Burbank Conference: 1998
Table of Contents
A Simple Message
Gospel—E. Staggs
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.
This evening by singing hymn #2 but her brother, please raise the tune.
I was thinking tonight as I called out this hymn. I'd actually read it earlier before I came up here.
That it says here come.
Come tis Jesus.
Gently calling.
You know, some time ago I remember hearing a tape.
And on that tape, it went back to the Garden of Eden.
Where Adam and Eve had first fallen.
And.
They hid themselves.
Behind the fig leaves and in the woods. In the forest.
And they said that God came down looking for Adam and looking for Eve.
And he said, where are you?
Where have you hidden?
And immediately when I heard that, I said that's not the way he did it.
That is not the way he did it because I believe.
That God wants your heart.
And that God wants you to know.
That though he does not accept your sin, he cannot accept your sin.
He loves you.
It is a gentle calling from a loving God who has provided richly for the poor lost Sinner.
I would like to start out this evening by reading Isaiah chapter one.
And verse 18.
Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
Though your sins be a scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Though they be red like Crimson.
They shall be as wool.
You know.
I have thought tonight that I would like to take this as a scene.
In which God?
As it were, pulls up a chair.
And he sits beside each one in this room.
And he says, let's have it out.
Let's talk about it.
Let's talk about your sin.
And as God is sitting there next to you.
He says.
Your skin, your sins are as scarlet, and I love you, and I desire to make them as white as wool.
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Well, there might be a little discussion, there might be a little defense I was thinking this morning.
About a couple of things that a couple of brothers said during the first reading meeting this morning.
And it was this.
That until God can reach your conscience.
He can reach your conscience.
And you own what you are before a holy God. It's not until then that God can pour grace towards you.
And that's my desire to night. My desire tonight is that.
You might have your conscience reached.
That it is. You might come to that point.
Where you can only cry out to God. What do I do?
What do I do?
Let's turn now.
To Romans, chapter 3.
Starting with verse 12.
Let's start with verse 11.
There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way. They are all together, become unprofitable.
There is none that do it good. No, not one.
Their throat is an open sepulchre.
With their tongues they have used deceit.
The poison of ask is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.
Their feet are swift to shed blood.
Destruction and misery are in their ways.
And the way of peace, have they not known?
There is No Fear of God before their eyes.
Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth.
May be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight.
For by the law is the knowledge of sin.
We'll go down to verse 23, for all have sinned and come short.
Of the glory of God.
I'm going to stop right there. You know, I believe the important thing is, is that first of all that we find ourselves all to be in the same group.
And that is that everyone is guilty of sin.
You know, I have thought, I have to admit that I've been thinking about this gospel all night long.
And all through the day.
And I was thinking how? How can I get?
Those in this room that are still lost in their in their sins.
To come to the realization that they need a savior.
I've come to the conclusion.
I cannot.
The best persuasions in the world will not convince you.
I can maybe use clever ways, or I can tell you stories of my past, or I might tell you of those who have died.
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And yet you still will not be persuaded.
I had come to the conclusion today that the only way that you would be persuaded.
Is by hearing the word of God and the word of God only.
The word of God says everybody in this room is a Sinner.
Now I will say, if I might just clarify this, that.
There are those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
And they're not sinners anymore, are they? But there are those in this room that do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.
And they're still lost and guilty in their sins.
I had thought maybe I'd scare them into accepting the Lord as their savior.
I really did. You know what I was going to say? I was sitting there next to my wife and I said what I'm going to do is I'm going to say everybody that's ever been to a funeral, raise your hand. Well, I know everybody raised their hand.
And then I tell you how dangerous it is, see how sad it is. But you know that won't persuade you.
Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
If you're not going to receive just this simple message, simple. It's very simple.
I realized today as I was thinking about this message, I was trying to make it too complicated.
Maybe I wanted to be clever, I don't know.
But it says here.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
It's plain and simple.
Everybody in this room is a child of Adam.
Adam was a Sinner and we're just like our Father.
You know God had given the law on Mount Sinai chapter 19.
And the children of Israel both believe and proudly said all that the Lord has said we will do.
And all it really did was absolutely convinced God.
And man, that he was a Sinner.
But I read something that was kind of startling to me when I first thought about it, and then after I said that's really quite nice, I understand exactly what he's saying.
And the comment was this, that the law never told you how bad you are, it only told you you were bad. And I'll give you an example what I mean by that.
If I'm driving down the road.
And I'm speeding, and a policeman pulls me over and he says, Ed, you're speeding. You broke the law. I say, yes, that's true.
He gives me a ticket but it doesn't tell me how bad I am, it just tells me I broke the law.
The prisons are full of people who have broke the law.
But it doesn't tell them how bad they were.
It only tells them they broke the law.
That God has to bring us to a point.
Where he displays in.
US just how absolutely corrupt we are.
And God says that there is no good in US.
Let's turn, I'm going to just real quickly, let's turn to Hebrews because we, we do want to make this.
Hebrews, Chapter 9.
Verse 27.
It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him.
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Shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation? I really want to focus on the fact that.
That there's going to be a judgment God has to meet out of judgment.
But let's go back now and let's find out what we're really like. Let's go to the Gospel of John, chapter 15.
And verse 22.
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sinned.
But now they have no clothes for their sin. He that hateth me, hateth my father also.
If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin. But now have they both seen and hated both me and my father.
But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law. They hated me without a cause.
When God gave Israel the law, he gave them a perfect law. He gave them a perfect religion. He gave them a perfect priesthood. He gave him His presence. He guided them through the wilderness. He spoke to them.
And God did everything he could to give man an opportunity to prove that he could please God by the flesh.
When Israel failed, he delivered them over to Babylon.
Because it was the absolute evidence that man could not please God in the law.
After he.
Through Cyrus allowed Israel to go back and Ezra and Nehemiah to build the temple and the wall.
And God had prepared now for the Messiah and when the Lord Jesus came into this world.
He came to manifest God's heart to the people in this world. He came down and he did things that no man ever done. Let's go to Matthew Chapter 11.
In verse 4.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do here, and see.
The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, and the lepers are twins, and the deaf hear. The dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.
What a wonderful God.
What a wonderful Lord. He comes down into this world amongst the children of Israel and he reaches over and he heals a leper he raised as a poor widow's son from the dead. He feeds the multitude. He steals the sea and the and the waves, the the the wind and the waves.
He rides on a mule that's never been written on before.
He causes a fish fish to gather up into a net so much that the Nets begin to break. Another point. He calls over a fish with money in it to satisfy the taxes. He he goes along and he.
Has compassion on the Syrophoenician woman. He comes into this world manifesting what is in the heart of God.
But what did man do?
They rejected them, didn't they?
He says if I had not come.
But because he did come, and because he did manifest the love of God, and he did give the word of God, he says, now you have no cloak for your sin.
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It was the absolute evidence that man was absolutely corrupt to the core.
He was absolutely unredeemable.
Let's go to.
Matthew.
Chapter 16.
21.
From that time forth began Jesus to show unto disciples how that he must go on to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Matthew, Chapter 17.
In verse 22.
And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorrowful. Sorry, chapter 20.
Verse 17.
And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the 12 disciples apart in the way.
And said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death.
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles, to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him.
And the third day he shall rise again.
Luke Chapter 9.
Verse 22.
The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain.
And be raised the third day.
Chapter 20. Verse 27. But I tell you of a truth, there will be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Kingdom of God. And it came to pass about eight days after the same. After these sayings he took Peter and John, and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was wide and blistering.
And behold their talk with him two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
Verse 44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears.
Where the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. And they understood not this saying.
And it was hid from them that they perceived in it, it not, and they feared to ask him of that, saying, verse 51. And it came to pass. When the time was come that he should be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem. There's more, but I'm just going to read one last one.
Chapter 24 of Luke.
Now upon the first day of verse one. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning.
They came onto the sepulchre being, bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others.
With them, And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre, and they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining raimans. And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them.
00:25:14
Why seek ye, the living among the dead? He is not here.
But is risen. Remember how he spake unto you, when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of Sinner sinful men, and be crucified. And the third day rise again.
And they remembered his words.
You know, I read all of those.
Because I believe that.
There was a man who heard each and every time that the Lord Jesus made those comments.
But he never heard the last one from the angels.
And his name was Judas.
All the while that the Lord Jesus walked upon this earth, all the while he manifested.
What was going to happen to him?
All the while, Judith walked along with him.
And yet Judas rejected him. Judas betrayed him.
And Judas hung himself.
I say that because there's a room full of Saints here.
With children, perhaps friends.
Who have heard the message many, many times.
Have you still rejected the message thus far?
The Lord Jesus said I'm sorry back in Isaiah chapter one. It's as though your sins.
Be a scarlet, I shall make them white as smell.
We had showed you in the word of God that every man is guilty before God.
Every man is a Sinner.
It is through the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
That they shall be as white as snow.
The Lord Jesus foretold his death on Calvary's cross.
And when he went to Calvary's cross, and he hung there as a spectacle between heaven and earth.
I've often thought.
That this was a man who had come for the purpose to die.
This was a man who came as a gift of love from God, her poor lost sinners.
As he hung up on that cross, and the judgment of God fell upon him.
He cried out. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
And during that time in which he cried out.
The.
All the judgment.
That I deserve.
Was dealt there and the blows on him.
And the shedding of His precious blood as it came forth from His side was the power to wash away every stain of Stand is your Savior tonight, if you would look up at that blessed One.
And see that he's the provision of God. Every sin you've ever committed will be washed away.
You, as a child of Adam, would be put out of the sight of God forever.
And he would see you.
Through his Son as being absolutely holy and righteous.
And God, looking down upon his Son, having been laid in the grave on the third day, raised him from the dead, and placed him at his own right hand in the majesty on high.
When we were out in the desert the other day.
And Glenn mentioned it again today. I don't know that he's here tonight, but he said that often times you can enjoy what you have.
In the Millennium or in the glory through the negatives.
I didn't understand what he was talking about and I asked him what does that mean?
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He told me, he said.
That there will be no more tears.
There will be no more pain.
There will be no more death, no more sorrow.
I was thinking tonight that we live in a world of sorrow alone.
We live in a world of pain.
But God has something much better for us if we would accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
That we would have a portion with him where he is.
For all eternity in God, the light to save.
The judgment is a strange work.
He longs that poor lost sinners would accept His Son as their Savior.
That they might live with Him in eternity in the Father's house.
But there is another portion for the one who rejects the one who says I will not have.
The Lord Jesus Christ is my Savior, but God cannot dwell in the presence of sin.
And so he has to remove that one out of his presence for all eternity.
Revelation chapter 21.
I'm sorry, 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.
And 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. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and dead, and held delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their work.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.
When my children were young.
I used to read this portion to them not because I was.
Trying to scare them, but I was showing simply that God has a judgment in the end.
And it always interested me that when it confronted those that would be judged and cast into the lake of fire for all eternity, it said books.
But when it talked about those that would enter into eternity, it said.
Book.
And I thought that was a solemn thing. I believe in all things. God would have the preeminence.
But there.
But perhaps it's a book because all of the sins have been dealt with on Calvary's cross and it just has the name.
But every man will give an account for every sin he has ever committed. And if you do not have the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
You have absolutely no other hope at all.
You cannot earn your way to heaven. You cannot work your way to heaven.
There is nothing that you can do personally.
I'll just make a comment and then I'm going to close. Oh, I'll sing a hymn. But when we were in the desert this weekend, we came across a Jewish couple. And as we were talking to this Jewish couple, they had made this comment. They said that God is a loving God and everything is going to work out in the end.
And we talked to him for some time, an hour and a half about.
Different things in the scriptures.
But one of the things that.
Were asked them if if God is a loving God.
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And everything is going to workout in the end.
Then is what you have today in this world, is that what you're willing to settle for?
A God that doesn't care about murder.
A God that doesn't care about disease.
A God that doesn't care about sin.
Well then, we're just looking for a God that just satisfies ourselves, aren't we?
Even in the Garden of Eden, where just one sin, one single sin, was enough to take him out of the garden.
And cast him out of there forever. And then they died.
Well, they said they would think about that.
So I would ask you to think about that tonight.
Can you think of one sin that you've committed? Just one? I can think of many.
But if you can think of justice, one sin tonight.
It's enough to keep you out of heaven for all eternity.
It's enough to keep you out of the presence of God.
We sing #1.
Almost persuaded.
Our God and our Father.
Trim Your Lamps and be Ready
Children—B. Brimlow
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By seeing him #40 I think this is one of my favorite songs, and I learned that when I was a little boy.
Jesus loves me. How do I know?
The Bible tells me so little ones to him belong. They are weak, but he is strong. And then we get the lovely course. Yes, Jesus loves me. Let's sing it together.
She's awful.
Yeah.
Oh my God.
You know, this is a wonderful song that we've been singing and it tells us about what we are. That one verse is bad.
Bad Jesus loves me doing bad. The Bible says all.
Have sinned what it says all of sinned and come short of the glory of God.
But then there's a wonderful verse. It says for God so loved, so God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have something.
Ever lasting life. So when I talk to boys and girls and men and women like this morning, I like to address 3 questions. Where did I come from? What am I here for?
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But where am I going when I leave?
Oh, sometimes we're so interested in what we're doing here that we don't think about what we're really here for. The Lord Jesus could say in the 11TH chapter of Matthew, come on to me what he says. He wants you and me to come on to him because we're sinners. So we need to have our sins cleansed. We need to be cleansed from our guilt of our sins.
And that's why he died on the cross, so that he could put away all of the guilt of our sins.
The hemorrhoidus says all our sins. So great, so many.
In his blood are washed away.
And that's what the Lord wants me to come into the good of. And so it says a little child of seven, or even 3 or 4.
We enter into heaven through Christ the open door for when the heart believes on Christ the Son of God, who then the soul received salvation to his blood. Well this is a wonderful song when we could talk about some more verses in it. It always says thinking of this one verse that it says here heaven's gate to open wide. Oh.
You know, we're going to talk about the gates and doors this morning. That's one of the things that everybody this morning came through a door. I'm all right. You had to open the door to come here. So we got some doors on the end of the building. You had to come through the door to get into the building and where you were staying last night, you had a door to keep the cold out and the wind and maybe somebody that was.
I don't know about the peeps, but you know the thieves want to come in through the door sometimes, so that's why we got locks on the doors, right?
But you know, there's another door that we're going to talk about. Well, let's sing another song, and I think it's the number 22.
The other 22 are going to read about something there that's very interesting. The heavenly bridegroom soon will come. And then it has to do with a door opening in heaven. And that's what I'd like to talk about a little bit this morning at door opening in heaven. But how do you get through the door that opens in heaven? That's that addresses the question, where are you going?
Where are you going?
Oh, you say, well, I'm going to go home after the conference is over here.
What I mean at the end of this time that you and I have here in this world where you're going, when you leave this world where you're going.
The most important question in the world is, am I ready to leave this world? Suppose that I was to be killed in a car accident or something like that. Where, where? When my soul goes, oh, would it go to be with the Lord? You know, if you and I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal Savior, we know that we depart to be with Christ. And the apostle Paul, he puts it this way, to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
Far better. Well, let's sing #22.
All heavenly bridegrooms.
Have recipe recipe grave your pleasure.
You're in your life, literally.
00:10:11
Reservations water, but I'll try it for now.
Goodbye, it's right now in my head. Jealousy.
It's a bridegroom coming. Let's turn to Matthew 25 or read the story. You know, there's some wonderful stories in the Word of God, and the Lord wants you and me to put ourselves right into the middle of the story. I put myself in the middle of this story because I'm among that number.
That have oil in the land.
How did I get it? You know, when I was a boy, 14 years old, I got saved and I've been happy ever since. He keeps me singing. And when you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you have joy and peace in your heart by believing. But let's read the narrative. Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened onto 10 virgins, which took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom?
You know, you talk to people about people about the Lord Jesus, and they say, oh, I'm a Christian.
And a lot of times I say to them, if the Lord was to come, would you go up?
If you go up.
Go up where? Yeah, one man says. Can he go up where? I said to heaven to be with Christ, which I hope so.
I'm afraid he didn't have the oil in the land. He might have had the land because he told me that he was. He was going to go up. Yeah, I'm going to go up. But when I asked him for sure, he didn't know for sure. How do you know? And the one fellow said, oh, I've always been good.
You know what the Bible says is none good know not one, not one. It says all of sins and come short of the glory of God. In the 17th chapter of Jeremiah. It says something about the big trouble. You know, I go to the woman's prison and I talk to those poor girls there. They get in there because of lawlessness.
You have to get there because of lawlessness. They broke some kind of a law.
You know, there's a whole lot of laws in this world that if you break one of them, you're liable to go to the prison.
When I talked to him of the love of God, but I talked to him about the fact that they are sinners and if the Lord was to come, would they go up. A lot of them don't even never heard it before. They never heard about the gospel. All that the Lord Jesus died on the cross that he might put away all the guilt of our sins and it says the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Wonderful.
Peter says himself there are sins in his own body on the tree, and those dark hours when the Lord Jesus was there, and then that cry that Madden Monday said, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Because of you and me, beloved, Because of boys and girls that were in their sins, and men and women that were in their sins, and young people that were in their sins.
They had not the Spirit of God, but the Lord came down to bless and to benefit poor sinners with eternal life. And so that's when the oil comes. You know, the oil is the oil is a type of the Spirit of God coming and indwelling the believer.
And so they say, when the Lord comes, I hope I'd go up. And I said, you know, John 316. Yeah, they knew the verse, but they didn't have the oil yet. They might know all about it, but let's see what happens here. And the five verse #2 Matthew 25. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Foolish.
You know what people are called foolish about when they don't make provision for the future?
And they don't make provision. That's like where I live up north. It gets cold in the winter time.
And I know a man that he's got the wood stove and you know what he does in the summertime, he makes provision for the winter.
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And even in the Old Testament it says go to the aunt Thou slogan for consider her waste. She gets ready for the winter. She makes provision for the winter. The Lord wants you me to learn about getting ready for the winter of judgment is coming on this world. Are you ready?
Give me a Lance Ready. That's what it's about. Let's read it. And they that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them.
They didn't make provisions for when it got dark when I was a little boy. Well, let's read the next verse. And the boys took oil on their vessels with their lamps, And while the bridegroom tired, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made. Behold, a bridegroom comes going out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed the lamps.
Trimmed the lamp. I'm going to tell you a story when I was a little boy.
My grandfather had a shanty, my uncle had a shanty in the middle of the Bay in Long Island. I came from New York and we had a Bay back there called Jamaica Bay. And out in the middle of the Bay there was an old shanty that been there maybe for 100 years, I don't know. It was an old, what they call a bayman's shanty. He was a fisherman that he would catch fish in the summer and he'd catch clams in the winter. He'd rake for clams in the winter so they would survive that way, you know, something to eat.
And somehow my grandfather got ahold of the shanty and then it was handed down when he passed away to my uncle.
And I remember going there when I was a little boy, about six years old. How many boys and girls here? About six years old.
Yeah, that's it. Hold it up high so I can. That's it. Well, I was about six years old.
And I remembered that we didn't have electricity out in the middle of the Bay on this shanty that was up on built on a dock. And when the tide come up, there would be water underneath the chair. It was built on the edge of a marsh that you would call it. And when the tide goes out, it's all mud all around the shanty. You could walk in the mud and your feet would get sticky. Oh boy, it was tough. You'd try to walk on the squash. Your feet would be down in the ****.
And sometimes there would be Mr. Crabb there that he'd want to pinch your foot. I didn't like to walk in the mud. I was afraid of the crabs. They would dig themselves down in the mud. And if you put your foot down in front of Mr. Crab, he'd come up and he'd.
Either one can nip you. I didn't like that. But anyway, I remember 1. The night and the afternoon came. Grandma was there and my mother was there, and they would say we got to trim the lamps. We got to trim the lamp. So I'm watching how they trim the lamps. We had kerosene lamps. Kerosene is like oil in the lamp in the Bible story it tells. Well, I think they use olive oil in those lamps, but the principle is the same. You've got a Wick.
That you put in the lamb and after the Wick burns down a little, it gets black and crisp and the oil doesn't soak up into the black part so good. So you have to trim it and the Wick is fresh and then the oil comes up and the light is bright. And I used to marvel the way sometimes I've noticed in the evening when it was late, the lamp would get smoky.
You wouldn't give the light so good. You know, that's like you and me in our life sometimes we're smoking when it comes to being a testimony for the Lord Jesus. He wants us to have bright lights in view of that, very soon He's going to come. He's going to come and He's going to take the bride to heaven to be with him forever in the Father's house. But I remember we would trim the Wick just a little bit, get the black off and scrape it a little bit, and that would make it kind of.
I remember some of them little details so I can tell you the story about how it relates here. Trim your lamps and be ready for what? The darkness?
The darkness. You know there's a darkness coming on this world, beloved friends.
A darkness of judgment when the lights go out, All the lights are going to go out one of these days. You know, we got the nice electrical lights here. You don't think they could go out?
They could go out. They had on the East Coast years ago a little mouse come along and shoot a wire that was a relay to the whole east and seaboard and all the lights went out.
I forget what year it was, but where I came from in New York City, the train stopped in the track right over the top of the bridge.
The people are all afraid. How are we going to get off the train? I'm just giving you a little example. When the lights go out, what's going to happen? But what about that light, eternal light that God wants to give to poor sinners? That life eternal that we have when we believe in the Lord Jesus as our own personal Savior? Well, anyway, they trimmed the lights, they trimmed the lamps, and then they made a nice bright light in the shanty.
00:20:12
And I remember we would sit around and we'd sing hymns. A lot of times in the evening we'd sing hymns and enjoy the things of the Lord. I hope that you're enjoying the things of the Lord instead of the things of this world. You know, Satans thought of a lot of attractions of this world to win your heart and mind away from being occupied with the man that's coming. The heavenly bridegroom soon will come. I think that's what that's what our songs start out about.
Bridegroom soon will come to claim his bride and take her home to dwell with him on high.
Why would he want you to dwell with him on high? Why would he want boys and girls and men and women to dwell with him on high?
One word.
God is love, God is love, and he proved that love on the cross.
What he could say, No man taketh my life from me. I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. And so on the third day the Lord rose from among the dead. And then after 40 days, where did he go? He went back to the glory. And now there's a man in the glory, and he looks down and he wants to have you to be with him. Why? One word, love, Because he loves you. And that's why we have that wonderful secret of the love of Christ.
The love of God, the poor sinners like you and me, that the Lord Jesus would go all the way to the cross.
There in the cross, who would suffer for our sins to bring us to God? Let's go down in the story, see what happens.
And.
The midnight, there was a crime made. Behold the bridegroom go out to meet him. The bridegroom, you see, there was the Dark ages. We could take the historical fact of this story, of the dark ages, of the church's history. And if we go over to this second and third chapter of Revelation, we find this A7 churches there. It's a time frame. It's an outline of the history of the church in this world. And guess where we're at.
We're right at the last one. We're right at the last one, Laodicea. The Lord has to say to Laodicea, because you're neither hot nor cold.
I'm going to spew you out of my mouth, but let's get on with the story here.
Then all those virgins arose, and trim the lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us, and you, but go rather to them that buy and sell, buy for yourselves.
What does it say midnight? How many stores were open at midnight? Did you go by the oil?
You think this honey stores open at midnight? You could buy the oil.
You couldn't tell me, could you? I couldn't tell you either.
No stores open at midnight to buy the oil.
You know, nowadays we've got the gas stations are open at night, you know, if they fill the car up. But I'm getting back here to the narrative where it's real. It's real. God wants to give pictures to you and me that we can't buy the Holy Spirit when it's too late.
We can't receive the gift of God. You know, it says the wages of sin is death.
If I got what I deserved, that would be death, Eternal death, eternal judgment away from God, without God or without hope. And so let's see what happened here.
But the wise answered saying not so, lest there be not enough for us and you, but going rather to them that sell and buy for yourself. And while they want to buy, you know, there's some people in the world today they got writing all kinds of books about how to buy the oil. One man says to me, have you received a second blessing? I said, brother, I received all the blessings when I believed, Oh no, you have to speak in tongues.
You see, they're trying to buy some oil.
Because they never got the original oil from God. They never got the Holy Spirit. They got another spirit. Watch out young people, or another spirit. Very convincing. They, oh, they're such loving people. They love so much because I have the oil. They all looked alike, those 10 virgins. And we have them around us today where they're crying to God. Oh Lord, send the Holy Spirit, send the Holy Spirit. You know, in the first chapter.
Of Ephesians. Maybe we should read it.
So we understand what we're talking about here.
00:25:06
Verse 13. Ephesians chapter one.
I'll read the last part of the previous verse. Who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted? After that she heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that you believed, you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of His glory.
The oil, beloved, when did you get it? When you believe, that's what the gospel brings us into. Our brother told us about the gospel last night, how to be saved.
That's when we get the Holy Spirit of God. That's what the oil is a picture of. Let's get back to our narrative now, Matthew 25.
While they want to buy and the stores were all closed. You see the hopeless situation. It brings one to buy. But you know the scripture says, as our brother quoted last night, behold, now is the day of salvation. Behold.
Today we have salvation right now, not tomorrow. And then what is it says? And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. Oh, the door was shut.
You know, you and I, we had some shut doors this morning. I remember when I left my room in the hotel, I had to shut the door and the door wouldn't shut exactly. Except how does climate?
You know when God shuts the door, it's too late.
Trim your lamps and be ready for the bridegroom's coming. I do. You have the oil. You better get it before it's too late. You'll never get it when the store of God's grace and God's mercy is closed. Let's see what happens.
Afterwards verse #11 came also the other virgin saying Lord, Lord open to us. The cry the big prayer mean is coming after the rapture. Beloved, I hope none of you that are here will be in that prayer meeting.
What does the Lord say? He answered and said, Verily, I sent you. I know you not. I don't know you.
Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
We don't know when the Lord's coming, but Are you ready?
And so ask the question, if the Lord was a come, would you go up? And the surprising number of answers that I get.
I'm still collecting answers, but you know, every once in a while I get a good solid answer. Yes, I would. A man said to me the other day, yes, I would. I said, how do you know? He said because Jesus died for me on the cross. I said he died for me too. No, Wonderful that we can rejoice. I'm going to tell you a little story about a boat. Sometimes I tell stories about this and that. Some of you know that Uncle Bob teaches kids how to carve boats and even grandmothers.
We got some grandmothers here. I told them if they carved a boat I would nominate them grandmother of the year. And you know, they did a pretty good job.
But there's a little bolt and I'll tell you the story about the boat. When I was a boy in school, I was in the 7th grade, and one day this schoolmate of mine, his name was Walter, he came to school and he was going something like this. He said back and forth, back and forth.
With a piece of sandpaper and he was making something smooth. And I said, Walter, what do you got? And he showed me a little boat. Oh, I said, what a nice little boat. And he was sandpapering it on both sides.
And making it smooth. And you know what happened the next day he came to school. Can you see it back there? Anyway, he came to school and he had it in his pocket like this. And he came up to me and he said, Bob.
I got something for you and I reached in his pocket and he pulled out this nice little boat and he said you like it? Oh, I said I love it. He said it's yours and he gave me the little boat.
And you know what I said? I made a terrible mistake. I was holding it in my hand like this, looking at it, and I said, Walter, let me pay you for it.
And he snatched it out of my hand and put it in his pocket. He said it's not for sale. They walked away.
How do you think I thought I thought about that. I thought I wanted to cry. Oh look, nice boat. And I didn't get the boat.
So I went home feeling very gloomy. You know how you feel when you get gloomy? I don't feel good. You know some of us, you know you're little. You don't have to be very big to feel I don't feel good. And the next day I came to school. I thought, I know what I'll do. I can't get the boat.
00:30:07
You know, that's something about the gifts of God. It's eternal life and you can't pay for it. The gift of God, it's a gift. And if it's a gift, you can't say let me buy it.
If somebody gives you a nice present, you say let me pay for it. They say, oh, wait a minute, it's not for sale. And God's great salvation is not for sale because the price was paid on the cross. When the Lord Jesus said it is finished, that's when the work was done on your behalf for mine, because he had borne all your guilt and sins.
Now he saw ahead of time that you and I would be in this world. And so the entreaty of the gospel, it says.
Whosoever believeth on him should not perish without something everlasting life. Could you lose it if it's everlasting?
You don't know. See, sometimes I put hard questions to boys and girls, You know, obviously eternal. You can never lose it. Some people can say, well, you could pull yourself out of God's hand and you could lose it. No, the Lord could say, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never.
Never perish. I think it's a double negative there. John 5. John 10.
Well, the next day I went to school and I said, Walter, would you show me how to make a boat?
You know, I got around the prompt, but you know you don't get around the problem, the problem of what God has provided. You can't improve on God's probation for your sins. All our sins so great, so many in his blood are washed where where away forever. Oh, that's what gives peace. That makes me think of a little course that says wonderful.
Infinite peace flowing from Calvary. Do you have it?
In Christ believes and now receive wonderful.
Infinite peace. I hope everybody here has got it. If you haven't got it yet, you can get it right now by saying, Lord Jesus, I'm a Sinner and you died in the cross for sinners like me, and I want you to save me. You know, He'll give you that peace, the peace that passes understanding. It's called wonderful peace. You know, every time that I think of the Lord how much he loved me.
And that he died for me on the cross, it enlarges in my soul that peace.
Well, Walter told me to get a gouge and a chisel. I didn't know what a gouge. I know what a chisel was, but I didn't know what a gouge, he said. It's like a groove chisel. So I was in earnest. You know, I really wanted to carve a boat. So I went down to the hardware store and finally I found out what what is a gouge?
Like a groove chisel. And you know, you can't buy them in the hardware store nowadays. They look at you and they say we don't have any gaunders and most of their clerks don't even know what a gouge is. But it's like a groove chisel. And I was able to get some, I got some connections.
Might even mention the connection it's Harbor Freight tools, Harbor tools freight company. They got a nice little carving set for about 6 bucks and that's where I get these little carving sets with a nice gouge in it and it's easy to gouge the boat and so I.
Sometimes I go different places and I show boys and girls and men and women how to do it. But that's another subject. We need to stay on this subject. It always shut.
Anyway, Walter showed me how to carve a boat and I've been carving the boats ever since, just a long time ago. Now I want to go over to another door. You see, it says the door was shut. And they said Lord, Lord.
Open to us but he answered and said I've early I know I sent you, I know you not.
Now we go over to another door.
Revelation chapter 4, we're going to read about a door.
Some people say that revelation is hard to understand. You know, does not understand about what's a door? What is a door? This is the door into heaven, beloved.
In the chapter two and three of Revelation we get this the history of the seven churches of this dispensational time. 2000 years almost.
After this, after this, after what, after the seven churches, what is going to act in a way that is so remarkable?
We were singing about the heavenly bridegroom. He's coming. What is he going to do? He's going to call his bride up to heaven. But you know, heaven's got a door.
I looked and behold, the doors open in heaven. Wow, a door open in heaven And who's going to go through the door into heaven?
00:35:10
I like to ask the question, Are you going through the door into heaven when the Lord comes?
I'm going How do I know? Because the blood of Jesus Christ cleansed me from all of my sins and I have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I have hope. This hope is like an anger to this soul, sure and steadfast. And where does it go? It goes right into the holiest. It enters within the veil where the Forerunner has gone for us, even Jesus. So let's read a little about this door here.
A door was opened in heaven, and the first voice which I heard was at war of a trumpet talking with me which said come up, hit her.
And let hit her, and I will show thee things which must be hereafter. And John says, And immediately I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
You know we sing that little song around the throne of God and heaven while many children sing.
Are you going to be a singer in the heavenly choir? One day I was standing by the newspaper stand and I thought to myself, oh, bad news. There it was. And there was a man that come walking across his feet. Colored men can walk on where I live. And he saw me looking at the news and then he looked I looked at him and I said all bad. He said, that's right. I said, by the way, if the Lord was a come when you grew up, he said yes, I would.
And the smile on his face was that smile of a believer.
There was confidence in the response. Yes, I would. I said, then you're going to be a singer with me in the heavenly choirs. That's right.
Around the throne of God in heaven will many children sing, children whose sins are all forgiven. Will heavenly anthems bring singing glory? That man is going to sing glory, glory, glory to be to him on high.
When the door opens in heaven is going to go through the door. That man was in the good of what I was talking about. If the Lord was to come when he grew up. And yes, we're going to be here around the throne of God. And it says down in that 5th chapter. And I beheld and low in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders to the Lamb as it had been freshly slain.
Oh, there it is, the Lamb of God. And when in the first chapter of John's Gospel.
When the Lord Jesus came walking in this world, John saw him and he said, Behold the Lamb of God that takes away something.
What does he take away? The sin of the world. Has he taken your sins away? He's taken my sins away, and that's why I have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, these are wonderful themes that we have to sing about, but.
I'd like to turn to another verse in John chapter #10.
Something about the sheep.
I don't know if I got time to tell you the story about the sheep, but maybe I should tell you the story about the sheep. Some of you never heard the story about the sheep.
We moved to Washington in 1960, and so I had four children. I got five children. And after a couple of years they got a little bit bigger and they said, Daddy, we want to go over to Idaho and visit with our friends over there. So all right, so we took a trip in the summertime. It was a nice summertime.
We went over to Idaho and we went up into the hills away from where the farm was that we're staying. And here's a horrible bunch of sheep on the hillside. And there's a great big, tall shepherd with his. He had a big staff in his hand and he had the dogs. And he would say something to the dog and if the sheep was running away from the flock, the dog would go Yep, Yep, Yep, and chase the sheep right in the back with the clock.
And it was so nice and my little girl said, Gary, could we get a little baby lamb?
I thought, oh, because we were living on a kind of a farm and we had a horse, we had a cow, we had a milk cow and we had some chickens already. But that little lamb, they were so cute. You know, they would run around in the grass. And we heard about the bummer lamb where the Mama had got didn't want the baby lamb anymore or my Mama had died and here's a little lamb going around trying to get some milk from another Mama and they wouldn't even give it to her. The little lamb was shriveling up, not getting enough to eat.
00:40:01
So I said to the shepherd, Do you have a bummer, lamb? Maybe we could have it.
And he looked at me and he said, Would you be a Good Shepherd?
I thought, oh, he's putting it right on me to be responsible. And my little girl says, Danny, I'll be responsible. I'll be a Good Shepherd. A little girl was about, I don't know, 1213. So they give us this little baby lamb and we took it in the car and it was a little baby girl lamb and we named it Betsy.
So here's Betsy in the car and she goes this little bleat, you know, she was hungry. And so we right away got a bottle and some milk and we had to feed that little baby lamb is like a brother speaking last night about a suckling lamb. It still was on the bottle. It still was one to suck from the Mama, but it didn't have a Mama, so we had to be the Mama to it. And so we got going back to the farm.
We got to Uncle Ron's farm in Walla Walla and the next morning, what do you think happens? That little lamb wanted to run away and the kids took it out that we had a little collar on it and a little leash.
And when that little lamb got out on the grass in the yard, my little boy was holding it. A little boy was about to age, and some of these little boys here.
And all of a sudden the little lamb ran, and that pulled the leash right out of my little boy's hand. And where do you think that little lamb wanted to go? Right up on the hill where Mr. and Mrs. Coyote had their den under a big rock. And before times we'd gone there and listened, and my friend Ron would say, come on, they said, Jenna, Kyle's up on the hill.
If you go quiet and listen, you can hear the little pups.
You know the little pups is a little baby coyotes and you know what the bumper sticker says?
20 million coyotes can't be wrong. Eat lamb. You know, see, the cows like to eat the lamb. And what do you think the little lamb wanted to go run up on the mountain right to where the cows live, right in the the little Ridge there. So like the hills come on each side and right, there's a big rock up at the top.
And we both had to get both families running behind the lamb. The lamb would look back and run faster, and we couldn't catch up. A little baby lamb was running away to the constant. That's like the Sinner running right toward the devil has all of his wares. And the devil wants to destroy and to steal and to kill like the thief. And finally I told Ron, you go that way and I'll go this way. We'll get on each side. So we both went up the hill and we got around past the lamb. The lamb was looking back and there's nobody back.
Chasing anymore. So she stopped. That's why we got around the lamb and then he came around that point pretty soon and we caught the little lamb.
A little lamb went straight upon the hills one day. That's the story. But you know, thankfully we've got the little lamb back safe. And then we brought the little lamb home and the kids took care of that little lamb. And so everybody lived happily ever after. Well, our time is up. Maybe we're close with the word of prayer.
Father, we thank you that.
Open Mtg.
Open—W. Gill, C. Hendricks, R. Klassen
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.
To God, our strength.
He has brought us to, He will bring us.
Home at length.
This the Lord our God will do, doubt not, for His word is stable.
Fear not, for his arm is able. And we sing the whole hymn #242 Someone started please.
A short, brief text.
First one is in First Corinthians 14.
1St Corinthians 14.
Verse 9.
So likewise you.
Except ye utter by the tongue, words easy to be understood.
How shall it be known what is spoken?
For ye shall speak into the air.
Then verse 30.
If anything, be revealed to another that satisfy.
Let the 1St.
Hold his peace.
Then.
The little blue cards that have circulated around containing the schedule of the meetings for these several days has a couple of texts at the bottom.
It might bear repetition reading just now by way of introduction to this meeting.
I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called with.
All loneliness and meekness with long-suffering.
Forbearing one another in love.
That's Ephesians 4 verses one and two and then the last line wait on the Lord.
Wait, I say on the Lord.
Psalm 2714.
But we could pray before us. The meeting begins.
Now our God.
Grace, I think we've already asked the Lord's blessing. Perhaps we can do it again though. Blessed God and the Father is reopened. My word, we pray thou blessed to him. It's thy word with thy children. Count upon me for blessing and guidance and help and give me our thanks in the Lord Jesus name, Amen. Let's turn to.
President James.
Predictive Report.
Interesting word in the.
The last chapter of James and the eighth verse.
And the latter part of the verse, you might say, we saw James, We might say, how come you said that?
The last part of James 5/8. The coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Now there's written 1900 years ago.
00:05:07
Coming, the Lord draws an iron.
But what does bring it home to me, and I trust, to all of us?
I can mark a day back in 1934.
I was in Denver with my dad.
We were walking out to the meeting room on the Lord's Day morning. I don't remember any part of the conversation.
Except he said to me, the coming of the Lord is very near.
That's 64 years ago.
I was just a young fellow then.
64 years.
Now it's interesting to me to think about how we look forward to being here. Here we are, December 26th.
The backstage to Labor Day.
The summer was over thinking about.
What's coming?
And we think October, November, December, December.
The Burbank meeting.
And so we go through October and think about, yeah, now it's just two months, you go through November.
Not just one month and we got through.
Three weeks.
Two weeks, one week, then we start taking off the days. The day is coming nearer and nearer.
Now if you liken that to the coming of the Lord.
It sure is near, isn't it?
You think about the calendar and you think surely the Lord is going to come before the year 2000.
Perhaps all of us know that the calendar haywire were already past 2000.
If your Bible has.
A chronology at the top of the column in Matthew 1. Mark. Well Luke One it says BC4.
BC is the birth of Christ.
The Lord Jesus in that reckoning was born four years before the beginning of the present cycle of years. This is actually 2002 already. You can't rest on the year 2000.
But one thing we can rest on, the coming of the Lord is near, perhaps today.
Turn to the 12TH chapter of Luke.
But my thought is, what preparation can we make? How can we be ready for this coming?
Often we say that in Vermont you're best to the young people, but.
Need it myself. The 12TH chapter of Luke tells us something of the preparation we can make, or what? That is our being ready. Verse 36. Well, verse 35 of Luke 12.
Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning, and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when he will return from the wedding, that when he cometh in office, they may open unto him immediately, just waiting on the Lord. So this is the story I read not long ago of the fishermen coming in.
Perhaps up in the state of Maine or up in Canada and the men on those fishing ships.
We're looking with telescope and one of them saw on the shore his wife was there waiting for him and he rejoiced and one of his associates looked. He didn't find his wife.
They got closer and closer to sewer and he still didn't see them.
Finally they got under the shore and he makes his way home. There's his wife.
It's a great shirt and she said I was waiting for you. Yes, but he could say Joe's wife was down there watching for him. Oh well, I was busy here.
Still, this is commended here.
Ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord. Are you and I doing that?
But there's more than that.
Turn to 40, verse 43.
Blessed is that servant whom is Lord, when he cometh shall find doing.
Shall find that's a busy thing. Nice, nice if that man came home and found his wife keeping the house and making baking bread and getting all set.
00:10:09
But dropped down in between here verse 37.
Blessed are those servants whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find a watching.
Now I covered that.
I want to be watching at the instant when the Lord comes.
To find it rather interesting, if I may have a personal observation.
I often awaken in the night.
And sometimes I think, why did the Lord do that? Why did he wake me up? The Lord is coming. I'm ready. I can see him come.
I would share that with you. I hope you have that same thought.
If you want to be watching, sure, you want to be waiting and you want to be working. But just think what it says here, verse 37 again.
Blessed are those servants, those Christians, to whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. Verily I say to you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down and meet, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second, watch.
Or come in the third watch and find them. So blessed are those servants.
Doesn't doesn't affect your appetite. Don't you want the Lord to come and you'll be found watching? Watching in your heart. I know you've got to do your job. You've got to keep help. You've got to do this and you've got to do that. But the attitude can be one of watching. That's why I covered this matter of waking in the night and having that little flashing thought. The Lord is coming.
Here.
So here are three things that you can you can do. You can wait, you can work, you can watch, you can do all three. You can wait already, you can work on it. You can wait and work.
You can wait and work and watch.
And the Lord, this is beyond my understanding. We think of that vast strong which we're going to be a part. They have the courts of glory.
And according to what we have here.
The Lord is going to say about you, and you and you and you come over here. What does it say?
He forgot himself and make them to sit down to meet. It will come forth and serve.
And it's interesting to see this is in the first watch of the night.
That those who come who are doing this in the second watch or even the third watch, we're going to get the same blessing. So it isn't too late to start watch for him now. Very familiar portion, but we need to look at it in First Thessalonians.
Because it's part of the thought before when First Thessalonians 4.
You might say we don't need to read it, we know it so well. That's all. I'm going to read the 1St Thessalonians 4 verse 16.
Where the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
With the little amusing things when our.
Sister Mrs. Helen McMillan passed away a few years ago.
Subsequently, Dan Anderson and I took Brother McMillan out to the cemetery to the grave.
And I was standing by the date with the grave and Dan Anderson said, well.
Said the Lord might come. Well, what a thrill it's going to be. The graves will be opened, those dear loved ones that we know are in the glory are going up first, and then we're going to be caught away to meet the Lord in the air.
Again, what James said that coming is near. It's way past due I think.
And I just remind myself be ready for when the Lord comes. But when more scriptures First Corinthians 15 again.
00:15:00
Familiar to us, but just a little reminder.
1St Corinthians 15 and verse 51.
Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trunk where the trumpets will sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So in this corruptible shall it put on incorruption, this mortal shall it put on immortality.
Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory.
Where is thy sting, O grave? Where is thy victory? The sting of death, the sin, the strength of sin, is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.
For as much as he know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
The coming of the Lord is near. It must be very near. Perhaps today, if not today, then tomorrow. Every indication.
That we've considered here that the Lord's coming must be very, very near.
And those who are watching when he comes.
Going to have a special blessing. I want to be a part of it. I urge you to join.
That doubtless bastron of those who are watching for the Lord, not just waiting, not just working, but watching for the Lord to come.
#208 has been given out.
It's chapter 2.
And verse 13.
Looking for that blessed hope.
And the glorious appearing.
Of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
We've had before us a little about the blessed hope.
Gazing in his, on his buttered face, being in his presence, we call that the Rapture.
But he's been cast out of this world.
He's been rejected here. He's been spit upon, crowned with a crown of thorns and struck on the face with the fists of the Roman soldiers and.
Maltreated.
Biden's creatures.
We're also looking for the.
Glorious appearing or the appearing of the glory?
Of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, when he will be crowned.
Down here in the scene where he has been so maligned and abused and mistreated, when he will have his rightful place and we'll be with him then.
It's turned to 2nd Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians.
Chapter 2.
Now we beseech you, brethren.
By the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together.
To him let ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter.
As from us as that the day of Christ is at hand, the day of the Lord is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come.
Except there come a falling away. 1St And that man of sin be revealed, The son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he is God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
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Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
And now you know what withholdeth, that He might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan.
With all power and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness and of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that the all might be damned, who believe not the truth.
But had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The greatest judgment.
Far greater than that which fell upon Jerusalem, apostate Judaism will fall upon apostate Christendom.
The place on earth that has been so favored and so blessed for 2000 years now with Christian light and testimony. The greatest privileges and blessings that God has ever bestowed upon man.
The company I'm addressing this afternoon is probably the most favored of all.
With all the light that God has given to us.
Is there anyone here in this great company? It's still lost because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. God will send them strong delusion. They should believe a lie.
That all might be damned who had, who did not receive the truth, had pleasure and unrighteousness.
It's It's hard to believe that there's anyone here that has been under the sound of the precious word that we've had before us these days, that.
Still outside of Christ, still in his or her sins, still lost. But it's possible. And so this first appeal that I would make is to your soul.
If you reject and continue to reject the love of the truth that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, God loves you. Be shown that in the gift of His beloved Son. He could not give more. He would not give less to despise that.
Will issue in the greatest judgment this world has ever seen.
As the judgment of God will fall upon apostate Kusundo. As we look around this, we don't have to have great discernment to see that Christendom is about to be judged. As our brother was bringing before us the coming of the Lord for us. The blessed hope to take us out of this scene is soon to come. It might be today.
Brother asked me the other day, when do you think the Lord is going to come? I said today. That's the only answer we can give that would be scriptural.
Don't put it off beyond that.
And then he's going to come back with us and this world which has despised us as well as him, because it despises those that are his. If they have rejected me, they will reject you, he said.
And so when we feel the rejection of this world, the Muslims can pray five times a day towards the East. They don't feel any reproach, any rejection for that. None of the false religions feel a bit of reproach because Satan doesn't oppose them.
But it takes something to stand for Christ in an evil day, and we're living in an evil day. At the end of every dispensation is darkest of all, because the light has been rejected and it issues in judgment.
The greatest delusion, the greatest deception is about to fall, and it is falling, and it's going to continue to fall upon Christendom.
We need discernment today more than ever to know what we are about and why we're here and what he's left us here for.
As a leftist here to make a name for ourselves to get ahead in this world, he's left us here to be a light, to be a witness for him. He's left us here to witness.
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For the Lord Jesus.
As my Father hath sent me into the world, Even so have I sent you.
Father sent Him. He was here for the Father, as the living Father had sent me, and I live on account of the Father, so he that eateth Me shall live on account of me, as He was here for the Father's glory, as He could say, The Father hath not left me alone, but I do always those things that please Him.
Why has he left us here to live for self? No, he's left us here to live for him, to be a witness for him.
So this chapter begins with, I beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him, tomorrow morning we'll be gathered unto His name.
That's the name of one who's been rejected here. Not accepted, not a popular Jesus.
But a very unpopular one. We're gathered to his name. Great privilege. Tremendous privilege. It supposes he's not here. He's gone on high. They sent a message after him. We will not have this man to reign over us.
And so we have the privilege during the time of his rejection to be gathered to His name. But this is looking on to what our brother was bringing before us, the rapture, I beseech you, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him now, when we're gathered to His name tomorrow, it'll just be a few of us when we think of the whole church the world over. But when we're gathered unto hell, not to His name now, but to Him personally.
All the Saints will go. No missing then.
All the divisions.
All the ruin that the enemy is brought in will be done away with.
And together with all the redeemed, will rise to meet him in the air.
Don't miss that.
The moment for which all other moments was made will be when he calls his bride home to glory.
You're going to be there, aren't you?
I hope there won't be one here, that we'd be left behind.
Are gathering together to him. He beseeches them. He says this must take place before, and then he names a certain number of things. Notice what he says.
That he be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us. There was a letter that had come to them purportedly from the apostle Paul, and Paul says, it didn't come from me, that the day of the Lord is at hand. The day of Christ is when we go up to be with Him, but the day of the Lord is when He will come back and establish His rights in this world.
They were going through tremendous persecution.
And there was the mistaken idea. You know, when you're when you're going through persecution and trial and the enemy is has the upper hand and he's subjecting you to torture and even to death, they thought that was the day of the Lord.
No, He says when the day of the Lord comes, you will be at rest in glory. That's what he says in the first chapter and he says in verse six of chapter one, seeing it as a righteous thing with God to reconcile tribulation to them that trouble you. They were being troubled now by the enemies of the gospel.
And when that situation occurs, the day of the Lord hasn't come yet.
Because when the day of the Lord comes, the enemies of the gospel will be in trouble and will be home and addressed.
It will be just the opposite to what was happening here. They misinterpreted the tribulations through which they were going as being the Day of the Lord.
And he says, no, the first thing that has to happen before the day of the Lord can come is that we have to be gathered together unto him all the same, raptured to himself in glory. And then.
Verse three it says, except there come a falling away first the apostasy. That's what the the word apostasy means is the falling away.
Now there can't be the apostasy until we're gone.
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As long as Christians are left here in this world, there will be faith.
The apostasy can't come as long as you're here. That's what Paul is saying.
As long as Christians are here, the apostasy is the complete overthrow of Christianity.
That can't be as long as they're Christians here.
So you're the living proof that the day of the Lord has not come, because the apostasy has to come first. First our gathering together to Him, and then the Spirit will go with us, and then there will come the apostasy.
And then that man of sin be revealed.
The son of Perdition. That's the Antichrist, and he will not be revealed.
He has not been revealed. Don't let anyone tell you that he's been revealed. As long as we're here, he has not been revealed. He may be very much alive in this world, but he hasn't been revealed yet because we're still here.
And when he calls his home, he gathers us to himself, and then will come the apostasy. There won't be any Christians here to stem the tide of evil. You might say, well, it certainly looks to me like the apostles here now. Well, this is nothing compared with what's going to follow. The rapture of the Church are gathering together to him.
Will be infinitely worse for this scene after we're gone. There is a restraining power.
In the presence of the Saints of God, our presence here, what good are they? The world says their only troublemakers. And I believe that when we're gone, they'll, after they realize what has happened, first of all, they'll look for us. As it says with Enoch, he was not found. That means they look for him.
And they'll look for us, Where did all these people go? Where did they go when they realize we're not any longer there? They'll say, now we can do what we want to do without any hindrance, no more restraint. And then the full tide of evil will break upon this scene. Terrible. We've seen some awful things, upheavals of nature. We've seen some awful things while we're still here.
But they're nothing compared with what awaits this world. Apostate Kusundo is just ripe for the judgment of God to fall in its unmitigated fury.
Awful day awaits it. Glorious day for us. Terrible day for this scene.
Then shall that man of sin be revealed? The son of perdition? There's only two men in scripture called the son of perdition. John 17. The Lords prayer he mentions Judas Iscariot is the son of perdition.
And hear the Antichrist has got that title, The son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he is God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
When this power arises, Christianity will not be tolerated any longer. I mean the outward form of it, because after the rapture, I suppose that for a short time nominal Christians will still go to church on Sunday.
But the life of it, the vibrancy of it, the life of it, the reality of Christianity will be gone. The Spirit will go with us. He who forms the assembly as the House of God in the body of Christ, He's the restraining power now, and your presence and mine is there. They say good riddance. They'll find out what that means.
When we're gone.
They'll find out the awful judgment that will fall upon this Christ rejecting world when you and I are gone. It will be terrible beyond words to describe so bad. They will call upon the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of the Lamb. The wrath of the Lamb, the wrath of the one they nailed to a cross and set away with Him we will not have.
This man to reign over us.
So there's this man of sin. He's going to sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
God is going to bring about the greatest delusion that Christendom has ever seen.
Remember you not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things, and now you know what withhold it that he might be revealed in his time. That could be the presence of the assembly here, though what that's withholding the full outbreak of evil. And then he goes on to say it could be also ordered government.
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That is withholding it and then he goes on to say.
Verse six and now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time for the mystery of iniquity that already work only he.
Who now letteth or hindereth, or restrains, will restrain until he be taken out of the way?
Clearly an illusion here to the Spirit of God.
So there's a what withholding, and then there's he who withholds.
The assembly's presence here is a restraining power.
It might seem that the influence of Christians here is null and void. Not so. Not so.
For the mystery of iniquity hath already worked way back there in that 1St century.
Started working only he who now letteth will let hinder till he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked one be revealed. That's the Antichrist, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs, and lying wonders. If you look at Acts 2, we won't turn to it, but those are the very same words that are used to describe the true.
Messiah.
The works that he did, power and signs and wonders.
The Antichrist is going to imitate. There's going to be the greatest imitation and delusion that's going to settle over Christendom. The most favored spot on the face of the earth is going to be deceived with the greatest deception ever.
And these power and signs and lying wonders, wonders of falsehood.
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth, not just the truth, but the love of the truth that God loves man and then he's provided in his love a Savior. They wouldn't receive it. If you have, if you're one of those, you're headed for the absolutely the worst, the worst judgment that's ever fallen.
Flee from the wrath to come. I trust there's not one here, but still lost, unsaved, undecided.
Time is short. You don't have much time.
With all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, and for this 'cause God shall send them.
Strong delusion.
That they might believe a lie.
And that they all might be damned.
Who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Or what a judgment awaits this favored scene.
This sphere on the earth, not communism, not Muhammadanism, not Hinduism, but christened out.
Christendom Bag, which has professed the name of Christ.
If you're one of those and you're not real, you're going to be one of those who's going to be damned.
And deceived.
After we're gone.
May the Lord stir us up, realize where we are and how near we are to His coming, when He'll gather to Himself all the redeemed, none missing them, all of our brethren scattered, gathered, no matter where, He's going to gather them to Himself.
But a day that would be.
These meetings, we've had an awful lot to listen to and to take heed to.
I would just like to.
Continue the theme that's been before us this afternoon, and that is the coming of the Lord.
And I'd like to take up Revelation 2:00 and 3:00. Not that we read everything, but there's some definite statement in those chapters that I would like to call attention to.
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And we know that Revelation Two and Three are addressed to the seven churches that were in Asia. I believe it can be taken up in various ways. You and I have probably been in meetings where they've taken up the book as to the history of the church.
From the.
Apostolic days to the coming of the Lord.
And we know that they were seven distinct churches in Asia.
But this afternoon, I'd like to call attention to the fact that these things were written for you and me.
For December.
26/19/98.
The two statements that I have in mind that were written.
Is there are seven of them and we know that seven is divine perfection.
And.
There's seven in each case. The first one is I know thy works.
Matching 7 times in these two chapters.
And it has been brought before us in this.
These meetings that thou hast searched me, the Lord, thou hast searched me, and knowing me, thou knowest my down. Sitting to my uprisings, Thou understandeth my thoughts afar out. Thou compass this my path. Am I lying down? Thou art acquainted with all my ways.
There is not a word in my tongue, but lo, oh Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
Thou hast beset me behind and before.
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high. I cannot attain on to it.
This afternoon.
Where you're sitting, you are an individual before the Lord. You are special to Him. We don't get lost in the crowds.
He knows all about you and where you stand before him, and we've heard some very solemn ministry in regards to that.
I would just like to turn to.
First grantions, Chapter 2 for Justice. A brief thought before we return.
First Corinthians.
Chapter 2.
And incidentally, I should have mentioned it before, but the other statement is he that hath ears to hear, Let him hear mentioned seven times. You have ears. Do I have ears?
Appeal to us is to listen.
Now I realize that this afternoon that there may be four different kinds of tears in this world, in this room.
And.
I'm just going to read from verse 14 of chapter two of First Corinthians.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judge of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you.
His arm to spiritual, but his arm to carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
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Now, the natural man we've heard quite a bit about it is one.
Who does not perceive the things which are the Spirit of God, however?
He is a great pretender.
And we know, as Brother Chuck has brought me forth, that.
When the Lord Jesus comes, he's going to redeem his own out of this world. He's going to not one is going to be missing.
But there are going to be those that are left that were simply pretenders. The natural man is a great pretender.
You have probably then maybe some of you have not heard, but there was a man by the name of.
Frank Abernal.
He was a great pretender. He wasn't real at all.
At the age of 16.
He left home, he ran away from home. He looked older than he was, but.
He posed as an airline pilot.
And nobody suspected that he wasn't a real airline pilot, but he did not know how to fly an airplane. But that didn't matter to him because he was just pretending.
He posed as a medical doctor.
He knew nothing about medicine.
And yet nobody knew that he was a pretender.
He posed as a lawyer passed the bar exam in Louisiana.
Nobody knew and he was just a pretender.
He posed as a professor of the university and was.
Chosen from three applicants.
I won't go into any details of this, but in all his career in this way, nobody knew that he wasn't what he was.
He was simply.
A teenager who was posing in this way.
Well, I just wonder this afternoon if there's any pretenders out here.
You know it says he that hath ears to hear.
Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Church is.
The next one is we have the spiritual man.
Now, just what is the spiritual?
Does that mean I look at myself and say, yeah, I think I've arrived?
No, not at all.
The spiritual man never looks for anything in himself.
But he is in this world for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And God works through that spiritual man. We know that the Lord Jesus was that spiritual man, and He's the only one that fulfilled God's mind perfectly.
He walked in this world.
As that perfect subject, Lowly 1.
And God could say of him.
This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
You and I are called to follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus.
Why? It's because that is the man that God delighted in you and I know that we can't do that.
And we're so imperfect, but God has only one standard that's following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus. How wonderful for you and me to have the Word of God open to us today, to learn of Him and to learn of His pathway in this world.
The next is the carnal man, you.
Are they believer in the Lord Jesus?
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But you can live.
In this world to please yourself, I can too.
And I think it's such a sad thing and I, I need to judge myself in this because.
Oftentimes and more often than not.
And carnal. What does that mean?
Means I satisfying myself, doing my own thing, not recognizing God and maybe what I do.
Now you'll notice that we mentioned that there were four. I believe that this carnal man can be divided into two parts.
I might just suggest this way that there can be legality.
That is the right hand.
And there can be looseness and licentiousness on the other side at the left hand. We know that these.
Things have been in the world for a long time.
Moses was told, See that ye turn not to the right hand, nor to the left hand, and he told that to the children of Israel.
In the Lord, the time of the Lord Jesus, we see that there were the Pharisees and there were the Sadducees.
The Pharisees were on the right hand, the Sadducees on the left hand.
That they pose as being spiritual, but they weren't.
Let me qualify.
Legality.
Illegalists.
Makes it pretty hard to live because he has one standard and that's what he thinks to be right.
Unless you agree with him, you are out.
Who doesn't have time for you?
And he determines that if you don't agree with him.
That you're worldly.
You're loose.
But on the other hand, we see that.
There are those.
Who want to live this life of looseness, worldliness?
And they look at those that would want to follow the Lord. They determine everything is legality.
This is a serious thing, and dear young people and older ones as well.
May I beseech you?
That you follow the Lord Jesus.
And not worry about whether or not what others say about you.
I can remember when I was young.
Just a teenager, I came down to Southern California for a conference.
And.
I look around and see the young people and I see some of the qualities that were in me.
I thought I was pretty cool and I wanted to do my own thing. I didn't want to be tied down to.
Certain things as I thought I was being tied down to at home.
But I was let loose.
And I'm very ashamed of it now.
But you know, there was.
Another young person about my own age.
That rebuked me. He didn't know that he was rebuking me, but it just.
Tore up my conscience.
He's ready.
This afternoon.
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This person is sitting in this audience.
The Lord knows who he is. He doesn't know.
But I'm going to wait when the Lord to the time when we're with the Lord and he comes up to get that reward for that review that he gave me. Young people, may I just encourage you?
But if you want to follow the Lord, that you can be a tremendous help to somebody.
Don't think you're going to lose anything by not being in the crowd with your peers.
That seek the things of this life in this world. There's many attractions out there. We have to admit those has been brought out before us in this these meetings.
They're all going to pass away.
There is nothing that lasts but if you follow the Lord Jesus.
You're going to.
Have that eternal portion that shall not pass away.
Back to Revelation 2:00 and 3:00.
We mentioned that the Lord.
Knows all about it.
And we see that the first departure was.
They left their first love.
You love the Lord Jesus like you did when you first were saved. Do I? I need to speak to my heart and conscience. The Lord knows He looks right down in your heart. And can he say you don't love me like you used to?
He's the only one that notices what's in the heart.
You may fool me, you may fool your brethren, but no, you will never fool the Lord Jesus.
If I speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not loved, I become a sounding brat and a tingling symbol.
If I have the gift of prophecy.
And if I.
Can solve all mysteries.
And though.
I have all faith so that I could move mountains and have not love. I am nothing.
If I bestow all my goods to feed the poor.
And though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
The Lord can look into your heart, into my heart. Is there that love for the Lord Jesus? Does he mean something to you? Does he mean something to me? Oh beloved, he is everything.
Without him, we have nothing, with him we have everything.
I would like just to call attention to the Book of Revelation.
You know you and I have been taken to the Gospel of John.
And in the Gospels we see the Lord Jesus.
As that lowly subject person.
Who walked in this world making himself of no reputation?
Being rejected of men.
Cast out unappreciated.
And finally ends on a cross.
In the Book of Revelation.
That's not the way we see the Lord Jesus.
Though as we've heard this morning that he is the same.
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The very same man that walked here in this world as a man amongst men.
Is the same person that we read about in the Book of Revelation, and it begins this way.
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him to show unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.
And so on.
In this book.
The Lord Jesus Christ is revealed to us for who He is.
He is the creator God.
He's the highest of the high and his brother Bob brought before us yesterday afternoon all those attributes.
Of who he is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.
Light love.
Created.
And there's no end to what he is.
That now I messed up. He appears as the judge.
There's an appeal to you and me to hear he that hath ears to hear. Let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
We're to listen to what the Lord Jesus said to the churches and he appears in various ways. We don't have time to to go into it, but we've noticed how that he felt it when there was a declension.
It was not noticed by the natural man, or even by man in general, but the Lord felt it.
But he seeks to bring back the hearts of his people through persecution. You know, you and I live in a very affluent land. We know little of persecution. But beloved, there are many in this world who are going through terrible persecution.
Do you think the Lord Jesus means something to them?
I have no doubt in my mind that He is very precious to them because they're soon going to leave this world of persecution to be with Him and like Him for all eternity. What a hope they have. You and I have things pretty good in this world, and sometimes we may just forget about the Lord's coming.
Oh, how wonderful it is to have meetings like this, to be reminded of these things, and we don't know.
Whether we will be called to pass through persecution and I'm sure that this would bring out the reality in every one of us.
I, I fear persecution, I don't look forward to it and I don't know whether I could handle it or not. But if we're real, the Lord will give us grace to handle it. And that's what we have in the, the, the second church. But we see how that in this church, how that the devil tried to stamp out the testimony of the Lord Jesus.
Through persecution. But in the next church, the church, it's different.
He spoils the testimony through corruption.
We say that the church joins up with the world. Are you joining up with the world? Am I in some way or another, am I mixing up my Christianity with the world to make something that's compatible with with the way things are in this world?
Is something to ask ourselves this question because it says in first John, love not the world, neither the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, it is of the world, and the world passeth away in the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.
Isn't that wonderful to see that? But the devil is so clever. Deacon says, yes, you can have the world and you can have Christ, but that's not so. The Lord said ye cannot serve 2 masters, for either you'll love the one and hate the other, or cling to the one and despose the other. And that's the way it is. If you have two masters, I can say with assurance of the word of God, your master is this world.
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And appeal to in James the adulteress and Adulteresses.
No, you're not that friendship with this world's enmity against God.
God's purpose for you and me is to separate from this world.
This world cast out the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. You and I are disciples of Christ if we put our trust in him and.
He cannot tolerate this world.
But he's looking for those that would be faithful to him.
And then we come to the next one that where we find that the world has gotten such a hold on them that they start ruling the world.
You and I involved in that sort of thing.
In ruling the world.
I I heard what a while ago that that we are the government, so we got to obey the government. Now that's not very good thinking, but anyway, that was their reason for involving in politics.
But then why would we have the next one? And our time is going rapidly. But we see that in the next one there is the name to live. But they were dead. You have a name to live.
And our dad, this is serious, you know.
We need to be stirred up. I need to be stirred up within me to recognize and realize that God wants me to be fresh and to be for him in this world, not to be dead.
Hit the next one is most precious.
And it's not perception.
When we see what we have here in the Church of Philadelphia, and I don't think we need to make any apologies for this because I'll tell you why.
That when we read this portion that everything is on God's side.
It says I will, I will I also.
I come and so on. Everything is from God's standpoint, and He is going to have a testimony to his the name of his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, when he comes.
Does this mean anything to you? This mean anything to me? He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith on the churches. It's not me that that may attend these work, but I certainly hope with all my heart.
That I want to search that place where the Lord Jesus has chosen to set his name.
When he comes back to this world to take his beloved one home to be with himself, I want to be be there.
Because this is what honors God, we know the testimony might just come down to two or three.
But don't you want to be where the Lord Jesus is in the midst?
And again, I say it's not presumption to say that. It would be presumption for me to say I am there and this is the place where I go. This is the place. But what I'm saying is the Lord Jesus has replaced where he has chosen to set his name and.
Yeah, in the all these churches, there is also a word to the overcomer. We haven't time to look at those, but.
In our own time, we can read those. And he says, behold, I come quickly. I just heard about the Lord's coming from dear brother, and she's coming quickly.
And but we know that the testimony of the Lord Jesus is.
Under attack. Satan hates that more than anything else, and he wants to destroy it or corrupt it. But thank God.
The Lord Jesus said upon this rock will I build at my church, and the gates of hell shall not.
Prevail against it. We know that God is doing the building, and he's going to preserve and keep a testimony for his name until he comes. And so we see that the IT says, Behold, I come quickly. Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy ground. No.
01:15:17
There's a contest out there to take your crown away. Don't give up 11 Don't give up.
Within the last.
Church that we have here.
It's all sad in a way, and I'm afraid that this is the condition that we find the church in today.
We don't have to point the finger at anybody, but can we look in our hearts to see how lukewarm we are? God hates lukewarmness.
But there is an appeal to anyone.
Who will open the door to the Lord Jesus?
And.
He has promised to come in and suffer him that he.
I'll read it. I will come in to him and will Sup with him and he with me. What a wonderful thing it is to know that in this last day the Lord Jesus wants to have communion with you and me.
So again, I just say that he that happened here to here.
Let him hear that, the Spirit say, up under the church.
324 Lord Jesus come.
Nor let us longer roam. How far from thee, in that bright place where we shall see thee face to face. Lord Jesus, come 3/24.
Lord.
01:20:18
Call.
John 8:1-11
Reading
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Father, we all thyself.
Go straight to our name.
And sleep.
Lord.
Hymn Tim, 327.
Where is.
There any problems in the world?
Or anything else?
I could do with a lot of money.
And for?
I think.
Few scriptures. I'm not suggesting a proportion for the reading.
The 34th chapter of Isaiah.
00:05:00
Isaiah 34 and verse 16.
Out of the book of the Lord.
And read.
Then Nehemiah.
Chapter 8.
And we'll say.
So they read in the book.
In the law of God distinctly and gave the sense.
And caused them to understand.
For reading.
And the 5th chapter of John's Gospel.
Verse 39.
Search the scriptures.
For in them ye think, ye have eternal life.
And they are they which testify.
Of me.
First Timothy.
Chapter 4.
Verse 13.
Till I come.
You have attendance to readings.
To exhortation.
Through doctrine.
And back to Luke's gospel.
Luke 24.
Verse 44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you.
That all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.
Then opened he their understanding that they might.
Understand the scriptures.
I have a suggestion as to the readings.
The 8th chapter of John's Gospel.
Would that be acceptable?
00:10:03
It should be red then.
John's Gospel, chapter 8.
Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives, and early in the morning he came again into the temple.
And all the people came unto him, and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery.
When they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses and the law commanded us that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou?
This, they said, tempting him.
That they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and with his finger rolled on the ground, as though he heard them knock.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them.
He that is without sin among you will let him cast. Let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
They which heard it being convicted by their own conscience without one.
By one beginning at the oldest even unto the last.
And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw.
Nun But the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are these done accusers, that no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord.
And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee, Go, and sin no more.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world.
He that followed me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou embarrassed record of thyself, Thy record is not true.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true, for I know whence I came, and whither I go. But ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh. I judge no man, and yet if I judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone but I and the Father that sent me.
It is also written in your law.
That the testimony of two men is true.
I am come.
I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bear the witness of me. Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, ye neither, nor me, nor my Father. If he had known me, he should have known my Father also. These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple, and no man laid hands on him, for his hour was not yet come.
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me.
And shall die in your sins.
Whither I go, ye cannot come.
Then said the Jews, will he kill himself, because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
And he said unto them, Here from beneath, I am from above.
Here of this world.
I am not of this world.
I said therefore unto you.
That ye shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am, he shall die in your sins.
Then said they unto him, Who art thou?
And Jesus said unto them, even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
I have many things to say and to judge of you, but he dissent me as true.
And I speak to the world, those things which I have heard of him.
They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them.
When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall ye know that I am He, and that I do nothing of myself. But as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things, and he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him.
00:15:21
As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Then said Jesus unto those Jews which believed on him.
If you continue in my word.
Then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
They answered him, We be Abraham's seed and were never in ******* to any man.
How serious? Then he shall be made free.
Jesus answered them fairly, fairly. I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
Now the sermon abide as not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, he shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham Seed, but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you.
I speak that which I have seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen with your father.
They answered and said unto him, Abraham as our father.
Jesus said unto them, If you're Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
But now you seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham, you do the deeds of your father.
Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication, we have one Father, even God.
Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God.
Neither came I of myself.
But he that sent me.
Why do you not understand my speech even because you cannot hear my word? We are your father, the devil.
And the lust of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there was no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it.
And because I tell you the truth, he believed not, He believed me not. Which of you convinced me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?
Of God here at God's Word.
He therefore hear them not, because you are not of God.
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, said, Say we not well, that thou art the Samaritan, and hast the devil?
Jesus answered, I have not a devil, but I honor my Father and you do this honor me.
And I seek not my own glory. There is one that seeketh.
And judges, verily, verily I send you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou has the devil, Abraham is dead in the prophets, and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophet's dead? Whom makest thou thyself?
Jesus answered, If I honor myself by honor is nothing.
It is my Father that honored me, of whom you say that he is your God.
Yet you have not known him. But I know him.
And if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you, but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.
Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet 50 years old. And hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus sent unto them, Verily, verily I send to you. Before Abraham was I am.
00:20:03
Then took they up stones to cast at him.
But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
This is a very long chapter.
It wasn't my thought that we have to go through each verse carefully, but.
Bring out the very needed truth in the chapter and bring out what is going to be profitable and needed for us. Otherwise we might get bogged down in.
Too much detail.
It's interesting in John's gospel.
The Lord deals with outcasts and John four. It was the Samaritan. When they came back after shopping, buying bread, they wondered that he spoke with the woman. Two reasons for that. She was a Samaritan and when he asked her a drink for a drink of water.
She was surprised and said, How is it that thou being a Jew, asked us drink of Maine, which am a woman of Samaria, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. She was also a woman of ill repute, and they knew that she had that kind of reputation. And he unfolded the most wonderful truths to that woman.
Again in John Chapter 9.
In fact, these two, these two that I'm just mentioning, the Samaritan woman, he revealed himself.
Add to her as the Christ, she said, I know that the Christ cometh. When he has come, He will tell us all things, I that speak unto thee, and he. And then in the 9th chapter you have this man that was born blind. And because he was born blind, the Jews had the thought that that there was some evil in connection with that birth. And they say to him later when he completely baffles them with his questions.
That was altogether born in sins. And dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
So here's another outcast rejected by the religious Society of the day.
And Jesus finds him and says, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
He that speaks to thee is he.
And then he fell down and worshipped him.
And here in this chapter.
Is a woman taken in adultery These hypocrites that brought her to the Lord, they caught her in the very act. They're quoting scripture to Him.
Moses in the Law said that she should be stoned, but what sayest thou? The law didn't just say that. The law said that both the man and the woman should be stoned.
Where was the man?
He wasn't being charged. They didn't care about the woman or the man or the act. They cared about trying to stump the Lord that they might have to accuse him.
But these three that I've cited from John's gospel were all outcasts, weren't they? And he shows grace to them. And that's what we read in the first chapter. The law was given by Moses. He didn't apply the law, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
What a savior, what a person to know.
The various scriptures that were read about reading from the word of God.
Really are a nice chain to think about and it made me think of the Lord Jesus in the fourth of Luke when he went into the synagogue in his own hometown.
And stood up for to read, and they gave him the scriptures, and he read up to a certain point and stopped. And then it says they marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. He had not come to judge.
He had come to say and oh, how wonderful is the grace of God has been pointed out.
To pick up objects that the world despises of humanity and reveal Christ to them. So we all fit in here in the love of God to reveal himself to us.
00:25:11
And I think it fits with one of the scriptures that were read this morning.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
To look into these scriptures we have read. Oh how wonderful it is and the charming subject of Grace So.
When the Lord was writing here, he didn't write on the stone.
The the the the Lord our God is written on different kinds of material. The first one that we think about is the law. It was written on tables of stone, completely inflexible.
It could be broken, but it couldn't be bent.
Then.
When the king in Daniel was going to be convicted of his sin, the Lord, the hand wrote on the plaster, something that man had made.
And their judgment came upon that Kingdom.
But here he Stoops down rights on the ground. That's the.
Material from which you and I come. I know the grace of our Savior to come down.
To pick us up out of the dust.
Out of the dunghill is the song of Hannah says and.
Make us to inherit the throne of glory. What grace has done, what marvelous grace. So we're going to find grace here.
Just to follow up brother, plan on your thoughts in the next Chapter 9.
Verse six When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground and made play of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. What does that speak of? The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He spat on the ground, made clay the spittle. That speaks of Christ in incarnation, doesn't it? And he puts that on the blind man's eyes. The last thing you would think of doing to to give sight. And then he tells him to go to the.
What does he say? Go to the pool of Siloam, which is interpreted scent and he went his way. Therefore, Washington came seeing. So it's to see the Son of God become a man in infinite grace to reach us and to bring us into blessing. This is what we have unfolded here over and over again.
And that's the whole subject of John's Gospel, isn't it? The flesh was, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And not only soul. Not only did He become flesh and walk amongst men, but he says prophetically of the Lord Jesus, Thou hast brought me into the dust of death. And so he became a man. He became a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself.
And became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. And with this before his soul in John's Gospel, chapter 8 here, he could stoop down and write on the ground. He didn't come to condemn her because the Son of God hadn't come to condemn, but he had come to save. But I was thinking too, in connection with what her brother Chuck said earlier, not only did the Lord Jesus himself seek those who were, shall we say, the down and out, but it was those who had a felt need that sought the Lord when he was here.
I was thinking of how in Luke chapter 15, it says then drew near all the Republicans and Pharisees for Republicans and sinners for to hear him. It was those who had a felt need that gathered themselves around the Lord Jesus. And I might say if there's someone here and you don't know the Lord Jesus, would that you would feel your need this morning during these meetings and that you would seek him. But can I just say this to brethren, I trust that each one of us who know Christ as our Savior.
Have come to these meetings gathered around the person of Christ by the Spirit of God.
With a felt need, because if we have gathered around the person of Christ this morning.
With a felt need, then that need is going to be met. The Lord Jesus said they that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. Brethren, we need, we have needs, every one of us here who belong to the Lord. We have needs. May we be conscious of those needs and may we seek to have open ears, tender hearts, tender consciences, receptive hearts, because just as he blessed this woman and just as he blessed so many all through John's Gospel here.
00:30:14
And in His pathway through this world, so He delights to still bless those who come with that, with that need. Well, maybe this would be so. There isn't one of us here this morning who belonged to the Lord who don't have some great need. May we feel that need. And if we do, and we prayerfully with exercise, seek Thee to listen to what He has to say to us, He can meet every one of those very needs from His Word in the power of the Spirit during these meetings before us.
There is one other place where God is writing that I think we should call attention to. We have spoken of the the tables of stone, the law and the word of God which.
Abides forever.
The law can be broken, but the law has been kept by one man, and he has fulfilled the law and in blessing brought grace to us.
So the next place was Darius. What men have built?
God did write on that for judgment. What man has made is going to come down and be judged.
But here poor.
Poor sinners down in the dust, God has come down to write grace for us, to bring us into blessing, into sonship with the Lord Jesus, sonship of God, and fellowship of the Lord Jesus. But I'd like to turn to 2nd Corinthians 3 to see where God is writing now. I think it fits the subject of the meetings here.
This is going on, and so we ought to pay attention to the Word of God.
2nd Corinthians 3 and verse 3.
For as much as ye 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 in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart, this is where the Spirit of God is writing today. And what a blessed thing it is to write Christ on us and bring us into that position of being.
Those who make Christ known today, after the world has cast him out.
We ought to be epistles known read of all men, and when they see us, see Christ.
How about that?
Scripture in Isaiah 49.
Verse 15 Can a woman forget her sucking child?
That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb they may forget.
Yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.
I suppose there's a difference between writing and engraving, but.
Engraving would be as much or more so and durable than anything we know about, isn't it? You go out to the cemetery and what do you see?
Yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands.
Well.
It was his hands that.
Thomas was invited to Behold and to Theo, was it not?
Is that part of the engraving?
The crucifixion, the death of Christ nailed to the accursed tree.
For our sakes, are we not all 500 pence debtors?
God has been gracious.
A verse in the New Testament says the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
And God had chosen Israel.
And they had rejected, they had not kept the law.
00:35:01
They rejected the work of Christ. It's prophetically given here.
Then the Lord goes beyond Israel in this 49th Psalm and uses the Savior for the blessing of the Gentiles. But he still has in view the Jew, and when this dispensation closes up, He will bring them into blessing. So in the portion you read Bill verse 16.
The Prophet says, Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Then he says, die.
Walls are continually before me. He hadn't forgotten Jerusalem of these earthly people.
So he's going to bring them into blessing for the millennial Kingdom, so we can look forward to that.
That portion you referred to Brother Clem, the 11 of.
Romans.
Verse 27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.
As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes.
But as touching the election, they are beloved for the Father's sakes, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
So God hasn't changed his mind as to bringing Israel into blessing, but think of all the wondrous grace of God. Small thing for him to go out and gather the Israelites in your 49th of Isaiah. I will also give thee for the Gentiles while we come in and all this grace and it just match this grace. We fit more in the picture of the Samaritan and the blind man.
And.
In the case of degradation, to think that God would send his son and the Son would come to get out of the.
Class of people who were the very lowest. You find them in Ephesians.
When you were dead in trespasses and sins he came to.
Get us, and the grace of God is manifested, the exceeding riches of His grace. It might do well to read a little bit in the second of Ephesians to see how we fit in the place of being a people suitable to display the exceeding riches of His grace. The expressions are better than I can make them, so I'd just like to read in Ephesians 2.
Where we fit in this case where grace comes in.
Ephesians 2.
Verse 5. Even when we were dead in sins, he has quickened us together with Christ. By grace are ye saved, and has raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ. What for but in the ages to come?
He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness.
Toward us through Christ Jesus, for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourself.
Well, it doesn't tell us what the Lord wrote on the ground when he stooped down and.
Wrote on the ground, kind of ignoring the accusers of the woman. Have you got a thought what he might have written there, Chuck? Anybody else? Well, I the thought I had was that he is the very one Jehovah God himself that wrote with his finger on the two tables of stone, and they were using the law.
To condemn the woman. And if he was writing the law down, your thought was different. But just let me carry this out a moment. If he was applying the law to them, just writing it without saying anything.
It says he that is without sin among you. Do you measure up to this? Do you measure up to this? You're you're using it to condemn this woman. Do you measure up?
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast the stone, convicted in their conscience from the oldest to the youngest.
They left and then he gets up and they're all gone. Just he and the woman are left alone in that whole company. He was the only one qualified to throw the stones at her. He was the only one who was without sin. He could have condemned her and been righteous in doing it.
00:40:07
But instead he showed her grace. Hath no man condemned thee? No manlord, neither do I condemn thee. And that brings out, and I want to read the verse in Second Corinthians chapter 5, verse 19. To wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.
Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. There's always in the forgiveness that he gives, the non condemnation that he imparts. There's always the power with that to sin, to live a life above sin isn't there. Grace does not wink its sin. On the contrary, grace is the power for holiness in our life. Neither do I condemn. But here we see the man full of grace and truth.
Exposing all that is there, He's the light comes right out next, the next verses He is the light. And they could not stand in the presence of that light which shone with such brightness that it exposed the wickedness, the treachery and the hypocrisy of their evil hearts.
Our success brought out very clearly. We'll start with the John Chapter 7.
At verse 37.
In the last days, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood in Christ, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. These officers, chief priests and Pharisees, self-righteous, they heard that message.
They had read the Old Testament Scriptures, some of them, and now we have the next day, they have this night to think about this. The next day they hear the Lord. They present this situation to the Lord, and he stooped down and he writes on the ground.
And verse nine of chapter 8, they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience. Well, 1 by 1.
Beginning at the eldest, even unto the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
To return, please to Jeremiah chapter 17.
Jeremiah chapter 17 and verse 9.
The board is categorizing their hearts here.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart. I try the reign.
Now we're thirteen. Oh Lord, the hope of Israel.
All that forsake thee shall be ashamed. Were these men ashamed? Yes, they went out, beginning at the elders.
And they that depart from me shall be written in the earth.
Because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
These men.
Have had the night to think about what the Lord had said as he stood there and cried. Of the abundance of grace of his heart He cries.
In John 737.
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man third, let him come unto me and drink. These men had never done that. Now the Lord stooped down, and I take it that their names are written in the earth. Perhaps it was their names.
That he was writing there and they had forsaken the hope of Israel. They've been ashamed and they've forsaken the thousand of living waters.
Some have despised this little portion here, They said this is not according to Holy Scripture. This portion of this woman is.
And this verse back in Jeremiah confirmed it to my heart that yes, indeed, this is part of Holy Scripture.
God is showing out His grace and His love.
If God, if the Lord Jesus would have condemned her, he would have had to condemn the whole lot. Their marriage laws were so loose in that day that they were committing adultery many times and there was no way he had not come to condemn. He had come to say.
00:45:06
And yet it's so beautiful to see the perfection in the.
Though grace is never shown at the expense of holiness.
In God's way of dealing with things, if there's going to be grace shown, sin must receive its full penalty from the hand of God.
And so instead of condemning a lot of them, he Stoops down.
And rights in the ground. And only one remains to listen to those words. Neither do I condemn thee. Oh, if we could only get to that point easier. We always have that built in mechanism to defend ourselves.
To justify ourselves and instead of admitting that they were.
That they had sinned. They went out from the hope of Israel. Oh, isn't it a tremendous thing to be able to come to the point of admitting like that poor woman had to admit that she was guilty, to be brought low into the presence of a holy God just simply to confess?
We've sinned. There's where Gray skin touches.
But as long as I'm justifying myself in any measure, there's no place in the presence of Jesus. For that. They all went out.
I think it's so good, brethren, in this portion to get the.
Setting here, the first verse is just to go back. I don't want to delay Chuck, but just to go back a few the end of verse 7, the end of Chapter 7.
Every man went into his own house.
In verse one of chapter 8, Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.
Isn't this tremendous? Here is the Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God? Is there a place for Him in this religious system? All the rest had their own houses to go to where they could identify with Jesus, the eternal God, the Creator, the sustainer of the ends of the earth.
Where does he go to the Mount of Olives? I think this is tremendous to see in the book of John two, that the Lord Jesus right from the very start has no place in human religion. Even though this was a religion, Judaism was given of God at the beginning. Still in John's gospel from the very first chapter.
He came unto his own and his own received him night. There's going to have to be not only does he pick up the outcast, but we're going to find that the Lord Jesus is really on the outside of this system. He came in, but to lead out each one individually. And I think it's so beautiful to see that the way the Lord deals with individuals in this gospel.
We just want to say here today, it's easy to kind of get lost in the crowd, like in a conference like we have today, but the matter of the Lord Jesus is a very individual matter right where you're sitting.
You must have to do with him individually. Doesn't work if you're here amongst God's people in an outward way that has no value in itself.
But it is dealing with the Lord Jesus coming to grips with who He is individually that is so important. This woman evidently was forced into it. Thank God for these circumstances that forced her into it. Maybe there's somebody here that really didn't want to come to the conference.
But you're here. There's somebody here, the Lord Jesus Christ.
You must deal with them and deal with them individually.
00:50:05
Brother, you mentioned that first he came unto his owner, His own received him not. But I believe in this chapter that you just brought before us about the Mount of Olives would set before us what was perhaps in His heart of the future. And if we go to the 14th of Zechariah, we find these lovely words and in anticipation of where the path is going to end of our Lord and our brothers referring about Israel being saved. And so here it is in Zechariah 14 and verse #4.
And his speech shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem and the East.
And the amount of olives shall leave in the midst.
They're up toward the east and toward the West. And there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north and half toward the South. And then we come down to verse #8 And this is where the living waters, her brother was referring to the living waters. God has living waters. He's going to bless this world with true Israel in that day. And this is what Paul was anticipating in that 11TH chapter. Romans and soul Israel shall be saved.
Here it is, beloved, it says there in verse #8 And it shall be in that day.
That living waters should go forth shall go out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea. In summer and in winter shall it be, and here it is. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth. And that day there shall be 1 Lord and his name. 10 What a day of glory. And I love to thank the Lord. When he went to the Mount of Olives he could have said, how often.
I have gathered thee to Jerusalem or Jerusalem.
As our hand gathers her chicks, and you would not, but there's a day coming when they will. Is that right?
In Acts One at the end, it was from the Mount of Olives that he ascended.
And they said, the same Jesus, whom you've seen going into heaven shall so come in like manner. Now you've read the verse.
In Zechariah, where he comes in, his feet stand on the Mount of Olives. So he ascended from that place. He's coming back to that place. That's not the rapture. That's his appearing when he comes back to set up the Kingdom. But I wanted to make a comment on what Bob said. Well, he read the last verse of Chapter 7. Every man went unto his own house.
In Luke chapter 9A1 man came to the Lord and said, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And he said, Foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
Do you realize what you just said, young man? You will follow me. You won't have a home down here. You won't have a place down here. You'll be rejected. That's my path. And that's what he was telling him. He was the rejected one, as you pointed out. We, we, we mentioned these other three that were rejected outcast. Well, he is the prime outcast, isn't he? They cast him out. He, he, there's there's no place for him in man's religious system.
No place for Christ, and it was culminated by his rejection because after his trial they took him outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem, that holy city that had deteriorated to a point where it had religion without Christ. Because it is possible to have religion without Christ. There's much religion today, but it leaves Christ out. In fact, I remember one time a man came to some gospel tent meetings we were holding.
And after the meetings, he wanted to stay behind and talk, and he actually said these words.
He said I'll talk religion all night, but let's leave Christ out of it if that's religion without Christ.
And so they took him outside the walls of Jerusalem and had him nailed to a Roman cross.
But brethren, that's the way of blessing, as we've been saying. Well, how is it that he's going to come when Zion is addressed and he's going to draw Israel around himself and stand on that very spot from which he he ascended back to glory? Oh, it's because the work of redemption has been accomplished.
And I just want to make it very, very clear. Our brother Bob Tony touched on it. But for the sake of those who are younger, let's make it very clear that all blessing, whether it was this woman in the eighth of John where we have read, or whether it's you and me sitting in these chairs this morning, all blessing is based on the work of the Lord Jesus at Calvary's cross. He's bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He's borne our iniquities. And that's the way we've been brought into blessing.
00:55:11
Whether it was the Old Testament, whether it's the New Testament, whether it's us in the dispensation of the grace of God, whether it's Israel finally drawn around himself and brought into full blessing in a coming day. We sometimes sing a hymn concerning the cross. That look with rapt, adoring eye.
Onward and back to thee. And I believe that's why when man sinned in the garden, God immediately said that the woman seed would bruise the head of the serpent. Had he not said that, he never could have clothed Adam and Eve. He never could have blessed in the Old Testament. But he was looking on to the time when his Son would go to Calvary's cross and offer himself without spot to God. And now, brethren, we look back.
And so there was number compromise when the Lord Jesus came into this world. It's true, it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and a faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. But brethren, there was no lowering of the standard. We'd all come short of the glory of God. The law showed just how far we had come short. But all the Lord Jesus, the one who fulfilled and magnified the law, he went into, into death. And now as a result, God can come out in the, in the in the fullest blessing.
So let's keep this in mind. And brethren, if you just permit me to say to there's something we ought not to Passover here.
In the second verse it says, And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him and noticed this, and he sat down and taught them. To me, brethren, this is the most precious statement. And as you trace the path of the Lord Jesus here in this world, I believe if you compare the accounts in the different gospels, you'll find that when He taught the people, that is, the Jewish people, he always sat down.
Now it was pointed out in the chapter before where it says Jesus stood on that last date, that great day of the feast, and cried, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. But that was really an appeal to those who had already manifested that they had rejected Him. But when He taught the people, He always sat down. We find it as a boy of 12 years of age, taken up to the temple by his parents. It says when they found Him, they returned and found Him.
After missing them on their return journey, it says they found him seated in the midst of the doctors.
Listening to them and asking questions and I've been impressed by what it says there.
It says, and they were all amazed at his understanding and answers. Here was the Son of God at 12 years of age sitting there in the midst of those that should have been able to answer the questions he asked. In fact, he said to Nicodemus later on, Art thou a teacher in Israel and knoweth these things? But here was the one, the only one, who could answer the very questions that he, as a boy of 12 years of age, raised. Then we find him when he gives what we sometimes call the Sermon on the Mount.
He it says when he got up on the mountain, he sat down and taught the people. When he entered into Simon's boat because of the press on the seashore, He sat down and taught the people. And here we find that he sits down and I want to pass on just a simple little thought as to why the Lord Jesus sat down to teach the people to my own soul. It brethren, it's just as if here he is the one who had come to draw this guilty people around himself.
To bless them, he could weep over them and say, How OFT would I have gathered you?
And you would not. Here was his desire to draw them around himself, and as he made known the heart.
And the mind of God and spoke the very words that his Father gave him to speak. He takes his place right amongst them. Think of it, here was the Son of God, the one who inhabited the eternity is a man taking his place sitting down. It's like Ezekiel said. I sat where they sat and he sat right down amongst them as he sought to make these things known to them and to bless them and draw them around himself. It's true, they rejected Him at the end of it all.
But as many as received him to them gave he the power to become the sons of God.
And brethren, as he seeks to bring these precious truths before us in these meetings, oh, isn't it wonderful that he presents himself and presents the truth in a way that we can understand and grasp and take in as applied by the Spirit of God? He wants us to draw us, just as he wanted to draw these people, his own around himself, his earthly people, so he wants to draw us closer to himself during these meetings, and he wants to draw out our affections that we would be more attracted to the person of whom we're speaking.
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What about verse 20, Jim of our chapter? Do you think the Lord was seated there?
Well, you give us a thought whether you can. Well, I don't see anything about it. And to say he always sat down, I think it's too far.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. Yeah.
Yes, I'm sorry to go beyond, but mostly I think we find if we compare the accounts that he did sit down to teach the people and draw them around himself. But I'm sorry for using such a strong word.
Another point I'd like to make about writing because we've had some nice words about it.
Some brother back here talked about Jeremiah 17 where he wrote in the Earth, and in Luke 10 we have the contrast to that.
In the 20th verse notwithstanding in this rejoice not that your.
That the spirits are subject unto you. That's the power that was given to him. But rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Now, based on that, I'd like to read a nice poem that gives the contrast, and I think it fits the age in which we are living when men make so much of the Hall of Fame.
Here's a poem that I've had for several years, and I'll just like to read it. God's Hall of Fame. Your name may not appear down here in this world's Hall of Fame. In fact, you may be so unknown that no one knows your name. The Oscars here may pass you by and neon lights are blue. But if you love and serve the Lord, then I have news for you.
Earth Hall of Fame is only good as long as time shall be, but keep in mind God's Hall of Fame is for eternity. You have your name inscribed up. There is greater yes by far than all the halls of fame down here and every man made star. This crowd on earth will soon forget the heroes over the past. They care like mad until you fall, and that's how long you last.
But God, he never does forget, and in his Hall of Fame.
By just believing in his son inscribed, you'll find your name.
I tell you, friend, I wouldn't trade my name, however small, that's written there beyond the stars in that celestial hall for every famous name on earth or glory that they share. I'd rather be an unknown here and have my name up there.
Then the 4th of Philippians, Clement also, verse 3, middle of verse 3, Clement also and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life, rejoice in the Lord all way and again. I say rejoice, my name is up there too, Brother Clement. I was thinking of the 7th of Acts just briefly.
Where Stephen says.
Jesus standing on the right hand of God 7 and 55 Why was he still standing?
Waiting for the Jews to accept the grace of God.
What do you think?
One of the reasons that has been given, and I think that's the main thought, isn't it?
But I think I like the thought too, that he stood to welcome the first martyr into his presence. That's so nice, you know. But I think what you said, Clem, is the main thought to stand up to see this is your last chance. Jerusalem. The Spirit of God has spoken through my servant Stephen. Are you going to repent or not? And they didn't. They stoned him.
01:05:10
I'd like to say a word too on this verse 6.
Or five and six when they asked the Lord Jesus.
This question, and it's interesting of times it happened during his life down here, He doesn't answer their questions, he answers their conscience and I think that's a real lesson in this.
To for us in seeking to speak to souls, so often we want to answer satisfactorily the questions, and sometimes they're just curious questions that make no difference to them how we answer. But the Lord Jesus did not answer their question. He answered their conscience. What was his answer? He didn't answer right away. He stooped down and wrote and when he they continued to ask he.
Says he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her immediately.
The answer he gave not an answer to their question, but he.
Gave an answer to their conscience and I think that is really helpful. To seek to be a help to souls, they need what addresses their conscience.
Turn to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. There's an interesting verse there that basically says this as well, the apostle Paul.
Speaking about the ministry he had received in verse two, Second Corinthians 4/2.
He says we 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, you've got such an important point to deal with, somebody has said.
That if the Word of God is going to get into the soul of a person, it must pass through the conscience. And so the conscience needs to be addressed. And the Lord Jesus, when He said this word to them, he that is without sin amongst you, let him first cast a stone at her, immediately turned the spotlight right on them, and they start going out one after another. So there's all, they're all gone except the poor woman.
I think of I think of two stories that might be helpful to illustrate what you've been saying.
An evangelist preached the gospel very faithfully and the people he went and he greeted the people as they were leaving. And there was a young man that came and he said to him, he said everything you said tonight was foolishness.
And the evangelists looked at him and he said, you know, you're just, you're right. That's what the word of God says.
And he turned to First Corinthians, where it says the preaching of the cross is to them that perish.
Foolishness close this Bible and walked out left the man stunned there.
The other illustration of what you were saying a man was preaching on Revelation 6.
And a young, young.
Arrogant, insolent young man came to him and said, what kind of horses were those that came out? The horses that came out when the seals were opened? And the brother looked at him and he said, can you sing?
Can I sing?
Yes, he said. If you Can't Sing the song of the Redeemed in chapter 5, you'll never be able to understand Chapter 6.
That's answering a man according to his his folly answering him according to scripture.
He addressed the conscience, didn't he?
He invested the conscience brings me into the light.
And I want to run.
But he himself is a greater attraction.
That withdraw me into the light to be with Him there. And if I have to be in the light to be with him, that's what a true heart would say. I'll be in the light to be with him.
01:10:09
That verse 12 is this bill.
That's verse 12.
That's right. And sometimes he has to call us in the corner where we can't run.
In order to bless us.
But really, repentance is part of that path going through and.
I had a question I don't know what how much time is left, but this when he says I neither do I condemn thee is this is this in a sense of his government.
That first second is five, where he was Speaking of not imputing to them their trespasses.
Is that part of his overall manifestation of himself and his patience and waiting to?
Bless Israel.
He came in grace, didn't he?
Came to manifest grace. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
And in grace, he didn't condemn.
That's the first coming, and we need to know what the Lord did at His first coming before He learned what He'll do at His second coming.
He'll judge all judgments committed to the son, but he certainly didn't come that way. He came to save.
That's John 317.
For God sent not a son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. And so that was the prime work of the Lord Jesus, wasn't it, that the world might be saved. But it struck me that in all of our discussion of John 8 here, and particularly at the end of this verse 11, Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn me, and we stop there.
But he went on and said and sinned no more. And so we spoke earlier of our personal relationship to the Lord Jesus, and that's a word for us, isn't it? Sin no more to put the mind. The verse which we well know in Second Timothy. I'll read it.
Chapter 2 But the foundation of God stand as you are having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his.
And let everyone that name of the name of Christ depart from iniquity. In this portion in John 8, what we have is a group of religious people who are ready to judge another.
But our responsibility as believers in the Lord Jesus is not to be judgmental. That's the work of God. That's his strange work. But our falling is to depart from iniquity. Go and sin no more. Honor Him. Be a light shining in this world.
Would you not say, though, that this is governmental forgiveness? That if you did not accept that sacrifice after it was made?
This is reciprocal. This, this now this would be rescinded. I should say this was governmental forgiveness, not eternal forgiveness.
Oh yes, it's not eternal.
As Bob said to for it to be eternal, it required the Lord go to the cross of course.
I think it's interesting though, that see that when the Lord Jesus forgives, when we come to him in the simplicity of the way that she was there in his presence, that he not only gives the word of no condemnation, but he gives the power to walk as in holiness of life. And so often I've heard people say the reason I don't accept Christ as saviors. I don't think I'm going to be able to.
Live the life of a Christian that a Christian ought to walk in. And I sometimes have said to a person like that, you know, you want to know something. I never have been able to do it myself, but God gave me the power to walk in holiness of life when he gave me the forgiveness of my sins, when that poor prodigal son came from that far country back to his father's house.
It was not only the best strobe that was brought out to clothe him, but there was shoes for his feet, the ability to walk in the light of God's presence according to the holiness of his character. He gives that to us and doesn't mean that we don't make mistakes. It doesn't mean that we don't have our failings yet, but that's what God gives us. And if we walk in the enjoyment of it, there's.
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Power to walk as a believer ought to walk. And I think it's beautiful His word to her. Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.
There is later we read according as is. Divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. So, as Bob said, he doesn't set something before us and expect us to live the Christian life at our own charges. No man goeth to warfare at his own charge, but he has given us all things, everything that we need to live the Christian life for God's glory while we're here in this world.
An aspect of his glory that's linked with Israel.
And is I thought of it as being especially connected with this portion. I remember what we were taught.
About.
Where it says Joseph is a fruitful bow reaching over the wall.
That that's reaching back over the wall to save Israel.
As Romans 11, after everything he is going to reach back over and get that nation that has so rejected. In Chapter 7 they tried to kill him and every time he turned around they tried to kill him.
And there.
In Acts Chapter 7, he was standing. He would have received the whole nation. He was standing for the whole nation, and they wouldn't come. They killed Stephen and sent him, but he was ready. He would have received the nation better.
And so, as it were, it terminated that offer, that national offer, if we can see it that way.
But in a day yet to come, he's going to reach back over the wall in his grace and pick them up and have them for his own glory and his own honor. But it's it's part of his, the revelation of himself in this national situation or this governmental situation here as he's.
Seen with us, I mean seen in our chapter here.
Is the is the final judgment on Jerusalem. Jerusalem had rejected the testimony of the Holy Spirit through Stephen and it was all over for them after that. I don't think you read a blessing the gospel being preached to the to Jerusalem after that, do you?
And the next time the Lord is seen, and.
Who get it in Hebrews? He's not standing anymore, he's seated. Is that right? I think it is.
The when?
The Jews sent that message up to heaven. It was carried by Stephen. Lord, they they still won't have this man to reign over us.
So that the work of rejecting Christ was final, because it had come now in the testimony of the Spirit of God in grace. So the Lord has seated since then.
Unfortunately, our time is up, brethren.
#10 was given out.
Grace says the great of God.
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That my daughter's proud.
Of your name.
139.
And verse one.
Oh Lord, thou hast searched me.
And known me.
Verse 6.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high.
I cannot attain unto it.
Verse 23.
Search me, O God.
And know my heart.
Try me and know my thoughts.
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
John 8.
And verse 12.
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying.
I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness.
But she'll have the light of life to thank him.
John 8:12-24
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#174.
Matthew Chapter 11 and verse #28.
All ye that labor and are heavy laden.
Come unto me.
Now I'll give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.
From meek and lowly in the heart.
Ye shall find rest.
Unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy.
And my burden is light. Shall we pray? Well, Father, we thank you for the precious things.
John, Chapter 8.
Beginning at verse #12.
Then spake Jesus again under them, saying I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself. Thy record is not true.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true.
For I know whence I came and whither I go. But ye cannot tell whence I came, and whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh. I judge no man, and yet if I judge, my judgment is true. For I am not alone, but I am the Father that sent me.
It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.
I am.
I am one that bear witness of myself and the father that sent me bear with witness of me.
Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered.
You neither know me nor my father.
If he had known me, he should have known my father also.
These words spake Jesus in the treasury as he taught in the temple.
No man laid hands on him, for his hour was not yet come.
Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins, because I go.
00:05:07
Whether I go, ye cannot come. Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself?
Because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come. And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath, I am from above, ye are of this world, I am not of this world.
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins, For if you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
I have many things to say and to judge of you.
But he that sent me is true, and I speak to you the words.
Those things which I have heard of him.
I speak to the world, those things which I have heard of him.
They understood not that He speak to them of the Father.
Then set Jesus unto them, when ye have lifted up the Son of man.
Then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
And he that sent me is with me. The Father had not left me alone.
But I do always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed on him.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, if he continued in my word.
Then I ye my disciples indeed.
And he shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and we'll never in ******* to any man. Joseus, thou ye shall be free indeed. Ye shall be made free. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily I send to you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin, and the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
I know that your Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me because my word.
Have no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my father.
And you do that which you have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If he were Abrahams children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham he do the deeds of your father. Therefore said they unto him, we be not born of fornication.
We have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me.
I For I proceeded forth, and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do you not understand my speech? Even because he cannot hear my word? You have your father, the devil.
And the deeds?
And the lust of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not on the truth, because there's no truth in him.
When he speaketh the lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
And because I tell you the truth, he believed me not.
Which of you convinced me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me?
He that is of God heareth God's words. He therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him.
Say we not well, thou art a Samaritan, has the devil, Jesus answered. I have not a devil, but I honor my father, and ye do dishonor.
Me and I seek not my own glory. There is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily, verily I send you. If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him. Now we know that thou hast the devil.
00:10:03
Abraham is dead in the prophets. And thou, saith a man, keep my sayings, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead? Whom? Who maketh thou thyself?
Jesus answered. If I honor myself, my honor is nothing.
It is my Father that honoured me, of whom ye say that he is your God.
Yet ye have not known him, but I know him.
And if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you, but I know him, and keep his sayings.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad.
Thou said, Thou then said the Jews unto him.
Thou art not yet 50 years old. And hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was.
I am.
Then took the Upstones to cast at him.
But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them.
And so passed by.
These I am statements of John's Gospel.
Are very, very precious.
I am the light of the world.
He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Take any one of these I am statements. I am the bread of life.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the Good Shepherd. Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.
All these I am statements and it ends this chapter. We have the grand climax of it where he says.
Before Abraham was I am.
Impossible to read the Gospel of John with.
Intelligence and go away.
Denying that Jesus is God.
These statements if true, unless one rejects everything that he said of himself.
But if one accepts them, he was either making statements like this. If anyone of us would make such statements, we would.
We would be considered.
Something unusual and probably crazy.
Either he was the truth.
When they asked him, Who art thou in this chapter, he says, and I'm going to give the full force of it.
He says I am altogether and absolutely what I say to you.
Every word that he spoke was the expression of himself.
My mother used to say to me, do as I say, don't do as I do. But he did as he said, and he said as he did. He was the living expression of the truth, and all that he spoke was truth.
The world doesn't know how to deal with such a such a person.
In the 18th chapter of this gospel, he tells Pilate that he was.
Come into the world to bear witness of the truth and Pilate said as a typical politician, what is true.
There's no such thing as truth, no such thing as an absolute standard of truth, of right and wrong, of good and evil.
But that's who he was. The truth.
And we've seen the sad display of that recently in our own country, where the political leaders of the day haven't the foggiest notion of what the truth is.
Well, the first woman created in this world was told by this archd deceiver who is a liar. He told the first lie. He said Thou shalt not surely die.
00:15:14
The first lie in the history of the church was Ananias and Sapphira. They lied about how much they sold their property for.
Ye are of your Father the devil, the Lord said to these Pharisees we were talking about.
This morning, the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth, there were other words that proceeded out of his mouth that were not gracious. They were righteous and just and true and said it like it really was. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father You will do. You cannot pin a character on the Lord where He was.
He excelled in that particular aspect. You cannot say well this was his strong point. This was his weak point. He had no strong points and he had no weak points. He was fine flower, perfectly smooth up to every occasion, perfect in everything, whether he was confronting the Pharisees as we see in this chapter, whether he was dealing with a an adulterous woman.
As we saw in the early part of the chapter, no matter who he was dealing with, he was perfect in grace and in truth. And there's only one man like that. Only one. That's why it says of the Lord Jesus in Acts chapter one of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach. And so I might say many things, but my life may not correspond with what I say. The young people have a little hymn they sometimes sing.
Your walk speaks so loud that the world can't hear what you say.
But his brother Chuck has brought out the Lord Jesus was the fine flower that perfect consistency. But I think too, it's important to see that Chuck mentioned Satan in the garden. And it's interesting that the first recorded words of Satan were half God said immediately trying to raise a doubt in the mind of Eve. Had God really said this? Was this really the truth? And I believe Satan is still seeking to undermine.
The word of God, has God really said this? Is this book we hold in our hands really the truth of God? And then it's interesting that the first recorded words of Satan in the New Testament are, if thou be the Son of God, immediately trying to raise a doubt as to whether the Lord Jesus was really who he said he was. And I say Satan is busy today to do those two things, raise a doubt as to the written word of God. It was the spoken word with Eve, but we have the written word.
And then trying to raise a doubt as to the person of Christ, is he really the eternal Son of God? And I fear that our young people are bombarded with all kinds of teaching today that discredits these very fundamental principles and, and the truth that we have been Speaking of. And so we need to go to the Scripture. And I believe John's Gospel brings this out so very, very clearly. Is there any doubt when it says the word was made flesh and dwelt among us?
We beheld His glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Is there any doubt as to who this person was from a past eternity? No. And so we need to be grounded and we need to go over these things. And I believe that's why for the sake of the young people, it's good to go over these precious fundamental truths that we go over so many times. And that's why Peter said I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things.
Though ye know them and notice this expression and be established in the present truth, that is the truth of God hasn't changed. Whether it's the written word that we have in our hands, whether it's the person of Christ that we're Speaking of, these things don't change. They are and the only things in this world that are absolute.
Pilot was referred to, and the Lord standing before him.
In the 18th chapter, I think it just be good to look at a verse or two there because it goes with what's being said in the 18th chapter of John.
Pilot was interrogating and charging Jesus.
00:20:06
And Jesus was responding and Paula didn't like what he said. Verse.
35.
Am IA Jew.
Pilot didn't like to hear that kind of a thing.
Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done?
Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews? But now is my Kingdom not from hence? Now this put a question in pilots mind. He said, verse 37 Art thou a king? Then Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am.
A king, I think, is the way to read that. Then the Lord enlarges on it to this end, Was I born? Why was he born? For this cause, came out of the world, that I should bear witness under the truth. Jesus tells why he came. It's astonishing. We wouldn't have thought about that, I guess. But Jesus came to bear witness to the truth because the truth makes manifest what is. Truth is the declaration of what is. Jesus was a declaration of what is, and that's God.
He says everyone that hears the truth.
That that is of the truth hears my voice. And then what is truth? Well.
The truth is revealed. Truth is a declaration of what is.
And then what's being said about the truth is so basic and so important. I like to look at Luke 1, the way he begins to help to understand what truth is. God is what is. Think Bob said that in his commenting on Deuteronomy.
The eternal God is thy refuge.
He is the eternal.
Luke begins his book very remarkably. Just read a little bit there.
The first verse gets what I want to get to though for as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration.
It's a declaration of what is truth is a declaration of what he is, of those things which are most surely believed among us. So he wrote.
To declare what is and God wants us to know him.
And Jesus is the way to know Him, the eternal, the I am. So all these I am, as have been said, are so important here in this book of John.
I'd like to hear a little bit more said about this title. I am especially in putting it together with the.
What we have in Exodus chapter 3 where Moses was sent back to the children of Israel and he asked what his name?
Would be And the 14th verse it says God said unto Moses, I am that I am.
Then he said, Thus thou shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you.
What does that exactly mean?
Is that God in his absoluteness or?
How would you explain it?
The expression, you'll notice it's all in capitals. I am, but I am.
If you would translate that, that means, and it's used elsewhere in the Bible, He is the same. He is who He is. He does not change. He is the unchangeable, unchanging one. He is who He is.
Without change, if you would translate I am, you would translate it as the eternal one. He's the eternal one. He is the I am. He's the one that lives in it, an eternal present.
He is the I Am, and these are his essential names, which is who? He is the same. That's a name that is given to the Lord Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is that I am, that I am, and this is, this is the most glorious declaration in Exodus 3 of who this God is, Jehovah. That's the meaning.
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Of Jehovah, the self existent, 1 The unchangeable One, the ever present 1 The timeless being. He, he dwells in eternity. He inhabits eternity. It says in Isaiah 5715. I think it is the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity that we can understand the expression. He inhabits heaven.
That's a place, but he inhabits eternity. What's that mean? It means he's a timeless being. He lives in an ever present.
I present he lives in a presence, and he often speaks of the future as though it's an accomplished things.
Those whom He foreknew he also did predestinate. That's the past. And whom He and them, he, them he called, that's the present whom He called, them He justified. That's the present whom he justified. Them He glorified. Well, that's the future. It doesn't say He will glorify. It says He glorified because to Him.
It's as good as done.
It's time He's not. He's not bound by time. He's not bound by space. He's not bound by the things that that.
Limit us. We are very finite and very limited creatures. But he is not a creature. He's the creator, as we've been hearing, and the greatness of him is this expression I am that I am the unchangeable, the unalterable.
The same yesterday, today and forever. And then just the I am by itself. He is the ever existent one. He exists now.
Today, yesterday and forever the eternal. Recently I read something that helped me in thinking about this. I certainly enjoy what's being said and believe it with all my heart. Well, it was a simple statement and it's just this time is.
No time at all to God. He doesn't exist in time, He exists in eternity. I know we can't grasp that, but it helps us in thinking and thinking of the Lord's words here. Before Abraham was I am. He went back to the eternal existence that he had.
He doesn't say before Abraham was, I was, which would have been true.
But he uses the I am term to describe his endless being from eternity past to eternity future. We can we can conceive of someone.
Created now, living forever, going up, going on forever and ever. And we're going to do that. We're going to live forever. He's created us with an immortal soul spirit. We're going to go on forever. But you can't really conceive of a being.
That had no beginning. You just can't conceive that and that's the I am. You have no beginning or end. One of the interesting verbs and used in connection with Jesus is the next to the last verse of first John. It runs this way. We know that the son of God is come now isn't that a strange verb to you is come.
And that he has given us an understanding that we may know him that is true.
And we are in him. That is true even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the eternal God.
Little children, keep yourselves from mind. It is one of the most charming verses you can get. He is come. I suppose somebody else might comment on that, but he is come refers to John's Gospel 114 The the word was made place that he became something he wasn't before. He is come and it's in perpetuity from that time on. He is the eternal as as Jesus, as a man. No end to that, but he took that form.
To communicate with us and to us.
But that expression, you just said it, no end to that. Just think of it, you know, he didn't just become a man to accomplish a work and then revert back to the form of God from which he came. He was in the form of God. He assumed the form of a servant. Now that he's finished his ServiceNow, he's going to lay that form of a servant aside and go back to the form of God, only not so he'll be a servant forever. And that is an awesome thought, is it not, that he became one of us.
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Not for time, but for eternity. It's just, it's just so thrilled your soul when you think of that, how can we fathom it? And he is just as perfect as a man as he is as God. One perfect man, He always remains that.
I enjoyed it, but that I read in one of the writings that when the Lord said that to Moses what his name was I am. It was like giving Moses a blank check every.
Situation. Every need that they would ever encounter, that blank check could be filled in for whatever they needed in God was all they needed.
And so when they come to the New Testament, are you hungry in your soul? He says. I am the bread of light. Do you need light for your pathway? I am the light of the world.
Do you need to know the way I am? The way beautiful? You can fill it in for anything you encounter down here. You'll find your God sufficient.
For every need.
That doesn't help us. So with the thought of the eternity, what it will be like. I've noticed that our hymn writers often use expressions such as sing his praises for all eternity. But if there's no time in eternity, how are we to sing? Singing takes time. So it's a completely new existence that is before us. That's why it says in the First Corinthians. I have not seen or hear heard. Neither have entered the heart of man.
The things that God had prepared for him. And so we there's nothing in our experience, absolutely nothing that helps us to understand what it will be like in eternity. And I'll just give you.
A simple explanation. Almost anything we do can become boring. We know that even the most exciting things in time can become tiring, can become boring. But we know that in the eternal state we shall be likened.
And so then we'll be suited for eternity. The Spirit makes it known to us to continue that thought that I have not seen or ear heard. So we have a sense of that. But there is nothing in our experience that can tell us what it will be like in eternity. But we believe God's word, don't we? And we know it'll be a place of eternal bliss and joy and peace. No more tears, no more crying. It'll be a wonderful place because we'll be in the presence of a loving God.
And will be suited for it. But I think we're facing insoluble problem if we try and picture what eternity will be like. Because there'll be no time there. It'll be. We say endless, even endless means that that's a sense of time. But we are preachers of time. We cannot escape that. Our heart beats. It gives us a sense of the last time we can wake up in the middle of the night and make a quick estimate about how many hours we've been asleep. We have in a very big.
The mechanism of time. But the wonderful part is, and this is really such a wonderful thing of expectation for us, is that we're going to be in that eternal state where we'll be suited for it in the very presence of a loving God.
There are three things that affect us every day in this life time and distance and physical limitations. And that's why it's difficult for us to visualize something, a scene where there will be no time, distance or physical limitations. And I suppose that's really why we're told so very little about what eternity is really like. The scripture gives us a few hints here and there, but we're really told very little about what it's going to be like in a coming day.
And there's an expression we sometimes use, and I have no problem with it. It conveys the thought, and I've often used it myself. We speak of spending eternity. We use that expression in the gospel. We use it too in connection with those of us who are going to be with the Lord for eternity. But really, in a sense, we can't spend something that has no beginning and no ending. You can spend a bank account, no matter how large a bank account you have, every time you go down and draw on that bank account, the account itself becomes less.
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And we've all heard stories and known of cases where people have had large inheritances, large bank accounts, and through mismanagement and squandering, they've spent up those bank accounts. So we can spend things down here. We spend time. Time comes and it goes, and it's gone forever. But really, brethren, we can't spend eternity. We're going to be for all eternity with and like our precious Savior. It says we're ever with the Lord in the end of First Thessalonians 4.
That is when he comes back to reign over the earth, we come with him. When he's in heaven, we're with him. We're ever with the Lord. And those who enter the regions of the lost, they're going to be for all eternity. And it's a solemn thing if there's someone here this afternoon who's not saved, to think that you are going to be, if you reject God's offer of mercy and leave this world lost, you are going to be in a lost eternity for as long as those of us who know the Lord are going to be with the Lord Jesus.
What a solemn thing it is. But I was thinking too that when Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven.
He said he heard unspeakable words it was not lawful for a man to utter. Rather than we have little conception of what it's going to be like to be an eternity with our precious Savior, there is one side of it that we can understand and that is negative in the eternal day.
In Revelation 21 it says God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. We can understand that.
There shall be no more death. We can understand that.
Neither sorrow we can understand that, nor crying, neither shall they there be any more pain.
Rejoice with me so much because pain is such a hard thing to bear. But these things are negative. You go into the next chapter and there won't be any night there. So that the negative things we can't understand. And Peter, who saw the excellent glory, that's about all he said about it, the excellent glory. But there's more to this. I want to read a verse in First Corinthians 2.
I'll read the two verses, Verse 9. But as it is written, I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, doesn't say the heart of the Christian, but into the heart of man, the things which God have prepared for them that love him. Verse 14 says The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for their foolishness under him, neither can he know them. These things haven't entered the heart of man.
But verse 10 says, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
Spirit searcheth all things. Yeah, the deep things of God. We have the Spirit of God to make good in our souls. These things which the natural man is impossible for him to enter into, but we can enter into them. And to answer what you were just saying, Jim, Ephesians 3. The apostle Paul prays these words, verse 14 for this, 'cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Of whom every family it should read in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you according to the riches of his glory.
To be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. Again, the Spirit is mentioned as the strengthening power of the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith. That He, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with All Saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height. And notice this next expression. And to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. Yes, we're going to spend eternity.
Exploring.
The love of Christ, it passes knowledge. How can you know something that passes knowledge?
Mr. Kelly said it this way so beautifully. The apostles supposes us launched upon a shoreless sea and will never see the shore. We'll never get to the shore. We'll have all eternity to explore the love of Christ. We'll never get to the end of it. We'll never say I've learned it all. But so that's that's that's sort of an anomaly, but it's there. And so I don't object to someone saying I'm going to spend eternity with Christ.
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So that's just this verse came to mind when you said that it's something like knowing the love of Christ, which is unknowable.
No, I have no objection to using the term either, because the Spirit of God puts things in a way that we can understand them, realizing that we only have human capabilities. And isn't that a wonderful thing to realize? Brethren, the Spirit of God has recorded these things in the Word so that his brother Chuck has been saying we can have an enjoyment of heaven before we get there. We can sit here this afternoon, brethren, having been given all things that pertain unto life and godliness.
And we can be not only the possessors of divine life, but we can live in the full and rich enjoyment of it. Now, it's true, when we get to heaven, the hindrances that will be removed. Maybe there's some here this afternoon and you have a headache. And you say, well, I just can't seem to get beyond the headache and really enjoy the ministry the way I'd like. To some who might be weary, your eyes are heavy. You've had a long journey in getting here. You've been up late. We have physical hindrances and limitations now.
But the physical hindrances and limitations will be removed in the coming day. But, brethren, we can enjoy the old corn of the land now.
We can be in the full enjoyment of what it is to be seated in heavenly places in Christ. We can be in the full enjoyment of a risen glorified man at the right hand of God because we have been given not only as I say, divine life, but we have the Spirit of God that makes these things takes of this book, ministers Christ to us according to the need, brings these precious things before us because he doesn't want us to have to wait until we're safe home to enjoy these things he wants us to be.
In the present enjoyment of this now, and if we're not, the hindrance is not on his part, the hindrance is on our part. And what is the effect of that? If we are in the enjoyment of these eternal things, the things that are offered to us by the world, the good life as they call it, all these things that the natural man can enjoy, how long are they going to last?
There's nothing permanent about them. There's nothing eternal about them. We have the eternal riches.
And when we are enjoying those riches, the things that.
Are of this world Don't attract us. Don't attract us at all because we found something infinitely better.
All that we have that we can get ahold of is by revelation. You can't reason this out. You can't learn God by searching. You have to get Him by revelation. Well, he has been pleased to reveal himself. So it comes down to the written word so that what you were quoting about.
The 25th verse earlier, Who art thou? Jesus said unto them.
Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. That is, I am exactly what I say. My word and myself are the same. So we go back to the scriptures and believe them. And that's where we do begin to understand God through the Son who became a man to communicate with us and to us.
I think it is interesting too, brother, and to think in Colossians one, it tells us that we're to set our minds on things above.
Colossians chapter 3. Sorry.
And I really believe if we set our minds on things above rather than there's a lot we can learn about heaven before we get there. A lot. The Tabernacle was made after the pattern of heavenly things.
It all spoke of Christ and as we meditate on a chapter like.
Revelation 2122. There's a lot to understand and we meditate on it that we can learn to know and enjoy even before we get there. Let's exercise ourselves to set our minds on things above we have been.
Hearing and enjoying the thoughts of the I AM God.
Revealing himself that way, We've been enjoying thoughts of eternity.
But we all realize as a brother Hendrickson said that God gives us to know that which is unknowable. We realize that we quickly bankrupt our abilities to enter into these things, but how do we enjoy it? We've been hearing about enjoying these things. It's to get to know better. The person that is revealing himself in this very chapter. The Lord Jesus is, I am and I would submit, brethren, that the measure in which you and I.
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Learn more of him and personal fellowship and communion and walk with him. Learn more of his beauties and enjoy more of him will in a large measure be the nation which we're going to understand as much as we can understand in this scene as to what the Lord meant when He said I am that I am. And when Paul talks about being caught up and hearing things that are not lawful for him to reveal.
About eternity, and to hear about the love of Christ which passeth all knowledge, to hear about the fullness of Him that filleth All in all, and to go on to these things over and over. I submit that, brethren, we want to be careful that we don't separate the person of Christ as we consider these things and meditate on them, that we keep him preeminently before us, because it measured that we enjoy him.
Will be led to.
Whatever nature we can understand those things in what is the power that we have to enter into these eternal realities. It's the Spirit of God and we can only enjoy these things if we if he is not grieved. The Paul says grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption and quench not the Holy Spirit. He has taken up his abode in us. He's here to glorify Christ.
He's here to make known to our souls these riches which are ours in Christ.
A living reality that we enjoy them. He is here. But if we grieve Him, if we sin, if we do that which is displeasing to Him, He has to occupy us with our sin and to bring us to repentance and to judge that. But if it's an ungrieved spirit that is operating, we will enter into these things. It's by the Spirit, but it's through faith. We've got to believe this word that that's before us. It's the only way we lay hold of it.
And we've got to read the word too, don't we? If we neglect our Bibles, we're not going to be able to enjoy these things. And the Lord Jesus, later on in John's Gospel, he spoke much truth to the disciples in the upper room. And then he said, when the Spirit of truth is come, he would bring to remembrance all things that he had spoken unto them. That is, they listened to what the Lord Jesus said, but the Spirit of God hadn't yet been given in the way that it was going to be on the day of Pentecost.
After the Lord Jesus ascended back to the glory. But he says when the Spirit has come, then he'll bring these things to your remembrance. But I might just say for the sake of those who are younger, the Spirit of God can't bring something to your remembrance that you haven't read. If you don't listen in the meetings to the ministry, if you don't read the Word in the quiet of your room, the Spirit can't bring something back to your mind that you haven't read. But if you read these things, avail yourself of good menace, Christ's exalting ministry, then maybe it doesn't mean a whole lot to you at the time. But then when you're faced with the situation or the question.
Then the Spirit of God can bring it back and make it good to your soul. So we have all that we need. But brethren.
We need to avail ourselves of the resources that we have. If you don't open this book and read it, you're not going to have an enjoyment of Christ and heavenly things. Our meeting began so good this morning. I thought with referring to reading various places. I was a little bit surprised and then we went to writing. Well, that's the way God communicates with us and reminds me of a interesting thing that happened in a family that might be here today.
They were reading along in the scriptures and had been for some time and.
The father of the mother asked. One of the children there said, What words do you like the best that we've read? And he said, And it came to pass.
I got so nice it came to pass. God's word always comes to pass Believe it.
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them.
Here it is that loveth me, and he that loveth me shall be loved of my father, and I will love him.
And will manifest myself to him. John 14.
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Be ye doers of the word.
And not hearers only deceiving your own selves.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote of all lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord and what wisdom is in them.
Thinking of.
What Paul writes to the Corinthians in.
Chapter 13.
For now.
We see through a glass darkly.
But then.
Face to face, now I know, in part.
But then shall I know even as also I am known?
We read the 2nd Corinthians, I believe is 12 where we.
See one who is carried into this.
Area of Revelation.
2nd Corinthians 12/2 I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago.
Whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell. God know it such in one caught up to the 3rd heaven I knew such a man. Whether in the body or how the body I cannot tell. God knoweth how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which is not lawful for a man to utter.
You know, every believer here is a man in Christ.
And he has access.
It will be in such a way that we won't know whether we are in the body or out of the body. It's beyond.
These physical limitations.
And it's entering into things where they can lodge in the heart, but they won't come out of the mouth.
There are things that would lead us, each one individually, to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
I would think that the.
Counterpart to this, the likeness of this would be to be filled with the Spirit, we're told, but be filled with the Spirit. As we've heard, the Spirit of God ungrieved has that liberty to fill us, and that just removes it by His own presence. It pushes out, we can see it that way, all those things that would interfere and gives me to enter into an area of things.
That I cannot know apart from that.
And I was just wanting to say one comment about what was said about faith.
The Bible says.
Except you believe that I am.
You shall die in your sins.
And as much has been said to the younger ones, I'll tell you this.
It doesn't matter if he's a professor.
It doesn't matter if he's a reverend. It doesn't matter if he's a brother.
He believed that I am, except ye believe that I am.
And I would say to you young people.
Put that standard up.
God said it. It's good if he says it one time and I don't believe it. Saying it twice won't help.
It's faith that lays hold on what God says and weighs everything by that. I believe that's what it says in our chapter. I am the light of the world.
Everything has to be measured by that man, Christ Jesus.
Nothing outside of that. And for us as believers, as we go on, beloved, we should.
We should expect, we should count it as part of the path to be filled with the Spirit, to be elevated up into these things that are ours, the power of the Spirit of God.
Ephesians chapter 5 tells us exactly what light is.
I think it's helpful. Verse 13. All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light, for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. So in the presence of the Lord Jesus everything is manifested. Absolutely impossible to hide anything there.
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In fact, if you try to hide.
Something in the light. You only make yourself that much more conspicuous. You only show that you're trying to hide something impossible to hide in the light. But that word in verse 12 of our chapter, which is the opposite darkness.
Isn't it wonderful, brethren, to have the light? You ever walked along a dark in a dark night on the path where your flashlight has gone out? It means an awful lot to have a light to show you where you're going, and just to think of this poor world around us in the dark, having no idea where they're going.
Tragic how important for us to let the light shine, brother.
The slackness of darkness forever. That's the end of those who reject the Savior. Is it not the 12TH of John? The Lord said, He that rejecteth me and receiveth not, my word hath won the judges Him. The word that I have spoken. The same shall judge Him in the last day.
That 12TH verse again.
How do we, how do we get to light it? Says he that followeth me.
Shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. You can't have light for your pathway if you're not following the Lord, walking in his footsteps, walking as he walked.
He's his pathway. Study his pathway as it's given to us in the Gospels. The truth as it is in Jesus, That's where we find it. It's following Him who is the light himself. The light is never spoken of in scriptures, being created.
Says in Isaiah he forms the light and creates darkness. In Genesis he said let there be light and there was light, there was darkness that covered this scene. And then he said, let there be light. The God who spoke that dark, that out of darkness light should shine as shone into our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We were once darkness. We walked in darkness. We had no light from God.
And then he shone into our hearts the light of the Gospel, and everything became clear to us. This book that was totally an enigma to us before we had the light now becomes an open book to us and we can read it and enjoy it.
That's one of the tests that we can make for our souls is do you have an appetite for this book? Do you have an appetite for the word of God? Do you esteem it more than your necessary food? It's more important to read the Word of God every day than to eat every day for the body. What would happen to our body if we if we fed it as much as we feed our souls? Sometimes with the word of God, we'd be, we'd be sick.
It would be undernourished.
Man cannot live, the Lord said, by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
It's it's thy words were found that I did eat them. Thy word was unto me that joy and rejoicing of my heart. I esteemed thy word more than my necessary food. And that's the that's that's following him. We're going to learn about him here in this book, nowhere else, not in the newspaper, certainly not and other literature put out by man, but in God's word. Read it, study it, ponder it, make it your very force of food and sustenance.
And light and light.
The entrance of thy words giveth light.
We need to hang on to our Bibles.
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I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil the.
Psalmist Said 119.
And Ecclesiastes says, truly, the light is sweet, and the pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. I suppose you could spell that, son as well as SUN.
Moving down a bit, we're not going to get through this chapter if we don't move a little.
Verse 19 We don't have to cover every verse. If someone wants to cover these verses in between, you're free. Then said they unto him, Where is thy father?
Jesus answered he neither know me nor my Father. If he had known me, he should have known my Father also. You see, that verse tells me that it's impossible to take the position. I believe in God, but I don't believe in Jesus. I believe in that God is my Father, but I don't believe in Jesus. You cannot take that position. If you don't know the Son, you don't know the Father. If you don't know the Father, you don't know the Son. The 2GO together, they're inseparable.
And that's, that's Christianity, is it not?
He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father who hath sent him.
John 5.
Washington controller and then didn't dwell into all the fullness with the God that model. And if we think about it, this is really one of the many things that shows us the Trinity as a truth, the fundamental scripture. So how could you know one of the Trinity and not know the other two?
It just wonderfully hangs together, but the one that just needs the greatest collide is that person cautions and him fall off all of fullness and that God had caught it.
Is this connected with what Philip said in John 14? Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. And the Lord answered, He that hath seen me, have I been so long time with you? And hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. And how sayest show us the Father that connected?
Certain years.
In verse 21, the Lord says, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall not, and shall die in your sins. Whither I go? You cannot come if you die in your sins, if you depart this scene in your sins.
Unsaved. Unregenerate. No forgiveness. You'll never go where he is gone. You'll never be in his presence.
It will be shut out of his presence forever. How solemn. Whether I go, you cannot come. His religious leaders with all their religion. It just blinded them to his person. I don't know of anything more blinding than religion without Christ. It's it's it's just blinding, isn't it, Ralph? Just nothing worse than that.
Met the religion of Cain, man's natural religion.
Said that Cain was of the wicked one.
That is, he believed what the devil said. He was morally of the wicked one.
And how many people today want blessings, but they don't want Christ?
And how many religions are offering them in the name of God?
Blessings and escape from judgment without Christ.
What folly is it to contemplate God manifesting himself?
And man saying no he's not.
You won't die.
His watchman.
Are blind.
They are all ignorant.
They are all dumb dogs.
01:05:00
They cannot bark.
Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Yeah, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough and they are shepherds that cannot understand. They all look to their own ways. Everyone for his gain from his quarters. Kamie say they I will fetch wine and we will fill ourselves with strong drink and tomorrow shall be as this day.
And much more abundant.
The end few verses of Isaiah 56.
Didn't they say in John?
9.
MMM.
Verse 40.
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words.
And said unto him, Are we blind also?
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin.
But now ye say, We see therefore your sin.
Remaineth.
Ye blind guides.
Which straineth a gnat, then swallow a camel.
Matthew 23.
There's plenty of that kind of stuff around us today.
Those scriptures are a very apt description of what we find in the life of the Lord Jesus.
When he was here, because it was really the religious leaders of the day that were at the forefront in the rejection of the Lord Jesus, they had religion. In fact, even when it came to the trial of the Lord Jesus, there were certain things that they wouldn't do, wouldn't go into the judgment hall, so they wouldn't defile themselves so that they could eat the Passover. They wanted to make sure the bodies didn't remain on the cross on that Sabbath because that Sabbath was on high day. And so they had religion.
And their traditions and so on.
But here they were rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And isn't it remarkable to consider the fact that here were the ones that should have been standing for rectitude and righteousness. Here were the very ones that should have been pointing to the Lord Jesus as the Messiah?
Not only did they want not want him themselves, but they hindered those that did and that's what brought down woe and condemnation on those leaders from the Lord Jesus. Just read the woes in Matthew. They didn't want to enter in, but they were hindering others who would want to enter in. So it's a very graphic description, Brother Brockmire, those verses and as you say, isn't it a graphic description of many today? Many take the place of being Lords over God's.
Heritage take the place of seeking to guide and direct souls, and yet their blind leaders of the blind going on without Christ themselves and not pointing souls to Christ as they ought to be.
Oh, write some remarkable words in the end of the book of Acts that apply in that way. Or just read a few in the 28th of Acts.
Verse 24 And some believe the things which were spoken, and some believe not. And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed. After that Paul had spoken one word.
Well speak the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say, hearing, ye shall hear, and shall not understand.
Seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive for the heart of this people.
Is watch grows, and their ears are dull of hearing. Their eyes have they closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Well. The Lord was leaving.
01:10:07
In the 23rd of Matthew I think it is and he says.
Henceforth you shall see me no more, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blindness in parts happen unto Israel, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. The times of the Gentiles run on. And for some years I've been subscribing to the Jerusalem Post. It's an interesting little magazine published.
Weekly coming from Jerusalem.
And they have in the next to the last page page almost always the quotation from their Bible, the Old Testament, the Torah. And I've been reading that for these years and I haven't found one chapter, one article that they understood out of their own book. They're just blind. They can't understand, they can't see it.
God has sealed that nation up when they rejected Christ and in John's gospel.
They had rejected Him from the very first chapter. He came unto his own, and his own received him not so that blindness in parts happened to them. Well, let's be careful that we believe God's Word. We can't understand it, and I think we've had enough said there.
To realize that we can't understand the glory. We can't get into the Millennium or the Day of God yet. But let's believe it and enjoy it. And there is enough revelation in this Word to fill our hearts when we consider Jesus as a man down here.
Those same scripture.
Who is this man? Question is raised in verse 25 of our chapter. Who art thou? Of course we can't understand anything if we don't understand and have a proper answer to that question. Who is he?
And if we have some persuasion and where does that come from? That didn't come from our.
Mental exercises or the astuteness of our minds, or perhaps from a good education, but has been already noted from the Corinthians by revelation, God made himself known. He compelled a hearing, He forced us, He brought us into extremities that we could not deny him. So we came to repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus.
Christ and now in support. How are we going to go on?
Just a few references in John 8.
A quotation was made a little bit ago from Psalm 119, the entrance of thy word giveth light. We would like to have some light. Reference was made to the difficulties when you're in the dark, and no, with no Lantern, no candle, no flashlight, and pretty tough to try to find a place to walk.
But the interests of thy word giveth light. Now in John 8, after we're satisfied as to who he is in verse 25.
Verse 26 he says I speak.
In verse 30.
He spake as he speak these words many believed on him. Then verse 31.
If he continue in my word.
Some parts of this book are more difficult to understand than others. Peter refers to some things hard to be understood. But are we going to read it anyway?
Verse 31.
Continue in my word and more a reference to My word in verse 37.
In connection with the negative side of things, verse 38, he says I speak.
In verse 43.
Some that don't understand how come?
You cannot hear my word, so there's a premium placed on hearing.
Here my word, numbers 47. He that is of God hearest, God's word, verse 51.
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Keep my saved.
Who puts the word of God in a preeminent place? Does it not?
Verse 24 of our chapter is so important too, I said therefore.
Unto you, that ye shall die in your sins. For if.
Ye believe not that I am.
She is an italics.
That same title that God used in the Old Testament, if you believe not that I am.
Ye shall die in your sins. Very important, not only believe in Jesus.
As a man, but to believe that he is the very Son of God, that is vital to believe that.
If you believe not that I am, ye shall die in your sins. A good verse to use when we meet up with Jehovah's Witnesses.
I was going to mention two of those verses you referred to in the end of the book of Acts.
Are repeated the same verses are repeated in the 12TH chapter of our gospel here. Just like to point them out because.
It's so interesting to see that Jesus is in every way God over all things. Blessed forever, nothing less.
John 12 and verse 37 But though he had done so many miracles before them.
John is speaking about Jesus, of course, yet they believed not.
On him, that the saying of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord.
Who hath believed our report, and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Isaiah said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts. They should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Now notice verse 41 These things said.
Isaiah when he saw his glory and spake of him. If you look back at the 6th chapter of Isaiah, who was it that Isaiah saw and spake of? It says there very clearly mine eyes have seen the Lord Jehovah of hosts.
And John, speaking about this, says he spake of Jesus.
Jesus is Jehovah, therefore, if you believe not.
That I am ye shall die in your sins.
Interesting to see too that when Jesus comes out of heaven in Revelation 19.
Beginning with verse 11 That he's given a name.
In the 13th verse and he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God, The Word of God. That's what John's gospel begins with. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Scripture clearly shows that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom is one man recognizes his place as a creature. And what we find about us today are men who feel that they can run the whole universe, they can correct everything that's wrong in this world and they don't realize that they're a creature. Well, in the chapter seven of our book, there's a verse that I've always enjoyed, if any man will.
To do his will he shall know of the doctrine. This one man takes a place as a creature.
And recognizes the almighty power of God and that He has to give an account to His Creator. Then that is the beginning of wisdom. And that's what's so lacking in the world about us today. No Fear of God.
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Like the reverse in John Chester 9.
Verse Verse 24.
Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise. We know that this man is a Sinner.
He was a man that they would have gone a long ways to convince him that that man was a Sinner.
He knew who that was. He could see. He had never seen his mother. He had never seen his father. He had never seen his own house. Now he can see.
And they're trying to convince him that this man is a Sinner.
Well, just another word for young as well as old.
Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Can you be talked out of it?
Can somebody come along with a Bible in their hands and the title to their name? Or somebody with a textbook even wrote the textbook and talk you out of it?
No, it's that person.
Don't care what anybody says, the Bible says let every man be a liar, not just mistaken.
Let it remain be a liar.
Because Jesus Christ.
Is everything to the soul that believes in him.
In this to talk us out of it. Oh beloved, you need to be much before him.
This day, because there are many people who just talk us out of a little bit, just twist things a little bit.
What they're trying really to take us away from that one who is God's center. He is everything. That's what the Bible says.
I wonder if I could read a few verses in the first chapter of John's epistle in connection with a contrast.
That which was from the beginning, that's what we've had today, brother. We've had that which is from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon at our hands, have handled of the word of life. For the life was manifest, and we have seen it. And bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us, that which we have seen and heard declaring of you.
That ye also may have fellowship with us and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things right we unto that your joy may be what quote the Lord wants you and me to be the enjoyment of what we've had and we have all like the challenge you raised for the bill about the world around us taking away what we got. But what do we have? The Lord says I want your joy to be full, just like my joy.
In the knowledge that you belong to me, you're redeemed with my precious blood. And very soon we're going to be singing the heavenly choir, brethren, unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins with His own blood.
Seen him #70 in the offenders.
He referred back to the beginning of the meeting, Speaking of the internal state.
#70 in the appendix.
We see.
All right.
We all listen. Service of love.
The.
01:25:46
God must have been to be there.
Oh Lord.
Pleasure.
And all.
Over heaven and our glaring clearance and praise her.
John 8:25-36
Reading
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I love God, our souls adore this world.
Thank you.
Their brightness race.
The.
Shall we start breeding together at John 8 verse #25?
Then said they unto him, Who art thou?
And Jesus, seven of them, even the same that I said unto you from the beginning.
I have many things to say and to judge of you.
But he that sent me is true, and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
They understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
Then said Jesus, son of them, when you have lifted up the supplement that I am he and that I do nothing of myself, but as my father had taught me, I speak these things.
And he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him.
And as he spake these words, many believed on him.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth.
And the truth shall make you free.
They answered to him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in ******* to any man. How sayest thou ye shall be free, if ye shall be made free?
Jesus answered them. Verily, verily, I send you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
I know that ye are Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me.
Because my word hath no place in you.
I speak that which I have seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen with your father.
They answered and said unto him, Abraham as our father. Jesus saith unto them, If he were Abraham's children, you would do the work of Abraham.
And now you seek to kill me, a man that I've told you the truth which I have heard of God. This did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your father, then said they unto him, We be not born of fornication. We have one father, even God.
Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God.
Neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do you not understand my speech Even because you cannot hear my word. Ye of your father the devil and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not Which of you convinced me of sin?
And I say the truth, Why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words.
He therefore hear them not, because you're not of God. Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say We not well, that thou art the Samaritan, and hast the devil. Jesus answered, I have not a devil, but I honor my Father, and ye do dishonor me, and I seek not my own glory. There is one that seeketh and judgeth.
Verily, verily, I sin to you. If a man keep my sin, he shall never see death.
Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou art the devil, Abraham is dead, and the prophets, and thou sayest, If a man keep my sayings, he shall never taste the death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead? Whom maketh thou thyself?
00:05:20
Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God.
Yet ye have not known him, but I know him, and if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you.
But I know him, and keep his saying, Dear father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet 50 years old. And hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said on them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I am.
Then took they up stones to cast at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them.
And so passed by.
The reading yesterday afternoon and the reading ended. We had some.
Comments on this wonderful expression the I am and I'd like to make some more. Turn back again to Exodus 3 if you will, please.
I want to read the whole passage. Verse 11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? And he said, Certainly I will be with thee, and this shall be a token unto thee.
That I have sent thee. When thou has brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your Father's hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, What is his name? And what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I am that I am. And he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I am hath sent me unto you. And God said, moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel.
The Lord God of your Father's, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob had sent me unto you.
This is my name forever, and this is my memorial on to all generations. I am that I am and the I am. That's his name forever and his memorial to all generations. That's the meaning of the name Jehovah.
The self existent one I am that I am the unchangeable 1.
Now don't try to follow this, just listen.
I pointed out yesterday that I am that I am means equivalent to. The same is the same.
That expression occurs many times in our Bible, but if you have your King James.
Don't try to follow this, you won't see it there. It's in Mr. Darby's translation, and at Deuteronomy 3239 there is a long note listing all of the passages in the Bible where the expression the same occurs, or equivalent expressions and.
I heard a message on this once and a brother spoke on the same.
Very good. Now this is a little.
A little deep, but it's it's not really.
I want to read these passages where this expression occurs, and I'm reading them quoting from the new translation by Mr. Darby, and each one of these instances, there's eighteen of them where the same occurs.
It doesn't always show that way, but he covers it in his note. The first one is.
Second Samuel 728 Now I'll just read it now. And now Lord Jehovah, thou art that God, and thy words are true, Thou art that God. Note for thou art the same dash God. And then he has a couple other references there which I won't read. Well I will read. See Nehemiah 97 and compare Deuteronomy 3239. The second one, Second Kings 1915.
00:10:08
And Hezekiah prayed before Jehovah, and said, Jehovah God of Israel, who sitteth between the cherubim, thou the same, Thou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. No, See Deuteronomy 3239.
The third one, First Chronicles 1726. And now Jehovah, thou art that God, and hath promised this goodness unto thy servant. Thou art that God, his note says, or thou art the same. See Nehemiah 97 and compared. Deuteronomy 3239.
Second Chronicles 20 verse six. And he said, Jehovah God of our fathers.
Art not thou God in the heavens? Note, Or art not thou the same dash, God in the heavens? See Deuteronomy 3239, Nehemiah 9/6 and seven. Thou art the same, thou alone, Jehovah, who has made the heaven of heavens, and all their hosts, the earth, and all that is therein, the seas and all that is therein.
And thou, quickness, the mall, and the host of heaven worshipeth thee. Thou art the same.
Jehovah Elohim, who did choose Abram. Note or thou art he, an expression which is really a name of God. See Deuteronomy 3239, Psalm 44. Four, thou thyself art my king, O God. Note literally Thou he, thou art the same. Deuteronomy 3239, Psalm 100 and 2:27.
Now in this instance.
The King James gives it gives it. Thou art the same. Psalm 1/02/27.
All those instances I've just read, you will not get the same in the King James Psalm 100 and 2:27 But thou art the same, and thy ears shall have no end. Note literally, thou he the name of God, the existing one, who does not change. See Deuteronomy 3239.
Isaiah 3716 Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.
Who sitteth between the cherubim? Thou the same. Thou alone art the God of all the kingdoms of the earth. Note a name of God. Compare Second Samuel 728, some 100 and 2:27. See also chapter 41, Four, et cetera, where the corresponding form is in the first person. These are all notes from Mr. Darby's translation, Isaiah 41. Four. I Jehovah the 1St, and with the last I am He.
Note or I the same, it is really a name of God.
See chapter 3716. Deuteronomy 3239. Isaiah 4310. Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant, whom I have chosen, that she may know and believe me, and understand that I am He before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I am He. Is that same expression, the same note. See a note, chapter 41, four. Isaiah 4313. Yeah, since the day was.
I am he again, that's the expression the same, and there is none that delivereth out of my hand.
Note. See note chapter 41, four. Isaiah 46, Four. Even to old age I am He, and not to worry, here's I will carry you that expression. I am He is the same. Note See chapter 41 form Isaiah 4812. Hearken unto me Jacob, and thou Israel my called. I am He, I the 1St and I the last. C Note chapter 41, four.
I am He is that expression. Isaiah 51, five and 9:00 and 10:51, nine and 10. Awake, Awake, put on strength, O arm of Jehovah, awake as in the days of old, as in the generations of past ages. Is it not thou that hath human rehab in pieces and pierced the monster? Is it not Thou that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep? Note thou He when it says, Is it not Thou? It's Thou He.
Equals the same.
See chapter 3416, Deuteronomy 3239, Nehemiah 96, etc.
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Isaiah 52 Six. Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that saith here I am that I am he the same.
Note. See note chapter 41, Four Jeremiah 512 They have denied Jehovah, and say he is not, and evil shall not come upon us. Note where it says He is not or it is not he.
The same.
Three more Jeremiah 1422 Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain, Or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou he Jehovah our God, or note, or thou the same?
See Deuteronomy 3239.
Now we have 2 instances in the New Testament, Hebrews 112 and in these two instances in the New Testament it reads this way in the King James.
Then as a covering shalt thou roll them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same, and thy ears shall not fail. Note for the same he says, the existing one who does not change every creature is changeable. A divine title. See Deuteronomy 3239, and then the one we know so well. Hebrews 13/8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today.
And to the ages to come. Now there's two passages that I want to read. They're not part of this from Mr. Darby, the one that's in Malachi 3.
Malachi 3. Connection with this beautiful study, verse 6.
For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. And James.
The Epistle of James, chapter one.
And I had never noticed this, the force of it, until studying this verse 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Isn't that very precious, that our God is the unchanging One, our Lord?
Is the unchanging one the same? He is just the same today.
As he was when he walked the scene, just the same today as when he hung on that cross and was bearing the judgment of a holy God against our sins. He has not changed. He is, He may have changed his form. He's now in a glorified body, but he is the same. That's His name forever and to all generations I'll infinitely precious that is. Well, if you don't have a Darby Bible, I strongly urge you to get one.
And to read the notes and to follow them out. There's a wealth of riches that will come to you if you do that.
It's always been precious to me to realize that this name is carried over into the book of Hebrews, into the New Testament.
Because this is the same resource that the Hebrew believers had, the same resource that they had in the Old Testament.
As Israel, when God chose that nation called them, redeemed them, they had this that were wonderful. That wonderful person was the one who supplied everything that was needed for them. But here in the New Testament where believers, Hebrew believers who had stepped out of that nation by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior in Christianity, and he says you've got the same resource and Brother nuts, the one that's our resource this morning, young people, you, we have the same God that Israel had. I say that because when I was a young person sitting in the meetings, I'd hear my brethren speak of God's provision with his people in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel.
I hear the stories of Daniel and David and all those wonderful men of faith and how they proved the one who was the same. And I used to think, wouldn't it be wonderful to prove the Lord in that way? To have that resource that Daniel did when he was cast into the lion's den. To have the resource that David did when he fled as a bird to the mountain and feared for his life from King Saul. To have the resource that the three Hebrew children had when they were cast into the fire. Well, young people, it's true. Maybe God doesn't always intervene and act in the same way that He did in the Old Testament or even in the beginning of Christianity.
00:20:13
In the book of the Acts, but he is the same resource. This is 1998. We're just at the end of the dispensation of the grace of God. Young people, if we're left here a few more moments, we have the same resource that Daniel had. The God of Daniel is the living God and steadfast forever. It says in the end of the book of Daniel, we have the same resource that the apostle Paul had as he sought to serve the Lord and to minister to the Saints and preach the gospel.
And let's never forget this, as our brother Chuck has said all through the Old Testament, he's the same. But oh, it carries over into the New Testament and it carries over to 1998. I know these are difficult days. No doubt young people here burdened as they think of going back to school and to work next week if the Lord leaves us here. But let's never forget we have the one who's the same yesterday. Have we proved him in the past? Yes. He's the same yesterday, today. Are we proving him today? Yes.
And he'll be the same tomorrow. He's the resource and stuff that we have until we're called safe home.
Just let me give you one more passage that comes to mind in first Corinthians 12 in this connection, 1St Corinthians 12 and verse 4. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit you have one gift, you another, I another, and so on. But it's the same Spirit that gives these gifts, that empowers us to serve in some way. And there are.
Diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations or ministries or services, but the same Lord. You have one area of work, and you another, and you another, and I another. But we're serving the same Lord, the same Lord, and it's the same Spirit that has so gifted us. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh All in all. In paganism there were many spirits.
And there were many Lords and there were many gods. But he's saying to these Corinthians that came out of paganism.
He says, because you have various gifts, don't concern, don't think that they came from various spirits. No, it's one spirit, the same spirit that gave all these gifts and you're serving only one Lord. It's the same Lord that you're serving, that you're serving, that each one of the Saints is serving and it's the same God that's working at all for his own glory and our blessing. Well, it's just that word same came to me and it it just so beautiful in in this connection and connecting it with our blessed Lord.
I wonder if we could go back to the 102nd sound and enjoy a little of what we find there.
One of the most precious Psalms we have, the feelings of Christ.
And.
Going into death and how he felt that in the 102nd Psalm.
Verse 23 He weakened my strength in the way he shortened my days. Now this is the one who is Messiah to the Jews, and he is literally feeling what he's saying here.
And he says.
Oh my God, take me not away in the midst of my days.
Where he gets an answer from God right away and it's the language has changed a little bit.
My years are throughout all generations. He weakened my strength in the way and he shortened my days. Jehovah, Jesus Messiah was literally feeling this. He had become a man and he was at middle age 33 and a half, 34 thereabouts.
And going into death and he cries to God about it. And he gets an answer. Thy years are throughout all generations. Well, the question comes down to the answer. If Messiah is cut off, who is this? Why? It's the eternal one. It's the I am. Messiah is the eternal 1.
How beautiful to see that and then just in a simple way to take up I am with our English language.
00:25:05
The first person singular of the verb to be I am, you are.
Thou art he is so that the language that's used when it's person speaking as I am and that's an absolute. He goes there he always is. If you are saying that I am, you have to qualify that I'm going to eat dinner this day. I am going so on. It's very, very temporal for us, but with Jesus, with Messiah, with Jehovah, it is eternal. Then when the Father speaks to the Son, he says thou art the eternal one. Then we come with the Hebrews to the statement that uses he is.
He that cometh to God must believe that he is as far as you need to go there. God is he is the ever existing one so that in our chapter when the Lord is saying these things to these.
Jews that were accusing him.
And.
They refer him to Abraham. He refers to Abraham.
He says before Abraham was I am.
And you think of that, who was it that met Abraham? I guess the glory of God appeared to him seven times. But the one time that we think of that is so beautiful is when he was sitting in his tent door in the heat of the day and three men came to him.
And Abraham had the discernment to speak only to one of them.
And he called him Lord. He more or less ignored the other two. We believed they were the two angels that went on down to.
To take care of the judgment there.
And so that certainly was.
One time that Abraham saw Jesus.
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad. That is given to us to help us to understand what we're trying to get a hold of, that Jesus is the eternal.
And there's all these things in John's gospel. I am, I am, I am.
And here he is, the truth.
You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free in verse 32 and then.
More than that in the 36th verse. If the Son therefore shall make you free, shall be free indeed.
These Jews.
Say to him.
We were never in ******* to any man and here they were later on.
At the cross, saying we have no king but seizure. They had reduced themselves in their ******* to being under the Roman governor, the Roman power, rather than taking Jesus the Messiah. When he came, they rejected the Messiah and certainly they lost everything when they turned him down.
This statement we were never in ******* to any man. They were in ******* in Egypt under Pharaoh.
They were in ******* to the Babylonians to the Medes and the Persians to the Grecians.
And to the Romans, what a what a statement. Never in ******* to any man. And here they were in ******* to sin. And that's the one the Lord takes up, isn't it?
For the young people to see that award here in the 8th chapter has light. He exposes. The light exposes what's in our hearts and what is then harder. In the 9th chapter, the light exposes his glories to the blind man.
And in the 10th chapter, the light exposes those who are in the fold that the Lord is going to bring out. And I think you there's a line of him being the light right down through the 12TH chapter. And then the 13th chapter starts off of love. Is that right? He loved them under the end. So I think that's helpful to see in these two chapters. Life does not only expose our hearts.
But in the 9th chapter, Light exposes his glorious.
00:30:09
When that woman.
Said to her, neither condemn ID. I was thinking about that when he said that, that meant that then he was going to have to suffer the punishment for adultery. Wasn't it on the cross?
What a what a statement that was that he was willing to take that place and he's taking it for us. What love.
Stress and neither condemn. I agree.
Verse nine we read there that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. Now this Blessed One who is the same, this one whose glories we have been enjoying as we speak about them, not only his personal glories, but his his also his moral glories.
This is the one that comes before that woman.
This is the Blessed One who would ever be before our hearts today. And I love to think of the woman of Samaria.
Her heart was in love with him we had that brought before us yesterday and she could say, come see a man. May that be the response of our hearts, beloved brethren. And I was thinking recently there was a young person who recently saved was feeling very depressed because of past sins in the life. And the truth that gave peace was when she laid hold of this.
The sufficiency of the work of Christ, who He is and what he has done, and I'd just like to make one statement I think would be very helpful for young as well as old for us to consider carefully. We have peace in our souls in the measure.
In which we lay hold of the work of Christ.
In the measure in which we lay hold of the work of Christ, all may our hearts.
Know him better.
Beautiful this verse 32 ye shall know the truth.
And the truth shall make you free. Nothing freeze like the truth. It's like you were mentioning the Samaritan woman. She was coming out there perhaps at a time when there were not many people out there.
Because she did not want to be noticed. What made her that way was her sin.
As soon as she comes in contact with the light of the world and the person of the Lord Jesus and her life is fully exposed.
Does she shrink away from him in shame?
She's drawn to him and to me, that's exceedingly beautiful. She's freed and the truth makes you free. That's what it does. We're living in a world and I think this needs to be spoken of for those are younger and those of us who are older too, but.
Where we live in a world where relativism pervades in people's thinking.
Any standard goes you think that way. That's your idea. You can have your own idea. I have my idea.
Brethren, my idea, Your idea doesn't count for anything.
What counts is the truth, and there is a standard that is unchangeable. Thank God we know that the truth is not just a mere philosophy. It's not a religion. The truth is a glorious person.
And I revel over those simple, precious words of the Lord Jesus.
I am the way, the truth, and the light.
Know Jesus, you know the truth.
They have found that, and I want to speak especially to those who are younger. Sometimes we speak about the truth, perhaps in reference to the way we gather together.
00:35:13
As it is the truth, and I'm not saying it's wrong, but I want to say this to clarify the thinking that oftentimes.
When we speak of the truth in that way.
Souls that are looking on look at us as if we were the truth, and they see failure and they see mistakes and they start questioning.
If we want to get the truth in its most objective, purest form, it is in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Also we can say another verse that scripture gives us. John 1717 says Sanctify them through thy word. Thy word is truth, and if you want to get the truth in its purest form, if you want to see the truth, look at Jesus.
Look into his precious word. You'll get the truth. There's such a thing, and I think it is. Second, John.
That speaks of the truth in you, and so the truth ought to be in it. But I think we need to recognize that OFT times when we speak of the truth and souls look at us.
They'll often find what's more than the truth oftimes what is failure too. And so we ought always, when we speak of the truth, to point to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and His precious word. There you're going to get a clear picture of what truth is.
Don't shrink from the truth.
If it's going to expose something that is shameful in your life, remember.
Face it, because the truth will make you free.
And get so precious to get a hold of.
You know, you mentioned about in that 4th chapter of John about the woman, and I just happened to notice that I've always thrilled with what the woman says to the Lord with the knowledge that she had. And that 25th verse, the woman sat in them. I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ. When He has come, He will tell us all things. And then brethren, this beautiful opening, as you would say, the light of the truth of God in the person. Look what the Lord says Jesus said unto her.
I that speak under thee, and he will get the I am in that verse. Don't we either speak, I either speak under thee and he How blessed that thou that the Lord would reveal himself to a poor sinful women, and all brethren. Isn't this the substance of what the gospel is about, That you and I have come to know this blessed one? I believe that's why in the 36th verse, just in connection with what's been said, he goes on to say that if the sun therefore shall make you free. Now notice this, ye shall be free indeed, or Mr. Darby's translation, ye shall be really free.
Because we might be able to set forth certain points of doctrine, we may be able to delineate the truth in a certain way, and nothing wrong with that. We're thankful for those who set forth the truth for us in that way, and it's good to have an outline of truth and hold fast the form of sound words and so on.
But we can do that without the heart really being affected. We can be, as someone has said, clear as ice and just as cold. But I believe when the truth is presented in a way that it brings the sun before us, brethren, we can't be occupied with the sun and not have the heart affected. And so if the truth is presented in that way, young people read the Scripture in that way. See Christ in every line. It's true. It's various things in connection with this person and work and our blessing and what we've been brought into and so on. But see Christ when you read the Scripture.
When the truth is ministered in the assembly, those that minister the truth, we ought to be exercised to present the truth in a way that brings the person of Christ before the soul. So it's true the truth sets us free. But when the truth presents the sun, the person, then there's freedom indeed. Because if a man loved me, he will keep my commandments. And brethren, when the heart is affected, then it's not a hard thing to walk in obedience to the truth of God.
00:40:09
It's not a hard thing to follow the Lord Jesus when the heart is truly affected.
And that's what the truth is to do. It's to affect our hearts. And so it's not a hard thing, but let's let our hearts go out to this person. Then we'll delight to do His will. Just as the Lord Jesus. It was his joy and delight to do the Father's will. When our hearts go out to Him, then it will be our joy and delight to do His will as well.
This chapter where he says Neither do I condemn thee.
And I'd like to link with that in Luke chapter 12.
Verses 49 and 50.
I am come to send fire on the earth, and what will I if it be already kindled, but have a baptism to be baptized with? And how am I straightened?
Till it be accomplished.
One might say, Moses said.
And he says, well, I don't condemn thee.
Then the question the enemy of Souls raises the question as he did with Job.
He could tell God, well, Joe doesn't love you.
You're blessing job unrighteously. You are not the same. You have changed.
The same is with this woman. He could say what He's a woman who is in sin.
If you're going to bless her, you've got to change.
But the unchanging one, the same.
Here in these verses, it wasn't his purpose to come on earth, but it was the result of his coming here that His very presence.
The fire kindled here.
So he went in under a baptism his death, and oh how his heart was straightened. He wanted to bless God, desires to bless God is love. But then God is late.
And when he looks at a poor Sinner, you, me.
Is he going to have to change to bless you and me?
A thrice holy God wanting to give me all the blessings that heaven has stored up.
No, because he has one that can go in under the load.
And glorify God. If there was anything I would say that could change God, it would be sin.
Because he loves, he wants to bless, and yet he thrice holy God, and there he is faced with this problem of sin, and yet he has one who is a victor.
Who comes in and goes down under the load and can come out the other side?
And now he can look back at you and me and said all of sinned and come short of the glory of God.
But now.
In rejoice, in hope of the glory of God, all that the unchangeable 1 is.
Is now put to the benefit of the Sinner because of the work of Calvary.
The same it says.
The power of God under salvation.
How much is that?
That's what we proclaim today. God is the Savior of sinners, a righteous, unchanging Savior of sinners forever and ever.
That's the gospel in Romans. He can be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. What a marvelous plan of salvation God has. He still remains just and he justifies those that believe in Jesus.
And so now instead of shunning the light, we can walk in the enjoyment of that position we've been brought into because it says in first John chapter one, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. How can that be? The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. And so every stain of sin, every bit of guilt has been taken care of at the cross. And so instead of shunning the light, rejecting the light like they did here.
00:45:15
In the life of the Lord Jesus we can enjoy and walk in the good of all the light, that position we've been brought into. We're not afraid of one charge of sin being brought up against us, because it's all been settled once and for all by one offering. He had perfected forever them that are sanctified. Let's read 2 verses in the third chapter of John.
What has just been said? Because it makes it so clear, I believe.
As to light and darkness and doing truth.
In John 320.
Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. Now the positive side is very blessed, but he that do us truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
Evil and isn't it precious that and we look at this verse, and I've heard this verse quoted where the Lord says neither do I condemn thee in a very sad way. The Lord does not look lightly on sin. He hates sin. And those verses you've just read, brother, how beautifully they bring before us God's hatred for sin. And if we have the mind of God, we're going to hate evil too. We don't make provision for it.
But that verse points us so positively to the work of Christ. And he could say their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. We're here today and enjoying that blessed peace of that freedom, free indeed, because we have believed what God has said about His beloved Son. I'd like to read a verse in verse John chapter 5.
We mentioned that the Lord Jesus said I am the way, the truth.
First John, chapter 5.
And verse 6.
Just the end of the verse. It is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.
And then a verse back in Jeremiah, I'm going to read it in the new translation, Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 10. It reads quite differently in the new translation says, but Jehovah Elochem is truth. He is the living God and the king of eternity.
So the whole Trinity is mentioned as.
The truth.
In that wonderful that we know, dear brethren, the true God, and that's why thing sin is so serious like you're mentioning, Larry. Why? Because it denies our God who he really is.
Yesterday was made mention of Ananias and Sapphira, the first sin that came into the church.
And if you look at the place there we're not, We won't have to turn to it. But in the 5th of Acts, you'll notice that Ananias really did not even tell a lie.
He acted a lie.
He brought the money that he brought as if it were the full price, and laid it at the apostles feet, and Peter in the power of the Spirit of God.
Rebuked him and he falls down dead. You say, man, that's not very much to have to die for. But it was serious because it denied the truth of who our God is.
00:50:01
And a short time later, his wife came in and Peter asked, did you sell the land for so much?
And she told a lie, Ananias acted a lie, Sapphira told a lie, and they both fell down dead very serious. Why? Because it denied the truth of who our God really is.
If God acted that way today, we'd lose most of our government.
I'm afraid we can. A lot of us wouldn't be around too well. It's a result of the Spirit of God coming in Acts and the Lord in the 16th chapter of John told about that spirit and he says, howbeit, when he, the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth and he never changes. He's always the spirit of truth. He's the Spirit of God, He's the Spirit of truth, He's the Holy Spirit.
So I think what we've had about truth is so wonderful. It is known unseen in the person of Christ, in the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
And we have all of that. We have the Lord in our midst, we have the Word in our hands and the Spirit of God dwelling in us. Now why does anyone want to shut down the light? Somebody referred to 1St John. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, well, it really means since we walk in the light because the light has come, and we always walk in the light because we've got it. But sadly.
We don't always want to look and see what the light shows and sadly in the great house they want to sew that curtain back up and shut God off in a different place and walk in darkness. What a tragedy.
I think there's a point to be made if I could just read in the 101St Psalm a few thoughts and that I think I have a parallel of what we've been speaking about here in that 101St Psalm. We just go down to verse #6.
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. There it is, if we walk in the light. What about it, Fellowship. But let's read the verse. He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
He that worketh the seed shall not dwell within my house. He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. Well, these are verdes that we get from the Old Testament that the Lord sets forth. For in view of the Kingdom. True. But what about the the action in our own like has been mentioned? Lord, that thou shouldst mark on equity, who would stand? And so here the Lord comes in grace, and he meets this woman. How does he meet you and me?
And what about that 139th Psalm that was referred to yesterday?
Searched me Oh God, what about my brother? You know, the oldest song is I think my brother taint my sister, it's me. Oh Lord, you know, we sometimes we get the idea that we should be the arbiters of things here. But the best thing is when we get into the presence of the Lord and how blessed it is. We've had this portion before us that would bring the person before us and there's where the secret of his presence. What a blessed thing it is, brethren.
I think what you're reading, Bob, in 101St Psalm is beautiful and it tells us ahead of time of the millennial reign of Christ. There will be nothing unnoticed and unjust then.
So it ought to be that way now. And we've gone into the 102nd Psalm a little bit where it goes on. And the king is really.
The Messiah who was cut off, but he's the Eternal, and he abides and he goes on.
The Psalms are wonderful that way. A series of them.
To look on into the millennial day and comfort the godly women that's going through them then.
But they are written for the godly remnant at all times. I trust we are a part of them now.
And we'll get our comfort out of the Psalms, understanding that they really are for the people who are going to go through the great trial of the Tribulation period. We'll have our part in the Millennium in that day, and be with the King who's on the throne. Well, I just say these things to encourage us that we have the same Savior and that we have the Holy Spirit and we have the truth and we have the Lord Jesus.
00:55:05
And we have his word. Let's don't cut this word up in the light. Let's let's read it as we began our meeting. Read, read and then find out that it is written because.
Perhaps God talked orally with man for 2500 years before he began writing. At least that's all about the distance that I can find in the scripture that the first time that God wrote is in the 17th of Exodus that I find in scripture. And what did he have to write about?
But he would have war with Amalek from generation to generation. They were told to write that in a book.
It's very interesting to think that.
That is back there because God starts with it and He keeps it up. It was before the writing of the law. What it means is that Amalek is a picture of the flesh that's taken over by Satan. That's in every one of us. So in the New Testament, the flesh profiteth nothing.
I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. We have this continuing the Scripture. So God says now that's the first thing you write in the book, even before you write the law. So God wants us to get ahold of that thing, the flash profit of nothing, and learn that, oh, our blessing and all our happiness is in Christ Jesus the 2nd man, the Lord out of heaven, not in the first man at all. But we can't have any confidence in the flesh.
And the place doesn't like to read the word of God because it exposes the place. But the Spirit of God, a tennis delights to have that truth out in the open. If we do the truth, we come to the light that our deed might be exposed, that they are wrought in God.
You don't expect in the world to find righteousness. We don't expect to find those that rule the governments of the world to be doing it in righteousness, David said.
He that ruleth among men must be just ruling in the fear of God. Unfortunately, that isn't the case and the effort of so many Christians trying to set the world right and our government right is astray. They don't understand that we can't do that. We're not called to do that. We're called to walk in righteousness ourselves. Grace is reigning today through righteousness and we have the right to expect truth and righteousness in the assembly.
The assembly is called the pillar and ground of the truth. That's where it ought to be expressed. That's where it ought to be held. That's where it ought to be insisted upon the assembly. And that's what ought to make our highs run down with tears as we look at the assembly that Christ died to gather into, one so broken and scattered and so many areas of it where the truth is not held and supported and stood for we don't expect it in the world. In the Millennium, righteousness will reign, and then the truth will stand.
And be insisted on. And in the eternal state it will dwell. All form of evil will be forever expelled at that time. But we're in the time when righteousness suffers. We're in the time when our Lord has been rejected. How can Christians be promoting a Kingdom down here in.
Reigning in power without the king. The king is rejected, and that can't be until he comes back. He whose right it is shall reign. So if we knew the truth, we wouldn't be promoting things that are contrary to it. That's why it is so important. Thy word is true, and the Spirit of God is the truth to lead us into the understanding of it. And our blessed Lord himself, the truth he could say, when they asked him, Who art thou? He said altogether.
That which I say to thee, the truth, how good, how good it is just in our human relationships to find a man of integrity, a man who is true to what he says. He says what he means, he means what he says. And when he commits himself to something, you can say he will do it. He will carry it out. He's an honest man. He's a man of integrity, a man of principle, a man of his word. How, how refreshing that is to have someone like that if someone was searching for a faithful man.
To carry out a particular task, Would he ask you? Would he ask me? Are we faithful?
01:00:03
That we might look at Romans chapter 8 in this light.
The truth shall make you free, and it says, if the Son shall make you free.
I look at that as.
Maybe 2 The truth shall make you free. That is the power of the Spirit of God.
Doing his work in the Saint.
The Sun shall make you free gives us the objective side.
All the way up to the sun's place. The Spirit of God has no limitations in revealing to the soul.
All the way up to the Sun himself.
And in Romans 8.
We find that now there is a liberty of grace.
And then there will be later, when the sons of God are manifested, there will be a liberty of glory.
The sons of God may manifest it. That's when we come back with Christ. As I understand it, We come out of heaven with Him.
And at that moment the Spirit of God chooses. He does it that very moment. He sets everything free, sets the creation free.
In the mean time he has come to take up abode in those who believe the gospel and.
Chapter would start no condemnation, and on that basis there he'll come and take up his abode. Now there in the believer, he's doing the work.
And he forms there within the believer.
I'll say a voice.
This voice says ABBA father.
This new life and the power of the Spirit of God draws conclusions.
It can say so then we're not debtors to the flesh.
That there in the believer he is doing a work in behalf of God to turn that believer free.
In all the liberty that being set free by the sun grants.
And that's where you and I are found in this day, as we have just heard in this time before the millennial scene when the Lord Jesus comes out as Psalm 101.
The Spirit of God is doing a work in you and me.
That he's going to expand.
Into another form of liberty in the whole creation.
But the sun setting us free, is that not like that fullest height of all that his position of the sun in the House of the Father. And this, this truth making us free is as the Spirit of God works in us, He works with power to make the truth true to me and I would say for all of us young and old.
If I don't know something undeniably.
I don't know it.
What I have, undeniably, I can't deny it. Then I know it.
The Spirit of God has put it there, and it's part of Maine.
By his grace, and I can't deny that that's true.
That, I would say, is that little picture of the truth making us free, but in the power of the Spirit of God.
Poorly in the liberty of grace through the height of all the heights of Christ, in his glory there. And we're looking forward to coming back with Christ. And behold, a whole creation set free in the liberty of glory and a day yet to come.
I want to ask Bill one thing. Isn't the whole of that?
The position that we are found in that verse one of Romans 8, the two words in Christ, that is everything.
To them which are in Christ. So then the Spirit of God goes ahead and writes the whole of the 8th of Romans.
01:05:05
As a treatise upon the believer, because that's where he is and all of its hours because we are placed in Christ.
Amen. And there is another verse, another word in chapter verse 4IN.
The righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in US and I I have thought of it in this sense that in those two expressions you have the compass of the chapter, but in Christ is something Abraham never was.
This is the rest of that verse 4A statement instead of a question in US who walked not after the flesh but after the Spirit. That's a statement, isn't it?
In the 34th verse of our chapter here it says Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
It's interesting that we live in a world where Satan dresses sin up to appear attractive.
But sin always brings into *******. Sin never brings freedom. Think that's so important for us to get clear a very basic thing. The truth sets free sin brings into ******* Proverbs. It says man shall beholden with the cords of his sin brings into *******.
And that's where the Pharisees, these Jewish people, were.
And not only does Satan get him into that position of being in ******* but then he blinds them as to their true condition just to keep them there.
And you know, I think it's so important for us in our walk with the Lord and knowing the Lord.
Not to try to excuse sin in US so often I find that people.
When they're confronted with something that's not right in their life.
They excuse it instead of simply admitting it.
And that will set you free if you'll just simply admit it.
But sometimes I hear young people blaming their parents.
I think all of us who are parents have to recognize we make mistakes.
But you'll never get freedom by putting the accusing finger in the other direction.
If you have sinned, you are held responsible, and just simply to face the truth of it in the presence of the Lord Jesus will set you free.
Tremendous to see how souls have gotten freedom by doing it. And I just want to quote a verse that's been a big help to me in that.
It's what we have. Maybe I should read it in one John chapter, one in connection with sin in the light of a believer, how to deal with it. Because I find that it seems like there's so many that don't understand how to deal with this, their sin. They know they're away from the Lord. They know they're not walking in fellowship, but they don't seem to know how to get back. Here it is.
So Simply put, verse nine if we.
Confess our sins, didn't say excuse ourselves sins.
We confess, simply say to God I did it.
I'm guilty. That's confession.
He is faithful. Now here's God's part. He is faithful and just to forgive.
Our sins and to cleanse from all unrighteousness. Who does the cleansing? He doesn't. Who does the forgiving, He does. That's not our business. And so often I find that the souls that are away from the Lord gotten under the ******* of their own sins and they don't know what to do.
01:10:09
Say just simply tell him. Don't try to excuse him. Simply tell him everything. Let it be out in the light. Don't try to hide anything. The truth will set you free. Sometimes people say, well, I'm going to try to clean up my act and get back to the Lord. You won't be able to do it. He does the forgiving and he does the cleansing too.
All you need to do is simply admit.
Sin, and then He'll do the rest. At first, one day we're caught into sin in the garden. Look what it says in Genesis chapter 3. This is so significant to connect with what you're saying. Brother. They said 3 words. Listen to the three words. And the Lord says, and he said, I heard thy voice in the garden verse #10 and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou was naked?
Hast thou eaten up the tree where if I commanded it that thou shouldst not eat?
And listen to these words, brethren, as I think that this is the the beginning of all of this whole.
Confession, if I could use it standard. Look what he says. And the man said, The woman whom thou gave us me to be with me, she gave me of the tree. Now here it is, and I did eat. There it is. In other words, you're saying I did sin. And the Lord says, in the day that you eat thereof you'll surely die. He brought the sentence of death upon himself, and that's when God could come in. But look, it says, it happened with a woman too. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done?
And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat, I did sin. There it is.
And so God was able to make a provision of the coats of skins. Would you say as a consequence, he that covers his sins shall not prosper, but he that confesses and forsaken them shall find what? Oh, that wonderful word, mercy.
We need to be on our guard, don't we? Because man has built a whole system of things, and I believe it has crept in amongst true believers. A system of things where if you have a problem today, they take you back through your past and pinpoint someone or something in your past and blame that on the problem or difficulty, the failure, the sin, whatever expression you want to use that you're having now. And I'm afraid that many Christians get caught up in this form of counseling.
But in contrast to what Brother Bob brought before us in connection with Adam and Eve seeking to blame someone else for their sin, I've enjoyed the two times in connection with David when he sinned both in the in connection with Bathsheba moral sin and then the sin in numbering the people on both those occasions. What did he say? Well, Lord, I have an excuse and something happened and someone may know He simply said these words.
I have sinned.
And you can go back and check that. But in both those occasions, that is exactly what David said. There was no trying to hide what had happened. There was no making excuse before God. But he simply said, I have sinned. Well, I think that what brother Bob Tony has brought before us is a good warning to us. Let's and again to those of us who are younger, let's not get caught up. There are many things done under the banner of Christianity Today.
Christian this and Christian that, but when you look at the root of it.
It is far from Christian, and we need to be careful that we don't get caught up in these things. And when sin has come into our lives, as has already been brought before us so well, let's not seek to excuse or to blame. Let's point the finger to our own hearts, confess it. And if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and the confession.
In one, John is of a believer and it's important to see that and it's restoration to communion and we need to learn that confession repeatedly, perhaps every day. And when it says if we confess our sins, he, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, it means that God has to forgive us our sins because Jesus has already suffered for that. Just tell him he has to forgive us our sins.
01:15:02
He's faced one just to the work of Christ, because for the believer that sin has already been punished.
And that restores the soul to fellowship. We need this frequently.
And that's why David could say, and confessing his sin in the 51St Psalm, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.
That's walking in the enjoyment of the light that we have already been brought into, isn't it?
Think that's helpful to see that that's.
In one John 19, it's for a believer because the forgiveness there is not eternal forgiveness that we received when we.
Accepted the Lord as our Savior. It's governmental forgiveness and it's conditional upon.
My making confession if somebody, if one of my children does something blatantly wrong against what I told them to do and they come up to me and say, Dad, if there's something I did wrong, please forgive me. I'm not going to be satisfied with that.
That is not confession. I want them to recognize just what they did and to say so. And that's what's so important in getting back into fellowship with the Lord is not beating around the Bush is coming right to the truth of the matter. I did it and that's confession. And then he can forgive and cleanse.
From Leviticus chapter 5 and verse five, the last part of the verse.
That he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing, in that thing.
Because it seems in verse 33 they were trying to claim the ground of faith.
And but really, they weren't on the ground of faith anymore, were they? Because.
They were under ******* to the law.
And.
And so the Lord in verse 34 is saying, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin, trying to bring them back to Sinai, they would well and good for them to claim.
The the requirements of Sinai when they were trying to entrap the Lord with the woman who had been caught in adultery. But now the Lord was bringing these same principles to bear on their own consciences and hearts. And and so the path of blessing for them was to go back and revisit Sinai and admit that they were the servants of sin and had been ever since the 10 commandments had been brought into the camp.
And.
And if they did that, then they would have to be looking for for a refuge, wouldn't they? And that's what we have in Galatians, that that that the law was given until the sun would come. Equation 4.
To redeem those that were under the law and we also haven't Galatians that if you be Christ, then ye are Abraham seed we now we we are again on on that grounded face, aren't we? But the Pharisees, they were trying to claim the ground of faith and they were under ******* to sin through the advent of the law.
Could we sing #150, brother?
Maybe we could stand.
John 8:37-59
Reading
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35 in the.
MMM.
John chapter 8 and verse #31.
Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him. If you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
They answered him, We be Abraham Seed, and were never in ******* to any man. How sayest thou ye shall be made free?
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committed sin is a sermon that sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make he free, shall be free indeed.
And I know that your Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.
I speak that which I have seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen with your father.
They answered and said unto him, Abraham as our father. Jesus saith unto them, If he were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
But now you seek to kill me, a man that I told you the truth which I have heard of God.
This did not Abraham.
Ye do the deeds of your father.
Then said they to him, We be, but not the born of fornication. We have one Father, even God. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, you would love me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
Why do you not understand my speech even because you cannot hear?
My word.
Your father the devil and the lust of your father, you will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning and abode not on the truth because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh the lie, he speaks speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, he believed me not.
Which have you convinced me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words. He therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Then answered the Jews, and said unto him, Say we not well, that thou art a Samaritan?
And hast the devil.
Jesus answered, I have not the devil, but I honor my Father.
And ye do dishonor me, and I seek not my own glory, but there is one that seeketh and judgeth.
Verily, burly I send to you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast the devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets and Alcius. If a man keep my sayings, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead? Who maketh thou thyself?
Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God.
00:05:04
Yet you have not known him, but I know him. And if I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you, but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he thought, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet 50 years old. And hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I sinned to you before Abraham was.
I am then took they upstone to cast at him.
But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
I think it's very beautiful to see how that the Lord connects. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
True freedom, true liberty is from knowing the truth and Him who is the truth itself, the blessed Lord. They were in ******* ******* to sin. They did not know the truth. Truth sets us free, doesn't it? Free from our own thoughts, free from our own.
Opinions and the opinions of men, they don't. There's so many poles that are being taken nowadays to get the opinions of men. They really amount to nothing. What we want to know is what God says about things and that's the truth, isn't it? And we find that in him and by the Spirit of God and by the word of God.
The truth.
Truth sets us free so that we are not shackled by and and turned aside by man's thoughts and man's opinions. Once the the truth enters a person's soul, he becomes stable and he can walk that straight path with his eyes fixed on the glory above, and he knows where he is and he knows what he's been delivered from, and he knows where he's going.
He has the truth now.
A very wonderful thing to have.
It's faith that gives us that freedom, that liberty. And in this gospel, three times we find there was a division in the 7th chapter. We might just look at it and the 43rd verse.
There was a division among the people because of him, his person.
Now we all always ought to believe, and certainly they should have seen him in his person, who he was.
But there was a debate, and some believe and some believe not.
Now if we go on to the 9th chapter.
We find there is a division because of his works he had.
Given sight to this blind man.
And in reading verse.
16 We see therefore said some of the Pharisees, this man is not a God because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, how can a man that is a Sinner do such mirrors? And there was a division of him among them over his work. Now, because the 10th chapter we find it's his sayings.
Verse 19.
10/19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews.
For these things, that is, those to whom the Lord was witnessing could have believed because of His person and should have. They could have and should have believed because of His Word, and they could have and should have believed because of His sayings.
So faith cometh by hearing, and we have this blessed book and his faith in Christ that sets free.
The revelation of God. And that's what it is, isn't it? Connection with the restoration of the soul. We had that before somewhat yesterday. And here again, I think it's beautiful to see and perhaps a great word of comfort to our hearts. The beloved brother, you know, as I look around this audience of people.
There's not one of you that couldn't tell me a story of sorrows and burdens and trouble that you've had in your life. But I was thinking of this. If we could recognize in connection with all that we go through this thing is from me. And then when those trials come, we can be encouraged in the fact that we know that God is working, as we've said, by bringing the truth before us. If we lay hold of it by faith in the 25th verse of our chapter it says.
00:10:25
They say who are.
Who art thou? They didn't know. Only revelation will bring this before us. And so I wonder if we could just for one moment look at the.
13th or rather 12TH chapter of Hebrews.
Mm-hmm.
Verses 9 through 14 Here furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and We gave them reverence. Shall we not not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live, For they barely for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our prophet, that we might be made partakers of His Holiness. Now no chasing, for the present seem of joy as grievous.
Nevertheless, afterward it yielded the peaceable fruits of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way. But rather let it be healed.
How precious it is to our hearts to realize a brother was bringing before me the other day, something he enjoyed in connection with a great trial that he was going from going through. He said I had to realize that it's and it's true of every one of us here. None of us have arrived. The Lord is working in his priestly care, maintaining us daily. And how solemn it is to think that if when we get away from the Lord, we would never return if it were, if it were not for the work of God in our souls daily.
And so to recognize that He brings the truth to bear on our consciences and on our hearts, that we might be restored to Him and our souls.
In connection with the truth.
A brother in the Lord had written a book.
And he was being interviewed about it, and the one that was interviewing him was a new ager with these modernistic ideas that.
Everyone has his own view and his own opinion and so on. Nothing absolute. And so she asked him. She said, How can I know that what you write and what you say is true?
And his answer was you can never know that.
What I say is true unless you know the truth.
And you can never know the truth unless there is a truth to know.
There has to be an absolute standard that we can appeal to. Otherwise it's your opinion versus my opinion versus your opinion, and none of those opinions is worth a straw. What does God say? I thought that was an excellent answer that he gave.
Lord Jesus himself said to those in his day, You do her not knowing the Scriptures. And when he spoke to Nicodemus of being born again, he said, Art thou a teacher in Israel? And know us not these things? If Nicodemus had been reading the Old Testament with exercise in the way that he ought to have been, he would have known from Ezekiel what the Lord Jesus was speaking about in connection with being born again. And I might just say that it's wonderful to sit in these meetings.
And to have the word of God before us and to hear it ministered. But I've appreciated in connection with the Bereans who listened to Paul minister the truth orally. It says then that they were more noble than those of Thessalonica. Why? Because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so, what things, The things that Paul was ministering to them orally. And I sometimes said to the young people, you might say, well, if anybody's word for it, couldn't they have taken the apostle Paul's word for it?
No, it's true. They availed themselves of the ministry of the apostle Paul, but then they went home and got out the word of God and they searched these things to see if these things were so. And young people, it's so important. I don't want to underestimate the value of sitting under ministry in the assembly in any way. I'm thankful for that privilege as I was growing up, but it's not enough in itself. And I think there's more difficulty in Christian circles today because.
00:15:21
People are not encouraged to search these things out and to read the word of God for themselves. They listen to a man at the front and because he has a few letters after his name, they never question what he says. They never search it out for themselves. And so often error can is propagated and people don't even know that they're imbibing that which is not according to the word of God. And so I don't think we can overestimate the importance of searching the truth out for ourselves.
From the Word of God. But I say again, let's not underestimate either the importance of availing ourselves of ministry in the assembly.
There are various things in the 5th chapter that bore witness and the bear witness.
To the Lord Jesus, just look at the 5th chapter and.
He says in the.
31St verse.
No.
Well, we read it.
If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. Now that was for men to see that there is another that beareth witness of me, and I know that the witness which he witness of me is true. He, Senator John, he bear witness some under the truth, but I receive not testimony of man. But these things I say, that he might be saved. He was a burning and a shining light, and he he were willing for a seed to rejoice in that light.
Then he says in verse 36.
I have a greater witness than that of John, and here he talks about his works for the works.
Which the Father has given me to finish the same work that I do bear witness of Maine.
That the Father has sent me now more. And the Father himself which has sent me, hast borne witness to me more. Witness. Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape, and He have not His word abiding in you.
For whom he hath sent him ye believe not that they weren't believing Jesus. But then he comes to what my brother Hyland was talking about. Search the scriptures.
For in them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which testify me. The Scriptures certainly bear witness. All these witnesses to the Lord Jesus were true.
You young people who will be going to college, you have to be armed in order to withstand the lies that you will be subjected to in those higher institutions of learning. One of the lies is the they'll they'll repeatedly tell you, they tell you this in lower grades as well, that evolution is an established scientific fact.
That is an unmitigated lie and don't buy it.
If you're armed with the truth of Scripture, you will know that God, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and everything else that is in it. In this scene, they speak with great positiveness of assertion, and if positiveness of assertion establishes their point, they establish their point.
Because that's the way they speak. I want to read to you 2 verses in Acts 19 that show that the world hasn't changed. It did the same thing back in the 1St century that it's doing in this century. Verse 35 of Acts 19. And when the town clerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great goddess Diana?
And of the image which fell down from Jupiter. Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet and to do nothing rashly. These things cannot be spoken against. Everyone knows that that great goddess Diana came down from Jupiter, came down from heaven. Everyone knows that. That's an established truth. Well, of course we know that. Wasn't it true? And you find that in science, the scientists are.
00:20:02
Constantly. Every generation of scientists.
Refute what the previous ones had established as truth. So be careful that you don't.
By the lies that will be fed you in these.
Institutions of learning, the sad thing is that they were created initially, initially way back when they were established so that people could read this book and understand this book, which is the standard of truth. And now they're just the opposite. They've thrown this standard out. Our country is on the way down, Someone has said because of the morals of this country, if God doesn't judge the United States and Canada.
He will have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.
The.
God doesn't apologize, of course.
I think it's important to see that that the ultimate standard is the word of God. And that's why we all have our Bibles open in our laps. What may be said about Scripture may be helpful or it may not be helpful. And that's why Scripture says let the prophet speak two or three and let the others judge because what we say about Scripture may be good, may not be good, and we need.
Correction, we need to be helped in that way. But the ultimate standard is the word of God. And sometimes I've seen people go away from conferences and they say, well, such and such. A brother said that, and they seem to be fixed on what that brother said. What that brother said may be helpful. It may not be helpful. What's going to stand is the word of God. And so as you look, as you're listening in these meetings, you look at Scripture, get your understanding.
Right from Scripture itself, listen to what's said. It's important to be listening.
To what's said, but then go to the scriptures.
Another thing that I've enjoyed is that we've spoken a little bit about the spirit of truth in these meetings too. The Spirit of God is present and He gives testimony to the truth, and so He will never give testimony to that which is not true. And sometimes there's souls that listen and they say that person was speaking, but it didn't ring right. I don't know what was wrong with it.
The Spirit of God.
That's here to tell us what the truth is, but just to keep that really clear in our souls. I think it's so important for young people too, because.
Sometimes what's said in public meetings may not be totally correct.
We're not fall of, we're not infallible in our expressions.
Make mistakes.
But Thy word is true, and we need to keep that clear before ourselves. So get what you get for your own soul from the Word of God itself. It will hold under all circumstances. The Lord Jesus said Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word will not pass away.
I want to just re establish, reaffirm what you're saying is so important when this book is rightly understood and rightly interpreted, and then say, say you're a geologist when you.
Rightly interpret the geological find that is before you. The two will agree.
The two will agree there was a time in history, the history of the church, when the Roman Church, which was the leading church.
Would put someone excommunicate someone I think was Galileo was almost excommunicated because he said the earth was round and the Catholic Church said no, it's flat and the Bible says it's flat because it speaks of the four corners of the earth. Well, the Bible uses poetic language like that and.
The Bible is not a scientific textbook. It also speaks of.
He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth. So if you wanted to take that verse.
You can prove that it's round. We know as we look up into the heavens, everyone can see it that the moon is round.
And when during an eclipse you can see of the the earth is round too by the way it casts its shadow on the moon.
00:25:07
So man has known for a long time. My point is the the church can misinterpret the scriptures and then punish those that don't agree with that or try to prove that the Bible is wrong.
Not scientifically accurate, and unfortunately there are different views today existing as to creation, and they're not. They're not both correct too, especially a young earth and an old earth.
I'm not going to go into that here, but I'm saying that if if the word of God is properly interpreted and understood, it will not contradict science.
That's why it says in Hebrews Chapter 11 by faith.
We understand, in other words, it's not unreasonable to simply believe God's testimony. If God is who he is revealed to be in the Scriptures, it is not unreasonable to believe in the creation of the universe. And I'd just like to say this for the young as they meet up with this philosophy. And really, it's a religion in schools that teaches evolution.
Be careful not to be LED off the ground of simple faith in the Word of God.
Sometimes I've seen young people that think that they can rebuke evolution and they come.
Down from the place of simple faith in God.
To start refuting on the same grounds that evolution is defended. And sometimes they get mashed because it's a matter when we take that ground of my mind against the mind of another person. And if he's smarter, he might mash me into the ground and I may feel crushed. But faith is a different position completely in that it takes first of all.
What God has said, we understand by faith.
We understand and faith is not unreasonable. They use this.
Illustrations Sometimes I was talking some time ago to a doctor in a hospital who is a.
He was a very good doctor, intelligent man, and happened to meet him in the cafeterias when I worked in a hospital and I was.
He had AI had a tract in my pocket and he read the title. So I gave him the tract and he pushed the track back across the table at me after he had read a few lines and said trouble with you people is that you are blind. You believe what you don't understand.
So I simply said to him, Doctor, excuse me, but supposing.
You never made a mistake in your diagnosis of disease.
Or in giving the right medicine to cure that disease. That's the fame that you have. And I come to you and I know that you never make a mistake. You tell me I have a certain disease and you give me the prescription for the medicine that will help me. I don't understand a thing about the disease you say I have. I don't understand anything about the medicine you're giving me. I only understand one thing, that you don't make mistakes.
Am I blind to believe you even though I don't understand you?
He thought for a minute and says no, I said, neither Am I blind to believe a God?
Who cannot lie?
He just shuffled his feet and said we'll talk later about this and off he went. But that's the point, It's faith. If God is God, the way He is revealed in the Word of God, brethren, we can trust Him. And even though you and I, there's a lot that we don't understand and may never understand down here, we can simply believe what His Word tells us.
I would like to ask a question about the two verses preceding where we began reading. I don't think we spoke of the 30th.
I mean the 28th and the 29th versus.
00:30:03
Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man.
Then shall ye know that I am?
And that I do nothing of myself.
But as my father hath taught me, I speak these things.
And he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things which please Him. Then the 30th verse. I just want to know how, how deep was this believed? And as He spake these words, many believed on Him.
Were they believing his words about the cross?
And was this real faith?
Well, he goes on in the next verse to say, then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him.
If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
There's always the possibility that one believes or professes to believe and doesn't continue and falls away.
Which would probably indicate they were not true believers in the 1St place. But if I think the evidence of a a true believer is that one continues in the word.
Well, that fits with what we have stated about the division over his person.
Or the division over his works, or the division over his sayings. Some believe and some did not, but the gospel comes to us of the Lord Jesus as the Son of God.
And as the one who can't do anything wrong, Bobby got before us, and the one as to who's sayings are always true. And we can be saved for each of those reasons or all of them. But it ought to be real. It searches which side am I on? Which side are you on?
There's always the pressure.
Of going along.
In your beliefs with your parents, your brothers, your sisters, your brethren.
The Christian company that you move amongst.
There's always the pressure of.
You know, we don't like to be different.
So we go along with that and we see, I believe that. But do you really, when the test comes, do you really believe it's there's a when the seed was sown, there's some that fell on Stony ground and, and immediately it sprang up. But when persecution came, when the problems came, it withered up. They didn't continue in the word. So every one of us will be tested.
On what we profess to believe, everyone of us, whether it's sometime in our life be tested. Do you really believe it? If you do, you'll hold to it. And that truth that you really have gotten ahold of will form your character and it sets you free from man's opinions and man's thoughts. And you're not moved by them, no matter with what certainty they may speak their opinions as though it's absolute truth. You have a higher truth than anything that man can say.
But you have to be real in that, otherwise you won't continue in it. The parable of the solar really helped me.
Answered him leading Abraham seed, and have never been bonding to any man. I'll say it, You shall be made free each of the same people. And then they go over and go down to the 39th, where they answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said unto them, If he were Abraham's children, by faith you would do the work of Abraham, but now you seek to kill me, a man that told you the truth.
Like I have heard applause. This is not Abraham. Abraham, he acted in faith and brought forth life. Produce Isaac's seed. They were trying to kill the seed. So these were spurious believers. They didn't really believe at all. The parable of the solar helped me to understand that that Chuck has alluded to because I used to wonder when he spoke of the seed falling on Stony ground.
00:35:02
And the disciples came and asked him what it meant. He said it was those that Anon received the word with joy.
And I used to puzzle over that. Wasn't it good that they received the Word with joy? Well, I believe the thought is there was no root. There was no work of repentance in the soul. It was all an outward show of things. It was mere profession. And when the sun rose up, when the test came, it showed that there was no reality. And we find that in the life of the Lord Jesus, when things got tough, shall I say, there were those who turned from following the Lord.
It showed that there was number reality. But I think there's something nice to connect with the verse here that we started with in this connection. Because he says, if you continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed. Now just go over to the 15th chapter where he has his own around himself in the upper room, giving them what we sometimes refer to as the upper room ministry. And he adds something here.
Here they're told he speaks of continuing in his word. But I believe in John 15, where he has his own.
Those who were true disciples around himself, He links it with something else that they are to continue in verse nine of chapter 15. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Now notice this continue ye in my love. If you keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. So they were to continue in the word here as a proof. But then in John 15 where he's speaking to those who were true, true disciples.
He says, Continue ye in my love, and then brings in continuing in His commandments in the word.
And I know it's often been said on occasions like this, but it's a good reminder for my own soul.
And that is, brethren, that the word, the truth is for more than our intellect. And if it only, if the truth of God only affects our intellect, then there's not going to be a going on. There's not going to be a true understanding. And there's there's going to be a turning away when the tests come. Because the truth was written not nearly for our intellect. But Brother Larry alluded to it earlier.
He spoke of two things, the conscience and the heart. I sometimes put it this way. The entrance of the truth is the mind because we need to read the truth, the word of God. We need to have a knowledge of the truth, and that's right and proper. But then as the truth enters the mind, it is to affect the conscience. The channel is the is the conscience, and the truth always is to reach the conscience if it's going to have its proper effect.
When the Lord spoke the truth to these ones, He sought to reach their conscience, to stir up their conscience, as we had before us earlier in the chapter. And then the dwelling place of the truth is the heart. So if I can say it again, the entrance of the truth is the mind, the channel is the conscience, and the dwelling place is the heart. And I believe that when the truth takes hold of us in that way, then there's an understanding, then there's a reality.
Then there's true discipleship, because as we've already had before us, there's only one way to be a true disciple, and that's to have a heart where there's only one object in it. And when the truth, when the truth of the person and work of Christ grips our souls, grips our hearts, then our feet are going to follow in the path of faith and service.
Yes, sometimes the question is asked.
How do we know if we? How do we know what the truth is?
And the answer is quite simple. If God said it, it's the truth.
If God said it, it's the truth. How do we know of homosexuality is wrong?
Well, God says it's an abomination to him. He abhors it. That settles it. End of discussion. End of discussion. How do we know adultery is wrong? Thou shalt not commit adultery, God said that. How do we know that lying is wrong? Thou shalt not bear false witness, God said. So that settles it. You don't have to have a discussion.
They have these discussion groups are all over the place in the the media and what is being said by the people of the world is worthless, absolutely worthless. The opinions of men means nothing when it comes to moral and spiritual matters is what God says. He sets the standard. He's the governor of the universe. He tells us what's right and what's wrong and that settles it. You throw this book out and you're totally at sea.
00:40:25
You don't have a standard. I think it's so important, though, that we realize that we don't have the truth unless it has gotten into the heart and soul, like you were saying, Jim. And for that to happen, it must necessarily be a moral matter. It affects me. It has to touch my conscience. It can be. And like you say, Jack, I agree fully that it's not a matter of.
Negotiation, the truth of God is the truth of God.
Can never be negotiated. Sometimes I say the truth of God is the most exclusive thing there is.
It excludes all other options. It's it's there and I may understand it. I may not understand it. Still it stands. But if I'm going to have it properly, it has to go through my conscience and be find its lodging in the heart and soul. I say that because.
So often we talk about people who have given up the truth, and brethren, I have had to search my heart about that. I really do believe that OFT times we have had. I'll have to confess that it's been my experience, a knowledge of the truth.
But it never has worked its way through my conscience properly into my soul.
Can I say I have it if that's the case? Well, I have an understanding of it, but I don't really believe that I can say I have it until it is affected. My conscience, the light of the truth has shown on my whole life and exposed there what's not, According to him, and then it's got found its way into the heart. Then you have it. And when you have it that way, that's the proper way.
Then you have it rightly. But I think that OFT times we think of those who given up the truth. Perhaps they've had a knowledge of it, but it hasn't gone beyond that. And it comes as a challenge to my own heart. I can't point the finger in any other direction, but at my own heart. How much is the truth real to me? It's so easy to talk about, so easy to have an understanding and have a discussion about it. Like you were saying, Chuck.
But how much is it real? Is it a part of Maine?
I fully agree, but there's there's a **** in that question. That is, if you carry what you just said out to the to the ultimate extreme, then we're all condemned.
Because we have not arrived yet, not that I have already attained either. We are already perfect, Paul says. But I follow after, if that I may get possession of that which I'm taking possession of by God. In other words, we're growing. We have not reached perfection yet, and we won't reach it down here. If God has set a standard that is a perfect standard before us, that's the Lord Jesus, we will not attain to it.
Down here and to condemn us because we haven't attained to it down here. That's all I'm saying.
Is going too far. We will attain to it when we get home. The flesh will be gone. It won't be anything to hinder. But we are growing and it's. It's a question of sincerity. It's a question of integrity. It's a question of being real, as you say. But we're not perfect yet, and we won't be until we get home. We had verse.
30 and.
As he spake these words, many believed on him. I believed there would be more than the Jews.
The Jews are a part of those many. And then the Lord turns and speaks to the Jews. Now in Chapter 7, there are five, I believe five classes of people that the Lord uncovered when he got into Judaism. And one of them was the Jews. They were the followers of the Pharisees. The other is the the common people. I think Brother Darby translated proud. And there are his brethren, the Lord's brothers.
00:45:08
Whether I think that I noted one time they were like 5 different classes of people that were.
Uncovered in the darkness when the light got there.
And these when he would say he would, many of them believed on him, and he turned to the Jews who believed on him. With this further comment, you and I.
No, I think we're just not to believe what people say just because they say they believe.
And we have to understand that in our day, you know, the devil was trying to teach the Lord the Scriptures and the amount of transfiguration. And you got a lot of agents around today with Bibles under their teaching the Bible.
You and I and I fully agree. We have a perfect standard and we have a perfect word.
That is.
We don't have to defend it. It's been said it's not up for negotiation, but it is a perfect word. It'll never fail. It's God's word and that's what we have before us, rightly understood and.
Brother mentioned hearing words in a meeting like this. We need one another.
But I would just say one thing. You can't have the knowledge of the truth just because you want it.
It comes from doing it. Walking in it you see someone whose path is is a path of error.
Are you going to believe him? And are you going to tell you the truth when he doesn't even know it himself?
That's where we're left and this class of people called the Jews.
They were those who had committed themselves to the Pharisees. I think Chapter 7 will show that.
Now he would say to them a different thing from just the crowd, the common person.
That is there but beloved, if we're willing to negotiate these things because somebody says he's a brother.
You see, that's the danger that we would find ourselves in today. Instead of saying God says, and brother or not, God says and stand on it, stand on the ground. You don't have to give it up. I have just struck, as was said earlier about Genesis 11.
God created.
God created.
Let open me their understanding. He restoreth my soul. How important it is. We're speaking about understanding or understanding the truth, Knowing the truth. We read the Word of God. Brethren, we're not smart enough on our own to understand it. It's the grace of God. It is the work of God.
That opens our understanding of these things. As you were saying, Brother Bill, how good it is for us rather than to recognize that He is the source. If I understand the truth, if I find myself here today enjoying the things of the Lord, it's the work of God that has done it. And so it is, brethren, with each one of us. But for His grace, but for His blessed work in our souls, that continuing work, where would we be?
Eminent, eminent, eminent that God created.
And all of a sudden we hear these words.
Hath God said?
You ever heard those words before?
Well, we must.
Learn to stand on what we do have. There are a lot of things we don't know, but what do we know? And the first verse in God's book, man's book, is not an accord with the first verse. And we have to see that, that whatever it's man's thought, whatever does not come from this book. And it's true, we don't know everything and we don't understand much, but what do you know? What do I know?
Stand on that.
And then, as we just heard, He guides us into these things, may give us a heart that's firm for what God says, no matter who is against it. He's a brother or not.
I'd like to ask a question that I think might be running through the minds of a bunch of young people.
00:50:04
We have we Christians have the Word of God.
It's the truth. We know the Lord Jesus who is the truth. We're all indwelt by the Holy Spirit who is the truth. Why don't we agree?
Well, if we believe God, we will agree.
When Paul was about to be shipwrecked.
God spoke to him and gave him all those that were on board with him. They were all going to escape. So he called them together and told them to report. He didn't say I believe in God, I believe God. What you said about the word of God, if there's a direct word.
About sin from God. We know what it is, we don't argue about it. We don't have to search about it. When God says it, it's true. It's always true. Now, if we would all believe the word of God, I think we would agree. And if we were all taught of the Spirit on all things at all times, there would be agreement, would there not? Yes. Why isn't there agreement then?
Could I quote something that Brother Darby makes a comment on about that?
You can learn a system of error in six months.
And exhausted.
You can't learn the truth of God in its completeness in a lifetime.
That truth of God is coming, and it's finding resistance in US.
There is that which is pride and self and sin and lust. That's resisting the reception of that word. It's the divine word.
Well, a system of error. You can go to school a few months and you're an expert. You can be a a leader among them. But what we've got is God's book. And if we don't agree, what difference does that make? Has no effect on this book if we don't agree.
It has effect on us.
With someone, any young person here that has trouble about agreement? Oh my.
This book defies anyone to agree with it.
This book is the revelation of God himself who could reach up to those heights and agree with that, submit to it, yes.
No, agreement is not the solution. Submission is the solution we found in the presence of God.
Manor requests that Philippians 4/15.
315 Excuse me.
Philippians 315.
Let us therefore as many as be perfect. Be thus minded, and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
If we couple with that.
The verse in the chapter. The previous chapter, Chapter 7, verse 17.
This verse that we so often quote perhaps will find a little secret as to why they are differing thoughts too. Here we read, if any man well to do his will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. There's many who want to know. But the well at work is what blinds our eyes. And so he that welleth to do his well. It's a moral issue with us. It's a state of soul with us that blinds. Aren't so often that blinds our eyes.
It ought to concern us.
Certainly concerns me if I have a different view of a passage from my brethren.
I don't feel good about that and sometimes it's easy to to to see what the real truth is. But.
I'm not perfect. None of no one's here is perfect. I may be wrong, you may be wrong. Maybe we're both wrong.
If we don't agree, maybe neither one of us has really reached the mind of God on the matter.
00:55:01
And that ought to exercise us. And when we hear a thought, oh, sometimes we might just quickly reject it, but you should go home and weigh it and say, is there anything to this?
Just because you say I've never heard that before doesn't make it wrong.
We have to test everything by the scriptures, but it has a lot to do with our state of soul, doesn't it?
Wouldn't Ephesians 4.
Particularly verse 3 and so on.
Be good in this matter, it says, endeavoring to keep.
The unity of the spirit in the bond of peace and goes on stage seven things that are.
Now, as I understand, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit.
Is a child of God.
Guided according to the Word of God by the Spirit of God.
Is one who is endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit. It's a child of God guided by the Spirit of God according to the Word of God, that really is keeping the unity of the Spirit because he can't teach two different ways, but the child of God.
Guided by the Word of God according to the Spirit of God, for the Spirit wrote it.
And we ought to do that in the bond of peace and never argue about these things because I fully believe that what God says is true, that you said if God says it, it's the truth. And God doesn't tell us to understand. He says believe. And then then through believing, why understanding does come.
But it's slow and coming. Sometimes we grow in the truth too, don't we? And I think that's good to realize. And sometimes we have to wait on one another in the matter. A child of seven years old doesn't see that's things like a young person of 18 years old and doesn't see it like a person of 50 years old, that there's a different ways of doing it according to growth. And we have to realize that as well. I'd just like to go back to that verse that Larry.
Read there in John 717. I think perhaps we could just notice it a little more closely for the young people here. I know we go over it quite often and but I must say that a lot of folks went over it with me quite often. I didn't really get the point, but notice it very clearly.
In verse 17 of Chapter 7, if any man.
Will do his will, he shall know. Notice it does not say. If any man will know his will, he shall know.
It's if any man will do his will. It's the predisposition to simply obey.
Cost what it might.
That's what honors God and that's what God will reveal. That's the attitude that God will reveal His truth. And sometimes, like it's been said, our own will gets in the way. And I must say that oftentimes I've looked into the Scriptures.
But I've had a secret desire for my own will.
Maybe I didn't even recognize it myself. Because our hearts.
Are deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. And sometimes we don't recognize the secret desires of our heart. And so I looked into the scriptures and I didn't come out with His will because secretly underneath was a desire to do my own will. I wanted to see what God had to say about it. And if that would have agreed with my idea, then I'm would have been glad.
But if it didn't agree, well, maybe I wasn't quite ready to simply bow to what God had to say. And that is a problem. It's our will that gets in the way of understanding the Scriptures. I think that's a really important point to get ahold of then.
That other verse that slips my mind right now, sorry. I think that's very important. And Mr. Darby's translation is helpful on that Scripture. He says if any man desire to practice his will, which bears out what Brother Bob has been saying. And I think sometimes an example from Scripture is helpful in these things because God teaches by example as well as precept. There might be some here who say, well, you brother's on the front row, you don't know how difficult it is at school today to stand for the truth.
01:00:18
You don't know how difficult it is at the shop or at the office, you don't know how difficult it is sometimes in the local assembly where I come from.
But I've enjoyed, in connection with what has been said, the example of Daniel, because when Daniel was brought to the court of Babylon, he might have said, well, it's a different day now. We're not home in Judea anymore, and it's a different day here. We used to believe and practice those things when we were home, but everybody's going along with it. I've often wondered just how many men were brought in to be tested. But I'm sure there were more than just Daniel and his three friends. And they might have said, well, everybody's going along with it and you've got to compromise a little bit.
But what was it that preserved Daniel? It says, and Daniel purposed in his heart.
That he would not defile himself with the portion of the King's meat, nor the wine which he drank. In other words, it was more brethren, than just a desire. Sometimes I've heard people say, well, that person has a nice desire. Well, I'm glad when I hear that, but I think of what it says in Proverbs. The slugger desireth and hath nothing. David said in the 27th Psalm, One thing have I desired of the Lord. That was good, that was a good start, but he didn't stop there.
That will I seek after, and there must be that purpose of heart, that energy of faith exhibited, if we're going to stand for the truth and live for God's glory in a world like this. Babylon wasn't conducive to a young man brought from Judea. Much compromise and many things going on, but he purposed in his heart. It was not just his intellect, but his heart had been affected by these things.
And he was preserved. And I know it's a little bit out of context, but at the end of the first chapter of Daniel, there's an interesting little expression. And I'm just going to make a little application here that helped me.
Been an encouragement to my own soul, it says. And Daniel continued, just meditate on that young people. Here was a man who taken as a young person from his home, placed in these circumstances. He has this purpose of heart. And what was the result? He continued. And just read his life through and you come to the 6th chapter now he's an elderly man. Is he giving up? No, he's still going on faithfully for the truth.
Standing against all kinds of odds and difficulties.
Because you and I can stand for the truth, even in 1998. We don't have to give up.
We don't have to compromise, but again I say if there isn't that purpose of heart with us.
When the tests come, we're not going to be preserved. And I fully agree with what Chuck said earlier. None of us have arrived. And I believe we need in these difficult days to pray that prayer of the psalmist every day. Preserve me, oh God, for in thee do I put my trust. And brethren, if we are preserved in any measure, if there's any desire in your heart and mind today.
To go on for the truth in any measure, it's God that works in us, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. And it is, in the final analysis, only the grace of God that preserves any one of us and the power for that.
The Lord stated in the 16th of John, which goes along with what we have been saying.
And so we can, with peace, go on and face the circumstances that may come against this, no matter how terrible. They can be pretty bad, but we have everything that's needed. I refer to John 1613. Howbeit, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, and He is come, and He is here, He's with us collectively. He's in US individually, what does it say He will do? He will guide you into all truth. He won't leave out any of it, but it's little by little.
Here little there little line upon line.
So doing one thing, we might say we're pleasing God.
An Anil lead us another step. We don't get it all at once, but we have the power for it. I'd like to read 3 verses in Acts 4 connection with what Clem said earlier about Ephesians 4. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. I think that simply means in a very practical way is to walk in fellowship with the divine person here on earth to have his mind.
01:05:20
But in Acts chapter 4, remember the Lord prayed Father, Acts John 17. He prayed that they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I and thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. That was his prayer. Now here you have the fulfillment of that prayer in Acts 4 verse 31 and when they had prayed.
The place was shaken where they were assembled together and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost and they spake the word of God with boldness. This is a most remarkable passage. They were all that whole multitude of those that believed as a company were filled with the Holy Spirit. Wasn't just an individual that was filled, as we read in many passages, but the whole company. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. In Mr. Darby's translation. Here's how it reads. And the heart and soul of the multitude that believed was one. That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee. Now here's the literal fulfillment of that The heart and soul of the multitude that believed was one.
Neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common, and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. What if in an assembly a matter is before it, and not everyone is in agreement? That happens quite often.
It could be that just one brother.
Has.
A bad feeling about the matter? As to what?
The others want to do. He may not even be able to articulate it properly. Well, why do you feel that way?
I just don't feel that's right. Let's wait, let's wait. Let's wait a little more on the Lord.
He may not be the most intelligent, he may not be, but.
We can wait. The Spirit of God is able.
To give us that oneness of mind if we're subject to Him.
They were all filled with the Holy Ghost. They all had the mind of God and the matter.
That's beautiful. That is just beautiful. The flesh for all practical purposes was inactive and the Spirit of God had his way. He can still do that. He can still do that with us if we let him. If there is one that has a sincere.
Question as to a matter, it might be the wisdom of the others to wait and to cry to the Lord to make His mind clear as to it. I remember right last year when here we had the second of Philippians and I think the 1St 2 verses bring out something of what you're saying. Chuck, you may not have been here but reading Philippians 2 verses one and two.
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, and there is, if any comfort of love, and there is, if any fellowship of the Spirit, and there is, if any compassions and mercies, and there is then he says, fulfilling my joy that.
EB like minded now this is practicing together and carrying these things out, having the same love.
Being at 1 accord and of one mind, this is good practical instruction for doing what we're talking about, I think.
Yes, I'd like to.
Go back and make one more comment.
The question was raised about someone who might really have an honest question about.
The validity of the Bible because we don't agree.
If there's one here.
I trust all you young people are looking in on those of us who are a little older and and talking and you see that this book.
01:10:11
Has mastered everyone of us.
This book has no master. It has no equal down here.
There's no man that can take this book and analyze it. If you can see what you hear here is people who are mastered.
Confessing we can't master, we can't dominate this book. You'll never find another book on the face of the earth like it. They go to school and they'll take last year's textbook and chew it all up.
Not this book. This book humbles everybody around, brings everybody around to their knees.
Because this is God's book.
She never feared trusting this book.
And never fear, if it's in competition with anything else on the face of the earth, it will win. It is God's book and I would just suggest.
If you have a question about Is this book true?
Step in and walk in according with it, brother or sister. Was that what you'll see? You'll see it's far too and can never be mastered or dominated. And it'll solve every problem and make you happy every step you make. But when you come down to put it up as something that can be challenged or put in competition with something else, as though it is a word.
That's just exactly what man is doing today.
But this is the Word. This is God's word.
Trouble with you is you've just been brainwashed by the Bible. And I think how wonderful to think that this whole audience, all these people here today have been brainwashed by the Word of God. May it be morsel with us, brethren. May the Word of God be that which really influences our every thought. That's what Paul brings out in the in that 5th chapter of Patience.
It says that he might sanctify it and cleanse it by the washing of water, by the word he. It's in view of our pathway here, isn't it, brethren? And it's like somebody that says, I may not understand it. I got a memory like a sieve, some of us have to admit. But you know, it's a good thing to get this Sid cleaned out.
It's the only book that's living too, isn't it? Every other book written by man can be exhausted. It may take some doing, but you pick up a book and you read it and maybe you enjoy it. And then after a while you pick it up and you read it again. And you say, well, I missed a few things the first time. Then you read it a third time because you enjoyed it and wanted to get a little more out of it. But eventually every book written by man can be exhausted. But this is the only book, brethren, in this world that's living.
It says it's living and operative, and that's why it will never be exhausted. That's why we can take up portions again and again, and they're always fresh. The Spirit of God can take these portions at different times and apply them in different ways in connection with our circumstances. You've experienced this. You're reading in your regular, reading privately, and you're faced with some step in your Christian pathway, some problem, some difficulty, and all of a sudden.
The Spirit of God takes that portion and makes it good to you and applies it in connection with the answer that you needed or.
What a help it was that you needed at that time. You say, well, I never meant that to me before, but that was what you needed for the time. And the Spirit of God took the truth and applied it in that way. And again, that's why it's so important to store up our minds with the word of God, to read it and read it and read it.
Maybe sometimes it won't mean that much to us at the time, but read this book because as the Lord said in the upper room, He said that when the Spirit of truth was come, He would bring all things to remembrance that He had spoken to them. But they had to listen to what He said for in order for it to come back to them by the Spirit after the Spirit was given on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit can't bring back something to us and apply it for our present need.
If we haven't been into this book and been reading it so let's remember it's the Word of God.
And it's the only book in this world that's living using the figure.
01:15:00
That Bob used of the mesh. Young people, when you're young, the mesh is very tight. When you get older, the mesh gets real wide and far apart. Right brother? It gets real far apart and it just goes through. I read something yesterday, I'll remember that today. I don't, I don't what I what I read when I was in my 20s. I remember it, but not what I read yesterday.
And you'll experience that. Don't wait till you're my age. It's too late. Read the word now. When you're young, bring it into your soul. Make it a part of your life. That's the most important thing you can do. Do it when you're young. Then you'll have it for all your life.
God never once admitted a theory or an opinion.
Please the word of God, someone who said we've heard this many times, but good to be reminded.
Until you're so saturated with it that you think in terms of Scripture. And unless we read it, we don't realize how much we how much we lose. It's grand larceny to our souls to be robbed of the reading of the Word of God. It's rich, it's accurate. So often we read and we thank God for the writing of dear brethren, Brother Darby, Brother Kelly, and we could go on and on. We thank God for these helps, but they are not the Word of God.
All brethren, as we have already had before us, search the Scriptures daily whether these things are sold. There we find purity. There we find accuracy. It is the unerring word of God. There's not a mistake in it.
The greatest challenge I've ever found in the Word of God is instruction about these things, and it's Second Corinthians 10/5. It fits me very well, what's been said.
Now this is a challenge, and it's a challenge every day.
And it says casting down imaginations or reasonings, the thinking mind.
And every high thing that exalteth itself.
Against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. That's what will keep us and our minds that want to wonder. Go back to this book and obey what's written here.
Bob, go ahead. I was just going to say somebody did make a suggestion about how to keep water in a sieve is to immerse it completely.
Something also that flows from this we find in Ephesians 6. As we consider the the whole armor of God that we're encouraged to put on, we find that.
We're to have our loins in verse 14 gird about with truth, and I have a note in that I enjoy. It says that the loins speak of the intimate affections and movement of the heart.
And it's been mentioned by brother Bob and others have mentioned how important it is to have the word of God get a hold of us, the truth to get ahold of us. And if it really has a hold of us, there's going to be the walk that follows. Perhaps an illustration as Paul wrote to the Romans. Perhaps it was from Corinth. He says, Gaius, mine host. You know, it's a wonderful thing to host Paul, as it were, and each one of us.
Here have been privileged to be brought under truths that many of our brethren.
In the in throughout Christendom do not have that privilege to enjoy. We should be very thankful if I could use the expression to host Paul to to have that truth, but Gaius perhaps is not the same Gaius, but let's look at third John.
In 3rd John we see Gaius mentioned again, and if it's not the same exact Gaius, perhaps we can enjoy it morally at least. Gaius is who?
The apostle John writes to he not only hosted Paul, if we could say it this way, he also received John.
There were difficult assembly conditions, but he still received John, that is, and that's brought out in the verses right at the beginning of this book.
In verse two, beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in hell even as thy soul prosperous. For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth, that is, envy, even as thou walkest in the truth.
01:20:15
So here's a wonderful expression. A brother who hosted Paul. A brother who had.
A truth in him, and the result of that it it got ahold of him, and he walked in it. And not just that, but Brother Bob earlier mentioned that it's necessary not just to host Paul, but to receive John. Now what do I mean by that? John was one whose ministry was full.
Of the affection of God. He spoke of himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved. And you know, the result is, is that he enjoyed that affection and it went out to others. And so if we truly hold the truth, if the truth has got a hold of us, there's going to be the flow of God's affection through us. And so it says, verse four. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren.
And to strangers which have borne witness of thy charity, thy love before the assembly. And how wonderful if you and I could be marked by these two things to day. But the truth would truly get ahold of us, and the effect would be the affection of God flowing through us to our brother.
What number 6161?
Click right. Our God and Father, we are indeed once again thankful for thy Son, our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are thankful for how thou hast undertaken for us in these readings. We thank thee for this portion that we've had from John's Gospel. And now we pray that.
How Well Do You Know Your God?
YP Address—R. Thonney
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.
That meeting this afternoon with number 13 in the appendix.
Child of God by Christ's salvation.
Rise or sin and fear and care. Joy.
To find in every station something still to do.
Or bears think what spirit dwells within thee. Think what bothers Smiles are thine.
Thank that Jesus died to win thee child of God.
Wilt thou refine, haste thee on from grace to glory, arm by faith and winged by prayer, Heavens eternal day before thee.
God's right hand shall guide thee. There soon shall close thine earthly mission.
Soon shall pass thy Pilgrim days. Hope shall change to glad fruition.
Faith to sight and prayer to praise #13 in the appendix. Maybe we could stand up.
It's always good to get a little stretch before meeting after a good meal like we've had.
Like to start.
This afternoon by reading.
A couple verses in Philippians chapter 3.
In this chapter, Paul has been recounting all.
The things that he had to glory of Indiana, the flesh. And we'll start reading verse 7.
But what things were gained to me?
Those I counted lost for Christ.
Yeah, doubtless, and I count all things but loss.
For the Excellency of the knowledge.
Of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and to count them but dung, that I may win Christ.
One phrase more down in verse 10.
That I may know him.
Like to concentrate a little bit on that verse 8, the little phrase there, the knowledge, the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, Turn over to second Peter chapter one.
Peter here addressing his epistle, says in verse 2.
Grace and peace be multiplied.
Unto you.
Through the knowledge of God.
End of Jesus our Lord, verse three. According at his divine power, hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
Verse 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you.
That ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter 3.
And verse 18.
But grow in grace.
And in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him be glory both now and.
Forever. Amen.
A brother made a comment some time ago that kind of hit home to me.
He said we profess to be believers in the Lord Jesus.
But at times it seems like.
The way we act, we really don't know who our God is.
00:05:05
And I have really been searched by that statement. How much do you know you're gone?
How much do I know him? I can't point the finger out in any other direction because I know that there is tremendous need on my part.
To know my God better. But I say this because.
We're living in a world that is.
Contrary to the knowledge of God that we have presented.
In the revelation that we have because of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God's.
Beloved Son, and in the book that we hold in our hands.
In fact, there's a religion in the United States of America.
That is.
That permeates every level of society.
And I'm afraid I have to confess that I have been affected by that religion far more than I realized. It's called humanism.
Sometimes it goes under different names, maybe the new age, but it presents.
A God.
That is not the God of the Bible, and I say again, it permeates our society.
And I especially want to speak to our young people about it because I think it's important that we're aware.
Of what's happening in the society we live in.
The God of humanism is.
Me, myself and I and I see.
The selfishness of our society affecting.
Even those who are Christians. And like I say, I don't want to be.
Accusatory here. I have to recognize that I've been affected by it too.
Paul put it well in Second Timothy chapter 3 and talking of the perilous.
Last times when he said men shall be lovers, what of their own selves? And I see that that's the mainstream current of life in the United States. Do what you like. I'm not saying you're doing anything that's necessarily wrong morally in itself.
But the mainstream is to please yourself.
It would be nice if we could say that we're exempt from that.
But, brethren, I don't think we can exempt ourselves from being influenced by that stream of things.
Remember being down in South America trying to cross a rushing stream?
Down one of those Andes valleys one time, another brother and I were there together and we needed to get across that stream, and those streams run pretty fast.
And we decided that we would join arms.
At elbow, at the shoulder, and we left our shoes on. We left all our clothes on.
And we plunged into that stream to try to get across so we could get to that conference.
And I tell you, we made it. I wondered sometimes if we were going to make it. It wasn't over.
My waste the water level, but it was powerful and it drug us downstream quite a bit.
Before we were able to get down to the cross, brethren were living in that stream of things in our society. I think it is important that you and I are aware that that's what we are up against. Dear young people, you and I live in that society, and the Lord Jesus never prayed to His Father that we would be taken out of the world, but that we would be kept from the evil of this world. And so it's important.
To realize that we live in a world of self-centered selfishness.
I am appalled when I see the terrible need in other areas of the world.
Down in Central America, in Honduras.
The terrible devastation, the people. I understand there's something like.
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2 million homeless in Honduras. Incredible. I don't think our minds get a handle on the terrible destruction that there was there. And yet we Americans go on living our lives as if everything were pleasure down here.
Your young brother and sister in the Lord Jesus, I want to redirect your vision today.
Take it off yourself. And I want to put you to put your vision on the God that we profess to know in the Holy Scriptures. I've jotted down a few of the basic attributes of God that we have come to know in the person of the Lord Jesus. I'd like to go over them with you.
Because I find that in the world that we live in, the more that our hearts are set on God, the God of the Bible, the more the problems that surround us are not that much of a problem. But I meet up with souls all the time, believers in the Lord Jesus, that their problems just seem to indulge them. They don't know what to do.
They're consumed by them.
I want you to.
Turn your vision away from your problems. I'm not going to say you're going to be liberated from all your problems. That wouldn't be.
Realism.
But I want to turn your vision toward the kind of God that we have come to know in the Lord Jesus. To me, it just thrills my heart the more I realize the grandeur and the greatness and the infiniteness of the God that I have come to know in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know when you get Him in your vision, things are not near so hard any longer.
There's 2 verses in the Psalms that have often been flooded.
One says.
I will trust and not be afraid.
The other says, In what time I am afraid I will trust in thee.
Somebody used to say that's the 1St and 2nd class to train to heaven. And the first one he says, first of all, we'll trust God is before his soul and there's no room for fear. God is so big, so great, that there's no room for the fears any longer. But sometimes we have to admit that the fears creep in.
And generally, if you think about it, you're going to find that your heart is filled with fear.
When you let things down here, fill your soul.
Now, I have to admit, that's often been the case in my own life. That my heart.
Has given way to fear. But he remembers in the midst of his fears. In what time I'm afraid I will trust in thee.
Oh, how wonderful it is to know the God that we know and the person of the Lord Jesus.
And I just want to go over some of the attributes. Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter 33.
I'm just going to go over these fairly briefly because I want to get around to more.
Practical application of these things in our life, but it's important to have.
Clear right teaching as to who the God that we profess to know really is. Deuteronomy chapter 33, verse 27.
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
Here God is called.
The eternal God.
Eternal simply means that he had no beginning.
Will have no ending ever existing. It is hard in our minds to comprehend such a thing because everything we know down here in this world has a beginning, has an end. Everything we know down here in this world and the creation itself at its beginning, and it will have it then. And so everything in our thinking process.
Excludes the possibility of such a thing, but God has revealed Himself.
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To be the eternal God. Isn't this wonderful that we can say.
The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Somebody has said. You may think pretty long, but you'll never think so long that the everlasting arms are not underneath you. Isn't that tremendous? This God is our God.
Go over to Jeremiah 32.
And.
Verse 17.
Ah, Lord God, behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power, and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. Beautiful verse this is.
An attribute of God that sometimes we call omnipotent.
All power belongs to God. There is absolutely nothing to hard for God. You may have problems in your life and I've often found that God allows in my life as allowed problems that I come to the end of my resources on and you know.
In the big American way of thinking, we try to figure out our problems on our own.
We're taught in our schools. Have confidence in yourself.
Christian ought to be a confident person.
But not self confident, dear young person, confident in the Lord. There is nothing too hard for our God. Isn't that wonderful? You've got a problem that seems too hard for you. Just let this verse sink into your soul. I find great comfort in it. There is nothing too hard for me. There's things in my life I say I don't see the possibility of that happening.
And yeah, in my own.
Limited, narrow vision of things. That's true.
But let's expand the vision a little bit to take in the greatness of our God.
There is nothing too hard for thee. Go over to Psalm 139 that was read this morning.
Just to point out two more attributes of God.
That, I think, are so tremendously interesting.
We'll read a few verses here. Psalm 139. Oh, Lord, thou searched me and known me, thou knowest.
My down sitting in my uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassed us my way, my lane down.
And are acquainted with all my ways. There is not a word in my tongue but lo.
O Lord, thou knowest it all together.
This is an attribute that we sometimes call omniscience. God knows everything. Dear young people, have you really thought about it? This is the God of the Bible.
When I see sometimes young people trying to hide little areas of their life.
I say, have you really come to know the God that the Bible talks about? You can't hide anything from Him. He knows your thought afar off.
Sometimes even at conferences, things go on that are pretty sad.
What a number of years ago, before I was married, I was at the conference somewhere.
On this continent.
And we were placed in the room with a number of other young fellows.
Two young fellows came in quite late at night.
And I heard him whispering. They thought probably I was asleep.
Do you think he'll smell our breath?
You know what they were doing.
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You think they were fooling anybody?
Do you think they were hiding anything from anybody?
Do you know the God we're talking about in this Bible? He knows everything about you. You can't hide one single solitary thought that nobody else knows about. You can't do it. He knows it all. That's what omniscience means.
Going on here a little bit, verse 5 Thou hast be set me before and behind, and laid thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Why ascend up into heaven? Thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea, even there shall thy hand.
Lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
This is an attribute that we sometimes call a NIP presence. God is present everywhere.
God is present everywhere.
There is inhumanism and New age, something that is called pantheism, that God is in everything and everybody. I'm not talking about this. I'm talking about God's attribute that he is everywhere at the same time.
Only God is omnipresent and you cannot escape His presence. There is no way this is the God that we are.
Revealed about in the Bible. Let's read another verse in Malachi.
Chapter 3. Another attribute of God.
Malachi chapter 3 and verse.
6.
Four, I am the Lord.
I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
This is an attribute that we sometimes call immutability. God does not change.
Of how we change. I look back over my little life.
And think how I've changed, not only physically, but my ideas have changed, my thinking has changed, everything about its changes.
But one of the attributes of God is He does not change. In fact one of the.
Titles he bears is the same. He never changes. That's one of the attributes. You can count on it. If he was faithful yesterday, he will be faithful to day and he will be faithful forever.
Let's go over to Numbers chapter 32.
For another attribute.
Of our God.
Numbers Chapter.
I'm sorry, it's chapter 23.
MMM.
Numbers chapter 23 and verse 19. God is not a man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent.
Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Behold, I have received commandment to bless.
And he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it. This is Balaam speaking. This is an attribute of God that we could call sovereignty. God is sovereign, He is over all.
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And he does as he wills, because he is sovereign and there is nobody that can stand.
And contradict. This is our God. This is the God. Can you see how great this God is to me? It just fills my heart when I meditate on the way. Scripture reveals the God that we have come to know and the person of the Lord Jesus. We know that the Lord Jesus is fully God.
At the same time, he is truly man. He is God.
And he is man, and we can know, learn to know our God.
Through the Lord Jesus, people sometimes misjudge.
The Lord Jesus, all they could see on the outside was a human form.
They said this is the Carpenter.
Another place, they said, this is the carpenter's son. We know his father and his mother and his brethren are with us today.
All they could see was what was outward. But to me, this is another tremendous thing about our God, that though He is infinite, eternal, He could reveal himself by coming into this world and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, He came right where we were this morning. And I just marvel at it, think that those religious leaders have their homes to go to.
Jesus.
The eternal God, the creator of the ends of the earth.
Had to go to spend the night in the Mount of Olives. Tremendous how he came down to right where we were.
So that the poorest of the human race could not say.
To God, you don't understand what it means to be so poor down here.
No one so poor as he was, and yet at the same time the eternal God. Oh, how it makes us bow in our hearts to worship, to praise this God that we can say is our God. Oh, to know Him better, we look at the perfection that was in Him.
At all times. Couldn't be otherwise because he was.
Not only God over all things blessed forever.
But he was.
Holy humanity, he was a man. He came right to where we were. And even though those religious leaders, those Pharisees, those scribes, those lawyers.
You know, I, I've had a few court cases that I've been involved in my life. There's anything I've learned to fear is some of those lawyers.
Now they can pick up your words and twist them around to mean exactly what you didn't mean to say.
I'm talking about those that have set themselves against the Lord Jesus.
And yet they came. They circled him. They looked.
For some flaw in his speech, they could not find one flaw.
Because he was completely perfect. This is our God. This is our God.
Can you trust them? Dear young people, I really, truly believe that the big problems that happen in our lives, God allows to happen to prove just how much you're willing to trust in the God that we're talking about here in the Word of God.
Are you willing to trust him?
The more you learn about him, the more you are going to trust him, I can guarantee you.
God is light and God is love, it tells us in John the 5th, so let's just read those just to have them before us first. John 1/7.
I'm sorry, first John 1/5.
This then is the message that we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.
I don't know if we should say this is an attribute. This is what God is in his own being. God is light chapter 4.
And verse 8.
He that loveth not knoweth not God for God.
Is.
Love. These are two things that God is and is very deep. God is light. We were talking a little bit about this this morning and the reading. There is nothing you can hide in the light. You can hide things from brethren and people have been fairly successful for a time at hiding things from brethren.
00:35:24
You can hide things from your parents.
There has been children that have been fairly successful at doing that for a time.
But when we are in the presence of the Lord Jesus, there is no way you can hide anything.
You know, today's world people, officials in government, have tried to hide the real truth, sometimes by telling half truths. And that's a very seemingly convenient way of getting out of tough situations.
You know the Lord Jesus met up with the Samaritan woman at John chapter 4.
And after she had asked to receive the water of life, why the Lord Jesus?
Touched her conscience and said go call thy husband.
Then come here.
And she told the half truth.
I have no husband.
In the presence of the light, there was nothing she could hide and the Lord Jesus.
Not in an accusatory way, but simply manifesting.
The truth of her condition made a statement. Thou hast well said, I have no husbands, for thou hast had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.
Pretty revealing.
She went back into that city.
She said to the men of that city. Some of them she'd probably stand with.
Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did is not just the Christ.
Had the Lord told her everything in her life?
But she realized she was in the presence of the Light and that there was nothing.
She could hide. Dear young people, have you learned to know?
This God of the Bible in that way.
I see people who try to hide things in their lives.
It's hard work. It's hard work. Don't try to do it.
Nice to meet those like that poor Samaritan woman who finally realized that there was nothing she could hide. What liberty of conscience to go right back and to testify to those men.
Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. He didn't mean to condemn her, but it was important if she was going to enjoy what he had for her.
It was imperative that the whole history of her life come right out into the light. You're a young person. Are you trying to hide something in your life right now? Is there something that you know is wrong and you're trying to keep a kid? I say you're only robbing yourself a tremendous blessing. Don't do it. Get it out into the light.
Confess it, be done with it, and you're going to find the liberty, the joy.
That you can find in the Lord Jesus Tremendous.
I'd like to go.
In the minutes we have left, considering we could go on and on, considering the different attributes of our God as revealed in the Lord Jesus through the scriptures. Tremendous. Just to let your soul be filled to realize this God is our God. This is the one we've come to know. Is it true you're young people?
Or is there a different God you've come to know? A God that has eyes but doesn't see?
A God that has ears but doesn't hear.
There is a God being propagated.
Of that sort in our country today. I want to tell you it's a false God.
Don't be carried away with that kind of idea.
But I'd like to go to thinking of some practical points in this question of the God we have come to know. Like to talk of God as the creator God.
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You know, in schools today, the theory of evolution is being taught.
Even though I understand I'm not much of it.
First, in the VA is talking about science. There's some good school teachers here that could probably do a lot better than I could, but I understand that most scientists that are serious scientists do not totally reject.
Darwin's theory of evolution. Now it's just totally out of the realm of possibility. They still hold on to the vestiges of evolution in some way, but they don't know how to explain it.
But I say this, if it is so that this world and everything that is in it, this universe.
If you and I are the product of evolution, you know what you and I are just abstinence.
There is no purpose for being here because it's just the product of blind chance in materialistic things happen and that's why. And it crushes me to think of dear young people in the schools today being taught that venom.
Because if it's true, if that is true.
Their problems get so great and they realize there is no purpose for them being here. They often just try to end it. Many times they're successful, they end their lives.
That God has a purpose, the God of the Bible, if he is the God that we have learned him to be.
In the Bible and through the Lord Jesus, the God with whom nothing is impossible, the God who is the Eternal God the Infinite.
Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God.
And it was done, and He had a purpose in calling into existence everything that's called into existence. Let's look at Revelation chapter 4 to see why God created the creation that we now live in. We are creatures in that creation.
And as such, oh, it's wonderful to know our God.
As the creator of God, we know Him a lot more intimately than that, but still this is part of.
The Revelation of the Word of God, Revelation, chapter 4.
In verse 10, and the four and 20 elders fell down before him that sat on the throne and worshipped.
Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, For thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
You and I were created for God's pleasure, with a very specific purpose in mind. God created you.
Oh, isn't it tremendous? You know, we live in a world where sin has reaped a lot of havoc.
I heard some time ago about some of the freaks that were born over in Russia, in the area where they had that awful atomic explosion, that reactor that wasn't contained.
Some babies have been born with square heads.
Awful freaks, some without any arms because of nuclear radiation.
I heard one time of a person that was born and lived quite a number of years quite deformed.
Evidently had come to know the Lord Jesus Christ.
And in his testimony he gave the verse.
And it's in Luke's gospel.
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Night Sight.
What tremendous glory to God from that deformed boss.
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That's where God created you. Not so that you can have fun down here in this world. That's not why God created you.
God created you for His pleasure, for his life.
Oh, it's tremendous to me to be delivered from thinking of myself all the time and what I would like to be able to think of my God, who made me with a specific purpose for His own pleasure.
Like to talk about God as he is revealed in the scriptures as Father.
As such, we are sons. We are sons of God. Let's turn to.
Ephesians for one play.
Ephesians, chapter one.
In verse 3.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ?
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself.
According to the good pleasure of His will, there is the place you and I occupy, children of God, adopted into God's family. Tremendous to think of being adopted into a royal family in this world.
Far, far more than that, dear young people, if you are believers in the Lord Jesus, you have been chosen and adopted into the very family of God. And as such, the relationship between father and son is a relationship relationship of love.
Young people like to talk about being in love.
It's kind of interesting when you hear of somebody being in love.
Did you know that you're in love? You're a young person.
Did you notice the last two verses of verse 4?
That applies to every single believer in the Lord Jesus.
You're in love.
Nothing can change that life.
Jeremiah 31 Behold, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, a love that does not depend on what you are. He loves you. He loves you unchangeably. That's the kind of love. He loves you. We can look up into the heavens. We can say to the God that made this whole universe.
He's my father.
He's my father, I'm his child. Isn't that tremendous to enjoy? Is there something that he's going to allow?
In your life to bring you.
Displeasure without any reason for it? No way. If he allows something that is unpleasant in your life, it's because you occupy a place of love before him. He never allows a trial without a very specific purpose.
Of love towards you. Notice verse six of this chapter.
To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the Beloved.
I like the way it says in the new translation. He has taken us into favor in the beloved.
Oh, I just revel in that God. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, God cannot look at you in any other way but of complete favor.
And if he allows a trial in your life?
Take it from him, Take it from him. He allowed it with a very specific purpose in mind. I see people today sometimes even Christians.
That gets so bitter.
You know.
Somebody said something bad about him, maybe even Christians are bad mouthed them.
00:50:04
And they get better. Maybe on the outside they're nice and sweet.
But underneath, they're doing the slow burn.
They're bitter.
You know what you're doing.
If you're doing that.
You're calling in question the infinite.
Eternal God in his feelings. Don't do it. You're going to hinder yourself worse than you hinder anybody else.
You might cause problems for a lot of other people too. Get over it. Look beyond that person that talked to you that way. Look at the hand of one that has adopted you into his family and eternal love and whose love you cannot change.
Oh, to let the grandeur, the greatness of our God, fill our souls in fuller measure. God is my Father. I am one of his children.
Like to talk about the Lord Jesus?
In this position as head of the church.
You know, when we talk about God as Father, that's more in connection with the truth that the church is.
The House of God.
When we talk about the Lord Jesus Christ as head of the Body, that's in connection with the truth of the Church as the Body of Christ.
Go to the end of Ephesians chapter one.
The Apostle Paul here is praying for those believers.
To understand.
Three things. First of all, what is?
The.
Hope of his Calling, verse 18.
#2 What is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints?
And #3 what is the exceeding?
Riches of His exceeding greatness, of His power to us, which we believe according to the working of His mighty power.
I love that verse. It just seems like Paul runs out of adjectives.
And he well might. And he's talking about this power.
But then he goes on to say in verse 20 which he wrought in Christ.
When he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.
Far above all principality and power and might and dominion, in every name that is named, not only in this world, but that which is to come.
And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is his body.
The fullness of him that filleth All in all.
Did you realize, dear young brother and sister in the Lord Jesus, that as a member of Christ's body?
You are intimately, eternally linked with that man.
Of flesh and bones, who sits now at the horror pinnacle of glory in the whole universe.
All power is given to him, it says. Here he put all things under his feet.
And gave him to be the head over all things to his church. He's far above all principality.
And power, and might and dominion and every name that is named. Christians think that sometimes in these days we live, that we ought to get involved in politics and swing things in the right direction. Definitely we should pray for those in authority.
Not speak evil of them, scripture is clear about that, but to pray for them.
But did you know that as a believer in the Lord Jesus, you have connections to the man that is over the President of the United States?
You have far more sway by getting down on your knees and praying than you do getting out and mobilizing people to lobby for certain issues in government circumstance.
Do we understand this?
Sometimes when I see Christians getting so involved, maybe they don't get into the political operations.
But sometimes when we let our mouths loose, we say some pretty heavy things against elected officials. Let's be careful not to do that.
Even Michael the Archangel did not bring a railing accusation against Satan.
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But said the Lord rebuked me.
It doesn't mean we don't recognize evil where it is. I think we should, but we need to be careful.
How we react. Remember, there's a man in the glory, a real living man, you know, It comes to me again and again as I think about this, that so often.
Which seemed so far removed from our life down here in this world that we almost relegated to the realm of.
Theory. It's not a theory, it's a reality.
Our brethren in other countries where they're so severely persecuted, I think understand it better than we do.
I understand that the brethren over in China that are persecuted.
Ask that we don't pray that the persecutions stop.
They ask that we pray that they could get more Bibles.
Don't pray that the persecution stopped. Would we pray that way? I don't know.
Persecution isn't a very pleasant thing.
But God has used the Communist Party.
To make the gospel spread in China as it did not spread in the old time when missionaries were allowed into that country.
God is used the Communist Party. Yes, the Lord Jesus is head over all things. He often works behind the scenes in ways we don't understand. But don't question it. Every single detail of your life and mind is ordered by the hand of that man that sits on the throne of God.
Oh, what meaning that gives to everything that happened. Something negative happened in your life.
Did you stop to say thanks to him for it? That's not easy to do sometimes.
But that's faith. He is in full control of it all.
I think of when the disciples in John 21 went out fishing.
And there were good fishermen. That was their livelihood.
But all night long.
And they didn't catch anything.
You can almost detect it in their voice when the Lord stands on the shore. They didn't recognize it was the Lord.
He says children have any meat.
They didn't make their answer very long.
No, that's all I said.
I can imagine they were pretty discouraged.
But then he says.
Throw the net on the right side.
So often we're throwing the net on the wrong side, aren't we?
Anyhow, they threw it and immediately.
A great number of fishes.
I love what John says to Peter. Do you remember the words he said?
Immediately he says it is the Lord.
It wasn't his physical apparition there that brought that knowledge to John. It was what happened. The circumstances and maybe the circumstances in your life are tough.
Dear sister down in Ecuador that I got to know the other day.
Rocio is her name.
Her husband.
Was recently on business over in Ecuador in London, England. Some of you probably heard about it.
And coming home from the restaurant one night.
Somebody put a knife into him and killed him.
Left her with three children.
The oldest about 17.
Through the incidents, you got saved. I think he what Dean Rule thinks he was a believer.
But talking to her the other day?
Just really impressed me.
How completely she seems to be free of any bitterness of spirit in what's happened, takes it completely in the hand of God, realizing that that's what it took to bring her to the Lord Jesus.
And tears come to your eyes. She tells how much she longs.
For her family come to the Lord too.
Tremendous, beautiful. But you can only have that freedom from bitterness when you realize that everything is controlled from the hand of that man who sits on the right hand of God. This is our God. Dear young people, we have reason to take courage. We have reason.
Psalm 19
YP Sing Address—R. Thonney
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.
Like to read some 19?
This evening.
To read the Psalm, you'll notice the two testimonies that God has in this world. There may be others that there are two specifically that are addressed in this chapter in this poem.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the Firmament showed his handiwork.
Day and today utter of speech and night and to night that showed knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world.
In them he hath set a Tabernacle for the Son, which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strongman to run a rating. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the symbol. The statutes of the Lord are right. Rejoicing the heart, the commandment of the Lord is pure. Enlightening the eyes, the fear of the Lord is clean.
Enduring forever the judgments of the Lord.
Are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold. Gave them much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is Thy servant worn, and in keeping of them there is great reward. Who can understand his error? Cleanse thou me from secret false.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. Let not them have dominion over me. Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent.
From the great transgressions, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart the acceptable in my sight, O Lord.
My strength and my reading.
Just like to spend a little time on both of these. You'll notice the 1St 6 verses of this Psalm is really dealing with the testimony of God and creation. And there is a very real testimony of God in the creation that we see around us. To me, it is tremendous to be able to look around and see the way God has made His creation. It's all ordered intricately.
You can look into the reaches, the far reaches of the universe, and it's all ordered. You can take a microscope and look at them very most minute details of creation, and it's still all ordered.
Interesting. I read a book some time ago about an astronomer who was not a believer in the Lord Jesus.
And he was studying the different.
Factors that have to be.
In creation within a certain parameter, narrow parameters so that light could be a possibility.
And in this book you give is a number of the different factors that there has to be. I think there are maybe 18 different factors, but it is so conclusive that.
There was some intelligence ordering it that the.
Astronomers said somebody's got their fingers in this.
And it has been said that there are a lot more men of faith in the astronomers than there are in the geologists.
00:05:05
You lookout into the vast reaches of the universe. It just thrills me to study it. I'm no astronomer to tell you that much, but I love to read books about the universe and to the vastness of it. It thrills me you can get. The bigger they get their telescopes, the farther they look out there. They just find that it goes on and on and on.
I don't know if I have all my figures right and maybe somebody will have to correct me, but.
I understand that we are part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is a huge.
Galaxy.
I understand it is formed like a plate.
Whirling stars, billions of stars, and from 1 edge of the Milky Way Galaxy to the other edge it is approximately 100,000.
Light years.
Now if you just get an idea, light travels at the distance of 186,000 miles per second.
And traveling at that rate of speed.
The light that left the other edge of the Milky Way Galaxy at the time that Adam was placed on this Earth some 6000 years ago is not even a tenth of the way across just the Milky Way Galaxy and we're talking about.
What scientists say there are now billions of galaxies in the universe. In fact, they don't really have an estimate.
But they say now that there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the sea.
Who put it all there? Who orders it all in?
The way it is going around in clock like orders.
Somebody's had their fingers in it. It is the work of the fingers of our God. The heavens declare the glory of God. This is the God that just thrills me to know. He's my God. I know him as my Father.
And so creation is a testimony, a very.
Vivid testimony. It's interesting.
In South America and Bolivia, I've had quite a bit of contact with missionaries that have gone into the jungle after the savages. There's certain savages in South America. You would think that there wouldn't be any uncontacted tribes, and yet there still are. In the jungles of South America, there's one.
Tribe that they're trying to domesticate.
Domestically, they're trying to get it to sit down for a while so they can.
To contact, to establish a permanent contact with them they're very nomadic and they they run they go from place to place anyhow, this one tribe that.
Met this missionary in the doctor's office one day. His name was Steve Parker. He's.
Ex Colonel for the US.
Air Force. And he got saved through a Bible study. He was holding his home and he finally decided he wanted to go serve the Lord in another country. And he went out and he went into this mission and he and another missionary were following these savages through the jungle. And I mean, it is no fun out there in that jungle. It is miserable.
Besides being steaming hot.
You have clouds of mosquitoes. I mean clouds and mosquitoes. I went through that area one time myself and there were four of us walking down the trail and every one of us had little clouds following us. As soon as we stopped, that cloud of mosquitoes just kind of landed and for took.
Of whatever they could get. It wasn't very pleasant. And when they served us a meal in there, I had to wave my hand in front of my face, get a bite of food in.
It was that bad, the mosquitoes would go in at the same time your food that it was bad. And these fellows were following these savages through the jungle, trying to keep up A1 friendly contact.
00:10:12
And he told me, he says all of a sudden one of the savages turned around and looked at him, pulled out an arrow, put it in his bow and shot him, went through in this side of his gut and came out the other side. And he was laying on the ground for 26 hours before he could be evacuated. Thankfully, they got him out and he got better.
And he went right back in after them.
That those savages, even though they are so miserable, and let me tell you, it's a miserable existence that they live in here.
They have the knowledge that there's a God. It's interesting. I saw another book and they they were telling me that there are 90% of unevangelized, uncivilized tribes that have been contacted in the world to give the gospel.
Have a tradition. If they don't have anything else, they have a tradition of a God in the sky.
What they call that a skyline of a God in the sky, and it's a different word than their local.
Spirit deities, It's a different word. They know something that there is a true going. How do they get that? Creation, for one, is a tremendous testimony to the existence of a God.
I sometimes say to people, if I was walking through the grass one day and kicked at something in the grass and and picked up a nice Rolex watch and I said, well, isn't that interesting?
That just must have happened.
It just must have been a few pieces of metal around there and some kind of an explosion, and that's the result, he said. What in the wrong that guy? He needs his meditating. And yet when people say of something far more intricate, far more ordered, far more lasting in the power that continues to maintain it.
People think they're wise when they say it all just happened. It didn't all just happen. It was the product of an intelligent, infinite, powerful creator God. So.
Creation is a very powerful testimony to the presence and the existence of a creator God, but from verse seven on down.
You'll notice that it is the written word of God, and it's called by different names. The law of the Lord is perfect testimony of the Lord, Statutes of the Lord, the commandment of the Lord, the fear of the Lord, the judgments of the Lord.
Are different little expressions to.
Express something of the word of God, the written word of God. I just wanted to say to your young people, I.
Really do not think we value sufficiently this book we have in our hands. It comes so easy to get in our land.
Everybody's got several copies, several versions at home, and we just don't value it very much.
I think we need to learn to really value it. You know why I say that? Satan is very wise in his ability to take away what we do not doubt, and he's noticing. If you don't value this book, he will in one way or another.
Come into your life in a way that you're not recognizing it.
And take it away from.
Here he says more to be desired. Are they than gold? Gave them much fine gold.
You heard that downtown Los Angeles, they were given away bricks of gold. I don't know what had happened in this city. I'm sure there was a true report. I suppose that first of all, nobody would believe me. But if they did find out that it was true that they were giving away ingots of solid gold.
00:15:14
I could imagine the rush there would be, and yet we have something that's worth more.
Then much fine gold. What do we do with them? Stash it away? We don't pay too much attention to it. I want to encourage you to read it. We've had quite a bit said today about getting into the word.
I'd like to do something this evening to go and ask each one here if you've read the scriptures from cover to cover.
We're going to start.
Well, I think it's a few too many to do tonight, but.
I just want you to think pretty serious about it.
You could answer me, maybe you could fool me too.
That one day soon we're going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. The Lord is going to say, that revelation I gave to you, what you do with it? Did you get through the whole book?
What are you going to say at that moment? I really want to encourage you to read it. You know, when I was younger and started reading through the book.
I got down through Genesis. It's kind of interesting, and Exodus isn't too bad either. When I got into Leviticus, it was kind of tough going. I just didn't understand too much of those operates.
But the Lord gave me the grace just to persevere and read a little bit every night, and I plowed through it little by little and got through the whole book. Now I've gone through it a number of times, but you know what?
Recent times when I picked up Book of Leviticus to go through it, all of a sudden things start standing out. Beautiful pictures I had not understood before, but if I hadn't persevered before, that wouldn't be happening. I don't say that I get that much at reading a lot of it. Recently at home we were.
Going through First Chronicles and you know that's got about 9:00.
Chapters of difficult names. My kids say. Hey dad, let's skip over that, I said. There might be something there forever.
We didn't skip over it. I'm thankful we didn't skip over it. It's kind of hard and pronouncing those names, but God has put that in His word and it says all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.
And if he's put it there because he knows it's profitable, I think God knows better than I do what's profitable. And I think I'd better read it. Read it. You're young people.
The Lord Jesus said Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
It's more important than your physical food. The truth of this precious book. I want to say there's a book out that I read. I don't know.
It's called eternity in their hearts, in fact. Steve Miller.
First one they gave me a copy. And has anybody else read Eternity in their hearts?
One hand back there in the back.
It is a fascinating book of written by a man who.
Has helped in the coordination of missionaries tranquillity in the scriptures into native tongues. Anyhow, he tells about in this book of how the.
Different tribes in isolated parts of Southeast Asia were contacted it probably some years ago, but.
One tribe in Southeast Asia and I forget right off hand what the name of the tribe was.
But they when they have been contacted, they have had traditions and I think you know what I mean by traditions.
Tradition is something that is passed on from generation to generation. Anyhow, this tribe had the tradition that they used to know the way to happiness, but they lost it. And the tradition says that we had the word of God written on rice gates.
00:20:23
And a time of famine came, and our fathers ate the rice cakes.
He says there's an advantage of that because it's inside us now, but the problem is now we can't read.
Those words that were written out, see what happens? We get to a point when we don't value the word of God. We kind of treat it lightly and the enemy gets it away from us before we realize what's happening.
And there they were out in this area of Southeast Asia without the word of God, but according to their tradition, there was a white brother that was supposed to bring in the word of God again.
One day into that tribe comes an American anthropologist.
Thorough infinite.
And they go up to it, they stare at it. Of course, their color, their skin was probably colored dark, that tribe. And they go up to him. See, he was white. Do you have the book that God has given to you to tell us the way? And the guy got all flustered and embarrassed.
And took off and they were very confused.
Didn't know what in the world here is the white brother that came and he didn't give us the book. Sometime later they knew it was going to be in a book with white pages. Sometime later this missionary was preaching the gospel in the marketplace of a town.
Some distance from where this tribe lives, and as he was preaching there in the native tongue.
Of that area.
These tribesmen come out of the hills to sell their wares at the market.
And as they're coming into the market, they see this man standing there. They could not understand what he was saying because he was speaking in a different language than they were speaking.
But they crowd around him and they just listen intently, even though they couldn't understand him.
And after he got done, they say is not the book that God sent.
That has the words of God, that tells us the way he said yes.
The missionary said they just about kidnapped me to take me back to that tribe to tell them the way. I was busy getting into one tribe and I just about get kidnapped to be taken into another train.
They were so engaged to get the word of God in you. This book that I mentioned is tells story after story of tribes that were waiting and who knows, there may be tribes still in this world.
That are still waiting for the truth of the gospel.
New young people.
Do you value this book? Do you read it on a regular basis?
I want to suggest that you make it a habit of your life to read something of this book every single day. Don't just jump around from place to place. Get a bookmark read. You're going to start at Matthew's Gospel. Read down into Matthew chapter one when you get to a place where you have to stop market.
You bookmark and then when you come back again.
Start out there again and read consecutively. That way you'll understand it better. But read on a regular basis. Sometimes people say I don't have time.
You have time for lots of other things you want to do.
For what is more valuable than much fine gold, you don't have any time.
00:25:00
I ask you to sincerely think about it and to give yourself some time. It doesn't take too long to read a Psalm. I don't know if anybody's telling me how long it took to read Psalm 19, but I don't think it took three or four minutes to read.
And there's something that will strengthen you for your whole day if you read it in the morning. I think it's best to read it in the morning. You're young people, you've got a lot of energy and I know sometimes you get to bed lighten, but.
Yourself out of bed a little earlier and read something a few minutes. It's not going to hurt you. As far as your sleep is concerned. Put yourself out of bed, go squash some water in your face to get yourself away. Open the book, read it. It's going to stand you instead. When it comes to eating food, we take good plenty of time.
Every day to eat? I don't know, I suppose everybody takes different amounts of time. But I say, how long do you take to eat breakfast? Let me see how. How long would you say?
OK, just a general day.
10 minutes. OK, 10 minutes for breakfast.
For lunch, Tim, you're pretty busy guy. Do you eat lunch?
15 minutes. 25 minutes. OK, how about supper?
Bad half hour? Well, we got just about a whole hour a day if we're going to use those figures. I suppose we could narrow it down to 45 minutes if you want to eat a little fast.
You take 45 minutes a day to read scriptures.
Is your body that much more important than your soul? That you're going to take more time to feed your body than you do your soul? I ask you to sincerely think about it and take time to feed your soul. It's going to make a difference. I've noticed young people who will definitely set aside time to read the scriptures. It shows.
In their life, it shows.
They might not notice it, but I certainly have noticed it. Just like to make a few brief suggestions here. The law of the Lord is perfect. Isn't that beautiful? Have a perfect book, a perfect standard. Here's something that's perfect, I'm sure not perfect. You don't have to be around me that long to realize it, but.
Here's something that is perfect, thank God.
It's a perfect standard.
Converting the soul, Restoring it with the margin. Reading my Bible. Restoring the soul.
You ever need to be restored? Let me tell you, I do. They say when the great missionary Mr. Stanley came back from Africa to England one of his times back, somebody asked him in one of his meetings, what is the greatest thing you saw the Lord do?
In Africa.
Your time down there, his answer was.
Be restored, my soul.
They were kind of disappointed, but that is a great thing to have a book that will turn you around when you're going the wrong way.
The testimony of the Lord is sure. You don't have to question the veracity of it. It's sure making wise the symbol. Sometimes I feel so simple when I see people that are intelligent in this world. But here's a book that will make you wise.
The statutes of the Lord are right. This beautiful, they're right.
Rejoicing the heart, the commandment of the Lord is pure.
Enlightening the eyes. This gives light. This gives you understanding. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous on altogether.
Down a little further, he says.
00:30:03
Moreover, by them is thy servant warned. In keeping of them is great reward. And then he speaks about his errors and secret faults. Here's something that really touches us all. We all have falls. Sometimes they're pretty well covered up.
So they would be called secret faults. This book will help you to identify and get rid of those areas that are hindrance to you and your Christian life.
Then he speaks of presumptuous sins and not letting them have dominion over me.
It's a serious thing to just blatantly go do what you know is wrong. I ask you don't do it.
There are consequences for sin. Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.
And one thing you will always find.
That what you reap will be a lot more than what you sow. So if you're going to sow to your flesh, you're going to go have a good fling and do that. Let me tell you down the road, there's going to be a reaping time that you will not be able to avoid. It's a principle.
That God has set in this world that applies to the saved and to the unsaved all only whatsoever man shows that shall he also don't give way to presumptuous sins. Dear young people Another thing verse 14.
Let the words of my mouth. This is a good prayer to pray and the meditation of my heart be acceptable on eyesight. Oh Lord, my strength.
In my reading.
Be careful of your words. Remember the Lord is always at your side. He's listening to all your conversation.
And I think you might be embarrassed.
And some of the things that might come out of your life, your mouth if you don't be careful. I want to tell you what happened to me one time when I was young. We were invited over to a brother's house for supper when I was back east.
And since then I was a bachelor and I had to fix my own food. I really enjoyed those times, took advantage of it, but unbeknownst to me, I was there amongst along with quite a few other young fellas.
Unbeknownst to me, the brother of the house.
Had set behind the couch where we were sitting.
The Reporter.
And we got a joking around, fooling around and talking. It wasn't bad talk exactly, but it was just goofing around.
The time came for supper. Why? He takes out the recorder and brings it to the table and plays it back.
Wow was I ashamed listening to my own voice and the goofy stuff I said.
And to think that one day I'm going to stand before the Lord Jesus.
Every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account of in the day of judgement. I don't know what I'm going to say it at that end, except to hang in my head. Be careful of your words. If you be careful of your words, you won't have to eat some of the other.
But this is a good prayer for us to think about. Let the words of my mouth, the meditation of my heart, be acceptable and nice sight. Oh Lord, my strength, my reading. Let's pray.
His Name, His Church
Address—C.I. Buchanan
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Him #6.
Jesus, how much thy name unfolds to every opened ear. The pardoned sinner's memory holds none other half so dear. Let's sing the whole hymn. Some brothers start, please number six.
James will begin there with a few scriptures.
James was written for the people of Missouri.
Their nickname is Show Me, and that's what this book does. It shows us for ye see brethren. Now in the second chapter of James, there are three verses that we want to begin with.
5-6 and seven.
And as I read this.
First line.
I know that it is the writer that is addressing us.
That, beloved brethren, I can say that toward you for myself. So it says Hearken, my beloved brethren.
Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the Kingdom?
Which he hath promised to them that love him, but ye have despised the poor.
Do not rich men impress you and draw you before the judgment seats?
Do not they blast things that worthy name by which ye are called?
I think everyone of you could say yes, this happens to me in this world too.
The blessed meaning of that blessed pain of Jesus.
And that name is named upon us. To see that how did we get this name, let's go to 1St Corinthians chapter 12.
How did we get this name named upon us?
One Corinthians, chapter 12.
Verse 12.
For as the body is 1 by the grace of God we gave expression to that.
This morning it is.
And has many members that was recognized too this morning and all the members of that one body being many.
Our one body, then this next.
Line. We'll leave out the verb. We don't need that, so.
Also, Christ, it's much better that way.
Christ to see that typified.
Go back to the Old Testament to the first pair. I think it's in Genesis chapter 5.
Nice to get these types.
And.
The first 2 verses of Genesis 5.
This is the book of the generations of Adam in the day that God created man in the likeness of God made he him.
Male and female created he them and blessed them and called their name.
At.
In the day in which they were created.
So the man and the woman were called Adam in the first creation. Now when the church is formed and there's the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
00:05:05
So also Christ.
You remember.
That.
An Antioch in the early days of the church.
It makes this statement.
The disciples were first called Christians, and Antioch, that is the company around them, recognized the behavior of those of this way as like Christ. So they invented that name, called them Christians. What a wonderful thing if the world could say that about you today. You're so much like Christ. We just called you a Christian.
So the name stuck.
And it is a good name to put upon us.
A responsibility for ourselves, the followers of Christ down here, to represent our blessed Savior, the Lord Jesus, who is up there in the presence of God to represent us before God. And you and I have privilege and responsibility as being in that one body to represent Christ.
Now, in the first chapter of Matthew, maybe we'll turn to that.
And get the first words there.
To come down to the coming in of the world of Jesus. Jesus, that name is love. We've enjoyed many names.
In our three days here together, a few names I should say, that apply to God's beloved Son, who is Lord, who is Jesus, who is crazy, who is the Son of God, who is the Lamb of God and the Son of man. How delightful to take him up and have him before us. But in Matthew it begins.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Adam.
And it traces.
Up to Jesus from Adam.
A certain genealogy.
By which Christ was generated, Use the same word to be.
The living representative.
As born of the woman.
Of the 2nd man come into the world in the same.
Method in which everyone of us here have come in.
Born of a woman. Oh, it is so tremendous. God's plan of salvation.
To save sinners of the first race, that he sent his own son into this world, to be given a body capable of death, to put away our sins, not his. So there is a generation of the.
Jesus Christ, let's go on down in that first chapter.
To the 21St verse.
The Angel of the Lord.
Appearing.
To Joseph the legal.
Air of the Line of David.
Telling about the child that his wife was to have. She shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus. Now I understand that's the thing as Yeshua which is the Hebrew or Jehovah Savior. So here's the coming in of the Savior by the woman.
And he shall save his people from their sins.
We'll read a little more because we get another title here. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken of the Lord by the Prophet saying.
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel.
And immediately we have the interpretation of this name which is being interpreted, God with us. Think of Jesus coming down here into this world and the Spirit of God saying that's God with you people down there. It was the absolute truth.
00:10:02
What a wonderful plan God had to come to this fallen race and save us from our sins.
Well, He came unto his own, His own received him not. That is stated in the first chapter of John's Gospel. We will go to the 12TH chapter of Matthew to see when that same thing happened to Jesus in his ministry down here.
Keeping in mind I think it's the third chapter.
When Jesus identified himself with God's people.
The Jewish race and entered into the fold, you might say by the.
Guidance of the Spirit of God.
Through the.
Baptism of water to identify himself with that remnant which was supposed to be repentant.
That when Jesus came up out of the water.
The heavens were opened.
And a voice out of heaven, looking down at Jesus here on the earth as the full grown man now ready to enter into his ministry.
That says the Spirit of God came upon him, and a voice out of heaven said, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
There, for the first time in all the Bible, we can clearly see the Trinity about which we have spoken.
Very carefully, I believe in these meetings. The Trinity, God manifest in the flesh.
I'll just comment that in the end of this book there is a baptism that's practiced.
Which we practice water baptism to change the position.
Have a guilty race on the earth from one place to another.
They were to go and baptize, make disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We still practice that. We know that there is God in three persons, but it's one God. There is one God.
And one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. What a marvelous thing it is to think of Jesus. Come down.
Who make God known to us and to bring us up to God where he has gone and where he's waiting to come back and get his save once. But what has God got down here in the world? Now? He's got Christians. Don't be ashamed of that name.
May we be able to take it up, but let us see what happened to Jesus in the 12TH chapter.
Of Matthew.
Beginning with verse 22. Then was brought unto him.
Jesus unto him one possessed with a devil.
Blind and dumb.
What a helpless case, this poor man.
A complete captive of the devil.
Blind and dumb, He couldn't hear. He couldn't talk.
Well, what did Jesus do? And he healed him.
In so much that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
What an opening up and a release from the captivity of Satan who still likes to blind and follow lead captives after him. But Jesus had come to release and to save and all the people were amazed and said, is not this the son of David? Well, that's the first word of this book.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.
The son of Abraham.
Well, the Pharisees didn't like that. When the Pharisees heard it, they said.
This fell. Now these were the leaders of the Jews, the religious leaders of that people that was there to have the Messiah presented to them. And they said about Jesus, this fellow, what a degrading term called Jesus a fellow.
00:15:17
Doth not cast out devils, but by bills above the Prince of devils.
Now, beloved brethren, this was the cardinal sin of that Jewish nation when they rejected Jesus Christ, who was doing all this in the power of the Holy Spirit, who had come upon him when He entered his ministry. And it was a perfect demonstration of the power of God to overcome the effects of Satan.
I say when they rejected him.
There was no hope for the nation as a nation.
Until we go and read just a little bit here. This fellow does not cast out devils.
But by the Prince of Devils.
I want to read through the 30th verse.
And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every Kingdom divided against itself is brought to nought.
But desolation, and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How shall then his Kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out?
Therefore they shall be your judges. But.
Now here's the truth. If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, and he did, the Spirit of God had come upon that man, and he cast out devils and those who were under his power. If I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God is come unto you.
Or else how can a man, how can one enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods, except he first buying the strongman, and then he will spoil his goods? Now this remarkable verse 30 he that is not with me.
Is against me. He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.
We will just leave that verse as it is and believe it like we were trying to minister in the past meeting when God says that it's the truth.
And one who rejects praise and his work and is not with him.
He that is not with me in agreement with.
That blessed man Jesus is against me. On whose side are you? On whose side am I? He that gathereth, that's association with me. He that gathered not with me, scattereth abroad.
Now we want to go on and state that in the next chapter.
After in effect, it was all over for the House of Israel as a nation to be recovered and do anything for their own salvation, the Lord Jesus introduces three things that take the place of Israel.
Now this state, and we have just touched on them, that the three things are the Kingdom of heaven.
Now state that the Kingdom of Heaven is this large sphere profession here on earth.
That in some way professes Christ.
As king by maybe using.
The calendar that goes back to the birth of Christ.
It's a large sphere profession on Earth that is here during all the time while the king is up there.
Now that's one thing we touch on it a little bit in the 13th chapter.
This is introduced and the next thing that's introduced.
Is in the 16th chapter.
Where Christ says.
I will build my church.
Beloved brethren, there is only one church in the eyes of God. Only one. And it's a living building, built of living stones. And it has ears. Men have devised all kinds of imitations.
00:20:06
Well, we won't go into that, but Christ says I will build my church and the gates of hell. Hades shall not prevail against it. That is, Satan won't get into that and ruin it. She'll be taken up to heaven and become the.
City in administration in the 20th of Revelation, and the walls are high. Satan will never get into that. God takes care. Christ builds the church, the real church, and she is here to represent Christ and to have fellowship with Him. Treat fellowship as beloved brethren we had this morning as members of His body, of which He is the living head.
Now that's the second thing that Matthew takes up.
The third thing is the Kingdom in glory.
A preview of it in the 17th chapter.
And that is coming, the millennial Kingdom, we know about it and we like to think about it. Maybe it was in this meeting, but recently, different times we've tried to get into the glory. You know, we just can't quite do it. We can find blessed things that we know are true about the Millennium.
But Paul, when caught up there, said it's unspeakable. I can't.
Tell you of it, but we believe what is said and we know that it is coming.
Now, coming on down, let's touch on the 13th chapter.
I'd like to get just the kind of an outline to state some old truths which we have heard.
We who are hope for many, many years and bring to your remembrance the things that are written in this book about Jesus, the Son of God, His glory.
His salvation and what he is doing now having gone up to heaven.
Seated as our faithful and merciful High Priest, representing us before God and interceding for us, and having sent down the Holy Spirit, this is the character of the age in which we live. The two greatest features of this nearly 2000 years is a living Christ, the Son of Man.
At God's right hand and the Spirit of God down here, don't be afraid to take your stand.
For that Blessed One, He'll take care of you and me, the Holy Spirit.
The spirit of truth as we were having in the past meeting, He is in every one of us. We have Him and it's stated in this blessed book. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. When we believe that we can go forth in witness and live for Christ because the power is there.
So.
Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
So he leaves us down here.
And he's telling about the Kingdom now. And it began by sowing the seed.
And the Lord himself went forth and preached. Now it's not for me here today to take up these seven parables that are in this chapter.
I might add that there are 10 as we follow through the book, which are likenesses of the Kingdom.
The first one is really the work of the Lord when He was here.
He preached the Kingdom. I'll just refer you to hold this place and we'll go to Hebrews.
Chapter 2 To see how the Lord began these things himself.
So I believe that's the reason that we find in this first parable that.
It's really the Lord that's preaching.
Hebrews 2. Therefore we ought to give.
The more earnest heed to the things which we have heard now, that's the first chapter.
And then the first chapter, God is speaking unto us in or by His Son.
Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard.
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Lest at anytime we should let them slip away. For if the words spoken by angels, that's the giving of the law was steadfast at every transgression and disobedience receive a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape?
If we neglect so great salvation now, notice these next words which act first began to be spoken by the Lord. He began the sowing of the sea. You can read through the 13th of.
Matthew and there are several.
Books that are sold over here at the Bible Truth Publishers, which will open up better than I could the difference and the meaning of those parables. But the first one we believe is the Lord beginning the gospel of the Kingdom. And so it says here, which began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him. That is, the apostles took it up.
Now, by the grace of God, we take it up, and what a wonderful thing it is.
I would like to go back to the 13th chapter and point out to you.
Two or three things at least, which we find here in this 13th chapter.
The second parable.
Is.
What takes up the tears and the wheat?
And introduces the two seeds.
When the Lord began to sow, an enemy came along.
And in the same field, the field is this world. It's the place where sinners live. It's where.
The creatures of Adam's race who are fallen live and God seeking to recover them by the gospel and when the good seed is sown.
That week.
The enemy comes along and shows the bad feet and they grow together. And it's not for us to separate and judge. We're not set here to judge. We're to further on the good seed, the gospel.
Now those two growing together.
Produce two separate results.
There is the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven take up the tares, and that presents to us the bad things in Christendom. Now the Kingdom of heaven has been termed Christendom, and it's a good term. We're living in the days of Christendom. It's this vast field of profession where the different seeds are sown and what results while Christ is up there observing and waiting. He's the one that.
Judge, we can rest and leave the judgment to him.
The bad things present the two forms of outward secular great in Christendom, in profession, that imitate temples and have glory to them.
I've been in quite a few Catholic countries and interesting to watch and see in cathedrals in England, in Paris and in Lima. I'm not condemning what I saw, but the result is there. Edifices which are absolutely grand, magnificent. I walked in one with Raoul Balderama. Some of you know who he was. He's gone to be with the Lord, raised up a believer.
Many years ago.
And served faithfully as a gospel preacher. He had a zeal in the gospel.
Well, he took us into one of these beautiful cathedrals.
He said my wife and I were married here. He said look up there, that's gold.
The outward secular greatness that man can make.
And the other part of the seed is the inward spiritual corruption. The enemy takes over where he sows and degrades and drags down. But then there is the product of the good seed.
And the parable of the treasure and of the peril. In like manner they take up the wheat, presenting it with the good things of Christendom. Think of that there are good things in Christendom. That which pleases the Lord, may we be to his good pleasure down here.
00:30:12
And.
The week presenting the good thing of Krishnam in its two characters.
Just as there were two characters to the product of the tares.
There are two characters to the product of the wheat, and we termed that the that which is set here for Christ's glory. Well, he's gone.
And for Christ, joy or delight, you think Christ himself in his church claims his joy and his delight and a thing of beauty, something set for Christ glory. That's what she should be. Now we go on and we won't go on, but I'll just mention that there is a judgment at the end of the time, and that's the parable of the dragnet.
It shows the separating judicial action that is to close this aid. We don't expect to be here for that, but we are here.
So we're in the time of the sowing of the tares and of the wheat and the two products of those go on.
Which side of the product do you want to be on? Well, we know what Christ wants.
The Kingdom of heaven will come and display at the close, the heavenly side, the church there, and the earthly side with Israel and the nations brought out for the Kingdom. That really is what we have in the 17th chapter. But before we get to that.
We have the 16th chapter and that in which Christ is highly interested his.
Church, so we will go to the 16th chapter and touch on it.
It is a promise.
Very beautiful to see.
How it comes in?
The 16th chapter.
The Lord had gathered some of his disciples together.
And he had been with them.
And he quizzes them.
About whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, AM?
The Lord wanted an answer from his disciples. He had been laboring here.
For some time, and he wanted to hear what the disciples had heard from the multitude.
Whom do men say that? I, the Son of Man?
And and they got an answer.
And some say verse 14.
Thou art John the Baptist, risen from the dead.
No, that wasn't right.
They knew that Jesus was some great one, some said.
Elias or Elijah, another Jeremiahs, are one of the prophets. Well, none of them were right.
In Christ, ministry and power puzzled people.
They didn't understand, and you won't understand unless you get it from God.
So the Lord turns to Peter and Ohio. Peter was so right here, it's blessed to see it. And he said unto them, But whom say ye that I am now the spokesman? This is verse 16.
Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Oh God bless it, it is. He was exactly right. Christ the Son of the living God was here gathering a people to carry on in the work that he was beginning in the sowing of the gospel.
And so Jesus answered to verse 17 and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon? Barjona Simon.
You're the son of Donut.
But you did not get it from your daddy in the place flesh and blood have not revealed it unto thee.
But my Father, which is in heaven, take of God the Father, revealing to Peter to give that answer. Oh, it is so blessed to see the work of God in souls and giving light to know this, that Jesus was the Son, the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Based upon that, he said to Simon Barjona, Flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.
00:35:07
And I say in the Peter, I'm telling you.
That thou art Peter, a little stone.
Just a little stone, because that's what Peter's name means. A little stone.
And upon this rock, the foundation rock, that rock which followed the mall the days of old.
Was said about Israel in the 10th chapter of First Corinthians.
That rock that gave them water, and that rock is Christ. He's identified there and he says.
Upon this rock, which is Christ, I will build my church. The first mention of the church in the Bible. Simple truth that we have heard and known. But oh how blessed it is to get back to the foundation and see what Christ is building and how it shall prevail.
Tate won't overcome that church. It's real. He'll be tested and there'll be failure in what is put into the hands of man to build. But he is left here to go on and to supposedly represent Christ in the right way. I hope we get to some of that.
But she will prevail. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I think we should go on to thee.
Next, mention of the Church, where I want to take this up in a little detail. It may have been spoken of here before passing over the 17th chapter, where we get a preview of the coming Kingdom, which is most blessed and which we shall come to very soon.
But we will be on the heavenly side of that Kingdom just as.
At that preview, there was not only the earthly side represented in Peter and James and John.
Three, to bear witness of it. But there was a heavenly side of it, Moses.
And Elias, two men which were Moses and Elias, appeared there to give a preview.
Of the company who will be on the heavenly side and it is so comforting.
To know that one of them died and was.
Buried and God knew and knows where his burial is.
He has got a pyramid over there over his grave, Moses.
He died and was buried. He came back by the power of God and was there on the millennial side of the Kingdom in the preview. And one who did not pass through death. Beloved, we expect that we who are here belong to the Lord, will be like Elijah, will be caught up to be with the Lord. We won't pass through death, but regardless, there is that coming Kingdom.
But now we're talking about.
What is going on now in the 18th chapter?
And I want to say briefly something that I learned.
In England in 1977.
Woman, AIDS, brother over there named Robert Craig.
We were privileged to be there at the morning at the conference down in.
Bourne Mountain. Robert Frags was there. I had heard of him. I wanted to hear him again, so I listened to what he said. And you know that six weeks later the Lord took Robert Craig's into the glory. So I'm thankful I got to hear a little opening up of Matthew 18 from this beloved brother, and I want to remember him. And his faith followed.
Briefly, he told us that in this 18th chapter.
You have a central verse.
Which is Matthew 1820 That's near the center.
And it is central in the thought of God and in the witness that is raised up here to represent Christ. I believe truthfully. Well, He is up there. He is gathering a company which He calls.
His Church. He provides for his church to go on outwardly in a way that corresponds with him.
And so we're going to see.
00:40:02
In what was given in this chapter that there are seven things.
Necessary when responsibility is committed to man to go on and build. So this has been in making.
And provided for since the day of Pentecost.
The Spirit of God came down and began to form that church.
Well, we won't go into Matthew, I mean Acts 2, but go into this chapter a little bit.
And pick up those seven characteristics of those who are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As they are necessary to have a company on earth together in one to represent Christ up there in glory.
Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst. The Lord takes His place in that company, and it demands a clean place in the outward profession. So the first thing that is necessary, brethren, is humility.
Humility, humility, that's the first thing, to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. We'll notice and we won't have time to elaborate much on this, but the word little ones, I think is mentioned seven times here. I say that's a lesson for us old people to turn back to the little ones.
Much more humble than we are.
Humility. That's in the 1St 6 verses.
I won't read them because we're losing out on time, but that is a wonderful thing. Humility that is necessary for us to be humble before God. The meek shall inherit the earth. The Lord begins in His ministry in Matthew 5. Meekness and humbleness. What blessed characteristics they are when they are seen.
And they're very necessary.
To go on faithfully as gathered to the Lord's name.
And I will say that Robert Kegs said there is some of this.
Evident in that company who are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus by the Spirit of God. Humility. What's the next one? It goes from 7 on down through.
Nine, and this one is self.
Judgment. And it's rather astonishing the way it's presented. I'll just read these verses because they seem very hard. Verse 7. Woe unto the world because of offenses, For it must needs be that offenses come, but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh. Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, what cut them off, cut them off.
Cast them from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life, fault or maimed, rather than to.
Having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
Going on, if thy hand, if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, cast it from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into Hellfire.
So there isn't what God is trying to tell me and tell you.
Let it when it's a self matter of self judgment, cut it off, get rid of it. Judge yourself.
Now if we were all humble we wouldn't come to the need of self judgment but everyone of us is proud and something breaks out but needs to be cut off. So that's the second one. Now what's the 3rd going on?
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones, for I say unto you, verse 10.
That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father, which is in heaven. For the Son of Man is.
Come to say that which is lost, that's the taking care of the sheep.
Seeking the sheep and taking care of them. And it goes on a little further.
No, thank you. Verse 12.
If a man have an 100 sheep and one of them be going astray, does he not?
Leave the 90 and nine, and goeth out in the mount of Antigua that which has gone astray. Now this is a strange heath, not a lost one. This one is in the pool, and one of the little ones in the assembly, or a younger one, or an older one, gets astray. What a wonderful thing it is to seek them and to bring them back, taking care of those in the flock. That's the third thing.
00:45:19
We must go on.
And starting with verse 15.
There is.
Discipline in the House of God.
There is failure. If thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone.
And he, if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother trouble in the assemblies. Two people, that's all that know about it, take care of it in the smallest area in which the trouble has arisen. Then there are two other parts about this. If he will not hear thee, take two or more witnesses. By that time it's four or five who know about it.
The provision is of God is when troubles arise.
Always to keep them in the smallest possible area. Don't carry them over to a neighboring assembly. Ever.
That's what the enemy ought to do.
In Jerusalem when they carried the trouble up to Antioch.
And God said no, break that back where it arose. So there is provision.
To take care of that, and this is the ultimate authority.
If they won't hear that, tell it to the church. And if they won't hear the church.
Let him be as an heathen or a Republican, one who had never been in the Assembly.
Now these things.
Are 1234.
Now the next one is.
Prayer.
And it is more blessed now. These things are characteristics in the assembly.
Taking care of all these things and prayer certainly comes in verse 19. Again I say unto you, that if two of you shall agree.
On earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven. We literally realize the power that is available in prayer, in agreement.
Between at least two brothers when we are gathered in the name of the Lord because the Lord is there. Well, it's there, but I believe in it and it's wonderful to practice that. But then the central verse is the work of God by the Spirit who gathers and we firmly believe this are gathered. It is a correct translation where.
This is a place, Two or three is a company. Reduce to this.
Smallest collective number.
For this instruction.
Was given the second time the church is mentioned because the Spirit of God was looking down to 1998, the end of the age.
When we are getting reduced to the smallest numbers in some places.
But don't be discouraged if they are reduced in one place, they are growing in the other.
We have heard rather recently that up in this continent we've lost.
4 or 500 peoples in the public testimony amongst those who are gathered to the Lord's name. I don't go much by numbers, but I know that it has increased to the South of us in the Spanish.
And in the Portuguese speaking people?
It is increased much and let's pray for them, for they're going to run up against the same problems that we do amongst English brethren. The hearts are the same and God takes care of His church and He makes a provision for it and the power is there. Now that's the central place. Prayer is the sixth thing.
And the center is there.
And the last one, I'm going to have to leave it to you.
To search out because it is primarily.
A personal thing, and briefly, brethren, its forgiveness and its brotherly forgiveness.
00:50:01
And from verse 23 on down.
To the end, we have all this teaching about.
Brotherly forgiveness. Why is there so much given to them?
Brethren, are we slow to forgive our brother or our sister?
We should never be. Don't ever let it become.
A root of bitterness. Don't ever let it become a root of bitterness.
I'm going to recommend to you all, to all of us, that we take that Hebrews 12 on that point, looking diligently left any root of bitterness bringing up here, there, over there, trouble you, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. It is troubling, first of all to the one who has let it arise up.
But it's like a weed that we have back in Illinois.
Which came into the cornfields about 20 or 30 years ago.
Called Johnson Grass, and it's the most prolific.
Plant that I have ever seen in our area.
It not only spreads from seeds, but it spreads under the ground from izones and you can work and dig and try to get rid of it and you just cannot get rid of it. Thank God for the sake of agriculture and having food on the table, God has allowed men.
To search and find herbicides, which we'll get rid of it until the production is pretty good.
Where it's practiced that way, but it just shows to me that it's a horrible thing. If we don't forgive, it's going to hurt me first and it's going to hurt people around me. Well, by the grace of God, perhaps we've said enough on the 18th of Matthew. But the most blessed place on earth is those who by the Spirit of God.
Are gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus to represent Him down here.
And he comes into our midst and leads the singing. So let's go on rejoicing in the Lord.
We have the best of what he is and of what is to come. Perhaps we could sing in clothing #109.
Jesus again.
Jesus, that name is love. Jesus our Lord. Jesus, all names above, Jesus the Lord.
Thou, Lord, our all must be nothing that good. Have we nothing apart from Thee, Jesus our Lord, some brother start #109 please.
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Right.
We.
Romans 1-2
Gospel—C. Hendricks
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Greater small, nothing Sinner. No, Jesus did it, did it all long, long ago #33 someone raised that tomb, please.
Turn with me tonight to Romans 1.
Romans, chapter 1.
I think most of us in the room here know that this epistle to the Romans, the 1St 8 chapters in particular, is the fullest and richest, most complete unfolding of the Gospel.
Notice how it begins. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle.
Separated unto the gospel of God.
The gospel of God is not a glorious expression.
Gospel, which originates in the mind and heart of God himself, comes from him. It's his gospel, the gospel of God.
Which He had promised before by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, of course, referring to the Old Testament Scriptures there. And it concerns a person. It's not about you, it's not about me, it's about concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Which was made of the seed of David, according to the flesh. That's his humanity.
And declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead. That's his deity, the Son of God, and the resurrection proved that he was who he claimed to be.
You know, that's why they nailed him to a cross, because he claimed to be the Son of God. The Jews understood what he was claiming. He was claiming equality with God.
And they said for a man to do that was blasphemy. I did not understand the glorious truth of the of the incarnation when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. It is, it is such a tremendous truth that it is very challenging for us puny humans to get our minds around that truth that God.
Became a man.
What a wonderful truth that is.
I'm not going to go over every verse because time will not permit it.
So we'll pick out a few verses here as we go through these first chapters. He says in verse 14, I am debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians.
Both to the wise and to the unwise, the gentile world is.
Classified in these two ways, the Greeks, they were the educated, cultured.
Gentiles and then the Barbarians, they were the down and outers and the Greeks were the up and outers. And so he classifieds these two. And the first part, the chapter 1, the last part of chapter 1 deals with the Barbarians, we would say the heathen. And then it starts in chapter 2 and it deals with the the Greek moralists.
The upper crust of society, if you will.
Paul says I'm a debtor to both. I'm a debtor I have to proclaim the gospel to both of these groups. So as much as in me is I'm ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth to the Jew 1St and also.
00:05:05
To the Greek.
The power of God to take a man from a life of sin, and sometimes debauchery and drunkenness and immorality, and make that person a saved man. The power of God, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
When I was a young man.
Would preach. We would preach the gospel every week.
At.
Wilson Ave. in Chicago until the Tavern owners finally managed to get us off of that corner. And then we went down to Skid Row and preached the gospel across from a mission.
We set up on a cinder lot at Skid Row. I'll never forget a man who came there.
He had come from Dallas, TX, 1000 miles away. He was just passing through Chicago while he was walking through Skid Row. I do not know, but he heard the gospel. He stood there and listened all that time that we preached came over and talked to me and we knelt down together and with tears flowing down his cheeks.
These were his words.
Lord Jesus.
To think that I had to come 1000 miles to find thee on a cinder lodge in Skid Row shipout.
I have never seen the man since I expect to meet him in glory.
It wasn't a hypocritical prayer. It was real. You can tell the difference when you deal with these people as we did back then.
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth can clean up the life of a drunkard in a drug addict and set them on the narrow Rd. to heaven.
The power of God, something that man has no power of. God has that power to save, to save from a life of debauchery and wastedness and.
All kinds of evils.
And make that person an upright, moral, law abiding citizen who loves the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior.
I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation to save your precious soul. No matter how bad you are, you cannot get out of the reach of the grace of God. You can't be that bad.
I've talked to people, they say you don't know me, you don't know what I've done. I can't be saved. I'm too bad. That's not possible. The Apostle Paul spoke of himself as the chief of sinners.
He considered himself the worst because he persecuted the Church of God.
He persecuted Christians, compelled them to blast them, pursued them from one strange city to another.
Till he was arrested in his madding course on the road to Damascus, by a light brighter than the noonday sun, And a voice saw Saul. Why persecutest thou me? Who art thou, Lord? I am Jesus, whom thou persecuted.
He met him completely changed the man. He experienced the power of God unto salvation.
Completely changed him from an insolent, overbearing man to a loving, gentle father. As he says to the Thessalonians, I was among you as a nurse. Cherish of her own children.
Wonderful what the Gospel can do for a soul.
He goes on to say for therein for 17 is the righteousness of God revealed. That's a new thought, completely new truth. They hadn't heard anything like that before, and we'll develop that in a little bit when we get to the third chapter. But in the gospel, there's the righteousness of God revealed. He says from faith to faith. That is on the principle of faith.
To faith the Jew was on the principle of works, the works of law. That's the principle upon which he he lived for 1500 years. The law was given by Moses. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
00:10:02
And he had to learn that God was now dealing in an altogether new principle, a principle of faith. Faith.
Not law, but grace. That works, but faith.
So it's revealed from faith around that principle to faith.
As it is written to just to live by faith, that verse from Habakkuk is found in three places in the New Testament. It's found here in Romans one. It's found in Galatians 3. It's found in Hebrews 10.
The emphasis in Romans is that just shall live by faith because Romans answers the question how can man be just with God?
In Galatians, it's the just shall live by faith because it's faith in contrast with the works of the law, and in Hebrews it's the just shall live by faith. It's the life of faith which is emphasized in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
Martin Luther was on his knees crawling up the stairs working his way to heaven. So he thought he was under the ******* of the law. He was a Roman Catholic monk at the time, and this verse came before his soul. If you don't hear, if you don't remember anything else you hear tonight, don't forget this verse. The just shall live by faith. And that verse came home to his soul and the power of the Spirit of God.
The just shall live by faith.
Not by works. He was trying to gain access to God and God's favor, God acceptance by works, and it doesn't work. And he got up off his knees and he turned around and he walked down the stairs and he's the one that was used of God to restore the glorious truth that were justified by faith apart from works.
Justified by faith.
The just shall live by faith. Wonderful, marvelous truth of the Reformation.
Now the next verse is not gospel, but it's preached along with the gospel. It's a very solemn verse, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness.
Now that usually refers when it speaks of ungodliness, it refers to the Gentile world. They lived without God. They didn't know God.
They were without God and without hope in the world, we Gentiles.
They had no real knowledge of the true God. Remember when Paul was in Athens, he saw all these idols and he saw all of these indications of idol worship and he came to the inscription to the unknown God. They didn't want to miss any God, and they might have missed 1. So they made one to the unknown God, and he said, him who ye ignorantly worship, I declare to you.
Use that to preach the gospel of the true God to them.
And so when it says all ungodliness, I think it's the Gentiles and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. I think that was the Jewish world. They had that, they had law. They knew the word of God. They knew what God forbid and what he commended had the 10 commandments.
And they held the truth. They had the truth. The Gentiles didn't. They just lived ungodly.
And but the Jews, they had the truth in a measure, and yet they.
They held it in unrighteousness. They didn't obey it.
There's a group today in the world that's like this, and that's of course Christendom. Those that know have been exposed to the truth of God, The Christian world, not the Muslims, not the Muhammadans, not the the.
Hindus and and the Buddhists, they don't know the true God. Those are false gods that they have, but in the umbrella that we call Christendom, the Christian world.
We know the truth.
You know there's one God.
When I say we, I'm talking about those that are in the umbrella of Christendom. They may not have a personal experience in their soul, they may not have been born again and receive the Spirit of God, but they do know that there's one God.
Not many.
Well, the Jews knew that, but they held the truth in unrighteousness. Why is the wrath of God revealed from heaven? Where do we see it in all its horrible fury? Is it the cross?
00:15:06
When God had to punish his Son who stood in our room instead, when he was made sin on the cross and God was dealing with sin, we see how how awful sin is to God. You see, he can't forgive your sin without punishing it. Someone has to pay for it. You can't just pat you on the head and say, well, that's all right, Sonny, try better next time and let you go free. He can't do that because he's a holy God and he's a righteous God.
Thing that he does has to be done in righteousness.
Paul speaks of the righteousness of God in this epistle. What is it? It's God's consistency with himself in everything that he does is righteousness.
When he sends a Sinner to hell, it'll be an expression of his righteousness.
When he justifies A Sinner who believes in Jesus, it's an expression of his righteousness.
That's a new thought.
It's not just that he's merciful and gracious and loving and kind and compassionate.
But he's righteous, and he has found a way to save man, to justify man, be righteous in doing it.
In fact, the work of Christ is of such infinite value before God that if anyone came to God pleading the cross.
God in righteousness would have to accept Him.
He couldn't refuse him because of the work.
The Lord Jesus stood on the cross. When you see that truth, oh, I'll never forget the light that flooded into my soul when I saw that truth. It isn't just the love of God. It's not just the mercy of God. It's not just the grace of God and the compassion of God and the kindness of God, but the very righteousness of God.
When we when we come to God clinging to the cross and say I believe the cross, Jesus was my substitute. He paid the penalty my sins deserve.
God says I justify you.
I account you righteous.
Because my son has taken your place, I can't punish your sins twice.
And God is righteous in doing that.
So in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed to faith, to the one that believes he gets the benefit of it. But then the wrath of God is revealed too. God had to punish sin. And during those three hours of darkness, from the 6th to the 9th hour.
This world was shrouded in darkness.
It says the sun was darkened.
And God dealt with your sins and mine, if you believe.
You can say this if you trust him. You can say yes, he was there in my place.
And he won't require it of you. What a gospel this is.
Why is this wrath revealed?
Is man innocent? Is he?
Then there's some people, they say, well, what about the poor heathen in South Africa that's never heard the gospel? Or some other remote part of the world? What about them?
Well, verse 19 says, because there's two reasons given why God's wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, because that which may be known of God is manifest in or among them, For God has showed it unto them, For the invisible things from of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen.
Being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power in Godhead.
So that they are without excuse. There's not a boy or a girl or a man or a woman, an older person, no matter who on the face of the earth that doesn't have the testimony of God in creation. And that's what he's talking about. The 19th Psalm says the heavens declare the glory of God. In the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day, utterance, speech, night unto night showeth knowledge. There's no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
I know I was visiting in one place and I said to one of the children, I said, oh, you've got a moon here too.
We've got one just like that in Illinois.
And they didn't quite understand what I was saying.
Everyone has the same testimony. God has given it to us the world over, no matter where you are.
00:20:01
I never forget when I was in Jamaica, British W Indies in my 20s, I had never seen it up here, never anything like it went out at night.
There was no big cities around or anything like that, and I saw the Milky Way.
It wasn't. You couldn't sing, you couldn't pick out single stars. It was like a solid band of light that went across the sky. I just stood there and I I just was awed at the sight.
Millions of stars in our Galaxy, the glory of God displayed by His creatorial power. Everyone has is responsible for that. And so if His wrath is revealed against ungodly living or unrighteous living, it's because you have God's testimony.
That he is.
The very first verse of our Bible. So important, so majestic. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
Don't ever forget that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
He called the universe into being by the word of his mouth. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. He spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast. He said let there be and there was. What an awesome being this is. I remember when I was down at the Kennedy Space Center, I was sitting next to.
A man that was looking at the at the.
The launch, it was not an actual launch. It was. It was in the theater there. The whole building shook when it took off. Very impressive. Some of you must have seen this. And as we walked out, I said to him, I said, if man can do all that, think of what the God is like that created man that gave him that intelligence.
And he said, yeah, I like that.
He was awed by his way. Man takes all the credit to himself. The Bible says, What is thou that thou hast not received? And if thou hast received it, why glorious thou, as though thou hast not received it? The credit goes to God, not to me or to you. No matter how talented or skillful you are or we are, the credit goes to Him.
And we are so vain and so proud that we take the credit to ourselves.
When it's all for his glory created us for his will.
And his pleasure.
We're living in the last days of the Church's history on earth and this basic truth that in the beginning God created the universe.
Is not believed by many.
Well, if you don't believe that.
You don't. You won't believe any of the Bible because that's the way the word of God starts. It tells us how we got here.
It tells us the beginning of things before anyone ever existed down here in the scene.
And it also tells us where we're going.
And there's two places and this book, and only this book knows where we came from and where we're headed.
It tells us how we should live in the interim, and this is the only book that tells us that. Throw it out, and as we had before us in the readings today, the truth is gone. Your opinion is as good as mine. Neither 1 is worth anything when it comes to these moral, spiritual things.
So there's a testimony of creation and man is responsible. There's another reason, verse 21, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful. There were eight souls that went into the arks. God said I, I was destroyed man from the face of the earth.
God saw that the wickedness of man was great. I'm quoting from Genesis 6, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
And it repented the Lord that he had made man, and he said, I will destroy man from the face of you.
But Noah found grace in his sight, and so he preserved Noah and his wife and their three sons and three wives. 8 souls went into the ark.
So God began again with a new head, Noah. Every one of us can trace our genealogy back to two heads, Noah and Adam.
00:25:12
There was 1 righteous man.
When they knew God, they knew He was a God of judgment.
Yet I've seen many pictures of the flood. People are outside of the ark. This is all the imagination of the artist, of course. And they're outside of the ark and they're laughing at Noah here. He's building this boat and dry land and.
Finally, the animals start to come in.
Noted Noah didn't go out for them. The Lord brought them in. They brought, he brought them in. They went up into the ark and then says the door was shut. God set them in.
And the people were outside. This is the way it's portrayed. And as they're outside all of a sudden after 7 days.
It was a drop of rain and then another drop.
And then another job. That's not the way it happens.
The way it happened was the windows of heaven were opened and the fountains of the great deep were broken up and they were deluged instantly. They didn't have anywhere to run. They didn't climb to the top of the mountains for refuge. They were killed in the spot. At least that's the picture I get.
From Scripture.
Christendom is in for the.
The worst judgment that's ever fallen since that time.
And it's going to be just that fast. God seems to be so slow. Why hasn't he judged? Why hasn't he done something? When he starts, he makes short, short work of it, very short work of it, as he did back then.
Because when they knew God, they knew him as a God of judgment. Everyone of those souls that came out of the ark, they knew God in an entirely different way. He judges sin.
And He had judged it. They glorified Him not as God. Neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds in four footed beasts and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness.
Through the lusts of their own hearts to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Man is a tripartite preacher. It's a body.
The soul and the spirit. That verse says that he degraded himself in his body.
Change the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen for this 'cause God gave them up unto vile affections. That's the soul of man, his affections, vile affections. He debased his body and now his soul given up to vile things.
For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another men, with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meat.
What a description of the Pagan Gentile world. What a description of Christendom today.
It made full circle. We've gone full circle. 2000 years of gospel testimony and we're back to the same kind of thing under the umbrella of Christendom that began before the gospel ever reached.
The world isn't that sad and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge.
Now you have the mind, the spirit of man affected. God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient. So you have the body debased, you have the soul debased, you have the spirit of man debased, man totally given him, giving himself up to that which is going to bring the judgment of God.
God gave them over. But a solemn expression, God gave them over.
To a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient.
00:30:05
You think of some of the decisions that are made by the courts of the land today.
They've lost all moral discernment.
They.
Are making the most absurd decisions.
Righteousness.
Is no longer there.
A reprobate mind. A mind void of moral discernment.
We're living in that kind of a society today.
That's the way it was before the gospel came here.
It's worse today because this is the condition of things after 2000 years of gospel testimony.
Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness.
Full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, back biters, haters of God.
Despiteful, proud boasters. Inventors of evil things. Disobedient to parents.
Without understanding covenant Breakers. Without natural affection.
Implacable, unmerciful, who, knowing the judgment of God, that they would commit such things.
Are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
We've seen a little bit of a display of that in the political arena.
Not too long ago.
Thank God there were still some.
Something left. We're still here. Christians are still here. The Spirit of God is still here. There's still a restraint upon the full development of this evil. This is what will happen in its entirety once we're gone.
Fellow delights in them that do them.
Now in the 2nd chapter he deals with the moralists.
The Greeks, the upper crust of society in the gentile world.
Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judges, this is the one that is judging these evil things. Whereas the last verse of the first chapter.
They delight in these things and they like to see it done because that's the way they're living. But now you have those that sit in judgment upon those things, say they're wrong.
And he says, You're inexcusable, because wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou the judgest doest the same things. In the 1St chapter, they did these things right out in the open. In the 2nd chapter they did these things behind the closed doors, but they still did them.
That so openly and they judge those things.
But we are sure.
That the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Judgment of God is according to truth. Today truth is fallen in the streets, but when God judges according to truth.
No one will escape. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judges them, which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shall escape the judgment?
Of God or despises thou the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.
Hypocrite that does these things, but secretly and no one knows about it and he looks, he's looked upon as a respected citizen of society and so on. The goodness of God doesn't come down just right away and judge him, gives him opportunity to repent and to turn from his wicked way. Don't you know? He says that the goodness of God is leading you to repentance.
There's a coin to come, an end to the God's forbearance and goodness in this way, and when it happens, the judgment is going to fall fast and furious, as it did at the time of the flood.
But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasure is up unto thyself wrath. Treasure is up unto thyself wrath. If you think you're getting away with it, if you think you're getting away with anything, all you're doing is treasuring up to yourself wrath. What does it say against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God?
Everything that you and I have ever done is being written down.
I'm just going to read you. You don't have to turn to it.
It's Luke 12/2 verses there.
Luke 12 It says, For there is nothing covered. Verse 3 Two. That shall not be revealed either hid that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which He has spoken in the ear in closet shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
00:35:13
The Day of judgment coming, no one gets away with anything. I've heard it say how can so and so and they talk about some dignitary. How can he get away with it? He's not going to.
And when that judgment overtakes him, it will be terrible. Those that continue on in a life of sin, they are treasuring up unto themselves wrath against the day of wrath, and judgment of the righteous judgment of God.
Revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render verse 6 to every man according to his deeds to them, who by patient continuance and well doing, you are the Lords, and you are going on for the Lord that's going to be rewarded in that day.
Seek for glory, honor and immortality, eternal life. It will be the blessing for those who are the Lords.
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish.
Upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew 1St, and also of the Gentile.
Glory, honor and peace to every man that worketh good for the Jew 1St and also to the Gentile. But there's no respect of persons with God in these earthly governments, judgments that take place in courtrooms and so on. There's all kinds of respective persons. The judgment is not according to truth, but in this day it will be, and there'll be no respect of persons. There'll be no lessening of judgment because you know someone and you stand before the bar of God.
No respective persons, for as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law.
Well, I'm going to Passover some of these, and the end of this section says verse 16, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Well, that verse is those two verses I read in Luke. The secret things, the things that we've done in secret, no one knows anything about it.
God does. He's going to judge in that day the secrets of men.
And then he deals with the Jew. Verse 17 Beholden thou art called the Jew, and.
Hostess, restest in the law, and make us thy boast of God, and knowest His will, and approve us The things that are more excellent being instructed out of the law, and are confident that thou thyself are the guide of the blind, the light of them which are in darkness. An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which has the form of knowledge and of the truth and the law.
And then he says to them Now therefore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself, Thou that preachest to man, should not steal? Dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery? Dost thou commit adultery? Thou that of poorest idols? Dost thou commits sacrilege thou that makest thy boast of the law? Through breaking the law you dishonor God. So the Jew has the advantage of having the law, knowing his will, and yet he breaks it.
And brings down the judgment.
Of God upon him.
He says at the end of the chapter he's not a Jew, which is 1 outwardly, not a real Jew, not a spiritual Jew, not not one that is true to his name. His name means the praise to God.
He's not a Jew, which is 1 outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he's a Jew which is 1 inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Now we could change that word Jew to Christian today, as I'm speaking to a Christian audience, he is not a Christian who is 1 outwardly, but he is a Christian. He's one inwardly. Are you a Christian inwardly? Have you been born again? You have a new life, You have eternal life. Are you in dwelt of the Holy Spirit? You've been sealed by the Spirit of God. Are you saved or is this just something that you've made a profession of? That's what he's talking about with the Jews. They were just Jews outwardly.
Formed that way, you may have been born into a Christian family and been baptized, and you may have the name of Christ named upon you, but if you haven't experienced a work of God in your soul, you're still lost.
You're not a true Christian at all, just as some of these were not true Jews.
True Jew was a saved man. That's what he's saying.
What advantage that hath the Jew, or what prophet is there of circumcision? Much every way the Jews had the law.
Chiefly he says that to them we're committed the oracles of God. We owe the whole Bible to the Jew.
00:40:05
Every author was Jew in this Bible. Some say Luke was a Gentile, and that's for sure. But at any rate, they gave us the word of God.
Now he says.
In verse 9, What then? Are we better than they? We Jews? Are we better than the Gentiles because we have the law?
No and no wise, for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin.
When it comes to our sinnership, we have no advantage as it is written. There is none righteous. No, not one. Now he quotes a number of scriptures from their Old Testament scriptures which applies to the Jew to apply to the Gentile as well. But what does he quote? There's none righteous. No, not one. It says in the 14th Psalm, God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that understood that did righteousness before him.
What did you see? They are altogether become corrupt. There is none that doeth good. No, not one, not one.
None righteous, No, not one. There's none that understand that. There's none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way. They are together, become unprofitable. There's none that doeth good. No, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre. With their tongues they have used deceit. The poison of ASP is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery in their ways, in the way of peace. Have they not known? There's No Fear of God before their eyes.
Now we know that what thingssoever the law sayeth, that's what he's been quoting. He's been quoting Old Testament scriptures, which the Jew boasted in, but those their very scriptures condemned them.
Now we know that what thinks soever the law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the law. That's the Jew, not the Gentile, That every mouth may be stopped.
And all the world may become guilty before God. So the trial is over. Man is no longer on trial.
In John 6, the Lord said, Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out. The trial is over.
The gavel comes down guilty.
The whole human race guilty before God.
Whether you're a Jew or Gentile makes no difference.
The more privileges you have, the more light you have from God, the more guilty you are.
The more severe the judgment.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the laws the knowledge of sin.
The law tells me thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not lust.
The law says thou shalt have no other gods but me.
Think of how serious it is.
He says, I shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for he shall not hold him guiltless to taketh his name in vain. What do you think of someone that raises his hand?
Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? I do.
That's taking the name of the Lord thy God in vain if someone does that and then proceeds to lie repeatedly.
Very solemn.
Well, is he going to get away with that? Is anyone going to get away with that? Of course not.
Judgment of God is according to truth.
God knows that commit such things. There is no respective persons with God.
Having a higher place in society doesn't render you exempt from God's Word and God's law.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the laws the knowledge of sin, it tells me what's wrong, tells me what God hates and I'm to abstain from.
Now the world is guilty.
He has proven all phases of human society guilty.
Now it's time for God to come in with His matchless grace and the salvation that He's found He's provided in Christ and reveal it to us.
I remember brothers said after God is pronounced guilty, he said the only thing left is mercy. But that's not what we read in verse 20.
00:45:05
It doesn't say that now, but verse 21. But now the mercy of God without the laws manifested doesn't say that. What does it say now? The righteousness of God.
Without the laws manifest if man is guilty before God.
If you stand before the judge and he pronounces you guilty, you don't plead for righteousness.
You are guilty.
Plead for mercy.
But now God manifests his righteousness.
It's a new thought, totally.
Is in the cross of Christ we see how God can save, yet righteous be.
Now the righteousness of God without the law altogether apart from the law, 1500 years the Jews were under the law, not one of them kept it. The Lord said, did not Moses give you the law? None of you keep with the law.
Stephen said, Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
Two divine persons, the Lord Himself and the Spirit of God, speaking through Stephen says You have not kept it.
How do we know that no one kept it because no one continued to live?
The law held out the promise of life. This Do and thou shalt live. Had they kept it, had one man kept it, death would not have had any claim on that man held out the promise of life to the obedience. Instead it became.
Death, condemnation and a curse because no one has kept it.
So apart from the law, now God manifests His righteousness not in the way of condemning the Sinner.
But in justifying Sinner that believes in Jesus, notice how he develops this. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. I'm not going to turn to the passages, but there are a number of them in Isaiah and other portions of scripture that refer to my righteousness is to be revealed and so on witnessed by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God.
Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ.
That is, the righteousness of God is looked at here as a covering shroud, protecting those that put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just His mercy and grace and compassion, but His very righteousness. The very attribute of God that's going to send a Sinner to hell now protects and justifies and clears.
The the one that believes in Jesus, because Jesus has paid the price.
For your sins.
The righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all. He wants to show himself righteous and justifying all of us, but it's only upon all. It's only upon all them that believe.
There's no difference.
What is it that justifies me is righteousness.
Wonderful.
The very righteousness of God justifies me, justifies you, when you believe in Jesus.
There's no difference for all of sin and consort of the glory of God. As far as our sinnership is concerned, we're no different.
And now it says, being justified, being accounted, declared righteous freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Justification is free, flows to us from the heart of God, and it does so on a righteous basis now a righteous footing, because Christ has done that work which has glorified God as to sin.
Justified freely by his grace. That's the source.
Through the redemption.
That's the basis for it. That is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth as a propitiation.
A mercy seat, a meeting place between the Sinner and God. Christ is.
Done the work. He has offered that sacrifice which God has accepted, which has glorified God. The sin question has been settled.
God has punished sin.
And he had to.
Couldn't save any of us without that. Our sins had to be dealt with, and that's what happened on the cross.
The greatest transaction ever was the cross, when God, in all His Holiness and righteousness and justice, punished his Son, who took your place and mine.
00:50:14
On that cross.
You can only know that, and it can only true of you if you believe the gospel.
If you believe the gospel, he's offering it. It's unto all. It's available to all.
Available to all.
God wants to meet you there. He can meet you there because your sins have been dealt with and you come to meet him there. You'll find that out.
Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood to declare his righteousness.
For the emission of sins that are past, what does that mean? Well, in the Old Testament, God passed over the sins of the Old Testament Saints. He didn't, he didn't bring them into judgment. You might say, well, how could he do that? You said he can't do that.
Well, he's a timeless being, and he knew that Christ would come and put those sins away by his sacrifice on the cross. So he passed over them for the time and now that the cross is an accomplished fact.
He says His righteousness in passing over remitting those sins of Old Testament believers.
This now seemed to be righteous, so it says, to declare his righteousness for the remission or the passing over.
Of sins that are past, that is the Old Testament believers.
Through the forbearance of God.
So now that the cross is.
Is accomplished, His righteousness is declared in the fact that he passed over those sins.
But now in the present time, verse 26, to declare, I say at this time.
His righteousness for 2000 years now His righteousness is declared that he might be just.
And the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
What is the righteousness of God? And it's His perfect consistency with himself, in all his feelings, with his preachers.
The righteousness of God displayed in the gospel is God justifying the Sinner that comes to him clinging to the cross.
Having received the Lord Jesus as Savior.
God would be unrighteous to refuse Him. I say that reverently.
Because the work of Christ is such infinite value to God proven than the fact that he raised him from the dead.
And set him at the highest place in heaven. It's the righteousness of God which set that man in the glory.
And it's the righteousness of God which has justified the Sinner that believes in Jesus.
That attribute of His perfect justice and righteousness is now operating for you when you trust Christ and plead the blood of Christ.
Isn't that precious?
To declare, I say at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
I'm just going to finish this chapter and then I'm done.
Where is boasting then?
It is excluded.
By what law of works? No, but by the law of faith, the principle of faith.
Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
And then he asks, Well, the Law, when he was given it, was only given to the Jew. Is he the God of the Jews only?
Oh, is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. So this new thing, this new blessing is not limited like the law was. The law was only given to Israel.
Gentiles were never put under law because the law was never given to justify man, but to show man what a Sinner he was.
But now hears the grace of God and the righteousness of God operating on behalf of the Sinner that believes in Jesus to justify him and give him a right to standing before God. He says I'm not limiting that to the Jew, It's for the whole world, Jew and Gentile. You see the God of the Jews only know is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes.
Of the Gentiles also seeing it as one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith, that's the Jew.
And that principle and the uncircumcision of the Gentile through faith.
The Gentile was never on the principle of works, but now the Jew was, and so he has to learn that God's principle of justifying his faith now.
That works, and the Gentile comes in through faith.
00:55:05
And then that last question, verse 31, do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid. No, he says. Yeah, we established the law. How so?
The one who makes void the law is the one who puts himself under the law and breaks it and then says it doesn't condemn me.
The law does condemn you if you are under it.
And so the one who flees by faith to Christ, he owns that, he says, I'm not going to put myself under love.
It will only condemn me. It will only kill me. It will only curse me.
A fleet of Christ. Christ is the end of law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.
And so the one who flees by faith to Christ is really establishing.
All the claims of the law, not nullifying them, but establishing them.
The law can only curse you.
Because you're a Sinner. Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things.
Which are written in the book of the Lord.
Time to Awake Out of Sleep
YP Sing Address—R. Robert
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If one person would leave this door here tonight and not be saved, I can't believe what would go through your mind or through your heart. If the Lord would come right now, what would you think if you're the only person in this room?
Because the Lord had come. You have heard you can be redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, but yet you turn it off. You say I'm not going to listen to that. I'm going to do my own thing.
What if I just started going down the road 1 by 1 asking, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you ever confessed him as your Lord? What would your answer be? I'm sure that some would say, yes, I've been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Yes, I've been saved by the grace of God. I'm on the way to heaven.
But when we came to you, what would the answer be? What would your response be?
Eternity in hell.
How long does that last? How long are you willing?
To risk the chance.
Of spending eternity in health. No one likes to tell you about hell. No one likes to tell you that you could spend that. He lost eternity in hell either. On playgrounds. I hear it in supermarkets that were held and they don't have a clue to what they're Speaking of. Do you have a clue what's resting over your head tonight?
If you don't know, the Lord is your savior.
Our blessed God and our loving Father, we're so thankful for Thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we're so thankful that we can freely open up Thy word in this land. We just ask thee that Thou had blessed Thy word to our souls and feed us and strengthen us in our most holy faith. And Lord Jesus, we pray in the most worthy and precious name, Amen.
I like to turn to Romans chapter 13.
Romans, chapter 13.
And verse 11.
And that knowing the time. Do you know what time it is? I'm not talking about the time I have here on my watch. Do you realize what time it is?
And now it is high time to wait out of sleep. You know, you can take a person that's dead and you can have him right here and you can yell and scream at him all you want and he's not going to make a move. You can have another person over here that's sleeping and he's not going to look much different. My younger brother Rick, who is here right now.
Used to sleep really hard and I used to play some tricks on him at night to see if he'd wake up. I put shaving cream in one hand and I tickle his other. Tickle his face.
Asian scrub around. They had shaped him to him on his face. He went and wake up. Is that how you are tonight? You won't wake up, you're saying, but you're going on and say, hey, I want to party, I want to have my own fun. It's time to wake up. Your time here is short, incredibly short compared to eternity.
Are you asleep?
Let's turn and look at a man by the name of Lot. Let's go to you. Just hold your place here and we'll come back a little later on. It's got a lot and see what Lot has to do. And Genesis chapter 13.
Tonight we're making choices. Throughout this conference, you're making choices. You know, when we're young, we have lots of choices to make, and there's three choices that all of us will probably make in this room. Get the Lord series One is what is my profession? What does the Lord want me to have to do? Are you asking the Lord? Are you including the Lord in your life?
Another choice might be, well, where am I going to live?
Do you think the Lord has anything for you now? Does he just save me and say, OK Paul, it's all yours, just take it from here. Not a chance. He has a plan for you. You have a special place in the body of Christ, a special place that only you can fulfill. Not me, only you can do it.
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And the third thing is maybe who you're going to marry. If you're asleep, are you going to make a good choice?
If you're not reading the word of God, are you going to make a good choice? If you're not on your knees, are you going to make a good choice?
If you want heavenly wisdom for an earthly pathway, you have to be found in prayer. OK, OK, let's look at what?
Chapter 13.
And verse 11.
And Lock chose him all the plains of Jordan.
Now listen to this one. Chose. Did he stop and act like Nehemiah? Did he stop and say, Lord, what do you want me to do? He chose. You're choosing right now. You're choosing a pathway. What you sow, you will read. OK, let's see what happens. Poor old love here.
And Lot chose him. All the plains of Jordan and Lot of Jordan East.
And they separated themselves, the one from the other. Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan, Lot dwelt in the cities of the plains and pitched his tent for seven. Where are you pitching your tent? Where you pitch your tent will have a direct result on what you do. It will put you right in sleep. I have been in here before with other young people from when I was 12 years old.
Now some of them have families in there this afternoon. That's great. Love it.
Some others I'll say well.
Don't know, they sat right where you're sitting right now. They heard gospel, our gospel messages just like we heard tonight. And there's no, there's nothing in their life that would point to Christ and say, yes, they know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. There's nothing to say that they're awake. They have a safe life or they have a safe soul, but a lost life.
Dear friend, wake up when you choose. Don't be like Lot and say whoa, that looks pretty good over there. I like that.
And just head off towards it.
If you're looking real quick over into the the 14th chapter and the tempers it would tell you what was out there besides the well watered plains that he saw.
Flying pigs.
Do you think Satan cares how it gets you into a slime pit? Do you think Satan cares how I fall or you fall just as long as you fall? Not a chance. He doesn't care as long as he can get you to fall. That's exactly what he wants. And he's saying right now, hey, when this guys over, you need to get out of here and Boogie, we got something to do.
You're making a choice.
I see young people.
And now that I'm a little older, I hear older people saying what the young people and the human meaning if they do come to me, I don't understand. Aren't they happy? What's wrong?
Are they not opening up the word of God? They're not looking at the places that the different ones that suggest the read. They're just sitting there.
Like they're asleep? Are you asleep? Where are you pointing your tent? Is it towards Sodom?
History is a little bit further. There's a little thing.
And the men of Sodom were women and sinners before the Lord. Does it stop there?
To the Doctor, No, the Lord gives them a grave, exceedingly, exceedingly.
Wicked and cleaners.
This world took Christ and said away with that man. That's their thought of Christ.
This world wants a lullaby. Me right asleep. Oh, it might be a good thing. So I really like sports. I like music too. The music of this world can put you right to sleep.
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I used to know more about the Los Angeles Dodgers than I knew about my Bible.
Satan doesn't care how he puts municipalities, he doesn't care how he gets me to point my tent towards Sodom and Gomorrah.
You know, there's another way you can go to sleep too.
You can start compromising the word of God. This is the word of God. This is where we get all our resources from.
Sometimes you go to school and they'll say well.
Sometimes it's kind of adapting to where they are living right now. They were one form of life, but when they got to a certain place, they had dapped with themselves to another, to this their environment. Is that what happened? Is that what the Word of God teaches us?
Little things increasing. We start sleeping. We get into a place where we can put shaving cream on your hand, tickle your face and smear it all over and you wouldn't have a clue to what's going on. You fell into a slime pit. You fell.
Let's go back to.
3/13.
And verse 11 for now your is on salvation nearer than when we first believe the Lord is coming. Is that your hope? Is that my hope?
Is my hope all down here?
Is my hope all wrapped up in my profession? Is my hope all wrapped up in my possessions?
The night is for spent the days of Hannah. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of life.
You know a lot of times in my class.
I'm kind of limited to what I can say or what I can do, but I have a lot of friends.
I see some beautiful garbage cans around here and they're all decorated up and they're just beautiful. Absolutely great. But what's inside of that garbage can? Garbage? Put something down at the bottom. Might be pretty good.
Sometimes I'll take a kid chewing gum and they're not supposed to chew gum in school or something real. Jose, put your gum on the garbage can, please, and you can eat it at recess if you want to.
You know watercolor. Let me know. Yeah, OK.
So about when the day is about 3/4 finished and the garbage cans halfway pulled, I'll say OK, I want Ray Jose to come up here now and get her grandma out of garbage can.
In augmented, they'll tell me in Spanish. No way, not that, champ. So well, why not your guns down there and it's so good.
I don't want to go through the garbage.
Oh come on, who will put their head in the garbage can for me? Not me. I'm not going to do it. I'll say well, and they all like to have parties and I do too.
I'll say, OK, we're going to have a party and you can bring ACD if you want, but.
If it has any bad words on it, I don't want to listen to it because I've put my head into the garbage can. You know what I said? Yeah, I'm not reaching to the garbage can. Pull out a piece of garbage and grosses them out. I cram it into my ear and that's what you're doing. You're listening to garbage. If it goes in, it's going to come out and one little boy will see. My brother uses bad words too.
If you listen to garbage, it's going to come out.
They will. Come on.
I went to this.
Little girl's house, she wanted me to come over and she's in my class. I want to come over for a birthday party. And her brother's a little older. And he says, Paul, I want you to come upstairs and listen to my music. And I'd love to. So I go upstairs and I wasn't into his music. He turns on his music and I had some pretty nice acoustical guitars and electric guitars, which I like. And I'm listening. All of a sudden the words come on.
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Every other word was a bad word and this kid doesn't understand English too well.
So I'm saying to myself, well, how can I get this guy to turn this on?
Everybody says mom and dad come and roll in and every word is I'm just totally embarrassed in them.
And they asked me if I liked the music and not really. And I said, well, why not?
They have bad words in it and if I translate it to you, you wouldn't be too happy.
So they managed to take out the CD.
What I'm trying to get at this world is wicked, and it doesn't care how it allows you to sleep. It doesn't care what it can do to turn you off. All it does is when I'm rocking sleep and when you put garbage in your head, when you put garbage in here, it's going to come out.
This will look further in her chapter.
The armor of light. Let us watch verse 13. Let us walk honestly as in the day, not in writing drunkenness or chambering or wantonness. Not in strife and envy. Now I want to speak a little bit.
Of our everyday life.
Or maybe when we come to conferences or like Laughing Pines or other places we go.
I want you to put on Christ. I want you to be able to show love. I want you to show timing to one another.
There is nothing more destructive to me than you see a bunch of.
People that long through the Lord Jesus Christ that are in the body of Christ.
And there's a lot of destroying.
Sometimes in class, I'll, I'll pick out a little boy and I'll say here's my dad. Hey, dad, how you doing? This guy hit the fountain of youth. Look at him. Not bad, huh? No wrinkles, no Gray hair. Not bad. And I'll get a little girl and I'll say this is my mom.
And then I'll pretend like I came home from school and I'll say.
Boy, I had a great day at school today, Mom, they called me ugly Boy, it was fun, it was great. They all called me ugly and stupid.
Is that what I would say? And all the kids would be raising their hand and wanting to say something.
And I have this one little boy in classes.
Kind of budget agencies, no. And it doesn't know the English word very well. And it says you have hurt and in your heart young people when we say bad things about each other.
Read. Give each other a bad time.
Or to say things that are not for the heart. It's just like taking your fists and smashing right upside the head.
Be kind, be loving once you realize I'm not asking you to be best friends with everybody here you can, but I am asking you to put on credit to show love, be kind to one another. That's what the Lord is asked is you to do. Is that hard? Say hey good morning, how are you doing?
Is that Buddha? I don't think so.
Is it for me to say, well, how's it going in school? How's the grades going?
And Bill, let me hear.
Look at the last verse.
Wilma Dean.
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lust thereof. Young people, there are lures for our hearts in this world.
Satan wants to take our heart away from the Lord Jesus Christ. He wants us to pitch our tent towards Sodom. He wants the law by me to sleep. So I'll do nothing. And each one of you is a certain impressed whether you realize it or not. Yeah, you've been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. Each one of you have a special place in the body of Christ.
And only you can fulfill it, not me.
I can't do what the Lord's asked you to do.
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I can tell you something right now and you can do.
When you go home tonight.
Before you go to bed, you can get on your knees and be an apopress. You can pray for one another.
That of her job. Every time I would get on my knees, bone. Yeah. I just want to go to sleep. Forget that.
Do you read your Bible?
Don't let the Satan might be asleep. Don't pick your attempt for Sodom. Let's look at something else about law. OK, let's go over to the second Peters.
Second Peter, chapter 2.
Second Peter, chapter 2.
And verse 7.
And delivered Just Love vets with a guilty conversation of the wicked.
Or instead of using conversation we could just say manner of life that are OK their lifestyle.
Best with their filthy conversation or their lifestyle.
Young people.
Do you know more than me, or as much as me, the fact that I'm learning every day from third graders?
With the access of Internet.
Or music.
Or television.
It's incredible.
While.
These kids that I work with.
Are a lot different than kids here. These kids here are a little bit, have a little more of it.
But I can tell exactly what they've been listening to, what movies they've been going to or have access to.
By their language, By what they do.
OK, sometimes that I'm pretty strict.
And maybe I am.
But I want you to incorporate this in your daily walk. Now why do I want you to pray every day and read your Bible?
But I want you to show clients to others.
We walk in the world just like Lot was based here.
He's just are you just before God?
Does it hurt you when you hear the Lord's name in vain?
Does it bother you the filthy conversation?
Or does it just kinda numb you and you don't cure after a while?
Think that Christ died for you. He shed his precious blood.
He just did not save me and say OK Paul.
You're all OK now, you just go on your way and then when I come will be with me and glory. No, he doesn't. He doesn't do that. He has a special plan for you, a special plan for me.
And if we're not walking, if we're pitching our tent the wrong way, if we're going to sleep, we will not go that way.
Disclosing prayer.
Our blessed God and our loving Father.
Just pray that there's not one soul here that still has not confessed thy Son, the Lord Jesus as our Savior required to leave. There's this one person here, so maybe more that's never confessed thee, never taken a step of faith that they would do so tonight and to Lord Jesus. We just pray that there is a young person here on the balance.
Of pitching their tent the wrong way. Of going to sleep.
We pray that they would wake up, that they would not have a lost life. We pray.
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That they and results kept each day by the grace of God. In Lord Jesus we pray, and the most worthy and precious name, Amen.
OK, so.
Psalm 23
YP Address—J.N. Hyland
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.
#42 in the appendix.
Savior, lead us by thy power safe into the promised rest. Choose the path the way whatever seems to thee. Oh Lord, the best be our guide in every peril. Watch and keep us night and day. Else our foolish hearts will wander from the Strait and narrow way. Hymn #42 in the appendix. I realize that sometimes afternoon meetings are very difficult.
And so as last afternoon, I'm going to suggest again that we stand up to sing this hymn.
And if someone could please start it for us.
Before I turn to the portion that's particularly on my heart this afternoon.
I'd like to read 2 verses. The first one is in the book of Philippians.
Philippians chapter 3.
Philippians chapter 3 and I want to read just the first part of verse 10.
That I may know him, and then in the book of Hosea.
Wasaiah Chapter 6.
Hosea chapter 6 and verse 3. Then shall we know?
If we follow on to know the Lord and now the portion that's particularly before me, the 23rd Psalm, Psalm, Psalm 23.
Psalm 23 You'll notice the title of this Psalm. It's a Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.
He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake. Yeah. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
Well, I'd like to speak, and this meeting is particularly for those of us who are younger. This afternoon, and I know at one time I was a young person sitting in meetings just like this, and I heard our brethren minister to us on following the Lord. We were exhorted to live for Christ, and I wondered sometimes how I was going to get along in the path of faith.
And I can't say I fully learned the lessons, because we don't fully learn the lessons this side of glory.
The hymn writer put it this way. And when we've learned our lesson, our work and suffering done, our ever loving father will welcome everyone. In fact, I believe if we say we've learned the lesson, then we really don't know our own heart, Peter said. Though all deny thee, yet will not I deny thee. But the Lord had to teach him that he, that trusteth in his own heart is a fool. And so it's not that we fully learned the lesson. But I must say this, young people I have learned to appreciate, at least in some measure, the Lord's care and his full and abundant supply.
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And I want to encourage you this afternoon to, while you are young, follow the Lord. Young people, I can't reach down in your heart this afternoon and create a desire to follow the Lord. Only the Lord can do that. If I could reach down and create a desire I I would. But I can't. But I know the prayer of many here is that as you're here at these meetings, that the Lord will by His Spirit implant that desire in your heart, and that as we leave these meetings, each one of us, as has already been expressed during this time.
Would have a fresh and increased desire to follow the Lord. And that's why I began with these two portions in the New Testament.
Because I believe that this statement we read written by inspiration by the apostle Paul in Philippians, that I may know him. I believe this sums up Paul's whole Christian pathway. Before Paul was saved as Saul of Tarsus, he thought that he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Christ. He sought to stamp out that blessed name he sought to persecute and even have put to death.
Those who were followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you'll remember when he was arrested in his course on the Damascus Rd. he asked this question. Who art thou, Lord? And if there's someone here and you don't know the Lord Jesus? As your Savior, I want to begin this meeting by giving a challenge to your heart. Why don't you know this blessed one, the way a blessing is open for you this afternoon? The Lord Jesus in his grace has allowed you to come to these meetings.
God in His mercy, is pleading with you to come to the Savior, just as He strove with thee.
Apostle Paul, when he was Saul of Tarsus, and finally there was that turn around on the Damascus Rd. all this conference could be the turn around for you. And so if you don't know the Lord as your savior, oh, would that you ask this question? Who art thou, Lord? And then, as I say, Paul's whole desire was to know more of the person of Christ, and not just to know more about him, but to know this person. It doesn't say here that he wouldn't had a desire to know more about him.
That's true. I trust each one of us, young and old here, have that desire to know more about our Lord and Savior, because He's told us all things that we need to know in the Word concerning this Blessed One. And I just trust our desire is to know more about Him. But young people, the challenge I want to give to my own soul and to your soul this afternoon is do you have this desire, like the Apostle Paul, not just to know about him?
To know him.
Now sometimes said. I know a lot about the Queen of England and the British royal family.
And I suppose, coming from Canada, I am more conscious of it than most in this audience this afternoon. But we studied in school much about British royalty. We often hear in the newspapers that which concerns the Queen of England and her family. And yet, while I know a lot about the Queen of England, I do not know the Queen of England personally. I've never been invited to Buckingham Palace. I've never had so much as the opportunity to shake the Queen of England's hand.
And so I know a lot about her, but I don't know her personally. But suppose I did receive an invitation to go to Buckingham Palace and a ticket provided and all the means supplied. And I go, and I spend some time with the Queen of England, and we sit down together each day and we talk and she unburdens her heart. And I unburden my heart. Oh, now I come away. After that time I say, I don't just know about the Queen of England, but I know the Queen of England personally.
All young people, We're not talking about the Queen of England or any other of the great dignitaries or famous people in this world. We're talking about the Lord of life and glory. We're talking about the one who inhabiteth eternity. We're Speaking of the one who wants your company and mine. But there's only one way to know him, and that's to walk in fellowship with him. And so Paul, I say his whole desire was to know more of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And to know him personally and if we get nothing else out of this little time together this afternoon.
I trust that this burns into your soul and mind, that we may know him, and that we would go away from these meetings with a conscious sense.
Of his presence with us, you know, that's a challenge, isn't it?
00:10:03
It's easy to enjoy the Lord in circumstances like this. It's wonderful to be able to sit with the word of God open before us.
It's wonderful to have the Spirit of God to minister Christ to us from the pages of this blessed book on an occasion like this.
It is a privilege to be in happy fellowship with so many of our brethren and so many of the young people who are here.
But the challenge comes down when we go home, when you go back to the home situation.
When you go back to school, when you go back to the office, when you go back to the shop.
When you return to the factory, when you go to that little assembly where there's only a handful on Lord's Day Morning.
When you sit down on Wednesday evening and there's just two or three brothers, but you open the word.
And the Lord undertakes and feeds your souls. But that's the challenge as we go from day-to-day.
Is it with the exercise to enjoy the Lord's presence, to have a conscious sense of his company with us? You know, young people, I don't believe we need to pray and ask the Lord to be with us because He'll never leave us nor forsake us. He's always with us. But what I believe we need to pray when we get up in the morning is that we would be walking in such a way that we would have a conscious sense of His presence with us.
The Psalmist said in the 30, the 73rd Psalm, he said. Nevertheless, I am continually with thee. Thou hast holding me by thy right hand. Thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. You know, if someone's holding you by the hand, you're conscious. You're very conscious. You're acutely aware that that person is right there with you and beside you. Do we live our lives like that? Do we say, nevertheless thou art continually with me, with me.
Do we feel the presence of his hand? That's really what it means in Philippians, Where it says the Lord is at hand, He's right there. He's with us, but all We're not going to enjoy his company if we're not walking in obedience to the word of God. And we'll speak of this a little bit as we go along. And so the first thing I want to bring before us is that I may know him. Oh, may we all have that desire to know this wonderful, glorious person.
Because he does desire your company and mine. And then we find it says in Hosea. If Speaking of following on to know the Lord, are we going to follow this Blessed One? Young people, I want to challenge your heart. The only happy path is to follow this Blessed One. We're going to go in a few moments to the 23rd Psalm, the shepherd's Psalm, as it's often been referred to and I've been struck to realize that she are one of the few animals.
That you lead. You know, you drive cattle, you herd pigs, but you lead sheep. And I believe that that's one reason why the believer is brought before us likened to sheep, because you see a flock of sheep and they're moving along the road or through the pasture. What are they doing? Oh, there's the shepherd and they're following him. That's what he wants, young people. He wants us to be followers. But, you know, to half heartedly follow the Lord isn't a happy path. It's not going to work.
Peter tried that, you know, it says of Peter. He followed afar off, and I believe it was one of the things that led to Peter.
Finally associating with a little company around the fire that night that had no love for his blessed Lord, and it led him to deny his Lord three times with owls and curses. Oh, I beg of you, don't follow afar off. Be like Caleb in the Book of Numbers. It tells us seven times of Caleb that he wholly or fully followed the Lord. You've heard me say this before, no doubt, but I've enjoyed the fact that with Caleb his name means a dog. I used to ponder that because.
Usually a dog in scripture doesn't have a very good connotation, but I believe there are two things that characterize a dog.
He's a good follower, and he's faithful to one master, all young people. That's what he wants. He wants good followers. He wants those who are faithful to him. But I will say this too, before we pass on that I believe there's only one way to be a true disciple. There's only one way to be a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's to have a heart where there's only one object in it. Because I believe where our hearts are, then our feet will follow.
00:15:01
And all I trust that during these meetings your heart is and mine has gone out in some fuller and deeper way to the person of Christ. Have our hearts been attracted to the shepherd? If they have, then our feet are going to follow in the path of faith. Because young people, there is a path of faith as we're going to see for each one of us. Or let's follow on to know the Lord. And as we follow him it will be to find those beauties and attributes that make up his person become more real and precious to our hearts.
But they're not going to become real and precious to your heart and mind if we're not following.
If we're not walking closely to his side, I say he'll never leave us, but we can leave him. There was a there's a sad commentary about Jonah. You know, Jonah was one of the Lords. He was a prophet. But there came a time when Jonah chose his own way. And what was the result? He rose up to flee under Tarshish. And notice this expression from the presence of the Lord. Now we know from the story that the Lord didn't leave his servant, and the Lord dealt with Jonah and there was restoration.
And Jonah was used in a mighty way. Why, when he went and preached the message, the whole city got saved. What a blessing Jonah was in Nineveh. But all he could have saved himself that bitter experience if he had sought to follow the Lord and be obedient at the beginning, but he fled from the presence of the Lord. And if we choose our own way, we're going to lose in our souls a sense of the Lord's company with us. And I might just say in passing too.
There's something else very remarkable there in connection with Jonah fleeing from the presence of the Lord. It says he paid the fare thereof. All young people, if we choose our own way, and I wish I could impress this on your soul this afternoon, but if you and I choose our own way, we're going to pay the fare. And Jonah found that the fare that had to be paid was too great, or what a cost. When we choose our own way, we lose in our soul a sense of the Lord's presence with us. We lose that rest, we lose that peace.
Thank God we never lose our salvation, not secure in Christ, but we do lose. We pay the fare. Oh, let's seek to follow on to know the Lord, because young people, He not only has given us infallible guidelines in His word, marked out the path very clearly for us. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. But not only has he done that, but then he goes before he putteth his own sheet forth, and he goes before.
And it says, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life, and they follow me. You'll pardon a little incident that I know some of you have heard me recite before, but I well remember some time ago my wife and children and I were in a strange city.
And we were looking for the home that we were planning to visit and we got hopelessly lost.
And after some time, I finally took my wife's advice and stopped and asked for directions.
And the lady came out and she said something like this to me. Not exactly, but something like this. She said, well, you go down three blocks and you turn right. And then when you come to the traffic light, you turn left and then you'll see AY in the road and take the right fork. And then you'll go about half a mile. And by that time she realized by the look on my face that I wasn't taking all that in. She said, that's all right, I'm going that way. Just follow me. And it was a lot easier to follow her than just have her give me directions.
God has done both for us. He set out his word. There's a path of faith marked for you and for me in this precious book. But just like he said to Peter before he returned to the glory, he said, Follow thou, me. Isn't that individual? Isn't that a very individual thing? It's true. There's a collective aspect of the truth. But for a few moments this afternoon, I want to speak to each one of us as individuals, because we are individuals in God's family.
We're individuals in the flock of the Good Shepherd, and this, I believe, brings us to the point that we have here.
In the 23rd Psalm. Now, I might say before I comment specifically on this Psalm that I want to encourage you, when you read the Psalms, to notice the titles of these psalms. I sometimes wish these titles were printed just a little bit bigger in our Bibles because these titles were not added by the translators. They are part of the word of God, and if they are part of the word of God, then God has something for us in the titles of these Psalms.
00:20:08
And yet, because of the size of print, we often Passover and miss precious truth.
In fact, I would just say in that connection, don't read the word of God quickly. You know, we're taught at school to speed read and just get the main thrust out of a paragraph or a page or a chapter. Never read the word of God in that way. Read the word of God prayerfully and slowly with exercise, because it says every word of God is pure. Now I realize that these Psalms are taken up in different ways. Many of these Psalms are prophetic concerning.
The blessing for the people of God in a coming day, God's earthly people.
Many of these Psalms bring before us the expressions and feelings of the Lord Jesus as he passed through the circumstances of life as a man.
And I believe there is nothing will tug at our heartstrings like going back and reading some of those precious psalms that give us the innermost feelings and breathings of the Lord Jesus, things that we don't have in the Gospels. In the Gospels we Get the facts concerning the life and the work of the Lord Jesus, but in the Psalms we get the feelings a glimpse into his innermost expressions. And I suppose that's why on Lord's Day morning.
We often read the 22nd Psalm, the 69th Psalm, the 102nd Psalm, and other of those precious psalms, and I say they ought to tug at our heartstrings. You know, sometimes when I have opportunity to visit with folks who are shut in, or I'll or elderly and feeling the cares of life and physical limitations, I asked them what portion of the word of God they are enjoying.
And I would say that the greatest majority of answers is I'm enjoying such and such a Psalm, because these Psalms have been such a comfort and help to the people of God. And I want to take up this Psalm in this way. And I want to take it up in a very practical way this afternoon because it is a Psalm of David. And I have appreciated these psalms of David in this way. They are the feelings and expressions and experience.
Of David as he passed through the circumstances of life as a man and all, how he felt things very keenly. And young people. David didn't have an easy life. Just go back and read the life of David. It was 1 difficulty and problem. After another one situation arising and that was taken care of in another situation. We find that first of all he sent by his father to the camp of his brethren.
And was he understood and well received by his brothers? No. They ridiculed him for coming down to see how the battle was. Then he goes down and he fights with the champion of the Philistines, and from that point on he flees for his life. He fears from King Saul. He felt it very keenly when his best friend Jonathan didn't follow with him in his rejection. Then even after he came into his Kingdom, it was a Kingdom plague with all kinds of of upheaval and turmoil.
We find that he had domestic problems, problems from his enemies about him, even family problems in connection with Absalom and other instances. But just I challenge you, go back and read slowly and carefully through the life of David. He didn't have an easy life, but he did find a resource in his God. He found one that was sufficient for every situation of life. And that's what I want to impress upon you from this little Psalm.
I know it's a Psalm we often take up. We often read. It's been a tremendous comfort to many through the ages as they've gone through sorrows and difficulties, but all to see that the Lord was sufficient to meet every need that David had. Young people, you'll never face anything in life. You'll never find a problem too big, that the Lord isn't sufficient. There's nothing too hard for Him, even when life seems tangled.
Sing a little hymn. He's able the tangles of life to undo. Sometimes we say, oh, I don't know how that's going to workout.
For a purpose of blessing in my life, I just can't see any light at the end of the tunnel. You ever feel that way? I've often felt that way. I said. I just don't know how the Lord is working it out, but oh, He's able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, and there's one thing we can rest on for sure. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God to them that are the called according to His purpose. Sometimes we don't know how it's going to work out for good, but we know it's going to work out for good in the end.
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And won't it be worth it when we get to glory and we see it all in retrospect?
We see that he had a perfect plan for your life and mine. We see how everything was working out for a purpose, you know, It says, now we see through a glass dimly. There's things we don't understand. There's shadows and shades. But I've appreciated, and it's only an application, but I've appreciated a little expression in revelation in connection with the heavenly city. It says it's clear as crystal all there's a day coming when everything is going to be.
Clear as crystal. There won't be any misunderstandings there. And as we see it all in its completion, the plan for our lives, the purpose that he had in everything, oh, we're just going to praise him for his ways and marvel at his ways with us. And so this is a Psalm of David. It's a very personal Psalm, and I want us to see it that way. I want you to think of it that way. I want myself to think of it in that way.
Of being very personal, and certainly the first verse of the Psalm brings that before us.
The Lord is my shepherd. Can we say that from our hearts this afternoon? I might just say in passing that in the New Testament the shepherd is brought before us at least in three different ways. We find in John's Gospel chapter 10 that He's brought before us as the Good Shepherd.
And there it's In connection with the Good Shepherd giving his life for the sheep. Have you availed yourself of the finished work of Calvary?
Can you say that he has died for you? Has the blood of Jesus washed your sins away? If you can say that, then you, like David, can say the Lord is my shepherd. That's very personal, isn't it? This isn't just a theory or this is just isn't just philosophies. We're talking about the afternoon. We're talking about a person. We're talking about the person of Christ. We're talking about the Shepherd, the one who loves us and gave himself for us and the one who cares for us.
Because we find to that He's brought before us in Hebrews, the end of Hebrews as that great shepherd of the sheep. And there it's in connection with what He is doing in US and for us all. There's one who's interested in every detail of your life and mind. In fact, he knows us so well, so thoroughly does He know us. It says the very hairs of your head are all numbered. You don't have an earthly friend that knows you that well.
You don't have someone in this world that knows you that thoroughly, but here's one that knows us through and through, knows our background, knows our family situations, knows everything, our burdens, David said. He knows my down sittings and my uprisings, and yet he's the one that is caring for us and the one that is working in US and for our blessing. Then we find too that in connection with a future day of reward and manifestation.
He's brought before us as the chief shepherd that's in the end of First Peter is going to reward. He delights to reward for any faithfulness on your part and mine. Isn't it tremendous to think that the one that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure is the one that's going to come forth and say so much have I appreciated those little things that I'm going to give you a reward for it? It's true. We'll pass those rewards, those crowns.
Back at his feet. We get that in the 4th of Revelation, but oh what joy he's going to find in saying.
Well done. Thou good and faithful servant, enter thou in to the joy of thy Lord. So David said, The Lord is my shepherd. Oh, how personal it is. Do you, Do you know what it is to walk personally with this shepherd, to follow him? Or I just say again, young people and all of us learn to cultivate a personal relationship with this blessed one.
Well then we find he says, I shall not want. Now I'm going to tell a little story. There are some boys and girls here this afternoon. And I know this is a simple little story, but it touched my heart when I heard it because I heard of a little boy. And he went off to Sunday school each week. And at the end of the Sunday school year, they were going to have a little recital. And the teacher had prepared the children to sing some gospel songs and to recite some portions of Scripture.
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Parents were invited to come and hear this recital. And there was 1 little boy there and he was to recite the 23rd Psalm. And he had worked very diligently to learn this Psalm. But you know, on the day of the recital, as he stood up to recite this Psalm, he looked into the faces of so many adults and he got what we sometimes refer to as stage fright. And so he began, The Lord is my shepherd and he couldn't seem to get beyond it. And so after stammering the moment, he said again.
The Lord is my shepherd. Still, the words wouldn't come the next time. He started in. He said, The Lord is my shepherd. He hesitated a moment, and he said, what more could I want? And he sat down.
Or young people. What more could we want? What more could our hearts want this afternoon?
From the person of the Christ, the shepherd, his company. Oh, I say, this is the only thing that's going to fill and satisfy your heart. I know there's many empty, aching hearts in this world today, and maybe there's someone here. And you know the Lord as your savior. You know, the Good Shepherd, You've availed yourself with the work of Calvary. But maybe your heart is empty and aching because you're not walking in communion with the shepherd.
You're not following closely beside him. Oh, if you know the Lord as your savior, but you've chosen your own way. Oh, I want to encourage you. The way of Restoration is open, as we're going to find in this precious Psalm all returned. Because I know that if you're trying the things of this world, you're finding that they're not satisfying. Be honest with yourself. Let me ask you this question, and you answer it in your own heart. This afternoon are the things that you are seeking after in this world.
Satisfying your heart.
You know there is pleasure in sin, but it says it's the pleasures of sin for a season.
And you may go out with the crowd, and you might find some momentary pleasure in that which you are participating in or that which you are taking up. But I know when you return to your room at night and you lay your head on your pillow, your heart is empty. Those things that you thought were fun, they didn't satisfy your heart but all. Here's one. What more could we want? The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pasture.
Now we're going to notice, and we've spoken of it already, how the sheep are one of the few animals that are led, and how the shepherd desires to lead the sheep. And we're going to see that it's brought out very clearly here in this Psalm. But isn't it interesting then, that when it comes to the green pastures, He makes us to lie down? He leads us by the still waters, and we like that. He leads us in the paths of righteousness. And I trust we follow.
But when it comes to the green pastures, he makes us to lie down. Now I suggest that the green pastures speak to us of feeding on Christ and meditation. I say that because you remember with Isaac in the 24th of Genesis, he went out to the field at Eventide for the purpose of meditation. All I want to encourage you get into the field seed in the green green pastures, young people.
We've had some expressions to this end already in these meetings this weekend. The importance of esteeming the words of his mouth more than our necessary food. I will go in and out and find pasture. Are we finding our sustenance in the word of God? Are we feeding on Christ? Because wherever you read in the word of God, the subject is always Christ. Open this blessed book.
The hymn writer said Feed on God's word in the morning, feed on God's word at noon.
Feed on God's Word in the evening to keep your heart in tune. Are we feeding on God's Word on a daily basis?
It's often been pointed out, and I believe rightly so, with the children of Israel in the wilderness, they needed the manna from heaven.
Because, I believe a wilderness brings before us a place of no food, nothing to sustain life. For Israel, there was nothing in the wilderness to sustain the natural life, and God reigned that manna from heaven each morning. Apart from the Sabbath, of course.
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But young people were crossing a spiritual wilderness. There's nothing in this world to feed the Newman. There's plenty to feed your lust, but nothing to feed the new man. And if your soul is going to be satisfied, it's not, as we said, going out after those pleasures that the world has to offer. That's only the bubbles that last for a moment, but it's getting into this blessed book and feeding on the person of Christ. Open it and read it each day.
And I would just say to before we pass on that with the children of Israel, it was a daily exercise to go out and gather the manna. The manner they needed today was not the manner they needed tomorrow. They had to go out each morning. And I know that it takes exercise and discipline to get up a few minutes earlier in the morning, open this blessed book and satisfy your soul. But let me say this too. If you do that, you'll find two things.
You'll develop an appetite for the word of God, and you won't be so vulnerable to the things that are offered to you on every hand.
Sometimes said, if I make sure that my girls eat a good healthy breakfast before they go off to school, they're not going to be so apartment to want something at recess that's not good for them because their appetites have been satisfied with good wholesome food. Oh, let's satisfy our appetites with the word of God, so that when we go out into the world, we're not going to be so vulnerable to those things that are offered to us on every hand. He maketh me, and I want you to notice this expression.
I called a brother some time ago, a brother who used to minister amongst us in whose ministry we have known and appreciated.
And he is laid aside and not able to get around. And I said to him, because I know it's difficult sometimes to slow down.
We're used to the fast pace of life and being able to zigzag around the continent and across the across the continent and around the world. But I said to this brother, I said, you know, it is interesting in the 23rd Psalm that he speaks of leading us in various various ways. But when it comes to the green pastures, he makes us to lie down because we don't like to stop, we don't like to take time from the busy pace of life.
But sometimes I believe the Lord has to put His hand upon us and make us lie down South, that we will feed in those green green pastures. And I believe if we don't on our own take time to be in the word of God, to meditate on what He has given us all, then sometimes I say, He does have to put His hand upon us and make us to lie down, because He wants us to be in the enjoyment of these things. He wants you to read His word. He wants you to spend time meditating.
On the person and work of Christ. And I like that little hymn that says take time to be holy.
You'll never have time if you don't take time, but oh how good to take time.
To feed on God's word. So then he says, He leadeth me beside the still waters.
You know, this is a world where there's no refreshment. It's a barren land, just as Israel found in the wilderness. There was nothing to refresh them. There's nothing that's going to refresh our spirits in this world, young people. The only thing that's going to refresh us is that which he has given us of himself in this blessed book. Sometimes again, water is used as a type of the word of God, the washing of water by the word.
And we certainly need that wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking he taking heed thereto.
According to thy word. And so he speaks of it in connection with the green pastures. He speaks of it in connection with leading us beside the still waters. And I know there may be other thoughts in connection with what we have here. But to me it just shows the importance of communion with himself, the importance of being into the Word, and in finding our sustenance and our refreshment in this precious book. Then we find, He says in the third verse, he restoreth my soul.
You know, maybe I look into the face of someone here this afternoon and you say I haven't followed the Lord the way I ought to. I just haven't been as diligent in the word. I've got a way. I've kind of followed a far off. I've come to the meetings but really haven't had any heart for it. And I just have gone along with things. Oh, David said he restoreth my soul. Maybe there's someone here. And some sin has come into your life. Oh, there's restoration. We were Speaking of this this morning.
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How that on 2 occasions brought before us when David sinned and he confessed that sin before the Lord.
Oh, there was restoration for him, he could say. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation.
Not restore unto me Thy salvation will never lose that. But we lose, as I said earlier, the sense in our souls of His presence with us. There's no refreshment, there's no sustenance while we go our own way out of communion with himself. But oh, how wonderful, there's a way back.
Young people, there's never, you can never do something so bad that there isn't a way back, a way for personal communion.
To be to be restored, David sinned grievously, but all there was full and abundant restoration for him. So as we were reminded this morning, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And I've enjoyed that verse two in the third of Jeremiah that says, Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, my father, Thou art the guide of my youth. I like that little expression from this time.
I haven't followed the Lord. I haven't allowed him to be the guide of my youth the way I have.
But from this time, you know, I think conferences like this are often turning points for many of us.
And we hear the ministry in the spirit of God takes it and applies it, and we're exercised.
And wilt thou not from this time? If you haven't followed the Lord, if you haven't, let him be your counselor and your guide the way you ought to from this time. Oh, may there be a turn around in your life, and may there be that exercise to follow him so he restores my soul. He leads us in the paths of righteousness, because there is a way of righteousness for us young people. I know these are dark, difficult days.
And I suppose that those of us who are a little further along, I suppose we little realize how dark it is when you go to school.
When you go to college, when you go to university, when you're with your Co workers at the office of the shop, I suppose we little realize what you're faced with. But there is a way of righteousness. Paul wrote to Timothy in the second epistle. And he wrote about a lot of unrighteousness. In fact, he wrote about the breakdown of everything, the breakdown in government in the world, the breakdown in the home, even amongst the Lord's people.
But he said to Timothy, Continue thou, he said. Timothy, you go on.
And he said, at the end of it all he said, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course. And he said, henceforth is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me in that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. In other words, Paul said, I've sought to live righteously for God's glory in an unrighteous world. And now there's a crown of righteousness laid up for me.
Young people, they'll never be a day so dark where we have to say we can't live for the Lord's glory. There'll never be a day so dark where we can justify compromise in our in our lives, or giving up the truth. If the day ever gets that dark, the Lord will take us home. But until the Lord takes us out, until the rapture, he says, according as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.
And when you stand at the judgment seat of Christ, what excuse are you going to give him? For some failure, for some compromise, for giving up, for not walking in the way of righteousness, for not following as he sought to lead you in that path that he had for you? I say, what excuse are you going to give him? You won't have an excuse, He'll say All the resources were provided. I spelled it out in my word, and I went before, and I sought to leave and to hold you with my right hand.
And to sustain you and to keep you. Oh, I say he wants to lead us.
In the paths of righteousness, it's the only blessed way. It's the only happy way.
I wish I could convey that to your soul. But may the Spirit of God burn this into your soul, that the only way of blessing in your life and mind is to follow in the path that He has for us. It's true. It's a path not discerned by the natural intellect. It's true it's a path not walked in in natural strength, because it's a path that the vultures I have not seen and the lions welp hasn't trodden upon it.
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But it is a path discernible to faith. He wants to make it clear to you.
Do you think he wants to make it difficult so you you don't know what the path is? In all thy ways acknowledge him.
And he shall direct thy paths. If I don't know the Lord's mind in some step in my life, it's no fault on his part. The fault is on my part. Because it says if any man desire to do his will, he shall know. Do we really have that desire? Like David in the 27th Psalm, he said, Lead me in a plain path, teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path. Seek that path while you're young.
Don't wait till you get a little further on. There's many shipwrecks on the path of life because people thought they'd wait until a little later on in life to follow the Lord. Oh, I begged of you. Don't do it. Have that exercise now to be led by him in the paths of righteousness.
And then he speaks here of the valley of the shadow of death. And I know that sometimes we apply the valley of the shadow of death.
In connection with the home going of a Saint of God, and I certainly don't want to take away from any application that may have. And certainly this portion has been the comfort and health of many who have passed out of this scene through the article of death and for many who have watched loved ones slip away. But isn't it interesting that the Valley of the Shadow of Death is mentioned just about in the middle of this little Psalm?
Because I believe this life is the valley of the shadow of death. We're in the valley of the shadow of death now.
We sometimes sing that hymn created things, though pleasant, now bear to us. Death stamp. Death is stamped on everything in this world. The whole creation grown up and travaileth in pain. Every level of creation has come under the effects of the curse of sin.
To this very day, all creation, every level of it feels those effects. It's true there's a day coming when they won't feel those effects in the way it does now, but still we're in the valley of the shadow of death. But what did David say here as he passed through the valley of the shadow of death, as he passed through this life? He said, I will fear no evil because it tells us in Timothy he's not given us the spirit of fear.
But of power and of love, and of a sound mind if you're afraid, you didn't get that from the Lord. Young people I know sometimes when we look into the future, there are fears, there are concerns, there are burdens. But all if you're trusting the Lord, isn't he sufficient for what's ahead? He hasn't given us the spirit of fear. And so often in the scripture, particularly at times when the people of God were at a low point morally and spiritually, he often encouraged them and said.
Fear not, like in Isaiah. Fear not, I have redeemed thee. Can anything change that?
I've called thee by thy name, thou art mine. And so over and over we have that expression.
Fear not. And there's not going to be the spirit of fear with us as we see the hand of God in every circumstance of our lives, and as we trust Him. And you know, as I read the life of David and as I read these precious Psalms, it is a rebuke to my faith. Because when you consider the light that David had, and it was only a small particle of light compared to what we have in the completed revelation of God, the full mind of God.
Resting on the finished work of Calvary, and yet with the little light that David had.
What a confidence he had in his God. And if David with that confidence, with that little bit of light, could have that confidence and that trust in his God.
How much more? You and me? So he says. And very quickly thou prepare us the table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Well, I just want to make a little application. Tomorrow we're going to have the privilege, if the Lord leaves us here, of sitting down at the Lords table, Is it in the presence of his enemies? Oh, it's in a world that still hates the blessed Savior. The heart of this world hasn't changed toward Christ. This world is opposed to everything, and Satan is opposed to everything.
That God has set up and established he's opposed to everything concerning Christ. We're going, but we're going to have the privilege of sitting down at his table. Young person, are you going to be there? Oh, I don't mean are you going to come into the room and take your accustomed that you've been sitting in for the last couple of days, but are you really going to be there? Is your heart going to respond? Are you going to participate in that wonderful privilege of remembering the Lord Jesus, He has said in such a loving way?
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This do in remembrance of me. Why do you hesitate? Why do you sit and let the loaf in the cup pass by when your Savior has done so much for you? Does the person and work of Christ mean no more to you than just to sit there week after week and not respond? The privilege of remembering the Lord is something that's only given to us for this life. We're not going to need it when we get home to glory. And how many Lords days are there left before the Lord comes? I don't know, but I think there are precious few.
That I suggest. There are very, very few Lord states left before the Lord comes. And again, what excuse are you going to give him? Why? Why didn't you Remember Me when you were here on earth? What are you going to say? Oh, he's made provision for you to be there. And if there's something in your life that hinders you from being there, get before him and judge it and seek to remember him until he comes. So he says. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Well, we know that oil sometimes is used in scripture as a picture of the Spirit of God.
In connection with Asher, he was to dip his foot in oil and as a result his his shoes would be as iron and brass and as his days so would his strength be. That's provision for our walk. We need power for our walk through this world. But here it's the head. You know, I think perhaps those of us who are parents are not totally aware the way we ought to be of the attack that's being made on the minds of our children and young people. You know, there is a movement today afoot in the even in the school system.
To have the children and young people empty their minds rather than we're never in Scripture given a precedent to encourage us to empty our mind. Because if we do, Satan has plenty to fill it. We're to bring every thought into captivity under the obedience of Christ. We're to fill our minds with Christ and all. The Spirit of God wants to take this precious book and to apply it in that way. It says, set your mind on things. Above all, let's fill our minds with this blessed book. Let's fill our minds with Christ.
So that the Spirit of God can attend, take it and apply it according to our needs. And then he says, my cup runneth over. Oh, do you want to? Not just a full cup, but a cup running over. I say again to walk in company with the Shepherd to draw on the resources that have been provided through his care and and his his provision. I've noticed a little contrast between this cup and the cup that the Lord Jesus drank.
In obedience to his father's will. Because that cup didn't run over, it was full.
But he said, the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Not one drop of judgment escaped as he was in that cup was pressed to his blessed lips. But now as a result, we can not only have a full cup, but we can have a cup that's full and running over all. I say, does this touch your heart all get into the scriptures, walk with the Shepherd, follow him. I can't impress this enough upon you. And then it says, Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.
That's the present and what's at the end. I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever. For us, it's the Father's house. We're going there very soon. The Lord Jesus is about to come, he says, Behold, I come quickly. May this hope be before us as a glad and a living reality. But in the meantime, surely goodness and mercy will follow us. Some of our life, some of the time, all the days of our life. You know, in the. I think it's the 84th Psalm, He says the Lord will give.
Grace and glory. Grace meets our present need and glory.
Is what comes at the end. Oh, I just say again, young people, and to all of us, to my own heart particularly, let's see, Let's have that desire to know him and to follow on, to know the Lord, to walk in company with the Shepherd and to avail ourselves of all that He has for us. He wants us to have a fruitful, happy life here, and he's provided for a happy and blissful eternity in the Father's house. Let's pray.
Our God and Father, how thankful we are for thy way.
The Suckling Lamb
Gospel—A. Coleman
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#23 #23.
Beautiful gospel hymn. I'm going to read this gospel hymn tonight very slowly and reverently because I want you to get all the words of this hymn. It's beautiful. It says behold. You know that word Behold is probably just a stop and observe. Stop and look.
Stop and look.
Behold the Lamb of God and the cross on the cross for us. He shed His precious blood on the cross. On the cross, or hear the overwhelming cry.
He lie lamis abacked, and I draw near and see the Savior die on the cross, On the cross see see his arms extended wide.
On the cross, on the cross, behold this bleeding hands and five.
On the Cross In the cross, the sun withholds its rays of light.
The heavens are closed in shades of night while Jesus wins the glorious fight. On the cross. On the cross. Come Sinner, see him lift it up. On the cross. On the cross he drinks for you that bitter cup in the cross, in the cross.
The rocks do rend, the mountains quake while Jesus death atonement mate.
While Jesus suffers for our sake on the cross.
On the cross that sing this wonderful gospel hymn.
Be evil.
Gospel well known. We'll read them again. John's Gospel chapter one, verse 29 the next day and John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and said, behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
1St 35.
And again the next day after John stood.
And two of his disciples and looking upon Jesus.
As he walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God. Isaiah 45 verse 22 Look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else. Shall we pray?
And I was younger.
I used to be thrilled as I would go to the first two books of the book of Samuel and I want to go there tonight, and I was thrilled that the many gospel stories in those first two books of Samuel.
And you see all those that were associated with David, with Samuel, all those wonderful gospel stories like David and Goliath and Abner and a Mesa and Joab and Absalom and all those. And these are wonderful stories. And I just thrilled over and over again as I read. I've read them and many times in the gospel I have referred to some of these.
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Wonderful portions in these first two books of Samuel and tonight I wanna I want to go to one that is especially so beautiful and would just point us tonight to the Lord Jesus. And there's some there's one special verse in this chapter that I want to take up tonight.
That is just beautiful and.
Let's go to First Samuel Chapter 7.
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Samuel, Chapter 7.
Now I want to first of all go through.
What had transpired here before we get to this chapter, and I think we can go back to the land of Egypt so many years before this and we find the children of Israel in a hard bond, Indonesia in Egypt, and they cried to the Lord.
To help them, there they were.
In ******* to Pharaoh and they cried to the Lord to the Lord hear him. He said, I have seen, I have come down and I will deliver only the wonderful God. And so he said the very God that sent his beloved son. He came down here into this world 2000 years ago, but for to deliver you and I.
From our sins, from our sins. And I thank God that He's delivered me.
From my sins and I would ask this one question tonight to you.
He delivered you from your sins. But you know God told the children of Israel, He says, I want you to take a little lamb, and I want you to kill that lamb. And I want you to put the blood on the lentil of the doorpost. And then he says, when I see the blood, I will pass it over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you. And that night in Egypt so long ago.
When the destroying Angel came over the land of Egypt.
If those didn't have that blood on the door, the first born in every house was slain and all what a cry in Egypt that night when the first born was slain of those that didn't have the blood on the door. Even Pharaoh his son was slaying that night and there was a great cry. But oh, we think of this if we could apply this right now.
Tonight, this very day.
And I say this, the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
And I would say tonight to you, dear friend, here tonight, are you sheltered under the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you know Him as Lord and Savior of your life? And now we find that the children of Israel were.
A wonderful redemption out of Egypt. And they crossed the Red Sea, and then they stood on the shores of the Red Sea, and there they sang a wonderful song to the Lord. They praised the Lord. There they saw all their enemies dead upon the seashore. What a wonderful provision by that God gave his people.
And then they went into the desert and you know.
They got discouraged without with that desert. You know that God, that the God, very God that led him out of Egypt and across the Red Sea with the very God that could take him all the way through the desert into the palm of slant. And he promised them that he would take him into that promised land.
But, you know, they grumbled and complained, didn't they? You know, And so when they got into the land, the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey and you know, I believe tonight, you know, was it was expressed and Dorothy, a month ago that the United States and Canada is a land flowing with milk and honey. And we've had the gospel.
We've had it.
And what are we doing with it? You know, coldness and difference to the gospel, to the claims of God, you know?
00:10:05
Solemn, isn't it? You know, I believe that we're living in the last days of the day of grace. We've had much before us about the coming of the Lord this day. And you know, when is He coming? You know, it may be tonight, maybe tonight. And think of that. If you're still lost and in your sins, you'd be left behind for the judgment of God. What a solemn thing it would be.
If there would be some here tonight and you know, when the children of Israel got into their land.
And they were settled down in their land, you know, he said on the 8th chapter of Deuteronomy. See that you forget not.
See that ye forget not but they did they forgot they forgot God and what happened all we find in these chapters previously that the ark of God was taken and within the Philistines land the God allowed the ark of God to be taken the very the very place where God dwelt. He says in Exodus 25. I believe it is it says let them make me a.
That I made dwell with him. There he dwelt between the cherubims.
And that ark of God was taken. And so now let's read the 7th chapter.
And the man of came and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the House of Eminidab in the hill, and sanctified Eliza his son, to keep the ark of the Lord. And it came to pass, while the ark abode and Kyraem, that the time was long.
For it was 20 years, and the House of Israel lamented after the Lord.
And Samuel spake unto all the hosts of Israel, saying, If ye do, return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and ashtroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel did put away Balaam and astroth, and serve the Lord only. And Samuel said, Gather all.
Thrill to Mizpah, and I will pray for you unto the Lord. And they gather together to mitzvah, and drew water and poured it out before the Lord, and passed it on that day, and said, there we have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mispa. And when the Philistines.
Heard that the Children of Israel were gathered together to misfire. The Lords of the Philistines went up against Israel.
And with the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will serve us out of the hand of the Philistines. Now I just want to stop right there. And this next verse I want to read.
This is so beautiful.
Nine and Samuel.
Took a suckling lab.
And Samuel took a suckling lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering, holy unto the Lord. And Samuel tried unto the Lord.
And the Lord heard him. And as Samuel was offering the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel.
But the Lord thundered with a great Thunder in that day upon the Philistines.
And discomforted them, and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mispa, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them until they came unto Bethcarr. Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mispa and Shin, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying hitherto.
Hath the Lord helped us?
You know, you go to the second verse and what does it say? And it came to pass while the abode and purgat Durium that the time was long. It was 20 years, 20 years, 20 years. And I asked this question to you tonight. How are you going to keep the Lord waiting? He's waiting for you, dear. 1:00 tonight.
00:15:12
Think about it. Here we are, the opportunity of another gospel. Meaning tonight you're under the sound of another gospel meeting.
How many more gospel meetings are you going to hear? I'm speaking to you, dear ones tonight who are still lost and in their sins.
Are you going to keep them waiting another 20 years?
Better still, I'm going to say this. Are you going to have another 20 years? You're not.
You know, I believe that we're not going to have 20 years. No, we're not. I believe the coming of the Lord, as our brother said this afternoon is very nine, perhaps this very day, 20 years. Are you going to have 20 hours? How much time have you got? You know, it says, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold now.
Is the day of salvation. God's time is now. Remember now.
Thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Dear young ones, here tonight.
You are under the sound of the gospel. Have you accepted this wonderful invitation that God is offering you tonight?
A God of patience, a God of long-suffering, God lengthening out the day of grace. Here it is.
A January, December 26th, 1998. You know, how much time have we got? You know everybody saying Are you ready for the new Millennium? Are you ready for it? We got what is it?
370 some odd days left to the new Millennium. That's what everybody's saying.
All kinds of things are going to change in the new Millennium. Are we going to make it?
No, no, I trust not. I think the Lord's coming is so very soon, you know. Are you ready for the new Millennium?
Are you ready to meet God? It says in Amos chapter 4. Prepare to meet thy God.
Are you prepared? Are your sins all forgiven? Are they washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Is the blood in the doorpost? Are you sheltered under the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Oh dear one, these are the issues of life. Your eternal destiny, your precious never dying soul. Where are you going to spend an eternity? Is it with the devil and the damned or with the Lord Jesus in the coming scene of glory? Oh, wait a moment, I believe that it's just before us over here. That show.
It'll take us out of this scene into his very presence. It's so soon, It's so soon, and that's why tonight.
This gospel message is so urgent. Dear one, is urgent.
Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is a day of salvation. What an awful impact. What an impact it had upon me about a month ago when a man in our very apartment had a had a stroke and was taken to the hospital, paralyzed and yet to go to the hospital and stand beside him and serve. I want to read to you the word of God. And he said, no, get out of here.
A man 85 years old, you know.
God, in his long-suffering mercy, has allowed that man to.
Recover to the point that I believe this week he comes home to our apartment and perhaps maybe there'll be the opportunity again to tell him, to tell him.
That there's a God that loves him, you know, he could say to me, get out of here. But I said, you can't stop me from praying for you. You know what I got, you know?
I see this, you know, it's in our apartment. There's so many.
Old folks, because we're in the seniors apartment, you know, but lived all their life without Christ.
What a tragedy. What a tragedy to live your life without Christ. I know when I was young I did just that.
And wasted years.
00:20:02
That time was long, for it was 20 years, and the House of Israel lamented after the Lord. Verse three and Samuel, speak unto all the hosts of Israel, if ye return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away strange gods, and asked, Draw from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the.
House of the Philistines and to the Philistines, you know.
I think what we see in this chapter, in this verse here is idolatry. Idolatry, You know, they were guilty of idolatry. And you know, if we were to play to apply this tonight, what is an idol? It's something that turns my eyes away from the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't it something that turns my eyes away from the Lord Jesus Christ?
Is there something tonight?
That is stopping you from coming to Christ and owning Him as your Savior.
Is there something I say this to you tonight, whatever it is?
That is hindering you something in your life. Get rid of it. Get rid of it right now. You know the God of this world delights to put.
Something wonderful in front of your eyes.
Whatever the case may be in your life, in your circumstances, the enemy of your soul knows.
Just what would attract you and turn you?
Away from the Lord Jesus Christ, from accepting his wonderful.
Offer of salvation. You know, I know for my own self that the enemy did that very thing to me when I was a young man.
Idolatry.
Verse four. Then the children of Israel did put away Balaam and Astroth.
Em.
And serve the Lord only. You know, I want to tell you this tonight. I think it was very plain and simple when our brother got up here last night and went to the third chapter of Romans. And it says there, and I'm going to repeat it again. You've heard it over and over again.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Those sins that you committed have separated you.
From a holy God. And if those sins aren't washed away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, they will take you, dear one, to a lost eternity forever.
Where there is no hope.
Think of that, how solemn the soul that sinneth it shall die.
That soul, that Sinner, it shall die.
Verse five and Samuel said gather all Israel to MISPA and I will pray.
Unto the Lord for you, you know.
We had a prayer meeting in that room over there.
A few minutes ago.
And you know, it was touching. It was beautiful.
To think that all the prayers that went up to the throne of grace for those that would be here in their sins and lost tonight, how many prayers that we're not tonight for the loss, you know, their mothers and fathers that are praying for.
Children for grandchildren, for great grandchildren. Thank God for those parents that are praying. I've got one. My grandmother, my mother is 93 years old and she still prays for her son. And thank God for a praying mother and a praying father. Thank God for them. I believe that I wouldn't be able to stand here.
00:25:11
Tonight, if it wasn't for the prayers of my parents and there were many praying for you tonight. Oh, think of that. Is there, I repeat this again, is there still one loss in their sins tonight, rejecting this gospel? You know, I can't, I can't conceive of it.
That a person could be under the sound of the precious word of God.
Lord's Day after Lord's Day, gospel meeting after gospel meeting and go out unsaved.
I can't conceive of it, but you know, we have a will and that will says no, I don't want it, I don't want it.
Verse six And they gathered together to mispe and drew water.
And poured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day and said, We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged Israel, the children of Israel in Mizpah, and they gathered together and poured water out before the Lord. What does that speak of? Oh, I believe this.
One thing our utter helplessness, you know it says in Second Samuel 1414.
We are as water that is spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered at our utter helplessness, unable to save ourselves. Only the Lord Jesus can save us. He's the Savior of sinners. What a Savior.
What a person that we have to proclaim tonight the Savior of sinners. Do you know this wonderful person but it says we are as water that is spilt on the ground that cannot be gathered up our other helplessness. You know there are two places in the in the word of God that bring this out so and wonderfully and then we get that in the 5th chapter of John's Gospel where we find.
Man, there he was for 38 years, lying at the pool of Bethesda there, and he was waiting for the moving of the waters. No, no, he he couldn't get down to that pool. All he had to do was get down there to that pool and get down there before anybody else did. But how could he? He was totally paralyzed there. He was laying there for 38 years.
Totally helpless, unable to.
Save himself. Then we find in another.
There's probably more that you know in the in Second Kings Chapter 7.
Yeah, Second Kings Chapter 7, we have the four leprous men at the entering the end of the gate of Samaria. And there they were. They were leopards. You know, leprosy is sin, isn't it? They were leprosy is a, is a, is a type of sin. And there they were at the entering end of the gate of the city.
And it says there if we enter into the gate, we'll die there. Better read that.
Chapter 7.
Verse 8 and when these lepers came.
No, sorry. Verse three And there were four left first men at the entering in of the gate. And they said one to another, why sit we here until we die? What a question. Why sit we here till we die? You know, if you're sitting in your seat.
Ah, in your sins lost, and if the Lord would come tonight.
That's just your case. Why is it we here until we die?
And it says here.
Why sit we here until we die? Here's the helplessness of it. Verse four. If we say we enter into the city, then famine is in the city. They went into the city. There was nothing to eat in the city that they would starve.
00:30:11
And we shall die there. And if we sit still here 3 at the end of the gate of the city, that's where the battle was going to be the the most. They would have died there.
Now therefore let us come and fall into the host of the Syrians, and if and if they save us a lie, we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die. But look at the 8th person. When these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried dense silver and gold and raiment, and went and hit it, and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried dents also, and went and hit it.
And they said one to another, we do not. Well, this is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace.
Think of that, what would a statement, I love that statement, these four leprous men. He says this is a day of good tidies that we hold our peace in it all. This is the gospel tonight. And you know, we just can't hold our peace because it's a wonderful story to tell that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. This is the gospel.
How wonderful. What wonderful. News to a lost world. You know, you look at the newspapers and what do you see?
Ah, not very good is it a But here it is, the word of God. Oh, think of it, this precious word of God that lives and abides forever. Dear one, it is are the words of life. Oh wonderful words of life. I want you to read this precious word.
Meditate on every day. Wonderful, isn't it, to get up in the morning and hope in the precious Word of God. Start the day with the Word of God. How wonderful.
Go back to our chapter.
Verse seven. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to miss by the Lords of the Philistines went up against Israel.
And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. Oh, you know there is the opposition of the enemy, and you know the enemy would come to you tonight. Suppose new earth it you, you exercised about your soul salvation, but the enemy would whisper to you tonight.
Wait another day, just wait another day, another ah, wait through another gospel meeting. Wait another week, wait another month, wait another year, you know, Oh, don't listen. God's time is now, you know. God is offering salvation tonight, full and free to whosoever will, He says. Whosoever will may come. But you know, I believe.
There is one stipulation and that is now, now, now, right now, tonight. You haven't got a better moment than tonight. Come now, that verse that was read last night. Let us reason together, says the Lord. Behold now.
Is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.
And the children of Israel, verse eight, said unto Samuel.
Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. Oh yes, a God that is mighty to save, and willing to save, and longing to save. And his arms are outstretched to you, beloved ones. Tonight listen to these words he said to you. Come unto me, all ye that labor.
That are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Think of it from his heart of love.
His arms wrote, Stretched to you tonight, longing for you to come. Won't you come? He says, I am the way, the Truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. This song that we sang this summer in the gospel meetings in the Maritimes, over and over again.
We we taught the children this song. Newfoundland.
00:35:04
I am the Way, the truth, and the life. That's what Jesus said. I won't go the whole song, but He is the Way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Now verse 7 now for you.
Dear ones, tonight little boy, little girl here tonight, sitting beside your mom and dad, I want you to do something for me if you've got a pencil or crayon.
Little notepad, little coloring book. I want you to put that down for a minute because I want you to listen to this first.
And Samuel took a suckling lamb. Dear young Lance, have you ever seen a lamb? You know, in Princeton, ME this year in the gospel meetings we were taken to South Christian couple that had adopted five children and they had a sheep farm and.
They took us through their sheep farm and you know there was some lambs in that cheap farm.
And, you know, you think of those lands, they're cute, they're sweet. You know, I, I don't think there is not one of us here tonight can just picture a lamb out there in the pasture, frisky, jumping, running around. And I.
You just got to say cute. So beautiful. Nothing could be more sweeter than a little lamb, you know? Here it is, a suckling lamb. A suckling lamb is still on his mother's mill.
Maybe one 2-3 weeks old.
Oh, how sweet, how sweet. But let me tell you dear young boys and girls here tonight, and older ones too.
That they killed that lamb and they put him on the altar.
They killed that lamb and they put him on the altar.
Why? You know why? Because the children of Israel had sinned against God, that lamb had to forfeit its life. Because the children of Israel had sinned. Had that lamb done anything wrong? No. That sweet little innocent lamb, had it done everything wrong?
No, but you know, you go to the cross of Calvary.
What a beautiful picture this is of the Lord Jesus and the cross of Calvary. Had he done anything wrong?
Had he done anything wrong? No.
The deep and the cross could say this man.
Have done nothing amiss. There was number spot no stain in this blessed One who hurry upon Calvary's cross first sin. You know I say this again, if the Lord Jesus had sinned only once, I would right now close my Bible and sit down because there would be no gospel. There could be no gospel.
Because he.
Was the perfect, holy, spotless Lamb of God. Behold, behold the Lamb of God on the cross, on the cross for you. He showed His precious blood on the cross, on the cross. This wonderful person on the cross was God's beloved Son. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
Oh what a Savior I can say tonight, Hallelujah, what a Savior, the Savior of sinners, the Savior that saved me for my sins. Has he saved you tonight? Are you a saved soul? Are you on your way to heaven? Do you know your sins forgiven?
Wonderful, isn't it, to know?
And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it.
And Samuel cried unto the Lord, verse 9.
00:40:01
And the Lord heard him, and as Samuel was offering up, the burnt offering turned to Ephesians chapter 5.
The New Testament.
Is the Old Testament.
Testament revealed. I get that wrong.
Here we find Chapter 5 as Samuel was offering, that suckling lamb wholly had burnt offering on the altar.
Ephesians 5.
What verse two and walk in love as Christ also have loved us and hath given himself for us and offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling Savior. Oh what an offering went up to God.
At Calvary Strauss, Think of it. Oh, how wonderful this is.
And I can say, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. The Lord Jesus was offered up in Calvary's cross for my sins. The gospel Peter could say, who himself bore our sins in his own body and the tree. Oh, he bore my sins, and he borne yours. Are you a saved soul tonight?
Oh, don't reject this wonderful offer of salvation.
Want you to see tonight the Lord Jesus dear one, tonight hanging on Calvary cross for your sin. He loves you and he wants your company with him in that coming scene of glory. Oh, he says in my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you.
Wonderful place prepared for those that love the Lord Jesus and know Him.
As Lord and Savior.
And the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great Thunder on that day.
Upon the Philistines and the discomforted them, and they were smitten before Israel.
And the men of Israel went out of Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them until they came to Bethcar. And Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mispa and Shin and Carl The name of it Debenezer saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us?
What a wonderful deliverance for God's people. Oh, I say this again, Who hath delivered us from the power of death and has translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, that your forgiveness of sin. Oh, what a Savior that we have to proclaim tonight. Do you know this wonderful person? What a wonderful deliverance.
He's done this for you on Calvary's cross, God's beloved Son.
What does He want from you? All the Thanksgiving of your heart? Have you thanked the Lord Jesus for what He has done for you? And calories crossed your young boy, Young girl here tonight from your lips. That's what the Lord Jesus wants to hear from you.
Have you ever thanked the Lord Jesus for dying on the cross for you?
That's what he wants to hear from you tonight. And I want to quote again that verse in Acts chapter 17. It says God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent, because He hath appointed a day into which he will judge this world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.
Oh, he wants you to repent, dear one, tonight. Won't you come tonight? This is the invitation of the gospel. Again I quote that verse. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Won't you come tonight? It's God's invitation to you. This might be the last invitation.
I say this again, this is a burden to my soul, that this might be the last opportunity I have to preach the gospel.
00:45:03
This might be the last opportunity you'll have to hear the gospel, and so it's so urgent. It's so urgent. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. It says that if thou shall confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart, that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
How positive is Scripture? Thou shalt be.
Say let's sing that hymn in closing, just as I am, without one plea.
I believe it's 12.
But that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bids me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. And I want you to think of this him as we're singing it. And you do one tonight. As we're singing, you can say, Oh Lamb of God, I come. Are you willing to come tonight? Will you come tonight? The Lord Jesus has his arms outstretched to you and is waiting to receive you.
Man receive the sinners, let's stand and sing #12.
When my soul.
Was.
Good.
Accepting and Following the Lord Jesus in Your Youth
Our Gathering Together Unto Him
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.
It's chapter 2.
And verse 13.
Looking for that blessed hope.
And the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior.
Jesus Christ.
We've had before us a little about the blessed hope.
Gazing on his blessed face, being in His presence.
We call that the Rapture.
But he's been cast out of this world.
He's been rejected here. He's been spit upon.
Crowned with a crown of thorns, struck on the face with the fists of the Roman soldiers, and.
Maltreated.
By his creatures, we're also looking for the.
Glorious appearing.
Or the appearing of the glory.
Our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, when he will be crowned.
Down here in the scene where he has been so maligned and abused and mistreated, when he will have his rightful place.
And will be with him then.
Let's turn to 2nd Thessalonians.
2nd Thessalonians.
Chapter 2.
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And our gathering together.
And through him.
That she be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us.
As that the day of Christ is at hand, the day of the Lord is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come.
Except there come a falling away 1St, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of Perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all.
That is called God, or that is worshipped so that he is God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not that when I was yet with you I told you these things, and now you know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that wicked 1 be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness and of unrighteousness in them that courage, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this 'cause God shall send them.
Strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that the All might be damned who believe not the truth.
But had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The greatest judgment.
Far greater than that which fell upon Jerusalem, apostate Judaism will fall upon apostate Christendom.
The place on earth that has been so favored and so blessed for 2000 years now with Christian light and testimony. The greatest privileges and blessings that God has ever bestowed upon man.
The company I'm addressing this afternoon is probably the most favored of all, with all the light that God has given to us.
Is there anyone here in this great company that's still lost because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved? God will send them strong delusion. They should believe a lie.
That all might be damned who had, who did not receive the truth, had pleasure and unrighteousness.
It's hard to believe that there's anyone here that has been under the sound of the precious word that we've had before us these days, that still outside of Christ, still in his or her sins, still lost.
But it's possible. And so this first appeal that I would make is to your soul.
If you reject and continue to reject the love of the truth that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, God loves you. He's shown that in the gift of His beloved Son. He could not give more. He would not give less to despise that.
00:05:17
Will issue in the greatest judgment this world has ever seen.
As the judgment of God will fall upon apostate Cusando. As we look around this, we don't have to have great discernment to see that Christendom is about to be judged. As our brother was bringing before us the coming of the Lord for us. The blessed hope to take us out of this scene is soon to come. It might be today.
Brother asked me the other day, when do you think the Lord is going to come? I said today. That's the only answer we can give that would be scriptural.
Don't put it off beyond that.
And then he's going to come back with us and this world which has despised us.
As well as him because it despises those that are his. If they have rejected me, they will reject you, he said.
So when we feel the rejection of this world.
The Muslims can pray five times a day towards the East. I don't feel any reproach.
Any rejection for that? None of the false religions feel a bit of reproach because Satan doesn't oppose them.
But it takes something to stand for Christ in an evil day, and we're living in an evil day. The end of every dispensation is darkest.
Of all because the light has been rejected and it issues in judgment.
The greatest delusion, the greatest deception is about to fall, and it is falling, and it's going to continue to fall upon Christendom.
We need discernment today more than ever to know what we are about and why we're here and what he's left us here for as of left us here to make a name for ourselves to get ahead in this world.
He's left us here to be a light, to be a witness for him. He's left us here.
To witness.
For the Lord Jesus.
As my Father hath sent me into the world, Even so have I sent you.
Father sent him, He was here for the Father, as the living Father hath sent me, and I live on account of the Father.
So he that eateth Me shall live on account of me, as He was here for the Father's glory, as he could say, The Father hath not left me alone, but I do always those things that please Him.
Why has he left us here? To live for self, no.
Has left us here to live for him, to be a witness for him. So this chapter begins with I beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him.
Tomorrow morning will be gathered unto his name.
That's the name of one who has been rejected here, not accepted.
Not a popular Jesus, but a very unpopular one. We're gathered to his name. Great privilege. Tremendous privilege, it supposes. He's not here. He's gone on high. They sent a message after him. We will not have this man to reign over us.
And so we have the privilege, during the time of his rejection, to be gathered to his name.
But this is looking on to what our brother was bringing before us, the rapture, I beseech you, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him.
Now, whenever we're gathered to his name, tomorrow, it will just be a few of us when we think of the whole church the world over.
But when we're gathered unto him, not to his name now, but to Him personally, all the Saints.
None missing then.
All the divisions.
All the ruin that the enemy is brought in will be done away with, and together with all the redeemed.
Will rise.
To meet him in the air.
Don't miss that.
The moment from which all other moments was made.
Will be when he calls his bride home to glory.
You're going to be there, aren't you?
I hope there won't be 1 here that we'd be left behind.
Are gathering together to him. He beseeches them. He says this must take place before, and then he names a certain number of things. Notice what he says.
00:10:08
That he be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us. There was a letter that had come to them purportedly from the apostle Paul, and Paul says it didn't come from me.
That the day of the Lord is at hand. Day of Christ is when we go up to be with Him, but the day of the Lord is when He will come back and establish his rights in this world.
They were going through tremendous persecution.
And that was the mistaken idea. You know, when you're when you're going through persecution and trial and the enemy is has the upper hand and he's subjecting you to torture and even to death.
They thought that was the day of the Lord.
No, he says when the day of the Lord comes, you will be at rest in glory. That's what he says in the 1St chapter and he says in verse 6 of chapter 1, seeing it as a righteous thing with God to reconcile pence tribulation to them that trouble you. They were being troubled now by the enemies of the gospel.
And when that situation occurs, the day of the Lord hasn't come yet.
Because when the day of the Lord comes, the enemies of the gospel will be in trouble, and will be home and at rest.
It will be just the opposite to what was happening here. They misinterpreted the tribulations through which they were going as being the Day of the Lord.
And he says, no, the first thing that has to happen before the day of the Lord can come is that we have to be gathered together unto him all the same, raptured to himself in glory. And then.
Verse 3 it says, except there come a falling away first. The apostasy, that's what the.
The word apostasy means is a falling away.
Now there can't be the apostasy until we're gone.
As long as Christians are left here in this world, there will be faith. The apostasy can't come as long as you're here. That's what Paul is saying.
As long as Christians are here, the apostasy is the complete overthrow of Christianity.
That can't be as long as there are Christians here.
So you're the living proof that the day of the Lord has not come, because the apostasy has to come first. First our gathering together to Him, and then the Spirit will go with us, and then there will come the apostasy.
And then that man of sin be revealed.
The son of Perdition. That's the Antichrist, and he will not be revealed.
He has not been revealed. Don't let anyone tell you that he's been revealed. As long as we're here, he has not been revealed. He may be very much alive in this world, but he hasn't been revealed yet because we're still here.
And when he calls his home, he gathers us to himself, and then will come the apostasy. There won't be any Christians here to stem the tide of evil, You might say, Well, it certainly looks to me like the apostasies here now. Well, this is nothing compared with what's going to follow the rapture of the church, our gathering together to him.
Will be infinitely worse for this scene after we're gone.
There is a restraining power in the presence of the Saints of God, our presence here.
What good are they? The world says they are only troublemakers, and I believe that when we are gone, they will. After they realize what has happened, First of all, they'll look for us.
As it says with Enoch, he was not found. That means they look for him.
And they'll look for us. Where did all these people go?
Where did they go?
And when they realize we're not any longer there, they'll say now we can do what we want to do without any hindrance.
No more restraint, and then the full tide of evil will break upon this scene. Terrible. We've seen some awful things, upheavals of nature. We've seen some awful things while we're still here.
But they're nothing compared with what awaits this world apostate Christendom.
Is just right for the judgment of God to fall. It's in its unmitigated fury.
00:15:01
Awful day awaits it. Glorious day for us. A terrible day for this scene.
Then shall that man of sin be revealed, the son of Perdition? There's only two men in Scripture called the Son of Perdition.
John 17 the Lord's Prayer. He mentions Judas Iscariot as the son of perdition.
And here the Antichrist has got that title, The son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he is God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
When this power arises, Christianity will not be tolerated any longer. I mean the outward form of it, because after the rapture, I suppose that for a short time nominal Christians will still go to church on Sunday.
But the life of it, the vibrancy of it, the life of it, the reality of Christianity will be gone.
The Spirit will go with us, He who forms the assembly.
As the House of God and the body of Christ, He is the restraining power now, and your presence and mine is there.
They said good riddance, they'll find out what that means when we're gone.
They'll find out.
The awful judgment that will fall upon this Christ rejecting world when you and I are gone.
It will be terrible beyond words to describe.
So bad they will call upon the rocks to fall on them, and hide them from the face of the Lamb. The wrath of the Lamb, the wrath of the one they nailed to a cross, and set away with him. We will not have this man to reign over us.
So there's this man of sin. He's going to sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. God is going to bring about the greatest delusion that Christendom has ever seen.
Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things and now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. That could be the presence of the assembly here, though what that's withholding the full outbreak of evil. And then he goes on to say it could be also ordered government that is withholding it, and then he goes on to say.
And verse 6 And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time for the mystery of iniquity that already work only he.
Who now letteth or hindereth or restrains?
Will restrain until he be taken out of the way. Clearly an illusion here to the Spirit of God.
So there is a what withholding and then there is he who withholds.
The assembly's presence here is a restraining power.
It might seem that the influence of Christians here is now in void. Not so. Not so.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work way back there in that 1St century.
Started working, only he who now letteth will let hinder till he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked 1 be revealed.
That's the Antichrist, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders. If you look at Acts 2, we won't turn to it.
But those are the very same words that are used to describe the true Messiah.
The works that he did, power and signs and wonders.
The Antichrist is going to imitate. There's going to be the greatest imitation and delusion that's going to settle over Christendom.
The most favored spot on the face of the earth is going to be deceived with the greatest deception ever.
And these power and signs and lying wonders, wonders of falsehood.
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they receive not the love of the truth, not just the truth, but the love of the truth that God loves man and then he's provided in his love a Savior. They wouldn't receive it. If you have, if you're one of those, you're headed for the absolutely the worst, the worst judgment that's ever fallen.
Flee from the wrath to come. I trust there's not one here, but still lost, unsafe, undecided.
00:20:00
Time is short. You don't have much time.
With all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, and for this cause God shall send them strong delusion.
That they might believe a lie.
That they all might be damned.
Who believe not the truth.
But had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Oh, what a judgment awaits this favored scene.
This sphere on the earth, not communism, not Muhammadanism.
Not Hinduism, but christened out.
Christendale bag, which has professed the name of Christ. If you're one of those and you're not real, you're going to be one of those who's going to be damned.
And deceived.
After we're gone.
May the Lord stir us up.
Realize where we are.
And how near we are.
To his coming, when he gathered to himself all the redeemed.
None missing them. All of our brethren scattered, gathered, no matter where.
Is going to gather them to.
Itself but a day that would be.
Looking for that Blessed Hope
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.
Is chapter 2.
And verse 13.
Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing.
Of the great God and our Savior.
Jesus Christ.
We've had before us a little about the blessed hope.
Gazing in his on his blessed face.
Being in his presence.
We call that the Rapture.
But he's been cast out of this world.
He's been rejected here. He's been spit upon, crowned with the crown of thorns and struck on the face with the fists of the Roman soldiers and.
Maltreated.
By his creatures.
We're also looking for the.
Glorious appearing.
Or the appearing of the glory.
By our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, when He will be crowned.
Down here in the scene where he has been so maligned and abused and mistreated.
When he will have his rightful place.
And will be with him then.
Let's turn to 2nd Thessalonians.
Chapter 2.
Now we beseech you, brethren.
By the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And our gathering together.
Unto him.
That she be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us.
As that the day of Christ is at hand, the day of the Lord is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come.
Except there come a falling away 1St and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he is God.
Sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
And now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that wicked 1 be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness, and of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this 'cause God shall send them.
Strong delusion that they should believe a lie.
That the all might be damned who believe not the truth.
But had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The greatest judgment.
Far greater than that which fell upon Jerusalem, apostate Judaism will fall upon apostate Christendom.
The place on earth that has been so favored and so blessed for 2000 years now with Christian light and testimony, the greatest privileges and blessings.
That God has ever bestowed upon man.
The company I'm addressing this afternoon is probably the most favored of all, with all the light that God has given to us.
Is there anyone here in this great company is still lost?
Because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved, God will send them strong delusion.
They should believe a lie.
That all might be damned who had, who did not receive the truth, had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Like it's it's hard to believe that there's anyone here that has been under the sound of the precious word that we've had before us these days. That.
Still outside of Christ, still in his or her sins, still lost.
But it's possible.
And so this first appeal that I would make is to your soul.
If you reject and continue to reject the love of the truth that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, God loves you. Be shown that in the gift of His beloved Son. He could not give more. He would not give less to despise that.
00:05:14
Will issue in the greatest judgment this world has ever seen.
As the judgment of God will fall upon apostate Cusando. As we look around this, we don't have to have great discernment to see that Christendom is about to be judged as our brother was bringing before us the coming of the Lord for us, the blessed hope.
To take us out of this scene is soon to come. It might be today.
Brother asked me the other day, when do you think the Lord is going to come? I said today. That's the only answer we can give that would be scriptural.
Don't put it off beyond that.
And then he's going to come back with us and this world which has despised us.
As well as him.
Because it despises those that are his. If they have rejected me, they will reject you, he said.
So when we feel the rejection of this world.
The Muslims can pray five times a day towards the East. They don't feel any reproach, any rejection for that. None of the false religions feel a bit of reproach because Satan doesn't oppose them.
But it takes something to stand for Christ in an evil day.
And we're living in an evil day.
The end of every dispensation is darkest.
Of all.
Because the light has been rejected.
And if issues in judgment.
The greatest delusion, the greatest deception is about to fall, and it is falling, and it's going to continue to fall upon Christendom.
We need discernment today more than ever to know what we are about and why we're here and what he's left us here for.
As a leftist here to make a name for ourselves to get ahead in this world, he's left us here. To be a light, to be a witness for him, he's left us here.
To witness.
For the Lord Jesus.
As my Father hath sent me into the world, Even so have I sent you. Father sent him. He was here for the Father.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live on account of the Father, so he that eateth me shall live on account of Maine.
As he was here for the Father's glory, as he could say, The Father hath not left me alone, but I do always those things that please Him.
Why has he left us here?
To live for self. No, he's left us here to live for him, to be a witness for him.
So this chapter begins with, I beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto Him.
Tomorrow morning we'll be gathered unto His name.
That's the name of one who has been rejected here, not accepted.
Popular Jesus, but a very unpopular one. We're gathered to his name. Great privilege. Tremendous privilege. That supposes he's not here. He's gone on high. They sent a message after him. We will not have this man to reign over us.
And so we have the privilege during the time of His rejection, to be gathered to His name. But this is looking on to what our brother was bringing before us, the rapture, I beseech you, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together unto him.
And when we're gathered to his name tomorrow, it'll just be a few of us when we think of the whole church the world over.
But when we're gathered unto him, not to his name now, but to Him personally.
All the Saints will go.
None this seems.
All the divisions.
All the ruin that the enemy is brought in will be done away with.
And together with all the redeemed.
Rise to meet him in the air.
Don't miss that.
The moment for which all other moments was made will be when he calls his bride home to glory.
You're going to be there, aren't you?
I hope there won't be 1 here.
That we'd be left behind.
Are gathering together to him. He beseeches them. He says this must take place before, and then he names a certain number of things. Notice what he says.
00:10:07
That he be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us. There was a letter that had come to them purportedly from the apostle Paul, and Paul says it didn't come from me.
That the day of the Lord is at hand. Day of Christ is when we go up to be with Him, but the day of the Lord is when He will come back and establish his rights in this world.
They were going through tremendous persecution.
And there was the mistaken idea. You know, when you're when you're going through persecution and trial and the enemy is has the upper hand and he's.
Subjecting you to torture and even to death.
They thought that was the day of the Lord.
No, he says, when the day of the Lord comes.
You will be at rest in glory. That's what he says in the first chapter.
And he says in verse 6 of chapter 1, seeing it as a righteous thing with God to reconcile pence tribulation to them that trouble you. They were being troubled now by the enemies of the gospel. And when that situation occurs, the day of the Lord hasn't come yet, because when the day of the Lord comes, the enemies of the gospel will be in trouble and will be home and at rest.
It will be just the opposite to what was happening here. They misinterpreted the tribulations through which they were going as being the Day of the Lord.
And he says, no, the first thing that has to happen before the day of the Lord can come is that we have to be gathered together unto him, all the Saints raptured to himself in glory.
And then?
Verse 3 it says except there come a falling away first the apostasy. That's what the the word apostasy means is a falling away.
Now there can't be the apostasy until we're gone.
As long as Christians are left here in this world, there will be faith.
The apostasy can't come as long as you're here. That's what Paul is saying.
As long as Christians are here, the apostasy is the complete overthrow of Christianity.
That can't be as long as they're Christians here.
So you're the living proof that the day of the Lord has not come, because the apostasy has to come first. First our gathering together to Him, and then the Spirit will go with us, and then there will come the apostasy.
And then that man of sin be revealed, the son of Perdition, That's the Antichrist.
And he will not be revealed.
He has not been revealed. Don't let anyone tell you that he's been revealed. As long as we're here, he has not been revealed. He may be very much alive in this world, but he hasn't been revealed yet because we're still here.
And when he calls us home, he gathers us to himself, and then we'll come the apostasy. There won't be any Christians here to stem the tide of evil, you might say. Well, it certainly looks to me like the apostasy is here now.
While this is nothing compared with what's going to follow the rapture of the Church, our gathering together to Him.
Will be infinitely worse for this scene after we're gone. There is a restraining power in the presence of the Saints of God, our presence here. What good are they? The world says they're only troublemakers. And I believe that when we're gone, they'll, after they realize what has happened, first of all, they'll look for us.
As it says with Enoch, he was not found. That means they look for him.
And they look for us. Where did all these people go?
Where did they go?
And when they realize we're not any longer there, they'll say now we can do what we want to do without any hindrance.
No more restraint, and then the full tide of evil will break upon this scene. Terrible. We've seen some awful things, upheavals of nature. We've seen some awful things while we're still here.
But they're nothing compared with what awaits this word.
Apostate Christendom.
Is just ripe for the judgment of God to fall in its unmitigated fury.
00:15:06
Awful day awaits it. Glorious day for us. Terrible day for this scene.
Then shall that man of sin be revealed? The son of perdition. There's only two men in Scripture called the son of Perdition. John 17. The Lorde prayer. He mentions Judas Iscariot as the son of perdition.
And here the Antichrist has got that title, the Son of Perdition.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he is God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
When this power arises, Christianity will not be tolerated any longer. I mean the outward form of it, because after the rapture, I suppose that for a short time nominal Christians will still go to church on Sunday.
But the life of it, the vibrancy of it, the life of it, the reality of Christianity will be gone.
The Spirit will go with us, He who forms the assembly as the House of God and the body of Christ. He is the restraining power now, and your presence and mine is there. They say good riddance. They'll find out what that means when we're gone.
They'll find out.
The awful judgment that will fall upon this Christ rejecting world when you and I are gone, it will be terrible.
Beyond words to describe.
So bad they will call upon the rocks to fall on them, and hide them from the face of the Lamb. The wrath of the Lamb, the wrath of the one they nailed to a cross, and set away with him. We will not have this man to reign over us.
So there's this man of sin. He's going to sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. God is going to bring about the greatest delusion that Christendom has ever seen.
Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things, and now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. That could be the presence of the assembly here, though what that's withholding the full outbreak of evil, and then he goes on to say it could be also ordered government.
That is withholding it and then he goes on to say.
And verse 6 and now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time for the mystery of iniquity that already work only he.
Who now letteth or hindereth or restrains?
Will restrain until he be taken out of the way. Clearly an illusion here to the Spirit of God.
So there's a what withholding, and then there's he who withholds.
The assembly's presence here is a restraining power.
It might seem that the influence of Christians here is null and void. Not so. Not so.
For the mystery of iniquity, death already work way back there in that 1St century.
Started working only he who now letteth will let.
Hinder till he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked 1 be revealed. That's the Antichrist.
Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders. If you look at Acts 2, we won't turn to it, but those are the very same words that are used to describe the true Messiah.
The works that he did, power and signs and wonders.
The Antichrist is going to imitate. There's going to be the greatest imitation and delusion that's going to settle over Christendom.
The most favored spot on the face of the earth is going to be deceived with the greatest deception ever.
And these power and signs and lying wonders.
Wonders of falsehood and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them, that perish because they receive not the love of the truth, not just the truth, but the love of the truth, that God loves man, and then He's provided in His love a Savior.
I wouldn't receive it if you had if you're one of those.
You're headed for the absolutely the worst, the worst judgment that's ever fallen.
Flee from the wrath to come. I trust there's not one here, but still lost, unsaved, undecided.
00:20:05
Time is short. You don't have much time.
With all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved, and for this cause God shall send them strong delusion.
That they might believe a lie.
And that they all might be damned.
Who believe not the truth.
That had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Or what a judgment awaits this favored scene.
This sphere on the earth, not communism, not Mohammedanism.
Not Hinduism, but christened out.
Christendom, that which has professed the name of Christ. If you're one of those and you're not real.
You're going to be one of those who's going to be damned.
And deceived.
After we're gone.
May the Lord.
Stir us up.
Realize where we are.
And how near we are.
To His coming, when he'll gathered to himself all the redeemed, none missing them, all of our brethren.
Scattered, gathered. No matter where, he's going to gather them to himself.
But a day that would date.
Psalm 23
The Blessing of Knowing Him