Chicago Conference: 1973
Table of Contents
Open Mtg.
Open—P. Geveden, J. Brereton, W. Smith
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.
General Meetings. Wheaton, August 1973. Open meeting.
00:05:07
John's Gospel chapter one.
Verse 18.
No man has seen God at anytime.
The only begotten Son.
Which is in the bosom of the Father.
He hath declared him.
John 17.
Verse 5.
And now, oh Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.
And verse six particularly.
I have manifested thy name unto the man which thou gavest me out of the world.
Fine, they were.
And thou gavest them me.
And they have kept thy word.
Repeating.
I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gave us me.
John 20.
And verse 13.
Woman, why weepest thou?
Verse 17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not.
For I am not yet ascended to my father.
But go to my brethren.
And say unto them, I ascend unto my father.
And your father?
To my God.
And your God.
Now let us call attention to the three scriptures.
There to use the expression.
That we sing together in hymn 21.
ABBA Father.
And Mark's gospel.
We have one of the three scriptures.
And it's along toward the.
In the 14th chapter.
And he taketh with him. Verse 33. Peter and James and John.
And begin to be so amazed.
And to be very heavy.
He saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death.
Tarry ye here and watch.
And he went forward a little and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, that the hour might pass from him.
00:10:04
And he said.
ABBA Father.
All things are possible unto thee.
Take away this cup from me, nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt.
There was number other that could utter this expression at this time.
For this was before the cross.
Redemption's work had not yet been accomplished.
And so the disciples were unable to order.
This crying of adoption and relationship to a Father God.
But the Lord Jesus could do so.
It was perfectly normal for him.
Having come down from above, and being in the bosom of the Father, although he was here in this world.
It was ever the same.
ABBA Father.
Forsaken of God, He was on the cross.
Whatever the dead light of the Father, even in those very hours of darkness, when our sins were being borne by Him to the glory of God.
Here he could say, in the darkness of the Garden of Gethsemane.
ABBA Father.
Now we'll turn to.
To the two other scriptures.
Galatians.
And chapter.
Four. Perhaps it is.
Verse 4 But when the fullness of time was come.
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.
To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because ye are sons.
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts.
Crying ABBA father.
A man not long ago was distressed.
He expressed a concern.
Because he did not have the liberty to refer.
To God in this way as being ABBA father.
Here we have this in Galatians.
And they were turning back to that order of things connected with the law.
Where there was a lack of liberty.
And no freedom of deliverance.
People in those positions in Christendom today that is so greatly affected by that order of things legal.
Do not have.
That joy of heart, that freedom of expression.
They only know.
The divine being as someone that's great.
And severe.
00:15:00
An old master.
Or a good architect of the universe.
The Almighty.
God.
But very little liberty and the freedom to take up the language of adoption.
And being able to express themselves under this favor that God has given to us.
As his children.
The spirit of adoption that has come to us.
Because of the work accomplished, the cross. And do you wonder that the Lord was anxious for Mary to take that message right away to the brethren, and say unto them, I sinned under my Father, and your Father under my God, and your God.
Well, there's still another scripture, and that is in Romans 8.
We'll turn to it next.
A father.
Is the head of the family.
Is the most responsible one in the household.
He has plans for his family, for his children, he has purposes concerning them and what he expects to do.
And his wish is to do his descendants good.
Now in the Epistle of the Romans we have quite a bit of God's purposes and councils, perhaps more so in the vision in Ephesians.
But here in this chapter, we'll read.
And verse 12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
For if we live after the flesh, ye shall die.
That's the end of the course.
But if you, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons, our children of God.
Sometimes, you know, we want to know what the will of the Lord is.
Well, there's possibly three or four suggestions that can be made.
And the first is this.
Is it according to the word?
If it's not according to the testimony of the word.
It's not the will of the Lord.
And you young people can be very.
Simple about that.
And the.
This thing required the thing that would be proper is so beyond so rather than sacrifice.
This is the will of the Lord for me. Is it according to the word? That will be a test.
If it's not according to the word, it's wrong.
And you might pray about it, but prayer never changes the word, although we say it changes things.
The word of God stands.
And we need absolute obedience to God's Word.
It was just as important for those that were moving the Tabernacle.
And particularly those that were carrying the tent pegs.
To do so as it was for those who had the responsibility of bearing the Candlestick alone.
And to have done otherwise it would have been disobedience.
00:20:01
And whatever the Lord gives us to do.
That we should do.
And we'll have his blessing in doing it.
Another test might be such as this.
That I plan to do grieve the Holy Spirit.
There are certain things that agree the Holy Spirit.
And you read about those things in the word.
And that's a test.
And still there's a third one, and perhaps the 4th 1:00.
The third we shall say is this.
Do I have a good conscience?
Now purged conscience is connected with our salvation and the fact that the Lord has borne our sins on the cross and that there shall never be brought up against us anymore.
That's settled.
But as to the pathway, the wilderness journey, we're constantly exposed to those things that try and test us. And do we examine ourselves before the Lord and determine if we have a good conscience?
In the light of the word.
So is it according to the word? Would it grieve the Spirit? Do I have a good conscience? And finally.
Have I waited sufficiently upon the Lord?
To discern.
Whether or not my will is working.
Or is it his will for me?
There's a way of knowing.
Till we.
Seem to pause a little bit or digress.
And verse 15 For ye have not received the spirit of ******* again to fear.
But you have received the spirit of adoption.
Whereby you cry.
ABBA Father.
We're God's children by birth, by faith in Christ. We're his children by adoption, because he wanted us.
Now isn't it amazing?
That we rebels of the dust.
Sinners.
Going on in high treason against all authority.
Are brought into this great favor.
And it's our privilege to look up to heaven and say ABBA, Father.
For a few minutes at the Book of Nehemiah.
The 8th chapter of the book of Nehemiah.
Beginning with verse one.
And all the people gathered themselves together as one man.
Into the street that was before the Watergate.
And they spake unto Ezra the scribe, to bring the book of the law of Moses.
Which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation, both of men and women.
All that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the 7th month.
And he read therein before the street that was before the Watergate, from the morning until midday, before the men and the women and those that could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the Book of the Law.
And Ezra the scribes stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose.
And beside him stood Mattifier and Shema and Anaya and Urijah and Hilkiah and Mazya, on his right hand, and on his left hand Podaya and Michele and Malcolm and Hashem and Hash Padana, Zachariah and Mashallah.
00:25:15
And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people.
For he was above all the people, and when he opened it, all the people stood up.
And Ezra blessed the Lord the great God, and all the people answered, Amen, Amen with lifting up their hands.
And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Also Joshua and Vani and Sherebaya Jamen, Aqab Shabbat AI Hodija, Messiah Kalita Azariah, Josephad Hanum Pelea and the Levites.
'Cause the people to understand the law and the people stood in their place.
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading.
And Nehemiah, which is the Tershata, and Ezra the priest, the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people.
Said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God, Mourn not, nor weep for. All the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them, for whom nothing is prepared. For this day is holy unto our Lord.
Neither be sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled, all the people saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy, neither be grieved. And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
We find here, brethren.
A portion that I'm sure is well known to many of us.
But one was thinking of it this afternoon as our brother was speaking.
About obedience to the Word of God.
We find here that these ones did not have the indwelling of the Spirit of God that you and I have. They did not know what it was to be able to address God with such terms as ABBA Father, but they had the book of the Law and we see here, at least on this occasion.
Of reverence and a respect for the Word of God that commends itself, I'm sure, to our hearts this afternoon.
We find in the.
First verse that they spake unto Ezra described to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel. So we find that first of all there was a desire to hear the word of God to hear it.
You know, one has been so thankful. I'm sure many of us have shared that same thankfulness to the Lord that He has preserved these occasions to us.
When we can come together to be over the word of God together. But one has also been greatly impressed in ones own soul with the way in which the Lord has kept for His people the desire to be together. The desire to come in the heat to come and be together where they can hear the word of the Lord. We find that Ezra brought the law before the congregation both of men and women.
And all that could hear with understanding upon the first day of the month.
All those who were old enough to hear, to understand were there, and they all were there. You notice in the third verse.
And the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. Oh, brethren, how one covets this for one's own soul. An earnest desire to be where the Word of God is ministered.
00:30:15
Where it is given to us, as it tells us, and those that could understand, and the ears of all the people were attentive. But you notice it also says he read therein before the street that was before the Watergate from the morning until midday. Brethren, I believe, I'm sure, that this brings before our souls the desire that they had, that they would stand there.
For half a day.
Listening to what the word of God had to say to them. But then it goes on to say, Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood. Now this is what has been really impressed upon one's own soul. If we can picture this scene. They have all stood there for half a day. They have had the word of God read to them. Now on this occasion, when the word of God was brought out.
When the Word of God, when Ezra brought the Word of God out, we find that on the pulpit that day there was a long list of dignitaries. There were a list of important people. We read about them in the fourth verse, the names that we went through that showed that there was a list of people there on the pulpit, on the right hand and on the left hand. But it tells us in the fifth verse that Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people.
And when he opened it, all the people stood up. Oh, brethren, this has really, as I say, been a voice to one's own soul. We have just had occasion in Canada to have a visit of the Queen and all the rules and all the regulations that are imposed in order to safeguard the Queen both from danger and from any kind of indignities. The attitude, and rightly so, is that in her position.
She is entitled to this kind of respect, but we find, beloved brethren, that it was when the book.
Of the law of the Lord was opened, that all the people stood up. It wasn't for Ezra, it wasn't for Nehemiah, it wasn't for all the company of important people that were there. It was for the book of the law of the Lord, for the precious word of God, that they all stood up.
We have been here, and we enjoyed yesterday the precious ministry of the Word of God.
We've heard it given out in the gospel, a portion sent to those for whom nothing was prepared. We have been in the presence of the Lord this morning to remember him in his death and heard the Word of God read again. We have undoubtedly read it for ourselves this last couple of days. We have read it with our families. We have read it for our own food, for our own souls. But all beloved brethren, what again one seeks for one's own soul is to approach this precious Word of God.
With this attitude, this attitude of soul, that would as it were, when I pick up this book.
Caused me to stand up, to stand up. I am listening to the voice of the Lord. Well, we find that Ezra in the sixth verse, bless the Lord, the great God and all the people answered Amen, Amen. With lifting up their hands, and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. This reading of the law, this reading of the word of God, this respect, brethren, this reverence.
That was given to the word of God, resulted in worship to the one who had written it, worship to the author, worship to the one who had given them the law. Not a worship for Moses. No, not worship for Ezra. But it tells us distinctly, they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground. With their faces to the ground. The word of the law had brought before them, no doubt.
How far short they had come of what was becoming as the people of God. And beloved brethren, I'm sure there isn't one of us that will not admit that when we read this precious book, our hearts too are reminded of how far short we come of being what we should be as Saints of God. Being what we should be as those of our beloved brother was bringing before us, have been brought into such a relationship with God as our Father.
00:35:06
That we have had a very message delivered to us from the Lord Himself. I ascend unto my Father, and your father.
Unto my God and your God and brethren, our hearts are reminded. We can't come together for three days like this without having our hearts reminded that we have and we do come far short of what is becoming the Saints of God, becoming those to whom so much precious truth has been committed that we have no and enjoy this precious relationship with God as our Father that we can address Him.
With the child's cry of ABBA father. But notice what it goes on to say.
The people stood in their place, so they read in the book in the law of God distinctly and gave the sense and caused them to understand the reading again. I'm sure this is what we have been enjoying this last day. And what if the Lord tarries? We will enjoy again for the next couple of days.
To be together over the word of God and where we can thank God truly. Beloved President, praise the Lord that the word of God is read and whereas it says here the Lord has given us those who will bring before us the sense.
Give us to understand by the Spirit of God what the Lord has for us in this precious book, and we find that while the Word of God does exercise the conscience, there is never an excuse for minimizing or taking the sharp edge off of Scripture. We need all the truth. We need those beloved brethren whom the Lord has raised up as it tells us here, to read in the book of the Law distinctly.
Give the sense and cause them to understand the reading the Scripture speaks about. Those in professing Christendom who will heed to themselves. Teachers having itching ears. My beloved brethren, may the Lord keep you an eye from seeking after in any way those who would tell us what we want to hear rather than what the Lord wants us to know, that would in any way modify the Word of God to make it more comfortable.
To make it so that it doesn't reach my conscience the way it should, perhaps won't hurt my feelings. No, here it tells us that these ones, they read in the book of the law, they gave the red distinctly gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading. We have the Spirit of God, We have an unction from the Holy One. He delights to take of the things of Christ and reveal them to us. But beloved brethren, if those whom the Lord uses to minister to our hearts.
Delivers us a message from the Lord that reaches the conscience, that touches our conscience and exercises as to how the Word of God is not being honored in our lives. May the Lord give to you, and I myself particularly, to listen. To listen and acknowledge that it isn't the servant, it's the Lord that is speaking to me from His precious Word and that same reverence for this blessed book that would cause me, as it were, to stand up in its presence.
What caused me also to listen and admit that it's the voice of God to my soul. But we find it goes on to say, Nehemiah, which was is the Tershata, and Ezra the priest described, and the Levites taught the people, and said unto all the people, this day is holy unto the Lord your God, mourn not, nor weep for all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Brethren, again, I trust I can say this as speaking to one's own soul.
But we hear so much conversation today, we hear so much discussion even amongst the Saints of God, that would discourage our hearts, that would occupy us with our failures, that would occupy us with our shortcomings. Now, as one has said, we don't want at least trust. We don't want in any way to blunt the sharp edge of the Word of God, that when the Lord has something that He seeks to speak to us about, that we might listen and accept it with that same reference. Respect.
For the Word of God as coming from Himself. But nevertheless the Lord has written this precious book.
In order that you and I might be happy and fruitful children of God. It tells us here that when they read it, they wept, they mourned, they were occupied, as it were, with their failures, with how far short they had come, with how little they were, what the Lord would have them to be.
00:40:10
But the message that comes from the Lord is more not nor weak.
For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law. Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat and drink the sweet. Oh, brethren, we were doing that yesterday. We were eating the fat and drinking the sweet. If the Word of God brings something to the conscience, may we bow to it. May our consciences be tender, ready to receive what the Lord has to speak to us of. But He would fill our souls. He would give us to eat the fat and drink the sweet to rejoice.
Beloved brethren, as we found in that portion in Philippians, rejoice in the Lord always. I had a brother just say to me this morning and I I wholeheartedly concur in what he said. He made the comment. He said he felt that for today, right now, he know of no more suitable portion for the Saints of God than Philippians. A time to rejoice rather not to be occupied with our failures to judge them. Yes, if the Lord brings them before us to acknowledge that we are come so far short of what we should be.
To rejoice in what the Lord has for us, to eat the fat and drink the sweet, to take a portion like our brother just brought before us, and to rejoice that in spite of our failures, in spite of our weakness, in spite of what the Word of God shows us is the inconsistencies in my life. I have a father to whom I can address myself, ABBA Father. I have a relationship to know and enjoy that it cannot be changed and cannot be altered.
This can never be used to excuse disobedience. And, brethren, the respect, as once said, that would cause us to stand up in the presence of the Word of God, would not cause us, as it were, to go on carelessly. But the Lord would have us, beloved brethren, young and old alike, and may I say, particularly for the young.
The failures, the inconsistencies that you see in those of us who are older might very well discourage your heart.
And you might read in the Word of God and find that the Saints of God aren't what it says they should be in the Word of God. But the Lord would have you to rejoice in him. The Lord would have you to rejoice in the Lord, and to eat the fat and drink the sweet, to take the precious things that the Lord has for you in His word.
Relationship with himself in the fact that you've been made a member of the body of Christ.
That you're going to be with him, that his coming is near, that we look for him at any time.
That God is now our Father. All these precious things, to make them your own, to eat them, to drink them, to make them your own, that you and I might go on, brethren, go on rejoicing in the Lord. And then it says, and sending portions to them for whom nothing was prepared.
One, at least for one's own soul, has connected this with the gospel of sending out portions for those for whom nothing has been prepared to be here. Last night, when that precious message of the gospel was given out again, and if the Lord tarries, it would be given out again tonight. All, beloved brethren, God would have us send portions. You know, the devil would have us so discouraged, so discouraged, so occupied with our failures, so occupied with our inconsistencies, that we forget that we have a glory, a wonderful message.
For those who need Christ, we have a portion that we're responsible to deliver. One has noticed in the third chapter of Second Timothy how it was at the very time when Paul says to Timothy that they will turn away from their their ears, from the truth. When the word Paul says, you know they won't listen.
But it's at that very point he says, Preach the Word, be instant, and season out of season it is. If it is a day, brethren, when there seems little interest, may you and I have the grace to send portions nevertheless to them for whom nothing has been prepared. And then finally you notice, it says.
For this day is holy unto our Lord. Neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Oh, I'm sure many of us here have rejoiced in that precious word before. You know, sometimes it is given as if it's said, your joy in the Lord is your strength. But that's not what it says at all. It says the joy of the Lord is your strength. Brethren, here was a little company.
A little remnant, as a matter of fact. A remnant of a remnant, really. A little company that had come back.
00:45:03
And here they were. They had the word of God, and they reverence that precious word of God. They wanted to hear what the Lord had for them, and they had a reference and a respect for that precious word of God. They valued it. But was that their joy? Was that their strength? No, brethren, it was not.
And the fact that there was much that had to be corrected didn't take away from the fact that the Lord found joy in that little company that were there on the ground of the truth, in the very place where they should be as the people of God.
Beloved brethren, the Lord took joy in that little remnant. He found His joy. And the Saints there, the people of God, they could find their strength not in themselves, not in their own joy, even though they were told to eat the fat and drink the sweet.
They were to find their strength in the Lord's joy in His people. And so it is, beloved brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ in His wondrous grace, has made himself the center to which he would have his people gathered. And the Spirit of God gathers to Christ, gathers to him, and the Lord finds joy, finds his joy in a testimony gathered to his preciousness.
Beloved brethren, the Lord says, Let this be your strength, not to be occupied with the brethren, not to be occupied with the failures and the inconsistencies, not to be occupied with those but eating the fat and drinking the sweet, sending portions to them for whom nothing is prepared and going on. Beloved brethren, in the confidence that the Lord finds his joy in a company content to be gathered simply to his precious name, a little remnant claiming no great numbers.
Claiming no great spirituality of any kind, but just the precious truth of God has revealed in His Word where we have the Word of God that we can read, understand by the Spirit of God what is His mind for His people. And to find, beloved brethren, that that blessed One to whom we're gathered finds His joy, his joy in seeing company of His own.
Thus gathered to his precious name.
Would you turn with me, please, to John's Gospel?
Chapter 15.
Verse one.
I am the true vine.
And my father is a husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away, and every branch that beareth fruit, He purchased it, that it may bring forth more fruit. But ye are clean to the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except to abide in the vine. No more can ye except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches.
He that abideth in me, and I in him the same, bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me is cast forth as a branch, and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done under you.
Verse 16.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye shall go forth and bring should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you.
I'm sure that we all have enjoyed this portion as that which brings before us.
Abiding in Christ.
That blessed privilege which we have of communion with our Lord Jesus.
And through through Communion intelligence.
In the Word of God, Intelligence in the mind of God.
00:50:01
How else can we gain intelligence in the mind of God, except we are occupied in Him and with Him?
In our daily walk here in the scene.
And so the early verses which we have so many times taken up in our reading meetings, how we enjoy the fact that the Lord speaks of abiding in Him.
Going on in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ and with God our Father.
Too, how good it is to be able to come into the presence of God. Our fathers, we've been reminded that He is the one whom we may address in that relationship into which we have been brought.
As his children and he our father.
And how much we can enjoy the Word of God has been reminded to that. The word of God speaks to our conscience.
And we find that if we are going on in that path of faithfulness.
In obedience to the Word of God.
There is that joy of the Lord over his people. We remember that.
There were those of of old.
Were spoken of that they walked with God.
And if Enoch in particular, that he had this testimony, he had the witness in himself that he pleased God.
What I have in mind, particularly before me at this particular moment, is what we have in the seventh verse and again in the 16th verse.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
God, as it were, has given us the inexhaustible resources of His own nature, His own person, that we may draw upon.
What a wonderful thing it is to know that that the resources of God are inexhaustible. There is no limit to what God can and desire to do for His people.
Some of us have been reading of late.
In the Epistle of James and how, there are those who ask, and they ask a myth.
Because they desire to consume what they ask for upon their own lusts.
But if we have intelligence in the word of God.
If by His grace, we are in communion with Him.
If our word, if his words, abide in a.
Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Is that the spirit in which we go to the Lord when we bend our knees?
Whether it be collectively or whether it be as individuals.
Or in our families? Is that the way in which we go to our Lord and to God our Father?
And ask for that which we know is according to his own will.
If we do, we have the promise of our Lord Jesus.
That it shall be done unto you.
Do we have the faith of when we lay our petitions before the Lord?
To count upon him to do that which is of his own will.
Oh, how many times when we pray, we say, If it be thy will. But is that the Spirit in which we ask it?
Do we ask the Lord? Do we give ascent to our desire?
Do we ask for that which would be for His glory, or because it is something which we wish for ourselves?
00:55:01
Oh, you know, that's a good test.
Of what we asked what we go to our Lord about that It may be that which will be for His glory.
That it may be for the good of His people, that it may be that we ourselves may be found going on in the path that is played into Him. That we may have the witness in ourselves that we are pleasing.
So our the blessed Lord Jesus.
Or when we think that he pleased not himself, He came down here into this world. We've been, we've been thinking of it this morning, how He came down here. He humbled himself. He became a beaten unto death, and at that, the death of the cross.
Oh, he pleased not himself.
Diggers say to his father or my father would be possible.
Let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
What was it for?
All that he might have you and me for himself.
That we might be given that privilege, that liberty of becoming the children of God.
Those of us who believe on his name.
Now He desires that we go on in the path that is consistent with what He has done for us and the place into which we've been brought. We are children of God. Dear fellow believers, we are children of God.
May be gone, as those who are children of God. May it be the desire of our heart to be found pleasing to Him. And we will find, if we are in that path, if we in communion with Him, have the mind of God, that we will ask what we will, and it shall be done unto us.
And so in the 16th verse he said, I have not chosen you, have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
Oh, our wonderful it is that God by His grace sent the Lord Jesus down here, that he might choose out of this world those who would become his own, purchased with his own blood, become the children of God.
I have chosen you an ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, that your fruit should remain, oh, where there's communion with our Lord Jesus Christ.
There will be fruit. There must be fruit.
We heard it this morning in the address to the children.
That is a good dream.
Brings forth fruit, and by their future shall know them.
But your future remains, that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Oh, we have that blessed privilege of going to God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And the Father himself, the Lord tells us, will give us our request.
How blessed are the dears. And so the inexhaustible resources of God are ours. We can draw upon them as we will. God has given us speaking respectfully, reverently. God has given us a blank check.
That He will give us our desires when we are going on abiding in Him.
May return to 2nd Corinthians chapter 3.
To get the connection with what one has in mind, we might start from the first verse.
Do we begin again to commend ourselves, or indeed we, as some of these epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. For as much as your manifesto 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.
01:00:05
And such trust.
Gone through Christ at Godward. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves.
But our sufficiency is of God, who also have made us able ministers of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, for the Spirit giveth life.
But of the administration of death, written and engraven, and stoned with glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, where the glory of his countenance.
Which glory was to be done away? Shall not rather the administration of the Spirit be rather?
Glorious for the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth administration of righteousness exceed in glory.
Down to go down to the 15th verse.
But even unto this day, when Moses had read, the veil is upon their heart.
Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
I'd like to speak in connection with this of the contrast with what took place in the days of Moses at Mount Sinai.
And the privilege we have now of knowing that we are not under law, but that our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who is, by whom grace and truth came.
Is now a glorified man in the glory, the work of salvation completed, and he is seated up on high.
At the right hand of God.
We know that in the days of Moses.
That the Lord appeared upon Mount Sinai.
The Lord came down upon that mountain.
And his glory was manifested. It's true that he was there in thick darkness.
The mountain was all on fire.
And Moses was taken up to the top of the mountain, and there he spoke with God.
What a wonderful sight it must have been.
Moses spoke there with God, and God gave Moses.
Those 10 commandments.
Written on tables of stone. Written with a finger of God.
It must have been a wonderful writing upon those tables of stone.
All this manifested the glory of God in His Holiness.
We know that Children of Israel failed.
And Moses was sent down from the mountain because the children of Israel had already disobeyed the commandments of God. And death came in because of the holiness of God proclaimed upon those 10 tables the 10 commandments upon the tables of stone.
Oh, what a time it must have been. Judgment came in.
God appearing there in his glory.
And yet God again called Moses up to the mountain.
And there Moses was privileged to behold the back parts of God.
The Lord hid him in the cleft of the rock.
And he hid Moses there with his hand until he had passed by, and Moses with privilege.
See God.
In His Holiness, but also as one who is merciful.
But all this was for the proclamation of God as one.
Who?
Was murdered who was holy, and who would not at all acquit the wicked.
01:05:07
With all When Moses came down from the mountain the second time, his face was shining with the glory of God.
And the people were afraid when they saw Moses, and he had to put a veil upon his face so that they would not fear when they spoke to him.
Moses face was veiled.
Yes, we have it here.
The glory was countenance shown out then it brought terror to the heart of the people.
Administration of death of judgment.
But, dear fellow believer, you and I do not belong to that time.
Our Lord Jesus has come into this world.
He has manifested gone.
No man has seen God at anytime. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
God has been manifested as a God of love, the work of the Lord Jesus at Calvary's cross.
The sacrifice right there has revealed that God is love.
Our Lord Jesus had gone back up on high now.
He's gone back up there.
But you and I have the blessed privilege.
Of looking up.
And by faith, beholding our Lord Jesus in the glory.
The Lord is the one who is the object of his own.
Or should be, maybe so with each one of us, that the Lord Himself.
Be the object of our hearts.
So the 18th verse we all.
With open faith.
Beholding the glory of the Lord are changed into the same image.
From glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Occupation with Christ.
I'm sure.
Makes us more like himself.
But how wonderful it is that we have this glory to gaze upon.
If we have the inexhaustible resources have gone to draw upon, we have the glory of our Lord Jesus to gaze upon.
We can behold him.
I'm sure that this morning there was in the hearts of many.
The beholding of the glory of our Lord Jesus.
And glorious due to him.
He has glorified God upon the earth. He finished the work which He gave him to do.
And now?
The glory.
Not only which He had with the Father before the world was, not only is that glory restored to Him.
But also.
Redemption, glory and all our wonderful ideas to behold and to be occupied with that redemption glory of our Lord Jesus.
To behold him.
And now that's shown.
We're going to see him. It'll be face to face in that day.
But even now we can by faith turn our eyes upon Him.
By just one more scripture in numbers.
21 I believe it is #21.
See, our time is going, but we know very well in the beginning of the chapter we have the sad failure of the children of Israel.
And how there was a wonderful type given to them of the brazen serpent lifted up on the pole.
Children of Israel, by grace, are restored through that type.
01:10:04
Of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We find them now taking their journey on to Canaan.
They restored people.
We find the meeting the enemy. We find victories are theirs.
And then we come, They come to the border of the Lamb. Verse 15.
And at the stream of the brooks that goes down to the dwelling of our, and lies upon the border of Moab. And from since they went to beer, that is the well whereof the Lord, Speaking of Moses, gather the people together, and I would give them water.
Then Israel sang this song Spring up. Oh well, singing unto it the Princess dig the well. The nobles of the people digged it by the direction of the lawgiver with their staves.
And from the wilderness they went to maternity.
They come to the place where they can look over into the land which have been promised to them.
Well, by faith, we too look onward to that time when we're going to be in that place which God has promised to you and me.
Not a place down here in this scene, but in the glory to be with and like our Lord Jesus.
But they're not there yet. They need refreshing. They need supplements along the way.
And so they come to the place and.
The Lord points out to Moses.
That which would be for their refreshing.
The world that beard. And he says to Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
We are gathered together here now.
For three days of meetings.
And as they believe, we can count upon the Lord to give refreshing.
To give water.
But.
They sing the song and all this is a wonderful song. Spring up. Oh well.
Singing unto it, Oh yes, where there is the refreshing water of the well.
All this joy that comes with it, singing comes along with it.
And how we can go away from places like this with rejoicing that we have been in the place where the Lord has been honored, where His Word has been ministered to us.
And may we by grace carry that which has been rejoicing our own hearts. Carry it home with us to our own meetings, that others may be rejoiced to.
But it tells us the Princess dig the wells.
Oh God, and his grace has given us those.
Who have been leaders?
Those whom God and His gracious set over us.
And we have their ministry.
God has allowed it to be recorded for our benefit that we may find refreshing in it, and maybe avail ourselves of the ministry, the precious ministry that is recorded for our benefit and for our youth. And may it be independence upon the Lord that we do.
Avail ourselves of the ministry.
In connection with the Word of God, the Princess dig the well.
The nobles are the people digged it by the direction of the lawgiver, all that one.
Who has recorded the Word of God?
Those who by grace, have been inspired by God to write the Word.
Yeah, they have given us the mind of God, just as the nobles were given direction by Moses as to what they should do. God has in His Word given us instruction for our pathway right on till the day that we hear the voice of our Lord Jesus.
Calling us home.
But how did they dig it all with their staves?
01:15:05
The star was to help them out in their journey.
There was that upon which they depended to keep them from stumbling, to keep them from falling.
It aided them in their pathways, as though here we find that with their staves.
They dig the wells dependence upon God in feeding upon His Word and finding refreshing there. Oh, how wonderful it is that we can do it. Independence. And I'm sure that there's no other way that we can really.
Have any blessing from the Word of God, except as we feed upon it, independence upon Him.
And through the guidance of the Spirit of God.
Well, here we find, I believe, that we have.
The refreshing that the deep things have gone for our refreshing to feed upon, to refresh us in our way down here in this world until the Lord Lord comes and may we be preserved as we go on in these three things.
That by dependence upon God we may be preserved until the Lord governs.
But we say 139.
As well as the ordered and complied, we have nothing to see.
We have both.
In the middle of the house.
The Harp and the Sling
Address—C. Lunden
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.
General Meetings, Wheaton, August 1973. And rest my brother Lundeen.
Shall we open our meeting this afternoon by singing hymn #238?
238 Our shepherd is the Lord, the living Lord, who died with all his fullness can afford. We are supplied. He richly feeds our souls with blessings from above, and leads us where the river rolls of endless.
Love.
Our Shepherdess, the Lord.
The living Lord.
To God.
Where God is full.
Cross scan of course.
We are.
Supplied.
Hear it, Sleep.
Our souls.
With blessings from.
Above.
And.
So swear.
Glory.
All them.
Lose love.
Our soul.
He does restore.
And keep.
Saucy.
His way.
He makes.
Our God for John.
Ronald.
From day.
To day.
Sure.
So.
It is.
Alright.
Mercy.
When they then all shall see.
And.
Shall we?
Sing.
Face to face.
And.
No, no.
Still shall we?
Lift our boys.
And.
We shall.
In his love.
Rejoice.
Our goal We look at a verse in Hebrews first, Hebrews 11.
Hebrews 11.
In 32.
00:05:02
And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barrack, and of Samson, of Jephthah, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets?
Now turn with me, please, to First Samuel, Chapter 16.
We will read from verse 13.
First Samuel 16, verse 13.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him David in the midst of his brethren, And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Rama.
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now an evil spirit from God troubles thee.
Let our Lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man who is a cunning player on a harp, and it should come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son.
Of Jesse the Bethlehemite.
That is cunning and playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. And Jesse took an *** laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
And David came to Saul and stood before him, and he loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he had found favor in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took in harp and played with his hand. So Saul was refreshed.
And was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle.
At Shoko, which belongs to Judah and pets between Choco and Ezekiel and Ephes, Damon and Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together and pitched in the Valley of Eli and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, and there was a valley between them. And they went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath of Gaff, whose height was 6 cubits in a span almost 10 feet. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail.
And the weight of the court was 5000 shackles of brass. And he had Greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. And the staff of his spare was like a weaver's beam. And his Spears had weighed 600 shekels of iron, And one bearing his shield went before him. And he stood and cried under the armies of Israel, and said unto them.
Why are you come out to set your battle in array? Am not IA Philistine and ye servants to Saul.
Choose your man for you and let him come down to me. Verse 32.
And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail, because of him thy servant will go and fight with that this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against the Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
00:10:02
And David said unto Saul.
Thy servant kept his father's sheep.
And there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth. And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing yet defied the armies of the living God.
David said, Moreover, the Lord that delivered me out of the paw the lion, and out of the paw the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass upon his head. Also he armed him with a coat of mail. David girded his sword upon his armor, and he'll say it to go.
For he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these.
For I have not proved them. And David put them off him, and he took his staff in his hand.
And chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, which he had even in a script, and his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine. Verse 48.
And it came to pass when the Philistine arose and came and drew nigh to meet David.
That David hasted and ran toward the army to meet the Philistines. And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead. That the stone sunk into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine and slew him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
Therefore David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
In the 57th verse and as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine.
Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, young man, Thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David. Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and will let him go no more, home to his father's house.
Then Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, gave it to David and his garments, even to his sword and to his bow and to his girdle.
In the seventh verse, and the women answered one another as they played, and said Saul had slain his thousands.
And David his ten thousands, verse 10. And it came to pass on the Morrow.
That the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house.
And David played with his hand as at other times, and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
And Saul cast the javelin, for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
Chapter 19 and verse 2.
But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.
Verse 4.
And Jonathan spake good of David unto his father.
00:15:00
Chapter 20.
In the middle of verse 41.
David rose out of a place toward the South and fell on his face to the ground.
Bowed himself three times.
And they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for as much as we have sworn bold of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee.
And between my seed and thy seed forever. And he arose and departed, And Jonathan went into the city. Now one verse in the last chapter.
A First Samuel.
Chapter 31. Six.
So Saul died, and his three sons and his armor bearer, armor bearer and all his men that same day together.
We have in this account.
Four different men brought before us.
We have Goliath, who was definitely a servant of Satan.
What a terrible thing it is to be a servant of Satan.
We have also brought before us Saul, who?
Was a professor, that is, he professed to be a leader of the people of God.
We have Jonathan who sets before us a worldly Christian, and then we have David who is before us as both a type of Christ and a picture of a believer who seeks to walk before God.
And so in this account, there is much truth for us each one, dear young friends, this afternoon.
We noticed the beginning of the life of Saul in an earlier chapter.
And we noticed.
The beginning of David's history.
Not much is said about Jonathan's history in the early part.
Except that the way his father named him.
But there is quite a contrast, you see with the early part of Saul's life and the early part of David's life.
Saul, when he was first noticed, was caring for his father's *****.
When David was first noticed, he was caring for his father's sheep.
Jonathan, of course, was brought up in luxury in the palace.
Now don't go and say just because I was brought up a certain way, I have to turn out a certain way.
You know, even though Jonathan was brought up in the palace.
That doesn't mean that he had to be a worldly Christian.
What about Moses? Was he not brought up in the palace?
Yes, but it says when he became great. I'm quoting another translation.
He chose.
Oh dear young people, this afternoon, have you come to the crossroads?
Have you come to the place of choosing the path you're going to take? Have you waited at the other end of it? How it will turn out?
Do you want to finish your course like Jonathan, like Saul, or like David, who was the sweet psalmist of Israel as he ended his course?
Are you and I going to leave this world?
00:20:02
With a trail of sorrow or blessing behind us. Oh how much truth we have with these three.
Especially who have made a profession to be the Lord.
I am sure that most in this room have made a profession to be the Lords.
Now, where do you fit this afternoon in one of these three pictures?
Where do I fit? We do well to ask this question of ourselves.
You know.
I can just picture David.
On those hills of Judea.
As he watched those sheep.
He learned to love the sheep.
He learned to protect the sheep as we learn from these scriptures.
That there was no enemy but what he would face it.
And dear young people, we learn to walk with God at home in our home assembly.
And one who's to be used of God at all will least suspect it, perhaps.
Least suspect that God is going to use him.
But if he faces the problems at home in the light of Scripture.
Independence upon God The time will come when God will use him or her in blessing.
Now there are seven things that I would like to mention in connection with David. Sometimes by having certain things definitely brought before us, we can remember them.
The first is the harp.
Now we know that the Spirit of God came upon David as soon as Samuel anointed him. And you know every believer has the Spirit of God indwelling David. Didn't the Spirit came upon him?
In the Old Testament, it wasn't so like it is today.
But still the Spirit of God departed, not from him.
And it's wonderful to have the Spirit of God.
But I believe that the harp sets before us something very particularly.
Noticeable.
David learned to play well with the harp, so much so that he was in demand.
Now, what does the harp represent? Why, it represents the application of the Spirit of God in our lives.
You know, in Romans.
The 8th chapter, the 1St 14 verses or so speak to us.
Of our life in the Spirit.
But after that, on towards the 28th verse or so, we have the Spirit of God as a living person within, as the power of our lives.
Now that's what the heart would suggest, perhaps.
David had learned to play well with the harp. Have you? Have I?
Are we going on with the Spirit, field, life or?
A life filled with this world.
Now, it's true that every believer has the spirit in dwelling.
But that doesn't mean that you and I have come to the crossroads to choose.
Where we will allow the Spirit of God to have his way in our lives.
Remember the end of the road?
11 Chapters here are given up.
As we skip from the 21St chapter to the 31St, they're given up.
To separation between Jonathan.
And David?
Jonathan and David were separated for seven long years.
In 11 Chapters of history of rejection that Jonathan refused to walk with David in.
Solemn, isn't it? A history is being written today, beloved.
Whether you and I are walking in the path of rejection with Christ.
00:25:00
Is there going to be this complete period of our lives down here where we'll walk in the ease and pleasure of this present world?
And yet profess to be Christians.
And not walk in separation and rejection with our blessed Savior who died at Calvary's cross for us.
And so we say then, the harp was the first thing mentioned in connection with David.
And there, on those Judean hills, David learned to play that harp.
And I suppose it was there that he.
And many of those lovely psalms.
And perhaps made tunes as well.
Was he happy? Indeed he was happy. He was keeping his father's sheep. He was walking in obedience.
But in this?
17th chapter.
You'll notice that the first thing mentioned in the 40th verse is the staff.
Now we know in the 23rd Psalm it says thy rod and thy staff shall comfort me. It's a little hard to separate between these two. The shepherd had us a staff. He had a rod, he had a crook.
Well, let's think of the staff for the moment of that upon which he leaned. You haven't mentioned also in the book of Ecclesiastes.
The old man leaning on his staff. And that's a good way to die, you know, to have someone to lean on. And David begin his history that way. He had a staff. It speaks of dependence. Have you and I learned to walk in dependence?
First, have a heart.
Positive action learning to play skillfully.
The power of the Spirit controlling our lives and then to have a staff to walk in dependence.
Well, what's the third thing that's mentioned then?
Five smooth stones. You know, David was not going to put Saul's armor on. That will do him no good. He hadn't proved it.
David was going to use what he proved as a shepherd boy.
Oh, I think this is good.
You know, it's a good thing not to go beyond.
What God has given us to act in the way only.
As he himself has prepared us. And so David.
Doesn't want Saul's armor.
He's going to use that which he had learned secretly in the presence of God.
Our David could throw a stone at a hair breath.
He had practiced as he protected the sheep.
There, away from the city, alone with God.
In communion, he had learned to use the sling as mentioned here.
Five smooth stones.
Well, you know, those stones were in the brook. That's the next thing that's mentioned.
The brook makes us think of a law place. Now I know this story sets before us, particularly as in type, a picture of our blessed Savior as he went down.
Into death for us.
But we want to learn a little too of the principles here in the life of David as a servant of God.
And the preparation that he went through and the way in which he met the enemy.
Two things before us at the same time aren't there.
And so five smooth stones, I suppose some of these boys have used a sling, and you know very well that if the stone wasn't smooth, you couldn't sling it straight.
No, you couldn't.
It makes us think, doesn't it? Of the five books of Moses, that's all that David had, I suppose, at that time.
00:30:09
In written form.
And.
We see these stones as they rolled around on the water in the brook. All the edges were taken off and they were left smooth, ready to use.
You know, it's been said you should never prepare to preach, but that you should never preach unless you're prepared.
And so it is.
What would David do if those stones were not smooth? And where did they get smoothed down in the brook?
And you know, beloved, it's as we learn Scripture.
Through the conscience.
In the vicissitudes of life.
That they carry power with them.
As we fight the battles of the Lord.
Five smooth stones.
Why did he take one? He was only going to use one, wasn't he? Was that unbelief? No.
He was going to let God decide.
Which one?
To use.
Yes.
God decides that, but David was prepared. He had five.
Well, we've had the spirit, we've had the staff, we've had the five smooth stones.
Five, you know, suggests responsibility in the sense of weakness before God owning our weakness.
The Valley speaks of taking a low place, and now what?
We have the shepherd's bag.
Oh, that speaks of affection, you know, in the shepherd's bag he carried the things that were necessary not only for his own food, but to keep care of the sheep.
Take care of them. He carried all this in his shepherd's bag.
You have a shepherd's bag. Are you interested in God's sheep?
Are you interested in these sheep and that little assembly where you are?
Well, don't expect to be used otherwise if you're not interested in the sheep there.
Shepherd S bag carried everything he needed.
And he had one object that was to care for the sheep, and now God is going to use him.
In further blessing, what else did he have? A script? What's that?
That's a little tiny bag inside that he carries all the precious things.
The special things that are not to mix with all the rest.
Little treasures, whatever they were. And here's where he puts the five stones.
Is the word of God precious to you, dear young people?
Is it not only as we give out of the fullness of that which we enjoy, that there's blessing? Isn't it so?
Something that's precious, that's kept us a treasure. And so we have it in Luke's, in Matthew's Gospel.
The householder brings out of his treasure things new.
An old treasure.
That which is sweet, That which is precious.
Is the word of God precious to you?
Someone asked the question once.
How can I gain an appetite for reading the Word of God?
And what do you suppose the answer was? Read it.
Yes, read it and you'll gain the appetite.
Why? Because the new nature loves it.
Read Psalm 119 and you'll see.
His law was his delight, day and night.
00:35:04
He esteemed it more than his necessary food.
No wonder David gained the victory.
We've had then the shepherd's bag even in a script.
But now I want you to notice that little expression, the shepherd's bag which he had, which he had.
Well, you say, why do you notice that? Well, because it was his possession. It wasn't something he ran for at the moment because he needed it. It was something that was constantly with him, which he had.
Oh, a precious to have the one thing before us, God, in his interests, and then to have in it those five smooth stones in a script.
And that is slang.
Was in his hand, ready.
Now what does the slang suggest to us?
Why? It suggests to us that moral power that overcomes the enemy as a result of Communion.
You remember in the 6th chapter of Ephesians.
Where they were told to put, we were told to put on the whole armor of God and to stand.
And the very last thing that is mentioned is the sword of the Spirit.
And so it is here. There's no use of wielding a sword if there isn't prayer, if there isn't dependence.
And if there isn't, If there aren't the five smooth stones in the shepherds bag in the script?
Well, we find that David goes to meet the giant Goliath, the enemy of God's people, the one who defies the armies of the living God.
Had David ever run from an enemy before? No. He slew both the lion and the bear. Was he going to run from Goliath? No, he ran towards him. He ran towards him.
What does that suggest the confidence?
Of faith, walking with God.
Oh, how good it is to see this and how one would desire this for themselves. The absolute confidence that he was going to overcome that enemy.
Because God was the one who was fighting. God was choosing the stone he was to use.
God was going to guide that stone right to the very forehead of the giant, and so it was.
How lovely this confidence expressed here in God.
Do you go out with confidence, dear young people, as you seek to preach the gospel?
Do you know that if God sends you?
And you have preached the word as directed by him.
That he will guide the Word to the conscience of those adhere, or they may not receive Christ.
But he's guided the word to their conscience.
49th 1St And David put his hand in his bag and took out thence the stone. How did he know which stone he was going to take out?
He didn't know.
5 stones. He reaches in, outcomes a stone. He puts it in his sling. I suppose they twirl the sling, possibly in this direction.
Guided it right to the forehead of the giant and the battle is over.
And then he goes and takes the giant sword and cuts off his head.
Israel sees their enemy, God, and the whole army pleads.
Now, who gained the victory?
God did, but it was through David.
Yes, God uses man.
And here we see a picture of our blessed Savior as he goes down into the valley of Eli to meet the enemy.
00:40:04
And he delivers his sheep.
Ah yes, as we were singing, our shepherd is the Lord, the living Lord who died.
Yes, he delivered his shape in the valley of Eli. He paid the whole price himself and died in our stead. And he met the enemy.
He took away all his power in his head. No, he's destroyed forever.
And his people are delivered.
Now we learn in the next.
Chapter.
After David has come back with the head of the giant.
To solve, we find that Jonathan comes into the picture.
Jonathan was a warrior. We learned later that Jonathan could handle the bow.
With his brothers mighty in the use of the bow.
And you know, the heart of Jonathan was taken up with David. How beautiful this is. How lovely it is to see a soul converted to receive Christ as their Savior.
And you were saved. Can remember the time when you first saw beauty in Jesus and received Him as your own personal Savior?
Oh, how wonderful this is.
And you know my sheep shall never perish, neither shall any man **** them out of my hand.
But, dear young people, the wilderness is before you, and the wilderness will prove.
What you are?
Will prove whether you really have a heart of devotedness for Christ or whether you're just satisfied in knowing that your sins are gone.
That's a tremendous thing, isn't it, in itself?
But you know, beloved young people, this afternoon you and I are not to live for ourselves, but for him who died for us.
Who rose again is gone on high.
The day for joy, the day for pleasure, the day for reigning is coming.
And all what a day that will be when Christ takes us home and we'll sit beside him on his throne.
And he will say to one be there were five cities, and to another be there over 10 cities.
But Jonathan, although he was devoted to David here, notice what he does.
Stripped himself of his role.
Gave it to David. His garments, even to his sword and his bow. Oh, how he treasured his bow. He gave it to David.
And to his girdle, I suppose it had an emblem on the girdle telling who he was. A Prince, the son of the king. All this he gives to David.
But what didn't he give him?
Himself.
Hear, not your own.
You are bought with a price.
Be not the servants of sin. All you say, Was it sin?
For him to stay at home in the palace, it was in the light of his calling.
All there are many things, beloved, that are not sin has been regard them that becomes sin in the light of that high calling that we have in Christ Jesus.
You can determine this as you see that blessed Savior dying on Calvary's cross for you.
What is your answer and what is mine in our daily life?
All we're able to do possibly what Jonathan did here. But how about leaving the palace?
How about leaving the palace?
00:45:01
He wouldn't do it.
And as we notice at the end of the 20th chapter, although he had spoken well to his father, and his father tried to kill David because he was jealous of him.
Yet we find there comes a time of parting.
And we find that David loved Jonathan. His love exceeded Jonathan's. But they wept and they parted.
Is it so, beloved you have been saved? Has there been a parting between you and the Savior in this way that you won't go on in the path of rejection with Him?
These 11 Chapters that intervene show the hardships that David went through.
That Jonathan could have gone through with him.
And if he had of, he probably would have been exalted in the Kingdom when David reigned.
But instead, he died on the battlefield with his brothers and his father.
Yes, we die as we live.
Die as we live.
Oh, our solemn the story of Jonathan.
A lovely man, as David says, a powerful soldier.
Yet he wouldn't take the place of rejection with David.
And how about Saul?
Head and shoulders above all the people.
Yes, one of the people had chosen God chose David King. The people chose Saul.
And.
Saul refused to obey the word of the Lord. That's the 15th chapter.
And Samuel had to tell Saul behold it. To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken.
Than the fat of Rams. But Saul said, honor me before the people.
That's what Saul said after he had sinned. What did David say when he had sinned later in his life against thee? And the only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight?
Saul lived before the people, David before God.
And there was power in David's life for good.
Not only did he comfort even that King Saul with his harp.
But he was one who was loved by the sheep of Israel.
No, what a heritage he's left in that book of the Psalms.
That you and I can meditate on and rejoice in.
Even in moments when we're not able to read something deeper, we rejoice in those lovely Psalms.
That the Spirit of God used David.
To pen his own experiences.
You know what David said when he.
When he after he had slain Goliath. It's that little short Psalm, you know, way toward the end, in the 5th book, I believe it is, He said, Lord, my heart is not haughty. That's what he said.
He wrote a little Psalm, just a little short Psalm. Look it up.
I believe that's when he wrote it.
Lord, my heart is not haughty. He could say that before God. He probably wouldn't say it before men, because God had preserved him from taking a high place. He had gone down to the Valley of Eli.
But how did Saul end up?
Why he had lost his contact with God entirely and he goes to get his information as to the battle and all from a witch.
I believe Saul is a picture to us. Now. I don't mean to say that Saul was not saved because I don't know.
We're not here to try to determine the destiny of anyone. We're here to learn from the experiences.
00:50:06
Saul's picture is one of Christendom, which will end in witchcraft. Yes, it will. It'll end in witchcraft. Emotionalism, superstition will close the history of Christendom.
Solemn, isn't it?
No wonder the enemy is trying to reach out to get souls at every hand. He's beginning to take little parts out of the Bible. He began to change the Bibles. Be careful.
Stay with your King James version. Be careful.
He wants to lead you into superstition.
He wants to tell you that this whole book is superstition.
Yes, he does. He wants to take the word of God away from you.
But oh how good the Word of God is, and now we need to read it continually and have it in our hearts.
But we said, how did Saul end his course?
Slain on the battlefield.
By the Philistines.
How did Jonathan finish his days seven years in separation from David?
All those years, no harp.
Jonathan had no heart.
David had the heart.
And when David could no longer abide in the House of Saul because he tried to kill him.
It said David's seat was empty and there was number harp to comfort Saul.
You know, a Christian really isn't missed until he's gone.
And this world will mess the Christian when he's gone. Be sure that all the chaos that will cover this scene when the Christian is gone.
The salt of the earth, God says.
How did Jonathan die?
Like his father.
He doesn't need to stay in the palace.
But it was comfortable.
But he didn't need to stay there.
How does Saul die because of his disobedience?
How did Jonathan die?
Because he stayed with Saul instead of going with David.
He didn't reign with Dave and the Kingdom.
I'm sure he would have liked to have, but he didn't want to pay the price you and I.
Do we want to pay the price? If we suffer with him, we shall reign with him.
And the day is coming when all Christians will reign with them. But remember.
There is such a thing as reward for faithfulness and the day of the Kingdom.
And in that day, he's going to reward.
What you've done for him?
And there was a day when David came back, you know?
To a certain place.
Where he had always been.
Been in his rejection, and when he became king he set special presents to them.
You'll read it in the 30th chapter I believe.
The first kings He sent special presence to those who had kept him in the day of his rejection. How about it? Are we going to take this course? Surely no one here will take the path of Goliath.
I trust no one will take the path of Saul.
How about Jonathan?
Is that the path you're walking in this afternoon? Dear young Christian Jonathan's path, The path of ease.
Or are you going to take David's path of rejection?
And end up like David.
00:55:03
A trail of blessing behind him.
His name mentioned throughout scripture not as a curse, but as a blessing.
Is it so? May God use these few words then to exercise our hearts.
As to the path in the interval before Christ comes to take us home.
Shall we sing that little hymn 278?
Perhaps someone will raise the tune for us, Please 278.
They lay like frosted.
There.
And come to all else.
Quarters.
Unworthy.
Of Arkansas K.
We are not now our own Lord.
The purchase of.
Thy blood.
And made by grace.
And love divine.
The sun's under of God.
Thy spirit to the Presidency.
Of all the fathers.
Love.
Dwells in our souls.
And thus reveal.
The glorious rest.
Of the.
Life is.
Not beyond the great.
Our souls thou hast set.
Pray, Lord, strength and grace.
In the we have.
For we are one.
With thee.
Oh, teach us so the power to know.
A prison life with.
The.
Not we may live while here be love, but.
Christ, our life.
May be.
Obedience and Blessing
Address—J. Brereton
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.
General Meetings. Wheaton, August 1973, addressed by John Barton.
Mike, we open our meeting this afternoon by singing hymn #51.
I'm sorry, 52 M #52 Lord, we are thine bought by thy blood. Some brother would start it for us #52.
1.
As Branson from.
Burning.
Our Holy.
Heaven.
Lord where?
Unlikely.
Ourselves.
Today we always.
Time.
Of our hearts alone, and let us.
To my glory.
Airline.
And.
Expected.
When motion.
That.
Way.
To read.
Two episodes in the life of Peter, involving him as a fisherman.
The first one is in Luke's Gospel chapter 5.
Lukes Gospel chapter 5 beginning with verse one.
And it came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God.
He stood by the lake of Genesis, and saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their Nets. And he entered into one of the ships which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launched out into the deep, and let down your Nets for a draw.
00:05:00
And Simon answering, said unto him, Master.
We have toiled all the night and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net break. And they beckoned onto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees.
Saying, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him at the draught of the fishes which they had taken. And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all.
And followed him.
If we were to take the time this afternoon, we would turn back to the first chapter of John's Gospel and we would find there how Peter came to the Lord Jesus. We would find how it was Andrew that first introduced Peter to the Lord Jesus, telling him we have found the Messiahs, which is called Christ, and we find that Peter, when he came to the Lord Jesus, was given a new name.
He was given that name of Cephas or Peter, but we find that after that.
Relationship was established between Peter and the Lord. We find that that time, dear young people, that Peter had not committed his life into the hands of the Lord Jesus. And so we find here in the 5th chapter of Luke that the Lord Jesus here this day is about to step into the life of Peter in a way that Peter never imagined, I'm sure.
When he met him that day in the first chapter of John and so we find that the Lord Jesus is standing by the shore here by the sea of Genesis. And he sees these two ships standing and he steps in to Peter ship. Well beloved young people, you and I, how we can thank God and I trust we can each one say it here with all our hearts. I thank God that the Lord Jesus has stepped into my life.
That he came into my life when I had no desire for him at all and he stepped in and I now know him through wondrous grace as my Savior. The Lord Jesus here steps into Peters ship and he asks Peter to do something for him. It's such a simple request. He says that and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land and he sat down and taught the people.
Out of the ship, all beloved young people, do you see the Lord Jesus in your life? Do you see Him, as it were, asking you to do these things that He has put down in His word, asking you to do these little things for Him? You know, I love to think of Peter here. It was such a simple thing, such a simple beginning. Just move the ship, Peter, a little bit out from the land.
But before the day was over, Peter found that everything that he had had been fully surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter takes up this request of the Lord Jesus here asked so lovingly, and he does bring the ship out a little from the land. And the Lord Jesus uses that ship, uses that occasion to teach the people that were on the shore. He used Peter's ship.
And all beloved young people, the Lord Jesus seeks to use you and what you have for him. You know, he presents his request to our hearts in such a loving way. It's love that makes it a commandment, but it's presented to us in love. The Lord Jesus here when he asks Peter, Peter had the option of refusing, but no, he loved the Lord Jesus, I'm sure, and he was willing to take this first step of faith.
Listening to what the Lord Jesus called upon him to do. And he moves the ship out, the Lord uses it and the people are taught. But then we come to this point in Peters life when the Lord Jesus is going to show not only what Peter is himself, not only what the Lord Jesus is himself, but he's about to show Peter the claim that he has upon Peter and upon all that Peter has.
00:10:16
Beloved young people, can I say, and I trust I say it by the Spirit of God, the Lord Jesus has a desire today to have absolute, complete control of your life and all that you have. That's what He's seeking. Not just a little part of your ship, not just a little part of your life where you take a few hesitating steps in obedience to what He asked you to do, but He wants your whole life. He wants everything that you have.
All that you are, He wants that whole life of yours. And you know, beloved young people, when you're young, when you're young you have a whole life. If the Lord tarries a life to give to him. Just this past week I was talking to a man 80 years of age down in St. John, NB. This dear man, I believe, just accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. And while I was talking to him, he spoke about all the wasted years.
The wasted years that were gone, 80 years of age, but all beloved young people, you have a life, you have a whole life and the Lord Jesus wants that life. He saved your soul, but now he wants your life, all that you have because he wants it for himself.
He knows that that's the only way you and I can be happy, fully happy, profitable, fruitful children of God is by surrendering all to Him. So we find that when the Lord speaks to Peter here, he says launch out into the deep, launch out into the deep and let down your Nets for a drought. We find now that this is the next step. Peter has already acted in obedience.
By moving his ship a little bit out from the land. But now the request comes, go further, go further, launch out into the deep and let down your Nets, your Nets for a drop. Well, you know, I leave it to others to decide whether Peter actually moved the ship or not. We don't know from the record here whether he actually did move his ship out into the deep or not. What we do know is that he acted partially in obedience to what the Lord asked him to do.
He let down his net, not his Nets. The Lord had asked him to let down his Nets. He had been washing his Nets. They had Nets.
But the Lord, when asked, when Peter was asked by the Lord to let down his Nets, Peter let down only one net. But you know, before he did that, he said something else. He said, Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing. Now what? What does this really mean that Peter's saying? He's as it were, he's saying to the Lord Jesus, we've already tried that. We've already tried fishing. We've already been doing what you're asking us to do. And it didn't produce any fruit for God at all. It didn't produce any fish.
But now, now, beloved young people, Peter was being called upon to act upon the instruction given him by the Lord himself. Now we find that there is going to be fish, but when Peter lets down his net, it tells us. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net break.
Beloved young people, how much happier it would have been, how much better it would have been, if Peter had done just what the Lord asked him to do, to launch out into the deep and to let down his Nets. And truly, beloved young people, there is no way, no substitute, no way we can act as it were, half in obedience and expect.
Expect that we are going to have the Lord's approval.
When we find in the 15th chapter of First Samuel we find that Saul had been told to go and slay all the Amalekites and he was also destroy all their cattle everything. Well if you and I were keeping the record, we would have said we read that 15th chapter of First Corinthians. We would have said that Saul did 99% of what was required on but the Lord.
00:15:00
Through Samuel.
To tell him that he has been disobedient. We find in the case of Peter that here now, Peter doesn't do exactly what the Lord tells him to do. He doesn't go all the way. But all beloved young people, how it delights one's heart and reading this story to see how the Lord does accept what Peter did do. The first steps that Peter does take in obedience. First moving his ship out a little bit from the land.
Now going a little bit further at the Lord's word, letting down.
Annette, Annette. And so we find that even with these first, as it were, faltering steps of obedience, as Peter gradually learns what it is to trust the Lord and to step out a little further and to act more in accordance with what the Lord brings before his heart. The Lord shows that there is blessing that follows from acting in obedience. And so Peter finds that the fish are there.
The fish are there, having toiled all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless, at the Lord's word, the fish are there. We find, as we read in the chapter, the net break.
Well, when we read earlier in the chapter, we found that Peter had been washing his Nets. I suppose we can't really say definitely, but one has thought of Peter thinking to himself, you know, I've worked all night and here I've got all these fish. I've I've got all these Nets all dirtied up from fishing.
And now I've just spent the time washing these Nets and now the Lord wants me to go and put them back in the water again once we go and get them all dirtied up again. Well, instead he, as I say, he only went part way. And instead of ending up with two or three dirtied up Nets and a lot of fish, instead, beloved young people, he ended up with a broken net. He ended up with a net that was broken. Now he didn't have to wash it. He had to fix it. He had to repair the net if he had continued on with his fishing.
Well, I believe, at least for my own soul, that there's a lesson for us here.
Beloved young people, the Lord Jesus has told us, has given us in his Word, has revealed to you today.
A measure of truth that He looks for you to walk in and He's looking to expand that truth, to lead you into more truth and more truth and more truth as He has it in His word. For you to enter into more and more of the precious things of Christ like we had before us this morning, but but to grow to enter into these things.
We have to walk in them, we have to obey, we have to be willing to submit to the Lords instruction for us. We find in the case of Peter that he had to learn that there was a cost of not fully being obedient.
To the voice of the Lord Jesus, there was a cost. He got the blessing. The fish were there, so much so that they began when transferred to the two boats. The boats began to sink, but the net break. Beloved young people, the Lord Jesus is looking to you and I today to walk in obedience to His precious word, if ye be willing.
And obedient.
Ye shall eat the good of the land. So we find that he looked to Peter to act upon what he said. Well, the Lord is very gracious. And even though Peter and I say it reverently, because you know, so often we talk about poor Peter, but at least speaking for oneself. If we began to compare ourselves against Peter, we would end up thinking of poor ourselves. But when the case of Peter.
He learned this day that there was a cost involved in disobeying, but that in the measure in which he did obey, there was blessing. There was blessing. And you know, beloved young people, haven't you and I proved the same thing? We look back over the years and we say to ourselves so often we failed, but in any measure in which the Lord has given grace to walk in obedience to His Word, we have found that the blessing was there.
So much so that they couldn't contain it. Would you turn with me for just a moment? We'll be coming back to this portion, but turn back to Malachi Chapter 3.
Malachi chapter 3 and verse 10.
00:20:04
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now here with saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Well, Peter proved this, and measure this day. He proved that even when he only went part way, the blessing was so great.
That he wasn't able to contain it, we find it says in the seventh verse. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships so that they began to sink. Prove me now, said the Lord of hosts, If I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that he will not be able to contain it. Beloved young people, haven't we proven that? Haven't you already proven that? I'm speaking now to those who belong to the Lord Jesus.
Haven't you proven already that when you took those first steps in obedience to His word, when the Lord showed you the first things, when you came to know Him, and you acted in obedience, that the blessing was there, that you had the joy of the Lords approval in your soul? And you found that the Lord did indeed?
Make you happy, give you the joy of knowing that your ways were pleasing to Him. And then he showed you a little more and he showed you a little more. And beloved young people, as long as we acted, as long as we walked in that precious truth as the Lord revealed it to us, as we grew in the things of God, we found that there was blessing connected with the path of obedience. Well, this is what Peter, I believe, is learning here, that there is blessing in the path of obedience.
But Peter was learning something else as well, and that is that, as we mentioned earlier, the Lord was leading up to the time, the point in Peters life this same day, when he was going to call upon Peter to forsake all. And he was learning this day that the one who was calling him was the one who had command over the fishes, the one who could command the fish where to go in the sea, the one who had complete control of all the circumstances.
That could ever possibly come into Peter's life. Well, what a precious lesson this is as we go on. Beloved young people, perhaps you were saved last night or last week or last year or five years ago. The Lord is showing you, the Lord is seeking to have more and more and more control of your life. He wants it all. All beloved young people, can I, can I say, brethren, in all accuracy, that the Lord Jesus is indeed a jealous Lord. He wants it all.
He's not prepared to share you with anyone. He wants all of you. You know, I thought of it in connection with my wife.
When I proposed to my wife many years ago, President, do you think, dear young people, do you think my heart would have been content if when I proposed to her some 25 years ago, she had said to me, well, she said, I'm prepared to be your wife one day a week, but the other six days I expect to be able to be my own, be for myself.
That one day a week I'm willing to give to you, but the rest I want for myself. Beloved young people, Can you imagine my heart being satisfied with an answer like that? Well, Can you imagine the Lord's heart being satisfied in any way with an answer like that? He has given all that He had to make you His own. His claim is based upon the fact that He has redeemed you, that you belong to Him now because He has paid the price, and now He's looking for all.
Not just part of you, but all. So we find in the case of Peter here.
But he has learned one thing and that is that there is a cost of not acting in complete obedience to the word of God. He has found out another thing and that is that the Lord is sufficient so that he can even direct the fish where to be. He has learned another lesson. You notice it says in the eighth verse, when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knee saying, depart from me for I am a sinful man, Oh Lord.
Or a man full of sin. That is, Peter had learned, at least in some measure this day. It seems later on, at times he forgot it. But he learned in some measure this day that he had no merit, no value. There was nothing in himself but sin, nothing that he could lay claim of or boast of in any way. He was a man full of sin. He was a man that needed the Lord. No question about that.
00:25:16
He fell down at Jesus knees and owned his unworthiness to even be in the presence.
Of such a divine glorious person. But all beloved young people, who was it that had stepped into Peter ship? It was the Lord. It wasn't Peter that had gone looking for the Lord. It was the Lord who had stepped into petership and Peter there at the very feet of the Lord Jesus owns his complete unworthiness. He's a man full of sin. You know I remember hearing years ago and I may tell this story slightly wrong, but as I understand it.
A young man came to Mr. Darby many years ago and said to him that he was considering serving the Lord and he wanted to know what he should study. And as I understand the story, Mr. Darbys answer to him was first study this well, the flesh profiteth nothing. There was the first lesson. I mentioned that to a brother yesterday and he said yes, and that's the second lesson. And the third lesson too, that the flesh profits nothing.
Peter learned here, in some measure at least, that in himself he was nothing but beloved young people. The Lord was sufficient. And so we find when we go on in the ninth verse, he was astonished and all that were with him at the draw to the fishes which they had taken. And so was also James and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. You know, I wondered.
I have wondered and meditating on this portion, why it was that Peter called for his partners earlier in the chapter and they came and the fish were transferred to their ship and both ships began to sink. The blessing was so great that the two ships couldn't contain it all. Well, you know, I don't know as I can say definitely the reason, but it has been an encouragement to my own soul to see how that the Lord while He was dealing with Simon.
While Simon, as it were, was before him in this instance, that was Simon ship that he had stepped into. It was Simon that he had said launch out into the deep. It was Simon that he had told to let down the net. Yet at the same time, the Lord was going to bring blessing into the life of James and John, the sons of Zebedee. The Lord had a call for them too. And you know, beloved young people, I would submit to you. And I trust we'll see this a little later on again when we look at the next example.
What you do, your enjoyment of Christ, has an immense influence on the other young people. Can they look at you this afternoon and find a real encouragement to go on to please the Lord? Can they look at you and see, as it were, there's someone, there's one of the young people, and they truly are enjoying the Lord. And if they can enjoy the Lord like that, I want to enjoy him too. You know the Scripture speaks.
About being ready to give an answer to every man, a reason of the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear. I remember a brother saying to me some years ago. He said, you know from the looks on some of our faces, no one would bother to ask us. No one would bother to ask us what hope we had. We had the meeting this morning and brought it so beautifully. That precious hope that is ours that we can look forward to, of being with Christ in glory and being like Him, having bodies fashioned like unto His body of glory.
This is what the future is that's before us. Beloved young people, are you and I enjoying that, rejoicing in it, finding our joy in that precious anticipation that we're going to be with Christ? We find here for Peter that the blessing that came into Peter's life overflowed, and it overflowed into the life of James and John, too. They also saw that great blessing that came into Peter's light. They saw the results.
They felt the results. They shared in the results of Peters act of partial obedience. They shared in the blessing. And beloved young people, if you and I will walk in obedience to the precious word of God, there will be blessing to our own souls guaranteed. But all that blessing will overflow into the lives of others. So we find in the case of Peter that he was astonished. James and John were astonished. They were all astonished at this great draft of fishes.
00:30:08
But then we come to the great lesson in the 11Th verse. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him. Oh, you know, I have thought about Peter. I can just, I trust, I don't go too far with my imagination in this, but I can just imagine Peter seeing the Lord Jesus step on board his ship that morning. And little did he realize that before the day was over, the Lord would have taken it all.
That he would have given up the ship and the Nets and the fish and everything just to follow Christ. This was what the Lord had in mind. And stepping into Peters ship that morning, do you think it was an accident that brought the Lord there that day? Was it an accident that there were two ships waiting there and Peters was one of them? No beloved young people. It was no accident. It was no accident. The Lord Jesus was there and he was about to exert his claim, not just on part of Peter's life.
Not just on the front part of Peter's ship, but on all that Peter was and all that Peter had.
Beloved young people, that's his claim. He presents that claim to you today. He presents that claim to me today. This is his claim. He wants it all. All of you, your whole life. He wants it for himself. Beloved young people, when we consider such a thing, let's go back and see how Peter was.
Challenged. Here was Peter and he had spent his life fishing, supporting himself as it were by fishing. And now the time comes when the Lord Jesus has said to him, from henceforth thou shalt catch men, Men. Who was this person that they were being called upon to follow all beloved young people. He was the one to whom all power was given.
All power was given. They had seen how the Lord could even command the fish. And so it is, beloved young people, when you entrust your life into the hands of the one who has already stepped into your ship, when you entrust your life into his hands, you're entrusting your life into the one, into the hands of him to whom all power has been given, to the one who is in complete control of every circumstance.
That can even command the fish where to go. Do you think that there is a circumstance?
That can possibly come into your life over which he does not have control.
Over which he is not able to exert complete control. You say, if I give up everything for Christ, if I if I give my whole life to Him, life is going to be very difficult. Beloved young people, the one who calls upon you to do just that is the one who commands the fish. It's the one who commands all creation. It's the one to whom all power has been given in heaven and in earth. Can't you trust your life to Him?
Oh, I'm talking to those who have already trusted their souls to Him. We have committed our souls into His care. We've already received the salvation of our souls. If I was to go up to you and ask you, who are you trusting in for your soul salvation? You would say the Lord Jesus Christ. But then if I was to say, who are you trusting concerning the circumstances that might arise this afternoon and tomorrow, are we prepared to answer just as readily?
The Lord Jesus Christ, Well, we find in the case of Peter, he forsook all. He left it all. He left the fish, He left the Nets, He left the boat. Beloved young people, that's his claim. If I could say it reverently, I'm simply passing on to you his claim. He claims your whole life. But Peter found that even in the measure in which he walked, in which he acknowledged the Lord's claim, even in that measure.
The blessing was more than he could contain. And now he was to find out in forsaking all and following the Lord, that there were lessons to learn, that there would be trials and difficulties, that there would be failure, that he still had things to learn about his own heart that he hadn't learned fully yet. But all beloved young people, if you were, if you were to meet Peter today and ask him, was it all worthwhile? I'm sure you know what the answer would be. I'm sure you know what the answer would be. Indeed, it was all worthwhile.
00:35:07
Now, would you turn with me to the 21St chapter of John for a moment?
The 21St chapter of John, beginning with the first verse.
After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and on this why showed He himself there were together Simon Peter and Thomas, called Didymus and Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples.
Simon Peter said unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, And that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore. But disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find.
They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved, Seth unto Peter. It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he gird his fishers cloak unto him, for he was naked, and did cast himself into the sea.
And the other disciples came on a little ship, for they were not far from land, but as it were, 200 cubits, dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon and bred. Jesus said unto them, Bring up the fish which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes, and 150 and three. And for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.
Jesus said unto them, Come and dine, and none of the disciples just ask him, Who art thou?
Knowing that it was the Lord, Jesus then cometh and taketh bread, and giveth them and fish. Likewise, this is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. After that he was risen from the dead.
Some three years have passed, or a little bit more perhaps, from that day in the 5th chapter of Luke, when Simon Peter was led to forsake all and commit his whole life into the hands of the One to whom all power had been given. And there he was. Three years had passed, and as you know, there had been failure. There had been such bright spots in Peter's life too, one when he confessed that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
There had been some other points in Peter's life, for instance when he denied the Lord Jesus, but we find that the Lord Jesus, his claim upon Peter was an eternal claim. He could say to Peter, Satan hath desired to have thee, that he might sift thee as wheat.
But there was number way that Satan could have him. He belonged to Christ.
When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, he could send the messenger, send the message through the angels and through the women. Go tell my disciples and Peter that I go before thee into Galilee. There was be no question in Peters mind that he was wanted to. He belonged to Christ, He was His. And if Peter had failed, the Lord's claim upon him had not been diminished in any way. And so we find here when we come to the 21St chapter of John.
That there is still a measure of restoration needed in the life of Peter. He has denied the Lord, the Lords. The work of restoration has been begun in Peters soul. He has got to the point where he has seen the Lords look upon him, where he has had a meeting, a private meeting between him and.
The Lord where he has also met the Lord in the upper room. But now we find that Peter here says I'm going fishing. You know, dear young people, there was nothing wrong with fishing. No one could point to fishing and say now there's a sin, there's a sin to go fishing.
But Peter had been called to a different pathway. Peter had been called to be a catcher of men, a Fisher of men. Peter had been called away from the fishing to follow the Lord. And now we find that he's going back, going back to some of his old pursuits, the pursuit of fishing and you know, beloved young people, this happens. This happens to young people. It happens to those of us who are older, too.
00:40:04
Our hearts perhaps get discouraged and we find ourselves going back, going back to some of the things that our hearts used to be occupied with, that perhaps not where sins in themselves, but that filled our lives and occupied our lives with things for which there was no fruit for God, nothing that God could use. And Peter was doing just this, going back to his old habits. But the sad thing is to see.
How that not only does Peter go back to his fishing, but his act leads others backwards too. So we find that when Peter says I go fishing, Thomas goes too.
Nathaniel goes to, James and John go to and two others.
Dear brother here this afternoon I'll borrow something that he said to us some years ago in Toronto. He suggested to us that the other two disciples might be you and me. Well, regardless of who the other two were, the fact remains was that Peters act of going back to fishing had the effect of leading others back too. Leading them back to their old pursuits too. And so it is, they go back to fishing and beloved young people, just as we noticed.
That when we do act in obedience to the word of God, the blessing is so great that it fills our lives and overflows to others. When we go backwards, when we find that our hearts are cold and we're turning away and turning back to some of the old habits, the old things, this too has an effect. This too has a discouraging effect on other young people. So that they too, not that they should, but they do find themselves saying, well, if.
Jack can do that. I guess there's no harm in me doing it too. Or if Mary, you know, Mary's gone to doing such and such, I guess I can do it too. Well, this happened in the case of Peter. But we find that the Lord Jesus has not let Peter go. And so it was that when Peter was out fishing, the Lord appears on the shore. You notice he says Simon. Peter says, I go fishing. We also go with thee. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately.
And that night they caught nothing. You know what, it struck one and meditating on this portion again, there was number question in Peter of Peter here praying about it, of looking to the Lord and asking the Lord if this was to be according to his mind. They just started out. They said this is what we want to do. And so they go right ahead and do it immediately. They went out, but they fished all night and caught nothing, absolutely nothing. What a fruitless night.
What an empty, wasted night oh beloved young people, when we act in self will what we have is an empty, wasted night that's what we have an empty, wasted night well, we find in the.
Fourth Verse. When the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. You know that has struck me again too, in meditating on this portion.
We were to go back to the previous chapter we had, we would find that the Lord Jesus had already appeared to them in the upper room. Peter had seen the Lord, James and John had seen the Lord and the latter part of the 20th chapter, Thomas had seen the Lord. And yet now they're away. They're they've pushed off from the shore. They're away from the Lord and they don't recognize the Lord's voice. They don't recognize that voice of the Lord right away.
But the Lord speaks to them nevertheless. They didn't recognize him, but he asks dear young people.
To me, a very, very vital question. He says, children, have ye any meat? You know, one has thought in connection with this portion of all the things that the Lord could have said standing on that shore and calling out to Peter. Again, I trust I don't go too far within in thinking of these things, but one has thought of how the Lord could have called out and said, Peter, what are you doing fishing?
What are you doing out there fishing. I called you to be a Fisher of men. Or he could have called out and said, Peter, didn't I tell you that in the disobedience you would just waste your time that it was going to be a waste of night and see it didn't get anything. But no, he just asks Peter and those with him a simple question. Children, have you any meat? And so it is dear young people, it's as if I could put it this way. The Lord says to you and I when we go off in any way in a path of self will.
00:45:19
When we choose our own way now, it means, as I said before, it may not be an evil way, but it's our own way. Peter did not ask the Lord about going fishing, He just said I'm going fishing and the others went with him. When we choose our own way, to go our own way, even though it may not necessarily be an evil way, the Lord as it were, comes to your heart and mind and says, did you find any satisfaction in that path?
Did you find any food for your soul in that path? Did you find any joy, any peace, any real satisfaction in that path of self will? I was talking to a lady just this 10 days ago.
This lady I've known for many years.
And she was in the.
One of the churches and she had been LED out and gathered to the Lord's name.
And justice. Recently she went back to the church that she had come from.
And when I went to visit her just recently.
She said to me, she said, you know, John, I prayed about it. I really prayed about it. And she said, I really feel that where I am right now, I can be useful, I can be used for the Lord.
Well, I felt constrained to tell her that if there were ever been a wasted prayer, it was a prayer that asks the Lord to lead me in a path that's in disobedience to the Word of God.
To ask the Lord to lead me in a path that the word of God has shown me.
Is not the path of obedience. This is what she had prayed and she felt she had got the answer that the Lord had shown her that she could be useful there. Beloved young people, can you conceive of the Lord ever saying to you or to me, be a little bit disobedient so that you can be more useful? Can you ever imagine us getting home to glory and at the judgment seat of Christ saying, having the Lord say to us, I know that you were disobedient.
There, but I was the one who encouraged you to be disobedient so that you could accomplish this result of that.
No, beloved young people, it can't be. There is never a time, never, never, never a time when the Lord leads in a path of disobedience, or where the Spirit of God ever instructs us in any way by any combination of circumstances to take a step that the Word of God condemns. No, it cannot be. Well, in spite of the fact that the Peter had acted in this self will.
And in spite of the fact that he had found that in that course of self will there was nothing, he had caught nothing. It had been a wasted night.
Beloved young people, sometimes.
Sometimes my heart weeps and I say it reverently, but sometimes my heart weeps when I see some of the dear beloved young people who are wasting years, just wasting years where the Lord came upon them. They acknowledge that they belong to Christ, but they are going on in a path of self will, choosing their own life and leaving the Lord out.
Beloved young people, I can only submit to you from the word of God. You will find it's a dark night in which you find no meat, nothing for the soul. Well, we find in the case of Peter that now the Lord, they, he, they have acknowledged you notice it says children, have you any meat? And they acknowledge no. It has been fruitless, it has been empty. It has been a wasted effort.
It was all for naughty. Now that they have acknowledged this, now the Lord is ready to step in.
And show that at His command, following His instructions, at His voice, there is fruit to be had, there is blessing to be had. And so the Lord says, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find they cast therefore. And now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes where the fish been all night. All, my friend, they were in the control of the one who stood upon the shore.
00:50:24
They were in the control of the One, and school was on the shore. Oh, how this I must have reminded Peter of that time three years previously, when he had forsaken all at the command of the One, at the call of the one who had commanded the fish. And now here he is standing on the shore again, and showing that he still has command of the fish. They've caught such a great multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loves, said unto Peter, It is the Lord.
It's the Lord now they see in this act, they see again, this is the Lords hand, this is the Lords dealing. And all beloved young people, when we get, if we get away from the Lord, if we get as it were into that path of self will there's the Lord standing on the shore asking us first of all, is there any meat in that course? Do you find anything to satisfy your heart in that course? And when we own.
Fully and frankly, no. Then the Lord says, now I'll show you the path of blessing.
Now I'll show you where the blessing lies, and it's at the command. It's at heeding the command of the voice of the Son of God. And so it is that when they act in obedience to His Word, they get this great multitude of fishes and furthermore.
They see in it the Lords hand, they recognize the Lorde hand in their life again, and Peter is so attracted now that he jumps overboard and swims to shore to get to be with the Lord Jesus. You notice it goes on, it says. And the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were not far from land, but as it were 200 cubits dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there.
And fish laid there on, and bread, Jesus saith unto them, Bring up the fish.
Which ye have now caught. Now caught, you know, here was the Lord Jesus. And what did they find? They found that the Lord Jesus in calling them, in their heeding his voice, in their being attracted to him, they found beloved young people that there was something to eat. Have you any meat in their course of self will? No, but what about in the Lord's company?
Yes, they found that there was meat and there was bread. The fish laid there on and bread.
And the 13th verse it says then Jesus then cometh and taketh bread, and giveth them, and the fish likewise.
Beloved young people, I must own in my own soul that I really feel how little I know of what it is to.
Forsake all and follow Him. But I know, and you know, that in any measure in which we have, as it were, turned over our whole life to Him, we have found that there was blessing and there was food for our souls, that we could sit down in the Lord's presence while He said to us, Come and die, feed and enjoy what the Lord has provided for us. But we find that there was something else.
The Lord had to say to Peter, bring up the fish which he have now caught, now caught. What was he reminding Peter of? That all that blessing that had now come into Peter's life was the result of his command, the result of listening to his voice. It wasn't all that night of toil. That whole night of toilet produced nothing because it was a path of self will.
But in now at the listening to the one command, the one.
Piece of instruction that the Lord gave them, He could now say, bring of the fish which ye have now caught. Beloved young people, there is blessing for your soul. There is blessing that overflows to others in the path of obedience. But in the path of self will is an empty life. An empty, empty life. Beloved young people, haven't we proven that already?
Haven't we already proven first of all that in any measure in which we have walked to please him, the windows of heaven were open and the blessing was so great we couldn't contain it all. And in any way measure in which we have walked in self will we have found that it was a dark empty night. We find here it says Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land full of great fishes 153.
00:55:28
And for all, there were so many, yet was not the net broken? You remember back in the 5th chapter of Luke, the Lord said let down the Nets, they let down the net and the net broke. When we come to the 21St chapter of John, the Lord says let down a net, just a net. They did exactly what he said. They let down the net. And the fact that there were all these fish didn't break the net.
Didn't break the net. They were acting now.
In obedience, complete, full obedience to what the Lord said. And the result was no broken net, but a great number of fishes brought to land. Beloved young people, that is what the Lord, as it were, says to my heart and to yours, act in obedience and you'll get the blessing and you'll see great many fishes brought to the shore. Beloved young, isn't that what we desire? Don't we desire to be a blessing?
A blessing to others, though we desire to be used of the Lord and blessing to others.
Our beloved young people, the first step is mandatory. We must walk in obedience ourselves, the Word of God, before we can use be used to bring it to others. That word must be applied to our own hearts and to our own consciences. But there is the path of blessing, so it says.
Jesus then cometh and taketh bread and giveth them and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples. After that he was risen from the dead. Beloved young people, the Lord Jesus.
Has said to Peter.
Be a Fisher of men. And he said the same thing to you and I. The Lord Jesus has called upon us to forsake all.
And follow him to turn over our whole life to the one to whom all power has been given. And the Lord has shown us in his word that therein in that path is the path of blessing and fruitfulness. But he's also shown us, as he showed Peter, that in the path of self will, there's an empty life, if we're in that path of self will this afternoon.
Or may we listen to the Lord's voice speaking to us, dear young people, speaking to my heart and saying, did you find any meat in that path? Do you find anything to satisfy your heart in that path? And if we're ready to be honest and open before the Lord and admit, no, no, it has been all wasted and empty, then we're going to be fine. That the Lord is ready then with His instruction to show us just what to do. That would be pleasing to Him to choose the path for us.
And there to find that there is blessing that flows out from the one to whom all power has been given. And again, that blessing will flow out to others, overflow to others, because when the Lord blesses, it is at such of such a magnitude that we can't contain it. It overflows to those around us. Beloved young people, is that, isn't that what you desire? Isn't that what your heart desires this afternoon?
The Lord's way is forsake all and follow Him.
Watch-Before the Cock Crows
Address—E. Pilkington
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.
General Meetings. Wheaton, August 1973. Address my brother Pilkington.
As we sing #46 at the back of the book.
Have I an object Lord below?
Which would divide my heart with thee.
Which would divert its even flow. An answer to thy constancy.
Oh, teach me quickly to return and 'cause my heart.
A price to burn. Have IA hope, however dear, which would defer thy coming, Lord.
Which would detain my spirit here where not and lasting joy afford.
From yet my Savior set me free to look and long and wait for the #46 at the back of the book.
00:05:33
How certain, beloved, that him we have sung together.
And how it becomes us to search our own hearts and to ask ourselves this afternoon.
If we do have an object before us, that would hinder or deter the coming of our Lord Jesus.
Perhaps, beloved, we do not utter with our lips, but perhaps in our hearts.
There is some desire that we are craving after.
Which would, in other words, speak more loudly than our words.
Yes, which if words were to utter, what we have it upon our hearts.
Perhaps it might say, Lord, don't come today.
I was speaking to a child of God once and a Speaking of the sin return of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said, oh you don't think he's coming yet a while, do you? I have other things I want to do first.
And be love, I'm sure that may be true of each one of us at some time or other.
And how good it is to have an Aussie for our soul this afternoon.
We've had brought before us much of Christ during these three days of meetings. We had brought before us yesterday afternoon that solemn word. Follow me this afternoon. I'd like to speak on three words, and the first word is what? What?
Do we turn to Matthew 26?
26th chapter of Matthew.
Shall we begin reading from verse 30?
And when they had sung A hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.
Then saith Jesus unto them all Ye shall be offended because of Maine this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men should shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, that this night before the **** crow, thou shalt deny me thrice Peter said unto him, Though I should be die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane.
And saith unto the disciples.
Set ye here while I go and pray under. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then set thee unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death.
Carry here and watch with me. And he went a little further.
And fell on his face, and prayed, saying, Oh my father, if it be possible, let this cop pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh under the disciples, and findeth them asleep. And saith unto Peter, What could he not watch?
00:10:01
With me, one hour.
Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation.
The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, Oh my Father, if this cop may not pass away from me, except I drink it.
Thy will be done.
And he came and found them asleep again.
For their eyes were heavy, and he left them.
And went away again and prayed the third time saying the same words. Could we go down a little further in the chapter?
Where the Lord is speaking in verse 64, Jesus saith unto him, that's the high priest.
Nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter shall you see the Son of Man seen on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying He has spoken blasphemy. What further need have we have witnesses? Behold, now He have heard his blasphemy. What think he? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. Then did they spit in his face.
And bathed at him, and others smote him with the palms of their hands.
Saying Prophecy unto us, thou Christ, who is he that's more thee? Now Peter sat without in the palace, and a dancehall came unto him, saying, Thou also was with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayeth. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them.
That were there this fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by and said to Peter, Fury, Thou also art one of them, for thy speech beret thee. Then began he to curse, and to swear sing.
I know not the man.
And immediately the concrete and Peter went up hurt, remembered the words of Jesus, which said unto him before the cop, Crow, Thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out and wept bitterly.
Oh beloved, surely our hearts this afternoon.
Is softened as we remember the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And as we think of him here at the end of his 3 1/2 years of ministry, of faithfully preaching the Word of God, and as we remember his love and His kindness, His grace, all beloved, he had this testimony that he pleased God. And he also had this testimony even before his enemies.
In that, they marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of His mouth. Oh beloved, sometimes you and I feel in this how often grace is forgotten.
In certain occasions.
When perhaps there is something that affects us individually. Oh yes.
And so we have this testimony. They marveled at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. And the testimony of his life was this beloved young people, never man speak like this man.
Ah, as they beheld him, when they listen with their ears, ready to catch him in his words if they could, they marveled.
Oh yes, and at the end of his life, the one who judged him.
00:15:05
Had to confess that he was innocent. The one who who denied or rather betrayed him, had to confess that he had betrayed the innocent blood. Oh yes, there was that perfection in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. And oh, what an object for you and I today while we await his return, paranoid for us to follow him.
Or a place of safety, or a path of blessing to follow the Lord Jesus. Well, now we find here that the Lord Jesus had there his own in that upper room. He had instituted the Feast of Remembrance of Himself. And we find that after He had sung him, they went out. And now we find the Lord Jesus speaking to His own and telling them what he was going to suffer.
And he can warn them all. Ye shall be offended because of me this night.
Oh, what a searching word for the disciples to think that they, not just Judas, not just Peter, but they all would be offended. And you know, Peter could say.
Though all men shall be offended because of the, yet will I never be offended.
Oh, there we get that prominent eye and all, and it's found in the middle of that word, pride.
Yes, the middle word. The middle word, pride.
I yes, the middle letter. I in that word, pride. And we love young people.
And those of us who are older, that same pride is in the heart of each one of us.
Oh yes, there was only one man that walked through this world without pride, and that's the Lord Jesus, the perfect man. And so here we find Peter.
Oh, he's self confident and he says though all shall be offended yet will not I be offended?
Well, now the Lord Jesus speaks to Peter, and he says to Peter.
Before the cockroach you are going to deny me three times.
Just think of that three times. Is there anyone here?
Who would deny the Lord Jesus this afternoon? Perhaps we might say the same as Peter.
Although others might deny the yet I will not deny thee. Oh dear young people and older ones.
You and I, unless kept by the grace of God, there is no depths to which we might sink in sin. And so we have the Lord Jesus speaking to Peter. Oh, he's faithful. He says, Peter, you're going to deny me three times.
Before the cockroach.
Yes, before the morning hours. Done.
Peter was going to deny the Lord three times.
Beloved someone.
This afternoon was to tell you, you better be careful, you're going to be tested today.
And you are going to deny the Lord Jesus.
I think I can hear others say with me, Oh no, let be love, let's remember Peter.
He was self confident. Yes, he was. And you know, there's that self-confidence in each one of us.
Too often and the Lord has to humble us in order to teach us a lesson.
And so Peter, you know, is that one whom the Lord chose. The Lord chose Peter to be a fisherman. And dear young people, if you belong to the Lord Jesus, afternoon. The Lord Jesus Christ has chosen you. We get that in the 15th of John. I believe it is when he said to his own Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.
Yes, and he says, I have ordained you what for? That you might bring forth fruit. And this is what God wants in our lives, dear young people. He wants fruit, that which will manifest that we belong to Christ. And so now the test is coming. Peter has been told, and all the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just think, knowing that Peter was going to deny him, yet the Lord chose Peter.
00:20:25
Honor those 12 disciples amongst two others. He chose three and Peter was 1 to go with him in that garden. Yes, what does it say?
In verse 3736 Then cometh Jesus with his, with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and says unto the disciples, Sit ye here while I go and pray Yonder. And he took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee.
And began to be sorrowful and very heavy. I asked. Here he is. There's a little distance separates them from the other disciples. And Peter is one of the three that the Lord chose to go a little further, you know. And Peter, he was one of the three that the Lord said these words.
What he says in verse 38 Then saith thee unto them, my souls, exceeding sorrowfully, even unto death, tarry here, and watch with me. Dear young people, when you read that word Watts, I believe in the word of God. We get the sense, three different senses of that word sometimes when you read the word, what if we find to the watts during the night, you know?
On one occasion it mentions the third watch, and in another sense it might be to look, you know, but I believe the sense here, the word, what is this to to be on our guard, to be prepared, yes.
You know when men hire people to watch their property, they expect them to be awake. They expect them to patrol around the property and to be on their guard.
And so they're not only looking, but they're on their guard, they're prepared for any emergency.
The Lord knew that Judas would have that procession.
Of those evil men, they were going to come and by wicked hands take a nail to the cross of Calvary. Oh yes, he knew. Perhaps they were already on their way. And here's the Lord Jesus in that garden. And what's he doing? He's praying, He's praying. Oh, he was a perfect dependent man, beloved.
And so he says to Peter, What with me? You know, I like that little word, Me, the Lord says, What with me?
You know, if you and I were to be called upon to watch all alone.
You know, we might get a little nervous, a little lonesome, but how precious. The Lord says, what's with me? What's with me? What a privilege, beloved, this afternoon to watch with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord had enemies, they were on their way and they love young people. We have enemies. Yes, the Church of God has enemies.
The assemblies have enemies and they allowed young people. The enemy of your soul and mine is on the watch, ready to catch us off balance.
Yes, he is watching to see the least sign of weakness. He knows what our old nature craves. Yes, he knows what that old nature of mine wants.
And he's watching my life. He's watching your life, dear young people. And at the opportune time, he will come along.
With that temptation.
Or what? With me. Oh, what's with me?
00:25:04
All we think indeed, of the evil that is surround us in this present world.
You know, those of us are older.
We can remember back a good many years.
And I'm sure that the oldest here the afternoon would say with me that the evil in this world is on the increase, the hatred towards God and the Lord Jesus Christ is on the increase, and the power of Satan is on the increase. They love Christian friends this afternoon.
Yes, the power of Satan is strong.
In a city near where I live not too long ago.
There was this in the paper advertising the Devil's Church.
And amongst that advertising, there was this.
That the devil and the Lord Jesus were going to be friends again.
Because the Lord Jesus taught the people love your enemies and the devil is the Lord's enemy and solely teach that the Lord and the devil are going to come together again as friends.
All beloved young people.
If the Lord doesn't come.
We don't know what lies.
Will be published in our papers.
What lies that we will see with our eyes and hear with our ears. And so this afternoon I would warn you and myself.
Let's watch. Let's be on our guard. Let's not go to sleep.
I remember a brother, he once took me with him.
To where he was working that night. And so after the meeting I drove him to where he was working and he says, brother, I have to watch all night.
Says brother. He says I have a table here. Yes, I have a table.
And I surround the table with chairs and then he says about midnight, when there's nobody around, he says I get up on that table and I have 40 wigs.
Was he a faithful watchman?
What happens to you and I when we are asleep? We are unconscious.
Of everything around us. And so that dear man.
There he was accustomed to sleep part of the night.
Instead of being awake.
We might criticize him, beloved, but what about ourselves?
What are we doing? You and I, as children of God, have a responsibility committed to us.
To watch. Yes, Jesus has watched with me.
And saw the man that is asleep.
He doesn't know what's going on. And sometimes you young people, I have to confess.
Sometimes I don't know what's going on. Even sometimes in a meeting it is possible to have other things before your heart that would cause you to be oblivious to every word that is being uttered. In a meeting. Oh yes, it is possible to go to sleep.
With your eyes open and your ears open to other things.
Oh, the Lord says what?
Beloved young people.
May I urge upon you and myself, let us watch, Let us watch. Let us be on our guard. We have an enemy and he wants to rob us. Yes, he does.
That is why men hire Watchmen.
Because there are those who want to rob and steal.
Dear young people, we have an enemy.
And wants to rob us? Yes, he does. He wants to rob us of the joy of the Lord. He wants to rob us of our testimony, yes.
00:30:07
And he wants us to bring this honor upon the name of the Lord Jesus.
And so.
Watch with me.
Now the Lord he went a little further.
And he found his face.
And he prayed, saying, O my Father.
If it be possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless.
Not as I will, but as thou will. Here we have the perfect.
Dependent, obedient man? Yes, there is. He's praying. He's dependent upon his Father. Are you and I dependent upon God this afternoon?
And his will is surrendered, he says. If it be possible, let this cop pass from me nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will.
All the love, young people and older ones, is your will this afternoon surrendered to the will of God.
We had some remarks made during these meetings about Self will.
And I'm sure we all are guilty of self will.
And we have to be on our guard. We have to be watchful.
Because that self will in my heart is going to spring out and manifest itself.
And so we have to be on our guard, we have to be independent upon the Lord. And when the Lord came back and found them asleep, what did he say?
He says what could you not watch one hour?
One hour, 1 hour beloved is not very long is it? And yet those 3 disciples, they couldn't watch one hour. The Lord Jesus didn't ask too much of those his disciples and he won't ask too much of you and I be loved. No he won't. But He does want to give to you and I responsibility He wants us to manifest to this world.
That we belong to Him. He wants us to be a testimony that our life will go out to those around us. That we belong to Christ. And so here he is. He finds them asleep. And so that little rebuke, what could you not watch one hour?
Could it be, dear ones, this afternoon that we're not willing to watch?
The little while, the Lord Jesus leads us here.
All the little while.
Compared to eternity, why we might say it's not one hour, No, it's not very long. And so he says to them, what? And pray. Now we have the additional words. He not only tells him to watch, but he tells them to pray. Dear young people, do you pray? Older ones, do we pray? How often?
In the midst of the busyness of this life, we neglect to pray.
Oh, the Lord says watch and pray, and may I add this, they love this afternoon if you and I do not watch and pray.
We have taken the first step in a course of self will.
All self will is a terrible thing.
Self will ruin your life, Yes it will. Self will make separate you from other dear children of God. Self will may divide the Saints. Self will may bring this honor upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Could it be beloved this afternoon that there would be any self where my heart.
That would cause sorrow to the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All we need this yes Peter took the first step and that path of self will when he went to sleep when he didn't pray. Oh what a privilege Peter had to be with the Lord on another occasion when the Lord was going to manifest to his own and Peter was again amongst the three that was taken up to that mound of transfiguration and when the Lord Jesus.
00:35:23
Manifested his glory with Moses and Elias. Talk with Jesus.
Oh, our wonderful privilege to be at that meeting. But what do we find? The disciples were sleeping.
They were unconscious of what was going on.
Dear beloved Saints of God, how often we miss the blessing in means such as this because we are unconscious in our souls of all that's going on.
Yes, all watch and pray unless you enter into temptation.
I can think of a dear young man that was a means of my being gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ over 40 years ago.
And I have much to thank God for His faithful words of warning to my soul.
I am much to thank God because He taught me much.
That they love this afternoon.
I have to confess.
That dear brother, he didn't watch and pray. He didn't keep his eyes on the Lord.
He got his eyes on his brethren.
And these many years?
He's isolated all by himself, He's lost his testimony. He's lost the joy of the Lord. And I was sad to hear lately.
That that same dear brother has been deceived by 7th Day Adventists. Oh awful, be alive. And so the enemy of our souls is busy this afternoon.
He is introducing false doctrine and we need to be on our guard.
We need to be on our guard. Lassie introduced some false doctrine into our assemblies, into our homes, into our individual lives. Oh, he's ready at all times. He wants to introduce that into our hearts. Be allowed.
That will rob us. Yes, will rob us. Oh beloved, this afternoon the Lord wants us do us good. Yes, He is good and well may we bless His holy name, and so watch and pray lest He enter into temptation. Well, we find the Lord praying the same word three times, and each time the disciples went to sleep. We might think that after the first little word.
What could you not watch that they would stay awake?
But they love. We're slow to learn.
That the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The flesh is weak, hence the need to be dependent upon the Lord at all times And so we'll turn over now we find that the.
Judith has come and the soldiers and the Lord Jesus is taken away before the high priest and verse 65 after the Lord Jesus bore a faithful testimony of the high priest that he was the Son of God. Where do we find the high priest doing he rent his clothes. Yes, he rent his clothes when the Lord Jesus acknowledged that he was.
The Son of God.
Oh, solemn for a high priest to read his clothes.
If you were to turn back the 21St chapter Leviticus, you will find that the Lord forbid the high priest who read his clothes. It was not allowed and here's the Son of God.
The very one who gave that commandment back in the Old Testament here is before the High Priest.
The high priest rents his clothes. Why? Because.
Jesus owned that he was a son of God. Oh beloved young people and older ones, this afternoon may you and I be found.
00:40:12
Claim until the Lord Jesus.
Depends upon him at all Times Now, we find.
Peter.
He's entering into temptation.
Yes, a self will will always take you into a place of temptation. And now the Lord Jesus is in that judgment hall.
Peter.
He followed the far off and he finally went his way into that very hall, into a place of temptation.
Dear young people, I want to warn you.
If you and I enter into temptation because of self, well, we'll have no power to resist the temptation.
And we'll have no right to expect the Lord to help us. The first time tells us this blessing or happy is a man that walketh not in the council, the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners.
Or sitteth in the seat of the scornful. And now Peter, he's walking in the counts of the ungodly.
He started in the way of sinners, and he's sitting in the seat of the scornful. Yes, in that company of people.
Peter was surrounded by those who hated the Lord Jesus, and now he has entered into temptation.
And the test comes This man is one of his disciples.
And what does Peter say?
He denies that and three times Peter denies that he is one of Jesus disciples.
Isn't this sad?
There you have a picture of your heart and mind.
If we walk in a path of self will, there'll be no power to resist the temptation, and so watch and pray lest he enter into temptation.
Now.
Could we just turn over briefly to several other passages?
We might notice.
Perhaps one in second Timothy.
Chapter 4.
But before reading this verse.
Five. I'd like to make perhaps another remark in connection with Peter.
When Peter denied the Lord the third time.
It says the Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and Peter went out and wept bitterly.
This morning a brother asked what is the meaning of repentance?
I would like to add perhaps another meeting and it is this repentance is having sorrow in your heart for grieving the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, repentance is having sorrow in your heart.
Peter went out and he wept bitterly. Oh yes, there was a manifestation of true repentance.
I once talked to a brother.
Because of a self will.
Path of self will and disobedience to the Word of God.
This dear brother had to be put away from the Lord's Table.
And you know, he wept, he wept.
But they lost. There was number truly presence with that brother.
He wept. He was sorry for the position his sin brought him in, in that he was excluded from the assembly. Yes, he was sorry that he was bereaved, the fellowship of his brethren. He was sorry. But there is no truth, repentance. There is no soul of heart for what he had done in dishonouring the Lord Jesus. Oh beloved, I trusted you and I.
00:45:12
We may keep short accounts with God. I trust it will have hearts and will be tender. Yes, and when we do grieve the Lord, we may honor to Him. And how blessed it is to have His word. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Well that dear brother.
It was a few years went by before he was truly restored.
I trust the true re patterns. Oh yes, they love. There is a repentance that may be just sorrow for the trouble that has been brought into your life because of your self will.
Oh, let's be careful.
Let's watch and pray. May I add a remark for the young people?
Especially the children this afternoon. I never forget a little remark my mother taught me when I was a boy. And I pass it on because, you know, sometimes I go to prayer meetings and I miss children. They're not there.
Other times I go to prayer meetings and I see children there. Oh, I want to encourage any children.
Here that go to a prayer meeting. That's where the Lord wants you. My mother taught me. Eric, the prayer meeting is a powerhouse for the assembly and I've never forgotten that little say to my mother that she taught me.
The prayer meaning is a powerhouse and they love. We need that powerhouse. There's no power in ourselves to resist evil.
And so indeed that power from above, and you know it's been remarked that communion with the Lord is the power to resist the evil. Yes, to resist the evil. Well, now in second Timothy chapter 4 in verse five, we have the apostle in writing to Timothy, he says, but watch thou in all things.
Endure affliction. Do the work of an evangelist.
Make full proof of thy ministry.
For I am now ready to be offered up, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness with the Are the righteous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but on all them also that love is appearing.
Oh, how loudly again. Timothy, a young man, he is encouraged to watch. In all things, this is important. Be on your guard. In all things, watch. Yes, be on your guard because.
Because we don't know the power of the enemy, we don't realize it often. And so he says what's in all things endure afflictions.
Time affliction come for half word attempted to attack an easy path, but the apostle reigns of Timothy says, what ends your affliction? Do the work of evangelists, make full proof of thy ministry, make full proof all dear young people, are you and I making foolproof of our ministry that with the Lord has committed to each one of us.
And the apostle could say that time of my departure that had yes, he was about to be offered up.
That is, to lose his life for the Lord Jesus. And what does he say? Is he, is he full of sorrow there? He's about to be offered up to lose his life? Is he sad? Is there any regrets in his heart for the decision that he made to follow the Lord?
No regrets, he says. I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.
00:50:02
Henceforth are laid up for me a crown of righteousness with the Lord. The righteous God shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but on also them also that love is appearing. Oh, may I address my remarks to any here who are not saved all. Could it be that there may be one that doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ?
I would dress my remarks to you this afternoon. I would seek to warn you of your danger. The coming of the Lord is drawing nigh. And dear one, this afternoon I can tell you on the story of the word of God that the Lord Jesus is coming soon. And I can also tell you, beloved young one or older one, this afternoon there is a joy and there is a peace and knowing the Lord Jesus.
And there is that rest of soul that we had before this morning in doing the will of God.
And beloved, there is a rest that remaineth for the people of God, and if you don't belong to Him, that doesn't include you. And so this reward is to all those who love His appearing. Well, I mentioned that there were three things.
First one was Watts and our brother brought before us yesterday that word. Follow me.
Oh dear young people, who are you following? Are you following the loss of your own hearts? Are you following some other brother or sister? I want to warn you, if you are, the Lord said to Peter. Follow me. Let's turn to John 21 for a moment.
We find in this chapter, without reading at all, but just remarking on one or two verses, the Lord first of all, ask Peter, do you love me?
And three times he asked Peter if he loved him. And it could be dear young people.
That we might have to ask you three times this afternoon whether you love the Lord Jesus.
Perhaps there might be that in your life that would cause some to have doubts whether you do love the Lord Jesus.
Well, the Lord Jesus said to his own, if you love me, keep my commandments.
Yes, and he asked Peter. Peter had denied him. And now the Lord in front of all, he says, Peter, do you love me? And Peter says yes. And three times, you know, And the third time Peter was green. Yes. Perhaps, dear one, you might be grieved if you are questioned more than once, whether you are saved or not, but oh, I'm sure.
That if any question whether you are saved or not, I'm sure it is your duty and privilege to prove that you do love the Lord Jesus. And Peter did prove that he loved the Lord. And I like to think of Peter, he could say to the Lord, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Well, that is a comfort to me. The Lord knows that I love him.
I trust that each one here might have that comfort.
And so Peter had responsibility committed to him, first of all, feed my lambs and feed my sheep. And may I add this, by the way.
Even young people can see those of us who are older. Yes, young people can be a help to those of us who are older. And young people too can see God's labs. What a privilege it is to feed a lamb. I remember once and visiting a brother, he had many sheep and his son took me to the barn because they had some new lambs.
And he had several milk bottles and he gave me one of these baby milk bottles, you know, to feed one of these little lambs. And I had it in my arm and I fed this little lamb with a, with a baby bottle. Oh, you know, I had a thrill. Yes, that little lamb, it didn't fight to get away from me. No, it was quite content to take that bottle to drink that milk.
00:55:11
Oh, how true this is of children. What a privilege it is to feed the little lambs. And it could it be that any one of us might stumble them, God forbid. Oh, the little lambs are precious to Christ. And then comes the added responsibility.
Well, beloved, if you're able to feed the little labs, then it might be the Lord to give you a privilege to feed the sheep. But I want to tell you this.
It's a little harder to feed a sheep, yes.
If you do not know the sheep, if you're not acquainted with it, it becomes a problem to feed a sheep.
And beloved, if you and I are going to do it, we have to do it in the meekness and in the grace of our Lord Jesus we had brought before us.
The first reading meeting that verse in Philippians chapter 4. Let your moderation be known at all men. And another translation says this, Let your gentleness be known unto all men.
Love, I trust that our candle us might be known to our brethren to one another and if it is the love Oh, I'm sure that there will be more of a readiness on the part of others to listen to God's word. And so now Peter is told in verse 19. Follow me, follow me and there once may I add this if you follow any brother.
No matter how well taught he might be.
You are in danger.
But if you follow the Lord Jesus Christ and keep close to Him, ah, you will enjoy His company. Yes, you'll enjoy His company. And the closer you keep to Him, why, The more you enjoy the communion with Him. And So what?
Follow me And the last is this.
In closing First Corinthians Chapter 11.
And verse.
24.
And when he had given thanks, he bragged and said, take, eat. This is my body which is broken for you. This do in remembrance of me. Oh dear ones this afternoon.
As these meetings draw out of a close, I trust if there's one here who has never answered to these desires of our Lord Jesus.
That you might do so all let's remember what we need to be watchful and we need to pray and we need to follow the Lord. But let's not forget Him. All for following Him we will remember Him, and this is what He has asked us to do. For how long till He comes?
Can we sing #24 in the back of the book?
Nothing but Christ's lawn retreat. The gift on Christ. God's living bread.
Staff in hand and feet well shot nothing but Christ, the Christ of God.
Nothing but.
Cry.
Everything around.
Let's try. Let's try and breathe in the world.
Everything.
Through all the.
01:00:12
No, it's it's gone over. No one's alive and it's not.
Philippians 4:1-9
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
General Meetings Waiting August 1973 First reading meeting.
Verse 9 verses perhaps for this afternoon reading.
Libyans 4.
9 verses.
Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and long for.
My joy and crown, so stand fast, and the Lord my dearly beloved.
I beseech you, odious and besieged Centipede, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
And our entreaty also true Yoke fella, help those women which labored with me in the gospel.
With Clement also.
00:05:03
And with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord, always and again I say rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving, Let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest.
Whatsoever things are just whatsoever. Things are pure. Whatsoever things are good. A good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Those things which ye have both learned and received, and heard, and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you.
You have any special thought on your heart, Brother Lundeen and taking up these verses and Lithium 4?
Yes, I believe that we have here the.
The wilderness pathway. It's really normal Christianity that's before us, isn't it? And we don't have sin mentioned in this epistle.
But we do find that there are little things that come in that may disturb the normal relationships and activities of the same, and so we find here the encouragement.
The apostle who's in prison for the Saints to go on together in those things that they can to enjoy.
The precious truth that he's brought to them, and is that with the consciousness that the Lord is at hand at all times. And if there are things that come in between the Saints, they must remember that there may be the two sides, but there's also the Lord's side.
And we have to remember that it's the Lord that's guiding us through this wilderness.
Now we have peace mentioned here.
The disciples went forth preaching peace by Jesus Christ. Well, this is what should characterize the assembly, should characterize the people of God. And we haven't mentioned in two ways here, as we will notice perhaps as we go on.
It's definitely a pestle. A pestle that is it more the.
The ministry of a shepherd and the ministry of a teacher.
Saw the Apostle in and introducing his subject and writing to these Philippian Saints. He doesn't even call himself an apostle. He's not occupying the fence with his authority as he did it, 'cause he was very necessary and important because of the state of things.
And we have hope through the epistle.
That type of ministry which encourages.
And strengthen the Saints, as you say, and connection with their wilderness journey, to go on and be happy on the Lord, rejoicing on the Lord even when things are.
00:10:03
Are sad.
And difficult and.
When there's much to discourage.
And disheartened the Lord's people and when we stop to think of the situation.
Are the Apostle at this time? We see how qualified he was to give just such encouragement as you find throughout the Sebastian.
For everything was discouraging as far as his pathway was concerned.
He was facing a trial before the Roman emperor Emperor.
Having to be tried for his life.
And he had enemies on every side. And then there was a little state among the assemblies.
Not so much, I don't think, Philippi, which seems to have been in a happy state when he was writing two of them, except for one little problem.
But as to the general condition among the people of God that have been saved and gathered to Christ.
Forming the body of Christ, things were not as they were at the beginning of the testimony, when they were all together and of one mind. And the great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection.
They had all things common. There was very remarkable and happy state. But now things have waned and there had been a sad, very sad departure. In fact, the apostle says in the second chapter that that all seek peril and offer things that are Jesus Christ.
Well, that must have burdened the apostles heart to think of.
How? How selfish the Saints were whom the Lord had blessed and brought out a heathen them and then to think that there were those just near professors that were actually preaching the gospel and yet just making a pretense and seeking to add affliction to the apostles bonds.
Figure of further trial that must have been to the Apostles.
That is, they were taking advantage of his being a prisoner to make it as difficult and crying as possible.
Figure in the early church such a state of things where there would be mere professors.
Would actually get up and preach, and it wasn't with sincerity at all.
How the apostle was faced with all those trials, trials from without, and trials from within. And here he had been in prison for four years.
And at the time you received the contribution from the Saints at Philippi carried by papaditis, he'd actually been hungry. He hadn't enough.
To supply his temporal needs. And yet isn't it remarkable, beloved, the prisoner with all those trials without him within, that he can lift the hearts of the Saints right up above all the passing circumstances?
And.
Fill their hearts with joy, and delighted to follow the coming of Christ, and they change. The bodies will pass through, and we become like our blessed Lord. And here the one who is writing here to rejoice in the Lord always. And then he says again, I say unto you, Rejoice.
So it just teaches us this lesson.
That in the midst of all the circumstances of Christian life.
There never comes a time when we're deprived of the full enjoyment of communion with Christ and can be happy in our souls, although we're passing through deep waters of soul and troubles.
00:15:15
Surrounding us. Yet the Spirit of God can raise us up above these trials and occupies with those things that he speaks of that.
Are lovely and of good report.
Wonderful festival. I feel myself in so much needed in these days.
And we're passing through where there's so much weakness on every side.
The fruit of the Spirit is Lovejoy, peace. That's the first mention of the fruit of the Spirit, and I was thinking that we have that here. In these verses that were read you find joy, that is love. He speaks of the His brethren, dearly beloved.
The first person then in the 2nd or the 4th verse he speaks of joy, rejoice in the Lord all the way. And again I say rejoice. And the seventh verse he brings in peace, the peace of God. Well, I think this is very blessed because as you were saying, Brother Barry, the the condition of things, the enemies were that would discourage the Saints of God. But I believe in the 4th chapter of of Philippians that we have here we have Christ our strength.
And the Spirit of God producing that Lovejoy and peace in the assembly and in the hearts of those who go on with the Lord Jesus, realizing that in ourselves we have no strength, but Christ is our strength, as the apostle says.
Later in this chapter I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. So how nice to know amidst all the difficulties and and discouragements, there is still the Spirit of God that can produce that love, that joy and that peace. I think it's a very blessed.
There was a time when Moses went out to deliver the children of Israel that.
He started in the energy of the flesh and he had to go to the wilderness for 40 years so he could be a fit vessel to the use of God for the deliverance of the people. But at the end of those 40 years, he didn't consider himself a fit vessel to be used, and he was very hesitant about going, however the lessons that Moses learned in the wilderness.
Caused him to be meek and yielding.
Although at the same time firm for the truth. Well, I believe we have something like that in Philippians. It's a wilderness epistle.
And the apostle is giving us in principle in this epistle.
Many things that he has learned experimentally in his pathway.
Up until this time now, the Apostle Paul was now in prison.
And yet he was rejoicing. And we find this, I think someone has said over 14 times mentioned rejoicing in this epistle. I've never counted them, but.
Over and over again, the apostle insists on this word rejoicing. Well, he was in prison. Everything was dark as far as circumstances but Paul?
Was not living in his circumstances, if you understand what I mean.
Paul was living above them. It's like we have in the second chapter of the Song of Solomon skipping upon the tops of the mountains. What would do this for the apostle? Well, it was because he had been in the presence of God, and he had renounced everything here as an object in this world. And as we see in the previous chapter, he was insisting on heavenly things.
Well, I lifted him above this world and what he speaks here in this chapter about the things that are good.
And so on. He doesn't mean natural things. He's Speaking of spiritual things. He's Speaking of those things which in which we practically apply Christianity down here in this wilderness, and not only ourselves in the enjoyment of these things, but lifting others up too, by example. And so the Apostle.
00:20:21
When he was.
Unsaved was an insolent and overbearing man.
But notice how this chapter starts out.
It says therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
There was a time when the Apostle was occupied with himself and his righteousness, and his standing before man.
He speaks of that in a previous chapter, Human righteousness. But all that's gone now, and he's already spoken in the second chapter of the graciousness of Christ as the example for the believer. And he's setting this before the Saints.
And it's this beloved that gives peace and rest, joy and love, as our brother's been mentioning, not the things of this world, nor the circumstances which were found. And unless the Spirit of God lifts us above these circumstances, we'll never have joy or peace. The heart must have an object, and that's what we've had in the previous chapter. And so the apostle now is bringing us at the end of this.
Look to the point of our enjoyment.
These truths that he set before us in the book of Philippians to go on quietly in peace until the Lord comes for us, until we realize the fullness of the blessing that the Gospel brings to go on in peace, and the enjoyment of the truth, no matter what the circumstances may be.
Rather striking that in the end of the third chapter.
He speaks of girls that I've told you off, and now tell you weeping, that they're the enemies of the Cross of Christ.
He had been weeping over some that he had hopes would go on and be used and be a blessing, and now his heart has really broken over the sad spectacles and find that the deeds that he has this time.
Hopes for turned out to be the enemies of the Cross of Christ.
But as you say, brother, that he didn't allow these things to get him down, he didn't get under the the burner. That was really very oppressing and distressing. He rose above it. And I believe that 30 is really the victory that the Lord would give us not to get under conditions. There are conditions among us.
That are sad and deplorable and heartbreaking, but the Lord would have us to rise above them.
And what is the remedy when things get?
Distracting and disturbing.
Way is to rejoice in the Lord. We may not always be able to rejoice in our brethren. We may not be able to rejoice in the way the meetings are progressing, but we always can rejoice in the Lord.
You better. What a word that is for us. How much are we occupied with that blessed one?
In whom God the Father Himself found all His delight, How often do we get our minds onto His blessed person?
Well, we know how wandering our minds are and how apartment we are to get taken up where things that are disturbed or happiness. Well, that's when these things get way heavily upon us just to get occupied. Well, the blessed man in the glory and the prospect he gives us at the end of this chapter.
00:25:03
We shall change our we should read our body of humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto His body of glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto Himself.
To get the person of Christ.
And the coming hope and prospect of being like him in glory surely lists us about those things that.
Distress the heart and.
Hinder our communion. So I believe that that is the way the Lord will work out things that are perplexing and saddening. The heart is more occupation with Christ.
And having the hope of glory before us.
Satan cannot accomplish or work with those that are fully in the enjoyment of the love of Christ, but if he can get us so depressed and so.
Absorbed with things that either defile or things that are very sad and distressing.
Well, then he can accomplish what he is seeking.
To bring about in the entrance to the Blessing of the Saints.
The first verse again here therefore my beloved, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for my joy and crown, So stand fast in the Lord.
My dearly blog Lenovo is noticing the fourth verse. Rejoice in the Lord. Always and again I say rejoice. Well, brethren, if we're not standing fast in the Lord, we can't rejoice in the Lord.
I believe there's a there's something to this. I believe that to stand fast in the Lord is to recognize the fact that the Lord has authority in our lives and to stand fast in this not just so much stand fast in in Christ, which is very good, but here it's stand fast in the Lord. This is He's the one who has authority. We we don't accept the authority of man. This is not the case.
Stand fast in the Lord. Perhaps even a brother might might fail, We've all failed, but the Lord never fails. And so it stand fast in the Lord, regardless of the failure of our brethren. And then we can be found rejoicing in the Lord.
I believe that's very important.
Those 2GO together because as has often been said, that obedience and happiness go together. And so when you think of Christ will every believer stands in Christ. But sometimes, you know, if we're disobedient, we can't very well say we're standing fast in the Lord. It's the lordship of Christ that our brothers expressed.
And so we cannot expect to rejoice if we're walking according to our own wills.
So here we have the two as our brothers mentioned in the 1St and the 4th verses. You have the obedience in the first verse, and then you have the joy in the fourth verse. They go together, do they not? Now he's encouraging these two sisters to this end.
In the next verse or two, the second and third verses.
They may have their thoughts each one. And you know, we may be exercising our wills sometimes without realizing it and pressing it. And that is yielding, This is it. We get yielding this in the verse a little later, but you're yielding this be known. Well, sometimes we gain a big victory by letting our yielding us be known and we'll accomplish things that.
We never would accomplish if we continue to resist.
And sometimes it's just the flesh that's resisting. We don't realize it. And so the Lord has mentioned again.
In connection with these two, it says that they be of the same mind.
In the Lord.
00:30:00
So that would call for them both to seek out what the word of God would suggest.
It's the word of God after all, that decides things, isn't it? And if the service is to be right, it doesn't matter whether helping the Apostle or what they're doing. It must be according to the word of God, Otherwise it isn't of the Lord.
And the apostle says here in our entreaty also, who yoke will help those women which labored with me in the gospel. Now there are those that would jump to the thought that then a woman should be given a place to preach and minister, but you never find the Lord choosing them.
A sister.
And selecting his disciples, there were the women that attended the Lord.
Followed and in connection with his ministry from Galilee and other places.
Ministering, it says of their substance.
A very honor down, a very blessed place that these women feel. Mary Magdalene was once basically mentioned, and perhaps she was a lady because Mary of Magdala would suggest that she was a woman of title.
Well, these women followed the Lord and ministered their substance, and the Lord on one occasion sent her with a message.
For she was the first one to whom the Lord revealed himself to it.
After he rolled from the dead, and he we find that he sent this message by Mary. Go tell my brethren, I offend unto my Father, and your Father, my God, and your God.
Well, we find that she went and told exactly what the Lord told her to tell. I won't look it up, but if you read it carefully, you'll find she just delivered the message. And no, no more.
She was privileged to carry the most blessed message that has ever been communicated to any of God's children in this world, that we're united to a glorified Christ. His Father is our Father. His God is our God that ascended one. But she didn't go any farther than that. I didn't Commission her to preach in any way.
I only mentioned that as I'm sure that all here are not troubled about this matter.
But likely you'll find when you're going about among God's children, there are those that will insist that a woman should be given the same privilege as a man to go out and preach. So it's nice to be fair on these things and to see that there's nothing in Scripture to support that thought anyway.
Feed in the in the church, Paul says.
The women keep silence in the church. You get that in and 1St Corinthians and chapter 14. But what are the most important and?
Deep place sisters have in connection with the Lord's work.
I dare say that it hadn't been for the Faithful Sisters. We wouldn't be here this afternoon.
They have helped their husbands and when we go to the dormitories we find sisters assisting the Saints. Their first one we met was a sister. They have a very needful work.
At all times, the work of God depends on the faithfulness of sisters in entertaining and opening their homes.
Remember years ago down Kentucky that the sisters were the ones who opened their homes and through their godly.
Consistent.
Hospitality. The work was blessed and prospered, without which it would have never.
Had any start at all?
00:35:01
I suppose that the apostle is speaking to Epaphroditus here. Is he not, when he says true yoke fellow?
Because it might be that Epaphroditus was wondering about these sisters helping. We don't know what the problem was, but he mentions it, perhaps by way of correction. And he says, I entreat thee also true yoke fellow, that is, he has already spoken about the two sisters. Now he says, I entreat thee also true yoke fellow.
Help those women which labored with me in the gospel.
With my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. So there might have been a little question in the mind of Epaphroditus about the activity of these women, And the apostle clears up the matter here in this epistle.
Know that the state in the assembly was exceptional when.
And the only mention of any friction at Philippi was a disagreement between two sisters. And yet I doubt not in the second chapter.
And the first verse.
He is referring to that fact when he says, if there be therefore any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship of the Spirit, If any barrels of mercy fulfill ye my joy, let ye be light minded, having the same love being of 1 accord of one line.
Apostle says My cup is almost full.
Now let's this matter that is come in this disagreement, let that matter be cleared up, and then my couple run over, so to speak, the thought the apostle has there. And that is it shows that how even a disagreement among two sisters can cause.
Much have a concern that is there can arrive those roots of bitterness.
Now that you read up in the 12Th of Hebrews, whereby many are defiled, if these things are not look corrected, they can lead to much. So it's something like what we read in Song of Solomon take us to fox, the little foxes that spoil the vines, where our vines have tender grapes.
It isn't always the large things that are easy to see how wrong and how how.
How people they are, but it may be just little frictions, little disagreements when they're not just these things are not cleared up. How they can go and how others can be affected until many can be deprived by them.
So I'll never hear an old Brother Dunlop say that word. There. Take us the foxes is really catch the foxes. Get these little foxes before they spoil the vine. He cut off the tender.
Branches. And then the grapes, all with him. There's no fruit whatever. No, beloved, let's remember we're here to bear fruit for Christ, and we want to judge anything that.
Word hinder that proof that delights the heart of God the Father as he looks down upon his vineyard here below.
Nice to see that in this official. That one mind I believe is mentioned in every chapter.
You notice the first chapter and the 27th verse.
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ. And whether I come and see you, or else the absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. And then in the second chapter, the verse our brother Barry has called our attention to the second verse, chapter two and two, fulfill ye my joy that you be like minded having the same love being of 1 accord.
00:40:25
Of one mind then in the third chapter and the 16th verse.
Nevertheless, whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. And then in our chapter again I beseech Eudius and beseech Sintica, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. I believe this is a very important things. As our brother Lundin has said the for the wilderness journey we we won't need this when the Lord Jesus comes. We'll be there in all of perfection of His glory, but we need them now.
We need to be reminded over and over again that were gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the exhortation is to be of one mind in the Lord. Well, I believe this is a very, very important chapter, very lovely chapter in a lovely book too, in the first chapter.
Not exactly the same words, but partakers of my grace in the seventh verse, that is having the same grace.
As the apostle, I was just adding one or two to your thoughts here. And as you've mentioned in the second verse of the second chapter you have like mindedness, same love, same accord and same mind. And then in the 17th or 18th first of the second chapter you have the same.
Cause and I believe you have it all the way through.
Like dust minded in the third chapter and 15th verse. In fact, as you say, it's all the way through the the book now in our.
Fourth verse of our chapter.
The Apostle as much as takes the stand that the Saints are going to bow to what he suggested, and so he goes on with the thought of that.
Rejoicing together.
Rejoice in the Lord, always and again I say rejoice.
And then in the fifth verse.
Let your moderation, or yielding this be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Now am I right to say that this suggests that the Lord is present with us, and we can well afford to let our yieldingness know. Now if someone to think of it as the Lord's coming, it's all right, but I breathe the emphasis here is the thought that the Lord is present with those.
To walk with them through the wilderness. Here they're conscious of His presence, and so we can afford to do a lot of yielding when the Lord is present with us.
I agree with that, brother. I believe that's right, brother.
The Lord is at hand. He's right near.
This little difference we think of it as something inconsequential, very small.
Maybe a little difference of thought or words or action, but if we think of it as really being a breach of the spirit.
It's a serious thing, isn't it?
It's not maintaining the unity of the Spirit, is it? No, But we allow these things to come in. But it looks as though the apostle is assuming here at this point in the book that they're going to do what he says as they as you have always obeyed, he says in the second chapter. I believe he assumes this of them, doesn't he? That they will obey.
Call attention to.
After Speaking of Clement also.
And with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life.
He doesn't give all the names of those for his fellow laborers, their Philippi, but he can't say their names are in the book of life. Perhaps the Philippian sailor was one of those, so that is even more important and more blessed. It isn't it than to have our names written down here.
00:45:15
To know that they're written up there. And this isn't just the same thought where we get the Church of the first born, which are written in heaven. That's the title, as it were, for every child of God.
But these are names written. There are those who were fellow laborers who served the Lord when the Apostle was among them. And rather than how happy it is to think that any little service in your local gathering that you seek to do for the Lord is recorded above you may may not be.
Written up down here, No one may know anything about it in this.
Life. But there's a record of it up there. Connected with the name are those who served, and in this case, in a local way.
When the Apostle was there among them, he doesn't just do all his service for the Lord himself.
And he accepted the help and the assistance of others, and we can encourage them.
To think that their names are up there in connection where their laborers. Someday it will be all revealed up there.
Regarding the authority of the Lord in the midst as gathered to His precious name years ago.
A beloved brother. An older brother. I'm sure most of us know him here. Morris Smith, MW Smith.
I remember I was just just saved, just gathered to the Lord's name and was rejoicing in it.
And he noticed this and he said, Now I see you're quite happy, aren't you?
And I said, yes, but he said, you, perhaps in your previous life you've been happy to do what you please. I said, That's right, he said, Well, you're gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus, and you can't have your own way here. And I thought that was very good instruction. I thought about it many times since. And if we each one realize that more in our souls, I'm sure there would be less difficulty.
Has to know that the it's the Lord's authority. He has authority in the assembly. And I I can't have my own way. This is not not the right spirit. And so I was thinking of it in connection with some of these verses that have been read.
The first thing the apostle said when he met the Lord was, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
And that's what should characterize the life of every Christian, should it not, whether they're gathered to the Lord's name or not, because some may not have seen yet that precious truth, but.
What will thou have me to do?
It's we're not our own. We're bought with a price.
And we're not to be the servants any longer of sin. And for doing our own wills that certainly sin, isn't it?
Essence is seeing is sin and lawlessness is the correct translation that you have in first John four or first John 3.
That is there. It's, it's a very quality translation and well, we might turn to it since the subject has come before us first John and the third chapter and the.
The fourth verse, whoso committeth sin, transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.
Said that, there are two doctrine errors in the King James translation and this is one of them. The other is in Galatians 5 where it says walk in the spirit and.
00:50:09
Walk in the spiritual. I have to look at it.
Relations.
The 5th chapter cannot for the 17th verse, for the place lusted against the spirit and the spirit against the place, and these are contrary to 1 to the other, so that she cannot how it should read that she should not do the things that she would.
Taking that first as it is there and make it appear that if you walk in the spirit, you're in a state of soul where you can't sin, whereas the fact is that.
That.
Walking in the spirit? Well, then.
You are able to resist the activity of the place so that you need not sin.
Are in this form verse first John 3 whosoever commits sin, I'll read that is lawless.
For sin is lawlessness.
The strange thing that the translators.
Translated this word a number of times, I believe 14 times and only once gave this meaning that sin is the transgression of the law.
Well, that has led to a very widespread false doctrine.
That sin.
Have.
That sin is a willful transgression of a known law. Well, that isn't true at all. Sin is lost whenever I say I will and insist on having my own way, though I may not have committed any outstanding Senator. That's the very essence and root of sin itself.
That's why it's in came in when he took the fruit. She acted in self will in disobedience to the word of God, and that has been the root of sin from that day on through the whole sad history of the human race.
Dave Pentecost brought a tremendous change. It is not for man because the spirit came down and that was the power of a new life.
The principle of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the principle of sin and death, as we have in Romans. But it wasn't until the Spirit of God came down that there was the power.
To carry out that which the new life desire.
Is that so?
Well, I didn't intend to switch you off, Brother Londine. From what you were bringing out about, the Lord is at hand.
I was thinking about the Barry of the.
These lessons learned by the disciples as they begin their ministry in the 4th chapter of Luke. We won't turn to it, but you'll remember that Peters wifes mother was sick of a great fever.
And here Peter was called to go out and serve the Lord, and he simply turns, and Jesus is standing there, and they besought him for her. And she rose up and ministered to them.
Well, I believe Peter needed that lesson at the beginning of his service for Christ, that if if we do those things that he wants us to do, he will take care of our circumstances.
Peter learned at the very beginning that the Lord was at hand and that he simply needed to turn and ask him for what he needed. And that's actually what we learned from Hebrews in the 4th chapters at Nah, that we go to the throne of grace not to beg for help, but we go there because the Lord has already provided the help, and we go there to obtain that.
00:55:08
Seasonable Grace.
That we need and we should go in faith believing when we go to the throne of grace.
Now, as you said, that if we're right in the Spirit, we're walking in the Spirit, we'll be more apt to know the mind of God when we pray, will we not?
That word be careful for nothing doesn't mean that we are to be terrorists about.
Our Home Affairs.
For our business affairs.
And the thought is, I believe that we're to be carefree.
Not burdened and weighed down with the.
Cares and affairs of life, allowing these things to become such a weight that they hinder are going on and the enjoyment of the Lord's things. Perhaps we gotta learn a lesson. I believe it's in the 55th Psalm.
Yeah, the 55th Psalm on the 22nd verse.
Cast thy burden upon the Lord.
Say that the Lord will take the burden away.
Or does it say, And he shall sustain thee, he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved?
Instead of the Lord taking the burden away, He gives us grace and strength to bear the burden that He has put upon us. He may see that it's best that we should carry that burden.
So we go again.
And tell him all about our trials and sorrows and troubles. And then we get to what is promised here.
The peace of God which passes all understanding, keeping your minds and hearts through Christ Jesus.
Thinking about all speakers here and says be careful or anxious for nothing.
That is, have that, as you say, burdened with these things we can. We're not to be anxious, but to cast it off upon him, or thinking what Peter says in his epistle. Nice to see in first Peter 5 and verse.
Six Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
Casting all your care upon him for he care for you. Well, I just thought about being careful or anxious. Well, here we're told in Peter we can if we are we can cast it all upon him. It says for he careth for you. Why I think this is very, very comforting verse because we do get under things I know I do. And.
Though I'm told to be anxious for nothing, yet I find that I have anxiety and I have cares. Well then I turn over to Peter and I see that if I do, I can cast them all on him, for he cares for me. He has a concern for me. So it's nice too to see the early part of that, isn't it? Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and that He may exalt you into time. We wait for another day.
In Luke the 20.
23rd chapter No.
The 21St chapter.
The Lord is setting before them the events that will take place at the end time that will bring perplexity upon the nations.
01:00:01
And times that will be difficult. And then he says to his disciples.
In the 34th verse of Luke 21 And take heed to yourselves, lest at anytime your hearts be overcharged with Serpentine and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unaware.
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Well.
We all have cares, but we don't need to be overcharged with them.
For the simple reason that we're not able to take care of them anyway.
Now in Jeremiah 10 there's a verse I think that's very helpful.
Jeremiah 10, the last of the chapter.
Verse 23.
Oh Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. Now fit that with Psalm 27 in the first verse.
The Lord is my light.
And my salvation, that is, he's the one that saves me through this world.
He saves me for heaven too. But in the Psalms, particularly here the the path, the wilderness path that we have in our chapter today the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?
And the sound ends with Wait, I say on the Lord.
Well, that's in keeping with what we have in our chapters, if not because.
This results in that piece.
That God himself has that keeps the heart in mind through Christ Jesus.
If we wait on the Lord, we're in the enjoyment of that peace.
That.
We mentioned in the seventh verse the peace of God.
Which surpasses understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. And so Christ is brought into it, isn't he?
Perhaps all the young people might not be clear about this. The difference between.
Peace with God and the peace of God. If we look at Romans 5, we will get the first mansions.
Romans 5 and the first verse therefore being justified by faith.
We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now that's the peace that a Sinner receives when he accepts Christ as his Savior. For the verse before us tells us that He was delivered for our for our offenses, and raised again for our justification. Then faith comes in and accepts the one who was delivered up on the cross.
And God has raised triumph from the dead, and now we have peace with the very God before whom we once were. How guilty and condemned for all of sinned, as you get in the third chapter, and come short of the glory of God.
But now the peace we get here, the peace of God, is the Saints peace. It isn't the question of our getting peace about our sins being borne by our substitute on the cross, but it's the result of presenting everything.
In prayer.
Supplication with Thanksgiving.
01:05:00
Supplication is earnest in treating. I believe it's the same word you get in connection with the Lord in Gethsemane when he says that he prayed more earnestly. And then it was as Luke tells us that his sweat was as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
That earnest entreaty.
That we find there.
We can go in prayer, but if it's something that weighs very heavily on our hearts, we can also.
Bring it before the Lord with supplication, and then they should always be a spirit of Thanksgiving.
Knowing how many times the Lord has come in in His mercy and knowing that he makes no mistakes.
And that we can fully trust in His love and grace.
Well then, it doesn't say as a result.
Of coming in this way that we get the immediate answer to our prayers.
But we get something that is God sees is more important than the answer we so truly long to see fulfilled, And that is the peace of God and that pass of all understanding. We can't know how God is going to work things out. Mr. Darby says that sometimes we're looking for the answer in the front door.
And the answer comes in the back door. God has his own way in his own time.
And answering the supplications and prayers that are offered to him. But while waiting for God's time and wait, we can enjoy that peace in our souls, a peace that comes right down from heaven into our poor, troubled hearts. And the tendency, as I'm sure we all know, is to let the troubles come between us.
And our blessed Lord.
Instead of the peace of God between US and the one who loves us.
And I've laid the word there is the peace of God, which passes all understanding shall guarantee Garrison. You know what a Garrison is? Yes. The protect support from the attacks of the enemy, so that the enemy isn't able to.
To invade.
I read an account one time of one of the Scotch barons that deceived the capital of arrival of his and he waited, and waited and waited before he would starve the his rival out of his castle. But they seemed no evidence of his ever surrendering and one day on the side of the.
Castle. He saw a long string of fish.
And then he knew of the reason. They had access cave down to the sea, and they were bringing the wealth of the sea, and they could they could endure the seed forever. There was no giving in at all. Well, the enemy is besieging God's children, seeking to to dishearten them and discourage them in every way possible.
But this peace of God.
Garrison. It keeps the enemy out from finding any entrance whatever to the left, and to rob us of the joy and peace that our soul should should be in the enjoyment of.
Must have an object.
Around here I have no.
For the hedge about it.
Mine must have an object.
And the heart. Otherwise it will be taking up with something that isn't good.
01:10:04
And so if Christ is the object.
As we have here, it's by Christ Jesus, isn't it?
We find that that's the way that we're guaranteed Garrison and reserved, of course.
The mind is brought in because when we read Scripture, it passes through the mind naturally, the only way we receive it, really. And then it finds its launchment in the heart, by faith, through the conscience, no doubt, but at the mind.
Is the means by which we receive the truth, and the mind can be taken up with the thousand other things.
But we don't have peace that way, do we?
But the mind being taken up with those things that are mentioned a little later.
Things that are.
Pure, lovely.
Good report, virtue, praise. Think on these things.
How important that word is for us. Think on these things.
Whatsoever things are true, honest, just.
Pure, lovely, good report to be any virtue, any praise. Think on these things.
There is a verse in the Proverbs. I'm not just sure of the chapters near the end.
It reads as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. That is, our very character is formed by the things that we're daily occupied with, and if we're always occupied with evil and things that are wrong, even though there may be causes why we have these things brought to our attention.
But if we lower our minds to dwell on that, we can become morbid and useless Christians, So the sooner we dismiss.
These unhappy things and get them out of our thoughts, the better force and even in connection with our president who may have failed grievously and sadly.
And made some sad mistakes.
The more we are occupied with those things that have been happened, things that we can thank God for by the better force, so we know that every child of God has Christ in his heart.
And is there a brother Dunlop used to say, if he looked deep enough, we're going to find Christ there? And that's where we should be looking to see something of Christ in our brethren. And he'll be occupied with that.
Now this of course has nothing to do with assembly discipline, where matters have to be taken up in a righteous way. And sometimes, even though it is distressing, I may be even depriving.
Matters have to be taken up for the Lord's glory, but as soon as we can have these things.
Dismissed and out of our minds and get our thoughts again engaged with those things that are lovely and a good report, the happier and the better poorest.
Go ahead brother.
I was just thinking, is this part of the wisdom that's from above, isn't it? I think the James, I'm thinking of James, the festival in that connection is what you said for the very in Game 3.
I think there's a good expectation here. Connection in connection with with purity and peace.
In James, the third chapter, it says.
In the 13th verse, who is a wise man? And in June, with knowledge among you, let him show out of a good conversation his work and deepness of the wisdom.
But if if he has better emptying, and strike in your hearts glory not, and lie not against the truth, or this wisdom descendeth not from above.
01:15:04
But his earthly sensual endeavor, for we're ending in strife, is there is, there is confusion and every evil work. But then I was thinking of this, the wisdom that is from above. It says the wisdom that is from above is first pure. Stand fast in the Lord.
The wisdom that's above is pure, that's that which should characterize us ourselves. In standing fast in the Lord, it's first pure. That's that's being wise. That's the wisdom from above. If if I'm not standing fast in the Lord, I surely can't be of help to my brethren. I'll be a hindrance to them. But then I was thinking to the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable.
And peaceable. And then it says gentle and easy to be treated.
Full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and not without hypocrisy. Oh, I think these are very searching versus scriptures, very searching words. And then it says the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. That is if I'm if I have that desire to go on with the Lord in a peaceable way, then there'll be good fruit that is bound to be good fruit.
Some time ago in our one of our readings the went through the book of James and we were just.
We were just thinking, pondering this thought that if there are two of us, two brothers, and it's our sincere desire to please the Lord in the first thing, why, there would never be a difficulty. There wouldn't be any difficulty. There'd be no problem. Because my desire first is to be pure before the Lord, judging myself before the Lord and standing fast in heaven. And His is the same.
And so there's no problem, there's no difficulty.
Wonderful truth. Read that verse, that 18 verse.
In the new translation for us, William, please.
Fruit of righteousness and peace.
Very striking. I believe the meaning there.
But the fruit of righteousness in peace is sown for them maintenance lovely verse. Root of righteousness in peace, sown for them that make peace the lesson we need I was going to refer to.
Proverbs again, Brother Barry, you call her attention to it the 24th chapter.
And my brother just mentioned wisdom.
Now with that knowledge before us and wisdom.
There's such a thing as understanding too, but that's the.
Understanding, you see is the application of these two.
Result, the combining of knowledge and wisdom. And in James were told how we get wisdom.
On our knees we get knowledge by reading. Now notice this 24th chapter of Proverbs.
In the third verse.
It's just another angle of the truth that it might be helpful through Wisdom is an house, build it and by understanding it is established.
Now I believe here, applying it spiritually, it's this house, each individual believer.
Through wisdom is in house builded, and by understanding it is established, and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
A wise man is strong.
Yeah, a man of knowledge.
Increase a strength. I believe the application here is to the beehive.
I understand that a cell has six sides and then one side to cover. That would make 7, wouldn't it? And each little cell is filled. The bee is busy at all times. He's occupied with filling those cells with something very sweet that's stored up.
01:20:09
Now the winter will come when he'll need it.
And so I believe the encouragement here is for the believer to star up those cells.
With something sweet and the only place you get it is from the word of God. I can remember things that I read when I was very young that I had forgotten.
And many things. In Genesis, for instance, that came back to me years later, that the Spirit of God would apply when the time came. Well, that's what makes for strength in our spiritual life. If we apply ourselves to the scriptures, the reading of the word, not simply to be able to gain a lot of knowledge, but because it's sweet, because it's something we need, we store it up.
And the time will come when the Spirit of God will apply it. And that's what gives for strength in the spiritual life is to have those scriptures stored up and then the wisdom.
By getting on our knees and asking God to give us the understanding of them. Now Proverbs also tells us that understanding is the wellspring.
Of life.
We might just call attention to this.
That in the first thought about peace, in the seventh verse, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. But in the ninth verse, after having brought before us off, we should be occupied with.
Those things that are lovely good report there be any virtue, any praise.
To think on these things, then he says those things which he have both loved and received, and heard and seen and redo. And the God of peace shall be with you. First you have the peace of God keeping you, and now you have the God of peace with you. That is, in other words, you have the companionship.
Of the one who is the very source of peace.
To the soul in connection with your wilderness journey.
Astronaut with obedience, isn't it?
And the pause, those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do. And what will it be? Apostle had brought before the Philippians. His architecture was up there in the glory, Christ in glory. That's the object he had before us before him. And now, if that object is before us, we'll not only have the peace of God keeping us, but we'll have.
Is all the peace with us?
If Christ is truly the object in glory.
Is building our parks with that gladness and delight.
When we looked upward within the veil, our life is there. Our names are written in the lands on the floor.
That made us eat him and air.
All those glories which by right belong to him.
Whose margin is in heaven? The eternal song.
214.
01:25:14
Oh.
It's my rising.
Law.
Romans 8:22-25
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
General Meetings Wheaton, August 1973. Second reading meeting.
00:05:26
If the brothers feel is the mind of the Lord.
Could we could we take up the last half of the 8th of Romans?
Could I suggest that we begin reading at the 22nd birth?
Romans 8.
Romans chapter 8.
Verse 22.
For we know that the whole creation groaners, and travaileth and pain together until now.
But not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit.
Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the reduction of our body.
For we are saved by hope.
The hope that is seen as not hope.
For what a man seeth, why does he yet hope for?
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we, with patience, wait for us.
Likewise, the Spirit also help with our impermitting.
For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning, which cannot be uttered.
Neither search of the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he makes intersection for the Saints according to the will of God.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
To them who were the called according to his purpose?
For whom he did for know, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.
Moreover, booming did predestinate. Let me also call.
Until we call them he also justified.
And whom he justified, them he also glorified.
What shall we then say to these things?
Give God before us who can be against us.
He thus beareth not his own son, but delivered him up for us all.
Partially not with him also free to give us all things.
Crucially, anything to the charge of God's elect, it is God that justifies it.
Who is he the condemn? It is Christ that died me rather than his risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Who is your separate us and the love of Christ?
Your tribulation.
Artist graphs or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword.
As it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long.
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Now in all these things we are more than conquerors to him that loved us.
Before I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers.
Northeast, present N things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
00:10:22
Help us think if we were singing that hymn just now.
About Esco Grace.
The story tale of where thy path does lead.
Now, Esco grapes would suggest the joys that the believer has.
And remember, the spies brought the bunch of grapes from Esco.
As a witness of that good land.
Now we have the spirit here mentioned in this chapter.
In the 23rd verse.
Which have the first fruits of the spirit.
Esco is situated on a river called or a brook called Besor. It means glad tidings.
And it leads to the place of memory in Hebrew, a place of Vadnais.
Communion.
And it's the IT was the object of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob to reach Hebron.
And we find that, I believe it's recorded that Sarah died in Hebron.
Well, it's it's a lovely picture in that him we were just singing.
And as was suggested the other day, there was a tremendous change took place at Pentecost.
Because.
There God begins to open to the believer, the Spirit having come down.
The precious truth that the Lord Jesus was not free to bring to his disciples until he went on high and sent the Spirit.
And those are the truths that have to do with the inner man. We get them open to us in Ephesians.
The third chapter, that is.
That Christ might dwell in your hearts by faith.
Rooted and grounded.
So on it's that which as Paul suggested in this ministry.
We know no man after the flags. We don't know Christ after the flags.
No, there's something new come in.
That doesn't mean that when he met Peter, he didn't recognize Peter as a man down here.
But he meant there were an entirely new relationships, new joys that did not belong to this world, that this world will never know.
And so when the spirit came down.
In the 16th of John, the Lord could say it's expedient for you that I go away.
So that it might be now by faith.
And you and I might enter into these rich provisions.
That escalates. Great. Speak up on the way to Mamre in the place of Baptist.
Our farmers presented that two months brief information call which was brought as the proof of the fruit of the promised land.
It took two men to carry that, if it could have been that Joshua Taylor carried that bunch of.
Jake should Good fruit of the land.
For after all we know.
That they were the two who gave a true and a good report of what they had seen, and assured the people that they were well able to go up and possess the land.
Whereas the last 10 who were filled with unbelief and only looked at things.
In view of the giants they saw were there.
00:15:00
Which, in comparison, they looked like grasshoppers. They saw only the Johnson, their weakness.
Instead of fully trusting the Lord.
But isn't that wonderful that.
Joshua and Caleb went on with.
The with the nation.
All their sad to wandering because of their unbelief.
Or because of their unbelief, they had to spend 40 years.
In the wilderness.
Barreling up and down the desert sands.
And yet, Joshua and Caleb didn't desert the nation. They went on with the nation.
Until God came in and delivering grace.
In fact, we know that Caleb and Joshua were the only two.
That didn't stare and die in the wilderness of all that unbelieving generation.
And you can correct me, Brother Bundin, if I'm not right. I think that Caleb took possession of Hebron, didn't he, as his inheritance after all those wanderings?
And isn't there a lesson for us, beloved, not to get offended or discouraged? Because some of the ways of our presence, there is a tendency to just give up and say, well, I can't go on with those people.
And they're so careless and maybe say there's evil among them.
Well, when the enemy gets to working, everything looks like giants, you know, to discourage. But we need to go on and tread the desert with our brethren, even if there is that state of things that.
Is the result the truth of unbelief? We need to go on with them and not give up the testimony the Lord has raised up.
In these closing days.
This part of Romans we have the Spirit.
Brought before us as the power.
In the believers life, he's the person indwelling as the power of that new life.
And so we have various things mentioned in which.
He helps.
And also as it says later.
We have him as an intercessor.
That is, the Lord Jesus is on high as our great High Priest interceding for us.
But we also have the Holy Spirit down here interceding for us.
And it's a wonderful thing, the provision God has made.
For us now, there's another thought connected with the spirit that I think is important.
To notice it may not.
Seem important the moment, but when you think it over, it's Hebrews 10, I believe.
Hebrews 10.
And.
15.
Where are the Holy Ghost? Also is a witness to us.
And so on.
The point I'd like to bring out here is that.
Not only do we have a clear conscience because of what's said in the 9th chapter.
To the blood.
And the fact that we have been set aside for blessing.
Because the Lord Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice.
Not.
Not using his own will, but submitting entirely to the will of God, by which will we have been set apart.
But the third thing is the Holy Ghost is witness.
God, this truth should grow on us. It's very important.
And.
It isn't simply brethren that we read scripture.
It's the Holy Spirit that opens it to us or we never get it right.
00:20:02
And we should be dependent always.
Whereas the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us and that's why he came down.
To be that witness to us.
Now in John's Gospel, if you pardon me referring to it just for a moment.
The Lord Jesus told his disciples in the 14th chapters that he was going away and they would be left as orphans.
But he said, The Father will bring all things, will send the Spirit, and he shall bring all things to your remembrance of what I've said unto you.
In the 15th chapter where the spirit of God.
Would come down. He was sent when Christ went on high and took that place of authority.
Now the Spirit would witness and they would also be witnesses.
But in.
16th chapter.
It was expedient.
He says that he goes away.
That the Spirit.
Might come there the Spirit comes himself. He's not saying he comes, He comes from the Father. It's true, but.
In the first instance, the father sends him.
In the second instance.
The son who goes on I sends him and in the 16th chapter.
Where the disciples were under persecution.
He that killeth, you will think he doeth God's service.
Why now? The spirit has come down and he's going to show them heavily things because they lose everything here. And I believe that's the truth that we need today, brethren. We're going to lose everything here, and it's a good thing.
But all that we have in Christ, and how important it is that we have, what are in the enjoyment of this chapter that's been brought before us, because it's the power of the Spirit of God that takes us into heavenly things.
Now in the verses that come in between in Romans 8.
28th and 29th versus 30th.
The apostle leads on and justice touches on those things that will be revealed later in the other epistles. But he's leading aside, is he not in these verses?
To that which he has on his heart.
That the riches of the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
I'm sure we all perhaps have noticed that in the first part of the 8th of Romans you have the spirit of life.
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
But the apostle would not Harris to lose and thought, although the spirit of God.
In the believer produces a life and the character.
And joy and blessing.
That he is a distinct person.
That dwells within us, within us. So when you come to the 16th verse.
To correct any wrong thoughts that could be gathered.
It says the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit. See there is a Holy Spirit.
Have a distinct person.
Dwelling in the believer and that is basically the way, the spirit of God.
Is brought before us.
In these verses and we're now occupied, clearly.
The Spirit of God dwelling in the believers.
A distinct person.
Marvelous, wonderful truth. Consider that God the Holy Spirit.
Comes and 12 in the believer.
When he has accepted the gospel.
So that we're told in Ephesians 4 to breathe not that Holy Spirit of whereby you're sealed under the day of redemption. It is we all never cease to have the Holy Spirit dwelling in US. We can grieve him, and that is where we're to be careful and watchful, and exercise, lest we should allow anything to.
00:25:22
Go on in our lives.
That grave God's Holy Spirit, that divine guest, so that instead of his ministering.
As.
Desire here this this morning the precious things of Christ.
And setting our hopes on the glorious theme ahead. And he'll have to be wrapping at our consciences to lead us to judge things.
That hinder.
The reception and the blessing that God.
Desires for us to be in the enjoyment of.
How we look into his word.
Maybe you'll notice that reading the Gospels, that the first miracle of healing is the cleansing of the leper. That is, so that the believer might be brought into the presence of God clean. There's only one way that God can bless us, and that's with himself.
So the next miracle is that of.
Palsy the Palsy man.
Now that's the man who is absolutely helpless.
He might be clean, but he's helpless.
So he gets deliverance. Thy sins are forgiven me.
Now he's free.
Now in Romans, after the 5th chapter, the Spirit of God takes up the subject of deliverance.
In a very special way, in three chapters.
1St from our position in Adam.
And then?
From the power of sin.
Sin shall not have dominion over you, so on and then for what the law has to say, or sin in the flesh.
But then in the 8th chapter we really get the deliverance.
Now here we get the Spirit of God connected with Deliverance. Here we have the full deliverance in the 8th chapter.
You know, naturally, not only are we bound in our sins before the Lord Jesus puts them away for us, but we're bound with traditions, thoughts, all these things that plague our minds and tie us down, whether it be to a natural world or it be to a religious world.
They're spoken of as grave clothes, I believe the religious line of things.
Now the Spirit of God is a person. He dwells within us, and in this 8th chapter His work is to set us free entirely from everything, even the great clothes. Now you may use the brethren to do it, but it's through the Word and when the Lord Jesus said.
At the raising of Lazarus.
Lose him and let him go. He did not remove the grave clothes, but he.
He left that for their brethren to take care of, and I believe it's a it's a wonderful thing.
Is that each one of us be helpers in the truth, one to another.
In.
The various thoughts that are brought forth not only in the ratings but in between the meetings.
To be a real help in this way the removing of anything.
That ties us down Here in the eighth of Romans we have.
Full deliverance even to the deliverance of the creation in the millennial day, which is spoken of in the first verse that we read.
I was singing, Brother, I'm Dean, that you were saying the first miracle was the miracle of the bending of the leopard.
Perhaps that's true in one gospel, but I think especially in Mark.
You find the first miracle was when the Lord went into the synagogue.
00:30:05
And and cast out the devil, out of the man that was making such a disturbance, crying out as to who the Lord was. So really that has to come first. Doesn't it want to deliver from the power of state? And then the next thing is deliverance.
From the Department of Sin and their, as you say, is the.
Call it man.
Deliverance from his helplessness that morally Sims and Romans, isn't it, where the one desires to please God, but he's helpless, crying out. Who shall deliver me from the power of his death?
And he looks away to Christ, and deliverance comes. And then the 8th chapter is the conclusion, and one has seen deliverance, and that is there's therefore now no condemnation to them. For in Christ Jesus, seeing our faith, are standing in him. But I don't want to get off of the carnivals.
8 The Romans where we started.
In the early part of the chapter thinking of the.
This thought, it shows us what God has done with us, doesn't it?
There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. God is wrought, This is what he has done with us, and then we find in the later verses or following that we find.
That God is in me, in the person of the Spirit.
And but that isn't all either. At the end of the chapter we find that God is for us. So this is past, present and future, isn't it?
God's love is the same Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.
So marvelous truth that we have in Romans.
Eight very blessed.
It's always true that the three persons of the Godhead are at work together.
As you have just suggested, the work of Christ, the work of the Spirit, and the work of the Father.
Hebrews 10 would give. It would be the will of the Father.
God, the work of the Son and the witness of the Spirit.
At first you quoted or read is very felt their assistance.
Or whereas the Holy Ghost witnesses.
I was noticing when you're reading.
That in the 22nd verse we get.
We know there and then, then the.
28th verse And we know that all things work together for good for them to love God.
But one would rather tend to depress us to think of the whole creation groaning and prevailing and paying together.
What a sad world we're in.
Sadness enough to break our hearts, and we had hearts to break.
Think while a world of misery and sin has brought this world into this condition of misery and sadness.
But then there's another thing we know.
We know that all things work together for good to them that love God. So in the midst of all the miseries of this creation, God is working out His purposes.
For our good and blessings.
They might wonder, you know, why God has allowed things to go on.
Why his people suffer unrighteousness?
And trials and troubles, king of our dear brother being taken.
Hard to understand, you know, but in the midst of this ruined crease, God is working out his highest, his most intravenous purposes.
00:35:06
Well, God has allowed Satan to continue here and to molest God's people.
And it will not be till after the tribulation.
And the Angel comes down and takes that old serpent and casts him into the bottomless pit. And God is through, but he has a loud connection with Satan. Then he will dispose of it.
So even the fact that Satan is a God and Prince of this world.
Is used in connection with the establishing of God's people if we had nothing to resist.
Our Christian characters would not be developed, would they?
Brother Martin used to say that.
A calm sea never made a good sailor. It's the storm.
It's those highways.
That make the sailor.
A man that can wither, go through the storms and direct the ship on his course.
So God is allowing all these sorrows and troubles and allowing us to live in a world of misery.
Because he has the most exalted purpose in view to prepare us, to train us, to educate us.
For not just to get us to heaven, but for a capacity to enjoy the things that He has prepared for them, that love him.
I suppose there was not of the servants of the Lord for any of his people who went through as much as the Apostle Paul went to school.
And yet he has given us much to encourage us thinking of what we have, and we've been reminded of it from time to time, what we have in Second Corinthians.
In chapter 6.
He gives the account of the difficulties which he experienced both from the elements and from ungodly men.
Then in the 10th verse of 2nd Corinthians 6.
He tells us.
How sorrowful.
Yet always rejoicing.
Ask for yet making many rich as having nothing.
And yet possessing all things.
And then in the next chapter.
The middle of the fourth verse.
I am filled with comfort.
I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.
Then again, in the next chapter speaks of the churches of Macedonia who are going to persecution.
And he says in the second verse of the 8th chapter, Howard, in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded under the richest of their liberality.
How wonderful it is that the trials down here in this world, no matter what they are.
Such a glory before.
And how wonderful it is to know that it will not be long.
You'll be going to be rid.
Of this poor groaning creation.
We never.
Ourselves bring together.
A trial of affections and abundance of joy.
It shows that God's wisdom is so beyond.
Feeble apprehension of man.
Trials and afflictions can be the means rather than successor. Abundance of things down here to produce the deepest joy in the hearts of His people.
You're wrong. Do we not? Is seeking?
To go to the extreme of making ourselves comfortable here in this world.
It it only shows where our hearts are if we do this.
00:40:04
That John Wesley who did not have the truth that many have here.
Should say blessed with the score of finite good, my soul is lightened of its load and seeks the things about.
And as you have said, it's in the privations and trials and testings that the soul is weaned from these things which our eyes see in our hands handle.
And we get into those things which belong to the inner man.
Christ dwelling in the heart by faith, and that's what we should desire.
Not, not that we should surround ourselves with difficulties. That's not the thought. But nor should we seek.
To make our path easy.
And I think, Carol, we should not just deliberately try to deny ourselves comforts that God in his mercy.
Provides so that we can have our homes.
And comfort, so that perhaps we could better enjoy his work, belong in his service. We're speaking about Brother Dunlop. He carried things almost to legality.
He was taking a trip one time.
To from Chicago to Minneapolis and.
His wife. There are people old people insisted on sitting up all night.
Brother Carter admonished them. He said you should get a burden first Spring so high in those days. No, he said. My Lord didn't have any comforts like that. But, said Brother Carter, when he was the Lord was asleep on the ship, his head was on a pillow, so the Lord doesn't deny himself.
Opportunity to rest in comfort when he was on the stormy sea.
So we have to be careful not just to fall into legality like some monks in order to make themselves as uncomfortable as possible and think that spiritual.
We accept things that the Lord provides, but if we get occupied with those things and try to.
To to just settle down to a life of ease, We can soon neglect the things of the Lord. That's always our danger.
And we need to keep a happy balance and.
The pathway.
And Philippians chapter 4.
Apostle Paul says of himself the middle of verse 11.
I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound.
Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry.
Both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
Doctor Pink, Brother Smith said perhaps it was a greater lesson for Paul to learn how to abound than it was to learn how to suffer need because.
It's very wrong that when we are bound that our hearts get cold and neglectful of the things of the Lord.
Never talking to brother close when I was young man, what I do if I had $1,000,000.
I thought I could do a lot of good with it. Brother clothes looked very solid, he said. I know what I do. If I had $1,000,000. He said I'd go and make a perfect fool out of myself.
Well, the dear brother realized that.
He wasn't prepared to abound.
So there is that two sides of things.
Know how to evolve. That's very important to not get our hearts carried away with the ease and conveniences and luxuries of this life.
And then?
Times of scarcity and losses, troubles come. Know how to accept those trials and those losses as permitted, and sentence the Lord for the blessing of our souls.
00:45:12
Paul said that when he was old.
Say that when he was young, that I learned.
We're here to learn today, but Paul was at the end of his course and he could say I have learned.
And he was an apostle and has been a special vessel to.
Go through these sufferings as an example.
And a pattern for those who afterwards should walk the path of faith, as he says in Timothy.
I take it that it's by our bodies that we are connected with a groaning creation.
I was thinking of the 11Th chapter of John Brethren. How there at the the case of Lazarus?
Mary found out as a result of an instance of a groaning creation. She found out something of the compassion of the heart of her blessed Savior. If Lazarus had never died, she would never have known what it was to see the Lord Jesus grown in spirit, and she would never have known what it was to see if we.
He was entering into the sorrows that sin had brought into the world, even though He knew that He was shortly going to raise minders from the dead. And so we find in our chapter here that ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grow within ourselves. Well in doing so, as it were. Is it right, brother, to say we're having fellowship with our blessed Savior, For He grown? He groaned in spirit to see all that sin had brought in.
But at the same time, he wept, and Mary found out in that trial the love and the compassion of the heart of the Lord for her and for her sister. And so it is that Wendy's things happen that show us that we are partakers of us, groaning creation, connected with it by these bodies of humiliation. At the same time, we're learning the compassion and the love of the Savior's heart in those very circumstances.
This is a wonderful being is indeed, in one way, as you say, he is connected by these bodies with a groaning creation. In another way, he's connected with a new creation.
Which Christ is a head in glory?
The first fruits Love new creation.
Which will be very displayed in the coming days when Christ is raiding and has His place. Then we'll have a special place of nearness to him as that part of that new creation.
Glory that he picked up in this scene and rescued from this world of sin.
It's easy for us, isn't it, to look out on the world around and acknowledge the truth of the.
Of that verse we know that the whole creation grown up and travaileth in pain together until now. We know this, we acknowledge, we see it around. But.
The the rest of that it says not only they, but ourselves also.
And so we're subject to these things too, aren't we?
I know I can speak from my own in my for my own soul, that sometimes when these things come, I I I feel it. I I realize that I'm not the I don't have the faith that I should have. But this is one of the we knows of Scripture, isn't it? We know that it says not only they, but we ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit. We're still in the body. We haven't been delivered yet.
We do have the spirit of God that links us to glory, but we do have the body that is linked to the earth down here and the old creation. But how nice to know that we have this assurance. He's told us this. Even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. We have the redemption of our souls. We can rejoice in it. And we wait for the redemption of our bodies, don't we? And we realize.
That as the trials come, we see the groanings that we are in the body yet.
But what assurances we have in this lovely chapter that it's not only there's no condemnation to the believer and there's no separation at the end of the chapter, but here he assures us by the indwelling spirit of God that the God is for us and this is one of the things we know.
00:50:22
What is your thought, brother? Well, you just mentioned it, haven't you?
That the Spirit is indwelling the believer.
But we don't have our bodies, Gloria, do we? So we have the first fruit.
Talking about that hardness of the Spirit, isn't it?
We have the feeling of the spirit which is for safety and security.
We have the anointing of the spirit which is for power.
And we have the earnest of the spirit which is for enjoyment.
And that is the point here, isn't it? Already have the first fruits of the spirit for when we get?
To glory and are in the Father's house. The same Holy Spirit that has indwelled us down here will be the same Holy Spirit that will indwell us in that scene of glory where we'll be in our glorified bodies. But it will be the same blessed Holy Spirit.
Although there will be none of the infirmities and limitations that we have connected with this present life.
And that's why it says, Brother Mary, that we're saved.
Seems to me that.
This verse? This 24th verse.
The word should be in instead of by, Shouldn't it say in whole? Now that's connected, is it not, with the earnest of the spirit, the present enjoyment of that hope, Beloved?
Is what saves us through this world on our way home.
It isn't a favorable circumstances in which were found. In fact, they may be a hindrance, but it's this hope.
Now we have 1 hope, we're told in Ephesians 1. Hope. Well, that's to see our blessed Savior. He's coming for us, but we're saved in hope as the Spirit is free.
To take of the precious things of Christ.
And reveal them to us.
That Christ might dwell in our hearts by faith. It's the blessed hope of all that's coming. We have it now. By faith we enjoy it, but it's the earnest of the Spirit.
Rather tracking here that it says.
Now waiting for the adoption.
With the redemption of our bodies, well, we all know something of the meaning of adoption.
An orphan child is adopted into a whole.
Taken from an orphan home perhaps?
Where there's nothing of a whole life that the child.
Longs for, prays for.
Longs to have a mother, loves to have a father.
Where he will see his adopted into a form of abundance and plenty.
Where you have.
A father and a mother's love. What a complete and absolute change that is in the life of that little weight.
Well, now that part is introduced here, we're waiting for the adoption that is to be brought into an entirely new scene where everything will just be according to the desires, delights of the new nature which we already possess.
We're waiting for that adoption to be taken out of this world of suffering and sorrow and heartaches.
Be with and like Christ in his glory, and then he speaks out the redemption of the body which.
Will be necessary in order that that adoption might take place.
We know that we're our souls are already saved.
Everyone here, young and old, is fully aware of that, for Peter tells us that.
00:55:06
Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your soul.
Nice for these boys and girls if they have just accepted the Lord Jesus has a personal savior.
Their souls are just as much saved at this moment as they ever will be in heaven.
But as you look over this company, you see many evidences that we're not going to stay here forever.
That we're in temporal bodies.
Our bodies are not yet redeemed.
But there's a lovely person. I think it's in the 13th of Romans.
Perhaps I find them wrong when I turn to it.
13 For the Romans, if I remember rightly.
It has a.
The 11Th verse, and that knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believe.
Well, if we don't understand about our soul, we'd be confused.
But that question is settled.
So that we see that salvation is used in different ways. Peter used it in that verse referred to as the soul.
Paul and the 13th of Romans is using the same word in connection with the body.
Brother HG Hale used to say we're only half saved.
He meant by that that our souls are saved, but our bodies are not yet saved.
And that is a grand part, isn't it?
And when we remember that when man failed, he fell bodies, soul and spirit. And when God provides a remedy, he doesn't provide a remedy that short of man's needs.
If the body was to go back to the grave, go to the grave into corruption.
The work of Christ would not be a perfect work.
It wouldn't meet for our complete fallen state of ruined man, but it is a perfect work and it must take in the body as well as the soul.
And the moment the Lord gives the shout in the air.
That salvation will take place.
Nice to have these things, although well known.
To so many in the Philippians 3.
Where you get the part of the.
Salvation of the body.
20th 1St I'll read this as it is in a better translation.
For our citizenship or man of life.
Is in the heaven.
Heaven, from whence also we look for the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
That's for far the better translation.
Who shall change our body of humiliation?
It may be fashioned like unto his body of glory, according to the working, whereby is able even who should do all things unto himself.
Jesus Christ as Savior. That is, when the Lord comes out of heaven with a shout and the voice of the Archangel. He comes as a savior to save these poor bodies and also to save His people.
Out of a world of sin and misery.
And all the temptations that surround him to set them free from every hindrance.
That belongs to this present seat.
And then he changes.
These were bodies, and we get it in First Corinthians 1551 That it's all in the twinkling of an eye, one moment in bodies of humiliation, the next moment in bodies of glory.
I like their answer, Brother Clifford Brown. I've heard him give at different times.
01:00:01
As to the objection that man has raised as tools.
Of the bodies of God. People being brought back after maybe they have been eaten up by sharks.
And have been burned and there's ashes scattered to the four winds.
Oh, let's take those bodies ever be recovered?
Our dear brothers answer is just.
Bound in this 21St verse, and it's just in three words, he.
Is able that settlement.
Oh, we're one sin of Israel is that they limited the God of Israel.
And our poor minds are always trying to limit.
The infinite power of Almighty God.
God is supreme thing of God taking the dust and forming the body of Adam. And men are studying today and just finding a little of the mysteries and wonders of that the human body that we're living in. Yet God could take its informants and all its perfection there after he had.
Brought other.
Creations into existence of any broad landing and look at everything that God has done in perfect business. Man is always spoiling things. God. God's work is always perfect.
Stephen has growing God's creation.
We're in a groaning world, groaning creation.
I was thinking of what we have in the last verses of June.
Looking Keep your beloved, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy.
Of our large.
The one of mercy is going to be when our Lord comes and delivers us from the groaning creation.
We will have the redemption of our bodies.
Now what a glorious thing is going to be. Then, as we get in Revelation 21, all these former things will have passed away.
And there you did you speak. Our brother Smith is the he's taking half the terrible apostasy of Christendom.
And it's not to break ones heart to think that what God has set up as a testimony for Christ in this world becomes corrupt and.
Seducers and men of evil minds get a place.
Well, it's not only to be delivered, as you say, from all this growing creation, but from that apostrophe.
That we see increasing on every side as solemn, isn't it to think of. And so the only way Jude can speak of the coming of the Lord is after mercy, to take us out of this condition of things as it rifles for the sickle of God's judgment.
I was thinking that it might be well, just to mention.
That.
In connection with the body here.
It's only the believer.
That is able.
To control the body, Paul says in the 9th chapter of First Princess, I believe.
I keep my body under.
And in an earlier chapter, he says to glorify God in your body.
The rest of the verse possibly is changing but to glorify God in your body.
Is the Lawrence now?
In Colossians 3, we learned that.
It's only one who has a new nature.
That is able.
To do this to mortify his members.
Here. And so that I believe it's something we should notice as we speak of this, that as long as we're here in this world.
Our bodies which give expression to what we are and what we think and so on.
01:05:05
Where to glorify God in our bodies?
And the day is coming when there will be no more hindrances. But because the Spirit indwells us, we have the power.
He's given us the power whereby we might glorify God in our bodies and if we fail.
Then we have that privilege of going.
And the Holy Spirit working in our hearts to restore us too.
And to bring us back into the good of this position, so that the believer is responsible, is he not here connection. That is, the new man is responsible in connection with his body to glorify God as long as he's here.
I've noticed that reporting that first in Philippians 3 instead of.
Your fire bodies, your body of humiliation.
That one of the.
Benefits we have from a better translation.
That God never speaks of the human body as something viral.
It is a body of humiliation.
Because what sin has brought in the scene. But we need to remember too, that first. I believe it's been.
Isn't it First Corinthians 6 where your bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in you? Just think of the importance given there. So when Steven was was married.
His spirit had already gone to be with the Lord.
Where he says Lord Jesus received my spirit. When he said this, he fell asleep.
The development carried season to his burial and made great lamentations over him And run. The Lord speaks to his disciples about Moses, He says, Let us go on to him. Well, he was talking about his body.
I think what you say, brother London, is very important.
It caused real deep exercise.
With us each one.
To use our bodies for the glory of Christ.
We need to remember, too.
Our bodies are the handy work of God.
Not well rendered to her consultant. How can the 11Th of John when Martha mentioned that corruption had already set in in connection with Lazarus?
That the Lord said to her, If thou believe us, thou shalt see the glory of God.
The wisdom of mine says you show it to me and I'll believe it, but the wisdom of God says you believe it and I'll show it to you. And so we find here that when it's bits of hope I have heard it deep and find the hope that we find in the word as deferred certainty, that is, that there is no question raised as to whether it is ultimately going to come to pass. We are saved in hope. We haven't seen the end yet.
We have a promise of God, and having a promise of God, it becomes a deferred certainty. We believe, and God says, I will one day shortly.
Now the scriptural definition is hope, which is as an anchor of the soul, both shore and steadfast. Well, you couldn't get anything firmer than such an anchor as that.
So as you say.
Hope never suggests in Scripture the idea that there's some uncertainty about like we say, well.
I hope we'll be all here tomorrow. Well, there's an uncertainty suggested in that.
So when it says we're saved, Brother Landing called our attention to the right word we're saved in.
Oh, oh, there's a group of people.
That made that.
01:10:00
As connected with salvation, remember.
Remember hearing a preacher talking at the funeral of the lady? She was a child of God, he's told the family. We have a hope, he said, that your mother's in heaven.
*******. There was some uncertainty about it, and he spoke of it as a blessing. Hope. Well, I was just a child, but I thought, I can't see anything blessed in a uncertainty like that, as though she might be and she might not be in heaven.
But the real form of meaning is when we're saved, we have this positive, open assurance that someday we're being our glorified bodies.
Perhaps this is the digression, but our brother Verduns mentioned the 11Th of John.
And in that chapter we have in the 34th verse.
Come and see.
I just thought of this.
As the words of man to the Savior.
Come and see, What did he see?
He saw the grave.
Death, but in the first chapter.
He invites them to come and see.
And that's what we've been Speaking of today, you notice in the first chapter of John.
In the.
39 First they asked, Master, where dwellest thou?
His answer is come and see.
Well, that's what we want this morning. We want to know where he dwells. We want to know more about it. And that's the words of the blessed Savior. And all that man can show down here is a grave.
But he has something for us in this chapter in Romans which lifts us to the place of full deliverance in his presence and with God for us. Thinking that verse mentioned in Hebrews, the Christ is entered there, the anchor as an anchor of the soul which hope we have. It's it's there and Christ is there.
He's the anchor tasked within the veil. I thinking of that verse in Colossians where we get it in connection with the, he says in the in Colossians one and verse.
27 To whom God would make known, what are the riches of the glory of this mystery in among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory? Well, here we have the connection, don't we?
Christ has already cast. He's within the veil, which hope we have as an anchor of the soul. But where is the anchor fastened? It's fastened to those of us down here, those who have believed. It doesn't say Christ in you, the hope of salvation. It's Christ in you, the hope of glory.
That which is ahead hope of glory. Sure thing is it the anchors cast? Christ is within the veil and they hope. And there we have the connection here too, Christ in you the hope of glory.
Great blessing.
Nice, nice look at a verse or two in the first chapter. First Peter.
This chapter was brought to mind when the reference was made to the the salvation of our souls. But I believe you also get the other salvation referred to here and also reference to the hope we have in the third verse speaks first Peter 1/3.
We got to have begotten us again, and should read, I believe, unto a living hope. We have a living hope.
For the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and it goes on to say to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that sadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.
This inheritance is reserved for us, but we are also kept for it who are kept by the power of God through faith.
Unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
Collapse of salvation referring to still future, is it not so? Peter brings in full salvation as to the body and then in verse 9 as to the goal and as to the hope we've been Speaking of all, we have a living hope.
01:15:01
That way you greatly rejoice, but you notice brother rule, let's say go out where the person of Christ comes.
Before the soul.
Having the eight first, whom having not seen ye love, and whom, though now you see him not yet believing, he rejoice.
With joy, unspeakable and full of glory, when the inheritance and the.
Hope before us of that salvation of the body.
We greatly rejoice in that, but when the person of Christ is before the soul, it's joy unspeakable and full of glory.
That's nice.
Two thoughts connected with redemption that it's good to bear in mind as we think of the body.
Being delivered.
And that is not only are we bought.
But we are set free.
Remember that the radical sun was not only given a rope, but yet he was given sandals or shoes on his feet. Well, that would suggest the full liberty would not of the father's house.
When he's at home, there's full liberty. Now that's connected with our hope. It's connected with the redemption of the body.
All the restrictions that we have now.
They'll be gone, we'll be set free, we'll be at home in an element that we're fitted for.
And the Lord is bringing, the Spirit is bringing Christ before us now, so that our hearts will be set free from everything else, so we'll be at full liberty. And that's the purpose, I believe, is the Spirit of God gathering us together.
That our hearts might be set free from the many things that would attract them.
All the word patience is mentioned here.
And.
I believe it's in Romans, isn't it? That it's through tribulation. Patience comes.
That goes along with what we've been saying that.
God allows in our pathway that which would bring us up short at times.
And give us to feel.
The the the rigors of the path that leads to the glory.
So that we will appreciate.
What we have at the end of the road, it's like the labor who's been working all day. He enjoys the rest.
Is that just the opposite all day? And he enjoys the rest. So as we pass through the trials of this light, what a relief it's going to be in that day if we think of just that.
But of course, the purpose of the Spirit of God is to give us an object here to be occupied with.
Thinking of the other translation on that verse you mentioned, Brother London.
It says, but if what we see not, we hope.
We expect in patients it's positive, isn't it?
If what we see, we hope.
But if what we see not, we hope, that is, we don't see, we hope, we expect impatience.
Positive. There's no question about that for the believer.
The Spirit of God would teach us by these thoughts.
That we need not only to keep our faith.
And a healthy.
Normal condition that we need to keep the hope.
In a happy condition too, that is, to keep that hope.
Greatly before the soul. I think you'll get something of that in the 12Th chapter, Hebrews.
Nor the 10th after Hebrews.
In the 22nd verse, let us draw near with a true heart.
01:20:04
And full assurance of faith, well there is faith in exercise.
The 23rd verse has let us pull past the profession. Now read that as it is in the better translation. 23rd verse that is full fast, the perfection of our hope without wavering.
The God is faithful and promised. Then we get in the next verse, and let us consider one another to provoke on the love and to good works, the three characteristics of the Christian life, as you gather from the 13th chapter of First Corinthians his faith, hope, and love.
They're brought together in a number of places.
Quite strikingly, there faith, folk and love.
And they hope there that is hold fast the proficient of our hope. That is, we say we're Christians on our way to heaven.
Well, do we make it clear to others? Something like those in the days of Abraham?
It tells us.
Well, I better read it there in the 11Th of Hebrews.
It says.
The 14 first for they that say such thing Hebrews 11/14.
Declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence he came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country.
That is in heavenly well, you see, there was no question or doubt as to Abraham's leaving.
The land of the counties behind.
Declared plainly.
That he saw another country.
Well, in the profession of our hope, do we make it very clear to those about us that we've got something better?
Than what this world offers. I suppose it's something like Brother Heaney. I'm told that when somebody asked him he's going to the exposition. He said if you knew what an exposition was before my soul, he said you wouldn't ask me such a question. Well.
He had the hopes definitely before his soul, so that things around, things there was a world. Prizes and advertisers make problems where they they didn't mean anything to him. Well, we need to make it very clear in our everyday lives that we really belong to heaven, that we're heavenly people.
And we're on our way to our father's house.
I would like.
208.
Romans 8:26-39
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
General Meetings Wheaton, August 1973. Third reading meeting.
Romans chapter 8.
Verse 26.
Likewise, the Spirit also help with our infirmities.
Or we know not what we should pray for as we are.
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning, which cannot be uttered.
Neither search of the hearts nor what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intersection for the Saints according to the will of God.
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
To them who are the called according to his purpose?
For whom he did, for no.
Also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brethren.
Moreover, whom he did predestinate.
Them he also called. Who he called them, he also justified.
And whom he justified, them he also glorified.
00:05:02
What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?
Either spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all.
Partially not with him, also freely give us all things.
Who shall lay in it into the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he to condemn it? It is Christ that died here rather than has risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Job tribulation.
Or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword.
As it is written, for thy sake, we are killed all the day long.
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Laying all these things, we are more than conquerors who in that loved us.
More iron persuaded than either death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come.
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The God looks down and.
The Holy Spirit is there making entertainment.
It's according to God that is what is fitness is where the design.
Flash.
Next, everyone of his children.
Back to.
Earlier parts of the chapter where the Spirit has the power within us causes us to cry out the Father in the first place.
And then?
We noticed that.
We have the first fruits of the spirit.
But now likewise.
The Spirit helpeth our infirmity. There's a number of things here, are there not that.
Refer back to the.
Fact that the Spirit of God is a person indwelling the believer and the power of light in the believer.
Very clear. That doesn't it, To realize that it's the personal presence of the Holy Ghost in us here, isn't it?
I was thinking of his brother, our brother till we were speaking.
On our way to the luncheon today, and you mentioned a very nice thought in this chapter that we were having here this verse.
26 It says likewise the Spirit also help with our infirmities.
And the other translation says, for we do not know what we should pray for, as is fitting. But then in the 28th verse he says. But we do know that all things work together for good.
Well, we don't always know what to pray for, and it's we have to get on our knees before God to seek guidance from Him. But whatever the result, we we do know that all things work together for good.
I thought that was very blessing.
00:10:01
Things sometimes we We don't even know what to say.
Next, this groanings which cannot be uttered.
With the Lord groaning at the grave of Lazarus.
Remember how Martha goes and secretly says to her sister the master is come and call up for thee.
Martha went before she was called. Mary waits until she is sent for and really meets the Lord in her deep peace.
But all the answer the Lord could have for Mary.
Was that he'd grown.
And with trouble. I believe that if you read in the mark and it says he troubled himself.
In other words, he made himself feel.
Just as those sisters felt.
And their deep sorrow and loss.
Indeed, the Lord and Spirit was going through.
The deep power can ruin.
That sin has brought into this feed.
The sorrows of death that have been the result a man's disobedience to the Word of God.
And what is there that can remedy?
That state of things that we see on every hand.
Well.
We may be in circumstances like the present Lord where.
The only real answer to it all.
Has have grown.
A deep entering into the sorrows.
Where words would not be sitting or the occasion.
And Mary really meets the Lord.
And.
The Lord goes on then, as we know.
To all matters out of the grave. But in going through the story that he went through with her, the Lord was really in spirit entering into.
All that sin has brought in through this, this ruined world.
Brother Mary, and what they included in that Scripture, in all their affliction, He was afflicted.
How pressure it is to know that the Lord enters in all the sorrows of His people?
We know that.
He is a he is our captain, made perfect through suffering.
And.
We don't come to one who doesn't know what we experienced. He knows at all.
Notice farther on, we don't want to get ahead of our subject.
But we find that in the.
24th or the 34th verse, It says Christ that died ye rather than has risen again, was even at the right hand of God, who also make an interstation for us.
So we have two intercessors.
We have the Holy Spirit down here within us.
And we have Christ glorified, interceding for us on time.
So our position.
Our our blessings are superb.
And that in connection.
Where the deep trials?
And sorrows of this scene.
I'm sure we've all felt this after having passed through a very deep sorrow.
And how was the how we've been sustained through the sorrow?
That there has been an intercessory work going on in our behalf.
That has kept us from being completely overwhelmed.
By the sadness.
00:15:02
Oh, that we have been so depressed and overcome.
That we were made useless by.
The sorrow that we went through.
And taken upon himself that work.
Of interceding for his people in regard to their infirmities.
Weaknesses here.
And there's something very sweet about that and that is that he himself is our brothers, already mentioned he has been through these things himself.
Now, infirmities.
That is weaknesses.
That we have. Of course, we mustn't connect that with.
Sin and disobedience. He's never experienced anything like that.
But in our infirmities.
He has passed through the trials and testings of the Way.
And he has been weary.
He's been tried.
And he knows how his people feel, but then also he's up there to.
To engage us.
With the proper.
Mind as to what God would have us ever into because he keeps us in communion with heaven.
That's one of the things he's doing now. He's occupying us with those things that would keep us.
In communion with heaven and that we might be true worshippers.
I believe that's what we get in the book of Hebrews.
And all things work together for good.
For them, that love God.
The gallery is just like a machine.
Say the works of a clock, every wheel, every cop has an important place.
Otherwise the clock would stop.
So God is working out a plan.
In connection with the lives of his children.
And everything is ordered.
And view that designer fan that God has with you.
All things work together for good.
I remember illustration that Brother Ruston Gill gave us one time. Quite simple but.
As young people especially enjoy.
He likened this to a mother that is making a cake.
And she has the various ingredients spread out on the cup, on the counter, covered.
And the children come around to see what's going on.
And they they taste this all the letters and maybe the baking powder and the extract is too strong and the flour is too insipid.
All about a were set up it is.
But he said another pours all these different things into the mixing path.
And spurs it all up.
And pour it into the cake pan and then outcomes this beautiful cake.
Well, the things that were unpleasant in separate and.
That would speak of trial when they're all brought together.
By the wisdom of the cake maker, the mother who was landed for her family, well, I hear something that the whole family relishes.
Well, it's nice maybe to think of it that way. All things are just working together.
Bringing about this wonderful purpose of God.
For our eternal happiness.
Because God always has eternity in you. Life is so short.
That it's just a short training place down here, but our real existence is ahead.
00:20:08
That's nice.
Of the other.
Get the work of the spirit corner believer and leave their seven. We might just not agree to get the 1St and the 4th team first. Those things are led by the Spirit of God. They are the tons of God.
And we might notice.
This is the second, says we have not received the spirit of bodies against us here.
We have received a spiritual adoption whereby we try and a father.
That's the third verse 6C. The spirit itself bears with our spirit that we are the killers of God.
That's the 4th and 17th 1St and it's killer that air here, the gloss or there's a flight. It will be that we suffer with him that we may be awful glory high together.
And might not verse 26 fifth.
Likewise a spirit also helping our liberties.
Well, we know not what we should pray for we are, but the Spirit itself makes an intersection.
Of the others, and we get the 727th version he even purchased. The heart knows what is the mind of the spirit.
Because the mega intersect for the state according to the welfare of the verses 28 through 39 we have gone for us.
And that is why we know that all things work together for good for them.
God is for God is for communion.
27 First the end is gone.
And perhaps not so much the thought, the will of God. But it's it's according to God, isn't it? And that connects with the next verse, so that we say because he maketh intercession for the Saints according to God, and we know that all things work together for good to them that are that love God.
To them are called according to his purpose, and then the apostle launches into that subject which is so taken his heart.
The truth of the mystery Christ of the Church, but He just simply touches on it. Because this this epistle does not take up the subject of the mystery, but he refers to it twice here and in the last chapter, but makes the connection. And this is more of a foundation if it's not enrollment for Christmas for the Christian, proof that success for us before us later in these other.
Prison officials.
But he does give us in these following verses, enough to show what our hope is and our blessings.
That it's all according to God and it's connected with those that love God.
As to them who are called according to his purpose, it might make us wonder, Well, do I love God? Do I have a writer? A friend, this purpose?
The rest of it shows were called according to his purpose. Well, that surely takes in every child of God. You couldn't be.
A child of God without being one of the son that has been chosen and called according to his purpose.
No elite can be certain that we're included in the number of those for whom God is working out His preferences for our blessing and for His glory.
We can't apply this verse to acts of self will.
It connects back to the infirmities, the weaknesses, the body, the things that the Lord allows in His ways with us. They might go to visit someone who's on a sick bed, and we can know with absolute assurance that all things work together for good to them that love God or a similar trial might come into our own lives and we have this absolute promise.
00:25:21
But for instance, if someone wants to say, well I'm going to marry someone who is unsafe, but I have a promise from God that all things work together for good to them that love God. This would be resting the scriptures, as it were, to their own destruction. To try to lay hold of something that God gives us an encouragement to use it, to encourage in a path of disobedience would never be of God at all.
Is that right?
This is really looking at the normal Christian life. It's not looking at the abnormal.
Life that you describe with one acting in disobedience, I know it's been used wrongly that way as one commits to sin and say, well, that's all going to work out for good, you know, things we don't ever want to interpret the scripture in last week.
The normal Christian life is what gifts are supposes. Anything outside of that is not what God considers a Christian life at all.
Something apart from.
What God had has marked out as the password of a believer.
It's based upon, isn't it? The what we have in those the 14th, 2 and the 15th verses.
The facts of the truth in the 14th verse. For as many as are LED by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God.
Well, if we're not led by the Spirit of God.
Then I'm afraid we're not the sons of God be led by the Spirit of God. There's a, there's a leading there and that's position, isn't it? That's our position, sons of God. And that's true of every believer. If he's truly a child of God, he is a son of God and led by the by the Spirit of God. Well, that's the position. And then there's the in the 16 verse, I should say.
The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Well, here's relationship. So there's position and relationship and the the spirit of God and.
Expects that the believer will go on in the normal course as one who has brought into this marvelous position before God.
And also a son of God. And I believe it's more in connection with God here because of.
It when we have God, it brings in holiness. God is our Father. That's very true and very lovely. But our Father is God, and God is holy.
So I I, I agree with what you said, Brother John. It's very important to see that, isn't it the spirit of God will if we're going on in a path of disobedience.
The spirit of God can only cause it to judge it, to bring it down, bring it, judge, judge it. He can't fill our souls with Christ. He can't fill our souls with joy. If we're going on in a path of disobedience, there must be obedience to that path that we've been called to, or we've brought into our position as sons of God and children of God in relationships.
He did or no, He also did predestinate.
To be conformed to the image of his son.
That he might be the first born among many brothers.
What a wonderful truth that is that even before this world came into existence, God had chosen you and me in His beloved Son.
Came in and the sad course things have taken in this scene, but it always marked us out.
For a face of high privilege and blessings, which was to be eternal in his character.
And it's whom he did for no, this isn't what he's for. Knew. It's boomy. It's for no.
00:30:05
Each individual believer.
Was a definite object of the.
What God was planning for happiness for his own glory?
The whole subject, doesn't it? It goes beyond election, doesn't it?
One might be elected, but here we have 3 destinations.
The election occurred long ago.
Could have occurred yesterday.
It's just election, but here it's free and it's in view of a definite destiny. So we have the whole thing in this one word, don't we and.
It's also immediately brought before us that Christ has the first place in it. All that's first born, isn't it? The first place?
That's very precious. We had a class of people were in 30 years in school. They were called a hard shell Baptist.
And they were older, cultural, Calvinistic in their views. And the one doctrine they lived in Harpedon.
Has Aqua occupied with a predestination you couldn't talk to them? A minute to watch? You'd hear that.
Remember one of the old gentleman that held this doctrine talking to a brother in our meeting? So he started to write in with this verse about predestinations. Well, the brothers talked to him, he said, But you forgot this. But we're praying, destinated for to be conformed to the image of God's beloved son.
All that.
Liberates the soul from any DRY and cipher doctrine.
As to predestination and coordination, to think of the marvelous, precious, wonderful fact that.
Four creatures of Earth.
Were predestinated to be conformed to the image of God's beloved Son.
Well, the Spirit of God wasn't limited. He used the word beloved, but he does use it because it has the importance and the meaning that makes the subject.
Exceptionally precious to our souls.
That one that was so dear to the heart of God the Father, the one in whom he found all His delight to think that you and I are worthy creatures, are going to be conformed to the very image of the one that has done all the will of the Baller down here, and is now glorifying Him.
In the place where he is now seated himself on high.
Take a place from the maternity.
I think that's very nice, brother. I don't believe the Beloved is here. It's the first born, isn't it?
To be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brothers.
His first the predestination of verse 29 with the first chapter of Ephesians.
Where it says, He has 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.
It seems to one's own soul in connecting these two verses to verses together.
It's as if God says I have a plan, and that plan is that I'm going to have a family.
And then he says, the family that I have predestinated, the adoption of children unto himself, that that plan is that all the children should be just like the son he already had. So his plan is to have a family, and he already has the model on which he's fashioning the whole family. So the result is when he writes in the eighth of Romans, he says predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son.
00:35:10
I was really thinking of that first that you just read there in Ephesians 1.
Where it says he hath made us accepted in the beloved, I was thinking of the word beloved and brought this into the apes of Romans.
Of course, it's the same thought.
And again I could repeat it.
That the Spirit of God wasn't limited to the word beloved, but He used it without in view. So we might.
Have a little.
Understanding.
What God's purposes are?
To have us accepted in the one who is of all the light of his heart.
And that's one of my brother, John has said in Ephesians 1.
In verse 11.
In whom we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who work at all things after the Council of his own will, that we should be to the praise of His glory.
How wonderful it is that God has marked us out to pay for the praise of his glory.
He's going to display in the church and all the redeemed as those who are added to add to his glory that is in Christ.
This is the work of Christ that has taken 4 centers.
And they've made them the errors of glory. This is the inheritance.
Just there.
So notice in every place where.
Believers are associated with Christ.
He must have the preeminence.
Oh, you get it here that he might be the first born among many presidents. You get the same thoughts in the first chapter of Hebrews.
Where we read and expressed in this way.
The line First thou has loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows above.
Although he associates us with himself as his fellows, yet he is above them all.
So in the second chapter, we read about those that are sanctified, but he's the sanctifier.
Well, brother London, wouldn't you see? And what you brought before us yesterday afternoon about David being anointed in the midst of his brother in a picture of Christ.
Being anointed or given a place of honor.
In the midst of his brother.
Yeah. Don't. Wait. Is that what David means?
Is that right? Is that what David means? I don't remember.
You know, brother rule, is that the meaning of David?
I couldn't see. I don't know.
Back in my Bible.
I think, brother.
Harrington was bringing before.
Us how the Spirit of God links to eternities together.
In the 30th 1St.
Who needed predestinate there? You're back in a fast eternity. There we also called how we're in time only called them. He also justified.
And whom he justified, them he also glorified.
That in the coming eternity.
So it's like a golden chain.
Each drink connects with the next link.
So that you link 1 eternity with the coming eternity.
And the Spirit of God is giving us to realize that our connection with this wonderful.
00:40:10
A chain of blessings is it just dips down?
And we're brought in as the cold one he calls us for. Then he justifies us. Then the next thing we're connected.
With the glory that lies ahead.
And yet it's a race that's really higher. Perhaps shouldn't say race, but a people that are higher than man.
And he didn't call, and he passed by angels.
About those who were the lowest, shall we say, those who?
Slew their creator.
Those are the ones he called.
And this is what magnifies.
The grace of God is it not?
It shows his character out in a way that.
Only the cross could display it when he gave his only begotten son who died for his enemy.
And Spirit of God speaks.
Of this coming eternity is all as though it.
Had already taken place.
As though we were already in the glory.
For in the purposes of God.
We're already seen as glorified up there.
Word is an eternal now, isn't it?
Doesn't speak of things.
As we do.
As things that are take place.
As something that are not sure, something so certain.
That God can speak of it as though it had already taken place.
God can speak of things that are not as though they be.
The gospel could be brought out quite clearly.
Because when God calls.
And the soul answers.
And receives.
Forgiveness on the ground of the jet blood of the Lord Jesus. Simple faith.
As we often hear in the gospel.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death and delight.
And then we have the next point. Having done so, the believer is seen now.
As mentioned in Romans 3 and 4 justified.
That's in a position.
That we never could have gained for ourselves.
But it's only because we're seen in Christ that we're seen as justified, and that's the way God wants his children to be seen as they are in Christ.
And this doesn't leave any room.
For anyone to brag does it. It's all the work of God.
And it's a work that's finished, that takes us all the way into the glory. So the believer is glorified too.
In God's counsels is complete if not.
Christ is the door. Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden with all their sins, and I will give you rest.
And then when we take that step, we get on the inside of the door and we look up. We see written over the door, chosen in him before the foundation of the world. We didn't know it before.
We only knew we were sinners and we needed a savior. But all when we get inside the door, we find we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world.
What a glorious position. We've been brought into it and enjoy it now and glory ahead.
You wouldn't take the line of things with your brother, Little Little, and you were bridging to a crowd of unsaved people, no?
No, this was a family secrets.
You were heard in another meeting.
To the end of the Philippians 3 the words He is able even to do all the things according to his.
00:45:09
Subdue all things to himself.
I was thinking the connection with this All things work together for good to them to love God who were the call according to his purpose.
Then he's versed we've just been considering. We see the purpose of God and it all, and God can speak of these things as already accomplished.
God is able to carry out his purpose.
There are some of us who have had the responsibility in the years past.
Still, we're set up certain projects.
In industry.
And we would set up what do we call a five year plan.
Well, if we accomplished 110th of those purposes, those plans, we were doing good.
God purposes will all be carried out.
Nothing will ever fail in what God is perfect.
What we've been considering is in the 31St verse. What shall we then say to these things?
If God before us, who can be against us?
And hasn't he proven that?
I haven't chosen.
In Christ before the foundation of the world.
But he goes on. He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him, also really give us, give, really give us all things.
I have heard some misuse.
This bring this word freely in the first part of the verse. I think I've done it myself. That is, he that spared not his own son, but freely delivered him up, for his own doesn't belong there, but it does belong in the last part of the verse. How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
It wouldn't be right to say that God really gave his son.
It was an awful sound thing, any more than we can think of Abraham freely taking Isaac up the mountain and building that altar and taking the nice wave.
Couldn't think of freely and that connection there.
But since God has not spared his only Son, he can.
Freely give us all things.
What a wonderful subject this totally is, that God is for the believer.
Under all circumstances.
There's never a time in our life down here where God is not forced.
With a long time learning that.
You also was taken.
Rather.
It went back and said that the man and even one that didn't be brought down, we could say all these things are getting.
It was all going but.
That's good, her brother.
And isn't that interesting too, that at the very time when God was about to give his favorite son Joseph back to us?
The time when he said all these things are against me.
When things seem the darkness.
When the flood light of God's blessings were going to flow upon it.
Rather, we're going to be satisfied when we get to the glory.
Will be satisfied.
That's one of the promises that.
Fully satisfied.
We may be passing through difficulties and trials and disappointments here, but there will be fully satisfied.
Because all our blessings are in Christ, and it couldn't be otherwise.
00:50:05
I should be satisfied when I awakened his life, so I'll be perfect satisfaction both ways, don't they?
So your fingers are not turning out the way we?
Would desire and the way we expect it, and God hasn't answered the prayers we have often sent up to Him. We know that it must not be released for the time present.
The job.
Is giving us what he sees is best for us.
Really gives us all things and that gives confidence and peace and soul.
I think that if God has not spared the nearest object of his marks affection his beloved Son, what is there that God will withhold from us that for our highest good?
First means when it says if God before us, who can be against us.
As not supposing for one minute that they're not, that there are not great forces that are arrayed against us, but it's as if we're looking at a scale, and if God be on one side, then the forces that are arrayed against it on the other side become a nothing. Is that the thought when it says if God before us?
If we read in Ephesians chapter six, we find that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. There are all sorts of forces arrayed against us, but if God before us, that puts them in their right perspective.
Is that correct?
First John 4:00 and 4:00.
It says greater is he that is in you.
Than he that is in the world.
Suppose the expression girl embarrassing the surgeon. It was also a challenge. It's gone before and who can be against the challenge has gone out.
Who Zambia Cancer from God is for.
Different questions asked and answered in these verses that we're considering.
First you get What shall we say to these things if God before us? And the question Who can be against us?
And the 33rd verse, Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
And the 34th verse, who is he that condemneth?
And then the 35th verse, who shall separate us?
From the love of Christ.
Perhaps heard it put it this way, where it says God before us, who can be against us, whack me into a man.
That.
There is no policeman, no constable.
Who can be against us? The policeman. There's no policeman there to pick him up, arrest him.
And then who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?
There's no prosecuting attorney to bring up an accusation.
And then who is he that condemneth is no judge.
And then the last thing is, who shall separate us?
From the love of Christ, there's no dealer.
Other words, there's no constable, there's no prosecuting attorney, there's no judge and there's no jailer. Then he breaks out into a regular doxology of praise.
00:55:11
Wonderful how the spirit of God covers every question or any suggestion that would in any way.
Uphold the truth that has been set forth. We can talk about the clearest lawyers getting up a document, but.
It can compare in no way to the way the Spirit of God covers the truth that he is presenting.
For the Blessing of Our Souls covers them from every possible angle and leaves nothing.
That in any way could set aside.
The truth he has for our blessing.
Good to repeat the what has been said already that in the 1St of this chapter.
There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.
And then the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us.
And now we have God, perhaps in the absolute sense.
Floating all.
That is, the whole power of heaven is for the believer.
Well, then, why should we be discouraged?
That's what the Spirit of God would bring before us, I believe here, and the subject of full and complete deliverance for the police.
Lay anything to the charge of God's elect.
Well, that takes us back into.
Until His eternal purposes.
It's predestinated us.
And chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
And now the enemy. If he rises up, what can he bring against those?
That God himself.
Has selected.
In such a divine, eternal way.
And the answer is it is called that justifies.
Lovely sometimes, when you're reading the word, to see the different ways that we're justified.
Here we're justified by God the office.
And the bird of Romans were justified.
By great spring of it.
And this chapter Romans were justified by.
By blood, the ground of it, the end of Romans Four were justified by resurrection. The the proof of it.
And then the first growth of the 5th chapter Romans were justified by faith and principle of it.
And then in the 6th chapter of First Corinthians we are justified by the spirit of power of it. And then in James two we're justified by works, the proving of it.
In Romans 3, God is a source of.
Romans 3 and verse 26.
That he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
He was said of the preacher, one who had just been converted and started preaching on the street.
That one of his old friends came by who knew him when he was walking in sin.
And he began to point his finger at him.
He said to him, stop. He said, I'll read you the rest of the story. And he read him the third chapter. Romans. Because in Romans we have the history of man as God sees him guilty, do we not?
So this man showed him the whole story as we have in the third chapter.
Where even their throat is an open sepulchre and so on.
And then he brought out justification. Well, God has given us to see, has he not?
That there's nothing but evil connected with the old man. But he has made a full provision, and this is what has brought glory to him, and has manifested his great heart of love, that he would take up such a vile object as man.
01:00:17
Who?
As he is set forth in the third chapter.
Forgiven his sins.
And justified him, and then placed him in a place where he can rejoice in the 5th chapter.
And I don't think we can get any higher than the 5th chapter in that sense. We join God.
Now, it's true that these three verses that we've just noticed give us a truth that belongs to the believer in a very special way today.
Highest truth that's ever given us in that sense. But I don't think we can get any higher than the joy in God, can we?
1St that thrills the First Division of the book of Romans.
That is.
The subject of sins beneath the truth of the fallen nature is taken up in the first part of Romans.
And the conclusion to what is considered as to man's fallen state in the third of Romans?
And leading on.
How to?
His resurrection.
And then are entering into this by faith.
Then he carries a song to that.
Joy in God? Well, he can't go any further. That's that's the very apex, the pinnacle of the whole truth that has to do.
With the God's remedy and mercy upon man in connection with all his failure and all his sins.
Then from from the 12Th 1St of Romans 5, another subject is taken up and that's the.
The root the nature of sins and that takes up the last part of the 5th of Romans and the 6th, 7th And when we get to the 8th chapter the same word is found that since the 1St.
1St the 5th enrollment, therefore. So here is the conclusion in the 8th chapter to the second subject.
Which has to do with the fallen nature that produced all this, this ruin of the human race.
Mention also.
That the following three chapters.
Show us how God is coming in to fulfill all of His promises that he made to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
And then the conclusion if you'll read in the end of the 11Th chapter.
The 33rd verse.
All the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom.
And knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways Fast finding out for who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor, or who have first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again.
Now notice for of him and through him and to him are all things to whom the glory forever and ever. Amen. Well, this takes in the complete subject of all of God's purposes.
From the foundation of the world for Israel, and from before the foundation of the world for the Church.
You have noticed that the?
First part of the 34th verse is really a continuation of the last part of the 33rd verse.
You need to read right on as though it was the same verse. It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemneth?
That is, if the judge.
Fears.
Cases before him.
Well, who can raise an objection then, Of course, when this God himself is the judge? Well, God is higher than any, any judge on earth.
01:05:06
So then who can condemn?
Who is he that condemneth where you'd say the only one that that could condemn?
Here's the judge himself. And who is the judge?
Because God has committed all judgment under the sun.
What does it say about the judge? It is Christ that died.
That is, the judge himself is the one that has died.
For the guilty conference, What if the judge himself has died for the guilty ones?
Well, how can God condemn one that the very judge that he has appointed has gone into death and suffered all the consequences of his guilt for him?
And you see, it goes right on. It is Christ that died, yeah, rather than his risen against. Well, one might say, but.
And what about the judge? If he's died, well, isn't that the end of his?
Of his position, his service.
I know the judge has risen.
Well, but we're for the only things. We make so many mistakes.
We failed so badly even after we're saved. How about our position now?
All that settled you?
Who was even at the right hand of God, There he is at the right hand of power on high.
And the one on the right hand of power is the one who is making interstation force.
Stable.
When when the Lord said He through Balaam, I have not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor perverse in Israel.
I have fought in connection with that, that the one thing that the Lord did not add there was that while he didn't see iniquity in them, are perverse within them. He never said they were incapable of doing it. But when we come to the New Testament in connection with the truth of justification.
We find it says in the first verse of Romans 8, there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus. So I take it that in connection with justification, what we have is God seeing us in a life that not only did not see him but could not sin, was absolutely incapable of sinning. So it's as if anyone was ever to raise a charge. It's God himself who not only replied, they did not.
They could not. The life that we now have in Christ, John first John three tells us it cannot sing. So it is that when it says it is God to justify it, or as it tells us here who shall lay anything to the charge of God selected his God to justify it. Who is it to condemn us? That justification puts us in Christ Jesus in a life that not only did not sin, but it could not sin.
Fill our hearts with the doxology of the last part of the chapter.
And that's a precious truth that he is there interceding for us ever living to make interstation force.
Glory, the very one who died for us before the guilt of our sins, was living for us now.
He's in the place of power. We're in the place of weakness down here.
That all power in heaven and earth, he says, is delivered unto me.
So how lovely it is to be able to look up.
One who is ever living in the presence of God and living there for our good.
And to help us in times of trouble and difficulty and problems.
Or brother, may we look more to him and not look at circumstances or get occupied with the failures of one another, but look at that glorified one who is there on our behalf.
Interceding Forest.
1St 2:00 we have.
01:10:03
A reference to a Psalm.
In connection with the tribulation and trials.
That are mentioned here.
And it's in the second book of the Psalm.
The reason I mentioned that is.
I believe I'm right in saying in the second book of the Psalms, it's more God before them.
They're in the presence of God. They've been cast out.
It's a picture of the feelings of God's people in the coming day when they pass through that time of deep trial.
Which?
Is the period of the great tribulation.
And during that time.
They're going to.
Feel these things as they've never felt them before.
Now the picture before us then, is that as you and I are on our way home.
The Spirit of God gives us.
To be exercised along the way.
And we discover what?
God is to us.
It's in the circumstances that we pass through here that we learn to know our God.
And it has been well said that.
And was brought before us this afternoon.
When our brothers spoke to the young people.
In regard to Peter, it wasn't until Peter discovered that he was a sinful man that he began to discover who the Lord was.
And we have to know something of ourselves to really know our God.
And it's in this period, it's in these verses that are mentioned here.
The tribulation. They won't separate us.
They'll only draw us closer to give us to see what we have in God, but it's through Christ.
For thy sake we are killed all the day long. We are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
They and all these things, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. We're on the winning side, aren't we?
The more than conquerors.
I was wondering if you.
You consider it in this way?
You take a soldier in battle.
And he's on the winning side.
And his army completely defeats the enemy.
The black general wolf cry in the midst of his 60s, shot down and died from the battlefield. He's won the victory.
But couldn't you say that he's more than a counselor there, as they say over in France, is he's pushing dates. What about the Christian that goes through the crowns and persecutions?
And the enemy brings upon him, he may even lose his life.
What about the famous that's ahead? What about the time when in resurrection he brought into?
The glory pride feed. Well, that's not true that he not only was victorious in his faithfulness, but he's more than a conqueror, because he is now found among the the army of the martyrs.
Wearing, as it were, a Margaret Brown.
I wondered if you could consider it that way.
But it's through him that loved us.
His love sustains us in the trial persecutions.
Yeah, he speaks of an apprentice.
Verse of those things with the enemy would bring against it what you've been saying. Brother Barry is here and the one who is slain in the battle.
01:15:02
In all these we are more than conquerors of him that loved us.
That even though the enemy may have brought all these things against us yet.
What is it going to bring us into the eternal blessing that awaits us in the glory?
The result here.
First he takes up in the beginning with the 35th verse.
Thing down here, tribulation, stress, persecutions, families taking the peril towards.
And so on. Then in the 38th verse, he takes up the invisible things Ronnie tweeted that neither did.
Her life.
Are things present. Our angels know very little about the principalities, but we know there's a terrible array of Satan power.
All wicked spirits in high places when we think of all the malice of Satan and they all with power that he has in opposing.
The believers down here.
Goes into the invisible world as it was and.
I remember her brother saying it's just as though after.
The five rider has ransacked creation. See if if, if there's anything that could separate us, he finally says. Nor any other creature is to give that as an answer to those who who come out with this doctrine, insisting that you can be saved and lost again.
That tomorrow.
No one could pluck you out of the out of the good Shepherd's hand.
Yet you could pluck yourself out and after all, lose your soul. Well, he says, Aren't you a creature? And after he has looked at everything else, he said, is there any other creature? Certainly your creature, So you can narrow, narrow, separate yourself.
From the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.
Of course, as I'm sure all here know that if it's the subject of.
Thinking that one could lock himself out of the hands of the Good Shepherd. By then the Lord's birth would be false.
For he says, my sheep shall never perish. If you could **** yourself out of the shepherd's hand, then you'd perish, wouldn't you? His words would be false.
Never be separated.
From the Lord of God and when it wasn't the thing that is blessed.
They're speaking.
Today.
Repeatedly about the Spirit. In this connection, the 5th John has the love of God and shed abroad by the Holy Ghost given address, and this God that rejoices now can't be separated from it.
That's a blessing and in love and she had abroad. In our hearts it may go to the soul and it makes it really enjoy it.
This last expression of the chapter which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now this is what we have set before us in the Gospel.
The whole pathway of our Savior.
And it's been said that if we want our hearts warm, to read the gospel.
But then to be added to that the definite instruction of Christianity, we read the Epistles.
And so in the gospel, then we have our hearts warm with the love of Christ.
We read them rightly.
Because every gospel ends, does it not does that sacrifice that he made?
Giving a demonstration of that love that he had. So this love of God is seen in Christ Jesus, and that's the way we learn it, if it not.
01:20:09
Oh, may the Lord then help us to learn more of it by reading the gospel, because I believe we have neglected the gospel, perhaps.
When we when we could spend more time.
On those Gospels which were set before us, the love of God in Christ Jesus.
We think number 75, the Appendix #75.
The appendix.
God, A Moment, Eternity
Gospel—R. Bauman
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.
General meetings weekend, August 1973. Gospel by brother Bauman.
Proverbs, 2525.
As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
And friends, we've invited you here tonight to tell you good news.
You can get all the bad news you want from the world every day in the newspapers. That's all it can give you is bad news.
But good news is from above, from God himself, from the far countries.
And as cold water is to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. What is the good news? We're going to tell you about it tonight. I could take at random any of 100 verses and it would be good news. But I'm going to take one just so there's no doubt about what we're talking about.
John 524 The Lord Jesus Christ says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, shall not commit the judgment. It's passed already from death under life. There is nothing better than that. That's good news.
I want one more verse or two before we start singing. Sometimes I feel that way. Jeremiah 2328 If you want to turn to a turn to us. Jeremiah 2328 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream.
But either hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.
Now, we do have good news, but we wouldn't be faithful if we didn't warn you to. What good is hearing good news again and again if you don't make it good to your own soul? And I trust and praise it will be given forth faithfully tonight. In fact, there's one more verse comes to mind. Deuteronomy 30, Deuteronomy 30.
And verse.
18I denounce unto you this day that she shall surely, Perry, you say that isn't good news. No, but that's giving the word of God faithfully.
19 I call heaven and earth the record, this day against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing.
And praise be to God, He gives you the answer. Choose life. I set before your life and death. Choose life.
Let's turn to the hymn sheet #25.
Time is gliding swiftly by death and judgment both draw nigh to the arms of Jesus. Fly be in time. Oh I pray you count the cost here. The fatal lion is crossed, and your Chrysler soul be lost. The in time the 1St 3 stances with the chorus each time.
Life at best is very brief, like a falling of the least like.
Power.
You may ask. You may ask why we're here telling it.
Well, the apostle Paul said, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel. He had a sense of urgency in his soul. Before we sing another hymn, let's turn to King. Second King, just for a few verses there on this point. Second King.
7th chapter, Second Kings 2.
I'm sorry, Second King 7.
And starting at verse 3.
The marriage was under siege. Everybody was in trouble.
They were doomed. Inside or out, didn't make any difference. Unless God interceded in a marvelous way, it was doomed.
Verse three. There were four leprous men at the entering of the gate, and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? If we say we will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city and we shall die there. If we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore, come and let us fall into the host of the Syrians. If they save us alive, we shall live. If they kill us, we shall but die. And they rose up in the twilight to go under the camp of the Syrians, and when they were come to the other most part of the camp.
Of theory of a whole, there was number man there.
They, so to speak, cast themselves from God. There wasn't any hope in the scene at all, right into the enemy's arms, so to speak. For the Lord has made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of Chariots and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host. And they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel had fired against us, the kings of the Hittites, the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. Wherefore they rose and fled in the twilight, and left their tent, their horses, their ***** even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent and did eat and drink.
And carried them silver and gold and ramen, and went and hit it and came again and entered into another tent.
And carried dents also. And went and hit it. Then they said one to another.
We do not well, this day is a day of good tidings and we hold our peace.
Friends, that's the way it is with one that says.
He's got it everything. He's not only saved from the hell that he deserves, but he's saved for glory. And the treasures are beyond description. And if we would hold our peace, we do not well, it wouldn't be right. We would say as lepers do, we do not well, we hold our peace.
Well, we trust that you'll hear the good news tonight. We trust that you'll hear what we've got in the Lord Jesus Christ through the grace of God. Let's turn to another hymn on the sheet, 30.
00:10:09
Waiting will not save me. Helpless, guilty, lost thy life in my ear is mercies cry. If I wait, I can but die. Waiting will not save me. The 1St 3 standards.
Weeping will not save me.
Though my favorite.
Part of it is making proud of our day to make it. We really can't go out of life. Everyone's got the party.
You're working well.
I forgot the Lord or not today we need to talk to you and pray. You need to be honest. All of our friends and everything.
Hello, what is your name?
For all the products that I want to see about the same thing.
About our first problems, you know, the rest of the day is great and you know, I don't have a lot of hands together and it's amazing.
Well, the subject tonight really is your precious soul.
And eternity.
To have a soul.
It's going to go on forever. The question is where? Eternity.
Is a powerful word.
Not let's fake it. It only appears once in the whole word of God, just one, but it has a tremendous effect. Think about the word eternity. You're going to have to think about it. Eternity if you can think in this hot weather of some of the terrible snowstorms and blizzards that we've had in the past, one that went for several days and covered thousands of miles of snow.
Drifting for feet high. And if one snowflake melded every thousand years.
When all that snow was gone, eternity, so to speak, wouldn't even be beginning. It's a powerful word, but your soul and eternity are very important subjects.
Will be turning to a few verses. It's good to turn the verses in the Word of God turn to Job 36 chapter 36 of Job the verse comes to mind.
That, I think, will bring out the solemnity of this thought. Job 36 and verse 18.
Because there is right. Beware lest he takes thee away with his stroke. Then a great ransom cannot deliver thee. That little verse has three parts that should make one think. The fact, the possibility, and the impossibility. The fact is, there is a rise. The fact is that everyone that's still in this sin has a wrath of God of biting on him and her.
00:15:03
That's the fact. The possibility is that he takes me away with his stroke. You don't know when it is. I don't know when it is, but it's a possibility. It may be tonight. The impossibility is in. A great ransom cannot deliver thee. It's too late, forever too late. One second after death it's forever too late is decided. The civil verse is a powerful verse turned to Ecclesiastes for a couple other verses along this string. Ecclesiastes.
The preacher.
Chapter 9.
Verse 12 Please the opposite. 912 For man also knoweth not his time. As the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
And Ecclesiastes 11.
And verse 8 But if a man lived many years, and rejoice in them all, yet let him remember the days of darkness.
They shall be many, they shall be many. The blackness of darkness.
Forever, eternity, eternity don't get mixed up with a little bit of time we're talking about down here.
Don't let Satan fool you in that way when we're talking about eternity.
Little bit of time here is as nothing.
There was a man, his name was Captain Blount, who sailed a lot. He had a regiment with him.
One of his favorite harbors was Malta, and his regiment was stationed at Malta.
When he was older and he was allowed to stay in what they call the castle there overlooking the beautiful harbor.
One day he was standing in front of the window.
Is it evening? As the sun was setting and he saw beautiful, magnificent sailing vessels coming into the harbor. It was a beautiful sight, and as he stood there and looked at it, suddenly it stopped and it shuddered.
It vibrated its song right before his eyes.
And it was moving fast. He had heard the gospel. I'm sure you have. He had heard about how quick a life is snuffed out, how there isn't really any time. There's no tomorrow. There's only tonight for you. He had heard it. Captain Ball said. He dropped on his knees then and there. And he said, Lord, oh Lord, that's the shipwreck of my soul. That's what's going to happen to me if you don't step in, Lord, now and save me.
You know the Lord saved him. You know the Lord saved him. He loves to tell about it. There was a dramatic experience.
There was a sign. There was an engraving that struck me when I read about it over the fireplace in an old English inn.
And and over the fireplace where these large words God a moment.
And Eternity 1 visitor. When he came in, he asked the owner of the inn.
Well, everybody knows what those words are, but why are they there? What does it mean? He said. If you look at the other wall, you'll get the answer.
And it said, God sees you a moment.
Which flees you, and eternity which awaits you. And with that he gave him a gospel.
It's solemn, isn't it? You have to deal with God. He knows all about you. He knows your sins, He knows everything. He's a righteous, holy God. God who sees you in a moment, a moment which, please, you don't know when that moment is. David had a fence in his soul that as the Lord liveth and as your soul liveth, is going to step between me and them.
Just a step, that's all you have. Just a step. The only problem is you don't know which step it is. In Daniel you'll read where the king was told. Your breath is in the hand of the Lord and so is yours. It's no difference the king or the beggar. It's no different. God gives life and God takes it back.
00:20:02
There's a step between you and death and and your breath is in the hand of the Lord.
Just one more thought on this before we get into the scriptures. On a tombstone of a lad who died at 17 in Little Country Cemetery. It had these words on the tombstone. Reader, one moment, stop and think. I'm in eternity.
But thou are on the brink.
That's the way it is with you tonight. Everyone here that saved doesn't mind this kind of a gospel.
But everyone that's lost Satan's going to be working with you. Don't let him scare you. Don't let him fool you. You're young, you've got a lot of time. But this boy was 17. Praise the Lord, he's asleep in Jesus. And he wanted to warn others. And that's what we want to do. We want to warn others.
Was a man who made his living in a strange way, and I believe this will put the point across if I failed so far. He lived up in the northern part where they were cliffed, many jagged cliffs, and he made his living collecting rare eggs. They ate them, they loved them, they sold them.
He was agile and he was strong and powerful. One day as he was coming home, he always had his rope and accrued him with him. As he was coming home, he saw on there with some beautiful eggs in them. He was alone and they don't often do this, but he thought I'm going to get those eggs. And so he put the spike into the rock and he secured the rope and with a little steep platform was just a board. He lowered it to the point that he thought it was opposite the lift.
Now most of the time these ledges are in, you don't see them except for the other side and that's the way it was here. He lowered himself down and got onto the seat and he thought he had quite a ways to go. And then he started that that rope swinging. He had a lot of muscle and he knew how to use them and pretty soon he was a swinging over that big golf towards the lid.
And justice, as he got to the point where he knew he could jump and reach the left with his arms, he lifted himself up and he dropped and he made it, balanced himself. And he was just congratulating himself when he realized, and he's never done it before. He let go of the rope.
He had let go of the rope.
Now, these men are trained to think fast, and he thought fast. First of all, he knew there wasn't anyone around, and secondly, there was no one else to lower another rope or to help come in as he did. He was doomed. He was doomed. And he looked, and he saw that rope as it swung out when he released it. Move away.
And it came back, and then he thought, two more swings and I'll never get it again.
He had to make it. And he said to himself, and he said to others, when he told this, it was now or never, now or never. And that broke playing toward him, and he sprang and made it. And that's the way I feel tonight. It's now or never really. If you're still lost, it's now or never. The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be saved. He came here for that very purpose that you can be saved.
And it's really now or never. The clock of life is wound but once. No man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop at late or early hours. To lose ones wealth is said indeed. To lose ones health is more, but to lose ones soul.
Such a loss no man can restore those One soul is such a loss no man can restore its forever and all eternity.
What are you going to do? What are you going to do? I can tell you simply, you got to get saved.
How do you get saved? It's through faith. Faith a very simple thing. Faith it says, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourself. It's a gift of God, not of work, lest any man boast. Oh, how wonderful it is. Faith. Faith not in any church, faith not in any system. Faith and nothing down here. Faith in a person.
In a man, in the man Christ Jesus, the Lord of glory, we commend him tonight.
Faith for by grace are ye saved through faith that not of yourself. It's a gift of God. If you want to be saved tonight and before we're done, I trust everyone will have an urgent desire to be saved. If you want to be saved tonight, you can be saved. If you say, all right, I want to be saved, but I don't have faith, That doesn't matter. If you want to be saved, ask God for the faith. He'll give it to you. He'll give it to you. It's a gift. It's a gift. That's the only way you can get it.
00:25:27
And it doesn't take a great faith to be safe if it's faith of God.
If it's faith of God, that's all you need. I like the letters in the word faith.
Forsaking all, I trust him. It's putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, believing what God said, accepting the work of himself on the cross, being washed in his precious blood. And you're saying there's no doubt about it. But it takes faith. If you don't have it, ask God for it. There's no excuse for anyone here tonight not being saved, because faith itself that saves is a gift of God.
Oh, it's wonderful, isn't it?
The good news that God has for us, a little faith is all you need if you have a little faith.
In a strong plane you can walk across the street, but if you got very strong faith in a rotten plank, you're going in and it's the face that counts, not how much.
And that's really what I have on my heart.
It's the kind of faith, not how much. Turn to Luke Gospel Chapter 7. Luke's Gospel, Chapter 7.
And verse 36 One of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him, and he went into the Pharisees house and sat down to meet, and behold a woman in the city, which was a Sinner.
Once he knew that Jesus sat at least in the Pharisees house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, stirred his feet behind him weeping, began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bid him saw it.
Fake within himself, saying this man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman. This is the touch of him, for she is a Sinner.
And Jesus answering, said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee, verse 47.
Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.
Verse 48 He said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
And they that said, at least with him, began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgive us sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy face has saved thee, go in peace.
OMC all in a wonderful.
This woman was a Sinner, but she knew where Jesus was. She knew where to find Him.
She wanted to be with him.
She had faith, she exercised it, she acted on it, and the Lord Jesus Christ said to her those precious words.
Thy faith and safety by sins are forgiven. Who is this that could forgive sins? Also of the Lord of glory. It's the Savior of sinners. His authority is from God because He's very God himself. He came here for that very reason.
It's a faithful saying worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. It takes space, but God gives it to you. Now. Real faith is believing what God says. I mean here in the heart. I read a story once.
Of a tightrope Walker who was one of the most famous in the state.
And just for an act, just for publicity, I don't know why else he stretched one of those ropes at Niagara Falls, across the Tavern there, across one of those stretches from the United States to Canada.
The crowd, of course, was tremendous.
And it seemed like hours before he attempted it, but he walked across.
And he walked back, and as he stood on that platform, the applause was tremendous.
And then they put a rope down and they pulled up a wheelbarrow that had a groove in his wheels, but it was a wheelbarrow. And he put that on the rope and the crowd became silent. Would be going to go across again pushing a wheelbar.
00:30:06
And he started across and came back. He looked down and he saw a little boy looking up with his mother there in the crowd. That little boy had a look on his face and just told him he had space, that he knew he could do it. And he said, boy, do you believe I can push this wheelbarrow across there to the other side? All the boys said, yes, sure.
He said. Boy, you believe I could push it across if you were in it? Sure, sure I do.
Well, come on up here and get in. And that boy turned and ran, grabbed his mother.
How many of you believe the Lord Jesus Christ can save you and haven't accepted it? What good is it if you believe it if you don't accept Him?
You need him. Eternity lies ahead. That isn't the face we're talking about.
The first Napoleon law to put his army and his regiment in review. He loved to do it.
When he did it, he did it on a white charger, always on a white charge. One day he was putting his regiment in review for the grand site and he let loose the reins and let him drop, and that white charger took off. He was in danger.
A private stepped out of the ranks, and at the risk of his own life, he stopped that horse and he handed the reins back to the emperor.
The Emperor looked at him and he said thank you, Captain.
And the private set of which regiment, Sir?
So happy with that kind of a response, Napoleon said. Of my own personal honor guard.
That man went back to his own regiment and he indicated to his fellows what happened and what rank he was, and he walked over to the honor guards and took his place as captain.
Let's say.
When the Lord Jesus Christ said.
But if you call on me, if you come unto me, thou shalt be saved. I accepted him.
And I'm saying I've taken my place. There's one that's on his way to glory.
That's faith. It's a gift of God.
When that man said thank you, captain, when the poignant said thank you, captain, all he said was, Which regiment, Sir?
He had no doubt. I hope there isn't any doubt in your heart. Now let's look at the different kinds of faith in a few minutes that are left. Luke 8, the 8th chapter of Luke and verse 43. It doesn't matter what kind of face it is, as I was trying to say, if it's of God, you'll be saved.
Luke chapter 8 and at the end of verse 42, as he went, the people thronged him, elected by blessed Savior. It always happened. The people thronged him when he was here. They couldn't get close enough to him. And a woman having an issue of blood, 12 years which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him and touched the border of his garment, and immediately her issue of blood.
And Jesus said Who touched me when all denied Peter and they they were with him, said Master the multitudes wrongly and Prezi.
And saith thou who touched me? And Jesus said somebody has touched me.
For I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. That was a touch of faith.
That was a touch of faith, and virtue went out of him, and she was saved. It's a wonderful thing, you know, when 1 reaches out to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith, it doesn't matter how weak the faith is, if it's faith of God, you're going to be saved. He said virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not his, she came trembling and falling down before him. She declared unto him before all the people for what 'cause she touched him, and how she was healed immediately.
And he said unto her, Daughter, Be of good comfort. Thy faith has made the whole go and see.
Daughter, a new relationship. She's in the family of God. She saved. She's a sister of mine now in the Lord. Why? Faith. Faith. She took hold. She knew. If you just turn for one verse to see that turn to March 6th, how did she know?
Mark chapter 6 and verse 56. We'll just read it quickly.
Mark 656 Withers whoever he entered in the villages, or cities or country that needs to stick in the street, and besought him that they might touch, if it were but the border of his garment, and as many as touched.
00:35:05
Were touched it or him were made whole. Whosoever touched the quarter of Jesus garment in space was made whole. She knew that. She knew that she was pivot, but that her face wasn't powerful and strong. No, she just slipped in behind and managed to touch the head of his garment. She knew what would happen.
And when she was found out and brought to him, she trembled.
It wasn't the craziest faith, was it? But it was faith that God and praise the Lord, it always worked.
It always works, you know, during the Civil War, the.
Confederates were losing pretty bad towards the end the southern army and it was a sad sight.
And they were retreating. And as they crossed the Tennessee River with one group in battalion.
Smallpox took over, and that's a sad thing. There wasn't any way to help those boys, just to keep them as comfortable as they could. There was an old ward master who'd been in the Southern army for a long time. He was a real veteran, a rugged fellow, but he had a kind heart, and they put him in charge of the tent that followed way far back, and as they moved slowly, they buried the dead. It was a smallpox war, and he was in charge of it, and he tried to comfort those boys.
On their dying bed. Well, he walked through one tent and he saw a lad there, just a little fella. He shouldn't even have been there, maybe 16 or 17. He was dying. The ward master went up to him and put his hand on his forehead, thought how hot he was and feverish. He knew there wasn't much time. He got some water, sat down next to him, put a straw in his mouth and let him take a little bit of refreshing water. And the lad opened his eyes and look at the ward master.
He said ward Master, I'm dying. I'm dying, aren't I? The word master said Lad, you're dying.
We're all dying sometime lads, to dying.
Master, he said, I'm not ready. I'm not ready to die. My mother told me about these things she read in the Isles of Bible. I went to Sunday school. I know you have to be ready. I'm not ready to die.
He was frantic, the word Master said take it easy boy, will make his comfortable as we can take some more water. He says. Anything else I can do for you now? Yes, get the chaplain, Ward Master. Get him quick. Ward Master said I can't do that. I can't leave this regiment. You know that I can't do it.
He plead with him to get the chaplain. He said I can't do it. The ward master with tears in his eyes, back to wait from that cot and went on about his work. He kept thinking about that lad and he went back a few hours later to see if he had gone yet and passed away. The boy was still breathing hard. The boy said, did you get the chaplain? He said, boy, I told you I can't do that. He said, I'm not ready to die. I'm not ready to die. He says, is there anybody here with the Bible?
Anybody here can tell me what I should do? I'm not ready, Ward Master, the word master said. Well, I can't do anything for you. I don't know anything about these things.
They remembered the lad there, Walter was sick who liked to quote the word of God. So the word master said, I'll go ask John, Maybe he can tell you He went. Several minutes later he came back, he sat down with his boy and he said, he told me the verse from the Bible and I think I've got it memorized.
The boy said, what is it? He said God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not ferry, but have everlasting life. He said. John said all you have to do is believe the Lord Jesus Christ that he died for you and ask him Son. Now that's what John said. Put his hand on his brow and the boy flows his eyes and his lips started to move.
And then he was quiet. The ward master figured he was gone. He left for a few minutes, came back later, felled his forehead, and the boy opened his eyes.
He said, Ward master, I want to tell you something, it works. It really works. He was so happy and the ward master looked at that boy and as he took all the energy could to tell the ward master that it works, the Lord Jesus Christ does say he passed on. He went to be with Jesus asleep in Jesus. The word master told this story to most the people in that boy's time.
00:40:00
And as he told that story, this old veteran stood there with tears in his eyes. And those big rough hands described this. He says that boy was quite a valiant boy, but he wanted me to tell you.
About his dying day and the Lord laughter said, now I want to tell you two personally that it works. He said, I tried it, it really works. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. What a wonderful, wonderful thing. Friends, we're not telling you anything here that doesn't work. It really works. This woman didn't have the strongest face. She just had the touch, just the touch of his garment, a touch of face, but it worked.
And he said, thy faith has made the whole go in peace. Oh, let's turn to Luke 5, Chapter 5.
Luke 5 and verse 12 It came to pass when he was in a certain city, behold, a man full of leprosy, who sings, Jesus fell on his face, and bethought him, saying, Lord, if thou will, Thou canst make me clean. He put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will.
Be thou clean immediately the leprosy departed from it.
But that's a plea of faith. We've had a touch of faith. It wasn't very much, but here's a plea of faith. He knew the Lord Jesus could, He just didn't know he would. He said If thou will, thou care, and he plead with him.
That was enough. If the faces of God, dear friends, that's enough. What did the Lord Jesus say? I will, I will. Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out, He said I will, and immediately.
Because dear friend, when you turn to the Lord Jesus Christ in faith it immediately it's not. That's how fast I was saved. It doesn't take any doing. It's been done. The Lord Jesus Christ did the suffering and the dying and shed his precious blood. It is done.
Finished and all you have to do is accept the offer of salvation.
Through him. Oh how wonderful the story is. Well, we have a plea of faith.
This dear leper who was full of leprosy knew that Jesus could. He just didn't know that he would.
It was a businessman that got saved in a little village. He was well known.
When he got saved, like many of us, when we get saved, we can't wait to tell everybody else in the word we bumble.
The Lord understands that, I believe, but this man just couldn't wait to tell the whole village. What did he do? He rented the hall. He rented the hall and he put an advertise in the newspaper. Anybody that wants to be saved and have their sins forgiven cometh so and so time each night.
And it's free. So the first night quite a few caves and he gave out, in his own little awkward way, the gospel of God's grace. The second night there was fewer, and by the 3rd and 4th night he realized it was just a couple of people and finally an empty room.
He was discouraged.
Finally said to himself.
What doesn't make any difference? I'm still going to tell them some way. I'm going to tell them because they need to be saved. They need to be saved. And so he put another ad in the paper. And this ad said whoever in the village wanted all their debts paid should bring evidences of all their debts to his office. On Saturday morning, two weeks hence, he gave the date between 10:00 and noon and they will be paid in full.
When all that took that village like wildfire, everybody was talking about it. And as the days went by, approaching the Saturday, they began to get skeptical and they talk over the fence and they talk at work. One would say, do you really think old John is going to pay all your bills if you walk in there? No, I don't. I think he's just mad because what happened with his fall? I don't think so. We'd just be a laughing stock at the time and pretty soon.
Skepticism came in. Well, the morning came, and at 10:00 he was in his office waiting.
00:45:00
But nobody was around.
In a few minutes, a few collected across the street and sort of looked at the building.
By about 10:15, one man came down the street. He looked both ways to see if anybody was looking and he started in the door of the office.
They got into the hall. The private office door was open. John said if you come to have your debts paid, he suggests I did. I've got all the bills right here. He said come on in. He went in, presented the bill. He added them up on the machine and wrote the check that they're paid in full, Don't worry about them before 12:00. Two more men came in, but the rest of them were leery. They didn't believe it. It was too good.
At 12:00 he said, Now you men can go, but first I want to tell you something.
Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price to forgive you for all your sins. And he gave them the gospel. And those dear men with tears in their eyes lifted. And as they went out, the crowd was then there and they said, what did he do? Did he really pay your bills? And they said, yes, he did all of them in full, just like he said, let's go. They started to go in and they said it's too late. 12:00 was the deadline. It's five after. I'm sorry.
That's the way it is. They knew he could. He had plenty of money. There was number problem with paying those debts, but they didn't know if he would. There's no doubt about it with the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will. What did he say to the leper? That's all He said. I will, I will. Old dear friends, if you want your sins forgiven, you need your sins forgiven. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ and it is in full. It was done at the cross almost 2000 years ago. It cost God everything. He had His own beloved Son, my Savior. It cost the Lord Jesus Christ his precious blood.
But he paid the price and it's now being offered to everyone in this room.
Everyone in this building, and some of you may sit there because Satan's want to make sure you have doubts.
You're a skeptical. You're saying he's just telling something. Don't believe it. It's true. It really works. Turn to Mark Gospel chapter 10. March Gospel chapter 10.
And verse 45.
We had a touch of faith. We had a plea of faith. Here's a man that gave out a cry of faith. The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many. Isn't that a beautiful verse? The Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, came here, and he tells you why. He told you why before, and He tells you why now. He came to save you, to give his life a ransom for many.
Kings, prime ministers, presidents today.
Travel long distances to other countries, but they don't tell why they're going.
And when they come back, they don't tell what they've done. But not so.
The Creator of this world, Not so the Lord of glory. When the Lord Jesus Christ left that place in glory, He came here in obedience to His Father's will. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, and He wants you to know why He came, and He accomplished His purpose.
And it's now being offered to you.
And they came to Jericho, and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus the Sonata MIAs set by the highways side, begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, thou son of David.
Have mercy on me. Oh, you know it says in Psalms 86 Thou Lord are good and ready to forgive and plenteous and mercy unto all them that call upon thee. He's plenteous and mercy blind part of me is used the right words. He said, Lord, he said, thou son of David, not Jesus of Nazareth, He owned who he was and he said have mercy. Have mercy came to the right man, and when they heard that it was Jesus.
He began to cry out the cry of faith, but many charged him that he should hold his peace.
00:50:01
All dear friends, that's the way Satan, this hold your peace. If there's anything here tonight that feels that they ought to be saved. Don't listen to Satan because he's getting active. I know he's getting active. He did it to me. He'll do it to you. They did it to blind Bartimaeus. They said hold your peace. Don't cry out. But what did he do? He cried out the more a great deal. Alfred David, have mercy on me and Jesus stood still.
Jesus stood still.
That's the cry of faith. That's the cry of faith that stopped my Savior. The cry of faith always doesn't. He stood still and he commanded him to be called and they called the blind man. They said be a good comfort. Why is he call as these?
Oh, how wonderful it is. And he casting his way, his garment rose, and he came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said, What wealth that I should do unto thee. The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my fight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy face has saved thee.
Or made the whole and immediately he received his sight. Well, we had the touch of faith. We had the plea of faith. We got a cry of faith. And I want to look at one more before we finish. And that's at Luke 23. There's a look of faith here, Luke 23.
Verse 32. There were also two other malefactors LED with him to be put to death.
And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, friends, they crucified the Lord of glory, They crucified the blessed Savior. The world hung him on a cross.
They crucified him and the malefactors, one on the right hand and the other on the left, and then said, Jesus father forgive them, for they know not what they do. They parted agreement and cast lots, and the people stood beholding.
And the rulers also, when they derided him, saying he saved others, let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.
Verse 40, Verse 39. And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ.
Save thyself enough. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly we receive the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing amiss.
And he said to Jesus, Lord, he was hanging.
Cross. He was exhausted. This thief was dying, and the one in the middle was dying too. My blessed Savior.
He was to shed his precious blood on that cross and give himself lay down his life.
So that he could save me, and you, if you'll have it. And this thief looked at that dying man, my blessed Savior.
And that was a look of faith. That was a look of faith and.
And he said, Lord, Remember Me when thou cometh to thy Kingdom.
Immediately.
I love it, don't you? Immediately, because the Lord Jesus said this day you don't have to wait. This day thou shalt be with feet in paradise. Well, that's the way it is. It doesn't matter how strong the face is, if it's faith of God, you're going to be saved. And I'm going to ask you, are you saved yet? Are you saved yet? Why not? If you're not? It isn't God's fault in Timothy Reid that God would have all men to be saved.
But God will, God will have all men to be saved and to come into the knowledge of the truth. That's the will of God. And in Peter we read the Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. That's the will of the Lord.
If you're not saved yet, you're going against the will of God, you're going against the will of Lord.
And if you end up in hell, if you end up in the Lake of Fire, you end up in a place that wasn't even prepared for you. It was prepared for the devil and his Angel.
God is so concerned about your soul that he's sure you hear the gospel again tonight, even if it's going forth poorly. It's the gospel and you've heard about it. God has placed the cross of Christ right in your path, and the Lord Jesus Christ has shed his precious blood here on this earth, and that blood will cleanse you from all sins. And if you go to hell, it's your fault. It will not be God. He isn't willing that you perish. The Lord isn't willing to perish. God would have you be saved.
00:55:17
Go against the will of God, against the will of the Lord. Yet to trample under foot the blood of Jesus Christ, you have to climb over his precious cross and go to a place that wasn't even prepared for you. If you get into hell, it's a solemn thing, how many people are going to hell? And it isn't that easy to get there because God's made it too easy to be paid.
Are you saved yet tonight? I hope there isn't any in their seats in their sin. I hope there isn't any that still have to think of that word eternity. Eternity with anything but happiness and bliss. Because my eternity is going to be in glory with my blessed Savior. Turn to John 5.
John 5. For our last scripture on this point, or there may be one, but John 5.
After this there was a piece of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at Jerusalem by the sheep market, a pool which is called in Hebrew Tong Bethesda, having five portions, and in these lay a great multitude of important folk. A blind hall withered, waiting for the moving of the water, for an Angel went down at a certain season into the pool.
And troubled the water, and then the first after the troubling of the water, whosoever the first after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever disease he had. And a certain man was there which had an affirmative 30 and eight years. How old are you, 29? Well, you've had it infirmity, you've had sinned sickness, and it's sad. It's a terrible sickness. It's a disease under death and eternity in hell. You've had a 20 and nine years. Are you 39? You've had it 30 and nine years.
59 you've had a 50 or 9 years, this man had a 30 and eight years. And when Jesus saw him why and knew that he had been now a long time, in that case he said, well, thou behold.
Sir, I have no man Well, I'm telling you tonight there's the man Christ Jesus Job says there is no days man betwixt us that he connected with God. Man the God there's no days of man will praise the Lord. There is there's one God, one meat eater between God and man. It's the man Christ Jesus. He said I have no man but the man was there and the Jesus said rise and take up thy bed and walk and immediately.
The man was made whole and took up his bed and walked. And verse 15, the man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus. Oh, there's no doubt about who did it. It was Jesus. Nobody else could do it. It took faith and it was immediate. And now, just for one more verse, Luke.
Five verse 30. Luke 5.
The scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, and said, Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answered and said, They that are whole need not a position, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
There was a Guild by philanthropist for handicapped children.
The skills in Philadelphia was called the Guild of the Brave Poor Things.
They did marvelous things for these crippled children, and one day they had a great party and they invited a newspaper reporter of the local paper to come and write a feature article. He went, and when he got into the hall he saw the crutches and the wheelchairs and the recruitment of their misery, of their handicap. He stood there and thought for a while. He went in, and as he went in he heard the singing and the happiness and he saw the happy faces, and he couldn't believe it. He stayed. An hour was the most happy hour he'd spent.
He came out and got into the hall and he stood there and looked at those crutches again in the wheelchair.
And he heard a stop and more sobbing. He looked around and sitting on a staircase for the girl.
Neatly dressed, beautiful girl, a little girl, he says. What are you crying about? She sobbed and sobbed, and she finally said.
I can't go in there with them because I just ain't got nothing wrong with me.
Dear friends, I came not to call righteous, but sinners to repentance.
You're qualified. You're a candidate for heaven. Jesus Christ came for sinners. We can't be proud of it. But anyone that says I'm not a Sinner disqualifies himself. You can go in. You can go in. You're a Sinner. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Sometimes I think the problem is we disqualify ourselves or we just don't realize the goodness of God. We just don't realize that God has that much love in his heart toward us.
01:00:29
Want to give you one final story. I know we're out of time, but at the turn of the century.
At the Ohio State Penitentiary, they had trouble like we have today in penitentiaries, but not so bad because there was still the death penalty.
And the warden decided, he talked to the governor and he said, governor, if we give them an ascendant to be good and watch their behavior for six months, I think we'll be over the hump. If you could think of a reward and incentive. And the governor thought, and he finally said, I'm going to give five parties.
To the best five in behavior for six months. You and your assistant and the chaplain can decide who, but don't tell them what the reward is. They knew there was going to be a ward, but none of the prisoners knew what they had a fine six months and when the day came.
The celebrities were all gathered at the House State Penitentiary. The governor, Lieutenant governor, the warden, of course, many officials, the chaplain, they were all on the platform and they marched the 12 under prisoners in.
Set them down and they were quiet.
The governor started by speaking and he told them, I'm going to tell you now.
We're going to give five full pardons, 5 men who have been disciplinary examples are going to have full pardons and go free today. Then he started to give his speech and the men got restless and there was a lot of disturbance and the chaplain moved over and said pardon me governor, if you believe.
Tell them the names now. Since you've told them what you're going to do, tell them the names now. I don't believe the men could spend it any longer.
So the governor said, all right, he looked at his list. He said Reuben Johnson.
Reuben Johnson, I hold in my hand apart. You're pardoned. Fully pardoned. You're free. Come and get your pardon.
It was a long pause. The governor was a little embarrassed, he said. Reuben Johnson.
I have your pardon. Please come forward and receive your pardon. You're free.
The governor said to the warden, are all the men here? And the warden said, yes Sir, they're all here.
Not one of them is in six days, not one of them is in the hospital. They're all here and all accounted for.
So where's Ruben Johnson?
So the warden called out. Ruben Johnson. You're free. There's a pardon. Come and get it.
No response, the warden, said the chaplain. Where's Reuben?
The Chapel looked where Reuben usually sits. He's been there 19 years. The chaplain spotted him right away.
And they looked right at it. They said, Reuben Johnson, they're calling you.
The governor has pardoned you. You can go free now. The Rupert, come up here and get your partner and all the heads turned towards Rupen Andrew.
Written!
Gospel—E. Wakefield
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.
General Meetings. Wheaton, August 1973.
Gospel, my Brother Wakefield.
Banker hold and the Storms of Life.
And the clouds unfold their wings of strife. When the strong tides left, and the cable strain, Will your anchor drift or firm remain #11?
Girl of life when the land and fall there.
Strive when the strong tides left and cable strain.
Where your anger, drift or firm remains.
We have an anchor third case.
The soul.
Steadfast and sure.
Bells rolling.
Listen to the Rock Fish camera.
Rounded, firm and deep in the Savior's love, sing the last verse.
Well, you're a big hole through the morning light.
The City of Gold and the harbor bright.
Will you answer safe but the heavenly show?
Storms are passed forever.
More.
When I.
Saw steadfastness.
There was Rome.
Fast until the room.
Grounded, fermented in the Savior's long.
Microwave saying #32 What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus #32.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Righteous is the floor.
That makes me white as snow.
No other found. I know nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
My pardon, this my plain nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, precious is the floor.
That makes me white as snow.
No other bound. I know nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can foresee.
00:05:03
Nothing but blood of Jesus.
That I have done nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, precious is the flow.
That makes me white as Snow White.
No other found. I know nothing but the blood.
Of Jesus.
This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This is all my righteousness.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Precious is the.
Flow that makes me white as snow.
No other found. I know nothing but the blood of Jesus.
May we read a verse in the 17th chapter of Jeremiah?
And I'll raise the 13th verse. I wish to especially mention part of the verse, the 13th verse of Jeremiah, chapter 17.
Oh Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed. And they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. I read the part I have specially before me again, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth.
I'd like to bring before you tonight a few scriptures in which we find the word written.
And my friends, I like to say tonight that we live in the very closing days of the day of God's grace to this poor world. In fact, we would not be surprised at any moment we heard that voice of the Lord Jesus Christ calling us out of this world.
To be forever with himself in the glory. And my friend you without Christ will be left behind for eternal judgment with no second chance. Now here we have in the United States of America that giving up of God, just as we have in Canada to the north. God has been given up and in many homes.
There is no prayer, there is no Bible reading, there is no giving thanks for the food at the table. God has been given up. And I like to say to the young people tonight that are here, are you giving God up? What a solemn thing it is that man is turning away from the God of the Bible and he's turned the confusion and the darkness and the hosts of hell tonight.
Are rising up to challenge this great continent of America.
In connection with turning into the devil and to Satan and to Hell, my friend, tonight I want to ask you, is your name written in this earth? Is that all the hope you have in this earth? I heard a story recently about a man.
Who is very, very wealthy.
Very successful, a very famous businessman. He was on his deathbed. And his family gathered around him. And his youngest son watched his father breathe in his last. And he had before him this spot that after my father leaves this world, most of his wealth will be mine. And his father looked at his family and said.
00:10:19
I die as a fool.
I die as a fool. And his young son said, father, don't talk that way. You know, this town where we live, you're looked upon as a very successful businessman. You've got all kinds of money, and everybody in the town honors you. And he said, I die as a fool and I go to meet God with empty hands.
I go to meet God with empty hands. My friend, tonight, are you going to meet God as a fool?
Are you going to leave this poor world with your name written in this earth?
All you have is down here under the heavens.
All your left, all you have to leave behind and leave it all here and go into eternity and stand in the presence of God in your sins.
My friend, tonight I pray God, you will hear more than the preacher's voice, but you may hear tonight the very voice of God, as that voice again speaks to your soul and says to you, eternity and you have to stand before God either in your sins and perish or be in Christ and in the glory for eternity. My friend, you can't stay here.
You've got to leave this world, God says here, and they that depart from me.
Shall be written in the earth.
With absolutely nothing but this world. And I want to say, my friend tonight, that in this country in which we are tonight, and again I say in the North Country in Canada, man is turned away from God and we find confusion and misery and all kinds of corruption and evil.
Just as it was in the days of Noah, man has left God up. Maybe there's a young man tonight.
And you will push God out of your life. You have turned away from God and somebody tonight has brought you to this meeting.
My friend, tonight it is my privilege to present to you the gospel.
But I would arouse you first as to your need of a Savior, for you'll never get saved until you find out that you're lost and you're going down Into Darkness and you're going to hell, my friend. I know it's not popular to talk this way. I know that man don't like to hear these things. But our Lord Jesus Christ and all the Bible and all the speakers in the word of God.
God's precious word, the Lord Jesus, more than all the others, warned men about hell and judgment and damnation.
How solemn that is. And you and I are about a heartbeat from eternity, A heartbeat from God. Just a heartbeat and you're gone. My friend, young man, you tonight in your health and strength, I ask you not to depend upon that health and strength to yours.
For God may say tonight thy soul.
Shall be required of thee whose names are written in the earth. Now may we turn to the 10th chapter of the Gospel by Luke, and read the 20th verse. The 19th verse.
Verses 19 and 20 of Luke's Gospel chapter 10.
Here the Lord Jesus as speaking to his disciples.
And he says, Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. I just hold that place, and let us look at Philippines.
Philippians chapter 4 for a verse.
00:15:01
Philippians chapter 4 and verse.
There are three.
And I entreat thee also, true York fellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement, also with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Now here's a different writing, my friends. Here is a book in heaven, the book of life, the book.
That God keeps and by the grace of God, many in this room tonight can look up into the very face of the Lord Jesus and say my name is written in heaven. What a wonderful thing to be able to say. And my unsaved friend lost soul tonight, you're here. You can leave this hall tonight at 8:45 with the absolute certainty by the word of God that your name.
Is written down in the Book of Life a little while ago, a few years ago.
A famous American, a former president, was on his deathbed and the story I read and heard was this, that a servant of God went to visit him and he said to this man, Tell me once again how I can know I am ready to leave this world. Well, this man took his Bible and he read many verses from the word of God.
That pointed the way of salvation. When he was finished, he bowed his head and they had a word, a prayer together. And then this man said thank you, I'm ready. Oh my friends, how wonderful to be ready to meet this to to leave this world. What a wonderful thing it is to be ready when you go to bed at night and lay your head upon your pillow to say, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to meet God.
I want to ask you tonight as I point you to Christ, how can we know these truths? Is it possible for every man and woman, every boy and girl, every young man, every young woman tonight to know on the very authority of the Word of God, that we can leave this world and immediately go into the glory with the Lord Jesus Christ? Will you please turn with me to a few scriptures?
First of all, in the first chapter of John's Gospel.
The first chapter of John's Gospel in verse 12.
Here we might say, after the first step to heaven, you know, which is to find out you're a Sinner. And I know that every boy in this room and every girl, I know that every man and woman, including myself, we all know that we have sinned. Now, there are different kinds of sinners. We know there are some in the gutter. There are some respectable citizens. There are some who believe this and believe that some are what we call.
Respectable, good living, living people. But nevertheless, if your sin once, you're a Sinner. If I murdered a man, I'm a murderer. I may be able to say I only murdered once in all my life and I'm a murderer. It is the same. And if you sin once and all your life, you are a Sinner. And you never can get into heaven unless that one sin is forgiven. And I trust my friend tonight.
Till I stand here on this platform and make that statement that's found in the word of God, that all have sins and come short of the glory of God, that there is no difference. That you will believe what God says tonight. Recently I was talking to an old gentleman who tried to tell me that he had never sinned in all his life. My friend, your part in this expression, what a liar he was.
What an awful liar that man was. And I said, my friend, your argument is not with me. Your argument is with God. For God says you are a Sinner and you say I'm not a Sinner. So you better get this straightened out with the Lord. My friend, tonight. If there's anybody in this room that says that I'm not a Sinner, then I say reverently you are calling God a liar.
For God says you are a Sinner and you know you are a Sinner. I notice this verse in John one verse 12.
00:20:06
To as many.
As received him.
To them gave him power to become the sons of God, or the children of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Now, no, that's my friends, I want to point out.
These are the very words of God to as many as received Him. Doesn't say to as many as received baptism, doesn't say to as many as received church membership. It doesn't say to as many as live a good life, but it says to as many as received Him. Now we know who this person is. It's the Lord Jesus Christ, that blessed Savior, who came into this world.
My friend, the Creator of this universe, the Maker of heaven and earth, has been in this world as a man. God has been here, and He is tonight seeking for poor sinners who need Him as a Savior. Are you closing your ears to that God who tonight searches for you, who calls out from his broken heart?
Where art thou, Where art thou? Or Sinner, where are you hiding tonight? Well, here's the message, the glorious message to as many as received him, that is a person, not religion, but a real living person, to as many as receive Him. To them gave he the power to become the children of God. Think of it, to become a child of God.
By receiving the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who suffered and bled and died on the Cross of Calvary?
Now, I know there's many Christians in this room tonight who know this old gospel story up by heart. And you know we have the same old message that goes forth week after week and year after year that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again on the third day.
And he ascended back to the right hand of God, and tonight there is a man in the heavens.
A real mind in the glory that bears in his body the marks of his passion. His hands are marked with the nails, His feet are marked with the nails. And his side from once that precious blood was shed, That side is for eternity, as are the hands and feet of Christ. They're marked forever to tell God and man and tell the devil and the demons.
That Calvary's work is done, my friend. Tonight, you can't do anything to save yourself. You can't make one move to save yourself, but God can save you.
Our brother spoke last night and that message which we enjoyed about faith, he pointed out it was God-given faith and my friend reminded me of a story of an all Christian who one night after he finished giving out the gospel message, a man came to him and said in all sincerity.
Oh Sir, he said. I would to God. I could know that I was among the very elect when the old preacher said these words.
He said if you will receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior now.
You are among the elect, I want to say tonight, my friend.
So anybody in this room that's been deceived tonight, let me say this.
Whosoever will make him the drunkard and the gutter, the man in the prison as he walks to the scaffold to be hanged for murder, if he'll only come to Christ, God will save him. The vilest, most wicked, most ungodly Wretch in this world can tonight be saved. And the most self-righteous, respectable citizen in North America, America can be saved.
With exactly the same way as the drunkard.
The same way as the convict, you got to come God's way, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in first John I like to read a verse to the first epistle of John and the second chapter in the 12Th verse.
00:25:13
Now I know this is addressed to believers, but nevertheless, it's the truth of God just the same, and it can be your truth. Tonight young man, tonight I want you to hear this verse.
And young lady, I want you to hear this verse first. John chapter 2, verse 12. I write unto you, children, because your sins are forgiven you for his namesake. Just imagine tonight all we were saying the other day.
Out in Regina, we were to go up to some of these men, you know, who've been to college for many years and have many degrees after their name and say.
My sins are forgiven. They say that man is crazy. This man is really off his top story. We don't believe in that. You've got to do something. You've got to meet God and get your sins away, your good deeds weighed, and then God will determine whether you're going to heaven or not.
That's not true. That does not bear the approval of the Word of God.
For I want to say this tonight, that every born again Christian in this room will never, never, never be judged for his or her sins.
There is absolutely no judgment as far as the same question is concerned for any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, because on the cross of Calvary, our blessed Savior pays the price in full and every one of our sins was judged.
By God already there is no judgment for the Christian.
Our sins are forgiven and in first John chapter one, verse seven we read.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son.
Cleanse of us from.
All sin, how blessed or there is power tonight in that precious, precious blood of Christ. That precious blood, my friends, is our very title, the end of the very presence of God. We sang in our hymn nothing but the blood of Jesus, a very unpopular subject in this world. But nevertheless, by the grace of God, we who are Christians, we who know the Lord Jesus.
We praise God for the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That precious blood will never lose its power of every child of God is saved to sin no more. Just imagine that precious blood tonight. Oh dear young man, are you under the shelter of the blood of Christ tonight? Let me ask you tonight this question. Now I know this is a question we always ask because it used to be asked to me when I was on the way to hell.
And this question really aroused my soul as the preacher's asked this question. Where would you be now if your body lay cold and silent in your casket? I hated that question. Oh, that question made me tremble in my seat.
I want to ask you tonight, young man, young lady, old man, old lady, where would you be now for eternity if your body was cold and silent in your casket? You can't afford to be wrong.
Can't afford to take a chance. You know, life insurance men receive huge salaries. I understand they receive up to 30 and $40,000 a year.
To try to impress man that they may die today and they need life insurance.
But when you tell a man he may die and go to hell, he laughs at you. And even the insurance men laugh at you when you say that because they're not sincere.
They're selling a bill of goods, my friend, but they're deceived by the devil. I wonder, tonight you got insurance for eternity. Are your sins forgiven? Are you right with God? Are you ready to meet God tonight if the Lord Jesus comes now? And I want to speak to you boys and girls who have Christian mothers and fathers.
One night, one morning rather, I got off the train down at Fredericton Junction, and a young man met me and was driving me to Fredericton. I thought naturally he was a Christian, why, his mother and father were breaking bread for many years. And naturally we just take it for granted that all the children are saved too. And when I got in this young man's car, he said to me what a wonderful thing it is to know the Lord. And I said well.
00:30:12
When you come to know the Lord, he said, oh, just a very little while ago, and I said, give me to tell me that when we preached in that hall at Smith Falls that you weren't saved. He said I wasn't, I wasn't. I had it all appeared. He said I knew all the answers. I could quote John 316 by heart, but I did not have Christ in here, only up here. My dear young man tonight, a young lady. Are you like that, young man?
You have never been saved at all. You only know the gospel up here, but Christ does not dwell in here. I want to ask you, you've come to this conference and we thank God you've come and God has sent you here at once again to tell you of this matchless love and His matchless grace. Oh, how blessed to know the Savior of sinners. Now there's another verse I want to read to you in first John chapter 5.
In verse 13.
Here is a wonderful verse, my friend. Maybe you've never heard this verse before, or you say how ridiculous that is, but I never heard it before until the year 1930. We never heard these things before. We were just brought up religious, but priceless.
Respectable but going to hell, but going to hell. And I want to tell you tonight, United States of America is Philip what men and women who are respectable citizens of the USA, but they're on the way to hell.
Because they don't know Christ and they're lost, and their trust in everything else but the person of Christ and the finished work of Christ. Listen to this verse now. This is what God says, not what we say, but what God says in this precious word. Verse 13, first John 5.
These things have I written unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God. Now notice that he may know that ye have eternal life.
Just imagine tonight, my friend, we don't guess, we don't say I guess I got eternal life. The speaker here, by the grace of God, I don't hope I have eternal life. I know I have eternal life. I know it because God says so. And what God says and what counts, what man says doesn't matter much to me because my thoughts are as good as your thoughts. But when God speaks, how different that he may.
KNOW that she have eternal life.
Maybe somebody in this room tonight will go out and say to their preacher, you know, I heard a wonderful version, the Bible. You may cook this verse and the preacher may say, but it doesn't mean that at all. Well, I want to save. He tells you that you better turn away from that man because when God makes a statement.
God means exactly what he says.
Exactly that she may know that ye have present tense this very night. Eternal life, how blessed eternal life, a life that will never end, the very life of God.
Planted in the soul. What? How blessed, how glorious. One more verse in the 5th chapter of Romans.
In the 5th chapter of Romans.
In the first verse.
Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Just imagine.
All my friends, how many homes in America tonight have never, never heard this verse. They don't even know it's in the Bible. They never heard this verse because the preachers don't believe it. Many of them.
Peace with God. Just imagine to be able to go to bed tonight and say I got peace with God.
I have peace with God. I didn't make that peace, no, indeed I did not. But on the cross of Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ made peace. By the blood of his cross He made peace. And the devil disturbed that peace. No. Can all the demons of hell rise up and disturb that peace? No. That peace is eternal. Peace settled at the cross once and forever.
00:35:03
He made peace by the blood of his cross. This is the word of God, my friends. All believe it tonight. Believe the word of God, peace with God. The end of the fourth chapter of this very epistle to Romans tells us in the middle of verse 24 if we believe on Him.
That raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our offenses.
And was raised again for our justification. Not only did we preach tonight a crucified Savior.
We preach our risen Savior, a glorified Savior, an exalted Savior at the right hand of God. All friends, the glorious news is this, that manhood and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ has invaded the presence of God.
Man has been to the moon. Man has walked on the moon. Let me ask you this question.
As it made man a better man, has it made the world a better place? Has it made the world a happier place? No, 1000 times. No, my friends, this man who went beyond the moon into the very presence of God. And that makes all the difference for eternity. There's a man in the glory of God, a living man, a living savior. Is there?
Way above the moon.
Way above the moon, He ascended in all the majesty of his person as God the Son. He ascended up into the very glory of God, and man is in the glory of God. That man is my hope for eternity. He's my Savior. He died for sinners, and if he died for sinners, thank God he died for me. Well, beloved friends, tonight wouldn't you like to have your name written down in heaven?
Wouldn't you like to be able to leave this room tonight in this poor sad world? We read the stories and different papers and publications and Christian booklets of towel of the decline of the human race. We read about devil worship, 10s of thousands of people or turn into the devil buildings are being constructed in the West Coast and in the East Coast. Buildings in which men and women will go in and worship Satan. Think of it, worship Satan.
Well, we'd be surprised, except the Word of God tells us that's going to happen. Just imagine the Word of God, the most up-to-date book in all the world, the only book in the world, could tell you the future. Man can tell you about the past, they can tell you about the present, but they can't tell you about the future unless they add these words. That's what we think. But when God speaks, we don't think anymore. We know.
And God assures us of the future, We've often said if we went to Washington.
Had an audience with Mr. Nixon and his cabinet and said, gentlemen, we've come to tell you the future of this world. They say get this man out, He's crazy, he's just gone crazy. But my friends tonight, we who know the word of God and who know the Lord Jesus Christ, by God's grace, we know the future of this world. We know it. We know the future of this world because God has told us so in his Word.
Now those who were written in heaven, what a wonderful thing it is that our poor names are written down in the Lamb's Book of Life. How bless them.
In all of the United States government or the Canadian government put out a publication and told us that unless our names are written and registered in Ottawa, Washington, and within a certain number of days we'd be exported, put out of this country altogether, just sent away someplace on an island to live. I'm sure that every sane American and every sane Canadian would immediately find out for sure that their names are written down in their respective countries.
But I want to tell you tonight, if your name is not written down in heaven.
Now you're going to hell. You're going to hell.
Would you like to know for sure your name is written down in heaven? Would you like to be able to say, I don't think it anymore, I know my name is written down in heaven? And I say to you, come to God, own yourself to be a Sinner in his presence, and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, and you will know on the authority of Holy Scripture, the very word of God, that you are right with God. You can't go to hell.
00:40:15
Because you belong to Christ and you belong to glory. What a marvelous thing to know these things, my friends. What happiness and joy in this poor, dark, lost, awful world which Satan is as God and Prince of this great world system that's going down to hell.
My friend, are you saved tonight? Are you right with God? Are you on the Lord's side?
If you're not, you're on the devil's side, for there's only two masters in the word of God. No use compromising, no use trying to tickle the ears of people by saying, well, you know, if you're not saved, maybe you're not exactly lost, but you're certainly not in a good state, my friend. You're either saved or lost now.
You're either heaven bound or hell bound now. You either write with God or wrong with God now young man, or you're right with God tonight young lady. Are you right with God tonight? Are you I on the Lords side?
Or you're right with God tonight. Now, before I turn to my last scripture, I want to read a verse in the 10th chapter of Romans.
The 10th chapter Romans. I want to read just a few verses, but principally the ninth verse.
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
But with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, For the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
For whosoever, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now I know there's many young Christians and I suppose older Christians too that say, well I believe this. I believe that Christ died for me. I believe in the blood of Christ. I believe in the word of God. I believe that Jesus died for me. I believe he rose again the 3rd day. But I haven't got this assurance.
Why? Well, one of the reasons why you've never confessed the Lord. You've never gone to your mother and your father and said mother, I believe that Jesus Christ, whom this world crucified is the Lord. I believe that this world of nail, the Son of God to Calvary's cross is the Lord of glory. I confess with my mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and I believe in my heart.
That God has raised him from the dead and the rest of the verse says thou shalt be saved. Definite my friends, no ifs and no buts in the word of God. Absolutely definite. This is if the Son of God himself walked into this room, showed you his nail pierced hands and feet inside, looked into your very eyes and said if you believe in me.
You've got eternal life. Would you believe his word if you really knew it was Christ, You really knew it was the Lord Jesus himself? Would you believe his word or would you say, well, I'm sorry, I I just can't believe that you would believe it, wouldn't you? Well, this book is as sure as if Christ was standing here tonight. This is absolutely sure as I read this book to you, thou shalt be saved. This is if the Lord Jesus Christ was standing right in this room.
And talking to you personally, have you ever confessed the Lord?
You ever confess the Lord as your Savior? Why not tonight? Tell your mother, tell your father, tell your girlfriend or your boyfriend, say Jesus is my Lord. I confess him as my Lord. And I believe that God has raised him from the dead. And you will have the joy bells ringing in your heart, Boys and girls, will you do that tonight? Now, our last scripture is in the 20th chapter of Revelation.
Now we've considered.
00:45:00
Those whose names are written in the earth. What a hopeless place to have your name written. Your name written in the earth. In the second place, we have men and women, boys and girls, saved by the grace of God, whose names are written in heaven in the book of life. How blessed now we have in our last scripture.
And the 15th verse of Revelation, chapter 20.
And whosoever.
Was not found written in the book of Life, was cast into the lake of fire. How solemn this is the same God who says whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
And I want to say tonight, my friend, because there are those who preach sad the same and those who teach that there is no hell. I remember one night a gentleman came to me after a gospel meeting and said, Sir, I heard you tonight talking about hell and I'm a Christian, he said, but you know, I was sort of a funny fellow. I believe that, you know, there won't be any hell. I said, my man.
There was an older man considerably than I am. I said, my dear man, you're putting your thoughts up against God's thoughts and God's word, he said. You know what I believe?
I believe that when we get into eternity, we're going to find the devil there himself and God's going to turn to all creation and say hell is empty, the devil's here and all his angels. Think of it, a man saying that. Just imagine a man changing the word of God. I say tonight North America is filled with men and women who are denying the very word of God. So when we meet, when we meet a man with a Bible now.
We have to be very careful how we speak to them because they may have denied the very God of the Bible. But here it says whosoever was not found written in the book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. That's what God says. I didn't say that. I didn't say that. That's what God says. And moreover, friends, if we read the earlier part of this chapter, we'd find that great White Throne judgment.
Were all the dead from Cain's day down are going to stand before God?
But the 5th chapter of John assures us that God is the Lord Jesus Christ. Another evidence of the deity of Christ. Yes indeed my friends, God is and I speak with reverence. God is not careless when it comes to the deity of Christ. Stand before God and the Lord Jesus said the Father judgeth no man, but it committed all judgment under the sun that all men should honor the Son.
Even as they honor the Father, he that honors, not the Son. And if there is in this room tonight at Jehovah witness, my friend, I want you to hear this. Whosoever on earth, not the Son, on earth, not the Father who sent him. You cannot honor Jehovah and dishonor the Lord Jesus Christ, for that blessed Savior is God. And this morning, I suppose 400 at least in this room.
Bowed their heads and worshipped the Son of God if he wasn't God were idolaters. Praise God is we bow our heads before the Son of God and we worship him as God. He's God the Son, God the creator, the God who loved us the same blessed God. How wonderful and he's going to judge here in this chapter before God.
There on that great white throne will sit the man Christ Jesus.
And as man stands in that great audience.
Held by space. No great machines to hold them up in the air. You know they'll stand before God in space, suspended by the very power of Almighty God in space. And there on that throne, to their amazement, they'll see the man with the holes in his hands.
And they'll see that precious savior move his lips that tonight say, come unto me.
All ye that labor heavy laden, and I will give you rest. They'll hear those lips say, Depart from me into everlasting fire. Prepared for the devil and his angels, my friends.
00:50:12
Every man and woman who lands in that lake of fire will have to say I'm here because I chose to be here. I wanted to be here. I chose this kind of company.
And here I am where I chose to be. But everyone of us who are in the glory land will have to say, I'm here by the grace of God. I'm here because God won my heart. I'm here because the matchless love of God drew me out of the very power of the devil into the very arms of Jesus. And I'm here tonight. I'm here today in this glorious day of glory.
By the matchless grace of God through the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Shed on the cross of Calvary, my friend. Our time is nearly up. Once again the gospel message has gone forth in a conference meeting, a brother told me in a certain city.
There are 6 and 700 and 800 and 900 people come to our conferences. But he said as far as I know, nobody ever gets saved. How does he know? How does he know? My friends, we don't count our converts that God count them. But I want to say tonight, if you want to be saved, tonight if you want to receive the Lord Jesus and have that devil, he whispers into your ear, young man, if you receive Christ, young lady.
You'll wreck your life. You'll lose your friends.
You lose your job, you lose all your buddies, I want to say, if you don't receive them, you will lose your soul. And Jesus said, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? In Vancouver recently I picked up a gospel tract.
Written apparently by a preacher of the gospel who said something like this as far as my memory goes, he said.
A Christian farmer wrote a letter to me and he said there was a young man worked with me on my farm. I tried desperately to lead him to Christ without success. Every time he said I would speak of the love of God, he started to curse and to swear. I didn't like to dismiss him because.
I thought maybe I could win them to the Savior. He was a very hard worker, but he hated Christ. And he said, you know, one day desperately said, I I thought maybe I turn on my radio. It just might be that that somebody might hear the Gospel. And he said, sure enough, there was a message came over at the minute this young man heard about Jesus, he started to curse and to swear and a blasphemy. And he said he stamped out of the house and he slammed the door shut.
And he said, I walked outside to the barn after him to plead with that young man. And he said I found him dead on the barn floor. He dropped dead on the barn floor. Young man, I'm not trying to frighten you, young lady. I'm not trying to frighten you. But I'm saying this. It's a dangerous thing to play with your soul. It's a dangerous thing to turn away from the God of the Bible to darkness and infidelity and atheism and sin and the devil.
And slavery, when Jesus tonight stands ready to receive you tonight, you may be the biggest Sinner in the United States of America. You may be the finest man in Chicago, but you need the Savior, you need Christ. Will you take Christ tonight? Will you come by the grace of God as I did by the matchless grace of God in April 1930? Praise God, I bow down at the bedside, and I own to God I deserve to go to hell.
And I said I received the Lord Jesus Christ as my personal savior. And I want to tell you this, my friends, not to boast, but I always feared death.
Remember passing down the streets in the old days when I was a boy and seen the crepes on the door and I crossed the street. I was so afraid of death. But when I received the Lord Jesus. Now this may be hard to believe. I was a young man, 24 years of age. You'll pardon this personal reference. I only do it. I hope to help somebody. The young man of 24 for what I thought of strength and health. I wanted to die. Just imagine, I wanted to die. Why you say, why do you want to die?
00:55:13
I wanted to see that lovely man who suffered and bled and died for my sins on the cross of Calvary and whose matchless grace and love followed me for 9 years. Just imagine, from the time I heard the gospel for nine years, the grace of God followed me and praised God. He won my heart and to Him be all the praise. Dear Sinner friend, I recommend to you my Savior.
What a wonderful friend He is, How kind, how loving, how patient, how wonderful He is. He changes our lives, He changes our hell to heaven, He changes our sorrow to joy, He changes our cursings to blessings, He turns our hatred to love. And He fills the soul with eternal joy.
So we can honestly and truthfully say.
Tis heaven belongs.
My Redeemer to know. May God bless his word. Oh dear friend, as you leave this hall, let me ask you, please, as you get into your bed tonight, don't go to sleep young man. You may wake up in a Christless eternity. Don't go to sleep young girl, tonight.
Unsaved, lost in your sins, I plead with you. I plead with you.
You've got to face eternity. You've got to face Almighty God or you're saved tonight. Or are you lost? Are you under the shelter of the blood of Christ or are you still in your sins? May God stir your heart. May God give you no rest and no sleep.
May God's grace follow you through the streets of Chicago until you fall upon your knees and say, Lord Jesus, save my precious soul, and the Savior says him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast doubt.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanse of us.
From all sin.
I Believe
Gospel—P. Geveden
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.
General Meetings. Wheaton, August 1973. Gospel by Brother Jebatan.
Shall we open our hymn sheets to Page 3?
#15.
Oh, blessed gospel sound. Yet there's room.
God's love in Christ we see, yet there's room greater. It could not be.
His only son he gave. He's willing now to save all who in him believe.
Yet there's room.
All things are ready come.
Christ, everything hath done. The work is now complete.
Before the mercy seat of Savior you will meet.
Yet there's room.
God's house is filling fast.
Yet there's room.
Some guests will be the last.
Yet there's room.
Yes, soon salvation's day from you will pass away. Then grace no more will say, yet there's room.
#15.
Oh, blessed Gospel.
Dear.
God.
Here.
I have a blessed day.
So we pray.
We have heard about certain things that we know.
We know that the Lord Jesus Christ has been here in this world.
00:05:02
Now he's come and gone.
That once, in the end of the world or the consummation of the ages, he came.
To that cross and offered himself as a sacrifice to God.
To save sinners.
And such we are.
And we needed that savior.
But now, brother, in the prayer room.
Mentioned another fact.
That has not yet been realized. The Lord has been here. He has come.
He's gone away now.
But he will come again.
We hear a promise.
A short promise.
A definite certain promise.
I will come again.
Now there's a verse.
And it runs like this. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.
As some in counts like this.
Why hasn't he come?
It has really been a long time since he went away.
And there's only one verse in the Bible that indicates that he would be way a long time.
After a long time the Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them.
But we started with a quotation from Peter's epistle.
Saying that the Lord is not slack concerning His promise.
But his long-suffering.
That's good.
Suppose he had come in the year 1900.
We wouldn't have enjoyed the favor that we've enjoyed these many years. We wouldn't have known the glad sound of the gospel, of the grace of God.
We wouldn't have the blessings that we have in the heavenlies in Christ.
We wouldn't have been here. We wouldn't have been this privileged as we are.
And may each one of you be impressed tonight.
With a great privilege that you have as favored of God in the gift of His Son, by whom he's spoken to us.
Shall we thank God, even at this moment, for that unspeakable gift?
The Savior of sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Suppose he had come in fulfillment of this prophecy, or this promise rather.
In 19972.
How would it be with you?
Having been left behind.
Not being raptured away, not being caught up to be forever with the Lord.
How would it be if he had come in July this year?
Are you still unsaved?
Are you in danger or will you be among those that have to say that the summer is ended, the harvest is over and we're not saved?
Every soul needs salvation.
Everyone needs to know the Lord Jesus, the altogether lovely one.
The one that can give full and complete satisfaction and happiness now and forevermore.
00:10:12
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise.
But his long-suffering.
He's been waiting a long time for your blessing.
He opened the door a long time ago and he hasn't closed it yet.
It's still open tonight.
For he said, I am the door by me. If any man enter in, he shall be saved.
And shall go in and out and find pasture.
That's what we've found here in these meetings together.
Liberty and sustainment.
That gives us the joy of that salvation that we receive through simple faith in Christ.
That's the principle of blessing. That's the way it works.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
Long-suffering.
Long-suffering to a sword.
You can take that to yourself as an individual.
Long-suffering to you and to me.
Had he come 68 years ago?
This speaker wouldn't be here.
No, these opportunities would not have been enjoyed, but our God is waiting in patience.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. I will come again.
His long-suffering to us word.
Not willing that any should perish.
That's his will, his desire to you tonight.
That you will not perish, for you are exposed to danger.
There is danger and death in delay.
There is judgment ahead.
Or he wants all to come to repentance.
Now we've heard things that we know.
Another thing that we know by observation that this world is in a bad shape.
That's the general consensus of man's judgment anywhere you find him.
Our world is in a shape and that it has never known before.
And the problems that exist are beyond the power of man to solve in his own strength.
Now, there was a time when the world was in a bad shape.
Way back in the history of the human race.
And let us call to mind a voice that comes to us from the other side of the flood.
Abel offered that sacrifice that was more excellent.
And he being dead yet speaketh.
For we need the kind of sacrifice that he made.
Except that we do not have to bring it as He did. He brought a lamb with the fat thereof, acknowledging that he was a Sinner in need of God's grace and provision for him as such.
But God has provided the Lamb, Behold, the Lamb of God, to which taketh away the sin of the world.
00:15:03
And a little later in the same chapter.
Behold God's land.
Precious Savior.
Yes, the world was in a bad condition at that time.
Do you believe that this world was destroyed by a flood?
Peter believed it.
For he wrote about it.
Paul believed it.
Said by faith.
Noah, being warned of God, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.
Well, that's good authority, isn't it?
Words from a man like Peter.
And words from a faithful servant of Christ, as the apostle Paul was.
But let's refer to the supreme authority.
The one that came down from heaven.
For our Lord spoke on that subject.
And turning perhaps to Matthew 24.
All those not necessary for you to turn just as you wish.
Verse 37. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
For, as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking.
Marrying and giving in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ark.
And knew not till the flood came, and took them all away.
So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
There we have 3 witnesses.
And if you traveled and if you were acquainted with peoples and other lands, you would find in there.
Legends.
That from generation to generation, the story of the flood has been passed down to the present posterity.
The present generation.
It may be corrupted.
And altered somewhat. But still the fact remains, it's latent, It's there, it abides. The people in this world, in all lands, believe that at one time this world was destroyed by flood.
God has judged individuals before.
He has judged cities in times past.
And he judged this whole world by bringing a flood of waters upon it.
And he'll yet judge individuals.
For two men are to be cast alive into the lake of fire.
And you'll read in your Book of Revelation that the cities of the nations fell.
And you'll read in the Epistle to Peter at the elemental melt with fervent heat.
The world will be burned.
Destroyed.
By fire.
Cleansed. Remolded.
Why did judgment come upon the earth in the days of Noah?
He was perfect in his generations. He was a righteous man. He was a preacher of righteousness.
He believed God.
He was one that found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
And being instructed, he acted in faith, and he prepared that ark to the seeding of his house.
That flood came because of man's corruption.
00:20:06
And the principal corruption that existed in that time.
Was.
The corruption.
All the morals of man.
For we read that the sons of God.
Looked upon the daughters of men, that they were fair.
And that's just what the world is doing today.
The woman is emphasizing every possible direction that you might turn your head.
In the sports world, the show world, that man tries to.
Enjoy and find the satisfaction for himself.
In everything, the woman is unduly emphasized.
Is being made an idol?
And the entire source of man's lustful earthly joy.
That's the world with which we're surrounded today.
Where the institution of marriage is being despised.
They had begun, you know, to take more than one.
And no doubt that increased.
And a man's morals were corrupted to such an extent that God could no longer bear with it.
And he brought in the flood to wipe the slate clean and make a new start.
There were giants in the earth in those days.
Not so much. Perhaps giants in stature.
But giants that were engaged in evil practices?
They're giants today in this world.
There are giants at the head of the publication of all this filthy literature that is parceled out on the news stands to corrupt the youth of the land.
There are times behind the show business.
There are joints. Gangsters is really the term.
That are bent upon doing evil.
There are joints that are corrupting the word of God.
And because of that.
Judgment is imminent.
But there was a remedy in that day.
Nor had an ark for his safety, for his protection.
A rather foolish kind of thing for him to do.
To build an ark on dry land.
And likely it had never rained before.
But he did it.
And who got into it?
All as beautiful to see.
That Noah and his wife.
Three sons.
And their three wives.
Just the pears.
And they went into the ark. God said two of them come thou into the York.
God was inside.
He went inside.
And also.
The animal creation was to be preserved.
And they were drawn somehow.
If you read in the 20th verse of the 6th of Genesis.
He didn't have to go out and find them. You know, they came to Adam. They were brought to Adam and he named them.
And now they come. They have a feeling, a sense, an instinct of what was imminent, and they come to the Ark.
And they go in two by two.
And some by sevens.
00:25:01
Oh, there is room for them. There is room for supplies.
And there was room for the quarters of the families that were saved in that ark.
Yes, they knew that something would happen, something was imminent, that destruction was coming. And these brute beasts responded.
Just as a few years ago, perhaps in Alaska.
When there were rumblings in the bowels of the earth, the cattle moved safely away.
Out of the danger zones of that great earthquake that destroyed a city.
And what about you, dear young soul tonight?
Isn't it time for you to respond to God's grace?
To take that offer that he makes.
The offer of His mercy.
He wants to save you.
He wants you for himself, and he's proved his love in sending his son to accomplish the work that was necessary to make you himself, make you a child of his for himself.
Such as God's grace.
The long-suffering of God.
Judgment will come again.
But we need to know.
God wears certain.
Now there are some other scriptures.
That shall come in by way of reference.
And usually.
In speaking.
There is the avoidance of the use of capital I.
The dear servant of the Lord was a little critical. He got into a critical mood and he was counting the number of times the speaker used capital I.
But.
Then he was reminded.
The whole sermon could be one huge capital I.
So we need to avoid that.
What we need is Christ.
What we need is the message that God has sent to us.
What we need is salvation.
And no preacher.
Can bless your soul.
Neither can the priests, neither can the rabbi.
Blessing comes from God alone, it comes from heaven, it comes from Christ, it comes through the sacrifice that he made at Calvary Cross. That's the only way that you can meet last.
I believe in the Genesis record of creation.
I believe that in the beginning God made the heavens and the earth.
I believe.
The information.
That was given when he said let us make man in our image after our likeness.
I believe.
In the book of Genesis.
All the law of Moses.
Do you believe in the 12Th of Exodus?
Do you believe in the Passover lamb that pictures Christ?
I do.
Do you believe?
In the blessing of that woman.
Who received the spies?
And from her window dangled that scarlet cord.
00:30:02
She believed.
I believe.
Do you believe in the man of the 22nd Psalm?
For that Psalm opens with that solemn cry, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Do you believe in the 53rd of Isaiah?
All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquities of us all.
That's our history and his.
And a brother said in Kentucky long time ago as he was speaking to some men.
Of Isaiah 53 verse 6 go away and at the 1St all.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
Come out at the last all.
The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
But that blessed one.
Was here and the question had to be raised, who has believed our report?
Oh, it's a sad thing, my dearest friend.
Dear girl, dear boy, that you haven't believed the report?
That you do not know something of the revealing of the arm of the Lord in your bath.
Oh, he grew up as a tender plant.
And the men in general thought that there was something wrong. He had no form nor comeliness, and actually they thought that he was under the affliction of God.
He is just different.
God's Son from heaven.
The Savior. The Savior had come.
And he was here to go to that cross.
And as a lamb before.
Has led to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her sharers is dumb. So he opened and not his mouth. The chastisement of our peace was upon him.
And with his stripes, we're healed. That's how you get blessing. It's through the work of Christ at the cross. And we learn it that early in the Bible and even right from the beginning.
Well, you come to Matthew, passing by the other prophets.
And we wouldn't like to leave out the poetical books, but we'll pass on to Matthew. I believe in the virgin birth of Christ.
Man says that's an impossibility.
God says it's so.
Thou shall call his name Jesus, which is Savior, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Emmanuel Gordon with us.
And the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, He came not to be served, but he came to serve, to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
What about Mark?
Or there's an impressive thing about the crucifixion in Mark.
When Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came to claim the body of Pilate.
Pilate marveled if he were already dead.
There's never a death like the death of the savior.
He was already dead at the end of six hours and that hadn't happened before.
By crucifixion.
And why was he already dead?
Well, John tells us, you know, he's speaking there and he said I have power to lay down my life.
And I have power to take it up again.
When he had finished the work that he came to do, he dismissed his spirit.
Man doesn't die like that.
The Lord Jesus did, and He died for you, and that's the reason that you can be saved from your sins tonight.
00:35:09
Right now.
The blessed Savior calls, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
What did Luke say? He was occupied with the Savior too.
And so are we.
And that's the way it should be.
One of the most precious portions in Luke to my Soul is.
In that chapter where we read about the Pharisees having this Lord to come and dine with him.
He wanted little credit to himself, and he thought it would be very nice, you know, to have this man dine with him, and a poor woman from the street comes into the presence of the Lord.
She comes to Jesus.
And she washes his feet with tears.
She wipes his feet, makes him comfortable with the overhead.
As she kissed him.
His feet.
And she opens a very costly box of perfume and expends that on this worthy one, which is proper.
Oh, that's a lovely picture. A Sinner in the presence of the Savior.
Or perhaps you say I'm not a woman of the street.
Well, that may not be, but you're a girl that needs the savior.
And if you haven't lived the life that that woman lived, you could have done it or you could do it.
For in the human breast is the seed of every sin and crime that has ever been committed, all the way down through the history of the human race.
The seat is right down there. I don't like you.
Soon, pull a pistol and Choo Choo. That's hate at work. That's the seed of murder.
You know you've been mad.
And you know you've told a lie.
You didn't have to learn how to do it. My mother didn't sit me on her lap and say, Paul, I want you to know how to lie. I knew how.
I want you to know how to steal a little. Someday you might need something, not have the money to get it. You better learn how to steal a little bit. But I didn't have to learn how to steal. I knew how to steal.
Now we know how to represent and misrepresent the truth, don't we?
And who is it that would say that he hasn't sinned and come short of the glory of God?
Would you dare say that here tonight?
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
We need the Savior.
Well, the Savior said to that woman.
Thy sins are forgiven.
Go in peace.
You know, he said that to her and he said it to me. He wants to say it to you.
Thy sins are forgiven.
Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. God wants you to know that your sins are forgiven, because that will make you happy.
And that's an indication that you're his child by faith in Christ Jesus, and that you belong to heaven and have that destiny of eternal blessing.
Well then.
We pass on.
To Acts we've quoted from Acts already. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.
And Cornelius heard words whereby he might be saved or would be saved.
And then we come to Romans.
And we read about the Gospel of God.
Concerning his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ of the seed of David according to the flesh.
But declared to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead.
00:40:03
Oh what a savior that he died for me.
That he rose for me. He's alive forevermore.
And going a little farther, Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. It was in the plan and purpose of God all the way along that this blessed One would die for our sins according to His Word.
He was buried.
He was just as dead as anyone could be.
The Savior died.
That's how he loved her.
He was willing to die for you.
He laid down his life for you.
And he rose again the 3rd day according to the scriptures.
That was in the book too. Don't you believe it? I do.
Amen to the truth of the resurrection. Without it we wouldn't have any gospel.
It is wonderful when Jesus took a little girl by the hand and she was recovered and brought back to life.
Yes, and he relieved the grief of a widow.
And a mother with an only son.
When he stopped the funeral procession touching the carving, he said, young man, I say under the arise and he said up.
And he gave him back to his mother.
Weak not, he had said.
And we've had something of the other case.
Lazarus come forth, and he came forth.
That's wonderful to be called back to this life. That's the power of resurrection. But here's something more wonderful.
Our blessed Savior went right into death, all the way down.
By man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. He gained the victory and he came back, and he's alive forevermore.
And that's the one that wants to bless you tonight.
And this is the faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
And we know that life for the soul and incorruptibility for the body have been brought to light through the gospel.
The Gospel.
The gospel has never been divorced from the rest of the Word.
You find it all the way through.
The gospel of God's grace.
The best message that has ever been committed to man. The gospel of God, the gospel of His grace, The message concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus, the Savior of the world, the Savior of sinners.
Oh, tonight.
Aren't you convinced that he's worthy?
And once you place your trust, your confidence in him.
Or we could go on and multiply scriptures.
We could read of him you know as the.
Brightness.
Obvious person. The express image of his person.
And upholding all things for the word of His power. When He had by himself purged our sins, no one else could do it. No one could help him when He had by himself purged our sins. Set out on the right hand of the Majesty.
That's the Savior that God wants you to know.
He's the one that's able.
We have that living hope, you know that referred to this morning in first Peter.
Now we come to the.
End of the hour.
What we read about 3.
Individuals.
That responded differently.
00:45:00
At least three individuals, perhaps more. We read about a wicked servant in Matthew 24.
He said, My Lord, delay of his coming.
He knew the Lord was coming, He had the doctrine of it, but he said his heart, my Lord, delayeth his coming.
And he began to smite his fellow servants and to associate himself with the elements around, and he settled down to the things of this present evil world.
My Lord, Delayeth is coming. Is there anyone here tonight that's going to take up a statement like that and appropriate it for yourself and say, my Lord, Delayeth is coming?
If you don't accept the Lord Jesus as your own personal Savior, that's what you'll say tonight as you go out that door. My Lord delayeth his coming.
Don't do that.
Staying here, don't go away.
The Lord wants your soul.
He died to save you.
And he wants to keep you from that terrible judgment and that strong delusion that's coming upon this world after his people are removed.
Well, then we have.
Those in.
Second, Peter, the question.
Fact of the Lord's coming, Where is the promise of his coming there? Scoffing. Why? Everything's going to be fine.
It'll go on just like it has been going on. There's nothing to worry about.
This is the intelligent man.
Reasons.
And that's unbelief.
Are you reasoning about these things?
We're not just simply believe.
Except the testimony.
If you believe.
His testimony?
You've set to your seal that God is true, and that's what faith is.
That man that got his eyes opened in the 9th of John when he came to the realization that it was the Son of God.
In whose presence he found himself.
He said.
Lord, I believe.
And he worshipped him.
Isn't that sufficient?
Or would you be like Thomas and say I will not believe?
Except I see the nail prints in his hand. Put my fingers into the nail Prince and thrust my hand into his side. I will not believe.
Well, that's one kind of belief.
But you have the privilege tonight of accepting God's record of his Son.
And blessed is he that hath not seen, and yet hath believed.
All we need to believe.
To trust.
That blessed Savior.
For he loves us, He lay down his life for us. He took it up again. This commandment have I received of my father, He said. He laid it down to take it up in resurrection. And that's the life that you can have tonight. There isn't life of Christ.
Oh, wonderful, wonderful things we read in this precious book.
The word of God.
This word of assurance.
All simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And to be sure.
That you will not be exposed to those judgments that fall upon this world.
For there's a day of darkness coming, and it's just about here.
Right away, after our Lord calls his people out of this world, the light of the world, the salt of the earth.
This darkness will increase.
No doubt it will be worse than something like, however, the darkness with which the people were smitten in Sodom.
00:50:08
When the lot had to be pulled inside the door.
The people were smitten with darkness and they couldn't find the door. They couldn't get their hand on the doorknob.
They were outside in the dark and that's where you'll be and there will be no door to open.
The door will be shut.
You will be on the outside.
Doomed forever, But tonight there's blessing for you.
You can know that your sins are forgiven.
That you're a child of God forever.
You can know it.
Right now.
Why not?
Trust that worthy one. Why not take shelter?
Where the fire has been.
For he bore the judgment of God against sin by his sufferings on Calvary's cross.
A man was in the West, and the Prairie fire was rolling in the distance, bearing down upon him in his position, and what would he do?
Or he thought quickly and he lighted a fire, and he set the grass on fire where he was, and it burned around.
And everything was burned away, and he was safe because the fire that was rolling toward him could not reach him now he'd taken shelter. He was standing where the fire had been.
And that's where we need to stand as sinners, say, by God's grace, where the fire has been underneath that shelter, that cover that our blessed Lord has provided for us by dying on Calvary Cross.
Again.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And thou shalt be saved.
#7.
God loved the world of sinners. Love.
Known by Their Fruits
Children—C. Ludvicek
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.
General meetings Waiting. August 1973. Germany's meeting. Brother Ludwichek.
Someone has a hand they like for us to sing this morning.
Which one of you boys and girls has a hymn? Thank you #4 I'll ask someone to start out the hymns please.
First bar.
Every boy and girl here this morning know this precious one as their personal savior. If not, you can by simply believing that He died for you, a lost, guilty Sinner, believing in Him as your precious saving.
How about are you saying someone else over here?
Yeah, 29, Thank you.
Perhaps we can sing.
The first and the second version.
Does anybody know who? What was the name of this ruler?
00:05:01
We have his name given him, Yes. No.
That's good. He came to the Lord Jesus. Also Nicodemus. Yes. And where is it found? Which gospel?
Does anybody know?
Believe it's John's gospel? Someone else over here.
Lots of hymns on this sheet here.
Yes, 35. Thank you.
Perhaps the first and fourth verse.
You know boys and girls.
It's really wonderful to be able to say I have eternal life. You know, I have a number of my own children at home and they have various things that belong to them and they say this is mine and they just hold on to it. Can you say this morning that you have eternal life? It's yours. If you simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you can say I have eternal life upon the authority of God's precious words. And if you haven't, put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, dear boys and girls.
Don't have eternal life. You must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's offering it to you. Do you know Him as your precious Savior? It's simply as we have been singing in this precious symbol, by believing in Him. And that's so simple, just just to believe what God says. Believe what God says in this precious book, and it's yours without money, without Christ. When I buy my children something and then of course I give it to them, it's their, it cost me something, it doesn't cost them.
And you know, it costs God a great price to give his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to die on that cross. And you can simply have eternal life by taking it, Won't you have it? It's yours by simply taking. And then, you know, the joy and happiness of sins forgiven and having eternal life. Someone else over here.
Yes, 40. Thank you.
Verse one and.
2.
You know, boys and girls, as I look into your faces, it makes me think, oh, what a wonderful opportunity. A privilege is yours to be sitting here this morning and to be hearing what God has to say from His precious word. You know, when I was a little boy about your age, I didn't have this privilege of hearing God's precious word being read.
Was I was about 21 years of age 22 when I first was under the sound of God's precious word.
Oh, what a wonderful privilege to be able to hear that the Lord Jesus Christ loves you that He died on the cross and shed His precious blood on. The important thing is not only to hear how wonderful, but to believe that wonderful message God has given you ears to hear, and then to accept the One who He has provided as a Savior for you to simply believe in Him. And do it while you're young. Don't put it off.
The Lord is coming. It may be at any moment. Before this meeting comes to a close, put your trust in Him. The Lord wants to save you now, while you're young.
Somebody else over here? Yes, 41.
The first and third and fourth verse.
Around the throne of God in heaven will many children sing, children whose sins are all forgiven. Are your sins all forgiven, dear boys and girls? If they aren't, if the Lord should come, then you won't be in that place that we have just been singing year round the drone of God. Your portion would be the blackness and darkness. For all eternity you must have your sins forgiven, and there's only one who can do that, boys and girls.
The blessed Son of God who gave himself on that cruel cross and shed his precious blood, the one who loves you, who wants to save you. Now He alone can wash away your sins. God's Word tells us all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone in this room here has sinned.
00:15:07
But many of us can say our sins are all forgiven because we have put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, in His precious blood, has made us.
Clean, white and clean. This is what the Lord will see in all those who have put their trust in Him. Look upon Him as white and clean. Are you such this morning? Washed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? Clean every whip. If you have put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are one more hymn.
Let's see #2.
The 1St and.
Third verse.
Don't linger boys and girls. Accept the Lord Jesus Christ now if you don't know him as you're saved.
I brought something.
In the sack here for you boys and girls to identify what it is. I'll put it on the table and perhaps you can tell me what it is.
I have been wonderful how God has given some of these things for us to enjoy in eating and also the beautiful color, the various colors that God has given to.
Fruits and vegetables and so forth.
Can you see what I have here on the table?
Someone tell me what this is?
Yes, a Peach. That's right. I like Peaches, don't you? Color is so beautiful. Has that red and yellow in it. What type of a tree would you expect the beach to grow up? That's right, a Peach tree. You like this here? What is this?
Yes, a banana.
On what type of a tree would you expect this to grow on? Banana tree, You know, if we were out in the places where bananas grow and at a distance, I think what I know about banana trees, they might look perhaps similar to rubber tree or rubber plant tree. And I think it's a palm tree. But if we would come real close, we could identify by this as a banana tree, OK.
What does this look like?
That's right. And we didn't expect that to grow on a oak tree, would we? Or what type of a tree?
Yeah, I like lemonade, don't you?
What does this make you think of? A plump animal? Where would we find plums going on a plum tree? Now what about this? Yes, Aloha, that's right.
00:20:14
You like walnuts on ice cream or cake or something like that? Cookies, I do. They're real good now. They grow on what type of a tree?
A walnut tree. That's right. Now I wonder if you know what?
These things are here.
Could someone tell me you know I as I hold this up here, I had memories when I was a young boy in connection with this weed here.
When it rained, I used to go up in the barn, jump around in the hay, take books up there and read and sleep. But quite often it was all broken. Father would call me and say, let's go out into the field after rain and pull these weeds out.
You know they just multiply and take over.
It's called a sourdough.
And it's full of little seeds. I'm quite sure I started counting just this part here and there were over 100 so.
There's likely about 1000 little seeds here, which would naturally then make 1000 plants from just one plant. Just think of it. I would multiply. I'm sure you know what this is.
I can't grab a hold of it just anywhere, yet a pistol and a Thistle has a lot of fruit.
On it.
A lot of thorns or needles, whatever we just call it. You don't get too close. I remember out on the farm, the cows would pasture out in the field, but you know all these sissles would be standing up. Why? They just go around. Like a mower would go and just eat up all the grass around, but they wouldn't go about this far from that Thistle because it has those needles sticking out and they stay away.
So we find that this would be thing out there. What do you think this is?
It's got a lot of hooks like this and this catches off.
Yes. What burned off yes, really. Burdock. Thank you Burdock. You know they just seem to get transplanted everywhere a dog or any type of an animal goes around them and even human beings when I go out into.
Area where they are, they just kitchen around your trousers pad, legs and undresses. When girls go out and they just get transplanted everywhere. They have little hooks like this that just seem to hook in and this is the fruit of fur dog.
And it just seems to spread and spread and grows most anywhere. I remember when I build a house and we dug out the dirt that has practically no value in it, which they call death soil. Nothing grew on that pile except this here bird dog did. It's amazing. It just seems to grow everywhere. Well, what I'm trying to bring before you boys and girls, I'm not going to spend too much time on this year, but we have found out that this grows.
On a Peachtree and so on, with all the fruits that I have here on the table and these weeds over here, the fruit of the wheat of these weeds.
By their fruits ye shall know them. And it's easy to identify the tree. Of course we identify them sometimes by the trunk, the bar, the leaves, and so forth. But there's no mistake. By the fruit, by their fruits, you shall know them. And we have a verse in God's precious word, which, if you return with me, please, to the Matthews Gospel.
Chapter 7.
And there we have something in connection with what we have here.
By their fruits you shall know them.
Chapter 7 of Matthew and verse 20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. By their fruits ye shall know them. In these few verses here, beginning at the 15th, we have the Lord is speaking about the false prophets who came in the sheep's clothing.
And.
Inwardly they were ravening Wolf, and we find that here it tells us by their fruits he shall know them. In other words, what they were doing and what they were speaking about in action. Sooner or later it would come out what they really were. And so it is, dear boys and girls, I would like to apply this in the in this way.
00:25:16
Suppose I there were two girls here and two boys, and I was standing up next to me, and I said perhaps this boy was John, and the one next to him was Harry.
Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? And John would say yes, and Harry would say yes also. And the girls over here on my right hand would be Jane and Mary. Perhaps I said, Jane, do you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? You might say yes, and Mary might say yes also.
Now suppose one was saved and the other wasn't. How would I know? They told me that they were. The Lord knoweth them that are here. The Lord knows they are all about us. And this morning He knows exactly what each one of us are thinking about. And if we are really trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ from the depth of our hearts, we may know about the Lord Jesus Christ. You have heard about Him, but do you know Him as your personal Savior? Have you trusted with your whole heart?
In Him as your Savior, the Lord knows whether you are saved or not. But then I would know whether John or Mary or the one who wasn't saved in connection, whether they weren't it. I could tell by the way that they would ask what they would be doing by their fruit. He shall know them because you know a boy or a girl who isn't safe, cannot produce anything in his life, No fruit for the Lord Jesus.
There isn't anything that they can produce but bad such as we have here, corrupt proof, bad truth such as these burdocks, sourdoughs, the Thistle, and so forth. That which.
Is usually cut or pulled out of the ground and burned up, destroyed. This is all that you can produce because you belong into Adam's race. You were born into Adam's race and Adam fell into sin, and we have been born with us.
Nature, a nature that cannot do anything else but sin. And so this is the result of the one who doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Sooner or later we can see, though you may try and are to some extent of what people say, quite a nice boy or girl. But my dear children, you cannot produce anything else but sin because this is your nature. This is the fruit.
So you need the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, that He might give you a new nature, that you might bear fruit for Him.
He is the only one who can give you this new life. Dear boys and girls, can God's precious word, He tells us all, have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and you need the one who alone can wash away your sins like we have in connection with Nicodemus. He must be born again. Nicodemus wondered, how could I?
He was an old man, how could he be born again? How can I be born it be born again? Well we have a precious verse that tells us to as many as received him to them gave you the power to become the sons of God, children of fought even to them that believe on his name. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you come into God's family. You have a new nature that desires to please.
Lord, did you read the article about this young boy? I think it was in the Sunday school paper just recently, who was mean and he liked to fight, selfish and got into all kinds of trouble. Well, that was the fruit of his evil nature. That was that old nature that he come into this world with. And so this is what he did. And he was just a care in the neighborhood and then he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
And it changed his life, wanted to please the Lord instead of being mean. He was kind, he was gentle, He wanted to help others instead of beating him up on taking things from them and doing that which is just terrible. That is the result of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal precious Savior. And then we find in Galatians the fruit of the Spirit. I'd like to read a few verses in that 5th chapter of Galatians.
There we have that of the new nature, and that which is of the old nature.
22nd verse we find the 5th chapter. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy and peace. And those of you who were here yesterday perhaps heard something about that which we had in Philippians about joy, peace, love. And I enjoyed also yielding.
00:30:17
You know, I have a nature, an old see, a believer has two natures.
You have old nature and a new nature, but we aren't to reckon the old nature is dead. Whereas if you haven't accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your precious Savior, you have only one nature, that which can only, as I said before, produce that which is evil. But I know in the old nature I have that within me which would want to fight for that which I believe is right.
And to stand up like, you know, you see quite often boys and girls, oh, this is right, I know it's right and so forth, demanding. Well, we're not to yield to temptation or yield to sin, But even though we might be right, we're not to create a big, shall we say, storm about it. It's yielding. I really enjoy that. That is even the fruits of the sphere just simply being gentle, high. Now you can produce that in your own self. You can't do that.
Now many try and do things that they think are real good and that the public will.
Appreciate which is wonderful, but you know all that is of self. I remember before I was saved, I tried to do the very best I could, and I thought that in that way and by those means I'll get to heaven. But I found out that all my good works were like filthy rags. All our righteousness, our filthy rags. I have to come to the conclusion. And through God's wondrous grace, He opened my eyes to realize I was a lost, guilty Sinner.
That which I tried to do, which was right in the eyes, the man was really evil because it was all that which was of self.
You can only produce fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ by accepting as your precious Savior, and He wants you to produce fruit for Him. You can do that while you're young and He wants you to produce fruit for His honor and glory. While you're hearing the scene, a little boy or girl can show love, can have joy in their hearts and knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, having their sins forgiven, have peace. You know the world is trying in one way or another to provide.
Ways where boys and girls might have joy, happiness, but you can't find it only in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then if we are close to the Lord Jesus, that joy just bubbles, as it were, from our heart, and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
All wonderful to see a boy or girl going on in that joy and from their lips going out praise to the Lord and and sharing it with others. There's peace, there's long-suffering. You know we don't have that by nature, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, which would another meaning would be self-control. It's easy to go out of control. Now notice here in the 2019 verse all and the 20th of the 21St all those terrible things described.
Strife and wrath and murders and such as that many, many other words listed there. This comes out of that evil nature that we have inherited through Adam's fault. And this is what you boys and girls are if you haven't accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. And we find in this 7th chapter of Matthew, let's turn back to that portion again.
What happens to the tree that produces this corrupt fruit?
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Well, this is what we do with these weeds here. You know, a lot of effort is spent and time on these trees that produce Peaches and lemon and bananas and so forth, that they might grow and produce more fruit. Where much labor is spent on these weeds here, spraying and so forth to destroy them. Why? Because they're no good.
They're to be cut and thrown into the fire, to be burned up. What is going to happen to the one who doesn't know the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, who hasn't produced any fruit to the Lord, but only that which is evil, which is corrupt?
Cast into the lake of fire, there to be for all eternity.
Boys and girls, if you don't accept the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who alone can save you, the one who left glory and came down here into this scene, shut his precious bra on Calvary's cross there, gave his life, shed his blood, was buried, rose again. Now he's on high in the glory. If you don't put your trust in Him, you will die in your sins.
00:35:15
And then the Great White Throne before you.
The books will be opened and your name not written in that book of life.
You only have before you all those terrible things that you did to condemn you and the rejection of Christ to be castaway from God's presence for all eternity. Just think of it. To be in a place of blackness and darkness from which you can never get out of, and that's your destiny. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, boys and girls, accept Christ as your Savior now. He might come in the twinkling of an eye and it'd be forever too late. You'd be left here if you're not trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ in that seat where you're sitting, and it'd be forever too late.
The day of grace closed, lost in your sins.
And then what would await you?
Eternity in the blackness of gardens from which you can never get out. No one will be able to deliver you. Now there there is one who wants to deliver you the the Lord Jesus Christ. And He wants you while you're young. He wants you to bear fruit from Him. He wants you to bear much precious fruit. Won't you trust in Him and know the joy and happiness of sins forgiven? A home in the glory.
And that wonderful friendship of his a while here, the fellowship that he we can have within the communion, passing through this scene on the way home.
Instead of that picture of a future.
Where there is only suffering like the one who?
Closed his eyes here in this scene and in hell he lift up his eyes.
Begging for someone to dip the tip of his finger in water to pull off his tongue. Did he get that much comfort? Did he get that much relief? No.
I was too late, too late then to make any changes All make the choice now. The Lord Jesus Christ wants to save you all. I'm so thankful that I accepted Christ as my Savior. It's a joy to know since forgiven to know this blessed one. You can experience that joy and happiness and then.
By his health to bear fruit for him, won't you accept him as your Savior as you go to school, which will be in a few more weeks and in your neighborhood and at home, are you bearing fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ? You know, it could be a wonderful testimony at home and in the neighborhood and in the school where you go to. You know, I go to school about four or five times a year. The teacher sends out a letter to come and.
They want to have a council. I talked about my children and you know, they have quite a report about what they're doing.
Their behavior, how they're coming along with certain subjects, and so forth, and how wonderful it is when a teacher can give a good report.
Of the one who's in school, his behavior and so forth. Oh, how the Lord desires to see that. And then at home and in the neighborhood. And of course, this involves all of us here in this room this morning. Not only you children, but you can be a wonderful testimony like many have been throughout the years, who have accepted Christ as their Savior, live in the joy of sins, forgiven, bearing fruit for the one who loved them and gave himself all that cruel cross for them.
You know, it's a wonderful testimony. Sometimes we don't even have to say very much but our ways though, what fruit we're bearing has such a wonderful effect on those who are around us which lead them to Christ. I remember one man accepted Christ as the Savior and the preacher who preached some wonderful sermon says, which sermon was it that led you to Christ? He said, well, I'm sorry to say it wasn't the sermons that you preached the Lord used.
A lady who?
Was working cleaning up floors and the patient she had and singing hymns and so forth led him to Christ because there she has something. Let me tell you the story of another who accepted Christ. He worked with a painter and if I recall one of the the one who wasn't saved was working on the 2nd floor and the one who was saved was working down on the 1St floor painting the windows.
And this container on top was very sloppy and the paint would drop down and come all over this other man's face.
And then on the top of it, all the buckets got.
00:40:05
Fell over and that pain came down over him. You know, instead of turning in a rage and telling him some bad, bad words, speaking them in bad words, he took it all patience because he knew the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. And you know, this man working with this other man because of his patience and bearing fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ, turn to the Lord.
This man spoke to him now and then about the Lord Jesus Christ in love and as a result of his patience of having some that's real. If we accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, there should be a change in our lives such as it was with Paul. You know, Paul is a mean man and they were afraid of him, but in actually fine after he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior. We have these words. They were amazed. They were amazed at the change in the life of this man and we have accounts of boys and girls and men and women.
Throughout times past and now in this day and age, when they accept Christ as their Savior, there's a change. Instead of bearing fruit like this, there's fruit such as this, the good fruit. It's a result of accepting Christ. Again, I say, boys and girls, if you don't accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you have a fallen nature and you can only produce Bruce touches this. If you accept Christ as your Savior, you can bear fruit that's to God's glory and the benefit.
To all that are around, you must make the decisions. The Lord Jesus Christ wants you now. He wants to save you now while you're young. Won't you take him as your Savior? Do you want to Perry, you want to go into a lost eternity if you don't accept crisis as what is before you. This is where you'll be there to suffer, where you can have joy and happiness now and the joy that I can describe that's beyond description. There to be with our blessed One, to see the one who loved me and gave himself for me.
The blessed faith of my Savior. Are you looking for His appearing to be taken up to be with Him There in the glory? Is the Lord Jesus Christ, precious to you this morning? If not, may I tell you again, take Him as your Savior. Taste and see that the Lord is good. You'll know then what I'm speaking about. He's wonderful to know, I thought for the things that this world had to offer, but I couldn't find joy and happiness either. Will you, dear young people, you can find joy only in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is the source. He's the only one who can give you joy. He's the only one who can satisfy your longing soul. It's wonderful to know. Accept him as your Savior and then you'll know the joy and happiness of sins forgiven what I'm speaking to you about. And then you'll bear fruit for him, because every believer bears fruit for the Lord Jesus. Sometimes we don't see it if we are walking in that.
That nature that can only produce that which is.
Corrupt, you know, we need to read the word of God and God wants us to produce fruit and let the word of God do the pruning. You know, I have some grapes at home that and on this wine as they're growing, some of these vines aren't producing too much. Why? Because they just want to spread all over. So I have to go with the pruning type of instrument and prune them so that there might be a lot of fruit, you know.
This is what it is with our lives. We know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. There needs to be pruning, and the Word of God can do that, that we might bear much fruit.
Each one here was accepted Christ as their Savior. You have eternal life.
But then if we don't recognize old nature as did which God sees it as so, and slip away from reading God's precious word and being close to Him, we will not produce much fruit. And the Lord would have us to produce much fruit for Him. He wants us to do that and He'll help us. Well, may we simply turn to Him. I know the joy and happiness having Christ as Savior and not being not producing fruit such as these weeds here and then to be cast into the fire.
Again, I say boys and girls, if you don't accept Christ as your precious Savior.
You'll be castaway into the lake of fire. Behold, now the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Boys and girls, do it now. Except Christ. Now the Lord might come at any moment, or your life may come to an end at any moment, and then eternity. And where? With the Lord Jesus Christ, Or in the blackness of darkness, where there's weeping and wailing, and there's many who are there already this morning.
00:45:06
Many are this morning weeping and wailing.
But it's too late, too late. There they are and will be there for all eternity.
Boys and girls, if you would close your eyes in the sea, would you be in that place, or would you be with the Lord?
But the Lord should come in the twinkling of an eye. Would you be with Him, or would you be left here and then to suffer that which would await you, the terribleness of that place where there's weeping and wailing except Christ. Now shall we look to Him in frame?
Our God and Father, we do thank Thee for Thy wondrous love in sending Thy beloved Son the Lord Jesus Christ to come into the scene and to give His life on the cross, that boys and girls might be saved through Him. Say from that terrible place of suffering, say for that glorious place to be with the Lord. And we do pray that by Thy health we each might bear fruit. For the One who loved us and gave himself for us. We do pray, our Father.
For thy health, as we.
To separate for the remainder of this day and come together to remember the One who gave himself for us. We just do commend thy worship thee now in Lord Jesus Christ, precious and worthy name. Amen.
There are Sunday school papers out by the doors there for you children, so as you leave the room, pick up.
Hebrews 4
Nehemiah 8