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Alright, Chapter 20, Verse 13. And we went before the ship and sailed under Azov there, intending to take in Paul for so heady appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met us at Azos, we took him in and came to Middeline. And we sailed fence and came the next day over against chills. The next day we arrived at same office and tarried at Trojillium.
And the next day we came to my leaders, for Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus because he would not spend the time in Asia.
He tasted if it were possible for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost, and from my leaders he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them.
Do you know from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying in weight of the Jews?
And how I kept back nothing that was profitable under you. But I showed you and have taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing a thing that shall befall me there.
Say that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
But none of these things move me, neither can't I my life dear unto me, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus Christ, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I knowledge ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
Where I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost has made you overseers to feed the Church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood.
I know this, that after my departings were grievous wolves enter in among you, not bearing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
Therefore once, and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace.
Which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, nor gold, nor apparel.
Yet ye yourselves know that these hands administered under my necessity, under them that were with me.
I have showed you all things.
How they're so laboring. He ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said it is more blessed to give than to receive, and what he has thus spoken. He kneeled down and prayed with them all, and they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, soaring most of all for the words which he speak, that they should see his face no more.
And they accompanied him under the ship. Now this we all take up more Pauls address to the elders at Ephesus. But there's one point that might be of interest and have some importance too. And that Paul walked across the isthmus while the ship was going around the isthmus.
And there must have been a reason why the Spirit of God would record that.
You see, Paul had been talking all night, preaching or discoursing there in that third loft where the assembly was gathered at Choice, and I feel that he felt the need of being alone with the Lord, so he left the others who were with him on the.
The traveling on the ship and took this journey.
Alone, He could be there alone with the Lord for a little while and have communion with him. And he does teach a lesson that to those who give out must take in. So when the Lord had sent out his disciples to heal and to preach the gospel, and then he said, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while.
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Well, that's even the Lord and his disciples felt the need of that time alone with the Lord and we all.
Need to remember that there are times we need to be alone with the Lord, and especially when there's some special work of the Lord that we have been engaged in. We need to have time of quiet meditation in the Lord's presence.
Because we can easily form hasty and perhaps incorrect thoughts if we are not.
Waiting on the Lord and in communion with Him.
And there's something else, I suppose.
The Apostle Paul had a burden on his heart.
And he felt the need of being in the presence of the Lord, alone with the Lord, in view of what he was going to tell these elders.
At Ephesus, no doubt, he had this burden on his heart, and he felt very much the need of help.
Guidance of God by His Spirit. And so I suppose that would be another reason why.
He felt the need of being alone so that takes us right on down. We don't need to go over the different places they stopped on their voyage. But when we come to the 17th verse it says and from from elitist. He sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. He was that was the port of the important city of Ephesus in those days.
And he didn't want to meet the whole assembly, he felt he hadn't time. And so he just sends for the elders.
Now it might be helpful to all here to know that elders and bishops and overseers are one and the same, perhaps in the original, the same word.
And it chose to. There's no such thought of a Bishop, of a diocese or of a church. There must have been a fair sized group of elders that met the apostle there at Maleidom. Elderly, mature.
Godly men who had the responsibility of the affairs of the large assembly at Ephesus. We are told, for those who know the Greek, that.
This first word here of the elders is.
Pronounced as Stephen Presbyterus is what I want to say.
Now a Presbyterian.
In the word of God.
Is used merely.
For those that are older now, you take the elder brother in the 15th of Luke for instance. It is Presbyterian. Another thing.
They were not to rebuke an older brother sharply. First Timothy 51 and then in Titus two, we have also the women spoken of as the elder women, and the word is Stephanus.
So if we stick to the word of God, we discover that the word Stephanus and elder is limited to older people. Now another thing, not all older people are older men are.
Overseers like bishops because we have two different cattle, two different scriptures that describe the qualifications.
For what we call bishops, you see, they are episcopists. Now we have a few brethren here that I'm talking to. I know that know a little bit of Greek and you know I'm telling you the truth. And Stephanus has to do with the older ones. Episcopus has to do with the functioning of oversight.
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Now, must I add anything more to make it clearer? There are two different words one has to do with like the older ones.
You know, these Mormon elders that come around your door, I remember an occasion when they wanted to give us some literature and they say we're elders of the Church of the latter Day States elders. You look pretty young to me and so on. You know, that's all folly for them to call themselves elders.
They were just youngsters, if you please. So let's let Presbyterians We do have the Presbyterian Church.
That has the principle that the older ones have the same. Now we have the Episcopal Church, which does have their lineup and functions and they specialize in that. The Episcopal Church for after that word Episcopus, so that the one has to do more with age, the other has to do with functioning and they're not all.
The older ones are bishops.
Our overseers, there is a difference. I want you. Why not go by the word of God, brethren?
I'll read from Darby's translation.
And I think it makes it clear as to what overseer or oversight is. First Timothy chapter three, he says the word is faithful. If anyone aspires to exercise oversight, he desires a good work. The work is connected with overseeing.
And I suppose we may say that the word elder is connected with the place of the office, and it isn't necessarily.
An old aged brother because they were to have families.
They were to be married men, they were to have children, not just one child, but they were to have children because the children would teach the overseer.
How to manage in connection with assembly affairs, because he's had problems in his family that, that nothing else would have taught him how to, how to help different ones in the assembly. But I think we should remember this too, that.
Speaking about a Bishop, married, has a family.
As God's order. But yet you do have remember your leaders.
And the leader may not necessarily be a married man. He might be a bachelor. And yet a leader like our brother Klaus years ago was a real leader among among the Saints, an unmarried man. Well, that's that's different. They are different definitely leaders who are raised up.
And God uses them for guidance of of his children.
We had a problem and the question came up concerning this very point where discussing, so we had to go into it as the Lord enabled. There were some there who were aged and it was difficult.
To deal with them.
Because they lacked the requisite for eldership.
Now the word in the original is just overseer.
Elder.
Bishop, I don't think you can make too much distinction. Brethren, there is that distinction our brother Brown has made. But these were.
Men who posed as elders.
But they did not fill those requisites to be such.
Thus, there was a conflict there in the testimony. There were men who were younger, between 40 / 40 years of age, who filled those requisites.
So it was a question of getting with these older brothers, very much younger than I am, and I tried to explain to them that.
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They did not fill those requisites that were required to make them overseers.
Of that particular assembly, a Bishop or an Episcopal, he's not an, he's not an elder anywhere else. He's where that particular mayday, and these were in this particular mayday, the Church of England has taken up a different view of the point.
They are bishops over a diocese, which of course is unscriptural.
One, an elder is an elder in that meeting and nowhere else. That's a very important matter.
Now these dear brethren did listen to the Word of God attentively.
But after a while, they lost their.
And they did not return to the meeting. Well, I spoke very quietly to them and meekly and asked them if they did attend all the meetings.
They said once a month we appeared. On this occasion the assembly was on the taking up the Act of the Apostles.
Immediately these two older brethren came in. Now I'm speaking very carefully about this.
They came in and they immediately told these younger men to shut up, that they would listen to what they had to say as they needed to be taught. Well, naturally there was quite a trial, quite a trial for us all. So in drawing them aside, I said, brethren, what made you adopt these special themes that had nothing to do with the reading?
Oh, they said, these young men.
And by the way, they're well taught young men. They're not babes. They're they're over 40 years of age and being in fellowship years and well taught in the scriptures. I said, why didn't you allow them? Just why didn't you take part with them?
Now this was a quite a crisis, but thank God it has been overcome and these men apparently have understood the meaning of what it means to be an elder.
And are taking that part which the word of God requires. Well, now this is a very, very solemn matter, not to push young people into places.
Of position yet.
To encourage them.
To take up the scriptures and.
In.
Concerning their brethren to be acceptable to their brethren. This was a problem for us. It was.
Thank God it was solved.
Now there was self will on the part of the elders there.
Which is just pride, of course, and it was a sad case that they would lose their cool, as you say, because it was drawn. Their attention was drawn to the fact that they were not fulfilling their requisites that the Word of God required. Am I right in this?
There are serious matters that arise. There may be very godly young men, but they should not ignore the older brothers.
Meeting although the older brothers may not be as spiritual and may not have been as faithful, but for them to just take over and to act apart from the older men.
Can be a very serious mistake. I remember years ago I was at a conference in Kansas City. Brother Brown at that time was quite a young man and there were some problems in the Des Moines meeting.
That were coming up and feller Brown took with another brother, took brother Potter and the brother Fleck aside and talked to him about it and their advice was this you act through your elders, don't act independent of them.
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If they're they're not right, seek to exercise them, but don't act independently.
Of the elders, now they may not be elders in the sense that they're a Bishop, a responsible man, but still they're men of age and men that we should respect. I believe those things are are helpful to remember. And of course, I'm sure we all see this.
That at the present time we do not have any who are official elders. At the beginning we find that Paul and Barnabas ordained elders in every assembly.
They had authority, they were apostles and could do that. Now that the apostles are all gone, we no longer have.
Official elders because we have no one that.
He is qualified to appoint them. But we do have in all our weakness and seeking to contain the truth on the ground of the one body, we do have men that morally fill the qualifications of an elder. And I might just read a verse and and.
First Thessalonians and the third chapter? No, the 5th chapter.
Verse. And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly, and love for their work's sake. Now, what is the result of?
Steaming these mentions here, highly in love, then the next thing is and be at peace among yourselves.
If there comes in an independent spirit of ignoring.
Those that God raises up and gives a desire to care for the flock. If there's a ignoring of that, there is a lack of peace such as is mentioned here among the Saints. Now those that are mentioned in that verse that I just read the 12Th verse of First Thessalonians 5.
We all have men of that quality among the Saints. As long as the church is here, they're not ordained. They're not official elders. And another thing we should see that understand is that an office is different from a gift.
Now we find, if we take up the subject of elderhood or a Bishop, that he was apartment to teach. Doesn't say he was a teacher, but he was apartment to teach. That is, he could be helpful among his brethren giving instruction. He wasn't to be just a babe, just newly brought into the assembly.
But he could be helpful among them. But he wasn't a gift.
And now as to a Deacon, of course their responsibilities were looking after the temporal affairs, and we find that when anyone exercised the work of a Deacon faithfully, he was he could become a true gift, just like.
Philip, who went down to Samaria and preached Christ and a great work of God began. He was hairless from that time on in the Lord's service.
But he started out with just a humble job of looking after the financial affairs of caring for the widows in Jerusalem.
He is the only one I believe in Scripture who is called an evangelist. And he was only called an evangelist after he had been in the Lord's work for 20 years. And he's called Philip the Evangelist. We don't put that title, that name behind any of the Lord's servants today and.
One thing we see in connection with a man like Stephen or like Phillip.
He was just as ready to go down into the desert and preach to one Ethiopian as he was to preach to a whole city in Samaria. That's the spirit of an evangelist. There's a moral reason also why we do not have official elders, as true as our brother pointed out that we have no apostles or Apostolic delegates like Titus to make official elders.
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But morally, there is a reason that we cannot have official elders.
And it is this one who takes the oversight, as it's been pointed out.
Does a good work well, The brother does that out of conscience and exercise before God in an effort to be of help amongst those people, and he does the work well. We're admonished as to those who take the oversight well amongst the Saints, that they're worthy of double honor, having ministered unto us the word of God. But if a man is appointed to official position, he can then function in that position without consciousness.
Well, we can't help but can we, brothers? We must have the work of God done in consciousness and the presence of God out of exercise of heart before Him to serve the people of God. So morally there must be the exercise of heart and conscience if one is to take the oversight well amongst the people of God for help. It seems to me, Brother Barry, that we have a little example.
In the book of Philippians in this in the second chapter.
That would help us to.
See the principles that Paul would expect in the assembly after his departure, and there would be no more appointment of elders or deacons. And so we have referred to us there, Timothy.
And Epaphroditus, now I don't say that that they were elders and deacons necessarily, but they give us the principles because in this book of Philippians.
We have at the very start the elders and deacons mentioned, but then the apostle tells us or tells the assembly that they would have to work out their own salvation. He was going to leave them. The apostle would leave. And if you'll turn to the second chapter, Philippians, I believe we have some principles there that might, might guide us.
To look up as to who to look up to.
As elders and as deacons in the 19th verse. Now again I say, I don't claim that Timothy was an elder, but the principal here for qualifications is what is in view.
I believe Timothy was a leader as we have in Corinthians, but in the 19 first of the second chapter of Philippians. I trust in the Lord Jesus to send to Matthias shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort when I know your state, for I have no man like minded.
Who will not care for your state? For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. But she know the proof of Him, that as a Son with a Father, He has served with me in the Gospel. Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me. Now here we have one whose heart.
Naturally cared for the Saints. Now this is necessary for one.
Who would in any way seek to fill this office?
But now we have a pathorditis.
25th verse. Yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother.
And companion in labor and fellowship, but your messenger. And he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that she had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also.
Lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
I sent him there for the more carefully that when you see him again, you may rejoice.
That I may be the less sorrowful receive him, therefore, in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such in reputation, because for the work of Christ he was nine to death, not regarding his life to supply your lack of service toward me. Here we have a man who was who would even.
Be dispensable.
And caring for the practical needs of the Saints, and here particularly the Apostle Paul, it wasn't a question here of the spiritual blessing of the Saints so much, although I'm sure he had that in heart too, but he was thinking of their practical needs. And I believe that has more to do with the Deacon, does it not?
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Whereas in the first case the apostle had no man like minded.
Timothy was the one who took up the torch, as it were when the Apostle Paul left, and Timothy was the one whose heart was was taken up with the Saints. He he wanted them to be in the enjoyment of the truth of that highest truth that God had ever given to man.
And then I think also in Colossians of one who was mentioned.
In connection with that line of things in the last chapter.
It says.
In the 12Th verse, I believe this is one who had a care for the Saints in the assembly of Colossi.
Epifras, the 4th chapter and 12Th verse. Epifrath, who's who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you.
Bring fervently for you in prayers.
That you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. Now we don't hear much of this man, but in his local assembly he was one who cared for the state of the Saints, and he cared to the point that they might have all the truth. Now that is necessary. And is it not in Colossians that we get the full completed word of God?
And so we have him interested that the Saints might stand in this.
The enjoyment of it. Pardon and verse 13.
For I bear him record that he hath great zeal of you for you, and then that are in Laodicea, and them in Hieropolis. May I call your attention? I know we are lingering long on this point, but there's an important scripture yet that belongs to our subject in Titus chapter one.
Now the Apostle Paul did.
Give the authority to one Titus to act.
Innocent authority to select.
Where it was needed, those that might care for the Saints there verse five of chapter one in Titus for this cause left four in Crete. That thou should have set in order the things.
That are wanting and to choose that is to establish elders in every city as I had appointed that is ordered D Now here is a provision showing that they were limited not all elders, but they had to qualify to act as Episcopists as we get it in this next two verses.
If any, be blameless.
The husband of one wife having faithful children, not accused of rioting or unruly.
For a Miss Bishop here, the word is episcopus, that is an overseer. This has to do with the functioning and they had to qualify to act. Even though they were not youngsters, they had to be of the older ones.
Not.
I'm soon angry and not given to wine, not or no striker, not given to filthy lucre, but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men. Sober, just holy, temperate holding.
Fast the faithful word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able.
By sound doctrine that is teaching both to exhort and to convince the game Sayers. These would be the qualifications present, wouldn't they? Not the gifts. These would be the qualifications for such.
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Well, I think we've dwelt quite a little on this.
We understand that it's not an official thing to be an elder like a Bishop of a of a church or a sect, but we do pray for one another that there might be those requisites fulfilled in US.
To glorify the Lord and be a mutual help to God's dear people. As an old man in the service of the Lord for 56 years, I'm feeling this in my own soul more than ever, brethren.
That little by little, gods, dear people, are being taken away.
Many of God's dear servants whose ministry remains with us.
They are taken of being taken away.
And that occurred too in South America, some of those who've been at the table for 44 years no longer there. And we've been trying to to encourage those.
Younger ones to take the responsibility, not in an official way, but humbly to serve their brethren. So we'd ask prayer. I would ask prayer for the meetings in South America. It's a great responsibility, although no one is is. I'm just a poor old Jacob.
My days are over, but I am very concerned about those assemblies and there are many assemblies which for which you might pray, brother.
The assemblies in fellowship all happy. Fellowship in Bolivia alone.
And another 17 in the Dominican Republic. And now there are a number in Lima.
These are questions that come up and those brethren want an answer and your prayers will help. No one is.
Is.
I'm not needed anymore there, I told them long ago. But they need the word of God and they need prayer, the prayers of God's dear people in this land. Think of all those meetings in Bolivia, beloved, 50 out of them.
Outside the camp and the fire off from it.
There's been a great deal of trial there because of the National Council of Churches making a kind of a covenant with all the sects, including the looser section of Brethren.
With the one object.
To make proselytes, and thus the need of prayer that they may hold fast. It was so important that 150 of our dear brethren got together for four days to consider this matter.
And they wrote over the whole business separation, separation, which was a great comfort to my heart. Well, I mentioned this for your prayers, Brennan. There is a large group of Saints out there.
All in happy fellowship with you.
Who understand the truth of the one body who are gathered to the Lord's precious name and outside the camp, but this pressure being brought upon them. And so we pray that those who do assume the responsibility of overseers might be really kept low down. I remember reading what Mr. Darby said. In any service man goes forth from a place of strength realizing his own.
And I never forget reading that before I went to Bolivia in 1920, realizing our own nothingness. But the Lord can use us. You can raise up men. And we mustn't forget the sisters too, whose prayers of such value that they may continue there in that country, in those countries, faithfully.
To God.
Well, you'd say then the very thought that you.
Mentioned there about.
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Feeling our own nothingness is really what you get in falls addressed to the elders of Ephesus. It's really the way Paul ministered that we get here in this chapter if we want to, if we want to go into Paul's ministry, we get that in many epistles like Romans and Corinthians and Galatians.
And Ephesians, and Philippians, and so on. But in what manner? And what to wade it all minister as he went about and served the Lord well, we have a wonderful description of the way a true servant of Christ seeks to minister the truth as he goes on in his testimony.
And so he says here, you know, from the first day.
I came into Asia What manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mine, and with many tears and temptations, which befell me by the lying in weight of the Jews.
And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and that publicly, from and from house to house, testifying both to the Jew and to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Well, there is the character of a true servant of Christ, and all humility of mine. He never got to thinking that he had a great gift, although doubtless he had the greatest gift that was ever given to any of God's servants.
Yet he was never occupied with it, never tried to make a display of it. In fact, when he went to corn, he was among them in weakness and fear and trembling, lest he might just use his gift as an orator to win the Greeks, and then they wouldn't be ahead at all, because someone that was a better speaker might come in, and then he would carry them away.
So what he was determined when he went to Corinth was this, that he would have him know nothing save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So here we get all through this chapter the true spirit of a devoted servant of Christ, and there is a pattern for any who desire to serve.
Our blessed Lord, young or old and whatever little capacity it may be.
Whatever it may be in a local way, or whether the Lord calls one out, and that's very special. If one is called to give all his time to the Lord's work, in what spirit he should seek to serve the Lord as he goes about in seeking through the use of the Lord and guided by the Spirit.
And in his last epistle to young Timothy, he gives us the same truth in chapter 3, verse 10.
I like to read verses 1011 and 12.
Now the Timothy says, But thou hast fully known my teaching, my doctrine been right along with it. Is the most important thing also the manner of life.
Purpose. Faith.
Long-suffering.
Love and patience are endurance.
Persecution.
Afflictions which came upon me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Listerine, of what persecutions I endured. But out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yeah, and all that will live.
Godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
It's interesting, isn't it? The apostle could abide two whole years in one place and then another occasion like this. He would simply call the elders down to the seashore to speak to them. This is instructive, Is it not for us that it's important that we do not go by mere habits?
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And serving the Lord that is making our own patterns.
And plans the Lord no doubt had led the apostle to remain two whole years.
For a special purpose.
In forming the truth into the hearts and minds of the Saints. But on this occasion where he passes Ephesus, it's simply to call the elders, and to instruct them as to the dangers of the way when he leaves, and all that was necessary for them in connection.
After his departure.
To sustain and keep them in the midst of all the troubles that would come upon the Saints.
There's one more thought and connection with this matter of oversight that's used to puzzle me quite a bit, and that's in First Timothy chapter 3, where we read. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a Bishop, he desireth a good work if a man.
Desire the office of a Bishop.
Translation, I believe as we find it in the new translation is if any man aspire to oversight. I think it reads well. This to me is a very very searching thing and I trust might be of help. If any man aspire to oversight, why would anyone?
Aspire to such a challenge. God forbid that it would ever be with any thought of personal prominence.
Reward. But I think of an experience that we passed through as children when the five of us were still all going to school. My mother took very, very ill. She was in bed for many weeks and father took over the duties in the kitchen.
And I know that he aspired.
To do as well as he could in the kitchen.
Now, I assure you that his efforts were not up to my mother's ability, and we noticed that, particularly at the beginning.
We missed Mother's abilities in the kitchen, but as the weeks went by, Father's ability improved and the meals that were brought to us were better than they had been at the beginning and I know he referred to this later.
And it meant a great deal to us as a family, he said. I didn't want to see my children go to school hungry or I'll fed. I desired to be able to do the best I could for my family in nourishing them. I wasn't trying to earn a reputation as a cook. I wasn't trying to over shadow my wife.
But I didn't want to see my children go to school.
Hungry. Now, brethren, is there something of this in the thought?
Of aspiring to oversight. If we love the Lord, we left something of His heart of love toward His people. And we won't contentedly sit back and see our beloved brethren. I'll fed or drifting without any heart or care for them. May we aspire.
To that which would be of help, of encouragement of a shepherd and character.
Our dear brethren, not with any thought, and Paul surely displayed it so beautifully. Not with any thought of any self aggrandizement. He says, who then is Paul? And yet what a servant, what a shepherd he was. And Peter would remind us too that.
There awaits the faithful shepherd, a crown of glory. Is it not true in Scripture that the crown seems to be a recompense?
For that which may be sacrificed along the way, the crown of life to the one who lays down his life in the service of the Lord. The crown of glory to the one who is faithful in shepherding as much as to suggest, it seems to me.
Don't expect any glory in that service as you go along.
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Wait for it, the Lord will take note of it if it's done for him and if it's done for his people and if it's done in faithfulness. In faithfulness. I say there may not and there will not be glory here, and we surely hope we wouldn't want it, but I trust that this thought of aspiring.
To oversight may not be forgotten by us.
That all of us, wherever the Lord may have placed us, they have a heart.
That would yearn to see the people of God shepherded and nourished.
That it's important to notice the place that repentance is given here. Pauls ministry in that.
21St verse testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repents toward God.
And faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
Seems that there's a danger of not stressing repentance even in the gospel.
As though just to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And accept Him as your savior.
Open your heart door receding without any word that would exercise the conscience, and make a Sinner feel his need and his guilt. Now that verse is so often quoted. John in Acts 16 to the jailer, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house.
But who is that addressed to? It was addressed to the Philippian jailer.
When he was face to face with eternity, he'd taken out his sword and would have killed himself. But just before he made the fatal move, I heard a voice within the prison wall too, that I felt no harm. We're all here. He brings them out, trembling. And.
Says sinners, what must I do to be saved? Well, now there's a man that's face to face with eternity.
A convicted Sinner and how blessed the message.
Is given to him to leave on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house.
But I think sometimes that verse is not used at the right time in the right way just so all you have to do is sometimes these youngsters say, Oh no, it's just so easy. All you have to do is to believe. But we have to remember what it costs to our blessed Savior to make it possible for us to be saved.
That cross and what he suffered there tells about the the greatness of our our our guilt.
Our sins and our needs like John.
The name gets from me, it says in his form.
How one look he gave with said I suffered all this for thee and then hide. Then he saw after looking at that cross and seeing what it cost the Savior.
To put away all the terrible guilt and sins that he had committed, that that Blessed One would suffer all that for him.
What a marvelous thing that was when he accepted that one as his personal Savior. Well, let's remember how the apostle went in and out among those at Ephesus. And I believe, too, that there could be a word for us after we're safe when there is failure.
If there's going to be two restoration, there must be true repentance. If one just says, well, I'll wait a while and then I'll be received back and so often that.
Failure comes in that all that's needed is to be received back into the assembly. Remember, the upper restoration in the assembly can take place. There must be a true self, judgment and repentance of one's failure.
The man who I was put away in the 5th chapter of.
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First Corinthians and restored in the second chapter of Second Corinthians, he was about to be overcome with much sorrow and Paul says receive him, don't hold him back but why was the sorrow? It wasn't just simply that he'd been put away, but the awful thing that he had committed and when that failure really lays hold of the one who has failed and brought himself under the discipline of his brother, when?
Is really judged in the presence of the Lord. It should be a very happy thing.
To restore one, no matter how great and how fat his failure may have been.
Because what had happened was only an indication of the state of the assembly, and we find the Lord Jesus.
In taking up the ministry after John had been put in prison, he begins his ministry by preaching repentance. And in the 13th chapter of Luke.
The Lord himself could say, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish. And so it's a very important part of the preaching of the gospel, and I think that there's no real sound work without it. One who who was used much of the Lord, said he was more interested in quality than quantity.
And I think that's important that there will be.
Quality rather in in the salvation of souls. There will be the work of God there, rather than simply a superficial ascending to the gospel, if there is the preaching of the repentance.
In Matthew Matthew 13, we have a shore going forth to show, and the seed falls in four different kinds of soil.
Well, in the first three there's no fruit, but in the last one, the 4th one, we read that it fell on good ground. For what is good ground? Well, a farmer knows what good ground is. That is ground that's been plowed up and worked down and and it's gone through several processes perhaps to make it fit for the seed time.
Well, this is what the Spirit of God does with soul. He plows them up.
Stirs them up, works in their soul, gets them to the point.
Were they ready to receive the simple word of the gospel? It may be by the preacher giving out the word and preaching about sin, the results of sin that may be used of the Lord by the Spirit of God to plow up the soul. But that is very important, the plowing up of the soul first.
And then when the seed falls into that kind of a state.
Into that kind of a heart in that state, it's going to produce fruit. And I believe we do have to be careful. And I appreciate what our brother Barry has been bringing before us because it's so needful. Now we can go to Africa. And as our brother Hadley intimated yesterday morning when he was speaking to the children, it's so easy to get a show of hands.
And we learn from the early time of our stay in the Congo.
That we didn't dare push anybody into a profession. We must wait on God to work in their hearts by the Spirit to produce a sense of sin. That they sinned against God.
And you know, when they got to that point in their state of soul, in their exercises, they were not so ready to put up their hands, but all you could get all kinds of professions and show of hands and get them to come up and shake the hand of the preacher and whatnot.
But it's the work of the Spirit of God that we should be looking for and working in our souls and getting them ready to really receive the word of the gospel. So it's so important here, repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe it's repentance toward God because the soul must realize that he sinned against God.
The offense of his life that he's lived has been against God. He has to do with God, a holy God. And when it's God, it's it's that person in his nature of holiness.
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And this is the sense that must come into the soul. I've sinned against our holy God, and I deserve the punishment that's been pronounced upon me. According to the word of God. I deserve hell. Well, when a sword was gotten to that point, isn't he ready to put his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? He sees Christ, yes. The Lord Jesus died on the cross for my sins. He bore my sins in his old own body on the tree, and he suffered all that for me.
Just accept Christ as his Savior. But all there's no, there's no real salvation, I don't believe without repentance. Repentance in itself is not sufficient. You have to have the balance of these two things that we get mentioned here, don't we?
Repentance is no savior, but there's no salvation without it. How true though it is. Some people think if they if they just harass their souls and cry and get down and moan and so on.
That that's the way they get saved? Well, it may not be saved at all.
That work proceeds, but in order that one who is troubled about his sins might get to know his sins are forgiven, he's got to accept the Savior and receive him by faith. And then, then he sees the burden was born by his substitute on the cross. I'd like to.
Add more to this most important subject of the important.
Of every soul.
Being made to feel their guilt before God and, as it were, in His presence.
Salvation is of the Lord. It is God Himself that when we were dead in trespasses and sins by the Spirit hath quickened us, that is, He has imparted life.
And the first thing the person that has in life is a begin to feel the shame of their past history, their guilt. And before God has to do with eternity and the salvation of their soul, they're brought trembling. And what to do about it? But peace only comes through the gospel.
That declares that great work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who took our place, who suffered the whole judgment, and who? Who died in our stead and forests, and who also whose blood was shed to cleanses, and to redeem us, and to make us His own, and purge worshippers? Now this is essential, without going into the details of the 88th Psalm.
Mr. Kelly says that Mister Darby told him that he virtually lived in the 88th song for seven years.
I have His literal words written here in my Bible, but in that Psalm, the writer himself must have had some experience. And again, there's an application that would apply to the Lord Jesus Christ, who in the Garden of Gethsemane he weighed all that lay before him that he was about to go through on the cross.
And all that great burden of guilt of his people.
Who were under the law, They too were to be brought to realize what a a an awful failure of keeping the law they had done. The godly remnant will go through that. Now. That's three applications. There's one more.
Every soul that has to do with God on that same principle must be in God's presence.
Feeling their guilt and their shame and trembling before God with a sense of their need of that which they do not deserve. That's mercy and it's great. I want to read I just mentioned now in the second Corinthians, chapter 12, verse seven, it speaks about God bringing those that are brought.
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Low. God knows how to bring us low. The other is in.
In Jeremiah 71, three verses I think that are right to the point of our subject.
Verse 18 Jeremiah 31 Ephraim. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself.
Oh, we can't have too much of that.
Thus thou hast chastened me, chastised me, and I was chastised as a Bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Turn down knee. Oh, that's the important thing. God turned us to Himself.
And I shall be turned, for thou art the Lord my God, surely. Now notice this strange statement. After that I was turned a quickened soul. He's converted. He's turned now to God, as it were, from self.
After that has returned.
After I was turned, I repented.
And after.
That I was instructed.
I smoked upon my thigh. I was ashamed.
Gay, even confounded because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
I think we should understand and reading in the 22nd verse. And now behold, I go, bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem.
Not knowing the things that shall before me there. It doesn't mean that Paul was being guided by the Holy Spirit, but he was bound in his own spirit. I was very when Paul had that vision. One night a man from Macedonia praying has come over into Macedonia and helping help us. Then they took their voice, being assured that the Lord had sent them to preach.
In that city in Macedonia, well, in this case Paul had a great love for his Jewish brother.
And he had treated them so badly. When you think of hailing men and women and delivering them to prison there in Jerusalem and beating them in every synagogue. And when some innocent believer was put to death, he was standing there just exotic and giving his voice against it, standing there and watching them throw the stones at Stephen.
When he was looking up into heaven.
All I failed, he says, so badly he just felt that he must go back once more.
And testify to that people that he loved so much, but he didn't have the guidance of the Spirit or the spirit witnessed in every city that bombs and afflictions are weighted in there. And of he he allowed his own spirit being.
So oppressed as he were feeling there that he should go back and what's more, try to save some of his breath.
Well, we can say this about Paul. It was a noble motive, but perhaps a misguided.
A misguidance there as to whether being led at that time. And of course he had to go through all that sorrow and imprisonment, and yet Dog was in that being made a prisoner and eventually taken to Rome.
So God does, even in His grace, overrule our our mistakes.
Our blessings that if there is a true heart and a desire to please the Lord, the Lord doesn't forget that.
And he never forgot how Paul was willing to lay down his life. He didn't even esteem his life dear unto him and going on his way at that time. But still we just have to leave those things with the Lord. But we can see that in the end, God had His purpose in it all.
For there's no doubt that Paul never reached the height of his ministry.
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Until after he had been a prisoner at Rome and when he wrote the book of Ephesians, he had really reached the height of his ministry at that time, the one thing he did desire and every believer should desire, that he might finish his course with joy by the will of God. Peter puts it in different languages.
Language when he speaks of having an abundant entrance.
Into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brethren, do we die? Desire that not only we might make a good start.
But that we might make a good finish. Many, you know, make a good start. Like Jonathan, who loved David so dearly. But he wouldn't.
Sacrifice everything and shared David's rejection and live in The Cave of Adelaide and endanger his life. He went back to his father's home where he had every luxury and every ease and every protection.
He chose that, and all artists had less than there is in connection with the fellows he saw make a good start. But to go on and on and continue. And that takes real purpose of heart, doesn't it?
It needs the reading of the Word of God every morning, getting on our knees and asking the Lord to to guide and direct us, being subject to His Word, not exercising our own wills, but always willing to humble ourselves and to own and admit when we're wrong. All those things have to do with the course that ends like fall.
That I might finish my course with joy. And he did finish his course with joy.
Although he did.
Use his own love for his brethren at this time. But in the end.
We find him as a prisoner at Rome, when he could say, time of my departure is near. I fought a good fight, I finished my course, I've kept the pain, and henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness with the righteous good judge will give unto me in that day, but not on me only, but unto all them that love his appearing in the book of Philippians.
Where the apostle is finally in prison.
And he?
Sees the Saints carrying on the work.
That he was not able to do. He likens his position.
To the drink offering that was put on the sacrifice because it was an offering which suggested exceeding joy. Boy. They were the ones who he suggested were doing were making the sacrifice, but he would was to be offered up.
It wasn't long before the Apostle.
Executed and he was he was to be offered up, as it were, as a a drink offering on the sacrifice of his brother. That is, he was giving him himself up and completing his course with joy, because even though he was not able to do the work himself, God is so provided that the work that was committed to him was to be finished by his brother.