Chicago Conference: 1982
Table of Contents
The Cross the Glory the Spirit
Address—C. Hendricks
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General Meetings, Wheaton, July 1982.
Addressed by Charles Hendricks.
We begin.
Our meeting with him #39.
On his father's throne is seated.
Christ the Lord, the Living One, All His toil on earth completed.
All his work for sinners done in the glory see him, God's eternal Son.
#39
on his father's throne is seated.
Christ the Lord, the Living.
One all his toil on earth completed all His.
Work for sinners done.
In the glory. In the glory.
Say him God's eternal song.
In the glory. In the glory.
See him gone?
Every knee shall bow before him.
Every tongue confess his name.
Learn some merit shall adore him who endured.
Thou Sinner shame.
From the glory, from the.
Glory.
God doesn't know his word proclaim.
From the glory. From the glory.
God don't know his word proclaim.
Man Lacrosse to him.
Awarded.
My savior crusade.
This world's judgment stands recorded. God's own justice.
Satisfied.
By the glory, by the glory.
Christ was clean on earth who died.
By the glory, by the glory.
Christ was claimed on earth.
Who die.
Son of man, His incoming.
Grace.
Some of mine do.
Create.
Chosen Race.
Well, make glory, well make glory.
From him in the water place.
Well may glory, well may glory.
From your name, he ordered.
Place.
Let's pray.
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Turn with me to John's Gospel chapter 12 for a verse.
Verse 23.
And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say unto you.
Accept a corn of wheat fall into the ground.
And die it abideth alone.
But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
In verse 31.
Now is the judgment of this world.
Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out?
And I if I be lifted up from the earth.
Will draw all men unto me.
This, he said, signifying what death he should die.
I have before me this afternoon 3.
Facts Three blessed facts.
That form the basis.
For Christianity.
The 1St and I'll name them at the outset.
The first.
Is a finished work.
The Lord Jesus did a work.
Cross.
On the ground of which God can bring the vilest Sinner.
Into his very presence.
And bless him.
A finished work.
I was reading.
In Second Chronicles Chapter one.
Solomon offered.
1000 Bullocks.
And at the dedication of the temple.
There were 22,000.
And then there was 120,000 sheep.
But not one of those, and are all of them combined and put together.
Could put away sin.
All the repeated sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament economy.
Were but a foreshadowing, and had all their value in just that, that they pointed forward to the one who would do a work on the ground of which God could bring us into His very presence, and bless us out of the fullness of His heart of love.
A finished work.
The cross we sing sometimes center.
Of two eternities which look with rapt adoring eyes onward and back to thee the cross.
Indeed, the cross is the most important event.
That has ever occurred in the annals of time.
When God, God's beloved Son, become a man.
Undertook a work.
Of such magnitude.
As to settle once and for all the question of good and evil.
To glorify God in the very place of sin.
So that the floodgates of eternal love and grace could be opened up.
To the guiltiest Sinner.
The Cross.
The center.
Of two eternities.
He says in verse 31 of our chapter now is the judgment of this world and we sang.
Man the cross to Him awarded. Man the Savior crucified.
This world's judgment stands recorded. God's own justice satisfied.
Let us dwell just for a moment upon the meaning of the cross.
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On the cross he bare our sins in his own body on the tree.
This is probably the most well known.
Fruit of the Cross. The well known results of the cross, That He bore our sins, that He bore the sins of each one of His children, Children of God.
But not only did he bear my sins in yours, beloved St. of God.
He stood there as the representative of all that we were.
In the flesh. And what happened to him?
Has happened to us.
Not only has he put my sins away, he's put me away.
Not only have my sins been forgiven, and not only am I justified before God from all the sins which I have committed.
But all that I am in Adam and in the flesh has been dealt with.
On a righteous basis. And God there at the cross condemned sin in the flesh.
So Paul could say, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
And then we have what the truth of verse 31, the judgment of this world.
You can learn.
Many many scriptures and commit them to memory.
And you can learn passages and never really.
Get a hold of what God is doing of the meaning of the cross.
Of the meaning of his resurrection and glorification.
And that's the second thing I want to bring before us.
And that is, the 1St is a finished work, the second a man in the glory in consequence of that finished work, and the third grade and tremendous truth that characterizes this present day of grace, is a divine person, the Holy Spirit on earth, forming an altogether new thing, one body united to that man in the glory.
But before we leave the subject of the cross.
The Cross.
That's where he died, for my sins. That's where he took my place. Each one of us can say that. Who believe?
In Him as our savior.
Now is the judgment of this world.
Man was on trial for 4000 years per.
To the cross.
The verdict has been pronounced.
Guilty.
This world's trial is ended. The cross is the end of the history of the first man.
The cross ends something. It culminates the world's trial and the verdict is passed down. Guilty.
So today for man to be striving to gain acceptance with God on the ground of his own works.
Is to totally ignore that man is no longer on trial. God is no longer looking for fruit from the first man, from man after the flesh. The judgment of God has been pronounced against the flesh. He condemned sin in the flesh.
When he was made a sacrifice for sin on the cross.
And all that's a wonderful thing to get ahold of.
To see that God is no longer looking for fruit from the first man.
That the world's trial is ending.
At the cross, so the cross is the consummation.
Of man's history after the flesh and man is now condemned.
The resurrection and glorification of the Lord Jesus.
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Is the beginning of an altogether new thing.
He is called in Revelation 3.
These things saith the Amen, the faithful, and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.
And this is an address to those at Laodicea, the final condition of the church in this world.
The Amen he is the confirmation of all God's promises.
The fulfiller of all God's thoughts.
He was the faithful and true witness. This is what the assembly ought to be for him in this world. But it is not. And he is the beginning of the creation of God, and that's referring to the new creation as the risen man glorified at the right hand of God.
Turn with me to the 7th chapter of John's Gospel.
For a verse.
Verse 37 In the last day, that great day of the feast.
Jesus stood and cried, saying this was the great feast day of the Jewish economy.
The Feast of Tabernacles, that great day. And here he stands up in the midst of all this religiousness, all this religiosity.
All this religious activity of the flesh. And he says, if any man thirst, if you have a thirst for something which these ordinances and ceremonies and the sasser doddle system cannot satisfy, if any man first let him come unto me and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive. For the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
Before the Spirit of God could be sent down into this world as the Constitutor of Christianity. Notice that word given is an italics in the King James, which means it's not in the original. It's been supplied by the translators and if you leave it out, it reads for the Holy Ghost was not yet.
Because that Jesus was not yet glorified doesn't mean the Holy Ghost didn't exist because he is a Divine Person of the Trinity.
He's always been here and moving and working, but as a divine person in dwelling the church, forming an altogether new thing on earth that never existed before, uniting all believers together into one body. And to the man in the glory that never existed before the Holy Ghost was not yet as the constitutor of Christianity.
Until Jesus was glorified.
In Acts 19, let's turn to it for a verse.
Verse one. And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper coasts, came to Ephesus. And finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?
And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Now, they didn't mean that. They didn't know that the Holy Spirit existed.
But they hadn't heard that he had come. They hadn't heard that, this new thing, this new company, this new order of things of which we've been.
Enjoying which we've been enjoying in our souls in these days of conference.
In Ephesians, they didn't know anything about it.
And you know, there are many today.
Who call themselves Christians who don't know much about it either.
And I wondered, and I have to search my own heart.
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How much do I know about it? And have I entered into it and enjoyed it, that which is mine? But going back to John 7 the Lord Jesus, in the midst of all this religious ceremony, he stands there, and he cries. If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.
The Spirit of God was not yet given because Jesus.
Was not yet glorified. Now turn to Acts 2.
In Acts 2.
Peter is speaking.
To the Jews.
In verse 22 he says ye men of Israel hear these words.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs.
Which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know, Him being delivered by the determinate counsel in foreknowledge of God ye have taken.
And by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death.
Because it was not possible that he should beholden of it.
Now let's go on down to the 29th verse, he says, Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried in his sepulchres with us under this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.
He's seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Now notice this verse, this Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted.
And having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which he now see and hear. It was the day of Pentecost. The Spirit of God was poured forth.
They were baptized into one body by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
That new company was formed, united to that glorified man. And how did the Spirit come? Well, when the Lord Jesus was a man on earth, as he went to the River Jordan to identify himself with that remnant among the Jews who were repentant and took their place as guilty before God and repented of their sins. It says the spirit of a dove descended upon him, and the Father's voice was heard from heaven.
This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found all my delight. And so he was sealed with the Spirit. The Spirit came upon him. He was anointed of the Spirit of God there at the river Jordan. But here we learn an added truth, that having died and accomplished that work which glorified God as to the question of sin, which opened the floodgates of eternal love and grace, for God to come out in foolish blessing, such as we've been considering at the conference here.
All that stood against us, the whole question of sin having been settled, God glorified in John 13. I'll quote it. The Lord Jesus says now, is the Son of man glorified, and if God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. At the cross God was glorified. As to the sin question all that was in God against sin.
Went out against our precious substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. Stroke upon stroke fell upon him.
And eternity for us to spend in hell, He bore it in those three hours of darkness on the cross. And that cry which wrung from his blessed lips as it pierced the thick darkness, and shrouding Golgotha's hill. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me, beloved? He was forsaken that we might never be He took our place, that He might give us His place.
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Of acceptance in the glory. He was there for me and for you.
That he might share those realms of light and bliss and joy above with our souls. And this is what He's brought us into, and in order for us to enjoy it when he enters that glory him hath.
Being by the right hand of God exalted, now he enters into the glory of a man. And if we could enter that glory tonight, we'd see a man there. Wondrous, stupendous truth, that blessed man, you know, when he came into this world and took humanity into union with his person, so that now the person of Christ is that he is God and man, and one inscrutable person.
He'll never give up that humanity. He didn't just take it for a time just to do a work on the cross and then laid that humanity aside and gone back into deity. Oh no, he's a man forever.
And we're going to gaze upon that blessed man when we enter the glory. We're going to be conformed to his image, just like him. And he wants us like him. Now and always, I look in my own heart. I have to hang my head and say how unlike him I often AM.
We're going to be like him and that moment for which all moments were made is soon to come.
When he shouts that shout and were brought home, he enters his man into the glory, and he receives a second time. First time was at the River Jordan, when the Spirit of God came upon him without blood, because he was that holy One.
No blood had to be shed for him to receive the Spirit. He received it by virtue of his own perfection and Excellency. But now he enters his man, having accomplished the work of redemption, having put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. When he offered himself by the eternal Spirit without spot to God, he enters his man, and he receives the spirit a second time, this time to pour that spirit forth upon his disciples.
Upon those that believed in him, that he might unite them to himself.
In that position of Excellency, in the glory.
You say that's overwhelming.
I was describing my reaction as we had Ephesians 3 before us.
And the way I described it to one was.
Just take your breath away. You can hardly describe the immensity of it as we think, as we go from one glory to another to another.
All the fullness of these blessings, the heart of God, has been told out.
So it says. Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which he now see and hear the Spirit of God sent down from the glorified risen head of the church, to form that new company, and to unite those disciples, those 120 believers.
On the day of Pentecost, to one another and to himself.
Brother made this remark so we were standing on the stairs waiting for lunch.
The higher the truth, the more elevated the truth, the more necessary for us in order to carry it out.
To be absolutely nothing. To realize that we are nothing. He's taken those who were worse than not and elevated us into such a place of glory.
And that's why we have Ephesians 4 following upon Ephesians 3, with all lowliness and meekness.
With all lowliness and meekness.
Let's turn.
To First Corinthians chapter 12.
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Verse 12.
For as the body is 1.
And half many members.
And all the members of that one body.
Being many are one body, so also is the Christ the word. The article should be there.
Now I would expect that to read.
So also is the Church.
That's what he's talking about, the church.
As the body is 1 and hath many members.
And all the members of that one body, being many, are one body.
So also is the church. That's the way I would expect that to read.
But it reads, so also is the Christ.
Because the Church.
And the Lord Jesus, the glorified man are one. And we often sing. I think we sang that hymn yesterday.
Lord Jesus, are we one with thee, Oh height, oh depth of love.
So also is the Christ reminds us of Genesis, He called their name Adam.
After he created them.
He didn't call their names Adam and Eve, but he called their name Adam. She bears his name.
And so we the members down here bear the name of the head. So also is the Christ, for by 1 Spirit.
Are we all baptized? Should be in the past tense. Were we all baptized? Refers back to the day of Pentecost, when the Church was formed once and for all by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
By one Spirit, where we all baptized into one body.
Whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been all made to drink into one spirit, I think we have in that verse both the corporate truth of the baptism of the Spirit that is being united together.
By the power of 1 Spirit into one body, and also it speaks of we have all been made to drink.
Into one spirit.
If any man's thirst, let him come unto me and drink. And he says in John Seven that passage we read.
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, rivers of testimony, refreshment, and blessing to all in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In John 4 you have the subject of worship, and to that woman of Samaria the Lord Jesus says give me to drink.
He was a Jew, she a Samaritan.
And he says, How? She said, How is it that thou, being a Jew, ask us drink of me, which I'm a woman of Samaria, for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans?
There's nothing so great a barrier as religious.
Dealings.
And he didn't even answer her question.
Completely ignored it, he says. If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink.
Thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
He draws out her heart.
Sir, give me that water.
She wanted it and that he speaks to her conscience. Call thy husband.
And he lets her know that he knew all her life. He knew all that she'd ever done.
And he so attracted her heart, offering her that living water.
A picture of the Spirit of God dwelling within us as a fountain source of refreshment and blessing. The Spirit of God.
You go back to the third chapter of John's Gospel, and again you have the Spirit of God.
As the communicator of life.
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
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So the Spirit of God is.
Great theme of the present day economy, you might call it the dispensation of the Spirit. The Spirit is here now as the Constitutor of Christianity. He is the one that indwells us, that seals us, that gives us the power for worship and for testimony and for the enjoyment.
Of the Lord Jesus, and he's the one that is the uniter to that man and the glory.
The Spirit of God.
Now let's think of it for a little while. We have these three tremendous facts of scripture.
A finished work.
By one offering? He asked, perfected forever them that are sanctified?
We have a perfect conscience, A purged conscience. No more conscience of sins. Sins can never be imputed to us again. Not one sin can be imputed to the one that is purged by the blood of Christ. That perfect work has given us an acceptance before God, a peace.
The realization that we have a purge conscience.
Wonderful truth.
And then in answer to what Christ has done.
And let's for that just for a moment turn back to John 16.
Again, the Spirit of God before us.
Verse 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the comforter will not come.
Unto you But if I depart, I will send him unto you.
And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
Of sin because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more.
Of judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged.
Where do you see the greatest sin that was ever committed in the annals of time?
We want to know the heinousness of sin. Where do we see it?
Where do we see it in its worst possible form?
It's when the creature struck with deadly intent at his creator, when he cried out away with him. We will not have this man to reign over us. Crucify Him, Crucify him.
The presence in this world of the Spirit of God is a demonstration of that amazing fact of the world's sin. And we sang it. This world's judgment stands recorded, God's own justice satisfied, and then it goes on to say of righteousness, because I go to my Father, the righteousness of God raised him from the dead and exalted him to the right hand of the majesty on high.
This was God's only righteous answer to the work which Christ did on the cross.
It was the world's sin in its worst possible form when they nailed them to that cross of ignominy and shame. It was God's righteousness which exalted that man to his glory in heaven, and it proves that the judgment.
This world is under judgment of judgment because the Prince of this world is judged. The cross is the end of the history of the first man. The resurrection and glorification of Christ is an altogether new beginning.
2nd Corinthians 517 reads, If any man be in Christ.
He is a new creature.
All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new, a new order of things, and we belong to it. All beloved Saints of God, if we could only realize.
In the power of that Spirit, as we were reading in Ephesians 3, that we might be strengthened in the inner man, that Christ might dwell in our hearts by faith, that Christ who's been rejected here.
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I think of this.
This little poem and let me recite it.
And yet outside the camp.
Was there my Savior died. It was the world that cast him forth and saw him crucified.
Can I take part with those who nailed him to a tree?
And where his name is never praised, is there the place for me?
Nay, world, I turn away, though thou seem fair and good, that friendly outstretched hand of thine.
Is stained with Jesus blood if in thy least device I stoop to take apart.
All unawares, thy influence steals God's presence from my heart.
Oh, if we only realized.
How little?
Will satisfy the enemy of our souls.
How little will satisfy the enemy of our souls?
Young brother, young sister, for this is a young people's address.
You have your life before you. You can look back that you could not, that you had to look forward with a very dim view.
Very feebly apprehended. You have the immense privilege everyone of us here as a Bible.
Tremendous blessing. You can look back upon the finished work.
A work that was done.
No one has to add a thing to it. It's perfect. God is glorified. How do I know? He's glorified his Son. That's the only answer he could give. Raised by the glory of the Father. All the moral glory of the Father put forth in power to raise his Son and exalt him to his own right hand. And then when he got there, he receives the Spirit of God.
A divine person, and he sent him down.
And we're living in that dispensation of the Spirit. Almost 2000 years has gone by, and we're at the very end. You are, if you're a believer in dwelt of the Holy Spirit, we read at the end of Ephesians 3 now unto him, that is able to do far exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. And what had Paul just asked?
Have we ever uttered a prayer of such elevation as Paul uttered in Ephesians 3?
Have we ever?
Dared.
To enter to utter such expressions.
But he did.
He did in the power of the Spirit, and at the end of that prayer he says unto him that is able to do far.
Exceedingly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in US.
Young people, young brother, young sister, you have a power.
Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
The world's glitter All its crinkling ornaments and glitter. It's trash. Don't let Satan deceive you.
He just wants to rob your soul of the true riches. He wants to rob our souls.
Of Christ.
Christ.
All that our hearts might be filled with Christ.
Don't let Satan.
Get an entrance into your life.
When you wake up in the morning.
Is it Christ who's your first thought when you go to sleep at night? Is it Christ who is your last thought? He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He's God's first thought. He's God's last thought.
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Is God's everything? Is he yours? Is he mine?
He is.
In his person as the glorified man.
Forming us by that Spirit that He sent down into this world.
Who has united us to himself up there? He's forming us.
To be like him.
Be a people for himself.
We're not here to get ahead in this world. We're not here to make progress down here.
We're here for one reason.
To witness for Christ.
To live for him, for me. To live as Christ, Paul could say.
Is that your one motive? Is that my one motive? Oh, may it be so, so little time remains.
Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done.
For Christ will last.
You say I don't have the power, I'm so weak.
Unto him that is able to do far exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask, or think according to the power that worketh in US. Unto him be glory by the Church, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
There will never come a time in the countless ages of eternity when God will not receive glory through the assembly.
It will be the vessel of display of his eternal glory.
In Christ.
That's what we've been brought into.
That's what we're a part of, this heavenly company.
All that we might get a hold of these things.
That I might get ahold of these things.
That they might have power in my life, in your life.
That we might enter in to that which is really ours.
There are so few.
So few that call themselves Christians that really understand what a Christian is.
Christian is a man.
Who has delivered altogether from a condemned scene down here, and belongs to an altogether new scene up there and to the one who is there. And the Spirit of God is sent down here to form us according to that man to whom we've been united.
Who is our life? Who is our righteousness? Who is our all to form us According to him?
Oh, I know, these are feeble words.
This is the day of feebleness.
But oh, if I could only convey just a little.
Of the desire.
Just a little bit.
That one has to enter in to our portion young people.
Your life is in front of you.
But what is your life?
Just a vapor that appeareth for a moment and then it's gone.
What you're going to do with it?
What are you going to do with it?
Are you going to spend it for yourself?
Or are you going to live Christ?
That's up to you.
I'll tell you one thing.
Every.
Who has given himself?
To live for Christ.
Will be so thankful in that coming day.
May God help us.
To realize.
That he is everything.
But he is everything.
May he be everything to me and to you.
May the Spirit of God.
So control us, so fix our gaze upon that blessed one.
That we have power to walk above the flesh and the world.
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And all the enticements of the enemy of our soul.
God has given us all that we need.
Has given us a new object.
A new life, a new power. The word of God. Young men, I earnestly beseech you.
When you're young, read the word.
Heal your soul with the word of God.
When your mind is able to take it in and to retain it, make it your own.
Make it your own study. Saturate your soul.
With the word of God.
You'll never regret it.
Never regretted get alone with the Lord.
Spend time with the Lord alone in the Word.
God will bless you.
Let's sing number.
153.
Whom have we Lord?
But thee.
Soul thirst to satisfy.
Exhaustless spring.
The waters free. All other streams are dry.
Our hearts by Thee are set.
On brighter things above.
Strange that we ever should forget.
Thine own most faithful love.
Yet OFT we credit not.
He freely gives his God, though well we know our happy lot and trusting to his blood.
None like the ransomed host that Precious Blood have known.
Redemption gives faith's holy boast to draw so near the throne.
Higher and higher yet.
Pleading that same lifeblood.
We taste the love that knows no lead.
Of ABBA as of God 153 Some brother raised the tomb.
Our hearts by the.
Right turn.
In joy strange.
Almost.
All.
Spray.
Concerning Service
Address—C. Buchanan
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General Meetings waiting July 1982, addressed by Columbia Cannon.
Let's begin then.
With hymn number 86.
And I want to read.
The last stanza.
And then we'll sing the whole hymn.
All by thy love constrain us.
Fix our hearts on thee, Let nothing henceforth pain us but that which paineth thee.
Our joy, our blast endeavor through suffering.
Conflict, shame to serve the gracious Savior, and magnify Thy name number 86.
Oh Lord.
Now I can't promise you any seaside visit this afternoon and it's still hot on the subject I want to speak on May warm you up a little bit more. It is service.
And I think it's an appropriate subject for young people. I have learned myself to appreciate my dear young brethren very much.
And as John wrote to those.
Young men, he said, Ye are strong. Strength is in youth, not just.
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Doing something service, I trust we will find something in the book of Numbers to begin.
On this subject, you may turn to numbers chapter.
What we learn about service and the time for it is this, that it is now while we are in the wilderness.
It wasn't in Egypt as such type of the world.
Nor in Canaan, a type of heaven. But it is now that we learned this subject in the Book of Numbers, the Wilderness book.
Perhaps you remember in the little Book of Philippians.
That it begins not with the apostle, but Paul, a servant.
A servant. It's the wilderness book. And he says in that first chapter, for me to live is Christ. Now I believe that's our service in the wilderness, to live Christ.
It's not.
Just what we may do, but really what we are that comes out.
And.
Brings a testimony in this world.
In Numbers three, we read a few verses.
First one.
These also are the generations of Aaron than Moses in the day that the Lord spake unto Moses in Mount Sinai. And these are the names of the son of Aaron, Nadab the first born, Nabaiu, Eliezer, and Ithemar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed.
Whom he consecrated to minister in the priest's office.
And made Ave. by who died before the Lord.
When they offered strange fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. And the EDA, Sir and Isthem are ministered in the priest's office, in the sight of Aaron their father. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister unto him.
And they shall keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation before the Tabernacle of the congregation to do the service of the Tabernacle. And they shall keep all the instruments out of the Tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the children of Israel to do the service of the Tabernacle. And thou shalt give the Levites unto Aaron.
And to his sons they are wholly given unto him.
Out of the children of Israel, and thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, that they shall wait on their priests office, and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, And I behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel, instead of the first born that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel.
Therefore the Levites shall be mine, because all the first born are mine. For on the day that I smote all the first born in the land of Egypt, I hollowed under me all the first born in Israel, both man and beast. Mine shall they be. I am the Lord on down in the chapter.
In verse 40.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Number all the first born of the males of the children of Israel from a month old and upward, and take the number of their names, and thou shalt take the Levites for me. I am the Lord, instead of all the first born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the first slings.
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Among the cattle of the children of Israel and Moses numbered, as the Lord commanded him, all the first born among the children of Israel, and all the first born males, by the number of names from a month old and upward of those that were numbered of them.
Were 22,203 score and 13.
And the Lord speak unto Moses, saying, Take the Levites instead of all the first born among the children of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle, and the Levites shall be mine. I am the Lord for those that are to be redeemed of the 203 score and 13 of the first born.
Of the children of Israel, which are more than the Levites, thou shalt even take 5 shekels apiece by the pole. After the shackle of the sanctuary shalt outtake them. The shackle is 20 Gitas, and thou shalt give the money wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed. Notice that word redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons.
And Moses took the redemption money of them.
That were over and above them. That were redeemed by the Levites.
Of the first born of the children of Israel took he the Money, 1300.
And three score and five shekels after the shackle of the sanctuary.
And Moses gave the money of them that were redeemed unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to the word of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.
Well, here in brief, we have the children of Israel beginning their journey across the desert. They had been redeemed out of Egypt.
I'll just mention that when they came out.
They came up to that Red Sea, and there was the waters before them and the mountains on the each side, and the enemy behind them entrapped in the land, as Pharaoh thought and Moses says to the people on that occasion, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. There is a time to wait.
This applies in service very much too. But then the Lord speaks.
And he says to Moses, speak to the people that they go forward.
I believe this is a principle always in action. There is a time to wait on God to get a word from Him, and then there is a time to act. We find it in other places in Scripture, but here we are finding the children of Israel having passed that Red Sea. They landed in the wilderness, and here God chooses one tribe.
To replace those first born. Those first born would have died in Egypt from the destroying Angel if the blood of that lamb had not been placed over the houses in which they were.
They belong to God in a very special way, and so God replaces them with one tribe. I have wondered if it isn't something of the lesson that we've had in this last meeting that the flesh profiteth nothing.
Consistently in the scriptures we find that the first born does not receive.
The blessing like one who came later in the family, God is teaching us that lesson.
As we heard about Cain and Abel last night, in the very first two boys that were born in this world, Abel really got the blessing, but he was replaced by a third son. Seth Kane did not. He was the first born and we can follow this through an Abraham and his family. Ishmael was older than Isaac, Esau was older than Jacob. And so it comes on down in many places in Scripture and here I believe God is teaching the same lesson.
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That the strength of nature cannot prevail. God comes in in grace and He, he brings blessing. So he chooses this one tribe and he sees that they are all redeemed. There were 273 in excess of the 22,000. They had silver money to pay for their redemption. Well, we want to say that we as believers are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
The price has been paid and.
Here we begin this chapter with the priests.
And they come from the line of Aaron.
The high priest.
They also were in the tribe of Levi. That tells us.
That not all in the tribe of Levi were priests, but of course they were all Levites.
And yet we come to the New Testament, and in type we find that every Christian is a priest, a Kingdom of priests.
A royal priesthood and holy priesthood. A royal priesthood.
And so this suits us to come into the presence of God in worship.
Priests to worship, but Levites to serve. Now, all of us are Levites in that sense. And that's what we want to speak about this afternoon.
That wonderful privilege that everyone of us has while we're here, just while we're here to serve.
And oh, what a gracious master we have. One is your master.
Even Christ and all ye our brethren.
It is not a hard service. We have a very compassionate master to serve.
And so, dear young people, you I am speaking to now as those who have believed in the Lord Jesus.
You are redeemed with that precious blood of Christ, and you are.
In that position to worship to worship, but.
Also.
You are in the place of service of a servant.
It's not.
A hard place we have that wonderful compassionate.
Master, and we might think what can we do for Him or what can we do for him? I trust your hearts have been touched already in these meetings. He has done so much for us, brought us into such a favored position. And you are young.
Now I'm not up here to set you to work, and that's the reason I read here in numbers as much as anything else. But now we should go on to the next chapter here.
In the fourth chapter to read a little bit more.
To find a type which will fit.
For everyone of us to know where we're going to get our service to be guided in this. So let's go on and read here in Numbers four, the first verse and the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron.
Saying take the sum of the.
Sons of Kohath.
Now it's the sons of Kohath from among the sons of Levi, after their families by the House of their fathers from 30 years old and upward. Notice that age 30 years old and upward, even under 50 years old, all that enter into the house to do the work of the congregation of the Tabernacle of the congregation. This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the congregation about.
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The.
Most holy things and when the camp setteth forward.
Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall takedown the covering veil.
And cover the arc of testimony with it, and shall put there on the covering of Badger's skins.
And shall spread over at a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the stage thereof. And upon the table of showbread they shall spread a cloth of blue, and put there on the dishes and the spoons and the bulls, and cover the and covers to cover with all. And the continual bread shall be thereon. And they shall spread upon them a cloth of scarlet, and cover the same with a covering of badger's skins, and shall put in the stage thereof. And they shall take a cloth of blue, and cover the Candlestick of the light.
And his lamps, and his tongues, and his snuff dishes.
And all the oil vessels thereof wherewith they minister unto it, and they shall put it. And all the vessels thereof within it covering a badger's skins, and shall put it upon a bar. And upon the golden altar they shall spread a cloth of Blues, and cover it with Badgers. Covering a badger's skins, and shall put.
To the stage thereof. And they shall take all the instruments of ministry wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of Badgers skins, and shall put them on a bar. And they shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth thereon. And they shall put upon it all the vessels thereof wherewith they minister.
About it even the sensors and the flesh hooks and the shovels in the basins and all the vessels of the altar.
And they shall spread upon it a covering of Badger's skins, and put it to the staves of it.
And Aaron, and when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary as the camp is to set forward, after that, after that the sons of Kohath shall come to bury it, but they shall not touch anything, any holy thing.
Lest they die, These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the congregation. We read just a little farther. And to the office of Elyasia the son of Aaron the priest, pertaineth the oil for the light, and the sweet incense, and the daily meat offering, and the anointing oil, and the oversight of all the Tabernacle, and of all that therein is in the sanctuary, and in the vessels thereof. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, saying.
Ye not all the tribe of the families of the Courthites from among the Levites, but thus do unto them, that they may live and not die when they approach unto the most holy things. Aaron and his son shall go in and appoint them everyone to his service and to his burden.
But they.
Shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered less.
They die. Now, there are very precious truths here. The first thing I want to call your attention to, because we're speaking on service, is the end of verse 19.
Aaron and his son shall go in and appoint them. That is the Levites of the tribe of Cohort, the family of Kohath.
And appoint them everyone to his service.
And to his burden.
Now, I believe this is very appropriate in connection with the last birds, which were said at the end of the last meeting.
For here we have those holy vessels before us, and the Ark in particular, which was the throne of God.
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Typifying Christ.
That only the priests could go in there, and when they got ready to journey, the priests went in there and very carefully covered that.
Because it wasn't for the sons of Kohath to do that.
What their burden was was to carry that, to carry that because our brother was bringing before us.
We are not to delve into the intricacies of the person of the Son of God. That is an unscrupulous mystery. But you and I as hearing all these precious truths which we heard in particular in this last meeting. It's our burden to carry these things, to carry these truths as coathites, to have this burden upon our shoulders to the coethites was not given.
Wagons they carried those holy vessels, the ark.
And the Candlestick.
And the table of Showbread.
And they were to bear these things on their.
Shoulders.
And each one, now I say each one in that tribe or that family of Kohath had to go to the priest to get his job. So now if you and I want to know what she can do, who are you going to go to?
Well, you have access right into the presence of God through our faithful and merciful High Priest.
At all times we can approach to him.
And get our service and our burden from him.
And I do think that the best service we can render is to stand for these truths which we have heard.
Where only they are heard. You won't find ministry anywhere else in the world.
I truly believe like we have, as gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus, where the Spirit of God is in the midst to protect.
That holy person, and to open up all that is revealed.
For our enjoyment, I say, we are to carry this. We go to Christ.
He is a priest. He will tell us just what to do. Well, this is just a very simple principle.
And I believe in the protection of the children of Kohath, that there is something to guard us about the pride of life, they might have thought where we have got the most precious burden to bear.
But they were very carefully guarded about that pride. I believe that they die not, but thus do unto them that they may live and not die. So the priest went in there, and they covered those vessels with the veil over the ark, and then the badger's skins a durable covering, and over that.
Blue, What they had was a heavenly thing. Before them there were the staves. They were to pick it up and carry it so that when it comes to Christ.
No, man.
Knoweth the Son, but the Father.
And that's all it says about that.
And no man knows the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
You and I know the Father through the Lord Jesus, but we do not know the sun.
Well, this I believe is guarded very carefully here, but the point I want to notice is again that in the verse 19.
Aaron and his son shall go in and appoint them. That's the.
Levites of that family everyone to his service.
And to his burden. Now this is one of the families there, and we have the Gershonites taken up next. And because of time we won't read that except verse 27, which brings the same truth to us. At the appointment of Aaron and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burdens and in all their service.
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And he shall appoint unto them in charge all their burdens. Now you see, it was Aaron or his sons who had this appointment to give to the Levites. It's the same thing, you and I, as Levites in our service. We go to the priest, we don't go to our brethren about this. It reminds me of that verse.
About the harvest today in verse 29, but in verse.
33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Murati.
According to all their service in the Tabernacle of the congregation under the hand of Itamar, the son of Aaron the priest. I don't know just why if the mark comes in instead of Aaron, except perhaps God is indicating that Aaron wouldn't continue. But we have a high priest who does continue. He he has an unchangeable priesthood, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek, and he is always available.
So the same principle holds true for this family too. So all of us must go to the priest, to the Lord Jesus Christ, our faithful and merciful High Priest, who as a man trod this scene and knows the course well. I'll tell you a strange story that happened to me. We had some strange ones on Lord's Day, and this seems to fit in type in a different way.
Some years ago.
Down home, at our own home, I received a call from a man I'd never heard of.
And he seemed to want something, but he didn't seem to want to speak it out over the telephone.
Well, I called him back and he still didn't want to, so I persuaded him to come down and see me.
Where he came down and very slowly he brought out his story.
Was a widower with five sons.
And he wanted me to find him a wife.
I never had an experience like that. That was my strange story and.
What I did I think is the only thing.
I turned him to God. He professed to be a Christian.
That's where we get our wife from, too. If you want to get the right one, get it from your Father in heaven. Now, if you want to get your right burden to bear, you go to the priest, you go to the Lord, and he'll give you the right burden to bear.
In type, let's go to Luke 2 to receive.
The perfect picture. I believe in this service in the Lord Jesus himself, Luke.
Two and verse Luke 3.
And verse 23.
Here we read in Luke 3 and 23, and Jesus himself began to be about 30 years of age.
Chapter 4.
And Jesus.
Being full of the Holy Ghost.
Returned from Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
And there he was.
Tempted of the devil.
Here is that blessed man.
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None like him.
Just as much a man as I am. But oh, how different. We have man in three different ways. Or flesh, as we might say. We heard just a little bit of innocent flesh in the gospel last night.
There was that pair and I believe on the ministry on Saturday too, but.
That didn't last very long, did it? Since then we have had sinful life, but here we have holy flesh.
Now here was this man, the Lord Jesus. He was 30 years of age.
He was ready to enter into his service. How did he do it? Well, he did it in the power of the Spirit.
And.
He.
Had well, I should have read back in a little earlier in chapter 3, but I'll just refer to it. Jesus had to identify himself with that repentant remnant through baptism and the Spirit of God came upon him. That's verse 22. And the voice from heaven came saying thou art my beloved son in thee. I am well pleased. And then we read of his age, 30 years of age.
Ready for his ministry?
Identified with that people.
And the Spirit of God upon me.
Well, what's He going to do? Well, he meets the enemy and that's what we have come to. He was LED of the Spirit into the wilderness. The Lord Jesus began his service in the wilderness, and He began it by meeting the enemy, and he defeated him with the Word of God.
Now, isn't this a principle for us?
If you and I are going to serve the Lord in the wilderness, we are going to have to conquer the enemy.
With the word of God.
There's going to be.
A past in our life, if we're ready for service that has, in principle at least.
Conquered the enemy.
And we may say.
It goes on. That's battle with us. The Lord Jesus met the enemy.
And defeated him with the word of God.
And later on, at the end of his ministry, let's turn to John chapter.
16.
The end of his perfect, his public ministry, his last words.
I refer to John 1633. At the very end. I have overcome the world. He went right through the world as the overcomer.
Where we are in that test to to overcome the world. But if we're going to do something for the Lord, we've got to start out the right way and we must wait upon Him.
And if it were, make full proof of our ministry.
And go to the Lord to get our individual service.
And if there's going to be anything done for him, it'll be in the power of the spirit, not the flesh.
The flesh provided nothing, It's just of no use at all.
Now we'll go to Romans.
Chapter 12 and read the.
First verse.
Romans 12.
We want to make this practical.
And perhaps a little more easy to understand.
Here we have these words. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
How very clear this is.
It's while we're in the body here.
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And the body is to be presented not as a dead sacrifice. That reminds me of the counsel I got.
And you can get good counsel from your older brethren. You certainly can. But you don't get your service. We're not here to set anybody to work. You go to the priest to get your work. He'll set you to work. I'm not trying to set you to work.
No, but we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Well, the council I got was from Jimmy Smith at a time of trouble in going into.
One of the Latin countries, I don't remember where there's Mexico or Salvador, where it was. He just said to me, Clem, God's not looking for heroes.
That is a dead sacrifice. He wants a living one. I think that was counsel I heard our brother Pierre Potassay when I was once with him in in Peru the first time, perhaps when things were a little bit uneasy there, he said.
The prudent man foresees the evil and hideth himself, but the simple pass on and are punished.
We are here to serve and to wait.
It's a wonderful thing, but it's a living sacrifice. You and I, dear brethren who are guests here, have seen something of this in our brethren here of Addison Assembly. They are, as it were, laying down their lives for us. And it's a good example what love is shown in that way. But this just says it's a reasonable service. It's just what would be normal.
And it's for all of us.
Now let's go to John's Gospel and get a little bit more.
From that gospel on this subject. What a precious service it is that you and I as redeemed ones are placed in while we're here in the wilderness. The 4th of John and the 34th verse here is the Lord Jesus again.
And he says unto his disciples, verse 34 Miami is to do.
The will of him that sent me and to finish his work. He was still in the work. This was meat for him, this was food for him to do. The will of the father who had sent him and to finish his work. Later on he could say, I have finished the work Thou gave us me to do.
And he did finish it.
Well, go on, read here a little bit. Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest. Behold, I say in you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, for they are white, all ready to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true.
One soweth.
And another reaping. I sent you to reap that warrior. Ye bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and ye are entered into their laborers. Yesterday we heard about sewing. That is a part of the work, and the harvest is a part of the work. They're brought together here. And I think it is so very precious to consider who those other men were that labored.
Into the witch the disciples were entering. For I believe that you and I are in the same work.
Well, the Lord was talking and he was talking about his work and there had been John the Baptist that finished his work when he was 30 years of age. God uses young people, but he uses them in a special way and he tells them what to do.
And John had finished his work where we can go back to the other servants that God had in the old dispensation, which pointed on toward the Christ. But the Lord Jesus came and he entered into that work. I'd like to connect this with.
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Hebrews 2, where it says, How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?
Which at the first began. I'll have to read that I'm getting a little bit mixed up. Hebrews 2 let's.
Turn that, get that right.
Hebrews 2-3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation with that which after first began to be spoken by the Lord? Now there was the Lord.
Giving that great salvation out, and was confirmed unto us.
I believe this is Paul who wrote this. Peter tells us that Paul wrote this epistle confirmed unto us the apostles by them, or Paul at least by them that heard him by the apostles.
Other men labor well. There was John the Baptist, there was the Lord, there were the 11, and then there was Paul Barnabas. Now go to Timothy. I read about him in First Corinthians 16.
One Corinthians 16.
And verse 10. Here's Paul writing about that dear son of his in the faith.
And what does he say about Timothy?
1St Corinthians, 1610.
Now if Timotheus come see that he may be with you without.
Fear, for he worketh the work of the Lord, as I also do. What was Timothy doing? The work of the Lord? What was Paul doing? The work of the Lord? What are you doing?
Your Levite, a servant, You're doing the work of the Lord.
I think referring back to Romans 12/1, it was the not seeing the truth of that verse which introduced what we refer to as the clergy and the laity, not discerning that we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice and that refers to.
All of us.
Sometimes we're lazy and we like to lay on somebody else our burden. That is not for us to do. The Lord gives it to us. You have something to do that I can't do.
Possibly I have something to do that you can't do. We are to go to our priest.
And get that burden from the Lord, and it's ours to bear, it's ours to carry. Timothy was a timid man, doubtless.
It says here.
See that he may be with you without fear.
There are brethren who need to be encouraged.
And we're thankful for older brethren who discern this. And there are others who don't need to be encouraged.
This is council that we get from older brother and those who are the guides amongst us.
Some possibly have entered into a full time service as we speak of it.
When they weren't ready for it.
Well, this is just the warning, but here was one who needed to be encouraged. I think there are many of these dear brethren amongst us.
And I would say the sisters too have their own work. We have had doctrine about that in these meetings already.
And there is something for all of us to do.
So here was Timothy One who needed to be encouraged in that work.
Now in the 5th chapter of John, going back to John again, the 5th chapter.
And the 17th verse.
It's hot, and I may put be putting you to work here when you shouldn't be, but we want to wind this down with a few more words. John 517 But Jesus answered them. My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
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The Lord Jesus came to work.
Well, the wonderful thing about this is we discern the Trinity in their work in.
In the different dispensations, as we referred to them this morning, that God himself.
Was made known to Israel as the God of Jacob. And of course there was the Holy Spirit, and there was Jehovah the Lord too in that dispensation, as the Trinity is always manifest at all times, but in this time when the Lord was here.
He had come personally the son and he was working and he would let nothing hinder him in his work.
Those foolish Pharisees who sought to.
Say that he was breaking the Sabbath, didn't really know what they were doing. He had come to work and he was going to finish that work. Nothing could stop him. We're going to come on to that just a little bit but the 20th verse here to.
For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth him.
All things that himself do it and he will show him greater works.
Than these that ye may marvel.
I should have read on down. Let's read verses 18 and 19. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath.
But said also that God was his father, making himself equal with God. Of course he was God.
Then answered Jesus, and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself. That is, He did not act independently, but what He seeth the Father do.
For what things so ever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise perfect unity in everything they did always expressed the Son and the Father, typified in perhaps Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, where twice it says so they went, both of them together, the sun, the express image of the Father of God.
Doing always those things that please the Father. Now, hadn't we always ought to do what praises Christ? If we're going to know what pleases Him and what we are to do, we go to Him in prayer.
And there is a time for prayer, and I want to stress that and much of it before action.
But there is a time to act. We've had it once in Israel, typified there at the Red Sea. Stand still and see the salvation of God. Then speak to the people that they go forward. There was the Lord Jesus in the prayer, in the garden, in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. He came. He found those disciples sleeping for sorrow. They should have been awake praying with Him, but He was praying with. He was praying and praying for them too.
Then he says.
Rise, let us be going. He was going to do that work of the cross.
Let's turn to the end of John's Gospel.
And read the last verse.
This verse I used to think was very strange. Now I think it's very, very wonderful.
The last verse of John's gospel. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written everyone I suppose.
That even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
It begins here with other things.
Well, John had written this book and in reading through it we find many things that the Lord Jesus did in miracles. Seven of them I believe in this book, Raising the Dead.
Now I'm going to refer to, without turning to it, the last four words of Psalm 22.
He hath done this.
I am speaking to an audience, I believe, who is acquainted largely with the 22nd song.
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That work on the cross.
There's never been a work done like that.
That.
Is above everything, along with resurrection, which is there too.
Him coming out and.
Singing, leading the singing, singing in the congregation, resurrection, victory. But it refers to the cross, and we have it in this gospel as in the other three. Oh, what a mighty work. We know who did what.
They shall come and declare his righteousness unto a generation that shall be born that.
He hath done this. We are the generation who have been born, and we have heard of the righteousness of that blessed Savior, and what he has done, that work of the cross. But here the apostle ends up and says, there are many other things which Jesus did.
Oh, he's serving us now. We've had that before us. He ever liveth to make intercession for the Saints. He's serving us up there as our priest. Well, dear young people, you have your energy. You may not have much time. I say the very young two and the.
Ones who are not so young.
Now is the time of service you will get your.
Service and your burden, from the priest, from the Lord Jesus.
And He will guide you exactly in that. Oh, what a privilege it is just to do a little for the Lord while we rate his return. I'll just, oh, I should turn to a couple more verses, at least one in.
March 13 at times not quite up.
Mark 13 and verse 34.
For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the Porter to watch. Watch, He therefore well. Watching is a part of the work too, but every man has his work.
And here again it comes from the master.
Gave authority to His servants, well, there is that. But to every man, His work, everyone of us has work to do for the Lord.
Then without turning to it, perhaps it's more or less a parallel occasion in Luke 19.
A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a Kingdom.
And he was going to return and he gave talents there, and he said occupy till I come. That's the part I wanted to stress. Till I come. When he comes, our service will be over. It is for the wilderness. Well, I trust we have learned where we get our appointment from and we'll just seek to take that up. Can we sing in closing #46?
In the back of the book. I'd like it if some brother would start this. I'll read the last stanza again. Be thou the object, bright and fair to feel and satisfy the heart. My hope to meet you in the air. And never more from thee depart, that I may undistracted be to follow, Serve, and wait for thee. That's 46. In the back of the book.
Is There no Sequel
Gospel—R. Bauman
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General Meetings Wheaton, July 1982. Gospel by Robert Baumann.
The subject concerns the most heinous crime ever committed in this world when they murdered God's son Calvary. We're going to look at that for a few minutes. And before we sing to him, I just want to read a few verses to set the stage in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27 and verse 20.
Matthew's Gospel 27, Verse 20. But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas And Pilate says unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? And they all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said.
And when he had scorched Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
And then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had planted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head a Reading his right hand, they bowed the knee before him, and boxed him, saying, Hail king of the Jews, And they spit upon him, and took the reeds, and mowed him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him.
And put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. Verse 35 And they crucified him. 36 And sitting down they watched him there.
You know, it says in First Corinthians 28, they crucified the Lord of glory, the contradiction of sinners against himself. What is that? The lowest possible death given to the highest possible person that ever lived in this world. They killed the Prince of life. They murdered the son of God, the just one. They cast him out and said we will not have this man. They rejected the king, their Messiah.
They rejected the Son of God, they said. Not Jesus but Barabbas.
You know Lamentations? The first chapter says. Is it nothing to you? And it's going to mean something to you tonight as we go through this scene again.
You have him as your savior. You're safe for all eternity.
Judgment free, because he'll have taken the judgment of your sins upon himself. But if you go out of here again, indifferent.
To this scene, this horrible scene, the murder of God's son on the cross at Calvary.
It will mean everything to you for all eternity. You will have to be judged for your own sins.
Let's turn to hymn #23 and let's think about this as we sing to him.
While you sing this hymn, think of the scene at Calvary. There will be a sequel in a great part. The scene will be repeated in a great part only. You will be the sufferer then, not Christ if you fail to receive him as your savior. You may cringe now in horror at what took place almost 2000 years ago at Calvary. But beware, Sinner. If you're still in your sins, that will be you.
Again in another day with this difference, with this difference only you will be receiving your just reward. And Jesus Christ was taking the punishment of others the punishment for you. If you'll have Him as Savior. Behold, behold the Lamb of God on the cross, On the cross for us He shed His precious blood. On the cross, on the cross, the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses.
From all sin, and as we sing this dear Sinner, you're going to have to remember he did this for you. If you'll have him, it's yours salvation because of that precious blood.
Behold, behold.
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The life of God, All of the God.
We could turn again to Matthews Gospel chapter 27 again and I have few verses here to read.
From verse 11 in the 27th chapter and Jesus stood before.
The governor and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the king of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest? And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. And then Pilate said unto him, Herest thou not how many things they witnessed against thee? And he answered him to never a word in so much. The governor marveled greatly. This is one part now of that judgment.
By man of the Lord of Glory, their Creator. This is one part of the Cross of Calvary.
They found Him guilty 1St and then they crucified Him. And He stood here before a mere man as his judge. He faced His judge, and He answered never a word. All of His accusers were brought before Him. He answered nothing.
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Why? Because he came for that purpose, The Lord Jesus said. I came not to do my will, I came to do the will of him that sent me.
I came to do the meat of my father. That's my meat, is to do his will and to finish his work. He's beginning the finishing of the work now, laying down his life, giving himself up as a lamb with a slaughter of those who he created. And he opened not his house. He answered not a word. If you look at chapter 26, verse 53, he said to those that came after him.
Thinkest thou? And I cannot now pray to my Father? He shall presently give me more than 12 legions of angels. One Angel would have been enough. One word from his lips would have been enough. He created this whole world and sustains it by the word of his power. He spake. And this earth was. That's how creation came about. He could disintegrate it the same way, but his Father would have given him 12 legions of angels. What's the Legion?
Well, the greatest number that's given is 5060 thousand angels, but legions, often referred to as an unnumbered quota A1 That cannot be measured.
But he didn't ask his father. He didn't ask his father for help. He answered not a word before his judge. The Lord was speechless. Is there a sequel to this? Will this be repeated in space before a judge? As it will, dear friend, if you do not receive Christ as your savior and you're still in your sins, you'll face that blessed one, the Son of God, my Savior, the Lamb of God, as your judge at the great white throne Judgment.
And what will you say? What will you say? Let's turn to Matthew 2622. It's better to get it from the words of God, Matthew 22, verse 2.
The Kingdom of heaven is like, that's enough. This parable is telling us what it's going to be like. And of course, this is part of it. And it's about a king who prepared a marriage for his son, a marriage for his son. God has prepared a marriage for his son. He's bringing gathering today a bride out of this world for his son for all eternity so the Lord Jesus can cast his love upon that bride forever.
And I'm one and part of that bride. Because of the grace of God, I came to Christ as a Sinner. I came to Christ as a Sinner. Now in verse nine it says, Go ye therefore into the highways, as many as ye shall find bid to the marriage. That's the whosoever of the word of God. You'll find it throughout the scriptures. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This is the whosoever, and it's going out to everyone in this room tonight by the grace of God.
You can be saved tonight. You can be part of the bride of Christ tonight. You can be in the good of God's love tonight. Verse 11. And when the king came in to see the guest, he saw a man which had not on a wedding garment. He saith friend, how came his thou hit her not having a wedding garment. What did he say in his defense? He was speechless, speechless, and said, the king find him hand and foot, take him away, cast him out of darkness.
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, and that's hell, friend, for all eternity.
The blackness of darkness, forever weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. And why?
He didn't have on the garment. He didn't have on the garment. What was the matter? He was in his sins, naked before a holy God in his sins, facing my Savior as his. Judge away with him and cast him in the outer darkness. Find him and cast him. You know not one word to say before the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Creator of this world, the Lamb of God, your judge if you're still in your sins at that time.
Not one word to say all the scoffers, all the doubters, all the blasphemers and bigots.
All the hypocrites, agnostics, and all the atheists so-called vain fellows, the ungodly multitude of unrepentant sinners, will have nothing to say. Not one word. Speechless, Speechless.
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Turn to Jude for one verse, the ungodly unrepentant sinners.
Speechless before that blessed one, Jude.
This speaks of our day in a sense, because of the ungodliness of so many around us and in Jude.
And verse 13 I'm sorry, Verse 15. To execute judgment upon all, to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they've ungodly committed, and of their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
They're ungodly, unrepentant sinners, and they'll have to answer him with not a word the same as the Lord stood before his judge, they're going to stand before him as judge, Speechless. You know, one of the greatest trial lawyers of our century, Clarence Darrow, was able to bring off quite a speech. Every time he defended 1 acquittal, he heard the jury or the judge come in not guilty time and time again.
He had the ability to come up with the words he represented nobility and the wealthy of the world, the famous of this world, actors and athletes as a town and outers. But you know, he was an atheist. He said there is no such thing really as an atheist. God made sure that you're God conscious. Everyone God conscious, you know there's a God, you have a creator. But they like to say they're an atheist. And he read the Bible towards the end of his life.
And this man said on his deathbed. I have examined the Bible carefully, as did all other books, and I've come to this conclusion. There's no God. There's nothing after this life. Now what's that great defense lawyer going to say when he faces my savior, The son of God as his judge? I'll tell you speechless. Speechless. Nothing to say. He'll not answer a word. Not so much as a word.
Why no covering, no robe, no garment in his sins and legged before. Holy God, how do you get that robe? And what's it like turned Isaiah 61? Isaiah 61, please.
Verse 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God. He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with a robe of righteousness. Who can say that every Sinner who comes to Christ as a Sinner and receives him as a Savior has the robe of righteousness? Romans 3 says The righteousness of God is unto everyone here tonight.
IT support all their belief. It's upon all their belief. If you go out of here, still in your sins, naked before the eyes of a holy God, it'll be your fault. All you have to do is believe what God says. You're a Sinner. He's made provision for you, his beloved son on the cross who died in your room instead if you have him, and you'll be closed in the robe of righteousness.
The best rope, the best robe. You know, the prodigal.
The prodigal when he took his father's living and he went into this world, wasted it with riots as living with harlots and other things. When he came to the bottom, got to the end of himself. He was slopping sows, he feigned, would have sucked with a slop where Ruthie slapped the South and he said I perished. Oh, what a wonderful thing would you come to that point? You realize you're a Sinner. God says so. I'm just going to hell because of it. God's holy.
And you can just say I perish, he said. I'll turn to God. I'll turn to my Father. I'll say, Father. I've sinned against heaven in thy sight. I'm not worthy.
That's the goodness of God that brings you to that point, what happened? The father said. Bring the best rule.
Bring the federal Put it on him. What's that? The rope of righteousness. He's fit to be in the presence of the Lord for all eternity.
He's part of the bride of Christ. You can have it, you know. Romans 319 says the law was given that every mouth will be stopped. Your mouth will be stopped at the great white throne. But if you have it shut now, if you have it shut now, you could be saved. Every mouth will be stopped wide because all must be guilty before God. You have nothing more to say. I'm a Sinner. I'm lost. You have nothing more to say. All that wonderful public in the temple had 7 words to say. He got saved.
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God be merciful to me. The Sinner justified the rope of righteousness. That's why Christ died, Job said. I lay my hand upon my mouth, and God says, good job, Now I can talk to you. And he did what happened. Jobs that I repent and dust and ashes. I've horn myself. What does that mean? He's ready for blessing. God blessed him. He wants to bless you tonight. The Lord stood before his judge and he said never a word. He answered nothing, not so much as a word.
But if you don't receive them as savior, there will be a sequel. You'll stand before him as Judge Speechless. Turn to mark 15, Mark the 15th chapter.
Verse 12 Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then, that I shall do unto him, who ye call the king of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilot said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? They cried out the more exceedingly crucify him. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, release Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus and when he had scorched him to be crucified.
The soldiers led him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called to gather the whole band.
They closed him with purple, planted a crown of thorns, put it about his head, and began to salute him. Hail king of the Jews. And they smote him on the head with the Reed, and did spit upon him, And bowing their knees, worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him.
Put his own clothes on him and let him out to crucify him.
This is other part of the sea.
Feigned worship, mockery, ridicule to the beloved Creator, the Lord of glory, Man's heart, man's mind, carnal minds and enmity with God. He hates God in his heart. It's coming out here, you know. Man's heart is coming out here. That that terrible seed. Crown of thorns. They gave him a crown, but a crown of thorns. Long, sharp, pointed thorns.
And they put it on his head. Why? To tear his flesh, To bring out the blood, and tear his flesh in hatred and mockery. A crown.
Prophecy, they said. Another gospel says they blindfolded him and smote him with the palms of their hands and said prophecy, who who smote thee?
Purple roll? What? That ridicule just ridiculed the region.
Come down and save thyself. Come down and save thyself. What were they doing there? Mimicking God, mimicking Satan. They were Satan servants, you know, When Satan first tempted the Lord in the wilderness after he was 40 days without water or food, Satan said, If thou be the Son of God, tell these rocks to be bred. If thou be the Son of God, he raises that doubt. You know about the blessed person of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus is God. He's the Son of God.
And here at the cross we hear these words. If thou be the Son of God, come down and save thyself and we will believe. You know, if the Lord Jesus had come down and saved himself, they wouldn't have believed that you and I would be lost forever. I'd have those Savior praise the Lord. He stayed there on that cross. They couldn't hold him. Love held him for me and for you, if you'll have him who smote thee. Oh mockery. But God is not mocked. God is not mocked.
Galatians 6-7 Be not deceived, Sinner God is not mocked.
God took that terrible cross, that terrible death of his Son by his own creatures, and he turned victory out of it. Victory over death itself and sin itself, and over Satan himself and the power he had. He's not mocked. God will never be mocked, but man will. They bowed the knee. They bowed the knee in mockery, in mockery. All but God brought victory out of it for you and I.
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You know, there was a man called George Washington goalful. He was an Englishman, an architect, a great one, great engineer, and a master builder. He was the 3rd man drafted and hired to do a great job which two before couldn't do, complete the Panama Canal and go. Fools went into that job wholeheartedly and he worked hard in spite of all the things he had to resist and fight topography, geography.
Men and their fickle ways. Insects and everything else. The weather and he fought on. But the worst thing he had to put up with, the worst of all was the ridicule, the jeering of all the people. This is the third one. He'll not do it either. Who can make votes go through that muck and mire? And they laughed and jeered.
You know gopals, right hand man, his subordinate, his chief man, who was his dearest friend, finally said to him. George, George, when are you going to answer them, see what they're writing and saying all the time. And he said in due time. And he said, George, how are you going to answer them? And Gopal's just smiled. This smiled. He calmly said, I'm going to answer them with the canal. And he did.
Short of the time, even than he was supposed to have it done.
You know the Lord Jesus answered the mall. God answered the He raised that Blessed One from the dead. He's at the right hand of God. He answered them with resurrection from the cross, from the tomb. How wonderful it is. Victory thanks be to God, which giveth us a victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. You can have it. You can have it. They bowed the knee to that Blessed One in mockery. Will there be a sequel to that? There will be a sequel to that.
It'll be you, dear Sinner, if you're in your sins, and you'll die that way. Or should the Lord come first, it'll be you. What does that mean? Turn to Philippians, The second chapter. Philippians Chapter 2.
Verse 8 being found in fashion as a man.
He Jesus humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Wherefore God also highly exalted him, and has given him a name which is above every name.
That the name of Jesus Every knee should bow. Verse 11. Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory, God the Father. There's coming a time when they mocked in Baldenian mockery. But every knee is going to bow. Yours as well, if it hasn't bowed now in grace, but every knee is going to bow to that blessed one. Every knee is going to bow.
To that blessed one, to the glory of God. Oh, how wonderful that is. There's no exceptions, no exceptions to this at all.
A universal bending of every knee, A grand mass movement downward of all knees in the acknowledgement of who he is to the glory of God the Father. That's going to come, no exception. You can't say you got a stiff knees and they'll say bow that knee now you can't say you're suffering from painful arthritis.
The knee now.
You can't say I'm not going to bow the knee. Look at your knee Sinner. It's going down, down. You're going down to God made the knee. He gave it to you and he says bow. It'll bow. How wonderful. You have the privilege now to receive Christ as your savior, to confess him as your Lord. Isn't that wonderful? You will have bowed the knee in the day of grace.
Or what a privilege it is. What a privilege it is. You know, there's a verse that says, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in that heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. You have the privilege of following your need of that blessed one now.
As your Lord, if you don't, you will bow your knee and confess. He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And that will be the last thing you'll see is the face of my blessed Savior, your judge for all eternity. Because it'll be darkness from then on. Darkness, you know. They said, come down from that cross and save thyself on us. But turn to Revelation 7. There will be a reverse of that. It won't be come down. It'll be rocked.
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Fall on us. Not come down and save us, but rocks fall on us. Revelation 6. It is rather verse 15.
The kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the chief captains, the mighty men. Every blonde man, every freeman, That includes everyone here, no exceptions. They hid themselves in the 10s. And the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains, and the rocks fall on us. Hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath has come, who shall be able to stand.
They said to him in mockery.
Come down.
Thyself But they will say in that day when they realize that judgment is upon them. Rocks fall on us. Hide us from what? The wrath of the Lamb. You ever seen a lamb? I've never seen a wrath of a Lamb. How can there be the wrath of the Lamb? Because that blessed Lamb of God, the Savior of this world, yours if you'll have him, shall be judged. God has committed all judgment to that blessed one.
And it's the wrath of God that abides on you Sinner right now that will come upon you in that day. But you'll bend the knee first, not in mockery, in acknowledgement of who he is, in acknowledgement that Jesus is Lord. You won't be saying Jesus as Lord. Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Oh how solemn it is. Foul the knee. Now you know you'll live in fear. I know you're in fear as Adam was in fear and Eve.
Once they see it, sin separates and it brings in fear. Fear of God. So how solemn that is to go on that way. I just read yesterday in the paper about a man, Norman Greene of Wingham, England. I think it's Wigan Wingham, England. I'm not sure of the spelling. At any rate, this man, eight years ago, was sought after by the police. An old woman was murdered. They wanted to question him.
And he hid. He hid in fear. He hid in an 8 a six by two foot hole beneath the floor of his hole. And there he was in darkness for eight years, eight years in fear and trembling, and his hair turned Gray. His teeth fell out. He said. I was a stranger to my children, and I was afraid. I was afraid he was discovered.
He was discovered and what he was discovered, you know what the authorities said.
We have no charge delay against you. We want to question you only. There was number charge. He says. Thank God it's over. Thank God it's over. You know you're going on in your sins. You're going to face God as your judge, and it will be a charge then. But you can have him as savior. You could come out of hiding. You can come out and you can receive him as savior. You'll be judgment free. Join him.
And you can say thank God it's over. Jesus took my judgment that I deserved on the cross and I'm judgment free. That's salvation. That's what God wants you to have tonight. How solemn for this man to spend those eight years under the floor of his home in a six by two cell of dirt, you say How foolish. And he went here stealing your sins. How foolish. That's all I could say. How foolish.
You can be judged, but free as you walk out of this door. That's why Christ died. What made the difference?
Of that thief of the cross who the Lord said, Thou shalt be with me today in paradise. What made the difference between him and the other thief? He said, Lord, He bowed the knee on the cross in his heart, and he said, Lord, to that one in the middle. That's all. Isn't that wonderful if thou shall confess with thy mouth? Jesus is Lord, what made the difference to that leopard full of leprosy in Luke 5 that came to the Lord, and all the other lepers who still earn their leprosy?
He said, Lord, that's all he owned them. He bowed the knee and the heart. He confessed with the mouth. There was a man born blind John 9 And the Lord opened his eyes. They said Who did it? He said a man named Jesus. They said, don't tell us that who did it? That man's a prophet, he said. First he said he's a man, then a prophet. The next time they questioned him the Son of God. And finally what did he say? He said, Lord.
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And he worshipped him. He worshiped him as his savior and Lord. Is it that simple? That's all we're talking about. It's that simple. Just confess to God, you're a Sinner, as he says, and receive his Son the Savior, and you're safe for all eternity. Bow the knee now, or you're going to bow the knee. Then there'll be a sequel to this. They bowed the knee in mockery, but every knee is going to bow in reality, acknowledging that Blessed One.
As Lord, to the glory of God, the Father turned to John 1919 chapter.
Verse 29 verse 28 After this Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled.
I'm sorry.
Verse I better start at verse 10. I'm not going to read the mall. Then, said Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me?
Though us thou not that I have power to crucify thee, I have power to release thee.
And Jesus answered, Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except that we're given thee from above.
Verse 13 When Pilate therefore heard the saying, he brought Jesus forth, and set down the judgment seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in Hebrew Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of the Passover about the 6th hour. And he says to the Jews, behold your king. And they said, they cried away with him, away with him, crucify him. And Jesus said unto them, Shall I crucify your king?
Priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him. Therefore unto them to be crucified. They took Jesus and led him away, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. They were asking to be separated from that blessed Holy One.
You know sin separates.
People don't want to be in the presence of God when they're in their sins. He's light. They didn't want him. They would not have him. They said not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. They chose a robber over the blessed son of God. And you know, a robber, A sole robber, has been ruling this world ever since. They've got that Satan. They killed the author of life. We've said they've murdered the just one. That's the contradiction of sinners against himself.
They said we will not have this man to reign over us. Away with him, cast him out. They cast him out. Is there a sequel to that? Yes, away with him. There's a sequel to that. We could turn to Revelations 20, please.
20th chapter verse 11.
I saw great White throne and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and heavens fled away.
There was found no place for them. I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. The books were opened, and another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, And death had held delivered up the dead which were in them, And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the lake of fire. They cast him out.
But you know, the sequel is this.
He's going to cast them in the lake of fire. Isn't that a solemn thought? Depart from me, he'll say.
Away with him, they said. There is a sequel. When they stand before that blessed one as their judge, he'll say depart from me. I never knew you. I never knew you. And the sad part of it is.
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16 verse 16 There's a great golf fix. This is forever.
Second death. What is it? You die in your sins, You will die the second death. What is it? Eternal separation from a holy God. Whose light and whose love?
There'll be no love again forever, for all eternity.
There'll be no light, the blackness of darkness forever, the rich man in Luke 16, who fared sumptuously every day of his life but had nothing to do with God.
He ended up in hell. You can read it. But he became a believer very quick. He believed then there was hell. He believed then there was evidence.
But it was too late. A great golf fixed, and he came up, became a believer in missions too. He had five brethren back down there who haven't died yet. He said, Send one from the dead, and my brothers will repent. What was the answer? What was the answer? Nay, they have Moses, the prophets. They have the whole Old Testament, the word of God. Let them hear them. If they will not hear them, they will not believe or repent.
Though 1 rose from the dead and came back.
What does that say to you, dear friend and dear Sinner? You've got the whole word of God, not just the Old Testament, if you won't hear it and believe it.
If one came from the dead, it won't make any difference.
Believe what God says. That's it. Or end up forever in hell, that place.
They said away with him and they cast him out.
But there will be a sequel He'll cast you in.
A confined place. The lake of fire. Crowded but no company. Blackness of darkness forever. We've been wailing and gnashing of teeth, and that's hell. Eternity for everyone who dies in their sins. Why does sinners go to hell and are punished? Why are they damned for eternity? Is it because of all those sins? The weight of the sins?
The magnitude of the sins? No, not really. It's because they receive, not they believe, not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Thessalonians.
Receive it. You won't believe it. You must go to hell. Simply believe and be saved. Judgment free. That's all we're saying. There will be a sequel. I never knew you. Depart from me. Cast into the lake of fire. Turn to John. Three, third chapter of John.
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. Verse 17 God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.
The Son of Man must be lifted up.
John 1232 Said I if I be lifted up, I will draw all men to me.
Tonight, to the Holy Spirit of God, the Lord Jesus is trying to draw you to him.
He was lifted up on the cross. He hung there between heaven and earth in space.
Why so he could die. Take the judgment of a holy God for your sins, if you'll have him. For the sins of the world, if all will have him. It says, Whosoever. That's you. It was me. I finally believed it by the grace of God. He gave me that faith. And I'll never be done thanking him. And I'm saved on my way to glory. He was suspended in space. Who? His own self. There are sins in his own body on that tree.
On the Cross, he must be lifted up. Is there a sequel to that? There's a sequel to that.
Revelations 2011. Revelations 20. Verse 11.
And I saw a great white throne in him that sat on it, from whose face the earth in heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. Where are they? They're in space.
They're suspended on nothing as this earth is before the great White throne. My savior there as judge there was found no place for them, and the dead stand before God in space.
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Do you remember perhaps on the first page of papers, years ago, when our spaceship went out there into space, and one of those astronauts left it with a with a line to it, and there he was in space. He was standing, but he had no standing, no place to stand. He was moving the same as they, but he was in space. He had nothing to hold on to.
That's what we're talking about. When you face my savior, the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man, the Son of God, is your judge. You'll be in space, there'll be no standing, Malachi, 32 Says, who shall be able to stand in his presence. If you're in your sins, you'll have no standing, no grip. You'll just be there, be there.
They hung him up in space between heaven and Earth. But there's a sequel for every Sinner who refuses him as savior, there's a sequel. And in Revelations 8, verse one, it says it's so solemn. What's going to happen? Judgment that there's silence in the presence of All in Heaven for the space of about 1/2 hour.
Dead silence. I've never been in dead silence. There's always some noise.
But if you could have dead silence for one minute, you'd say that's an eternity 1/2 hour.
Why, the awesomeness of the judgment that's going to be meted out at that throne and all that stand there before him with no standing in space.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. To the inhabiters of this earth. If that's all you are, your earth dwellers, you're on your way to hell for all eternity.
You could be a heavenly creature. You can have the life of Christ. You can be part of his body now you can be saved.
By merely coming to him. That's why he was suspended. That's why he was lifted up. That's why he died on the cross. You know it's up to you. How can you escape the damnation of hell? He told the religious leaders. You will not come to me that you may have life. It's up to you. God says choose life. I set before you death and life, cursing and blessing. And then he says choose life.
Isn't that something? There was a sandwich youth that got saved. He worked at A.
Plush hotel over there on the island. And it got around that he was saved. You know, we've become different. We want to talk about Jesus. We want to talk about the Lord. There's something different when you're saved. You've got a new life. All the burdens go on and all you want to do is praise Him and tell others about him. Well, that's the way this boy was.
And there was a group of what they called church people there, a group touristic.
This was their last night, and they wanted to invite that boy who worked at the hotel, that native, to come at their party. And they did, and they had supper. And after supper they gathered around, started asking him questions about his life and salvation.
And he had a broken English that was rather comical. He couldn't speak too well in English. And they laughed about that every now and then and chuckled. And there was a rich businessman there wasn't saved, really didn't have much to do with the Lord Jesus at all, just religious. And he thought this was very humorous. So he started asking this sandwich island youth a lot of questions just to get that funny answer that he gave in that broken English. And everybody was having a humorous, hilarious time.
And finally, that boy couldn't take it anymore. And he said, I came here by invitation. I'm a guest here now. I know you want to know about my savior. And I've answered all the questions the best I could because I know my speech is funny, but Jesus is my savior. He knows all about that too. Then he looked at that businessman. He said, Sir, there's going to be a greater gathering than this soon.
And it's going to be up there in space. And the only question that's going to be important is God's going to say to you, what have you done about my son?
Sir, What are you going to say then, Sir? What are you going to say then, Sir? And you know, everybody there was ashamed.
And the Hostess was ashamed. And she said, I think it's time to conclude. She asked that boy, would you kindly commend us to God? And he prayed. You know what? He prayed about Their souls. He asked God to save the souls of everyone there. And he prayed so sincerely, with such compassion. When he was done, there wasn't a dry eye in the roof.
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And you know, that businessman got saved. He realized that there's something real there.
I trust you, since there's something real here. Jesus Christ came to the cross for you.
He took what you're going to take if you don't receive him, and he didn't deserve it. He was sinless, perfect and holy.
If you face him as judge, I have to say this to you, what are you going to say there?
What are you going to say? Speechless? Turn to John Nineteen 19th chapter.
After this in verse 28, Jesus knowing all things were now accomplished.
The scripture might be fulfilled, he says. I thirst never set a vessel full of vinegar. They filled a sponge with vinegar, put it upon hyssop and to his mouth, and Jesus therefore received the vinegar, He said it is finished. He bowed the head and gave up the goals.
I thirst in my thirst, it says. In Psalm 6921 They gave me vinegar. That's all vinegar. My tongue cleaveth to my jaws. Psalm 22. No water for the Lord, He said. I thirst, but they wouldn't give him a drop. Is there a sequel? Yes, there is. That rich man in hell lifted up, his eyes big in torment. What did he say? Mercy. What was the mercy to that rich man now?
Send Lazarus.
Let him dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue.
Great golf fixed. It's not possible. It's not possible, son. Remember what you had in your good days and Lazarus was at your gate telling you about the Lord, but you wouldn't have it. No water in hell. You know, there was a gospel preacher preaching in an open park in this city, and there were mockers, as there usually are. And one said, I don't believe a word of it. I think this is hell right now. And here. Oh, you've heard that?
This is hell. There isn't anything else.
You know what that preacher says? I can prove you this isn't hell. There's no gospel going to be preached in hell. And I'm preaching it right now. There's no Christians in hell. How many here are really saved? How many here are Christians? 20 raised their hand, he says. Here's 20 Christians. There will not be a Christian in hell, he says. See that big river? That flowing river 50 yards over? There's no water in hell. Not a drop of water in hell. No, don't say this is hell.
Hell.
Is without water, without believers, without Christians.
And without faith, No gospel. You know, it's a terrible thing to think of hell the Lord thirsted. They wouldn't give him water.
You'll thirst for eternity and not get one drop, not one drop. Mercy. To a rich man in the earth when he's in hell is a drop of water, but he never gets it. He's asking for mercy. Too late. There was an Australian explorer who they found beneath the tree in the heart of Australia.
And his daily diary was there by his side. His pen was still in his hands, and they read the last entry in that diary.
You know what it says, it said. The last thing I remember was pulling the saddle off of my horse and letting him go to die by himself, alone. Now it's my turn. I thirst.
All my tongue it pleased to the roof of my mouth. I can't utter a sound.
This would probably be the last I expressed. Any thoughts?
Oh, I search how I search.
God help me. That's it.
You know, to die of thirst must be an awful thing, but Can you imagine to have thirst and never die?
There will be a sequel to this, he said. I thirst.
But there will be a time when there'll be nothing. I know the times about over Matthew 27. I'm going to read it and not turn to it. I'm going to say it now. From the 6th hour there was darkness over all the land. Until the ninth hour, 3 hours of darkness. Why God judged my Savior. Then God judged Jesus, Then three hours of darkness. This world was shut out.
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Blackness of darkness.
Is there going to be a sequel to that? Yes, there is. Yes, there is. The Blackness of darkness, Reverend, I want to tell you in Matthew 27, the time won't let us read it. It says the graves are open after the Lord dismissed his spirit.
Many bodies of the Saints who slept in Jesus arose, came out of the grave, They appeared in Jerusalem. It spoke of resurrection. The Lord arose. How wonderful it is. The grave gave up many and the Lord arose. Is there going to be a sequel to that? Well, Revelations 20. I think we should read this one. Revelations 20 and verse 13.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. Death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. Yes, they're going to be given up from the grave to be judged. It's appointed Other men wants to die. But after death the judgment. You know, I I use these a lot. It says do not disturb you just stick it on your door at a motel or hotel. Nobody bothers you. But you know you can't say that as the death.
You can't put that out. When God calls the Spirit home, the Spirit goes home.
No man has power over the Spirit to retain the spirit. Neither does he have power in the day of death.
You can't say do not disturb. It's all in the hands of God, but there's many other things that are going to be repeated.
And one of them is. They stripped him. They stripped him. Dear friend, you are ready naked in the eyes of God. If you're in your sins, there's nothing to cover you. It says all things are naked and open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do they strip the Lord. But you will be stripped before him in judgment. Oh, how solemn it is. All things naked. You know how you're going to avoid this sequel.
To think of it, to be speechless before your judge, to have no robe of righteousness, To be without a garment, To hear those words away with you. Depart from me. How are you going to avoid it? To be cast into the lake of fire, into hell? Everlasting furs, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth? How are you going to avoid it? Simply turn to the Lord Jesus as savior. That's all I want to use. One last story. I know I'm getting close.
Charles Spurgeon. You know that great evangelist. He was on his way to a service.
At a place that he attended in a Blizzard, a snowstorm. He didn't make it. He's only 18 years old. He got as far as a little wayside Chapel. He went into that Chapel, sat down, it was warm. There's just a few there. Preacher didn't show up too bad of weather. And while he was sitting there, one of the working men who were part of that congregation got up nervously with his Bible and opened it. And he read, look ye unto the Lord, all the ends of the earth would be ye safe.
That was his text. He didn't know really what to say. He says. There's nothing really hard about it, is there? All you got to do is look to the Lord and be saved everywhere, all the ends of the earth. You don't have to even move a foot, move a hand, turn their head, do anything. Just look. That's all it says. Look ye unto the Lord and be ye saved. And he went on like that for about 10 minutes till he couldn't think of any more to say.
And as he looked around to those few people, he thought Charles Spurgeon sitting there. He never saw him before. He says, Man, you look miserable. If you continue in your sins, you'll be miserable for all eternity. And he fixed himself on Charles. And Charles was miserable. He was lost.
He says, why don't you look to the Lord and be saved? Then you won't be miserable. You'll be happy. You'll have the joy of the Lord. And he went on like that. Finally he closed with a prayer. You know, Charles Spurgeon was so miserable after that he turned to Christ. You know, that's how that evangelist got saved right there. Can you do it that quick? You know, the publicans said, God be merciful to be the Sinner, and he was justified.
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The rope of righteousness. I trust everyone here will receive Christ now. That's why he died. No one can take my life from me, he says. I lay it down of myself. That's why he died. He loved you too much if you don't receive him as savior. The sequel we spoke about of Calvary is yours, and justly so. You will be judged for your sins because you wouldn't receive the Savior.
Who took the sins of this world and yours? If you'll have him all receive Christ right now.
Receive Christ right now.
Let's sing quickly #21 and it says in verse 3, Confess him as thy Lord and dear ones. If you confess Jesus as your Lord now you can bow your knee in graze, and you'll never bow your knee in that time in space. And you'll not confess. He is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You will have confessed him as Lord. Let's stand and sing it.
Decide for Christ today.
God's Value of Christ's Work
Address—G. Hayhoe
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, July 1982. Gospel by Journals Hijo.
Shall we begin by singing #18?
God loved the world.
So tenderly.
His only son he gave that all who on his name believe.
Its wondrous power will save.
All of that only God can feel and only He can show.
Its height and depth, its length and breadth, nor heaven nor earth, can no.
Why perish then, the careless ones?
Why slight the gracious call? Why turn from him whose words proclaim eternal life to all?
For God so loved the world that he gave.
His only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
But have everlasting life, the brother. Please start the tune.
You're not going to hear anything new tonight. You're going to hear much of repetition of what was brought before us last night and yesterday and during the meetings today. I want to try.
With the Lord's help to show you something of the inestimable value of the work of Christ on Calvary's cross, I want to show you.
It will only be failing and falteringly I know, but I want to show you.
At least a little bit of how God values the work that his son accomplished on the cross. And I want to show you how futile it is for you to offer your work as the basis of acceptance before God.
Actually, you are really insulting God.
If you offer your work as the basis of His acceptance of you, you are really saying to God.
My work that I do is better than the work that your son did on the cross. How solemn and how serious. But God is faithful, and God is has shown us.
In his word, what will be the destiny of all those?
Who offer their works as the basis of acceptance before God.
So to begin with, I ask you to come with me to the very first chapter in the Bible.
Please turn to the book of Genesis, Chapter One.
I want to show you that it's God's desire for your blessing.
And as we say, sometimes he left no stone unturned.
In his desire to prepare for your blessing. And if you reject the message tonight, you're going to have only yourself to blame if you wake up in a lost eternity.
Genesis chapter one.
And verse one, we're going to read the 1St 5 verses.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light.
And there was light, and God saw the light that it was good. And God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Now when you and I reckon time, we reckon time from night, one minute after midnight.
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Clear around the clock and we finish up at night again and everyone of us that are born into this world.
As children of Adam, we are born in sin, the Word of God tells us and shapen in iniquity. We arrive into this world in night, in darkness.
But thank God, as we live out our little day on earth, we don't need to finish it in darkness. If you finish it in darkness, it will be eternal darkness.
In the blackness of darkness forever, but thank the Lord.
It tells us in Two Corinthians chapter 4 and verse six that God has.
Who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts.
To give us the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And here, boys and girls and adults.
If you don't already know the wonderful reality of having Christ as your Savior, of having him as the light of your life, I trust that tonight you'll be translated from the Kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son of His love.
It tells us here in verse two of Genesis, that the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
God didn't create the world this way.
Isaiah chapter 45 tells us that when God created the earth, He created it perfect. He created it to be inhabited.
Some kind of cataclysmic event took place between verse one and verse 2.
That brought about this dark condition that exists.
All the earth was covered with water, there wasn't any land visible in Versailles, and darkness enveloped all. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And I trust that the Spirit of God will move in this audience tonight. I trust that you dear boys who are unsaved and you girls that don't know the Lord, and if there's an adult here.
Parading as a child of God.
I trust that the Spirit of God will work and brood over you tonight, bringing you to see your true condition in the presence of God.
God said, Let there be light and there was light. Light dispelled the darkness, Light dispels the darkness and this light.
That appeared in Genesis.
Verse three was not the light of the sun.
Not put in place until the 4th day.
And you know the Lord Jesus.
Did not come into this world as man until the 4th day.
If we count 1000 years as one day, it was the year 4000 that the Lord Jesus came to this earth as man. We read about that in the first chapter of John's Gospel.
In the beginning with the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
Let's turn over to the first chapter of John's Gospel just for a moment so that I don't make any mistake in in quoting the verse.
All things were made by him and was not without him, was not anything made that was made in him was light, and the light was the light of man, And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. When the Lord Jesus came into this world, he was the light.
And the darkness, the moral darkness that existed in this world when Jesus came.
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Was so dark that they didn't recognize him. They didn't realize that the Lord Jesus Christ was God manifest in flesh.
They did not realize who he was.
But they despise the light of His presence. It tells us in John's Gospel, chapter 3, verse 19.
Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. And you boys and you girls that don't love the Lord Jesus, you know that you'd like to leave the room if someone wants to talk about the Lord Jesus.
You know that you get no pleasure in listening to someone.
Talk to you about the Lord Jesus, unless you love him and God wants tonight to give you a life.
That will enable you to love him and will enable you to.
Love the things of God.
Why have so many gathered here?
We have quite a number of things in common.
Many of us here in this group tonight.
Have in common the fact that we are sinners.
Saved by grace.
We have in common the fact that we are citizens.
Of a heavenly country.
We have in common the fact.
Is that we're journeying on the voyage of life, on our way to that heavenly country to live eternally with the Lord Jesus, the one that came to this world and died for us. Oh, how we love Him. We enjoy speaking about Him.
You remember in the 9th chapter of Luke where.
We have the Transfiguration scene, and Peter and John and James were there on the Mount, and there was Moses and Elias. Moses was the Lawgiver. Elias was the great reformer. And they were there on the Mount of Transfiguration. A little preview of that coming scene of Glory, beloved child of God. And what were they talking about? Was Moses talking about his work and his experiences with the people of God.
Was Elijah talking about his experiences with the people of God? No. They were talking about the Lorde decease that he should accomplish at Jerusalem. They were talking about the Lord. And when you and I get to heaven, we won't be comparing notes with one another.
About our work.
No, praise the Lord.
We will be talking about his work and what the Lord Jesus accomplished on Calvary's cross.
And that will be our theme for all eternity. And we will never get tired, so he won't bother us up there.
We're going to have new bodies suited for that wonderful home and that sphere into which we're going. We won't have the encumbrances of the flesh.
We'll be able to enjoy because we have the life of Christ. We'll be able to enjoy.
Eternally, the things of the Lord. Oh dear boys and girls, you'll never enjoy that.
Unless you belong to the Lord Jesus, you don't find enjoyment in those kind of things. I ask you, what must God do with those that reject Christ?
You wouldn't be happy if you got to heaven without a new life. You can't enjoy those things unless you love the Lord. So what must God do with those that reject Christ? It will be eternal banishment in hell. God didn't prepare hell for mankind.
Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels, but that will be your destiny if you die in your sins. It tells us in the 6th chapter of John's Gospel the Lord Jesus says if he die in your sins where I am, he cannot come. Now I want to go on a little bit here in the first chapter of Genesis.
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Well, the second chapter.
God formed man in the seventh verse, and God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life.
And man became a living soul.
Man is accountable to God because man's life is God, breathed.
And God placed man in this delightful Garden of Eden where he was surrounded with everything that was conducive to his happiness. God told him he could have and enjoy everything with which he was surrounded.
Except one prohibition.
Thou shalt not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.
God looks for obedience.
And God looks for dependence.
And this is what God desires from His children more than anything else, obedience to His Word and dependence upon himself. And this is the happy past, dear child of God. Your happiness is in the in that measure, in the measure in which you are obedient and dependent.
But after the Lord provided a wife for Adam.
Along came the tempter and raised a doubt in the.
Thoughts of Eve and questioned her. Yeah, hath God said.
Ye shall not surely die, he told her a lot.
God said in the day, thou eatest thudder off, thou shalt surely die.
The devil said you won't die. God is holding back something from you.
If you listen to me, that tree is good.
Good to look at. Good for food. There's nothing wrong with it. Eat it. You won't die. It's not a poisonous you're going to be like gods. You're going to know good and evil. And Eve listened to the voice of the tempter, and he reached out. She was deceived. She reached out and she took that fruit and she gave to Adam, and Adam took of that fruit. How did sin come into the world?
How did sin come into the world?
It came into this world by disobedience.
Did God hold Eve responsible for bringing sin into the world? No.
God held Adam responsible. God always puts man in the place of responsibility.
As we were hearing in the readings, the woman is responsible to submit in obedience to her husband.
And God's order is the best order. Look at the turmoil that's resulted in the world today. Because society.
Is setting aside God's order and adapting its own. Jeremiah the prophet says, oh Lord, I know that it is not in man that walked us to direct his steps. You can't direct your steps. The wisdom for our pathway comes from the word of God.
The word of God tells us Thy word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. A lamp gives you just enough light for one step.
But there's enough light in the precious Word of God. If you take that one step in faith, there's enough light in the Word of God to last for the whole voyage of life. And if you walk in obedience to the Word of God and dependence upon the Lord, you're going to have a happy life. You're going to have a happy life. But if you reject the word of God.
And listen to the tempter and listen to the philosophy and science of this world. You will end up in a lost eternity if you set aside the truth of the word of God.
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And so in Romans chapter three we read by one man's disobedience.
Sin entered and death by sin.
And so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
Romans 623 tells us the wages of sin is death. Hebrews 927 tells us after death the judgement or how solemn.
They say I got a phone call just before I came away from a boy I used to teach in Sunday school about 40 years ago and he told me his cousin, who used also to come to our Sunday school, had been drowned and I asked for the circumstances. He was out fishing, Two of them were in a boat and when his companion threw the anchor out of the boat, he didn't notice that the rope from the anchor was twisted around Alan's feet and Alan went out with the anchor and he drowned.
The wages of sin is death and I said to the boy that gone and told me about it.
It's years since I've seen Alan. What was his spiritual state? He said. I don't know very much, but I can tell you that he used to quote the last part of Psalm 23 to me. Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
I hope Alan is with the Lord Jesus, but I can't say for sure. The Lord knoweth them that are his. But dear boys and girls, if the Lord doesn't come, each one of you must die. Each one of you must leave this world through the article of death. And as I quoted a moment ago from John 6, the Lord Jesus says if he die in your sins where I am, you cannot come.
Well, what was the result of Adam and Eve? When they partook of that fruit, they suddenly realized that they were naked, that they had no covering, that they couldn't come into the presence of God, and so they fled from the presence of the Lord. The Lord didn't leave them, but they left the Lord. They didn't want the Lord's company. They knew that they weren't fit for God's company.
And then I'm going to tell you something else.
When they fled, they hide before they fled.
Made themselves aprons of fig leaves, a partial covering.
That was the result of their the work of their own hands. And still, with that partial covering that they had made with their own hands, they realized they were not fit for the presence of God.
Oh dear, Sinner friend, if you are attempting by any merit of your own, whatever it be.
Church going coming to meeting regularly.
If you're counting on the fact that you're baptized.
Or taking communion. That won't save you. It won't fit you for God's presence, only the work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished on Calvary's cross when he died. For sinners, the wages of sin is death. Thank God. The Lord Jesus went into death and he shed His precious blood. And he tells us in his Word, the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
And God is satisfied.
With the work that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished because the Lord Jesus is risen.
And he is ascended, and he is seated on the right hand of God.
Where are those sins that he bore? First Corinthians 15 tells us Christ died for our sins. Where are our sins that he bore? In his own body on the tree?
They're gone in the death of Christ.
Oh friend, what a wonderful savior Jesus is. And what a triumph it is to trust the value of his work.
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And have the assurance of eternal security because.
Not one I owe to of your personal effort.
Can merit acceptance before God, but the work of Christ.
Has completely and totally satisfied the claims of God.
And so the Lord provided coats of skin for Adam.
And for Eve, in order for those coats of skin to be provided, an animal had to die, a substitute had to go into death. And that going into death of that animal substitute was typical of the Lord Jesus Christ. He went into death, He suffered, he bled, He died, The Lord Jesus the Lord of life and glory contemplating.
Contemplating Calvary contemplating the cost of redemption, it tells us in Hebrews that the Lord Jesus uttered strong, crying and tears as he contemplated going into death and bearing the judgment of a holy God against sin. We often read in Psalm 22.
Those words prophetically given to us.
There. My God.
My God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Lord Jesus was forsaken of God on Calvary.
Why? The answer is there, but Thou art holy, all thou that inhabit us, the praises of Israel, The Prophet Habakkuk tells us God is of two pure eyes to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity.
If you have committed one sin.
You can never come into the presence of God.
Unless you are accepted in the value of the work of Christ.
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross.
He died for sinners, sinners like me, and he took my sins upon him.
And he bore the punishment that my sins deserve, the sacrifices that were offered in the Old Testament. They all typified the coming sacrifice of Christ, but in the Old Testament the fire.
Consumed the sacrifice.
But the fire of God's judgment?
That came upon the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross.
Was itself.
Consumed by the Lord Jesus, he consumed the judgment. He took it all, He bore it all.
And left but the law for us.
Oh, how can you? How can you refuse love like that? How can you turn aside love like that? Adam was glad to accept those coats of skin so that he could come into God's presence, and in the process of time, he had two little boys.
That were born into his family. Our brother mentioned, I believe, last night about those two little boys.
The name of one boy was Cain. The name of the other boy was able, and I'm sure that father and mother told those two boys how they had sinned against God. How God had told them that the wages of sin is there, how God had told them that because they ate of that tree that they were told not to eat of, that they would die.
God was very, very patient with Adam, wasn't he?
How long did Adam live? He lived for 930 years before he died.
God was patient. And God has been patient with you boys and girls.
Patient with you adults sending preacher after preacher to tell you the way of salvation.
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Perhaps this will be your last opportunity. Perhaps you will never hear the gospel again.
It could well be.
That you would find yourself in a lost eternity.
Before this day is over, because every child of God is listening with eager tiptoe expectancy for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Any moment he's going to descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel and the trump of God and the daily in Christ are going to rise. And then we, which are alive and remain, are going to be caught up together.
To meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Boys and girls, if you wake up in the night and find your parents bed empty.
You'll know.
That perhaps the Lord has come and taken them to glory, and yourself will be left behind.
Oh, May God grant that tonight you will close in with God's offer of mercy. I pray to God with all my heart, and I wish you had been at the little prayer meetings that I attended before this gospel meeting. You would have heard a lot of men on their knees crying to God for the boys and for the girls that have Christian fathers and mothers heaven bound.
And their son and their daughter had never confessed. The Lord Jesus had never told them that they were saved. You know, there's a verse in Proverbs that says, my son give me thine heart. And there's another verse right close to that one that says.
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad.
Thank God if you have a father and mother that will be glad to hear you tell them.
That you belong to the Lord Jesus.
I know some.
The dear brother.
Sitting here with us.
Whose father and mother were not glad but thank the Lord, he took a stand. He accepted Christ as his Savior, and now he's telling others of a savior's love and a home above and a peace that all may know.
Pray for your father and mother. If there is a coin that are unhappy because you have taken sides with the Lord Jesus, pray for them. The same Lord that came in in His grace and mercy and saved you and gave you the courage to confess, the Lord is able to save your beloved parents too.
Adam and Eve told their boys about.
How they were made.
Fit for the presence of God. And one boy listened and the other boy didn't listen.
Which one was it that listened, and which boy was it that didn't listen?
In the process of time they decided that they would bring an offspring on to the Lord, and Cain brought of the fruit of the ground. That was his occupation. He was a tiller of the ground, and I have no doubt that he toiled.
To produce the best possible crop and I am sure that he picked out the very best fruit.
And he got it together, and he brought it and offered it to the Lord, the work of his own hands, the fruit of his own toil. And Abel, he also brought an offering. But what kind of an offering did Abel bring? Abel had listened to his father and mother tell him that death was the penalty for sin and disobedience.
And Abel said to himself, I'm a Sinner. I deserve to die.
And Hebrews 11 tells us by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice.
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Than Cain, by the which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it he being dead. Yet live us. King's body has been in the ground for many, many hundreds of years, but he's bearing testimony tonight to you of the fact that he brought a substitutionary offering that was capable of going into death.
Thus acknowledging that he was entitled to death.
And I want to tell you, dear boys and girls, unless you come to God like Cain did, unless you admit to God that you're a Sinner and that you deserve to die, that you deserve to go to hell.
There will be no blessing for you.
The publican and the Pharisee went up into the temple to pray. And you remember how the Pharisees told God what a wonderful person he was?
He never would have said the things about himself that he did say had he realized that he was in the presence of God. Because God looks at your heart. I can only look into your face. I can't look into your heart. I don't know whether you belong to the Lord or not. I have in my.
Possession of $0.50 piece. It says it's worth $0.50 but it's a counterfeit and it's not worth anything.
And you may be parading as a Christian. I talk to a boy and ask him if he was saved, and he said yes. I said, how do you know you're saying? He said, Well, my grandpa says I am. Well, I didn't have a grandpa like that. And it's not what your grandpa says or what your mother says or what your Sunday school teacher says.
It's the Lord's estimation, And the Lord can look deep down right into your heart, and the Lord knows all about you. Do you remember when the Lord Jesus was dying on the cross? The daughters of Jerusalem were surrounding the cross, and they were crying. Tears were coming down their cheeks. The daughters of Jerusalem. And what did the Lord say to them? The Lord said to them, weep not for me.
But weep for your children.
The Lord knew that those tears were the result of emotion.
They were natural emotion because of the way he was being treated.
They only looked at the Lord Jesus as being the Son of Joseph. They didn't see in the Lord Jesus the Christ of God.
And they thought it was abhorrent, the way that that man was being treated. And so they were weeping.
But when Mary came to the tomb after the resurrection, and she looked in.
She started to weep because the Lord wasn't there, and then the Lord appeared in His resurrection body to Mary and told her we not He recognized those tears as tears of affection, and the Lord can tell the difference between tears of emotion.
And tears of affection.
One time.
Sir Harry Lauder, a British comedian, was invited to a drawing room gathering attended by elderly ministers, and someone suggested that Sir Harry Lauder quote the 23rd Psalm.
And this he did very effectually. And when he had finished courting that 23rd Psalm, everybody clapped and gave him a good ovation. And then Sir Harry Lauder turned to one of the white haired gentlemen there and he said, Now will this gentleman please quote the 23rd Psalm and the old man quoted?
With very deep.
Affectionate feeling. The Lord is my shepherd. And when the old gentleman had finished quoting that 23rd Psalm, there was no cheering, there was no clapping. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. And Sir Harry Lauder broke the silence by saying, I know the 23rd Psalm. That man knows the Shepherd.
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That man knows the shepherd. And I ask you tonight, dear boys and girls, do you know the shepherd? Do you know the Lord Jesus? Adam and Eve were put out of the Garden of Eden, and the flaming sword was turned every way to guard the way to the tree of Life. And Zechariah the Prophet tells us, awake, oh, sword against my shepherd, set the Lord.
And John's Gospel chapter 10 tells us the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, that flaming sword of judgment expended itself upon the Lord Jesus the Good Shepherd. And he bore the judgment of God against sin, opening the way to the tree of life, eternal life for every child of God that accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
Oh friends.
Want to accept Jesus? God accepted Abel because of Abel's offering. I want you to get that.
God accepted Abel because of his offering.
And God has accepted me.
Because.
Of.
The offering of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. I am accepted before God as our brother read to us today from Ephesians One. I am accepted before God in all the value of the person and the work of Christ.
Is there any danger that that work?
Has not been fully complete. Is there any possibility that that work has in any particle been?
Insufficient.
Oh no, Hebrews 10 tells us. By one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. The Lord Jesus came from the highest heights of glory down to Calvary steps of war. He suffered, bled, and died.
On Calvary's cross, he says in the 10th chapter of John.
I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me. I lay it down of myself.
I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. The Lord Jesus was obedient.
On to death. And that was part of the obedience.
He received that commandment from his father to lay down his life.
And he died for sinners, it tells us. I believe it's first Peter and the last or second last chapter. His own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree.
And that's why I love him. We love him because he first loved us. And all. Dear boys and girls, I urge you to respond to the love of Jesus.
What must God do with the one that rejects Christ?
God accepted.
Abel because of Abel's offering, and he rejected Cain because of what he offered to God. He offered to God the work of his own hands, and so God didn't accept Cain.
And if you are seeking to be accepted before God.
On the basis of your own works, God is going to take you up on that ground. I want to turn now to the 20th chapter of Revelation. I know it was referred to last night.
00:50:16
But I want to bring it before you again.
It's a very, very solemn portion.
Verse 12 of Revelation, chapter 20.
And I saw the dead.
Small and great. I wonder if that means little boys.
To small ones. Is there going to be little boys at the Great White Throne? Is there going to be little girls there, the small ones?
And the great ones, those that think themselves great.
Those that have a position of greatness in this world that have left Christ out of their life.
I saw the dead, small and great stand before God, and the books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the book of life.
And the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books. Here we have.
In one volume 66 books.
Comprising the word of God, and you're going to be judged according to the things that are written in this book. When you go for an examination in school, you like to know what the examination is all about.
You wouldn't go into a history examination prepared for a geography examination, would you?
You like to know what you're going to be examined from, and you're going to be examined according to the things that are written in this book.
Read the word of God, friend. Take the word of God and read it.
And if you read it sincerely in the presence of God, God will open his word to you and by the grace of God, I hope, reveal his love to you so that you will accept Jesus as your Savior. But it tells us a solemn thing here.
That the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the books.
According to their works. According to their works.
You're going to be judged according to your works if you don't know Christ as your savior.
And it tells us that all those that are judged.
At the end of verse 13.
And all those that are judged according to their works.
Were cast into the lake of fire. No, it's not actual fire. Hell is an actual fire.
Fire speaks of judgment and a lake speaks of confinement, and you're going to be confined under the judgment of God for all eternity.
All boys and girls.
You're hot tonight, aren't you? Nice to have a fan to fan yourself and get a little cool. There'll be no cooling in hell under the judgment of God for all eternity. I saw a little boy taking a handful of sand and lifting it up and letting it run through his fingers. I saw another little boy collecting a pail of sand, and then he was dumping it out on the ground. Next time you have a pail of sand, count those little.
Particles of sand.
I want to tell you, when I was little, someone told me eternity if I wanted to measure it. It was like the highest mountain in the world, all made of sand.
And he told me if a bird came once every thousand years and took away one little grain of sand.
From that highest mountain in the world, the mountain would be leveled with the ground.
And Eternity will just be getting started.
And you're going to.
Go to hell for eternity. If you don't accept the Lord Jesus, He loved you. He died for you. He shared his precious blood.
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All dear boys and girls, I cannot.
Make it any plainer to you.
But if after this meeting, you feel that the message had not been made clean and clear enough.
Come and ask us to make it more clear to you. The Lord Jesus loves you and there's no time to waste. He wants you and He wants you to accept him now.
Now is the day of salvation. Now is your opportunity. I was in New York last year.
And it was my first visit to New York City and my daughter was with me, And she said, Daddy, when the subway car comes along, don't wait to get off, just get on as fast as you can.
And my wife was a little slow getting on.
And the doors closed and left her half in and half out.
And we were able to pull her in. But.
Nobody's going to be able to pull you in to heaven if you don't take the Lord Jesus. I was talking to a lady on the phone just the other day. She told me that a very dear relative of hers had passed away and she said, I suppose all I can do now is pray for her.
It's too late.
Too late. No prayers for the dead are ever going to change the destiny of one that is gone.
The word of God says if he die in your sins where I am, he cannot come.
All, dear friends, I plead with you to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, because if you don't have a life that enjoys the things of God.
And you die in your sins. You will spend an eternity in a place of blackness and darkness forever, where there's never any love shown by anyone there only hatred.
It's sometimes described as a bottomless pit because of the distance of separation that takes place.
Between the redeemed and glory and the lost in the realms of despair.
One more verse comes before me. I think it's the last chapter of First Corinthians, Chapter 11.
On verse 22, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let him be.
And the Spirit of God didn't 'cause these last two words to be translated into English.
Because they are so solemn, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be.
An asthma.
Maranatha.
As that means I cursed when the Lord cometh.
All dear boys and girls.
I don't want you to be a curse when the Lord comes.
May God grant that tonight you will pray the penitent publicans prayer. God be merciful to me a Sinner.
And I can tell you the authority of God's word, that he will be merciful to you, because he says him that cometh to me. I will in no wise cast out. Come, come tonight, Come now, I wonder, could we sing in closing?
Hymn #2.
I read to him in its entirety, and then, because it's a hot night, we'll just sing the last verse.
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Come to Jesus gently calling he with care and toil, oppressed with your guilt, however appalling, calm, and I will give you rest.
For your sin he once has suffered. On the cross the work was done, and the Word by God now uttered to each weary soul is.
Come, come. The father's house stands open.
With its mouth and light and soft and returning to that.
Three Crowns
Address—R. Reeves
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General Meetings Wheaton, July 1982. Gospel by Ron Reeves.
Would you please stand with me and sing a couple of hymns?
You'll be sitting for 30 or 40 minutes and so.
It would probably do us all good to stand up and sing.
Let's start singing #17.
Have you any room for Jesus?
He Who bore the Load of Sin.
As he knocks and seeks admission, Sinner, will you let him in?
#17
have you?
Seen.
Sailor, will you like him in?
When my hearts are widely.
On the wild.
How are you at a time?
Party's house.
Sitting crazy calls again.
Oh, today is time at Saturday.
Tomorrow.
You can call in pain.
Fall for Jesus Walao.
Hey.
Swear.
Let's remain standing and sing #23. Behold, behold the Lamb of God.
On the cross for us he shed his precious blood.
On the cross?
University.
Of.
Dreams.
On the road.
Book of Hebrews, chapter one.
A book of Hebrews, chapter one.
God.
Who at sundry times?
And in divers manners.
Spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.
Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son?
Whom he hath appointed heir of all things.
By whom also he made the world's.
Tonight we're going to talk about God.
We have just read some very wonderful things.
We have read that God.
Spoke in different ways.
He spoke through different people, His prophets.
But we're told that at the end of that period.
Of speaking through His prophets.
That he spoke.
In a very wonderful manner.
It says he spoke to us by his son.
00:10:02
It is that that I would like to speak to you about tonight.
That God has spoken to us.
In his son.
I might illustrate that this way.
It would be.
An honor to receive.
A message from the president of this country.
By means of one of his staff members.
It would certainly be an honor.
But how much greater an honor it would be to have the president himself speak to us.
And I believe that's the thought we have in the verses which we have read.
That after that period of time when God had spoken.
In different times and in different ways, by means of different servants.
The time came when he spoke.
To us by his own son.
And dear friends, that's equivalent to say that God has.
Spoken unto us directly.
And so we are very honored.
And we are very responsible.
That God himself.
The very Son of God.
Who is God should speak to us.
Now I would like to.
Go to verse 3, which really forms the main subject that I would like to speak about.
And I would like to notice in this third verse.
That there are.
3 crowns.
Given to us.
And I would like to spend the next few minutes that we're together.
Speaking about the three crowns.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There is the crown of his deity.
There is the Crown of Thorns.
That speaks to us of His sacrifice.
And there is the crown of glory and honor that he now wears.
And so let's consider these three crowns.
And we'll find them in this third verse.
It says, who being the brightness of his glory.
That is a part of his.
Crown of deity.
The Lord Jesus Christ is gone.
He is a member of the Divine Trinity.
That Trinity which is composed of Father, Son.
And Holy Spirit.
All three are God.
All three are divine persons. All three are Co equal.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the divine Eternal Son.
Of God.
He is God.
He deserves the crown of deity.
And part of that crown of deity is He is the brightness.
Of the glory of God.
Let's talk a little bit about the brightness.
Of the glory of God.
In our minds, let's go back to the.
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Old Testament.
When God was preparing his servant Moses.
For our work of blessing to God's people.
Moses.
Was out in the field.
And he noticed a very unusual sight.
He noticed a Bramble Bush which was burning.
And it says that Moses turned aside to see the Bush which was burning.
And was not consumed.
And when Moses drew near to watch that unusual sight, he heard a voice.
Which said.
Take off your shoes from off your feet.
For the place whereon you stand is holy ground.
I believe one reason why Moses was told to take off his shoes.
Was that there might not be any elevation of himself.
Above the level of the earth.
He must take his true place before God.
As part of the dust.
And even if his shoes should raise him.
1/4 of an inch above the level of the dust, it was too high.
And so God said, take off your shoes, Moses.
You're in my presence, and the place where on you stand is holy ground.
And Moses did so.
And from that flaming Bush, he heard other words.
God spoke to him, and God told Moses that his name.
Was I am.
I am.
Jehovah God.
The one who was the one who is the one.
Who always shall be and in that flaming Bush?
In the presence of the Lord.
The one whom we have learned to know and the one about whom I want to speak.
We have learned to know him that great I am as the Lord Jesus.
That was the brightness of his glory.
But that was found in the Old Testament.
And when we come to the New Testament, we find something very, very wonderful.
One day a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus.
Was walking on a road that led him away.
From God.
His heart was filled with hatred for Jesus Christ.
Whom many in this room have learned to love.
And suddenly something very unusual happened.
As he walked down that road.
Suddenly there was a light that shone down upon that man from heaven.
And he heard a voice calling unto him, And it said, Paul's or Saul, Saul.
Why are you persecuting me?
Paul, who saw the light and heard the voice said. Who art thou?
Lord and the voice responded and said.
I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest.
On that road to Damascus, Paul, who was, whose name became Paul.
Which means little.
On that road.
He came into contact with this blessed person who is the brightness of the glory of God.
Later on in the life of Paul when he told the story of his conversion.
The first time he retalled it, he said. It was a great light.
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The last time he told the story of his conversion, he said it was a light.
Brighter than the noonday sun.
Oh dear friend on that road, that man who did not love Jesus.
Came into contact with Jesus, who loved him and the brightness of his.
Divinity.
Shone down upon him.
And made a change in his life all the brightness.
Of his glory.
Dear friends, that's a part of the crown that belongs to the one I'm speaking about tonight.
The Lord Jesus, He is God.
The brightness of his glory.
In this verse three of our chapter it says and the express image.
Of his person.
This is another part of that crown of his divinity.
The Lord Jesus Christ was the exact image.
Of the invisible God.
Oh, that's a blessed truth.
In the book of Colossians, it says Who is the image of the invisible?
God.
Yes, he wears that crown of divinity.
With every right and title to have it, Jesus is God.
In the book of Luke.
The announcement was made at the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It says that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son.
Of God.
He told his disciples, He that has seen me.
Has seen the father.
All my friends.
This glorious truth is for you to enjoy.
To believe.
That Jesus is the exact image of God.
The express image of his person.
God has been manifested in the flesh.
Eternal life has been displayed in human form in the person.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In John's Gospel, chapter 10, we read these words.
That they sought to stone him.
Because he said that God was his father.
The Jews said that makes him equal with God.
The Jews were not.
Confused about what Jesus taught them.
When he said I am the Son of God, they realize that he meant that he was equal with God.
And when I say he is the Son of God, that's what I mean too.
Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus is equal with God. He is the Son, a member of the Trinity. He wears the crown of divinity. He is God.
Later on in John's Gospel, we read the story about a man whose name was Thomas.
And he did not attend a meeting that he could have attending attended.
And he told his friends, he said, if I don't see the print of the nails.
If I don't see the mark of the spear, I won't believe.
And later on he was with the other disciples at a later time.
And the Lord Jesus, after his resurrection, was there, And our blessed Lord Jesus said to Thomas.
00:25:00
Thomas, reach forth your hand and behold the print of the nails.
And you know what Thomas said to Jesus?
My Lord and my God.
Oh dear friend, Jesus wears the crown.
Of divinity.
With every right and title to wear it because he's gone.
Oh, what a majestic person.
The brightness of his glory.
They expressed image of his person and now another part of that crown of his divinity is this.
Upholding all things by the word of His power.
Or the power of his word.
Who was it that night?
On the ship and in the storm.
That got up from his cushion and said to the wind and the waves. Be still, Who was it that said that?
It was Jesus the Lord.
Who else could talk to the wind? Who else can speak to the waves?
Except their creator.
Upholding all things by the word of His power.
Who was it that walked upon the water?
It was the Lord Jesus.
Who was it that was able to give sight to the blind?
To tell a man who could not work because his arm was withered, stretch it out.
Who was it that was able to go to a leper or a man with an incurable disease?
Whose body was filled with corruption? Who was it that touched him and said be clean?
Ah, it was Jesus.
The word of his power.
Dear friends, this is God.
Displayed in human form.
Who was it that stood by the grave of a man who was dead 4 days?
And justice with one word, said Lazarus. Come forth.
And the dead came out. Who was that?
It was this blessed person who wears the crown of divinity, who is God.
Who is this man who raised his arms?
In blessing upon his loved ones.
And defied the laws of gravity and went straight back home to his father's house.
And ascended into the heavens. Who was that? Ah, this is Jesus.
Upholding all things by the word of His power.
Dear friends, Jesus is God and he wears the crown of divinity.
With right and title.
Now let's go down in this verse to the second crown that I would like to speak about this evening.
In verse 3, the middle of the verse, it says.
When he had by himself purged our.
Sins.
Now I want to talk.
About the Crown of Thorns.
And because I want you to see with your own eyes what God has to say about that crown of thorns.
And the one that wore it.
Please turn to the 19th chapter of John's Gospel.
Kindly keep the place in Hebrews 3 because we will come back to it.
But let's go to John's Gospel, chapter 19.
And let's read about the crown of thorns. Sometimes, in order to mark a place that I want to come back to in my Bible, I just take about four or five sheets near that and just fold it over. And it serves as a very good marking place so that I can go back to it very easily. And you might learn to do that too, because it will help you in such times as this.
00:30:19
John's Gospel, chapter 19.
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus verse one and scourged him.
And the soldiers planted a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
And they put on him a purple robe.
And said Hail King of the Jews.
And they smote him with their hands.
Pilate therefore went forth again, and said unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him.
Then came Jesus forth.
Wearing the crown of thorns.
And the purple robe, Pilot said into them. Behold the man.
My dear friends, I want to say that tonight.
I want you to visualize in your mind.
The Lord Jesus.
Behold the man with the crown of thorn.
I'm sure you have all seen thorns.
I wonder if you've ever noticed the thorns that are on the stems of roses.
Next time you see a stem of roses, please notice the thorns that are on it.
And please notice that they look like they have just been stuck on there with Elmer's glue.
It looks like they don't belong there.
That they have been added.
That they weren't made that way, That somebody is just glued to thorns on the roses.
Oh, you say. I don't like the thorns. I like the Rose, but I don't like the thorns.
And that's what the people say when they go to pick the red raspberries too. They say I like the raspberries, but I don't like the thorns.
And what when you cut down a locust tree, you don't enjoy the thorns either that are on the trunk?
And the limb.
Thorns.
Came as a result of sin.
When our first parents.
Sinned, they plunged the entire human race.
Into sin and death and judgment.
And the Lord had to say about the very earth.
That thorns also and thistles shall they bring forth unto thee.
And if you've ever tried to go out into the garden and pull up a Thistle.
I recommend that you wear gloves when you do so.
They're sharp.
They're useful, useful for nothing that I know about.
Thistles are a symbol of desolation.
Sin leads to desolation and thorns and wounds.
Thorns are a picture of the curse that came from sin.
And here these soldiers who had no love for the Lord Jesus.
Or they said if he's a king, he should have a crown.
And so they scurried around and found.
A thorn Bush and made a crown for him, but it was a crown of thorns.
Now.
I had the advantage of knowing what I was going to talk about tonight.
And so I was able to read up a little bit on the subject of the thorn.
And I found out that.
The Crown of Thorns is mentioned in the book of Matthew.
It is mentioned in the book of Mark.
It is not mentioned in the book of Luke.
But it is mentioned twice in the book of John.
Once in Matthew, once in Mark, twice in John.
00:35:04
And I thought, why is that?
And then I decided I didn't know.
But one thought has come to me.
That so precious is the Lord Jesus to his Father.
And so awful was this thing that happened at Calvary's cross.
That the crown of Thorns is mentioned twice in the book of John.
Which tells us about the eternal Son of God.
Behold a man with the crown of thorns.
Now another thing that I noticed as I was reading about the crown of Thorns.
That after they put the crown of thorns upon him, they also put upon him a purple robe.
And gave him a Reed.
And it says in the word of God that they took off.
The Royal Rogue.
It says in the word of God that they took away his Reed and struck him on the head with.
With it.
But I read very carefully in all of the Gospels.
And I could not find one reference where they took off the crown of Thorns.
My dear friend, listen. Behold the man with the crown of thorns.
That was taken to a cross, and whose arms was outstretched and nails driven through his hands and his feet.
Behold the man on Calvary's cross.
Who died for you?
Wearing that crown of thorns.
The sun refused to shine for three long hours.
During those three hours of darkness, well in the Lord Jesus was on the cross.
All the judgment that God had against sin came down upon his holy head.
And our Lord Jesus suffered for the sins of every believer.
Of all ages during those awful dark hours.
As he wore the crown of thorns.
And I love to read it.
In this very same gospel.
It said when he had fulfilled every part of the word of God.
It said. He cried. It is finished.
And he bowed his head.
And he gave up the ghost.
And on his head was a crown of thorns.
And it says, dear friends, that a soldier with a spear.
Came up to the side of that precious savior whose every movement, whose every thought.
Whose every word was love.
A soldier came up, and with a spear pierced his blessed side, and out of that wound came blood and water.
Blood to wash away sins, water to bring in a new beginning.
Oh dear friends at Calvary's cross, the Lord Jesus.
Died as a sacrifice for sin, that you and I.
Sinners that we are might be washed.
And might be cleared from every charge.
Of sin.
I tried to find out who took the crown of thorns from the blessed head of my Savior.
And the Word of God does not say.
But I really believe that the one that took the crown of thorns from his precious brow.
Was none other than Joseph of Arimathea.
Wicked hands put Jesus on the cross, but loving hands took him down.
And I believe with all my heart that that dear warm hearted lover of the Lord Jesus, whose name was Joseph.
00:40:03
Gently lifted that awful crown from his precious brow.
And laid it aside because the work was done. Oh dear friends, the work is done.
It is finished are the words of Jesus. Nothing more to do. The blood has been shed. The work is over.
Oh, I'm so happy to tell your friends that he died, that you might live. The word of God tells us that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none that doeth good. No, not one.
But something has been done about this in question.
And the one that did something about it is the one that wore the crown of thorns.
The one that died, and the one that rose again and saw those loving hands of Joseph took off the crown of thorns without a doubt, took that precious body down and removed it from the nails and laid it in his own clean and new tomb. And all I love to think about Joseph that day.
With those loving hands, he could look at that grave and he said that was a grave that was made for me.
But he's in there instead.
Died for me. He died for me. Oh dear friend, I'm so glad to tell you that he died for me too, and he died for you. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.
God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Isn't it wonderful? When we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. Maybe somebody here tonight says I'm not sure he died for me.
Are you one of the ungodly? Then you have the word of God for it.
That he died for you. Christ died for the ungodly.
All that crown of thorns.
Speaks of his sacrifice, through which a Sinner like you.
And like I am can be saved from our sins.
And be made children of God.
Well, now let's go back to our first chapter of the book of Hebrews.
And I would like to speak about the Third Crown.
That is on my heart tonight.
And that's the crown of glory and honor.
And all my friends, I want you to know.
That the Lord Jesus wears that crown with every right entitled to have it.
Upon his blessed head tonight.
The latter part of verse three, it says when he had by himself purged our sins.
Sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high.
Sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, crowned with glory and honor.
All the resurrection of Christ.
Is the answer to the needs of your soul, but it is also the display of God's approval of His sacrifice.
In the book of Romans it says he was delivered for our offenses, but he was raised again for our justification and the very fact that Jesus sits on the throne of God tonight.
Is a proof that you as a believer have a receipt for the debt being paid.
I've got a file at home in my cabinet which says receipts.
And I keep those receipts.
Oh dear friend, if you're here tonight as a believer in the Lord Jesus.
You've got a receipt in heaven, and that receipt is the blessed person of the Lord Jesus.
Crowned with glory and honor, sitting down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
Notice in your Bible you're not far from chapter 2, verse 9.
00:45:04
We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor.
Crowned with glory and honor. Oh, I'm so happy to tell you tonight that he wears the victor's crown.
The crown of the one who has gone into the battle and who has won.
The one who deserves our praise, our love.
Our admin duration and worship forever crowned with glory.
And honor.
In the second chapter of the book of Acts, Peter speaking to those whose hands were stained with the blood.
Of their dead Messiah. And he said, listen, God has made that same Jesus.
Whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Crowned with glory and honor.
In the Book of Revelation, chapter 19, we read the words concerning the same blessed person, the Lord Jesus in a coming day, who will come riding on a White Horse of victory, and it said he had on his head many crowns and on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King of Kings.
And Lord of Lords.
Crowned with glory and honor.
Now I would like to ask you.
To turn with me for the last scripture that I intend to read this evening.
And it's in connection with the Crown that now.
Rests with such right and title on the brow of our Lord Jesus.
That crown of glory and honor.
Please turn with me to the book of Romans, chapter 10.
You won't have to turn anymore pages, just turn to Romans 10.
And we're still talking about this crown of glory and honor.
But I want to bring the subject right home to every heart in this room.
You see, there's no doubt.
About him rightfully having the crown of divinity.
He deserves it because he's God.
And there is no doubt that he once wore the crown of thorns.
And there's no doubt that the Lord Jesus now wears the crown of glory and honor.
As he sits down at the right hand of the majesty on high and friends, listen, do you know what it means to sit down at the right hand? That's the hand of power. That's the hand of wisdom. That's the hand of skill. And the Lord Jesus, crowned with glory and honor at the right hand of God, is the active agent of accomplishing God's purpose in this world. He's at the right hand.
Of power.
And someday you're going to meet him. You've got to do with Jesus.
Neutral you cannot be.
But I'm going to ask everyone in this room tonight.
Have you been willing to?
To go along with his crown of glory and honor.
Are you willing to give him his rightful title as Lord?
Now you see, it doesn't make any difference whether you do or not as to he having that crown.
He will wear that crown regardless of your decision because he has a right to it.
But my question is this.
Has every boy in this room acknowledged Jesus as Lord?
Has every girl in this room said?
To Jesus.
Lord Jesus.
Has every man.
00:50:00
Has every woman in this room said Lord to Jesus?
Have you given him his rightful place?
As Lord.
Please read with me Romans 10 and 9.
This is the way of salvation.
If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.
And shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead.
Thou shalt be saved.
Have those precious words ever come from your lips?
Lord Jesus.
Oh, if you're here tonight and you've never said to Jesus, Lord.
It's the longing of my soul and I would do most anything.
To encourage you to acknowledge Jesus as Lord tonight.
Oh, what a day it was in my life when I said to Jesus Lord.
Lord.
I asked one of the members of the Bible Truth publishers to do a favor for me.
I said I.
I want to close my meeting with an illustration.
And those of you know who know the Bible truth, Publishers.
Are well acquainted with the fact that there's a staff of people there who are laying down their lives for the brethren.
And.
You can't ask them to do something for you and not have them do it.
So I asked Paul Roberts if he would make me a crown.
And of course, he said he would.
Paul made me a crown.
But he didn't make it for me.
He made it according to my specifications, that is, he made it according to the way I asked him to make it.
And here is a crown made out of paper.
And hold it up so you all can see it.
And it says on it, Lord.
Lord.
Now my question is this.
Who deserves to wear this crown?
That says Lord.
Would you be willing to take this crown if you could? That says Lord on it.
Would you be willing to take this crown and place it upon the head of the Lord Jesus?
Now, you can't do it really, but this is an illustration that I hope no one will ever forget tonight in this gospel meeting.
I ask you this night in the presence of God.
And he will record your decision. Would you be willing to stand up and take this crown and place it on the head of the one that deserves it?
Who deserves this crown? That says, Lord? Oh, you say, Mr. Reeves. Only one man deserves that crown.
That crown belongs to Jesus. He is the Lord.
How about it, boys? How about it, boys who've got a Christian dad and mom that brought you to this conference?
Would you be willing tonight to say, Mr. Reeves, I'd be willing to stand up and put this crown on the head of Jesus because he's the Lord? How about it, girls? Would you be willing to stand up and take this crown from my hand if you could and say yes?
I don't think I ever did it before, But you've showed me tonight, Mr. Reeves, that there's only one person deserves that crown and it's Jesus. Yes, Mr. Reeves, I'll take that crown and I'll put it on the head of Jesus.
Would you do that in your heart? Would you?
00:55:03
Or with joy, if I could, it was if it was in my power.
I would take a crown like this and put it on the blessed head of the one that died for me.
Ken Brimlow.
If you would be willing to put this crown on the head of Jesus, would you stand up?
I knew you'd stand up.
I knew he would stand up and I could call out names.
Of 100 other people that would do the same thing, they'd say yes, I'd be glad to stand up.
And take the crown that says Lord on it and put it on the head of Jesus.
Now you know, I believe that.
People have to come to a point of decision in their lives.
I believe that young people who are raised in Christian homes have to come to a time when they make a decision about Jesus.
I hope this is denied tonight. Tonight, I hope this is the night when you'll make a decision about Jesus.
And you'll say, Mr. Reeves, I'd stand up too.
I'd be willing to stand up and take that crown and put it on the head of the one that deserves it. I'd be glad to put it on the head of Jesus. He's the Lord.
Would you do that?
I'm going to give you a chance to make a decision.
That only you know about.
Now here's the way it's going to work. Now listen close.
I hope I am not too complicated.
Mr. Brimlow, if I'm too complicated, raise your hand.
I'm going to ask the entire audience here tonight.
I'm going to ask you in a few minutes.
To stand and sing #12.
And later on when I say please stand.
I would like to ask everyone of you to stand with me and to sing #12.
And so if I see you standing.
Then I'll say.
Well, she was cooperating. He was cooperating.
They're standing to sing with me #12.
But I'm going to give everyone in this room tonight a chance to make another decision.
That when I say the words, please stand.
Everyone of you, now listen, boys, I'm talking to you. Listen.
Listen girls, this is for you.
I'm going to ask you this.
I want you to make a decision tonight.
Would you be willing to stand up?
And say, Mr. Reeves, I'd be willing to put that crown on the head of the one that deserves it.
I'd be willing to take the crown that says Lord.
And put it on the head of Jesus.
And I'm asking everyone here tonight who would be willing to do that to stand too.
When I say stand and so when I just give the request to stand.
It's a question of motivation in your soul.
Are you going to stand just because you want to sing that song with me #12?
Or are you going to stand because you would be willing to put this crown on the head of Jesus and acknowledge him as Lord?
Now when I look at you and I see you standing, I won't know whether you got up on your feet because you were willing to put the crown on his head and acknowledge him. Lord.
I won't know whether you did that.
Or whether you just stood up to sing with me.
Strange Children
Children—H. Walker
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General Meetings. Wheaton, July 1982. Children's Meeting. Hugh Walker.
Boys and girls, mothers and fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers.
This is a very special meeting for our children and special welcome them to all the boys and girls. If there are any boys and girls who would like to sit up a little closer, there are a few seats up front. But if you're more comfortable with mom and dad, I understand that because that's the way I was when I was your size too.
I'd like to ask you to sing with me.
Hymn #32 On your hymn sheet. It's not on the last page in the middle of your hymn sheet. Hymn #32 What can wash away my sins? Who knows the answer?
Thank you.
So that not one spot remains.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood.
God bless me, quiet as a snow.
No longer.
You cannot give up the blood of him in the house.
I was very nicely sung, boys and girls, very important truth in that little hymn, because often it says in that him nothing but the blood of Jesus. And that's absolutely true. There is nothing that can wash your sins away, nothing that can wash my sins away except the precious blood of the Lord Jesus that was shed for me and for you at Calvary's frost so very long ago. And yet it still can wash away all.
00:05:10
Our sins.
Let's just ask the Lord's blessing before we go on with our Sunday school. Our custom back home is to invite children to give out to Him. So on the back page of the Gospel choruses, it says children's hymns and choruses.
If you'd like to give out a hymn or a chorus from the Backpage, raise your hand and I'll ask you to come up with the microphone and tell us the number.
All right, here's a young lady.
46.
Here's a little reward for coming to the bicycle.
Him #46.
Spelling at work in this little hymn. So I'm going to ask a boy to come to the microphone and read out the words that are spelled out in the hymn.
There's a boy behind me.
What's that first one say?
And the next one.
Thank you. I have an A postcard for you to take home and send to a friend.
I hope you'll bear with the thundering of the light of the phone because I like to have the children to have an opportunity to speak into one of these machines.
All right, who has the next?
There's a young man right there, he likes to come with the microphone and tell us what number, please.
45 for you to say.
#45.
Too little lies too long.
You have told me to ask you a question. You know what? I'm still working for him. Oh my goodness.
Who remembers in this hymn what we only have one of?
Room right here.
Here's a microphone they've set right for children's level. We won't have to move them anymore. You come right over to this one and tell us what We only have one up in this hymn.
One what, 45? We only have one heart, right?
45 That's what That's what we sang, didn't we?
This young lady wants to sing another him who reads Just. We'll sing it in a minute here. Here's your postcard.
Be ready to say 44. Who remembers from this game what we only have one of them? This gentleman right here.
And what is that hard for?
00:10:04
One little heart. What do you do with it, this boy?
I hope that all of you boys and girls will remember that God has given you two of some things, but He's only given you one heart and only one tongue. And then we read in God's precious word that if we believe.
In our heart, and we confess with our mouth. Jesus is Lord. Then we are saved. So the Lord has given us two hands, the Lord has given us two ears. I'm glad that we have two ears. And the Lord gives us two eyes, but it only gives US1 heart, and he only gives US1 tongue. Now this young lady asked that we might sing hymn #44.
Into aquarium.
Some toleration we can reasonably ever has gone into me.
Now again. Now again.
Foundation story making all right now.
You know, I can't say all the children of men.
Nobody ever has No Fear to be before.
I am sure.
Sorry all I can say of my children of men.
Ever has so easy for me.
I wonder if there's any boy or any girl in our Sunday school this morning who has never before heard salvation story told. Put your hand up high if you have never heard the way of salvation before, never in your life. Any hands.
You have never heard. How do you say you have? How many boys and girls have heard it? Just once. Just once. No more, just once. Hands up.
How many boys and girls have heard it? Just boys?
No more. Well, how many boys and girls can't remember how many times you've heard the way of salvation?
Wow. You know, boys and girls, God and his mercy has given you the opportunity in this land and in many lands to hear the gospel story many, many times. But is that all God expects us to do is to hear it? You know, there's got to be a response to it. If somebody knocks at my door, I have to either pretend I'm not home or open the door and see who's there.
00:15:13
Add every time you come to Sunday school and sing these gospel courses, every time you open God's Word or it's open for you and read to you, you are responsible to do something with it. You can ignore it, but as we heard in the gospel last night, that is very, very serious and very, very sad. Or you can answer God's voice, answer the Lord Jesus Christ and receive him as your Savior and have all your sins.
That is what the Lord Jesus came to do. Seek him to say that which was lost. That word saved a wonderful savers word. We're trying to save one more before we open God's word together. This young man over here.
#40.
Well, this is one that everybody here, I'm sure it's some more than once and more than twice 2 Jesus loves me.
I want everybody to point to me. Who's the me?
You all know that word, Not very big word. You know that it means me. Jesus loves me.
Jesus loves me.
So much and hear us. And they are. We are here to come.
Jesus, so, so he loves me. Every week I'll tell.
Of his shining point of life and still watch me where I live.
Some Slaughty.
In this last verse in Forest, I'm going to ask you to just point to me.
When the word need comes, we do this at home sometimes for the whole hymn. There are a large number of people here this morning, but if we do it right, every time the word me is printed, there will be no sound. There will just be some fingers pointing at me.
And every time you see it in the last verse and in the course, would you do that? Just point, but don't sing to the word me, but sing the word before it and sing the word after. We'll just carry on the tune that way. The fifth verse in the course.
00:20:05
Jesus loves, He will stand those things like all the way till I cross him, sure.
Oh my God.
She lost 1.
Of my gloves fell to me, so that was free. While done, I heard a few knees as well as the fingers pointing. That's all right.
Boys and girls, I'm going to ask you to do some thinking while I read a few verses to your parents. You'll forgive me that I noticed there are a lot of parents here this morning, and the Word of God is for boys and girls and for their parents too. So while I read it two or three verses to your parents, listen if you can, but also think of something strange. I want one or two people to be able to tell me something strange that happened to them.
Or that they have heard about. The word strange is before me this morning and I would like to have one or two boys or girls come up to the microphone and tell us about some things strange that's happened to them or that they have heard or read about. It has to be something range STRANG strange or the parents. I'd like to read a verse in the book of Psalms.
Psalm 127 and.
And verse 3.
Low children are heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
As arrows are in the hands of a mighty man, so are the children of the youth.
And 1St chapter 128 and verse one.
Everyone that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his ways. Verse three. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful bind by the size of thine house. Thy children, like all its plants round the boat by table. One more verse in Psalm 144.
Verse 12.
That our sons may be as planned.
Not fit their view that our daughters may be as cornerstone, polished after the similitude of a palace. Dear parents, I'm so thankful that my parents have brought me to conferences, read the word of God in our living room, prayed with us as a family, took me to the assembly meetings.
Because it was in that environment that the Lord was able to feed my soul. By the Spirit of God, I was fed and strengthened and built up in the most holy faith. I would like to say at the time of a conference, I know it's hot. There are a lot of hot people at Wheaton fanning themselves. That's beautiful. And there are a lot of hot children here. And that's wonderful because the conferences provide us with.
A wonderful opportunity of fellowship.
And more importantly, being over the precious Word of God. Don't be discouraged with children. They are in heritage from the Lord. And I remember the boy who was at a conference, boys and girls. Not here, but it's another city where I became very much exercised about whether I really was saved or not. My mother and father were saved. I had been raised in a home where the Word of God was read.
And prayer was made, but it was at a conference, and it was during the singing of a gospel. Him just as I am, but without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou it becomes to thee, O Lamb of God, I come well within a gospel meeting at a conference, that the Spirit of God seems to speak so real and so forcefully to my soul. I don't remember what the gospel preachers spoke about.
00:25:05
But I remember speaking from my heart to the Lord in connection with the singing of that wonderful gospel hymns. I'm glad your parents have brought your children despite the needs and perhaps some of the discomfort and traveling and maybe this time of year in the heat that you're here with your children. I just think these verses are a real encouragement. I'll tell you, parents, a little incident that happened in our home assembly.
Some of us have teenagers or even married children now, but one day those older children decided they would like to have a special dinner in the meeting room for their parents. And they did. They put on a lovely meal for their parents and we were seated as guests and served royally.
And the verse of Scripture that was the theme of that evening time together. Fellowship was the 12Th verse of the 144th Psalm. That our sons may be as planned, grown up in their youth, and our daughters may be a cornerstone polished.
After the submittal cube of a palace, the young people, I believe, were expressing in their best ways their appreciation for the parents efforts and bringing them to the conferences and the meetings and the Sunday school and the prayer meeting and the reading meeting.
And you know, boys and girls, if the Lord leaves you here, you may someday be parents too. Because once I was a little boy at conferences. Now I'm a grandfather. And so the years passed by, and we see that boys and girls do grow up. We're so happy to have you this morning.
And I just thought that would be a little encouragement before we speak directly to the children, to you parents who I know sometimes go home very, very tired from conferences. But praise God, the effort is worth it. Now, has anybody thought of the strange story? Strange happening. There's a boy way back. They're gonna have to come all the way up here. Tell us your story.
His parents are looking a little apprehensive.
That's all right.
And then chop the wind. Go. And then she chopped the head off.
That is one of the strange stories I learned in a long time. A lady tied 2 Chickens, two and three. She shot the wings off and then she shot the heads off. My father used to do that the opposite order.
Wow that's strange story. Does anyone any girl have a strange story that they have?
This morning.
Where's that little boy? I didn't get his postcard.
Thank you for your story. Is there anyone else who has a Green story boy? If a girl doesn't have one, we'll have to go to the boy. Any girl on the street? All right, there's young ladies and we're going to go for girls first. Then we'll catch you back there.
Somebody might have to help me if I can't see a little girl far away. Just tell me this one, this big girl.
Last chance for a girl to illustrate nothing strange happens to girls.
Where's that boy? Back there? Way back. All right, you come up, please, and tell us your strange story.
Right over here, the microphone. Just your size.
Are real high and the cat is on its skin.
That is really something that's go up. Kidney, the high roof and everything. Do they? Thank you for your strange story. I hope that cat got down safely. Thank you. Good. All right. One more chance for a strange story. Just one more chance.
Any girl this time?
All right, here's a little girl I see somebody pointing. All right, dear, if you come up and tell us your strange story.
00:30:03
You are very brave to come up with this microphone.
Right over here.
When?
Garbage can and then broke down in front of us and house.
Goes down.
A garbage truck rolled down right in front of their house.
Great story.
But thank you for sharing it with us.
Found that 144th sum now the boys and girls that vital in terms of Saint chapter that your parents are looking at with me and we've got some things about strange children's agreed about this morning the great.
2 verses the 144th Psalms Verse 7 Sand thine hand from above, rid me, and deliver me out of great waters from the hand of strange children.
And verse 11.
Written and delivered me from the hand of.
Strange children whose mouth speaking vanities and their right hand is the right hand.
All good boys and girls.
I discovered that in this chapter there are.
Two times these words.
Strange children. Now our friends and that little girl get her postcard. Our friends that came up and told us that their story holds about string happenings.
But the word of God that we have before us, right there for those of us who have, our Bible speaks of great children.
I wonder if there are any strange children in the room this morning. You don't look strange. You all look very clean. You all look very healthy.
Most of you look very happy, but the word of God says that.
Twice in this chapter there are such things as range children.
Well, I would like to use this or a little story or two from the Word of God first of all.
Back in the book of Genesis, there is a story about a strange child. Do you know why I think this strange child is strange? Well, it wasn't because he looked strange. It was because of what he did. I think it was very, very strange. His name was Kate.
What strange thing did this boy came to? You know their stories?
Still the brother.
That is a most strange thing for a boy to do. Kill his brother. Well, you know, boys and girls, this man, this man who loves a boy, his name is James. He had a heart exactly like mine.
I have one. I have one brother. I'm sad to say that there were times we didn't always agree.
And I have recollections of the past one time or another, saying I could kill you. My heart was exactly like Katie's heart. Strange. Strange killed his brother. Well, that's what Sin has done.
Result stand We have strange hearts and we do strange things.
Well, and they further on in the book of Genesis, there's the story of a man who was put in a deep pit.
By his brothers.
Now who knows who I'm Speaking of this time.
00:35:03
This young lady who takes dress.
Joseph is right. In fact, there was Joseph.
With his brothers, they took him, they took his coat off and they put him in a pit. Really, they wanted to do to him exactly what Kane did to his brother Abel. But he had one brother that wasn't quite as green, and they put it in a pit and sold him into the land of Egypt as a slave. You like your brother to be a slave, the land leader. Would you like your sister?
To be a slave in the land with Egypt.
Far off her home.
Not knowing the language, not used to the custom, well, these brothers did what we might say a strange thing to your brother.
Well, we could go on. There's a story in Samuel or Samuel about two sons, two young men. Their father's name was Eli. Who was Eli?
You've been up to CBS.
You got a postcard yet? Well, we'll get something. There's a girl down there who is Eli here.
He was free to get a poster. He had two very strange songs. It tells us if we were to look at a chapter in First Samuel which we won't look at, it tells us that they do not the Lord. Did they have any chance of knowing the Lord yet? They had a father who was.
Perhaps the greatest prophet at the time and the land of Israel, he knew the Lord.
Bought his sons knew not the Lord. They were strange boys. Well, we could go on talking about strangers in the the word of God.
And then we get our chapter here speaks twice of being delivered from strange, strange children. Well, you know, there was a crop at once and he didn't have a lot of hair on his head.
And something some children tried to make fun of him. What did they say? That this prophet didn't have a lot of hair on his head? You come up and tell us something.
Oh, they insulted this prophet. They said go up S long head, go up S long. And they were strange children, but something very strange happened to them.
Somebody who has been out.
Some various kingdoms killed us. Some bears came out and killed those boys and did this strange thing. They were strange children. Now we're just about running out of time. Here's what was on my heart. Boys and girls, we know from the Word of God that strange things happened in the Bible.
And sometimes it was children or young men.
There you are. Sometimes we find in the word of God the strange things happen, and sometimes it was children who did strange things. Strange things. Well, since here deliver me or with me, get rid of deliver me.
From the hand of strange children whose mouth speaks vanity. That means you talk about silly things. You just have no time to speak of the Lord whose mouths do not confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Deliver me from those kind of children.
And whose right hand is the right hand of falsehood? You know, the right hand is often strong hand, the right hand is off in the hand that we throw a ball with unless we are left-handed. And we can maybe switch to the left hand and speak at the left hand. But for those who are right-handed.
The right hand is the strong hand, but sometimes that right hand is used in strange ways. Well, Thomas David, deliver me from such children. Rid me from such children. Well, you know, boys and girls. I think there are many strange children. I hope not in this room, but in Wheaton, IL. I know there are many strange children in the city where I live. I know there are many streets.
00:40:29
Children in the United States of America because I think I believe with all my heart that every boy and girl who has heard the way of salvation and refused to come to the Lord Jesus Christ is unfair people various dreams child, why would anybody.
Who is being offered such a wonderful gift? The gift of God is eternal life.
Why would any boy, why would any girl, be so very, very strange as to refuse God's wonderful gift? You know, if God said you may be saved, you may have eternal life if you work very, very hard for it. There are many boys and girls in this room who would say, I want to start right now at work for eternal life.
Just two or three weeks ago, we were in the city Of Montreal.
And we saw a lady climbing up a flight of stairs, maybe 50 stairs, I don't know. I didn't count them semantic stairs.
And this lady didn't walk up. Do you know how she went up those stairs? The most strange way I've ever seen anybody walk here. She got down on her knees and on her knees one spare time. Up she went, every one of them. We watched her go right to the top.
Breakingthetopofthe.com screen How very, very strange to watch this lady going up the stairs on me. Well, you know, she was doing it because she thought in her strange mind that God was going to forgive someone for sins if she walked upstairs on her knees. Well, gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And the Lord is looking down in this room this morning at Wheaton and he's seeing.
A lot of children, I wonder, I wonder, go up this morning and wisdom God looking down with his all powerful eyes sees any strange children in the room this morning. I don't, but I don't have the eyes of God. Maybe your parents don't see any strange about you. But if you have never come to that fresh Savior who shed his precious blood on Calvary's cross and passed him, that's not hard. You know, you asked for ice cream. You asked for a drink of water.
It's exactly the same comes from your heart and you ask the Lord Jesus to be your savior. Then you are no longer a strange child, but you're one like because it's written about in the first John will close with one verse there in first John chapter one. It says I pray unto you little children because he has known the father and it also says I write unto you.
Little children.
Because your sins are forgiven. How many of them All of them, 100% of them. John would write those and address them as the liberal killed negative know a lot of verses. They didn't know a lot of what we call doctrine, but they knew two things. Their sins were forgiven and they knew that God was their father. Just two things they accepted the Lord Jesus Christ and dear children.
They are screaming to children because in heaven there will be no strangers there. We will know even as also we are known. And so I would just leave this Father, if you, if you know in your heart this morning you are a strange child and God sight, you don't have to stay that way.
Jesus this morning invites you to come to Him. He died for you.
Loves you, he sang out with his Father. He wants you, He wants you. Come and no longer be a strange child of one of God's own dear children. Now at 1 short course word of prayer.
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41 Thank you.
#41 please.
Now let's just pray our loving God.
Ephesians 3:1-4
Ephesians 3:17-4:13
Reading
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General Meetings Wheaton, July 1982 Last Reading Meeting.
Sing Hymn number 154.
Our father. We won't work.
In favor of the night.
41.
Graveyard.
God we bring all you crying me, God grace are made of spine.
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My faithfulness.
All my goodness and our hearts divine.
Response.
Saddened his life.
All I did must enjoy.
Together.
Oh my God.
And.
In this third chapter and on down to the 13th verse of the next chapter.
Verse 16.
Ephesians Chapter 3, verse 16.
That He would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with All Saints what is their breadth and length and depth and height.
And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.
To unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask, or think according to the power that worketh in US, unto him the glory in the Church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
Therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation of wherewith ye are called, with all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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There is one body and one spirit, even as he are called in one hope of your calling.
One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.
One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all but unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
Wherefore yourself when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Now that he ascended, what is it that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
He that descended is the same also that ascended up above all heavens, that He might feel all things.
And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man under the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Onto that.
13th verse where we have what will take place at the Lord's coming at this wonderful mystical body. We have been enjoying the truth about him, the deep truths here in the third chapter.
Will be brought to completion when the Lord comes and then the.
Doctrine about how it is brought about how God works and how the Lord Jesus has given those gifts to.
Nourish and cherish the Church.
That is very practical in the beginning of the 4th chapter. And then it brings us right up to the time when there is just that one man deep Christ, the head and the body together, and the grand fact that till we all come at that day, all will be together, The unity will be there and displayed. But it's good to go on with our.
3rd chapter.
And seek to enjoy these wonderful things that are given to us, that are revealed to us now.
Some of us are exercised about being able.
To enter into these things.
To enjoy them.
Maybe we are concerned about our capacity to take them in.
And it seems to me that we have several things in this third chapter.
I'm looking at verse 16, that he would grant you to be strengthened with might by his spirit in the inner Mass.
We will need that strengthening with might by the Spirit to enter into these things, because they cannot be entered into and joy in the flesh. It has to be the strengthening of the inner mind by the Spirit.
Capacity developed to take them in.
And then in verse 17 speaks of Christ dwelling in our hearts, but faith. But it says that ye being rooted and grounded in love.
Rooted and grounded in love. Well, when we were saved, the love of God was shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost that was given to us.
Perhaps.
We could think of that as the rooting, but how about the grounding? Being grounded in love? Are we settled in it? Is it a real foundation for us?
Well, it develops a capacity to think of the Lord's love and that that divine love is in our heart, and we can rest upon that love. We can depend upon it. Christ loved the Church and gave himself for it. How good to lean upon the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for us.
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And to know that he loved us as was brought before us in John 15.
Verse 9 As the fathers loved me, the Lord says, so have I loved you.
We need to be in a state of soul where we're meditating upon that love, thinking of that love, And if we sit down and think about that wonderful love the Lord has for us and that love is in our heart, so we can love our brethren.
We can't think very long about that love of the Lord without our hearts really getting warmed up. Maybe we're concerned about we're cold in our souls and we wish we love the Lord more, but it can't come from anything that we can do. But we're to be rooted and grounded in that love He occupied with His love, and our hearts will warm up. Then there's another thing.
May be able to comprehend with All Saints.
We need our comprehension developed.
Or our ability to apprehend, to take it in.
Well, it sells about the need of a capacity for something here that has breadth and length and depth and height.
What kind of a calculation is that?
Well, 4 dimensions.
This is a wonderful thing. Are we able to comprehend it, apprehended to enter into it?
Well, there has to be exercise about that.
And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, Well, what will that lead to? That's a strange expression, isn't it? The love to know the love of Christ. And then it says it passes knowledge. Well, if it passes knowledge, how can I know it?
Well, I can't know all of it, but I can be exercised about being dipping into it because it's like a big ocean and our cup is very small.
And perhaps we need to be exercised about having a bigger cup so we can make a bigger dip, get more of that, know more about that love that passes knowledge.
Well, I was just sitting here looking at that and seeing that that evidently this is bringing before us the need of an exercise about developing capacity to take these things in, to enter into them the children of Israel. When they went into the land of Canaan, they had the whole land before them. All the blessings, earthly blessings of Canaan were there.
But they did not walk with God in such a way that they could possess it all. They could not enjoy it all. Really, Only a small part of it did they enjoy. But what happened? Well, they were not going on with the law. They were not dwelling upon God and his love and his care for them.
And they got away from God, and they didn't develop their capacities at work to be able to enjoy all the land, to enter into the whole thing, to possess it all. One example for us.
Our brother Anderson, the reading of that coupling of those two together.
What you've just been telling us?
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that she being brooded and grounded in love, in order that she may be able to apprehend.
With that, would that fit there so that these are all coupled together?
And the love comes first and then the apprehension. Otherwise it's simply the mind, isn't it?
Now do we not have in Ephesians?
First of all, in the first chapter of the Inheritance, now that's all created things that will be given to Christ and the Church or has been given. He created them as God, but he takes them as man so that he can share them with us.
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But what we have now in this portion?
Grows further than that.
Because that has limits.
The creation you get it in the 19 Psalm.
The furthest parts of the earth. There's warmth there too. But now we have the Father's house.
We have that which has to do in these verses with our eternal portion.
In the place of the affections of the Father.
It's that which has to do with the inner man.
And is called the riches of his glory.
Now Gloria Glory is excellence in exhibition. It may not be in display, but it's an exhibition.
A glory that is enjoyed in the soul.
Of those who are in the good of the love of Christ.
There are many things that cannot be in display.
Many things you cannot communicate to others.
And rather than that's what will be our portion for all eternity, that which will be enjoyed in our souls.
And in their proper place the children before the Father.
And the bride with the lamb.
Because when you speak, when the Scripture speaks of the marriage, it's always the marriage of the lamb. It isn't the marriage of the bride, the marriage of the lamb. We had that little hymn this morning, the lamb. Lovely. It's the lamb. It's the one who died and the one who paid the price.
And so we're going to be with him, but also children before the father.
You recall when Abraham was.
I'd have the battle with the Kings, and I suppose he was a little apprehensive of their coming back to destroy him.
And God said to him, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.
Well, immediately, Abraham says. What will you give me? What will you give me?
What did he mean? Why? He said the steward of mine house is going to be the heir. Oh no, God says the steward won't be the heir. Your own son will be the heir.
He had to receive it by faith.
And So what was happening at that moment? Abraham was in tune with God's thoughts.
Abraham wanted children to take over the inheritance that was going to be given him.
God was thinking about the time when his son was going to take the inheritance.
And he was going to have children in his own presence. Two things. The inheritance.
And the children in the Father's house. And so we see the thoughts of Abraham and the thoughts of God.
Coalescing at the same moment.
And when Abraham says, what wilt thou give me? There's only one thing on his heart, and that was that he might have a son to carry out what's God's purposes were in connection with the earth because Abraham, you know, was to inherit the earth.
But now we have that beside which was pictured there, both the inheritance and the father's house, where the children are and where the bride is.
And I like to think of that one. There are several pictures in the Old Testament of the Bride or companion, and Abigail has her own peculiar characteristic. Her name means the joy of the Father.
Now that's the that's the place and the condition that you and I will be in in the glory. The Bride of Christ will be the joy of the Father. Can you think of a relationship that will be more enjoyable?
Then that relationship that the bride will have in the heavens both is the bride of Christ, and to be part of the children of God in the Father's house to enjoy not that which is limited, which the inheritance would be.
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But that which we have those 4 dimensions that you speak of.
Connected with the fullness of God.
That is.
In the Colossians.
In him dwells all the fullness in a in a man, in a human body.
For all eternity dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him. Now that is the portion in the Father's house that's over and beyond the inheritance.
And that's what we have in these verses that we're considering that which has to do.
With the riches of his glory.
In verse 17, following upon the strengthening of the Spirit in the inner man is that Christ may dwell in the heart by faith, and I was meditating upon that. And let us ask ourselves what does that mean? Christ is the center of all God's thoughts.
Christ is the center of all God's purposes.
Those eternal purposes of grace.
Centered in the person of the Lord Jesus. When I wake up in the morning, when you wake up in the morning, is Christ dwelling in your heart? In my heart by faith is he my first thought and as I go through the day.
Is he my constant companion? Does he find a home in my heart? Does he find a home in your heart? This is what Paul is praying for. And for this we need the strengthening of the Spirit of God in the inner man. That Christ might dwell, that he might live there, that he might be at home there in our hearts by faith. It can only be by faith.
This is the first thing.
That he mentions.
I think the most painful thing in my life, and you might find it so in yours.
That I find myself so intensely selfish.
So self-centered, everything seems to revolve around my little world. You find it so. But that's not God's fault. And if we're filled with the Spirit, everything revolves around Christ. He is the center of all his thoughts and God would lift us by the power of the Spirit from our little world of our own interests and.
Our pains and our aches and our sorrows and our sufferings and whatever it is.
Into his boss and they all centered in the Lord Jesus.
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, and then, being rooted and grounded in love, that she may be able to comprehend with all the Saints, the length, the breath, the depth, the breadth and length, and depth and height.
I believe here we have the dimensions of the mystery. We think of everything in three dimensions down here.
But here is something that goes beyond nature.
The breath. Think of the breath, the scope of the wondrous mystery that he's been unfolding, those eternal councils of God which center in Christ. He's going to have his all various manifold wisdom made known to the created intelligence as the principalities and powers through the assembly, Christ in the Church.
You and myself glorified one with the man in the glory, the breath of it, the length of it. Does it have an end? The Kingdom will have an end. It will last for 1000 years, and then give over, of course into the eternal state. But our portion is forever with Christ in glory and then the depth. How low did he go? We read that in the next chapter.
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He that ascended there is the height. He also descended into the lower parts of the earth. He went down to where we were, the death in which we lay, the degraded condition in which we were by nature. He went down, down, down, that he might lift this up into that place of glory with himself. The breath, the length, the depth, the height, to be able to enter into these things. These are God's thoughts.
And they set her in the person of Christ, all that the Spirit of God might have his way with us and lift us out of our little immediate circle so that we're occupied with him. There's a poem. There's a story. I think most of us may have read it. If Jesus would come to your house now, I can't repeat it, but it goes that maybe there would be some literature in the house, that it would have to be put away.
Maybe there would be some electronic equipment that would have to be put away. Maybe there would be various things. But if Jesus is dwelling in my heart and in yours, if he came to our house, there wouldn't be anything changed. Nothing, because he's our constant companion. We wouldn't have to change a thing because we're walking with him every moment.
Of every day. This is what Paul is praying for in this epistle, in this prayer.
So happy yesterday and we started on this portion and more so today. I was so happy when our brother started with First Corinthians 2 That thought of the deep.
Things of God being revealed to us by the Spirit, and certainly we've been fed that way.
And I can't help but feel we've been brought to the pinnacle several times, and we're being brought again in this portion. These are things that we will never fully grasp, perhaps, but that word comprehend means lay hold of or apprehend may be able to lay hold of with all the Saints. And now it will never exhaust these things. These are the deep things of God. They're so precious. They're attributes.
Of our Father, which we can't now with these minds really take it in. And I was thinking what it says to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. You know, there's things that are beyond our ability to take in fully. That's one of them. If we look at first Peter, the first chapter, we have one of these things too. And I was thinking there's two things that we speak of that are.
Unspeakable.
And there's two things that are unsearchable and there's one thing that passes knowledge. And these are those attributes are things that we have in Christ. And it says in First Peter the first chapter 8 verse.
Whom having not seen ye love, and whom know now ye see him, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy, unspeakable and full of glory. That's one of those things that really are unspeakable. There isn't any way we can relay to anyone the joy in US individually, when we see him, when we are in the good of his love.
There's just nothing. There's no words.
Unspeakable. Perhaps our faith shows it at times. Wonderful. That's a testimony of a of a St. But we cannot give it out fully. They have to enjoy it themselves. They have to have him. And the other thing we don't have to turn to it is in Second Corinthians. I think it's the 9th chapter at the end.
I think it's the the gift of God. The UN thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. Well, we try to talk. We can go on and on. Take all the Old Testament scriptures and all the New Testament scriptures.
The help of the Holy Spirit of God. And there's no way we can tell our bully the gift of God to us.
John 316 The greatest word there in the and the largest is so Esso. You can put as many zeros on the end of it as you want and it will never fully sell it out. God so loved the world He gave the gift of God. For those two things are unspeakable. But then there's those two things, I believe, that we can say.
00:35:14
Are unsearchable. We had it here in Ephesians 3, the eighth verse.
Of Ephesians 3, it says the unsearchable riches of Christ. Well, there's no way to get to the bottom of this. There's only a wonderful thing, as our brother said, to develop capacity, to enjoy it and take it in. And that's what we've been doing. These last two reading meetings is developing capacity. So there's two unsearchable things. One is that and the other is in Romans 11.
Where we have the unsearchable thing and it ties right in the 11Th chapter. I believe it's verse 30.
Or verse 32. Start with verse 32.
For God hath concluded the mall in unbelief that He might have mercy upon all all the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable His judgments His ways past finding out. Isn't it true, we have to say, How can you search these things when we beggars as we were? Really.
Unworthy, unlovable, ungodly are placed where we are.
As part of Christ, One with him, kings and priests. Now it's unsearchable. There's no way to get to the plot of such a thing. But then we have the one thing we've got now, and that's the the love, the love, which is past. Finding out it passes. I have to get back to a speech and get the expression, but it's so precious. This is the one thing in Ephesians 3.
And to know the love of Christ.
Which passed passes knowledge, passes knowledge.
Tells us in Corinthians 1 Corinthians 13 Now there's faith and there's hope and there's love, but the greatest is love, and oh, how wonderful this is. How long have we been going into the love of Christ? Well, as long as we've been saved and we're just beginning to get into it. And for all eternity, we'll be learning more.
Of his love will never exhaust it forever. That's one thing we'll be taking in. And again and again.
And I believe the first lesson comes when we're there. First, he'll gird himself and serve us.
Begin to learn of His love. Begin to learn of it. Well, those two things then I just mentioned, they're they're beyond our finding out. Two are unsearchable. 2 are unspeakable, but one has knowing past knowledge, past finding out. All these things are attributes of God.
Let's don't be disappointed that we can't take all this in, but we're getting a beautiful outline here.
And I know many times in readings and conferences we've been in Ephesians 3. And the first time I walked away and said really, I didn't get anything out of that, they're way over my head.
But I thank God for it, because you know, the truth has been placed in my heart.
And in my mind, and when the Holy Spirit is ready, he takes it. Made it good to me. And he's making it even more wonderful to me as we've gone through Ephesians 3 again. Now, Well, let's just rejoice. We've got things here we're not going to take in fully, brethren.
Dwell in your hearts by faith.
When Christ writes to the Church at Philadelphia.
He says these things, saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David.
I believe that Key of David there refers to really the same thing a a dwelling place for God.
David had that desire in the Old Testament to find a dwelling for the God of Israel.
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And here at the close of this dispensation of grace.
There is one who has that key of David.
It's his purpose, his desire to have a dwelling place in his people in their hearts by faith.
But it's expressed by that church at Philadelphia, or what corresponds to it in that the scripture is about to it's accepted as the divine word of God.
And he's telling us what he is doing in this dispensation. Christ is building the church.
And the purpose is that he might have a dwelling place here.
And then in order to enjoy that, and that's what we're talking about, the enjoyment of it, we must go on.
In obedience to the Word. The proof of our love is not our words, but our actions. Are we obedient to the Word of God?
But he's asked us to show his death.
At the Lord's table and the Lord's Supper, which gives expression to these wonderful truths.
That Christ has a body on earth, and that He dwells in the body.
So that if you and I go on practically giving expression to the truth.
Then there is a dwelling place for God, for Christ.
And of course, personally, individually, we need this capacity to enter into these things, to enjoy it more and more. But what a wonderful thing it is just to go on obedient to the scriptures or I believe it's the only place where this enjoyment can be entered into in a little measure down here.
The heavenly things that we've had before us would give us sort of a model for the next chapter that you're referring to.
I was thinking.
Of the first instance in John where these things are introduced.
When the Lord.
Is addressed.
In the first chapter.
A master where dwellest thou? And they went with him that day.
Now we don't know what happened, but it's a little picture to us of the dwelling place in His presence.
But it was down here.
And it is formed after the character of what he knew.
Of the dwelling place that he had come from in the Father's house.
I believe it's beautiful to couple this with the next chapter. As you have mentioned, the our portion of course is in the heavens and the Father's house, but there's a dwelling place on earth. This next chapter links with the last verse of the second chapter, and it's a question of the Tabernacle now or the dwelling place of God with men on earth, but in the end of this chapter.
We've been considering.
There's a verse that says 20th verse now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.
Now is he referring to?
Temporal things.
Well, I'm sure that that's included, but I believe the subject here is.
The subject of the spiritual things, the heavenly things that have been open to us and what we need to lay hold of.
Capacity is the new nature and the Spirit of God opening them to us.
Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask, or think according to the power that worketh in us. What's that power? The Holy Spirit isn't it? And the last verse gives us the ultimate.
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It takes us way on into eternity, I suppose, further than any other verse in scripture.
Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. I believe the expression really means eternity, does it not?
Are thinking about what we have in Revelation chapter 21, which brings us to eternity.
In the 1St 8 verses.
Revelation 21.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
First Terrence and the first Earth were passed away and there was number more seed.
After thought of no more sea is nothing more to divide God's people.
And I saw, and I, John, saw the holy city.
New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven.
Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
This is in the eternal state. Now this is different from what we have from the ninth verse on in chapter 21. There you have a description of the heavenly city as it will appear in hovering over the earth during the Millennium 1000 years raid.
But after the 1000 years reign of the Lord Jesus Christ, then the Lord judges all, the great white throne is set up and all the wicked dead are judged.
And then it is that heaven and earth pass away too. It's gone and.
There's a new heaven and a new earth where indwelleth righteousness as Peter speaks of.
Then we read here, and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself should be with them and be their God.
The Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them.
Is this part of the riches of that glory God dwelling with men in the Tabernacle, which is His Tabernacle? What's the Tabernacle of God now? Is that the assembly? The church? It's His dwelling place here on the earth.
Well, God will still have that as His dwelling place in eternity, and he'll be dwelling amongst men.
I suppose that refers to all the redeemed from all ages and their men, God dwelling with men.
You see, when you begin to think about these things, it overwhelms you.
And you feel the need.
Of the Lord's help to enter into it, to really enjoy, to think of this, that God, a holy God.
A righteous God.
Will dwell with men.
But men have been redeemed.
And they've been made like unto the Lord Jesus Christ. When we come to this point, we shall, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is, and the whole company like the Lord Jesus Christ.
And God dwelling in the midst of his Tabernacle among men.
Well, how are we going to be able to comprehend this as we're cast upon the Lord?
To help us by His Spirit as we have here.
According to the power, that worketh enough.
The Holy Spirit making these things good to us now.
But how good of God to let us in on these things?
And his desire to be among men.
Well, it's all been turned over to God at this point.
Because the Lord Jesus Christ has subdued all his enemies, He's going to be judged and judged until all his enemies are made His footstool, and then all, as we read in First Corinthians 15, will be turned over to God. That God may be All in all. That does not mean that the Lord Jesus Christ steps down in any way as deity, but he still remains a man.
00:50:30
And God is All in all, and God.
Gaining to dwell amongst men.
And take us up as His Tabernacle.
How can we really enter into it, but by the Spirit of God?
What a tranquil picture, though, when the church.
Will visit.
With men on the earth, as you have in this picture, you've brought before us the church visiting.
And yet the Church's home is in the Father's house, but there will be communion between heaven and earth, because those on the earth and there will be men on the earth forever.
We'll have communion with those in the heavens.
Now there is the picture of Jacob's ladder, you know, but it's a one way ladder. Those on earth can never go into the heavens. They have a different portion. They'll be on the earth forever, but the ones in heaven, as we have in this passage.
They will be the Tabernacle of God. The Church will be with men on the earth, because really the picture is earthly.
Is bringing before us with man on the earth. And what a tranquil scene that will be all evil done away there'll be righteousness dwelling.
And not raining, but dwelling.
Be nothing to disturb the peace forever.
In that long eternal day, and to think that we have been brought into it through sovereign grace, and we're in the part that is of the heavenly ones, yet we will have communion with all those no doubt of God's creation, who are redeemed.
Thoughts that I'd like to read Psalm 90 verse one and Psalm 91 verse one.
Psalm 90 verse one is a prayer of Moses the man of God, and it says Lord.
Thou hast been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Well, Moses is looking back to that people of Israel, and perhaps on in the future.
As to where their dwelling place is, it is in God that was where their security was, and is. But the 91St Psalm goes on with a similar thought. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. The next verse I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress my God. In him will I trust.
The words you were saying about the beautiful picture of repose with the church in the millennial day, reigning with Christ over this scene of blessing on the earth, I believe is pictured in that title, The Most High. It's really heat up dwelleth in the secret of who the Most High is. And that's for us. Now we know.
Who the Most High is? It is the millennial title of the Lord Jesus. So the picture brings us right into what has been said when God will dwell with men and Christ will be reigning as king and we the church associated with him over that scene. And then it goes on to very practical thought. If we know that, then presently we are at this time abiding.
Under that protection of the one who takes the title of almighty.
He takes that title in the New Testament when it comes in with the question of separation from evil things there in Corinthians. So it's a comfort for us right now to know that we have this protection, for we know who is going to be on the throne in that day. But in connection with our what our brother Anderson was saying about Revelation 21 There, I like to go back and.
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Pick up.
The whole plan of God and we have had his purposes developed very much here in these meetings. And we've had the the Jew and the Gentile brought before us and then the Church of God developed in a most wonderful way that truth. As to the body of Christ, well, in God's plan he started with God and men. That was all. And it was the perfect scene there in the garden for just a little time. And then sin came in and then the.
Families developed and then the nations, and then God chose out one particular people for himself. So then we have God and the nations. And besides that Israel and that work of God went on in that way up till the cross.
And then, since the cross and sits Pentecost, Christ is building his church. So God recognizes on the earth men, I mean nation.
Gentiles and the Jews and the Church of God. That's in this present dispensation that those things are seen here on the earth. But the moment the Lord comes, the Church will be gone. She won't be here on the earth anymore, and in the Millennium it will revert back to on the earth, God and the Jew and the nations around.
But what about the eternal day? God comes out victorious and all evil is done away, and there are no nations on the earth. There's no such thing as a Jew or the Gentile, and the the scene is fixed in all its blessedness, but the Church will still be there.
There with Christ dwelling there through those eternal ages, in perfect peace and palm and repulse.
Expression that is at the end of verse 19. I think that just a few comments on it in connection with what our brethren have been bringing before us, that she might be filled and should read, I believe, to all the fullness of God.
And in Colossians chapter one, verse 12.
It says.
It pleased the Father, that in him should all fullness dwell.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.
And in the 25th verse of Colossians one Paul says I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God, which is given to me for you to fulfill.
The word of God to fill it out.
The Lord Jesus.
As we've been saying and hearing is the center of all God's thoughts and for the.
Saints of the present day to enter into the immense truth that Paul was given as the great administrator to bring out.
The truth of the Church, Christ in the assembly, the Church being the complement of Christ.
And the truth of the mystery these truths complete the divine revelation. The Old Testament has told us of an earthly people, Israel, the reign of the Lord Jesus on earth down here and hearing about that and.
But the present day in which we're living is a day in which is which kept secret all the truths that we enjoy, that are ours to enjoy.
We're not unfolded in the Old Testament. There ours now by the Spirit, and they all center in Christ. And He prays at the end of this prayer that we might be filled even to all the fullness of God. The fullness of God is the complete, total revelation that He has been pleased to give of Himself. He could not go beyond it, and we say that reverently.
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Because it's He's exhausted himself, as it were, in coming out in blessing to the to the likes of us, the poor sinners of the Gentiles, to bring us into union with Christ. This marvelous plan, these marvelous thoughts, what raised the wondrous thought or who did it suggest that we, the Church to glory, brought you with the Son be blessed.
Oh God, the thought was dying, Dying only it could be fruit of the wisdom love divine, peculiar unto thee for sure. No other mind so vast, so full, so free greatness or strength could ever find thine only it could be.
What a lovely expression of these truths that we have before us that we might be filled even to all the fullness of God himself. And as we've just been hearing in the eternal state, it will all center around Christ. And I can't understand the state of God of the present day being uninterested in anything that concerns the glory of Christ by saying, well, that doesn't concern me, therefore I'm not interested in prophecy.
Or I'm not interested in what's going to happen to Israel. It all concerns Christ, doesn't it? And if it concerns him, we should be delighted to learn the mind of God as to it.
Here we have a little word on.
Two expressions before we leave this chapter the end of verse 17.
My brother will let me offer a few comments on being rooted and grounded in love.
And I trusted my bring us down to the practical application of all that much we have had before us.
I'm speaking now as a would be farmer.
Everyone knows when we speak of rooted and grounded, it has to do with plants.
I was just thinking of when we go out and put our corn into the ground and the little plants come up, we like a lot of moisture so they can get their roots.
And they spread their roots into the dirt, and as long as there's plenty moisture, they spread their roots very shallow. They go out to get all that moisture that comes.
I used to think, oh, if this use could continue, we'd have beautiful corners.
But I learned different than I verified that with some other friends, if there comes a season of dryness after the roots have got started and the leaves begin to droop a little in the hot sunshine like we have it today, I used to think, oh, that's going to become that corn, though it doesn't look too good.
But that dryness lasted maybe for a week. But what happened during that time?
Those roots that spread over the surface, they went down. They went down to secure some of that moisture that was lowered down. You know, we've had so much before us that reminds us of these, this moisture that is so good for a new plant to take in and make it really fresh and green. What about afflictions, beloved trials and temptations?
Those are the times when the roots go down deep and the next drought that comes along, the roots go deep, deeper and deeper where there's still moisture.
What does the Lord teach us when we have enjoyed all these precious truths? And then temptation and afflictions come along and our leaves start to droop, Whatever. Why about the love of Christ? Why can't we enjoy it every day, every moment?
Our beloved, the Lord brings in trials that we not make the only rooted, but also grounded because one has seen.
Seen plants grow up like corn and then a wind. A strong wind came along and there was no roots that were like taproots and the corn would all lean over. It's awful hard to get that to stand up straight. Again, a lot of us would grow cooking from then on, but all the wisdom of God was taught us in creation, these things.
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When the taproot goes down when a St. is suffering those afflictions as we have in the 5th chapter of Romans.
That tribulation also better to read just the verse there a moment.
Romans 5.
Verse 2 By whom? Also we have excess by faith. Into this graceful wintering we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Love, if that's what we can do with heaven, and not only so, but with glory and tribulation, but also annoying that tribulation works. Patients and patients experience and experience, hope and hope. Make it not a shame, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.
Oh, how we can experience that love of God when revolution and trials come along. It will prove whether we are really rude, whether our roots have gone down deep and draw on that love of Christ, the apostles. Life was full of tribulation, and what message did he have? His first message from Godman and Ananias come to meet Paul and his eyes were open, he said.
To an annual tablet, I will show him how much he must suffer from my name. Oh, why did he say how much he will spread my gospel? The message of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he's not persevered. Tribulation and suffering were in the first message to him. Oh, dear Saints of God, may we not be discouraged in the first chapter of Second Corinthians, which is so good.
We have that the Apostles.
Just translates to us that encouragement, that comfort of God in tribulation, and how long is it going to last?
That's the first I like to read. Just a moment there to 2nd Corinthians 1.
We've heard about the length and the breadth of the love of Christ.
And in that chapter verse 10.
Who delivered us from so great effect? Let's pass That was done at the cross. There we found our deliverance. Who doth deliver us that's present. That's right. Now he's with us in all our circumstances. And then it says in whom we trust that he will.
Deliver us and that's forever. There is no end to that. As long as we're here, we experience that love that reaches down and pray for us to the thoughts of His love as they were before us here now. And in that glory scene, what else will be thinking about? What will we be filled with? I've seen a lot of Christians.
Lovely example of being rooted and grounded, and our brother has brought it out. It's so necessary. There's only one thought I'd like to add. We're really an inverted plant or a tree now, and our roots are in heaven. They're in Christ. I was thinking of the Psalms, the first Psalm. That second verse says that his delight is in the word of the Lord, and he meditates on that word night and day. That's where we get our nourishment.
We get our water, we get our food for those roots. But it's all from above, isn't it? It's not from down here. The examples perfect, except we're a heavenly being now. And it says he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Well, that's one that's going on with the word.
With Christ and the roots were like an upside down tree. They should see, of course the fruit which is the fruit of the Spirit. But our roots are really up there, are they not? And how wonderful it is we get all the nourishment we need.
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In the next chapter.
We have brought before us.
A responsibility.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit.
In the uniting bond of peace.
And I believe we have been impressed with the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is the center of that unity.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, always pointing to Christ.
As the center, all of us being pointed by the Spirit of God to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now the assembly goes through difficulties trials.
But in it all there needs to be this exercise as to endeavoring to keep the unit of the spirit.
Well, certainly the first thing we do in our exercise is to look to the one who is the center of that unity.
Because we can get bowled over by these problems.
We can really get upset and disturbed.
And perhaps some might even get offended and leave the Lord's table.
But it's so important what we've had before us. Christ, the center. He's the center of this unity, the Holy Spirit.
Has formed this unity, formed a unity on the day of Pentecost.
All were baptized into one body, the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of that body, and He's the center of the assembly. And the endeavour must be to keep our eye upon the Lord Jesus Christ, to be looking to Him as our brother brought before us yesterday afternoon in connection with servants.
That they're to get their appointment from the priest. They're to look to the priest.
Well, we're to look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In all of these states.
And in connection with it being the unity of the Spirit, I believe we have to remember that the Spirit is the Holy Spirit. The character of that unity is holiness.
Then the Holy Spirit is also the Spirit of truth.
And the unity we must go on and endeavor to keep the unity go on together according to the truth.
But.
In verse two, we have something that needs to be.
Brought before us continually need to be reminded of it, that with all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering forbearing one another in love, oh.
This is what brings us low loneliness and meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. Oh, how we need grace in all of this, in the endeavour to keep the unity of the spirit, to go on together.
As the Lord would have it, we are one.
The spirit has formed the unity.
Are we really exercised about going on together until we come, as if we have in verse 13 in the unity of the faith in the glory?
When that is perfect.
Has come.
But the exercises forced now, while we're here now, there are many in Christendom that disclaim their responsibility. They won't take up this responsibility.
And that's why we have such confusion in Christendom. And Christendom is in ruins. That is, the church outwardly is in ruins because there's not been the exercise, if that's needed according to this, to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace.
That it's it's a walk. It begins with walk, and it's a walk worthy of that pulling. And that pulling is that we are cold in one body. We've been enjoying so much about that, the truth of the one body. That's what we're told in and now we are to walk.
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According to that calling, of course the calling goes right on up and brings us up into into the glory in the first chapter. But now we're called down here to walk corresponding to what we really are called into. And of course, that is practically endeavoring to keep that unity of the Spirit in that united bond of peace, because the spirit of God is the one who has come down.
And pull the bride and pull us into that position and will bring us there and we will be there united in that unity of the faith in that coming day. But practically there is the possibility and the place so that we can.
Give expression to that that unity, and it will be according to the guidance of that Holy Spirit who has written this book, so that individually every one of us needs to be guided by the Spirit of God who will always guide us by the word of God and bring us into that place where where the practical expression of that is seen down here.
Sometimes in business.
Different partners of a company.
Will come together, and they will.
Though they may disagree, on certain things, they'll they'll try to form.
Some kind of an answer that will be agreeable to all of them, even though they may have to compromise some things, but that's not what we have here.
We have in the mind of the Spirit.
And it's only one answer to it.
So that it isn't a question of being congenial or just agreeing so that there won't be any trouble. It's a question of going according to the truth.
And the Spirit of God will never bring in anything but the truth, so that the unity of the Spirit is on the basis of what the Spirit of God opens from the Word to His people, not just a question of agreeing, and so that we won't have any difficulties.
That will never keep things in order. It will only make things worse because it's the truth that must be maintained. So it's the unity.
Endeavoring.
I I know it's it's a difficult thing and no one pretends that this is always the case, but endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.
And where there is submission previous verses, why I believe that this can be maintained in principle?
In the assembly.
There are those in Christendom that will agree that there is one body.
We find them here and there.
Just like it says in verse four, there is one body. They know that. They know that we're all members of one body, the body of Christ.
But what about the walk? According to it, How about living up to it?
Well, they'll tell you something like this. Oh, everything is in ruins now it's everyone for himself.
Well, that's not according to the unity of spirit at all. The spirit of God would never lead us to step out independently and go off on our old we're still obligated and responsible to go on together because there is one body.
All they say, well, that's that's going to be when we're up in heaven. No, it's written for walking this we're told to walk and that's down here on the earth.
That's not up in heaven. We're not going to get exhortations about walking up there in the glory.
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This down here, we need these expectations about what?
So there are those that will tell you, Oh well, we can't, we can't do anything like that now.
But as you say, there's the principle. It's here in the Scripture, and we're responsible to walk according to this principle that God has set before us, and it will take grace, it will take endeavor. We need the Lord to strengthen us to do this. We can't do it by ourselves.
But I believe if we really look to the Lord who is the center of this unity, and were exercised about going on according to holiness and truth, and going according to the truth of God, the Lord will give us grace for it.
It's looking unto Jesus, it's.
Looking to our high priest and asking him for grace and mercy to help us in our time of need, we forget that sometimes in a brother's meeting.
We sit there and discuss things and we're trying to solve problems.
And then we think about getting on our knees to pray. Well, the first thing we should do when we come together in a brothers meeting is to look to the Lord, to pray, to look to him for grace and strength, for what we need. We can't solve any problems by ourselves. We can't, we can't answer to this responsibility here without that.
But so often we're that way we think of prey laughs.
Which is really sad. I think it tells what kind of a state of soul where is. We're not dwelling by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not dwelling Christ by faith. It's sort of a an in and out matter with us. And I need this myself. We need to be exercised about this.
Or remember a story about?
The maritime work they had a tent set up and a windstorm came along and blew down the tent and tore the tent.
And then they had to look for a large needle suited to that kind of work to mend the tent and of course the thread. And in the process of mending that tent, putting it together again, they lost the needle. Well, the brethren were looking around, looking and looking and looking. Finally, someone suggested, let's get on our knees and pray.
Well then, when they had finished praying, said Amen.
Our brother saw that needle right in front of him as they were getting up off their knees.
But isn't that an illustration of the way we are? We leave out the Lord. We're not looking to the Lord first. He's the first consideration. It's something to exercise. It's something to exercise me.
School.
Seeking teachers the truth.
By the Trials and the Troubles difficulties along the way.
Nothing but Christ's son we tread.
#34 in the appendix Our brother Londine gave out 24.
Nothing but.
Pride as always.
Dress. Love you, love you.
Anywhere else, we're at the time.
Around you you are also.
Love everybody.
We also.
The Sowing of the Word
Ephesians 3:4
Ephesians 5:21