Chicago Conference: 1975
Table of Contents
They Followed Jesus
Address—A. Hayhoe
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General Meetings Wheaton, August 1975. Address by Albert Hayhoe.
#318.
#318.
O Lamb of God, still keep us close to Thy fiercest side.
It's only there in safety and heat we can abide with bulls and snares around us and lumps and fears within the grace that Son found us.
Alone can keep us clean.
Soon shall our eyes be fully with rapture face to face.
And resting there in glory will sing thy power and grace thy beauty. Lord and glory, the wonders of our love.
Shall be the endless story of all, I think about 3:18.
Well, I'm a good.
Life here for?
Careful in safety and peace we come upon.
Whoever.
There's a role.
I'd like you to turn with me first of all this afternoon but verse in the first chapter of John's Gospel.
John's Gospel, Chapter One.
Verse 38.
Then Jesus turned.
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And saw them following, and serve unto them.
What speaking? They said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted master.
Where dwelleth thou?
May I just address this question to every heart here and let each and every one of us consider it as a question.
That comes not from my heart or from my lips, but comes from the heart and the lips of none other than our Lord Jesus Christ.
Throat seek ye.
The two disciples who have just begun together to follow Jesus.
Isn't that a lovely thing to do?
It's a grand and wonderful thing as an individual to follow the Lord Jesus.
But sometimes I believe the Lord gives to us the joy of sharing that privilege, as we find here in this picture. The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
And he turns to them with this question, which I trust I may here address to my own soul this afternoon.
What see ye?
Shall we just pause to allow this question to search our heart? You don't need to answer it, for he knows the answer. Yes, he does. He knows it's far better than you or I could ever express the answer. Thank God for the answer that we find here, Master Rabbi.
Where dwelleth thou still loveth?
Is this the answer that you that I could truthfully give?
If he stood face to face with you or me this afternoon, and address that question to us, what seek ye? Could I? Could you look into the face of the Lord Jesus, and as our answer, say to Him?
Where dwelleth thou?
May God grant that this shall truly and increasingly.
The answer?
Of every heart here. I'm sure it brought much joy and delight to the heart of the Lord Jesus to hear that answer. And I'm very sure that they didn't expect that answer to be recorded here, that you and I could read it together at Wheaton this afternoon.
Know, my dear brother, do you know, my dear sister, that my answer, that your answer to this question is going to be found recorded up there? For you have faced this question and so have I. You and I have already faced this question. We have not gone very far along the pathway of life before we find ourselves confronted with that question.
What seeking?
Thank God Grant, dearly beloved, and this is specially addressed to the young people.
The light tremble when I say that.
For I want you beloved young people to know this and to know it.
With all certain.
But I'm not standing here to tell you what I feel you need at your point in life, as though it were something that I had left behind long ago. I stand here to tell you.
That I need as much for more than anyone here, that which burdens my heart this afternoon.
Turn, please, to Matthew's Gospel.
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Chapter 28.
Verse 5.
Matthew 28.
Verse 5.
And the Angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus.
I know that ye seeks Jesus aren't those marvelous words, and here they are, truthfully recorded in the word of God.
I know that ye seek Jesus.
May God grant again that these words may truly search each of our hearts.
This language truly be addressed to me, to you.
I know that ye seek Jesus. They had enjoyed his company for a long time. His presence had meant much to them. But now, for a brief time, he was down from there, and nothing else mattered but the company of the Lord Jesus. What did this world mean to them?
If they could not have the company, the presence of the Lord Jesus, and they stopped him in the dark hours of the night they sought him for. We read that it was yet dark when they came. They came through the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. I believe that's significant as they left their homes.
They started out in the darkness, and as they journeyed in their search for the Lord Jesus, their footsteps began in the darkness. But as they journeyed on in their search for the Lord Jesus.
They arrived at the subtle curve at the rising of the sun. Oh, I believe there is something significant about that. My dear young brother, my beloved young sister. If there is in your heart in mind that real desire for the company, for the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, it will not be denied you. It will not be denied you.
True, there may be dark moments in your footsteps.
But we love it when you and I find ourselves in the company, in the presence of the Lord Jesus, that darkness is dispelled, the rising of the sun. And here we find those words directed to their trembling heart. I know that ye see Jesus.
Which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen, as he said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
That which really is on my heart this afternoon is a very, very simple message.
And is centered around 2 Very very simple common everyday word. Those two words are these. You may smile when I mention them. The words are simply.
Here and there I believe those two words have real significance as we find them in the Word of God. Notice what it says. Ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
Is not here.
Oh, when I read those words, there is to my soul a glorious ring of triumph and victory. But I believe there is also a very, very solemn and searching challenge to my soul. Let us speak first of all, and of that which seems so glorious in those words. He is not here. They had come in the darkness to the Sepulchre, seeking him, and they find themselves confronted by those.
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Who knew their quests and said. I know that you think Jesus.
He is not here. Isn't that triumphant? If their hope had been realized, if they had found him in the tomb, what would it really have meant to them? Would they have returned, satisfied, joyful, True, This is what they expected. But they found something far greater than their expectation. They found the tomb was empty.
They found these words of triumph address to them he is not.
Here, oh beloved, we have been enjoying together this morning one of the wondrous significances of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The message of the empty tomb redemption has been accomplished to the glory of God, and he who cried out in the darkness, it is finished, has risen from that to God, raised him from the dead, and as we noticed in the end of Romans 4, He was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification.
I suppose that in a Christian land like this you and I have become so accustomed to the message of the resurrection that we fail to see the significance that which sets Christianity totally and absolutely apart from everything else that man would call a religious system. The wonder of this glorious fact that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who left that whole of light and gladness.
Who came down into this world to fulfill the Father's bidding?
Go to the cross. That redemption might be accomplished, to the glory of God and to the winning of a people for himself.
His dead body was laid in that tomb, sealed in that tomb, with a watch of soldiers to see to it that Jesus never came forth out of that too.
But their purposes were thwarted. The tomb is empty. And beloved, you and I, as we look upon the empty tomb and hear those words of triumph, he is risen. We know by matchless grace that we stand justified before God. But not only. So. Beloved, is it not marvelous that you and I who look upon that empty tomb and know that our Savior who lay there, is now written from the dead?
Is living in Yonder glory.
For me.
For you, oh, I think this is so comforting, so encouraging, so blessed to the soul. I have a Savior who loved me even unto death. I have a Savior who's waiting to give that shout of glad triumph to cause home to be with him.
He's waiting with all the eagerness of love for that last soul to be gathered in, and then we'll hear that assembling shout, but there's no gap in between.
No, today, now, this very moment, he lives up Yonder in the glory, knowing all about you and me, our own particular exercises, trials, difficulties, decisions.
He looks down upon you, and beloved He and He alone can guide you, and can guide me through the light and wisdom of this precious, precious book.
I remember years ago when for the first time I flew down over the Caribbean. I know nothing whatsoever about navigation, but it was very easy in looking down from that plane to detect the deep and safe areas for those ships to travel and to spot here and there those Shoals and shallow areas and those little islands and dangerous sparks.
And I thought as I looked down there and now and then saw a ship headed, I suppose for South America.
How very easy it would be to guide the one who was moving that ship from my vantage point up there above it all. And as I looked down and saw this, I realized, Beloved, that there is one up there in the glory at God's right hand, who chose to begin His pathway here in a Manger in Bethlehem, who chose to grow up in subjection to his parents.
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Who chose to go forth into this world and experience the weariness, the loneliness, the false accusation, the misunderstanding in order that you and I might have now risen at God's right hand?
A great high priest who really understands, Oh, I'm sure that he misses and you also miss if we fail to avail ourselves.
Of the wonder of the present service of our Lord Jesus Christ up there at God's right hand. Well, I'm sure it would be quite possible to go on and enlarge upon the wondrous significance of the 72 Thou risen our ascended Savior. But I would like to make application of these words He is.
Not here in a different a challenging and a solemn way.
He is not here. I remember hearing right here at Wheaton the number of years ago, some brother making a quotation from something that he had read. It was couched in rather old fashioned language, but it was very significant to my soul. The words, if I remember correctly, were these.
There has one object been honored that might commend the place, but now is gone. Jesus is with the Father. Have you ever heard those words before? I heard them first hear quite a number of years ago, and they touched me and they searched me.
There has one object been on Earth that might commend the place, but now?
Is gone. Jesus is with the Father. There was a day, beloved, when Jesus was here in this world, when the inhabitants of this world had the privilege, if they had only recognized it, of seeing, of hearing in their midst the beloved Son of God sent here to display, to proclaim the wondrous love of God to man. But I see in these words.
That which is a solemn note of condemnation to the world that has rejected and cast out the Lord Jesus Christ. He is not here. Why not? He came, He came in love. No one, not even his accusers, could find that which they could justly lay as an accusation against him.
Nevermind, spake like this man. Even his enemies marvel that the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth. But I come to the end of that record, and in the last chapter of Matthew, these words stare me in the face he is.
Not here.
What should this mean to me? What should this mean to you? I believe my beloved young brother, my dear young sister. I believe that in a brief time that our footsteps are still found here in this world.
I should hear these words ringing in my ears. I should see these words, them blazed upon all of this world has to offer. He is not here. Let my soul never forget it. And I hope you may not forget it. I know the world holds out all kinds of things that seem so charming, so pleasant, so attractive.
So harmless, but over it all, beloved, I see those words emblazoned he.
Is not here are you? And I know that there are certain things that this world offers that the believer would immediately flee from.
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It would be abhorrent to you even the suggestion. The appearance would be abhorrent, and you could plainly see written over such a place of iniquity.
He is not here and you know it well.
And you give it a wide burst. But there is an enemy, beloved brother, beloved sister, that knows every heart here, knows mine, knows yours, and knows what to present to me and what to present to you. And the words somehow seem to fade away. And we don't see them as we ought to. Those same words. He is not here.
All that this world has to offer in the way of its entertainment, its amusement, its famous prestige, its promises beloved.
I trust this searches my soul.
He is not here. I belong to the one whom this world passed out.
And crucified. And as I think of that little word here, I find these words ringing in my ears. I find these words standing out before my eyes as I look around at that which the world considers to be so significant, so worthwhile, The proper goals of life they will put before us with all their charming interests.
But beloved, you and I can surely see written above it all, he is not here in his prayer, in the 17th chapter of John, we read they are not of this world, even as I am not of this world.
You remember the language addressed to lots and to those who were dear to him in the city of Sodom. Stop. Get you out of this place.
Am I speaking too strongly? Is it really that serious? It is. Beloved, you and I are waiting together, by the grace of God, for that glorious moment when we're going to be taken up in the way out of this place altogether. And another word was addressed to love. Hast thou hear any be signed? And then there is enumerated the possible members of his family. And so on.
That Lot might not wish to see left behind in that place.
That was doomed for judgment. And may I pause here to address a word in the gospel to everyone who is sitting here. This world through which you and I are passing is doomed for judgment.
At any moment there will be that glorious wondrous assembly show, and the redeemed of the Lord are going to hear that show and be called home.
To be with and like the one who loved us and died to redeem us. But those who know not the Savior are going to be left behind. Now let me ask you, and I address this to everyone here, the children, the young people, and all of us. If that shout were to come before 3:00 arrives half an hour. Yet if that show were to come, I stand here to say, by the very wonderful grace of God.
I would be home.
In the twinkling of eye I would be gone and I look around and see.
Reflected in the faces of many here, the confidence and the joy of that same prospect. But am I right?
Am I right in feeling that there would be some lack sitting right here in a Bible conference with an open Bible in your hands, left here where the judgments, the wrath of God would shortly be poured out?
And you would realize in that one tragic and awful moment that what you had heard of so often, what you had been warned about time and again, that which you knew very well was going to happen.
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Happened, and you were.
Found without Christ. Oh, just let me plead right now, particularly with the sons and daughters of Christian parents, that you do not wait another moment until you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
And know from the authority of God's precious words that the blood which flowed from our Saviors, precious side of the cross of Calvary, has cleansed your heart, as by grace it has cleansed mine from every stain of sin.
Do we see them? The double message from these words. He is not here on the one hand, the most delightful reality to know that we have a living savior Yonder in the glory, and to know that as we journey homeward, we're passing through a world where those words face us wherever we turn. Does this make it an experience of misery and unhappiness?
Because we're temporarily journeying through a world that have cast out and crucified our Lord Jesus Christ. They have a friend. If that's all there were to it, it would indeed be a very, very distressing experience. But it need not be so. It need not be so. Shortly, we shall turn to this other word, that precious simple word there, in order that we may find that in His matchless and wondrous grace.
You and I, who pass homeward through a world that has rejected our Lord Jesus.
And enjoy His company along the way as we wait for the wonder of that glorious eternal day where we shall hear the wonder of His presence forever and ever. And once again I want to stress those words. He is not here. I cannot help but feel to speak from my own experience.
That there probably have come times in your life, as there certainly have in mind when we feel that we have come to sort of a dividing of the way we find ourselves faced with a choice that may not seem very vital, may not seem as though it's sort of a a lifelong.
Decision.
I believe in every such decision that you and I find ourselves faced with beloved child of God.
Can we not take time to get down on our knees and ask the Lord Jesus to guide our footsteps, that they may follow in path? That would be for the honor and the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that we do not find ourselves associated increasingly with that.
Where those solemn words are written, he is not here.
It's very easy to make such a step and then to excuse and rationalize the step that we have taken.
So that the solemn words of warning faith from before our eyes.
And we try to content ourselves that we are in a right path, that we have taken an acceptable step and that those who disagree with us are quite outdated, if not absolutely legal.
How can I talk this way?
Because I speak from experience, that's why. Because I've done the same thing myself.
And I stand here.
The trophy.
Of the faithfulness and grace of the Savior who knew all about me and loved me enough to die for me, and the Savior who lives for me, who has reached out His hand time and again and ****** me back from steps of self will and disobedience.
I don't say this as though we're anything to boast on, but I say it as the truth nevertheless, that I stand here before you this afternoon, the trophy of the saving grace of God and of the keeping power of my risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Oh, how he loves and cares. Oh, I know I mentioned this before, but I'm going to mention it again.
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I remember coming to such a decision long ago.
The circumstances of the decision seemed to have faded from me, but I know it was something that really concerned me. One of these sort of should I or should I not decision the kind that you don't? Go and ask anybody's advice, but you just have a feeling that this decision is not going to be an insignificant 1.
And I remember.
I was so eager to have my own way in this.
That I went to my room where there was a little box in which there were daily messages. Now, it wasn't the kind of calendar that you tear off every day. I've never seen one like it. It was a little box with a window in front and a scroll behind it with a a roller on the top and a roller on the bottom. And each day I'd give the roller a turn and up would come a text for the day.
So I went into my room and I thought, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to give that role a turn and see what the next verse is. And I sure hope it will be one that will tell me to go ahead. So I gave the role a turn and enlarged black letters there stood out on that scroll. Stop, turn back.
I'd come to the end of the scroll. It wasn't a text of scripture, but I was supposed to turn the scroll the other way. Stop. Turn back. Don't you see what I mean when I tell you that I have a faithful, living high priest in that glory that loves me and that cares about my footsteps? Dear young brother, dear young sister, he cares about yours too.
And when you and I meet with these situations, and I know we both meet with them, let us get down on our knees and look up and receive from him the answer that he will certainly, certainly give you. Shall I just use one more illustration and stand out so remarkably before me?
This was when I was yet a young fellow in Ottawa.
Too young, somehow to be included among the activities of the teenagers. I remember that well with great distress.
They left me out of everything I heard them planning something this particular evening, talking among themselves.
And they seem quite enthused about their plans. I heard one of the young men come to one of the young ladies and he said to her, I'd be glad to call for you tomorrow evening and pick you up.
Well, I knew from what I have had observed that it wasn't his company that made her hesitate. But I noticed that she hesitated and I heard her answer. She said. Do you mind if I pray about it first?
I'm not sure about the plans for tomorrow evening. I'd like to pray about it and I heard his answer.
I'm sorry to repeat it, he said. Don't pray about it. If you do, you won't go.
That's what he said.
And he is.
Far from the Lord today. I haven't seen his face for years.
The sister is a happy rejoicing. Gathered sister today. Don't pray about it. If you do, you won't go. Feel love a young brother. Feel love a young sister. If there's any step you take in your life. If there's any plan before you today.
That you cannot get down on your knees and pray about it. Be sure of this. There is danger in it. Isn't it delightful to be able to take all of these circumstances, all of these plans and prospects, and kneel down before the ones who wants you to know and to enjoy the good and acceptable and perfect will of God? Make it beloved young people. Make it a matter of prayer.
Step by step.
Make it a matter of prayer.
Could we turn over please to?
John's Gospel.
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John's Gospel, chapter 14.
Let not your heart be troubled ye. believe in God. Believe also in me, in my father's house, for many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That.
Where I am there ye.
Maybe also.
To me, that stands out in happy, precious contrast.
To the cry utter He is not here, and you and I can never be at home here we can never be satisfied. Here we have been reminded of the message of Ecclesiastes, followed by the sweet message of the Song of Solomon.
The one sweeping away all that we might seek after, and showing us the that of the others, in order that our heart might be prepared to be filled with the sweetness of the one who loves us with an everlasting love. And he would tell my soul this day in solemn, faithful word, he is not here. But that's not the end of the message. That's only half of it. And the other half is so thrilling, so delightful.
That where I am, there ye may be also. Oh, now I can journey with contentment and hope through this world where he is not, for I know it's leading me to the place where he is. There he may be also. Are you and I looking forward to this? My father used to say so often. When did you last invite him?
To come. You remember hearing those words? When did you last invite him to come?
Isn't that delightful? At the close of the word of God, surely. I come quickly. Amen.
Even so, come Lord Jesus, If after a long absence from home, my wife and family, I want to write and say, Lord willing, I hope to be home a week from Saturday and I receive a reply in which there's no mention whatsoever of my coming home.
You know what I would think First of all, I guess she didn't get my letter. But then as I read on, I realized she did get the letter.
I reread it. No mention of the fact that I said I would be home at such and such a day. I assure you that this has never happened. I'm just imagining this, and I'm asking you to imagine how I, as a lonesome husband and father, would feel. They'll love us, he has told us repeatedly and in words that can't be misunderstood. I'm coming again with a shout of gladness and triumph to call you home.
That where I am there ye may be also.
When did I last look up? When did you last look up and invite him to come? He likes to be invited. He likes to hear your response, and mine Even so.
Come, Lord Dina, beloved, what a prospect we have. And let us remember this too, as we anticipate this prospect, as we know that for all eternity we're going to be in the presence of the Ones.
Who loved us and who died to redeem us? Let my soul remember this, that my life is going to be reviewed up there. Footstep 5, Footstep.
Including.
Those digressions and his faithful restoring mercy, it's going to be reviewed up there.
We'll sing Thy power and grace all with what fresh gladness will sing forever as we look into His face. We'll sing with gladness that we have been redeemed to God by His blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nations. And I believe too, as we look into His face, we'll realize.
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Not only did He die for me, not only did he shed his blood to put my sins away, but all the faithfulness and love of his heart and of his hand, as he preserved and kept these failing footsteps through the journey homeward they loved. If the word concerning our journey through this wilderness resound with that warning, He is not here. Let us lift up our eyes and realize.
That the glorious moment is near at hand, when we're going to be where he is up Yonder in the glory.
I know I've mentioned this, but I I can picture it so well, though. It happened quite a while ago. I was visiting old brother Wilkins in Thomaston, New Brunswick. He was very, very, very deaf.
But I guess I kind of.
Persuade myself that I can make deaf people here if I try hard enough. So I went to this dear lonely brother, and I got right up close to his ear and quoted to him a verse of scripture.
He shook his head. I thought, well, maybe the other ears a little better. So I walked around and tried again, and he shook his head again. So I came back and made one more effort where I started out and he, I know he was trying, but he shook his head and his head went down. Sorry brother. And then he lifted his head up with a look of real gladness. He said. Never mind, brother, I'll hear the shout when it comes.
It was worth the visit. It was worth the effort.
There was a dear man shut off by this affliction, but he was sitting there.
Listening for the sound of His beloved Savior's voice, are you and I also dearly beloved? You and I know He's coming soon. We see all around us that which continually reminds us that at any moment we're going to take the last footstep here, where He is not, and we're going to find ourselves at home there, where He is, to be there forevermore, and we're going to see on His countenance.
He looked of gladness in welcoming you home.
At most weddings that I attend, I see the bridegroom and a couple of attendants standing up at the front, and as there's a rustle of footsteps at the back, everyone turns to take a first glance at whoever might be coming up the aisle next. Maybe a bridesmaid, maybe a flower girl. But what are they all waiting for? They're waiting for that moment when the bride starts up the aisle and you just watch everyone turn.
To catch their first glimpse of the beautiful bride. But you know I don't do that. I have found far greater delight in looking at the face.
Of the bridegroom. When he catches his glimpse of her face, it's worth looking at. He's watched the flower girl. He's watched the bridesmaid. That all you can tell when the bride appears. You can see by the look on his face. My beautiful bride. I'm going to see that look before long on the face of the one who loved me, who died to redeem me.
And who wants my wandering soul to be reminded today that he is not here? He doesn't want my affections to be taken up with those things which will only disappoint me and which will have to be broken and left behind before very long. He wants my affections to be taken up with himself.
Himself.
Oh, how we see this in the case of those who are pledged one to another and are separated.
Awaiting the wedding day. And if he wrote to her and said, you know, my dear, it's just 28 more days. And she wrote back and said 28 days till what? Wouldn't he be disappointed? Wouldn't he think what she's doing, what she occupied with? But she doesn't know what's on my heart, All beloved, we're here. It's true. And our place here is a glorious 1.
In the measure in which were occupied with the one who once was here and is now in the glory, living for us eagerly, longingly, lovingly, waiting for that moment when he's going to give the glad showed of triumph, and we shall be away. But you know, if I may say this reverently, I believe, as with Israel in the wilderness, so with us in a greater measure, the Lord would say.
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I don't want to have to wait until I have you home to enjoy your company, He promised to Israel while they were yet in the wilderness, that when they arrived at the land he was going to be together in their midst, and that they would enjoy the wonder of his presence there. But that would have been a long wait for them and for him.
Am I Reverend insane?
That he would look down and say, I don't want to have to wait all those years, I want their company now. And so in the 25th chapter of Exodus, he looks down and says, let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. Whose desire, Whose request is this? Was it their request to have the honor and joy of his presence?
Nor, beloved, it was his desire. It was his request.
That along The Dirty homework.
He might have the joy of their company, and I believe it's true. Still, could we just take a look at the 12Th chapter of John's Gospel?
Verse 26.
If any man serve me, let him follow me and where I am.
There shall also my servants be.
I have no doubt this verse looks on to the glorious and eternal fulfillment of Yonder, but I believe that you and I can make application of this to our present wonderful privileged.
If any man serve me, let him follow me. What a privilege, what an invitation, let him follow me. And where I am, there shall also my servant be. How natural that this should be the wish of the desire of the servant. And yet here it is of the expressed desire of the very one who longs to have us.
Following in order that there might be that mutual enjoyment of one another's company.
Oh, I tell you, it's a sweet and precious thing to visit with those who have known the sweetness of his company throughout the years. This time of sojourning homeward, where he is not can I assure you, can be a time of delight to the soul and precious memories in a coming day if you die. Read this verse.
And accept the call that I believe is in it if any man serve me. And who would not wish to serve the one who gave his life for us?
Who would not wish to follow the one who left his Homeless Glory and took the journey to the Cross of Calvary in order that he might claim you as his own now and for eternity?
What a strange, strange contradiction to think that anyone would ever look at the cross of Calvary and say I am glad for the cross of Calvary. I am glad that Jesus died to redeem me from all iniquities, and I'm glad that my eternal destiny is secured. I am glad that instead of hell, which I once feared, I now know that I shall be in the glory forever.
But in the meantime, I don't know that I'm interested in his claims over me. I don't know that I'm interested in following as he would guide beloved us. Is not sound very strange when we put it in that language.
How strange to hear a bride turn after the ceremony is all ended and they have been made one and she says now.
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Now I have accepted your name, you have pledged to care for me.
But I need not.
Pay attention to your knee. I need not fulfill those responsibilities in taking care of you in the home, but I'm quite willing to accept all the benefits that might come my way by being your wife. Immediately you would say. No such marriage surely has ever been realized. Beloved, I bow my head as I considered.
That the Lord Jesus loved you and me enough to redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Let me just ask you to turn, please, back to get one more verse in John's Gospel.
John 17.
Father, I will that they also now have given me, be with me where I am, Be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Dear beloved, is the desire of the Lord Jesus, expressed in prayer concerning you, and by His grace concerning me. The desire of his heart is to have you.
And me.
Where he is forever now one last verse, Matthew 18.
Matthew Chapter 18.
And verse 20.
4 where two or three.
Are gathered together in my name.
There am I in the midst of them.
I hope that this is sweet to our soul. I hope that this most wondrous provision to be enjoyed as we journey homeward through the wilderness.
At a very real and delightful and special claim upon your heart and mind, I look around me and once more I repeat these two words.
I hear as I turn this way in that he is not here. We don't want him. We cast him out and we have not repented.
You know, that is the cry of this world. You know that in order to join hands with this world, you and I have to reach around the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, I'll tell you that as I came and sat down where I have been sitting and I looked up here, I bought this. A rather strange arrangement. I don't ever remember seeing an arrangement like this before.
Two chairs, one on either side of his podium.
And I looked at those two chairs.
Believe in the very arrangement with a challenge to my soul.
And I guess perhaps that's where these words.
Became burned upon my soul as I sat there looking at these two chairs.
I thought of what it meant to have a cross of Christ separate for time the believer from the unbelievers. On which side of that cross are you beloved? By the very? What circles grace of God? I belong among those received with the precious blood of Christ, And so do you, dear brother. So do you dear sister. Your place is numbered among those who are.
Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. And you know. And I know.
Yonder, on the other side of the cross, there are those who may be so fine and respected.
But they're the enemies of the cross of Christ. They have no heart for the Lord's even they love not his name. And if I if you wish to be numbered as a friend among them, we must reach.
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Where do we reach? We reach.
Right around, right past the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, may these forgetful ears of mine hear afresh today that cry of warning He is not here. May these eyes of mine that are so easily taken up with things that soon will pass away. May they see him blazed all around me, though solemn words. He is not here.
And instead, beloved me, you and I, who belong by grace on the side of redemption, look up from our place with thankful hearts and say Even so, come Lord Jesus, we're going to be there. We're going to be with him forever.
But let us remember that he has said to you, and he has said to me, must I wait until that moment? May I not have your company now? I want your company.
I love you. I die to redeem you. I have a place reserved for you up here, but I do want your company day by day on the way.
Beloved.
If this hand of mine has been reaching around the cross to grasp their hands of friendship with those who know not my Savior as theirs, let this verse search out my soul.
Let me hear my precious savior look down at me and look down at you this afternoon and divide once and for all that which separates here from there. Let me tell you one little story in clothing. There was a lady traveling with her restless child on a long train journey, and any parents who have ever undertaken this will recognize the pattern. The train stopped and the childish voice piped out. Mother, are we there yet?
He said no, my boy, No, we're not there yet. Well, where are we? Well, we're here. She wasn't concerned about what was out the window or the name of the place. One thing concerned her, and that was the destination. And every time the train stopped, to the amusement of all the passengers, the little boys would cry out. Mummy, are we there yet? No, my boy. We're here.
And at last, the train made a stop.
And they picked up their baggage and the mother said my boy were there.
They get off the train together.
You and I are going to say that pretty soon, aren't we? We're here.
What might be all around us. We're not there yet, still of us, but any moment now, perhaps today.
We're not even going to have to pick up our baggage, are we? We're going to leave it all behind and together we'll look into his face and we'll say we're there.
The Love of God
Address—H. Hyland
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General Meetings Wheaton, August 1975, Addressed by Harold Highland.
We open our meetings by seeing him #6.
Number six, Jesus.
How must thy name on call to every open ear?
The pardon sinner's memory holds none other.
Half thought here.
Thy name encircles every grace that God as man could show.
There only could he fully trace the light, divine, the law, the third verse, Jesus.
Can speak the life of love.
A sorrows meekly born.
It tells us somebody above whatever makes us more Jesus, the one who knew no sin may seem to make us just.
A gaze thyself our love to win our full confiding trust the mansion of thy name shall thorough.
To worship thee the cheapest of $10,000 whose love has set us free. So we think #6.
The 3rd birth of this him I.
Number six that I just read.
Jesus that speaks a life of of love And I want to speak a lot of this afternoon. A lot of this afternoon and the love of God beloved. We've had so many precious crews brought before us and.
That which I know.
Has been has been so helpful to most of us. I know I've enjoyed being here just to listen. Sometimes some of us who get around a little bit, we we do quite a bit of talking do you see? And it's so nice to come here and do like I did with my car yesterday. I had to get my battery recharged and I I've just been here for this purpose this afternoon, these last three days, beloved.
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To have my spiritual memories recharged.
With the precious things of Christ now beloved, I'd like you to turn with me to John 316. We all know this burst off by heart. It's so familiar to us. But I want to bring the love of God before us. And it's a final appeal that I would make to any here who know not the Lord Jesus of their precious Savior. There's a lot of young people here still are the dear children. You've heard the gospel.
Turn your mother's knees, but perhaps as yet you have not come to the Savior and further consider John 3 and 16. And if the Lord Jesus who is speaking, yes, he, he is the one who hurt this person. Nicodemus, we had this before the other evening for God.
Soul of the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
Not have everlasting life, all my friends, We have the love of God brought before us, and we want to bring before you today any who may be unsaved in this room, that the gospel of God's love and grace will clear the guilty. Any who know not Christ, if they'll only receive him as their precious Savior. And so you have an opportunity once again today, this the last meeting.
Now and just let us consider it.
Three or four days meetings here almost, and Christ has been before us all the time. And if you're still without Christ after hearing all about that precious name, of whom of whom we've been singing, all beloved, how can you resist such a precious Savior who wants to bless you? And we can tell you that if you're stealing your sins, you're guilty. God tells us the word of God tells us all have sinned, there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short.
Of the glory of God.
Serve your unsaved today or work to God that the word of God, not my word, but the Word of God, may have reached to your your heart and clear your soul. That guilty and guiltiness, which everyone who knows not Christ is, is still in their sins and guilty. And that's what the love of God does through Christ, because it brings the glorious work of the gospel before us, how the God so loved the world that he gave.
Oh, just think of God's gift, the best gift of heaven. I wasn't too good for him to give in order that you and I.
Be so rich like left. And so he gave his all beloved. When we think of the person who is eternal, the Son of God, the Creator Himself, He gave him in order that you and I might have eternal life for God's soul love the world We can't measure love. Oh no, we can't tell it out. Oh, it's been being told out now for 2000 years, but it's never been fully told out yet and neither will it ever be fully told her about that little word. So explain that yes, God, soul of the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That whosoever.
Believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Well, the Lord Jesus was speaking to Nicodemus here, and he told him. As Moses looked at the serpent in the wilderness, even some of the Son of Manly lifted up. He brought before him the cross that was induced. Yes, it is, it was established back in eternity.
That and the Lord Jesus would go to the cross, that he would go there and become sin just like that praise and serpent, serpent in the wilderness. It was a type of that dread disease as those who were bitten by the serpent and whosoever looked upon that serpent of brass was healed. And my friends, we can tell you that the Lord Jesus could say in the 12Th chapter of John Gospel is same gospel.
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Not the cross and the center. It's the center of two eternities. And as we look at backwards, are we now that dark in eternity, God and his sovereign grace, and turn this wonderful plan of redemption in order that you and my and I might have everlasting life?
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And throughout the countless age of eternity 2 we're going to look back to Calvary and we're going to sing that song of redemption is not wonderful. Well, here's the first point that I had before me, and that's John 316. God love it. Clears the Gillian if you're guilty this afternoon before God or what? You've come to the Savior. Oh, it's so easy to come to him. Yes, it's just a a a fee, just a a a prior to him.
Your sins. Just like that man in the 18th of Luke. He doesn't bless It looked up his eyes to heaven, but he scored his hands upon He scored his hands upon his breath. And he said, God be merciful to me, a Sinner or the Sinner? I believe the new translation is yes, as if there was not another Sinner in the world. My friend God wants to save you and he wants to bless you. But now he look at our second front. Let us go to the 13th chapter of John's Gospel.
And we have something further in connection with this wonderful love of God in the first verse of the 13th chapter. You know the story so well, and I'm going to read too much as our time and will slip by in the first verse that says now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew the desire was come, that he should depart out of this world of the Father having loved his own, which were in the world.
He loved them. He loved them under the end. Oh, my friend, Oh my friend. It does not touch your heart and mind. And then we we see that the wonderful.
A record here of our precious Savior, the eternal Son of God, on his way to Calgary. And it's a picture of His present position now as our great high priest and advocate us there on high. And so it comes here in this 13th chapter and that he loved them under the end.
And as soon as he as soon as we read this he counted the summer being ended, he set out to wash the disciples feet. And we think of the Son of God the Creator. Oh my friends, doesn't not touch your heart when we think of the Lord Jesus Christian name. Jesus getting down on his knees and having taken the water and putting it in a basin and guarding himself with the power and he.
He proceeds to wash the disciples feet.
Got very low to do that. Well, I don't think. How lovely, how wonderful as the Lord Jesus in the instituted this, this wonderful ritual, you might say, in as much as he did this himself.
He got down on the sneeze and he took the water and he bathed as the disciples feet, well, you know, their feet kept dirty. And you're Christians, you and I who have come to the Savior. We are. We get dirty too. We're going through the dusty, this dusty thing, and our feet get dirty. Well, Peter, you know, as he was always the first one to speak and so often he would say the wrong thing. And he did in this case too.
As we read the record here, Peter Cezanne so thou shalt never wash my feet and the Lord Jesus.
Peter. Peter. Peter. STI Wash the not. Thou hast no heart with me. Now we know that Peter had a part in Christ. Yes, he he belonged to the Lord Jesus, and he was one of his sheep, and he could never belong. But he became defiled On the way his feet became dirty, and the Lord Jesus was going to wash their teeth. Oh beloved, our precious Savior, as he goes, as we read this record in the 13th of John, because now.
He what I have done on you. And so he tells them that they should do the same. They should wash one another's feet. And beloved, I'm just sure when the Lord Jesus washed the feet of those those disciples, He didn't have the water too hot or too cold. Thought it was just the proper temperature and to refresh their feet. And beloved, how good it is for us to think about when we endeavor in any people. May you and I.
Christians wash running on their feet. And you know, there's many ways that we can wash one another's feet, that we can just minister the word, sometimes unconsciously, to the ones to whom we're speaking. And the word of God is applied, and in that way their feet are right. I recall a story of our dear brother, Mr. Heaney, whom I knew as a boy in Ottawa, where he came from. He he told a story how he at one time he found a a certain place, certain city.
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And they had told him about a young man who had got away from the Lord, and this young man he.
He hasn't been coming out to the meeting for quite a long time and Mr. Heady thought, well, maybe I can go and wash his feet. Well, I'll just tell you how Mr. Heaney did it. He said he can't pass his plate. He knew the young man very well and he went to the door and he knocked at the door and he said they call him by name. He said, you know, I just thought I'd come back and come past your place and you and I could have a little word of prayer.
About a certain brother that I know about me said, I just like to take it to the Lord in prayer. Perhaps you not Polish it with me in this. And so as they got down on their knees and Mr. Heaney, he prayed for the young man. While the young man didn't know actually who he was referring to all that, he applied it to himself.
And when they start from the stage he said you know Mr. Healey just everything you said is replies to me really said I I've got away from the Lord all but he says I want to get back and so Mr. heady by doing that he had washed his feet and beloved us exactly how you and I can watch one another St. well that's how the Lord Jesus did with the disciples he washed their feet and then he tried their he didn't leave them uncomfortable but he cried at their feet with.
With the towel wherewith he was guarded.
Hi, I like to go on our time slipping by in the in Second Corinthians. We have read to us this morning. In Second Corinthians chapter five we have another point that I'd like to.
Like to refer to 2nd Corinthians chapter 5. Now we have first here the guilty of what love does. Love cleanses the believer, and that's what we have in the second point. Now we have something else in the second grant in five that converse.
Yeah, 1St 14.
For for the love of Christ.
Constrain of us, because we must judge that of one guy for all. Then we're all dead, and that he died for all the day, which lived in a tense course live under themselves, but under him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth. Nor we no man after the flesh either. We've known Christ after the flesh.
Yet now and forth Norway him no more. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, or new creation. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And so on. Parents, we have loved that before us here, And let us what does love do here? Beloved, all constrain the heart. And we had that before us this morning in our reading. Yes, we you and I who have been born again and brought into the the family of God.
We we love God our Father because he first loved us. And we've been brought into association in that wonderful relationship as children of God, members of the body of Christ, and these precious truths that are so well known to so many of us here today. Oh, what a wonderful, what a wonderful.
Many truths that have been brought before us in these meetings and how encouraging it has been.
Are. But what is it that constraints the heart? Our beloved is love for that one out there. It's affection for Christ. And I think I like to think of Mary Magdalene, you know, in that 20th chapter of John.
She it tells us that the disciples, they went away to their own home, but Mary took without her, and she was weeping. There was Mary weeping at the at the at the tomb of our blessed Lord.
And.
The Angel appeared to her that while weepeth out, oh, she said, because they have taken away my Lord Father, that was the constraining power of another Christ in her heart, and it was constraining her, she she, she, her, her heart was attached to him. And so we see Mary.
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Talking about her, blessed Lord all, she said, If thou taken away Vicky, he was some other person, the gardener.
I was taking them away. Tell me without laid him I was taking away. She didn't realize her, her own inability. All but her heart was big enough to take him away, if that were possible. But the Lord Jesus, he revealed himself under her. And he'll do the same to each one of us. If our hearts are constrained by that love which we can be occupied day by day, All beloved Saints of God, how good it is for us to be occupied with Christ, that Christian Savior on high. He's the One.
That can keep our hearts and keep our hearts affected.
If Martin been said, you know that the cross of Christ is the is, the is. The work of Christ is for our souls and for the cleansing of our things. That's true or and how wonderful it is all, but it's the person of our precious Lord Jesus for our hearts, for our affection and beloved. If you and I were only more occupied with that blessed person, the man and the glory, the one whom God is so early.
How our hearts would go out to him. And I speak for myself more than for anyone else here.
Beloved, he He wants our hearts, He wants our affection. And you and I faith we're occupied with him.
Our affections are sure to growth. There's a verse in the second parenthesis mine Second Corinthians. I think it's the end of the third chapter.
I'll just go back to it. Yes, the eighteen birds, it says. But we all with open face of beholding is in the glass, the glory of the Lord our chains. But not a wonderful word. I believe that's the same word as transformed is in another in one of the other verses. I think it's.
In the when the Lord Jesus.
On the mount of Olives with Peter, James and John, and was transfigured before them. If the very same word is transfigured and transformed, as we have in the 12Th chapter of Romans, I'm told, And so it says here that we are with open face beholding is in a glass of glory of the Lord, our change into the same image from glory to glory even by by the Spirit of the Lord. Well, that is.
We're occupied with him.
Oh, have you ever seen some of the missionaries that came out of China? I like to think about dear sister Miss Marjorie Hale, whom I visited just before I went away three months ago. And when I looked in her dear face, beloved, I could see the Chinese. I would almost think that she came from China fine, or her hearts over there and it has been for for so many years because she's been occupied with us here Chinese people and.
Ministering to their needs.
These many years and talking their languages, she's become just like them in her appearance. My friend, if you and I were really occupied with our precious Savior in that wonderful one in the glory, I believe you and I are our lives which are.
Our affections would would be affected and so we know that the love of Christ it constrains our hearts. Oh may constrain each one of us more and more to follow him. Now I must hurry on because there's another few scriptures that like refer to in the 12Th chapter of Hebrews. We have love brought before us again in the 12Th chapter of Hebrews. And let me see what I can find the barriers in the sixth verse of the 12Th chapter of Hebrews. It says for whom?
The Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourge of every Son whom he receiveth. If you endure chasing, God deals with viewers, with Son. For what son is he whom the Father had chased of not? And so on. Well, beloved, as we have a chastening brought before the child training, if you like. And it's the love of God, it's God's mother does this well, many of us have been through.
Difficulties in our lives and.
There's a there's a blasting concern connected with it. Well, we have chasing actually Heather, three ways that one can react to it and the first one is found on the 5th party, it says.
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An absence. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou that chase me of the Lord.
Well, that's what the sun might do, how they might react and to correction from the Lord, and Lizzie might despise it. Well, that's one way, then the next way, if we might speed under it in the same verse, nor feet with our rebuke of him all beloved, would that be true of any of us here, that we would despise and chase me of the Lord our faith under?
But there's a blessing connected with it, and we go down to the.
11 Verse it says, And now no, chastening for the present, he was to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless. Afterward, oh, there's an afterward, here, afterward, a yield of the peaceable fruit of righteousness under them, which are exercised thereby well beloved. I don't like Speaking of personal experiences, but I have had a few experiences in regard to child training and chasing, because in 1956.
Are some of our present heroes will remember that the Lord played me law for for about 3 years and I was in out of hospital for about 40 weeks over a period of three years.
I didn't know three years, beloved. I wouldn't want. When I looked back now I wouldn't walk would miss for three years that I had with the Lord during those if during those in that period of disability. My friend, let me tell you that God came in in a wonderful way and he ministered to me and he I was in a castle per month and the Lord had all he sustained me and I can remember our dear brother.
Hey ho Alberts father coming into my room on many occasions and putting his his hand on the foot of my bed and he would say.
How? What? He cut his verse in the 13th John. What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou should know hereafter. Well, beloved, I believe I found out before us the hereafter. Why, he had laid me down, and I became exercised. Why it was and beloved Saints of Saints of God, I'm so thankful now that I believe he showed me why and otherwise I might not be here this afternoon.
Oh beloved, how good it is for us to be exercised about this and the chasing of the Lord. And it's only done in love. Someone said when they were passing through so much affliction and trial always, that the Lord must love me a lot, look at what He's passing me through. But they were enjoying it. And how good it is to go into a sick room where it may not necessarily be tracing either, where one is walking with the Lord nevertheless.
They're experiencing the child training are crooning with you, which we have in the 15th chapter of John's Gospel.
And it may be preventative. We know not what, but the Lord knows, and He's willing to reveal the truth if we are really exercised by, oh, beloved, how good it is for us to think about these things. And so He brings before us this wonderful truth, whom the Lord love of the Chastens, and, my friend, every one of us, every last one of us in this room are going to be.
Child trained in some way or other. And if we if we walk not according to the rules we have in Second Timothy 2.
We we certainly not going to win the prize.
And we're certainly not going to.
Gain the victory in the race. Now He would have us to go according to the rules. Otherwise he's going to come in. And the government of God so often comes in and brings us back. Isn't it wonderful that the Lord, he loves us and He wants to bless us and everything that takes place in your life and mine, Oh, he has a purpose for it and it's for your blessing and for mine. And I prove it beloved. And I'm thankful to pass it on this afternoon.
Let's go to one of the scripture in the in the.
First Timothy.
First Thessalonians, Pardon me, chapter 4 and we have love Rocket for us. I'd like to read first about in the first chapter that brings before us the Thessalonians. It tells us in the third verse, the second verse that says we first chapter, verse two, we give thanks to God always for you all making mention of you and our prayers remembering.
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Teach your work of faith, labor, of love and patience, of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father. Well, we know that Thessalonians as they were, they were heathen. They they were idol worshippers. But they turned to God from Isles. They didn't turn from Isles to God now, they turn to God from idols and serve the living in a true God and wait for his Son from heaven.
First, I didn't know just power when he was going to come back, because the 14th Chancellor, John's Gospel, the Lord Jesus, tells us in the 14th chapter, if I go away just as surely as I go away, I will come again and receive you unto myself for where I am. There you may be also. Well, we know that the Lord Jesus told the disciples, He told us in the 14th of John he was coming back again, and that's exactly what Thessalonians they knew he was coming back, and they.
His Kingdom. They didn't know all about it until the Apostles found His wonderful revelation from a glorified Christ. He brings His glorious truth before us and that we that we have here in this 4th chapter. And I'm going to read the whole.
From the 13th verse of time sitting by from the 13th 1St that says I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren.
Concerning them which are asleep that he saw not even as others, which have no hope For. If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, Even so, then also notice that little words also those they're very important because it brings before the whole redeemed company them off with sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him now in his fourteen first we're all seen as being gathered on the glory. How do we get there? Well we find.
Parentheses here.
15th verse It tells us how all this takes place. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain under the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent or precede them which are asleep. For the Lord himself. Oh, we've had that word Himself brought before us this morning. Yes, we have that in Titus chapter 2 Himself who gave himself for us, and he's coming himself for us, beloved, it says here for the Lord.
Himself shall the sand from heaven.
With the voice of the Archangel and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Now we see the harvest. We see how this is going to take place, how the whole redeemed company is going to be caught up together. And we which are alive and remains will be caught up together with them in the cloud to meet the Lord in the air and culture. Shall we ever be with the Lord while we hear the deep verses quoted, beloved every.
And practically every meeting. And I don't like to have a meeting without quoting these scriptures because they've meant so much to me.
Oh yes, because we're going to see our loved ones again. We're going to see them in glory. And how good it is for to ponder over these precious truths. Our Lord Jesus is coming again, and the dead in Christ shall rise 1St. And we, but you're allowed to remain, should be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. Oh, that's our object, to be with him if we're all eternity and he wants us to enjoy His presence now and so.
He ends up here, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now here's the verse that I have before me word for.
One another with these words all, here's the comforts of the Saints and beloved. The Lord wants to comfort your hearts and that's His love. Yes, His love and ministry to the Thessalonians. And they turn to God from idols because of this wonderful gospel that they had heard, preached, and they received the Savior. God bless them and.
They gave them this glorious hope contained in these very few verses, in connection with the Rapture and beloved as we look about us today.
We see this scene getting worse and worse. Everything is taking. So many things are taking place that would tell us that we're in the very last of the last days. I could have our brothers. Mr. Dunlap name was mentioned this morning and I like to think of his his memory. I Revere his memory when I think of our dear age brother with his white deer. Speaking of the often so often did about the streets and the stars that he that the Lord Jesus was coming. Yes the streets in the sky tell us how the of the.
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The the rising of the sun and all the.
In the sky speak of the sun rising before the sun rises as the morning star must appear. And so I can recall Mr. Dunlap years ago telling us when he was out in Saskatchewan he went out one morning and he wanted to prove.
To himself.
And the fact that these streaks and sky preceded out of the rising of the morning star. And as they went out this particular morning, it was a lovely morning on the prairies and very early. And he walked to the east and there he could see a street going up, and you know, every street brought before him the Jews, as would be going back to Jerusalem All brother said this morning. If Mr. Dunlop could see what has already transpired since he has gone hungry with the Lord so many years ago.
Oh well, how he was rejoined and how he would say all the streets are getting brighter. Yeah, he he must be coming. And when if we see things waxing worse and worse as they are in this world, he would speak of them in streaks on this morning when he saw those streaks getting brighter and brighter. Oh, he said the Morning Star must arrive very soon and presently and all he kept his eyes into the act, just in the twinkling of an eye that Morning Star came up over the horizon.
Honey saw the morning star going up into the flying up into the heaven. And before very long as they marked, the majestic sun arose and with its beams of light and the streets were all gone. Oh beloved, the sun of righteousness is about to rise. With healing in his wings, He's coming in righteousness to reign over this scene, but before he comes, he's going to take his beloved Redeemer home.
So he would tell us your comfort to one another with these words. Oh beloved Saints of God, is this a real hope in your heart? I have to pinch myself sometimes to see whether I really believe that the Lord is coming. Oh beloved, it may it be a real hope in our heart. And as that person code this morning, he that helping him in Christ purify themselves even as he is pure all beloved. What a what a savior we have. What a savior we have. What anarchy God has given us for our hearts. He he brings us out to before us in the trust. In this same cross chapter Hebrews that we had a moment ago looking off under Jesus the author and the finisher of faith who for the joy and that was set before him.
All my friends, beloved President.
The Lord Jesus.
That he wanted the experiencing in that jar. All the Charles believe of doing the Father's will he could tell I do always those things that please the Father all. But I like to think also that the joy of anticipation of how you're me in his presence throughout those conversations. Oh beloved, isn't it wonderful to know that we have such a savior, such a manner.
A real man who's walked through the scene knows every heartache knows every difficulty of recall and he he he says we're for comfort one another. Well these words yes I if I have time I'd like just to mention an incident that took place and I heard at a funeral service our brother Albert was there and he personally recalled this dear brother got off this day and.
He recounted at this general service of a of a missionary over in China many many years ago.
Connected with system, no doubt. But here he is taking He and his wife had gone over there and they were they labored many years and they became very attached to the Chinese and that locality well as the time came when the Lord took home of the dear wife of his missionaries and.
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The.
System that they're connected with the ministry. He was a Christian man and and of course he eulogized that your woman at the.
At the funeral service and he spoke so nicely on her and he he enjoyed her so much. And at the end when he was all finished a year old missionary he.
It had been raining in our and there was.
Just about time they put a canopy over the grave, over those who were coming to the grave, those who wouldn't get wet, but just at that point.
The sun broke through the clouds. How to shine down on this hero, brothers? The Bible as he had it open. And he said, would you permit me just to read a few verses? And he read these scriptures that I've just read to you now. And as he read them he came to the last verse. He said where for comfort one another with these words. All the words of eulogy were very nice. They were very good.
All but he wanted the word of God for his comfort. And today, beloved Saints of God, we have the eternal word of God for our comfort. And the word here we have in this word, in this word. But love does always comforts the story. It comforts of the Christian and we can say comfort one another with these words. Now let's turn to the book of Jude. And there's another one or two verses I'd like to refer to there.
Absolute and Revelation, Jude.
And through the end of the chapter.
I know these scriptures are very familiar to us, beloved. We owe them off by heart, many of us. But I don't think we know them too well. We can't exhaust the word of God. What man can produce, man can exhaust but the word of God. No man living yet or will be ever able to exhaust the word of God. The 20th verse, but he, beloved.
But ye beloved, building up your soul on your most holy face.
Praying in the Holy Ghost Now. This is the part of the verse I'd like to bring before keep yourselves in the love of God.
Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
How to eternal life and the some have compassion making a difference.
On the 24th verse, now out of him that is able to keep you from falling, and to prevent you found us before the presence of his glory.
With exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. But not.
Part of this person keep yourselves in the love of God. I hear something for you and and and for me to do it it'll take a little effort. Take diligence. Peter speaks so often in two customers of diligence and.
If you were to look at these 4 words that suggest line of truth is first is building and of course identification as as we had brought before done many many times.
Building. And that brings before us the doctrine. And then we have.
Praying in the Holy Ghost and how good it is to supplicate the Lord.
All my friends, that's part of the armor of God. In the 6th chapter of season. There are seven parts to that arm, and prayer is one of them, if you'll notice. And how important it is to be on our knees. No armor provided for the need, no God. It's all good that we could get on our knees and supplicate him, and how he he longed to bless each one of us his children, when we supplicate him.
In the Colombian four it says, be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. That intensified prayer. I believe that your request be made known under God and the peace of God. If we really do that to love it, we have that peace promised to us, the peace of God and the peace of Christ, The same peace which he enjoyed when he was down here, the peace of Christ.
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Passes. All understanding shall keep or guard your minds and hearts through Christ Jesus.
Anxious to do for you and for me. Keep yourself now in the love of God. And our brother mentions us that there are two goals. It's going on the sunny side of the street. How good it is. Now I'm not Speaking of the of the climate here in in Wheaton today. I'm Speaking of in the winter time or in the cool of the day, the cooler days of the year. How nice it is.
And to have the sun shining in our face or on our back as we go on the sunny side of the street, as you and I are exhorted to keep ourselves from the Sunnyside, keeping the sunshine of His love. You know I visited a few man found on many, many years ago and.
I knocked at the door and his wife came to the Lord. She said yes. My husband's up on the, on the roof, on the roof, the flat roof, and he was up on the roof, but he's up there standing himself and I I went up.
She told me to go right up to the roof and to walk up to set the stairs and get up on the roof and as I as I came over to see this 0 white haired white bearded gentleman, I I said well.
Mr. Davis, I'm so glad to see you, but how are you keeping how it's done? Just fine. He's done just lying here, letting the Lord love me. I'm just lying here in the sunshine, he said. Letting the Lord love me isn't that good. And you know, that's been a lesson to me, I suppose, for about 50 years of thinking about that dear old man. He's with the Lord now. For many years he was lying there in the sun, getting pretty aged at that time.
Not just letting the Lord not all keep ourselves beloved in his love. How can we do that? All the be occupied just like John was. He referred to himself as a disciple whom Jesus loved, I'm sure John.
Impossible.
The Lord Jesus, the type of how he he could lean on his breath and suffer, tells us when he opens his his Gospel of John we find the Lord Jesus.
In the bosom, in the bosom of Apollo, the one who never, never left the bosom of the Father, He always was, always will be in the bosom of the Father. Process of John's Gospel open with his glorious person, the eternal Son of God. How about it closes with John, a redeemed Sinner, being in the bosom of the space, All beloved, what a state do we have to speak to you about today.
Southern not drugs. Your heart's affections when we think of his love to you. How can you resist such a savior if you know not him? And if you do know him? Oh, I see. Apostle Paul could say that I may know him. He wanted to know better. And each one of us who have enjoyed his presence always is not good to know him better. When we leave these meetings collaborative and go into our homes and all we're going out into a world of stuff takes that precious name. They don't love this man.
Now that this name means nothing to them.
Except they take it in vain. So after awful of us, let us keep ourselves in the love of God and the love of Christ, enjoying His presence, enjoying His country. We can go along the road and our eyes can be wide open. We can talk to Him as we can talk to them as we drive along the highway, and some of them have done that. I know if we're driving along, or we have the company of our precious Savior with us, and He wants us to keep ourselves in His love as we as we go along.
Well, there's one other person Our time is just about.
In In the end of Revelation, first I like to read the first chapter of Revelation, because I read about this, this wonderful loan of our blessing Lord Jesus, the fourth verse of the first chapters of John to the seven churches which are in Asia, grace beyond the UN, peace from him which is which was and which is to come, and from the seven Spirit which are before his throne.
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And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness and the first presortion of the dead and the Prince of the kings of the earth, you know this is a three fold telling of of his glorious person. And there's so many.
Threefold car to tell them is not quickly broken and we have so many threefold cars mentioned in this first chapter revelation it's it's so it's good just to read them and so he he says from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness.
First begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth unto him that loved us.
But we still love us. He loves us, yes, Who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests on the God and his Father Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Of love. He's still not. And we go to the end of the chapter, end of the book. And we have these wonderful words.
For 35 years ago, I heard a brother just mentioned these last two verses.
Touch my heart, I've never forgotten in these last two verses.
This was in Ottawa many, many years ago. He was testified at the funniest verse. He was testified these things that surely I come quickly, does he love us just to love us. And that doesn't work. That word correctly means as quickly as I can, just as soon as the father gets the words done, the hour has come. He's going to come quickly. He's lying, beloved, our blood of savors longing for that day so much.
Or is longing for that day when the last soul will be gathered in.
A fatherless faith from the old and you'll come quickly in the quickly of an eye is coming for his own. Are you going to be among the number? Oh, is there one here in this stuff that this company today who knows not our precious Savior. Oh, once you come to Jesus, come to this wonderful name, this wonderful person tells him as your own. And so he makes this promise. What a wonderful promise it is. A promise that we had in the 14th of John.
The promise that we had given to us by the Apostle Paul from a glorified Christ himself, the Lord himself shall come He which testifies these things that surely I come quickly.
And here is the response, beloved, and this is the prayer that you and I are privileged to make the promise. If he's coming again, our prayer should be all beloved. If we're clearly in the current of his thoughts, we'll say Amen even. So Come, Lord Jesus.
Our beloved should not be on our lips. Should that not come from our heart daily. The coming of our Lord precious Savior who loved us all. But in the meantime our blessed Lord has made proficient for us and that which we had entitled to. This morning we have the grace of God. I'm sorry we didn't finish that in the last part because we didn't have much grace has brought Him.
In in Christ giving himself who gave himself for our sins. That's what Christ has lost.
I don't know what what what grace. What grace has brought and what grace has taught us. But we didn't mention. We didn't get as far as the craze of rock. And that's exactly what he's brought For the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Here's the provision that he's made for us all along the way. Crazy. Start by grace. Are you saved? We're saved by grace. And we have grace every day of the journey.
Above it, 20 comes in the glory of glory and the great.
Our loyalty Christ receiveth up to himself a great old way through. Are you going to be there? Oh, are you coming along with it? Are you going to join us redeemed from going to sing that song which we read about in the first chapter, and wash this from our sea in his own Christ of God? May the Lord bless His word to each one of us today as we leave this place.
Oh, may our hearts be.
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Strong more and more.
To the precious one in the glory who loved us and gave in stone Forest, Could we sing. That's how him we sang as a We sang it this morning, 174 and tomorrow first particularly on my heart.
All patient, spotless one, our hearts and meekness trained to bear thy yoke and learn of these.
We may rest. Obtain Jesus. Thou art enough. He's enough. He's enough to fill our hearts, the mind and heart to fill the patient life, to can the soul.
My love, it's fear to spell.
All fixed Nazis be our prayer, All fixed our arms.
The holy Lord on thee that with thy beauty occupied we elsewhere not me, he may we rise to significant.
OK, Transformers.
The Old Will Not Do
Gospel—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 1975.
Gospel by Clarence Lundine.
Shall we open our meeting tonight by singing Hymn #2929?
A ruler once came to Jesus by night, and to ask him the way of salvation and light, the master made answer in words true and plain. He must be born again.
Came to Jesus by night to ask him my way of salvation and life.
Answers answer words from a place.
Be born again.
You must be born again.
I.
Love you.
Shall we also sing together in #26?
There is life in a look at the crucified One. There is life at this moment for thee then look Sinner, look unto Him, and be saved unto him who was nailed to the tree.
There is life in our life.
We turn to Luke 5, please.
We started the 36th verse of Luke 5.
Luke 5 verse 36.
And he spake also a parable unto them.
No man put as a piece of a new garment upon an old. If otherwise, then both the new make of the rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agreeeth not with the old.
And no man put us new wine into old bottles, else the new wine will burst the bottles and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles.
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And both are preserved. No man also, having drunk old wines straightway desireth new, for he said the old is better.
Turn to John 3, please.
The third chapter of John the first verse.
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, verily, I say unto thee.
Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old?
Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Verse 14.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness.
Even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Everlasting life for God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. Now turn with me to Numbers 21 for a few verses, please.
The fifth verse of Numbers 21.
And the people spake against God, and against Moses. Wherefore have he brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water. And our soul loveth this light bread. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they fit the people.
And much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses and said we have sinned.
For we have spoken against the Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take away the serpents from us.
And Moses prayed for the people, And the Lord said unto Moses, make thee A fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole. And it should come to pass that everyone that is bitten, When he looked at the pond, it shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole. And it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass.
He lived.
In the passage that we read in Luke's Gospel.
We are told that.
It isn't practical. It will not do, to try to put a new piece of cloth upon an old garment.
They're not compatible.
Because the garment would be made worse.
Dear friends, that speaks of man's character.
Before God is morally, man is bankrupt.
This we have to know before we would realize that we need a savior.
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His character is gone.
Is a moral wreck. Man is without Christ.
And dear friends, this is true of every living person that came into this world.
As mere men.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and there is no character before God.
Now we find also that.
You can't take and put new wine in old bottles.
Bottle is a vessel. It has capacity.
I suppose a large percent of the money that is spent today is spent for pleasure.
Man is seeking something that he doesn't have.
And by seeking it he will never find it.
Because he has a nature that's supposed to God in his ruin. Man is a fallen creature.
And he's far off from God. He's lost.
And so we find that.
The capacity he has is only for something that will last a little while.
It will not continue.
That which we have before us and Luke, is simply a bottle that's made of skin that was used in those days and it lasted one year, never to be used again.
And God likens that, my friend, to the capacity you have for joy, which wine is a picture of.
This world is mad after pleasure tonight, and they're on the road to hell because they've left Christ out.
And you'll never find joy, you'll never find happiness outside of Jesus.
You can't put new wine that's that new joy of the spirit of God into an old bottle.
Because then the bottle will be rent.
It'll break and both the bottle and the wine will go.
Oh dear friends, tonight, how simple the truth is.
That God would present to us here.
And as we read in John, we find that God was speaking the Lord Jesus was speaking to certain ones, and he would not commit himself to them in the second chapter, because he knew all men and he knew what was in man. But there was a man named Nicodemus.
Isn't it nice that God knows our names? That Jesus knows the names of his sheep? He had his eye upon Nicodemus?
And he wanted to have Nicodemus for himself, just as he wants you for himself tonight.
We have in the 90th Psalm eternal man to destruction, and he says return ye children of men.
Why did he turn man to destruction? Because he's holy.
Cannot allow you in his presence.
Unless.
You have been redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ.
The God's heart yearns for you tonight.
And he wants you to be recovered, to be saved. And the only way that you can be saved, dear friends, is in the gospel that we would present to you tonight.
But first of all, we want to emphasize this point.
That there must be a new birth. Now I know that you can do nothing about this anymore, and you can do about anything about the first one.
No, you can't do anything about giving life.
Not one thing.
Norris God who gives life?
And that's why God is so quick to give us the answer in the following verses.
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Nicodemus was one who was an upright man.
He wasn't of the rabble of the gutter. No, he was an upright man.
Perhaps he stood next to the Apostle Paul. We don't know as far as his natural setting and the Flash was concerned.
He knew the law. He was a leader, a religious leader.
But he did have a conscience, and so do you.
And you know, dear friends, what God says to you.
In numbers 32 and 23, be sure.
Your sin will find you out, not sins. Be sure your sins will find you out.
Dear friends, some sin is keeping you from the Savior tonight.
It doesn't matter how religious you are, but be sure.
Your sin will find you out.
A positive fact that you cannot escape.
And so.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus.
But the Lord doesn't answer his question directly. He answers for his blessings.
And he tells him, Verily I say unto you, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, or anew, or from above.
He cannot see the Kingdom of God.
Now, dear friends, what is the Kingdom of God?
This which a man cannot see unless he's born again. Well, the Kingdom of God is that place where all that joy is found.
That new wine.
Its moral character is righteousness. First of all, do you have this?
I'm not Speaking of human righteousness, because we've already found out.
As we read the word of God saying, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, that you have no human righteousness. If you were to have any righteousness at all, it'll be that which God gives you and it'll be his own righteousness.
And he gives it to all those who believe in Jesus.
And that's the only righteousness that will avail you in that day to stand before God.
And what else do we have in the Kingdom of God? Peace.
And how do we get peace?
Knowing that.
The blood of Jesus Christ.
Cleanse it from all sins. Have you had your sins put away?
I'm not asking you, dear friends, if you've come to Sunday school all of your life, and even if you're at the table.
Sorry to have to say this.
I'm asking you Are you sheltered under the precious blood of Christ?
Do you know Jesus, your savior?
In the first chapter of Matthew.
We read, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Nicodemus was not yet saved from his sins. He needed a savior. With all his religion, he was lost.
You must be born again.
He asked the question.
He should have known from the Old Testament that it was necessary.
Many passages tell us that a new life was required even in the Old Testament.
And every Old Testament St. although they didn't know it, were born again because they believed in the word of God.
And so we find he asks the question, and the Lord answers him again in the fifth verse.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water. Now that's the a symbol, a picture of the word of God.
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The water. You get that in the 5th of Ephesians we understand the meaning of scriptural words by scripture. The word is water.
That we have here water the word of God.
And so faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God.
Except.
A man be born of water and of the Spirit.
He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
Now we find first of all he couldn't even see it and now he can't even enter it.
Now we have the spirit mentioned. We said there were three parts to the Kingdom in its moral character.
Righteousness we get through believing in Jesus.
It's God's own righteousness that he gives to all who believe.
We have peace.
Annoying, God says when I see the blood. I'll Passover you.
But what is the third part? The spirit joy in the Holy Ghost. That's the Kingdom of God. That's that new wine that he speaks of in Luke. The joy of the Holy Ghost. So, dear friend, tonight you have these three.
Qualities these three things that are mentioned connected.
Connected with the Kingdom of God.
Not our Kingdom, of course, is everlasting.
What's connected with that Kingdom will never fail. Everything you have here, you'll have to turn in soon.
Your friends.
And if the Lord doesn't come, your body to be laid away.
Yes, you'll turn it all in. But there's one thing you can't lose. You can't lose Jesus. You're saved. You can't lose the Kingdom of God.
If you're saved.
But dear friends, you can't enter it unless you're born again.
Now we're reading the.
14 verse.
This is the way.
Nicodemus couldn't do a thing about getting a new life himself.
He couldn't provide that. Only God could. But this is what Nicodemus can do.
And I don't know. I have myself my own thoughts that Nicodemus was born again at this very time.
That's the way I feel about this chapter.
Because of what we have in the following verses.
Verse 14.
As Moses lifted up the serpent.
In the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
That first whoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Now, dear friends, we come to the very heart of the basis of Christianity.
If you're going to be saved, dear friend, you're going to have to have a firm foundation for that salvation.
And it can be nothing but the cross of Christ.
When we speak of the cross, we think of the whole world.
The cross upon which he hung.
We think about.
All that he passed through under the hand of the Holy God for our sins.
But we think of that precious blood that was shed in death as the soldier pierced the side of that blessed savior.
And God has said, without the shedding of blood there is.
No remission.
And as that blood and water poured forth from the Savior side.
That was the means, dear friends, of your and my salvation.
And so there's no other way. No possible way. And the moment you believe this, dear friends, you have that new life.
00:30:07
Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God, and faith brings you into remedial.
Contact an eternal contact with God.
Oh, how simple.
It wasn't simple for Jesus.
So all think of those hours that he suffered under the hand of God, put away our sins. Think of that precious blood of the man, the only man that had a right to live because he had never sinned. But he went as that perfect sacrifice in our place to take our place for those who believe that all of our sins might be put away, washed away in that precious blood.
Now we see the children of Israel passing through the wilderness, and they began to murder against Moses and against God.
And God sent fiery serpents among them. Why? Because they were under the law.
They have said all that the Lord has spoken we will do. God said, all right, do it, then do it.
What did they do?
Well, their history shows.
As we learn from the 7th chapter of Acts, the Stephens Apology as they speak of it.
That their history was one all the way through of idolatry.
They served their God, Mullet.
And yet they profess to serve the true God. Oh, there was always a remnant of faith among them.
That the nation itself had turned away to idols.
Where is Israel today?
Because of their turning away to idols.
But here in their history, we have this very, very simple picture, and God makes the gospel so simple.
That a wayfaring man know a fool need not err therein.
All they need to do and they were bitten by the serpents.
Was to look at something that had been provided for them.
A brazen serpent on a pole.
And everyone that looked lived.
Everyone that looked live now, dear friends tonight.
We're not asking you to know anything about the scriptures.
One verse will save your precious soul tonight.
God says, Verily, verily, I say to you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me half.
Everlasting life shall not come into judgment, but but has passed already from death unto light. No, we're not asking you to know all about Scripture. We're asking you to take Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
Look and live.
That's how simple it is.
And all those who looked live.
And catch a picture some of those who were not bitten as they reached over.
And lifted the heads of those poor, smitten ones. Dear fellow Christian, is that what you're doing tonight?
Are you trying to lift the head of some poor soul that's been smitten by the serpent telling him to look and live? That's how simple the gospel is.
Oh, it's based upon that new life that God gives. It's based upon the work of Jesus at Calvary, when he shed His precious blood and bore all the judgment you and I deserve.
But now?
Dear friends, the scripture says.
If our gospel. I'm quoting from 2nd.
Corinthians 4 and three. If our gospel behead, it is hid to those that are lost.
Lost.
00:35:02
Now you're either in one class or the other tonight.
If you're reading the 53rd of Isaiah in the sixth verse.
All we like sheep.
Have gone astray. Lost. That's what it means.
I remember in rounding up some cattle that who had gotten through the fence that they knew the way back and they went right through the hole that came through, but the sheep won't do that.
A sheep won't do that. Man's likened to a sheep.
When he goes astray, he will not come back.
Oh dear friends, what a picture we have of man.
That's why it says the Son of Man has come to seek.
And to save that which was lost, to save. And that's what we have in this passage in John.
He's come to seek and to save that which is lost. And the very reason for this Gospel meeting tonight is because the Son of Man is seeking.
That which is lost to save it. Are you one of those who are lost? Are you a prodigal tonight, gone astray from the father's house, far off?
The way off in the foreign country.
Morally, before God, at a distance like Adam behind the trees of the garden. Are you lost?
If our gospel behead its head to those that are lost, gone astray.
We, like sheep, have gone astray.
That the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Oh, have you given answer to this? Have you answered God for such love and goodness?
And providing A Savior that you who are lost might be saved, have you taken him? And said thank you, Lord Jesus.
Have you owned Jesus, your personal savior?
You know, dear friends, that Romans, one tells us.
That the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness.
It's revealed it hasn't yet been executed.
And way back in the days of job, we read.
Because there's Wrath.
Beware lest he take the away with a stroke.
Then a great ransom cannot deliver thee.
But a ransom can deliver the now.
Because we have in.
First Timothy.
26 I believe.
That he is a ransom for all.
For all that is all who believe.
It's for all, but only those who believe get the blessing.
Yes, beware.
Because there's wrath. Beware lest he take the away with a stroke.
Two young men were fishing.
In the northern waters.
They each have their boat.
Fishing for cars, as they often do in separate boats, Small boats. They were brothers. One of the brothers was saved, the other was lost.
And the one who was last used to make fun of his brother when he prayed at night, throw pillows at him, mock him.
As he prayed.
It's the older one who was.
Save and while they were fishing, one of the brothers.
As he stood up to fix, the lines fell over backwards into the water and he couldn't swim.
00:40:04
His brother was some distance from him and he just out of the corner of his eye. He saw it. He dropped his lines and grabbed his arms.
George went down once he knew what it meant.
He came up.
He went down the second time. He knew if he went down once more, he wouldn't come out.
And just as he started down the third time, his brother took his finger.
Saved him.
He's lost.
His brother saved him.
Just by one finger.
As he went down, he held his finger up. His brother grabbed it.
You know what? David said. There's one step between me and Dad.
About you tonight.
You know that you're going to walk out of this room alive. Do you know it? You have no insurance.
No, dear friends.
Is one thing for you to do. Behold, now is accepted time. Now is the day of salvation, not tomorrow.
Thou knowest not what a day may bring forth, or a night either.
Do you realize what it would be?
To spend one moment in hell.
But your part will be eternity in hell if you reject Jesus.
There is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved and that precious name of Jesus.
Jesus.
Now what does this verse say?
For God so loved the world, Or you can quote it by heart.
I dare say there are souls here tonight, children, the Saints.
We can quote this verse by heart that are unsaved. You're sitting in your chairs, indifferent to the gospel, the grace of God.
What's going to happen if Jesus comes tonight?
As you sit there in your chairs, quoting from your lips, and you can do it.
John 316.
And yet you'll be sitting in your chairs when the rest are gone. You've never taken Jesus.
You've never received them as your own personal savior. You've talked about them. You've told others about him.
Young man was in the army.
When he got to arguing, he'd been brought up to know something of the truth. He got to arguing with an infidel.
And the infidel seemed to get the best of him. So he went home to get his Bible out, and he got saved.
He got saved.
He was going to tell the infidel something, but he didn't know enough to tell him to answer him. But he did when he got his Bible out.
Yes.
All we need to be awakened.
Both saved and lost, we need to be awakened tonight.
Oh dear friends, you and I are living in a day of prosperity.
A day when?
Everything is unstable.
Men cry peace, and at the same time there's the setting for wars at every hand.
Because there is no peace for the wicked, our God says.
And there will be no peace until Jesus comes. But you can have peace tonight.
In your own soul by taking Christ as your Savior.
For God so loved the world.
That he gave his own the begotten Son, That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And what does perish mean?
00:45:03
To be transported from a happy state to an unhappy one forever. That's what Perish means.
It doesn't mean annihilation, my friend.
It means a complete change.
From this happy condition in which you find yourself tonight.
Sitting in the midst of prosperity and having the gospel of the grace of God.
Before you.
And God says you won't perish if you believe it, but you will otherwise.
He that believeth God said not his son into the world to condemn the world, but thought the world through him might be saved. That's the point I'm coming to saved.
Old men say, well, I I do believe, but but I'm not saved. I wouldn't dare say I'm saved. You wouldn't dare say it when God says says it. You wouldn't dare believe God.
You wouldn't dare believe what God says, Read it simply.
For the God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, saved.
How can we be saved? That's the point.
Here's Nicodemus standing before the Lord Jesus and he tells him he must be born again.
And then he gives them the illustration that he knew only too well of the serpent on the pole. And what's that a picture of?
It's a picture of the place that Jesus took for you and me when he was made sin for us. Made sin. The one who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him all. What a savior if you thanked him for it.
Saved. Lost.
We were talking about being lost.
The God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, not the heathen.
No, Those who've heard that's who Satan blinds. And you know when Satan blinds the mind after you have heard the gospel and you go out and reject it, that's when he blinds your mind.
Three steps to apostasy, dear friends. The 1St is the hardening of the heart.
And the next is sin, and then the wicked heart that departs from the living God.
Three steps in apostasy.
Constancy giving up a known testimony of grace for you.
And how can you be saved?
Turn to with me to the 16th chapter of Acts, please.
We'll start reading with the 25th verse.
And at midnight Paul and Silas, they were in prison, of course, prayed and sang praises unto God. And the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bands were loose. To the keeper of the prison, the waking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.
But while cried with a loud voice saying Do thyself no harm for we are all here.
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house.
And they speak unto him, the word of the Lord.
And to all that were in his house, and he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized he and all his straightway.
And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
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Serves. What must I do to be saved?
You know, there were those who came to the Lord Jesus in the 6th chapter of John, and they said, what must we do that we might work the works of God? This is the work of God, he answered.
That you believe on him who may have sent.
We repeated, dear friends, that the gospel is simple for your soul tonight. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. And thy house was the answer to this Philippian jailer.
How do you know?
If it gets saved tonight, there might be assembly formed in your city too. There was here.
Wasn't there?
Or marvelous the work of God saves the soul, and not all assembly is formed.
That Philippines.
Well, what must I do to be saved?
Nothing. It's all done.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved in thy house. Don't leave that out.
Rahab didn't leave it out.
No. When she asked for mercy, she said I wanted for my house.
Are you asking?
God for mercy for your house, He will answer you. Yes he will.
Did you ever know God to disappoint faith? I never did.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved in thy hearts. This is what God says.
Now turn with me to Romans, please.
Romans 9, the 10th chapter.
I'd like to read the 13th verse first.
For whosoever.
Shall call.
Upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Now that's what we get in those verses in John saved.
Here whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. But on what basis?
Because he shed his precious blood.
Because he went to the cross of Calvary of that picture of the serpent on the pole.
He was made sin for us.
The one who knew no sin.
That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Yes.
Believe.
Be saved. Oh, how simple have you done it? Have you taken Jesus as your savior? Thou shalt call his name Jesus, Jehovah's savior, for He shall save his people from their sins.
Oh, what a marvelous thing to have that load lifted.
Of sins, You've forgotten most of them, haven't you?
Yes, you've forgotten most of them.
They're all gone.
130 A 103rd Psalm.
As far as the East is from the West that far, he's removed our sins from us.
That's how far. You tell me How far that is, the scientists can't tell you.
But God knows.
And that's how far your sins are gone, dear friend, tonight if you've taken Jesus Christ as your own personal savior.
And in Hebrews the 10th chapter.
Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more.
And there doesn't need to be any more sacrifice, for sins are gone.
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And if Jesus isn't enough for you tonight, dear friends.
I'm sorry for you.
Because the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses from all sin.
And the soul who believes can say I'm saved, I'm saved.
In virtue of that precious blood that was shed at Calvary's cross. And God says, when I see the blood, I'll Passover you.
As he passed over you tonight, have you received him as your own personal savior?
Children, young people here have been sitting in these chairs year after year in the conference.
You've never taken Jesus, as you say.
You pass as a Christian. I heard one young person who saves that. I used to tell them yes, so they wouldn't bother me.
Are you doing that?
Why don't you come tonight?
Your mother and your father is praying for you and a lot of other people.
There were about 20 or 25 brothers in that room praying for your precious soul tonight. Won't you come now? Won't you take Jesus?
As we sing that little song.
Won't you take him as your savior?
#34
precious.
Precious Blood of Jesus shed on Calvary, shed for Rebels and for Sinners.
Shut for me.
Brought to Jesus
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 1975. Gospel by Paul Jibbetton.
Shall we sing together?
Number six.
God and mercy sent his Son into a world by sin undone. Jesus Christ was crucified towards for sinners. Jesus died.
Sin and death. No more Sharine.
Jesus died and lives again.
In the glorious highest height, see him broad supreme delight.
Honor in his name believe everlasting life receive.
Lord of all is Jesus. Now every knee to him must bow.
The Lord will come again.
You suffered once, will reign.
Every tongue at last will own Jesus Christ as Lord alone.
All the glory of the grace shining in the Savior's face telling sinners from above, God is light, God is love number six.
00:05:52
Shall we sing another?
Oh, blessed Gospel Sound #15.
And shall we stand?
And sing this please stand and #15.
I did not hear.
They now made you.
Yeah.
Please hear more about my safety.
Oh savior you will be.
Yeah, everyone.
Our house is the only past, yeah.
You can be sure that the Lord is willing to bless you.
A letter came.
Lord, is thou will make me clean.
Immediately responded, I will be thou clean.
That tells us of our needs because of the defilement of our sins, the state that we are in too.
00:10:00
Having been born into this world with a fallen nature.
What we'd like to notice.
Beginning.
From Matthew Chapter 9.
The case of a man sick with a palsy brought to the Lord by others.
Verse 2.
And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy lying on a bed.
And Jesus, seeing their faith, said unto the sick of the palsy.
Son, be a good cheer.
Thy sins be forgiven thee.
Here perhaps we have the earliest mention of the forgiveness of sins in the New Testament. We know that his name was to be called Jesus because he would save his people from their sins.
But as the man brought.
And this is what should happen to you tonight.
There are many prayers in that direction.
That will bring you into the presence of the Lord for the blessing that he's able to convey to you.
This man was sick of the palsy.
He had that specific need.
But there is another need, perhaps that he didn't realize as well as he realized the need of the cure of his body.
You know, oftentimes our emphasis is on the material things, the health that we have and so on.
When the most important thing of all may be neglected, the question of the forgiveness of our sins and the blessing of our soul.
So this man got a two fold.
Depressing.
Sunday, the chair.
And you can be a good cheer tonight too, because as a savior for sinners, the faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
And Paul hindered as he wrote to Timothy, and he added to whom I'm chief?
Son, be a good chair.
You need something for your heart.
The world brings disappointment. There's no satisfaction that can be had in all the disco world offers.
You certainly need price to feel that part of yours and give you the satisfaction that you need in this life.
That is durable too. It's not only for the present, it's for all eternity.
Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Certainly a good cheer.
That must have been a warming word to that dear man as he was brought there into the presence of the Lord of heaven, the Lord of glory.
Thy sins be forgiven thee. You know this is a direct answer to a Psalm.
Because we read in the psalms as we read over to the 103rd Psalm.
There we have a statement like this. You'll forgive us all thine iniquities who readeth all thy diseases.
And this was the character of the blessing that prevailed at that moment when our Lord was here going about preaching the gospel of the Kingdom.
It was an earthly order blessing that he would introduce.
But still he was being rejected.
And right away we see that there are those who were in positions of authority in that day saying this man blasphemous.
They didn't realize who he was.
God present on the earth.
Emmanuel come down and grace to his people here below.
And there was this blessing that could be had, the blessing for the body and blessing for the soul.
And that type of blessing prevailed for some time. There were gifts, you know, in the beginning that were current with the introduction of Christianity.
00:15:09
But the Kingdom was not established in power. It's in suspension now, in abeyance, and that kind of blessing didn't.
Extend to the earth.
But all there's deeper blessing because of the rejection of Christ.
The blessing of our souls.
Becoming a child of God forever.
And the being blasted all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.
Oh, that's the better range of blessing that comes in after the rejection of Christ and his crucifixion at the cross.
There was blessing for those at that time. There's nothing about redemption here.
But our blessed Lord, being brought down here, could speak of the forgiveness of sins, and we hear him say, the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive sins.
And let us realize that tonight.
That if our sins are forgiven, they must be forgiven while we're here on this earth.
When we slipped away, it's too late.
So it's very important for you to hear the Word and to believe on that blessed One that God has sent into this world.
And that's what we were singing together in the first hymn that we lifted from the beginning of the page garden. Mercy sent his son to a world by sin undone, and here we find him in contact with a soul.
With an individual with us, man that was stricken with the palsy was helpless. He couldn't calm himself. Arthur brought him along to the presence of our Blessed Lord.
And he spoke here to that dear ones heart.
And also a word to his conscience that his sons were forgiven.
What about yours?
This man had sinned.
And is there anyone that does not have sins?
For with our sin.
And that is common among men. Among the human race. It extends to all alike the practice of sin.
We know that we've sinned.
We certainly do. We have to admit that we need to own it and to confess the need of the soldier. We need our sins forgiven.
I like to think, you know sometimes of how nice you are.
You lovely little girls going to and from the dining room, some barefooted and some in shoes, and little boys throwing the ball in the corridor full of energy and life.
But they might have said, you know, we didn't do it.
We sometimes like the cake that Mother makes.
She put the icing on the outside. That's where the sugar is, and that's where we like to put the sugar on the outside and have a good appearance and not be being willing to admit that we were wrong, that we've made a mistake, that we've come short in some way.
Oh, we never were taught how to do those things that are displeasing to the Lord and that came natural to us. That was natural.
And to hear the message to this man is their good cheer.
Thy sins are forgiven thee.
Oh, there's a dear mother in Kentucky where the little baby boy, precious, he is born, you know, with a defect in the heart and the circulation is not what it ought to be.
And their heart is torn and tender sympathy to the need of that dear child.
And oh, if the Lord Jesus were here, she would be taking that little one to him. But still, that's not the character of the blessing that we had before us today.
00:20:00
That's been deferred.
So we have our humans.
Our diseases.
Because it's not the order of the blessing that we have now.
So this is the case of the forgiveness of sins.
We don't know if it's judicial. Perhaps it doesn't go that far, but it does say thy sins are forgiven.
And he'll say that to you. And isn't it nice to know? Isn't it wonderful to know that God and mercy sent his Son to this world by sin and done?
That Jesus has really been here.
And I often we're glad to sing. I wish that his hands had been placed on my head. I wish we wished we could have been there at that time. But still there are better things because of his rejection. And we can know him still today, tonight, And you ought to get into his acquaintance now.
Well, we find there's something else as we turn a little farther over to Mark's Gospel, Chapter 5.
And we'll turn to that and hold just for a moment, because it's a little difficult to know when speaking, to put things together as they ought to be.
And we've asked for the direction of the Lord, and we do indeed wish that.
Mark Chapter 5 will come to something.
It seems to be in that place.
But we know this year, in this passage that we've had under consideration.
That.
Right away, our Lord calls Matthew.
Who was sitting at the receipt of custom?
He was a tax gatherer.
A Republican.
Who was in disrepute and in favor with the people because he collected taxes?
And it seems to be a special classification of those that are unwanted or that have come short in some way that there are sinners.
But our Lord told him, And this was not in keeping, you know, with the order of things that prevailed at that time. But he called this man Matthew.
He said Follow me.
And the meaning arose and followed him. There's a ready response. He acted in faith, and blessing comes, you know, when we act in faith, when we believe God's word. He had to work from the Lord, and he responded immediately. He believed. He followed. And then he invited the Lord to come into his house, and sinners came together. Many Republicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.
And it was complete about this.
And it has to be explained that the whole need not a physician.
But they that are sick.
Go ahead and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. So God is coming out in grace to this world. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
And there we have the call of a Sinner.
Called by the Savior from above. Called by that Son of man who has power on earth to forgive sins.
And he was brought into blessing, and we know that he followed on to that blessing that the Lord brought in fully through his sacrifices across, though he had learned what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice.
God wants to display his grace. He wants to exercise his grace towards you.
He wants you to know what he can do for you.
Pain begins at the wrong end, usually consistently. Rather, he begins to think of what he's able to do for the Lord.
And really, we're not able to do anything for him because we're without strength, as we heard today, without strength.
Golden trespasses and sins.
00:25:02
All we need God's grace to us Go and learn what that meaneth. I will have mercy and not sacrifice. So there cannot be any any doubt tonight, if you're honest with yourself, that the Lord doesn't want to bless you, I willingly says be thou please.
And he called this man.
And encountered him, and there was blessing. Now, in our chapter in Mark Five, we find our Lord coming into a place and in contact with a man that had gotten completely overboard.
He was out in the far reaches of the enemy's power. It wasn't the ordinary ministry of the word that is exercised in this chapter. That was in the previous chapter.
And here's a man that is possessed with an evil power, and the Lord comes to bless him. And these portions bring before us the character, the blessing at that time that the Lord brought when he came to the earth, he came in contact with this man that was possessed with demons.
They were legion, and he delivered this soul.
Northern pressure and wonderful what the gospel will do, what the Lord can do for souls He brings deliverance. This man is free during that a hard life he.
Thrown himself?
In and among the stones, and he was never bound by the feathers, the regulations that were imposed upon him.
The power of them, they were so strong and he was fighting so that he was completely taken. And there's a danger, that kind of thing today, you might be completely taken.
The man went to Brazil as the missionary, and he was there to proclaim the message of God's grace if he knew it. And he ran across brutal rhythm and he was overtaken by. So he's engaged in that kind of thing to say and writes books about it.
He lives nearby.
At home. So we need to be aware of that kind of thing or see where the God that will bring blessing to you, that will bring deliverance to your soul.
And as the man having been blunt.
The Lord is about to go away.
And they didn't want the Lord there, the people in general that came out. They saw the loss that they sustained by the swine going into the sea and being choked in the blood.
And they became the frame to depart out of their coats when he was coming to the ship.
I'm ready to go.
He's that have been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might to be with him.
He wanted to go along.
We know about something that wanted to go home. The particle wanted to go home in the 15th of Luke. They're crossing wanted to go home. As we read about it in Philippians chapter one, having a desire to depart and he with Christ, which is far better, he wanted to go home.
Brad Pitt was needful for him to stay around where he was, so he stayed about five years more to have the Philippian Saints and to go ahead with the ministry that he could exercise among those people that he was acquainted with.
But here's this man. He didn't want to stay home.
He's about to go. He wants the Lord to take him along in this boat. Perhaps he thought, it would be a little difficult to remain there now. His life had been such under there, such that shame connected with it, and he'd like to go along with the Lord, right. Moreover, it must be that he was attracted by that one that had an exercise, that great power in his deliverance, and had brought such blessing to him.
That to Savior. Oh, what a lovely blessed.
Savior is the Lord. Just think of that precious Savior down here in this world, coming so close to us in all of our needs set apart, of course. But he became a man. He came into this world. You know the truth will prevail for a long time that there's one gone.
00:30:03
All that had been heard in 2000 years.
But there's one mediator between God and men and man, Christ Jesus.
That was new, and that's what we have now. There's one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, between God and men.
That's not a question of Georgenta islands between God and men. There's a mediator on job long for that, you know. Nor you wish for a basement to come in. Betrayed himself and gone. That they might be brought together, but there's a savior tonight. There's a mediator.
He freed your crows. He's undertaken for you. He's been here in this world. He's depleted with your needs, and he knows that you need his acquaintance.
Under this man wanted to grow. He that was possessed with the demon prayed him that he might be with him. Jesus suffered him not, but said unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for thee in US, compassion on thee.
That's what He was to do. He was to tell her what the Lord had done for him, and also to bring out the compassions of the Savior's heart, wherein that we see God's love to the Sinner, His grace and His mercy that is extended to our men everywhere.
So in these cases we have something of the Lord's ministry at that time, and the blessing that He brought to souls in that day. But now we can turn a little farther over, for in singing the second Him. And we were considering the dressing gospel sound. That's the message.
And so our Lord has gone away.
He was rejected.
Crucified the Cross.
All lovely one, God blessed Savior.
They went to take him, you know.
And they had to admit that nevermind strict like this, man.
And others were made to marvel at the gracious words that proceeded out of his mouth.
And the pilot in his position of indifference and lack of care and consideration to the need of an innocent one.
Had to confess, I find no fault in him.
No fault in him. And the centurion had to say, this is a righteous man.
And think of that Blessed One on the cross as he prayed. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
Can you match words like those?
And observe how tenderly he commends his mother to the care of that disciple whom Jesus loved, John standing by there.
Woman, Behold, I son.
And could he be concerned with the dying? Caesar decide in a moment like that when he's under the stress and pain of all the agonies of that cross?
This was still in the daylight.
And that repentant soul turned to the Lord. And he said, Remember Me when thou comest into thy Kingdom.
And immediately the Lord could turn in blessing to him, and say today shall thou be with me in paradise.
So that was important, wasn't it? That was the blessing that he needed. You know, Stephen was stoned to death. His life was being crushed out of him in the end of the chapter where he gave his address.
And he was kneeling, and he was calling upon God. And what was he saying?
Lord Jesus received my spirit.
That's not all that he said.
But we'll take that statement Lord Jesus receive my spirity. Seen Jesus standing in the right end of God and the glory of God had overwhelmed him, his face shown as an Angel. We read a little before that and he couldn't look up in confidence and say Lord Jesus receive my spirit.
00:35:08
But a little later on, when we read, You know, the development took Stephen to his peril and meet great lamentation over him. That was the body.
So which is the more important, the blessing of the body or the blessing of the soul?
Or suppressing of the soul that you need.
That's the blessing that really counts today.
The forgiveness of sins, the possession of eternal life, being born again, being a child of God forever for your all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
That's the way you become his child. And then we are brought into those blessings that are so wonderful.
Having peace with God, standing in grace and rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God. What a future belongs to the believer.
That's the heavenly order of blessing, and that's directly connected with that soul. We've been given that capacity, you know, to go on into eternity to the praise and glory of God.
So let us be sure that our sins are forgiven.
And then we hear the words of our blessed Lord as he spoke to our needy soul.
A poor woman.
And her name is not given.
And sometimes we put up a shield and do not give the name.
She was a Sinner, but she responded to the Savior. She tasted that the Lord was gracious. She put herself at his feet.
She was repentant because she washed his feet with the hairs of her head.
She believed she came, she came to the Savior, she came to Jesus the Lord she believed she confessed him without saying a word.
Noble confession, And he said to her, Thy sins are forgiven.
And he said that to you. Perhaps he said it to me. He'll say it to others tonight. He wants you to receive the forgiveness of your sins.
Now there are other things. The message that was left, they were at the beginning of Jerusalem. And to preach the message, you know, among all nations.
The message of the death and resurrection of Christ.
Peter preached to know about the resurrection.
About the repentance and remission of sins.
And the Christ was exalted and made Lord.
He had a message in the second of acts and there was a message that he took to Cornelius one day later on and Cornynus was a good man.
And everyone needs the savior, whether you're good or bad.
And the gospel can bless you equally.
And perhaps the one that has gone the Prednisone way, although you do not go that way in order to receive or increase the blessing, God forbid.
But there's blessing for you, and he'll grant it to you, and he wants you to be saved.
To have the salvation of your soul.
And that message was given. He feared God. He prayed.
And he gave arms.
And he was a man that was exercised, and perhaps you have some little movement in this direction.
Aren't you concerned the day of grace is about over?
If the writer under inspiration were pinning the 12Th chapter of Ecclesiastes now, perhaps you wouldn't have to go any further than the first verse.
Remember now I create on the days of thy youth.
You're young now. That's the time to remember the Lord. There follows a description of old age, and you may never reach old age because we're right. At the close of the day of grace. Everything indicates that our Lord is promised and He's anxious to come. Still God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. And the door grace is still open tonight, and you can still come in and receive the fullness of blessing that God has for you.
00:40:14
That he has brought to you because of the sacrifice of Christ at the cross.
While others come into blessing too.
All the Saul saw why persecutors shall mean.
Well, there must have been some tenderness in those words that moved him deeply. It is hard for thee to kick against the Prince.
Andy God blessing.
Oh, what a blessing. That man realized he didn't get the cure of his body. Perhaps he couldn't throw the stones there when Steven was stoned to death because his eyesight was bad.
They laid down their clothes at his feet, a young man named Saul.
And later on he prayed, you know, for the removal of the thorn, for the flesh. But the answer was, my grace is sufficient for thee Father's blessing that goes beyond just a mere blessing and material things in the health of the body. You know, what we have in Christ doesn't depend on good health anyway.
Oh, you helped me feel You get old and things dim for you, but you still have the same full blessed portion in Christ that you had at the time before.
All the blessing is full and complete, and will come into the realization of it in that day when we have our new bodies.
So call out a message he received A message? Did Paul have sins?
Oh, he was a polished man. He was cultured. He was educated.
And he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and he was a Pharisee. And he had a zeal for God, but he was against Christ. He didn't know the Lord Jesus.
And he for that reason.
Took the position of being the chief of sinners all he needed. The Savior too, indeed heard the word of the Lord. How did those get blessing? On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the word to them. How does a good blessing in Samaria? Philip preached Christ to them. How did Paul get blessing? He had a direct special message from the Lord.
He heard the word of the Lord and he responded to it.
And ours are blessing for others. It's through the word No, it's the word of God.
That brings blessing to us. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
And we find that.
Paul indeed had his sins because he was told to rise and to wash away thy sins, arise and be baptized, and wash away thy sins. Of course, we don't see that as being judicial, but it had its place. He had sins, and he took the place of a Sinner. He was an overbearing, insolent man before.
But he was gentle as a nurse afterwards that would nurse her own children, all the change that came into that man's life because of his acquaintance with the Lord Jesus.
That was a transformation, and he came to know the riches of God's grace.
And the proclaimer of the unsearchable riches of Christ.
And of the blessing that reached that was spread abroad to all the men everywhere.
Oh, he magnified his office as he preached the gospel to others and brought them into the knowledge of the truth.
So there's a message that he had for others. He took the message, you know, to that Philippian jailer. And you wouldn't expect the Philippian jailer to be a devout man that feared God, that was praying and that was giving alms to the people. Knowing is a rather hardened character. You would observe or conclude. Yet there was blessing for that man too. He came trembling, you know, when he was shaken because of what had happened.
He sprang in, he called her light, and the word of blessing to his soul was believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And thou shall be saved.
00:45:01
And then in the 13th of Acts, which we passed over, being known unto you, therefore men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins.
And by him all the beliefs or it's that simple?
All that believe it is a faith that it might be by grace. If it weren't by faith, it had to be on some other principle.
Our God's grace to sins, we see it in the Lord Jesus as he brought forgiveness to that man with the palsy as he spoke forgiveness to that woman in the 7th of Luke and he brought deliverance to that soul that was completely taken under the power of Satan.
Oh, what power and blessing. Be a good chair, he said to that man.
Nice sins are forgiven thee, and he'd like to speak those same words of good cheer to you here tonight.
He wants you to be saved. Oh, there's a danger and delay. You'll be exposed to the judgment that is Judas World because of its rejection of Christ. You need the Savior now.
Now is the accepted time. It's now that the word is very naive.
It's now that you know the message of salvation.
That you've heard the gospel in these meetings together.
And you've heard the gospel many times in your history here as an individual.
We're likely you've heard the gospel on an average of about 60 * a year.
And that could be increased considerably by special meetings.
And if you're 10 years old and is of responsible age, you've heard the gospel 600 times.
This man heard it once.
Now a woman heard it one time. All heard it once.
These responded into What can you do, What will you do tonight?
Attracted by the loveliness of this blessed savior.
Savior of the world. The savior of sinners, that lovely one that came so close to us and wants to bring us into the fullness of blessing that can be ours Now you know we get the character of the blessing in our day, in the verse that came to our attention as we were together here in this room this morning.
Hath reigned unto death. That's the history. That's the record.
We must agree that it's true that sin has had a long reign of great power over the human race.
Even so might grace reign unto righteousness.
Through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Now there was a little defect in the reading of that verse, so may I repeat it, that a sin hath reigned unto death.
Even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. That's the blessing that you can have now.
Grace is reigning through righteousness.
Oh delivers from preaching a gospel of world improvement.
This world is under the sentence of God's judgment.
And just as soon as the Day of grace has run its course, judgments will fall.
And it cannot be improved.
Or it's better because we are here, the salt of the earth, the light of the world.
But this world cannot be improved through its own efforts.
The only way that peace will come to this world is through our Lord Jesus Christ. And the thing for you now is to be blessed as an individual. And the Spirit of God is taking out of this world of people for the name of Christ. He's saving a soul here, now, here and there and there.
And taking them out of this world that's doomed for judgment. And what about you tonight? This is an individual thing, and wouldn't you like to be delivered from the course of this world?
00:50:04
We're walking according to the course of this world, ordinarily, but there's deliverance for you. He'll save you, and you say you can't hold out.
All we were reading today about being saved by his life.
If through the weakness of Christ, so to speak, we were saved by his death on the cross, he's risen, He's glorified, He's up there, and we shall be saved by his life. He'll take us safely home. So you need not fear. He wants you to come into the blessing that can be yours.
By simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we were saying that the Word is neither, and we read something about that on that order in the 10th of Romans. That's a quotation from Deuteronomy, a reference to the Word there. But here's applied to Christ, who shall ascend into heaven, That is to bring Christ down from above verse six. Ours will descend into the deep, that is to bring up Christ again from the dead.
All the works been done. The Savior's been here. He died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried. He rose again the 3rd day according to the scriptures.
For what says it?
The word is neither.
Even in thy mouth.
What about confessing the Lord?
Can't you say a word for the Lord Jesus?
Think of what he's offered to you.
He gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world.
He wants you to be sheltered from the storm of judgment that will come.
The word is nigh thee.
Even in thy mouth.
You've heard it a long time.
You've memorized it. It's in your mouth.
There were the fades.
Which we preach the Word of Faith, which we preach.
That is, thou shall confess with thy mouth.
The Lord Jesus or Jesus as Lord.
And shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved.
That's a good word to stuff on, isn't it?
Saved.
If thou shalt believe.
With.
For with the heart the man believeth under righteousness.
The disaster confessed with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved.
Now will you go away?
Can you afford to run the race?
Why not come to that savior tonight? It was simple for the men beside him when he said Lord.
It's just as simple for you.
Why not utter your face and that blessed one from your heart, believing on the Lord Jesus Christ?
To the eternal good of your soul, to the glory of God.
Lord, what a day awaits the redeemed when we shall sing together.
Of being there in his presence and likeness, and the basis of it the precious blood of Christ that cleanses from all sin.
Thou shalt be saved, but you can't be. If you don't receive the Lord Jesus, you may know all about it.
It's necessary for you to receive it.
This man did.
Others have, and you may. The door is open wide at this moment.
00:55:06
And now is the time.
Shall be saved. Wouldn't you like to have that word on your wall?
True of you saved.
Saved through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We'll sing.
#21
Christ alone can save break the power of sin. Christ as fully satisfy the heart that cleaves to him.
Decide for Christ today, Confess him as thy Lord.
Proclaim to all the Saviors worth How faithful is His word?
21.
What are you today?
And see you in all.
Everybody.
Will do hell.
I are thee.
Our life will kill him.
Romans 5:1-8
Reading
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General Meetings. Wheaton, August 1975. Second reading meeting.
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the first reading meeting is not available.
So far.
Peace and joy.
Being the mind of the brethren to consider their own, 5.
Or did anybody else have something on their heart?
Therefore, being justified by faith, we are peace with God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Assume also we have access by faith into this grace, wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
And not only soul.
Glory and tribulations also knowing that tribulation worketh patience.
And patients experience.
An experienced Pope.
And both make us not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
For when we will get without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Precariously for a righteous man, will one die?
00:05:00
Get her adventure for a Goodman. Some would even dare to die.
But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were just sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more than being not justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath.
To him.
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.
Much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Not only so, but we also joy and God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the Atonement.
Wherefore as one man, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin.
And so death passed upon all men, for that all have shin.
For until the last sin was in the world. For sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them which had not sinned. After the similitude of Adams transgression, there was a figure of him that was to come.
But not as the offense.
So also as a free gift.
For if through the offense of one many, be dead.
Much more the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ.
Has abounded under many.
Cannot, as it was by one that sin so is a gift, for the judgment was by 1 to condemnation.
But the free gift is of many offenses under justification.
For it by one man's offense, death reigned by 1.
Much more, they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign.
In life by one Jesus Christ.
Therefore has, by the offense of one judgment, came upon all men to condemnation.
Even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men under justification of life.
Whereas by one man's disobedience, many were made center.
So by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded.
Grace did much more abound.
That if sin hath reigned unto death.
Even so, my grace reigns your righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thanks.
For the chapter.
For the first verse we get.
Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The 11Th verse.
But we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that is really the complete subject.
That we have before us. It's really the completion of the subject.
Of the way.
God has justified us in regard to our sins. That is the fruit now of sinful nature.
Where you see, the chapter begins with therefore.
In fact, there are three therefores.
In the book of Romans.
You get in the 8th chapter. There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
And then you get in the 12Th chapter of the.
Of the same epistles we beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of God.
And when you get that word, therefore it shows that.
Its conclusion?
Based on the subject that the Spirit of God has been bringing before us.
I just feel that as a sort of an introduction.
But we really do get.
00:10:02
The precious meaning.
Of the first verse of the 5th chapter.
We should read the last verse of the 4th chapter.
Who has delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification?
Then we get therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
That is the pro complete.
Work of the of Christ is brought before us not only in his death, but also in his resurrection.
That is delivered Texas to the cross, where he bore sins.
In his own body on the tree.
Then in his resurrection.
We get God's full satisfaction.
In that which his son has accomplished.
Then you get faith. Faith.
Accepting the death and the resurrection of Christ.
The soul have peace with God.
Because the Sinner sees that all that was against him.
Is forever put out of God's sight.
Whereas he's not only forgiven, but he is justified.
Eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. The two verses you mentioned it says through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Is one through whom we get these blessings is enough and we can also eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
And so the apostle brings before us through the lordship of Christ.
Invariably he addresses the Lord in this way, does he not? The Lord Jesus Christ.
Because that's the order in which he first knew him as the Lord from heaven.
He didn't meet him here on Earth like John did.
When he heard that voice from heaven.
Saul, Saul, why Persecutest found me? He said, Who art thou, Lord?
But the Lord answers, I am Jesus. He didn't say, I am Yes, I am Lord Paul. I am the Lord, he said. I am Jesus.
And the response from soul was then not Jesus, but Lord, what will they have me to do?
And that's a good question for everyone of us, isn't it?
Peter, James and John, they invariably address him as Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus, and that's the order in which they first knew him during his earthly ministry down here. So that's the order in which they speak of him invariably.
Peace and joy, beloved. Sometimes younger believers are not clear on the question of sin and sin.
It would be seem it would be profitable perhaps for the younger ones.
To just briefly comment this matter.
Sin is really what you are.
Sins are what you do.
And there's a difference.
But let us remember the ones that the Lord Jesus Christ.
Has dealt definitely and eternally with the question of sin on the Cross of Calvary.
In as much as he has satisfied.
The righteous claims of a Christ. Holy God there.
Now that's repression of sin. What about our sin?
Thank God he has found them in his own body on the tree.
That we being dead unto singe not sin there, but sin.
Might live unto righteousness.
00:15:01
By whose stripes?
We've been healed.
This is the basis we believe, brethren.
Of true peace and joy.
We have found it so essential among our Latin brethren to try and make it clear between the question of sin.
And sins may we repeat.
That the Lord Jesus Christ, our precious Savior, has dealt.
Absolutely and eternally with the question of sin.
On the cross.
And through faith in his precious blood.
We have peace.
With God we belong to Him. Where are our sins?
They are buried in the depths of the sea. I had an experience coming across the Atlantic. It was a heavy storm.
And as father, my father had interests, a shareholder in that line of ships. I often went up on the bridge with the captain to ask questions. He sometimes give me the very great joy of guiding the ship.
I was quite a novice, of course, but there was a very careful eye watching me. Well, this was a stormy crossing of the Atlantic.
And the captain was a hard boiled Englishman and I said to him, Captain, I would like to ask you a question.
Why do you stand here so long watching this ship when you have the officers to do so?
Well, he said Smith, you know these comments, he called them comas, these great big waves.
The ship rises on them and then the next time it hits the wave, there's a trembling of the ship and he says, I'm afraid something might happen.
What I said, by the way, Captain.
Would you like to me to tell you where my sins are?
When he said I would, you might tell me that I sit there, buried in the depths of the sea. What about yours?
Well, it didn't seem to register, rather irritated him.
And off the coast of Africa there was a little point of a continent. Really it was a small island. It wouldn't be more than 100 yards across.
Less and I said, Captain, what is that island called?
He said it has no name. Why doesn't it have a lighthouse there?
He said because there's a vibration, that's the point of a continent.
And that mountain is 5 1/2 miles high.
And I said, well, my sins are buried there in the depths of the sea. Another question kept.
How far is it from the east and the West to the West?
He said I don't know and I said nobody knows, but it says in the word of God as far as the east is from the West so far have been removed our transgressions from.
Well, he didn't seem to register, but this is beloved.
That the this is where we get peace and joy.
Knowing that it is finished on the cross, the work of Christ, He has done it all.
And our sins are buried and gone forever.
How wonderful this is, to know this beloved, to enjoy it in the soul.
Our incentives to rejoicing, are they not?
Yes, we get in the next verse.
We have justification, we have access, we have peace.
Surely this is enough to make us rejoice.
They've been lovely to the things that this wonder of being justified.
Originated in the heart of God, the very God in whom we have sinned, so that we read in chapter 3 being justified really by his grace.
00:20:04
Through the reduction that is in Christ Jesus.
That it actually originated in the grace that was in the heart of God. And then in our very factor, as with red verse nine, we find that a righteous basis has been laid whereby a guilty Sinner can truly be 75 we might say the source, the origin of the heart of God.
And the ground or the bases upon which you and I can be offered this wonderful reality is.
Fractured throughout Christ, but the means by which you presented and therefore have to be in space.
So it's to be very, very lovely that the source, the orphanage is the heart of God, the faces, the grounds of it, is the precious blood price and the means by which I possess and enjoy it is faith. Therefore be not divided by faith. We have peace with God.
Whole thing and the distress that struggled unbeliever long for teeth and when peace is black count group face in the finished work of Christ. It's a wonderful reality but as our brother has remarked, and I think it's so lovely.
God really, may, I said with reference. God is not satisfied simply to have each and every believer in the professional speech. He wants us to go on from the wonder of peace with God for the enjoyment of God. And so although by no means we're omitting the verses between.
To compare verse one with verse 11 is to be very practicing. And first one, we do have peace with dogs. In verse 11 we join in God. Well, I wonder which means more to the heart of God.
Shall I suggest a father who has been absent from both and he writes to say that he expects to arrive all week from Saturday?
And when the news is made home to the family, they say, well, we're not afraid of baddies arrival. We won't run and hide when he comes. We have No Fear of batting. You think that would satisfy a father's heart? I know very well it would. I know that it's no. That is the heart of our children. There's No Fear toward us.
Would never satisfy my heart. That's a problem.
But the things that there would be joy in the heart of the children as they think of their father is something that every father longs for. And our God and Father longs for the same thing too. It's no wonderful possession to have swift Dog. No how frank is it is to be able to enjoy it all.
And I believe there's some significant fluency that between the two.
Between the feet and the joy, there are circumstances that we never would have known for ourselves.
There's tribulation, there's testing, but it seems that these things, by the good hand of God, perhaps bring us into the joy that might not otherwise be ours. And everything were repackaged and still water.
As much drill in the scripture that we can enjoy further on as the distribution of the church position of gospel people and all the blessings that we have, but we never can rise higher than the 11Th verse of this chapter. We join in God and I say that because sometimes young people feel that they can't really enjoy.
Their Christianity until they're very, very well versed in Scripture, but that is not true. The simplest belief who believe this eleven first and the first verse they can have that full of joy in the presence of God. They can joy in God because it's through our Lord Jesus Christ.
By whom We have now received really the reconciliation.
It's true that this chapter is divided in the next verse 12 verse.
Before that, we have the subject of our guilt.
And by the way.
00:25:01
Our this 25th verse of the first chapter was mentioned and I believe it includes the whole word of Christ, not simply the blood being shared, but the death of Christ. The hollow thing. One verse, and it's a good verse to remember because He was delivered.
For our offenses, but he was raised for our justification.
Romans perhaps doesn't go any further than that, but still it gives us. I mean, as the doctor, but it gives us.
The possession of the labor, the foundation true, upon which our souls can rest and we can have joy.
Day by day.
Continually.
Abiding in this fresh truth.
In July in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom now we've received the reconciliation as we think of the product.
As the Father runs, and it's the only place we have, I believe, where God really is seen as Hastings to meet the prodigal.
We see the picture of our acceptance and how in God's thoughts.
That is, it's his delight, it's his joy. And in the 15th of Luke, we don't get the joy of the sun. We get the joy of the Father. We get the joy that God has in the restoration of the one who's gone astray. But now we see that we joy in God. That's the common, the sharing of that joy.
And what is it that?
Abiding in Him means.
And that's what we should continually abiding in him. Well, I'll express it in the words of another.
Abided in him.
Is the continuity.
Of.
Hearts and minds.
Independence and obedience, that's abiding in Him.
Abiding in Him, enjoying what we have on the 11Th verse. And this is true for every believer, no matter how young.
Whether he knows anymore truth and what we've just mentioned.
As long as he knows his sins are forgiven, justified.
We have joy abiding in Him continuity.
Of heart and mind in the path of obedience and dependence. What a precious thing that is for the belief.
But I get it perfect.
When I take it this way, Brother Hale, what you were saying that in the third chapter we get therefore being justified by grace.
Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
That is the source of our being justified. As you said, it originated in the heart of God.
Then the Lord provides the means, that is His precious shed blood in Calvary. Is the ground of our being justified.
And then in the last verse of the first chapter.
You get who was raised again for our justification. There's the proof of it. The proof of God is satisfied.
Where the work that his Son accomplished, if God laid all our sins upon His Son in those dark hours.
And he goes into death as his sacrifice. Was God satisfied with that work, that he agonized when he was there hanging on that shameful cross? How can we know that God was satisfied with the work? Well, when he raises his son from the dead.
Passed, as a brother used to say, by variously.
The receipt of the work then has inferred that.
Our path and that wonderful transaction to get in the first verse, therefore being justified by faith.
Our face is just the hand that takes full of our starving in great fans and those disaster which is sung by the shedding its left provided and which is resurrection was the proof of it our.
00:30:20
And accept that in the justification and beloved friends, is there one year that has not yet?
Laid home that face has not accepted it for his own soul. I mind that he did because God has everything to say. You just take its acceptance as a poor Unruh repentance guilty dating center then you have in your position.
And wonderful justification.
And then now the verses continue will be the.
Development of the subject for following that person who we have access.
By creating to this place where we stand.
See his face and acceptance.
Of the effort, many times that. That's our standing chance. We expect standing before God. That is as enduring and as confident.
As eternity itself, that's our stand now, is in grace, not in any way.
Having to deal with our Goodwin as though after we're saved, we have to hold faithful, we have to go on with good works. I don't know.
I'm standing now and we're justified is on the grounds of grace.
That is great, is unmerited favor.
And that's our stand before God.
The expression we have in verse 11, we join God, let's puts our syndrome different position and a better position than the children of Israel.
The children of Israel were looking to the blood to keep God out as a judge.
But we bring God in as one who justified us.
We do not look to the blood, the Shahimir, but with joy and God, because he is fully justified us. But the children of Israel will look into the blast and keep him out.
But we will say thanks, the undergone is unspeakable gift, and that we can joy and God through our Lord Jesus Christ. And I was thinking through the word peace. How did we get it?
Being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
We get the piece. Who's responsible for it? Well, we read him.
The first Colossians one having made peace, the Lord Jesus Christ himself has made it for us.
We cannot merit it. We cannot make it.
He has made it for us. And an invasion, Sir, we read that T is our peace.
Christ himself is our.
And then we read in Philippians that the God of peace shall be with you.
So how wonderful the word is.
Have full its meaning.
Just here at this first.
We have peace with God, then we have access.
Into this situation where you stand.
Then you can rejoice in himself of the glory of God.
Well, one might just think, well, that's as far as we can go.
In our souls.
Access into this great at all times after standing before candy Cool and he's farther than that.
And.
Tribulation. Tribulation.
Must go through exercises with tribulation producers and taking it and entering into the deep enjoyment of all that is sent before us in those verse 2 verses.
I thought perhaps that we began an illustration in the history of the children of Israel.
00:35:04
And cross the Red Sea, and they were singing, and they were saying the love. And gloriously to work in his brighter, and His throne in the steam, Well, there were rejoicing in their great salvation.
And his army were all round to the depth of the sea. Their eyes were bombed and were delivered from the ******* of Egypt, and they had to hop before them now, or entering the land that God had promised to Abraham and his deed forever.
Not just read on them that 15 chapter of Exodus which I'm referring to and you find that they take a three days journey into the wilderness.
And then they find no water. And when they do find water, it's considered waters of milk.
And then they begin to murmur, Well, if we get so beautifully there.
Wonderful salvation, so full and brilliant. And pass it through the Red Sea.
When the waters of mirror give us another view. Because when they cried to roses, he took a tree.
Cast into the waters, and those waters became sweet to their taste.
Well, isn't that just a lesson? We see what a wonderful foundation we have, and then we've got to move to tribulation and trial.
In order to enter in more fully into the preciousness and into the wonders of that great salvation which is ours by faith.
There is a great difference is the amount between justification and acquittal.
A person may be acquitted by a court of law and set free, but the judge does not put him in a new dress before he leaves.
That with regard to justification, God not only justifies us, but He clothes us with the robe of righteousness.
And sent us free.
You mentioned Brother Barry about their standing.
Wonderful this is. It's worth repeating.
A question was asked me by a young believer.
Supposing I fail in my testimony, well then.
Well, what was I going to say to that young believer? All I could think of was this would affect your state.
Not your standing.
Then he went on to ask me what about this? And it is true, as you said, we stand in the presence of God.
As those who have trusted Christ as their Savior in all the perfection of Christ.
He sees us perfectly.
In perfect, in Christ does not a stain, not a spot. This is a wonderful truth. Of course, our state varies according to the question of communion.
And then the question was asked, how could I?
Elevate this question of my state. Well, it's based upon communion. The Lord gives them the keeping of short accounts.
Well, I was interested in that question, the young person asked me.
If I fail, what about my testimony about my testimony as a Christian?
Well, this would affect his state.
Protestant.
Well, how very important it is to notice the difference. That particular person found joy right away.
Knowing that she was accepted.
Perfectly before.
God in all the perfection of her beloved Savior.
And she had peace.
And she still has it, and joy, too.
But that doesn't give us liberty, a license rather beloved, to do what we please.
So at all but we rejoice in the fact that as he is.
So are we in this world? This is our standing, isn't it?
00:40:00
Position before God when a lot of Christians never get this clear.
In their minds and they're always lacking in joy and peace.
Someone has fast this fast this?
Word first.
That tribulation is God's way with us all times.
Patience is letting God have his way.
And experience in finding out that God's way is this.
And you see where it led right to the very.
Thought that we get in the end of the second verse, rejoicing in hope of the glory of God.
And I was saying that the children of Israel treated me after there across the Jordan, speaking about his holy habitation and entering these promised fans.
The whole wilderness journey was ahead of them and those trials and tribulations that the experience has.
As the trout and desert for 40 years.
Just made the hope for real.
As they went on their way and isn't that true? And the Christian life always who is rejoicing that until we have a home above.
All the power was free. Imagine which he turned a lot repair our recipe.
And as we go around and we have.
Those disappointments and.
Grace from the showers and sadness in this life.
While the hope rolls brighter, writer is one goes on in chameleon and needs to accept those circumstances from the Lord and learns in the pathway the necessity.
Of patience.
And then we're right back where we started. We got the hope before.
When I was received as a savior and heaven was as it were opened as to formula.
But now we are.
Going on, going on, we are realizing.
More and more.
What a wonderful time lies before.
And so after.
And experience hope. There are two things in connection with the journey of the children of Israel.
Across the desert.
They could have entered the land very quickly.
But we find there were two who had gone into the land and tasted of the fruits of the land.
Brought back a sample of the grapes, which of course would speak of the joy of the Kingdom.
And they their testimony was, if the Lord delight in us, he will bring us into this land.
It's a good land.
But then there were others who who were afraid of the giants.
They were afraid of all the obstacles.
Now it's been said that the desert.
For those 40 years.
In which Joshua and Caleb.
Went with the rest of the children of Israel.
Through all the trials and testings.
There was a different spirit, it's Joshua and Caleb as he passed through, as they passed through the desert, than there was in the mass of the mixed multitude.
Because they had hope.
All the rest died in the wilderness. Not a one of those who were men of over 21 years who left Egypt ever got into the land.
But Joshua and Caleb did, and it's been said that the desert.
Which otherwise would have been a very uncomfortable.
Was a bracing air to them because they had hope.
That is, their mind and heart will start on the desert. Their mind in the heart was on the good land that was before them, and even though they were willing to go into the land.
And wanted to win the land. God chose that they go with the rest of the company through the desert.
00:45:07
Now it was very important that they go through the desert because they learn lessons there that only bolster their home. But still their mind was willing and their heart was willing to enter in, and they had dark thoughts about it at the very start.
The last constancy of spirit that's enjoying the glory of God. And so we have here the hope of the glory of God.
But then also we join God.
And we can joy in God as we go through the desert, but still we have that hope of the glory of God that lies just ahead.
Are necessary for us to be occupied with. I'm reminded of a verse that my late wife gave me before she departed.
She said, Honey, put my head on Romans 15 and five. That's my pillow to go home.
Now that verse is very precious. Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that He may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Drop a pillow to go home on.
And that's interesting, very interesting to me. Chapter 15, Romans 15.
For He is our God, beloved.
And he is the God of patience too, and comfort or consolation in verse 5.
Then in verse.
14 I rather I just quoted, I think it's verse 13, the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost. And then verse 33.
Hence the God. He's the God of peace.
And we thank him today, beloved, that the Lord Jesus Christ, our precious Savior, made peace through the blood of his cross.
He made peace through the blood of His cross. May we rejoice more and more.
In this wonderful world of the love Jesus Christ for us on the cross, and not only as regards ourselves, but the pleasure it brought to the heart of the Father.
In the fulfilling of his divine purposes and grace concerning poor rebel, lost sinners, like we were before we came to Christ.
It connects you with the word hope we have in Romans 8.
Verse 24.
We are saved by hopes.
But Perkin is seen is not hope.
For what a man seeth lined up the FL fall.
The problem here, I believe, does not mean that hope was the instrument of our salvation.
But the anticipation of good, the redemption of our body.
Origin is true. I was singing Brother Van Dean when you were speaking about Halo.
Seems to me that Caleb would be an illustration.
The first part of that 5th, 1St and hope make it not a change.
After the 40 years that Caleb wandered with a congregation in the wilderness and eventually they crossed the Jordan and took possession of the promised land.
And he was given an inheritance and is lovely to notice he got his inheritance.
In the very land of the Giants.
Funds of Anakin. That was their name.
The Sons of Panic was that very mountain where the strong giant frightened the other.
The other.
Five that went in there, they saw these John fly. They said we look like grasshoppers beside them.
Well, Caleb has that hope that he was not ashamed that what God had promised, he was able all sorts of perform.
And after all those years?
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Why he was the one that got possession of the very place where those giants were so powerful and that was his inheritance. Well, is there not a thought that of of an overcomer in the We know that Satan is trying to rob us of the joy of what lies before us and to get us hurt reminded. But if we go on like Caleb with.
That hope before our souls are the very thing that seems so impossible to.
Fully enjoy these things really becomes our eternal portion and glory.
Well then said that we get what we want.
If we really have our eyes and our hearts fixed.
On eternal things.
God will answer.
Our arms and he will fly and cause us to enter into those things that we really desire. No matter how weak we are, no matter how unintelligent we are, He will provide it for us because we have here at the very start the word state and that's the answer to it is faith. Simply trust God, not a complex because if we trust in the flesh, we trust in our intelligence.
Our abilities, we're going to be disappointed.
But if we have this simple truth before us, the beginning of faith and that's what characterized Joshua and Caleb and he ended up next to the sanctuary in the land report how often we have seen those who have great.
In this world making a fortune for themselves and after being used for others. I think of a man at this moment that had just such a horse tutorial.
Was going to make himself wealthy, but the business he thought was so promising failed completely. He lost his money to lose money and he was so ashamed of his his.
As efforts that he left the country well, he was ashamed of his hope, but the lot of friends I'll stop something you have visited ages things, perhaps the emerging wrongs and in hospitals during the end of the journey. But did you ever find a real Christian that was ashamed of the fact that they had trusted Christ.
As their savior.
And have the hope of glory before them. I've never found one. And I've asked many of a believer in hospitals, are you ashamed that you accepted Christ as your Savior? I never found one that said, Oh yes, I made a big mistake. Oh, instead of that they said, oh, how thankful I am. I wished I had accepted him sooner.
Well, doesn't that tell the story? That it's a hope that doesn't make a shame?
And their young friends, you are not yet, have not yet accepted the Lord. Just remember that, that when you accept Christ, it's impossible for you to make a mistake.
All the prospects and all the advertising of the world really are built up with the effort of stirring within on the hope of some prospect that's going to be so delightful.
But we always find that the advertising exceeded the reality by quite a margin. But no believers.
Ever. Ever.
Enjoy this wondrous hope. But what he realized, I believe that that which was before him was far, far greater than any.
Possibility of his power to enter it. And even now you and I know that there were those of whom our brother had been speaking.
That left this world so thankful for the hope that had sustained them. And what about after they leave?
All they realized even more fully.
That this post that was so real and sustaining and precious goofy it turned out to be far more wonderful than anything that we had ever imagined as we journeyed toward the realization of it in the third chapter we read. All have been said come short of the glory of God.
00:55:10
Oh, what a sound statement that is. But then here in our chapter we read of those who rejoice in Popov the same thing that we came short of.
Glory of God and then you come to Revelation 21, having the glory of God, that wondrous hope, that last is going to be realized. And it certainly isn't anything that anyone is ever going to be ashamed of. Brother, I really like the comparison you have made.
Because I have felt the stirring in my own soul from that very experience. You'll go to the bedside of someone who's not going to be here much longer.
And it just says, O the Lord took you by the hand right to the very state of glory and gave you a glimpse of what it's like as someone is about to leave behind all of the world have to offer, and they're about to enter into the saviors presence. And the wonder of it is very, very stirring to the soul. And though the Lord took you by the hand in the very gate of glory and gave you the joy of witnessing that which the Saint of God.
Realizes that he comes to that point.
Then the Lord brings you back to where you are and says, no, don't forget, don't forget. This is a hope. That's the state. Is there something of the same thought in the word of shame when Paul says in Romans 116, I am not ashamed that the gospel of Christ that is, I don't think he is suggesting. I may be wrong, but I don't think he is suggesting that.
I'm not ashamed in that I lack courage.
But rather the realizing that that which he is presenting in the gospel is indeed the power of God and the salvation, and that there's no need for him to be hesitant or in any way a name that he's presenting it because he knows that it's able to do everything that ever has been claimed for it.
Claims are made for certain products, but they don't always turn out to be equal to the claim. But Paul says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Why? Because it is the power of God unto salvation and everything ever claims for the gospel is truly realized. And this wondrous, glorious force is that which is going to exceed our expectations. One might.
Say though, Well, we know some very.
Well taught, brethren, and they have. They've been going on in the things of the Lord for many years, have been faithful in their testimony.
They're very intelligent Christians, but being an intelligent Christian, is that the reason why I'm not ashamed of this hope and set before me? No, that isn't the reason. It's because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.
Let me take him, a poor Sinner that had just accepted the Lord, lying on a deathbed.
Well, soon as he has accepted Christ as his Savior, the love of God fills his heart, so it's nothing that.
Anyone could boast of and then we might say, well, the time I've sought to enjoy the Lord and think of his love.
I-1 might think he had some reason why he had all this enjoyment in his soul, but.
The Iranian itself is taken from him because it says.
By the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, so we have nothing to boast of it. All that love which is shed abroad in our hearts, that fills the heart with joy and peace.
Is something that God the Holy Spirit has imparted to the soul.
Just another word.
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He's a spider here at seafood. I think that's super.
And take the You will not give tax on my daughter's wife.
Younger brother took it and he gave him act so I was daughter to watch.
It came to pass. He came to them that he moved him to pass.
Of her father appeal.
Delighted to law, their *** said unto her, What built out? And she said unto him, Give me a blessing.
Without it giving me a Southland.
Give me all.
Have children.
Young people.
Here's a young person that's inquiring.
They not only want the land, but they want something to refresh them. That's what water speaks of.
Now as parents.
Are we going to give them just the nether springs?
Or are we going to give them the upper springs too? I believe this speaks to us not only of the blessing that God gives us and richly all things to enjoy.
But Axel was a rather Caleb was a spiritual man.
He had thoughts beyond his daughters.
She wanted something she didn't understand. Perhaps we're using the type to figure.
He knew what she needed. She needed something more than simply the things that have to do with our natural existence down here.
Are we bringing our children those things we have to do with the upper springs?
Those refreshments that we received for the soul.
Not just a better condition of circumstances down here.
We're living in days of prosperity.
And the tendency with us all is to settle down.
But I believe there's an appeal here to our hearts.
Hearts as to responsibility for our children, and that is they have a craving, a desire, something that satisfies their hearts.
And the parents is responsible to bring before them.
Those things which will lift their souls above this poor world into heavenly things. It's a responsibility and the privilege, I say of the parent to do this.
And so he answers her, and he gives her not only the lower springs, but he gives her the upper springs. Then we do the same with our children.
There are four things mentioned here.
In connection with man for whom Christ died.
In verse six, since when we were yet without strength?
Without strength.
In the same verse it says ungodly.
And then the eighth verse.
Sinners we were yet sinners.
And in the 10th verse, when were your enemies?
Without strength. Ungodly sinners.
Enemies. But in verse 8, which comes in between, we get some very precious thoughts expressed.
Three in particular.
Says but God.
Commanded his love toward us.
I think the word command here really means to give a proof of.
He commendeth his love toward us.
The source of love is in God and comes from God.
Through the channel of our Lord Jesus Christ of a Sinner.
Here we have the source of love. It's in God himself.
And then further down in the same verse, verse 8, while we were yet sinners.
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Here we have the subjects of God's love. Sinners are the subjects of God's love.
How very wonderful this is.
Not the goody goody people, the self-righteous, but sinners are the subjects of God's love.
Then finally at the end of the verse it says Christ died for us.
Here we have a sacrifice of love. First of all, the source of love comes from God. Down to the forest dinner. Then we have.
Next, the Cinder mentioned.
The subjects of God's love. Sinners are the subjects of God's love. Are there any here today?
Well, you are the subject of God's love. God loves you. And then we got the.
That most beautiful expression Christ died for us.
You have the sacrifice of love.
How very precious this is. This comes in between.
All those things are numerated about four lost guilty Sinner.
Come and especially on.
Gives us the real secret.
Of the love of God shed abroad in our hearts that you get in the fifth verse. Well, what is the character of that love that shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost?
Is that a love that we can boast of?
A love that's in our hearts towards the one who has done so much to us. No, it isn't that at all, because it tells us that God tremendous His love to warn us in that while we're yet sinners.
Instead of our being occupied with any love in our hearts.
To God and to our Savior we are reminded that till we were poor, worthless, lost sinners, and then it was at that time that God displayed His love to us.
You get much the same thought in the 4th epistle of John where it says not that we love God.
But that he loved us and sent his sons a propitiation for our sins.
The law demanded a fan that thou should love the Lord with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength.
The gospel comes and tells the poor Sinner it isn't sure love to God, which the law demanded of you because it was when you were without any love to him. Factor that goes on to show we're not only without any love in our hearts, but we were actually enemies of God.
That it was then that God manifested his love to us, and so that is really the character of the love.
Which has.
The love which?
Is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
For the Holy Ghost would ever be occupying our poor minds with a wonderful.
Lovely thoughts of how much God loved us in the gift of His Son and how much the Son loved us in giving His precious life on the cost to save us and redeem us.
Was said that they all believed that God hated them.
Now this is the work of Satan.
I didn't meet one Indian who thought that God loved him.
And one of the cases was so marked in the chief himself.
The chief there would be over several thousands of families.
And I used to pray for the chief because he never would come near me.
In fact, he tried to get the Indians to get rid of me several times. But one day he made a visit. He paid us a visit. And I said to my dear wife, Honey, here's the chief first visit in two years that we're here. This is the first visit.
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Do get him something to drink, a cup of coffee and a piece of dark and black bread.
And we used to make what we call car made the membrane.
It's like me.
Put 50% sugar and 50%.
Quits while it up to the takes certain constituency and then put it into pants and that will set you cut it like cheese. So we cut a big lump of this off, put it on the bread for him and sat him down their little table. Do you know I wondered. I said, Lord Jesus, what shall I say to the chief?
And I quoted John 316 to him.
For gods who loved the world. Well, I quoted it, of course, in his own language. And I'd like you to hear that you know, it's it's not putting on any show I preached in it nearly 40 years, beloved.
Hamak Pachya Chai hina Tabunika Pacha tabuna Kuruka Cathedral in the Korica Tukwe Hakai by the Greyhound Pagan says we need Carson Akamai. That's John 316 and so I quoted this.
Across the table.
He put his bread down and glared at me, was a very powerful and a bad tempered Indian and I thought of myself, truly this man is in a rage. But he wasn't.
I'll tell you it was a wonderful exception that one verse brought the chief to Christ.
And I asked him, I said Agape, that was his name. What made you make this decision?
After so much empathy, he said, I never knew that God loved me.
He learned for the first time that God loved him.
Oh, what a wonderful thing that was.
Well, the chief is at the table of the Lord.
And so is his wife. The other under chief is at the table of the Lord, and his wife too, and his daughter.
Will the love of God is so wonderful.
God will love you.
It's a wonderful thing to tell a Sinner, a lost Sinner, that God loves you.
This word commendeth reminds me of a little incident that happened in Shanghai. I was going around a very large store and some young Chinese people were making doughnuts.
So as I passed the counter, the young Chinese man in very good English said, Sir, I commend these down ups to you.
I said, well, thank you very much. He said, try one. I said, well, I'm not too fond of doughnuts, thank you, so pardon me if I do not take one. He said, I commend them to you, Sir. Are they good?
I've tried them, they're good. I commend them to you.
Well, dear friends, there's no harm in refusing A donor, but when God commences love to us, let us never refer that turn our backs upon His love.
They had upon him. It didn't do any harm to say no to a donor.
For though what harm it could do your soul if you refuse the love of God?
Has manifested in the person and work of Christ.
That should not and.
Visiting with his dear brother who lived in Napa Knee.
Ontario.
He said to me one day, no, he says.
That God can be the person of God can be described in three words.
They all begin with IN.
So anyone ought to tell me said if God is inscrutable.
No man has seen God at any time.
God has said no man can see my face and live.
God is inestimable.
And he is the one that sits on the circle of the earth.
Which is more than that.
God is incomprehensible.
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And recorded as eighth verse. How can we understand?
That God has loved us and is Brother Gladding has called our attention to the fact that we were without strength, we were sinners, ungodly enemies of God.
How can we understand that God commanded love to us?
Well, I've enjoyed those thoughts for many years now.
To outward who believes no dread in ours remaineth, For we his love believes so, the one who is justified by his blood.
Has No Fear whatever of wrath.
The very strong word to think of the wrath of God. Think of that verse that he that.
And John 3. But the wrath of God abideth on him.
Think of that.
In this very moment.
You're under condemnation the moment you receive Christ.
And Oh dear ones, that's think of the infinite value of the blood of Christ, that blood through which we're justified. Then there's No Fear of that raft that the Sinner will have to meet and will have to experience.
In a lost eternity.
Joe, 36.
Verse 18.
Because there is rock beware, lest he take thee Sinner away with his stroke.
Then a great ransom cannot deliver thee, because there is wrong. Well, how are we going to escape it?
It tells us in our chapter.
Verse 9. Much more than being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
That's the only way we're going to escape judgment.
Through him the Lord Jesus Christ.
God has connected the different thoughts and connections with the work of Christ.
Delivered for our offenses, raised again for our justification here in this night or before that, do we get Christ died for the ungodly?
And yet then in the eighth verse, where we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's the language of faith, and only one those who have faith.
Could could express themselves in that way?
Christ died for us, and then we get here in this.
This night, bird.
Being now justified by his blood.
So all those different views of the work of Christ.
Are brought together.
Because it's such a marvelous subject.
That we have.
That's the base of our salvation, the blood. But still have the hope of this chapter too, don't we? We're looking on to the time when his body, soul and spirits, the whole work complete.
As far as the groundwork, it's all late.
When he asked, God was home. Yet soon we'll have bodies of glory.
It's on the basis of this work, including the blood.
The bloodshed.
Reached the basis we shall be saved from wrath through him.
To the power of that blood. To the efficacy of that blood.
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And we get if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the devil's Son.
The sound thing to think of man before his slave. He's actually the enemy of God.
Just like the prodigal leaving the father's house where he just wanted to have a good time and he wanted to leave the father and go and spend his time and ride us living.
But before that particle could come back and have a welcome in the home, he must be reconciled.
And he was reconciled when he came in rags, and the Father met him. He humbly confesses, I have sinned against heaven and in my sight. Then the Father covers him with kisses. And here we have a son that's reconciled to all that is enjoyed in the Father's house.
Had he received that son in any other way? He had a rebel in his home. The older son was a rebel.
Because he's found found false with his father and his grace, who has wayward brother. But that's a subject.
That really will fill heaven because every redeemed one there will be fully in reconciliation.
With all that, God has purpose for the glory of His Son and for the blessing of His creatures.
Is the expression here his son very, very remarkable? Someone, we think, if when we were enemies we were reconciled to by the death of his son.
Who would ever have thought that the set of his son?
Should be OK for the reconciling of the guilty enemy he wore gone.
Is the Robert son sent into this world demonstrates and to proclaim God loves the man and man thinks God's son and crucified him and God uses that very deep men to display yet further what was really in his heart so that he could leave such worthless things.
And when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.
When you die, who once were enemies, now realize that dog park was ever to ward up in such a small life as would cause him to spend the year his own son. How, my wondrous grace, we are reconciled.
And we saw the llamas when we were in such a decision and go to such questions we might be reconciled. How marvelous other words is all much more beef reconciled shall be saved by his life calendar is one who demonstrated that last who brought us into this place whereby we're reconciled with all now live.
Now live for us up there in the glory.
So that day by day, faced with increasing temptation difficulties.
On the trial we know that the one who came, who gave himself, died that he might be reconciled now live up there for us every moment of every day, that we might be saved, save through our passage homework by his life.
That's right.
That it also reconciled man to man.
Having abolished in his smash the enemy, even the Lord Commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself a twain to one new man.
So the death of Christ not going to reconcile man to God, but it reconciles you and Gentiles.
In 135.
135.
Romans 5:9-11, 20-21
Reading
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General Meetings. Wheaton, August 1975. Third reading meeting.
I'd rather be happy if I made this suggestion.
That in view of the fact that the.
End of the.
That we're in a very.
Deep, subject to, rather hard to expound.
That if we finish the line of things we had before us.
In the 9th, 10th, and 11Th verses, and then took the last two verses of the chapter.
And then considered the first verses of the 6th chapter.
00:05:02
Much more than being justified by his blood.
Through him.
For us, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of the Son. Much forward He reconciled. We shall be saved by his life.
And not on their soul. The behold will join, and God for our Lord Jesus Christ, I thought we have now received thee atonement or reconstruction.
Verse 20.
All over the ball entered and the event might abound.
But where silicon is great did much more about.
That as sin has dreamed of the death, Even so my great dreams of righteousness under eternal life, let Jesus Christ our Lord.
Shall we continue? It's been a great God forbid, how shall we that are dead just didn't live any longer therein.
Knowing not that so many of us have been baptized into Jesus Christ and baptized into his death.
Therefore we are buried with Him by mattress and Internet. The light of Christ was raised up to the dead by the glory of His Father.
Even though we altered and walk and Jonas of life.
Whatever even finally, because there's a lightness in his desk, we shall also we can also like in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that an old man has turned his right with him with the body of sin might be destroyed.
That therefore we should not serve the sins and find us.
Through the 11Th 1St.
1St.
Knowing this, that an old man is certified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, defense Workman should not serve him, for neither the dead is free from death.
Now that we be dead with rain, we believe that we shall also live with him.
Nor the Christ being raised from the dead, He dieth no more death, has no more dominion over heaven for him that he died, He died on this in one within that 1111 gods.
17 on the 5th. But alive under God is freezing, right, our Lord?
Whether he will to make a few remarks.
As to the character of these chapters.
In the first five chapters.
Up until.
Diversity closed with 11 first.
It's the subject of sins or what we have done. This was touched on before.
But just to review it in our minds.
And so we find that it ends with that high point, the joy in God, because we now have received that reconciliation. We've been brought back.
And everything in the way of skill is put away.
And we can rejoice now to the very source of all blessings.
But that probably the 11Th verse on or starting with the 12Th 1St of the 5th chapter.
It's rather the subject.
Not of what I have done.
But what I am?
Now where are we? Naturally, we're an atom.
And in this next section of Deliverance, which has three parts.
Starting with this twelve first.
Going on to the 8th chapter, that is up to the 8th chapter.
There's first the position either in atom or in.
Right, the 6th chapter takes up the question of the power of sin.
Are we under that power?
And the 7th chapter takes up first half struggle that goes in on in the heart of one who has been sickened but does not have full delivers.
00:10:04
And so he has to learn that in all these three cases, death must come in to give him delivered.
And when death comes in and no longer married to that person.
Husband, but he has a new husband.
And so you'll get all of these three sections summed up in the 1St 3 verses of the 8th chapter where we got the full deliverance.
There is no condemnation for those who inside Jesus. They're not any longer inhabitants.
The law of the Spirit of life and Christ Jesus settling free from the law to the death.
We're not under that power that anymore, because you'll notice in the six chapters.
Expressions like dominion.
Knowing that there's a power.
That we're no longer under. We were under. That we've been delivered, but through death.
But in the 7th chapter is what the law has to say to us. Or sit in the flesh.
And so we get deliverance because in the third verse of that eighth chapter, you'll notice for what the law could not do, and not just weep through the flesh.
God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful plants and for sin, or a sacrifice for sin.
And then sin in the flesh.
So that sin was never forgiven.
Let me start with some.
Sins are forgiven, but sin is condemned in the class.
And he was made sin for us, and sin will be put away from the eye of God forever.
Thank God our sins have been put away as far as the east from the West.
I thought that might be helpful in in explaining the passage that we didn't read.
We're no longer in atoms, we're in Christ if we haven't seen Christ's, aren't they?
To explain true matters.
One was cry and the 11Th verse that we changed that word unto reconciliation.
You'll notice. And if you have a marginal Bible.
Margin in your Bible and you do get the word reconciliation there.
And in better translation, in fact all the best translations, it is reconciliation. And it's easy to see that that's the subject, because the 10th verse says.
For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.
I was also asked to explain the difference between.
Justification and reconciliation.
Well, it's two very distinct lines of truth, as we can see.
For the chapter starts out with justification.
The first the last verse of the 4th chapter.
Who was delivered for our offenses and raised against for our justification.
And followed by therefore being justified, we have peace with God.
Now when one is brought up in court for some charges to get him and when he is proven innocent, he was not guilty of the charge.
The man is justified.
Now and and and connection with human affairs.
The character of justification that we have here.
Is impossible because it justified a guilty man.
Would be a crime against the government.
Only God can really justify the Sinner. And if you'll notice in the 4th chapter.
And the fifth verse.
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifies.
The ungodly, his faith is counted unto him for righteousness.
00:15:01
Oh, God justifies not a good people, not people who are innocent, but God justifies the ungodly.
Well, how is that possible we could ask.
Will it just bring before us the infinite value of the work of Christ?
That so.
Perfectly did the Lord Jesus suffer the judgment of our sins.
That God now can justify the worst Sinner this side of hell. He can justify the ungodly. And it is because.
The guilty sinners seeking to improve his condition. But it's to him that worketh. Now that is only a matter of faith, but believeth on that one who justifies the ungodly, not his work, but his faith.
Is counted unto him for righteousness. Well, I trust that explains the subject a little of justification.
I was also asked to explain the what is meant by reconciliation.
You see, we're left off with that in the 10th verse. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled at all by the death of his son.
Now we want to make it clear in the 1St place that God never needed to be reconciled, but the Sinner does need to be reconciled because the Sinner is an enmity against God.
You'll find that everywhere you go in this world, whether it's Africa.
And North America, that you find sinners that are taking God's name in vain and blaming God for all their misfortunes. Man as he is a fallen creature, is an enmity.
Against the very God who loves him and is seeking to bless him.
Oh no. What is needed?
Is that the Sinner should be reconciled, and you get the means of his being reconciled. And this 10th 1St. If when we were enemies were reconciled in God by the definite sons.
So the one who has from the heart accepted Christ as his personal savior is in an entirely different state than he was before. Just like the prodigal in the far country, he was absolutely opposed to his father, didn't like his home, didn't like the way he required him to live. But when he came to the came to himself.
And said how many hard surgeons of my father have read enough into spear and I Perry for hunger?
Then he rises and goes to his Father, and the Father meets him, and he says, I've sinned against heaven, and thy fight, and in no more worthy to be called thy Son. Or then the Son is reconciled to the Father. So when he goes in, he gets the best rope the Father has.
And in type that best rope is Christ. Why, if he'll turn over to the Second Epistle of Corinthians?
And the 5th chapter.
And the 18th verse And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself. Now that is addressed to believers.
Reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, who hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
So God has not only reconciled the Sinner who believes, but he has given him a ministry.
To declare to others.
That God is always for the Sinner, and he's only longing to bless.
And save the guilty sinners.
Now I don't know that what he refers to here is given to us.
Is more especially the powerful Paul's ministries then you get in the.
Of course, now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ did be reconciled at all.
00:20:08
Now I remember Brother Powder making this remark that.
In the 19th verse of which that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, he said God failed in that.
In that effort, you might say that doesn't sound right, but it's true. When the Lord Jesus was here.
Presenting God as a God of love, man rejected the offer and it's instead of accepting and being reconciled, he crucified the reconciler.
And he's gone back to the glories, and now he is sent his ambassadors into the world to beseech those who have rejected his son to be reconciled.
Has by accepting Him as their savior.
I asked Brother Porter one time. I said.
Would I say that I am among those who are all the time to be ambassadors for Christ? He says, do you seek to preach the doctrine? Well, I said I do. And he says in that sense you are an ambassador for Christ.
It's just as all that.
Way that another country.
An ambassador to State of the United States and supposedly.
Meet him when he arrives and take him out and give him a cruel death.
Well, the country of course, will perhaps be at war with the country that rejected their ambassador, that supposed instead of that, that they've been in all over this country. And ask them and beseech them now that you have murdered our ambassador, that you might be reconciled to us.
Just give those few thoughts from justification and reconciliation.
2 distinct subjects.
And really, when you get to the 11 first of our chapter.
Now we see the one who is is brought into blessings.
Now drawing in God to our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have received the reconciliation, you can see that that is really the correct word. And of course, the ones who have looked into the original language find that the King James translators discussed the wrong words and we just use the right words.
The previous chapter.
The last word is justification.
That is.
When we view the work of Christ, we must remember.
It's a whole work, and it is until.
Erase them from the death.
That we see ourselves justified. That's what we have in that verse.
The 25th first, it was delivered for our offenses.
And was raised again for our justification.
And as we see that outside of site we have nothing.
But inside we have everything.
And even in.
In the Romans 10 and I was so often used in the gospel.
It's nice to remember.
Subject of resurrection.
There we also get to say the dog.
We confess with our mouths, we believe in our heart that God raised him from the man.
And I really believe that it's a part of the God or whether it's free, the subject of resurrection.
And especially in the warning to those who reject the Gospel. Because in the 17th Quebec.
We find the day is coming when God will judge this world by a man. Man drives Jesus.
And he's given witnesses to all men.
And then he's praising brother after among the dead, and it's a solemn thing to know that one that was put to death will be raised to judge those to put him to death.
00:25:02
So when we think of the gospel, we don't think simply the fact that God is forgiven our sins. That's practice questions to.
We must remember that it takes in the whole work of God.
All the way until he has raised him from the dead. And now we see ourselves reconciled and we see ourselves justified.
But in a new position.
And if I'm going to answer someone and they say, how do you know that you're justified? What is my life up there?
Raised him from the dead. That's my life. I have no other. There's nothing wrong with that life, sister. Did he ever do anything wrong? No. Well, that's the life. I asked.
That we're not going to, ever.
Like forgiven seats, one who has committed some great sins.
And through the kindness of those that he sinned against, he's forgiven.
But thank God, we're going to heaven as though we never sinned at all.
That's what the work of Christ.
In its fullness has accomplished for us.
I just wanted to call attention to this.
That we get in this 5th chapter twice.
The expression and not only so we get it in the third chapter, third verse, and then we get it again in the 11Th verse. And not only so.
I called attention this morning to the fact that.
The first two verses seem to reach a height that you couldn't go beyond and so everything is settled.
We have peace with God and we have access into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope for the glory of God. How could you go any further?
That's the problem, said we do go farther. Not only so, but we glory in tribulation.
That is before we enter into the fullness and preciousness.
Of this wonderful salvation, God puts us through the wilderness and the trials.
That we experience in this life.
But when you get to the 11Th verse of our chapter, you see now in the verses between, we have really.
Trapped the desert sands and gone through with those trials. And we've learned much of God, and we've learned also how.
How useless we are in ourselves, but when you reach the 11Th verse, and not only so that we also joy in God to our Lord Jesus Christ. Now he has reached the very apex of the subject to 1020. Higher than that during and God's a very God that we had sinned against and which you find in the third chapter that all has been.
And come short of the glory of God.
And now, now instead of trembling, as it were lost and ruined, and.
Fearing the wrath of the God that we had sinned against. Why, we're drawing in here and finding our delight in that very one that we had since fear, and this Pearl we were having to meet in our sins. But we mustn't lose effect, it's true.
Lord Jesus Christ, we give him, we give him the glory for it all, because apart from the work that he's accomplished for the glory of God.
Will be drawing in him would be impossible.
But now we can enjoy in God.
And it just pictures a believer as herring throughout the desert.
Learned God's ways and God's grace, and now carries a song to the very pinnacle of the subject.
In which he cannot go beyond, because at the end of that verse he changes the subject and takes up as our brother mentions.
00:30:02
Another subject and that is the question of how God has dealt with the old nature that is spoken of as sin.
Justified and a book of Romans starting with the third chapter.
On the 24th verse were justified by grace.
Sovereign Grace.
And in the 5th chapter and the ninth verse were justified by blood.
In the 4th chapter again and the 25th verse.
Were justified by power in connection with resurrection.
And then?
In.
Romans 5 and verse one.
Faith lays hold of that blessed truth.
I'm justified my faith when we come over to the 8th chapter.
And we say I am justified by God, the highest authority on earth and in heaven.
Can justify.
The poor singer and view of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. I enjoy those five points.
Yeah, the five points. And there is one other point that we shouldn't forget.
That is, this is being justified by God.
Justified by God, but in James we have another thought. I don't want to change the subject, but just pass it on.
And James were justified before men by our works. You say you're Christian. All right, I'm going to watch you. I'm going to see if those works tally up to you, to that which you state that you're a Christian.
And as I imagine, I don't want to change the subject, but as well to point out these six points in connection with being justified.
And as her brother brought before us in one of these meetings.
Is God's will that all might be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. This is 1 truth above all.
That God wants the believer, young and all, to be very thoroughly.
Founded on and in the enjoyment of his soul rehearsal because.
Because this brings peace with God.
And are being able to join in God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that is grace. He delights to show grace.
And the God of merchants.
God of compassion.
And the apostle brings before us here in a very consistent, orderly manner, so that there's no mistaking adopting.
That, first of all, a man is.
Damn creature.
Because not only has he sinned, but he has the nature that's bad.
That we find that when death comes in, that is the death of the Lord Jesus.
Then God can make known, but in his heart.
And this was introduced in the 19th, on the 20th, 1St.
In contrast to the law, because the law demanded something a man that could not give. That is, there's an old nature that cannot.
God, the law spoke to that nature, but it took the answer.
And then so the lock is off, but only condemn.
That the man who has that nature.
Because he couldn't answer. He had no way to answer through the law. He had no nature that would do the law.
The new man should say thy law, who I love, but not the old nature and what makes the difference. Race comes in and that's what we have mentioned in the 20th, 1St.
00:35:16
Giving out tracks.
And the chaplain said, let me see your tracks before you give them out. So I handed them one. He said, you people believe in justification by faith. He said, haven't you read the Epistles of James? I said, yes Sir, I have. Have you read the Epistle of the Romans?
He said we believe in justification by works. I said, well, in Romans we have justification by faith before God.
In James is justification by works before men.
And that's the difference, isn't it?
Justification by works before men. Because we read here the 24th verses the second chapter of James ye see then.
Well, how can you see my faith apart from my works?
So James says you see them.
How that by works? A man is justified not by faith only.
So the chaplain had to submit. So through the Romans.
Not only the truth of James, which is justification before men by faith.
And Rome and justification by faith goes off.
Over the law enters doesn't say that sin might have found.
But that the offense might have bounced.
That is before.
There was the law enacted.
Man was a Sinner. Guilty.
But when the law came in and said, Thou shalt not, then man.
Was not only a Sinner, but he was a given Sinner because he had violated the law of God.
Well, man never would have known the greatness of his guilt and his ruined condition if God had not given us the 10 commandments.
But that law that God gave a tiny eyes.
Set forth God's holiness and what God required.
A sinful man. But the fact is that man couldn't keep that law.
For we find that while Moses was on the mount receiving the 10 commandments on the on the 2 tables of sown, God had already reclaimed it there in their audience.
Why, they had made a golden calf, and we're saying these be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt. They'd broken the first law.
For the law the first commandment was, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and thou shalt have no other gods before thee.
So they couldn't keep the law even.
For the length of time it took Moses to go up and get the two tables of stone and bring them back.
So, so it just proved and made manifest and magnified the awful, terrible condition that man is in, in his sins. So the law entered.
That the offense might abound, there's one subject of a bounding.
But where sin abounded, our sins not really offense, but sin.
Grace did much more about.
Well, we see the full display of sin abounding and race abounding at the cross.
Their sinful man had taken the holy Christ of God.
The one that had done nothing but good. Heal their sick and open the eyes of the blind.
And.
Rotten wonders among them set their hungry multitudes. They took that blessed one.
Condemned into the most shameful death man's poor heart ever invented, and then stood around the cross and insulted.
00:40:08
And derided him there, made him a father. Ridicule. There was sin abounding in a way that it never had abounded before. And whether it were Jew or Gentile, they were both combined.
Where Pilate had condemned him, the Roman governor and his soldiers had spotted the crown corns and put it on his head.
But isn't it marvelous, Beloved, It's a very time when sin reached its greatest height.
That grace rose higher than all the wickedness that man's heart had ever hidden expression to for while he was hanging there after three hours of more clearance and insults.
God closed the scene where the darkness over the whole land, and during those hours of darkness, God laid upon his beloved Son the iniquity of us all, so that he cried out. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
It just seems as though that here's one way that comes in with man's wickedness, and here's another way he goes. Here's a wave of grace that goes higher, man's wickedness rises a little higher, and then grace goes still higher.
Until at last there is a triumph and a victory.
That provides a way of salvation to every center of Adams ruined race. So we're greatly bounded. We're sin abounded. Grace did much more about it. That is, God's grace has written higher than all the wickedness of man.
Has ever invented and carried out in this world.
That's having a talk with two gentlemen traveling in the train.
And I distributed tracks among them, and these two men took them and said we are inventors.
Roland is eventual.
What do you think about the work of grace from the cross with work between the Lord Jesus?
Effect to it and on the cross of Calgary all they said we are saved by keeping the law and also by grace.
Well, I said, isn't that a terrible thing to say? You are an adulterer.
No service if we are not adulterers. We have. We're both married and one wife and I said you are a doctor.
How so? I opened fifth of Romans and read it to them.
I just mentioned this by the way, because some people are being.
Deceived by this teaching that you must, you can be saved by keeping the law and by grace, which is impossible of course.
And I read this part portion of Romans 7.
Know ye not, brethren, for I speak to them that know the law houses the law, hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth. Verse one of seven. For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law of her husband so long as he liveth, But if the husband be dead, she's loose from the law of her husband.
So then, if while her husband liveth, he be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress.
But if her husband be dead, she is free from the law so that she is no adulterer.
Though she be married to another man, wherefore my presence, he also become dead to the law by the body of Christ.
That ye should be married to another, even to him.
Who is raised from the dead?
We should bring forth fruit unto God, I said you, you gentlemen are adulterers and so we'll have to stone you the next station. So they they didn't like that at all, you know, but when we got to propagate.
That I noticed that they had roast pig there and I saw them digging into the pig and enjoying this roast pig.
And I went over them and said I'd have to stone you again because you're eating that pig.
00:45:02
Then they were traveling beyond the distance brethren that is allotted to us by the law. They were traveling 2 days and the night in the train. So I said you fellas will have to be stoned again.
Well, I don't know whether they saw the point, but how futile it is to think that you can be saved by keeping the law and the grace of God.
How very contrary when just think of that manciless work of the Lord Jesus.
Cross of counties where every.
Amount of man's hatred was he was heaped upon the Son of God.
And that awful darkness is enshrouded at all. Just imagine.
What grace really means. It's it's a marvelous picture of grace, isn't it, Blessed Son of God?
Will those two men were on their way? The pub seemed to turn the believers away from the simple simplicity of the gospel.
Mention that, by the way, because I do come across some young people who believe that they can also keep the law.
And be saved by keeping the law and also by the grace of God, which is an impossibility. So excuse me, just putting in there a little bit because I do come across some young people who are a bit in love about this.
Absolutely correct. Next version you have.
Or as sin hath reigned, and then you get the great raining.
Whereas we think of sin reigning, of course we think of that which is in authority, like a king controlling.
Our country, well, we think of the whole human race. Sin has reigned and reigned unto death.
That's the destiny, that's the wages.
Our sin reigns.
But here we have another subject.
So my great ring through righteousness.
Unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
As beautiful, isn't it? Grace unmerited favor. What the the Sinner does deserve has no right to expect.
Now it's raining. But remember this, it isn't great at the expense of holiness.
No, it's great through righteousness.
Because God as a righteous judge.
Has has.
Judge his Son, laying our iniquities on Him, so that He has borne the full wrath and judgment of God. And I believe we can rightly say that He has exhausted the lake of fire where we would have spent eternity if we had gone on in our sins without a Savior. But He has exhausted the whole judgment.
That we so righteously deserve.
And now grace is reigning that unmerited favor through that righteousness and instead of a condition of death, and of course you bring in death is separation from God and leads into the second death, which is the lake of fire.
That's where sin is taking the Sinner. But here Grace now is raining.
On a righteous basis, and it's unto eternal life.
So that now it leads right on beyond.
This passing light into those eternal scenes of glory and joy that lies at first.
In fact, you know, beloved, that the eternal life that we possess in Christ.
Even death cannot stop its course. You might just turn to a verse in the 16th Psalm for a moment to quite cold attention to that Psalm 16.
It says in that song Thou will show me the path of life. The last verse, verse 11.
In thy presence is fullness of joy, and Thy right hand they are pleasures forevermore.
00:50:03
Just like Israel.
Going down toward the Jordans. But when they got to the Jordan, the river was gone. It was held back 20 miles above.
So now when the believer.
Riches have a.
That death that his sins deserve instead of it being.
Means of taking him into the second death. It ends in his presence, which is where his fullness of joy. Nothing can stop the course of that eternal life, for it doesn't. It doesn't in any way.
Falls in its course until we're in that scene where there's.
And joy and God's right where their pleasures forevermore.
During the chapter of Romans.
Where I say at this time his righteousness.
Then he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. It's the same sauce and you couldn't have selected the verse that makes it clear.
That is, God cannot only justify the sinners, but He can be perfectly just in that act of justifying Him.
That's the county to the roads of faith in the past ages that we have the previous person or whoever believed his words.
As the Lord says to the Jews, Abraham saw my name as a flag.
Well, he didn't know the sense of going to be no, but he has the testimony of God, the Old Testament that looked on the Christ.
No, God was just justified even such once Christ rose up among the day.
Yes, that's what it's meant, isn't it, brother? Hunting?
And the next verse whom God has set forth a propitiation.
Leave out to be through faith in His blood, to declare at this time His righteousness that He might be.
For the remission of sins that are past, well, that takes in all the sins of all the Old Testament Saints.
Remember old brother Inglis Bloomington saying it? Just like God took all those spins and all.
The the Abrahams and Moses, David laid them on a shelf, and when his son was hanging on the cross, he just took all those sons and laid them on his son for the fins that are passed. And then he said, do the forbearance of God.
Then in the 26th verse to declare I'd say at this time.
Now we're on the other side of the cross, His righteousness.
That he might be just and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.
So we look right.
Reveal themselves.
Down here is the.
Concerning the Old Testament Saints.
The Old Testament Saints were mentioned a moment ago.
They were resurrected, of course, when they bribe went.
Someone said to me, well how do you know if in the 19th of the Book of Revelation we read the following?
When heaven was opened in verse 11.
And a White Horse. And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true. And in righteousness he dump, judge, and make war.
Well, there's divine.
Searching those designs in the flame of fire on his head were many crowds for that damage, and he entered the name written that no man knew but himself, and he was clothed with a vest to a lifting blood that would be of his enemies, of course.
And his name is called the Word of God. This is the thought that Kai came to me and the armies which were in heaven.
00:55:07
Followed him upon white horses clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Well, would not the Old Testament Saints be here with them? This was a question put to me by.
A brother down in Peru.
Would the Old Testament Saints be resurrected? And I said, yes, I believe you're right. Well, can you prove it? He said. Well, here they are coming back with that blessed once.
And the armies which were in heaven, following him upon White Horse and clothes and fine linen, white and clean, while these are the Old Testament Saints, and the Saints of us too. Is that right?
Yes, yes. So it's nice to think to believe that, isn't it? It's often asked to one, you know, in the world that I am engaged in, it's a series of questions and one has driven one on one's knees.
To know how to reply to those dear souls. And they seem to be quite satisfied about this. And I said well.
How did they come back if they were not resurrected?
How did they manage to get back with the laws and the other and the armies? So they seemed to be happy. That's the 14th verse.
I just mentioned that because that question is often asked about the Old Testament Saints. Then they asked, will they be the bride?
And of course, they won't be there. They won't form the blind. They'll be the friends of the bride drops.
I think that's all right, isn't it?
You're a little different here, brethren, You know, you have so many brethren around you, and in the reading meetings you can discuss these matters, but their man is alone with a full crowd of these dear souls. What we're going to say?
So we ask prayer by the Saints concerning the teaching of those men Saints, and they're getting so numerous that they need teaching.
Here you have a wonderful privilege. Think of the privilege, rather than this is of sitting and listening to the unfolding of the Word of God, just in a simple reading feeling. It's a great pleasure.
It's something to cherish.
Not about the first first of the next chapter.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Most of everything in the old order.
And so whether it be our position in atoms, or whether it be the power of sin over us.
Death most at all.
You get that in the.
14 first.
Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but under grace. And so when death comes in, that's the end.
Not an entirely new order.
There's entirely new life.
Not only new birth, but there is regeneration.
Entirely new order of things in which the believer is found. Now it is possible for us.
That the believer has still having the old nature, he may act in it.
And we suffer if we do.
But still this entirely new order.
And there is no excuse.
Or sinning.
We do. It's the action of the will of the old nation.
Because that new man cannot sit.
The old man can.
Art of mine is so subtle that he would even take advantage.
Of such a blessed truth.
As what we had just gone over that were thinner bounded grace did much more about. There were those in Paul's day who were saying.
Well, since grace has abounded over sin, well, let's just keep on sinning.
01:00:00
So graceful, keep on abounding and then as you bring in brother.
Lundeen, The answer to that wretched doctrine is death. How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer? There is, and that introduces a subject of great importance. That is, not only did Christ die for our sins.
On the cross, but we died with it, as our little hymn expresses that Jesus died and we died with him.
Buried in his grave we lay.
Now that is a truth that can be.
Found in other passages as well as the one we're considering. I think it's in Colossians 2 That we get that brought before us.
It says.
In the 21St of that chapter. Wherefore if we begin with with Christ?
See, it's subject of our death with Christ, and then he gives the practical.
Result of that in the third verse. If he then be risen with Christ, that is, not only did I go down in the grave with Christ.
God's army there with Christ when he died.
And as though I was buried with him. But when Christ rose.
Under speaking just for myself, with every believer, we also rose with him. So now we're brought into an entirely new position.
And to think that after we have accepted the death of Christ.
That has a tongue for all our sins that we can just go on now I'm saved. I'll never perish. So I can go on and and live in sin and do as I please. You know that's where the the natural man would carry this blessed doctor.
Used to get a statement the main year to go and it's a little hard to understand that we're hearing. I think it's very insightful, very important.
A lot of trying to put my pins away.
The death of Christ should mean a way, and the cross will try to separate me from this world.
Now I know that takes a bit of thinking, but I believe it does very very helpful and important to state.
Glass on strike with my things away. The death of Christ put me away. Thank God for that. And the prophet's right separates me from this place.
I wonder if it's illustrated perhaps at least the middle state where.
That took place at the River Jordan when the children of Israel went through the River Jordan.
Himself one represented even of those 12 tribes put them down in the bottom of the riverbed and then the water boomer pulled those zones and they will be out of sight to go to the but the pictures end of them as they are there.
Unto this day.
Now that has been such a help to me because for some strange reasons I literally didn't carefully.
And I was of the opinion that one manner of each of the 12 Times put a stone down there in the bottom of the river. The top stone is what John Burke himself alone. And with all those 12 Stones to the bottom of the river. I think how marvelous dog does not tell me tonight to make my 1000 foot myself in such a place. He says I have many for you.
Now the responsibility of the insulin might be to back from the bricks of the river down under that water forever. On the site there's a stone that represents me. I didn't put it there. Doc will put it there for me. Must not have met it there and there on this day.
01:05:05
Tells us where we are and where we now stand.
New creatures inside the.
Your speaking brother Kale of Joshua is a type of Christ and the Lord Jesus has really put us in that position. I never saw that so clearly as the way you brought it out. Thank you for it.
I was just thinking of conversation I had with the man in the General Hospital in Chatham years ago.
We were looking over the river and I was bringing out the gospel to this man.
And he spoke up and said, well, if I believe what you hate, well then I could just go out and sit and go on in the world, do as I please, because you tell me that.
Salvation is by grace and the Christ is done. All the work, only, all that's necessary is to accept Him as a Savior. So just accept Him as a Savior and then go on and do as you please.
I looked at the river, I said. Suppose you are drowning out from that river.
And just as you're going down for the last time, some man rolls out into the river and grabs you and pulls you out and saves your life.
And you're crying that this man is the richest man in terror. And he says, now I want to take care of you. I'll provide for all your needs the rest of your life. I said, would you go around and talk against that man? You knew he didn't like something. That's the very thing you do.
Well, well, said the fellow. I never heard it like that before. Well, that's the whole thing.
Grace has run our hearts to the blessed Lord, so as soon as you have accepted Him and all His blessings finished, work on the cross while then you desire.
To to live a life that's pleasing to him. And as I said to him, you never heard of a man that would treat a friend that not only risked his life, but laid down his life to save you. You never heard of a man that to do everything he could against him and and he used nothing but language that depend.
Well, we find, you know, that that doctrine that Paul is computing here in this festival was a very serious matter.
We find in the third chapter.
In the eighth verse, and not as we be slamlessly reformed, and as some affirm that we say let us do evil that goodly comes. Now what is the comment on that?
Word damnation is just so if anyone.
Pretends to teach a doctrine like that, that you can be saved by grace and go on in sin and do as you please. You couldn't consider that man has saved it all.
And the word of God solemnly condemns him as saying, whose damnation is just.
Yes, I'd like to hear what you say, Brother Bundy.
For many of us, as we're baptized, really not into but unto Jesus.
Christ were baptized unto his death.
Now we're not at home yet. We're not in the perfect state.
The one who takes his place in baptism identifies himself by faith with the Lord Jesus in death and resurrection.
But Scripture teaches us that we have an old nature, otherwise there would be no reason for these expectations at the end of the epistles and so on.
Why would you want to exhort one who did not have an old nature?
And so every believer still has the old nature.
And there's no such thing as a nature being burnt out.
It's condemned and as soon as Jesus comes, we won't have it anymore. But until that time we need all the excitations of Scripture because of what we are and ourselves.
01:10:06
Not when you you read in James Christmas, Rahab the Harvard the still Rahab the harvest. Why? Because we still carry in this world.
The character.
For the world.
An ox different before God.
Before God, we are entirely a new man.
As long as we're here in this world.
There should be that continual exercise of soul before us.
Because there are times when we fail, and that's why we have an advocate who restores our souls, brings us back. No, there's no such thing as that nature being burned out.
That's not the reason why the Force, the first chapter of John and the last chapter addresses Beatrice, Time and son of Jonas.
He was Simon son of Jonas was enough when he said verdict in the last chapter. The Lord said again Simon son of Jonas with his real name was Peter.
Why did you say that the second time half is conversions? I mean it's just reminding.
For Feeder and he still had the same nature after conversion as he did before, and nature which was capable of even denying his law. So in pentacling Peter he called him Simon, son of Jones.
What it says about Rehab the harlot, that when Josh was sent the two young men that went his spies to whom she hid, and who let them down to over the wall, and before the walls of Jericho fell, he sent those young men to take away having all that are in their house out of the Doom City. And it says that.
The took her into the camp from Israel.
There she is under this date that is rehab never went back to her sinful life that she lives in that wicked city of Jericho and we know from Matthew one that she is in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus.
You married a Prince in Israel and.
Her descendants we got.
Who as was her son and for as you know.
Began to root, the more bonus.
How they they found to carry down the family.
That from which the Lord Jesus from.
And I think that's important. Scripture never expects that one that saved from a life of sins is to go on in any major at all. Without light of their unconverted days, the woman of the well of Samaria left her water park. She wasn't going back to that house where she was living with another man. She was done with that light.
That, as brother LON Dean has said, and it's very important, that is, that the old nature is still there. It hasn't been burned out.
In any sense whatever.
Sometimes I'm just a Sinner saved by grace. Brother said that isn't really quite a good expression anymore to use for 1-2 statements. What? What do you say about that? There's a word on that.
Well, I'd like to hear.
He had a difference in talks, just a little bit there.
There may be a weakness in this expression. Just the Sinner things, my grace.
And I never thought about it, so I guess somebody else better answer.
The center satisfied grade.
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Rather now.
Her brother stressed the faith center is not right, but a center satisfied race.
It's not the same center, so it's all upper center.
Right into the Romans, when this wretched teaching came up about continuing in sin, that grace may abound. As though he said, what does your baptism mean?
Why? It means that you're dead and buried with Christ. That's the sign of staff too.
Death with Christ, so how can ye that are dead to sin live any longer therein? Now it grows love with friends to get that fear in our minds.
That the Spirit of God definitely tells us that we're dead to sin.
But it never tells us that we're done with the old nature.
Now we need to.
View that subject as God sees it. God sees that I died with Christ and the day everyone who is saved died with Christ. And so the Spirit of God can speak of us as as having died with Christ and he has died out of the old condition we were in in our before we're safe, but now in farther down in the chapter.
The word says licking yourselves.
As the the 11Th verse reckon yourselves.
Reckon ye also yourselves be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God.
The old nature was burned out.
So that what it means that dead and have no longer the old nature. He wouldn't need to tell me that.
To reckon myself dead indeed under sin.
I often use an illustration dear Brother Brown used. He said before his conversion that he was.
A man that freaks and says the theaters.
The moving picture show came on later, but he said that walking down the street and passing a moving picture show.
Showing the advertisements there, the signs have been moving. Pictures show attracted him and poor he knew it, he says I was reading that and then there's something inside of me. He says my boy, I didn't see the show.
Well, he says, how do I get delivered? Why say I'm dead to that? Scripture says I'm dead under sin. Does a dead man go in to see a show like that? Well, then he just moves on. Perhaps he's on his way to the prayer meeting and that's where the new nature would go. And so wrecking himself dead to that thing, why he has the victory over it.
Let's not sin, therefore reign in your mortal bodies.
That she should obey it in the master of neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness.
Unto sin, but yield yourselves unto God.
As those that are alive from the day that your members have instruments of righteousness.
Unto God, may we look at the chapter in Joshua to illustrate with something, someone, chapter 10.
Of Joshua. Joshua has been mentioned.
In verse 21 to make it short.
All the people returned to the camp, to Joshua and Makita in peace.
Moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. You'll notice here that there were five enemies.
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Defeated by Joshua and his armies, and they're given. The list of them is given in verse 5. King of Hebron, king of Jerusalem, the king of Jamal, the king of Lakis, the king of Eklund, five of these kings.
Well, there are so.
There are kings in our own lives below, in our own life, beloved, the world, the flesh and the devil, and sin itself.
Notice something here that to me is very important.
Joshua.
Notices that these hide away, these kings hide away in The Cave, five of them. And Joshua says in verse 22, open the mouth of The Cave and bring out those 5 kings unto me out of The Cave. And they did so and brought forth those 5 kings unto him out of The Cave, The king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebrew, the king of the king of Lakisha, the king of Ignore. And it came to pass when they brought out those kings unto Joshua.
That Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near.
Put your feet upon the necks of those kings, and they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.
This was indeed a signal that they were defeated.
Now these 5 kings in our own lives have been defeated, beloved by that heavenly Joshua, the devil, the world, the flesh, the devil.
Sin and self, one of the the largest of the.
They have been defeated. The key, the armies, the officers of the army didn't kill these men, but Joshua flew them.
Sin shall not have dominion over you. I think it's a beautiful picture here in the heavenly. Joshua has dealt with them all, and he slain them all below.
And so here we have in Romans 6.
Let not sin therefore reign in your normal body. They are all slaves.
And we are to reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God.
It wasn't. The capitalist army didn't slay them at all. It's Joshua.
And Heavenly Joshua has done the work. Oh, it's a great victory for a believer once he knows that.
These terrible kings in our lives, which still remain in that old nature.
And worry us so much.
Joshua, the heavenly Joshua, has slain them all below.
Slain them all on the cross of Calvary. What a wonderful savior we have.
They have all 5.
They also remain there. That's right.
It came. I say this, that in connection with nature.
We mustn't confuse that old evil nature with what people speak of as nature or the creation.
Because.
There is such a thing as going too far.
Two men were riding along and one said, isn't that a beautiful sight? He said. I don't look at that, he said. I'm dead to those things.
A little while later, the other brother spoke to him and and.
He said. He said I don't talk to dancing.
And we must be confused the two thoughts There's such a thing as a evil, wicked nature in US.
But there is such a thing as God giving us all things richly to enjoy down here in nature. We mustn't confuse the two.
May we sing #318.
318.
O Lamb of God, still keep us.
Oh love of God.
So I love your life.
Titus 2:11-15
Reading
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General Meetings Wheaton, August 1975 Last Reading Meeting.
From Titus the 2nd 10.
Just a few verses there.
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Titus, Chapter 2.
Of verse 11.
Through the end.
Worst Level of Science 2:00 On to the end of the chapter.
These verses really represent a wonderful really are a wonderful expression of what Christianity is.
The real expression of what Christianity is.
Here for the grace of God.
That bringeth salvation has appeared.
Well, we do know that Grace often explained this way, that it's receiving something we don't deserve.
And.
Mercy would be not receiving that which we didn't serve.
But here is the.
A wonderful presentation of what real Christianity is. Race. God.
I suppose more Indians have been one for Christ.
On that word verse in Ephesians 2 Than any other.
That many, of course, have been saved with John 316. But this other verse for by grace I saved through faith.
And that's not if you sell it is the gift of God.
Out of work now, the Roman Catholic Bible adds the following words. Purely natural.
Lest any mansion quote, that verse has been used along.
To bring many of these souls to the peace of Christ.
The Grace.
Well, I.
Yesterday, the last meeting concerning reconciliation.
You remember we had that suffix before us, and.
Second five was referred to the.
19th verse.
2nd Corinthians 519.
To it that God was in Christ for reconciling the world unto himself.
Not including their trespasses unto them, and have committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
And we heard a very remarkable statement, and of electrifying to me that God had failed in doing this.
00:10:04
Reconciling. Well, I believe it's true. In this way concerning the grace of God. The grace of God has appeared, and he has committed the word of reconciling nation unto us. We've heard the gospel faithfully preached 3 nights in a row. How many have been reconciled by the grace of God? We trust that all heard it, but how is it with the world as the world?
Been reconciled, but I think we ought to develop a little farther.
We know that God really never fails in anything he undertakes, but concerning grace, the world has not received it. Let's turn to a verse in Isaiah 26. I think it makes it quite clear.
And verse.
All right.
And.
10 Isaiah 26, nine and 10.
With my soul have a desire at the end of night, Yeah. With my spirit within me will I seek thee early. For when thy judgments are in the curve, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Lit favor or grace he showed to the wicked. Yet will he not learn right from the land of uprightness, will redeem unjustly.
And will not be home to the majesty of the Lord. So this grace or this favor, it has been shown for 6000 years nearly God proclaiming that message of grace. Has the world been reconciled? Well, God has another way.
Reminds one of an expression.
That our fathers used to use.
When they took us to the old woodshed, you know, perhaps the younger generation doesn't know what that is. But out in the woods yet there would be a paddle, a flip that increased stick. And sometimes while they would say I'll reconcile you, well, he he used government before that we got blessed with.
Show his pain. But if that failed, he had another method and he chooses now to confirm reconciliation to return to collections. Chapter one, I believe it is.
Colossians Chapter One.
I'm looking for the verse where it says yes, now happy, reconciled, Thank you, verse 20, and having made peace through the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself.
Now God won't fail in that he's going to reconcile all things.
Why am I saying whether they be things in her or things in heaven and you, So that's the Colossians Saints, and that's us here today who have believed through the grace that has been proclaimed and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works. Yet now as he reconciled, well it's a wonderful thing to be reconciled to God by the grace of God, it's appeared it's still going forth.
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According to the threat of power of the air.
Verse 7 The Lord magazine and Megan French he bring us slow and lift us up.
He raised us up the floor, out of the dust, and lifted up the beggar from the downhill, to set them among Princess and to make them inherit the throne of glory.
The fillers of the Lord, of the earth, of the Lord and he and said the world above him.
Will keep the faith of his Saints. The wicked shall be silent and darkness, but by strength shall no man from there want to lift up. This is the beggar from the Dark York.
Sinners is the various opposite of God's way.
Way would be to try to reform centers, get them to sign the pledge and put their bad habits and to lead a more decent, respectable life.
But God's way is found in the in that first verse, the grace of God brings salvation, and then it teaches us to live a life that comports and agrees.
With that salvation which grace has brought to us, so God's grace doesn't try to change man and improve him. The God's grace starts out with a message of mercy and love. And when that message.
Of God's love to sinners revealed in Christ, in the work that he accomplished on the cross is received by the Sinner. Then he's born again. He has a divine life, And then we get the.
The life of the believer set before us in the verses that falls for then we get teaching us at denying on godliness and worldly lusts. We should leave soberly and righteously and godly. The word hasn't changed in which the Sinner is converted.
00:20:08
It's it's spoken of as this friend were still the same world of sin, corruption and evil and darkness.
And which we were born world goes on its course, but here are the one who believes the God who has saved out of this world, and is now instructed, so that he might live in a way that will honor the one who in such wondrous love has brought salvation full and free to his soul.
This expression of majesty attached to it is the grace of God. Now God is the judge. He doesn't say the grace of the Father or the grace of Jesus.
But it's God in his character as to what he is over all things. And it's God himself who is responsible for bringing this grace. Now we know that when God does things.
According to his own character. And So what did he do? Why, he said his son.
He couldn't have said anything better.
Heaven has nothing better to offer. He sends his Son, and so in the Gospel of Luke, which is often been spoken of as the gospel of grace.
We see this precious truth unfolding.
In the chapter where the 12Th chapter, I think, where the man asks the Lord, will you divide the my brothers inheritance with me? Why? He said man who made me a judge or a divider over you, he didn't come for that purpose. He came simply to bring grace. And yet we know that all judgment is submitted to the Son.
He didn't come for that purpose. He came ingrained.
As he goes along, he meets a widow who takes her is taking herself.
In a in a coffin, out the barrier.
And as she passes through the gates, there stands Jesus, and he says we've not. And then he he says to the young man, Young man, I say that he arrives.
We find him as Peter begins his ministry.
Why he has troubles at home?
And Peter turns to their stands, Jesus.
And so they beseech you, and he raises up. The mother-in-law was sick, and she ministers to them.
I'm just reciting a few instances of how this race is operating.
My dear brethren, these things were given us to show us how grace operates today in our lives.
And these are the practical lessons we learn.
That this verse gives us, which is the key to this subject, the graves God, God himself sending his own Son as we have in Hebrews. One God is not speaking in signs and wonders as He did in the Old Testament He's speaking in.
Son, his own son and his son has come in grace. Now the question may raise in our mind, what is grace?
Is it mercy? Well, mercy is included, but perhaps mercy would take care of our needs.
If I were in need, mercy.
Would be welcome.
But think rather than of what grace means.
As has been Recycled mentioned already takes the Beggar from the Dunghill to inherit the Throne of Glory.
And we can well imagine how Mary felt in the Gospel of Luke.
As her heart was open by grace. Now when you notice that passage in the early part of Luke, we see Simeon, a man coming out of the country.
00:25:03
And he's moved by the Spirit of God to prophecy.
But when Mary speaks, she doesn't. It doesn't say she's moved by the Spirit.
She simply opens her heart.
It's Grace that's taken over and she's so overwhelmed that she just pours her soul forward as Grace has taken over in her life.
I'd rather that's what we need.
And I'm thinking to approve. Remember when Ruth finally.
Came to be alone with Boaz on that special occasion.
Why? At the close of their meeting, he tells her to hold out her apron.
And he fills it. And she got twice as much as she ever got in gleaning. That's great.
Now, rather than there are times in our lives when we search the scriptures and we wonder, will I ever understand this passage?
And then there's other times when God comes in and we sit quietly in His presence and suddenly He opens to us precious truth, your grace for all. How much we need to be quiet in His presence that we can avail ourselves of what this first verse we've read means that God, the grace of God himself, Is God interested in us.
That you want us to learn?
Some nice things about him, yes, But he wants us to understand what Grace is, because there he opens up his treasures and Grace goes and gives us beyond anything we can ask or think.
His own thoughts, his own purpose is he unfolds to his friends in grace, and we find a pattern of it, as I mentioned before in The Gospel of Luke. In a very special way, it reminds me, brethren, of a talk I had to rather distinguish Surgeon, an English surgeon.
Who always seemed to rejoice in the declaration of his genealogy.
He could trace his genealogy way back. He was one of the elites. He was an absolute man.
And I listened attentively to him, and he expatiated for quite a while on the virtues of his genealogy. He could go way back. And I knew him well, the family. And he said to me, Smith, you know, I've had a wonderful bringing up. And he said, you have had the one that we're bringing up too, haven't you? And I said, indeed I have, Doctor.
Yes, he says. I believe you have.
According to him, that verse he brought me up out of an horrible bit.
Established my going. Put a new song in my mouth, even praise on the ground. He just looked at me and went.
Is that it? That was a good bringing up, wasn't it? Well, he, he didn't like them tall. But that's a good bringing up, brother. I'll run. Horrible pit. All the grace of our God.
An old Scotch brother who commended me for the work. One of them, he said. Eric, remember from when she'd been decked in Sovereign grace. Remember from which you've indicated that's how the Scots I guess I'm pretty Scotchman's help. But remember from?
When she detected how was Grace, well, may we remember that president? We are just nothing. I was talking to a brother just a little while ago and said we are really nothing brother.
And when I read a statement made by JND when I was a young man standing out in the work, I was struck with what he said, that men could have gone into his service, go forth from a place of strength realizing.
They're all nothingness.
One would have thought an educated man like J&P who had titles, leather, long trees, name he might have said, realize their own ability or education. Now it's realizing they're all nothing.
Well, when we think of salvation.
In Romans one God there is the author of it, and so it says here the grace of God which bringeth salvation.
00:30:07
Well, we do know, I'm sure all prison know, that salvation has a threefold meaning.
My faith in the Precious Blood of Christ.
I am saved right then from sin's guilt.
And as one looks back over the many years, it's 70 years and a little since I accepted Christ as my Savior.
So my need of Christ is my own personal safety. Well, it's wonderful to look back and remember.
The grace of God is there in this respect concerning me, but what I was going to say is this, that salvation then has another aspect.
The Lord Jesus has been into death and robbed death of his sting, and brought life and incorruptibility to lighter, rather like that word incorruptibility. There we put it into the translation of the scriptures to light through the gospel, and there in glory as their brother, he who was saying we have one in glory.
He's there, beloved, and he saves us from Sins, powerful sin power, yes, every moment of the wave, and also from Sins dominion.
And again sin slavery. But then it has another aspect and we'll come to that little later. But may I just mention this, that when he comes again he's going to save us from sins very presence. So that we're saved now through faith in this blood, from the guilt of sin you kept by the power of God and saved every moment of elderly from sins power.
Dominion and the slavery of it. When he comes, it could be the day. He's going to save us from sins. Very impressions. What a wonderful woman that could be.
The Person of Christ. And that takes us back to the first chapter of John's Gospel and the 14th verse. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father.
Full of grace and truth. Then in the 17th verse, well the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
So it's revealed to us or manifested to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why was it that the apostle Paul spoke so much?
Here and there in his various letters of the grace of God.
For he realized in himself.
The true meaning of that grace of God and he could as a result, the effect on the Apostle is indicated in all his letters, all his ministry, and how that should speak to our hearts also.
It could in the I was thinking of that verse in the third chapter of Ephesians.
He could take that lost place even though he was an apostle, turned to the third chapter of Ephesians and verse 7.
Whereof I was made a minister.
According to the gift of the grace of God-given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Don't stop there.
Unto me who I'm less than the least of All Saints, is this grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ? If anything, should keep us all low and humble before God, Is that matchless grace of God revealed to us in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you agree with that?
We have certainly divine order doing office in peace.
First chapter of Isaiah and verse.
00:35:00
16.
Cease to do evil. Learn to do well.
In our crowd verse it says teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly love and ceasing.
They're evil.
Give us to know how we should be walking in this scene in view of a certain tremendous event. That event is.
The coming of the Law of Jesus Christ or the Bride.
But it says here teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts.
It teaches us what we should how we should walk. We should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.
Well, the world in the scriptures, in the epistle of John, and here, it's not God's created world at all. We noticed this in the original. It's this diabolical spirit beloved, that pervades this world. You get it brought out in the abyss of John.
Love not the world? Well, it doesn't mean God's created world there.
What more glorious than this handy work of our God?
But it's been spoiled.
Man is a failure. Sin has come in.
The picture has been blurred.
And blotted so.
Here, it's this diabolical spirit that pervades everything above it in this scene.
And so we're told not to love it.
And it says also that the world passes away with the flusters thereof.
But he that doeth the will of God.
By us forever.
I've often spoken to the younger Christians, the men Christians. Not to read the word of God, merely to know that makes you heavy, you get pumped up and of course, useless.
But we read the word of God to do.
And if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctor or the teaching.
Well, then we come. Well, I won't go on anymore. Some of you may have something to say on this.
In one sense, as the grace of God appeared to fall man.
I think you could answer that for us, brother. You can? Well, I only have a thought. I'm not sure of it.
Take for instance to occur. It's not absolute when we go out farm or we go out to pick blackberries, right there are thorns, but the curse is not absolute. It's they're nice berries too. They haven't declared the glory of God, and the firm will show his hand. They work. There's three manifested in so many things.
It does not mean that.
Every season and the most remote parts of the earth is going to hear the Gospels of the grace of God. Am I right? I'd like to know.
Shall not the judge of the earth do right that has often been asked me, concerning the thousands of savages in the centre of Brazil and Bolivia on the frontier. What about them?
Well, we do know that the gospel of the Kingdom will be announced during the tribulation period.
It's the gospel, but those and there'll be a host come to know the joy of sins forgiven during that time, but they're not going to form the bride.
Now the heavenly entity that we announced we want, is that right?
00:40:05
Smith, wouldn't you say this? The question that our brother has asked has to do with the grace of God, that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
I take it that's the range of it. That is, God doesn't limit his grace in the gospel to any grace.
Or special people. Now you take the promises made to Abraham unto his feet forever. There were limitations to that. It was a special family, a nation. But now what the apostle Paul is presenting is something that goes out.
In grace to a world of lost sinners, so that when you went down to Bolivia you didn't have to ask the question.
Entitled to the gospel as much as the people who speak the English language. Where I came from, there's no question about that. It's offered to all, of course, as we know from Romans 3, that is upon all them that believe. But I take it as the extent and range of the gospel, the grace of God going out through the gospel. Now, our brother's question about.
Whether all people on the face of the earth will hear the gods as you say, they will hear the gospel of the Kingdom. It'll go out to the whole world.
But it says to me that the heathen have the gospel of creation, That is, every soul in this whole world has had the access to sound gospel.
They came into the gospel of creation.
I was told of a case, some heathen countries.
Where there were those that observed in the wonders of creation, the sun and the moon, and the stars, that there must have been a supreme being that created all these wonders in the sky and on the Earth.
They said these items that we worship, they couldn't be the God that created all things, and so they threw their idols away and waited to get to know.
The God of creation, and God saw to it that missionaries carried the gospel to those.
So that I doubt not that in these heathen countries.
As a missionary told me, that had labored for years.
He says you think those people over there just waiting to hear the gospel. He says they don't want the gospel anymore then they do here. And when we think of the awful wickedness of those people is terrible. And the very fact they're in that even darkness is because at one time, according to Romans one, they had the truth and they gave it up and and changed the glory of the incorruptible.
God and cure and likeness of man, and then a four footed beast or birds, and then four footed beasts and creeping beasts, That is the heathens down great is described as You'll finally like you.
Fine. In Pakistan, they're actually worshipping the serpent.
Perhaps we become no accustomed to the threat. Why do those of the gospel? And we do forget that it was not always so that God did restrict His message to His own No, certainly people.
We find in the marriage of the King's son, in fact, that an invitation was sent out, but it was a limited invitation.
And those who heard it rejected it. Then we find that it was sent out a second time, but sent out to the very same company that hurted the first five. But with this as a statement, my office and my faculty are killed. All things are now ready come under the marriage, but it was meant to them where it in other words, when the Lord Jesus was here upon earth.
00:45:11
Were sent out to his old people. With this invitation. Now the Lord leaders is crucified. The word of redemption is uncomfortable. He's written from among the dead and the message goes out again. But the wounded is go out once again. It goes to the Jewish people. Smuck with his added wonderful thoughts. My fox and my classics are killed. All things are now ready.
But the same limited number in that second invitation and they also rejected. Now the message is go out into the highways and hesitant. Now it's profane from every nation under heaven. And so I believe it's a happy thing for us to realize that the scope of the gospel, although we may become a customer, but not always that which went to the four corners of the earth, perhaps that's the father that we read from the last class.
Which was preached to every preacher which is under heaven.
I don't suppose it's meant that when that was passed, this had literally taken place, but the message is now extended to all that.
Marked in such a wonderful presence, we've been able to address the story of the man was great of thought wherever we may be found, and to realize that that's great is extended by all loving hearts to whosoever will, no matter where they may be.
I have wondered too. And Speaking of the grace of God here, and seeing the result of it is a very nice version. Does it not stand out? It's happy contrast, because that's which we had yesterday in Rome. What shall we say? Shall we continue in sin and grace may abound? What a shocking basement that is, to think that anyone would look upon or think of the greatest gods and turn it into listening.
To hear this as an excuse or conspicuous, continuing in our hairless place here we see that we not the proper result in a soul that is served by a fest of a great dog, if this rustless grace of God don't heart has been so manifest.
Has picked me up from where I was and has brought me into a place that I know I cannot get comprehensive.
What does the result mean when I just told verse 12? It's still not what the results of. That's great, enjoyable properly.
My Savior regarded for the Master.
Turning the grace of God into Las Vegas. Now that's in the book of Jude. And there we have apostasy.
We we find today, there is a tendency.
And I don't want to be misunderstood.
These are delicate things, but remember the end of the age closes in the grace of God being turned to lasciviousness.
It's a dangerous thing to couple likeness with the word of God at any time.
Now, there is such a thing as our having this natural happy times with our families enjoying the things that God has provided in all. But let's be very careful that we not drop the standard of the word of God.
And mix it with things.
That would lower the meaning of the truth and water it down.
We're living in a day when there's a tendency to mix things.
And we should be very careful.
That we not find ourselves in that pattern of turning the grace of God into license. That's really what it means, license and mixing holy and unholy things.
Now as to the testimony.
In the 19th Psalm, you'll turn just a moment.
We have the heavens in the first verse.
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Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork.
That's the first testimony. We have 3.
Then in the seventh verse, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.
First there was a testimony of creation. Then God sent His word, Whether it be the Law of Moses or whether it be the whole word makes little difference. It's the word of God. But then the last testimony he gave was in Hebrews. But we get a thought of it in the next song. That is the 21St song, the King.
Your joy and I strength. Now that's the last testimony. That's the person of Christ, whether it be the king to Israel or whether it be the the Son of God that we recognize.
Who's now in the heavens Who died for us? It's the Person of Christ. The first testimony was creation. He sent His Word, then He sent His Son, and the testimony is complete.
So that you and I are responsible for all three testimonies.
There are people who are responsible for one testimony, Romans 1, the the Creation. But I'd like to read a verse in John 17717.
That's often quoted and.
It sort of helps us to see that.
God himself.
Is behind the blessing of man, and the least little turning to God, the broken Reed the.
The burning flax. He answers to it, the least little turn his way. You can't imagine will do his whip. That is, if anyone will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine.
Whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself, so that should there be anyone.
Who has the slightest exercise toward God? It's aroused by the Spirit we know God is going to answer.
Is going to give a testimony to that one. And of course the testimony today is his own beloved son that you say?
Instead of a trooper, I have received that God is no respecter of person, but in every nation he's appeared him and worketh righteousness is accepted within.
Astounded with the I went to preach the gospel to the troops in the check of war.
A savage was given me by the general, he said. Smith, there's a savage here in the Army and we don't want to shoot him. Nobody understands his language.
And will you take him? I said. Yes, Sir.
Well.
One day he got away with I left a little bit of Bolivian money on my cot under the the protection from the bomb, and lo and behold, it was gone.
It was gone.
I called him on his way out. He didn't know that I saw him and he ran for his life with this little bit of money. Now I said to myself, what made him do that?
He's a savage. He knew that it was wrong.
Was it comes home to one's heart concerning mankind? Is that?
They did not retain God in their knowledge, and so God gave them over to a reprobate mind.
And this is just the problem. But here's the savage running away with my little bit of money.
Why did he run? Well, I told him some Spanish during the months that I was there with this general, and he got to enjoy a little of John's Gospel.
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I've often thought of him. Nobody knew his name and his teeth were sharpened like a dog's teeth, so I got to be able to speak to him in the Spanish.
And I said, why do you have your teeth sharpened like that? He says we eat everything wrong, everything we eat is wrong, and that enables us to tear the flavor with that.
Teeth whitened like a dog.
Well, what made him run? I thought to myself. Why did he run? He knew.
That it was wrong. Well, I've just mentioned this. It's.
My soul to mention one thing about that savage.
He got to love me and he got a little working knowledge during the War of the Spanish. So I put a New Testament in his pocket. One day he came to me and put his arms round me. That the point that worried me a little bit. In the hour of the night that I would awaken with the rattle of the machine guns. There was this. I called him Grandcito Little John. There he was watching me. I wondered whether he was thinking of putting me in the pot.
A cooking bin. Anyway, he went away with this little testament. I said, how far is it? He said, let us go to the tribe that's up next to Peru on the border. He's all those hundreds of miles. And I said, how he says on foot and how long will it take? Oh, he says about eight weeks on foot. You'll have to swim. Well, I said, how are you going to carry that testament? Who? He says we put the top of our heads.
Mix it up with our hair and we never get it where we don't get it wet.
Now I have often wondered why the Lord allows that testament to go like that.
I pray every day that he may be in the goodness of God, evangelizing the thousands of savages, he said. That the world is it possible. It's nothing is impossible with the law.
Well, I mentioned that it's something to pray about for Juan Cedar. He may be evangelizing the full cup together. He told me there were thousands of them, but coming back.
This question of man.
Man is a failure at the close of every dispensation, isn't it?
And that's why God has given man so many opportunities. But that doesn't excuse him. He is without excuses says.
Without excuse.
Well, first, first you get denying ungodliness and worldly lusts. I think that's important. There must be a breaking with the old ways of one's converted and.
Going on with bad habits. For he should seek grace from God to give up those ways and then follows.
Should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world.
Will soberly has to do with ourselves.
Well, we surely need surprise me when we realize that there's wickedness evil on every side. People are observing our ways if we act in a frivolous.
Careless way, like the ungodly around us for the sad testimony.
That is to the ungodly. And then we are going to live righteously. That has to do with our fellow man.
What might be going on in his unconverted days and carrying on a dishonest course? Well, we are to realize that now that we're we are saved and we have the responsibilities in connection with our fellow man, so that we shouldn't.
Be dishonest or allow deaths to accumulate.
Without any thought of getting those debts settled and then the last year's godly in this present world, that's our responsibility to God and all that describes the walk of one who has received the grace of God and accepted the salvation that the grace of God has brought to his soul.
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From the world and run modules.
Plus denying and God in this worldly lust the next.
If that happens, how would one go about Brother Berry if there were just say that they were conscious? Now this was true. The Thessalonians Saints wasn't just saved and they were exhorted in connection with these things, that there were things carried over from their former condition, not just how they go about. There's no power in the flash to overcome these things, is there?
I'm sure you've had more experience with.
Those who have had those habits and they were converted and the accepted Christ, So maybe you could give us some help on that.
No, I was hiring. I know of a case of a of a brother who had it was just converted, but he wasn't able to give up the use of tobacco.
And it came to a point where.
He's called to his attention.
And he went to his room and got down before the Lord. And he said, Lord, I'm through.
I can't do a thing about it and he had been trying to hide the fact, Mother said. He was, and he knew it was being a hypocrite.
So he said, tomorrow morning I'm going to work.
With a cigarette in my mouth. Unless, Lord, you come in, never use the six.
And I believe that in all of our Christian experience.
Simplicity of faith is the answer because as soon as we discover that we've come to the end of ourselves, God comes in turn to a verse in in the Old Testament.
You know, I like the Old Testament, brethren. It's in Deuteronomy. I remember a brother once saying when we refer to the Old Testament, he said, oh, that's in the Old Testament.
As though it were not for us, but turn to this verse Deuteronomy.
28 I believe it is.
No, Deuteronomy 32.
I speak of this, brethren, because these are real, practical things.
That we need today.
And there are such things as habits that must be overcome if there's to be a testimony for Christ. Now this is the way in the 32nd chapter of Deuteronomy.
36 birds.
For the Lord shall judge his people. Now that doesn't mean take vengeance on them.
It means she'll take up their cause, whatever is needed.
The Lord shall judge his people and repent himself for his servants when he sees that their power is gone and there is none. Shut up or laugh. Now turn to the Book of Joel.
In the Old Testament.
The second chapter of Joel.
The 12 birds.
This chapter speaks of the day when Israel is coming down to the end of their rope. They're through.
All of God's ways with his people will have come to an end.
It's a day when their sin will be removed in one day. But how?
Therefore also now saith the Lord, turn me even to me, with all your heart.
With weeping, With mourning.
Rend your heart not your garments. Turn under the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. Slow to anger the great kindness and repent of Him of the evil, who knows that he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind you, even a meat offering and a drink offering under the larger God.
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Blow the trumpet in Zion. Sanctify a fast call of solemn assembly. Gather the people. Sanctify the congregation assembly elders, gather the children and those that suck the breasts.
Let the bridegroom go far from his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Now notice, let the priests and the ministers of the Lord we between the porch and the Albert, And let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach that the heathen should rule over them. Wherefore should they say, among the people, where is their God?
Then will the Lord be jealous for his land and piteous people? Yeah, the Lord will answer and say on his people, Behold, I will send you corn and wine and oil. You should be satisfied there with, and I will no more make your reproach among the heathens.
But I will remove far off from you. The northern army will drive him into a land barren and desolate, and so on. Verse 21. Fear not all land be glad and joy, for the Lord will do greatest things.
I believe, President, that one of the great lessons of life for us who are believers is afterward saved is to discover that we absolutely have no strength.
We have no strength to overcome habits.
We have no strength for testimony. We have no strength for walk.
And unless there is the constant dependence.
And communion. There will be no power over such things as habits.
And it's the Lord Himself who not only saves our soul, but keeps us.
Yeah, day by day. And unless it's so, we will not be kept.
Well.
Once and for all more.
Perhaps it might be a little less connected than what we had yesterday is that.
I remember here in this town, but I don't know what you'll think of it, but.
I'm asking to be, that's fine.
And then he was led to the river to be baptized and made preparations. He took off his glasses and sent them on a rock, took off his watch and set them on a rock. He took his pipe out of his car and set it down on the same rock in Westport could be baptized.
When he came back and had put on dry clothes, he put back on his glasses and put back on his watch and walked away.
The young fellow who had been there notice that he forgotten something, so he picked up the pipe and went after the man said Sir, you forgot your pipes and.
Well, yes, it is Siri. Or don't remember. No, that's not mine, Honey said. You remembered. You set down your wasp and your glasses and this pipe on the rock.
I forgot it, he said. That belongs to the man that went under the water. I'm the man that came up out of the water, not mine. He denied his.
I have had that particular, I emphasize that particular problem, but I believe the word in high is a very significant word. I think each and our measure knows something of what that works ought to be in mind and a man be Christ, and he sent you creation. I was mentioning some time ago how I LED a Japanese officer to Christ for the Japanese crater. This was in 1921.
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On my way to Bolivia the end of 1920.
Well, he had on his walls of his cabin he was one of the officers and everything that was belonged to this world. On his table he had to bear and he had cards and he had a big pipe, and in the corner he had whiskey, and in the other corner he had what we call travel. That's alcohol.
I never comment on the walls where I've seen pictures, so he was a man of the world.
Now at the end, though I've spoke to him about his soul, he could speak some English.
Being an officer, he has been trained for some time in the States. Well, I spoke to him in his own tongue, and rather in the English tongue, but I never commented on those things on the wall, nor his pipe or anything yet, at least in me.
Of the 4th week. That man came to my cabin door before daylight and banged at the door and I said, who's there? He said I am here and he says won't you come up to my cabin?
Well, I'd often been in his cabin and when I got in he turned on the light.
And I then said, Sir, what happened to your pictures?
And then I made bold to ask what happened to the whiskey?
And the pipe and the tobacco and the cigarettes. Some churros they call the cigars and so on. Then I asked him what what happened? He said I couldn't bear the sight of them, Mr. Smith, for that 2:30 in the morning I got on my knees and accepted Christ as my savior, and everything went overboard off the coast of Peru, where I've just come from.
Everything went into the ocean.
Now that the American often wrote me to Bolivia.
And what a wonderful change. Now I never spoke to that man about anything, about vice or anything else but smooth of the Lord Jesus, and is found to save and deliver.
From all those vices that we have.
Time left and should we not consider the 13th? 1St because rather we not only need to deny ourselves these ungodly and worldly lusts and so on, but we need an object, and God has given us an object, something to look forward to. And that you get in the.
13 first.
Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the Great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
In a wonderful way, the Spirit of God has connected the Lord's coming glorious Saints, and the Lord's coming with his Saints for the appearance when he comes with his face. But the blessed hope is when he comes for his face. And that's what the believer now who is saved by the grace of God.
As before him, like the certain Samaritan that carried the man to the inn and took care of him, and then he departed and said when I come again. So he left him a hope he had fully provided for his stay there in the end, but given him a promise that he was coming back again. And that's what God has given to us as believers.
He saved us eternally. He's given us.
A new nature He's given us the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. He's given us His blessed word, although He's given us a hope before our souls. And that's the hope of the Lord soon returned for His own when he comes with a shout and voice of the Archangel and trump of God and the dead in Christ rise 1St, and we which are alive and remain are caught up together to meet the Lord in the air.
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These forever with the Lord, I find the lovers that I need to repeat those lines every day. And because my work I torso, gets so easily occupied with things down here, and I so soon they can't forget. When I get up in the morning I go over those verses to myself. The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout to kind to keep it fresh in memory from our soul.
Not telling others the way that they should keep that hope before them, but I know it's been practical for myself.
Do we really believe it? What a break this would be on our every action and thought.
If we really believe that at any moment the Lord Jesus would come.
There's nothing that will keep us.
So activated.
Souls expectation as the fact that he is coming.
I've often thought of the Mr. Dunbar.
Whom some would remember here he always spoke on the Lord's coming, and spoke on the streets in the sky, announcing a new day. What would Mr. Dunlap overseas his tomb? You know, what would he say if he should could come forth now?
And see things as they are.
Rhythm Do we really believe?
That as dear old Mr.
Who was used to always speak of the imminency of the Lord's coming to know whom I am being killed? Gill. Brother Gill, the imminency. Do we really believe that before we leave this place we could be gone?
No, what a wonderful hope position will enjoy. Concerning the watches, Mr. Dunlop's expression concerning the speaks of the sky, I've always thought of the watchers. Remember that the Hebrew watches were period 4 periods of three hours.
Six to 99 to No 6 to 10.
22 to 6:00 That's the old Hebrew watch, 3 periods of four hours. But remember, Brendan, after the captivity, the Hebrew watch was changed to the Greek and the Roman watch. So it was 6 to 99 to 12:12 to 3:00 and 3:00 to 6:00, Four periods, 4 periods of three hours.
Well, we do know that the.
They fried your Behold, the bridegroom cometh. Well, then it's passed, isn't it? That is part.
What would you say, beloved present concerning the cockroach? Is that positive? What would you say, brother Barry? Would you give us some help there?
As just came to mind looking at this version.
And why it is that it speaks of that blessed hope and the glorious appearing, I believe the better translation is the appearing of the glory. Well, I just never had thought of it before, but I just.
Oh well, instead of wondering if this thought could be before us.
That when it comes to the Lords coming in the air.
There's nothing so blessed is that for our souls to contemplate. And really, blessing is happy, isn't it something we rejoice in, Something we are just looking forward with heinous anticipation. At least we should be to hear His voice and to see His blessed face. He caught up into the air and for the first time.
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Really look at the face of that blessed man. But when it is his appearing.
There's glory connected with that. He comes out of heaven, the armies of heaven follow him on white horses, and the glory of God will be manifested in dark and sinful world. Would that be the thought?
Of business.
There's.
There's nothing so precious thought that at any moment we're going to see his face and we're going to be like him.
We're not very much like him now in our practice, many of us friends, but we're going to be like him every way then, and it isn't just to to get relief from our troubles.
Because that's a very low attitude to take in regard to his coming. It's less than we will be.
But think of all the desires of these newborn souls will be satisfied forever.
Not one desire, these newborn souls, disappointed, satisfied forever. And the one that has loved us, the one who has died for us, the one who went to Calvary's cross and paid for every black sin that we have committed, He's coming for us personally. He's not sending someone, he's coming. And when he comes, he's going to take us to be with himself.
Thessalonians, it says we shall live together with him, but there's a solemn sign when we think of his appearance.
When he appears, he not only is going to manifest all his glory and we'll be with him.
That glory?
But he's going to reward faithfulness.
That's what the appearing would suggest.
When there's a day coming when all of our works will be manifested.
And then at the appearing, the rewards will be seen.
Of those who had.
From their heart served him down here and also there will be such a thing, I believe.
As in that day.
Just before that day takes place, as the judgment seat of Christ, put all the trash be burned on the heat. But think of the day when he will say to one be the over 5 cities, another be the over 10 cities. We're going to reign with Christ that's connected with His appearance. We're going to be associated with him in the sense of the first type in genesis of E.
When Adam was was placed over the whole creation.
This is all connected with disappearance. We will be associated with the Lord Jesus Christ.
As the one who will be head over all things.
And will be there not only as the bride, but in that sense his revelation suggests the White be with him as his health mate.
Being interacted with verse 12 is a very thirsty talent in it to be preceded preceded by.
Verse 11. The Farmless greatest thoughts, and followed by the glorious and wondrous post that is ours. If it were only her 12 alone it would seem perhaps.
A very, very almost impossible challenge to us. But we look back from the place where we now stand and we see the wonderful grace of God that Sodom found that we need not. And we turn from that place and look ahead and see the whole book is coming and the the appearing of glory.
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And it seems to me to make verse 12 That's much more executive than water to find we must back upon the grace of God, and we will not get to that glorious force.
But we've seen that in that bright and blessed mourn his dear.
40 1244.
That clearly makes no face.
Oh Harold, well.
Jesus.
And I love all the arms. And we have learned.
What else? I have lost my love, my love, my love for years.
Open Mtg.
Open—C. Lunden, D. Bilisoly, R. Groth
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 1975. Open Meeting.
May we turn to John's Gospel, chapter 15, please?
We read the 1St 16 verses.
I am the true vine, and my father is the husband, and every branch in me that beareth not fruit, he taketh away.
Every branch that beareth fruit he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself.
Except it 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.
Or without me, you can do nothing.
If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. And then gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you.
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Here it is my Father, glorified, that you bear much fruit, so shall you be my disciples.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you.
Continue or abide you in my life.
If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love.
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life.
Placed for his friends. Dear my friends, if you do whatsoever I command you henceforth, I call you not servants. For the servant knows not what his Lord doeth. But I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard of my father, I have made known unto you.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit.
And that your fruit should remain, that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Now I'd like to couple this with a verse or two in the song of Solomon's.
The third, the 4th chapter of the Song of Solomon.
On the eighth verse.
Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse.
With me from Lebanon.
Look from the top of an Anna, from the top of Sheener.
And Herman.
From the Lion's den.
From the mountains.
Of the leopards.
I suppose you wonder why I read that passage in the Song of Solomon.
That perhaps we'll find a connection in a moment.
The subject before us here is fruit bearing and communion.
And what might break that communion and so fruit bearing?
It doesn't my purpose to try to expound this chapter, beloved, this afternoon.
I just want to say a few things that are in my heart in regard to Communion.
We find the Lord Jesus is the true vine.
And his people are the branches.
Now if that link is broken.
As far as our spiritual life is concerned, we have nothing.
Nothing.
And we find that the moment you become a Christian, the enemy makes a special bid for you.
He comes in many ways.
Because he wants to break that communion.
And without communion is broken.
Then you have nothing left in your spiritual life.
That's all. Do we find that the branch that's connected with the vine brings forth fruit?
Now at the same time.
There's a pruning process goes on.
So that the branches that don't bear fruit, anything that's superfluous is cut off.
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How much there is, you know, the leaves and the branches only speak of human glory.
That which exalts man, And we don't want that, do we?
What we want is that which exalts Christ.
Now, I really believe, at least in part, that the fruit that's spoken of here.
Is that which is so precious to God.
And that is your presence with him.
And how can this be accomplished? Well, as we read His Word and we pray, we find ourselves in the presence of God.
Because it's his word.
That's the practical side of things. It's simple, isn't it? In fact, it's so simple that we neglect it.
And little by little, the enemy comes in, and our poor hearts go out through the glories of this world and the things that appeal to the natural senses. Communion is broken. The heart takes up with something else.
And we're on our way.
A life that's wasted if it's not arrested, and so in love.
He comes. The husband then comes, and he prunes off that which is not needed. He does it in his own way.
And you know, it's been said that.
The Lord is never nearer to you than when he's pruning the vine.
That's a precious thought.
You know, sometimes you look at the vine, the Grapevine.
And you see it at a certain season where the husband men, whoever he may be, has cut off most of the branches, there isn't much left. In fact, it looks rather ugly to look at it.
But you come in springtime, you come in fruit season.
And see what happens.
I was talking with a young man today who's here.
And he doesn't mind my mentioning this, but he was at a place where there were those who understood rapes.
And one of the men made a comment as he was giving a lecture.
And he said that, you know that.
Break vines that are under a great deal of stress.
Quite often produce the sweetest and the best wine.
Think of it.
Stress pruning.
Well, how good it is that God loves our souls and he wants us to be happy here. And you know, there's one thing about this passage. As we read it, we discover.
That when you and I walk in the path of faith.
Communion.
There are three that are made happy God the Father, God the Son, and yourself.
Because God finds His delight in the happiness of his creature, He finds His delight with you and me being in His presence and communion.
And not only that, there is no power in our lives.
For testimony, for service.
And there's no joy in our lives, really.
If the union is broken.
Now what about these mountaintops that we read about Solomon?
Because the Song of Solomon is the same subject, is it not Communion?
You know the two scriptures, the Old and the New Tests in the Old Testament, I should say.
There's the scripture that we read about.
Rebecca and Isaac.
As Rebecca makes her way on to meet Isaac, we hear we read of nothing that seems to disturb her. She's quite occupied with what Isaac has to tell her. The servant has to tell her about Isaac.
00:15:00
But in the Song of Solomon, we have turbulence trial testing all the way through.
Just two pictures.
Of the experience of the believer as he makes his way homeward.
The one who goes on in communion in obedience to the word of God. He misses a great deal of this tribulation and so on, but he still needs the pruning.
Still needs the pruning. I know how good it is that there is the pruning.
And so we find that in those mountain tops, those things that the natural mind and heart go out after those things that are elevated in our eyes, our natural eyes, as we saw in the Song of Solomon.
All these things that attract our poor hearts.
I say are because it attracts everyone of us that's here.
And we need continually to be in communion unless we go after these things.
Well, these things that attract our hearts, their lurks right there.
Those which speak of Satan and his power, those wild beasts referred to.
And so they're lurking at these places. We don't suspect this when we go after such things, but it's true that the dangers are there, lurking by these, in these elevated places that are elevated in our minds.
But I want to ask you, dear friends, this afternoon, is there any elevation?
That you can find in this world.
That compares.
With communion.
There was a time when David sat before the Lord and the Lord told him about his house for a long time to come.
And you know what happened after that David failed.
Oh, what a comfort to David, because God's word never changes.
God knew what David was going to do.
About at that moment of communion, God had Phil David's heart.
Without blessing.
In knowing what was going to happen to his house for a long time to come and it sustained him in his trial.
They could go through it. Not precious.
So that's what we have in our chapter.
We have, as we notice a little later on that.
Not only.
That they might be in his presence, but that even they might have his mind too. And that's what we get in his presence, isn't it? We get to know his mind, what he likes to have us do.
Are you in a position this afternoon where you're troubled you'd like to do something but you're not sure?
Well, here it is.
Communion makes it sure.
Sure.
Oh, how good it is to be clear as to our path.
Not act unless we are, and sometimes God answers in that way.
So we can wait upon him. Now let's notice one or two things in this chapter.
We noticed first. Now are ye clean the third verse?
Through the word which I have spoken unto you.
This is basic, isn't it?
We're clean through the Word. That is faith believing the Word.
That's what makes us clean.
And you know, there's no communion unless we're clean. What does it mean to be clean? Every spot and every stain is gone.
Now there's there's satisfaction of heart, there's rest, there's peace.
What's going to break it?
And so we see this communion here, But there's something that might break it.
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And that's our four hearts going out after something else.
And so he said, Abide in me, continue in me, abide in me and I and you as the branch, cannot bear fruit of itself, except to abide in the vines nearness to Christ, as we were singing in our little hymn, no more can ye except ye abide in me.
I am the vine near the branches he that abideth in me, and I and him the same bringeth forth.
Much fruit.
Now we've had fruit.
And then in the second verse more fruit.
And now we have much fruit.
That's growth, isn't it? Now we don't stand still in our Christian life.
How good it would be here once this afternoon if this were the path that we were in right now.
Our hearts at rest satisfied as we sing, satisfied.
With the Lord Jesus, we are blessed.
Do we really mean this? Do I mean it? Do you mean it?
Or we have to confess often that our poor hearts go out after this or that.
But as that little hymn and the appendix gives us that, we might quickly return to this place should it be so.
That we might be kept in communion.
Notice this end of this verse without me.
Verse 5.
You can do nothing.
About your plans, are they leaving this out communion?
Are they leaving the word of God out the principles that guide us? Without me, you can do nothing.
Nothing.
Empty life.
The result?
Six verse I suppose refers to Judas.
He lost his life, this one and the next one. Poor man.
He was with Christ for 3 1/2 years and lost everything.
How sad.
This portion the blackness of darkness forever.
Aren't you glad you're safe for the wrath to come, should there not be a response in return from these four hearts of ours, the one who saved us from so great a death?
Now it says in the seventh 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.
Aaron is my father, glorified in that she bare much fruit.
Unless of the energy.
A testimony to others.
In our lives.
There will be a decline.
Whether it be in a large assembly or a small one, it makes no difference.
Unless there's that energy of testimony going on to others.
There is bound to be decline. Read church history and you will see.
Is there a positive testimony in my life? Will you say, Shall I make one up? No, don't do that.
See if you're not in communion, because if you are, there'll be a testimony.
It may not be like the the other man that's next to you, the brother, it might be quite different, but there will be positive testimony in your life, this communion.
Otherwise, there's declines.
Falling away.
From the.
However, fruit here isn't simply giving out 1000 tracks every year.
Or preaching on the street. That isn't the point.
No proof.
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Is that answer of our hearts to that great heart of love of us communions?
And it's fruit for him.
And it's the joy that the Lord Jesus speaks of here.
Now I'm going to go down to the.
Ninth verse As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
Abide in my love.
That was characterized as that new life, love.
If you keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.
How simple it is one verse following and explaining the other.
Abiding is love. How? If you keep my commandments now what commandments is he Speaking of? The law of Moses? No.
Now he's speaking about that which he has set before them, which of course, in principle includes.
The whole word of God from cover to cover, because it all speaks of Christ, but there are certain things that he set before his own.
Which would lead them in that simple path where they would be kept in communion.
Because simplicity, you know, keeps us in the presence of God.
Simplicity.
Even as I have kept my father's commands and abide in his love, these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Now what joy is the Lord Jesus Speaking of here? My joy might be in you? Is it the joy that he had with the Father back in eternity always?
Well, yes, but in a different way.
It's the joy of the man Christ Jesus down here, walking in a world that's.
To him at every step. And if that joy beloved of communion.
For the Father continually.
That the Lord Jesus had that he wanted his disciples to have.
And that's what would preserve them.
That your joy might be full.
Community.
What are the riches of God's glory?
To get them in Ephesians 3.
But it's not which has to do, beloved, with the inner man.
And how is it known?
To know Christ the no Christ.
That's the secret of it all.
What is the key of knowledge in the Gospel of Luke?
The Pharisees that set aside the key of knowledge.
You have it.
Christ.
Right. It isn't. Something about Christ, Beloved is Christ.
Christ, he acknowledged.
In indwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.
Near completing.
Now.
Greater love is no man.
Than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Ye are my friends.
Ye are my friends.
You do whatsoever I command you.
Supposing I fail and I don't do what he commands me, am I no longer his child? Oh, that's not the subject here. The subject here is communion and fruit bearing.
You're my friends if you do whatsoever I command you.
No, we're all was his children once were born, made clean, as he says. But oh, how often there has to be that restoration in our souls to bring us back to the enjoyment of that same joy that he had as he walked through this world.
Now what about the friends? Well, he tells his friends all his mind. Isn't that lovely?
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We get it put differently in Ephesians 1A. Little more formal way, but it's the same thought.
He makes known his mind to his friends. You want to know his mind? He makes it known to his friends.
Burn the candle in the midnight and study the word Well, that might be all right, but this is first. This is first.
Be sure that you're a friend in the practical sense.
Keep my commandments.
How would anyone know that we love Christ? But because we said we're a Christian? No, because we keep this amendment.
You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you that she should go.
And bring forth fruit. You know the night cometh when no man can work.
I know it's not the subject here necessarily of giving out the gospel or this or that, but it's fruit bearing. But still, it includes all of this.
With that energy that characterizes the Newman as the result of Communion.
Because whatever. Let's remind our hearts of Fresh Beloved, whatever is done outside of Communion.
Amounts to nothing.
Nothing. Nothing.
The return to Deuteronomy 26.
I realize this is a familiar portion to many of you, but maybe the Lord can just give us a few thoughts for our own souls.
Deuteronomy 26.
And it shall be.
When thou art come into the land.
Which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance?
And possesses this.
And dwelleth therein, that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit.
Of the earth.
Which thou shalt bring of thine land.
That the Lord thy God giveth thee.
And shall put it in a basket.
And shall go unto the place.
Which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there?
And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord swear unto our fathers, or to give us.
And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hands and set it down.
Before the altar of the Lord thy God.
And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God.
A Syrian ready to perish was my father.
And he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few.
And became there a nation great mighty.
And populous.
And the Egyptians evil entreated us.
And afflicted us, and laid upon us hard *******.
And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction and our labor, and our oppression. And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm.
And with great terribleness and with signs and wonders.
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And yet brought us under this place.
And have given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which thou, O Lord, has given me, And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing.
Which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house.
Thou and the Levites and the stranger that is among you. You know, I might just say this first.
That don't get the idea as we read a portion like this.
That you can do anything to please the Lord before you have received the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Sometimes that gets into the minds of young folks and older folks too. But you know, anything that we might seek to bring or to do for the Lord apart from the Lord Jesus Christ as a as knowing them, as our own personal Savior, is worth worse than worthless.
To God, it's an abomination. To God, it's just like canes offerings, his bloodless offering. He sought to bring the fruits of a cursed ground. I have no doubt that what Cain brought was probably the best of what he had raised. Oh, no doubt it was the choices of his crops. Perhaps lovely things, but totally unacceptable to God because he had no sense.
Of what was due to God and even though even though he made a mistake.
God and his grace made a provision for him. He made a provision because it said sin, or a sin offering lieth at the door. But Cain wouldn't avail himself of that which God provided in the rebellion and stubbornness of his heart. You cannot you cannot do a thing to please God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know him as your Savior This afternoon we always wonder about that.
In a group this size, undoubtedly there are those here who don't do not know the Lord Jesus Christ. Can you sit in a company like this? Can you sit through a meeting like we had this morning and still close up your affections to the Lord Jesus and still refuse him in your heart? Oh dear friend, what a solemn thing it is. And just think how your responsibility increases as you.
Bear witness.
To the grace of God may partake her, so to speak, of the grace of God, and yet to turn your backs on the Lord Jesus. What horrible memories you'll have throughout an endless eternity if you die in your sins. Oh, but a gracious God stands ready to save you, to forgive you all those guilty sins, to cringe you and make you fit for His holy presence, and to make a Purge worshipper out of you, so you can indeed bring that.
Which is acceptable to him. And indeed, once we are redeemed, once we do know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, once we are made 5th to come into the very holiest of all by the blood of Jesus, then indeed it is our privilege to bring that which is acceptable to Him. So here we see that this one spoken of.
It says that when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possesses it, and dwelleth therein well, I trust that most here in the room this afternoon have come into these privileges and blessings through the finished work of Christ. If you have, indeed, you have the privilege then to offer these spiritual sacrifices. In the case of Israel here it was a material thing.
It was something that they brought in a basket. Now that in itself, I believe, should speak to our hearts and consciences. May I just ask this question?
You know, when we sat here this morning in the Lord's presence, Oh dear brethren, did we sit there with barrenness of hearts? Do we come to the Lord's Day morning meeting, and our hearts are barren and cold. Has that been our case?
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Oh, dear brother. And I have to hang my head in shame, because there have been times that I have come into the Lord's presence and I have found barrenness in my soul, Nothing to offer the Lord. Doesn't it make us ashamed He's done so much for us. And why is it that there is such barrenness with us? Why isn't there that response of our hearts to his affection? Oh, it's the distraction. It's the things in this life, things that would just drag us downward.
And make us so that we're untruthful in our hearts of the Lord. I just wonder if someone could give me a little glass of water. I have trouble with my.
Lips and.
Now notice in verse 2.
It says thou shalt go under the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name there. We've heard a good deal on that subject, have we not, dear brethren? God indeed, as we know, has a place. He has his divine center. It was true in Israel's economy. It is true in this present day. It doesn't cease. No matter how great the confusion is that has come in to the Christian testimony, it's still true.
God still has a divine center. He has a place. He has indeed a place where these spiritual sacrifices should be offered up freely.
And then it says.
Thank you.
Verse four. And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hands, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God. This indicates.
That the individual here.
Had something to offer.
Communion is a real and a practical thing, is it not, dear brethren, it's a real thing. I enjoyed what a brother said and it hit my conscience, he says. Communion is not like a faucet that you can turn on and off.
No, And it it isn't something that can suddenly be acquired. Lord's Day Morning.
I believe this indicates that there was some preparation, something in advance to this time when the individual brought this basket of first fruits.
Perhaps it would suggest to us an enjoyment of the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts through the week before the Lords Day came about. Is this true with us, beloved friends, beloved brethren? I fear sometimes that we allow the the necessities and things of this life to crowd out the Lord in such a way that perhaps we go through the week in kind of a limbo state.
Until Lord's Day morning comes, and then we find there's barrenness with us. I believe if there were more enjoyments of the Lord Jesus through the week, perhaps our baskets would be full. Lord's Day Morning. Do you think so? I say this for my own conscience too. It's a real thing, isn't it? It's a real thing. Another remark that a brother made several years ago that I didn't forget. And it's nothing new to you But he said.
There is no substitute.
For communion, is that right? No substitute for communion. We know it's the truth, don't we? There's nothing like communion with the Lord. Absolutely nothing. Service won't replace it as we have brought before us only that communion with the Lord and every dear child of God indeed can enjoy that. And circumstances really, really don't govern it as far as a person's health or something of that's concerned, because.
Often, as we've had brought before us, some Saints that are in great affliction bear more fruit than those who have greater advantages, and perhaps are enjoying the Lord to a far greater extent in their souls than those that would have greater advantages.
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But in verse 5.
We must ever be reminded.
Of the pit from which we have been dug.
Because the word says But such were some of you, But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of God. Oh dear brethren, all by his grace, all by his precious blood, were made fit for God's holy presence, were made 5th, so that we can worship as those who have been plans for the blood of Christ.
But verse 7 says.
And when we cried under the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction and on our labor and our oppression, And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders will we ever be able.
To Plumb the depths of Calvary's cross.
Will we ever unfold the wonders of God's redemption? Oh, how great the terribleness. Think of what the Lord Jesus went through in those three hours of darkness. That he might have you and I with himself in glory. Oh, what terribleness He passed through will never, will never fully enter into it. It'll always, I believe, remain a mystery forever. What a precious mystery.
But nevertheless we can rejoice.
In the fact that this has been our deliverance, this has been our deliverance, the Lord heard our Christ. What a deliverance He is wrought, what a place of blessing He's brought us into through the work of Christ and thought says in verse 9, And He hath brought us into this place, and have given this this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey, what rich blessings from God.
A precious privilege to really sit in the Lord's presence and to enjoy the Lord in our hearts. Sometimes we speak.
In a very familiar way as to the morning meeting being a warship meeting.
Well, indeed that's true. That should be the characteristic of the Lords Day Morning meeting, a worship meeting. But if there's any worship Lords Day morning, it must spring from our hearts as individuals. We can't just sit there with cold hearts and offer warships to God.
Unto the Lord Jesus.
So I believe this indicates to us a reality with the 1A reality and it says that.
Verse 10 And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hath given me.
And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God.
There's true worship, just like the Lord Jesus said to the woman at sikers. Well, the hour cometh and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. It says God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Beloved brethren, God wants reality. We can't deceive him, can we? Yet I hang my head and own and confess how I black reality.
In my life, but he wants reality.
And so it says.
And verse 11. And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing.
The Lord thy God has given unto thee, and under thy house thou and the Levites and the stranger that is among you. Yes, indeed, there is real rejoicing connected with that. It's only a normal thing that our hearts would rejoice if indeed we have true worship to offer to the Lord Jesus. We're the receivers too. It just works out that way. We benefit too. We rejoice in our hearts over the privilege.
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And the Lord rejoices to.
Our Brother and the opening prayer made mention of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, and the Chief Shepherd.
Let us read just briefly a few verses from John's Gospel, chapter 10.
There we have the Good Shepherd brought before us, and a very blessed way.
And the truth that we have will have before us should draw out our hearts and Thanksgiving.
And praise to him.
And will result in communion and worship.
Without chapter of John.
On the 14th verse.
Perhaps we better read the 11Th verse for the connection.
I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd give us his life.
For the shape.
The 14th verse.
I am the Good Shepherd and know my sheep, and I've known of mine.
As the Father knoweth me, Even so I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep, another sheep I have which are not of this, fold them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, And there shall be 1 flock it should be.
And one shepherd therefore, death. My father loved me, because I laid down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received as a father.
Now go on down to the 27th verse.
And notice the wording in a particular way.
The young people, the children love to.
Stand up and quote this verse.
And some of us were older.
I tell you this, the first expressions in this 27th verse are full of meaning. Let the truth are unfolded, and will not exhaust those truths this afternoon, nor tomorrow, nor the following day.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them and they follow me.
And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than us, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.
I and my father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
If there's a boy or girl here, man or woman, in this audience this afternoon.
That is not sheltered under the precious blood of Christ.
You are not of one of Christ's chief.
Themselves on the 53rd chapter of Isaiah.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray.
That's the whole of Adams race gone and straight.
Out in the last verse of the 119th Psalm, the writer could say I was a lost sheep. A lost sheep.
But thank God for everyone whom the Lord hath sought and found.
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Whom the Lord has sought and found for the shepherd.
Saw her Sheikh.
What does that mean?
These verses that we read prior to this 27th verse.
And brought before us 11 young people here this afternoon.
They brought before us the person of our Lord Jesus Christ as the good shepherds, the Good Shepherd that giveth his life for the sheep.
In a three fold way as a dependent man.
My commandment of the Father.
And voluntarily.
Or that characterizes the Good Shepherd.
The one who gave him life for the Shape as a Dependent Man.
My commandment of the Father and voluntarily.
Did you call upon the Lord to come down and go to Calvary's cross?
And pass through those hours of darkness.
The last of the last three hours.
Did you call upon God for salvation?
Indeed not God, blessed one before us in this chapter is the one of the 40th Psalm, though I come to do thy will, O God, And what was that will to go to Calvary's past and?
There as we have in the bird offering aspect in John's Gospel.
1St to glorify God in connection with a question of sin, answer every question, satisfy God in a proficiency area work, and then as a result of the shedding of His precious blood that we might have.
Our sins washed away, that redemption works. And so on the 12Th chapter of Hebrews we have again the joy that was set before him.
The cross despising the shame and as we've had before us this day and yesterday.
The Lord having a companion for himself in glory, no doubt that joy in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse two has a two fold meaning. First of all, the joy of our blessed Lord in doing God's will in connection with the question of sin.
And unto his joy in having a companion for himself in the Father's house, well, I trust. I say this, I trust that all here are sheltered under the precious blood of Christ, and know the Lord Jesus as a Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd that give us his life for the sheep.
To you who are sheltered under that precious blood, to whom to hear that are on your way to glory.
Are these words will be addressed on the 1St 2 words that I'd like to call your attention to is my sheep not your sheep?
There's a Good Shepherd saying my sheep.
What does that suggest?
They suggest to me the blessed thought of relationship.
Relationship, but first of all ownership.
We belong to Christ. We have been redeemed with His precious blood.
The cost is precious blood. All the cost to God.
And we speak reverently the cost of God in connection with redemptions works.
The cost to our blessed Savior and Lord in passing through those hours of darkness which we had before us this morning, and the shedding of His precious blood that we might be brought into this place of blessings. We belong to Christ, dear believer, young as you may be, old as you may be, God looks down in this audience this afternoon, and He knows everyone.
01:00:01
But he says you He saves me in Christ Jesus. What a portion. How blessed to be in that position in Christ Jesus. Well, the Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd, says my sheep.
You belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.
He has bought you. He has paid the full price.
Do we appreciate that question which we have in him?
Do we appreciate the fact that?
I belong to him.
On in relationship so that we know the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior. All we've been brought into relationship with God. That is true as we've had before us. And I'm reading so that we can dress God as our father, as his children. But notice the relationship here. You know the Good Shepherd in a very personal.
Way so that our affections are drawn out to that Blessed One. Endure the fact he loved me and gave himself for me.
Well then, the next word words are hear my voice.
Hear my voice.
I blessed this.
Privilege it is dear young people.
To hear the voice.
Of the shepherd.
The Grand Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, Enrique can give him that place as Chief Shepherd in our hearts even now.
Pulling in the coming days.
What a privilege it is to hear his voice.
To be found.
Listening to his voice.
How do we hear his voice?
All through the written words.
Through the word and all the.
That thought has been expressed so many times today as well as yesterday.
Of that word I am away the truth and the life, the wake of the Father.
The truth about the Father.
And that life, eternal life, which he will give to the lost sheep that puts his or her trust in him.
This morning.
Some of us had the privilege of hearing his voice.
That verse in the 26th chapter of Isaiah or the portion of the verse.
I enjoy much.
The desire of our hearts is toward Thy name and the remembrance of thee.
Was that was that your desire this morning? Was that my desire this morning?
As we.
Came together and I trust gathered by the Holy Spirit around our Blessed One who loved us and gave himself for us.
To answer to his desire. His desire. Do this in remembrance of Me.
I wanted to make a statement.
At this time without care or contradiction.
Or criticism on the part of the older brother. I don't believe you dear young people, or those who are your altar that are older.
Are in full enjoyment of your salvation.
Fall enjoyment of your salvation.
Unless you have been gathered by the Holy Spirit around the person of the Christ and have remembered him in death according to his request, it is thought that rejoices the heart of the blessed Savior. As he says, the young as well as those who are older gather together.
Answering to his request. This too in remembrance of me.
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Are his voice and then his voice all during the week?
This morning we had the special occasion of partaking of the bread and drinking of the cup, but what did we not remember the Lord all during the week?
Was it Was that blessed truth blank in our minds all during the week? How do we know thoughts of the person of Christ and that work which He accomplished on Calvary spots for us?
Having all thoughts as to our present portion in Christ Jesus as to the hope which we have in Him, oh, I trust.
That it was so with each one of us here this afternoon, then on the occasion this morning with a full heart.
An overflowing heart. We remembered him in a special way.
And the partaking of the bread and drinking of the cup.
What a privilege to hear the shepherd's voice, The shepherd's voice, whether it be in connection with this too, in remembrance of me, or what is that today. Follow thou me.
As the Lord Jesus tells Peter, those two fierce as Saints of God had a little difficulty between themselves to look for perhaps a little jealousy, and the Lord changes his turn to Peter and says never mind.
What's that? What's that today? You just follow me and the Lord Jesus just walks off the scene and we're followers.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ, followers of a rejected Christ. But if this is what becomes the child of God, to realize the blessed fact of his ownership, that Christ has paid the full price.
And redemptions work that I might be brought into this place of blessing relationship with Him as well as with God our fathers. And now we follow Him in a scene of His rejection.
We had problems last night.
As we heard this morning, if the Lord carries, Lord doesn't come, our problems are going to increase 11.
Seven hates the testimony.
He'll do anything and everything to rob us of that joy which we had before us yesterday.
And we need not be surprised.
If our Lord be not come.
Of the necessity of digging in for protection.
Well, I know them. That's next. Isn't that nice that we know the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior? Peter says unto you, which believe He is the preciousness, the sum and substance of all that is precious unto you, which believe. He is the preciousness.
But he's precious to me.
But I am precious to him. I am precious to him.
He knows me, He knows all about me and thank God he has made slow provision for my pathway. We have the Holy Spirit.
That a divine person within.
And we have the word of God.
And what more do we want? What more do we want?
The Holy Spirit within, on the Word of God, and the office of the Holy Spirit, to take of the things of Christ and minister to them under what? To bring these precious truths ever before.
All that we might be careful, then, in connection with our walk on our way, so that we grieve not the Holy Spirit.
If I agree the Holy Spirit, I'm hindering that blessings which God has for me.
And until As for the word all that we might hide thy God's word in our hearts, that we might not sin against him, I know them.
01:10:04
And they follow me.
Oh yes, we're following in the footsteps.
Of the rejected Savior. But shortly, we're going to get into Double QuickTime. You folks that go to school know what I mean by that? We're going to get into Double QuickTime. We're going to hear the voice.
Of our blessed Savior, come up, hit her, but remember, we're following.
And should be following in any steps, And his steps, not a far off but close to his fierce aside, is only there in safety and peace we can abide.
They follow me.
We are all followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.
All that is those who know the Lord Jesus Christ the Savior.
We are someone's also.
Been taken out of this world.
Through the death of Christ, we're just passing through it as strangers and pilgrims.
We have been sent back into this world.
I sent one by the resurrection of Christ.
And as following Christ, we are representing him.
Representing the Lord Jesus Christ in every step of the pathway.
I possibly represent that one to the praise and glory of himself, for he all is worthy.
Worthy as we had this morning again, worthy of homage and of praise, worthy by all the endorsed exhaust his name of heavenly days, Thou thou art worthy Jesus, Lord, well, we go on.
The Lord Jesus gives us something.
All the wages of sin is death.
Gift of God is eternal life.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, eternal life. Not the life of Adam, not the life that an Israelite that he kept the whole law would have.
An eternal life, that very life of Christ.
Indwelling the believer, I gave unto them eternal life and further.
They shall never perish. I'm old fashioned enough to believe.
In eternal security of the believer.
I'm not old fashioned.
To believe that the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross.
Fully saves my soul if I appropriate that work for myself. And I'm never going to perish, Never perish.
Do you believe that?
Do you believe that truth? I trust so. There are many believers today.
That do not go that far. They have to do their part of how that robs Christ of that glory.
Which is his by rights on title. Well, then we go on. They shall never perish, that. Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
You think for a moment that someone could pluck me out of the Good Shepherd's Hand or the Great Shepherd's Hand. Never.
That in itself secures me, but we have a double security. My father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand.
I and my father.
Are what When the Shepherd and the 16th chapter of Luke.
Saw the sheep.
He didn't drive it home to the cold.
When he put it on his shoulders.
Perhaps some of you young folks haven't heard this?
Before I know the older ones have.
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He put the sheep on his shoulders. Not just one shoulder, but both shoulders, the heat of strength and with the one hand firmly clasped upon the legs.
On the either side that knotty sheep could squirm all it wanted, but it couldn't get away from the shepherd. It was in a place of security and beloved boys and girls here this afternoon.
If you know this one is a Good Shepherd as well as a Great Shepherd, you're secure for all time and for all eternity. But that doesn't license you to have do your own way or go your own way. That should draw your heart and your affections.
To that one who loves you and gave himself for you all to hear his voice, oh to follow him in this the scene of his rejection, And then start waiting that blessed moment, when he that shall come will come, and will not carry. Keep the eye fixed on price.
Then the heart will follow.
The eye and the feet will follow the heart.
That's the secret, keeping our eyes on that blessed one.
And then our hearts, our affections, will be drawn out of that one.
Then our feet will be willing to walk in that path that he has marked out for us.
Open Mtg.
Open—C. Lunden, D. Andersen
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General Meetings, Montreal, October 1975 Open meeting.
That's #301.
And going on with some of the thoughts that we've had in our reading meetings, I would like to turn to Mark.
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The 6th chapter.
And the 31St verse.
Mark 6 and 31.
And he said unto them.
Come ye yourselves apart.
Into a desert place and rest a while, for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure.
So much as to eat.
Now in John 14.
In verse 23.
Jesus answered and said unto him, If any man love me, he will keep my words. Really my word I believe it is, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Now I believe in our reading meetings that we've had the thought of the presence of the Lord, whether it be here in this world, the enjoyment of it.
Or whether it be that which we are anticipating being in his presence in the glory.
You know, beloved, it's been said that there's a very fine line or veil between ourselves in heaven.
And you know, it's a wonderful thing to enjoy the truth of John's Gospel.
Because their heaven is brought right to us.
In the person of Jesus.
Now we know that the Lord Jesus is not walking here on earth today.
But we have his word.
And what's more?
We have the Holy Spirit to open the precious things of Christ to us.
I thought it might be helpful just to give a few illustrations from the Old Testament and elsewhere.
Of those who had experienced these things, now we know that in the Old Testament we have types pictures, but they're helpful.
And I'd like to turn first of all to the 18th chapter of Second Samuel.
Just a moment please.
I believe it's Second Chronicles 17, First Chronicles 17.
First Chronicles 17.
Verse 16.
David the King came and sat before the Lord.
And said, Who am IO, Lord God? And what is mine house that thou hast brought me hitherto?
And yet this was a small thing in thine eyes, O God, for thou hast also spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and that's regarded me according to the estate of a man of high degree, O Lord God.
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What can David speak more to thee for the honor of thy servants, for thou knowest thy servant?
Oh Lord, for thy servants sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all this greatness in making known unto all these great things?
Oh oh Lord, there's none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, people, Israel, who God went to redeem, to be his own people, to make the name of greatness terribleness by driving out nations from before thy people whom thus redeemed out of Egypt.
Well, that's perhaps enough in that passage.
Just calling attention to the fact that David.
Was a man after God's own heart.
And here he sat before the Lord.
And the Lord communicated to him some things.
That were a real help to David afterwards.
He told him about his house for a long time to come.
You know, there were there was a time a little later when David got into trouble.
And he sinned. He numbered the people.
And.
If he hadn't had this experience, where would he have been?
I suppose David could have said if he hadn't had this experience. Well, now it's all over with me. God is going to take the Kingdom away from me.
No.
He had sat before the Lord, and he told him about his house for a long time to come.
We've had much in these meetings about the word of God and the importance of reading it.
How good it is to be fortified for the days to come?
By the precious truth that he communicates to us by the Spirit.
The Word of God.
Open to us by the Spirit.
I needn't repeat what's been said how we need.
To be continually reading the word of God.
Because, you know, it says the fountain were and there's plenty of water is clean.
But not only clean, we prepare ourselves for what's coming. And how do you know what's coming?
How do you know what's going to happen in your life tomorrow? You remember that woman in the second Kings when she when the Prophet passed by?
Why she invited him into the house.
And then, as often as he passed by, he turned in feather. So she built a little house on the wall for him. A room.
And then trouble came.
Trouble came. Her son died.
What does she do? She takes her son and lays him on the bed of the man of God and in his own room. That lovely.
Communion.
That 4th chapter.
Of second kings shows US communion.
It's Philippians 4 superiority to circumstances around us. How Communion.
Presence of the Lord? Oh yes, we're going to be in His presence up there, but how about now?
Now David was told about his house for a long time to come and that there would be always one to sit on that throne. Wasn't that a comfort when he was in trouble?
And he found that that judgment of God was coming upon the nation.
And the plague was stayed at the threshing floor of Aruna.
And you know, God is greater than all of our fears because of the very place where that plague was stayed. The temple was to be built, not marvelous.
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Oh, how little we know of God here in this world, in our wilderness experience. But we'll know more if we're in communion. And you know something else, David said here.
Thou knowest thy servants.
It's good to be conscious, beloved, that God knows us all together.
To have that consciousness day by day, it'll keep us humble.
Our brethren may not know all about us, but God does.
Now turn with me to the book of Ruth, just for a few verses, please.
Now Ruth comes just before Samuel, you know, and.
After the book of Judges, where everyone is doing right in his own eyes.
And here we have the grace of God coming in to a Gentile, A Moabite us.
And it's a little picture I know of Israel in the coming day. Who's going to return?
As Gentile, they're coming in on the ground of Sovereign Grace when they come back.
But what I'd like to speak is simply this.
Picture we have in the history of Ruth, where she is in the presence of the Lord. Now I know it's a tie, but still we have the picture.
It's it's Boaz the strongman.
The Strongman. Now the first reference I would like to read is.
And the.
14th verse.
Now the second chapter.
The roof.
And boy said unto her, At meal time, Come thou hit her, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar.
And she sat beside the reapers, and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left, that is, there was some lapses of thought.
There's more than she could take care of and that she brought to her mother-in-law.
Now here we find a Moabitess that has.
Discovered the field.
Of the man who was the Redeemer. A lovely picture.
It's a picture of Christ, and she's come under his protection.
And he reaches her parts **** You know, that is a little picture to us of the death of Christ.
But it's that aspect where exposed directly to the fire.
It's really a deepening sense in our souls.
Of the work of Christ.
Spoils right to the fire and why for me?
He took my place.
Now this is what she discovers in his presence.
He took my place.
He reached her the parched park.
And it's one thing for you to say, dear friend, this afternoon.
Yes, I know Christ is the Savior, but it's another thing for you to be able to hear Him say to you Thy sins are forgiven thee. Oh how precious that is to have Him speak to us in His presence.
She was in his presence, and he reached through the parched corn.
And then she partook of the vinegar or wine.
And she was so overwhelmed with the grace.
And the provision that she had, that which was left to take to her mother-in-law.
I think you'll find that case if you look up the passage carefully.
She had enough to take to her mother-in-law.
Is it so beloved that you and I as we're in the presence of the Lord as we leave these meetings?
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That we're going to have something to take back with us.
We won't if we've simply been listeners without the sense of being in the presence of the Lord.
Now another verse in the third chapter.
15th verse.
Also he said, Bring the veil that thou hast upon me, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured 6 measures of barley, and laid it on her, and she went into the city.
Now if you don't read the context, this won't mean anything to you.
But if you'll notice earlier, when when the harvest season was on, it was ended, now this was at the threshing floor.
But at the time of the harvest season, she had gleaned all through barley harvest and all through wheat harvest.
And she had gathered just half this much.
And now, as she holds out her apron, he fills it with twice as much as she'd ever got.
Beloved, you and I will have this experience in the presence of the Lord.
It's a good thing to glean.
But you know, sometimes when we sit quietly, when we come aside, apart, to rest a while in His presence, as He asked His disciples to do.
And then we we find that as we meditate on the precious word of God, suddenly the truth comes. The Spirit of God opens it to us. Have you ever had that experience?
And before you can say, I don't know what that passage means, I can't understand it. Suddenly the Spirit of God, as it were, opened the whole thing to you, and he fills the apron.
And then she takes it home to her mother-in-law.
The.
It's been said, you know, unless there's the energy.
In our souls.
In testimony to others, there will be decline.
And there can't be that energy.
Beloved, except in his presence.
We can know all the truth of Scripture by heart, but if there isn't a sense of His presence as we have in John 14.
Is coming down here to be with us as He has promised. If we keep His commandments, then if there isn't that, there won't be real testimony, will there?
But now shall we turn to another passage?
Return to Genesis 18.
And the Lord appeared unto him Abraham and the plains of Mammary means fatness.
And he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day.
And he lifted up his eyes and looked. And lo, three men stood by him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, My Lord, if now I found favor thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee from thy servant, What a little water. I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, and I will fetch A Marsala bread.
And comforts you your hearts. After that you shall pass on, for therefore are you come to your service.
And they said, So do as thou said. Abraham hasted hastened into the 10 under Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly, 3 measures of fine meal needed. Make cakes upon the heart. Neighbor ran under the herd, and fetched the calf, tender and good, and gave it unto a young man. And he hasted to dress it. And he took butter and milk, and the calf, which he addressed, and set it before them.
And he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
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Now here we have again.
A believer in the presence of the Lord.
But what we notice here is.
That when the Lord came to his house or tent, it was because Abraham was a Pilgrim.
Abraham was ready.
And he provided exactly what pleased this divine guest.
I wonder if that's a word for our hearts this afternoon.
If the Lord came to our house.
Would you say, well, I I'm sorry, but I'm not ready for you. Is that the case? Sometimes, you know, a guest comes to our house and surprises us, and we may not be ready for them, but we should always be ready when the Lord comes to our house.
And it seems that Abraham had a sense in his soul.
Exactly the things that please the Lord and would refresh him. Oh, you say, can you refresh the Lord? Yes you can, beloved.
He finds his joy in his people.
And so we find that he provided something that's good and tender.
Something that was rich butter, milk, a calf, tender and good.
But now where did they eat?
Under the tree.
Does that suggest to you the cross of Christ?
It does to me.
It's something like the Prodigal son feasting in the father's house on the Fatted Calf.
Communion on the ground of the death of Christ.
Ah, beloved, that's precious communion. And that will be our heavenly portion. And you know, Abraham.
Was reassured of the promises that had made him the depository of God's counsels at this time.
How was it that Abraham had come to the point where he was prepared for the Lord in this way? The Lord had appeared to him at least five times before.
He'd been in his presence.
He's going to appear to him once more when he offers up his son.
He's prepared. Abraham and Abraham had availed himself of these opportunities.
Well, there's much to be said, but I'm not going to say anymore about that. But I'd like to call attention now to a passage.
In Ephesians 5.
There's so much that can be said on this subject.
But.
That's not the purpose. It's just a call to my own heart once more. And yours.
The thought of his presence. Ephesians 5.
Speaking a little, you know of his presence here on earth.
And how, as was said in John 14, that if we keep his commandments, we'll enjoy this.
And the Father and the Son will come down and make his abode with us here. Isn't that precious?
Here in the wilderness, as we pass through it, the one who walks in communion, the one who walks in obedience.
Will find his presence with them. The Father and the Son is enjoyed by faith.
All dear young people, be sure you start your home that way. Don't forget the altar.
Abraham had no altar in Egypt.
No altar in each.
They got to be in the place of God's appointment in the land. There he had an altar.
But now in Ephesians we're going to speak just briefly 2 passages, one in Ephesians and one in Luke about the other side.
When we get home.
And this is so precious, beloved. So precious.
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His 27th verse of Ephesians 5.
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy.
Without blemish. Now what I'm going to emphasize is that he might present it to himself.
Oh, what a glorious day that will be, beloved.
How precious.
His presence.
The moment for which every moment has been made.
When he'll see.
For the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.
And you're going to be satisfied too.
When he presents her to himself.
And there won't be any wrinkles, there won't be any spots, and there won't be any blemishes.
Planning hours.
Oh yes, there's plenty.
But God doesn't want us to be.
Occupied entirely with our failures, you know, only enough to judge them.
But he does want us occupied to this, you know, it's the believers hope that keeps him above the level of this world.
He's going to present us to himself.
Thou spotted one more passage in Luke.
Not to dwell on them, Luke 12.
And this will tell us what was going to happen.
When we're home in the glory.
We have much of it in Luke because Luke gives us heavenly things.
Luke 12.
Verse 237 Blessed are those servants.
Whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching.
Verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meet, and will come forth.
And serve them.
All beloved, could we project ourselves for a moment to that happy land to which we're going?
We'll see ourselves seated at that table.
And the Lord himself serving.
He loves to serve.
He served when he was down here, He served the father and he served his people.
And yet he was Lord.
He's serving now is our great High priest and our advocate.
The high priest to keep us in the enjoyment.
Heavenly things because that's Hebrews. The better things. Heavenly things.
As our advocate in the Epistle of John John 13 as well.
To wash our feet, to restore our souls, which we need so much.
In the wilderness because they get dirty. Don't stay down here.
Defiled in the wilderness.
Yes.
But think of that day, beloved. When there won't be any more defilement, there won't be anything to hinder those joys.
And that's what we've been called to, because our portion is not sorrow.
We may pass through it temporarily, but our portion is joy. Pure joy.
Let's not seek it here in a world that's just full of sin. Arise. This is not your rest. It's polluted, the Prophet says.
And so with the heart occupied, then with Christ and his coming, and then to be taken and placed over, shall we say, into that next scene to see.
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His love manifested as he serves us in that day. He's coming forth to serve. He's going to gird himself.
Come forth and serve. Why? Because he loves us.
That's the reason he came to die for us, because he loved us.
And that's the reason he lives for us as a man.
And that's the reason he's going to.
Service at the table in that land, that happy land. Oh beloved, we might be there tonight.
But be sure that your spirits are there tonight, whether your body is or not.
And if you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And then he tells us that his father, he and his father, will come and make their abode with us.
Let us turn to Revelation Chapter 21.
I.
Just for a few moments.
Looking at the description of the Heavenly city.
Because that heavenly city is going to be made-up.
Of people.
Souls redeemed by the Precious Blood of Christ.
And every redeemed 1 here in this room is going to be there.
All the redeemed from ages past, even before the Lord came into this scene.
All the states, all that belong to Christ will be there making up that heavenly city, and those cities are made-up of people.
If there aren't any people in a place that used to be called a city, it's called a ghost town. But people make up cities, and this is the heavenly city, the heavenly Jerusalem, that we're going to read a few verses about. Revelation chapter 21.
Verse 9.
And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me saying.
Come hit her. I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife.
Remember, it's the Apostle John that gets these visions.
And John has said in his epistle he that hath this hope in him.
Purifies himself.
I doubt we can be much occupied with heavenly things.
And our being with Christ and being part of that heavenly company, being around the Lord Jesus Christ in the glory.
Thinking of being ministered to by the Lord Jesus Christ himself, as we've just been reminded.
I don't believe we can be occupied with these things.
And not experience something of the dropping off of earthly things here.
It loosens us from things here to be occupied with Christ and the glory that we're going to be in and to be with Christ.
And that's why it's good for us to be thinking about that future day, the hope.
The heavenly city of which we're going to be a part.
I'm sure we have not even begun to enter into what it's going to be like to be there.
We were occupied with that in our readings and what a blessed thing it's going to be.
To be with the Lord.
And all. What a happy place, what a joyous place, what a wonderful place it will be because he is there.
Now John is told by this Angel, come hit her, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. What an experience this must have been for the Apostle John to get a look at himself as among all of those who make up this heavenly city.
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I wonder what effect it had upon John.
Well, I'm sure that he had the feeling, oh, I'd like to be there now. I'd like to be there now. I've gotten a vision.
And he couldn't be the same after that. If you and I get a little glimpse of the glory, we're not going to be the same.
You know, we get hold of things down here and we grab hold on to them and keep hold on them. We hold on tenaciously and we don't like to give loose of these things.
And I think of a little illustration that our brother Jackson, who's now with the Lord, gave us.
And he was giving the example of runners in a relay race.
He said, you know there are 4 runners in a relay race and these runners run.
Four parts of the race.
And they have a baton that they pass from one to the other.
And the first one starts out with the baton in his hand and he runs down the distance and the other runners right there to grab the baton and run on with it to the next one.
He said if the first runner held on to that baton too tightly as the other one grabbed it.
He might get hurt, might hurt his wrist.
You know, there's coming a time when we're going to be taken out of this scene.
And will be taken in a moment.
The twinkling of an eye. And that's what happened right now.
I wonder if we're hanging on to something down here too tightly and it would hurt.
When we had to let loose of it, well, I didn't forget that. But that's our tendency naturally, isn't it?
To cling to things down here, oh, what a test it is to think of the coming of the Lord.
Who take us away from the whole thing here in a moment, the twinkling of an eye.
I love that thought about the Jubilee, that the closer they got to the Year of Jubilee that less value things had.
Well, let's think about it, that we're right close to the coming of the Lord. What value should we put upon things? What value do we put upon?
Well, let's look some further here.
And it carried me away in the spirit of great and high mountain and showed me that city leave out great because it's just holiness that's emphasized here. The holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, the Holy Jerusalem.
I suppose that's connected with what John says to he that hath this hope in him purifieth himself. Just think of it. We're going to be part of the holy Jerusalem.
And there will not be anything defiling there because we read further on in this description.
Over in the 27th verse, there shall be no wise enter into it anything that the pilot neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, But they which are written in the Lamb's book of life, nothing defiling, will get in there. And our brothers pointed to that scripture in Ephesians chapter 5, that he's going to present us to himself.
Spotless without blemish.
A glorious church.
I'm so thankful that the Lord is doing the work.
And right now he's washing us with the water of the word.
Cleansing us daily, exercising our hearts.
But all he's looking forward to that moment.
That he'll have us with himself. A glorious church And what a joy.
That will be to himself. And when we think of his joy, that's our joy.
And it speaks of this city as having the glory of God. And her light was like unto a stone most precious even like a Jasper stone clearing clears crystal, and had a wall great and high and had 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels names written on which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel, so on having the glory of God.
00:45:11
We're going to have the glory of God.
Can we begin to imagine what that glory is going to be like?
Certainly the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and his grace.
Well, that's fine, isn't it? That's what we need to have these things of Earth grow strangely dim.
As we're looking at the grace of the Lord and at His glory.
Grace down here and glory up there.
But we thank God for the grace that's going to be revealed to us at the Coming.
At the appearing of the Lord Jesus, as Peter speaks of, we'll never forget the grace. Never. We look back and we'll see how gracious he's been to us. Saved by grace, kept by grace, finally brought to glory by grace, and we'll be occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ there, and all of His glory. We'll see him as he is.
And you know we're going to be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
We couldn't bear to see him as he is until we're made like him, but all we're going to be like him and we'll see him as he is.
How little we meditate upon these things now, but it's really good for us to meditate upon them.
We're going to be in the glory with the Lord Jesus. We're going to be associated with him in his glory.
What is glory?
Manifested Excellence, That's what glory is.
That's why.
There was a certain glory that attached to the Blessed Lord when he was hanging on the cross, because he was glorifying God and the excellence.
The wonderful excellence of God was brought out there.
At Calvary's Cross, we know more about the love of God. We know more about the compassion of God and his mercy.
His Grace Because we look at Calvary, God is glorified in the death of His Son.
And that's why God is going to glorify his Son. He's going to be put on display and we'll be there associated with him in the display. Isn't that something to look forward to, having the glory of God?
We noticed that this city has a wall around it. I just like to call attention to that.
And I believe.
That the in the 18th verse.
That this Jasper.
That he speaks out there is perhaps.
The same as was referred to in verse 11 in connection with the glory of God. It seems like this Jasper clears crystal is a symbol of the visible glory of God. Now it says that the building of the wall of it was of Jasper and the city was pure gold like unto clear glass the wall.
Was of Jasper. Well now of this Jasper that's referred to in verse 11 is a symbol of the glory of God. Here we have it again.
Could it be that this wall speaks of the glory of God? A wall around the city?
We can think of it in connection with the assembly now here on earth.
There is a wall around the assembly, a wall of separation.
Like the city of Jerusalem, the earthly city Jerusalem had a wall around it. The assembly has a wall around it.
And if this wall is the glory of God?
We realize how important it is.
And this wall will surely ensemble here, At least tell us that there's something there to keep out what's going to defile the city? Nothing will enter into defile. Nothing that is an honouring and glorifying to God will get into that city.
00:50:12
And this is God's mind for the assembly, now that nothing should come in to dishonor God.
Nothing. That's.
Not consistent with the glory of God if it's not consistent with the glory of God.
It should not be allowed in and so if anyone.
We might just use this illustration. That's just part of it.
If someone comes and wants to take his place at the Lord's table.
Each one in the assembly should be exercised about where will this be for the glory of God.
Will it be for God's glory to allow this one to come and sit at the Lord's table and break bread with us? The glory of God is the first consideration.
And then maybe it might be a case of discipline.
And we feel exercised about Section 1.
That one needs to be disciplined. It might even mean that Then what? That one may have to be put outside.
Put away from among ourselves.
For the glory of God.
The glory of God is the consideration, and perhaps that's what this would bring before us. Here, this wall, the glory of God, and All in all things.
In connection with what belongs in the assembly or what belongs outside of the assembly, we must think of the glory of God.
Surely in that scene nothing will be there to disturb. And aren't we thankful that we're going to be in a place in a sea where sin can never come, where there won't be anything to disturb, nothing to upset, nothing to give us unrest?
But it will be continual peace and joy. Quiet, rest, nothing to disturb no evil there.
What a mercy of God. How gracious of him to provide for us like that.
Now we notice down.
In verse 23, the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it. And the Lamb is the light there are the Lamb is the light thereof. John loves to use that word, the Lamb.
And I'm sure it's because of the guidance of the Spirit of God that he wrote it this way because holy men of old spakers, they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And he uses this expression, the Lamb. He starts out in his gospel, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Behold the Lamb of God.
And then when you come to the Book of Revelation, he sees the Lamb in the 5th chapter of Revelation.
And here we have the Lamb as the light of that heavenly city.
We will never forget that He's God's land who died for our sin.
Who gave himself for us will be occupied with him. What an occupation. We'll think of all that he's done for us, all that he is to us, and it's going to be for all eternity. How wonderful to be gathered it will be to be gathered around the Lamb in the glory. We were gathered around the Lamb this morning, and I'm sure we were made aware in our meditation.
That the Lord Jesus Christ was God's land that he gave himself for us.
Christ loved the Church and gave himself for, and he loved the Church forever.
And that's the way it's put in the Book of Revelation, unto him that loveth us not just in the past tense, but really a continuous tense, loving us forever.
This one loved us so much that he gave himself for us.
00:55:00
Well, there's going to be light shining on this earth, because that heavenly city will be up over the earth. And the nations, it says, of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it. And the kings of the earth will bring the glory and honor onto it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, For there should be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations unto it, and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
And then we find right at the close of this description in verse four of chapter 22, and they shall see his face.
We look forever on the face of the Lord Jesus Christ as a man who is God.
Will look upon him as the one who loved us and gave himself for us. We look on the face of the man Christ Jesus, who died for us. Will we ever get tired of looking at his face? No. What an occupation for all eternity. Sometimes people wonder what are we going to do in heaven? All will be occupied with him, looking upon his face, praising Him forever. Could it be any better than that?
No.
At 318 means the last person.
We all know.
First Fruits
The Walk of Faith in Communion