Burbank Conference: 1993
Table of Contents
Titus 2:6-15
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Titus, Chapter 2.
The Jeff verse 6.
Titus Chapter 2, verse 6.
Young man likewise exhort to be sober, minded in all things, showing thyself a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech that cannot be condemned, that he that is of the Country Park may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Exhort servants to be obedient under their own masters, and to please them well in all things.
Not answering again, not purlining, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
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Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Greek God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity?
And purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. These things speak, and exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Been an awful lot then, and it's rather surprising near it to the young men.
And I think the reason for that is that.
There was to be a pattern.
And Titus was to provide the pattern.
You don't need to say a lot. If there's a good pattern, I'm reminded of a poem that Count Zinzendorf.
Wrote in honor of his grandmother, which starts out pattern of faith.
And.
Count Zinzendorf was a real servant of the lawyer, and as most of us know.
Gave a lot of refuge to the followers of John Huss when they fled from Czechoslovakia into Saxony and he had a pious grandmother who was formed his life.
And I believe what Count Zinzendorf was was largely the result of the pattern of faith that his grandmother displayed to him. So he.
Remarks in his poem, Pattern of Faith in Regard to her and I.
Covet that for myself, and I trust you do too, that as our younger brothers look at us, that they might see a pattern.
A pattern of good works. A pattern of what a believer should be.
May not be ashamed of that.
Of walking in that same pathway and that's where we fall down, isn't it?
And yet, there's one word.
In connection with the younger men that they're to be discreet or prudent.
And there's an important principle there that is found in each one of these groups, that is that there's to be a discretion or a prudence in how we walk and we can be so imprudent sometimes. And it it ruins the testimony. It's a very practical thing.
Be discreet in what we do.
I give a practical example about it.
There was a brother in Brooklyn years ago.
Who when he would come to visit at a home?
Would make some people laugh, because if the sister was home alone and he'd come to visit, maybe arriving a little bit early for supper.
Stand on the porch or sit on the porch until the brother came home.
And people would laugh at that, but that was prudence. It was discretion. It was wise. And nobody ever raised a charge of scandal against that brother. He had a lot of other things that people complained about with him, but never did I ever hear a whisper in connection with that brother that, well, you know, he, he's doing this or he's doing that. And I don't say you have to go that far, but I believe that brother acted with prudence and discretion.
And this word that the young brethren are to be that way, they are to be exhorted to be that way, is not in vain. God had a reason, and we need it, and we better pay attention to it. I'd better pay attention to it because you can fall and it's one of the the easiest ways to fall is in imprudence and lack of discretion. Or there's nothing to that. I can do that. And then the next thing you know, there's a fall.
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And the testimonies ruined, and the word is evil spoken of and a life of service is put on the sidelines. We shoot ourselves in the foot, so to speak, and we're not able to be used for the Lord. Maybe that is a brief word to us here.
But if we show ourselves as a pattern.
Then.
There's a model to follow, and that's what I believe is so very, very lacking among the Lord's people today are patterns that we can follow. Patterns of faith, patterns of good work, patterns of integrity. And when you see one, it's an encouragement, isn't it? And it's.
Help to us. There is what I wanted. That's one I'd like to be like. And I know there have been those in my life and I thank God for them. My own dad. I just thank the Lord for a pattern that I could. I didn't say a perfect pattern. There aren't any perfect patterns except the Lord. Is that right, Brother Clem?
I believe that is right. Only the writer of this epistle calls himself a pattern to them which should hereafter believe.
And I suppose he could say that because he lived what he taught practically.
And he had seen Christ in glory. He knew the end of the story. But he does call himself a pattern. To them which should hereafter believe Christ is the only perfect pattern. We believe that.
Well, it says young men likewise. And you know, it's not just the aged men, it's the young men. Likewise in all things. A pattern of good works in doctrine and sound speech. And I like that. You know how we need them. We need everyone, of course, but like all assemblies, we've had a little problem in our assembly. But you know, we've been blessed as a result.
Young men with little families who weren't even calling a hymn or or prayer prayer meeting are now reading and buying the truth. And they're a great help, those young men. What an encouragement it is and that's the result. Sometimes, you know of these things that we think is nothing but sadness and trial. It exercises some and those young men.
For a while I didn't even feel free to leave the assembly. I just felt they need me. But they don't. They have those young men that were reading. I didn't realize it. When they started to speak, they were reading. And that's a wonderful thing, isn't it? So it's not just the aged men, It's young men. Sound doctrine, you know. There isn't anything unless it is that according to the truth. And when they're feeding, we all get blessed. They bring out things that I've known.
30-40 years ago. But when they bring it out they just discovered it. It is just like freshness to me.
When they bring it out, oh, how precious it is. Like Genesis 22. After breaking of bread, One young man got up administered on that like I've never heard administered. He just bought that truth. And so it's a wonderful thing, young man. We need you. We all need you. It's it's it's wonderful, isn't it? Young men likewise.
The book of Ruth.
Ruth, chapter 2 and verse nine. Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have I not charged the young men, that they shall not touch thee? And when thou art a thirst, go under the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Now that is remarkable because.
It was really the women that drew the water, but here.
And when our thirst go under the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn, well, I believe we can apply it to each one of us. Are we drawing water from the wells that others may drink? Others may be refreshed? Oh, dear ones, we're exhorted here that others might be refreshed. And also the warning.
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Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee?
The Apostle says or the word of God says it is good for a man not to touch a woman.
I have a question.
About your remarks, do you take it then that verses 7 and eight are directed to Titus instead of to the young men?
Yes.
Do you take it that way? Seems to be right. I was afraid we weren't all getting it.
I take it, but it's Titus that's told to afford himself a pattern. So he he wouldn't have to say an awful lot to the young men. He'd just show them what a he'd be a role model for them, a pattern for them. And that, I think, is so very precious. But then he it brings out immediately in teaching he was to be careful that the Doctor didn't become corrupted.
I've it's been a heartache to me to see brethren that I knew when I was younger.
Who seemed to be straight on things, and you talked to them more recently and it sounds like they've changed the book. They're not reading the same book anymore, and I remember the joy with which.
Some 40 years ago, 39 years ago, the Lord gathered me over there in 226 Gates Ave. in Brooklyn, and I remember the joy with which the truth was made good to my soul.
And I thought, this is wonderful, but then I find that that wasn't true. According to a lot of people today, what's happened? The truth has become corrupted in their minds and they no longer hold the truth. And it's sad when an older person who has gone on and held it, we thought in his soul, we find out that he really didn't hold it and he's been a traitor to it. So it warns us about.
Corrupting the truth.
And I just say a word to all of us. Let's be careful. It says by the truth and sell it not. And there isn't a price that's worth selling. The truth for God's truth is so precious there isn't any price that's worth it. Popularity.
Whatever, it might be a wider circle.
Approval of the brethren, or whatever it is, if we have God's truth, don't ever sell it.
Don't corrupt it either. Don't. Don't allow it to be turned into something which is less than what God has given us. Go on in it.
The two things are constantly brought together in the scripture, aren't they? Soundness in the faith and godliness in Walk. I was just thinking of First Timothy chapter 3 and verse 15. I believe we have them brought together in a collective way there.
First, Timothy 3:15 But if I tarry long that thou mightest know how the oddest to behave thyself in the House of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit scene of angels, preached under the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in, into, or in glory. And in our chapter it says too.
It says.
For seven in all things showing thyself, a pattern of good works in Doctrine showing uncorruptness, gravity.
Sincerity. That's all we have the two brought together there, and I believe in Titus. It's more of an individual thing.
Because every man shall give account of himself to God. But there is also a responsibility for the assembly collectively and I believe, believe the collective sense is brought before us in First Timothy chapter 3. Where is the truth of God to be maintained now? The Church doesn't teach, but the Church is responsible to hold a deposit of truth. It's not our truth, it's not Brethren's truth, it's God's truth and we are given a deposit.
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Responsibility as an assembly gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus to stand for the.
Whole truth of God. And then how do we behave where the whole truth is?
Well, that's the practical side, and I believe that's what's brought out in the 16th verse and without controversy. Great is the mystery. It doesn't say of God, but of godliness. Because the point is, what is the secret or the mystery of godliness, the pathway of the Lord Jesus.
And I've thought of it in this way, Brethren, if others come into the assembly, what should they find? They should find people who stood for the whole truth of God and whose walk was Christ. Like that's what ought to be seen in the assembly. And we see these things aren't divorced. We often divorce them. We say, well, I'm loving the Saints, and I'm going on faithfully myself. Well, that's all commendable. But we need the whole truth of God, too.
And in Scripture, the doctrine is put first because it is most important, because it's God's truth.
Responsibility, a heritage given to us. Well, I believe that's so important and so we have the pathway of the Lord Jesus.
We see him as the babe Bethlehem Manger. We see him when he began his service, justified in the Spirit marked out by the Spirit of God. The angels looked down, and they saw for the first time a man on earth in whom God could find delight.
Isn't that wonderful?
We know that as soon as sin entered, it was all spoiled. But the angels looked down and they saw someone in manhood form. And the Father could say, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And then it says.
Preached under the Gentiles. I believe there's a nice thought in this brethren that when he was rejected by the nation.
The love of his heart couldn't be restricted. And it reached out beyond. Sometimes you or I might feel rejected or made nothing of. Does it shut us up? Do we say, well, President, don't appreciate it? I won't say any more. Or does it make our hearts out? Go out further and reach out and seek?
The blessing of others never allow those kinds of things to hinder you from.
Showing the spirit of Christ and reaches beyond. Just like when you dam up a stream, what do you do? You just make it rise higher. As long as there's plenty of water in the source, the dam will only make it cover a wider area. And so God often allows those things. As the brother mentioned, he allows pressure to come in our lives. He allows it worth something to stop, as it were the flow. He thinks he's succeeding, but it should be the results that we ends in enlargement.
Ends in a water as we sing in a little hymn, the river of thy grace through righteousness supplied is flowing or the barren place where Jesus died. And then it says, believed on in the world. There were fruits from that blessed work even although the nation rejected him and sat away with him, there were those. There was result. We're not to look for results, brethren were to leave that with God. And so it's received up in glory.
And we often sing, O God, thou now has glorified Thy holy, blessed, eternal Son.
The crucified the Lamb once slain, now sits exalted on thy throne. Never expect to be necessarily vindicated down here. Leave that for the coming day. Leave that the Lord doesn't make any mistakes wasn't as beautiful as we see then the collective sense in First Timothy, but now in this portion we have the individual sense addressed to each phase of life, whether it's old man, young man, whether it's the younger women or the older women.
There's an individual thing because, and I think that's important, we might say, well, I don't know whether the assembly is always so, but I have an individual responsibility. Am I holding the truth? Am I showing the spirit of Christ? So we see, I believe in Timothy the larger circle and how we behave in the House of God, in the larger circle, and in Titus.
They're individual exhortations that each one of us can take to heart.
I believe J&D has the last word in verse 8, US instead of you showing the apostle Paul was Speaking of Titus and the others.
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I'm not sure I don't have before me, but in the seventh verse it's an all things show thyself. It's Titus, but it isn't you, it's us. I think he made it plural. So he is speaking to Titus and up Titus it is brother Bob.
Well, there's a reason for that I believe too. And that is that if we say if we.
There is opposition out there to the truth.
The opposition to the truth is looking for occasions.
They're looking for something to point out in those who speak the word.
Those who hold the truth and those who seek to manifest the truth, and if they get an occasion, it doesn't just impact the individual.
It impacts all that are seeking to maintain the truth of God and I think that's why the.
The verse the correction you call attention to is important because.
They would. They would have something evil to say about us collectively. If I don't walk in the truth, if I go on in a pathway that discredits the truth of God, it isn't just me that's impacted by it. It's all that seek to minister the truth of God, or live the truth of God, or hold the truth of God.
And that's why it's so very important that we watch our testimony individually. Because when somebody speaks against it, they don't just say that's **** gorgeous, they say that's those brethren that hold that truth and they begin to speak against them. What an exercise that is for our souls.
Who confound the issues thereof. Sometimes we think that we might do something that will only impact an immediate circle, but it doesn't work that way. We don't have control of it once it's let go. A father may sin and impact the whole family and the children suffer. The president may stand and impact the whole nation. That's what we're having here. We don't represent in our lives faithfully the Lord Jesus. It impacts the whole testimony.
Where we're connected.
When Daniel was being.
Was the the target of jealousy on the part of the other presidents? They were looking for an occasion. They were the opposition and they were looking for an occasion. And you know, it's so sweet that as they look at his life, they said the only thing we're going to get this guy on is something to do with his God. How nice that would be. I think of that so many so often. And I say Lord.
Or that it might be so with me that the only thing that they could find against me. I'm afraid it's not that way. But it's my prayer and desire. And it should be each of us that if they're looking for something, the only thing they're ever going to get against us is something to do with the fact that we're faithful to the Lord. The only thing they could find was that he got down on his knees three times a week a day. And not some new custom he started in order to antagonize the king either.
Or antagonize those presidents he got down, as was his custom, just went right on with his godly custom, and that was the only thing they could find to say evil against him. Well, would it be so with us dear ones?
It's interesting that the on the exhortation in that sense, in the connection with walks of life, is the servants or slaves. They're the only ones that there's this special exhortation. I think it's just a show that is not only our lives, which we live before our brethren, but we work and the people in the place of employment look on us too. They know whether we're consistent in the way we act, in our associations of public life, in business.
Other things. So it's all very important. It isn't only our relationship with one another, most important as brethren, but also the relationship publicly, before the world and in our place of employment where people are looking on. That man says he's a Christian and they're judging not only you as an individual, but all you're associated with, aren't they?
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Think this is this exhortation is to bond slaves those that were considered chattels property and it's really interesting when you read it how the exhortation to them be obedient to their own masters and please them well in all things you know if we look at.
Ephesians chapter 6.
In chapter six of Us of Ephesians verse 5. Again it's Bondaman.
Slaves, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh.
With fear and trembling and singleness of your heart as unto Christ, not with eye service as men pleasers.
But as the servants of Christ doing well, doing the will of God from the heart.
With goodwill, doing service as to the Lord not to men, knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall I receive of the Lord, whether he be bond, slave or free. You know it's it's interesting in Ephesians 6 he talks to the slaves who had believing masters and told them how to behave themselves. This is really the truth of being heavenly. This is really the truth of shining where you are.
Because I know when election time comes around and Christians mostly rebuke you, if you're not a registered voter and you don't vote in this world to make it a better place to live. And they say, how is it going to be a better place if we don't get Christians in government And if we don't vote in the best people to make it a better place, improve it? Well, what do you say? I tell them what's our example? And they usually say.
Christ, tell me one thing he did while he was here to make it a better place to live.
They don't answer. They they just can't answer. He told slaves how to live where they were. He didn't free them. He didn't make. He didn't rebuke the masters. He told the masters how to treat the slaves.
11 only answered me once. He was the mayor of Toledo, and Christian thought he was doing a great work. And he said, when I said, tell me one thing that Jesus did, he said he died on the cross. I said not to make this a better place to live, that judged and condemned the world. He died to take one out of the world from it, not to make it a better place. Well, he didn't even like that answer. But you know, Christians who think.
We should be painting the ship as it Sinks are so wrong, I merely tell them I haven't lost an election since I've been saved.
And that praise for the one God puts in, It's so wonderful, isn't it? Our position?
The Lord Jesus said my Kingdom is not in the world. If it were, my disciples would have fought with fight. If his Kingdom were of this world, then we should be in there fighting with the rest. But it's not. He was rejected here.
Most complain about the ones the Lord puts in office, but don't forget he says Nebuchadnezzar, my servant.
Nebuchadnezzar, my servant. And that tells me a lot. That really helps. In other words, if Bill Clinton my servant, I pray for him every day.
So that that's important to see, Brother Bob, I I think we have to realize that the Lord sets up over the kingdoms of men, the basest of men. And I I don't think there's any question that most of us as Christians regret things that Mister Clinton has stood for. But he's the Lord's servant in that position, isn't he? And we have to remember that. And we're not in in the business of putting men in office or taking them out of office.
We go on a subject and and ambassadors for Christ.
Controversy against the nation. And he's using what we believe to be the basis of men. Perhaps, at least.
We have a very low opinion perhaps, but God is has his purposes in using men whom we disapprove of.
These these servants.
To me, they're the greatest of all Christians. They perhaps couldn't even read or write. They had no way of studying the scriptures like we do.
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And here God had not given them a gift about He had put them in a place where they were just servants. So all they must have been able to do was to have communion. And yet they were exhorted to even if they had masters that treated them badly, they were to submit. I have to say that I can't relate to that, but they must. If there was any who could walk on this path, they must have been the greatest of all believers.
And so I I think often of that scripture in Acts 20 where it says, you know, we often as gathered Saints, where we put the emphasis upon the word of God. But Paul, he said, I commend you to God and the word of his grace. We often command each other to the Word, the Word and.
Very sparingly to God. But that's all these servants have. Was a was an open line to heaven. What?
Magnificent Christians they must have been. Were there any to walk on this path?
Remember Fall sent Anesthesis back to his master Philemon, and having done wrong to his master and being a fugitive slave, he could have been put to death as an example to the others. Law wouldn't have touched Philemon.
But Paul sent him back, and he sent him back with this message. Thy love to All Saints is what he commended. Philemon's love to All Saints. Now I'm sending a St. back. And that's why Paul with confidence, could return him to his master. Wonderful. And we hear then that Philemon is in the assembly. A very great help in the gospel. I mean, ones of us, the slave. Lovely, isn't it?
Many slaves during the Civil War when they were freed.
After they were freed forcibly, they wouldn't leave their masters. They were freed forcibly by an army.
Went back to their masters, Christian masters. They loved them. They didn't know what to do free. And they went back. And I believe it was beautiful fellowship down South and some of those places, you know, my thoughts are not your thoughts and neither are my ways. Your ways. We have to remember this. We're not, we're not involved with all this. We're just going through this scene.
Verse 10 Not parlining.
In other words, stealing.
And how often we are apartment to steal time.
From our employee, our our employers.
It's been done. I don't know of any greater robber of the employer's time than the coffee breaks.
As it does, it robs the employers time.
We need to be careful that we don't rob our employers time. I did a little arithmetic and if they're only 5 minutes late and getting to work in the morning.
And in the morning coffee break, at noon. In the afternoon coffee break, just 5 minutes. I lost the whole nine year. In other words, the services of a man for a whole year.
If that pie veteran was wasted.
Not purloining? Well, there's many ways unconsciously we might rob our employer.
And perhaps consciously too, if that is, I read a statistic not long ago that.
American businesses lose millions and millions of dollars a year in notepads and pencils and and pens that are taken home from the office.
That's included, isn't it, Brother Lloyd? And not robbing our masters, not purloining. Just because you get away with it doesn't doesn't justify it. And we need to set an example as Christians. And you notice that it's the servants that are given the privilege of adorning the doctrine. Not. Not masters, not.
Great teachers of the word, these servants that our brother Vern was talking about and.
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Perhaps not even able to read and write, but they are the ones that are told to adorn the doctrine, that is, make it look good.
Well, with this kind of ministry, we need grace, don't we?
We need that grace, the grace of God, that bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared.
And that's the grace we enjoy daily with mercy. We need it.
That's the range of where the grace of God goes, isn't it? Doesn't necessarily mean that all heathen have learned about the grace of God, but is for them. It's toward them. The range of the grace of God is toward all men.
It speaks here about this grace of God teaching us, doesn't it? Because there's a place where it speaks about turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness. And we are in danger of doing that, sometimes saying, well, we're not in the period of law, we're in the period of grace. And this is an occasion then to sort of act as we please. But the Scripture shows us that otherwise, instead of that, God teaches us through grace.
He said I saved you and you didn't deserve it at all. You only deserve my judgment. And now that I've shown grace to you, you act in a way that will adorn the doctrine, show to others what is the fruit of that grace in our daily lives. But there is a danger of saying, and we've all heard the expression, we're not under law but under grace. Well, that's certainly true. It's 100% true. But that doesn't mean that the standard that is pleasing to God is lowered. I would rather say it is raised.
Because when we think of what God has done for us, His wonderful grace, when we didn't deserve anything but judgment.
It ought to produce a result in us that the standard is higher instead of lower.
And that's why the slave adorned the doctrine of God our Savior. And this teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. How perfect the Scripture is always gives a proper motive for our actions, doesn't it? Never. That they slave doing this is not to be treated a little better by his master. Or if I'm a servant, I do go to a good job, so I'll get a promotion.
But the object that is set before the Christian is always higher than a earthly motive. He adorns the doctrine of God our Savior, and the motive set before us always President is to bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus by our conduct, not to get some benefit by it for ourselves.
Was there a special, was there a special giving of grace to these servants? It seems to be in connection with it. I think of many Christians, You know, they go into business for themselves because they don't want to take orders. They cannot stand to have anyone else telling them what to do. But it seems that the the grace of God must have overwhelmed these servants, that they were willing and had the ability.
To do this, it's just seems to me that this is something that's so against our nature to have somebody telling you.
Treating you badly and you submitting to it.
In all good fidelity.
And it it's.
It's almost unbelievable to me.
A hope set before us that soon will be with Christ and glory. So let us not give up here. They were looking for that blessing hope.
12TH verse.
Is very interesting in one translation that I was looking at not long ago.
Have to pick up a Bible that I would not ordinarily use because it's not a very fateful translation, but I thought that it helped in this particular verse, the word denying sometimes.
Is a little difficult for us to understand, and this translation gave it this way.
That teaching us to say no.
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To all.
Impiety and worldly lusts teaching us to say no, and then we have to learn to say no to wrong things. And it's hard. Sometimes we think, well, I might offend what teaches us how to say no. The grace of God, the very grace of God that saved us, teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly lusts. And if you find it hard to say no to ungodliness.
And worldly lusts. Perhaps you need a little more lesson from the grace of God.
That teaches us that. And I was thinking too, in connection with what Brother Vern was saying about the slaves of A.
Wonderful story that perhaps most of you are familiar with, but maybe there might be some of the younger ones that don't know it.
During the time of the Moravian movement in Germany.
There was a slave from Saint Thomas in the Virgin Islands who.
Was employed in the court of the King of of Denmark. His name was Anthony, and he came there and touched the hearts of many of the Moravians, particularly consensus endorphins.
The gentleman who accompanied him, David. I can't think of his last name at the moment, but anyway, they.
They.
Their hearts were touched by his story, and he had a great desire that his family might hear about the Lord Jesus.
And Count Zinzendorf returned to Saxony and told the little group of Moravian Christians about the the plate of the slaves there that some of them were whipped for, for even putting their face in the door of the church, had their ears cut off for disobedience to masters.
And the hearts of two young men in the community were very much touched. Leonard, Dauber and another man by the name of Tobias. And they had a great desire to go, and the Lord allowed that desire to mature in their hearts for almost a year before they.
They had the right hand of fellowship from the other Christians to go.
And.
Anthony said to them, there's one thing that I want to show you before you go. And he lifted up his shirt and showed them the scars on his back from the beatings and he said.
If you want to reach these men in Saint Thomas, perhaps you should look at this first, because you may have to. The only way you may be able to reach them is to take your place as slaves with them, and that made the two men think for quite a while and pray. But they did go. They didn't actually become slaves, but I believe that they were tested, and they certainly adorned the doctrine.
Albert worked. Dauber worked there for a long time in the Virgin Islands, and God gave.
Fruit. There, that was, for his glory and honor. But I wonder how many of us You mentioned the grace that's needed for that position. How many of us would be willing if the only way we could reach souls would be to take the place of a slave?
I don't know that I'd have that grace unless the Lord gave me something special, but.
He does give grace where he gives exercise, doesn't he? But the grace of God teaches us to say no. Let's learn to say no. Child doesn't have to be taught to say no.
To good things. It's one of the first things our children learn, isn't it? You tell them to do something? No. Well, we have to correct that. But then the grace of God has to teach us to say no.
To what's wrong and to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. There's a lot of compromise in our lives, a lot of caving in under things because we don't know how to say no and we're afraid to say no. Well, grace will teach us that if we're willing to follow on in the path.
Grace and responsibility are brought together in this here too, looking for that blessed hope. That's the rapture and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Because when the Lord Jesus gives the shout, it's not a question of responsibility. It says they that are Christ that is coming. Every true believer in the Lord Jesus will respond to that shout, that blessed hope the Lord is coming. But between the rapture and the appearing, the manifestation takes place.
00:50:21
And we are to think of that too. So Paul had that blessed confidence, and he was looking forward to the Lord's coming. He said not that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon mortality might be swallowed up of life. That was the blessed hope of the Lord's return. But then he said, when he spoke of the judgment seat of Christ, he said, We labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted or agreeable to him. He knew that his life was going to pass into review.
And that brought in the thought of responsibility. And so, brethren, those two things should.
Be brought together in our blessed prospect too. We know the Lord is coming moment of exceeding joy.
But between the rapture and the appearing is the judgment seat of Christ, the manifestation of our lives. And at present we are living in this world, and all that we do from morning to night is going to pass into review. What has not been for him will be eternal loss, but what has been for him? He'll find his joy in rewarding it. And as it's often sung in the little ham, how will recompense his smile, the sufferings of this little while? I think it's beautiful here.
Where he's talking a great deal about responsibility, he brings in this blessed hope, but also.
Side by side the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
There's a positive side to the teaching, too, of the grace of God in verse 12.
There's a way to live, and we need to have the grace of God to teach us that that we should live soberly.
Justly. Piously.
When, when we get home in glory? No. In this present course. In the present course of things. And that's the wonderful thing about the grace of God. It doesn't require a change in the social order or change in the system. It teaches us to live for God now, in whatever system we might be born into, so that a Christian who is.
Living in the Soviet Union this year, he can find in his Bible, and the grace of God will teach him how to live in this time and a Christian that lives in the United States. And it's changing. A moral atmosphere. It's changing.
Attitude toward Christians, he can still he can find in the grace of God the teaching as to how to live.
Soberly. Justly.
Let's watch that because justly or piously is perhaps sounds like a puritanical thing. But it's God's word that we're to live justly and righteously in our dealings, and we don't want to let down in any way just because the whole world is changing. Just because the standards are let down, let's not.
Change the way we live. The grace of God teaches us to go right on living as Christians, no matter what the.
Prevailing morals and prevailing attitudes are around about us, but we need grace for that, don't we?
And it's in the present course of things, whatever the present course of things is.
We know that the present course of things is bad, isn't it?
In our own part, we're never to forget the grace that's been shown to us. We need grace for it. But when we look back and think of what the Lord has done for us, how He has met us, we didn't deserve salvation at all. By grace He saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God and that deeper the sense of what the Lord has done for us, the more we'll be our desire to live for Him. It's true we need grace to do it, but.
I believe we need a deep sense in our souls of what the Lord has done for us. As our brother mentioned in the talk, What is it that constrains us? The love of Christ constraineth us that we should not live unto ourselves, Not a, shall I say, a list of duties that are laid before us. And you should do this as a Christian. That's true. But why? Because we want to live in such a way that shows our appreciation. Our lives show how much we appreciate.
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What the Lord has done for us.
How is that distinguishable from fleshly lusts?
Could we say that the flashlight's an easy path as well as an evil path and her brother brought before us? We can want the things of this world just to have an easy path through this world where our Savior was rejected and nothing particularly wrong but just worldly. That it shows that our hearts are taken up with this present evil world. And then there's fleshly less. I believe they're evil things that we might do, but both are a hindrance to truth.
Christian Testimony and progress. The world looks on and sees me just striving for the things of the world like they are. That's a poor testimony. I may not be doing anything wrong, but they ought to see that I have an object outside of this, and so were delivered from both fleshly lusts and worldly lusts, aren't we?
Yes, I suppose freshly lust you generally thought of as immoral thing. But the worldly lust may include greatness in this world, and that in that case would be something we ought to deny.
How do we how do we go about having more of this sense of the grace of God and our souls? It's not hard to understand it intellectually, but if I I've always felt that if I could just believe in my heart that God loved me like he says he does.
I would have the victory and and the same with the grace of God if I could, but we sing in that last hymn often.
In Tacoma it rather gives us out. And how do you overcome this? Just read it. Here it says the cross, the cross. So that's our game. Because on that the Lamb was slain to us. There the Lord was crucified twas there for us. The Savior died. What wonders cause could move thy heart to take on thee, our cause and smart well knowing we should ever be so cold and negligent of thee.
Well, it's it's you know, I've often longed for the burning heart. You know that those on the road to Emmaus hat. Could you tell us, brother, why we don't have that we have it spasmodically. If if, if one can speak for others, perhaps one can't but.
Your heart didn't burn until their feet turned and they started back to the place Jerusalem. Their heart didn't burn until the word of God in Christ was put in it on the way to Emmaus. Their heart wasn't burning. They were going the wrong way, weren't they? But I think the grace of God to be really to appreciate it is to realize more than you've been safe from hell. I believe to really appreciate it. And I think Peter in second Peter chapter one.
Brings it out in Peter. I only use one part, a very little part of a verse.
Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Peter learned about the grace of God. He really did. We have those lessons he went through. But Simon is really what he was before the Lord picked him up and found him. That's his. He didn't forget that. He forgot what we were. You know, Moses reminded them in the wilderness. Remember you were bond slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, Simon. And then Peter is what he was or now is.
Because of the grace coming in, he's a little stone, Peter.
But he's in the church, the building a living stone. Isn't it lovely?
So he reaped. That's great. And then it says, a servant. That word is bondslave.
Rightfully bond slave like Paul loved to call himself. I'm purchased. I belong to Jesus and that lovely word bond slave. When you can be a bond slave, you belong to him. You're his property. That's what he said. And then he said. And an apostle. Well, that's what the Lord made him in spite of himself. An apostle isn't that precious? What are we, ambassadors in spite of ourselves?
This is grace, isn't it? It's all grace. And then, well, I believe that's it. I could go on. I don't want to get on anymore. But this epistle really brings it out. He's about to die, and he's the only one that was told how he's going to die.
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Martyrdom. Martyrdom. Really. The cross in that solemn. But all he had on his heart was his brethren. In that epistle, that first chapter, his brethren put into remembrance. Grace did that. When you begin to sense the grace, I mean a a slave with a lost master, think what he realized, what he was. He was going to go to heaven and be with the inheritance reserved for him. And he's captain. Here's this master going to burn in hell for eternity.
When we begin to realize what we have in Christ, grace, then is something to us.
Grab a hold of our souls best, Abraham said. I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord with am but dust and ashes, if we can grab what we are before God, what we were, And then in Second Corinthians chapter 8.
Morning. Know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. If those things really meant something in our souls, we'd have a burning bosom. We'd have something in our hearts that would be occupied with the person of Christ and rejoice. But you think we're in danger of being like Paul said about the Corinthians, they comparing themselves among themselves and measuring themselves by themselves.
Are not wise and I think this is brought out in the case of Job as long as he was measuring himself by his so-called friends.
He thought he was superior to them. He wouldn't put their fathers with the dogs of his flock. And it was true in a sense, because God said that Joel was a perfect and upright man. Sometimes, brethren, we might get occupied with our own godliness and how we have gone on a little better than some other brethren have. And so we don't appreciate grace in the same way, because we're measuring ourselves by our brethren. But what made the great change with Job, he got into the presence of God.
And he said, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ears, but now mine eyes seeth thee, and I, wherefore I repent, and ablore myself in dust and ashes. Why did Paul call himself the chief of sinners? He said, concerning the righteousness which is in the law of blameless. He had been as far as outward life is concerned, a wonderful man. An example, you might say, but in the presence of God, and realizing what he had done to what was so dear to Christ.
He calls himself the chief of sinners, and as he went on in his Christian life, he even went down. I've often thought he says he was the chief of sinners, and he said he was the least of All Saints. Then he goes a little further down and he says I'm less than the least of All Saints. Then he goes to the bottom, as it were, and he says he's nothing.
And yet I believe that he probably appreciated the grace of God.
More than most of us, I suppose, because he lived in the presence of God.
And that's why he felt that way. But, brethren, we're in danger of being like Job, of saying, well, I wouldn't do a thing like that. Imagine that brother, that sister, acting that way. Oh, couldn't we do the same? Or aren't we the subjects of grace? We ought to say, I could have done it, I would have done it. It's only the grace of God that I haven't done it. So we are really, when we are in His presence, we realize we're nothing. And that's why the songs are going to be so deep when we get to heaven.
Is we're going to realize the wonder of the grace that brought us there.
Like the woman who asked William Carey, when did the Lord first start using you? I loved his answer as soon as I realized he didn't need me.
He started to use him. He used him mightily too. Well, it's nice to see what we have before us. Our Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us. Doesn't that put it all into focus? Who gave himself for us? All These exhortations are based on that thought He gave himself for us. Why? It says that he might redeem us and purify unto himself a peculiar people.
Zealous of good works, we are the peculiar people.
And it doesn't mean peculiar like we use it today. It means.
Very, very special. I love that Peter brings it out. You know, we are, we weren't a people before, but now we are a people peculiar people, the people of God. And that word peculiar is so precious, if you notice in the margin it says.
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Maybe I thought it was in the margin. I think it's where it's brought out in Peter. It says purchase possession.
You'll find this word peculiar if you sometimes have to go to J&D from way back in Deuteronomy, and you'll find it all the way through up into Malachi, and then you'll find it many times in the New Testament. And peculiar was a word that was used then in business and law, and is used now the same way. And from the beginning of time it's always been used that way.
Two things have to be for it to be peculiar. One, it has to have been purchased and belonging to one only, and the second, it had to be so unique and so special that it couldn't be replaced by anything else. You know, in law, when there's breach of contract, you go to court the one who was suffering under the breach of contract by another, and you let them know you paid something for the item.
And the judge will get you that money back plus damages. And if the person tried to defraud you, or if there was maliciousness involved, he'll give you triple damages and your money back and so on, so that it can be restored in money. But if it was peculiar according to the law and business peculiar, that means the Pearl of great price. There was none other like it. 1 Pearl of Great Price. That's the church.
And it's lovely. But if someone could prove that what he bought, and he rightfully owned it belonged to him, but they wouldn't deliver it, he went into the court of Equity for special Remedy. And that Special Remedy meant he didn't just get damages. But that very object, wherever it was in the world, could be traced and returned to him by the court in that lovely. And that's the thought of us as peculiar People were purchased. But it says, who gave himself?
That's how we're purchased as a church. And there's one Pearl of great price. He sold all they had and bought it. There's none other like it. So he's going to have that which he purchased his peculiar people in glory. And that's a wonderful thought. So when you see that, you'll find it even in Malachi verse 17 of the third chapter where it says jewels. J&D has it his special treasure or peculiar people, and it follows right on through that word is very wonderful.
Maybe we could cut three in first Peter two and verse 9.
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and a holy nation, and I believe we could read special treasure. We go back to Exodus and Deuteronomy. We get the thought of a special treasure.
That he should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness.
Into his marvelous light do we show forth the glory and the beauty of Christ as we go through this sea.
And 212 The second verse, he says, And this is what we look forward to. But this is, I think, this is beautiful, he says, where all the Saints, every climb shall meet, and each with all shall all the ransom de greet. And you think of that. Perhaps there's nothing greater than that. But then the hymn writer says this, but all the height, my Lord, the height of bliss.
Thy Lord shall be. This is the line.
To owe it all and share it all with me.
Beloved brethren, with we.
Are about to see his face.
We're speaking the question you asked to Brother Verne. What will stir our hearts toward him? We sing him a little hymn. I think it's number six, 168 old Kindle within us a holy desire like that which is found in thy people of old, who tasted thy love and whose hearts were on fire as they waited in patience Thy face to behold the precious fact that we are about to see his face, how it should change our perspective of everything.
01:10:14
Down here there's another little hymn that I've so often enjoyed. It will be worth it all when we see Jesus. Part of it says one look. I've often enjoyed this precious thought and we're about to enter into the reality of it. Brethren, we're going to leave this seed. One look at his dear face. All sorrow will erase so badly run the race till we see Christ.
Or what he has given us to stir our hearts, to look at his face, as the apostle could say, the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
May that hope have its proper effect upon each one of us, the little wild that were left here. Brethren, there's temptations and things that come up in our pathway that would divert our attention from him. And I believe that's what the work of the enemy is today, to divert our attention away from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
May we fall on our faces before him.
As we consider what is just before us, may we have eternities.
Values clearly before us, because we're going to spend eternity there with the one who gave his all for us.
Oh, what there is there to stir our hearts, To warm our hearts as we think of our portion, that which He gave us at greatest cost to himself.
It's interesting to notice that that peculiar people are to be zealous for good works. I think we've gotten to a terrible state in that we despise zealousness. Say you know he's zealous, as if there's something wrong with that. God wants us to be zealous.
You get somebody that gets involved with Amway and they get all zealous and they're they think it was the only thing in the world that that to be talked about and or some cure or some diet that people get involved in that they want everybody to follow. And then when we get to the question of good works and somebody zealous about it, it seems like there's something wrong with that but God's purpose in redeeming us.
Through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's purpose in redeeming us from all iniquity, from all lawlessness, is that he might purify for himself just that kind of a people that are zealous for good works. We can get all worked up over some some team or some product or or some concept, and we can even be obnoxious to our brethren with it, but we ought to be.
Zealous for good work.
And on fire for the Lord, for doing what's right and doing what is pleasing to him. Not because for good works sake, but for, as we were reminded earlier, because we love him and because he died for us. I just feel sometimes we we pour cold water on zealousness and I think we have to be careful about that. The story is told about Billy Bray, the the Welsh evangelist.
A couple of 100 years ago, I guess. Who?
Had a habit of shouting, glory to God, and somebody tried to quiet him down, he said. I didn't hear you trying that when I was shouting for the devil. And it's true that people you can get a a crowd can get out to a ball game and shout and yell and and make a terrible ruckus. But when we say when we get enthusiastic for good works or for the Lord, wait a minute now. Not, not too much of that, you know?
We don't want too much.
Said to the Galatians to go on with what you're saying.
It's 418, but it is good to be zealously affected.
Always in a good thing, and not only when I'm present with you.
No limit to that zeal when it's rightly directed.
Without works, your faith is dead. We know there must be the effect of the Spirit of God in US, and that'll be the works, won't it? But we can't get the works ahead of worship. We can't get the works ahead of Christ. It has to be in the right order. And I'd like to just bring that out with Hebrews 13 quickly, because I think it's important. In verse 13 of Hebrews 13 we have the place or the center. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. Now we know where.
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And it's lovely until you know that the worship it cannot be precious or real. 15 By him. Therefore, let us offer sacrifice of praise to God continually. That is the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. That's next. It's worship.
Its adoration is exalting him, making much of Christ now notice 16 But to do good.
And to communicate, forget not, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased, He classifieds both as sacrifices, and I think they're both very necessary. But there's an order, a proper order. And I've always felt that when you put the gospel ahead of Christ, you put the gospel of head of doctrine and orderliness in the assembly. You're off the wrong way if the assembly is going on properly.
In unity with joy, the gospel just naturally goes out, and that's the way it ought to be. The gospel naturally goes out. Sisters are gospel preachers when they check out their groceries. I know it happens because they're filled with Christ. We can't get the works ahead of Christ. It's works, that's all. And I really feel it. I feel for a while that was happening and you could see it happening and you couldn't hardly do anything about it. It was great works and competition with this world of chrysanthemum.
We can't compete. Why should we? It's the spirit of God, brethren, and if it isn't the spirit of God, it's only works.
Brother, what does that mean? In that 15th verse there in Hebrews 13, the the praise, it says, the sacrifice of praise to God continually. Is that something that we should look at as Sunday morning, or is this something should be night and day? I think it's always, don't you? But we have a special opportunity tomorrow. Very special by his own request and his own provision, but it should be continually. That's right, the fruit of the lips.
And you know, we read and Isaiah, I think I create the fruit of the lips that has to be of the Spirit. I was thinking of that admonition to the Ephesians in the second chapter of Revelation. He says I have a somewhat against it because I was left thy first love, but the first love isn't it when we come back.
On the first day of the week we come back to the remembrance of the Blessed Lord. Is not the occasion, brethren, to draw our hearts out, to think of His love that He gave himself for us? He laid down his life for his sheep. His shepherd, so kind, had me in his mind. We can say together when He laid down his life for the sheep. And that should stir my heart, that should wind my heart up for the week. I should have my heart wound up every moment when I think of His love.
When I think of my failure and how far short I fall, or maybe even I might want to think about my love to the Lord, I'm going to be disappointed. But when I think of His love to me, and I think of John 15/9, it says there as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.
Continue in my love. I can't think of another verse that is such an encouragement to my own heart.
Anytime that I need encouragement, I think of that first brethren and the Lord. He always gives me a lift. It's like the wings of faith. I can fly up into the heavens and think, oh, there's where my Savior is now. The man in the glory. And as you and I go through this world and we think of His love to us, this is what is going to prevail to keep us. It's like winding our our clock, you know? The clock runs down and we we do get run down, but we can wind it up with a fresh sense of His love.
If we try to put ourselves under the law and say, well, we need to do this or we need to do that, I don't. I don't find that wise Michael the clock of my heart the way, just a fresh sense of his love to me. And so we've got so many scriptures that tell us of that His love to us, not perhaps how well we're scoring or as our brother remarked, comparing ourselves with ourselves. Well, his clock has wound up tighter than mine and all that sort of thing.
Now the Lord wants us to wind our hearts up with a fresh sense and His love to us. Could we sing number one 18118 Awake? He says, awake each St. with joyful lays to sing the great Redeemers praise. He justly claims the song from thee his loving kindness. Oh how free soon shall we mount and soar away to the bright realms of endless day, and sing with rapture and surprise His loving kindness in the skies.
01:20:35
#118.
Awakey St. And joyfully to say the.
Song from the.
Loving God is full of great love. Be kindness.
He saved us.
All great.
Love behind us?
Love be kindness, his love is so outright.
He safely leads his days along his love and kindness of how strong.
Love.
As gathered.
Under love.
He wear this shirt always good in love because.
Behind us, loving kindness is love.
Kindness.
Surprises.
Life behind us in the sky.
Loving, kind, loving kindness is love because.
In the sky.
In light of the hymn we just sang.
Verses 4:00 and 5:00.
It's #76 in the appendix.
Then let me.
Live. Continue.
Till I hear next my.
Pregnant Lord.
And.
Where the Lord?
He loved our Lord.
So that feeling.
01:25:04
Till thou shall.
And bear me to my home.
Forever.
Bring.
Care.
Eternally.
I love you. Share, Lord.
Chapter 4.
Verse 2.
We do have.
Thank you first Peter 4 verse 2.
We do have the rest of our time.
That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of man, but to the will of God. Can we give thanks?
Deuteronomy 21
Open—B. Warr, L. Judd, D. Jacobsen
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And #61.
Shall we pray?
The brother read a verse in Malachi 3 and he didn't finish it.
Wherein?
You know, sometimes the carelessness of indifference can rob us.
Of the value of those things that we actually have enjoyed.
It's been running through my.
Thoughts a little lately and it.
Brother this morning spoke about the sheep. Who?
Who went into a place where they thought there was number danger?
But there really was.
But they lacked the Shepherd.
That you and I have, so I want to read a few verses.
And share a food thoughts about that this afternoon.
We have a treasure that you just can't hold on your own, and God has given us to enjoy that treasure together. I believe He certainly has me.
And now as we go back to our place, individually walking through this scene.
I want to follow up on a subject, maybe a little to just follow up what some of the things that really Gordon was bringing out. But first of all, I'd like to read a verse in first John chapter. I believe it's chapter 5.
For whatsoever is born of God. Excuse me, verse four. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh.
The world.
And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our fate. It's been said about this verse that.
If you see that Jesus is the Son of God, the world can no longer deceive you.
If you see that Jesus is the Son of God and you see what happened to him, you know what this world is like.
Verse 19. The end of the verse. The whole world lieth in wickedness.
Chapter 2. Verse 15.
00:05:02
Love not the world.
Neither the things that are in the world.
In a couple of verses in First Corinthians Chapter 7.
In verse 29.
But this I say, brethren, the time is short.
It remains that both they that have wives be as though they had none.
And they that weep as though they wept not.
They they rejoice as though they rejoice not, and they that buy as though they possess not.
And they that use this world is not abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth away.
I was struck reading this verse recently. We live in the world's largest marketplace. We're not all over the world. We buy more stuff than anybody in the whole world.
You know, this verse says if you buy it, God isn't complaining about you buying it so to speak. But can you live as though you don't possess it?
To buy as though those that purchase as though they don't possess it and the time is short. There are pressures as it were, will soon be home. Now with this is a background, I'd like to look at the 21St chapter of Deuteronomy and draw a few typical pictures.
From this chapter.
To remind us again.
Where we are.
Whose we are, where we're going.
I'd like to read the whole chapter and then make a few comments on.
The different parts of it.
If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.
Lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him.
And thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain.
And it shall be that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city, shall take an heifer.
Which have not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke.
And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither steered nor sown.
And shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley.
And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near for them. The Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord. And by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried.
All the elders of that city that are next under the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley.
And they shall answer and say, our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel. Charge.
Blood shall be forgiven them.
So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.
When I go, sport the war against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive, and seized among the captives a beautiful woman, and has the desire unto her that thou wouldest have her to thy wife.
Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head and pair her nails, and she shall put the raiment off her captivity from offer, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month.
And after that thou shalt go in unto her, and she shall and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, when thou shalt let her go whither she will.
But thou shalt not seller.
And all for money. Thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
If a man have two wives, one beloved, another hated.
And they have born in children both the beloved and the hated. And if the first born son of hers be hers that was hated, then it shall be when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath.
That he may not make the son of the beloved first born before the son of the hated, which is indeed the first born.
00:10:01
But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the first born.
By giving him a double portion of all that he had.
For he is the beginning of his strength, the right of the first born is his. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, in that when they have chastened him will not hearken unto them, then shall this father and his mother lay hold on him.
And bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place.
And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice.
He is a glutton and a drunkard, and all the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die.
So shalt thou put evil away from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree.
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day.
He that hanged as a curse of God, that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Arena's chapter, and I was thinking of it in this light. It's the death of Christ.
Stood alongside of our responsibilities.
We see the death of Christ, I think in the first portion of it, in two ways.
A man was found dead that marked that land.
And even to be near it was defiling even to be near it.
And we see the death of Christ there as a victim.
As a slain 1A heifer who was slain?
Then at the end of the chapter we see.
That verse, of course, it's applied to our Lord Jesus in Galatians.
When he was publicly hung up on a cross.
Publicly put to shame.
And our meeting brother gave a thought, gave us a thought on that. He said, you know, God said one day, no more public shame, he comes down.
I have allowed you to put him to public shame up to this point. Now he comes down off that cross.
And you know, the whole issue, I believe in our pathway in our life, and I think we can see a few typical thoughts presented to us in this chapter is do we believe He belongs there? Do we live that way? Do we live that way as to say no, He belongs there on that cross.
Do we take his name and then go back to this world and act like this world is right and he was wrong? This is the victory that overcomes this world, our faith. If I see that Jesus is the Son of God, I know what this world is. I cannot be deceived by it ever again. It crucified the Lord of glory.
Well, this world, as I've said before, it's the most wicked place in all God's creation.
And yet God is seen fit to leave you and me here for our benefit, not any wise to have us at a disadvantage, but for our benefit. And this world is the most wicked place, and it was shown its wickedness the day that crucified the Lord of glory. And you and I have taken up his mantle, so to speak.
Brother said earlier in the meeting it's a solemn thing to take the name of a Christian in this world.
Do we understand that we stepped out into an enemy's land and that we took the name of Christ as a as it were, a challenge to this enemy?
That we understand where we are, brethren.
And do we understand where we're going and what we're doing here?
Well, in this first part of our chapter, there's a city that got too close.
To the death of this man, you know this man dies. God knows, of course, who slew this man, but he's not telling.
You know it's a time yet when God is not accusing people, as it were. Finally, in the final words of who killed the Lord Jesus, He's offering everybody a chance to be saved.
He's waiting, and yet the death of Christ has marked this place.
Do I understand I am where the Lord Jesus was crucified?
And here we find there's a measure that measures, and you know God will measure us. And there's a measure, there's a spiritual measure that links a city with the death of this one.
You know, we can get too close to this world, we can get too close, and we can get too close to this thing, the death of the Lord Jesus.
We can be careless. I think of the elders in this city. And by the way, I think a city can be an assembly. I think it would be your home. It's what you're responsible for. You're responsible there. You're the elders in that you're the ones that God holds responsible.
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You could look at it in the sense of Revelation where he said to the Angel of the church and so on. So but you're responsible in your home, to your home too close.
Is he measuring you out? Is he measuring me out and say you're too close?
To what the world did to Christ.
And so he measures out. And I see those elders there sitting by the gate, you know, and they look out across the field and there comes some men up to them. They say, well, here comes somebody to visit us.
When they come and they say you're too close.
You're too close to this. And immediately. Immediately.
They have to go find a heifer.
Not just any helper.
And they are put to motion. They have to get this resolved. And so they get up and they go find a certain heifer.
And they're looking all through. I need a heifer that hasn't borne the yoke. I need a heifer that hasn't yet toiled and plowed in this scene down here. Well, we don't have one. This one has worked already. That one has worked already. Until they find one that meets the qualifications.
Have not been wrought with.
You know, whether it's a solemn thing to walk through this scene and to realize that we can be wrought with that there's an enemy of our souls that's trying everything he can do to.
Work with us.
I again say we are at no disadvantage. We've had before us in these meetings. We have new life, we have life, we have power. We've just heard before had before us the fact that God is a shield, an exceeding great reward. We have no disadvantage, we have everything going for us.
To walk free freely through this scene, this heifer had to be one that had never been wrought with. That was our Lord Jesus. You know we see him here in this heifer as that one who was found down here. He has glorified God here where sin is.
And when he came down here.
They had to get a heifer that had not been wrought with which had not drawn in the yoke.
Is there somebody here and I might ask myself? I'm included.
That there's a kind of a yoke, there's some pull and tug I'm feeling toward this world or something in it.
The Lord Jesus never felt that.
He was not one that had ever felt anything like a tug toward this world.
And he's the one who's walked it ahead of us and with whom we're to walk.
Well, then the elders of the city had to find something else. They had to go find a valley. Not just any valley.
A valley that was a rough valley, neither eared nor sewn.
That is, this world is seen to be a valley, a low place.
Not eared or sown.
You know the Lord Jesus, when he was here, he never expected a crop in this world.
Is there anyone here, young or old, that we're expecting to harvest something down here?
The Lord Jesus will show us by his words and deeds that this world is a valley that's not here, nor so.
You can't expect anything out of it.
A rough valley for him. Think of what it was to come out of glory.
Be born that day in Bethlehem's Manger and walk through this scene down here.
And see all that was here?
You know, in it all he never said his own words, never used his own will. He just simply was that obedient 1.
Walking through this rough valley and setting a pace for you and me in a pathway to walk.
Didn't make the place any nicer when he made the path right for us.
A rough valley, neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck. I think of this as.
When the Lord Jesus said we read in our Bibles, he says not my will.
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Not my will.
I would think that as far as you and I are concerned about another one of the most profound lessons we have to learn is to say that not my will, the Lord Jesus who knelt there in Gethsemane.
He would have us come and kneel right beside him and say right with him. Not my will, but thine be done.
You see no stiffening.
How many times is it that we would have an excuse? How many times is it that we would in our own wills we would have some?
Reasoning by which we can get what we think will make us happy and what we want.
But they had to break this heifer's neck.
You know, I think of them having to go. It's for you and me to have a little exercise to go back again to this blessed book.
And meet the man.
To again weigh over in his presence.
Who he is, what he's done. He was here, but he's not here now.
Does that mean anything to you and me? He's not here now. We're in the place where he was.
But he's not here now.
Then they in the rough valley, they took this and then the priests, the sons of Levi. And when we do that, you know, we, we have responsibility as elders and we have now we meet a priest. You know, I think if we can just see the Lord Jesus in his path through this scene down here, it'll make priests out of us.
If I can just see everything around as it appears in his presence, everything around as he showed it to be.
Then we get priests. The sons of Levi shall come near.
For them hath the Lord thy God chosen. You know, whenever we need wisdom, we need to get close to Christ.
We need not just to have authority or responsibility in the sense of justice. God has made me responsible. I need to get close to Christ about that. And I need to have a priest character. I need to be able to intercede. I need to see as he sees and feel as he feels, because it's by them, he says.
For them the Lord thy God has chosen the minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord, and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried so if we have responsibility and we're seen as elders.
And youngsters have the responsibility, just like the oldest.
These are typical pictures.
And where have I find I'm responsible and I have a responsibility in this scene? I need to draw near to the Lord Jesus.
And handle that responsibility as a priest because it's there that God has given wisdom. It's there where every stroke and things are decided.
Handling my responsibilities in the presence of Christ so I can see again as I as He sees and handle them as He would have them handle.
All the elders of the city, verse six, that are next to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley.
That is to have the word of God applied to our works. Just wash our hands over that.
Well, I think of it in a couple of ways. One is you wash off the dirt on the Lord Jesus.
Oh what a place we have to run to.
Or what a savior we have to bring Him and bring it all to Him. But again, it's to have our hands washed in the view of what He is and what He did and what He has done when He's here. The path He is marked out before us.
You know nothing really is seen as it ought to be until you bring it over alongside of the Cross of Calgary.
And they shall answer and say, our hands have not shed this blood.
Which blood?
The slain man? No, they're not. Although it's the same thing, it's the same one. It's the man who was slain is was seen as Christ who has died. He has marked this place by his death.
And then here this.
Animal that they had slain in breaking his neck, he becomes that which answers.
For their involvement in it, for their closeness to it. It's the Lord Jesus in his workforce, the value of his finished work and the work he has today to get us through this scene and get us apart from.
This cursed place where he died.
Verse 8 Be merciful, O Lord, unto thy people, Israel. Now here we have responsibility. They're answering for the people.
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Whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood of thy people Israel charge.
Verse 9 So shall thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
A lot of excuses could have been made. He's the elder to say I don't know who that man is. I never heard of him before. I don't know he you know, I knew I was here old. I've been here 3 days, having gone outside the gates of this city. I couldn't have killed that man.
No it isn't. It's seeing it as God measures it.
It's accepting God's measure of my practical life in view of the death of Christ.
So the next portion we have here we have.
An enemy who's conquered. But there's something about that enemy I really like.
Then the portion after that, I'll just jump ahead and.
This woman that I like comes out of the enemy and it's.
All right, in certain I can use this, I can have this.
Lady, this woman that comes out from the enemy, a conquered enemy, and I can have that.
Under certain circumstances I can have it here.
The only thing there are two consequences.
One is that she doesn't please me.
And what happens? I turn her loose.
Something I have taken in from the enemy.
And turned it loose among God's people.
And this woman who came from the enemy doesn't go now free from my house as from the enemy. She goes from my house and my commendation goes with her and I can't control her.
The other consequence is.
That she does please me.
Then she's going to draw my heart away from the legitimate wife that I have.
And she's going to have a son.
And I'm going to like that son more than my first born son.
And it goes on down to the next little portion that we have about an incorrigible.
Sun, which you and I have right in here.
And last of all, it gets down to the one who bore the curse for you and me.
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
If you want to go backwards, you can start with the Lord Jesus. See now on that cross made a curse for you and me.
Time came when he had suffered and suffered and suffered and was all over with as he were. God says take him down. No more public dishonor for Christ.
And working backwards, I have an incorrigible son.
Who would desire something other than the ways of God that would ultimately be saying.
Don't take him off the cross. The world would not take the Lord Jesus down. They still say they want him up there.
They don't want him down when the Lord Jesus was taken down. Now he sits in glory. It's the finish for this world. It's all over with. They would have him back up on the cross.
You and I know he was there for us and he was made a curse to deliver us from the curse.
And now we can be free.
So let's look at this next portion about the beginning with verse.
10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, well, that's a good thing to do.
And the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands. You got your freedom.
And thou has taken him captive.
Well, that's nice. It is almost as if there is something in your life.
That you can have and possess it. You can hold it captive. It doesn't hold you, you hold it.
And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and has the desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife.
Then thou shalt bring her in home to thine house, and she shall shave her head and pair her nails, and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from offer, and she remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month. And after that thou shalt go in unto her and be your husband. She should be a wife.
That is, here's something now I've captured these people.
But there's something there I like that pleases me.
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And so under certain and he's saying how I can have this. We read in our Bibles about those that use this world and those that.
Buy and then we read about those that abuse this world and those that don't live as though they did not possess it.
If I buy it and can live as though I don't possess it. That's what Corinthians were saying. But here I have one and this has no change in her. She refuses to submit, so she has to have her head shaved in submission. That's what comes out of this world. Pair her nails. She becomes a little civilized. You remember about think of that when I think of Nebuchadnezzar and when he was committed or put out in the forest and his nails grew like bird's claws. You know, this is a thing come becomes civilized. It's something have, but it hasn't changed a bit.
And she bewails and mourns.
The fall of her origin.
She still belongs to that of the world, she still belongs to the enemy, and I have her now in my house.
And I am responsible for her in my house.
Everything. How serious a thing it is beloved to touch anything in this world.
That you can't touch it and walk away from it.
You bring her into your house.
How many things have we brought in our house that we should never had in there?
How many things have we brought in our house that got out of hand?
You see when this woman is there and I have her and in the sense that those that use this world.
You see, I it is, it is. It's so much in danger that I abuse it.
And pretty soon that which pleased me doesn't please me anymore. I want to tell you that's the character of this world.
It may please you right now, but it won't please you long.
And when you bring in something and you're like you, I have a bad fault, I've had to confess this. It's us. You means all of us. It's this book I trust that's speaking. When we bring something of the world into our lives, our daily lives, we can't control it.
When we are using something from this world, we must stay close to the Lord. We must remember.
Whenever it's over with, they won't please me. It will not please me, and I'm going to have to let it go. And what does that mean? It's going to mean somebody down the street is going to say, well, brother Bill does that.
For the bill has that, and that thing that I have brought in from the enemy's land goes out to my brethren with my commendation, it goes out now from my house.
Verse 14 It shall be If thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go. With her she will.
You won't be able to hold it back. You won't be able to control it.
But thou shalt not sell it all for money. You are not going to get any value out of it, really.
Can't make merchandise over?
She didn't want to be there.
You're the one that was fool, not her.
What a world it is we live in that everything in it defiles.
And I was thinking this morning, your brother was speaking this morning about those who are in jail.
And he reminds them, you know, where did you come from? Where are you going? What are you doing here?
And I thought of a thing I've been thinking of recent You know, the devil is a good liar. He doesn't believe his lies.
Man is a poor liar. He believes his lies.
Do we understand where we are?
Verse 15 If a man have two wives, ah now.
There are two things in my life for which I'm responsible to wives.
One beloved and another hated, you know.
Whenever I bring this thing from the enemy's land over into my house, it's going to rob my heart.
The world has a spirit, the Bible says we receive, not the spirit of the world.
And everything you touch with this world is going to have one effect. It is an encroachment on our affection for Christ.
Will never have something for this world is going to dampen my affection for Christ. The issues are settled. It's the world over here in Christ over there. He was crucified here.
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This is a victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
For man have two wives, one beloved, another hated it, and they have borne him children.
Both the beloved and the hated and the first born son be heard that was hated.
You see, my proper responsibilities belong first.
And it's the result of that it's the first born.
That must have.
My attention and my occupation.
And the results of my efforts, if I bring in something else into my house, it's going to take my heart.
And it's going to want to occupy me.
And commit me to be occupied with that and its results.
You know we are in the worst place in God's creation and we have within us.
That's going to We'll get to that old incorrigible son.
Therefore, we cannot walk carelessly through this place. It's a place of advantage for you and me because we walk with the Lord through it. He came here.
His president turned the light on and showed us it was the worst place in God's creation.
But he's telling you and me how to walk through it and get a blessing out of it.
But we get the blessing when we walk with Him and we keep priorities straight.
You see, having this enemy coming from the enemy's land, and I've accepted, I will say in the legitimate way, it's legitimate in itself.
The result is my priorities become different.
And the Lord's things, the legitimate relationships in life.
Are not those loved things anymore?
Becomes a contest.
In my daily path, my daily life, verse 17 he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the first born.
By giving him a double portion of all that he had.
Well, that's the way, isn't it? For us to go on with the Lord, we need to give a double portion to the Lord and those things that are legitimate in our lives.
Verse 18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, I want to tell you.
That I do and you do.
And I think of this couple, they have a stubborn and rebellious son, and you know they love him.
And they do their best to cover up for him as long as they can.
But one day they find they just can't cover it up anymore. They just have to bring it all out in the open and it has to be dealt with. You see, it's public here, isn't it?
Public things. The Lord Jesus was publicly humiliated.
It's a public thing, just the way we walk openly, brethren, It's not the way we talk or anything on Mars. It's the way we walk. Open this public things. The Lord Jesus was publicly shamed. You and I can bring public dishonor upon the Lord Jesus.
And here we have this old, incorrigible, stubborn, rebellious son which will not obey.
You know the.
Says they that are in the flesh is that means cannot.
Please God, it cannot obey.
Whatever there is.
That I would do that is something that pleases me. Remember this lady that I took from the enemy? This thing I took from the enemy pleased me.
I must remember.
Right in here I am found in the worst place in God's creation, and I have inside of Maine an old, stubborn and rebellious son. They just will not obey.
And whatever he does, it's going to have that character to it.
And the only thing to do, beloved, is shouldn't we just own the truth of it?
Stone it with stones. You know, we talk about stoning. I think of stoning as.
Someone has a bad doctrine will say.
And one brother will be very much concerned about he will be upset. That's not right. And obviously that's right. That's not right. Whatever, you may pick up a big stone.
And throw it. Or you may take a Pebble and throw it.
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And it may have been that the parents of this stubborn son took a Pebble off the ground and threw it at him, but a neighbor who had he had molested a long time, picked up a big stone and threw it at him. Throwing a stone is your personal judgment or estimate of that which is wrong.
So when we have this stubborn and rebellious son.
And they bring him out to publicly end it with him.
Publicly ended with him.
And then we get down to this one, the Lord Jesus, now seen as the one who was made a curse for us.
You know, but in our lives are linked with the life of Christ. He walked down here.
And we walk, where, following his pathway, we take his name.
And really, the issues are already decided.
The issues are decided as to where we are and what we're doing here, what the world really is.
And if we're advised that, we can be advised that that's the issues of our life.
I cannot walk it apart from my link with Christ.
And to walk carefully.
And to remember these things because they do affect our lives and not be careless.
And not be.
Like we heard this morning, those that would do sheep that would go out into a place where there was grave danger and not think there was any danger there at all. So.
As we walk through life, what would I say? All of this to bring back around to remind us what we've heard. God is faithful.
But we do walk through a place that will never bring forth a crop. It is not planted.
And if there's anyone here, young or old alike, and we're expecting something from this world, it is a place never planted. It's never going to bring forth anything.
And if I touch it, if there's something in it all that pleases me, just to remember the the, the danger of the outcome of it all, it's going to take my heart away from God's things over to my things.
And all of it affects, all of it affects the name of the Lord Jesus declared publicly in this world.
Burden, for a moment, to Exodus 25.
Exodus 25 and verse 31.
And thou shalt make a Candlestick of pure gold. A beaten works shall a Candlestick be made.
His shaft and his branches, his bowls and his knots and his flowers, shall be of the same.
6 branches shall come out of the sides of it, three branches of the Candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the Candlestick out of the other side.
Three bowls made like little almonds with an off and a flower in one branch, and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch with an off and a flower. So in the six branches that come out of the Candlestick, and in the Candlestick shall be 4 bowls made like under almonds with their knots and their flowers. And there shall be a knob under two branches of the same, and an off under two branches of the same.
And an op under two branches of the same, according to the six branches, the proceed out of the Candlestick, their knobs and their branches shall be of the same. It all all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. And those that make the seven lamps are all, and they shall light the lamps are all, that they may give light over against it. And the tongues are off. And the stuff dishes are all shall be of pure gold.
Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it with all these vessels, and look that thou make them after their pattern which was showed thee in the mount.
I believe we have here a picture of Christ and the Church.
Notice in verse 34 and in the Candlestick that was the central shaft.
Preeminently called the Candlestick, the branches came out of the side of it. One is reminded of the Lord taking a rib from Adam's side. So these branches came out of the side of the Candlestick, but was all one. And so Christ and the Church are one, He the Head, we the members on earth.
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Christ and we are one.
And we find too, that the central shaft had four knocks.
Four flowers. The branch has just had three. In all things he must have the preeminence.
Let's turn the numbers, Chapter 8.
Numbers 8 and verse one.
And the Lord speak unto Moses, saying, Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light over against the Candlestick. And Aaron did so. He lighted the lamps thereof over against the Candlestick, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Now in the 1St 10 chapters of this precious book of numbers.
The Lord is preparing his people to cross the desert, and here there's the instruction to Aaron to light the lamps. All you say, weren't those lamps extinguished when the Candlestick was covered over?
Human reasoning would say so, but the word of God doesn't say so.
It was lamps. It doesn't say those lamps were extinguished when the Candlestick was covered over.
Now let us go to First Peter Chapter 2.
Those lamps were to give light over against the candlesticks.
And the way Scripture leads us leaves us.
It would appear they were lit as they cross the wilderness. Now I don't say any more to that because I know the Candlestick was covered first. Peter.
Chapter 2.
And verse 9.
But ye are a chosen generation.
A royal priesthood.
And a holy nation, a peculiar people, margins as a people for possession.
Oh, I'd just like to take a moment, go back to Exodus 19.
Exodus 19 and verse 5 now, therefore.
If he will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people, for all the earth is mine, a peculiar treasure. Let's go to Deuteronomy Chapter 7.
And verse 6.
For thou art and holy people under 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.
God have chosen that people.
And beloved, we have been chosen, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
Oh, could we not say that we are his special treasure? His special treasure? Is he our treasure?
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And if He is our treasure, our object, our hearts are going to be centered.
On Him in glory. But again, where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Could we just ask if we're his special treasure? Is his heart not with his redeemed down here? Well, going back to first Peter 2.
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Special treasure.
You're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. All the of just as the branches of that Candlestick, the lamps there magnified the glory and the beauty of the central shaft. Yes, their light was spread all around.
But still they gave light over against the Candlestick, they magnified the glory and the beauty of that central shop, that which spoke of the church, magnifying the glory and the beauty of the central shaft, a picture of Christ. And So what do we have here? That ye should show forth the praises of Him who have called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
Here we do it. Paul, 01, has to own for oneself how feebly at times the light is shone.
The Beloved, may we show forth his praises as we go through this wilderness scene.
This scene, they were on their way to Canaan. Beloved, we are on our way to glory.
And he should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Do we show forth those praises? Oh, just another verse comes to mind. Colossians chapter one.
Verse 12.
Giving thanks under the Father, which hath made us meet or fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light. Now when Israel was in Egypt, they were told to take that lamb and kill it. The Passover lamb and the blood to be sprinkled. God went through the land of Egypt that night as a judge.
Judgment fell on the land of Egypt, but those that were sheltered by the blood were spared, and the law of that precious blood of Christ is that which shelters us from the righteous judgment of a holy God against sin.
I'd like to change that word sheltered because Christ has forever put our sins away.
Forever put our sins away to Israel. There was remembrance made of those sins year by year, but all our sins are gone.
Who have made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints and light. They were fit then to go onward into that land of Canaan.
Who have delivered us from the power of darkness. All there we have the Red Sea.
There Christ was a deliverer from all the power of the enemy, through death He delivered them, who through fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to *******.
Yes, through death we have been. We have been delivered from the power of death, from Satan's power.
Through death he destroyed or annulled him that had the power of death and delivered them, who through fear of death were all their lifetimes subject to *******. We have it at the Red Sea.
Pharaoh's power was completely done away with there at the Red Sea. His whole army and I believe himself to drowned in the waters of the Red Sea. Israel came out on the wilderness side of that sea and.
Have translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son. Oh yes, we are. Have died with Christ.
Dead with Christ and brought into a heavenly position.
Dead and risen with Christ. There I believe we have the Jordan.
Israel crossed the Jordan.
And gilled all the flesh put in the place of death.
And they enjoyed the blessings of the land of Canaan and the love. We have all the blessings of heaven before us. So may we indeed, as we cross the sea, seek to magnify the glories and the beauties of Christ who went into death for us.
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They turned to First Chronicles, the 26th verse.
I have nothing complicated on my mind or in my heart, but I would like to bring before us that God will not ask us to go through this scene alone.
First Chronicles, 26.
26.
Verse 18.
At Parbar westward Fort the Causeway.
Two at Parbor.
Now turn to 2nd.
Calling of Second Corinthians, 7th chapter.
2nd Corinthians, 7th chapter.
In this portion, the apostle Paul had been disturbed about the condition of the Saints at Corinth, and he was wondering how they were getting along. And in Second Corinthians the 7th.
Chapter and the.
6th verse.
He says, For when we came unto Macedonia.
Our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side without were fighting within were fears. Nevertheless, God that comforteth those that are cast down comforted us by the coming of Titus. Now this is something that is not very unusual.
Sometimes we have had.
Visitors come to the house, and they gave us great comfort. They lifted at us, and here the apostle Paul was comforted by the coming of Titus. What a small thing. Naturally this would be just by the coming of Titus.
His fears were late, and he was comforted as to the condition of his beloved.
Saints in Corinth Now let us turn to Acts, the 27th chapter.
Here is a far different situation.
The 27th chapter of the X.
Here the apostle Paul.
Is in a dire circumstance.
There's a terrible storm on that sea and the ship was ready to be foundered, but nevertheless.
He got through it.
And he tells the sailors and the passengers on the ship in the 22nd verse. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer.
For there shall be.
No loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.
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For there stood by me this night.
An Angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul.
Now let's go back to First Chronicles 26.
And verse 18.
At Bar Bar westward, 4 at the Causeway and two at Parbar. Now, the meaning of parbar is rather obscure, but there is one interpretation of this that I'd like, and I would like to use that a summer house.
This summer House.
Now the Causeway.
Can be quite a structure and.
Require quite a bit of earthwork to be cast up to be built.
Now here it says 4 at the Causeway and two at bar. Bar for what? To what?
Here's where.
God.
Has a discriminatory care for each of us.
The apostle Paul was comforted just with the coming of Titus. That would be equivalent to being at par Bar at the summer house.
But.
When he was on board ship in the middle of the ocean.
Of the Mediterranean Sea, really, and this Uraclide and.
A stored storm depended descended upon this ship. There was more than the coming of Titus needed the Lord.
Sent an Angel.
To comfort him and to confirm to him that there would be no loss of.
Persons but of the ship.
And he said he had confidence in this, He believed the Lord, and the Lord said to him, be of good cheer.
And he is comforted by this. Now here we have in this.
First Chronicles, 2618.
Four at the Causeway. That's where the going is rough and the labor is great. The work is as large and heavy.
And severe at bar Bar at the summer house.
We don't need any help, do we? No, but the Lord says without me you can do nothing.
So we do need help whatever circumstances we may be in, whether it's at the Causeway or at bar bar at the summer house we need.
Help.
We cannot go along by ourselves, but for what and to what?
Read the 19th verse. These are the divisions.
Of the porters, among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Mariri.
This is something that comes from the heart of God to meet your need and my need, whatever it may be, whether it's at the Causeway or at Par Bar. And who are these?
Poor tubes.
Who are these helpers?
Let the Lord gives.
The sons of Korah, if we turn to the 26th of numbers, we find that that we're there was a rebellion in Israel and Korah and his followers were slain. God judged them. And then it says.
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Notwithstanding, I believe this is the 26 of numbers. Notwithstanding the sons of Korah died not.
So these.
Of the sons of Korah knew what it was to have mercy of God.
They knew what it was to have been dealt with.
God graciously.
And the sons of Murray, who were they?
Oh, they were. If we go into the earlier chapters of numbers, they are the ones who bore the heavier items of the Tabernacle, the boards, the heavy items, and these boards.
Two cubits are cubit and a half wide and 10 cubits high.
They were heavy, they could be three, 400 lbs, but they were given by the Princess of Israel.
Carts.
Four cards and six oxen to help them.
So they did not have to carry the burden of the Tabernacle without help, and so they knew what it was.
To be helped to have help of Jehovah, not having to go through the wilderness carrying those boards on their backs. There was something else that.
Where they did have to carry them on their shoulders, the sons of Kohath, that's another subject and precious in itself. But here were those who had helped in carrying their burdens, and they knew what it was to labor at the Causeway. And that's why.
They get Lord here supplies for helpers at the Causeway where at the summer house they didn't need for it, they just needed two.
And so.
I might ask, is anyone discouraged or does anyone think that he or she has to go through this scene alone? Not so.
Not so.
God provides and provides wisely and according to circumstances, and when the things grow rough, He will give more help. As he says, He will not cause us to be tried above what we are able to bear, but will, with the trial, make a way of escape. And that is God's way now of giving us the same thing, the same help.
As these who are going through the wilderness were helped by the children of Korah and the children of Mari, the children of of those who had mercy, the children of Cora died not notwithstanding.
And my rare I were the ones who bore the heavy articles of the temple, and I knew what it was to go through this scene and have to bear heavy burdens. And so God graciously provides for you and me.
For at the Causeway and two.
We thank him for this gracious.
Provision that He has made for us. We we know that the Lord cares for us, but He does give us the way of escape. And I believe that this is one instance where God does encourage us that we have this assurance that He will give us.
What we have need of?
Why? Why Me?
Children—Bob Brimlow
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One of my favorite hymns.
My favorite One of my favorite hymns is Jesus Loves Me.
Jesus loves me.
This I know it's #40.
Jesus loves me.
This I know, for the Bible tells me so.
When?
Yeah.
I'm going to read this next verse. Verse three it says Jesus loves me though I'm bad.
I'm bad.
I wonder how this fits the rest of us here.
How many of us can say, well, that's me?
That's me. I was bad. And you know the prophet Jeremiah says that the heart.
In effect, he says the heart is bad and we all have bad hearts. The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. And then the Lord says, I, the Lord search the heart. He looks down into your heart and mine and he knows everything that's in our heart. But you know, there's a wonderful thing about this, this verse, it says, and he waits to make me glad, glad that I have a bad wicked heart. No.
Glad that he loves me in spite of that. You know, the Lord Jesus didn't come into this world to make bad people good.
Some people think that they tried to be good and they tried to cover up and make out that they're good, when really they're bad inside and they say naughty things and they tell.
Naughty things and what we need is a new heart and that's what the Lord Jesus came into the world to do. He says I came to give them life. He wants to give us a new heart and that's why in the message that God has for you and me that he wants to give us a new life.
And that life is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so he says, he waits to make me glad, waits to fold me in his arm and keep me safe from every arm. Well, let's sing it. Jesus loves me, though I'm bad, and he waits to make me glad.
Way to hold me in his mind.
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She doesn't love me. He will stay.
Close beside me.
Till I die being well, thank you, being to know my mind and my heart.
Before we sing another song, let's ask the Lord's blessing on our time together.
I want to look at a word this morning. One word, one word, and the one word is why? Why?
Why? And I wonder if some boy or girl could tell me if they ever said to their mommy why you hold up your hand. She said why? OK, now I'm going to. I'm going to ask another. I'm going to ask this boy over here. Did you ask this boy over here? Can you look at Uncle Bob? What did you say to your mom? Some. Can you remember sometime? You said why? Mom? Can you remember an occasion? He said that to Mom.
But there was many times he said it right. Sometimes mom would want you to do something and you'd say, why mom? And she would say, well, because I said so That's generally one of the answers that we get. I can remember my some of my children, most all of them, they all at one time or another, they said, why dad?
Well, I said because there's a reason. There's a reason why that Daddy wants you to do something. And sometimes they would want to do something and I would have to say no and they would say why, why not?
You see, everything in this life has a 'cause there's a reason. And that's what I want to talk about this morning to you young people, that everything has a reason. And if I go back in the Old Testament, I read about Solomon. He said for everything there is a time. And he says there's a time to do one thing and it's a time to do something else. And sometimes we say to our mom and our dad, but why?
And maybe sometimes Mom says I want you to do the dishes and you say, why me? Have you ever said that? Why me? Yeah, I said it. Why me? Why can't my sister do them? Or my brother? I always have to do, you know. And then we get the old story about complaint. Why?
But I want to go to the most important why in the whole Bible. And it's in the 22nd Psalm. I don't know if all of you young people can find the 22nd Psalm, but there's a word that says why there, and that Y is the most important word I believe that you and I will ever know anything about in the Bible. And some people stumble at this Psalm and what the psalmist is saying.
Some people stumble at it, some people want to discuss it. But you know what I do? I just believe it what it says. But we get the answer in this Psalm, and it's in the first verse. It says why, why? One word why? WHY? And here's what it says. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Oh, why?
Why hast thou forsaken me?
You know, and the answer is so blessed and so wonderful because it tells us what's in the heart of God.
And it says, why art thou so far from helping me?
And we get the answer in the third verse. It says, but thou art holy. Thou art holy and the Lord Jesus on the cross. This is the very words that he cried out. And now I want to turn in the New Testament and find out where these words are. They're in the 27th chapter.
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Of Matthew.
And it's very significant that we get it in the very language of the time.
And it says verse 46 of Matthew 27. We get this word. Why again, why? Why? Why? Why?
About the 9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying Eli Eli.
Lama Sabachthani, that is to say, my God, My God, why?
Hast thou forsaken me? Why?
Why? I'm going to go over to another verse. It's in the 10th chapter.
I think it's a 10th no the 8th chapter of Second Corinthians.
And we're going to get our picture here that we can we can all read about.
It's the 8th chapter of Two Corinthians and it's the ninth verse, and I want you boys and girls to listen very carefully. See what it says. The apostle Paul is telling us something about the Lord Jesus Christ.
It says, For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich.
He was rich.
Ah, he was rich with the Lord Jesus Christ. Rich. Not when he was in this world, no, because we read that he was laid in a Manger and there was the cattle in the Manger and they, they wrapped him in a swaddling clothes and they put him in the mansion where the cow would eat the hay, is that right? Some of us are familiar with the story where most of us are familiar with the story about how the Lord Jesus was born there. They didn't have room for him in the inn, so they laid him in the Manger where the cattle would eat the straw and the hay, is that right?
And why did what? Was he poor when they laid him in the Manger? He was poor, wasn't he? Yeah. And so this verse says that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor.
Why, why, why did the Lord Jesus become poor?
Well, we get the answer in this verse that ye through his poverty might be rich. Through the Lord Jesus being poor, you and I might be rich.
Rich in glory. That's where the Lord Jesus came from. He was the eternal Son of God.
And he looked down back in the past eternity, and he saw you and me, and he even knew our names. He knew all about us because He's God. And from a past eternity he looked down into time, and he saw you and you and you and you and me.
And you know what he said to his father? He said, oh, I want them to be with me in the father's house.
That's what he said in effect, and that's what this verse is about. Though he was rich, he was gone, the eternal Son of God. And he looked down, and he saw you and me. And he says to his father, I want that little girl to be with me in the glory. I want that little boy to be with me in the glory. I want that man. I want that woman. I want that young person to be with me in the Father's house.
And if I could visualize, there was a stern look on the father's face.
And he shook his head.
Can't have them here.
Can have them here. Look at them. They're in their sins, their sins, all of their sins, that God is holy.
Can't have one sin in heaven.
One sin.
And the Lord Jesus says, I'll go down, I'll go down to that world and I'll bear their sins away on the cross. On the cross. Is that where he went? He went to the cross. And that's what this verse is talking about. He was poor.
But oh, how poor. You know, in the second chapter of Philippians it says even the death of the what? Who can tell me?
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Even the death of one of your boys remembers a kind of a death of Lord Jesus endured, and you and me.
What kind of a death did the Lord Jesus endure for you and me once?
The cross, that's what I was looking for. The even the death of the cross, was there a lower place that they could put a man? No, no, no lower place, you know, in the Psalms, In one of the psalms, the one deep said to the other, deep, is there a lower place? It says deep calleth unto deep. Is there a lower place? No lower place. Even the death of the cross, that's when he was poor.
When he hung on the cross.
I wonder how many of you remember that little chorus on the cross from me? Let's try. You know I always like to sing that that little song, because it comes right down to me. You know me.
11 Brother used to visit a lady that was very poor in Saint Louis, and he'd say, Sister, what's that favorite verse of yours? And she would say, the one that has me in it. Me. Oh, he says, you mean Galatians 220 the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Well, let's sing about it. I'll start it up and you can all chime in. And if you don't know it, you can learn it along with the rest of us. All right, on the cross for me.
On the cross for me.
Dying there in agony.
Jesus paid the price, himself the sacrifice.
On the cross for me. Let's try it again. Everybody raise your voice. On the cross for me. On the cross for me.
Dying there in agony.
Jesus paid the price.
Himself, the sacrifice.
On the cross for me and so this verse says, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich.
Yet for your sakes, he became poor, that ye, through his poverty, might be rich.
Oh, that's wonderful. Now I'm going to go to another verse over here in Ephesians.
It's Ephesians chapter 2.
And it's such a wonderful verse.
A patience, Chapter 2.
And it says verse 4.
Verse four and it has the word but.
Have any of you kids ever said to the to your mom or your dad? You know, they tell you to do something and you say, but mom, but mom, did you ever say that? Yeah, you said it. You know, I don't want to do that. But Mom. But it's a lot of butts in our life, isn't it? But Mom, do I have to? Well, here's another button. That's why I want to make the point. It's so wonderful. This is such a wonderful verse to my heart.
You know the scripture says with the heart man believeth unto righteousness. You know we might sing about how bad we are.
And we have to acknowledge that. But then we find the ****. But God, let's read it, it says. But God.
Who is rich in mercy for his great what?
Great love, great love.
Great love wherewith He loved us even when we were dead in sins.
Dead in sins, that's where we were.
That quickened us together with Christ. By grace you are saved.
And that wonderful, his great love. Now there's another word that goes along with this, but God, it says for God's soul loved. I wonder how big the word soul could go? How big is the word? So how many of you, how many of you people can remember?
When when you were a little a little person and mom said to you, how big are you?
How big are you and you would go something like this?
So big. Did you ever do that?
You guys didn't. What about your little girls? Did you ever go like that? So big? Maybe you forgot, but I remember when the little, the little baby would go like this and Mama would say, how big are you? The little baby would reach up his hands and mommy would say, so big. That's not very big though, is it? How big is God? How big is God's love for God, for God So loved the world. And you know, you can put your name right in there. I like to put my name in there.
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For God so loved Uncle Bob.
That he gave his only begotten Son. And you know, when I think of the cross, I think of the Lord Jesus with his arms out and he says, this is how much I loved you, Bob. This is how much I loved you. And you know, it touches my heart and you know, you and I need to have our hearts touched to think of how much he loved you and me. Now I'm going to I'm going to go to another verse.
Let's see, this verse is over in First Corinthians.
And.
I'm going to read it. I think it's an important verse to read.
Because it tells us the story about how the Lord Jesus came down from heaven.
One Corinthians 15 and it's the first. I think it's the first verse.
No, there's a little down. It's in the third verse. It's in the middle of the verse. It says Christ died for our sins.
Christ died for our sins. Where did he die for our sins? Who can tell me the name of the hill that the Christ died for our sins? It was a hill. Who can tell me what was the name? That's right. Calvary. Calvary Hill.
The hemorrhoidus has lifted up. Was he to die? It is finished. Was his crystal?
Then what? Let's read about it.
He died for our sins, and in verse four it says and he was buried.
He was buried. What did they call the place that he was buried? It starts with the letter S. Who can tell me it was called A? What can you remember?
Who can remember? What was it, honey?
This was after the cross was where they put the Lord's body. What was it? It starts with the letter S. Can you remember?
No, I didn't hear you.
Can you tell me sepulchre? That's right, they put him in a sepulchre.
They put him in a sepulchre. Let's read about it, it says. And he was buried and he was in a sepulchre.
And then look what it says the third day and he rose again.
The third day.
Did they have a big stone in front of this applicant? Is that what they had? You can remember it's a big stone, wasn't it? And what happened to the stone? What happened?
It got rolled away. That's what I wanted to hear. And that's something like our sins.
There was a song we used to sing rolled away, rolled away, rolled away. Every burden of my heart rolled away, rolled away. Up from the grave he arose. And so the stone was rolled away. And then what does it say?
And that he was seen of Cephas. Then of the 12 after that he was seen of above 500 brethren at once.
And then where did he go?
After 40 days he went back up to the Mount Olivet and it was received up into heaven. And the Angel said this same Jesus will come again in like manners. You've seen him go. So now there's a man in the glory. There's a man in the glory that said why?
Why? Why?
Because.
He loved you and he loved me. That's why he went all the way to the cross, all the way to the cross, because he loved sinners like you and me. And the Bible says without the shedding of blood, there's no remission, there's no cleansing. And I have all my sins, so great, so many. And sometimes I can remember when I was young, before I was saved, it was like a burden. It was like some great big thing that I didn't know how to handle.
Do you have some big thing you don't know how to handle? Dear young people, as you grow up, you find out that you've got something in here that's bad. It's a wicked heart. And the Lord Jesus says, I want to give you a new heart. And so we get burdened with our sins, burdened with our sins.
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But the Lord Jesus could say, when he was here, he that heareth my word.
You've heard his word, haven't you Heard about how he suffered on the cross? You've heard his word.
Let's turn over to that one in Luke.
Now I guess it's in Matthew. We want to look at it again. Just a few short minutes.
About the 9th hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, My God, my God, why hast thou? Why hast thou forsaken me?
And Jesus verse 51 He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost, and behold, the veil of the temple was rent and twained from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.
Oh God.
Saw a way that you and I could be brought to the Father's house.
Do I deserve to go there as a Sinner? No. In the third chapter of the Romans, it says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And sometimes people get angry about it when you tell them that they are a Sinner. They don't like to hear it. You and I don't like to hear that we're bad, that we're sinners before God.
Draw the Lord Jesus came down into this world because he loved sinners like you and me. He laid down his life for his sheep. And I want to turn over to the 10th chapter of John's Gospel. That's it.
Hear a story. Hear about the sheep. People know anything about sheep? You know something about sheep? What do you know about sheep? Have you seen sheep?
Are they? What? What did they say? Something like that? And the little baby sheep, what do they say? They say it's a higher pitched sound, isn't it? Yeah. And when have you seen a big flock of them or have you seen one or two?
Yeah, well.
There's many there's many wonderful stories about the sheep, but you know the Lord Jesus, he talks about his sheep in this chapter and I just wanted to read something it says in this one one verse he says.
I am in the John 10 and verse 11, he said. I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. The sheep.
And then he tells about the sheep.
But he that is a hireling and not the shepherd whose own the sheep or not, see at the wolf coming and leave it the sheep and flee it, and the wolf cateth them and scatter at the sheep. There's a ranch over in Washington. It's called the Johnson Sheep Ranch. And I, I knew one of the boys that was from that sheep ranch. And he told me that the coyotes used to come sneaking down and they would try to catch the little lambs.
And kill.
And he said that they used to get a gun.
They had a hunter and he came with a gun and he would try to shoot the coyotes and he would he would go out there and he would hunt for the coyotes. But, you know, there was something else that killed the sheep. He told me this himself. He said we had thousands of sheep and we had we had some shepherds that were very special shepherds. They're called Basque shepherds. Whoever heard of a Basque shepherd? Anybody ever hear of a Basque shepherd? Yeah. Where? Where do you think those shepherds come from? Well, they come from over in Europe and there are special shepherds. They know just how to take care of the sheep.
And they know how to call the sheep when it's dangerous. And when the coyotes are coming, he gets all the sheep together so that they're safe. Well, Mr. Johnson told me, he said, you know, we had another enemy of the sheep, and that was the cougar, the Mountain Lion, the Mountain Lion. And the Mountain Lion would crawl down from the mountain at night. And he said the Mountain Lion would would kill a whole bunch of sheep.
He said. And we used to get the hunter to go hunting for the mountain lions, to kill the mountain lions because we they would come down and they would kill the sheep without a good reason. They just were, they just were like they wanted to tear the sheep apart.
And I think in the story about King David, when he was a boy, he went out one day and there was a Mountain Lion. A lion. Well, I don't know if you'd call him a Mountain Lion. He was a lion and he grabbed one of the sheep.
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And you know what he did? He went right over to that lion, and he grabbed the sheep away from the lion and he hit.
He smoked it says he smoked the lion. He was able to kill the lion. Now something. Well, anyway, this story with Mr. Johnson, he told me that they, the government didn't want him to put the poison out anymore for the coyotes that would kill the sheep. And he said the coyotes were getting more and more and we didn't know what to do about it. And then he said the Cougars got more and more and, and we told, we asked the government to come and, and, and look at the situation.
And that's what makes me think about this hireling here. The government man was hired by the government. He didn't really love the sheep. But Mr. Johnson, he loved his sheep. Yeah. And so did all the shepherds that he had. He, Mr. Johnson, was like the chief shepherd, and he had all these other shepherds working for him. And those shepherds, they know how to take care of the sheep.
And one day the government man came and he told him, he said there's a cougar, there's a a Mountain Lion that wants to kill the sheep. And he said, so he says, you spend the night here and we'll go look around tomorrow morning. We'll see if the cougar killed any sheep.
And the next morning, Mr. Johnson woke up the government inspector man, the man who came from Washington, DC and he said, come on, we're going to go up on the hill. The cougar got ten of the sheep last night.
And you know what he did? He told me, he said Bobby said I took him up on the mountain to wear those 10 sheep were and we got 100 yards away and he said how much further? And he said it's just around this little bend right up here behind those rocks.
And you know what? The government man said he should stop right here.
He said, you say they're right around those rocks. He said, yeah, OK, so let's go back. He never looked at the sheep that was killed. He never went. He never even looked at the sheep that had been killed by the cougar.
And Mr. Johnson says, but you haven't seen him. That's all right, He says, You told me that the cheaper killed. I believe you.
And he went back and he wrote his report and he said in the report later Mr. Johnson told me, he said I did not see any dead sheep that had been killed by the cougar.
Didn't see any dead sheep that were killed by the cougar he didn't want to recognize.
The terror of that Mountain Lion that would kill the sheep.
And so Mr. Johnson didn't have any help from the government about the matter. The government says, well, you don't have a problem.
You know Satan wants to tell you and me that we don't have a problem.
The God of this world is Satan. He's like a lion. He goes around. He's like a roaring lion. And you know what he wants to do? He wants to deceive you and he wants to deceive me and say this. Nothing to be worried about. No, I wouldn't kill you. You wouldn't get in trouble if you did what I tell you. And the devil wants to whisper in your ear and mind. Have a good time.
It doesn't really matter. And I want to turn you over now to a verse in the Old Testament. It's in the book of Ecclesiastes.
And this, this maybe would be to some of the older young people here this morning, some of you younger ones, I want you to listen to it because it's the word of God. But I'm going to ask the older ones, have you ever been angry about something?
Have you ever been angry when mom or dad told you not to do something and you said why?
Or they wanted you to do something and you said I don't want to. You never said that, did you? I said it I don't want to.
And you know who was listening in when I said that?
Satan, Satan.
He was listening in, he said. You're right, Bob, you're right. Tell him you don't want him.
The will was at work, wasn't it? You know, you and I all have a will that's against the Lord. It's against the Lord and his love. We don't want to hear his voice. We don't want to listen to the word of God. And so there's a verse here in Ecclesiastes in the.
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And the 11TH chapter and the ninth verse. And I'm going to read this because I think we need to address this once in a while.
And it might help you and me figure out where am I? What am I here for?
You know, the street questions that we addressed in the prison with the prisoners. Where did I come from? What am I here for and where am I going?
And this might be a good question this morning for you young people. Where did you come from?
And what are you here for? And where are you going? Oh, you know, on the 15th of Luke, the young man, he, he, he knew where he wanted to go. He wanted to go away from the father's house, didn't he? And what did he do when he got away from the father's house? It says he wasted, he wasted, he wasted. Do you want to waste your life away from the Father's house, from the heart of God?
Well, that's what we are. When the Satan gets into our ear and he says no, there's no sheep. Sheep don't get killed on the Johnson ranch. You'll go out and have a good time. There's nothing that will hurt you out there.
Slain the slain. The slain lay about the streets. Yeah, and the sheep lay slain among the rocks, because why, the lion got the advantage over them. Rejoice so young man, and thy youth. Verse 9 Ecclesiastes 11 Rejoice so young woman in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth.
And walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes.
I can remember a man in the Navy when I was in the service. He says to me, Brimelow, tell us about, tell us about what the Bible says.
And they, some of them had been out, you know, doing bad things that night. Maybe they'd come in late at night and they'd say, tell me something from the Bible and I'll read this to them. Well, I said, I want to give you the philosophy of Solomon. Oh, yeah. OK, let's hear it. Here it is.
Walk in the ways of thine heart and in the sight of thine eyes. I said, what do you think of that? They said that's neat. I like that. Young people, do you like that philosophy?
The will at work, your will at work. It's like the two sons that the man had. He says go work in my field today and he says I will not, I will not.
But afterwards he repented, he came back and he worked for his father and he was happy. The other one says I will, but he never went.
Phony. Phony. Are you phony? Am I phony? Am I just putting on an act in this life to make it look good that I look like a nice person?
When I would go to the woman's prison, I would stand up and I would tell those, those poor souls.
They have souls, you know that God loves. They have hearts. They Christ died for the for The Who, for the ungodly. And I would tell them this word. I have a heart that's no better than the worst person in this prison, the worst person in this prison.
Well, one day I got saved and the Lord gave me a new heart.
Then I tell them about the wonderful love of Christ and how he wants to give them a new life. And the apostle Paul could say, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, he's a new creature, he has a new life.
And the apostle Paul could say the Son of God.
Who loved me? It comes down to #1 doesn't me? Let's read the rest of this. I'd read the first half of this verse and they said, that's very nice. Is that in the Bible? It says in the Bible. But let me read the rest of it. But know thou that for all these things.
For all these things, all what things? Doing your own will, doing your own will, all of your sins, so great, so many, could you count them? No, you couldn't count them, but God counts them. He's got them all written down in His book. We get away with nothing. It says, whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. Look what it says. But know thou that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Therefore remove something from thy heart.
This is good. This is the point in the margin, I think it says anger.
Anger. Yeah, this is anger. Are you angry about something?
You know it. It's just like a resentment down there in the bottom of your heart and you don't know what to do about it.
You're angry, You know. Some of them are angry with the brethren, the brethren this and the brethren that. Some are angry with the Father or their mother, and that anger goes on and on and on. It's a root of bitterness, bitter anger against somebody. Why?
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Because they want to do their own will.
The prodigal son, he says. Father, give me. Give me what's coming to me.
His father gave it to him.
You went into the far country, therefore remove anger from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh. For childhood and youth or vanity. There's a time, cometh boys and girls, when you and I have to grow up. And the big question is why?
Why? Why am I here?
Why am I here? I'm here to learn about God. I'm here to learn that in the beginning, God.
In the beginning, God, we start with God.
And then we learn what's in his heart. You know what? What drove Adam and Eve into the woods?
What drove them into the woods? Conscience. The guilty conscience drove them into the woods.
God had to say, Adam, where are you? You know the Lord says the same thing to you tonight, this morning, where are you?
And you want to hide because of what? Your sins?
The hemorrhoid puts it so simply, All our sins so great, so many, and his blood are washed away. Conscience now no more condemns us for His own most precious blood. Once for all has washed and cleanses, cleanses broadest night to God.
I'm going to try to teach you a hymn in closing.
Some of you know it. This is the one about the Lord laying down his life for the sheep. I'm going to sing it for you. If anyone that knows it. Join in with me will get it started. He lay down his life for his sheep. He laid down his life for his sheep. This shepherd so kind had me in his mind when he lay down his life for his sheep.
Let's try it together. He lay down his life for his sheep. He lay down his life for his sheep. This shepherd so kind heart me in his mind.
When he laid down his life for his sheep, well, let's just ask the Lord's blessing.
Jonathan, Individual Faithfulness
Resurrection Life
Address—C. Hendricks
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.
Please open to John's Gospel.
Chapter 20.
Verse one.
The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and sayeth unto them. They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
Peter therefore went forth and that other disciple and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher. And he's stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying yet when he not in.
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
Then went in also that other disciple which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and believed, for as yet they knew not the Scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre, weeping.
And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre. And seeth 2 angels in white sitting the one at the head and the other at the feet, were the body of Jesus had lain.
And they say unto her, Woman, Why weepest thou, She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord.
And I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?
Whom seekest thou she, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary.
She turned herself, and saith unto him, Raboni, which is to say, master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her. Then 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.
Unto them peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He showed unto them his hands at his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father hath sent me, Even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and sayeth unto them, Receive you the Holy Ghost.
Whosoever sins ye remet, they are remitted unto them.
And whosoever sends you retain, they are retained.
And a few verses in Luke 8, verse 2.
And certain women which had been healed of evil spirits.
And infirmities.
Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod, Stewart, and Susanna, and many others which ministered unto him.
Of their substance.
I read this passage so that we might appreciate.
A little more turning back to John 20 that Mary Magdalene.
One who had been completely under the power of Satan.
Possessed of seven demons.
And after she had been healed.
After the Lord had cast out thee the demons.
It was her privilege to minister to him of her substance. She was evidently a man, a woman of wealth and means.
And yet she had been under the power of Satan.
For that, that affects everyone, whether one is poor or rich.
She had an affection for the Lord.
That comes out here.
More than anyone else, it would seem, there was Mary of Bethany, characterized by intelligence in the Lord's mind, she seems to have been the only one that really entered into the truth of His resurrection.
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Mary Magdalene was drawn here to his tomb.
Because of her love and her affections for him.
Verse one, the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early.
When it was yet dark unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.
This wasn't done to let the Lord out.
It was done to show those that would come that he was out.
That he was not there.
Nothing could contain him.
Death could not hold him, the sepulchre could not contain him.
He was risen.
And Mary Magdalene comes first.
And she saw this, that he was gone.
Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved.
It's beautiful how John the writer of this gospel.
Hides himself under that expression, the disciple whom Jesus loved.
It's an expression that was true of him, but it can be true of each of us.
As we take the place of the disciple whom Jesus loved.
And she saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre.
Notice when she's speaking to Peter and John, she says they have taken away the Lord. He was their Lord as well as hers. And so she uses that expression. They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre. She had no idea, no thought yet of resurrection.
Didn't understand that truth.
Mary of Bethany evidently did, but not Mary of Magdala. But it was her affections for him that brought her there.
And she makes this announcement. They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they laid him.
We don't get anything in John's gospel about the Roman guards that were set there.
And how that Matthew tells us they were struck dumb when the angels came. We don't get that detail.
But she says they have taken away the Lord.
And we don't know where they've laid him.
Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together, And the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying. Yet went he not in.
We will read.
Just a few verses later.
What he actually saw here it just says he saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in? Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie.
And the napkin.
That was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. They saw a picture of complete order.
No haste.
No.
Emergency in stealing his body.
Now, if you know how the body was wrapped, it was wrapped.
With linen.
Many wrappings.
And it was mixed with.
Ointment.
Embalming fluid.
This is the way they wrap the bodies.
And he had risen out of that.
And they saw that.
And the napkin that was upon his head had been taken off, and he had folded it up and set it.
By itself.
It was a picture of order. No haste, nothing hurried, hurriedly done.
But uh.
A scene that was so convincing.
That he had risen.
For them to have unwrapped those clothes.
In the condition that they saw them.
And the napkin laid by itself, neatly folded.
In a separate place, for that to have been done by those that would come there, and with a hurried work.
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Remove his body.
They saw that evidence before their eyes.
Says in verse 8.
Then went in also that other disciple which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and believed.
The evidence was compelling.
He was risen.
For as yet they knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. He had told them repeatedly that he would suffer and be killed and the third day rise again. But they didn't understand that, saying it was hid from them.
Amazing that the Jews.
Who went to Pilate and said that? Deceiver said that at three days he would rise again. They seemed to have understood the Lord's words, but His own didn't.
Strikingly strange, but it's so it is recorded in scripture.
Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
Now before I go on in this chapter, this chapter is the chapter of the resurrection. It records the second most mighty and wondrous event that's ever taken place in this world, the resurrection of Christ. The previous chapter records his death.
His death.
Death.
A death which at the end of his sufferings, he cries. It is finished with a loud voice. Finished one word.
Which is rendered in three in the English.
Word finished.
The work was finished. What was finished? Can you think of anything that wasn't finished? All that was necessary to bring your soul and mind into the very presence of God? Finished. God glorified our sins, put away the whole question of good and evil entered into between God and that blessed sufferer on the cross. That was finished.
Tremendous work.
Turning back for a moment to the 12TH chapter of this very gospel.
John 12.
The Lord Jesus says in verse 23.
Jesus answered them, saying the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
There's a theory.
That when Christ became a man, he united himself to humanity. Well, if that were true, then he would have united himself to sinful humanity. No, there's no union between God, between Christ and man in the incarnation.
It's striking, isn't it? That the incarnation or the birth of Christ is coming into this world is only recorded in two of the Gospels, but his death and his resurrection are recorded in all four, because it is that which forms the basis for our blessing, that which has brought glory to God. Of course, his coming into this world, his incarnation, recorded in Matthew and in Luke, not in Mark, not in John.
And especially not in John, because there he was the.
Eternal Son, the eternal Word, God manifest in the flesh. It speaks of it in John 114. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, but the details of His coming are not given to us as we have it in Matthew and in Luke, but we have beautiful instruction as to His death now going on in John 12 he says.
The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verse 24. Verily, verily, I say unto you.
Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.
Tremendous truth in that verse. If Christ had not died and gone into death and been raised from the dead, there would be no fruit for God.
There be no fruit there be. He couldn't bring us back with him.
But he came to bring us, and so that corn of wheat died.
He could have gone back to heaven without the cross, but He couldn't have taken us with Him, and He came. One of the purposes, of course, was to bring us with Him back to glory.
So the corn of wheat has died, and in that death there is much fruit.
For God. Now let's go back to John 20.
In verse 11.
Mary stood without it, the sepulcher weeping.
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Verse 10 says, Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
They saw that he was gone. They still didn't know that he must rise again. Verse 9 says that for as yet they knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.
Just what their thoughts were, we're not told. Who would have taken away his body? Whatever their thoughts were, were not told. But they go to their own home. They still had a home here on earth.
But Mary didn't.
She had lost everything.
She was so attached to him.
That when he was gone, she had lost everything.
So she stood at the sepulchre, the last place that she had seen him being laid.
At the Sepulcher.
Weeping.
And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre.
And seeth something that Peter and John didn't see. She seeth 2 angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. Peter and John had seen the evidence, the compelling evidence that he was risen out of that condition of death that he had been in. He had risen.
But she doesn't. She now sees these two angels.
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?
I don't know if there's another instance where someone sees angels and is not struck with fear.
But it were not recorded of any fear in Mary's heart here.
She was in such sorrow and such grief that.
The appearance of the angels, the presence of the angels did not really.
Draw her attention.
They say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?
She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord.
Have taken away my Lord, she had said to Peter and John.
The Lord, they've taken away the Lord, but now she says they've taken away my Lord.
And I know not where they have laid him.
Still no idea of the resurrection.
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back.
And saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus.
It may have still been dark.
May have been the beginning of dawn. It took some time. She first came there, it was dark so it took some time for her to go back and tell the the Peter and John that he wasn't there.
And they came to see, and they saw and believed.
But the tears are still streaming down her face.
And her vision is blurred.
And she didn't understand, she did not recognize him. She knew not that it was Jesus.
Jesus saith unto her woman.
Why weep this thou?
And all those tears, how they filled his heart with joy as he realized the love that she had for him.
Why weepest thou?
Whom seekest thou?
She's supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
There's something extremely beautiful.
In her not naming his name.
Him. There's only one.
It reminds me of the Song of Solomon where the bride says let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.
For thy love is better than wine.
Heaven, there's only one. And for her to have lost him.
Was to have lost everything. This world was now, to her, a graveyard.
Tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her.
Mary.
Again, that reminds us of John 10, where the Lord says He calleth his own sheep by name and leadeth them out. He leads them out of Judaism into the blessedness of Christianity. It's exactly what he's going to do here with Mary of Magdala.
To lead her out from her Jewish thoughts, she was looking for a Messiah to set up the Kingdom, to establish Israel as the head of the nations. She had lost him once, now she found him again, and she immediately is about to lay hold upon him to.
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Touch him to handle him.
And so he says immediately to her.
Touch me not.
For I am not yet ascended to my father.
But go unto my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God. In Matthew 28 it says that the women held him by the feet.
An apparent contradiction to what we have here, where he says to Mary, touch me not.
Not yet ascended to my Father, Christianity begins on the other side of the cloud with this Blessed One ascending to the Father and seating himself at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
And then from that exalted place in heaven he sends down the Holy Spirit. But here, now he gives her a message, a message so wonderful, no more wonderful message has ever been given.
Go to my brethren.
Those that were his disciples, His Jewish disciples here below, when he was here, He now calls them my brethren. And tell them, I ascend unto my Father, and to your Father, to my God, and to your God. He puts them in his own place before God and before the Father.
So that they could know him.
Be in relationship to him.
Even as he was as the blessed man.
Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father.
But go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my father, and your father to my God, and your God.
He had done the work.
That had removed their sins, that had removed everything that stood against His, bringing them into the blessedness of this nearness that He unfolds in this short message to Mary, which she then brings to the disciples. Go to my brethren and tell them this. He puts them in His place before God and before the Father.
My Father and my God.
He was always his father from all eternity. That was a relationship which he knew from all eternity. And now that he had become man, he could call him also my God. Thou art my God, even from my mother's belly, ever since he entered his creation and became a servant.
Blessed dependent man, he could address him as my God.
And we know the only time that he actually used those words was on the cross when he was forsaken of God. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
This is the second time that He uses them. He's not addressing Him now. He was on the cross, but here He's telling Mary to tell the disciples, called them my brethren, and that He puts them in His place before the Father and before God.
He was about to re enter the glory.
He says in John 17, Glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. But then he's asking to be reinstated into that glory that He had with the Father as the eternal Son, to be reinstated into it as man.
And here he's telling Mary, I'm going to bring multitudes with me as my brethren, those who are in my place before the Father and before God, so that they can call them, call him our Father and our God.
The Epistles.
None of them.
Use the expression Heavenly Father the Lord taught the disciples His Jewish disciples when He was here on earth.
To pray to our Father which art in heaven, or our heavenly Father. But this is something even more precious than that. The epistles address the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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That's in keeping with what we have here.
He is to us as God what He was to that blessed man as God.
He is to us as Father what He was to Him, that blessed man, the Lord Jesus as Father.
He's put us in his own place, and in order for that to be accomplished, He has to give us of His own resurrection life.
When we're born again by the Spirit, we receive divine life.
Its eternal life, no question about it.
But the full character of it was never known in the Old Testament, couldn't be known until he who was the eternal Son, the eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested to us as man, came into the scene. And now we see what eternal life is in a man. We see it in Christ as he walked down here.
That eternal life that was with the Father and was manifested to us.
And he's going to give that life to us in the power of the Spirit of God.
Well, let's go on. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her.
Then the same day now as a result of this.
Carrying the message that the Lord had told Mary Magdalene to take to the disciples.
That very same day, at evening, being the first day of the week, the same day he rose when he appeared to marry, she had come in the early morning, when it was still dark, had received this most blessed of messages.
When the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you as a result of this.
Message my brethren. Go to them. Tell them I ascend to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God. They're now assembled together.
They've been brought together by the reception of this wonderful message from the lips of the Lord Jesus, passed to them through Mary.
This one that had such affection for the Lord Jesus.
And now they're together, and now he stands in their midst, a little picture before the church was even formed of Christianity, the Christian company, these that he's in the midst of are the very ones that would compose the church when they received the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. They're the ones that would be brought into that blessedness.
But now he appears in their midst.
And they were there with the door shut, for fear of the Jews. Jesus stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. He brings the fruit of his work, and that's peace.
Peace. When we enter into the work of Christ, we have peace. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The sin question is settled. Peace with God. I'll never be called into judgment for my sins. Peace with God, that's the first message he proclaims.
And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands in his side, and now they see him.
The fruit of His work proclaimed brings peace, and now they see Him, and then with the disciples glad when they saw the Lord joy. Peace as a result of His work, joy as a result of His person.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. This is the second time he mentions it. This time not for themselves, but that they would carry that message of peace to others. As my Father hath sent me, Even so send I you.
And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Immediately when we read this, we think of let's turn back to Genesis chapter 1 and 2. I'll read a few verses from Genesis chapter 1.
We think of the creation of man.
In the creation of man as recorded in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 21, it says God created great whales and every living creature that moveth.
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Which the waters brought forth abundantly.
And so on.
And in verse.
25 God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and God saw that it was good. But now there's a change in verse 26.
God said, let us, God goes into conference with himself three Persons in the Trinity, the three Persons conferring together, as it were, taking counsel together at the creation of man. And God says, let us make man in our image after our likeness, And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God that created him.
Majestic language. Man's origin comes directly from God, and that's why he's called the Son of God. The Son of God by creation, directly from the hand of God.
The Lord Jesus was the Son of God by eternal generation, never created, He was always that. But man was the Son of God by creation Adam was.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created him.
Male and female created he them and in the 2nd chapter we have an additional.
Additional comment I'll read verse 19 first. Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them.
So the animals, the birds were created out of the dust of the ground. Verse 7 says the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground.
And and then now we read so, so Adam was also created out of the dust of the ground, just like the bird, just like the animals.
But there was something in addition to the birds and the animals.
And he breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Jehovah God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living soul, a living soul, a soul that would never die, a living soul. We call that immortality. The soul that will never die. Man has an immortal soul. It will not die. His body dies, but not his soul, not his spirit, because he received it directly from the in breathing.
God, so man is a unique creation.
He came about as a result of God conferring among himself as the three Persons of the Trinity and.
He was created in the image and likeness of God. The 3rd chapter of Genesis tells us how that he fell and lost that likeness and the image has been marred. Man is a poor representation of God today because he's fallen into sin.
And he certainly no longer in his likeness.
Is not pure any longer. He is a wretched, guilty, wicked Sinner.
But here we have now.
The head of a new creation. Christ in resurrection going to John 20 again. Christ in resurrection.
A quickening spirit.
And he appears to his disciples, stands in their midst, pronounces peace to them twice, the first time for themselves, the second time with a message that they should go forth to others and bear this message of peace to the lost.
And then he communicates his own resurrection life to them.
In the power of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 23 again, verse 22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them or into them, just like Jehovah, just like he had done, for it's the same person that breathed into Adam's nostrils the breath of life.
That now breathes into the disciples nostrils, as it were, the breath of his resurrection life.
And our whole portion.
With him is in resurrection.
When he had said this, he breathed on them, and sayeth unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Now we know that the Holy Spirit was not actually given as a divine person until the 2nd chapter of Acts.
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But we have these two mentions of the Spirit being given first here in John 20 from the risen Christ, the one who was, who is the Head now of a new creation.
Communicating His own resurrection life to His disciples so that they might be able to know God as as He knew Him, know the Father as He knew Him, that they might become His brethren in an intimacy of relationship never known before as a result of the work that He did on the cross. John 19 is the work of the cross. The putting away of everything that stood against us, the removing of the history of.
The judgment against the flesh and all that we were.
In our sins and all that we were in our nature, were dealt with at the cross.
And now Christ is risen.
The only connection that we have with Christ is in resurrection, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die to bite it alone. But if it diet bringeth forth much fruit.
We have no connection with him in his life before death.
He was born of a woman born under the law, but now he is no longer under the law. Now he is no longer subject to having, I don't want to say subject to because he wasn't subject to death, but he and Grace did die. But now that he's risen, he's in a new order, a new condition of things as the Risen 1 And he communicates to you and to me that.
In those conditions, in that character by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
If any man be in Christ.
He is a new creature. Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet we know Him thus no longer. Mary knew him after the flesh. She knew him as her Messiah, and she wanted him back in that way. And she goes to grab him, to lay hold upon him, and he says, touch me not.
I've not yet ascended to my father. You're going to be brought into relationship with me, Mary, in a way that will never end.
It will go on for all eternity. You lost me once. You don't want to lose me a second time, but you'll never lose me again.
I am going to give you my own resurrection life, a life which is beyond death.
A life which is beyond the law and the curse of the law. A life which is beyond suffering. A life which is beyond sin. Life which is in resurrection, a new position before God.
Quickened together with him of his own resurrection life.
Raised up together with him.
And finally, Ephesians 2 Says seated in him.
In the heavenlies. We're not with him there yet, we're not seated with him there yet, but we are quickened with him and risen with Him.
Even now.
The life that we have in our souls is resurrection life, a life that is beyond the reach of sin and death and the curse and the law.
And condemnation.
There is then now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. You cannot attach condemnation to the risen life of Christ. And we stand before God in Christ, risen, exalted, and seated at the right hand of God.
Blessed truth. We can point to the man that's in the glory and say my life is there.
Christ, who is our life, When he shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory. He's also our righteousness. He's also our sanctification. He's also our redemption.
Indeed, we have it all in Him. It's our wisdom too.
God has made him to be that to us, and here we have him.
Breathing his own resurrection life in the power of the Holy Spirit. What characterizes Christianity is that we are now risen.
Risen, not just quickened, not just have a new life.
But a resurrection life? Life in resurrection conditions.
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Heavenly people.
Now turn to Romans. Well, before I leave this passage, I want to touch on verse 23.
Having communicated resurrection life, the risen Christ as the head of a new creation.
He brings us now into association with Himself in resurrection.
Having removed in his death all that hindered the establishment of this blessedness.
That's all been taken out of the way. Our sins, the very nature.
That we can never enter heaven with has been condemned and judged and put away.
At the cross.
God condemned sin in the flesh, foretold and romancing.
That was at the cross, and now he's risen into a new order.
Of things altogether. And he's given us the same life.
So that we also are united with him now by the Spirit in resurrection life.
One with him.
To be in the enjoyment of our portion.
In the Spirit.
He says in verse 23, Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them.
He says this to this company of risen, quickened and risen.
Quickened with the life that is in Christ and risen with Him. He says it to this company that are in that position.
He says whosoever sends you remit, they are remitted, and whosoever sends you retain, they are retained. And it's important to remark that in John 20 he's not addressing the apostles exclusively, he's addressing the disciples.
Verse 19 the same day at evening being the first day of the week, where the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews. There wasn't just the apostles there, there were other disciples. It's the, it's, it's that which speaks of the Christian company.
That which would become the Christian Church.
This company of Jews here.
Were now being instructed in the highest truth.
And the Lord is going through in His instruction here, that they are being brought into an altogether new order of blessedness, never known before in the power of the Spirit, and they are given administrative authority to remit and to retain sins.
Administrative authority.
Look at Acts chapter 2 for a moment.
Acts Chapter 2.
Peter preaches on the day of Pentecost.
And.
He says to them, to these Jews.
In verse 37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what should we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for their remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
And with many other words did, he testified exhort, saying, save yourselves from that, from this untoward generation.
There were 120 that were baptized by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and now he's preaching and now there are 3000 souls that are received into that Christian community whose sins are administratively remitted them and they're received as Christians.
Then they had gladly received His word, were baptized in the same day they were added unto them about 3000 souls, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking your bread and in prayers. There is such a thing as being.
Within and without.
Do not ye judge them that are within? Paul says to the Corinthians. But them that are without God judgeth.
And so there's such a thing as being admitted administratively into the Christian community, and the Lord confers that privilege upon these that had his own resurrection life.
In Acts chapter 8.
We have another illustration of this.
Verse 18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money.
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Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands he may receive the Holy Ghost. Now Simon had been baptized, it says in verse 13. And Simon himself believed also. And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and the signs which were done. So he was a baptized soul.
But now Simon.
Peter says to him in verse 20.
Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. He retains his sins, and the Christian community did the same.
Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray, God, of perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. That answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which thou hast spoken come upon thee.
Though as a result of this, I don't believe there's any doubt that.
He was not received into the Christian community, not acknowledged as being one of them. He was false, and he was exposed immediately, even though he had been outwardly identified with them first by baptism, and yet he was not received by them administratively. They retained.
His sins.
Has nothing to do with eternal forgiveness, but its administrative.
Forgiveness or retaining of sins.
Acts Chapter 9 is another illustration of what we have in our chapter in John 20.
Acts Chapter 9. Saul of Tarsus is converted in verse 22. Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
And after that many days were fulfilled. The Jews took counsel to kill him. But they are lying. Await was known of Saul, and they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples. Again. It's the disciples.
But they were all afraid of Him, and believed not that he was a disciple. They refused to receive him.
They retained his sins.
They did not remit them administratively, they refused to grant him fellowship.
But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. Now they remit his sins.
Administratively, and now he can move among the disciples.
Those that name the name of the Lord Jesus and he was received.
The last instance I want to bring your attention to is 1 Corinthians 5.
1St Corinthians 5 We know the story. We know the chapter.
Umm, verse 12. I've already quoted this, I'll read it.
What have I to do to judge them also that are without those that aren't Christians?
Do not ye judge them that are within. That's the responsibility of the Christian community we have been given in because we have resurrection life with Christ administrative responsibilities to retain or remit sins.
Do not ye judge them that are within them that are without God judgeth.
Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person. So they retained this man's sins, Put him out.
Now in the 2nd chapter of the second epistle.
We'll see that.
They exercise that administrative function.
In a different way.
In chapter 2 of Second Corinthians.
Verse 6 He says sufficient to such a man is this punishment which was inflicted of many.
They had retained his sins. They had fixed his sins upon him and put him out.
And now Paul says his punishment is enough.
Evidently he had repented, and he showed evidence of his true repentance. So that contrary wise, you ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with excessive sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that you would confirm your love toward him.
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And they received him back, and so they remitted his sins.
And I believe that's what we have in John 20.
It's for the whole Christian community.
There is a within and a without.
People don't just come and put themselves into fellowship on their own. That's irregular.
I know there's one instance, we were talking about it today when one did that. Very irregular.
It's the Christian community's responsibility to retain and remit sins administratively.
And that's what we have in John 20.
Well, time is up. I just want to call your attention to Romans 8, please, for a moment.
We started a bit late so I haven't gone over yet.
Romans 8.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in.
Christ Jesus, we have his life, His resurrection life.
No condemnation can be attached to that life. We have it in a new position.
Before God we are as he is before God. There is therefore now no condemnation.
To them which are in Christ Jesus. And notice verse 2. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. These first.
Um 11 verses of Romans 8.
Are examples of the Spirit in the character of John 20.
Receive you, the Holy Ghost.
As characterizing the risen life that we have in Christ, to which no condemnation can be attached.
It's the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
The Spirit of God characterizing and associating himself with that resurrection life.
Of Christ.
And it has. It is the power of deliverance. Notice we'll read it again. The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Go back to verse 23 in Chapter 7 and see the contrast to one who who had life but not the Spirit. I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
So there he's a captive to the law of sin, which is in his members. But the man in Romans 8 who has the Spirit of God as life is delivered from that law, sin and death, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, that made me free from the law of sin and death.
Well, we don't have time to go through the rest of these verses in Romans 8, but we have in these first 11 verses what answers to John 20 when we receive the Spirit of God today, when someone believes the gospel receives Christ for the forgiveness of his sins, he's sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is given. He has the Spirit both as life and as a person indwelling him, which is what you get in Acts 2 when the Spirit of God actually was poured out.
Upon the discipled and baptized them into one body. So both the John 20 aspect of the Spirit as the power of risen life with Christ and also as a divine person indwelling us. Acts 2 are given to us when we believe the gospel today they are separated in scripture so that we can see.
The different character of the of the Spirit as life and characterizing the risen life we have in Christ.
John 20 And also as an indwelling person, making these bodies the temple of the Holy Spirit. Both are true in Christianity, and both are most blessedly wonderful.
Bringing us into an order of blessedness never never known before. And that couldn't be until.
Christ became a man, and as a man he died and put away all that stood against us.
Ended the history of the first man.
God judged sin in the flesh. All that we were was judged and set aside, as well as all that we have done. And now we stand before God in the risen life of Christ. No condemnation.
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In Christ Jesus, how can there be any condemnation attaching to that risen life? Impossible.
And that's what we have in him.
And so we are new creatures in Christ, brought into a new creation, one with Him in resurrection. Could not be united to him in incarnation. Impossible.
He would have partaken of our sinfulness. That's impossible. Instead, now we partake of His Holiness, and that's what we've been brought into in resurrection life.
The Righteousness of God
Address—C. Hendricks
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Please turn with me this afternoon to 2nd Corinthians chapter 3. I'm going to read 2 Chapters.
We start with chapter 3, verse one. Do we begin again to commend ourselves?
Or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men.
As much as you are manifestly declared to be the Epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
And such trust have we through Christ to God. Word not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.
But if the ministration of death written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth administration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect.
By reason of the glory that excellent for a fact which is done away with glorious much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech. And that is Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.
But their minds were blinded, for until this day remain at the same veil, untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.
Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.
Even as by the Spirit of the Lord, therefore, seeing we have this ministry.
As we have received mercy, we think not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty.
Not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
But if our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.
Bless the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord in ourselves. Your servants for Jesus sake. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, had shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
That the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are all we delivered unto death for Jesus sake. That the.
Of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you, we having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written. I believe, and therefore have I spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the Thanksgiving of many.
Down to the glory of God, for which 'cause we think not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
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For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen.
Are eternal.
Chapter 4 begins with Therefore, seeing we have this ministry as we have received mercy, we think not.
This ministry.
And all. What a ministry it is.
This ministry that he's referring to, in order to understand what he's referring to, we have to look at the previous chapter. And that's why I read chapter 3.
Like to quickly go through that.
He begins by saying in chapter 3, do we begin again to commend ourselves, or need we as some others, epistles of commendation or letters of commendation from you?
To you or from you, They were his epistle. He says, Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. They had received the gospel through Paul. Some were discrediting him, questioning his apostleship, speaking against him, and so on.
You say you are.
You are our epistle.
And then he says something even more precious and deep. He says in verse 3, For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ.
Ministered by us. How did you become the Epistle of Christ? Known and read of all men? The assembly there at Corinth was the Epistle of Christ.
And.
The way a local assembly goes on.
Is read by those around.
It's good to remember that we are each local assembly is an epistle of Christ.
Paul says ministered by us. It's not just that we individually are such. He doesn't say ye are the epistles of Christ, as though it applies to each one individually, but it's the, I think the collective thought.
The Epistle of Christ.
Christ has been written upon our hearts. He goes on to say that.
He says that this truth that you have received, the light that has been brought to you, which you have received and accepted, was ministered by us.
Written not with ink.
Not an epistle such as this, written with ink that I can pick up and read in a book.
But with the Spirit of the living God.
An epistle, the Epistle of Christ, written by the Spirit.
Of the living God, not on tables of stone. Referring to the Law 10 commandments.
But on fleshy tables of the heart.
The Spirit of God writing Christ on the heart of each one.
Who is his? And so that collectively we can be described as the epistle of Christ, not only Paul's epistle.
Because he's the one that brought the truth to them. But the epistle of Christ, and who has written Christ on the hearts of the Saints, the Spirit of God.
The Spirit of the living God.
And not on tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.
And such trust have we through Christ to God. Word.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.
He says, yes, we did minister those truths to you. The truth of the gospel and the Spirit of God has written Christ upon your heart, and you are the epistle of Christ to live for him. You're his now. You belong to him. And every Christian, whether viewed individually or the assembly collectively, ought to be a manifestation of Christ.
Christ, the Spirit of God, is here for one purpose, to glorify Christ.
To write Him upon our hearts and to magnify Him before everyone. That's why we're here. That life of Christ that was lived in its blessed perfection in the person of the Son, become a man, has now been given to you and to me. We had that before us.
The other night. Friday night.
Communicates to us His own resurrection life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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And here the Spirit of God writes.
Christ upon a fleshly tables of our heart.
And Paul says we're not sufficient for these things.
But he says in verse 6, Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament?
The new translation gives it.
In the margin, literally, who also have made us new covenant ministers. That's really what it is. New covenant ministers in contrast with the law, not of the letter.
But of the Spirit.
For the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
The letter killeth the letter of the law.
Legalism is deadly.
And.
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of liberty.
And he has written Christ upon our hearts.
The New Covenant is all grace. It's not, as it reads here exactly, ministers of the New Testament or the New Covenant. The New Covenant is to be established with the House of Judah and the House of Israel.
We Gentiles who believe are not in covenant relationship to him. We're not under the new covenant. But the principle of the new covenant is grace. Paul was a new covenant minister. He was the minister of grace.
And so that's what he's talking about here, in contrast with law, the grace of God, which has brought us into such immense blessing.
Now he describes the old covenant he describes.
Effect that it had upon the Israelites. The law. The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And Paul was a new covenant minister. He was a minister of grace.
Grace of God blessing men, the blessings of the new Covenant.
Are not conditioned upon man's obedience.
Given by God's grace, they are absolutely secure to our, to the to the nation of Israel when it is established. And it'll all be grace just as we're brought in by grace.
Now verse 7. But if the ministration of death, you see, the law was administration of death.
Written and engraven in stones was glorious.
The law is the requirement of God upon man in responsibility. Man put himself under the law, and God gave him his righteous requirements. 10 Commandments.
No man has kept them outside of Christ.
And so though it held out the promise of blessing and life to the obedient.
It was death and a curse and condemnation to the disobedient.
So here he calls it administration of death.
If the ministration of death written and engraven in stones was glorious, or if it began with glory, there was a glory associated with the giving of the law. A little bit later he tells us the first time Moses came down from the mount he he had the law. He heard the music and the dancing and they had broken the first 3 commandments. They made another gob. First commandment is thou shalt have no other gods. Second commandment thou shalt not make any graven image or bow down to it.
Graven image. Golden calf. Third commandment is Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain was a feast of Jehovah. They took the Lord's name in given and attached it to that idolatrous feast which they had invented of their own minds.
So those people that said all that the Lord has spoken we will do and obey had broken the first 3 commandments. So Moses dashes those two tables of stone at the foot of the mount. If he had brought the pure law into their camp, it would have meant certain death for all of them.
It was administration of death.
The second time he received the law, it was mingled with grace. There were provisions made for failure, sacrifices, and so on.
Well, later in this chapter, and we'll come to it in a moment, when Moses talked to the children of Israel, there was a there was a glory that radiated from his face. It was the glory of God's righteous requirements on man, the glory of the law. There was a glory associated with the law, but the glory that we look at.
Is in the face of the Lord Jesus.
And it's the glory of the grace of God, the glory of his marvelous grace we look at. We can look right into that blessed face and not have any fear because the grace of God has set us in an established relationship with God and brought us into blessing because God is the greatest pleasure in the universe.
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It's not law. They were afraid when the law was given, there was terror that struck into their hearts.
There were thunderings and lightnings in the voice and they said don't let God speak to us.
They were afraid, and well might they be. The thunderings of God's righteous requirement on a Sinner is that he is dead and condemned. And so it was administration of death that was the law.
Written and engraven in stones was glorious. There was glory connected with it, glory of God's majesty, His Majesty in His righteous requirements which man could not meet.
So that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance. That glory that shone from Moses face was the glory of God's righteousness.
Demanding obedience.
They couldn't stand it.
Says which glory was to be done away?
The law was never given to be a permanent thing.
It was only given as a test for man to prove that man cannot gain acceptance with God on that principle.
How shall not now the contrast verse 8? How shall not the administration of the Spirit?
Rather glorious administration of the Spirit. It's not death.
It's life and peace, and he ministers Christ.
And Christ is our life, and Christ is our peace.
Christ is our righteousness as we were singing.
He goes on to say for if the ministration of condemnation be glory, that's the law.
Commandments much more doth the ministration of righteousness.
Exceed in glory.
It's like comparing the moon and the stars at night with the sun and the sun comes up. The glory of the stars is so diminished you can't see them anymore, and the glory of the moon fades.
And so there was glory connected with the giving of the law, but it was to be done away. And so Moses face was veiled. They could not look on that glory.
And in contrast with that, we can look right into the face of Jesus Christ our blessed Lord, and see the glory of God's grace radiating from it that which has set us into a place of acceptance. It's called administration of righteousness, not condemnation. The law was condemnation.
Grace gives us righteousness, not a righteousness that we workout by our own efforts.
But the righteousness which is of God by faith.
Turn to Philippians Chapter 3 for a moment.
Verse 9 Paul says and to be found in him.
Not having my own righteousness.
Which is of the law, on the principle of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ.
The righteousness which is of God by faith.
He says in verse 6, touching the righteousness which is in the law, he was blameless outwardly.
As far as the eye of man could see, blameless.
Was of strict Pharisee of the Pharisees.
Now he says, I want to be found. I'm looking forward to that day when I will be found in here in the glory, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law.
All he used to boast himself in that, he used to take pride in that, that human righteousness.
And now he counts it but dung.
Is willing to lay that all aside. Says it's worthless. It's nothing. I have Christ as my righteousness.
God has provided A righteousness for me. I'm glad in a robe of righteousness which is Christ himself. Christ we can point to that man in the glory and say he is my righteousness before God, to be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God.
By faith.
He had found something infinitely better than the law could give.
And actually the law was administration of death and condemnation, because none kept it.
It only held out blessing to those that could keep it. Now going back to chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians.
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Verse 9 again if the ministration of condemnation.
Be glory has glory in connection with it much more.
One of Paul's much mores doth administration of righteousness exceeding glory.
Administration of an accomplished, subsisting righteousness before God. We stand in the risen Christ we were noticing on Friday night. We stand in the life of the risen Christ. Resurrection life that is a life in righteousness before God.
We have an acceptance before him the very same as he himself has.
For any Christian to be rejected by God, he'd have to reject Christ, because we are in Christ.
And we have him as our righteousness. That is how secure we are. And so Paul says in verse.
Let me read verse 11 first, for if that which is done away was glorious or began with glory, done away is is a formula describing the Old covenant, the Old Covenant, the law.
That which remaineth is glorious. Mr. Darby has It subsists in glory. It will never be done away. It will never fade. It's the righteousness in which we stand before God, which is Christ.
Verse 12 seeing then that we have such hope, if I have his life and I have his righteousness and each one of us has what hope that gives us, we're going to be there in His presence as soon as He takes us and calls us home. When a home, it's absolute certainty, no questions about it, because it doesn't depend on us in any wise. It's all His work. It's all the grace of God that is conferred that righteousness upon.
Given us that righteous standing before God, Jesus, the Lord, our righteousness.
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech, and not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished. That glory connected with the giving of the Law was to fade, and so his base was his face was veiled, and they couldn't look upon that glory as it faded.
But we can look upon another glory, the glory of the grace of God, all the glory of his grace, shining in the Saviour space, telling sinners from above. God is light, God is love.
That's the glory of the grace that shines from our blessed Saviors face. But their minds were blinded.
Verse 2014 For until this day remaineth the same veil, and taken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ.
Their minds were blinded. The minds of the Jews are blinded. They do not understand the Old Testament. It's veiled to them because the secret, the secret is Christ. Christ is written in every page all to them. Take the offerings, the bird offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering. These are just rituals that the Jews went through. They don't see Christ in these offerings. They don't see.
Each one is a different aspect of the work of Christ or of the person of Christ.
The 22nd Psalm is atoning death.
Sufferings He endured from the hand of God. The 69th Psalm. His death. The sufferings He endured from the hands of men. The 102nd Psalm again His sufferings from man's hand. A different aspect of it. It all speaks of Christ.
The 22nd of Genesis. Christ, Abraham offering Isaac a picture of the Father.
Giving his beloved son Christ the 14th chapter. 24th chapter of Genesis.
Abraham, sending a servant, ordered miles to the east to get a bride for his son Isaac. Question put to Rebecca, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. And for 400 miles across the desert sand, that spirit was that servant, a type of the Holy Spirit was ministering Isaac to her, telling her about Isaac, the one that she would meet, the one who was to be her bride.
Bridegroom drawing out her heart to Isaac as the Spirit of God is given to us to draw our hearts.
To Christ, to the blessed Lord, to all that he has done, and to all his glories and all his beauties. It's the ministry of the Spirit. When He has come, he will testify of me.
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Tell you the words that I have spoken, and words yet that you cannot bear. He will tell you and lead you into all the truth, the Spirit of God. What a beautiful picture we have of that. And when they got near, she said, Rebecca said to the servant, Who is this that cometh to meet us in the field? It is my master. And she veiled herself. She was only for him.
Not to be for anyone else to see. And Isaac took her into his mother Sarah's tent.
And she became his wife, and he loved her.
And he was comforted after the death of his mother. So the Lord Jesus, having lost Israel, is comfort. Comforted because he's now gained A heavenly bride.
Rebecca picture of the church. Their minds are blinded, reminded of a Jewish.
A Jewish young woman and she went to.
Her rabbi and she said, Rabbi, would you please tell me I've been reading my Bible?
Of whom does the prophet Isaiah speak?
In the 53rd chapter.
And the rabbi said woman, he turned various colors.
He was embarrassed he could not answer the question, he said. That's a theological question which only US men are to engage in. You go home and take care of your family duties.
And so he turned her away.
She got home. She got on her knees. She had heard of Jesus.
She said Lord.
If it's Jesus that is spoken of.
In this chapter he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with His stripes we are healed.
He was taken as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before shears. His dumb so he opened it, not his mouth. Is this Jesus?
And just as loudly as I'm speaking to you this afternoon, the voice came. This is Jesus.
And she got saved.
Veil was taken away.
And she saw that the key, she had the key now. She could read the Scriptures now for the first time and understand them because she had Jesus.
The Lord Jesus.
Well, it says in verse 15 even unto this day, that when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it the heart, the Jewish heart shall turn to the Lord, the veil should be taken away.
And so the Lord said, Ye shall not see me henceforth, until you say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
I'm reminded of a.
Brother, they visited at you at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem and he got to talking to him and he said, what is your hope? So I'm waiting for the Messiah to come.
He said when he comes, I'm going to ask him one question. What is that?
I'm going to ask him, is this the first time or the second time you've been here?
Well, he won't have to ask that question because when he sees him, he'll know, won't he?
You know he's the Messiah.
I believe that it's that kind of Jew that will be that will form the remnant after we're gone.
And I believe that when the Lord takes us home, the rapture, which will be at any moment.
That will trigger faith in the Remnant. Some of them anyway.
Some have wondered.
After we're gone, there won't be anyone that has any faith.
But God can produce that in a moment, and He may produce it through our exiting this scene.
Now verse 17, the Lord is that spirit. I think that should be a small *** there.
It's hard to tell. You see, that's the determination of the translators. The original manuscripts don't have capitals in small letters, so it's up to the judgment of the translator. The Lord is the spirit. He's the spirit of the Old Testament. He, it, it's all about Him. He's the secret.
And then it goes on to say, where the Spirit of the Lord is, the capital S is right there. There's liberty, not *******.
The law brought in ******* fear and dread, terror because man couldn't keep the righteous requirements of the law. But we don't stand before God in a legal righteousness. We stand before God in Christ as our righteousness risen from the dead. He is our life, He is our righteousness, He is our everything. God hath made Him to be sin for us. We might become the righteousness of God in Him.
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Trying to think of how to start that verse.
One Corinthians 130.
But of him of God.
Are ye in Christ Jesus?
Who of God is made unto us, Wisdom.
God, Christ has been made to us from God, wisdom and righteousness.
And sanctification. And redemption.
That according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. He is our righteousness.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Verse 18 Now I'm going to read it as Mr. Darby renders it, but we all with unveiled face beholding the glory of the Lord, not as in a glass, there's nothing between. We behold the glory of the Lord. We're looking right into the glory, and there's a man there. And from his blessed face radiates the glory of God.
We are changed, we are transformed.
Into or according to the same image, from glory to glory, from 1° of glory to another, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, or even as by the sovereign Spirit, the Lord the Spirit. It's really a verse that testifies to the deity of the Spirit of God.
And the Spirit of God, God himself, the Holy Spirit, transforms us.
According to the same image, from 1° of glory to another as were occupied with Christ in glory.
Christ come down, Philippians 2.
Feeds our souls.
As we feed on him as he was down here in his loneliness, his path of subjection, his path of obedience. But what animates the soul and energizes the soul to run after him and separates from us from this world is is gazing at Christ in glory. He's not here. It's not an earthly object. It's an object altogether outside of this world and how this happens.
How this sanctification, this practical sanctification takes place in the soul, I can't explain it. No one can.
The Spirit of God does it. No one can explain how the little insect in the cocoon gets out and becomes this beautiful butterfly. But it's that very word that's used here to describe the very process of metamorphosis which transforms this little insect into a wonderful, beautiful butterfly. It's the work of the Spirit of God that does that.
And it never fails when we're occupied with Christ in glory.
Problem is, what are we occupied with?
The object before our souls is it Christ. If we're LED of the Spirit of God, it's Christ, because Christ occupies us only with that object.
With, I mean the Spirit of God occupies us only with that object, Christ.
Now chapter 4. Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, the ministry of the Spirit.
Not the Ministry of Death.
And the ministry of righteousness and accomplished subsisting righteousness before God. We stand before God in Christ as our righteousness. It's not the ministry of condemnation.
Having this ministry.
We faint not.
As we have received mercy, we think not. Why should Saints who have this kind of ministry given?
Faint, become discouraged, throw up their hands and say it's no use. We've been brought into the highest blessing that God has ever brought any humans into.
Where one with Christ He's given us of His Holy Spirit, we have His own resurrection life.
The spirit of life which is in Christ.
And he's taken up his dwelling in our bodies, and he ministers Christ to us. Oh, we ought to be the most joyous and victorious of all people.
And this grace that it comes from it all, it's all grace. It's the new covenant ministry, which is a ministry of grace, enables us to renounce, as he says in verse 2, we've renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness or handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God, the legalist, the one who is under law.
Will always handle the word of God deceitfully. It won't be upright in it, because He'll apply it so as to condemn you, but not him.
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You, but not me if I'm the legalist.
You get an example of that in John 8. They brought this woman to the Lord Jesus. The Pharisees, the legalists did a woman taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses and the law commanded that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou?
They were trying to make a spectacle of her at the expense of the Lord and trap him. They thought that they had him in a in a position where no matter how he answered the question, they could condemn him. If he said stone her, they'd say, you don't have any compassion and mercy. If they said, if he said, let her go free, they would have said, you're breaking the law of Moses. Well, he didn't say either. He said he that is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone at her.
And they, being convicted in their consciences from the oldest to the youngest, went out.
He was left alone with that woman.
When he lifted himself up, having written on the ground the very finger that wrote the 10 commandments, the very finger that wrote Thou shalt not commit adultery, they have quoted the law. Had they quoted it right? No.
They said Moses commanded that she should be stoned. What about the man? Moses commanded both should be stoned, the man and the woman. And since she was caught in the very act, where was the man?
Well, that's the that's just an example of the way people use the law. They use it to their own advantage.
These religious Pharisees were simply making a spectacle of this woman to her shame, putting her to shame. They wouldn't bring the man. Well, this is what Paul is referring to in this chapter. Grace enables us to be honest. Grace enables us to be transparent. We have nothing to hide. We stand before God in His grace. It doesn't depend on our works, doesn't depend on our walk, although our walk should flow from that, but our standing before God.
To us it's the ministry of righteousness and we have the Spirit and He can never be taken from us. We can't breathe him away, We can't seen Him away. We may grieve him, but we won't send him away.
It's been given to us based upon not our, not our being good, not our walking properly, but upon the work of Christ. You remember when the leper was cleansed?
The priest took.
He dipped his finger in the blood, and he put it on the tip of the right ear, the tip of the right thumb, tip of the right toe, where to hear, where to act, where to walk, for God under the value of the blood. And then he took the oil and he placed it on the blood that was on the ear and the thumb and the toe.
The oil is the type of the Holy Spirit sealing us. He was placed upon that oil was placed upon the blood.
So we're sealed by virtue of the perfection of the work of Christ has nothing to do with us or our worthiness. We're not worthy enough one bit.
Were just the trophies.
Of his matchless grace.
And he said to the woman.
Hath no man condemned thee? And she said, No man Lord.
And then he who could have thrown the stone, he who was the only one that was without sin, he said, Neither do I condemn thee.
Go and sin no more. He imparts by grace the power to live without sin.
He's given us all things that pertain to life and to godliness. A righteous standing before God, a new life, the risen life of Christ. The Spirit of God has taken up his abode in us. Now we can walk as he walked.
To say I can't walk as he walked is a denial of Christianity.
To say that we do.
Is a denial of our true condition.
Is a denial? Is saying that God hasn't given me enough to enable me?
To obey him, and he has.
He has.
Verse three of our gospel be hid. It is hid to them that are lost.
In whom the God of this world?
He's spoken of Satan is spoken of as the Prince of this world in connection with the political arena.
We were reading in Daniel 10.
It brother Phil's house and.
The Prince of the Kingdom of Persia, which was an angelic being, he was, he was in a battle. It took three weeks to, to get to answer Daniel's prayer. The, the battles that take place in the unseen world, we know a little about them, but they're there. And so Satan is called the Prince of this world and he he has to do with governments and, and decisions that are made down here and so on.
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He influences the minds of men.
But he's also the God of this world.
And how does he hide the gospel of the grace of God? How does he blind men from seeing the blessedness of it? By false religion as the God of this world?
It says if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom? The God of this world He is the one that is the head of all the false religions in this world, and they have one basic mistake they all make, and that is they place.
Getting blessing on man's responsibility.
They make 2 mistakes. They say that man is not altogether bad.
Is good basically, and he has the power to do good. Both are false. Both of the lives of the devil Man is encouragingly evil and he has no power to choose the good.
That's the truth of God. But God's false religion this, this false God, Satan that, his religion.
Sets up men. He appeals to man's pride and he uses religions, all kinds of religions, but they're all of the same kind. They they assume that man is not altogether ruined and fallen and that he can do good.
And so he blinds their minds.
To them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ not quite accurate enough, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.
We were mentioning last night.
Paul preached 2 aspects of the gospel. The gospel of the grace of God is God coming down to become a man?
God was manifest in the flesh. The gospel of the glory of Christ as man has gone up to the highest place in heaven. He wears, as our hymn writer puts it, He wears our nature on the throne. There's a man in the glory. And that that position of Christ defines our position before God. His place is our place. In him we stand.
A heavenly bent.
The light of the Gospel, of the glory of Christ, is the image of God should shine unto them. He presents false religions as the God of this world to man, so that they do not see.
As long as man thinks that he can make it on his own, as long as he has not accepted that he's encouragingly bad now there's no good in him. From the crown of the head to the sole of the feet, nothing but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores. That's the picture God gives us of man He's lost.
He's a stench before God.
Natural man.
No ability to please God. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
So he's given us of his Holy Spirit to put us into a new state and to put us in Christ, our new standing before God.
Well, it's the light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ. Christ has gone on high. He's in that glory. And as we gaze into his face, we see the glory of God radiating from him, the glory of his grace.
Not of His righteous requirements, which we cannot meet.
But the glory of His grace.
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord.
Ourselves your servants, for Jesus sake.
Whenever Paul had to speak of himself.
In any way. And he did have to do that because it was important that they realized that his ministry was from God, that he was an apostle by the will of God, that he was sent of God to them, and the message that he brought to them was of God. It was absolutely important that they realized this. And the way the enemies sought to discredit the message that he brought was to attack the person that brought it.
He uses the same tactics today.
Same tactics.
There's the attack on people.
In order to discredit the truth that they hold and bring. And so it was then.
We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus Lord.
Paul didn't preach himself anytime he had to speak of himself, he says in the 12TH chapter of this epistle he tells he says I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, Whether in the body or out of the body I cannot tell. God knoweth such in one caught up to the 3rd heaven. He kept that.
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He kept that for over 14 years before he told them. Why did he finally tell them at Corinth? Because their state required it.
And then after he does it, he says, I am become a fool in glory. Ye have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you instead.
They had those there that were disparaging Paul.
And whenever he had to speak of himself in that way, it was so that the the truth that he brought to them was established before their souls. It wasn't to promote himself. And whenever he had to do such a thing, he calls himself a fool. And having done it.
He didn't preach himself like so many are doing today. He preached Christ.
We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus Lord in ourselves, Your servants for Jesus sake. Oh he loved to be in that place of a servant.
Proper place for men.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness.
Why He's going back to Genesis 1 verses one and two. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the earth was without form and void, waste and empty darkness was on the face of the deep. The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. That was a physical darkness that enveloped this globe. And then God spoke. He said let there be light. There was light. That same God has shined into our sin, darkened hearts, and he said let there be light.
That was light, the light of the gospel.
Beloved, these are such precious things.
We ought to just be in the enjoyment of them every day, every moment we think I am, I'm His, I'm secure, I can never be lost. I stand before God in the very righteousness of Christ Himself.
He's given me his Holy Spirit.
I have such a hope I'm going to be conformed to his image as he goes on in the 5th chapter. We won't have time for that tonight, this afternoon.
But.
To complete the story.
That's where we're headed, that's the end result, that's what he's forming us for.
Oh, what a wonderful portion is ours. We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus sake, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness and shine in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face. Where is it? Where do we see the glory of God radiating from the face not of Moses. Now that had to be veiled. That was the glory of the law. That was the legal thing. That's that's.
But the glory of his grace shining in the Savior's face, that's where we see it. The glory of God, the glory of His grace in the face of Jesus Christ.
Then he says, this treasure, this wonderful treasure, these precious things, this truth, this life that we have.
We have it in earthen vessels. These are just vessels of clay, frail, fragile. They can become sick and laid low and die. Oh, what, what fragile vessels we're in. We're just in a in a vessel of clay.
And earthen vessels we have this treasure, but in this vessel the Spirit of God dwells. What a treasure it is, the life of Christ is. And the spirit of life in Christ resides in this treasure. In this vessel what a treasure it is. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us.
In Christendom, it's quite common to get a very healthy, robust, muscular, dynamic athlete that is a Christian and to display him before the people. That's supposed to be very impressive. They never pick up someone that's weak and frail and and and and sickly and and display him.
That would be that would be more according to what we have here, the truth of God has been deposited in earthen vessels so weak.
And feeble we are, but there's a treasure inside.
And what has to happen in order for that treasure, that light, that life to shine out, to shine out?
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Well, it's a it's an allusion to Gideon's 300. It was a lamp and in a vessel, and at the signal they broke the vessel and the the light shone out, and there was a great victory against the Philistines.
That life, that light shining out, is the life of Christ that resides in the vessel.
1St We have the breaking of the vessel in verses 8:00 and 9:00. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.
We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted but not forsaken. Only he was forsaken. Will never be, will never be.
Cast down but not destroyed will never be destroyed. We have the life of Christ.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. That's the treasure. The life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. He says the way this is done is I'm always a bearing about in this body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, the putting to death of the Lord Jesus. If you saw a man back in those days when the Lord lived carrying a cross going down the road, you'd say that man's appointed to death.
He is appointed to die.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. What can you do to a man like that? You can't threaten him with death. You'll say, go ahead, kill me. You'll just send me into the presence of my Lord.
He had accepted death as his portion.
He accepted it as his portion and verse 11 is what he received from the world.
For we which live are all we delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. I'm just going to read to you the list that he gives us in this very epistle, Chapter 11 of what he went through.
As always delivered unto death for Jesus sake. I just quickly read it. He speaks of his enemies in verse 22 at Corinth. He says are they Hebrews or am I? Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. He received the greatest opposition from his Jewish brethren, those he loves. So you know that's the hardest thing to bear when those you love the most hate you.
Hardest thing you?
He says, are they ministers of Christ as speak as a fool? Why that that exalted title, a minister of Christ, that was such an exalted thing to be a minister of Christ. He says no, they're not that I speak as a fool, they profess to be.
I am more, he says.
In stripes in laborers more abundant in stripes above measure in prisons more frequent in deaths OFT always delivered unto death. For Jesus sake of the Jews. Five times received thy 40 stripes save 140 Stripes times 5 is 200.
-1 for each is 195 stripes they laid on that man.
Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck a night. In the day I have been in the deep, in journeyings, often in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my known countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea and perils among false brethren. In weariness and painfulness. In watchings, often in hunger and thirst, in fastings, often in cold and nakedness.
Always delivered unto death for Jesus sake.
Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Well, that list goes far beyond what you and I have experienced.
But we do have that last burden, don't we?
The.
Of all the churches.
Not in the same way that Paul had, for he was an apostle.
But as John says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.
And all when we see those that are being turned aside, misled, not going on in the truth.
How grievous that is to us.
And when we realize that those that leave the place of God's appointment where the Lord has said His name, where He is in the midst of his people, and it's all grace.
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And nothing to boast of if we had it before us in Sunday school this morning.
The reason for God's chastening hand can always be traced to our familiar, not someone else's, but to my failure.
Till we come to see that.
But then we realized that those that are being LED astray.
Where they're going to end up? What's going to happen to them?
It's a sad thing to even consider.
The care of all the churches and how the Saints go on.
May God give us an increased burden for these things.
Going back to 2nd Corinthians 4, so then death worketh in US.
That life in you. Notice the end result of verse 10 is that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. Verse 11 That the life of Jesus may be made manifest in our mortal flesh. Death worketh in us, He says, but life in you. He was willing to accept death as His portion.
Every day.
In order that the life of Christ might operate in the Saints and they might have the blessing.
That God in grace has brought to us.
We having the same spirit of faith according as it is written. I believed and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak.
Beloved, we believe. Let's speak, let's tell others of Christ. Let's tell others of the wonderful blessings that He's brought us into.
That he which raised, knowing that this is Christian knowledge of absolute certainty, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus. I believe it ought to read and shall present us with you. The resurrection of Christ is the proof that we're going to be raised absolute certainty. Having such hope, we use great plainness of speech. Let us not faint having this ministry, we faint not.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the Thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God.
Paul was delivered.
He was delivered in the 1St chapter. He had the sentence of death in himself. He did not know if he was going to die or not. Facing death always and God delivered him. He says That was for your sakes.
And they gave thank God for it because he was left here so that they could still profit from his ministry. That was a blessing to the Saints as well as his own deliverance. It was blessing to them. So it redounded to the glory of God, Thanksgiving to God. For which 'cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, there's another expression for which 'cause we think not, He says it over and over again. We don't faint. We keep on, we press on, no matter what the opposition.
Is no matter how much discouragement there is to turn us out of the way, we continue. We press on.
We think not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
And now we've just read the list of what he went through. Notice what he says here. Our light affliction. Light affliction, Paul.
Light affliction.
Our light affliction, which is but for a moment.
He's looking at eternity, he's looking at the blessings, he's looking at our portion. He's lifted above this scene into that heavenly atmosphere where all is light and peace and joy and love. Our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
Light affliction in contrast with weight of glory.
For a moment, in contrast with eternity.
While we look not at the things which are seen the end of chapter 3, as we look at the glory of the Lord by the Spirit, now here again we're looking at the things which are not seen.
But at the things which are not seen, we don't look at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen or the things which are seen are temporal, therefore a time.
But the things which are not seen are eternal. What does it matter?
Really. In the light of eternity.
Whether we have it good here or bad here, if we're going to spend eternity.
With Christ and glory.
What does it really matter?
The Love of Christ Constraineth Us
Address—C. Hendricks
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.
Turn with me tonight to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5. There are many things that we will look at tonight.
That are known and enjoyed by those who are Christians.
But there is much in this chapter to speak to the conscience also.
And the heart also of the unsaved.
So we trust that the Lord will bless the meditation on this precious portion of God's Word. Second Corinthians, chapter 5.
For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, if so be, that being clothed, we shall not be found naked.
For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan being burdened, not for that we would be unclothed.
But clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now He that hath wrought us for the self, same thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.
We walk by faith, not by sight.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf.
That she may have somewhat to answer them, which glory and appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God, or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us. Because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead.
And that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves.
But unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Wherefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh? Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know Him no more.
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, that God was in Christ.
Reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing.
Their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ.
As though God did beseech by us, we pray in Christ's stead be reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us.
Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God?
In him.
This chapter begins following what we were looking at this afternoon.
It begins with a statement, one of the we knows of Scripture. It's the knowledge that Christians, only Christians, have. We know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved.
In other words, if this body.
We're living in a Tabernacle or a tent.
Something that is set up in the evening and taken down again in the morning, and then one goes on his way. It's not our permanent dwelling place, this body. It's just a Tabernacle. It's just a tent that we're going to spend a few years in and then we're going on.
00:05:00
But there's something beyond that. We know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have.
A building of God, and not a tent, but a building, a permanent structure, that which will never cease to be. Speaking of the resurrection body, a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.
This is Christian knowledge.
I'll never forget the the letter we received or the card we received when my mother went to be with the Lord. She was the Lords and she went home and we knew where she was. She was in the presence of the Lord. And we got a card from one of our neighbors who was not a Christian, who was very evident that that he or she was not by the very card that they sent.
And it it contained a lot of nice flowery words about.
Where my mother was now and that she was in another world, and the person who sent the card and the one who wrote the card obviously didn't know anything about the gospel, couldn't say. What we have here, we know.
That if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. That's the resurrection body. This body cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. It's a body of flesh and blood.
And we're going to receive, everyone is going to receive a resurrection body, some to everlasting life, some to everlasting condemnation.
A solemn thing to consider, for in this in this body, we groan. The Christian is no different than the the unsaved when it comes to experiencing the sorrows and the sufferings of this path. We groan just like the unsaved do, just like those that are not safe. We groan. We have sorrows, we have difficulties, we have pains, we get sick.
We grow. We are in a body that is subject to all of these things. This body has not been changed. The soul and spirit is saved. We have eternal life in our souls, but not yet as to our bodies, that's still future. We're still in this body of clay, this fragile vessel that can be broken very easily. A body of clay, an earthly Tabernacle house.
Ah, but we have a building of God.
And house not made with hands eternal in the heavens, the resurrection body. And one day we're going to put that body on.
In this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house, which is from heaven. The the language is like one who gets up in the morning, takes off his pajamas, puts on the clothes that he's going to wear for the day. And one day we're going to put off this body, it's going to be dissolved, and we're going to put on our house, which is from heaven.
That resurrection body be clothed upon with that house. The language of scriptures very precious.
You have that hope. Are you looking forward to a resurrection body that's going to be just like that of Christ?
That's what the future is for the believer. But verse 3 is extremely solemn. If so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked.
What does that mean? What does that verse imply? It implies that some will be clothed upon with a resurrection body, but they will still be naked before God. Sounds like a contradiction of terms. But we saw in the previous chapter that Christ previous two chapters that Christ is our righteousness.
We are clothed upon with Christ in Christ, those who believe and they have a standing before God in Christ. That's a different thought of the clothing. It's it's our standing before Him and to be clothed upon with the resurrection body as some will.
And yet be without Christ will be to be found naked before God. If you turn back to John's Gospel chapter 5, we read about the resurrection.
John's Gospel, chapter 5.
Verse 28 The Lord Jesus is speaking, marvel not at this, for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice.
And shall come forth they that have done good unto the resurrection of life.
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And they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. There is the resurrection of life, and there's the resurrection of damnation. Of which resurrection are you going to partake of?
The resurrection of life or the resurrection of judgment?
Acts 24.
Acts 24.
Verse 14.
Paul the Apostle is speaking.
And he says With this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship by the God of my Father's, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets, and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just.
And unjust.
Which are you?
Which resurrection will you take part in? Resurrection of the just, the righteous of the resurrection of the unjust, the unrighteous, Resurrection of life, the resurrection of judgment. Terrible thing to think of it, that man is going to spend eternity in his complete being, spirit, soul and body.
Not this body. This is an earthly Tabernacle house, and we're going to put it off and it's going to be dissolved.
But there's going to be a resurrection body even for the unsaved dead, and they're going to stand before God.
We read of that body, we read of that time in Revelation 20. Please turn to Revelation chapter 20, verse 11.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them.
The earth and the heaven have gone, and the great white throne stands in space. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. That's resurrection. This is the resurrection of the unjust, the resurrection unto judgment.
The resurrection of those that are without Christ is their righteousness.
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works. Everything that we have done.
Will come into review, it says. We're going to receive for the things done in the body, whether it be good or bad. And here we have the judgment that will come, that will overtake those that have died without Christ.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. That's resurrection.
I know of an infidel who gave the orders that when he died, his body would be cremated and his ashes would be taken and put into four separate boxes. 1 dumped in the Indian Ocean, 1 dumped in the Atlantic, 1 dumped in the Pacific, 1 dumped in the Arctic so that God himself could not gather his ashes together. Such a fool. Such a fool.
The God who spoke the universe into existence will have no difficulty.
In resurrecting everybody.
The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades that ought to read, he delivered up the dead which were in them. Death is a term referring to the body. The soul doesn't die. The soul is immortal, the body dies.
Hades is the place of the disembodied spirits, those without a body. All the believers who have died in faith have gone to be with Christ, and they're in the disembodied state. But soon they're going to be clothed upon with their house, which is from heaven. They're going to receive that resurrection body, just like Christ, body of glory.
But under the body of the unsaved, we're not told anything about it. We're just told that there will be raised, the unjust will be raised.
A resurrection to damnation to judgment to eternal doom. And here we have it recorded.
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In Revelation 20 the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead which were in them were judged every man according to their works, and death and hates were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
I remember the dream that one had.
And he in his dream, he was not saved.
And he stood at the very gates of hell.
And he heard the wailing and the moaning and the awful suffering that was taking place by those that were in that terrible place. And he said to the one that was there at the gate, he said, can't you give them some relief?
There's no relief and hell came back the answer.
Just dip your finger in some water and just give them a drop of water to drink. There's no water in hell.
Then let them die.
And he said there's no death in hell.
Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire. That means that the condition of death to the body will be gone.
Never again will there be such a thing as a disembodied soul and spirit from a body.
The resurrection will assure that man will have a resurrection body, whether one like Christ to spend eternity with him or one that will spend eternity in hell.
You're going to have a resurrection body.
It's either going to be the resurrection of the just, if you have faith in Christ, or the resurrection of the unjust death and hell. Death and hates the hell. Hell is really the lake of fire and so this is a little confusing. It should read Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. That means that condition of things ceases forever to exist.
No more death.
This is the second death, eternal separation from God. What death is, is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body. This body is just the tent in which we live. It's just the temporary abode for our soul and spirit. It's not the eternal abode. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. We need a new body, a resurrection body.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life?
Was cast into the lake of fire, but an awful thing. So going back to 2nd Corinthians 5 now.
Again, we read verse three. If so be that being clothed.
We shall not be found naked.
We who believe.
Will not be found naked. We have Christ as our righteousness before God.
But one who does not have that?
And dies without Christ.
Man says, well we go 6 feet under and that's the end. It's a lie of Satan. It's not the end. As sure as I'm standing before you tonight and you're hearing the words that come forth from my mouth, you will stand before God one day.
There's going to be a resurrection of the justice.
And of the unjust. Verse 4 Now For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan. Oh yes, we know what it is. We have aches and pains and sorrows and sufferings and trials and difficulties, just like the unsaved do.
We groan being burdened, burdened by all the many things that characterize this scene. Not for that we would be unclothed. This is not the Christians hope to die. When we die, we go into the unclothed, the disembodied state. That's not our hope. Not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Friday night we were looking at resurrection life imparted by the risen Christ.
His disciples. And then he says, receive you, the Holy Spirit. Mortality, This body in which we live is a mortal body and subject to death, and it will die if the Lord doesn't come before. In one Corinthians 15, two terms are used. This corruptible must put on incorruptibility. The corruptible, That term applies to those who have died and their body has gone into corruption, into decay.
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And he's going to put on an incorruptible body.
This mortal refers to the Saints that are living. When the Lord comes, He would come tonight, right now. A wave of power of life would sweep over these bodies of ours. And this mortal, the mortality, would be swallowed up of life. What an expression swallowed up of life. That resurrection life which is imparted, been imparted to our souls, would then be imparted to our bodies.
And we would rise in glorified bodies, in resurrection bodies, just like Christ. The corruptible would put on incorruptibility, the mortal would put on immortality. Doesn't mean there are two resurrection bodies for the saved, but it means simply to describe the difference of state between those who have died in faith, this is corruptible, and those who are still living in faith this mortal.
So we're not looking to be unclothed. We're not looking to die. It's not wrong to be yearning to be with Christ. We see that in a few verses on, But that's not our hope. The hope of the Christian is to be with Christ in glory, in glorified bodies. We have sometimes used the expression of those that have passed on. He went on to glory.
Well, I know what what is meant by that and I've used it too, but I don't think it's correct.
We'll be in glory when Christ gives us a glorified body, and then we're going to be there with him, the glorified man in heaven, in that same kind of body that he has. Having said that, I just want to read it to you in Philippians 3.
Verse 20.
For our conversation, or our citizenship, or more literally even yet, our politics.
Is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who shall change our vile body, or more correctly, our lowly body, our body of humiliation? That's what this body is. It's a body that's subject to all kinds of ills and trials and difficulties and sicknesses and all. It's a body of humiliation.
Is going to change our body of humiliation.
And fashion it like unto his glorious body, or his body of glory. He has a body of glory. He's the only man in heaven in that body of glory.
And he's going to give us each one.
The same kind of body of glory.
As he has according to the working of the power.
Whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
We're going to have bodies of glory just like Christ's.
But we're not told what kind of a body the unsaved dead will have, but they will have a resurrection body.
Going back to 2nd Corinthians 5.
End of verse. I'll read verse 4 again. For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan. We that are in this body of clay grown.
Being burdened not for that, we would be unclothed.
That would be death.
But clothed upon, that's resurrection.
That mortality might be swallowed up of life. We're not looking to die, we're looking for the Lord to come.
When he will raise us and change us, and this mortal body will be swallowed up of life.
And then he says this glorious statement of verse 5. Now he that hath wrought us for the self, same thing he that hath wrought us for this is God.
God has begun a good work and He'll complete it. He's the master worker.
He has begun to work in every soul that has received Christ the Savior and Lord, and he has begun that work. He will complete it. And what is the end result? To give us bodies of glory just like Christ. That house not made with hands eternal in the heavens. We're going to put it on soon. We're going to be clothed upon with that body very soon, could be tonight.
Could be tonight, if the Lord would come this instant, would this room be emptied or would you be left sitting in your in your seat because only those that are His?
At his coming.
Will be taken. Oh, what an awful thing to be left behind when the Lord comes.
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He that hath wrought us for this self, same thing is God.
How do we know he's going to do it?
Who hath also given unto us the earnest of the Spirit? The earnest of the Spirit you go to buy a house.
And the house is $100,000 and they say you have to put down.
As you sign the contract, $10,000 earnest money, that's your pledge that you're going to go through with the contract, and if you don't, you forfeit that earnest money.
God has given us the earnest of the Spirit. Spirit of God dwells in our bodies, claiming them for Him. These bodies are his. They're the temple of the Holy Spirit.
What a powerful motive that is to keep ourselves pure while we're going through this scene.
There the temple of the Holy Spirit.
God has given us the earnest of the Spirit to indwell these bodies. That tells me He's going to change this body. He's going to infuse it with resurrection life. Mortality will be swallowed up of life and his coming.
He's given us the Holy Spirit as the proof of it.
Therefore, verse 6, We are always confident. What could give more confidence than the knowledge that God hath wrought us for this very thing? He's given us the earnest of the Holy Spirit to indwell us as the proof that He's going to finish that work, take us home in glorified bodies.
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord.
The Lord isn't here, He's in glory in a glorified body and we're here in these bodies of clay, these earthly Tabernacle houses that we're living in. But all we're soon going to hear the shout and put on our house which is from heaven. Will you hear that shout? The unsaved won't hear the shout. They won't hear it. It's an assembling S shout for only those that are tuned to him, only those that have him as their Lord and Savior.
And when that shout is given, all the believers will hear it and rise.
And meet the Lord in the air. The living will be changed, the dead will be raised, and the living will be changed. And together we will ascend to meet that blessed One in heaven in the air. And you'll take us back to heaven with Him.
We are always confident, therefore, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. All of Christianity is a system of things of faith. You only apprehend these things, you only know them by faith.
There are only two externals in all of Christianity.
The initiatory right, which is baptism and what we did this morning.
When we remember the Lord Jesus in his death, we took the loaf and we drank the cup. Those are the only two externals. Everything else is faith. We haven't seen him. None of us have seen him with these natural eyes. Peter says, Whom having not seen you love.
The Spirit of God has made him precious to us. He has been given to do that. The Spirit of God has made these unseen things, as he says in the 18th verse of the 4th chapter. Why? We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. In those unseen things are the eternal things.
The things that we see, everything that we see here is temporal. It's all going to pass away. It's all going to be burned up. We read that in Revelation 20. The earth and the heavens fled away. They're gone. This is not permanent.
Terra Firma, oh, this, this firmer, even this scene, even this earth is not going to abide. There's going to be a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, and our new bodies of glory will be suited for that place.
We walk by faith, not by sight.
I pity anyone that has no faith, that cannot lay hold upon these precious realities, and they are realities and they can only be known and enjoyed and laid hold of by faith.
By faith when we get up in the morning to when we lay down at night.
Everything we see with our eyes, everything we handle, everything that has to do with our senses is not faith. It's all seen. It's all perceived by the natural senses. But what really matters, what is of eternal value, is enjoyed and understood by faith.
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Verse 8 Now we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Nothing wrong with the desire to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord, but that's not our hope.
That's important. That's not our hope, but.
Paul says I am willing rather to be absent from the body.
And to be present with the Lord, to wait the resurrection day in that.
Number one waiting room, if you will.
Where the Saints who have gone on are their souls and spirits are with Christ.
Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted in him, agreeable to him.
Paul lived for him.
And as we saw in the chapter 4.
He was always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that.
No one could threaten him with death. He says here we're willing rather to be absent from the body. If someone should kill us, we'll just be absent from the body, present with the Lord. They'll send us into the Lord's presence. Before the New Testament revelation, that unseen world was called shield in the Old Testament, Hades in the New, and it wasn't known what it was. It was a dark, not understood thing. But to us now we don't say.
When a believer dies, he goes to Hades. He goes to be with Christ.
Because we have this precious truth revealed to us. But that's not our hope.
The hope of the Christian is not death, but resurrection.
Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
That everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, that verse clearly proves that the judgment seat of Christ.
Is for both saved and unsaved, and for the unsaved it's equivalent to the Great White Throne that we were looking at in Revelation 20. That will take place at least 1000 years after we are raised. The unsaved dead will remain in the ground.
They will not be raised when the Lord comes for His Church, for all believers, but they will be raised at the great white Throne. The sea would give up the dead. Death and Hades will give up the dead, and that condition of things will be forever gone.
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death, and then there will be no more death.
A permanent state of things in resurrection, either with Christ or in hell.
Terrible to think of, but that's what scripture says, for we must all appear.
All men, all women, everyone before the judgment seat of Christ.
That everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Now for the Christian, the Lord Jesus has received for the bad that we've done. He, he did that on the cross. We don't have to worry about that.
But we will be rewarded for the good that we've done.
But the lost will receive for the bad that they have done. People do evil. They get away with it. They think they do. No one gets away with anything. No one gets away with anything. There's a day of reckoning coming, a day of reckoning. And there's a resurrection too. And when they stand before that great white throne, the judgment seat of Christ for the lost, they're going to stand there in in bodies.
Spirit, soul and body. Complete man, complete man. And they're going to be cast.
Into the Lake of Fire.
I trust that's not true of anyone here tonight.
We must all appear, we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ. This is God's word, and this is absolutely true, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. Oh, how this ought to energize us to persuade men to believe the gospel while.
Day of grace, while the door is still open to say yes to him, to receive eternal life and the forgiveness of our sins and pass from death to life. Through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. The apostle Paul, he was made manifest to God. He lived his life in the presence of God.
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He says. And I trust that.
You will see it to be so as well.
For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them, which glory and appearance, and not in heart. Another allusion to those that were really false apostles and deceitful workers that were working there at Corinth, and seeking to discredit the Apostle Paul and his ministry.
And then he says in verse 13, whether we be beside ourselves, It is to God. Sometimes as we are occupied with these precious realities that we have in Christ, we just seem to be raptured into his presence. And he says, whether we be beside ourselves as we consider these precious things that God has wrought for us.
It is to God, but when he thinks of his ministry to the Saints and that they go on, he says we are sober.
Whether we be sober, it is for your cause. No time for levity and foolishness when it comes to dealing with souls down here. It's too serious.
It's too serious. This world is laughing its way to hell.
Entertainment and foolishness and levity, and man has an immortal soul that's going to spend eternity in heaven or hell.
And yet he can laugh in the presence of such solemn issues.
What a fool he is. The fool is set in his heart. No God for me.
Is going to have to do with that God is going to experience that resurrection in that day.
Verse 14 What motivated Paul?
So the love of Christ constraineth us.
Because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead.
The fact that the Lord Jesus died for all men proves the state that all men are in.
He died for all, proving that all were dead, dead in trespasses and sins. It is not true that some men are inherently good. That is a lie of Satan.
All men are sinners. He died for all.
Then we're all dead, morally, spiritually dead, and that he died for all. Verse 15. That they which live, that's those who believe the gospel. They pass from death to life, from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again. Those who live now have a new life, the resurrection life of Christ.
They are made righteous in Christ. They have a new purpose for life. They no longer live to themselves. They live to themselves before they were saved. That's the kind of life we all live. Before we came to know the Lord Jesus, we never thought of God. We never gave him a thought. He was not in our thoughts.
Now we found him. He's found us. Now we live.
No longer to ourselves, but unto him which died for us and rose again.
He who is our life, He who is our righteousness.
Wherefore henceforth know we know man after the flesh.
Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him.
No more.
The natural relationships in the new creation are gone. We stand before God as new creatures and so the natural is passed away, He says we know no man after the flesh.
Paul boasted in what he knew after the flesh as a Jew, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, the Hebrew of the Hebrews.
He could boast in all that, but he had learned that that was nothing.
And now he says in the new creation, as new creatures in Christ, we know no man after the flesh. Even Christ, we Jews knew him after the flesh.
But when we rejected him and he went into death and rose up, rose again in resurrection, now we know Him in an altogether new way in resurrection life, and He's given us that life as we were noticing on Friday night. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, verse 17, he is a new creature, there is a new creation.
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All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ in this new creation. All is of God.
His make his behold, I make all things new.
And we partake now of His resurrection life. We're new creatures in Christ. The old things have passed away. If I was a Jew, I no longer glory in that. I was a Gentile. I'm dead to that. I am a new creature in Christ. All that I was by nature is gone, passed away.
None of it.
None of it counts when it comes to my status before God. I am a new creature.
In Christ Jesus.
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, that means he is in Christ place before God.
Has a new standing before God accepted in him in the beloved 1.
All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God.
I like the rendering that says all things are of the God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ.
Oh, we were afar off. We were alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in us on account of the hardness of our hearts. We were at enmity with God. He has reconciled us to Himself. By whom? By Jesus Christ, the one that came to where we were, that took flesh and blood upon himself, that suffered and died and shed his precious blood on the cross, and now he's risen in a resurrection body of flesh.
Bones.
And now he's reconciled to himself. Is there one here that has not been reconciled to God? There are some hymns that speak of God being reconciled to man. The Scripture never speaks that way.
God is holy, so he needs to be propitiated.
But he doesn't need to be reconciled.
To man really don't understand John 316 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. You see, there are many that think that Christ reconciled God to man at the cross by his sufferings. No, He reconciles man to God. But God didn't need any reconciling. His heart needed not to be turned towards man. If it did, who?
Do it. Who sent the Son in the 1St place? God did because he is love.
And he wants you back.
And the Ministry of Reconciliation is the most precious ministry that there is.
He's reconciled me, this poor, wretched, guilty Sinner, to himself and each one of us who believes he's reconciled us to himself. And what has he done? He's given to us the Ministry of Reconciliation.
He didn't give it to angels. He didn't say, I can't trust you with this precious, precious message.
I'll give it to unfallen angels. No, he's given it to sinners whom he's reconciled to himself by Jesus Christ. Now he says you go forth and tell others that same message that has brought you in. Tell them that God loves them. Tell them that God wants them back. What a message we have to tell. Whether we're children, we can tell our fellow classmates in school or our neighbors or our workmates, whatever it might be.
We can tell everyone.
Be reconciled to God.
The ministry of reconciliation, to wit, verse 19, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. When He came, He did not come the second time. The first time I should say, to impose the law. He had already given it. Man had failed to keep it, and God of course knew that He would fail this time. He comes in grace, the law given by Moses.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. It's the ministry of reconciliation. Reconciliation.
Coming out the heart of God, and that was the ministry of Christ when he was here.
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.
We made reference to the woman in John 8 today.
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Hath no man condemned thee? He said to her, No man, Lord.
Neither do I condemn thee.
Not imputing their trespasses unto them. Had he been here as the lawgiver, he would have condemned her.
But no, He was hearing grace, not imputing their trespasses unto them. And he hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. What a word it is. And so we're ambassadors for Christ. Verse 20 says, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. We're here representing Him with his message.
To a lost world.
As though God did beseech by us. Notice I left the you out in those in that verse. I left the youth to use out and the ye because He's not beseeching the Corinthians. They already were reconciled to God. They had believed the message. What he's saying in verse 20 is the tenor of the message. Now we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech by us.
We pray in Christ stead be reconciled to God.
It's not addressed to them specifically. It had been when he preached the gospel to them the first time.
But now he writes to them as Saints, as believers. And so we can go forth with that message of reconciliation. We can tell our closest friend, our neighbor, God loves you, He wants you back. Come to him. He will greet you with open arms. And what authority can you tell me that?
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech by us. It's God beseeching, but using you and me who have been reconciled, reconciled ones. Now we are given that same message. You go forth and tell others, be reconciled to God. What a message, no more greater, no more wonderful message has ever been sounded out to poor, lost, guilty sinners.
God's heart towards them is 1 of reconciliation.
He wants them back, but soon that door will be shut. So don't wait too long. We pray in Christ's stead. We're representing Christ in this message. The reconciled to God. The time is still open. The time is still here, The door is still open. What's the basis? What's the ground upon which he can proclaim such a wonderful message that we can proclaim it? Well, that's found in verse 21.
For he God hath made him Christ to be sin for us.
Who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
In John 16 the Lord Jesus says when He has come referring to the Holy Spirit, He will bring demonstration to the world of sin.
And of righteousness and of judgment. I referred to this last night. We repeat it again of sin because you believe not, They believe not on me.
Presence in this world of the Spirit of God is the proof that of the world sin in rejecting Christ.
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you see me no more.
The righteousness of God has set that man in the highest place in glory.
And here this verse tells us it is. Set us there too.
We have become the display of the righteousness of God in Christ. The very place that He set him, righteousness set him is the very place that righteousness has set you and me.
He became sin. He became the sin bearer, He became the sin offering. He bore the judgment of God against our sins, and more than that, against all that we were by nature sinners.
He judged the very root as well as the fruit of sin.
That we might become the righteousness of God. The display.
In glory of God's righteousness, which has set us there in Christ before him.
We have that place of favor and acceptance now. He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God.
In him.
Righteous alone in thee, Jesus our Lord, we become the display of it, and as souls who will be set in that same glory in glorified bodies with Christ.
It will be the righteousness of God which has set us there, even as it is the righteousness of God which has set him there.
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Are you going to be there?
Is there anyone here that doesn't know and is not sure that you're going to partake of that Resurrection unto life, resurrection of the just? You can know it tonight by receiving Christ as your Savior.
I trust that everyone here will know and does know him as his own personal savior.
The consequences of waiting.
Of dying without Christ are too awful.
Too terrible.
Ministers of God
Address—C.I. Buchanan
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46 in the back of the book.
I'll read the last stance, then we'll sing the whole hymn.
Be there.
The object bright and fair to fill and satisfy the heart. My hope to meet thee in the air, And nevermore from thee to part that I may undistracted be to follow, serve, and wait for thee. Some brothers start displeased.
We will read the 6th chapter of Second Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians chapter 6. We then, as workers, together with him, beseech you also.
That ye receive not the grace of God in vain.
For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I suckered thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
Giving no offense in anything that the ministry.
Be not blamed, but in all things approving ourselves as the.
Ministers.
Of God in.
Much patience.
In affliction.
In necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumult, in laborers, in watching.
In fastings, by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand.
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And on the left by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report.
As deceivers and yet true. As unknown and yet well known.
As dying, and behold we live as chastened and not killed, as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich, as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is.
Enlarged. You are not straightening us, but ye are straightened in your own bowels.
Now for recompense in the same I speak as unto my children.
Be also enlarged.
Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
For what fellowship hath righteousness?
With unrighteousness.
And what Communion hath light with darkness?
And what concord hath Christ with Belial? For what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?
Ye are the temple of the living God, as God hath said.
I will dwell in them.
And walk in them.
And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.
And will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
It seemed good.
To take up this chapter.
With young believers, for young people, we trust believers because of the last verses, because there's that wonderful promise.
Based upon.
One stipulation.
Of separation.
From.
Unclean things.
From unbelievers, as we have had in first John one.
Suggested the two families.
Those are believers and unbelievers, John, making the point very strong.
Children of God.
And those of the wicked one.
There's no communion between darkness and light.
I just mentioned the end of the chapter in that way, and then we will go back to the beginning.
And.
Read We then as workers together.
This will need a little outline of the preceding chapters.
We will start with chapter three. You don't need to turn to it.
There we have.
The ministration of righteousness.
The ministry of grace, the ministry of righteousness in.
Direct contrast to the administration of condemnation, which was the law, the rest of our first verse here says.
We then.
As workers together, beseech you that ye receive not the grace of God.
In vain.
We are in the age of the grace of God. Oh, Paul writes to Timothy and says, Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace.
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Of our Lord Jesus Christ, now the glory.
Now the administration of.
Righteousness far exceeds that glory.
That shone at the giving of the law, when the whole mountain quaked. If it's so much as a beast touched the mountain, it should be slain. So horrible it was the sight that they didn't want to look upon it, man.
Was not ready for that glory.
Now we have grace. And so the third chapter brings the ministry.
Now the 4th chapter of Two Corinthians brings the minister.
And we have this treasure in earthen vessels. You and I are walking about in earthen vessels.
In which are is held.
That wonderful ministry.
Of righteousness.
So the minister comes before us in the 4th chapter.
And in the 5th chapter.
We have the motives that actuate the minister.
At this point I think I should say that everyone here.
Who has?
Knowledge and is accepted.
That ministration of righteousness has in him self.
That service.
You are a minister.
I think it will be easy to develop that.
A minister of God, as we'll find out in our chapter, what is going to activate and motivate you and I to carry forward.
Walking in the truth.
And letting others know about it.
Well.
The glory comes in in that chapter, really at the end of the fourth chapter, and the Modis are in the 5th chapter, there's the glory. Oh, what a wonderful scene is before us, That glory. We're pressing toward it. We're almost there.
But not everybody is going to get into that glory. We are concerned about those that don't like Paul was.
And he says, therefore, knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men there is another motive that animates you and I as a minister to seek to reach out and get the gospel of the grace of God.
To others, so that they might possess in themselves that wonderful treasure.
And then lastly in the 5th chapter.
It's the love of Christ. Oh, that love of Christ. How it draws.
How it constrains and we have that life as we have learned yesterday.
We're not going to get a new life when we leave this scene and go to the next one.
So there's the new creation. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. There is a new creation.
These things animate. They stir up.
To action the minister who has this wonderful ministry.
Let's read a few more verses here. We'll stop again.
Verse one again we then as workers.
Those who serve, those who work together, beseech you also, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. Then we have a parenthesis. For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted in the day of salvation have I suckered thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Paul was animated to remind them of their salvation, and that it is in the day of grace when salvation can be had.
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So he brings that in a parenthesis.
Then he says giving no offense in anything that the ministry be not blamed. We had a little bit about that just at the close of the last meeting. What blames the people of God when they don't act according to the word of God?
And you and I have this wonderful ministry, the ministration of righteousness.
We don't want to give any offense about that.
We don't want to blame the ministry.
Then verse four, but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God. Now we've come to this wonderful statement, the ministers of gone.
When the Lord Jesus was here, he said.
The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give, to give his life a ransom.
For many.
Now he has raised up ministers today.
We have a perfect example in Christ.
We can read that word serve. The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom. For many it means the same thing, just to be a servant, to serve.
By Love.
Serve one another.
A man called JND said that self likes to be served and thinks itself great.
Love serves and is great. What lessons we have from scripture and from those who have taught us the truth.
Now when we come to chapter 6.
We have the moral traits.
Of the minister and there's a big long list of them.
We don't expect to get very far into them. I don't think it's necessary to try to explain many of them.
But those moral traits ought to be seen in everyone of us.
You know, in Israel.
They had priests and Levites.
They were types for the age in which we live.
And it's been remarked that in this age.
Of the dispensation of the grace of God.
Every child of God is a priest for worship. Oh what a high position that is. We can draw near with a full assurance of faith.
But we're also Levites to serve.
Now I'm talking to young people in particular.
Naturally speaking, have a long life ahead of you.
And you can serve.
I'm going to call attention to the first mark of the minister in this verse we're reading.
We stopped with ministers of God, verse four again in all things, approving ourselves as the ministers of God.
Now the first mark is in much patience.
Not just patience, but much.
Patience.
Now you have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the latter end of the Lord.
That he is pitiful and of tender mercy.
Job.
I believe.
There are more chapters.
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Written about that man.
Than any character in the Bible that I know of. There are 42 Chapters and it's pretty well job from start to finish.
God has set that man before us and told us much about His.
Long life, a most remarkable character.
Chose the best man there was to run him through those tests.
So that we could learn about patience.
About patience.
Think of that, man.
Tested by Satan.
Tested by his three friends Have you got three friends?
Do they ever say things?
That are not very nice about you.
Then he had Eli you to talk to him.
But it took the Lord.
To get job, to realize what he wants.
He could finally say, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
To his three friends he had said, Miserable comforters, are ye all?
He had also said, No doubt that ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you.
But he was brought into the presence of God.
And he learned what self was there.
And then he was ready.
For something, but God took up the case.
Of his three friends.
As far as I can find, God didn't say anything.
To those three friends about what they had said about Joe.
But what they had said about him, that was to be taken up.
They hadn't spoken of God right as his servant Job had, so they had to bring an offering and come to Job. He sort of acts as a mediator.
What a humiliating thing for those three friends.
But Jobs life wasn't over by a long shot.
He had to pray for those three friends and then he got the blessing.
Then they got another family.
And then he lived 140 years after that.
Don't you? Don't you think job experience many things that taught him patience?
The ministers of God, we are here to serve. Patience comes in.
I want to go back to First Corinthians and read.
Two scriptures in one, Corinthians 1.
And 1St Corinthians.
16.
To draw out of the scriptures.
A family.
That minister.
And it's not just old folks that serve, it's all of us here are to minister.
In First Corinthians chapter one.
We just catch the first part.
Now verse 16 Paul speaking, I baptized also the house.
Hold of.
Now turn to the last chapter of 1 Corinthians and find out.
How this family turned out.
It's in the 15th verse.
1St Corinthians 16, verse 15.
I beseech you, brethren.
You know the House of Stephanus, that would be his household. Those who were in his home. Doubtless in my thinking, children may be servants too. That it is the first fruits of achaya. Now this last part of the verse, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the Saints.
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Brethren, if you're going to be ministers of God.
They're going to be ministers.
Of the Saints.
Comes out very practical.
And there are some things that are good to get addicted to.
Things some things that are very bad to get addicted to. Here's a good one.
Now I'm going to go back.
And relate a little of the history.
Of a family.
In the Dominican Republic.
That, in my estimation, is an example of this family, this household of Stephanus.
Now let's be careful what I say.
Because.
Some of this family may be known to you.
And I wouldn't for anything make any remarks that would reflect anything on that family.
It is the family of a man named Eduardo Fairmin.
My privilege to know that family.
From the very beginning of them coming into the truth, or in their earliest years and before some of the children were born.
Eduardo was a teacher.
A teacher isn't rated very high there, especially in salary.
But Eduardo with his wife Kyotista.
Was a family that went on well for very many years. The whole family, I believe, addicted themselves to the ministry. As the children grew up, they had their household in order. They lived at Rio San Juan where some of you may have visited.
But there was a little assembly at a place called Sanchez, something like 40 or 50 kilometers away.
Who only had a very few brethren living there.
And Eduardo had an exercise to move to Sanchez to help serve over there to minister in that little assembly.
And the Lord helped him to move to Sanchez.
We had been in his home in Rio San Juan. He was very poor. In those years. The home was right down on the beach where you might like to build a castle if you saw the place, but it was in the slums of Rio San Juan.
Sometimes in high tidal high tides, the water would come up into their first floor. They only had one floor and yet it was a good place to live. But they moved to Sanchez.
They had a home there and the whole family addicted themselves to the ministry.
Is a treat to visit in that home. Hear them read the Bible together.
Be it meeting together and seek to help in that little gathering up there.
But the government decided to put a new road through. In those early years, it was a Jeep or a mule to get into some of those places. Well, the road was going to go right.
In their front yard.
That was part of the reason, but another reason was Eduardo couldn't get.
A job teaching there, so he moved back voice. They all attended meetings faithfully.
Eduardo.
Began to get sick about five or six years ago. He declined in health.
I saw him those two years, just lying on the bed, finally waiting to go home, wanting the Lord to come first. But the Lord took him home.
00:30:02
Maybe four years ago.
His daughters are all gathered to the Lord's name.
His two sons.
Are not.
They touch the unclean thing.
Their testimony is very poor.
This is sad. There is the necessity.
Of separation from evil. What is unclean?
And even separation from unbelievers when it comes to.
Yokes or those kind of things.
Now back in our chapter.
The patients.
Ministers of God in much patience.
Back in our hometown of Lawrenceville, there's a.
Godly.
Woman who runs a floor covering place on the Main Street along with her husband, and she likes to put wise sayings on the Billboard out in front. And one day a few years ago went by there and she had out on the Billboard patients. His life's hardest lesson. And I thought, I don't disagree with that, but I've got something that makes it.
Harder, and that is it's life's longest lesson for myself. It never does get over with in much patience. And then this list goes on.
In afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, we'll talk a little bit about those distresses because they come in connection with another statement.
On in the chapter, but to explain distresses, we'll go back to the.
4th Psalm.
And the first verse.
Distress has come upon us for a reason.
Allowed by God.
And we will read the first verse of Psalm 4.
Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness, Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.
Enlarged in distress.
An old brother in England who lived at the beginning of this century named F Lovington.
Wrote a pamphlet on the 4th sound. I recommend that you all get it and read it, and especially if you have trials and tribulations.
Which if you don't have, you're going to stay here long. You're going to have because they're natural to this light.
And he uses the word pressure.
And pressure hast thou enlarged me?
It's sort of like blowing up an inner tube, the more pressure you get.
The bigger it gets.
And Paul writes about.
Enlarged Hearts.
Well, that's the kind of heart trouble we all ought to have.
Enlarged hearts. We'll get to that as we go on.
In stripes and imprisonments, In tumults and laborers and watchings and fastings.
What a list we have here and as we consider Paul and his experiences which he relates in Chapter 11, I believe it is of this book, we can say he knew what he was writing about.
Beaten of stripes, and so on. In prison, in two molts, in laborers, in watchings, in fastings.
I'll use that word tumult.
And draw another illustration, which happened in traveling with Eric Smith in Bolivia many years ago. We were traveling by truck through the Andes, the Alto Plano.
00:35:05
And you go for hours and hours is the back in the days of.
Kikiwana and the attempt to communize.
Bolivia.
And they put gourds at every town.
To check on every truck that came into town.
And they had a chain across the road. We came up to this town up in the Altoplano named Cotagaita. A poor place, but we were thankful to get to any place after traveling through those mountains in the dust and cold in the back of a truck.
Where we came up to the chain stretched across the road and stopped and all of us in the back piled out.
The Eric was in the front. He got out.
And there was a crowd to receive.
Those who came, this was an event.
In that town of Kota Gaita. So they looked us all over.
Wasn't very long until.
A man.
Raised an accusation against Eric Smith.
He said he went to the mayor and probably the police chief, who were both there. This man owes me money he didn't pay me years and years ago. Eric Smith.
Well, I tell you when Eric heard that accusation.
He knew what it could have meant.
And he said to me.
Come on Clem, let's go tell the Lord on this man.
He didn't stir up anymore tumult. There was enough around there.
He didn't accuse that man to anybody. He just, we, I helped him told the Lord on that man.
Didn't take long for the Lord to help us.
Within 15 or 20 minutes, the authorities of the town knew Eric Smith. They knew his history, his truth, and they knew that accuser and his word did not stand against Eric's.
But that was a lesson for me.
When you are slandered, accused make bites, as we had in our Titus this morning, What do you and I do?
What have you heard done amongst brethren as to slanders, as to rumors, as to accusations, one person to another?
It's bad. That's the devil's business. That's not God's to accuse this brother to that brother, this man to that man. There are the authorities in the world, but amongst the Saints, slander.
I thought as our brother was telling about that this morning.
A nice saying.
I came across about a month ago in reading the ministry of SG Patterson. Young people, I hope you will read every one of FG Patterson's books. The truth of the ground, of gathering, the truth of Paul's doctrine, the truth of Christ in the church is much clearer.
And easier to understand, and perhaps more accurate than in some of the.
Better known writers? Well, this is the statement.
The 115 years ago came out in his writings.
The saying is there is perhaps no more common device.
Of the enemy against the.
Divine position was gathered to the Lord's name, than to make insinuations against those that bear it, even to insinuate.
Like he said this morning, Roberto.
Was out in the street at midnight, shouting at 3:00 in the morning. You know how the next person would take that up in the chain?
00:40:08
Oh, what lessons there are to learn from God's precious book.
Well, let's go on.
By pureness, the words are in until we get to this point. Now it's by just a little change in the preposition.
By pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering. You could read that long-suffering.
Yes, patience is a long time thing and we are to suffer long.
By kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned. These are all wonderful things.
And we are equipped as ministers of God, having that new life.
The divine life to carry on in these things, or by these things. Verse 7.
By the word of God.
By the power of God, there is no shortage of power.
The Holy Spirit's here, we've already had that in the sixth verse, By the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, we are to be equipped.
With that which will protect us on both sides by honor and dishonor. My evil report and good report as deceivers, and yet true, I suppose, accusations of dishonor and and of deceiving against the true thing.
As unknown and yet well known this.
Part of the verse is on the tombstone that marks JN Darby's grave in Bournemouth, England. I have seen it.
What a man that was. I can't find his name in the current.
Reports that is published every year as to great men, as to great events.
Some time ago his name would appear in some places. Can't find it anymore, but there are some to whom he is well known. And it's true.
The last time I saw the grave it was still well kept. Somebody still knows about Jay and Darby as well as unknown yet well known.
As dying, and behold we live, ye have not yet resisted under.
Blood striving against sin, we get in.
Hebrews 12 I believe it is. That is, we're all living.
We haven't been murdered yet.
So as dying, and behold, we live as chastened and not killed. We're still here, but we do get chastisement as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things. What a contrasting group of things we have here.
That are said about the ministers of God.
And those that minister to the Saints, these things come out.
And it's for our good as well as the witness. Now Paul loved those Corinthians and he said, Oh ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. That's the affections. Oh, he how he loved those Corinthian Saints.
And they were kind of naughty children to him. You'll find they are even calling in a question His apostleship. Yet doubtless He was apostle unto them.
But his heart was enlarged toward them. He says Ye are not straightened in US.
That wasn't the fault of the apostle, but ye are straightened in your own bowels in your.
Own affections.
He didn't say they were heartless, but amounts to that. Oh, we need our hearts stirred up.
An affection one for another. And if you think of the Corinthians, how they should have loved that apostle, doubtless they did.
00:45:09
But they didn't always express it. How about we and some of our brethren?
How about Job and his three friends?
What did they say about each other?
We've got to watch our speech, don't we?
As we had this morning.
Now for a recompense, in the same verse 13 I speak as unto my children. He calls them his children's. Later on he brings a little more into that, and he says.
The children ought not to lay up for their parents, but the parents for the children.
I'd like to say a little bit on that because I think we touched on it this morning.
The aged men, the aged women tracing down.
Recalling the 78th Psalm back in those days of Israel.
When the parents.
Taught the children.
And the children's children. And still another generation to carry down.
In the truth.
Now, when the apostle says the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children even wasn't saying that. Paul, I'm going to get a whole pile of riches and carry it over to Corinth and you can have it. That wasn't what he was talking about. They were rich at Corinth. They didn't lack in those things. They were gifted too. What was he talking about?
Christ and the truth of this blessed book. Your parents love your children. If you're going to pass anything on to them, pass on the truth, the truth of God. Teach them to addict themselves to the ministry of the Saints and be yourselves ministers of God.
Be also enlarged largeness of heart. Well, distresses and pressure will sometimes quite frequently produce a larger heart to reach out and seek the good of others.
May it be that we end up like Mordy Ki. Let's turn to the last verse of Esther and read that.
It just precedes job.
And an old brother named John Wilson said, I call this the Book of Mordecai. I don't call this the Book of Esther.
He seems to be the hero, doesn't he?
Mordecai the Jew.
Was next under Kingrus and great among the Jews. Look how the how much prominence he got.
And accepted of the multitude of his brethren.
Seeking the wealth of his people and speaking.
Peace to all his seed. Let's sing in closing #311.
It's a short one, but it talks about Communion and it talks about Everlasting Union.
That's what we're headed for. No more breakups of brethren that day. Some brothers start #311 for us, please.
His Counsels Revealed
Titus 2:1
Heavenly Pilgrims
Greatness Of God, Nothingness Of Man
1 John 1:1-7
Rdg.
Life of Abraham
Not in Man that Walketh
The Lord's Table