Address—John Bilisoly
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.
Noon. I wonder if we could sing together 200 and 76276.
Nsnoise.
Hey, good hunter. Hungry.
Oh, good evening, laundry.
And knowing.
All the time union.
All the sweet times gone by, love.
Nsnoise.
Just wanted to point out that expression pilgrims through this barren land. And also I wonder if we could also sing the last two verses of the song before.
275 again emphasizing the thought of our desert path. And the end of the song says of where thy path does lead. So maybe just the last two stanzas of 275.
Through.
I wonder if you would turn with me to the book of Deuteronomy Chapter 7. I want to read a few passages of Scripture to begin with here, to lay a little bit of a framework for what I have on my heart, and I want to read a few verses in several passages.
The first one being here in Deuteronomy Chapter 7.
And starting with the first verse, When the Lord thy God shall bring thee unto the land, whither thou goest to possess it, and hast cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Ammonites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, and the Hibites, and the Jebusites, 7 nations greater and mightier than now.
00:05:01
And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee?
Thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them. Thou shalt make no covenant with them.
Nor show mercy unto them, neither shalt thou make marriages with them. Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
And thus shall ye deal with them. Ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their Groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art unholy people unto the Lord thy God.
The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than other any people.
For you are the fewest of all people. But because the Lord loved you, and because He would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your Father's hath, the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the House of bond men.
From the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him, and keep his commandments to 1000 generations.
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack to him that hateth him, He will repay him to his face.
Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments and the statutes and the judgments which I command thee this day To do them now just turn over to the book of Acts, chapter 13.
And beginning with verse 16.
Acts 13 and beginning with verse 16.
Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand, said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it, and about the time of 40 years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot.
Now if you would turn back to the book of Joshua, chapter one.
And I want to start at the beginning of the book and read a few verses.
Joshua chapter one and verse one.
Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses's minister sang.
Moses, my servant is dead now, therefore arise go over this Jordan, thou and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread, upon that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
From the wilderness in this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee.
All the days of thy life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage, for under this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land which I swear unto their fathers to give them.
Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayst observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded thee. Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night.
That thou mayst observe to do according to all that is written therein.
For then shalt thou make thy way prosperous, and then shalt thou have good success.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage, Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
00:10:06
No, I just want to turn to again to acts.
Chapter 20 for a few verses.
Acts chapter 20 and just.
Maybe verse 17.
And from my latest he Paul 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 have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews. Now let's forsake a time skip down to.
Umm.
Well, there's so many good verses here, but why don't we go to verse 28?
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, unto all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years.
I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel.
And so on.
Umm, maybe we'll stop there.
What I have on my heart is the result of something that, uh, I heard many years ago, You know, I've, I've noticed, umm, in these meetings and typically in most of our meetings, that sometimes the brethren will, as it were, drop a handful of purpose that maybe they won't because of time or the setting or whatever. They won't.
Develop what they've dropped. So that's what happened to me. Umm, someone, I don't even remember where it came from, but I do remember that someone made a correlation between these seven nations that scripture refers to these enemies that were in the land of Canaan when the Israelites were getting ready to go into the land. The seven enemies and what we have in the book of Ephesians as to what Paul speaks of, of walking.
So Paul in seven different passages in the book of Ephesians refers to walking and, umm, the correlation, as I remember it was, uh, between those references in Ephesians and these enemies. And, uh, I will say up front, I do not profess to understand much about these enemies, but over the course of a number of months I have been looking into it a little bit from time to time.
And I feel like the Lord has laid it on my heart and I feel like it's in keeping with what we've had in these meetings. And that is that, umm, our dear brother that have been teaching us the word of God, I feel like have done so in the spirit that Paul had. And, uh, I just want to say as perhaps representing a somewhat younger brother, and I think I speak for others.
That I trust that we.
Have appreciated what our brethren have brought before us we spoke about generations at the beginning of our are looking into the second chapter of first of second Timothy and passing things on and I I just appreciated that and I just feel like maybe I'll get in trouble for this but I feel like taking this opportunity to thank my older brother for what they have sought I.
In the spirit of what the apostle Paul brought before the Ephesians to bring before us, and it says here, it said there that he labored for three years and that's a lot of time to invest in one assembly. And yet when you think of the import of that assembly as far as what was given to them to the apostle Paul.
Umm, I I believe and.
00:15:01
Paul would say readily. It was time well spent.
But it wasn't without tears. If we just look again at that in Acts 20, it says the emotions that that you feel there. And and then as you get to the end of that chapter, when they kneel down on the shore and they fall upon Paul's neck and kiss him and they weep sore, it says in verse 37, sorrowing most of all for the words which you speak, that they should see his face no more. He he had labored among them. He had endeared himself to them.
He had taught them the truth and they valued that, and they wept at the thought of not seeing Paul again.
The Lord over time takes our brethren from us, doesn't He?
One by one they pass off and it's an exercise that I feel and I trust others, I'm sure others do too, that we lay hold of what is being given to us. Paul knew what was coming. He, the Lord had revealed to him that when he departed off the scene there were going to be grievous wolves that came in and they were going to try and take away what Paul had done undermine.
And ruin the work of Paul's, his laborers, his three years of laborers and night and day laboring for them in prayer. I, I believe that's that you get that thought that he he sees not night and day to warn them and and not not just to warn them, but he did it with tears, with feeling. Paul was serious about this.
It meant so much to him and we have other examples of Paul's.
Ardent desire for the welfare of the Saints. I just umm so value, I trust I do the older brother that are seeking to bring before us the truth. What a, what a heritage we have. Umm and I believe that umm the book of Joshua.
And type answers to the this epistle, this epistle of Ephesians.
Because in Joshua you have the children of Israel going in and taking the land. And we know that figuratively that land is is heaven. And it's perhaps not just that, but all of those things that the land spoke of and that the land provided. It was a land that was flowing with milk and honey. It was the land that as we sung in the stanzas of that that second hymn, the grapes were born between the cluster of grapes.
A land of plenty and So what are the umm? So Paul was concerned that that not be lost that that not be given up. I believe our brethren have a a similar concern that these truths that are being let go, especially concerning what Paul valued and what Paul taught by revelation from God.
That they are being let go.
And so in this, in this epistle, we have, like I said, these 7 uses. And what's interesting is, is if you look at the Greek word, uh, for a walk in this epistle, it's the same in every case. It's the same word. And it has the thought of, of marching and through and, and.
Treading all around and being a becoming acquainted with it.
And walking about in it. And I believe that's what our brethren would like for us is they would like us by dropping these handfuls of purpose. They would like us to, to be encouraged to give us a little, uh, you might say a little nourishment for us and, and to whet our appetite. And they want us to take up with these things too, that we might be able to enjoy them in our souls and.
Should the Lord tarry, I trust we won't be here that long.
Perhaps in some measure be able to pass them on to another generation.
I just appreciated how that was brought out in these meetings, the the importance of laying a hold of these for oneself so that we might be in a position to be able to share with others. Well, let's look at these. Like I said, I don't profess to enter in very deeply.
I haven't seen any ministry on this, but I've just enjoyed a few things in connection with these enemies that I'd like to bring out. Perhaps you have enjoyed them differently or perhaps other things about them. I'm sure the the word of God is is so full and I do want to be careful about forcing a type I. I think that can be a danger. I don't want to.
00:20:17
Make these things fit if you will. So I trust my brother and will.
Uh, bear with me as I kind of go through these and, uh.
And uh, also too, I, I, uh, I want to say that, uh, these are just, I'm, I'm taking this up and way by way of application. And so with that in mind, umm, if we look at the first one here.
The Hittites. Now interestingly in my bit of study on this.
I believe that all of these enemies were descendants of Canaan through him, so ultimately they they relate back to him who was one of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Except for the, uh, parasites, I, I couldn't find, uh, anything that would indicate that they were, uh, from the descendant of, of Canaan, descendants of Canaan. But the others were, and in fact, one of them is, is called Canaanites. So sometimes in the word of God when you're reading about these enemies.
The Spirit of God will just use a general term and he'll call them Canaanites. And other times we get specifics. Umm, what is interesting to me is that that list that I read in Deuteronomy 7 that I'm going to keep referring back to is mentioned at least two other times in the Word of God with the exact same list of enemies. And those other two times, and perhaps there's more.
Are in Joshua. We're not going to look at them.
The order is sometimes different, but it's the same number of enemies. And the apostle Paul himself refers to these seven nations, as did Moses and Deuteronomy 7, lighter than them, than the Israelites. And so I think we have a basis then from that to at least be able to say that the Spirit of God intended for us to know that there were seven enemies there in the land. I'm not saying that was all of the enemies.
But he lists those in those three instances together and puts them together. A7 And then Paul refers to that in his statement there in Acts 13. So anyway, the Hittites, the Hittites were descendants of Health, and Health was the second son of Canaan. And it's interesting that.
And we're not gonna go into all the, all of the references about these because we just physically don't have time. I'm, I'm see, I'm running, I'm gonna run into problems already. And if we don't get through them all, uh, my feeling brethren, is, umm, it doesn't really matter if there's anything at all that we can take from this for our encouragement, for our exercise.
I believe that would be the purpose of I TR. I trust my purpose and the Spirit of God. So anyway, uh to.
To get to this one here, we need to look at Abrams experience in, uh, Genesis 23. And, and we're not, we're going to do this very briefly because like I say, we don't have much time. But if you turn to Genesis 23 and hold your place in, in Ephesians, umm, we get Sarah's death in this chapter and then we get, uh, Abraham. I called him Abram, but it should be Abraham.
He stands up.
In verse three. And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you, Give me a possession of a bearing place with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And the children of health answered Abraham, saying unto him.
Hear us, my Lord, Thou art a mighty Prince among us in the choice of our sepulchers. Bury thy dead. None of us shall withhold from thee his sepulchre, that thou mayest bury thy dead. And Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the children of health.
And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me and entreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me The Cave of Machpelah which he hath, which is in the end of his field, for as much money as it is worth. He shall give it me for a possession of a bearing place amongst you. And Ephraim dwelt among the children of health, and so on. Well, then, there's this dialogue, and it's, it's like.
00:25:00
You know these these sons of health.
Don't understand Abraham when it comes to this, this question of the bearing place. They they just want to give him this and they even offer him the choice of of their sepulchers in verse six. But all Abraham wants is this piece of land that was special to him and it had a cave called The Cave of Machpelah. And it was a place where he could bury his dead out of his sight. Now I don't know what all the typical teaching would be, but what I have enjoyed.
In my soul is that, and I should have read the first verse, that Sarah was 107 and 20 years old. These were the years of the life of Sarah and verse two. And Sarah died and courgette Arba the same as Hebron in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. So Abraham comes here as a weeper and as a mourner. But she's able to stand up in the presence of death, you might say, and in the presence of.
Him and asked for this bearing place and to where he can bury his dead out of his sight. I believe that the key is this that Abraham had learned.
The value and the truth of resurrection in the 22nd chapter, because we're told in Hebrews 11 That he accounted that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead, and so Abraham had laid hold in his heart.
Of the truth of resurrection. And so he can stand up in the presence of death, even though he is a mourner and a weeper, which is very natural to us and proper, and he can ask for this place to bury his dead out of his sight.
Why not in their chief sepulchers? Why didn't he take them up on that? Because they weren't gonna they weren't gonna stay there. He he knew that there was a time coming when they would they, they didn't need a fancy place. He just wanted to bury them out of his sight because he knew that wasn't the end and that they were going to be raised again. I just valued that now to for the correlation in umm.
For the first use of Paul's first use of the word walk in Ephesians.
Go to Ephesians 2.
And Paul starts out and says, And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, or in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the Prince of the power of the air, The Spirit thou now worketh in the children of disobedience.
Among whom also ye all had. We all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath even as others. The God who is rich in mercy for His great love, worthy loved us even when we were dead in sins, have quickened us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together.
In heavenly places, in Christ Jesus.
What I get from this, brethren, is that.
Paul here is saying that, you know, just like the, the, the man that dies, we were like that in our sins. We were dead in trespasses and sins. And God in his mercy came in and with quickening power he raised us up. And not only that, he not only raised us up, but he made us. He raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.
And Paul was reminding them that this was what you were, but you don't want to stay there. You don't want to dwell on that. You were dead in trespasses and sins. But God has raised you up to me. What a beautiful thing.
That Umm Paul could bring this out to that that was essential for them to lay hold of that if they were going to be able to enter into the the beauty of, if you will, of sitting in heavenly places in Christ together in heavenly places in Christ.
The Hittites that we're talking about didn't understand that they didn't value that. They, they, they, this, this whole.
The thing issue of a bearing place is, is just they just don't understand it. And just like it says, you know, the world knows this not because it knew him not that that the world can't understand us. They don't know us and why we value so much the the truth of resurrection. Now, I'm not saying that I feel like there's a great danger among us of, of not laying hold of resurrection, but I believe that the application I'm making here is that I do believe that there is.
00:30:01
Danger of settling down in this world as if this world were our home and in in effect like we were before God quickened us and raised us up and I believe that that Paul is is reminding them that this is what you were but that's not what you are now and so if we can lay hold of that and the and the enemy wants us to to not lay hold of that because.
Umm, if, if there isn't resurrection in that sense. I mean if, if, if we.
If we lose sight of the fact that we have a new life now and that we've been quickened, we've been raised up. If we lose sight of that, then it's it's kind of like what Paul said in first Corinthians 15 and this verse was was read or referred to in these meetings. He says what advantage? What advantage of it me advantage of it me. If the dead rise not let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die.
And what Paul's saying is, you know, if if there is no resurrection, if there is.
No new life? Then what's the point of suffering? It would be a wiser principle to act on, to just eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. That's what Paul is saying. But he spends that whole chapter almost in First Corinthians 15 about emphasizing and laying down the value and the truth of resurrection. The Hittite to me.
At least one application wants to spoil that he wants us to forget about.
The this new life that you have and so on and just live according to this world. Just live like the world does. There is a danger of that. Uh, perhaps we don't go as deep as, as the world. I'm not saying that, but even to lose sight of the fact that this is not our home, that we are only passing through and that our home is in heaven. We're seated there with Christ already, like the hymn writer said in spirit there already.
Umm, that's how Paul wants us to view this, that to be thinking about that like we have in Colossians to set our minds on things about, not on things on the earth. Well, the next enemy that is mentioned in that list is the Girgashites.
There's not too much known about the but one thing that struck me was that I found out from my little bit of research that the name signifies or means clay, and that they were dwellers of clay, of the clay country, the inhabiters of the clay country. And so I, I thought about that, you know, these, these were earth dwellers, They were of the clay country. And you know the.
The apostle John uses that expression several times. I think it is in the Book of Revelation about dwellers on earth. And and the thought is not not that just because we're on the earth too, but that's not the thought that the thought is the spiritual thought or application is that that we're a part of this earth that we take up with this earth and it's it's programs and so on.
And Satan is the God of this world. He's the the Prince of the power of the air.
And the enemy would like us to, uh, be, as it were, inhabiters of clay. Uh, if, if I can use that expression, umm, to take up with this earth to, to just settle into this earth. This is, this is our home. So let's, let's enjoy it. Let's maximize our benefit in this earth. What does Paul say in?
Ephesians chapter 10. I'm sorry, chapter 2.
Paul says this.
And verse 10 For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision, by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh, made by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel.
And strangers from the covenants of promise.
Having no hope and without God in the world, and I have to reverse. 13 but now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. What I want to emphasize here, if I may and by way of application is that we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus and we've had a lot before us in these meetings about.
Being conformed more to Christ and that that is the work of the Spirit of God in our lives right now.
00:35:01
Is to conform us more to Christ. And I've just enjoyed it in that sense that, uh, you know, just like you would picture, umm, someone taking a, a Potter, taking clay and, and working it into something beautiful. The Lord is working in each of our lives to conform us more to the Lord's enemies. We've been changed from glory into glory. And so he wanted them to remember that. No, you're not.
Earth dwellers.
If I can put it that way, as, as these uh, Gergeshites were, no, you are, uh, his workmanship. You are a new creature. And so he says that, doesn't he? In 2nd Corinthians 5, I think it is, he says.
Behold, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Behold, all things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And He wants you and I to walk through this world with that sense in our hearts that we are His.
Creation, if you will, that new creation we're we he has made something new is making something new out of us. I I'm not explaining it very well, but umm, I've just enjoyed that in connection with what we have here that we are his workmanship and what a wonderful thing is going to be in that coming day when the Lord can as that were present us to the father and he can say, behold, I and the children.
That thou hast given me, that we have in Hebrews 2. I just, uh.
Of him working in each of our lives sometimes it's painful, sometimes it's not easy, but boy, if we could just see the end result. You know, you see someone that's very talented artistically and you you maybe look at what they're creating you, you can't see it all there, but you just know it's going to be beautiful and you want it you're just eager to to want to be able to. Is there any way we can turn that page and look on the other side and see what it.
What that end result is, but, uh, no, it's, it's a little bit at a time that he works in our lives. Wonderful. The grace of God with us. Well, the, the next enemy that was mentioned, uh, in this list in Deuteronomy seven were the Amorites. Now the Amorites are interesting. There's a little bit more about them.
There are, umm, references to that that help support some of these things, and we're not going to have the time to.
To go into them, but the Amorites were the most dominant of all of the enemies and they were the most corrupt and, uh, in fact they were almost the, they were used kind of, as you might say, umm, almost like a, a gauge, if you will, of, of the evil that they represented. And we see that in, uh, in Genesis 15. I'll just, you don't need to turn to it, but if, if you want to, it's.
The 15 where the Abraham is the Lord is speaking to Abram at this point, and he's telling him in verse 13 that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they shall afflict them 400 years.
And also that nation whom they shall serve will I judge, and afterward shall they come out with great substance. And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace. Thou shalt be buried in a good old age, but in the 4th generation they shall come. Hit her again. For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. And so as Abram was waiting for this promise to be fulfilled, and it and it was in his seed.
Umm, the iniquity of the Amorites was filling up.
And, uh, so I, that, that's one example of where you might say the Spirit of God gives us the, the Amorites as this, this measure, if you will, of the wickedness that was that they represented and it was filling up and there was a time coming when the.
Iniquity of the Amorites would be full and then God would come in and judge them. And that's that's what we're seeing in in these.
Referred to in these this book of Deuteronomy here is that the the Lord was going to send his people in and it we we read what they were to do with them they were not to have any mercy at all they were to completely destroy them and their idols and so on their form of worship because.
God knew what, what would happen if they didn't. And sadly to say, the story is that it did happen and, and they weren't able to drive out, uh, these enemies, umm, completely. And it, it caused all kinds of havoc that, uh, carries on the consequence of it to this very day. Well, God is faithful, though, as we had, he will not deny himself.
00:40:08
So, umm.
So these Amorites were, like I said, the, the, the most prominent and dominant of, of these and corrupt of these enemies. Umm, there's one reference I wanna turn to though, in, uh, Judges chapter one and, and, and the other thing I want to mention while we're going there is that, umm, these what characterized the Amorites is that they were, umm.
They were a mountainous people. They dwelt in the mountains on both sides of the Jordan River.
And.
Uh, they were, they were mountain dwellers and, and so let's keep that in mind as we go to Judges chapter one.
And then?
Uh, first.
33.
Or 34.
This to me is a is a sad note. Umm, the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain and you say, well, that that sounds like a good thing. Well, no, not really, because and it it goes on to say for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley. And I think in tight with the valley, we have the thought of fruitfulness and, umm, that's where the farming would take place and so on. So the valley, you might say, would speak of.
Of that, that fruitfulness and that, umm, umm, more of a lowly position, whereas the mountain would speak of more of a lofty position. And that's what I took from this with the Amorites is that they like that vantage point. They like to be on top. Umm, they wanted that high position, that lofty position.
That proud position, Umm, so let's, let's go to, to, uh, Ephesians and see Paul's antidote for this.
And.
That's in the 4th chapter.
I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you. And this is the third time he uses the word walk in this verse.
That you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace.
There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called, and one hope of your calling. Well, I what I took from this, brethren, is it starts out with with pulsing. I'm a prisoner. That's not a very lofty position.
And then he says, But he's a prisoner of the Lord, that makes all the difference. And then he says that we he beseeches them. That's the word beseech is.
With strong feeling that you walk worthy of the vocation where with you are called, with all lowliness and meekness. It was fitting that he said that because he had given them lofty truths. And to think of of being risen with Christ and seized with him in heavenly places, and other truths that Paul developed in those three years that he was with them. And it was fitting that they needed to be reminded that.
You you need to be lowly, you need to hold this, you need to walk in this in lowliness and meekness and long-suffering. It's going to take patience and endurance because the enemy is gonna come back you feverishly in this and you need to walk in loneliness. You know, pride is a insidious thing, isn't it? It's the first thing mentioned in the those seven things in Proverbs six. I think it is that are abomination to.
And it seems like it's the last thing to leave too. John speaks of the character of this world of just read it to get it accurately. In his epistle, first epistle, he says for all that is in this world in chapter 2, verse 16, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
Is not of the Father, but is of the world and so on. And someone has said that it's kind of like a scale of our lives.
You know, it begins with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and then the pride of life is the last perhaps a little more prevalent in those age categories as we age, the last thing to leave is pride. So loneliness with all loneliness and meekness is the antidote to what would.
00:45:07
The enemy would bring in through the Amorite. Well, there's more that could be said, but uh, but those, those thoughts, the 4th enemy here.
Was the Canaanite.
And his name signifies humiliation to be low. And that sounds good and sounds commendable, but when you look at the line of enemies that come from Canaan.
It's terrible and the the wickedness that they represent and we won't take the time, but you can, you can turn to Genesis town and you can. And I think verse 15 and a few more verses you'll read about the descendants of Canaan and many of these that we're talking about here in this this list are from these these descendants.
Umm.
So basically, uh, the, the Canaanite, what, what does, what does he bring before us? Well, Canaan was the one, you'll remember that was cursed and, uh, by Noah. And it says a servant of servants shall he be to his brother.
And so I thought about that, that this curse that fell on Canaan made him a servant. But Canaan did anything but act like a servant. In fact, he completely rebels against that idea of servitude. And if you read about the Canaanites, umm, they weren't in the character of the servant, just the opposite.
So what does Paul give us in connection with that?
Because you don't really. And we've had that before us too, haven't we? We've had the thought of service and the supreme example being the Lord Jesus. And those verses were read to us this morning. Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but humbled himself.
And made himself obedient. I'm going to have to read it, I know it well, but at times things don't come to mind. Umm made himself a no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant or a bondsman. Stronger than what we think of as a servant.
And was made in the likeness of men.
Paul then to counter this enemy that would want to make us into something and we we love that by nature. That's our natures. We like to be given a place. Paul has an antidote for that. So let's go to Ephesians again.
And look at.
Verse 17 of chapter 4.
This I say therefore, in testifying the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darken, being alienated.
From the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their hearts.
Who being past feelings have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ. And we could read on, but I'll stop there, because what I wanted to emphasize was.
That he brings out these things that are the tendency of the natural heart to walk in vanity and so on. But he says that's not how Christ was. That's not what you learned from him, from his example.
He was a servant, He humbled himself. That's what we need to do.
We need to be a servant like he was.
Well, we're gonna move on because we're running out of time. The next one is the parasites. And, uh, their name signifies villagers. So they were those that, uh, dwelt in villages.
But there was something about the way they dwelt. They dwelt in the open country.
So they didn't have any walls, they didn't have any protection, there was really no separation, so they just dwelt out in the open.
Well, what could that maybe typify to us and by way of application?
Well, we need to guard, be guarded, don't we? And Paul takes that up in the last chapter of Ephesians, doesn't he? And he gives us all of this armor, and most of it, you'll notice, is defensive armor.
00:50:09
And he tells us to stand. So it's not so much that we're going out and fighting with the enemy, as it were, but we're standing firm and we're not giving up. And we have this protection against the enemy's tendencies and tactics that we see perhaps represented in some of these these different nations that were there. And So what we have then in Ephesians.
To counter this work of the enemy.
In the in the parasites is what we have in Ephesians chapter 5.
And verse one, be there for followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us.
An offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.
The fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, would it not be once named among yous, become a Saints, neither filthiness nor foolish talking nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks.
And so on. And then he says in verse 7, Be not ye therefore partakers with them. Well, I thought of these parasites as those that dwelled in these unwalled towns and villages. Like I said, they had no protection, they had no separation, and there was no odor that was sweet to God.
And so we need that, don't we? We need that.
The wall up against we need to to walk in love as Christ also hath loved us that's going to preserve us if we think of his love for us. And later on in this chapter 5 we get that beautiful example of of the husband and wife relationship, the most intimate relationship that has been given to man and how it's such a beautiful picture of Christ in the church and then enemy is trying hard today to corrupt that.
And these parasites, they were the ones that they intermarried with the Israelites. There were others that intermarried with them too, but they were one of the ones that did. And so they would come in and corrupt that and there would be no sweetness to God. Our lives would not be that which would be an odor of a sweet smell to him is the thought that I, I take from this. We need that wall of separation. We need to, to walk.
In In Love.
As Christ hath loved us, so that our hearts might be preserved and be kept pure for him.
If you are in love with someone.
And devoted to them.
That is a preserving factor, isn't it?
And you, Washington, you want to do what pleases them and you want to be there for them. I believe there's at least that application in these parasites.
The Hiveites are the 6th one that's mentioned in this list. Their name also signifies Villager, but a little different.
They they dwelt in towns and so on.
And I think what they bring before us is moral corruption and darkness. And it was the high bites that corrupted.
Umm, umm, Jacob's daughter, Dinah in Genesis 34. We're not, we shouldn't take the time to look at it, but I just wanna make sure I got that right. Umm, I'm sorry. Dinah, the daughter of Leah.
So we, yes, it was Jacob's daughter, umm, it was the hiveites, these, uh, these men of Shechem, they were high bites and they corrupted her and so on. Paul has an antidote for the Ephesians for this enemy. 2 and that's in uh, chapter 5 and verse 8. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of light for.
Of the light it should read instead of the Spirit there. For the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. You know, if Joshua would have laid hold of this, of course he didn't have the Scripture, but this thought, this principle, he would have been preserved from these high bites. These high bites are the ones that came and deceived Joshua. The Gibeonites, they're called there. They were high bites and they came.
00:55:00
Received and said we're from a far country and so on. You know the story and it says they asked, they took of their vittles, they they ate with them fellowship and they asked not counsel of the Lord. And the Gibeonites came in and they were a trial to Israel. They were hiveites. So proving what is acceptable. Verse 10 and Ephesians 5 unto the Lord, proving what is agreeable to the Lord and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
But rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is the light. Wherefore he saith awake thou that sleepest.
And arise from the dead in Christ shall give thee light. That's the antidote to the tactics of the enemy, the subtlety of the enemy. You need the light to expose the enemy's tactics and subtlety. And thank the Lord that we have the word of God. It's a light lamp into our feet, and a light unto our path. And the enemy can be exposed in his ways. Well, we have one more.
And our time is gone, so we'll just finish up with.
The thought of the Jebusites now their name means Treader down. And if you look at the word, uh, Jebus Jebus, it's, it means a treading under foot. Well, umm, that's different than walking around in the land, as it were, speaking spiritually and and becoming acquainted with these things that we've been enjoying this weekend. That's different to walk about in it, to become familiar with it.
Uh, every, every place that the soul of, of, of our foot treads upon, I think in the sense that Joshua is using it as to lay hold of it, you've got to walk in it to make it yours. And that's the point, isn't it? And the Jebusites, it means nothing to them. These, these truths don't mean anything to them. They're a treader downer and treading down destroys and damages.
And so we don't want to be like that, do we? So the antidote is what Paul gives in.
Verse 15 of.
Ephesians chapter 5. See then that you walk circumspectly or carefully, not as fools, but as wives, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
I just take from this, brethren, that we need to not only value these truths, we need to walk in them and we need to walk carefully because we have an enemy that is crafty and clever. We have many enemies, and he wants to keep us from the enjoyment of these things. And so Paul says you need to walk carefully and you and I need to walk carefully.
You know there's a tendency.
And it's easy to take up divine things, perhaps in somewhat of a careless way. I, I say that for myself. I'm not saying what that we're doing that. I'm just saying that there can be that tendency. And so Paul says to walk carefully. Well, there's much more that could probably be said, but I've, I've enjoyed those things and I want to close with.
Uh, J Business Prayer and First Chronicles 4 as our own. You know, we've had some.
Some wonderful things we've, uh, had brought before us the thought of Philadelphia. We've taken up that second chapter of Second Timothy. And as was mentioned, a true Philadelphian should appreciate and enjoy those things in that chapter and take them to heart and act on them. And I've thought of it this way.
When we talk about these things, I think in all that was brought before us, uh, when we talk about.
Philadelphia, when we talk about, umm, the truth and so on, umm, well, we, we even taken up the subject that we took up. I feel like there's a, there should be a lot about our walk and a lot less about our talk, a lot about our walk and a lot less about our talk. I think, uh, as I gathered from what was said over these past few days, I think our brother were saying to us.
Do we walk in this? Are we willing to walk in these things? And the prayer of Jabez is a good note to end on. In First Chronicles chapter 4 it says that he cried out to the Lord, and this is what he said.
01:00:01
Inverse Town and Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh, that thou wouldest bless me indeed and enlarge my coast or border.
And that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me. And God granted him that which he requested.