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Oh my God.
We're on the eighth verse of Acts 20.
We wrote first in the beginning of the ninth, yes.
9.
Verse 9.
There sat in a window a certain young man named Utica.
Being fallen into a deep sleep and as Paul was long preaching, he jumped down with sleep.
And fell down from the third law, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down and fell on him, And then, briefing him, said trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him. When he therefore was come up again and had broken bread.
00:05:18
And eaten and talked a long while even till break of day.
So he departed, and they brought the young man alive and were not a little comforted.
And we went before to ship, and sailed unto ourselves. They're intending to take in Paul.
For so he for so had he appointed minding himself the raw foot. And when we met, when he met with us at Afro, we took him in and came to Milani. And we failed then and came the next day over against Chaos. And the next day we arrived at Samos and Paradigm, and the next day we came to Malita.
Determine the sale by Ephesus because he would not spend the time in Asia.
Where he hates that, if it were possible for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
And from elitist he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
And when they were come to him, he said unto them, You know that from the first day that I came into Asia?
After what manner I've 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 unto you. But I've showed you, and I've taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks.
Repent toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem.
Not knowing the things that shall befall me there.
Days that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city.
Saying that bonds and afflictions abide me, but none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
And now, behold, I know that ye all among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God.
Shall see my Faith No More, wherefore I take you to record this day.
That I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not done the care unto you, all the counsel of God.
Take heed therefore unto yourself, and to all the flock.
Over the which the Holy Ghost have made you overseer to feed the Church of God.
Which he has purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter, and among you not bearing the flock all of your own cells come and arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples. After them. Therefore walk, and remember that by the state of three years I cease 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 covered as no man silver or gold or apparel.
Yeah, you yourselves know that these hands have ministered under my necessity, and to them that were with me.
I have showed you all things how the so laboring ye ought to support the weak.
And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he was thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all, and they all wept sore, and found Pauls neck and kissed him. Sorry most of all for the words which he speak, that they should see his face no more, and they accompanied him under the ship.
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At the close of the reading this morning, our brother Jim was giving us some words about responsibility.
I'd like to develop that a little more in connection with this eighth verse in particular. There were many lights in the upper chamber where they were gathered together.
And that Bears was on, our brother, Judd was saying in his address.
In the lesson we learned from Utica.
And it goes back to the fact that the lights.
Represent, I believe, in a figure.
Save people.
Redeem one those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb.
Who have eternal life where? God's children? Your all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. We reminded this morning that verse in Philippian about believers among whom he shine as length.
And in this world and so responsibility comes in always according to relationship. We can say that.
Both privilege and responsibility are the result of relationship. No matter what the relationship is, it's always true.
For instance, it begins, perhaps, with the man getting married and he's the head of the home.
But he has a responsibility and she has a responsibility and they both have privilege in this relationship.
That both the responsibility and the privilege are the result of their particular relationship.
And when children are born into the family, in that family there is now responsibility and privilege in connection with the relationship as parents to the children.
The young man grows up and he gets employment. He works for Boeing. We say he has responsibility and privilege with bullying. And we're born in the US United States of America. We have responsibility and privilege as citizens of this country. Now we're born into God's family and our family relationship brings responsibility and privilege as.
God's children.
And we reminded this morning of the words of Mary, Whatsoever he says unto you, do it.
Remarkable statement is that then we turn to Philippians.
For those things which are both learned and heard and seen in the do.
This is a book of action we're into now. And here we are as God's children. And we go back and trace this upper room. Let's go back.
In thought at least to Luke 22, which was referred to, there was a large upper room. It was there that the Lord began what is now known as the Lords Supper upon the Lords Table.
It was a large upper room. Now let's go to Acts Chapter One.
And I want to notice 2 verses where we're looking at this page.
You'll notice the first one.
You get the words teach there. We'll come back and speak about that.
Acts 11 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began to do and to teach.
It was Jesus. Now that he's writing about what Jesus did and what he taught. Now hold that remark in your mind and you'll go down to verse 13.
And when they were coming in, they went up into an upper room where abode.
Bold, Peter and James and John, Andrew, Phillip and Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James, the son of Alphaeus.
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Simon Zelotes and Judas, the brother of James.
Now they're in this upper room.
The Lord had instituted the memorial.
The remembrance of the Lord, the breaking of bread in a large upper room.
In the 20th of John, I believe we have the Lord appearing in resurrection the first time.
For the formation of the Church, and he breathed on the 11 There.
He says Receive ye Holy Spirit. Now that's to be connected with Pentecost.
And here they were waiting. They were in this upper room. And then our brother Lloyd referred to Acts 2 and 42 and what they did following Pentecost. When the large group was gathered, they that gladly received his word, were baptized in verse 41.
The same day were added unto them about 3000 schools. The increase had come in a large manner.
And this is normal Christianity given in power of the Holy Spirit at the beginning as a pattern, an example, a basis for you and I can to continue in.
They had received the word, that is, they receive it and believe it, and they were identified outwardly through baptism. Now what did they continue in verse 42? They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. That's teaching.
And fellowship.
My brother referred to.
First John one and verse two I believe. Is that where you read was a Ted first John.
One and two about our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. Well, that's fellowship, you see.
They continued in the apostles doctrine what they thought and the apostles fellowship. Now that's what you and I are to do and it goes on. And then breaking of bread and in prayer for basic things that we need to be established in and carry on. There's no improvement on this. This is divine given at the beginning and it doesn't say particularly that they were in that upper room.
But it does here in our chapter.
And we spoke about that and I think we all speak about it again. An upper room here is a an instruction that morally it was on a high plane. In fact, it was on the highest plane further down. It's the third loft.
Brother Lloyd referred to that as a picture of the Tabernacle.
Of the heavenlies, And that's what it is. The Tabernacle is a figure of the heavenlies. It says so in Hebrews.
And the Lord our God brings us into the very inner sanctuary.
Into which they could not go while that first Tabernacle was standing, but the veil was rent.
At the death of Christ. And now the way it's opened up and we're invited to come and we have responsibility.
We have responsibilities in connection with this place.
And brethren, that are not breaking bread, I speak to you.
You have no less responsibility by not breaking bread than they do when you break bread if you're a saved soul.
Your responsibility results from your relationship, not what you do in fact.
I would curious one of them say you discharge a part of your responsibility when you do break bread. But be sure it's on that high moral plane, the heavenly doctrine which has come through the Apostle Paul by the spirit of God.
And he refers to himself as being brought up to the 3rd heaven.
That is a picture again of this place morally.
Paul was there in the 3rd heaven.
And that's where we arrive in worship. We haven't seen it. Paul soon and he saw and heard things which were unspeakable. He could not convey them to us yet. We cannot get them. Dear Ellie was wanting to know more about the glory, and we're all going to know more about it soon. But the 3rd heaven, this holy place, this place of worship, is where we arrive when we're gathered together.
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Acknowledging and making room for the place for the Lord in the midst.
And his name, He there, and the Spirit of God to direct us in our prayer and worship. So we are responsibility. We are responsible to break bread to fulfill the truth in witness of what is.
John, I mean, look who wrote this book when he began to write the gospel, he said he.
I'm going to have to read it, Luke. One verse one. I use this because.
It tells us of what truth is.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Luke 1 and one for as much as many have taken in hand to set him forth in order, a declaration. Notice that word, a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us. Truth is a declaration of what is, what is is God himself. Now we have truth.
And we have the truth of the one body that Jesus died and that he lived in his Saints.
Everyone of us having light the very life of Christ now are we going to be a witness to that? There is a provision for it and it was established in the apostles time right here in our chapter. I say this is a very important chapter. We have the Apostle, but they're custom to come together to break bread on the Lord's day.
Earlier in the reading this morning, Clem, you mentioned that this was a picture of the history of the Church. And it surely is. And it's remarkable, isn't it, that they came together to break bread in an upper room? You've already mentioned it, but it seems that this character, which has been recovered to us probably 150, sixty years ago, it's the same character we're gathered together around the person of Christ.
Exactly the same way today as they were in this 20th event. Exactly. No difference. But what brought in the Dark Ages was the fact that they let that go. They left that upper room, and that's what happened to Eudicus, and I suppose he's a picture of that. But is it not true that that could happen to us now, today? Is it not true that we can get our hearts occupied with other things in Christ?
I'm sure that it was Christ here that drew them together because it says they were gathered together and it's similar to the scripture we have in Matthew 18, our gathering. It's not a matter of self will or our own desire, but it was a matter of the Spirit of God bringing them together in this upper room and Utica falls out the window. Well, could this happen to us? Could this happen today?
I don't know just what a year in history that the Dark Ages took place. I presume what was about the time of Constantine, when they lost sight of the truth, when they lost sight of the knowledge of the Lords, soon returned. And we have that in this very brief portion here, The resurrection, the Restoration. What a marvelous thing that we've been restored. The God has marvelously brought back the truth, the knowledge of.
Being gathered around the person of the Lord Jesus.
Again, I say could we fall as Utica spell?
Remarkable when Paul writes to the patients where he brings in the highest.
Church Truth. In the last chapter he uses the word stand.
Having done all stand and withstand 3 or 4.
Time. You know, rather. And we can't go any higher.
We're in the 3rd heaven.
We shouldn't settle down.
The only way can go believe it is to fall down. Utica fell down when we fall down in our witness, our testimony.
It's to the street level, to the level of the world, and that is the reason that it says about Utica. He was taken up dead.
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There might be a discussion as to whether he was really dead. I go to the language of scripture. But what you're saying, brother, is a fact that you and I lose that elevated heavenly position. Our witness is gone. It's parallel with the world.
It's down in the dust and that one of the prophets says truth is falling in the street.
That's what will happen if we don't hold this heavenly position.
So it's a great morning and I do think these verses are very remarkable.
As a prophetic history of the Church reviewing them again, that there was the breaking of bread at the beginning, there's a breaking of bread at the end. So it has been that we knew about in these 2000 years. They broke Brad here. This is the beginning and we're breaking bread now. And it's no higher truth. It's no lower truth. It's the same blessed truth. We can't be thankful enough. For what The Lord has recovered to us at this end time.
And if we fall asleep as the full production, we will lose our witness and testimony like Eudicus did.
Oh, and verse.
In the verse 24 I will put upon you none other burden.
But that which you have already hold fast till I come.
That which you have already hold fast till I come Revelation 3.
And verse 11 Behold, I come quickly. Hold that path which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. We can lose these precious things. And there is the reminder that we're to hold them fast, that the enemy doesn't rob us of the joy of these things now just before the Lord comes.
Someone has said just let us hold on a little longer.
He's coming and we'll see his face. Let us not give up at the very end.
I don't believe there's going to be a testimony all the way to the end.
Well, the Lord wouldn't say till I come. We have that, and that's a problem. And you know, it says we should hold fast and hold on. What, brethren? You know, we were gathered and we are gathered. It's the work of the Spirit of God. And there's going to be those that are gathered to his precious name according to his word, with himself in the midst, remembering him till he come. And it's merely the grace of God if we are among that group.
If he doesn't keep us, brethren, we're not going to be kept. That's it. But there's going to be some. And by the grace of God will be among them. We can't say we will be among them. By the grace of God will be among them. There are many in criticism that are breaking bread.
But this that we're reading about and what we do on Lord's Day is according to the Lord's word with himself in the midst, and that makes all the difference.
And it was an upper room in acts here, it says they were gathered.
In an upward chamber, I love that many lights in an upper chamber were gathered. Be careful, especially young people, of the so-called translation you're reading. We got a good one here. We got a good help in J&D, but many of them say on that beautiful birth, Matthew 1820, where two or three come together in my name, I will be with them. That may be true, but it's not the truth of God.
We want the truth of God. Satan will give you things that are true, but they'll be half truth.
It will not be the truth of God, and this is very important. They were gathered. I I like to just turn to Luke 22. I know it's familiar, but it's so important because this is the time in verse 7 when the Passover music be killed. It must be killed.
Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us. Brethren, this is the moment it's coming, and in verse eight he sent Peter and John go prepare us the Passover. And what did they say to Jesus? Where isn't that lovely? Where will thou that we prepare? And if anyone will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.
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You could be there, It's beautiful. And then what was his answer to them? A man bearing a pitcher. Water. Follow him.
That speaks of the Spirit of God, of taking the word of God, doesn't it? We know that type. It speaks of the Spirit of God taking the word of God and leading you to the plate.
And so now I want to just get to this verse 12. He shall show you a large upper room there. I like that word there. Make ready. They said. Where? And he says there according to the word of God, the Spirit opening your understanding and letting you know. Isn't that beautiful? There's no other way. There's no other way. They went. They found as he said, and they made ready.
What did they do to make ready they were there.
That's it. They were there.
Everything else is from himself, everything else. And I think it's beautiful, that word there, if you turn to Deuteronomy, because they said where and he said there. And you know, the Lord has always had a place and never left it up to man in Deuteronomy chapter 16.
And by the way, we could start in Genesis, but there's not time in chapter 16.
Verse one observe the months of Abim. Well, of course that dates back to Exodus 12, doesn't it A Bibim, the first fruit. It means the green ear. You must have a new beginning. This month shall be unto you a beginning You must be born again. And so that Christ, the first fruits and we after it is coming. That's AB. That's what it means. And it says, keep the Passover unto the Lord thy God. Keep the Passover unto the Lord thy God.
Notice then in the middle of verse 2 but in the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there. Now verse 5 Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover in any of thy gates. Which the Lord thy God giveth thee Not the Church of thy choice, of course, but at the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name in. Notice the word there.
They said where? He says there thou shalt sacrifice the Passover.
And even at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou came his fourth out of Egypt, Abib and thou shalt roast and eat it where In the place which the Lord thy God shall choose. Now if you looked at a Deuteronomy 12, you'd find this these expressions there, the place the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name at. There you'll find it from the 12Th chapter to this chapter 1621 Times.
It's so important.
That he's not going to leave a possible doubt or question if anyone says where the Spirit of God, if you allow him to lead by the word, will say there and you'll know. And brethren, it makes all the difference. Many will break bread.
But how many will be where he's promised to be in the midst?
That makes all the difference in the world when the hour was come, you know this is one time in loop there where Peter didn't question it, but if ever he could have questioned something the Lord said, that was this. That just didn't make reasonable sense. A man with a pitcher of water follow him. But they went and they found as he said.
And who will do my will shall know of the Doctor, and there'll be no question. And then I just want to mention this thought here in Acts.
It says upper chamber. I sort of like that, where I don't know what it is in J&D, but if you look at.
Sounds and I like this thought that goes with that. I think it's 124.
Some I hope it is.
Maybe not. I'm thinking of the place. Maybe it's.
Where it says he will fill the chambers, maybe 127.
With all manner of precious, Can you help me on that? Now let's see.
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Where is it?
I can't hear You 2124.
Proverbs 24. All right, sorry about that. I want to just read it. I think it's very practice with the word chamber.
Proverbs 24 Yes.
Verse 4. By knowledge shall the chambers be filled. Now there's many gatherings, are there not? And I like that word chamber be filled with what all precious and pleasant riches. It takes three things. It takes wisdom, understanding, and the knowledge. And you'll have it. It's only where the Lord is, brethren, that that truth is there. Only where the Lord is in the midst of these promise. And He can only be.
Where you're gathered by the Spirit of God according to the word of God. I was over in Saint Lucia just a short time ago, and we visited A missionary over there and his wife and seven children from the United States.
And he was discussing this. And you know, you get this all the time he was discussing it. He's with open brethren. I don't know much about them, but he was saying, you can't know unless you study from the First Division back in 1840 sometime and follow it carefully all the way till now, all the different divisions, and find out which one is on the right ground. I said, God forbid that I ever think of doing such a thing.
I've got the word of God, I have the Spirit of God, and and if the ones the brethren I'm gathered with are not according to the word of God, I'll be looking in in my heart and letting the Lord direct me. But as long as they're gathered according to the word of God and these principles, like I know, I'm where he will be in the midst. And of course this brother made very much because of tapes of one brother who's among us, but now not with us.
He's under discipline, entity, rate, he's, he talked about him quite often. He knows who we are. I mean this one over in Saint Lucia and I said, you know, that brother is now set aside.
And where he's from, If he came to the meeting I'm from, he wouldn't be able to break bread. If he came to a conference where I would go, he wouldn't be able to break bread. I said. What if a brother in Trinidad was set aside and came here to Saint Lucia and you have a conference? Would he break bread?
He said yes, I said, You better start looking. You better start looking. That isn't the place. Lord can't be there, Not according to word of God. Where one body I went into other things. Brethren, this is so precious, isn't it, that we can be by grace where he is in the midst, even when he comes. Well, I don't want to say anymore. It's so precious. The word there is awfully important. We're gathered together.
Before we get off of that subject, I'd like to mention that in Mark in Marks Gospel, it takes you a step further.
And he will show you a large upper room, furnished and prepared.
I believe that there's a possibility that we get in our thoughts and in our minds, that there's something that we have to do before we're fit to be there or something we have to do to prepare the place. Not so.
Furnished and prepared, and this is one of the things that has caused so much problem.
Amongst God's people down through the ages is the activity of self and flesh, furnished and prepared. There wasn't one single thing that they had to do. God had furnished the place and God had prepared the place there. Make readiness. You've said Bob. They made ready by being present when he was there. They were there. How? How blessed that we don't have to do anything.
And it's probably one of our worst enemies to try and do.
That big word do is a difficult one and it always has the letter I in it.
God has made the place. God has provided the place. God has prepared the place. He's furnished it.
All he wants to do is see us there.
One thing we do do in one chance, let a man prove himself, and so he that is examined himself. This is self judgment and self-discipline which is necessary to partake at that table of the Lord.
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And I noticed in our ninth verse as Paul was long preaching.
We referred to the first book in the Acts of all the Jesus began to do and to teach. Now notice the last two verses of the book of Acts, Acts 28 and 30. It began with changes, what he did and taught, and it finishes with Paul, what he preached and what he taught.
And then there's no ending as such.
To the book of Acts that just stop.
There's no salutation and there's no grading. There's no Amen.
Which is, though, the Lord saying to us who are sitting here, this is all I'm going to write about, the actual Holy Spirit, but they're not going to end. I have stopped writing, but the Spirit of God is here, and He's here today just as much as he was in Acts 20 or Acts 2 when He came. This is a great comfort, but it puts us in a place of privilege and responsibility to hear the word of God.
Whose long preaching? What was wrong with that?
Not a thing. They didn't have any Bible. This wasn't a pattern for a meeting.
This was a necessity in the dark time where they met for fear of the Jews so frequently.
And so here they were in this upper room. I'm not saying as true as it was like that, but it was an axe. I mean in John 20. And they met there with the door shut for fear of the Jews.
But the.
Privilege and responsibility is to hear the word of God, the preaching and the teaching, the doctrine. We need to learn it to pay attention to it.
I'd like to ask our brother Ron Clausen over there, who read to us from Nehemiah 9A Little about if he has any remarks on Nehemiah 8:00 and 9:00 that might fit with this.
Do it wrong.
I enjoyed the verses he read from Nehemiah, read Nehemiah 919 and 20 and I think it's significant where they come in in the book of Nehemiah. And now he is referred us to the 8th chapter. I guess the 10th verse we're waiting.
Well, I just had thought that when the Lord had seen that little company come back from Babylon, they came back in great weakness. But they came back, and they desired to have things according to the law of Moses and the commandment of David.
But really, what gave impetus to all their action was the joy that the Lord had.
In seeing them restored to the divine center.
And so we know that it.
That when they were restored that the old men wept, but the young men rejoiced because they had not seen the former days.
And I believe that that spirit of things is still incumbent upon us. That is we, we.
Mourn over the ruin of the church. We see that it's been divided and scattered, and it's proper that we mourn over this condition, but we also rejoice in the fact that a remnant has been recovered. And I remember our brother.
Armstead Barry saying making this helpful statement. He said that when the truth was recovered.
It was the position was recovered without the outward power.
Like we have in the day of Pentecost, and that was a helpful comment to me as a young man at that time.
And So what will sustain us today is to see the joy that the Lord has.
In a little rim that responding to his word and to his desire.
The first verse of Nehemiah 8.
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All the people gathered themselves together as one man.
Into the street that was before the Watergate.
And then Ron referred to the book of the Law of Moses and so on. I just thought of this in our chapter here. Paul was long preaching time for that people. You and I have it. And we might read all night long too, if we're interested. We might fall asleep. I'm not condemning falling to sleep when you get weary, But hold on to Paul's doctrine. Paul was there. He was the one who was preaching and teaching.
And as Bob was referring us, we don't have to study out all the history of brethren. We cannot.
There's no accurate, written down history of brethren to follow. We can learn from failures and they'll put you down in the dust, but we can get from the word of God the place where the Lord has promised to be in the midst. And there'll be water there. There'll be men of theirs at 9th chapter says there's food and drink in that place and we're getting it right in this portion. But Paul at this time is preaching a long time.
And sometimes our meetings get long and the babies fall asleep. Reminds me of a good place to be, though. I'll say this for the parents. It was an old brother down in Rome, GA.
Who had a?
Big family. John Lloyd was one of them.
And John's daddy took his family to meeting all the time.
And.
One day brother said to John's daddy said Mr. Lloyd what did you bring those children to meeting all All they do is just go to sleep and sleep right to the meeting and he said John Day said brother I'll tell you the fact I'd rather have my children sound asleep and meeting than wide awake anyplace else in the world.
And that's, that's where we need to be, right where the word is there, listening to it as our capability for paying attention to it and getting the doctrine.
Thought is rather wonderful, Paul. Let's see was.
Long preaching.
You know in this portion you referred to on the 8th of Nehemiah, the preaching.
The reading meeting really went from morning light until noonday.
Now if it was about this time I noticed at 5:00 it was like and that would be a pretty long reading meeting.
But they didn't want to leave. They didn't want to leave. They had to send them away. And the beautiful thing of it is, he said, the joy of the Lord is your strength. Go ahead, you, you love this. You've taken in the word of God, you're ready to go. And he said, please give some portions for those to whom nothing was yet prepared, those that weren't here. Lovely. We can do that. But that was a long one. And then in Acts 28, he preached from morning till evening.
And they were still there. Now, I'm not saying we should start stretching our reading meetings.
More than they are. But I'm saying the principle is very important. Why are we cutting them?
I mean at conferences, they get down to 45 minutes, they get down to 30. Sometimes you can hardly call him and say a prayer. Open the book and close it and say another prayer, call him.
No one said to Paul you're limited to 4 to 5 minutes, did they? No.
Brethren, there are landmarks. There is the old way, and I believe it's lovely. This is an hour and a half meeting. I rejoiced when I saw it. There's nothing wrong with that. I think it's beautiful. They've been going on with hour and a half meetings as long as I've been gathered, and I know they were doing it many years before. They say, well, they can't sit that long. Well, in Nehemiah's day, 43,000 stood the whole time, five hours.
We sit. We got it pretty easy, don't we? All I'm saying is, let's hold fast what we have. Let's don't start giving up that for comfort.
You know in Samuel's day it says the word of the Lord was precious. In those days, is it precious to us?
That's the thought. This is wonderful. We could even read it and have the spirit of God feed us from this word. It's the mind of God for us today that's so wonderful, isn't it? Well, I don't want to go any farther. Paul was long preaching, thank God, and not that we should go long. We should be everything, be done decently in order. And when there's a time limit, we should stick to that. But brethren, as a group, let's don't be shaving off minutes.
00:50:15
On that time, that's going the wrong way.
When Christ went back to the glory, he was the light of the world, and night came on this scene.
Well, Paul commenced to preach. Possibly it was in the evening.
Because they didn't have a holy on the Lord's day. In those days no doubt those dear brethren had to work. But here they were come together to remember the Lord. And Paul preached unto them, and he preached until break of day. And all dear ones may we hold past this truth, the truth that Paul was used to set forth until the break of days.
Until the Lord comes and calls us to be with himself.
He has the right to Timothy this, thou knowest that all way in Asia.
Have turned away from me.
Yeah, that dear assembly that had received so much truth, they had turned the way from the truth that Paul proclaimed. They hadn't turned away from the Lord, but the truth of Paul set forth. They have turned away from that. May we hold a pass below.
Because you go ahead, Jim.
Well, I'd like to suggest that this young man had the best seat in the house.
I remember being with Bob Tony in Bolivia, altitude 12 to 14,000 feet, and we were at a conference in in a room. There must have been about 30 souls and they're probably maybe 100 would have been comfortable and the oxygen is very scarce, at least for me.
And I could only survive by sitting in the window if I can relate to this young man. But the fresh air and the heat it it it had an effect on me as it did when this young man. I didn't fall. I didn't have three stories to fall. But this, this young man was became comfortable in a very subtle way. Sleep came over him before he realized that he had fallen. I would like to suggest that.
Truth will not keep us here. He was in the presence of the apostles and all this wonderful teaching.
Went to sleep And I believe, brethren, this is our great danger that maybe has already happened. We have fallen spiritually asleep and we we cannot go on in these things unless they're held in the spirit of love and exercise of freshness of of love for the for the Lord Jesus truth alone is a very arid thing, but if it's held in affection for the Lord Jesus will go on happily, I think, until he does come.
Six, along with what our brother is saying. Just a few verses to emphasize that he's talking about a spiritual sleep.
That's the application from this portion in acts of spiritual sleep, and so I'm going to use it with that application.
Proverbs 6 verse 9 How long will thou sleep? Oh sluggard, When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? You know, there could be some sitting in here with their eyes open, spiritually asleep. That's the floor.
Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of a hand, and so shall poverty come.
As one that travaileth that spiritual poverty I'm Speaking of. And brethren, you can be among us, and you could be gathered and be going backwards, losing ground, until by poverty overtake thee spiritually.
You know, there's no standing still in the things of the Lord for a believer. None The principles brought out, and I like to keep emphasizing in the gospels to him that has more will be given and abundantly He can have it today if you're wide awake and taking it in spiritually in the right state of soul. But he that hath not even that which he had will be taken from him. You're going to go backwards or you're going to go forward in your soul. That's the spiritual sleep and slumbers we're speaking about.
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And can you have things taken away, such as the sense of His presence when the Lord said, I'll never leave you or forsake you? You surely can. You could be going the wrong way and go into a spiritual slumber. That's like the two on the way to Emmaus. The Lord himself drew nigh and went with them, talked with them. They didn't even know he was there.
Can you lose the sense of the joy of your salvation? Of course.
Otherwise David wouldn't have restored to me the joy of my salvation. So I believe the principle is very clear.
The spiritual poverty can come upon you like one in travail, unexpected and.
A lifelessness, A death in the sense of your life here. Lost. That's what we're talking about, not your soul.
Like this today?
What was said a little bit previously about.
Losing the truth, I think we need to distinguish, especially for the young here the truth in connection with the joy of it, like was mentioned the joy of our salvation, and in connection perhaps a testimony that we carry to the name of the Lord Jesus, but the truth as to our position in the Lord Jesus.
Never can change. That is something that we cannot lose. In case some of the young are not understanding that I'm sure our brother could have been speaking didn't mean that. But we cannot lose that position that the Lord Jesus won for us through his work on Calvary. That is something that is sure for every true believer in the Lord Jesus. That cannot be lost, and we need to be clear as to that. That does not depend on me. That depends in its entirety.
And the person and the work of the Lord Jesus that cannot be lost. Dear brethren, we cannot lose that, but we can lose the enjoyment of it, and perhaps the testimony to it.
Might be good to notice simply that it wasn't a sudden contact with the ground that wakes up Utica.
It wasn't a sudden contact with the ground that waked that Utica stop that made him fear lifeless.
Dead. It was Paul.
Embracing him, that brought him up.
And it's a comforting thing. It also is a type of restoration.
To the truth of the heavenly calling of the Church, which is our position. We can not lose our salvation, We can lose the joy of as we've heard and we can lose our outward witness that we belong to Christ. The heavenly position as a witness can be lost and what regains it is whole embracing us, taking us into that pool doctrine.
And enjoying it. It's an example of resurrection, 2 which follows as a comfort at the end of this little portion. But Paul came down and embraced him, says Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.
Because pole was there.
When the Church lost.
The hope of her calling the heavenly position and began to settle down here, and there's much of it today.
There's mom. What was that?
You were talking about?
To me, a teaching that's going around nowadays.
Remember this conference we were talking Bob, Tony, excuse me.
Something that you had heard about the formalism? That's not the word either. Some teaching that's rampant in Christendom theology? Some kind of.
New Age theology. You had another word for that, didn't you?
New New Covenant theology is a denial of dispensational truth, and it's pretty much what it is. Is Protestantism revived Protestantism? The recovery of the Protestant Reformers never saw a dispensational truth. They were never in the heavenlies. They never enjoyed heavenly truth. Really, the Protestantism has always been an earthly body.
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And influence down here in this world.
Never really entered into the heavenly truth that was recovered at Philadelphia and this fall from I was thinking of Utica is just a couple comments sitting in the window. He you might say he had a view of both worlds. He could look inside and at the gathered Saints there. You could look outside at the world and sort of a world borderer and he has a fall that's not really a safe place to be is right on the edge.
And so he fell. We talked about our falling brethren, we are in grave danger of losing the heavenly calling of the of the Church. If you read, if I read as a habit, I don't mean occasionally picking up a book written by the writers, the leading writers in Christendom not gathered to the Lord's name, but if you make it a habit to read that ministry.
You will not read heavenly truth. On the contrary, you will read that the Christians responsibilities to get involved, to correct the ills of society, to write to their congressmen, to vote, to get involved in politics, and you could go on and on and on. They have never embraced the truth of the heavenly calling the heavenly character the heavenly destiny of the church.
New Covenant theology is a revival of Protestantism. The rapture is denied and that when I say a revival of Protestantism I mean the the the ministry that came out of the Protestant Reformation. We can be thankful for the truth that was recovered, the all sufficiency of the Bible as the rule for faith and justification by faith apart from works, but beyond that the heavenly calling.
Dispensational truth.
Prophetic truth, Family truth, all of these various truths that have been recovered and restored, especially the truth of the mystery, it's foreign to them. Our King James translators, they didn't understand dispensational truth. They they had the light of the Protestant Reformation and that did not include Dispensational truth you'll find in the Old Testament.
Captions over the Psalms. The Church does this, the Church does this, the Church and so on.
The church isn't even in the Old Testament. The church didn't begin until the Spirit of God descended on the day of Pentecost. They didn't understand that. And I think we have to realize that if you're if you use A and the modern translations, they're made by men that.
Live after the recovery of Philadelphia.
And they don't teach it either. The only company of Saints, and I'm not saying this with any thought of pride.
That holds.
The ministry there teaches it that heavenly calling of the Church.
The heavenly hope of the Church Christendom is giving up the truth of the Rapture. Why? Because they don't believe in the heavenly calling of the Church anymore.
They don't believe that we're a heavenly people, not of this world. They think that we are a part of this world, that Christianity is just another earthly religion and we should get involved in things here. That's not the truth of Christianity at all. And if we missed that and what we've been looking at in this, in this upper room, the third loft.
And then Eureka is falling down to the level of the world. That's where Christendom is fallen. That's where they are today. And if we give up Pauls ministry, we'll be right there at the level of the world.
The personal I remember of.
Brother Albert Hey ho, years ago at this very conference talking about this little story of Euticus.
And he's mentioned that when a brother falls, that it's not entirely the fault of the individual who has the fall. But all of us have a responsibility as well. And I remember him saying, he said, why didn't somebody say Uticus, why don't you come over and sit by me? And so when a a brother has a fall, it's a gradual thing. And no doubt Uticus was beginning to nod a little bit and close his eyes and there may be some who noticed it.
And it could be there might have been some even afterwards who said, well, I saw that coming. I saw him nodding there and yet he he didn't move up a little closer. And that's too bad that it happened. But they shared in some of the blame because they didn't help in this situation. And so I believe there is a real practical lesson here in in personal responsibility, in the assembly. We can look at it collectively as we have in concerning the truth and Christendom. But here's.
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A personal responsibility, an individual.
We might say in the assembly, as we have here, who had this fall and fell all the way down to the third loft or from the third loft and was taken up dead. I believe there is a practical lesson in that too, that after he fell there were brethren who gave him up for dead. They looked at Eutychus and they said, well he's dead. They didn't see any life there. The Pole was one who had discernment and he went down to where he was at and he said his life is in him.
And it reminds me of that little verse in Ephesians.
Awake now that sleep is to rise from the dead, and Christ shall give the light that's written to believers. But here Paul got down to the level where he was. He didn't stick his head out the window and say, well, because what happened to you? Why don't you come up here? But he had a heart and a concern, and he went down to where that brother was at and met him in his need and restored him. And then they were all comforted When the brothers restored. It brings comfort to the whole assembly. What a joy.
What a blessing. And then we see that after they had broken bread they continued till the break of day. Well, there's another little promise because we've already had mentioned that the testimony that's been recovered will continue till the break of day. And I may not be a part of it and trust by the grace of God I will and that each one of us here will be a part of that testimony. But there will be a testimony going on for the Lord Jesus until he comes. I'd just like to add another word to as to.
The truth that's been expressed is to gathering the name of the Lord Jesus.
Dear brethren, we need to be exercised to in connection with this truth. There's always the tendency.
In our hearts to be over a course of time, to lose the truth without even realizing that we're losing it. The children of Israel and the Book of Joshua went into the land of Canaan, took their own promised possession through real physical exercise.
In the book of Judges, you'll notice that it is through continued exercise that they maintain the possession of Canaan. These truths that were Speaking of as to gathering their brethren, should never make us complacent. It should exercise us, and sometimes.
They do feel that we need to be careful how they are ministered on, not to make us complacent, but exercise in the presence of the Lord Jesus. And I would just like to say one other thing too in this connection, that when we speak as the truth being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, that we should make the Lord Jesus the reference point. I often notice and I feel that it is offensive to souls that often listen.
That we often make ourselves a reference point in connection with it, and we need to be careful.
The disciples said to the Lord Jesus, we saw one casting out demons in your name, and he follows not us in the Lord Jesus. Reprove that we are not the reference point in connection with the dear brethren. We're failures. In so many ways, the Lord Jesus is the reference point. He is the center. And so when we speak of these things, may it be the Lord Jesus that's brought to the forefront, not we ourselves. We are not the center.
We are not the reference point. The Lord Jesus is.
We can be that as you were speaking Bob, it says here and he preached until the break of day. It was what the people did with what he said which.
And that's true today. The truth, as Paul presents it, is present with us right now. We have in our hands. But what do we do with it?
They preached until the break of day. And God is going to maintain as.
One has already said until he comes, the truth is going to be evidence and he'll have it preached in this world until that day comes. But what do we do with it?
Well spoke until the break of day, but.
That group in that other upper room, one of them went to sleep, of course. Isn't it interesting that he was already back up in that room before that closing statement? That's extremely interesting and an encouragement to you and me because it says.
01:10:07
In that.
11Th verse And when he therefore was come up again, it was after he had gone down and restored Utica's that he preached until the break of the day. How interesting and how encouraging we're going to have Paul's doctrine until the Lord comes. But what are we doing with it? What are we going to do with it?
It seems that the truth of Paul's doctrine is what got hold of Utica in the figure says when Paul went down and fell on him, embracing him. What a figure that is of what Paul stood for, his truth.
Getting a hold of Eudicus, that's when the truth gets ahold of us, that we're going to be brought back up and restored. In a case like this, it's getting a whole dose to the point of practicing it and being there where we belong in that upper room position.
And then the breaking of bread takes place.
They broke bread. Well, this was the Lord's day. This was the first day of the week. They carried out the Lord's request that the Passover supper to do this, and this has and had eaten and talked a long while. We find that in this place there is food. It's in this assembly, for Paul's doctrine is known and gets a hold of people, and is held in practice.
That there is food and there's food for all, and there will be until the day breaks. Well, that gets us to the Lords coming. And perhaps today, brethren, that's it's it's the next thing we look for. The rest of the picture is in process. Right now there is a company gathered on this divine ground. There is Paul's doctrine. There is this moral position, this heavenly calling.
This heavenly enjoyment of the truth of being there where we belong.
Enjoyed now? The only thing is, we're not there physically, but we're going to be and there's not going to be 1 missing. Utica is, I think, a picture of resurrection at this point too. For there are Saints who have gone to sleep in Jesus and they're going to be waked up physically, their bodies reunited and the power of resurrection that belongs to the Savior and.
Will be called up together. And so then it says they brought the young man alive and were not a little comfort comforted. There's no comfort like knowing the grand truth of resurrection. At the resurrection All Saints will appear, the sleeping Saints raised and we changed and brought up together. Then we will literally be in the heavenly position.
With the Lord and Paul's going to arrive there at the same time, and he's going to enjoy the fruit of his laborers at the same time. If we look in First Thessalonians 2, we will see that he talks about that, and it's one of the great comforts for us as we await the Lord's return.
To know that all are going to be there.
And in the 19 verse the 1St Thessalonians, 2 Paul is speaking, writing into the Thessalonians the fruit of his labor. And he says, what is our hope or joy for crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye youth Astronomians in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Look who's going to be there when.
At his coming for ye are our glory and joy, wonderful end to the little picture we get in these verses from 7:00 to 12:00.
The arrival at that glory scene with all of us there, all there too.
It gets nice to see that it was Paul's embracing him, which is that doctrine, Pauls doctrine, which if anything has been given up in criticism today. It's Pauls doctrine. And the more modern translations are cutting that out pretty good. But that's what would restore, and that's what will keep us the whole truth. And we And then as our brother said, when he restored him, there was food right there. And if we'd look just for a little example of that in the 27th chapter of Acts.
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Which, as you know, is Paul's voyage, which is a nice picture of the history of the church as well.
But in verse 20 we have where they went into the Dark Ages.
Where these truths were lost and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, it was just the dark ages, and no small Tempest lay on us. What the Church was in such a turmoil and all hope that we should be saved was taken away. They even lost the truth of His coming and eternal security. It was really something in those times. But notice 21 after long abstinence.
Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sir, he should have hearkened unto me.
I believe it's Paul's doctrine. It's the restoration of the truth you should have hearkened unto me, he told them way back there. They had the truth at the beginning, but they loose from Crete, and they went on into the world. And then, you know, Speaking of food in verse 33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat. There was food on the ship all the time. And the truth was there with the church all the time.
They just were not feeding, they were not enjoying those precious truths. So all Paul had to do was restore that doctrine, which was the midnight Christ, Pauls doctrine. And now the meat was there all along. We're profiting from that food, are we not? We get it. And I think it's beautiful, you know, I know there's a real liberty for evangelists and but I don't know if we should add to the words any of our thoughts or reason in ministry.
Just mentioning it. For an evangelist to say that others should have seen Eudicus going to sleep and shook him and woke him up, that's all right that we don't. We don't limit the arm of an evangelist. But it doesn't say that here, brethren.
And God gives us what we need to know. There are some that go into this spiritual slumber.
And unbeknownst to anyone, it's just terrible what happened. We must ourselves, for ourselves, be on guard that we continue ourselves. But it doesn't say that, and I just mentioned it. We should continue with the word it says. They're sat in a window, a certain young man whose name was Eudicus being fallen into a deep sleep. And that's what we know. He sunk down with sleep and fell asleep and fell from the third loft. So that's what we have.
And I believe that's what we should continue with as far as the word.
In connection with Restoration when he was restored that prior to this we have Paul preaching and setting forth the truth and a doctrine which we need. But in in Restoration we have the Paul talked until morning.
And I wonder if there isn't a sensitivity and.
What's the word I want is sensitivity and an understanding.
A tenderness that as they looked at this young man we say, well, he's brought to the to the law, but they wanted to see him on and and perhaps as they broke bread they would look over and see Paul would speak those words that would nurture him and strengthen him. And I wonder that in connection with the restoration of the truth, if the Lord isn't doing the same to us, knowing our weaknesses.
You have a parallel thought in Hosea 2 When Israel is restored, he says, I will alert her into the wilderness and speak comfortably unto her. And so I feel the tenderness of the Lord with us as he's preparing us.
To bring us into his presence, that we wouldn't come with a start, but he is tenderly brought us, going to bring us there. And when we arrived it will be without any startle, but his tenderness has brought us there.
The breaking of the remembrance of the Lord in the seventh verse. But in the 11Th verse is that a remembrance of the Lord? Again I know from house to house they broke bread and praise the Lord. But is this in the 11Th person? Stop the race and the remembrance of the Lord again? Or is it just food for the body?
01:20:24
For our soul.
Hospitable table of fellowship and its blessed, isn't it? I believe we did have the breaking of bread because they were gathered there. How lovely that is. But I believe when he went back there is that hospitable table that we all are one with that blessed fellowship we enjoy. And I believe they went on that way we have in Luke. Let's see, it's the last chapter. It said the Lord broke bread.
But I don't believe that's the breaking of bread there. We can apply it, perhaps, but it wasn't the breaking of bread, he it was the hospitable table with himself there with us. And that's what I had. Did you have a different thought? Verse seven, it says they came together to break bread, and Paul preached to them. They didn't come together to hear Paul preach. They came together to break bread. And then Paul seized the opportunity, preaching and preach to them.
It would seem from the order that they broke bread first. That was the primary thought of the meeting.
They came together to break bread, and then he preached to them, showing that it's not wrong. I know of some brethren to think it's wrong for anyone to give any ministry after the breaking of bread. I believe this certainly proves that that's proper, that ministry can be given after the breaking of bread. But the primary purpose of coming together was to break bread, and that would certainly be the first thing they did.
The Lord has given us that remembrance of Himself week by week.
That every week we may be reminded of his love to us.
In giving himself for us, his body broken for us.
His precious blood sheds for us that we might be brought into this position of privilege, and it needs to be a practical thing in our lives. It is a heavenly calling. We're a heavenly people.
And we're not of this world.
The dear one, what difference does this make to us in our daily lives as we go through this scene, do we go through it realizing that we're not of this world?
That we are a heavenly people and we have no more to do with this world.
And if politics or government or anything else that I have to do with the politics of the United States.
I am not a citizen of the United States and therefore I have nothing to do with it.
Other than to go through it.
And.
Return then, shall I say, to my own country, and we're on our way to our own country in the glory. And this should affect every aspect of our life. The Lord coming for us should affect every aspect of our life, our salvation. They turn to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, our service.
Paul was looking forward with joy to seeing those dear Thessalonians in glory.
The fruit of his service in Thessalonica. Our conduct should be affected by the thought that we may see the Lord at any moment.
And our whole spirit, soul and body.
Might be presented blameless.
At his coming dear ones, it should practically affect our daily lives.
6166.
01:25:04
My present.
Joy. Our comfort.
Thyself.
For all.
Our presence.
Your.
Nor Bear and God.
Near.
Our red blood.
Save your.
Flower.
And God.
Hear thou, art.
Art near.
In my love.
Way.
Our.
Pray God.
I withdraw.
I.
Die.
Our dream.
Our.
Our own.
Of God.
Our strength. Our.
Our.
Please love you and.
I can.
Never see.
With love.
They are gone.
And.
Blow.
Nothing.
Praise.