Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
We wait for the power of the heart.
Was born in his beginning.
For God's abandoned latter rise.
Shall be our ears of being.
Pretty well finished up at Luke chapter 22 and we did look a little bit at.
Pauls doctrine in connection with remembrance of the Lord and some of those details that were particularly given to the Apostle Paul revealed to him. And so I wonder if it might be profitable to look at another upper room scene, perhaps the one in Trollis in Acts chapter 20.
Yes, I think that's a good suggestion.
I'll give you the first 12 verses.
Yes, with the we could read the 1St 12 verses and maybe particularly comment on the verses from 6:00 to 12:00, but.
Just for continuity.
Acts Chapter 20.
And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, and there abode 3 months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia, and there accompanied him into Asia.
00:05:02
Supporter of Berea.
Of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Segundus, and Gaius of Derby and Timotheus.
And of Asia Tikka's and trophy miss these going before tarried for us at Troez. And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them in Troas in five days, where we abode 7 days. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them ready to depart on the Morrow, and continued his speech until midnight.
And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eudicus being fallen into a deep sleep. And as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with deep sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
And Paul went down and fell on him and embracing him, and said, trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.
When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread 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.
If we look back at Chapter 19.
We have in verse 29.
The little indication of the type of environment that the apostle Paul labored in. It says the whole city was filled with confusion. Having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia pulse companions and travel. They rush with one accord into the theater.
You know, he was in the Gentile world and it was opposed to God, It was opposed to the light. And we know that Ephesus, I believe, was the capital city of Asia Minor. And so really he was in the heart of enemy territory, you might say, shining the brightest light that ever shone in this Gentile world. And so he faced the wrath of the enemy and the energy of the enemy. He was the focus of the energy of the Spirit of God in presenting the gospel of the grace of God.
And the truth of the mystery of Christ in the church and all of those things that we know that are a part of Paul's doctrine. And so he faced that opposition. And in the verse that we began here in verse 20, chapter 20, verse one, that when that uproar was ceased, when that riot was over, then you know, he could comfort the disciples. Can you imagine? You'd have thought that they might comfort him.
And that he might receive some comfort and encouragement because he'd been.
Just escaped the certain death of perhaps if they had got their hands on him, but he comforted the brethren. And then the Spirit of God just lists a little bit of his movement throughout the Gentile world. And I believe when he was at Corinth, he wrote the Epistle to Romans to the Romans and he was just moving. And then it says in verse four and five.
Those that were companions and suitable to be companions of his.
And everyone of these names is named. Their only name may be five or six times each one of them in the New Testament, but every one of them has a little bit of a lesson. And we're not going to go over those things here, but.
You know, it just points out as the Spirit of God unfolds the development of the church and the founding of the.
Those little assemblies and Gentile world at that time.
That there were those that were suitable to be companions of the Apostle Paul, suitable. They knew the truth of God and they were suitable companions to labor alongside with him. And so it appears that they.
All he named seven of them there and then in verse six they sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread and came unto them to throw us in five days we're abode 7 days and so there's.
A little time, just a week that the apostle Paul is there and throw us. We know a little earlier. I think it's.
Is at chapter 13 that he was intro us before and there was a work of God going on in that place. And so he came back. There was an assembly now after he had gone there the first time and so there was an assembly there. They were gathered to the Lord's name and so he spent a week with them. And so this whole story unfolds and it's very instructive.
00:10:11
They find out that they met on the first day of the week.
So it might be helpful just to put it all in perspective as to what we've had already and the relevance of taking up this little portion here in the Gospels we have the seed, I believe, of every truth that is later developed in the epistles. It's sewn there in one way or another, either by story illustration, by example. With the Lord Jesus. We have the upper room ministry in John's Gospel that gives us the seeds of what is again later developed in the epistles and so on.
In the Epistles, of course, we have the development of the truth and laid out and the foundation of Christianity and so on. But in the book of the Acts we have the pattern, and these things are a pattern to us, laid down at the beginning, recorded by Luke.
By the Spirit of God through the instrumentality of Luke. And these patterns are very important and instructive for us.
And so we won't turn back to it, but in the second chapter, of course, well, in the first chapter, we have them waiting in the upper room, another upper room scene. The Lord had instituted the feast in the upper room, given them the upper room ministry, and there they are waiting in obedience to the word of the Lord, He told them to wait.
At Jerusalem until they were given power from on high. In the second chapter, we have the fulfillment of that. We have the Spirit of God descending on the day of Pentecost to indwell each individual believer and come to form the church and indwell the church collectively. And that's where the baptism of the Holy Spirit took place. Then we find at the end of that second chapter the things that characterize the early believers collectively after the day of Pentecost.
They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. The order of that list is very important. And I know it wasn't Paul's doctrine there, of course, but they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine because we must have sound doctrine if we're going to have sound behavior. And the apostles doctrine there was the basis for everything else. It was the apostles that remained at Jerusalem and taught those that were saved on the day of Pentecost and subsequent to it.
But it was the apostles doctrine, fellowship and fellowship, breaking up bread and prayers. And these might be what we would say are the assembly meetings, those times when we come together collectively for ministry of the word, for the breaking of bread as we had this morning, and for assembly or collective prayer. And that's what characterized them. Let me just say this in a practical way. They continued steadfastly. If you notice Mr. Darby's translation, they persevered.
You know, if you and I are going to go on collectively in the assembly, it takes perseverance. It's not easy.
And if I can just say this, I believe it's important, and I'll say this particularly to those who are younger and some who are just starting out together as couples and families and so on. I believe it's important to plan our lives around the Lord and the Assembly. Don't try to plan your lives and then work in the Lord and the Assembly. It won't work like that because the enemy is going to be busy to introduce every kind of thought and activity to keep you from being at the assembly meetings.
And I'm thankful that as I look back on my upbringing, I was brought up on a home where it was never a question at the dinner table on weeknight meeting, whether we were going to meeting or not.
Now sometimes there were extenuating circumstances and we couldn't or some of us didn't go, but it was the habit and plan of my parents lives to take be them there themselves and to have their families at the assembly meetings. Sometimes I hear young parents say, well it's such an effort to take the little ones and they just fall asleep. What better place to fall asleep than in the presence of the Lord at prayer meeting or reading meeting and get your children and young people use.
To going to the assembly meetings because we can't. Every generation is always a little bit weaker spiritually and we can't expect our children and young people to place a value on those things. If we haven't, they're going to place no more value on things than we have have placed.
And we're teaching them by example. So they continued steadfastly in those things. Then as we come to this little incident in Troas, we find here the carrying out of the principles in a practical way that we have had before us In the previous reading meetings we spoke of a lot of principles and things. But here it is carried out. Here's a little assembly and here's those gathered to the Lord's name. You know, in the, again, it's normal Christianity. And when you go through the Acts when people were saved, what was the next thing? They were baptized and gathered to the Lord, to the name of the Lord Jesus.
00:15:24
There weren't any divisions yet. It wasn't a question of where will we go to meeting or what group of Christians will we associate with. You know, when Paul and his fellow laborers got to Troaz, they didn't say, I wonder where we can meet with some Christian, some nice Christians, and so on. They would have entered Troas, and if they didn't know already, they'd say, where are the Christians meeting in Troas? Because they were all together at that time. We know of what the enemy was working, and we know the sad results.
Subsequent to this, but at that time all were together. And so here we have this example, this pattern for us and showing even as Robert has said, even amidst difficult circumstances, here is a little assembly going on for the glory of God, coming together on the first day of the week, enjoying the breaking of bread, enjoying the ministry of the apostle Paul and enjoying fellowship one with another. And if they could do it in the dark heathen city of Croas, there's the resources for us to do it wherever, whatever town or city we come from to.
Say the seed plot is really given by the Lord, isn't it? And so in John's Gospel.
Right at the end, chapter 20, he met with them on the first day of the week. He appeared to them. It says chapter 20, verse 19, the same day at evening being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, sayeth unto them, Peace be unto you. So there was that example, and the Lord met with them not on the Sabbath day. Everything in Judaism was measured by the Sabbath day, and they were commanded.
To keep the Sabbath, they were commanded to begin some of their feasts on the Sabbath day. We know that the Pentecost was the day after the Sabbath, at the feast of the Pentecost. And so it was really looking forward in figure to the Christian time, to the time of the day of grace when the church would be formed. And so it would exist in this scene. So you'll notice.
That the Lord introduces it. Then here in the book of the Acts, Acts chapter 20, we have this in connection specifically with the assembly. It's the first day of the week. And then in John's ministry, perhaps maybe 50 years later, in the Book of Revelation chapter one, it actually uses the term the Lord's Day. So when he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and it's the only time in the Scriptures that that term is used.
But it's really written because of faith, and it addresses our faith as we understand that there is the Lord's Day and we can honor the Lord on that resurrection day and we have that liberty, but we don't have a Sabbath. We don't celebrate a Sabbath. It's not a holy day, you might say, but it is a day by the grace of God that we can separate and give the Lord the very first place.
The very first hours of the day of the week. And so in Israel's economy, they used the first six days, the first six days for themselves, and they made their living, they did their farming and all that sort of thing. And then they were commanded to give the Lord the last day of the week and they were to have a rest. And they were to, as I say, enjoy something of the presence of the Lord and something of a.
Godly portion on that day. It didn't work very well. They ended up using all seven days for themselves. But in Christianity, what a privilege we used the first day of the week. We give the Lord the very best first, and we do it voluntarily, not by command. We do it voluntarily. And He gets the portion for His own heart among His people. And what it must mean to the Lord to have us in His presence on the first day of the week, that resurrection day, we have a little sense of what it means to us.
But I believe, brethren, that it means so much more to him as he sees on that resurrection day that we haven't forgotten that he died.
And we give him the 1St place. And so they met on that first day of the week, and we know that it was an ordinary day of the week in those Roman times. And so they met in the evening.
00:20:11
And many of our brothers still do that. They don't have the opportunity to have the Lords Day or the first day of the week as a day off like we many of us have enjoyed under so-called in so-called Christian countries. So our brethren in Egypt, Fridays, the Muslim holiday. So our brethren in Egypt on Lord's Day, they have to get up and go to work and go to school and go about their activities. But as soon as they are released from that activity.
Then they seek to meet usually about 8/30, 9:00 at night whenever they can get together. And so these ones, I believe they met in the evening as you say. In other words, Paul didn't preach as long as we in the western world or when I was a boy thought they did. But I want to make another comment about the Sabbath and that is.
That there's been a misnomer in Christian circles that the Sabbath is that the.
That Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, or the Lord stays the Christian Sabbath. It is not the Christian Sabbath. The Lord Jesus healed on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath of God had been spoiled, and the Lord Jesus worked and healed on the Sabbath day. My Father worketh hitherto and I work, and the Sabbath, which was Jewish, as you say, has been set aside. The Lord's day, or the first day of the week is really, I often say for a Christian, it's probably one of the busiest days of the week.
If we are coming together to remember the Lord Jesus may be involved in gospel work, if we have opportunity to visit those who can't make it out, those who are going through trials and problems, physical maladies, Sunday school work, whatever it might be. But you'll notice in some of the old writings, not, not, not so much amongst those who've been gathered to the Lord's name, but Mr. Ironside and Charles Spurgeon and those evangelists, they talked about Sabbath schools.
And they thought that Sunday was the Christian Sabbath and so they would have what they called a Sabbath school. That is, that is an absolute misnomer. Now, it's interesting here that when Paul and these ones that were with him arrived in Troas, I believe they arrived on a Monday. If they you do the calculation because they remain 7 days and they left on a Monday, why did they remain seven days in Troas? Well, there may be other reasons, but I suggest that one of the paramount reasons.
That they remain this long was so that they would have the privilege of breaking bread, of remembering the Lord on the first day of the week. Now, it's interesting that in the book of the Acts you do have the apostles and early Christians going to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, but you never read of a Christian gathering on the Sabbath day in the Acts. Why did they go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day? Well, that's where the Jews were gathered together and they went to present to them the truth.
They went to present to them the gospel and the truth of Christianity, because the evangelist always goes where the crowd is to the regions beyond, and he reaches out. And so we know evangelists today and they're always going where there where there's a crowd gathered together. But they never met for the breaking of bread or any kind of Christian gathering on the Sabbath day. So Paul remains with his fellow laborers because it meant so much to them to break bread on the first day of the week now.
Brethren, I don't want to criticize anybody. I'm not here to point the finger. But, you know, sometimes I'm sad and defined that we will take a holiday, we will go somewhere, and we're not too concerned about whether we end up somewhere where there's those gathered to the Lord's name to break bread on the first day of the week. Paul wanted to make sure he was somewhere where he could have this blessed privilege. Does it mean that much to us that we would try? I know there are, again, extenuating circumstances.
I understand that, but does it mean that much to us that we try to be somewhere where we can remember the Lord on the first day of the week?
Portion, we might just look at one of those incidents that you mentioned in Acts chapter 19, since we're already there in connection with Ephesus.
Let's read just from verse five. Acts 19, verse five. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied, and all the men were about 12.
And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the Kingdom of God. But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyranus. Well, there was he went to the synagogue, as you say, there was a crowd, but the Word of God was also there.
00:25:24
And justice think they didn't have copies available like you and I. And so they went to where the word of God was available and the apostle Paul could read and he spoke boldly for the sake of for three months he was able to hold meetings in the synagogue and it was a place where the word of God could be opened and he had liberty to preach. But when there was a refusing of that word and really the persecution began to arise because they would not accept Christ as their true Messiah. And so he had to leave that. And so the book of the Acts is a book of transition.
So there is some activity that takes place in the book of the Acts on the Sabbath day, but it was because God was being patient with the nation. And so we know that the gospel that Peter preached was really a gospel of repentance for the nation. And then when they nation rejected that gospel, rejected the opportunity for repentance as a nation, then the nation that the there's a division in the book of the Axle Acts chapter 8.
Begins a new focus and that is upon the Gentiles and how God was going to do his work so it's interesting but it's very instructive God measures everything for the believer from the first day of the week and in the day that we live in we have the liberty to use that first day of the week for his glory but.
Really voluntary, if we could put it that way. It's not a command. So he uses the terminology and we read it this morning. Let us offer the sacrifice of praise and Thanksgiving to God continually. But it isn't a day of rest. It isn't a Sabbath as was commanded to the Jews.
All Terry at Troas for a week.
Verse 6 and I I think that's even more remarkable when you.
Notice in verse 16 of this chapter that he had determined the sale by Ephesus because he would not spend the time in Asia, for he tasted if it were possible for him to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. So Paul is anxious to get back to Jerusalem before Pentecost, and yet he would tarry seven days to draw us. I think that's remarkable.
And as Jim said, no doubt to break bread with him. It's interesting also to notice that.
Even that was even in spite of the time it took to get to Troy House if you just turn back to the 16th chapter.
Verses 11 and 12 we see a similar journey, but Paul's going the opposite direction and that is from Trojans to Philippi. If you look at the new translation, it's a little clearer, but that journey between.
Trois and Philippi in this case took two days and here it says in our chapter that it took five days. So Paul has already been delayed three days. Perhaps there were contrary winds, I don't know.
And then, yeah, he stays another seven days. And then just to carry on that thought a little bit further.
In chapter 21, verses 4:00 and 5:00.
There's another journey, Paul continues on his journey. And again it says.
Verse four And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days, who said to Paul through the Spirit that we should not go up to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those days, we departed and went our way.
And they all brought us on our way with wives and children till we were out of the city, and we kneel down on the shore and pray. I just wanted to draw attention to the seven days again, that Paul and tarry, perhaps, no doubt to break bread with these disciples. And then a little further, the last chapter of the book of Acts, we see again another reference to a similar thought, verse 13 of chapter 28.
The propensity to help us and came to regime and after one day.
00:30:06
We found where we found brethren, and we desired to tarry with them. Seven days. So we went towards Rome. I just enjoyed.
The Spirit of God recording for us through as you said this, you know the blue these little details that would show the importance that Paul put on this institution of breaking bread that the Lord had given him by revelation and he wanted to establish the believers.
In these parts, in that that practice of freaking bread, I think it's the shows get this, this desire to encourage them in them.
And not only just Paul value this privilege, but from these verses those brethren intro as value the privilege too. You know, sometimes after a long week, we get up on a Lords day morning and I suppose most of us don't have breaking of bread till 10 or 11 on a Lord's Day morning, maybe Sunday school before, but we feel so tired and so weary. But think of these brethren here now has been pointed out. Troas was a dark heathen city.
Secular history tells us that they were worshippers of Jupiter mainly. It was a dark heathen city. These brethren were slaves to or employees or slaves to ungodly masters. They'd had to work all day and probably good long days too. They didn't have union breaks and all the things that we take for granted in, in our our jobs today and and so on. Lunch hours and all that. No doubt they were they were tired by this time. But can't you just picture these, these Christians as they wind their way now their obligations are done and in the dark they wind their way through the streets of Troas. They meet one another as they come on their way and what was in view.
1/3 loft with what? To break bread that scripture tells us. That's why they came together. They didn't come together first and foremost to enjoy fellowship with one another. They did have fellowship with one another. They did not come together to listen to the ministry of the apostle Paul first and foremost. They had that privilege on that particular Lord's Day as well. They didn't come together to see these other visitors and welcome them.
That we're with Paul, they had that privilege as well, but Scripture is very specific that the reason after their obligations were done, that they climbed these stairs to the third loft was because they were anticipating the privilege of breaking bread. Now, brethren, I can only speak to my own heart. When I get up on a Lord's Day morning, does it thrill my soul to think that another first day of the week has rolled around and that I'm going to have the privilege of giving him his portion?
His desire, the privilege of remembering him in the breaking of bread. Some of us were talking between meetings. I don't think we mentioned it in meeting, but you know, we talked about the breaking of bread and the simplicity of the loaf and the cup. You know, you can go almost anywhere in the world today.
And you will find at very little cost in some form, a loaf of bread and fruit of the vine. It isn't always like we think of it. Our brethren in Egypt can't get wine in a Muslim country, so they boil raisins and pour off the juice, and that's how they break bread. But.
I often think of the of the question that was raised to Naaman by his servants. If he had asked thee to do some hard thing, wouldst thou not have done it? Brethren, has he asked us to do some hard thing, or to try to secure emblems, items that are hard to get or at great cost? No, he's made it so very easy, so that even these ones in Troas could, after their obligations of the day, meet to break bread with a loaf of bread and fruit of the vine.
You might ask, since the breaking of bread is so significant and prominent in the book of the Acts, why is it so disregarded in Christians?
The Christmas seems to go to two extremes. Either they do it casually once in a while, or else they make a ritual of it like the Catholics do.
Why is it that it is so?
Abuse in Christmas?
Before and oftentimes, believers base their.
Getting together to break bread based upon their own state and the reason why they only break bread a few times a year is because they don't feel worthy and so they they don't feel they can do it every every week. I think it can only be set aside for special occasions, maybe when they they get themselves.
00:35:15
Fitted for the occasion, but.
Umm, we don't break that bread based upon our own ability to maintain some kind of a spiritual life. The breaking of bread is part of our spiritual life. I, I would like to just give an illustration of, of how I've enjoyed the Lord's Day when I was a kid. I don't know that I ever had one, but I know I had close friends that had Hot Wheels and it was a track. It was a circular track and at one spot.
In the track there was a supercharger and as the car went around the track, it would go through this supercharger and it would zoom out out of the supercharger and it would, it would zoom around the track. But as it got closer to the supercharger, it got weaker and weaker, but it had just enough strength to get back into the supercharger and then be flung around the track again. And I've often thought.
Our our spiritual life really shouldn't be that way.
There should be a maintenance of our walk with the Lord in such a way that we maintain an evenness. But you know, as a as as one who has been a father, I would have to say that our lives oftentimes have pretty heavy demands, and those demands often tend to.
Have an effect upon our spiritual life too.
Let's say we work a job and then our kids have a lawn business and when we get off and, and, and it just, there's just a lot of demands on us and but the Lord's Day is the day when our souls can be refreshed. I know that we're there to give the Lord.
The desire of his heart, but it also has an effect upon us. The time that we spend in Sunday school, the time that we spend in the breaking of bread, whether we have, sometimes we have might have a scene at a nursing home where the gospel goes forth. We get together again sometimes in the evenings and we're over. The Word of God, Spirit of God has the ability and the liberty to bring home to our souls that which we need.
Him knowing what our needs are, he has the ability to.
Refresh our souls. And so the Lord's Day. I have noticed it. I don't know if some of you have noticed it.
But it has a tendency to put a fresh charge into our.
Christian lives.
Well, those that decide that they can, that they they have to determine when they're going to have the remembrance of the Lord based upon their own ability to to give the Lord his due.
Will only create weakness and if if there is this following of scripture, all it is is plainly following the example.
The pattern that's been set in scripture, we will find that the Spirit of God will maintain our souls in such a way that we will freshly value the remembrance of the Lord, that the Lord will get something from our hearts, and our own spiritual condition will be maintained in a manner that will will be healthy.
There's another excuse that's getting started.
Say, I would add to that, it is a part of Paul's doctrine, isn't it, to remember the Lord in his death. And so we were looking at First Corinthians Chapter 11 yesterday and it says for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do sure or announce the Lorde death till he comes. So it goes along with what you're saying is often as we get into the presence of the Lord, and that's really the point, is to come into the presence of the Lord and to see the Lord in the midst.
Not just to come to the remembrance of the Lord and to come to the breaking of bread and to realize that perhaps it's the most important meeting that we come to, but to remember that we're coming into the presence of the Lord Himself, and we're coming with the purpose to break bread and to give him the desire of his own heart that we might remember him in death. But it is a part of Paul's doctrine. And what we find in Christendom is that the importance of Paul's doctrine has been let go.
00:40:04
And so, if not entirely given up. And so Paul gives us the truth in connection with the church and how it should conduct itself. He gives us the details of how the meetings of the assembly should be conducted. He gives us all kinds of details of the difference between the man and the woman and the distinction of the roles of the man and the woman in the assembly as well as out of the assembly and so on, all of that.
Has been thrown overboard. So, Brother John, I would suggest that the reason the breaking of bread is so lightly esteemed in the Christian world is a result of not having a grasp of or an appreciation of Paul's doctrine, and not having that sense of coming personally on a Lord's Day morning into the presence of the Lord myself to remember him in his death.
Excuse that's given to and that is if we do it and every Lord's Day, it's just going to become commonplace. And I've often heard Christians say that, well, we only remember the Lord once a month. They're on a special occasion because we don't want to do it too often or we won't appreciate it. But I was thinking of the very verse you gave as often and I believe when the Lord Jesus instituted the feast of remembrance, He knew what not only the hearts of the the disciples that were around him on that occasion were going to be like.
But he knew what my heart was going to be like and he knew that I was going to need a reminder and that I was going to need it often. And so as often as she, I want you to notice this, eat this bread and drink this cup. I've often said that I wish the word eat and drink were in capital letters in our Bible. And the reason I say that is because I've talked to people and they say, well, I can remember the Lord in my heart. Well, I trust every day of our lives we remember the Lord Jesus in our hearts. Every day we need to have some reminder of what the Lord Jesus accomplished at Calvary for the glory of God in our eternal blessings.
But there is something physical that the Lord has asked us to do to give expression to what is in our hearts. Because God always gives us a way to give expression to what is in our hearts. Whether it's baptism in owning the Lordship of Christ in our lives, whether it's the remembrance of the Lord in honoring the Lord Jesus and showing forth his death till he come. And so sometimes I see on these precious occasions the loaf in the cup go by many.
Who I know really do love the Lord.
Can we sit there on Lord's Day and hear, as it were, the Lord Jesus say this, do in remembrance of me and eat and drink and not participate at his table? What would you think if you invited me to your table and I said, well, I'm going to come, but I'm not going to partake of the meal and I passed all the dishes by? You'd say, Jim, it's good to have you here, but that's not the only reason we invited you.
And so we sit down, not only in the presence of the Lord, but at his table. There's a feast prepared. There's something He's asked us to do, to eat and drink, to give expression to what's in our hearts. Are we going to give Him that joy? And then, as you say, not only does it give Him his portion, but then it rejoices our heart. And we need that reminder, and we need it often. When we get to heaven, we won't need a loaf and a cup. We're going to see the wounds in His hands, in his feet, and in His side. And we're going to be reminded for all eternity of the work of calibre.
But while we're here, we need that reminder as often.
The children of Israel, they were given the Passover and they ate at once a year. Now in Christianity, they've mixed a lot of Judaism and Christianity and perhaps borrowed some of that thought process, but you know, it didn't work very well. In Israel's day. They came to Passover time, and it says in Hezekiah's day that there was a Passover eaten and it wasn't, it wasn't wonderful.
They hadn't eaten the Passover like that since Samuel's day. My and then it comes to Josiah's day and King Josiah says he ate Passover and all Israel with him. And it wasn't like they didn't eat the Passover like that since Joshua's day. I think it was my goodness, you know, So it's obvious that they had taken it very lightly. But the Lord knows our hearts and he delighted to have remember we're members of his body.
00:45:03
We're part of the bride of Christ and He wants to have our affections. He longs for our affections more than anything else. And so as often as we can, we eat this bread and drink this cup. I might just say two. And Mr. Darby's day, apparently when they were translating some of the scriptures, I believe it was in German and some other languages perhaps, but they felt so the need to be in communion with the Lord, that they broke bread every day just so that they were in communion with the Lord and they would be.
Sensitive to.
His portion in connection with what they were translating and tried to accurately convey what the Spirit of God was giving them.
In regards to what we have at the end of Acts two, I've wondered about this and wondered if we might have some clarification.
Acts 242 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers, And then a little later.
Verse 46.
And it says that they continuing daily or I think the new translation says that every day.
Being constantly in the temple and breaking bread from house to house to eat their meat with gladness and signalness apart and so on, is is this.
This isn't the Lord's Supper here, is it? This breaking of bread? It seems to me like that hadn't been instituted yet by received by by Paul from the Lord. So I wonder if this is more just a thought of fellowship, or maybe we could have a thought on that one.
In verse 42, it was really the remembrance of the Lord that's spoken of, but then they ate meals together and I believe you could apply it this way in connection with the remembrance of the Lord. They couldn't break bread in the temple. They would have been stoned, they would have been taken out, and they could never break bread. It was entirely distinct, it was Judaistic, and the temple really was in the process of being set aside and so.
They broke bread in the large upper room I believe is where they we didn't read it, but in chapter one it says they abode there. In chapter one verse 13, when they were come in, they went up into it should say the upper room where abode both Peter and James and gives a whole list of those that were there. That upper room is very prominent in the beginning of the book of the Acts and I counted perhaps eight different places where the upper room is.
Referenced and you can just see that it was very prominent in the day that they lived in. So they used that upper room and I believe the church was formed in that upper room in chapter 2. But they it was a time where they could enjoy fellowship one another breaking bread. They ate their meals together and then you have in our chapter the broke bread. They remember the Lord in his death on the first day of the week and then after this.
Incident with Euticus, it says in verse 11. Therefore when he was therefore was coming up again, had broken bread and eaten and talked a long while, even at break till break of day. So he departed. That was a meal. But there is a figurative aspect. There is a little church history compressed into these few verses of Scripture. So we might get into that a little bit later but you have the.
Breaking of bread at the in the brightest, in full fellowship with Paul's doctrine, in full fellowship with the apostles and so on. And then there's a fall to the street level of this world, and it looks like the church is dead. And then it says that eudicus was raised again and it was Paul's doctrine that was used to give him, revive him and give him life again. And then it says they broke bread. You could apply it that the remembrance of the Lord was restored to the church.
It had been lost at one time and they had ceased to break bread. And so we know that the truth was recovered in the 1800s. But I think that to answer your question, I believe it's distinct. We have to say that Acts 242 is the remembrance of the Lord and then 46, I believe, is meals. They were eating meals together.
To the naturalities place in reality, but then we make these applications because the Spirit of God brings before us these little dispensational outlines that we have and just to confirm that and to go on with this little portion in in Acts 20, we find that Paul preaches to them. So they're the as in the early church, they're in the enjoyment of Paul's ministry because Paul was the wise master builder.
00:50:17
All the all the New Testament writers bring in the church in some aspect, but you'll never understand the real truth of the church and Our Calling, our heavenly calling, unless you go to Paul's ministry. We've already made comments on that, and that's why there's so much confusion about things today. But then just to to notice this little expression.
At near the end of verse 7, ready to depart on the moral. Now that was actuality.
Paul did, and we know from the end of the little story here that Paul, he left them the next day, but I believe there's an application here. Pauls ministry always brought before the Saints ready to depart on the Morrow. Pauls ministry brings before us the Lord's coming because that's another aspect of truth that you won't understand unless you follow it through Paul's ministry. Now again, as we had this afternoon earlier, we went to several other of the writers, Peter and and John and so on. They all bring in the Lord's coming in some little way.
But if you really want to understand how it's all going to unfold and take place and the difference between the Lord coming for us at any moment and then coming back and is appear the rapture of the appearing and so on, you've got to go to Pauls ministry so.
Paul was actually ready to leave the next day and continue his missionary journey. But we can apply this in the little dispensational picture that you pointed out, that as they enjoyed Paul's ministry, they anticipated his leaving the next day. And as we enjoy Pauls ministry, it gives us the anticipation of us.
Leaving this world at any moment to be with the Lord Jesus.
Well, in a dispensational way that the Apostolic age was just about to end and so God gives us this picture. Pauls influence physically there with them was going to cease. The Apostolic age was going to end and.
It says he continued his speech until midnight. So his words, his teachings, his the Epistle to the Romans and all of those epistles that he wrote.
Decreased in their appreciation. The Saints decreased in their appreciation of those words until the darkest part of the night. And so you have that little bit of a picture. The midnight is the darkest part of the night. And then we have this.
From verse 8 down to verse 12, this little incident in connection with Euticus. So I'll just say that if you read it as a dispensational outline, you can see that the the Spirit of God was saying the Apostolic age was going to end. You see it at the end of the chapter as well, chapter 20 it says.
Verse 36. When he had 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 spake that they should see his face no more.
And they accompanied him unto the ship. So God is giving us a little picture that the Apostolic age was going to end, and now that we're going to have to act upon the instructions that he had given them. So the Ephesian elders had received instructions from Paul from verse 17 down to the end of this chapter. And so they were going to be able, they were going, the torch was going to be passed to them, so to speak, and they were going to have to face the enemy.
And they were going to have to maintain the testimony.
That this midnight would, in that character of things, speak to us of that era called the Dark Ages, when the corporate testimony was lost.
Still many lights in the upper chamber. And so God still had his witnesses, didn't he? The corporate testimony was lost as to being gathered to the Lord's name, the remembrance of the Lord Jesus from week to week, and so on.
But some of us were commenting about some of the hymns that were written even in the dark ages. There were individuals who were personally in the enjoyment of the truth of God. So here there were many lights in the upper chamber. Not only shows us that they did meet at night, they needed light. But again, in that dispensational character, God had his lights even through that dark era. But I would just like to say this too, I'm going to digress from that for a moment to make a practical application for every one of us because.
00:55:02
Scripture always has a has a present application. You know there's many lights in this room and I'm not talking about the ones on the ceiling. You know every one of us are placed in a Dark World to be a light for Christ. We're we're to be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke, amongst whom you shine as lights in the world holding forth the word of light. You know light doesn't make any noise, but it illuminates the darkness and you and I are in a dark a morally.
And spiritually Dark World and the moral and spiritual darkness is deepening over the Western world every hour.
Are we seeking to walk as lights? And where were the lights? They were in the upper chamber. And I believe that you and I can only shine as lights for God's glory and a testimony to the world in the measure in which we walk in separation to Christ and separation from this world. Because as we mentioned the other day, the upper room or the third loft, it's a very real degree of separation from the world. And as you and I walk in separation from the world.
We can be lights in the upper chamber for His glory.
Add to that in John's Gospel, chapter 8. It says in verse 12. Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. And so while the Lord Jesus was here, he was the light of this world, and he shone brightly and reflected the glory of God in a great measure. We know that his deity, the glory of his deity, was veiled.
And so they didn't see him as God. They saw the reflection, they saw in his ways the moral characters of God himself. But he veiled his Godhead glory. And then, you know, at the Garden of Gethsemane, when they came to arrest him, he removed that veil just for a moment, and they fell backwards in his presence because he had unveiled his glory. His God had glory just for a moment of time.
And so he was the light of the world. But then in Matthew's Gospel we know in verse 14 that he said, ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. And so in this time of the Lord's absence, you and I are a testimony of light in this world. And the world may not have the light of Christianity as it ought to have, but if you and I walk in communion with the Lord.
In obedience to the Word of God, in separation to those things that displease the heart of God and are inconsistent with the light of Christianity, then we will shine in brightness. And so there were many lights in that upper chamber. It speaks of testimony, and it speaks of how they were in that upper room. There's a responsibility that we have if we're gathered by the Spirit of God under the precious name of the Lord Jesus.
And we profess to be separated from that which is dishonoring to his name, and that names the name of Christ, and his dishonoring to him. We have a responsibility and testimony. So are we being a light and a testimony, even among our brethren, we need to be a light.
This young man named Eudicus. And it's interesting. I don't pay particular attention to names and their meanings as they appear in Scripture, but this one has often struck me. Utica's name means well off, and he was well off. He had no doubt had the light of the glorious gospel penetrate his dark heart. He'd been saved. He was associated with those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. Here in Troas. He had the privilege of sitting under the ministry of the apostle Paul.
Well, wouldn't we have loved to have been here when Paul was there? When Paul was there, tremendous privilege. He was well off, had fellowship with fellow believers, but he wearied of all that and he sat in a window, a dangerous position.
But before we criticize eudicus, I want to just say something to my own heart and perhaps it will strike a chord with you as well. You know, I have often wondered as Eudicus.
Moved over and sat in the window and began to nod off to sleep and lean toward the outside of the building. I have often wondered, wasn't there somebody who saw what was happening, somebody who could have gone over in love and put their arm around Uticus and said, you know, Eudicus, you're getting a little weary and you're in a dangerous position. You know, there's a chair over by me. Why don't you come and sit by me now? You know, if you're, if you're sleepy and meeting, you're never wide awake one minute and sound asleep the next.
01:00:27
It's a process of things, isn't it? Your head, your head goes down, your eyes are heavy, it comes back up. And if that process of things is allowed to develop long enough, you're going to find yourself ultimately sound asleep in meeting. Why didn't somebody see this? And brethren, what it says to my own heart is, do you and I have such a heart for our fellow believer that we have a watchfulness that when we see one drifting, one wearying of the assembly, one wearying of the ministry of the apostle Paul.
One taking up with something in a dangerous position. Do we seek to go to them or do we wait like they did in Troas and wait till he had a fall? You know, I believe if we would be watchful and.
More encouraging and being willing to be used before the fall. It would save us from many things. You know, it's not a happy thing to see someone leave and and that's it or someone leave and come back.
That's wonderful when someone comes back and there's restoration. I'm sure there was rejoicing in Corinth when there was restoration of the man that was disciplined in the first chapter and the first epistle. But I believe it's a happier thing to have a watchfulness. And it says that the members should have the same care one for another. Now, having said that, I don't want to excuse you to cuss either. He ought not to have wearied of the ministry of Paul. He ought not to have sat in the window. And you say, wasn't there a 5050?
Chance he'd fall either in or out of the window.
It doesn't work that way. If we leave our one year tuned to the Ministry of Paul, one year tuned to what's going on in the Assembly, and one year tuned to the world, one eye on what's going on in the Upper Room and one eye on what's going on in the street below, it's going to drag us down. The enemy is going to be successful. It's not a 5050 chance. So I just say that let's be watchful when we see one drifting before it comes to something like this. Are we willing to put ourselves out?
And to go to that person to seek to encourage them back before it's too late.
And I've experienced it.
Seek to give a word or someone seeks to give a word to you.
Someone who is nodding off to sleep isn't thinking very clearly, or perhaps is in pain of some kind. And.
They tend to they tend to snap and bite and not respond very pleasantly and.
It can be fairly discouraging.
And Justice want to encourage those that might be thinking of someone. Perhaps I should talk to them.
Don't necessarily expect it to be well received. The Lord can use what you say and.
Move it along. But hurting people, hurt people. Sleepy people don't talk or listen coherently. But that doesn't mean that if the Lord puts it on our hearts to say something that we shouldn't, do it and then let the Lord deal with what happens with it.
There were lights outside too, and so the lights of the enemy, the for even Satan himself presents himself as an Angel of light. So there were in the street lights. There were, there was things going on in the street, no doubt. And so Satan has an imitation of the light of what we have in Christianity. May I just say to that?
There was a young man in Mr. Darby's translation. It's interesting how the terms that he uses here translates, he says.
That Eudicus, verse nine, a certain youth by the name Eudicus, and then a little bit later on verse 12, they brought away the boy alive and were no little comforted. I just suggest that the temptation perhaps is more to those that are boys. We have an eye.
On sports we have an eye on a fast car, we have an eye on all those things.
And as young men, the enemy knows that if he can attract the young men and distract them, get them looking at the lights outside in the world and the darkness of this world, what the world is occupied with, then they might have that fall and fall from that third loft, not be occupied with the heavenly truth of the Apostle Paul's doctrine and the truth that they are heavenly citizens, not their strangers and pilgrims in this scene.
01:05:29
And rather than being taken up with the light of Christianity and the glorious.
Things that we have that are the blessings that are ours in Christ, in the heavenlies, in Christ, while we're taken up with those things on the street level that have a bright shiny appearance. So it's particularly the boys. Not saying that the sisters, the young sisters aren't vulnerable as well, but the enemy I believe we should see in Scripture targets the young men. And in Pharaoh's day, he targeted the young men. He knew that if he could eradicate.
Eliminate those young men in Egypt, those that were Israelites, the next generation, there wouldn't be a next generation. And so the assembly, that which is precious to the heart of God, those gathered by the Spirit of God in the precious name of the Lord Jesus.
If the young men don't go on, if they get tired of Paul's doctrine, sleepy and fall to the street level of this world, morally or spiritually, then it's a detriment to the assembly. And then there's, as you've mentioned, there's restoration. Thank God for restoration in the process of restoration. And then you see Paul's doctrine brought before one that has had a fall perhaps, or is in the process of perhaps drifting. Why? That's what will revive them.
We need that heavenly ministry.
Two with what Tim said, Oh, sorry, Joe, go ahead, go ahead Jim, finish your thought. Well, just I wanted to follow up what Tim said because I eudicus might not have appreciated someone going over and waking him up and encouraging me out of the window. But you know, Paul said when he truck ministered to the Corinthians, they didn't appreciate his exhortations either. They were treating him like the off scouring of the earth. They were questioning his ministry. But you know what he said The more I love the more I the more.
Yes, the more the more he has quoted.
The less I be loved, the more more I love.
I've lost my but, but the point is that Paul realized it was for the good and benefit of the Corinthians and he wasn't looking for some affirmation for himself or some pat on, on the on the on the back. Those Corinthians questioned everything about him, but he was faithful in his presentation in spite of it.
Read it.
So it says I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I beloved.
Just going to mention just a very practical thing, we might look at Euticus and identify with them because I certainly have had the experience of being sleepy and meeting and sometimes some nights I think I'm too sleepy to go to meeting. And I don't know under what conditions Eunice came to meeting that night. He may have been very sleepy when he got there. The question that you might ask as well, considering how sleepy he was.
And how careless he was because he was sleepy and because of the distraction he caused, should he have been there at all? And the answer is yes.
You look back in retrospect, was Utica's glad he was there?
Absolutely he had an experience.
That was remarkable, and so did his brother.
And the Lord Jesus took his disciples into the garden, knowing they would go to sleep.
He still wanted them there, he said of them. The Spirit indeed is willing.
The flesh is weak. He recognized what was in their heart. He recognized their weakness. He still wanted them there. And brethren?
I'm not saying there aren't times where there's absolutely too early to go to meeting, the Lord knows, but let's not least make it an excuse. If we can get there, it's very possible we can stay awake and get something out of it.
01:10:11
Just to complete, it's interesting that when Paul goes down, Eudicus does not embrace Paul, Paul embraces Eudicus. And to complete the dispensational picture, it was when the ministry of the apostle Paul embraced the early brethren that there was restoration and they came back to the very spot they had left. You notice that they brought the young man alive back up to the third loft. And so when the early brethren, when the ministry of Paul embraced them by the Spirit of God.
They came back to the very ground that you have at the beginning that was established on the day of Pentecost and in the book of the Acts. It wasn't some new ground on which they began to break bread. So I just say that in completion to that little dispensational picture, it wasn't Uticus embracing Paul, it was Paul's ministry. It was Paul's taking hold of him. And we need to let Paul's ministry embrace us and take hold of us if we're going to be preserved till the Lord comes.
Apostle Paul until the break of day. And so there's another expression and it's a part of Pauls doctrine as we read in First Corinthians Chapter 11, that we're going to be able to do this till he come.
Can we sing 65 in the back of the book?
The second verse is what I'm thinking about, is what we've been speaking about.
But we sing the whole verse. Somebody started Please number 65 in the back.
Go tell I want to Jesus.
I'll be every gentleman.
Spread about like this place, I am lucky enough.
You know.
Novels you need to say for the truth for him.
Oh, praise the name of Jesus.
In life before.