. You might not hear this wonderful message again from the heart of God. No, you might not hear it.
If the Lord Jesus would come tonight, it would be too late for you.
Does he that you would be left behind for the judgment of God?
And what a world this will be after the church is taken home. I don't want to be here. And thank God I'm not going to be here.
00:10:04
And that last day, that great day, the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, if any man thirst, think of how what the the heart of the Lord Jesus there when he spoke those words, if any man thirst.
Is there a thirsty person here?
I see light of them when I'm when I'm at home in in Vancouver and I'm down in the Skid Row, I see a lot of them.
And they've been thirsting, trying to find something that would satisfy their craving, and they don't find it.
And they go on and on and on and sometimes you'll see.
Well, you won't. You won't see an old person down there. Mostly they're young.
He seeking you tonight, won't you come to him?
Next question.
Matthew chapter.
27.
Matthew Chapter 27.
Verse 22.
Of all the verses, of all the questions that I'm going to bring before you tonight.
This is the most important question of them all.
Verse 22 Pilate said unto him.
What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called the Christ? To think that God used an ungodly man by the name of Pilate, who stood before the Lord of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son.
How do you ask this question? What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called the Christ? And I'm asking you this question here tonight. What are you going to do about the Lord Jesus Christ?
What are you going to do about it? Are you going to accept them as your savior?
Or are you going to reject him?
What did Pilate do?
We know this story right here.
He took a basin and he took water and he washed his hands. Symbolic to say that it won't have anything to do with it, and I'm gonna take a neutral ground.
And that's what he did.
And I'm gonna tell you tonight that you cannot. It is impossible. Take a neutral ground. You must.
Tonight, either accept or reject the Lord Jesus Christ.
What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called to Christ? I want to tell you tonight, dear friend, tonight.
Sitting in your seat, Little one, big one, whatever.
That the Lord Jesus Christ, God's beloved Son, loves you very much.
Loves you very much. He saw your need as a guilty, lost Sinner, just as he saw mine.
And that blessed one God's beloved Son, went willingly to the cross of Calvary.
And there suffered on Calvary's cross for your sins.
In those long dark hours in Calvary's cross when he could cry out. My God, my God.
Why hast thou forsaken thee? The Lord Jesus was there, the sin bearer on caliphers cross. He bore my sins that blessed one.
That love that held him there on that cross.
On that cross alone forsaken.
Of a holy, righteous, sinning God.
MMM.
What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? Will you answer that question tonight?
John's Gospel, chapter 14.
John's Gospel, chapter 14.
00:15:01
Verse 5.
Thomas said unto him, Lord, we know not. Whither thou goest? And how can we know the Way? There's a question, How can we know the way?
You know, there's a lot of little ones here tonight and I'm sure that many little ones here tonight. If I if I was to come up and down the roads and say how can you know the way to heaven? You know the way to heaven.
No, it's written right here in John 14 and 6.
The Lord Jesus immediately answered Thomas's question. He says.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
There's only one way you know.
Man tries different ways, but there's only one way to come to the Lord Is is through the Lord Jesus Christ. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.
Only one way.
Uh, go back to Matthew chapter.
Umm 22.
Verse 42.
What?
Thank you of Christ. What a question.
What a question.
You asked me that question. What do I think about the Lord Jesus Christ? Oh, I'll tell you right away. He's my savior. He's my savior. He's the one that saved me. He's the one that saved me 50 years ago.
I was a guilty, lost Sinner.
What do you think about this wonderful person?
He's he's wonderful.
Do you know him? Do you know him personally? What do you think about the Lord Jesus?
Or do you even think about him at all?
You know, as a young man, I never thought about him.
But thank God he touched my heart and saved my soul. What do you think about the Lord Jesus?
As I go about, I love to give out tracks.
And it's just kind of a little work that the Lord has given me.
And he showed me a little place in downtown Atlanta.
And I go down there every Wednesday to a place called Five Points.
And I'll probably give out about 200 tracks in about an hour.
Mostly blacks, a lot of business people.
And I get them from all walks of life.
And I'm so thankful that the Lord has given me this little opportunity to spread His precious word.
It's the word of God that saves and dead and on those tracks is the word of God.
And I see many and I talk to many down there.
Many have a different way of of approach to God, a different way to heaven. There's only one way.
You ask him What do you think about the Lord Jesus?
And they say they shrug their shoulders. I don't know.
Sometimes I'll give out, uh, I'll offer a track to a guy and he'll say, uh, I'm OK, I'm OK, And it's a very common expression. I'm OK, I'm OK, And you'll walk on and don't take the track.
What? What? What does that mean? What does that mean? Is that does it mean? He said. I'm OK, I'm. I'm on my way to heaven is does it mean I'm OK? I'm saved?
Or does it mean I just don't want what you got and I think that's the letter? I'm OK, It's just their way of saying I don't want your tracked.
I approached a uh uh a group of people and there was about four or five of them and offered to track to this person.
And uh.
He he he just went down like that.
On my hand and the track fell to the ground. Smack.
That is trash.
00:20:01
You know God is going to hold that man responsible for how?
He dealt with his word.
I said he stomped on it on that truck. I said, Sir, can I pick up that truck? No.
The others that were in the group were kind of aghast at what had happened.
They all took a tract.
This wonderful.
The Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword.
This is not trash.
This is not trash.
It's special. It's the word of God. It's sweet. It's wonderful. Everything about this precious book. It's wonderful. It tells us all about our precious Savior.
And that's what we've been enjoying this week.
All about Jesus. All about Jesus. And for all eternity, it's going to be all about Jesus.
That wonderful knee, that knee which is above every knee.
John's Gospel Chapter 9.
John's Gospel Chapter 9.
And uh.
Verse 35.
The blind man.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he found him, he said unto him.
Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
Another question.
Do you tonight believe in the Son of God? That's a question. Would you answer it? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you?
Think seriously. Think about it. Seriously.
Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ?
Acts 16.
Acts 16 Well known verse.
And they said, verse 31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
God didn't ask you to do something complicated to get saved.
No, he didn't. He didn't ask you to do something complicated to get saved.
This is so simple.
Man stumbles over it.
The simplicity of the gospel.
It's so simple.
Just believe you know the children. So many times you'll ask him in Sunday school how to be saved, and right away they'll quote this verse.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. But wait a minute, children, have you done it?
Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ?
You've memorized the verse. You know the verse.
Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ?
It's so important.
You know, it says in Romans 10 and 9 it says that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord.
And believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved. Isn't that wonderful? Isn't that simple?
I like that and and the songwriter says it only says a simple thing. Believe and laugh.
It only says a simple thing. Believe and live. God offers you salvation tonight.
The Lord Jesus is coming. Tomorrow may be too late. I am going to read a verse.
00:25:05
It's Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 3.
Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 3.
How shall we escape if we need so great salvation?
So great salvation. Think of that.
So great salvation.
That great salvation that caused God to give his Son on Calvary's cross.
So that you might be saved.
Soul great salvation.
What does it mean to neglect it? It means maybe to put it up.
I tell you a little story right now is happening.
Cathy and I have been driving from Atlanta here about a week ago. The back tires started going down.
And every day we put $0.75 in the meter to pump it up.
And it still keeps going down. And we've put it off and we put it off and we put it off. So tomorrow we gotta get the tire fixed. And that's the way man does it. He puts off this way of salvation. I might wait till I'm a little older or whatever the case may be, or I'm enjoying things that I just cannot give up. That's neglect.
Neglect.
Of God's wonderful salvation.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation now? UH James Chapter 4.
James, Chapter 4.
Yeah, just, you know, I mean, first, John, sorry.
Verse 4 Verse 13 Go to Now ye that say today or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue their gear, and buy and sell and get den, whereas ye know not what shall be on the Morrow. Do you know where you'll be tomorrow?
Do you?
I don't know.
Then this question for What is your life?
What is your life?
It is even a vapor that appears for a little time, then it's gone.
What is your name?
I'll ask you tonight so very seriously dear friend here tonight.
What is your life? What are you gonna do about your life? Are you gonna surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? That's what he wants you to do.
Oh friend, tonight surrender your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come tonight as a guilty, lost Sinner before a holy God.
Father, I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy Son.
That's what the prodigal son said.
Long time ago I was a prodigal and the Lord saved me. And He can save you, dear friend, tonight.
What is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and it's gone.
It's a solemn thing to walk out of a gospel meeting still lost. A very solemn thing.
God is not marked.
First Peter, Chapter 4.
Verse 7.
First Peter.
I got it wrong here. What shall the end be of those that obey not the gospel of God?
Where did I lose that?
What was that?
00:30:01
1St 17 Thank you.
OK, thank you, for the time has come that judgment must begin at the House of God. And if at first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? For if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly in the Sinner appear?
What shall the end be? What a question of those that obey not the gospel of God. I'll tell you what your end will be, dear friend. Tonight it will be in the lake of fire.
It will be at the great white throne of Judgment that you will stand in outer space before a holy, righteous sinning, hating God, and to be judged of all your sin and to be cast into the lake of fire forever. Does God want you to that way? No, he doesn't.
He wants you to be safe, and that's why there is this gospel meeting tonight, this last gospel. He wants you to be saved, and he's giving you one more chance to be saved, One more chance.
Are you gonna take this chance tonight?
Are you going to say Lord Jesus, I'm coming, I'm coming.
This gospel meeting is just about over.
Hmm. I wanna tell you a story.
You ever been invited out to dinner?
Oh, we've had a wonderful dinners here this weekend.
You, uh, go to person's House for for supper, and uh, you have a lovely supper. Meat, potatoes, gravy, the like of that.
And then the host comes and takes your plate.
But she says, save your fork.
What does she mean by that? Save your pork.
Well, you know right well.
Dessert is coming.
What's that? Pies. Whatever, you know.
Dessert. Save your pork.
There was this girl. She was dying.
She was dying of cancer.
And she went to her pastor. And she said, pastor, I want you to bury me with a fork in my hand in the casket.
And, and, and, and that's what happened. And everybody that went by that casket saw her with a fork in her hand and they said.
Why? Why she got that fork in her hand?
I'll tell you, Oh dear friend, here tonight, the dessert is coming. The best is yet to be.
The Lord Jesus is coming. We've had this wonderful conference this weekend, this wonderful conference.
But you know the dessert is coming. The best is yet to be.
Soon we're gonna hear the shout.
So it's gonna take us out of this scene and into his very presence forever.
And I say this to you tonight, dear young people, dear friend, here tonight, sitting in this audience.
Are you ready?
Are you ready? How can I be ready?
To have my sins washed away in the precious blood of Christ. To know the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior. To be able to say I am saved, I am on my way to heaven. To be able to say that the Lord Jesus is my way. He's my Savior.
And I'm gonna see him face to face.
Dear ones, tonight dessert is coming.
The Lord Jesus is coming. The best is yet to be. This conference has been sweet, but there is something wonderful coming.
Are you ready? I am. Shall we thank the Lord?
Loving father we're so thank.