Aberdeen Conference: 2012
Table of Contents
Colossians 3:1-2
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Colossians Chapter 3.
If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth, for you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ and God.
When Christ who is your life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members, which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil, concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things sake, the wrath of God, cometh on the children of disobedience, and that which ye also walk sometime when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy.
Filthy communication. Out of your mouth lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.
And have put on the Newman, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision, nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian bond, nor free, but Christ is all and in all put on therefore as the elect of God, holy and beloved bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also ye are called in one body. And be thankful, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
Singing with grace in your heart to the Lord, and whatsoever ye do in Word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them.
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers provoked not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants obey in all things your masters, according to flesh, not with thy service as men pleasers, but in singleness of a heart fearing God. And whatsoever ye do, do it heartless to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of inheritance. For ye serve the Lord Christ, but he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done.
And there is no respect of persons.
I know this chapter is.
About a lot of practical exhortation that is very important.
I would like to suggest that if perhaps.
Maybe in this first meeting we can.
Take up the doctrine.
Of our position in Christ that is mentioned in the last chapter.
And I expressed my reason for suggesting this chapter, brethren.
Is that it seems to me that in the Christian world of which we form a part.
There is the idea that we are saved by grace and.
Then with so many, it seems like it is just living life like we have always lived it, not realizing that our position once we have accepted the Lord as Savior has completely changed. And if you go back to the last chapter.
Look at verse 13.
It says in you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh.
Happy, quick and given life together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.
And then go back to verse 12.
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Buried with him in baptism.
Wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
So as believers in the Lord Jesus, if we understand our position properly, we are dead with Christ, we are buried with him, and we are risen again. So verse one of chapter 3 begins with that.
If or since she then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.
So it's not living life just like anybody else down here. It is understanding the life that we have. I really fear, brethren, that many true believers do not understand what Christian life is about.
It is completely on the other side of death and the grave. We live as believers in resurrection territory.
And you can't talk about resurrection unless you know what death is 1St. And so these things have a practical significance. But we don't understand that this is the case. Then we will think that we live our lives just like most anybody else in this world does.
I really suggest that we don't really understand what Christian life is all about, and so I just suggest that perhaps we can.
Uh, comment a bit on the doctrine of our position.
As identified with the Lord, Jesus Christ died for us.
And we have died.
With Christ.
To sin. And now we are looked at as buried and risen again in a completely new position before God.
And on that groundwork, we have the exhortations of Chapter 3.
It's the death, our death with Christ that is in view Here We have the death of Christ for us, particularly in the book of Romans, but in Colossians it's more the emphasis on our death with Christ and its consequences, and so the crossing of the Jordan River.
Into the land of promise is seen in verses 12 and 13 of chapter 2.
There's a consequence if in going through death with the Lord Jesus Christ.
That is seen not very clearly in the King James, but verse 20.
If ye be dead with Christ.
There's consequence to death.
People die and it puts them in a certain position, and so we have died with Christ.
It puts us in a certain position with respect to the world, with respect to ourselves, with respect to God, and just to give the overview of it in verse 20 the consequences he talks about to the chapter 2 if you be dead with Christ. And then in chapter 3 it begins getting risen with them.
And so the other side of it is if we are not only dead.
But we are risen with Christ. That brings the consequences. Well, if you take a dead person and raise them from the dead, well, that changes things. Bob used the word position. If you take a dead person and you raise them from the dead, their position is rather significantly changed. Not that it happens among us in the world, but at least but it does spiritually, even though it doesn't physically. And then, if you will, the next paragraph of the subject begins in verse five of chapter 3.
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It says mortify. That's an exhortation. New translation says put.
To death there is a practical is another meeting, and we, I suppose, will take up, Lord willing. There's the practical exhortation given to us of things that we are to treat as put to death in our lives as a consequence of it. And then finally, if you go on to verse 12 of chapter three, you find the parallel.
Exhortation put on.
So first there's the things that are put off as having died, and then there are the things that were exhorted to put on as being alive.
And so again, if we pass through death, and as a consequence of it, if you be dead, there are certain consequences. And then the apostle tells us, if now you be alive.
There are consequences to that. And then he says to us, these are the things that because you are.
Dad that you put off in your life and then he exhorts us in things that because we now live that we are to put on.
In the culture and the world were passing through.
It's often been called a humanistic.
World or California culture?
It's with man at the center of his world.
And so often we as believers and brethren, were passing through this world.
And to a certain extent or another, we're all affected by the current of things. I think it is helpful to be able to see that and understand it and to judge it in the measure that we can before the Lord.
But it is with man as the center of his world.
And they're things that are not morally wrong.
You want a car? What kind of car you like? What color do you like your car and everything. It depends on what you like. And before long, we get into the current of thinking with ourselves at the center of our world.
Brethren, I think this is robbing us of our true life and the enjoyment of living.
With where God has set us in our position as believers in the Lord Jesus.
Wonderful to realize a dead man. Does he have preferences?
Not really.
What do you do with a dead man? You take him out and you bury them.
Do you pull them out once in a while to see if there's any change for the better?
No, you leave them there.
And that's where our culture tends to pull us right back out and continue to focus on us. And I see so many young people that get discouraged because they don't seem to be able to understand that what we are as men in the flesh before God is dead and gone.
It's Barry. Don't pull it out again. Leave it there.
Our life is now beyond the tomb. We live in resurrection life no longer with ourselves as the focus of our lives. There's a man in the glory in this verse. One of chapter 3. Actually, it's verse.
Verse four says Christ.
Is our life. So the focus has completely changed. It is not what I am any longer as a man in the flesh.
No, there's a man at God's right hand. I can look up into the glory and I can say there's.
There's my life.
In resurrection grounds, that is the position of the believer in the Lord Jesus.
But may the Lord help us to understand the wonderful place that God has brought us in, the Lord Jesus.
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We're dead, we're buried, We're risen. Again, Don mentioned that the what we have here is.
Typified in the Jordan River, our death with Christ and that in Romans you get more.
Well, you have typified in the Red Sea.
It is the death of Christ for us, that which completely delivers us from this world system.
We do not form part of this world system any longer, brethren. We have been removed from it, the one who is recognized as Prince of this world.
Is not the one we recognize in authority any longer. We recognize somebody else. But it is interesting in the figure of the Red Sea and the Jordan, I think you'll find in the Old Testament history.
That the children of Israel are said to have gone into the Red Sea and they come out of Jordan.
The wilderness. We go through those experiences, but the purpose of God is to bring us into the full enjoyment of our heavenly portion. And that's Canaan. So may the Lord help us to understand better. It's a wonderful thing to get a hold of in our souls, to let it sink into our souls. Brethren, all that I am as a man in the flesh is gone before God.
Dead and buried, and now we are risen with Christ.
And as such, then it should reflect in our lives that this is the life that is now been given to us. Let's live that life, brethren, dear young people.
I know that it is a struggle in this day and age, but to keep your focus properly is so important.
We are not part of this world system, Lord Jesus said. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
They put him out of it and that's our position as well.
And the whole result of all of this.
Is not in any way to bring the believer in ******* is it? So often we end, if we're not careful to look upon these things as a matter of *******?
But it's rather that we might enjoy practically the position into which God has placed us.
An old brother, long since with the Lord, used to remind us, and I guess I've repeated it many times, he said. Every exhortation of Scripture is based upon what we all ready possess.
And so, as you say, Brother Bob, the Lord has already put us into that position, and now here it's the practical enjoyment of it.
That second verse here.
Read it as it is in the Darby. It's a little more accurate, not so much. Set your affection on things above.
But rather set your mind on things above.
My affection naturally goes.
To that which is dearest to my heart. And so you get that expression in the 12Th chapter of Luke for where your treasure is.
There should your heart be also. Is that right? No.
There will your heart be also couldn't be otherwise. My heart goes to where my treasure is, but my mind is something that I can set actively on one thing or the other.
I don't have to allow it to run rampant over any kind of subject that comes to mind. I can take that mind and I can set it in the right direction. It can be an act of my will, and it should be. Why do I do that Is it?
An effort to do it? Yes, it is sometimes, but it's well worthwhile. Why? Because everything I have, as Bob has said, is connected with a risen Christ in glory.
I want, and I trust we all want, to enjoy it and to enjoy it presently, even in the midst of a world that is totally contrary to us.
And so God would have us to set our minds on those things which are above.
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Do we have to set our minds occasionally on something down here we do.
If you're going to school, you'll occasionally have to set your mind on an assignment, don't you? If you're in class, you have to pay attention to the class, and it wouldn't look very good. If I were to be reading my Bible when I was supposed to be listening to the teacher or the professor. That wouldn't be a good testimony, would it?
If I'm at work, my boss will expect me to keep my mind on what I'm supposed to be doing in order to earn my wages.
But.
When it's a question of the things of this world.
Paul says set your mind on something better.
It'll pay off.
Christianity, or the Christian faith, really begins with death.
And after death comes life.
And if we don't understand that, we won't properly embrace our faith.
That God has given to us. When God created Adam and Eve and put them in a garden, he came down and to enjoy fellowship with them, because it was the desire and heart of God to have a creature that could know him and that he could fellowship with, and so he created man. But when Adam and Eve sinned, they morally died and then physically died.
And the consequence was that for nearly 4000 years of history.
God worked with man to see if there was a basis with man in which his fellowship with God could be restored.
On the ground of being part of Adam's race.
But when the Lord sees us.
Died on the cross.
The Lord Jesus came into this world to participate.
In flesh and blood, to partake of flesh and blood, to become a real man among men.
And in him God found pleasure.
But the world said, no, we will not have this man and put him to death.
And at that point, God.
Judged.
That there will never be any relationship between man and God.
On the ground of Adam's race.
It was over with. It was done with. No man is going to have fellowship with God as a member of Adam's race.
In his condition of being sinful.
But God did not leave the Lord Jesus Christ in death.
He raised him from the dead.
And now, on the basis of his work on the cross, his death on the cross, God is forming a new creation in Christ.
Having his life. And so the Lord Jesus had to say to Nicodemus, Nicodemus, you can't see the Kingdom of God.
Essentially, you can't have a relationship with God, Nicodemus unless.
You must be born again.
And so you must be born of the Spirit.
You must have the life that God gives.
And we see in this chapter 3 of Colossians that that life is Christ is our life.
Its eternal life elsewhere called, we have to have it.
And so if we receive eternal life, we become part of a new creation, and we're not to live.
Before God anymore, in our relationship with God according to the old.
But we have been brought into something that's new, and as a consequence, in Colossians, we're being taught the truth of what it means for us to live with Christ, our life before God. We have a new object to life.
God so made man that he cannot live without an object.
People have to have something to live for. They have to have something before them that's outside of themselves. Even in Adams race, but so in Christ it's the same.
But God has given to us as the object of our lives.
What he finds his pleasure in his own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And so God has given us a life that finds pleasure in what God finds pleasure in.
So He can have fellowship with us, and so He has given us His Son to be the object of our hearts and our lives. And since He's in heaven and we're on earth, then we set our mind on that Himself where He is.
And that morally changes us and forms the character of our life.
And so it is if, as Bob said, we go back and try to say I'm saved, I'm going to heaven.
But we don't recognize the new position we're in before God. Then we'll muddle along trying to live.
Half Adam's way of life and half the Christian way of life, and they don't mix and they don't work together and we will be very disappointed in how life goes.
But true satisfaction and joy is found in finding Christ our life, and having him as the object of it.
I'd like to go back a few moments to.
Romans 6 which speaks of death and burial as well.
Even though it is a different context a bit, but I think it is helpful just to get these points clear that we're talking about.
Let's read the first few verses of chapter 6 of Romans, it says. What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
God forbid, how shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?
Doesn't say how shall we that should be dead to sin.
It says How shall we that are dead to sin?
You are a true believer in the Lord Jesus.
This is your position.
You might say, well, I don't feel very dead. When temptation comes around, I don't feel very dead.
It's not a matter of feeling, it's understanding the position God has put us into.
Ceiling. We don't base our lives on feelings. Feelings are very real and you can't ignore them. But we don't follow feelings. We follow the truth of God's word. And then feelings will find their proper place.
We are dead to sin.
Remember as a young person struggling with that.
And coming upon verse 11 of this chapter which says.
Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, that word reckoned. Perhaps we don't use very much today, but I like to just put it in these simple words. Think that way.
You are dead now. Think that way.
You think as if you are dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God.
A Member struggling with the impulses of sin in my life and I've found that I was totally powerless.
To correct them.
And it came to me after a time that I was in vain. I was struggling. What I needed to do was simply take God at His word, he says. We are dead.
Remember how easy the struggle ceased and I simply took God at His word? That is what we need to do to understand. But then going on here in the 6th chapter, verse 3.
Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death?
Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death. That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, Even so we also should walk in newness of life. So we there we have what we mentioned in Colossians 2. We are not only dead, but we are buried with Christ and risen again.
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And so how important it is to understand this our position if we're going to take up these exhortations of Chapter 3, because Bill that mentioned that it's not a matter of getting into legal codes like is mentioned in Colossians 2 and verse 20.
If you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why as those living in the world are you subject to ordinances?
Touch not. Taste not. Handle not.
If we go back to legal codes to control the flesh, we are recognizing that the flesh is alive and well, and that is a practical denial of our Christian position, he says. Why do you do that? That is not our proper position as believers. We are dead. We are buried, we are risen again, we're beyond That doesn't mean that as believers.
We have liberty to let the flesh do whatever it wants to know the flesh doesn't have liberty. We as believers in the Lord Jesus in resurrection.
Ground have liberty.
Oh, it's wonderful if we can understand what our position, what our life really is in Christ, brethren.
I think it's helpful as well to understand that he is not.
By our effort and we.
That was, God has already.
Viewed us.
Requested Adam, the first man.
In Adam that could bring forth fruit to him, and after fully testing him, he came to the conclusion.
That there's only one thing that I can do with Adam.
That's commit him to death.
Take him out of the way completely and bring about.
Life in a new man, and that new man is Christ.
He was tested. He proved to be that which was was brought glory to God. And so God says, OK, I'm taking you out of your the position of being an atom, and I'm condemning you in that position to death. But you're gonna rise again and you're going to be in a new man. I'm going to place you in position.
In Christ Jesus and if we would turn to active, If you are still in Romans, you can just go over.
It says therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.
So I think it's helpful for us to see, as we speak about these things that in God's purposes there were two men.
There was Adam, and there was Christ.
And excuse me.
We our position is we have no longer anymore identification with Adam in God's eyes. If that's not something that we accomplished by our own effort, it's something that God chose to do to condemn us, as it were.
In Adam give us life in Christ, and now we're seen in Him and all of His perfection.
Might help. Is a.
Way of seeing it.
This room? No. I'm sure that the Lord Jesus was hung on a cross and he was in the middle of three people. Two men were hung on either side of him, and the two men hung on either side of the Lord Jesus were there because of their own.
Responsible behavior among men, and they were condemned to death and they died that day along with the Lord Jesus.
Who we know is unique and totally different for reason being there.
But it might help if you looked up on one of those crosses and you wrote your name.
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Above one of those two men and you said that's me.
That's me. And you see yourself that day before God.
Being put to death for what you are.
And what you've done.
Of those two men, we know that one of them died in that condition and someday will face God in judgment.
And end up with the second death, which is the lake of fire.
The other man had put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now we know that as to his personal life, he died that day. But as to faith and life, the Lord Jesus could say to him today shalt thou be with me in paradise. But remember, 3 days later the Lord Jesus himself rose from the dead.
Ephesians chapter 2 Says of us.
Ye are quickened with him.
That is, we can see ourselves if we want to look at the one who died and said that's the end of my life before God. It's been condemned and judged.
And in God's sight there's death there. Then we can also, by the grace of God and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, he rose from the dead.
And in his life, from the dead, we can say, God says to us, you see that life, That's your life.
We're quickened with Him, and as he has life forevermore, so do we in Him as it says, Christ here in this chapter is our life.
And it's a perfect life. It's a life that will never sin. It's a life over which death has no power and never will. It's eternal in its character. It's his life, and that's our position.
With Christ in life before God.
But we don't enjoy it properly, if you will, unless in our own mind's eye we can see ourselves, if you will.
With our own name over one of those crosses and say that's the end of my life in Adam.
The scripture here uses the word in verse 3.
Your life is hid.
And that means that.
All of this about which we have been speaking, must be appropriated now by faith.
What Don has been bringing out is blessedly true that God has seen the end of the first man at the cross.
And when man crucified the Lord Jesus and rejected all of God's claims through his Son, his trial was over.
As Bob was saying a few minutes ago.
God saw the end of Adam, and there was nothing to do but bury him.
And now we have a new life in Christ, but it's hid.
Hid with Christ in God. Why does it say that? Because as it says.
In one John Three it doth not yet appear, but we shall be.
If someone looks at you and at me, as far as our bodies are concerned, we don't look much different from anybody else in this world. As we've been reminded recently, we get old, we get diseases, as everybody else does. We die, we're subject to accidents and other things in this world. All, of course.
Controlled and ultimately allowed by the hand of God? Very definitely yes.
But nevertheless, we don't see all of this manifested publicly down here, do we?
But it's there just the same. And you and I can appropriate it by faith, but it does require faith, and that is the practical side of it. Here, if I go by what I see around me, if I am concerned as we get in 2nd Corinthians 4 with the things which are seen, the Word of God says they're temporal, they're temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
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And so there's an exercise required, and I know Bob wanted to get more into the doctrine of all of this, but that word hid brings that before us to show us, I believe, that everything that is ours, while it is blessedly true, given to us in the word of God, made good to our hearts by the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Yet it is appropriated by faith, lived in and enjoyed by faith.
There will be a day, thank God, when it will all be manifested.
When as it says again.
In one John Three we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. So there will be a day when all that will be manifested, perhaps sooner than we think.
But for now it's a matter of that life being hid and yet nonetheless real, because it's hid and nonetheless, shall we say, important for us in its reality. You and I can appropriate it by faith, enjoy it by faith, walk in the good of it by faith, and recognize the reality of it by faith.
That's verse 4, isn't it, Bill?
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, that's His appearing because.
He's going to be manifested before this whole world. Every eye shall see him, and so we will be with him then when He comes back in power and glory, and then our life will be manifested.
Today, the world around doesn't understand why we Christians live like we do.
They can't do it. They can't understand it.
But they will in that day when they see us coming back with the Lord, because our life is going to be manifested.
I'd like to go back just briefly to verse one again.
And as I mentioned before, that word, if it's not calling in question, but it's you could use the word sin, since then you be risen with Christ. That's our position.
Seek those things which are above.
Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
I just in my own soul, rather than have felt that.
It's a exhortation that we need to heed.
So much of life in this world.
Is occupied with things down here, and it's not that it's wrong like Bill says we.
Have to go to school. We have to be occupied with a occupation. But, brethren, shouldn't there be part of every day when we seek those things that are above? We're going to spend all eternity.
There in that place of heavenly glory of which the Lord Jesus is the center.
Shouldn't we be occupied, and I have to say, so often, at the end of a day?
I reflect. What percent of this day have I been occupied with things that are above?
Could I say 10% most of the time? Not even 10%?
What percent?
The Lord give us to understand, brethren, but it does seem that we need to be occupied with that place, that is, that we are brought into in my faith in Christ.
Even now, brethren, we are to be occupied. We are to seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Still, remember one time South America.
We had a time with some young people and I said.
It says seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
And I said to the young people, OK, I want you to tell me some of those things that are associated with the Lord Jesus in his heavenly glory that we are to be occupied with.
You know what? The first reaction A blank.
Brethren, I don't think I'm any better. I'm not saying that to condemn anybody.
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But, brethren, are we occupied with anything above? There's the Lord Jesus heavenly glory. There's the Father's throne, where Jesus sits presently.
There are so many things.
Associated with that heavenly scene of glory that we.
Are so distracted with things down here. I'm not saying they're wrong. The things down here, we have to be occupied with them to a certain extent.
But shouldn't there be something given some time given to seeking those things which are above? I notice when people are going to travel to some place on a vacation, they often try to find out all they possibly can about that place before they go.
Why did they do that? Because they're going there and they want to know about it.
Rather than we're going to heavenly glory, and I really believe it's getting close.
Shouldn't we be interested in knowing as much as we possibly can? Sometimes people say, well, you can't know very much about that. It's so beyond us that is true. It's beyond us. But there are things that are said in scripture. The Tabernacle was made after the pattern of heavenly things.
Perhaps if we had studied the Tabernacle we would understand more about heaven.
And there's other scriptures. Revelation tells us about the heavenly city, tells us about other things there. The tree of life, the throne of God, from which flows the river of the water of life.
The light of that city, the gates, the foundations of that city.
Those are things we can set our minds on and I really believe it will have the effect.
Of our enjoying that life that is already ours here.
Could we say, Bob, that times the reason that we don't enjoy that new life as much as we should is because we haven't recognized in our own souls how bad the old man really is?
We didn't talk about the first chapter of Colossians, but there it brings out that we are delivered in verse 13 from the.
Power of darkness.
And very often I speak to my own heart.
Whether we're unbelievers and haven't been brought to Christ.
Or even as believers that know the same, we have to be reminded sometimes of how bad that old sinful self really is, don't we?
How bad we really are as children of Adam. Later on in this chapter we are told to put off a number of things, including anger. Raw, it says in verse 8, malice, blasphemy, Filthy, communicates a note of your mouth telling lies and all the rest of it. And of course the list could go on and on. And I suppose before we were saved, we often don't recognize how wrong these things are.
And in the world of today, if we could put it this way, especially in these favorite lands that have known the truth of the gospel, there is an increasing turning away from the word of God. And we see a lot of these things on the ascendancy in the world around us, and we tend to get a little bit.
Shall we say harden to them? We don't realize how bad the old sinful man, the old man, really is in Adam, and so sometimes the Lord has continually to remind us of that, doesn't he?
Even as believers, but certainly as unbelievers, what was the beginning of our Christian pathway? It was a matter of being brought to the point that we recognize that what God said about us was true. That when he said we were not only sinners but lost sinners, that it was true that there was an absolute need for repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. I know that isn't primarily the subject of Colossians, but.
Will never really seek those things which are above until we realize the worthlessness of everything that God has saved us from.
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Would you say, brother, that you learn that by being in the presence of the Lord, not by being out in the world and learning it by experience?
Amen. Sad to say. Some do learn it by being out in the world, and they can say as the current catch phrase goes.
Been there, done that.
But anyone that I've ever talked to that has ever been able to say that about some?
Sin that they were involved in.
Is never proud of it. As a believer, they're never pleased with the fact that they have been exposed to the depths of sin that others have not. And we as believers, I believe, have two ways of learning how bad the sinful self really is. We can believe what God says about it, as Bob was bringing out. Or, as one of our good writers put it, we can have the Lord take us by the collar.
And hold us over an awful Cliff and say, do you see where you're headed? If you keep on this path, do you see where that sin will lead you?
And if we don't listen, the Lord may in a measure have to let us go down that Cliff to see where it goes. And it's very sad, but we don't have to be exposed to all the sin in this world to know how bad the flesh is. That's a good remark, brother.
Draw me, and we will run after the the King had brought me into his chamber.
I am black but comely.
O ye daughters of Jerusalem.
Here the the the the bride is longing to have the assurance of the love of the bridegroom. The bridegroom brings him into his secret chambers and reveals things to the heart of the bride, and ** *** comes out with two two things.
I am black.
And but comely.
And when we, when we get into the presence of the Lord, just the two, the two of us, as it were, and He reveals to us the things that he wants to to show us, he'll show us two things. He'll show us that we're black.
Will also show us. He'll show us what we are in ourselves and then he'll show us what we are in him.
So we're black and we're comely.
I'd like to make a comment along the line of what Bill just was remarking.
People in general recognize their sinners.
Most anyone will if this, even if they don't believe in God.
Will recognize what they might call sin, and man in general recognizes that there is sin and that he's a Sinner, but man in general does not recognizes that he's lost.
And they're different.
I'm a Sinner for what I've done.
I am lost for the condition in which it's put me.
I'm lost for what I am.
And as a consequence, when man sinned, he became lost.
And I'll he doesn't know how to find the path of life.
And so man is constantly trying, even in his condition, even if he says he's a Sinner.
And he's constantly trying something or the other that will satisfy his desire to be happy.
The woman at the well had had five husbands. She wanted happiness. She wanted something out of life.
And Adam's race, as we've been talking of it, doesn't recognize that it's lost.
The way of life it knows not.
There's a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
And if I put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to take care of my sins, but I don't recognize.
In a practical sense that I was lost, I may still try to find happiness in life on my own.
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I may say I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, I'm going to do the other in life. And underneath it all is the desire to find satisfaction and happiness.
But the truth of the matter is, man cannot.
Find it.
And so God came to seek that which was lost.
He came for man to seek him, that he might be found.
And that as a consequence of being found, he might also show him the path of life and guide him in it. And I'd just like to make a couple of comments about that as it connects with our chapter Colossians 3 turn to John's Gospel, chapter 17.
This is the prayer of the Lord Jesus at the end of his life, when he's talking to the Father as the Son and could speak of things as already accomplished.
Even though, as to time, he still had to go to the cross.
And so, in speaking to his father, he says to them.
Verse 19.
For their sakes.
That's those who are trusting in him.
For their sakes, I sanctify myself that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
What he's saying to the father here is father, I'm leaving this world.
I am going to put my I'm going to be with you on high in a separated place that is not tainted by sin, the Father's house.
The father's place. And he said I do that for their sakes.
Why? Because we have a life.
That finds his satisfaction in himself and in nothing else. He knows it.
We do have a life.
In Christ that is satisfied by himself.
The love of Christ constrains us. It does. It's not. Maybe it will. Or maybe it could.
Or maybe it will satisfy.
Absolutely it does. And the Lord Jesus sets himself on high as the object. Christ our life, set your mind on things which are above, he said. I put myself in a separated, pure place, and there my own hidden, yes.
The world sees it not. The world knows it not. It's not on earth. It's separated from earth. But nonetheless the eye is placed upon himself and finds his satisfaction of heart and occupation with himself.
One more verse in connection with it and 2nd Corinthians chapter 3.
And verse chapter Corinthians chapter 3.
Verse 18 But we all with unopened face, beholding us in a glass, or without a veil, the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, that is.
The one that Bill spoke about in one John Three that has this hope of being like him and the assurance that he's going to be like him.
When he sets his mind. When he sets his thoughts upon the Lord Jesus.
God says that's good. And while your mind is set upon him, while your thoughts and affections are on himself, I'm going to do a work. You're not gonna do it, but I'm gonna do a work. I am going to change you daily to be more like him.
By my spirit, And so the Spirit of God working in the soul of us.
Sepsis with himself in such a way that we are changed to be more like him. It's a process and we know that when we get home to glory and are with himself, the process is finished. And when he then appears, as we've already had in Colossians 3 and 1St John 3, when he appears we'll be like him.
Completely, perfectly and forever like him because the last step of the process.
Is to take these bodies that we have that he paid for, and as Romans 8 says, he's going to redeem them. And when he redeems them, he will change them to be like unto his own body of glory. He will remove from them that thing in us called sin that still resides in our flesh. And then we will be forever.
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Just like our Lord Jesus Christ in glory.
Imperfection.
As Brother Clem Buchanan used to always say, wonderful thought, he said. God is so delighted with his son.
That he wants heaven to be full of those who are just like him, and God is going to have that desire realized.
And so just one more little practical comment, brethren in connection with him as your object and my object, it's a nice thing when you wake up in the morning.
The the first thought of your mind is Good morning, Lord.
And when you go to bed at night, the last thought is good night, Lord.
As in his heart, so is he. That's why it's so important.
That we don't let our minds go helter skelter and.
We need to control him, Peter says. Gird up the loins of your mind.
And we need to control our thinking. Don't sit in front of.
A tube that will occupy you with things that are negative.
You are responsible for what you allow your mind to think about.
We Scripture speaks a lot in the different Epistles.
In Second Corinthians chapter.
10 it says, bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Oh the Lord, help us, brethren, to gird up the loins of our minds, to set our minds on things above in the world we live in. Sometimes may not be anything morally wrong, but I notice.
Sometimes young people get involved in reading novels.
It's not true. And Scripture says whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are, umm, honorable. What sort of things are just there be any virtue, And if there be any praise, think on these things. Occupy your mind with things that are true, so important because it will have a forming effect on your life and mind.
Brother Lundin used to say, and I think this is a very practical he used to say, you become holy by spending time with him who is holy, not by trying to be holy. And I believe that the same thing is not to find out how bad we are. You will find that out by being in the presence of him who is holy.
So we set our minds on things above. The more time that we spend in the presence of the Lord, the more these things will be real with us.
278.
Colossians 3:3-7
Reading
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We're reading in Colossians chapter 3. I wonder if Bob if you'd have a suggestion where to start.
About verse 3.
Colossians Chapter 3 and verse 3.
Christ in God, When Christ, who is your life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members, which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate, affection, evil, concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry, for which things sake, the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.
Into which he also walks sometimes when you lived in them. But now ye also put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication. Out of your mouth lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew circumcision, nor in circumcision, barbarian, Scythian bond, nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye, and above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which also you are called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.
Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord and whatsoever you do in Word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.
Wives, submit yourselves and your own husbands, as it isn't fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
Servants, obey in all things your masters according to flesh, not with eyes service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever you do do it hardly as to the Lord and not to men. Knowing that of the Lord he shall receive the reward of the inheritance. For you serve the Lord Christ, but he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done. And there is no respect of persons.
I know Brother Bill spoke extensively about verses three and four yesterday rather than perhaps.
We should move on, but I do want to focus again on, especially verse 4, verse three, Our life is hidden, we're told.
And verse four, our life will appear.
And we will appear with him in glory. But I found it such a blessing, brethren, this expression in verse 4.
Christ.
Who is our life?
In the beautiful, isn't that wonderful that we can look at an object that is completely perfect in every aspect of the word and say with scriptural authority?
That is my life.
We look sometimes at ourselves and when we do so, we see failure.
And brethren, I can't say I'm without failure.
We still have that old man in us, but we need to recognize by faith what God has said, that what you see.
Failure that you see in you and me and maybe your other brethren. That is not my life. My life is there at God's right hand. He's one that is completely perfect. The more you and I are occupied with him, like Brother Don mentioned yesterday in Second Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18.
We all with unveiled face.
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Beholding the glory of the Lord are changed.
We're not changed by looking at our failures, brethren. We have failures and we need to judge them.
And confess them to the Lord when there is failure.
But that's not what is going to transform me. It is looking to him.
In all His perfection, and I must say, increasingly as I read through the Gospels and see the perfection in our Lord Jesus.
Always completely balanced. We sometimes get on the side of grace and we forget truth. Or we get on the side of truth and we get we forget grace. We're not balanced in ourselves. That's why we need our brethren too, to help us.
But there was one man who?
Was always completely balanced, and I marvel as he meets the Samaritan woman there at the well of Samaria, how he met her in perfection. Did he compromise truth in meeting with that woman?
You know, after he had offered her the water of life and she had asked for it, he said Go call thy husband and come here.
And she says, I don't have a husband. I suppose she wanted to just kind of cover her life up by that simple statement. The Lord Jesus said to her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. And the one you now have is not your husband that sits thou truly.
You know what my marvel at Brethren is? The way that he manifested himself to her. She did not feel repulsed. She felt drawn. That's grace and truth. He did not compromise truth, brethren, That's our life. That's our life. And the more we're occupied with that.
In all his perfection, the more it will transform you and I morally while we're here in this world.
Christ is our life. It doesn't say Christ should be our life.
He is our life. That's what scripture says. But then just to go on a little bit further in verse 4.
When Christ who is our life.
Shall appear. Then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Whenever it speaks of the appearing, sometimes it uses the word, the manifestation.
Or Scripture uses the word revelation as well. We're talking about the Lord's coming at the end of the tribulation with his Saints and brethren.
We properly speaking, our hope is not only the rapture to see the Lord in the air, that's what we look for forward to at any moment, but it is also the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
And I suggest, brethren, if you look into scripture, the Old and the New Testament, both are full of scriptures dealing with the appearing.
I really believe it will be the most glorious.
Display of power and glory that this world has ever or will ever see. The heavens are going to open and Jesus is going to come.
In all his glory. And we're going to accompany him. Think of the millions upon millions of all the Saints from all times. And it also says the angels of his power are going to accompany him at that time too.
Those poor armies that are going to congregate to do war against him will not have one chance, and he's going to take the beast and the Antichrist and cast them into the lake of fire. He's going to slay those armies. He's going to establish his Kingdom.
With power and glory, brethren, these things are before us and we need to live in view of that fact. He's coming and he's going to display his glory, and we are going to be displayed in glory with him.
Christ is our life.
That is hid. Today people look at the believer and say, what in the world do those Christians live for? It's hit, but in that coming day our life will be manifested.
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With him in glory.
And so could we suggest that there is a relatively simple antidote?
When these questions of sin arise in our hearts, and when the old sinful self rears its head.
Again, as Bob said, not to dwell too much on these verses because there is much more in this chapter.
But there's a very simple way of dealing with it.
And that is simply to turn away from it.
To look up and say Lord.
I thank thee that thou seest me.
Not as a lost, guilty, helpless Sinner, but rather as being in Christ and having new life in him, and that thou seest me in all the perfection of Christ himself.
And when that really gets a grip on my soul and I realize how God sees me in that way, I would suggest that the overwhelming sense of the grace of God is the strongest, shall we say, force, to keep me from falling into sin and worldliness by realizing that Christ is my life, He is up there in glory. I am going to appear with him someday.
But even now.
He is my life.
And I am entitled, I say entitled to say, to that old sinful self.
You have no rights anymore.
My new life is in Christ.
Like to look at Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20 in light? It's a well known verse in light of our chapter.
Galatians 2 and 20.
Fossil, Paul says I am crucified with Christ.
We had that yesterday in the reading.
That when the Lord Jesus died, that was the end before God.
Thing to come from the creation of Adam as far as life is concerned.
And so he died, and in God's sight we who have faith in Christ died with him, and that was the end of us before God as far as responsibility.
Connected with the atom creation.
But then, so Paul says I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live, that is, Paul could say it, but.
Although I died, I'm I'm not dead.
I do live.
And how does he live the life which I now live in the flesh? That is, he had a body, and that body was alive, and in that body there was a life to be lived. If he had died with Christ, then what life was living there before God?
He says I live.
By the faith of the Son of God.
Who loved me and gave himself for me.
The life of Christ that he received by faith was in him.
Christ in you the hope of glory were told.
And.
So that he now lived a new life.
That life was Christ, and also in connection with our chapter here it says.
I live by the faith of the Son of God. That means I live by that faith.
Which has the Son of God as its object.
That was the object of his faith, the Son of God, that was the one that he had his eye on.
That he lived with him before his soul is the object of that life. I'd like to make a further comment on this matter of life, and it's really very important to understand in light of the verses that follow.
Each one of us here came into this world receiving a life through our parents.
And once we were born, we had a life that we could say was independent of our parents.
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That is, we live, they live. We can die. They can die. It's not the same life. We got life from them, but we have our own life and they have theirs.
That's not the way scripture presents new life to us.
The Word of God would teach us that.
In new creation with respect to God, there's just one life.
Just one. It's the life of Christ.
And we have been made to participate in that life, but not independent. And that's the great difference. The life that we now have, the life of Christ, is not independent life.
There's really just one.
And that's a wonderful truth that makes us recognize the holiness, the purity, the character.
Of the life we have. It's the life of Christ. It's Christ in US, and as such, it can never be lost.
If I can lose it.
I can't. Then Christ could lose his, and we know that's impossible. It's life beyond death. It's life that's eternal in its character. And so the exhortations that begin in verse five are based on that fact.
That we're to put certain things to death with respect to the body, the members.
Because it's saying to us.
Don't anymore live according to the old.
Those impulses, that nature, that character of the old so-called life, is not to be seen anymore.
It's judged as dead with Christ, and if that.
And this is important to recognize. According to Romans, where it's more developed, we still do have within us, in our members, in our body, that thing called sin.
We're to treat it as dead, but in that's one part of the truth. But the other truth is it's something that is in US and it's something that is can still capable of acting. And it's in Romans 8, God says it's condemned.
And when we're taken to heaven, it'll be removed from us, and then we shall be like him.
In a perfect, complete sense. But until then, because that thing called sin still resides in our members, even while it's a condemned thing, it has to continually be recognized in us as something that's been judged and morally were to look upon it as dead to it.
And consequently, these exhortations are based on these foundational truths, really, that there are in the practice of life. That's why verse five is an exhortation. It means something we have to it's not our position before God. In other words, it's not something that is simply so because Christ died for us and took care of our sins and gave us eternal life. But these things are practical exhortations based on those truths.
And so it's put as put to death, something that we're exhorted to do in a practical sense and carry out in our daily life. And there are those things that are mentioned here that no longer are to be allowed as part of everyday life, but to be treated as condemned, judged and dead before God.
Not to be too technical, but Don while you're on that subject.
Could you give us something on the difference between what is mentioned in verse 9?
Seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.
What is the difference between the old man and the flesh? We know there's a connection between them, but yet they're not the same and it's important to have the difference. Is there a simple way we could see a difference between them?
Man.
With that thing called sin in his members.
When looked at by God as a creature of Adam is looked at by God as in flesh.
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Romans 8 tells us they that are. Well, we better go back to it if we're going to look at it and actually read the verse.
Romans chapter 8.
Romans chapter 8 and verse eight. It says so then they that are in the flesh or in flesh cannot please God.
If God has to look at me, and He did when I was born into this world.
Lost and very soon a Sinner by action, when God looks at me. He looked at me then as a creature before him.
Living in a condition that's here called in flesh. It's called in flesh because within me is that thing that we call in Roman sin. Sometimes we refer to it as the old nature.
And that old nature resides in the members. It's connected with the body itself. In Chapter 7 of Romans and when God looked at me, he said.
That person dawn is in flesh, and then he tells us here they that are in flesh cannot please God.
A person in that condition before God never does anything.
That God can be happy with because why? Because every action of that person in that condition.
Springs with motives that come from that sinful nature.
Everything that the person does results from the activity of that sinful nature of that person, and so when God looks at that person, he says.
They're in flesh.
And consequently, as in flesh, they cannot please God.
When we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God comes to dwell within us. And when the Spirit of God comes to dwell within us and also God gives us a new life, the life we've been talking about.
Then God looks at us differently, as we have in Romans 8.
Were treated as is. It says verse 9 Ye are not in flesh but in spirit.
If so, be the Spirit of God, dwell in you.
And so he looks at us differently and says.
All right.
You're in spirit because the Spirit of God dwells in you, and that Spirit of God will work in you to cause you in the new life.
Act in a different motive and for different reasons. And those I'm pleased with because I God the Spirit.
I am the source of the motives and the activities of that life. And so God looks at that life and he finds pleasure in it and he's pleased with it. But if you look at man as he was, as a whole.
In his nature, in his character, in his activity.
The whole sum of it. Scripture describes it in Romans, in Ephesians, and in Colossians as the old Man.
Because it's that which is seen as a whole.
The more detailed side of it is the flesh and sin, but when looked at as a whole, it's called the Old Man.
And consequently there was about us before God that which he calls the old man.
But once we become a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Then God has put us into a new position and a new condition before him.
And a new character of life is seen in us and that is called the Newman.
But it's the whole looked at as a as a complete thing.
And Ephesians and Colossians bring before us the new man. Romans doesn't go that far. We don't see the new man so much in Romans, but we see him in Ephesians and in Colossians. And just to make one further comment about it.
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In Ephesians and Colossians, man isn't looked at in the same way as he is in some of the other epistles there. He's starting point.
That God is working with is a dead man.
In Romans he is seen as a living, responsible man before God. But in Ephesians and Colossians, the very viewpoint of God is man is dead.
And God has to work to give him life. So ye who were dead, as it says in Ephesians in trespasses and sins. And then God works, and the result in Ephesians is he gives life, and then he takes us positionally with Christ to be seen in Ephesians, in the heavenly places in Christ. And it's the highest Christian truth as to the position of the believer.
In Ephesians, he's seen in in the work of God is in Christ in heavenly places.
In Colossians, it doesn't go that far. We are seen as dead, we are seen as given life, but we're still seen as on earth with a heavenly object. And so in Colossians, where we're reading in this chapter, we're not looked at as in heavenly places as we are in Ephesians. But God is giving us exhortations as a people who have new life with a heavenly object. But we're still on earth.
But we're still to live before God as new men.
And all that we were as men in the flesh, we should have come to the conviction that that's something that is put off.
I have found it help thinking about it, brethren, to go back to perhaps to Romans Chapter 7 to point out.
Something there that is said we talk about sin in the flesh. Sometimes it's called just simply sin. That's the sin nature.
But look at what it says here in verse 17.
Now then.
It is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing verse 20. Now if I do that, I would not it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
That's that sin nature.
If we go on to chapter 8 like Don was mentioning, our position there in verse one is in Christ Jesus.
And in verse 9, like Don mentioned, says ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.
Now put those verses together. We are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit.
In verse in Chapter 7 it says sin dwelleth in US. And so while we are here in this world that sin nature is in us but we are not in that sin nature we are in Christ. And if you can simply understand it in the simplicity of scripture, I believe it really helps when it says here in our chapter like Bill was drawing attention to.
You have put off the old man with his deeds. It's that whole.
Thing that we were as men in the flesh, we have come to the conclusion that God has.
That there is nothing profitable in that God has condemned that He's condemned sin in the flesh. So in that sense of the word, we come to the conclusion we put that off. But it doesn't mean that we deny that there's sin in US, but that sin in us is something we have to reckon as dead, as we were talking about yesterday.
And that's where we're getting to in verse five of our chapter.
Mortify or put to death, therefore your members which are upon the earth, and then it puts the pretty serious list fornication.
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Uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
My late father-in-law was in the Second World War, an officer in the Canadian Navy, and he used to use an example that I found helpful, he says. In this chapter there is a change of command of the ship.
And when this new commander comes onto the ship which is our Lord Jesus.
Why there are some members of that crew that are so bad?
That they have to be put to death. And so that's what we have in verse five. We have another list in verse 8. And he says these members of the crew are also bad, but it doesn't say mortify them. It says put them off, put off these. So some of the sailors are put off the ship. They no longer have a place.
Because there's been a change of command on that ship. Oh brethren.
You're young people when there's been a command, a change of command in our lives, no longer I but Christ, I love that those 4 words that in that verse that Don mentioned in Galatians 220, not.
I but Christ. What a tremendous model for the Christian life. Not I, but Christ.
There's a change of command. I'm not the one that directs the ship any longer. There is somebody else that has come aboard. So there are things in life that must be put to death.
Does a dead man sin?
No. Why not?
Because he's dead.
Like I mentioned yesterday, sometimes I've had young people say I don't feel bad.
Talking about feelings here, we're talking about what God says we are and we are to put that into practice. So even though I don't feel that in there and that old flesh in me wants to rise up and do it anyhow, I say you're dead and leave it there. It's not struggling with those sinful things. It is simply recognizing what God says. We're dead.
And then we put to death.
Those.
Members upon the earth.
And it gives that terrible list in verse 5. This is what is so characteristic in the world that we live in. And sometimes, like was mentioned yesterday, we start to accommodate some of these sinful practices that are so evident in the world around.
Clearly, may the Lord help us simply to obey what he says here.
There are two great figures in the Old Testament that I think.
Help illustrate the New Testament epistles and help us understand the things we're talking about. One of those figures, of course, is Israel's journey from Egypt to Canaan.
And I think it's helpful to see that in connection with what we have here.
First of all, if we look at the book of Romans, we find that that corresponds with the Passover and the Red Sea.
The verses we've been reading about in Romans really have to do with what's illustrated by the Red Sea. And it's often been said that in the Red Sea we have an understanding of what Christ's death means to me.
But then they went, entered into the wilderness, and it's no longer the book of Romans so much.
Romans introduces us to the wilderness, but then we have books like Philippians where we're seen as men on earth looking up towards heaven.
2nd Corinthians, First and second Peter, 1St and 2nd Thessalonians. Perhaps we'd say the 1St and 2nd Thessalonians is first because those were words written to brand new believers. And then they go on. And then when they got to the Jordan River, we have what really corresponds to Colossians, as brethren have often thought.
It's not exactly a wilderness book.
But it's crossing the Jordan River and Justice entering into the new land of Canaan.
Thirst After Righteousness
Address—Don Rule
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Return first to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5.
Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 5.
And verse one.
And seeing the multitudes he Jesus went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him.
And verse six Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness.
For they shall be filled.
We know these words were first spoken quite a while ago.
By the Lord Jesus in front of a group of people.
And I believe it's still the message in the heart of the Lord Jesus.
For you and me in this room this afternoon.
That the Lord Jesus himself would say to us, as he says in verse six, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst.
After righteousness.
For they shall be filled.
I suppose not all that's going to be said in the next hour is going to be equally understandable.
To all of us, some of it may not be said very clearly.
Possibly even not completely accurately, but I hope that each one of us.
Will have at the end of this hour a renewed.
Or a fresh desire to thirst after righteousness.
Not only here, we're not simply talking of being righteous before God.
That's important. That's essential. We're going to look at that.
But particularly the burden of one's heart, I trust, of the Lord, is that we thirst after a practical daily life of righteousness.
Before God.
Now turn with me to Romans chapter 3.
Romans chapter 3 and verse 10.
As it is written.
There is none righteous.
No, not one.
Now over to Hebrews chapter one.
Hebrews chapter one and verse 8 But under the sun he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever.
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy Kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity or lawlessness.
Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
Sadly, for thousands of years, God had to look down upon his creature, man on this earth.
Where he had placed him, and he examined, one by one, life by life, the people who were on the earth.
And accepting those in whom by His own grace He worked, He had to look upon man, and even those in their natural state before His work on them.
And he looked at each one, and he did not find righteousness.
Not one single person in all that history.
Naturally speaking that God looked at, could he say, ah, there's a righteous man, not one.
Until the Lord Jesus Christ.
And we just read about the Lord Jesus, that wonderful man that is God, watched him go through his life. He could report to us concerning that life as we have here in Hebrews unto the sun.
He says.
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Thou hast loved righteousness.
We don't naturally love righteousness.
We are not as born of our parents.
Of a righteous nature or a righteous attitude.
We're not very aware of it. Most of the time we don't realize.
How unrighteous we really tend to be.
But here the Lord Jesus was a man who loved it.
And it's the desire of my heart that each one of us in this room that God could look upon our lives and say there's one who now loves righteousness.
He didn't. By birth.
Of his parents. But by new birth he has been brought into that place in life that he now loves righteousness.
And so it was of the Lord Jesus and the opposite.
It said hated lawlessness. That's the very root principle of what sin is.
Says elsewhere sin is lawlessness. He hated sin.
And if we truly love righteousness, the opposite will be true. We will hate sin.
Let's turn to.
Colossians. Well, now I'm going to go back.
Turn to Colossians Chapter one.
We're seeking this afternoon to lay a little bit of more groundwork underneath our Bible readings.
Which started in chapter 3 and went back to chapter 2. But I'd like to comment and make some comments on what's even more on the foundation.
And it's found in chapter one.
Verse 19.
For it pleased the Father, that in him should awfulness dwell, Speaking of the Lord Jesus, and having made peace through the blood of his cross.
By him to reconcile all things unto himself.
By him I say, whether they be things on earth or things in heaven.
And you who were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unbelievable, and unreprovable in his sight.
Keep your finger here.
I meant, and I want to do it now, but keep your finger here. We're going to return immediately after reading a verse in the Psalms.
Psalm, Chapter 85.
Psalm 85 and verse 10.
Mercy and truth.
Are met together.
Righteousness and peace.
Have kissed each other.
OK, now back to our chapter in Colossians.
What we read here in Colossians talks about a conflict between God and man.
Over the matter of righteousness.
We are naturally.
In conflict with God.
Over the matter of righteousness.
We sometimes resent.
God.
I'm speaking not as a Christian here, but man in nature we sometimes resent the way God deals with us.
Enmity, it says. That means ill will. There is an ill will between man and God. There is a constant conflict between man and God.
There's never peace in the relationship.
Because righteousness and peace go together in Scripture. If there's not righteousness, there will not be peace.
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According to God.
And there isn't peace between God and man because there isn't a common acceptance of righteousness.
I want to use several illustrations because if this part of the message isn't understood.
Then I don't think the rest is going to mean very much.
When I was a boy.
My mother had a very strong rule in the house where I lived.
And that was all of us had to come to the meals.
Having washed our hands.
And most meals, My mother, when we got to the dinner table, she asked the question, Have you washed your hands?
After a while, if you hadn't, you usually didn't even answer, you just got up and went off to do it.
But against the record of my life.
I don't know how many times but.
A number of times there is sin recorded.
Over that matter.
Because sometimes when my mother said.
Have you washed your hands?
I answered yes out loud.
And under my breath I said yesterday.
That was sin.
And it was an issue of righteousness.
My mother had a rule.
And I didn't always like it.
At times, perhaps I resented it.
I thought my mother was saying something that was unnecessarily strong.
And it resulted in disobedience and lying in me.
That not only resulted in lying, but there were feelings within me.
Against my mother.
Because she insisted on something that I didn't fully agree with.
She was Mother. I didn't say it out loud, but the feeling was inside.
I didn't love righteousness in that.
I loved my own way.
I wanted my way.
And it put me in conflict.
Sin is lawlessness. Sin is the desire to have my own will.
Even if it's not God's will.
I noticed there's another example and it's not meant, although you some will find it a bit amusing, but it's not meant to be amusing, It's meant to show you and me to illuminate to us.
Sadly, the way we tend to be, even as believers.
And that's the point of this message in part, that we would thirst after righteousness and not be this way.
In practice.
I find it's in this matter I'm going to speak of. Much easier for me to appear righteous.
In Colorado.
Wyoming.
And Utah than it is in Illinois, where I come from.
And that's in the matter of speed limits.
I find that out here.
Typically for a given type of highway and road condition and so on.
The speed limit is typically 10 miles an hour faster.
Higher than where I come from.
I like that.
I like that.
So.
My will, my desire.
And that of these states fits together. Now, I suppose if I live here a while, that would change, because I'm not changed. When I move from one city or place to another, I carry myself with me.
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But for a little while at least, it's nice out here speed wise.
But back home, where the rules are different.
There is that sense of do I have to, does it matter? And so on, because my will.
And the will of the lawmakers doesn't line up very well.
Suppose as another example.
Which some of you I know have heard, but if I put a yellow line down here on the floor in the front of the room.
And I say to you, don't cross the yellow line.
What do you want to do?
What do you want to do?
Who says so?
Who made the rule? Why does the rule exist?
What happens if I do?
Maybe I'll just cross it and find out.
That's lawlessness.
That's lawlessness.
That's a desire.
Against.
Righteousness.
And there's this constant conflict between man and God over the issue.
You can tell a man about the love of God.
You can tell a man he's a Sinner.
And it to some degree, it's hard to find a person that will say I'm not a Sinner.
No, everybody's a Sinner.
Usually a person, although they don't like the word Sinner, don't deny it, don't argue about it, they accept it.
Everybody is.
But it doesn't mean they want righteousness.
Why does God have to insist that we measure up to some standard called righteousness? Righteousness in a general way means acting consistent and proper with a relationship.
God has established a relationship with us. I had a relationship with my mother.
And my father.
We're all in relationships to the law and so on, and in those relationships there's a responsibility to act consistently.
But there's also innocent enmity and ill will when somebody is insisting on something that we don't agree with completely.
Marriages break apart over the issue.
Parents and their children get at odds with each other over the issue.
Because there is within us this so strong tendency and desire that we don't want to submit.
To righteousness.
Do we want our own way? And if God insists on it?
We would really like God to change.
We would really rather have a God.
That kind of agreed, we found some common ground that lowered the standard a little bit, perhaps to the level that we consider we could manage.
Because we don't want to come short.
We want to have an image of ourselves that measured up.
We want to think of ourselves as OK, a righteous.
But it isn't so.
And so, man, is that enmity with God, because God doesn't change because God doesn't.
Compromise the matter and come to some agreement with us or when we come short, say OK, I know you're doing the best you can.
So everything is OK.
No, he doesn't.
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What's it say here that we read you were sometimes alienated and enemies?
In your mind.
That's what you were.
So what has God done?
So you changed the standard.
Has he accommodated us?
Has he given up being quite so righteous with us? No, he hasn't.
But does it say in verse 20 having made peace?
Through the blood.
Of his cross.
Righteousness and peace kissed each other.
At the cross.
God maintained his righteousness.
And for us, because he loves us, he did a work.
To establish between us peace on a foundation of righteousness.
He could not.
Compromise himself. He could not lower the standard of what's right.
Because we come short of it, because no one is righteous.
And so.
The Lord Jesus.
For God.
Established.
A righteousness.
For us.
Expensive.
Expensive.
You know, sometimes you do things and they're cheap.
Here it says, made peace through the blood.
Of his cross.
Cost the Lord Jesus his life.
To establish a way that there could be peace between God and man.
That cost him his life.
It was the cross involved.
Because man rejected it when it took place.
He didn't want it.
He didn't even thirst for it. He didn't say. Oh, it's wonderful. Man should have. If he had any sense of what it should have been. Men should have.
Quietly. Respectfully.
Accepted not with a cross, but the death of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to make peace.
Not only didn't accept it, he didn't look upon it respectfully, he said. We will not have this man away with him.
Now back to our reading meetings.
There is no ground of righteousness with God.
In the Adam race, none.
No man will ever be righteous.
As a child of Adam.
Only.
If he accepts the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Because Adams Rice is.
At enmity. The nature of man is at enmity with God.
And only in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ can that problem be resolved.
And man can be made righteous with God.
And as a consequence.
Find peace.
With God.
Find peace on the ground of God's righteousness for him.
Turn with me to Romans chapter 5.
Romans chapter 5 and we'll read starting at verse 17.
For if by one man's offense death reigned by one much more, they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ.
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Wherefore, as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation, Even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners.
So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where the sin abounded, grace did much more abound, That as sin hath reigned unto death, Even so might grace.
Reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
The law entered verse 20 that the offense might abound.
That is, God gave man a set of rules to live by.
That if he lived by them, he could declare properly before God and say I keep the law that is my righteousness and God would accept that.
That is acceptable with God. If a man keeps the rules, he may call himself, and God accepts it as true that he is righteous.
Man's own righteousness he may have.
Sadly though, as we've been talking, no man has ever done it.
No man has his own righteousness as that measured up to God's standard.
So he falls short.
And sometimes people have solutions to the falling short and the idea is, well, yes, I do the best I can.
And then the Lord Jesus Christ does the rest for me.
And then I measure up to what God will accept.
It's not Scripture. That's not the thought of God.
But that's on the idea of man.
Here we learn without trying to explain it very much, because it's not the main point, but notice the wonderful words of verse 17.
The gift.
Of righteousness.
God has done a wonderful work through the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
That satisfies God in a way that he can say to us.
Now we can have peace because ioffer you the gift.
A righteousness.
And if you accept the gift of righteousness?
I will put to your account.
That you are righteous through the work of my son.
The word justification is that which God does to put righteousness on our account so that we stand righteous before God in the work of Christ.
And we receive it as a gift.
And it's permanent. It's perfect. It's eternal.
In that way, God will forever look upon us as righteous.
In his eyes, through that mighty work of the cross, it's our position in Christ before God now, as righteous in him before God. And so when God looks at us through Christ, he says he's righteous, she's righteous, and it will never change. It's permanent. It's eternal.
Verse 21 Says as sin reigned unto death.
Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord through righteousness. I believe here means grace reigns on the foundation of righteousness.
God establishes that foundation of righteousness and then acts in grace to bring us into the benefit of it.
And so grace reigns through that righteousness unto eternal life to us. And so we have not only the gift of righteousness, but we have the gift of God, eternal life through Jesus Christ.
Our Lord.
And so God is justified.
00:30:03
He's just in granting life as he says in verse 18 unto all men.
There is that for all of us to be made right.
And have the right to life.
With God.
This is an address to believers, says young Christians. And so we address you on the ground that you've received that gift.
But I'll just stop and say if you haven't.
Your unrighteous.
And if you die in that condition, you will be forever separated from God.
There will never be peace between you and God.
Solemn, isn't it?
You may have heard it 1000 times before, but God, in love to your soul, has told you once more this afternoon.
That you might be serious in your need.
And don't expect God to accommodate your sinfulness, God to accommodate your desire to have your own will.
But.
Except you are in need of the righteousness of God in Christ.
Now turn with me.
To first Peter.
Chapter 2.
First Peter, Chapter 2.
First Peter chapter 2 and verse 24, who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness.
By whose stripes?
Ye are healed.
Do you do I appreciate.
That Jesus Christ took our sins on himself.
And bore them in his own body.
On the tree.
In our measure, we all do.
But do we embrace the rest of the verse?
That we being dead to sin we had this morning yesterday in the reading meetings.
That we are to be treat ourselves to recognize how God treats us. That we're dead.
Unto sins.
The sinful nature has been condemned and we're to put it in thought and practice in that place of death.
So he goes on, Peter goes on to say that we should live.
Unto righteousness.
That's the particular burden of my soul.
We live in a society.
That is so.
Unrighteous and ungodly.
That it is as easy to pick up the ways of.
The environment in which we live, almost as it is to breathe in the environment.
It is so easy to pick up the attitude unconsciously.
That we do not live.
A truly before the eye of God. Righteous life, dear young believer.
It's a foundation of life. It's a rock that needs to have the thirst in our souls to live it every day.
We can live for 50 years in the path of the Christian faith. We can have total understanding of our righteousness before God.
And yet, unconsciously.
Live a little unrighteous.
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A little below the mark.
You know, we had that, the standard.
God's standard is always consistent with himself.
We can say just like the people around us that we would condemn and say no, you can't go to heaven.
By doing the best you can and then having the Lord Jesus come in and do the rest.
But you know, in principle.
Unconscious, perhaps we can say.
Or act out the thought that.
No, I'm not perfect.
But thank God his grace will take care of the rest.
Thank God, the grace of God will make up in my Christian life where I come short.
Of the mark. In principle we are doing the same thing.
We are setting a standard that suits us.
In our daily, practical, everyday lives. And then we're counting on the grace of God to take care of the difference, to make up for it.
It's not.
It's not the life of Christ.
He loved righteousness he hated.
Lawlessness. God has given to us that life that loves righteousness and hates lawlessness.
And would desire of us to walk it carefully, prayerfully, dependently, daily.
The grace of God does not set aside righteousness.
In the first place, the grace of God has brought us into God's favor through the work of Christ on the cross.
But in our daily lives, it's the grace of God that works in us to enable us.
To walk consistent with our God.
To the full extent.
Of that consistency which was in the Lord Jesus Christ, do we fall short? Yes, we do.
But let us not lower the standard. Let us not dishonor God.
By living a little carelessly.
Because it's easy. Because everybody does it.
I don't want to make an issue with this, I'm not trying to make any comments about speed.
It's just an easy example, that's all.
But I'll tell you touch my conscience and it happened many years ago and it's still on my conscience at times.
But I was behind a brother going to meeting one time.
And I thought he was driving awful slow.
You seem to be driving awful slow.
When I looked at my speedometer and oh, he's driving the speed limit.
I watched him.
I saw that it was the habit of his life.
To be righteous.
In what?
Who is?
That's the thought. That's the attitude. Come on, let's not be too careful. Again, I'm only using that as an example because it touches my conscience. Maybe it touches yours. Maybe it's that which enables you to see.
The bigger picture.
Of what's at stake here?
Now turn over with me to second Peter.
Chapter 2.
Second Peter.
Chapter 2.
There are certain places in the Word of God in which.
The day in which we live particularly is brought before us. Second Peter, two and three. Second Timothy, Jude.
And so on are such places.
We're going to read a little bit in Second Peter Chapter 2, and we're going to see how in the day in which we live, how significant is the fundamental issue.
00:40:03
Of righteousness.
Peter says, but there were false prophets come in among the people.
Even as there shall be false prophets among you.
Who privily shall bring in damnable heresies and so on. The point in the first verse is simply that we're talking about in a general sense in Second Peter 2 about people within the profession of Christianity.
We'll see that in many cases there's not reality. It's a profession only, but they're within the what we would call the Christian profession or Christendom.
And.
They kind of bring in in a sly way.
Things that are wrong.
And dishonouring to God, it says in verse two, many shall follow.
Maybe we condemn them in a general way, but follow them in a small way without even knowing it, because it becomes so pervasive and common.
But as Peter says, God didn't lower the standard. God didn't change what he expected of man when the angels in verse 4.
Sandy didn't spare them.
In verse five, he didn't spare the old world. That's the world before Noah. From Adam to Noah. He didn't spare it.
But he saved Noah verse 5A, preacher of righteousness.
By God's grace, there was a man that did live righteously in an unrighteous world. He didn't spare that world, but he did spare that one righteous man and his family.
Then he talks about Sodom and Gomorrah and verse seven he delivered.
Just lot.
Vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked for that righteous man, you know we tend to put lot down.
Because he wasn't Abraham.
We tend to put Lot down because he didn't live a separated life.
But I want to give a good word of warning here.
It strikes my conscience when I see lot mentioned here as righteous.
Abraham lived in separation and righteousness.
Not lived righteously, but not in separation.
But there's a third possibility.
And that's to live in separation without righteousness.
That's the one that speaks to my own soul.
It's one thing to take an outside, separated place.
Not be lot in that way.
But then live a life.
Where the conscience is not tender toward God, as Lot's was about that which was inconsistent with what is honorable and proper before God.
So he goes on to say.
Of those verse 13 who shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, there's a reward for being unrighteous. We won't comment much on it, but it's there. You can read it.
And then it says in verse 14 having eyes full of adultery.
Verse 15 which have forsaken.
The right way?
And then it goes on and speaks also about covetousness. Two things that were commented on this morning in the reading meeting adultery or fornication and covetousness. Those are characteristics of lawlessness.
Those are the characteristics that are the opposite of thirsting and hungering.
After righteousness.
In the sight of God.
You have Balaam.
Brought out here and it says in the end of verse 15 who love the wages.
Of unrighteousness.
00:45:02
He loved what he could get.
By being unrighteous.
We sometimes will bend a little bit. Strict righteousness.
At least some of us might.
To gain something.
To gain something.
You know, we've been hearing the last couple of days about.
Benjamin JA in West Bengal, India.
His life is on the line.
Because he won't give up.
A matter of righteousness.
He's put his life on the line. He's put his wife's life on the line, He's put his children's life on the line.
Because.
In righteousness, he will not contribute to a community fund.
Because it's in support of a Hindu festival.
And the idol involved in it.
But it's so easy to say. Oh, I'll give a little bit.
And then everything will be at peace. But what would he sacrifice?
Righteousness.
And so here.
Verse 19 It says. Verse 18 Whom they when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh. Verse 19 While they promised them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption.
That.
Is we live in a culture in a world that promises liberty?
By people who are slaves of that which they promise.
Man is a slave of his own lawlessness. He promises liberty. Do this, do that. Have fun.
And what is the expense?
He's a slave.
Of the very things that he wants you and I to treat as exercises of liberty.
The warning to us verse 20 after they escape the pollutions of the world. Speaking of some.
Like some of us in this room who have escaped to some measure the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Knowledge of truth, knowledge that's gained in a meetings like this and at home, has its beneficial effect in an outward way at least, and should have its effect on the heart.
That has a preservative character to it.
They it says verse 21. It would have been better for some that have known that and then go back.
And say no, I want the world.
It says it would have been better if they had not known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from it.
Solemn, isn't it?
A true believer will not lose his life or his righteousness before God. But if there's a professor in this room and you turn away from what you're hearing in these meetings and you say I want the world, it would have been better for you never to have known.
What you heard here, it'll only make your ultimate judgment that much more serious and severe for you.
Now finally, let's turn over to one last verse.
And on a positive note.
In second Timothy.
Chapter.
3.
Chapter 4.
These may be at least they're near, if not the last words of the Apostle Paul in his own life.
I want to encourage you and I.
To have the same desire that the apostle Paul.
Had and believed concerning himself.
At the end of his life.
You know, it was so sad at home.
The other day there was some reading on. I guess it was. No, it wasn't the other day. It was Wednesday night in Colorado Springs. The reading meeting was in First Kings and it had to do with Solomon.
00:50:04
And it says these words about Solomon, this fantastic king, and all the glory and honor that was his and his Kingdom. But then it says and when he was old.
When he was old, he knew it all, He had it all. He was blessed of God in everything. But when it was all his life was coming along toward the latter parts of it, it says when he became old.
He went after.
Strange women and spoiled the testimony of his life. And it says he was not perfect before God. May God preserve us from that and may we go on. Young people start out that way and in that way, as Paul could say in verse 7.
I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith, the Christian faith, henceforth what there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.
Which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them that love is appearing.
Right now, as it's often said, righteousness suffers because it's an unrighteous world.
The Lord Jesus who loved righteousness and hated iniquity, God says, I'm going to put in your hand the scepter of righteousness and I'm going to have you reign in that character over the earth.
You shall reign in righteousness.
And there will be those who are living on earth today who at that time will wear a crown of righteousness because they embraced it.
They lived it out.
As Peter encourages.
That, and Paul knew he was going to receive it. He kept the faith.
He had fought the fight.
He'd gone against this current, if you will, and he says there's going to be for me a crown of righteousness.
It's impossible for me, of course, to know.
But with all my heart, I'm quite confident.
That I'm going to see some of you someday.
At the appearing.
Wearing that crown.
Would to God it was all of us.
Wouldn't it be wonderful?
Young people.
Don't.
Put your life in a practical way. Live it out. Don't compromise it. Don't give it up.
In the measure in which you walk in it, you will walk in peace, practically speaking, in a daily way with God. The moment you give it up, there's going to renew that tension. Even though your soul saved, there will be that tension.
We don't live in peace with each other.
That lasts on any other ground.
And living with one another on the ground of righteousness. And it's honoring to God He delights in it.
Tells us in Proverbs he He finds pleasure. You might say, what can I do for the Lord?
That's commonly asked question. Every single one of us in this room can please God, can please the Lord Jesus by living a daily life.
That is consistent.
With God.
In righteousness and enjoy it.
Last comment I would make is that thank God he's given us a life.
That delights.
Delights in willing obedience.
The life of Christ.
The life of willing obedience, happy obedience. May we embrace it.
Or God in.
Colossians 3:8-16
Reading
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Three if some brother would suggest where to start.
Verse 8. Colossians, Chapter 3 and verse 8.
The Bread of Life
Gospel—Bob 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.
Like to start our meeting tonight with #23 on our hymn sheets?
Behold.
Behold the Lamb of God on the cross.
For us he shed his precious blood on the cross. So here the overwhelming cry Eli lama Sabachthani draw near and.
The same eye on the cross.
One verse verily.
Verily I say unto you, The hour is coming.
And now is when the dead.
Shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.
Let's pray.
I had an interesting.
Experience in January.
Of this year.
My privilege to visit, as I do sometimes in Madrid, Spain.
Brethren that have immigrated from Bolivia and Argentina and the Dominican Republic.
And while we were there, we decided to make a trip over to visit.
A few brethren who gathered to the Lord's name in the South of Portugal.
Of course, Portugal, they speak Portuguese, and it is.
Quite related to Spanish, but I find it a challenge.
To communicate, I do my best.
What I didn't know was.
There's a sister in fellowship there that was very ill and while we were on our way over.
She passed away. She went to be with the Lord.
So when we got there, the brother, brother Leonardo Paquette, said to me.
You have to preach the gospel.
Well, that was quite a challenge for me.
But I you know, I've learned when it is difficult.
To express oneself in another language.
It's best to keep.
As simple as possible. You know what I found even when I speak the Gospel in English.
That it's best to keep as simple as possible.
So they gave me a Portuguese Bible.
And I went to John's Gospel, where I want to go with you all tonight.
Before we go to John's Gospel, I just want to.
Quote to you a verse in the Old Testament.
When Moses was sent to Egypt to deliver the people of Israel from the slavery of Egypt.
He said to God, God, if they ask me your name, what am I going to tell them?
And the Lord said.
You tell them.
I am that I am.
Tell them.
I am hath sent me unto you.
You know, only God can use that term.
I am.
I can tell you who I am, but I have to qualify it by saying I am Bob, Tony.
That qualifies. But God is so vast, so tremendous in every conceivable way that he can say.
I am. He's the ever existing one. He's the one that inhabits eternity. It's with this God that you and I have to do.
It's with this God that it says in the book of Hebrews.
All things are naked and opened to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
You cannot escape this God. He has come in the person of the Lord Jesus to this world so that we can know him.
00:05:08
Right here, where we are.
And when we go to the book of John's Gospel, where we want to go tonight, we're going to start with Chapter 6.
We'll find that there are several times that the Lord Jesus uses that term.
I am, and then he puts something else with it so that we can understand how very simple the message really is.
Chapter 6 of John's Gospel and verse 35.
And Jesus said unto them.
I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
Are your ears open, young people?
I want to ask you, please, to listen intently. These are not my words. These are the words of the Son of God, the Creator of the universe. He's the one that spoke them.
Open your heart and let these words penetrate.
I am the Bread of Bread of Life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall never first.
I said to those people that came to the funeral.
No estoy falando de una religion, estoy falando de mua persona. I'm not talking about her religion, I am talking about a person.
It's a person that you and I have to do with. We're not dealing about a religion here.
So many people get hung up with the thought of a religion. We're not dealing with religion here. We're talking with a person who said I am the bread of life, What do you need bread for?
To satisfy the hunger. And we're not talking here about the hunger of our bodies, we're talking about.
The human soul. And it's so evident that there are so many people.
That have an emptiness in their heart and in their soul. I don't know where you are in your relationship with God, but I know that if you do not know the Lord Jesus on this personal level that we're talking about tonight.
There is an emptiness in your soul.
And it can only be filled with the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the bread of life.
If you believe in him, you will never hunger. He is the one that can fully.
And eternally satisfy your soul. You know, this world has a lot of things that it offers.
In this world.
Sports is a big item on the list and I'm amazed how people get enrapped.
In the sports world.
United States, it's different kinds of sports. When you get out of the United States, it's soccer called in Latin America, football, Football.
And people get very fanatical about it.
But you know what?
It leaves an emptiness in your soul.
Remember hearing about in Peru? They had a championship game to be played with another country.
In the other country they're in Lima, Peru, defeated the Peruvians.
It was such a shock to those Peruvians that several young girls went out and hung themselves to light poles.
Out on the street, they couldn't stand it. Their soul was too empty.
Those things don't satisfy. Other people go for music and they try to drown their soul in music. Music isn't going to be the answer either. Others try alcohol, drugs, sex. Whatever it is you're trying, that is not the Lord Jesus. It's going to leave you with an emptiness in your soul. I remember when I was young.
00:10:21
I loved American football.
And Saturday afternoons, a bunch of us young guys from Oak Park area would get together and go up to the park and play football.
I enjoyed it. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I can specifically remember one Saturday afternoon after the game was over going back to my house.
With an emptiness in my heart.
Football couldn't fill that emptiness, and God allows that to happen so that you and I will realize there is only one that can fill that void. It is the Lord Jesus. Let me quote those words again that he said I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on me shall.
Never thirst.
Don't try.
To satisfy that empty spot in your soul with anything else but the Lord Jesus Christ.
He does fully satisfy. Let's go over next to the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John and verse 12.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
I am the light of the world. What do you need light for?
Says in Ephesians chapter 5.
Light is that which makes everything manifest. Without light, you can't see. You can guess, but you can't see. Somebody swips on the light switch and you can tell how many people there are in this auditorium, how many of them are listening, how many many of them are talking. You can see everything.
The light makes everything manifest.
You know what?
God knows everything in your life. There is nothing that you can hide from Him. People try to hide things.
We go to a prison there in Illinois.
To preach the gospel. And I like to stand at the door as the men are coming in and say hello to them and shake hands with them, and I try to look them straight in the eye.
So many of them won't look back at me. They'll have their head down. They'll have their head to one side. I'm not sure why they do that. Maybe they're just timid. Who knows?
But sometimes it's because there's something on their conscience.
I don't know what it is.
But there's somebody that knows every single detail of your life. Even those things you have forgotten are an open book to him. He is the light of the world.
In this chapter where this verse occurs, we have the story of a woman.
Who was brought to the Lord Jesus?
By the Pharisees, the religious of that day.
And they said to him, this woman was taken in adultery.
In the very act.
And Moses said we should stone this woman.
What do you say?
They thought they had the Lord Jesus trapped because they knew he preached forgiveness of sins.
And if he said you should forgive her, they would say well.
You are contradicting Moses.
But the Lord Jesus, at the same time as they were speaking to Him, saw through their hypocrisy. The sin of adultery necessarily involves a man. Where had they left the man? Why they only brought the woman?
And so he just simply Stoops down and writes on the ground. It doesn't say what he was writing.
00:15:02
But finally he stood up again and he said.
He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.
The Searchlight was trained right on them. And you know what happened.
One after another, from the oldest to the youngest, they got up and they went out.
Until there was nobody left except that poor woman.
And the Lord Jesus.
The Lord Jesus was without sin.
He yes, he could lift the stone and cast it at her. But you know what he had not come to condemn? He had come to save wonderful, wonderful message. And he says to the woman, Woman.
Where are thine accusers? As no man condemned thee, she said. No man, Lord?
And he said, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Isn't that wonderful? I don't know the story of your life. You know what happens so often, even amongst those that are brought up, as we say in the meeting, in Christian circles, they are into stuff that they don't want their mom and their dad to know about.
They may be even in the meeting. They try to hide it from their brethren that are interested in them.
You know what you've got to realize? You have to do with God, and He knows every single detail of your life. You cannot hide one single iota from Him. But He does not want to condemn you. He came to save.
And he's the same tonight, if you're there.
Just open your heart in realization that he knows your whole story and let him shine his light in. You Know what When his light shines in on you, it will set you free.
People that are always covering stuff up.
And their lives are not free people.
I find there's people that like to tell lies to try to cover stuff up, but you know, the only problem was they have to remember all the lies they told, so they don't. One lie doesn't contradict another.
And they generally end up contradicting themselves.
You cannot cover up in the light.
The light manifests everything at the same time that he is the light of the world. He is the savior of the world, and he wants to save you tonight. Where are you sitting? Down up there and those bleachers up there? Maybe you think that I can't see up there.
I may not be able to see There is a God who can see you and he knows everything you're engaged in.
Remember, he doesn't want to condemn you. He wants to save you.
Let's go on to the next one in the 10th chapter.
Where the Lord Jesus again says I am.
It's verse.
9.
Listen to these life giving words.
I am the door by me if any man enter in.
He shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.
Here's the door. The Lord Jesus is the door, not a religion. He doesn't say. You go to search your such a religion and there you will find the door. No, he says. I am the door. It's a person we're dealing with here.
And if you're going to get saved, you have to do with him, because he is the door. Wonderful simplicity.
Next one in verse 11.
I'm going to read verse 10 before I read verse 11.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal.
And to kill and to destroy.
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
00:20:08
I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
The Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
He is the I am the Good Shepherd.
Wonderful.
He knows that people are like sheep. Scripture itself says all we like sheep have gone astray and people are like sheep. They like to follow. They get some major name in music.
Or in sports, and they love to focus on that particular person.
They're like sheep.
The Lord Jesus says I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Here we have the very focus point of the gospel, and let me tell you about how he gave his life for the sheep. To me, it is the most wonderful story. We're not talking about just some mere man of history.
Yes, Jesus was a man of history, but we're talking about somebody that is far greater.
He is the creator of the whole universe.
But he came into this world.
He was born a human being he took.
Human flesh.
And he was born and he lived for 33 1/2 years.
The last 3 1/2 years of his life he was going about in public ministry, healing the sick.
Raising the dead.
Feeding the hungry?
Preaching the gospel to the poor.
The end of those 3 1/2 years?
The Jewish religious leaders arrested him and took him to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. They were not allowed to put anybody to death, so they had to do with the Romans.
And Pilot realized that they didn't have a case in this person.
And.
He tried to get out of that difficult situation, but when he saw the way things were going, he finally accepted their demands and sentenced him to the most awful death possible, the death of crucifixion. And I, I marvel when I think of it, the treatment they gave to the very Son of God.
Pilate condemned pronounced that he was innocent. He said, I find no fault in this man and then he tells him to take him out and scourge him. The Romans scourging was such a terrible process that those that were scourged often died when they were being scourged.
But they scourge Jesus, And then he was delivered to the soldiers, and they mocked him. They crowned them with thorns. They spit in him. They.
Beat him in the face.
And then they took him outside of the city of Jerusalem, and on Golgotha's hill outside they stretched out those hands that had dispensed such blessing, and they nailed them to the cross. And there they hung up the Creator of the universe on a cross.
Outside Jerusalem.
There he hung in terrible physical agony.
There was the reproach that broke his heart.
They said if he is the Son of God, let God deliver him.
Did God deliver him?
No answer from God.
Reproach has broken my heart, he said. And I'm full of heaviness, and I looked for some to take pity, and there was none.
And for comforters, but I found none.
00:25:00
But what I want to speak specially to you about.
Our brother this afternoon was talking about righteousness.
God is righteous. He is completely righteous.
No question can ever be raised about His complete righteousness.
If he's going to forgive sin.
Somebody has to pay the price for those sins. He cannot just sweep it under the rug. Sometimes we have that idea that God can just sweep our sins under the rug and that will be the end of it.
That cannot happen.
God must be vindicated in his holy character so that he can come out and extend forgiveness of sins.
And justification to the believer in the Lord Jesus.
And in those three hours when there was darkness over the whole earth, when Jesus was hanging on, that cross from 12 noon to three in the afternoon, was when Isaiah prophecy was fulfilled. 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 in those three hours of darkness God laid on Jesus.
The iniquity of us all and that storm of divine judgment that would have sunk us into hell forever broke on the head of our Lord Jesus. For three hours, the waves and pillows of God's judgment rolled over him so that God could be vindicated in his holy character so they can forgive you and me our sins.
I can't understand it. It's too tremendously wonderful.
This God himself paid the penalty for our sins in those three hours on the cross.
Before he died, he cried. It is finished.
All the judgment that was against me as a guilty Sinner.
Is finished.
The price of our redemption has been paid in full by the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on Calvary.
After he gave up his life.
As he was hanging dead on that cross, a soldier came up to make sure that those three that had been crucified were going to die that day. And he broke the legs of the one thief and of the other thief. And then he comes to Jesus when he says sees that he was dead already.
He didn't break his legs. He takes that spear and plunges it into his side.
And outflows blood and water.
The price.
Of our redemption was paid in full with the blood of God's beloved son. Oh, what a tremendous story.
They took him off that cross, they buried him.
And the third day, Sunday morning.
When they came to anoint his body, they found the grave clothes empty.
He was not there. He had risen from the dead. God was so satisfied with the payment that Jesus made that he raised him from the dead. And God did not cease to raise Jesus until Jesus as a man now sits at God's right hand over all principality and power and might and dominion, in every name that is named not only in this world, but in the world to come.
Yes, there is a man.
Of flesh and bones in the glory of God tonight.
And that man is able to save to the uttermost all that come into God by him.
I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Oh, what a wonderful story it is. He gave his life.
Where do you stand in relation to him?
Is he your Good Shepherd?
00:30:03
It is a matter of you coming by simple faith to him.
And accepting him as your savior, as your Good Shepherd.
Go over to the 11Th chapter now and we'll read one verse there. In verse 25, Jesus saith unto her, This is Martha.
Should maybe, before we read it, tell you what had happened?
Many of you know that Martha was one of two sisters.
That had a brother named Lazarus, and Lazarus had died.
And he had been buried four days. He had been buried.
And Jesus came.
And Martha?
Says verse 24. I know that he that is Lazarus shall rise again in the resurrection of the last day.
Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.
Believe us thou this, the Lord Jesus, is the resurrection. We live in a world that is full of death.
It even hits those who are believers in the Lord Jesus.
But isn't it wonderful to know that the Lord Jesus?
Is the resurrection and the life he his glorious person not a religion? Again, we're talking about a person.
I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Never die, You know, they say the two things that are most certain in life are taxes and death.
Well, there's something of the truth there. But you know what? I'm not really sure I'm going to ever die, not even physically.
But even if death should touch this body.
That I am in right now.
I have a life that death cannot touch, and when that time comes, if it should come before the Lord comes.
I will be present consciously, present with the Lord.
So we do not know we who are believers, if we will even physically die. It may happen, it may not happen. We are not certain of that. Because the Lord Jesus is the resurrection and the life. You know what's going to happen. The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout. This is going to happen at any moment now 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 unto the coming of the Lord shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord that's going to take place.
Any moment now.
I'd like to go over before we get to the end of our meeting to the 14th chapter where we have a very well known verse as well.
Verse 6.
Jesus saith unto him.
I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but.
By me. Here we have three I am the way.
I am the truth and I am the life.
Oh, how wonderful it is to know this person. We're not talking again about a religion.
Sometimes people qualify that we're religious people. Well, people have a lot of different opinions. Sometimes they might be right, sometimes they may not be right. I don't base too much on those opinions.
But we're not talking here about religion. We're talking about a person.
00:35:01
God's beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way.
You want to get somewhere, you have to look for the road.
And if you want to know something, you have to have the truth.
And if you want to live, you have to have the life, and the Lord Jesus is those three things.
Let me say that when we when he says this word, I am the truth.
We're talking about the truth in its absolute form.
Nobody else could dare say such a thing, and if he were not the truth, what he says here would be the terrible.
Deceit.
But it is what it is, the truth.
Absolutely the truth. You know, people say truth is just a relative thing. It just depends how you look at it.
If it depends on us, yes, it depends on how we look at it. But it doesn't depend on us. There is one who said I am the truth. Let me give you a little illustration if I reason from myself.
You can prove me wrong. Let me just give you a little illustration. I say that direction is up.
Looks like up, doesn't it to you?
But you can prove me wrong, because that direction on the other side of the world is down.
Why am I wrong? Because I'm reasoning for myself. When you reason from yourself, you will.
Be wrong and the great majority of the time.
You must begin with something absolute, and the Lord Jesus is the truth in its absolute sense.
It is so important that young people and older ones to realize that truth is absolute when we have it in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wonderful, wonderful person to know.
One more verse before we close our meeting and it's found in the 18th chapter.
Here, at the end of his life, they are coming to arrest Jesus, to take him, to condemn him to death.
Verse 3 Let's read from there. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him.
Went forth and said unto them, Whom Seek ye they answered him, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus saith unto them.
I am.
He and Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. And as soon then, as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground.
What we're talking about is a person who is very God.
Never was less, when he became Incarnate in this world, he still was God in the most absolute sense.
And as he comes out and meets those that came to arrest him, he just merely says I am and they fall backward to the ground. What happened?
There were soldiers there that were ready for conflict. What happened? It was the eternal God that it said I am. I read that because you know, dear young person, dear older one too, if you don't have to do with Jesus tonight.
You will meet him in the coming day. That same glorious person, the one who said I am, you cannot escape him. There is a day of judgment coming and we really believe that it's getting close.
God has appointed a day in which he will judge this world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, Whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he has raised him from the dead.
You.
Escape Jesus.
00:40:02
You must meet Him. If you will not have Him as your savior tonight, and He wants to save you tonight. If you will not open your heart to accept Him by believing in His name, then you will meet Him in a coming day as your judge. But it will be too late for salvation.
Don't put it off tonight. You can be saved, You can experience.
The fulfillment.
Of the Lord Jesus, the bread of life. Filling that void in your heart, you can experience what it means to follow the light of the world. No darkness there.
You can experience what it means to go through the door of salvation to know the Good Shepherd that gave his life for the sheep.
You can know him.
As the resurrection and the life in a world of death.
You can know him as the way, the truth and the life. What are you waiting for?
Right where you're sitting. Open your heart. Accept him as your own personal savior. So many young people are raised in the meeting, and sometimes I wonder.
If they are ever saved, they know all the answers.
They're not saved. Where do you stand with God tonight? I plead with you. Don't put it off tonight. There's an opportunity to receive him to them, that received him to them, gave he power to become the sons of God.
To them that believe on his name, let's pray.
Righteousness
Children—Tim Harkins
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.
Meaning, I would like to ask that any of the children that may be sitting back farther if they.
Are comfortable coming up into the front row. You might be able to see and hear just a little bit better, so I'd like to invite any of the of the younger ones that may be sitting back a little further to come on up to the front.
So on the hymn sheets that you have on the last page.
We have the hymns for the children and they're we only have time for a few of the hymns this morning.
So.
I'll just ask for anyone if you have a choice for one of the hymns this morning.
#44 and if I could ask my brother to help me start that.
Gypsy boy lay.
Alone at the close of the day, news of salvation we carried, said he.
Nobody ever has told it to me.
And again, tell that again.
Salvation story Repeat till man can say of the children of men.
Nobody ever knows.
It makes your life.
Say nothing to me.
I will be home.
Nobody ever does, sorry.
Salvation.
Nobody ever has told me before.
So that choice 4141. Thank you #41.
One brings them to the last World.
Right and prayers.
00:05:03
Where all the exchange stands upon our hands, and all of them.
Now.
Can we just sing on the ones on the Backpage?
46 Thank You 43 Thank you Andre.
Which one?
Thank you, Evan. Did you have a choice #5?
Number could be on the back page if we could.
Which #4242 #42 Thank you.
Let's look to the Lord for his help.
And then we'll.
Say our memory versus.
Our God and Father, we thank you for this opportunity to be here.
OK, so.
There are an awful lot of you guys up here and very thankful for that.
And we're not going to have time for every single one of you to say the memory verse this morning.
On the microphone.
But after the Sunday School is over, I have a bag of goodies. And if you would like to come up after the Sunday school is over and say your memory verse for me, I'll give you a reward. And those of you that say the verse this morning here, I'll reward you for that at the same time at the end of the Sunday School. So the verse this morning is in Matthew, chapter 6.
And verse 33. And I'm going to read it first, and then I'll ask for some volunteers to say the verse for me, It says, But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 633.
Do I have any volunteers to say the verse this morning? OK, Andre, just a minute.
You want to stand up?
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all the and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mark.
Matthew 6.
3333, good job. Thank you.
Andre, can you come over this way just a little bit?
Tiki first, the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew, Matthew 633 Good job. Who else?
00:10:09
Can you guys kind of scooch over this way?
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 633 Thank you.
Say he first the Kingdom of God. And all these things shall be added unto you, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 633 Good job. Thank you. Maybe one more.
OK, back in the third row. I'll come back there.
If you like to stand up.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God.
And his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 633 Good job. Do you like to say it?
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness.
And all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 633 Thank you very much.
I know you guys all know this verse.
That's a very good verse to have memorized.
So again, at the end of the Sunday School, if you guys would like to come up and tell me the verse, I'll reward you. So I'd like to talk a little bit.
How about this verse?
And.
The lesson that I specifically have in mind actually has to do with the middle of this verse, because we've been talking about these things at this conference these past couple of days and I know a lot of the meetings that we have here.
It's difficult for the younger ones to.
Focus on what's being said necessarily. It's because some of these things include big words.
And long explanations of things. And so we're thankful that you can get what you can out of it. But this morning in we have the children's Meeting, and so it's a special opportunity for us to talk to you directly.
And so I thought we would especially talk about the middle of this verse, where it says let's seek ye first the Kingdom of God.
And his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
But before we can talk about that.
We really.
See the lesson that I have on my heart.
Is really directed to those that already know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. And we trust that every single one of you children have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
But it would be foolish of us to assume that everyone here does. And so the first thing that's on my heart.
Is to tell you the story of God's love in the gospel and make sure that everyone here is clear that they need it, that they need a savior. And then we'll move on to the lesson that I have for you.
You know, it's difficult sometimes for us to comprehend the magnitude of our sins, and sometimes it's difficult for us to.
Really understand the cost.
That those sins have.
And so I'd like to give a little illustration.
I'm going to tell a story, and this is a true story that happened.
A couple of weeks ago.
There was a mom and a dad.
And they had a new little baby.
And he was six, six months old, and they were traveling home from Seattle to Walla Walla.
And as they were driving down the road.
Headed home?
There was a vehicle in front of them that lost an ice chest in the Interstate and it bounced off the back and came down the road.
And this mom and the dad that was driving this, this car.
Saw the ice just coming in. He stepped on his brakes and started looking to avoid the ice chest so he wouldn't hit it with their car.
00:15:04
And there was a pickup truck following them.
And the pickup truck didn't recognize the ice chest, didn't see the ice chest and he didn't see this mom and dad slowing down in their car.
And he hit the back of that little car.
At highway speed.
And it crushed the back into that car.
When there was a little boy in the back seat of that car, his name was Micah.
And he was killed in the accident.
When that truck crushed the back into that car.
And the reason I tell you this story, It's a sad story, but you know that little boy.
Is home with the Lord Jesus right now.
But the reason I tell you that story is because do you think the person that was driving the vehicle with the ice chest?
Do you think that they thought?
About the magnitude of the consequence of not tying that ice chest down.
Do you think that if it crossed their mind that if the ice chest, first of all, they probably never thought that the ice chest would come off the vehicle?
But if it did, do you think that they thought that it would cause the death of a six month old little boy, the only boy of this mom and his dad? Do you think that they thought that? I don't think they did because most people don't think about the consequences that their actions will have that far out.
And you know, children, you may think in your heart that what you have done is little compared. You haven't caused the death of a little 6 month old boy with the sins that you've done in your life. You know, Romans chapter 3 verse 23 is a well known verse and it tells us that for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, it it leaves no question that every single one of us.
Are sinners. And so we may say, well, yeah, I'm a Sinner, but I'm not as bad of a Sinner as some of those people in the prison. And I'm not. I haven't made a mistake that cost the life of a six month old little boy.
Maybe not.
But because of those sins that you have and that I have, it did cost the life.
Of a man who came into this world.
And he was the Son of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
And it says in scripture that he died for our sins according to the scriptures. And so really I tell you this story.
Because I want you to understand.
That there is a cost to your sin.
And there is.
Someone who paid the price.
To redeem you.
You know, as we quoted there in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, it says for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
And in Isaiah chapter 59 it says that your sins and your iniquities have separated between you and your God.
And so those sins have kept us from relationship with our God. And in prophecy it was like God and the Son were there and they said.
What a mess.
Who will go for us?
And in eternity past, the Lord Jesus said, Here am I send me.
And so in Romans chapter 6 and verse 23 it tells us that the wages of sin is death.
But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So the question that I want to have you guys think about this morning, if you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, who has paid the penalty for your sins?
If it isn't, if you haven't put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will bear the penalty of your sins. And I know it's difficult sometimes to consider the magnitude of it, but I want you to think about the fact that someone died for your sins.
And it says in Romans chapter 10.
And verse 9.
And gives us the answer of how we can put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and he's already paid for those sins if we would just put our trust in Him. That's what it says. It says that he died for our sins according to the scriptures. And it says that for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so in Romans chapter 10 and verse nine, it says that thou shalt confess with thy mouth.
00:20:25
The Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
So I trust each and everyone of you children here.
Have already put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and he has redeemed you back into relationship with God. If not this morning, I want you to consider these things solemnly.
OK, the next.
The next thing that I'd like to talk about.
Is.
The middle part of Matthew chapter 6.
And verse 33 where it talks about.
Seeking his righteousness.
I'm going to pull something out of this bag here.
And.
I'm going to ask you guys if you can recognize what this is. Now, I know that there are those here that definitely know what this plant is, and I'm not going to ask you what this is because I know you know the answer. I'm going to see if there's anyone else here that knows the answer before.
I ask one of you guys that I know for sure knows.
OK.
They're kind of a kind of a long, stringy mess. Here we go. Let's try this one.
OK.
Going to walk in front of you and I want you guys to look at this. There's kind of some little yellow buds on here.
Now I want you to look at this and see if you can tell me what kind of a plant this is.
I'm going to give you a hint. It grows kind of like a vine across the ground.
And it's usually found in places where there isn't very much water.
You know.
I can't believe you knew it that easy, OK? She said. Goat heads, Yeah, that's one of the names for it.
So what can you tell me about this plant? Does anybody?
Have any?
Things that they can tell me about this plant.
Reverend Nathan, I mean, what is it? What can you tell me about this plant?
But let's let's What defines this plant? What would is it about it that you remember, huh?
It hurts if you touch it, OK, but what hurts when you touch it? What part of the plant hurts?
Is that the whole plant? I mean, is it hurting my hands right now as I hold it?
It's already my hands as I hold it. The thorns. The thorns, Yeah, You know, on the bottom of this plant, if you turn it over, you see these things right here?
I'm going to, oh, make sure all of you guys have a chance to see, see that thing.
You know what the actual scientific name for this plan is?
Pretty interesting. It's called Tribulus terrestis.
And it's found the world all over. The whole world.
Anywhere where there's somewhat of an arid climate.
OK. And it actually wasn't native to North America, but someone brought it over thinking that it would be good here and I don't know why.
Because when it says tribulus.
Terrestrial. You know what that translates to? That's Latin. You know what that translates to in English?
Anybody have a guess?
It means.
00:25:01
Trouble on the earth?
And the Romans actually named a weapon called a caltrops after the seed the the goat head from this plant.
Because.
Even though this is such a little thing.
It can be very painful if you get a hold of it with your hand or if you step on it with a barefoot and the way we in tri-cities.
Deal with this plant the most is that if you were to take a look at the bike tires of any kid in the tri-cities.
It would be full of the spines of the goat head thorn.
And it's very difficult to keep air in the tires of a bike in the tri-cities because of these tribulus terrestrius trouble on the earth.
And, you know, I had never even heard of these when I moved to the eastern side of Washington because we didn't have them in Western Washington.
And one day I was responding to a fire in a garage for an apartment complex that.
Had burned down many years ago and then been abandoned. And so there was a large lot out there and the the lot was completely green and there was a garage sitting in the lot that was on fire and we didn't have access into there with our fire trucks. So we had to break a hole in the fence and then take the hoses through the fence and go across the lot to the garage. And as I was pulling the hose across the lot, it tripped over a curb that I didn't see.
And I fell down with my hand and caught myself with my hand on the ground. And I hadn't paid a lot of attention to what was on the ground. It just was green. I assumed it was grass. And in a shooting pain went through my hand and I picked it up and looked in my glove. And I was wearing leather gloves and my whole glove was green because of all these goat heads that were sticking in my glove.
And that was my introduction to Tribulus terrestis, or tackweed as we call it, and.
I want to talk to you guys a little bit about this plant because it gives a very good illustration about some things that we're going to talk about this morning.
So I already told you that this plant generally grows in a place where there isn't much water.
The other thing that characterizes this plant is that.
And it takes approximately 7 years to eradicate it once it gets a colony established.
And it grows and spreads. And these seed pods that are in these thorns of goat heads, they stick to things like your feet and your bicycle tires. And then you drive somewhere with them and you scatter them in other places, and they establish new colonies and other places.
So I know Andre has had.
When they moved to their house.
There was a large patch of these out by their barn.
What did you do, Andre?
To try and get rid of these things.
Pull them out, he said. They pulled them out. Did that work really good?
No, Yeah, that doesn't it's it works eventually, but you can spray them.
And it will kill the actual plant.
But the seeds aren't affected by the spray, and so you can spray it and kill all the plants. And then somebody rides through on their bike or drives through with their car or walks through and they pick up the seed pods and they take them to another place and it just establishes a new colony.
So they're difficult to get rid of up to seven years of.
Continuously pulling them out.
And you can get rid of them.
So.
I'd like to turn to Colossians Chapter 3. It's actually where we've been reading in our reading meeting, and I want to talk to you about some of the things that we've been talking about there.
And I would like to relate them.
To these goat head thorns and how they can have an impact on our lives spiritually.
In Colossians chapter 3.
We've been noticing that in this chapter.
00:30:02
It talks about the Christian.
Being risen with Christ the new life.
And there are some things that should characterize us in the new life and some things that should not characterize us in that new life.
And So what I specifically have in my heart to speak about is in verse 8.
It says actually.
In verse seven it says in the which ye also walk sometimes when you lived in them, Speaking of the past, when you before you knew the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, but now put you also off all these things anger.
Wrath, Malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, Out of your mouth lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
So these things that we read about in verse 8, there's a there's a couple of things here. Anger.
Graph.
There's blasphemy and filthy communications out of her mouth and lying.
And you know, all of those things.
Just about have to do with our mouth and our lips and what we say. And scripture tells us that what comes out of our mouth.
Shows what's actually in our heart.
And I would like you guys to consider for a few moments that these things that we're talking about, anger and filthy communications.
Saying naughty things.
And lying. They're like these goat heads.
And if these thorns we allow these thorns to come into our life?
They will continue to grow. It says that that these things lead to more ungodliness.
And that's exactly what happens with this if I were to take some of these skeletons and go put them out.
Next to the school and the parking lot out here and plant them and no one were to to do anything about it. And the Lord were to leave us here until next year. The whole parking lot would probably be full of them by next year because they expand rapidly.
And so when it says that we're to put off, it's like you're to take them out by the root.
These things anger.
Filthy communications in line.
Because they have an impact not only on our life, but on other people's, you know?
If I had a patch of these tack weeds.
Out in front of my house, next to my driveway.
And I didn't take care of them and I didn't pull them out.
First of all, they would be a problem for me because every time I went out there to get the mail or something like that, I'd end up with them in my shoes and then I'd track them into the house and they would have, they'd have a lot of difficulties with that.
But you know what else would happen?
When Toledo and Andre.
Came over to visit the Marina and they pulled their car up in front of our driveway and they got out. What would happen? Does anybody know?
What would happen?
That car would get thorns in the tires. Yeah, they'd get thorns in their tires and in their feet.
You'll know what happened. They'd go back to their house.
And those things would come off of their feet and off of their tires, and the next thing you know, they would have a patch of tack weed at their house.
Kind of solemn, isn't it, To think that there are things that we can do and things that we can allow in our lives that will actually have.
A bad influence or a bad impact on other people?
That isn't what we want, is it?
So there's another thing.
That's really interesting about these plants. Tribulus terrestis, trouble on the earth. You know what they say.
Is actually the best way to eradicate these plants.
00:35:06
Anybody have any idea?
I actually was pretty amazed when I heard this because I didn't think that this would work at all.
But some scientists that were that studied these things actually said if you need to get rid of tackweed, this is how you do it. Does anybody have any ideas?
Anybody.
Spray this stuff. OK, we can spray it. But we talked about that, right? And it took seven years approximately to get rid of it if you spray it or if you pull it out, like Andre said. So that's neither one of those answers are what I'm looking for.
Water it. OK, that's a good. That's a good point because at the very beginning I talked about that this stuff generally grows in places where there is not very much water.
Which leads me to.
Talk on the point that a lot of these things that we're talking about in verse 8. Anger and filthy communications and line.
Do those things generally take place when we're spending time reading the word of God and doing things like that, where we're walking with the Lord is do we generally see these kind of things in a Christians life when they're going on for the Lord and they're continuously reading their Bible? You know, the the Scriptures are talked about as being.
Water. They're they're a type that's typified as being water, the washing of water by the word.
Well, we don't usually see these things in the lives of Christians that are reading their Bible, and they're going on for the Lord, And so that's a good way to prevent them from ever being established in the first place.
OK is to make sure that we walk in a path with the Lord where we are.
Continuously, daily, in the Word of God, providing spiritual water for our lives because that will keep these things from ever being established.
But what if they're already there?
How do we get rid of them?
Does anybody else? I know there's a lot of people here that know a lot more about this plant than I do. Does anybody here, even some of the older ones, have any ideas about what they might know about how to get rid of?
OK. Can you speak up?
Burnham.
OK, the problem with the burning, that's a great idea. But the problem with burning them is, first of all, they don't provide a lot of fuel, so they don't burn very well. And then also those little thorns, they're not affected by the fire. And so you might again just like sprain, you might get rid of the the plants themselves, but those seeds will still remain.
Anybody else have any idea about how you might get rid of these plants?
Well, I would have never guessed, so I'm just going to give you the answer. You know how you get rid of them.
You plant something favorable that's competitive with them.
And it will come in and it will actually get rid of this plant by overwhelming it. Isn't that interesting?
So what we had in Colossians chapter 3.
In verse 12 it says, Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye and above all these things put on charity or divine love, which is the bond of perfectness. And so remember in verse eight it said put off or uproot, take out.
These things.
But in verse 12 it says put on therefore a plan, these things. And it gives us a list of things that have a lot more to do with what we would see in the life of a Christian, doesn't it? It talks about kindness, humbleness, meekness, long-suffering, forgiving one another.
And loving one another and loving one another not because.
The person is doing something that deserves our love, but because we've made a distinct choice to love them.
And if we plant those things in our life?
It will get rid.
Of the things that we talked about in verse 8.
00:40:03
Just like if you were to go out into a place that had these.
And you were to plant some nice flowers.
And you would have water those flowers.
In a very short period of time you wouldn't find.
Tribulus terrestis there anymore because they would be overtaken.
By the positive things, those good plants.
So.
And kind of summarize the lesson this morning.
We talked about.
First of all.
The fact that these things don't have anything to do for someone that doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, because scripture tells us that it's impossible.
To please God by our own righteousness that says that all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. There's not one thing that we can do to please God in and of ourselves. But if we come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, He gives us a new nature that desires to please Him.
And the desire of our hearts when we have that new nature, is we want to do things in obedience to His Word, and we want to be found walking in righteousness before Him.
And so.
I want you guys to just remember that not only do these things in verse eight that we talked about the anger, the wrath.
Malice, blasphemies, filthy communications and lying. Not only do those things have an effect on our life, but they can affect those that we come into contact with, because they can come through our weed patch, if you put it that way. And they can pick up those weeds and they can take them off and have a weed patch established in their own life. And once those weed patches are established, they're very difficult to get rid of.
So first, we would like to see none of those weed patches ever be established.
By continuously being in the Word of God.
And walking in a manner that's consistent with our position as Christians and the Lord Jesus Christ.
And then if they do get established, we would like you to recognize them early because if you have a little plant in your driveway.
You can go do what Andre talked about.
But there is a little plant in your driveway. You can go out there and you can pull up that little plant. As long as you're careful and make sure that none of those seed pods fall off and are left in your driveway, you can pull up that plant and you can take it and put it in the garbage can and it will be taken off and you won't see an establishment of a patch of weeds in that place.
And so, children as you, if you see these things start to become established in your life, recognize them early and take care of them. Go to the Lord and ask Him to help you root them up and throw them away. Because not only will they affect you and grow into a greater weed patch, but they'll affect the others that you come into contact with. And then plant those good things that we read in verse 12.
Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering for burying one another and forgiving one another.
And above all, these things put on charity her divine love, which is the bond of perfectness. And if you plant those things in your life, that will prevent these things from being established.
And it will take them over and replace them with these things that really do characterize those of us that know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. They characterize the Lord Jesus himself.
I'd like to read a couple of verses just in closing.
The first one is in Ephesians chapter 4.
It says in verse 15. This is a direct contrast with what we had there in verse nine of Colossians 3 But speaking the truth and love may grow up unto him in all things.
The head even Christ and turn back a chapter to Chapter 3.
In verse 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that he being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with All Saints what is the breath and length in depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.
00:45:02
So that takes us back to our memory verse.
That said, seek ye first the Kingdom of God.
And we talked about.
The importance of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and then we talked about in our lesson and His righteousness.
But then what we just finished reading about is the result of it, and all these things shall be added unto you.
You know there is a very blessed result for walking and righteousness before the Lord Jesus Christ.
The result is peace and joy and love. And we can enter into in a fuller measure the things that the Lord Jesus has done for us, and we can come into a better understanding of who he is. And that's.
Of tremendous value.
Well, I hope you guys will think about these things.
And I hope we don't let any of these weed patches become established in our hearts because, you know, we might be able to hide them there.
If I had a weed patch like this in my corral, I may not, and I do, and I've been struggling to get rid of it. But now I know how to get rid of it, I know that I can plant some things in there that will eradicate it.
But not everybody knows that I have one of these weed patches in my corral. Because sometimes we can hide things from each other. But you know what? We can't hide them from God. And God tells us that those things that come from our lips.
Show us and show others what are in our heart. And so you may be able to hide this for a while, the weed patch in your heart, but I guarantee you that it will come out in what you say and you'll end up.
Casting some of those thorns and it will be recognized. So think about these things, children.
And let's make sure that we first of all spend a lot of time when the word of God daily.
So that we're well watering.
Spiritual life, so that these things never become established.
And let's make sure that we fill up those places with the things that we read about.
In verse 12 of Colossians 3, the kindness, the forgiveness and the Divine love.
Let's just commend ourselves to the Lord.
The Cost of Discipleship
Address—Bill Prost
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When I looked at the card.
That detailed this particular meeting, It was simply referred to as an address.
I thought, Oh my, that means that it's not specifically for young people or anyone group of persons.
There ought to be something that everyone can understand.
I appreciated Brother Bob Tony's comments last night when he talked about having to.
Speak to a group there in Portugal.
And he didn't know Spanish, and so he had to keep it simple.
Just as a matter of interest, Bob possibly forgets the time when he left me in Portugal to fend for myself and I didn't know Spanish or Portuguese.
Anyway, we got along. The point is we want to try and keep it simple this afternoon and I'd like to talk a little bit about buying and selling.
In spiritual things.
Even the younger children here are familiar with buying and selling.
It doesn't take very long, does it, before we learn the value of money?
We learn what it can buy. We learn what it can do.
But in spiritual things there is also.
Such a thing as buying and selling.
I'd like to talk first about the gospel for a few minutes, and I'd like to turn to a few scriptures in that respect.
The first one in Isaiah chapter 55.
Isaiah 55.
A well known verse that is often used in a gospel message.
Isaiah 55 and verse one.
Oh everyone that thirsteth come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money.
Come ye buy and eat.
Come buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Now turn over to the New Testament to Matthew 25.
Where again we find the gospel referred to in a picture.
And the word by is used again Matthew 25.
Will not read the whole story because I'm going to assume a general familiarity with this story about the 10 virgins. But you will remember that five were wise and five were foolish.
And the five had oil in their lamps, the Five wise Virgins.
But the five foolish ones had lamps, Wicks in their lamps and everything, but no oil. And when there was a problem.
The foolish one said to the wise Give us some oil. But what did the wise have to say to them?
Notice verse 9, Matthew 25 and verse 9.
But the wise answered saying not so.
Lest there be not enough for us and you, but go ye rather to them that sell and buy.
For yourselves.
One more verse in this same book, Matthew 11.
Matthew 11.
And verse 12.
Somewhat of an unusual verse, but with minor variations. We find it elsewhere in the Gospels.
Matthew 11 and verse 25.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now.
The Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.
And the violent take it by force.
All of these three verses have something in common, namely that they seem to imply that it takes some energy.
00:05:05
And our putting forth some effort in order to have the things of God.
And in particular, we are speaking about the gospel.
Some of you children will perhaps laugh at this story, but the first time I went to India, more than 30 years ago now, I wanted to take a ride on a bus.
And it was an English style bus, one of those double Decker buses, and there was a little open platform at the back on which you climbed in order to get on the bus. And then of course eventually the conductor came along and asked for your ticket and if you could manage it, you could make your way up to the second story of that bus which.
Was a little bit out of the common stream and you could relax a little up on the second story of the bus.
I wanted to get on that bus and so I tried to get on.
And I suppose being raised in the what I would call.
I I don't want to be derogatory or anything, but having been raised in North America and used to.
People getting on the bus in an orderly way. I kind of waited my turn and tried to get on that bus in an orderly way and you can guess the result I didn't get on.
I didn't get on. There was just a mass of arms and legs all trying to get on that bus and eventually the bus started to move and and there I was left standing.
Well, I had to learn that if I wanted to get on that bus, I had to push, I had to shove, I had to be prepared to put forth some energy.
You may say, but I thought the gospel was free. I thought that everything had already been done. I thought that in his work on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ had done everything so that there was nothing left for us to do.
Oh, I say to you, on the authority of the Word of God, to this afternoon that is blessedly true.
And if there is anyone here today that is not saved, oh, let me remind you on the authority of God's Word that there is nothing you can do to add to the work of Christ. Salvation is all of grace, it is all on God's side, and it was all a plan of God to provide a way whereby you and I could be brought into blessing through the work of Christ.
The blood of Jesus Christ.
His son cleanseth us from all sin.
Why then do we find the words by connected in Isaiah 55 and in Matthew 25 with salvation? And why does the Lord Jesus himself say that the Kingdom of heaven, which is not heaven itself, but rather the sphere of Christian profession on earth? Why does he say that it suffereth violence and the violent take it by force?
I suggest two reasons for that, which I believe we need to be reminded of.
First of all, God would remind us that if salvation is free.
It is not cheap.
It is not cheap.
It cost God the death of his beloved Son. It costs God literally everything he had in order to provide salvation for you and for me. How many parents here have gone to a store with their children? I know I have, and some of us are old enough to have gone to stores with our grandchildren.
And those children have bought things.
And they enjoyed very much the privilege of buying them.
But little did they realize how much that item actually cost. Little did they realize, perhaps, the energy and effort, the work that went into providing that money, which did not ultimately come from their efforts, but rather from parents or grandparents or others.
But when we think of what God has given, when we think of the gift that he gave, we sung that him this morning. Behold what wondrous love and grace when we were wretched and undone to save a rude, helpless race, the Father gave his only son.
00:10:11
Salvation is indeed a free gift, but God would remind us of the cost.
But I believe there's another reason here that brings it more, shall I say, home to your soul and mine.
Our late brother Armstead Barry, whom some here will remember. He's been with the Lord for about 35 years now, but some of us remember him well and he made a statement one time. He said don't make the gospel too easy.
He said, when Paul and Silas said to the Philippian jailer, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
He was or they were, speaking to a man that was trembling, a man who had no question of his being a Sinner, a man who trembled as he realized his awful condition in the sight of a holy God. A man who was ready to hear those words of comfort and assurance. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. But, he said, don't make the gospel too easy, because repentance is necessary.
Brother Dawn Rule, who has left now, made a statement in the Reading meeting and I would re echo it.
That man in his natural state is not merely A Sinner. He is a lost Sinner. And a lost Sinner needs not only to recognize that he has sinned before a holy God, but he needs to recognize that if he really believes what God has said.
Then there needs to be repentance.
What is the result of that? Oh, when there is a belief in what God has said, then there is a desire to reach out for salvation. Why? And this is central to the message I trust the Lord has laid in my heart this afternoon. Why does the Sinner ultimately come to Christ? Because he feels his need.
Because he feels.
His need. And so everyone here, and I know this, represents by far the greater majority of those here. This afternoon, when you and I by grace, came to Christ as our Savior, when you and I came and asked the Lord Jesus to wash away our sins, on what basis did we come? It was on the basis that we could do nothing to help ourselves, and we felt our need.
The Lord Jesus gives voice to that feeling here when he says in Matthew 11.
The Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force, and we are going to transpose that verse over a little bit in a few minutes. But for now, in speaking about the gospel, let us emphasize the fact that what the Lord Jesus said in that day is just as true today. A Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence.
What does that mean?
Well, there can be various ways in which we can interpret that, but I see it this way that when the Lord Jesus appeared in this world and gave witness by the miracles he did and by the things he said as to who he was, immediately Satan was there to try and withstand.
Everything that that Blessed One did and said there was violence and there is violence today.
Those that were here at the meetings on Friday.
Heard a story of how some of our dear brethren, and we know only a very few of them who are truly saved, but we know some of the brethren in India and in other places in the world.
They're suffering violence. They're suffering violence. The enemy is doing everything possible to try and dissuade people from coming to Christ. He's putting before them the fact that if you come to Christ, this is the price that has to be paid.
And it is a very real thing.
I say to your heart and mind this afternoon, Do we realize that we have to pay that price over here in one way or another? Maybe we don't have someone coming to our door in the middle of the night and kicking the door open. Maybe we don't have people coming at us with sticks and stones, and we can be very thankful for that. We can be so thankful that we can sit here this afternoon in this room relaxed, having had a good meal together.
00:15:17
Having socialized together, it did my heart good to see some of the children here playing before the meeting having a good time.
I say with all my heart, I hope that continues. But there is more and more a price to be paid. The Kingdom of heaven is suffering more and more violence.
And if you and I want to have Christ, there's going to be a price to be paid.
A man once said.
It costs too much.
To be a Christian.
I don't know what he was referring to.
But if he was referring to the gospel.
Then we could have told him, no, it does not cost too much to be a Christian. Salvation is free on your side. It's a matter of feeling your need and coming to repentance.
And let me say to each one here, and perhaps even to those who are truly saved.
Unless there has been a thorough plowing up of your conscience in the sight of God. Unless there has been a thorough realization of yourself as a lost, guilty Sinner before God.
In one sense.
The work in your soul will continue to be somewhat of a shallow work, and sometimes, even as believers, God has to put you and me through experiences to make us realize the depths of sin to which we can go.
The capabilities of our own hearts. The things we could do if God didn't keep us. And then we learn not to trust ourselves any longer.
The violent Take it by force. If you're not saved, you're going to have to be persuaded. You're going to have to be prepared to swim against the stream. You're going to have to be prepared to step in there and take hold of what God is offering you.
Occasionally I have been in a position where.
I have seen people wanting to have something that was free.
Where there was a limited supply.
And it was sometimes amusing, sometimes downright distressing, to watch it happen to, to see those who were desperately poor trying to get their hands on something.
That they really needed.
And yet I had to realize that no matter.
What happened there?
There was always going to be a shortfall.
There were always going to be people left over who couldn't get any, and their strenuous efforts to get some of it were remarkable.
It's true in this country too, isn't it?
There used to be a man up in our neck of the woods in Ontario, Canada.
And he was a millionaire.
And he used to amuse himself by going down to stay in the Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto, which is right downtown on Front St.
And just for fun.
From perhaps the third or fourth story up, he would start dropping money out of the window. This was during the Depression, when money was scarce and he didn't much care. In those days, we had one and $2.00 bills and $5 bills and $10 bills, and he would just casually let it drop out the window. And of course, as you can imagine, the wind would take it this way and that way, and pretty soon a crowd would gather down below trying to decide where the money was going to hit.
And you can well imagine the result. People grabbed for dollar, bills got ripped, fights broke out, all kinds of things. And he would sit up there laughing his head off at this whole scenario until he got tired of it. And then he would close the window until he wanted to do it again the next day. And again a crowd would gather.
And to him, it was just hilarious to see how people would grab, grab, grab for those things.
But some of them didn't grab just because it was a matter of wanting to have more money. Some of them were in real need and they wanted it.
00:20:04
You know, God uses that analogy for you and me.
Let's transpose that verse. Now over to you and me as believers.
Someone has said that we will never go after the things of Christ or the truth of God until we feel our need of it.
Most of you know that. Excuse me.
Some of us were up at Morningstar Camp.
Back.
Two weeks ago.
And during that time, there were one or two people, maybe more, who got the flu.
Wasn't a big deal, but they got the flu and on one occasion I remember one of those individuals being offered something to eat.
Don't you want something to eat?
And their answer was number I don't feel like something to eat.
Those of us that were feeling well and had healthy appetites.
Of course, from our standpoint.
That delightful odor of Tony and Becky's cooking.
You just headed right to the dining room tent there. That's where you went. And as soon as that bell rang, there was a net rung. There wasn't a problem.
But some people didn't want anything to eat. Why not? Oh, their constitution, Their whole being was sick and they didn't feel like eating.
Other times.
People had had other things to eat.
And although there was a strict rule about having food in teepees and tents and so on, and I think for the most part that rule was observed. People had other things to eat, and sometimes they didn't want any food because they'd eaten somewhere else.
Do both of those situations ring a bell with us as Christians?
How many times, speaking to the boys and girls here today, have you wanted a snack or something? About half an hour or an hour before supper. I don't know if this still goes on today, but it surely did when I was a boy. And your mom or your dad says no, no, no, no. It's too close to supper. You'll spoil your supper. I don't want you to have a snack right now.
Does that still go on today?
I think it probably does. They don't want you to eat a candy bar or a piece of an ice cream bar or something like that just before supper, because then you won't want your meat and potatoes.
But do we do that as Christians sometimes?
Do we snack on things that aren't really good for us? And I'm not suggesting that ice cream isn't good for you, I enjoy it myself. But the point is there is a proper way of eating and there's a wrong way of eating.
And sometimes in spiritual things, there are two things wrong with us. Either we have eaten too much of something somewhere else, and then we have no appetite for the things of God. Or maybe spiritually we're sick and we don't feel like eating.
But other times.
There is a hunger there.
Because if you are really the Lords.
And you really know Christ as your Savior.
And you really have that new life within you and the Spirit of God dwelling in you.
You can't help but be hungry. You have a new life. If I can say it calmly, that gets hungry the same way as your natural life gets hungry.
Let's turn to a couple more verses. Let's turn to the book of Proverbs, chapter 13.
Proverbs 13.
Verse 4.
Of those, excuse me.
Proverbs 13 verse four, The soul of the slugger desireth.
And hath nothing?
But the soul of the diligent shall be made fact.
Now over to the 23rd chapter, Proverbs 23.
00:25:04
And verse 23.
By the truth.
And sell it not.
Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
It's one thing to buy.
In the sense of laying hold of the gospel saying I want that.
But it's another step now. The next step is to buy the truth.
Buy the truth.
Oh, the Lord says by the truth, and sell it not, And it says the soul of the diligent shall be made fact.
Many years ago, there was a man whom I never knew.
But I would like to have known him.
I'm looking forward to having a visit with him in coming glory.
James B Dunlop.
Man.
Who resided in Canada most of his life, although he was born in England.
And as a young man he had a desire to go into the British Army, which he did.
And so he went into the British Army and received a Commission and became a captain.
The Lord had his eye on Mr. Dunlop. James B Dunlop.
And he was saved in his early 20s.
And immediately he had a desire to follow the Lord and to get hold of the things of Christ.
During his time in the army, he got to know another young man who was exactly the same age.
And he was of the nobility in England.
Lord Alfred P Cecil or Cecil as they call him in England. Lord Cecil.
And together they were there in the British Army, and together they made the decision that they would go after the things of Christ instead of the things of this world.
And so the two of them at the age of 24.
Gave up their commissions in the British Army.
And said there is something far more important to go after in life, something far more important to lay hold of.
Then everything down here.
At that time, Britain occupied the position in the world as much the same as the United States does today. Their army and Navy kind of cruised around the world and was, in a general way, the world's policeman. They turned their back on it all and said we are going to have the things of Christ.
And it came home to James B Dunlop. As a young man, how do I get these things?
How do I get them?
And the Lord showed them this verse in Proverbs 13 and four.
The soul of the diligent shall be made fat all, he said. There's only one way to get these things, and that is diligence.
And he was a diligent man.
We're not here to exalt men this afternoon.
And as I say, I never knew Mr. Dunlop. He went to be with the Lord in 1928 and that's long before my time.
But his earnest prayer was, and I tell this story for the benefit because I said we'd have something for younger ones and something for older ones too. It was his earnest prayer that he wear out and not rust out.
At the age of 87.
In 1927 he wanted to go and visit his brethren down in the West Indies again, so he packed his bag and went down there by boat and visited around.
And the brethren there were very encouraged by his visit.
He came back home and spent his time encouraging assemblies in North America.
In late June.
In 1928, I believe.
He was ministering after the remembrance of the Lord in Toronto ON, and during the time he was ministering he had a crippling stroke that laid him flat on the floor.
00:30:00
Brethren helped him to his feet. He was paralyzed, totally on one side, but his mind and his speech were clear.
They were ready to help him out of the meeting room, but he said no, he said. I'm not finished yet.
Sat down and finished his discourse.
Gave out the closing hymn and sang it most heartily, and only then, after the meeting was closed, did he allow himself to be taken home to bed.
He was supposed to speak to the Sunday school children that afternoon. When he realized he couldn't do it, he gave the message to another brother and said don't worry about me, I'll be all right. Just let me lie here for a bit. I've had these things before.
I'll be all right to preach the gospel this evening.
It became obvious as time went on that there wasn't going to be any preaching of the gospel by him that evening, so he gave the message to someone else. He said. Just give me a few more days and I'll be able to be at the all day meeting in Rideau Ferry on July the 1St.
That wasn't to be either. That was the day the Lord took him home.
He's buried there on the Scotch line, just outside of Perth.
Anyway, I don't tell that story to eulogize a man. I say that there is a challenge that I believe goes out to each one of us here. Are we willing to pay the cost of being diligent?
Are we willing to pay that cost?
In North America, here and I speak to my own heart, we have had a relatively easy life.
And that includes me too.
I'm not preaching at you. I'm preaching right back here.
I remember when I was in university back in the 1960s, one of our professors who loved to teach, but he was about 75 at the time.
And I guess he found her class somewhat of a bunch of rascals, and I have to admit that we were.
We wanted to learn, but we were Rascal.
And one day he'd had it, as we say, up to here with some of us.
And he said, ah, he said, you young people, he said.
You've had the good life.
Life has just been a bowl of cherries for you. I'll never forget his words because he was a good professor and a good lecturer, he said. You never had to live through a war. You never had to live through a depression.
You don't know what life is all about, and I hope you never have to learn the way I did.
But I wish you'd straighten up a little bit.
I never forgot those words. It sobered some of us up. It made us realize that there was a dimension of life that we hadn't experienced.
And I say to your heart and mind sometimes, as we grow up in these favoured lands, we get the idea that everything is free. We get the idea.
From a sense of entitlement that it's all there for us and that all we have to do is take it.
Well, I'm thankful for everything we have, and I don't make any apology for it because God says through Paul and first Timothy 6 that he giveth us all things richly to enjoy.
But I do say that there is something far beyond that that is worth reaching out for. And it's not merely a matter of head knowledge. When JB Dunlop spoke of being diligent, when he was exercised by that verse, when the Lord says by the truth and sell it not, it is not merely getting into books so that I can spout it word for word. That is not the thought.
Oh no. It is to have Christ. It is to have all that he is.
Someone has said that true Christianity is not adherence to a set of truths, no matter how scriptural they are.
True Christianity is not worshipping in a certain place. No matter.
How much it might be according to the word of God.
True, Christianity is not professing a certain set of doctrines, no matter how right they may be. It is all of that. But it is more it is that new life which Christ has given you and me expressing itself.
Minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week in our everyday lives. And that means the diligence to have Christ before us.
Let's turn to Luke chapter 14 for something that I have often preached on before, but I'd like to, if I may, put a little different twist on it this afternoon. Luke 14.
00:35:19
Now in this chapter we find that God puts things in their proper order.
First of all, beginning with verse 15, we have the story of the Great Supper. And you know the story as well as I how that there was a man who put on a great supper and how that he invited many who, when they were told it was ready, began to make all kinds of excuses. And you and I think those excuses look pretty ridiculous. And I don't pretend to understand the Eastern mind, but I know enough about it to know that.
These men were not making excuses. It was simply a polite way of saying no.
It was a polite way of saying no, because in the Far East you don't say no, you say it in another way. But anybody that understands the language of the East knows very well what you're saying. And so when the master here became very angry, it was because he knew that these men were saying in a very polite way.
I am not interested.
And the Great Supper brings before us the gospel. The great Supper was free. And as a result of those men making excuses, oh thank God, the servants went out into the highways and hedges and compelled poor, lame, blind, halt, beggars in a sense to come and be and be seated at that great Supper. And it was free. And thank God, the grace of God has provided everything for you and me to be saved.
But then we find the Lord Jesus saying in verse 25, and that's what we wish to dwell on this afternoon.
Luke 14 and 25.
And there went great multitudes after him, That's typical. Many will go after Christ for that which he gave. And he turned and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren.
And sister Jay, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
All salvation is free, but discipleship has a cost attached to it.
Oh, you see, but why does it have to be that way? Why cannot we simply have discipleship in the same way as we have salvation?
Why on the one hand does God provide salvation free through the work of Christ, and on the other hand make discipleship have a cost and sometimes a heavy cost attached to it?
Ah, there is more than one reason.
One reason is that you and I, and God knows this, we value that which costs us something.
It's one thing to have salvation free through the work of Christ, but even in that we've seen that there's a necessity for energy to take hold of that.
But we find after we have taken hold of it that it is the grace of God that even provided the energy to do so. It's the grace of God that even provided the energy to do so. Oh, that overflows our hearts when we think that not only has God provided the way for me to be saved, but he even provided the faith to lay hold of it and the energy to realize might need.
The energy to realize that I needed to be saved.
But now?
Is it any different when you and I?
Lay hold of the truth.
Colossians 3:17-4:6
Reading
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It's been suggested that we start with verse 17 of chapter 3, and that perhaps we would carry on through the 1St 6 verses of chapter 4.
Colossians chapter 3 and verse 17. And whatsoever you do in Word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them.
Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants, obey in all things your masters, according to flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. And whatsoever you do, do it hardly as to the Lord. And not unto men, knowing that of the Lord. He shall receive the reward of the inheritance. For ye serve the Lord Christ, but he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done.
And there is no respect of persons. Chapter 4. Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that you also have a master in heaven. Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with Thanksgiving, with all Praying also before us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds, that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak, walk in wisdom toward them that are without redeeming the time.
Let your speech be always with grace, season with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man.
I suppose it would make a very big difference in our lives.
If every time we opened our mouths.
Or every time we were going to do something.
We remembered the 17th verse that.
We should attach the name of the Lord Jesus to it.
Of course, in one sense, whether we like it or not.
Because we bear the name of Christ, we do attach the name of the Lord to what we say or do, and in that sense having been baptized.
We do take on his name, and that's why it says in Second Timothy two let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity, but what a challenge it is to our hearts and everything.
Can I legitimately attach the name of the Lord to what I say or what I do? It's really the end result of what we have earlier in the chapter, where it says Christ is all and in all.
But it's a very searching thought, isn't it? When it comes to our practical walk to remember that that name, we should be able to attach that name whatever we say or do.
And it's in the name of the Lord Jesus. It's with a sense of His Lordship.
Our lives.
We need to realize that we have been bought with a price we are not our own.
We belong to him who bought us and to remember that.
Everything we do in Word or deed that there is one who we recognize as Lord in our lives.
00:05:04
And then there's another dimension here too. Because if we do all in his name, we ultimately give thanks in his name too, don't we?
That blessed privilege is ours by virtue of living during this time of God's grace.
And so the Lord Jesus, when he was speaking to his disciples in John 14, he could say hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name?
That is, they had gone directly to him as being present among them there on earth, and they had been able to avail themselves of his power and his.
Ability to deal with whatever need, whatever problem came up. But now he was bringing before them the blessedness of going directly to the father in his name. And you and I have that privilege. Don't worry of giving thanks.
In his name.
And so, of course we make our prayers in His name too, when there is a real need, but it's a wonderful thing to give thanks in that name.
Are we to give thanks for the good things that happened in our lives?
Is that what you're saying, Bill?
Well, I don't think I quite couched it in those terms.
No, it says in everything. Give thanks, doesn't it?
And it's noticeable here that it says giving thanks unto God and the Father.
When God is in question, it's more the thought of nature and power, isn't it? And there are things that God provides for us because of His power, and we're thankful for him.
Not that we can in one sense separate his Godhead power from his relationship to us as Father, but there are things that we appreciate from God and that we thank Him for as God.
It might say that it is important for us as believers never to forget.
That even brought into the relationship his father with him. We are still creatures and we are still to recognize him as God.
If I can speak from a Canadian point of view, our present queen, Queen Elizabeth the Second, when she was a little girl.
Her grandfather, King George the fifth, sat on the throne, and whenever she approached him she first of all had to stop and had to bow and had to acknowledge him as the king. And then she could run and jump into his lap as her grandfather, and she was taught to do that from an early age. She had to recognize him first of all for who he was as the king, and then she could enjoy her relationship with him as her grandfather.
Gospel 2
Gospel—Paul House
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To God.
Through the person of the Lord Jesus, God's son, and ask for his help.
You know, it's a privilege when we pray.
To God we can come before his throne.
You notice I prayed in the name of Jesus Christ?
The very Son of God. We have access to the throne of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. We read that in this book.
There's one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, and he is the one that I desire to present to you tonight.
But I want to say something about me first. I don't want you to look at me.
I want you to realize that I am no better than you.
I am a Sinner through and through.
There's many of you that know me and you would say it's true. I'm telling you it's true.
There was a time in my life.
When I got down before a holy God and I owned that, although I have sinned.
I need.
Him to take my sins away. And Jesus Christ is the only one in this universe.
Who can save a person from their sins?
I often speak to older folks at a retirement home.
Many times I repeat a little example.
A little story of what most of the older women who are there can understand and take in.
And I remind them of the times when they were at their kitchen sinks, cleaning dishes.
What did they need to clean dishes? They needed to have dish soap.
Dishwasher detergent. They needed whatever chemical was necessary to remove the stains.
On the dishes, Perhaps it was the clothes they were washing.
But you know there's only one cleaner in all the world for your sins.
There's only one and that is the blood of Jesus Christ. It tells us in the word of God. It says the blood of Jesus Christ.
God's son cleanse of us or cleans us from all sin. I like that. I love that.
As a Sinner, I had no hope of ever going into the presence of a holy God.
Until I had those sins washed away.
As a Sinner, I took my place before God as undeserving of his favor of his love I sent. I was far from him.
What about you?
Have you ever realized that before God you are a Sinner too?
I started with me because it's true of me.
But it's true of each person here tonight.
We've all sinned. We have a problem. We have a need before God. We're in our sins.
This was announced as a Gospel meeting.
Gospel means good news.
The good news is that God sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die here.
He died. He shed his precious blood on a cross 2000 years ago, nearly.
And God can righteously forgive sinners.
Their sins if they accept that when Jesus died on the cross, he died for them and took their place.
When he was punished there by God.
And you say this is a lot of material for me, this is something that I haven't thought about before. I don't know much about it.
My desire tonight is to give you interest, to make you want to find out if what I'm saying is true and I would like you to read this book.
This book is the only book that I know of Indiana the whole world.
That claims to be the living, eternal word of God, and it is the book that people are afraid of in this world.
00:05:10
You know, I used to work at a place where.
There was prosperity.
People didn't think much about God.
Material things is what they wanted. God was left out. Isn't that true in this world? We live in North America.
What about you? Are you content with all that you have?
From a giving God you're happy with your cottage, your boat, the meals you have, all from God.
Where I used to work.
There were some very intelligent people.
And you know, there were some people that were authorities on this book.
At least they claim to be.
There were a number of times when.
One in particular would talk about the Bible and how it said this and this and this and that.
And then he returned to me and he said, That's right, isn't it Paul?
And I would say no, that's not right.
And you know, the others would stand around and jeer at him and laugh at him.
But they didn't know either.
Because they've never read it.
The only book that claims to be God's Word and you've never read it.
Perhaps you've read it many times and praised God. Thank you.
I love this book. This book has introduced me to the Son of God and told me my need, but gave me the remedy for my need.
You know, God is so good.
You know which one of us?
We start thinking about all the things he's given us, the very health and strength we have to be here.
That we can walk and.
Enjoy nature, all the things that God has given us.
But God has given everything.
Never mind all the things we see and touch and feel and smell.
But he gave his son. I have four boys.
God has been good to me.
Do you have children?
God has been good to you.
They came from him. Each one is a miracle.
God gave his Son.
To die.
Now you say Paul, would you?
Give any of your sons if you knew that people like me were going to take him and kill him.
No way.
But God did that. God gave his Son, knowing what people like me would do to his son.
2000 years ago.
The Bible is very clear.
That Jesus, the Son of God, came into this world. He lived here as a man, and you can read the stories, the miracles that he did, how he walked here, how he was thirsty.
He knew what it was to be alone.
He knew what it was.
To be disappointed.
There was a time when.
Some evil people were seeking to take his life.
To crucify him.
He says, Reproach hath broken my heart.
And I am full of heaviness.
And I look for some to take pity, but there was none, and for comforters but I found none.
That's the Blessed Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God speaking.
At the beginning of these meetings.
There was a brother who mentioned.
A story from the Word of God that I would like to spend a little bit of time reading tonight.
My purpose is to.
Read a few verses.
00:10:01
And seek humbly.
To tell you what I've learned from them.
And to seek to have you desire to know more.
And if you realize that you have sinned, my desire is that you would be like one of the two men we're going to read about.
And you would turn to Jesus in all your need, and you would turn to him and find in him a Savior. Tonight, let's turn to the book of Luke, Luke's gospel.
Chapter 23.
Perhaps there's someone here tonight or other more than one.
And you don't know very much about the Bible.
So I'm going to give a little background.
The Bible is composed of two main parts.
There's an Old Testament.
And then there's what we call a New Testament.
The Old Testament was written thousands of years ago.
And gives us the account from God.
As to how this world came into existence.
And about our first father, Adam.
And down through time.
To God's chosen people.
The children of Israel.
It ends with the Book of Malachi, and then there's 400 silent years.
Until the beginning of the New Testament, when we have four books, we have the book according to Matthew, the book according to Mark, the book according to Luke, and the book according to John.
Each one presents Jesus Christ, my Savior, in a little different way, but each of them give an account of how he lived here.
As a man.
Each one speaks about his miracles.
And of the sayings that he had.
And then each one.
Gives an account from a slightly different perspective.
Giving a slightly different number of facts that are not competitive, but they all fit together.
And so this book of Luke was written actually by a doctor, a physician.
And this doctor was used by God to.
Pen many stories of the Lord Jesus and his life here.
And he's presented in this gospel.
As God the Son, but also as a man, a real man.
And at the end of each of the Gospels.
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Each of the writers as directed by God the Holy Spirit gives an account of the death of the Son of God.
The death of Jesus, the Lord Jesus Christ.
So when I read these verses in Luke, I want you to remember that what went before in this book.
Is a lot of stories.
About Jesus. How kind he was, how loving he was, how he fed thousands of people, how he healed people that were lame and in fact, Jesus.
Also was able to make blind people be able to see.
No one else.
Has ever been able to do that? Or did it before him? That was reserved for the one who was the Son of God. A sure proof. And Jesus healed the blind.
But Jesus was not popular.
You say, well, how could a man who fed thousands of people and healed people with infirmities and sicknesses and blind people?
00:15:02
Why wasn't he popular?
Let me ask you this question.
Is Jesus Christ popular tonight?
Is he?
Is Jesus Christ popular tonight? I would say he is not in this world.
When I was in school in university.
I went to a school in Canada which is open to a lot of people from all over the world.
And in this classes that I was in, there were a lot of foreigners.
And a lot of them became my friends.
They were smart.
But, you know, it didn't matter whether they came from Indonesia or India or Africa or South America or the United States or Canada. It didn't matter. When they got angry, they used one name.
One name.
And that's the name of the man who died for me.
The one I love. The name of Jesus. Why?
Why? You know why? Because Jesus is real and he's the Son of God.
That's why.
I asked one of the ones.
I said to him, I have a question for you.
I'm a Christian and you just got angry and you use the name of my savior as a curse.
Why did you do that?
He said. I don't know.
I said, well, why did you not use the name of Muhammad?
Oh, I wouldn't do that.
But why would he use the name of Jesus?
Jesus is despised today too.
He's despised and rejected of men, but you know what? He's the savior.
You know, there's a lot of things in this world that don't make sense, and that's one of them.
The Son of God who came to die for sinners like me.
Is despised and rejected.
How is it with you?
Have you ever accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?
Tonight you have an opportunity to do so.
God wants you to accept His Son as your savior.
Why would he want you to do that?
Because God loves you. That's why he made you. He wants a relationship with you, not just here in this world.
He wants to love you for all eternity, that's why. So he sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for you, to give his life, for you to take your place. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, he died for sinners.
But there's so many people that say I don't care.
Doesn't matter to me. I'm not a sitter. I'm pretty good.
Is there somebody like that here tonight?
So this book of Luke presents the Lord Jesus.
As the Son of man, but it also presents to our hearts.
What happened on that day 2000 years ago?
When people who despised and rejected him then.
Took him to the Roman governor.
And said, we will not have this man.
We don't want.
It.
The Jewish people at the time.
They said his blood beyond us and on our children.
That's what they said.
And you say, yeah, the Jewish people have had a lot of trouble. Yeah.
But think what they said.
His blood be on us and on our children.
Solo.
They rejected the Savior that day.
The Roman governor three times, he said. I find no fault in this man.
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But he said all chastise him and let him go. Now if he found no fault in him, why would he chastise him?
You know, he didn't love Jesus either.
So the religious leaders didn't love him?
The political people didn't love him.
Let's read a few verses from 23 Luke chapter 23.
Verse 21 They cried saying crucify him, crucify him. Verse 24 And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they require.
Now we'll read verse 32.
And there were also two other malefactors LED with him to be put to death.
And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him.
And the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
35.
And the people stood, Beholding, and the rulers also with them derided him, saying, he saved others. Let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.
And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him and offering him vinegar, and saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, saved myself.
And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek and Latin and Hebrew. This is the king of the Jews.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself, and us.
But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God?
Seeing thou art in the same condemnation. And we indeed justly, for we received the due reward of our deeds. But this man hath done nothing amiss.
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto you today.
Shalt thou be with me in paradise.
And it was about the 6th hour and there was a darkness over all the earth.
Until.
The ninth hour.
This, perhaps will be all we have time to read from the Holy Scriptures.
I spoke at the beginning.
About two men that we were going to talk about tonight.
In the book of Mark that we had read to us this morning.
These two men are referred to as thieves.
You may be sitting there saying, well, I'm not so bad.
These two men were dying on crosses because they stole. They broke the law and they got caught.
I want to spend just a minute speaking to our hearts tonight.
This is just one example of sin.
And these men got caught, so they got hung.
Now how is it with us before God, who looks down upon us, Who made us?
Who knows how to make a body a solar system?
The water system, the crops. A God like that looks down and he sees into each one of our lives. What does he see in your life?
What does he see? Does he see that one time you stole?
Those thieves were dying on one side and the other of Jesus.
That date because they got caught by the authorities.
But God knows about everything in our whole life.
He does.
You want to know about it? Read in this book, the only book that claims to be the word of God.
He knows every sin.
Who was there at the cross?
The people stood beholding verse 35.
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The rulers also with them derided him.
The soldiers.
Verse 36 And tonight you are at the cross.
You are at the cross.
I heard it said once.
That in order to go to hell, a person has to walk right around the cross of Jesus.
Because God is so good.
And tonight you have an opportunity to see the cross.
You're beholding a man, a perfect man, who was hung on a cross for you.
Does that mean anything to you? Perhaps you say this is new?
This is interesting. I want to know more. That's great. There's plenty of people here that will stay here all night to go through the word of God until you're sure of where you're going to be when you leave this world.
I'm one of them. I'll be glad to stay as long as you want me to.
Because it's that important where you go when you leave this world.
We can't stay here forever. We've all sinned. My sins are gone.
Paid for by the blood of Jesus. God looks at Paul house and he says Paul accepted my son as his savior.
I'll take him to my home on that basis and that alone.
Not because I'm good. I'm not good.
I told you at the beginning.
There were two men who were there that day.
One hanging on this side of Jesus and one hanging over there. Why were they on opposite sides of Jesus? I'm not sure.
But I've thought about it this way.
You know the people that hated Jesus for no reason, that didn't like him because he made them look bad.
Made them stand out as sinners because he was perfect.
No doubt they decided that if they put Jesus in the middle.
Of two thieves and everybody knew they were thieves. Then Jesus must be really bad.
But you know those two men? It tells us in another account that they both.
Said terrible things to Jesus. Have you said terrible things about Jesus?
Have you used his word as a curse? His name, I should say, as a curse. Have you?
He's willing to forgive you tonight.
What do we read about him saying when he was on the cross here? He says father, forgive them. I'm so glad he said that. That's why I'm here tonight, because I'm forgiven.
Sack 'cause I'm good because I'm a Sinner and I've been forgiven by Jesus because he died for me. So I have the privilege to tell you, you know, somebody told me. Now I can tell you.
And then you can tell somebody else.
You know, may this meeting tonight be encouragement for each one of us that belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ to tell other people.
What we've got so freely given ourselves.
The Lord put me in a Christian home so that I'd get saved. I love him for that. I love him for dying for me. I love to tell other people you want to be happy as Christians. Tell other people what we have. It's great.
The best thing? There's no better thing in all the world to tell someone about.
So these two men are having this discussion.
And one of them.
Realized.
Who Jesus was.
He watched.
How people made fun of him, the ruler said. We don't want him.
The soldiers mocked him. He'd been punched all night and beat up, and they took vinegar and they put it on his lips. Imagine what that would be like. Acid on a cut.
They hated him too.
Now these two men have a talk.
You know, one of the thieves, he just wanted to get down so he could go and be a thief again.
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But one of the thieves? He didn't talk about getting down.
But he realized who Jesus was.
Tonight, do you love Jesus?
This thief did. He realized that the man who was dying on the center cross between him and the other thief.
Son of God.
And he said, Lord, he called out to him.
When he was dying.
Now let me ask you something. What could this thief do for himself? Could he get down and do a whole bunch of good stuff?
To earn his way in favor before God? No. He was hanging, dying. In a few hours, he was going to have his legs broken so that he couldn't push up on his feet to breathe.
The only thing he could do.
Was he could turn.
And call and say Lord.
Tonight, that is all I did.
Until I tell you on the authority of God's Word, that's all you can do too.
Call upon him.
What was the answer?
Jesus said unto him.
Truly or verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
We're almost at a time.
I spoke about some of the older folks that I visit from week to week.
And I think I mentioned this here last year, but I'm going to mention it again.
We plan for everything in life.
We do. We go to school.
We go to take more courses and plan for a job, plan for a career.
And you know, as we get a little bit older and a little bit of white hair, you start to plan better return.
We do.
Do you know many people?
Never plan to leave this world. They may plan their funeral. They may plan to where they're going to be buried and where the graveyard's going to be and which one it is and so on. But they don't plan to meet God. You know what the Bible tells us? Excuse me? The word of God tells us.
Prepare to meet by God. Have you done that? Are you prepared?
The last verse we're going to read tonight.
Is verse.
44.
It was about the 6th hour and there was darkness over all the earth until the 9th hour. Jesus had been hanging on the cross for three hours. We read about the next three.
In that verse 44.
What happened in those three hours?
It says in this account it says there was a darkness.
Why would it say that? I pondered that many times.
I think we got the answer in this conference.
The Book of Exodus When God sent darkness in the land of Egypt, it was a darkness that could be felt.
It could be felt.
You know there's verses in the Bible, the word of God, that tell us.
That in those three hours of darkness.
When God blotted out.
That scene so that no one but he.
Could see.
What was happening to his son?
The Bible tells us.
That the Lord Jesus was punished for my sins.
Tells us who his own self.
Bear our sins in his own body on the tree.
Those hours of darkness.
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Now we're coming to the close of our meeting.
How is it with you?
Are you uncomfortable?
You know that the load of sins is still all over you. You're dirty before God.
I'm going to pray in a minute or two.
You can too, just where you are.
And you can ask God to forgive you.
Every sin you've ever committed.
By accepting that when the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, he died for you.
Take him as your savior too.
Yes, it's true.
That he is despised and rejected even today.
But there are those who have come to love Him in this world that have come to see him as the savior of sinners.
He's the only way to have our sins forgiven. And if our sins are forgiven.
Then we can gain access.
To the home of God, to heaven.
I want to go to heaven.
I have a lot of friends in heaven.
But the man who died for me is in heaven tonight.
Jesus Christ.
The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself.
For me shall we pray?