Address—B. Prost
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Could we open the meeting with him #169?
169.
Lord, we can see by faith in Thee a prospect bright, unfailing.
Where God shall shine in light, divine in glory, never fading.
169 and perhaps we can sing it to the tune. We're going home tomorrow.
Lord, we can see by faith in the.
Unfailing.
Where God shall shine it like divine glory.
Never fading.
Oh my God.
The holy person.
My son shall mercy.
Glory.
And joy reflections.
Oh.
That way our.
World.
Full glowing.
Surrounded.
No more.
Service.
To fear of our British.
No more Japan.
Like they hold me no more.
In your life, chosen to himself is right.
Lord, pray.
Glory.
Birthday.
What I have on my heart this morning.
I hesitate a little.
To speak about.
And I asked the Lord at least three times if it were his mind to talk about that subject.
And I trust I have his mind in going ahead.
The subject is this in the broadest sense, why is it that we, and I say we? Because I presume, and I think it's true, that we are all guilty, certainly I am, of not walking more in the good of all that we have been given.
Why is it to bring it down, perhaps right to, as we say, where the rubber hits the road?
Why is it that we sometimes, and all too often, do that which we know is expressly contrary to the Word of God?
And to bring it now again down to a practical sense in another way, why is it that sometimes I say we, although I'm thankful that all those who are here.
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At least most.
Are here because you are happy to be gathered to the Lord's name.
But why is it that there are those who have been brought to know the precious truth of gathering to the Lord's name, who have spent years under the sound of that truth, who have been where the Spirit of God has His place to lead and guide, where no other name but the name of the Lord Jesus is taken to identify us?
And yet, it seems all of a sudden they're gone.
I remember a few years ago, quite a few years ago now.
I talked to a brother whom I knew well, who once was gathered to the Lord's name, but no longer is now.
And I asked him how he was doing and where he was going.
And he told me.
I said, are you happy?
He said, well, Bill.
I really miss the breaking of bread because they don't do it very often. I miss it, he admitted that.
But then, as we would say, he tipped his hand a little by saying, but you know, Bill, when I get up on Lord's Day morning.
It's so easy and so nice simply to have my breakfast drive down to the little church where I go slide into my seat.
And someone else does all the rest.
It told a story, didn't it?
Remember, another brother once gathered to the Lord's name again, whom I knew very well.
And I remember sitting across the table from him at lunch. And this is many years ago now.
Long after he had left and we had a nice time together.
I said, are you happy where you're going?
He smiled and didn't say anything.
I said, is where you are now according to the word of God.
And again he smiled and said a faint no.
But he didn't want to carry the conversation any further.
I've pondered all those things quite a bit in the last little while.
And I trust searching my own soul too, in light of all of that.
And again, I don't want to confine my remarks simply to the tendency that exists sometimes for those who have known the truth of God to leave it. But in a general sense, why is it that there is not more faithfulness in my life, and maybe in yours too?
I don't have all the answers, but let me go over a few things with the Lord's help that I feel are important.
Turn with me, please, to several verses, the first one in Matthew 24.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 24.
And verse 12.
And because iniquity shall abound.
The love of many shall wax cold.
Now turn over to John, chapter 15.
John, Chapter 15.
And verse 9.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.
Continue ye.
In my love.
If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love.
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Even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His love, these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
And one more verse. And I didn't look this up before I got up, so I hope I can put my finger on it, but I think it's Jeremiah 31.
Yes, Jeremiah 31 and verse 3.
The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yeah, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
Some of us are old enough to remember.
An old brother, long since with the Lord.
I used to say over and over again.
He'd read that scripture in John 15 and 9:00 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love. And then he would say, memorize that verse and say it over to yourself every day of your life.
I must confess I haven't done it every day, but I have done it.
I say to you, my beloved brethren, as I say to my own heart.
Let us never, never doubt the Lord's love.
And one of the main signs, one of the main things that causes declension, is when we forget how much the Lord loves us.
Another old brother.
Whom I don't remember. James B Dunlop.
Who lived up in eastern Ontario, Canada, although he traveled a good deal.
Said once in an address over 100 years ago.
He said oh, that the Saints would just sit back more and let the Lord love them.
Maybe you and I say, well, but we do know the Lord's love, we do recognize His love. How can we doubt it? And that is true, it says in Romans 8, He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
And yet we do doubt the Lord's love sometimes.
Isn't it true? Let's be honest with ourselves.
I knew a brother, once a younger brother than I, who was going through some difficulties in his life.
And I knew him well enough to know that at least some of them were difficulties of his own making.
But his comment on the whole situation, not to me but to someone else, was.
The Lord let me down.
The Lord let me down.
Let's never get into that way of thinking.
Can you and I stand there by faith and look at Calvary's cross and then proceed to say the Lord?
Let me down.
And yet our love does wax cold at times, doesn't it? And that's what happened to that dear brother, I am persuaded. And he got discouraged because he was expecting certain things from the Lord, expecting the Lord to do certain things for him. And when it didn't happen, at least not in the way that he wanted, his attitude was the Lord let me down. And even if you and I perhaps would not voice such words out loud, do we sometimes think in our heart?
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How could this happen to me?
If the Lord really loved me.
I was rather encouraged to hear.
What was said and read in the prayer meeting? Because a number of brothers who prayed only supported what I had on my heart, and one of them read First or Second Corinthians 5 and verse 14.
The love of Christ constraineth us.
That word constraineth is a strong word. It has the force of compelling someone to do something. Have you been constrained to do something for someone because of their love for you? I'm sure most here have had that experience where there was something maybe that you did not want to do and yet because of your love to someone, you felt compelled and constrained to do it, even though it was very, very difficult.
The love of Christ constraineth us, and yet sometimes.
You and I perhaps feel that, well, I should reword that we perhaps do not feel the constraining power of the love of Christ. Why is that?
Oh, because we need to get closer to him. And that's why I turn back, please, to John 15 and 9.
Or just to John 15, because it was a couple of other verses there that I wanted to draw our attention to.
If ye keep my commandments, verse 10, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my commandments, and abide in His love.
You and I know that in the New Testament, under this dispensation of grace, we are not under law, but God gives us commandments, not in the sense of saying do this, do this, do this, don't do that, don't do that, don't do that. But as the one whose love has drawn us to himself, he tells us what would please him. He tells us what would please him. I've told the story before, but it's a true story about a young man who married a girl.
And.
They managed to scrape together enough money to buy a small home.
They were so pleased and so happy with it and the day came when they were able to move in, put their furniture into the home and.
Start their married life.
But then one of the first things that the wife said to her husband, she said dear.
This kitchen it's a nice kitchen, but I would like it painted white.
The husband hated painting. He could do it, but he hated painting.
But what do you think he did?
He went and bought the color paint she wanted and he painted that kitchen in white.
She looked at it afterwards. She said, dear, that's beautiful.
But you know, you know what, we're just really top it off if you would trim it in yellow.
He not only hated painting, he hated yellow.
What do you think he did?
He went and bought the shade of yellow that she wanted and he painted that.
Kitchen.
And he got his joy out of seeing her joy.
In having that kitchen just the way she wanted, was it worth it? Indeed it was.
You know, the love of Christ constrains you and me, but sometimes we don't enjoy His love, and we get an inkling in Matthew 24 as to why that can happen. Now dispensationally, that verse does not refer to you and me. It refers to Israel in a coming day after you and I have been called home. But the principle remains the same.
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When iniquity abounds, the love of many waxes cold.
What happens?
What happens is that when iniquity abounds, it becomes difficult for the believer and you and I are in a world where iniquity is abounding and it just seems to be increasing and increasing more and more. And especially it seems to be hitting favoured line, favoured lands like Canada and the United States. And men's hearts are beginning to fail them for fear.
For those things that are coming upon the world. But the devil knows how to make our lives so difficult and so complicated with so many problems.
The iniquity abounds, and when the iniquity abounds, the devil achieves his aim by turning our thoughts inward on ourselves.
We lose that largeness of heart that our blessed Savior had when He was down here.
And you and I know that iniquity abounded in a terrible way when he was here, and he went through every kind of suffering that a sinless man could go through in order to be a merciful and faithful high priest.
But he retained, if I can say it with all reverence, that largeness of heart, that thought first of all of his Father's glory and of the interests of his Father, and then thought of the good and blessing of others. But Satan's efforts are to turn our thoughts in on ourselves, so to occupy us with problems and difficulties and things.
That shall I say it.
The poor ME syndrome starts to take over. What did I do to deserve all this?
Why can't I have an easier path?
Why can't things go a little easier for us?
One thing after another.
As most of you know, we moved into a new home about a month and a half ago. We've been in that home less than a month when a brand new refrigerator just suddenly conked out, and we were expecting company, too.
I must confess.
That the thought did pass through my mind. Lord, did I really need this to happen right now?
And then right on the heels of that.
Just when I was in the middle of an important phone call trying to sort out some of the problems with that refrigerator.
All of our phones suddenly went dead.
And I hastened to say, lest there be any thought of that, that that was all exterior. It had nothing to do with our building contractor.
He didn't make the fridge and he didn't bring the phone service in.
And it was like pulling teeth to get the whole thing straightened out, and then we thought we had it fixed and it conked out again.
And it was a pain.
I thought, well, I thought some of my dear brethren and so-called third world countries would consider this a rather simple pain to have to deal with because they probably don't even have a refrigerator, most of them, and if they have a phone, it's a cell phone in their pocket. But the point is, it was a big nuisance.
And instead of being able to sit down and read the word of God or to do some kind of thing that I felt was more for the Lord.
I had to spend time sorting out those things.
And that we're in danger of having our thoughts turned in on ourselves.
You know what the Lord wants to lift you and me above those things.
And He can and will do it if you and I are willing to sit back and just rest in His love.
And to say, Lord, that love was forever proved at Calvary, and all these things are allowed in order that you and I might get to know Him better, in order that you and I might see His face more. One of our old writers once said, and I enjoyed the comment, he said, what would you rather have, An easy path where everything went along smoothly, or a rough path where the Lord had to show you his face?
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Every step of the way. Which would it rather be?
And when we are enjoying the Lord's love, what is the result? Oh, we want to do His commandments. It's almost like a circle. When we do His commandments, we abide in His love. And when we abide in His love, we want to keep His commandments.
And I say to your heart and mind, let us never be persuaded to do something.
That, we know, is contrary to the Word of God, Whether a step in our personal lives, whether a step in our collective lives, whatever it might be, let us never depart from the wisdom of the Word of God because first of all, it is for the honor and glory of the Lord, and secondly, it is always, always, always for our ultimate good and blessing.
Do you think that there will ever be a situation where you and I will stand before the judgment seat of Christ?
And I say these words hating the very thought.
Would we ever be there? And the Lord say to us, well.
Bill, you know, you were far too careful to.
Walk according to my word. You were far too careful to obey Scripture. You could well afforded, well have afforded to sidestep it a little bit from time to time. And you could have been far more useful to me and had a far happier life and done far more good work for me if you hadn't been so careful to obey my word.
Can you imagine the Lord ever saying that to you and to me? Absolutely not.
Let's abide in His love and to quote another old brother, the same one that I quoted before, if there is not that love in your heart and mind that there ought to be, Let us never try to love the Lord more than we do. Just as we said earlier, relax and enjoy His love and think of how much He loves you.
Let's go on now to another scripture, this time in Second Timothy 3. And we're just kind of going at these. I didn't think of them in any particular order, but let's let's look at Second Timothy chapter 3.
And verse 12.
Yeah, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus.
May suffer persecution.
Did I read that right? No, I didn't.
All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Someone prayed this morning.
About the difficulties and problems some of our brethren are having in foreign lands, and it's true, and many of them are experiencing very rough times and even to the point of giving up their lives for Christ.
You and I relax here in relative peace and quiet and don't have any fear that someone is going to burst in the door with a machine gun.
Or carry us off to prison.
But it says here, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
And I say to your heart and mind that if it isn't one kind of persecution, it's going to be another.
And there are going to be challenges to your heart and mind.
As to whether we will walk in the good of what we have known from the Word of God, or whether we will be prepared to give some of it up to make an easier path.
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I will remember reading the story of William Farrell, one of the reformers back in the early 1500s and possibly one of the most outstanding, although not necessarily the best known.
And he and many other preachers of the Gospel were compelled to leave France during his day because of the terrible persecution against them, and they did so.
But then one of the princesses at court was favorable to their cause and interceded with the king in order to have them brought back.
And every preacher of the gospel, it is recorded, was recalled and told that they were free to come back to France and preach the gospel.
Except William Farrell.
And it hurt.
It was rough because he was French by birth, born in the southeast of France, and it hurt very much.
That all these others were invited back and he was quietly left out.
But he knew why, and so did the authorities. What was it?
All those others were invited back with certain conditions placed upon them. You may preach the gospel, but don't touch the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Don't preach the truth, the whole truth of God according to Scripture. Don't say things that will step on people's toes or cause problems. But if you can handle that, then you may preach the gospel and they accept it.
But they knew William Farrow wouldn't compromise and they said we don't want that man.
And you and I are going to find it more and more difficult in this world if we seek to follow the Word of God.
And if we seek to stand firm for what he has given us.
We shall suffer persecution in one way or another.
And it says in verse 13 but evil men and seducers.
Seducing is that which takes place in an insidious and often perhaps poorly perceived way, where people don't realize what's happening to them until it's too late.
Seduces shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
But then the next verse. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them. This is the second point I want to make.
Are you and I not merely having learned something, but have we been assured of it?
I shudder, and I've heard it too often when I talk to some who once at least paid lip service to some of the precious truths that I trust everyone here holds dear and have them say in so many words. Well, I used to believe that, but I don't believe that anymore.
And it's relatively easy sometimes to take scripture and twist it around out of context in order to.
Rationalize my way around the truth. And even Shakespeare, who was not a godly man, could say the devil can quote Scripture to his purpose, which of course he did in the case of the Lord Jesus. And so there are attempts to seduce the Saints, to rationalize the truth in such a way that they deny the truth. And none of us are free from those attacks.
It's one thing to learn something. It's another thing to be assured of it. And to be assured of it means that I walk in the good of it. I have to walk in it. It's not enough merely to pay lip service to it. It's not enough merely to say, well, I will follow the Word of God as long as it's convenient, as long as my life goes smoothly, as long as my family goes on well, as long as things work out nicely.
But if things start to get rough and difficult.
Well.
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As the worldly saying goes, I'll have to do what I have to do.
What a precious privilege it is to have the word of God and to have the whole word of God.
And by grace, in much weakness, no doubt, but to give expression to what God has given us in His precious word.
What a privilege that is.
If you look at the Darby translation and I love it the way it's put here in verse 14.
Continue. Thou has the thought of spiritual energy, and we need that.
But the Darby uses a better word, which really, in my judgment, brings it home much more closely to the soul, it says.
Thou, with the emphasis on the vow, abide.
Abide in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of.
Abide.
What does it mean to abide? To abide has the sense of living with something as if it were your own.
What is the expression today 24/7? Is that all right to use that? We all know what that means.
Abide in it, and many times in Scripture we have that word abide.
John uses it a lot in his ministry. Abide in the things which thou hast learned and been assured of.
I speak to my own heart. There is a danger sometimes of my taking the precious things of Christ and putting them on the way I would a coat.
And then there comes a time when I take off that coat and I look totally different.
I have occasionally had people not recognize me.
Because I got used to dressing up most of my life in the kind of work that I did and we were compelled to back in the good old days when I went to university, if I can say it, and I've told a few people this, in medical school we were expected to turn up for classes in full dress, which meant press, trousers, shirts, ties and jackets and that became a way of life.
And I have had people who didn't recognize me once in a while in an old pair of ripped jeans and a dirty T-shirt or something doing something outside. And it was somewhat of a joke. Bill, I don't very often see you looking like this.
But speaking in all seriousness, do we as Christians act like that where we put on our Christianity for certain occasions and then put it off? I say to your heart and mind, and I point the finger back here.
That is fatal. That is fatal to our Christian life. If I think that I can live with one foot in the world and one foot for Christ, the devil will soon see to it that that foot that is for Christ becomes increasingly unsteady until eventually I am persuaded to compromise.
Paul tells Timothy to carry on.
But let's go back to John 15. John 15.
Our time is going here and there are a couple of more points I want to make, but in John 15, what does it say there?
Verse 10 or verse 11 rather, these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you.
And that your joy might be full.
There have been times in my life, and maybe this has happened to you too, where perhaps I have said to the Lord, Lord, my joy doesn't seem to be as full as it should be.
And sometimes, if I'm not careful, the devil gets me occupied with how much joy I have and is my joyful enough and why can't I have more joy?
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Within the last year, I met a woman like that.
And she was very distraught. And I don't think it hurts to tell this story. I don't think she would mind because she said it publicly. She was very distraught. And for seven years she had been seeking that joy and that peace and that blessing in her life.
That seemed to be so evasive that she couldn't get her hands on it.
She was very upset and she didn't mind saying so.
And she was putting the blame everywhere but on herself. She was blaming the Lord for it, even to the point of saying, why did the Lord create Satan, knowing the mess he would make not of this world, knowing the mess he would make of my life? Why did the Lord do that? Why do I not have the joy and blessing in my soul?
And for seven years she'd been laboring over that, and it showed, even in her attitude and her appearance and all that.
Thank God.
In a matter of a week.
She was able to see.
That Joy did not come from looking within. Joy did not come with being occupied with herself. Joy did not come from looking at all the difficulties. And she had had a hard life, no question about it. And she had been a victim of many different things in her younger years over which she had no control. So it was not all a made-up story. I don't mean to imply that.
But she saw that true joy was outside of herself, that it was in Christ.
And that, yes, God had allowed sin to enter this world, but in order to glorify and honor His beloved Son, and in order that she would be far more blessed than if Satan had never been created and she were living today in the Garden of Eden.
I have to say that the change was nothing short of remarkable. The change was nothing short of remarkable. The joy shone out on her face. She even did her hair differently. There was a spring in her step. Why? Oh, because she was looking outward to Christ, and her joy was full.
I hasten to say.
That there are times in all of our lives, I have no question, when our joy is not as full as it should be.
Reminds me of a verse that is part of that hymn #77 in the appendix. The sands of time are sinking and it's not a verse that is in our hymn book.
Because it could be misunderstood, but it goes like this. But flowers need night's coolness, the darkness and the dew. So God, from one who loved it, his sunshine OFT withdrew.
Then while for cause of absence my troubled soul, I scanned, But glory shadeless shineth in Emmanuel's land.
It's not strictly online with Scripture because I don't believe the Lord ever willingly withdraws His sunshine from you and me. No, it is our problem when we are not living in the good of that sunshine. But the author of that hymn recognized that that sometimes happened in her life.
And she recognized that it was turning to Christ that would make the difference.
Beloved fellow Christian, the Lord wants your joy and mine to be full in these last days. But it's caused not by being occupied with the problems and difficulties of the way, and there are plenty of them. It's not.
Brought about by looking within at ourselves. It's brought about by looking off unto Christ, the one who loves us and who gave Himself for us.
Let's turn to one more Scripture Two now, First Thessalonians 5.
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1St Thessalonians 5.
And this is very important.
This was, if we could say it, written to a young assembly.
And Paul had been, as far as we can tell, in Thessalonica.
Probably for less than a month.
The book of the Acts recording the time he spent there says 3 Sabbath days.
But he packed a lot of gospel and a lot of instruction into those short weeks. And when he left, he left an assembly.
And here he writes to those Thessalonians Saints, and above all he brings before them the Lord's coming in different aspects.
But notice what he says in the last verse of chapter 5, verse 20. Or not the last verse, but rather the 23rd verse of chapter 5.
Verse 23.
And the very God of peace sanctify or set you apart wholly.
And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Again quoting one of our old what writers, I think this is Mr. Wiggum.
He said, Beloved fellow Christian, rest assured that if there is anything, any desire in your heart to want to go after Christ, God will work it in you.
He will.
Do you have a desire to go after Christ? Do you say I don't know how?
Do you say my love doesn't respond the way it should? Do you feel that as iniquity is abounding, your love is growing cold?
It happens to me too.
And others here would say the same.
There is one who is faithful to preserve your spirit, soul and body under the coming of the Lord, if you want it to be preserved.
But don't sidestep the first part of verse 23.
The very God of peace sanctify you, holy you and I cannot allow worldly things in our lives and then pretend that the Lord is going.
To preserve us, God does not preserve us in pathways of disobedience.
No, don't get me wrong. The Lord is with us and the Lord is faithful and he is gracious.
Remember the two on the way to Emmaus who were expressly disobeying what the Lord had told them to stay in Jerusalem?
Until they were endued with power from on high.
And in their discouragement and thinking it was all over, and forgetting what the Lord had told them about what He had to do, to go to the cross, to suffer and die and then rise again, they were going.
Away from where they should be.
And the Lord, unknown unto them, draws near and walks with them, And he causes their hearts to burn as He unfolds the scriptures to them.
Why? Because deep down in those hearts of theirs, there was a true desire, and the Lord knew it was there. He saw that spark that needed fanning into a flame, and He did it.
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
Some of us here are also old enough to remember our late brother Eric Smith.
And he would read these verses.
And then he would make a comment at the time, which as a young fellow I sometimes thought.
I don't know what the expression I could apply to it is. It seemed almost a little too obvious and a little too simple.
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He would say.
Lord lives, you know, the Lord lives. And then sometimes even addressing me personally, he'd say, Brother Bill, the Lord lives.
You heard him say that, Bob. Sure have.
And I would think, well, what true believer ever doubts that that the Lord lives?
But as I go on.
And I'm getting older myself. I think I know a little bit why he said it.
Because there are times in our lives when the Lord allows things of such a character.
That Satan can get his wedge in the door and persuade us.
Not that the Lord doesn't live, but that he's not living for me, that he's not here for me anymore. Like that young brother I remarked upon earlier in the meeting who said, quote, the Lord let me down.
Let's never doubt that the Lord lives not only to save, not only to make it possible for you and me to spend a coming eternity with them.
The but to preserve us down here in spirit, soul and body, to walk in the pathway that He has marked out according to His precious word.
One more verse before we close.
Acts Chapter 20.
Acts Chapter 20.
And verse 28.
But we'll read 27 to get the connection.
And there is a connection here.
Acts 20 and verse 27. Four. I that is Paul, have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.
And then let's change the wording around a bit in this next verse. Therefore, in other words, based on that, take heed under yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost have made you overseers to feed the Church of God, which he had purchased with his own blood or with the blood of his own.
And then couple that with a verse in Hebrews chapter 12.
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 12.
Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down in the feeble knees, and to make straight paths for your feet, unless that which is lame be turned out of the way. But let it rather be healed.
I say to each one of us here, we have a responsibility. Paul was addressing the Ephesian elders here in Acts 20. In Hebrews, he talks to those.
Who may, through personal exercise, prayer, diligence in the Word of God.
Diligence in their own lives have been stronger than others.
Are you stronger than some of your fellow believers around you?
Not that you would look up in any degree of pride for that, but do you find yourself stronger than others? Do you look around, perhaps among other believers, particularly in the local assembly where you live?
And see some that are faltering.
We have a responsibility.
We have to take heed to ourselves.
To feed the Church of God, and how precious it is which he hath purchased, and I'm reading it as it is in the Derby, with the blood of his own. And his Son is understood. God has purchased for himself His church with the blood of his own.
They're worth it.
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The world as a saying you're worth it.
Change that around. They're worth it. They're worth whatever effort you and I can make in order to be an encouragement and a blessing. Make straight paths for your feet, less that which is lame be turned out of the way.
An old brother used to say, never disturb the peace of the assembly.
Unless the honor and glory of the Lord absolutely demands it.
But the same brother used to say, not too often.
But he said there ought to be enough spiritual power in every local assembly.
To attract every true believer in the neighborhood.
Now, lest you and I should be deceived, it's not going to happen.
It would be unintelligent in the scriptures to expect that God was going to gather together all his people.
Under the umbrella of that precious truth of the one body before he comes.
No, but you and I can give expression to that precious truth, and when there is blessing.
Souls are attracted to it, souls are attracted to it. It's sad that it has to be that way, because we should all be.
Attractors.
We should all be attractors.
We all have a responsibility, but if you and I look around and see that there are those.
Who seem to be faltering, who seem to be having difficulty, who seem to be, as it says in Matthew 24, affected by the tide of iniquity around them or by personal circumstances.
Let's remember they need feeding, they need support, and in particular our pathways should be such that is an encouragement and a blessing to them.
Let's sing just part of another hymn in closing.
That same hymn to which we referred 77 in the appendix.
77 in the appendix, and will sing just the last two verses, verses 4:00 and 5:00.
Oh, I am, my beloved.
I.
Love it.
All morning.
No.