Chicago Conference: 1987
Table of Contents
God is Able
Address—R. Pilkington
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Genesis 22 and verse 8 and Abraham said, my son.
God will provide himself.
A lamb for a burnt offering.
So they went, both of them together.
And Abraham said.
My son.
God will provide. I like to stay to my own heart. Each brother and sister here, God will provide. God will provide. Dear brother and sister, this passage is so well known, it's not necessary to give you the background. We are amazed.
And the quiet words of Abraham may be the supreme trial of his life when God was asking for everything.
The son that he promised. And when God asked for that son, he promised. I'm feel sure it didn't make sense. And then the sun going along together with the Father, and suddenly the sun turns to the Father and says, behold the fire and the wood, but where's the lamb?
The son putting his finger on that sore spot in Abraham's heart. Unless he had got to the answer already.
And Abraham quietly saying, My son, God will provide.
Dear brother and sister, I desire with all my heart that you and I.
Might leave this place, go to that front door, a side door with those words ringing in faith in our hearts. God will provide.
God will provide. There are problems and difficulties. God doesn't allow us to go sailing through life without problems or difficulties. But the great comfort is that when we can turn to the Lord in the trial.
The solution to the problem is really when you get to this point.
When you see quietly, God will provide. I don't know how it's going to workout.
I feel the pressure is almost greater than I can bear. The problem is insoluble, but deep down in my heart.
I would say God will provide. So I desire that you and I, as we leave this place, might leave this place with those quiet words in our hearts, start each day, an ordinary day in our lives when we leave here and when we're really faced with ordinary life and all its problems again.
That we might face each day quietly looking up in faith and saying, Dear Lord.
You will provide.
I don't know how to solve this. Maybe it's an ordinary day. Maybe you say, I wish I could do something for the Lord.
Look up in faith and say God will provide the opportunity for service.
I'd like to give you and my own heart several other verses.
First Corinthians, chapter one.
It's probably chapter 10, First Corinthians chapter 10 I think it is.
Yes, First Corinthians chapter 10.
And verse 13.
There hath no temptation taken you, but such is his common.
To men.
But God is faithful. But God is faithful.
Who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it?
This is what Abraham was saying in the Old Testament. He said it in the words God will provide. Are you convinced? Am I convinced in the very depth of my heart when things don't make sense?
Door seems shut.
Life seemed too ordinary to suit our fancy.
Way down deep in your heart, are you convinced God will provide? He'll open away.
00:05:01
Here it says.
Very beautifully. But God is faithful. You know, we know these things. We know these things. There's not a person sitting in this room this afternoon that would say would doubt.
That God is faithful.
But dear brother and sister, when we get under pressure, it's another thing.
It was hard.
Back the tears.
What day was it Saturday when Brother Jaeger read that letter to us, Dear sister Barbara?
And I was sitting there and I was thinking.
I almost found it that morning. We had collectively a tremendous.
Sense of compassion for her sister.
I was thinking, it's easy to pray, but Can you imagine what was in Barb's heart at that moment?
God is evil.
The doctors say no hope.
Can you imagine how Barb's heart must have been really scraping bottom?
One saying since saying I know that God is able to keep me from this trial to to cure my husband.
And yet, in the daily light of facts, the doctors saying no hope now.
God is faithful. God is faithful. He knows how to help us in those moments when we don't seem to be able to be able to go forward.
And so it here is saying there's no temptation that's taking you accept is common. Other people also have these temptations. But the wonderful fact about you and me, dear brother and sister, God is faithful. God is faithful. What is saying is you can count on God. Dear brother and sister, want us to leave this conference with the conviction in our heart.
That God is faithful and he can be counted on.
To interfere in our lives and to lead and guide in a very real way as his God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able to bear, but He'll make a way of escape.
So that you'll be able to bear it. He might not take you out of it, he might not take you out of it, but he's very faithful and he feels very much for you.
And he will make some way in the trial, he'll twist the circumstances so that he will take the pressure off of you so that you'll be able to stand it and to come through that trial victorious.
But we ought to.
Have faith and another thing I wanted to share.
Is to always remember to be honest in prayer, whatever you do.
Whatever you do, don't feel that because you don't bring a problem to the Lord. He doesn't know about it. He knows all about it and he's just waiting. He chased those two that were going from Jerusalem to Emmaus. He chased them down the road and he said, hold on, what are you talking about? And he said, well, don't you know, we think to the Lord, Why don't you know what I'm under?
Understand it? Why should I pray about it? And the Lord said quietly to them, What things? What are you talking about? What's bothering you?
And then their heart opens up completely. They pour out their heart and they talk about things that had happened. And then last of all they said, but we hoped, but we hoped that He would be the Messiah. They told him their innermost secrets and hopes of their heart. And then the Lord turned around.
And he opened up the scriptures and their problem was solved.
First Thessalonians, chapter 5.
First Thessalonians, chapter 5.
Verse 23.
First assigns chapter 5 and verse 23.
And the very God of peace, the very God of peace, I want both you and me.
To spend a little time over these verses.
Word by word, the very God of peace. What about it? Sanctify you, holy, and I pray God, your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved, blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:10:04
Star period. No it isn't. There's a verse that follows, isn't it? And the verse that follows says faithful, is he that calleth you who will also do it? I want to encourage your heart, dear brother and sister. I want to encourage my own heart to leave this place with a very sense in my heart. God will provide.
I can't see how, I can't know why, but I know that God will provide in some way.
You say, I pray God that your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved flameless under the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, I'm not blameless, I've got false.
In one sense he will when we stand before him blameless.
But in our ordinary life, as we realize that we have false weaknesses.
Then always remember.
Count on the faithfulness of God. Even when you failed and failed the Lord, count on the faithfulness of God. He restoreth my soul.
But actually.
Very quickly, this verse is not really an individual prayer for oneself. It's very beautiful because this is Paul praying for these Thessalonica sometimes.
Putting it in the context, we have someone very dear to us.
In our own family, maybe a father, mother with a son or daughter.
Maybe a brother with a sister might be just somebody that you're kind of fond of and you see them.
Getting into a dangerous situation.
It's almost as if you can't reach out and pull them back.
Have you counted on the faithfulness of God?
I know my own heart, this little instinct says very precious to my heart where a sister was concerned about her brother.
On a dangerous course.
And so she he was going with a girl that wasn't all that helpful to him.
So she prayed to God and she said.
Lord Jesus, I'm not telling you what to do.
But I know that if it continues on like this, the life is going to be a disaster. I'm asking you to do 2 Things. Either break up the relationship.
Or.
Create a desire in that girlfriend of my brother to please you so it'll be a happy relationship.
She counted on the faithfulness of God to do that. She didn't tell him how to do it. She just said, I'm asking you to do that for me. I know you're faithful. I can't reach my brother. I like to pull him back. I can't tell him what to do.
In the end of that story was that the brother broke up with the girl he's married today to a very lovely girl that really wants to please the Lord and his life is different as night and day. Dear brother and sister, reach out and take hold of the faithfulness of God. We're unfaithful, don't be afraid to come to the Lord.
To say, Lord, I'm just counting on you. That's what I want to say to your heart and my heart this afternoon.
Dear brother and sister, bank on the Lord, Bank on the Lord. He's faithful. He won't let you down, but really?
When you get into difficult, say, I don't, I don't try to explain the difference. I don't even feel that the problem is soluble, dear Lord. But I'm banking on you and your help in this situation. Second Corinthians.
Chapter 12, verse nine. A very beautiful verse that we all know.
2nd Corinthians chapter 12 and verse nine. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee.
For my strength is made perfect in weakness.
I'm going to tell you how it says that in Chinese.
No, use me saying Chinese to you, but I'll translate directly from the Chinese. So beautiful.
It says He said unto me, my grace.
Is enough for your use.
To me, it's a mother in a kitchen baking a cake.
She says, hey, have I got enough flour? Goes over the tin, lifts the the cover, looks in, say hey, there's enough flour for this cake.
00:15:11
That's what he's saying. My grace is enough for your situation. My grace is quite enough for your situation. And then it says in Chinese.
Because my strength.
Is displayed perfectly on human weakness.
My grace is perfectly displayed on human weakness. We're all weak.
What I want to say is that in the meetings, and it is basic, that we must come to the end of ourselves.
Death to us, but it's not enough to stop there. We all know that we have weaknesses, but have you come to the end of yourself? Do you realize that you have weaknesses? But now to go beyond that and say, Lord Jesus, I've come to the end of myself, but I'm banking on you. I'm banking on your grace to be really enough for my situation.
Enlightened.
And the last verse I want to give to each one of us is Mark 9, Mark Gospel Chapter 9, Marks Gospel Chapter 9 and verse 23. Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believe it.
Final background to the story is that someone has brought his boy that has a dumb spirit and the spirit takes over.
Wrecks the whole boy's life and he brought him to the disciples and disciples couldn't do anything and the Lord is saying to him if he could believe everything is possible. If he could believe everything's possible. We all know that you know, everybody believes that God is can do anything. But boy, when we get down to the basic facts of life, sometimes we lack the faith. Look at the reaction of this Father, the Lord Jesus says to him straight out.
Facts if you could believe everything is possible.
What does he say? Straightway the father of the child cried out and said with tears, Lord, I believe.
Help mine unbelief. What did he mean? Lord I believe. Help my unbelief or either believe or you don't believe in Chinese again. So beautiful. It says I believe but not enough.
Helped by unbelief, and so often in my own personal life, I know that God can do everything.
I'm looking here to him to help, but I know that my faith really doesn't come as high as it should.
So this father cried out with tears. He had a real problem. It was insoluble doctors, no use. And he says I believe but not enough. I don't come up to the 100% mark. I believe I only come to 50%. Would you take care of that other 50% of unbelief in my heart type of idea is what he's saying. So I want to encourage dear brother and dear sister as we leave.
Leave these meetings.
Encouraged by fellowship and reading over the Word of God.
Maybe each one of us take away those few little words, Abraham saying quietly, My son, God will provide, and he can provide in your situation. And if you're like me and like that father said Lord, I believe, but not enough.
Then you can cry out. Also, Lord, help my unbelief. I'm just banking on you, Lord Jesus, even though I don't see and I don't come up to 100% faith in you and trust in you still, Lord Jesus, I'm banking on your faithfulness, not on my faithfulness. I'm banking on your faithfulness to really come in and work in my life, in the life of those I love, and in my surroundings.
Faith and Unbelief
Address—R.F. Bauman
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Started this afternoon with faith, and we've been on faith ever since. And so it's only fitting that we conclude that way. Abraham accounted that God was able to raise him even from the dead. That's faith. That's faith that goes beyond reason, doesn't it? We've had some beautiful thoughts. Our brother Eric Cokington brought us out of chapter 24, what Paul was trying to present to those there. And it was.
Faith in Christ? What? What faith is that? It's the faith of God, but unless it's in Christ, there isn't any.
The faith of God is what we're talking about, but it's in Christ. First Corinthians. Well, we don't have to turn to this one. First Corinthians 13 He had that last verse and now abide his faith, Hope and love, divine love. Isn't it wonderful that faith abides? It's a gift, of course, from God, but it abides and it abide until they shout, 'cause when we go home, we don't need it.
We'll have sight.
Faith comes when you don't see. Faith is believing God when you can't see.
We won't need it up there. We won't need hope up there either. We got fruition. The greatest is love goes on forever. Now in Matthew 17, Matthew chapter 17, we have an interesting expression by the Lord in verse 20. And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief. Now that Father who brought that lunatic son to Jesus that our brother ended up with, he said, I believe that was given to him. It was a gift.
From the Lord.
Help thou my unbelief. There's the problem. The Lord can do that. The problem is with Him.
Not in faith, he says, because of your unbelief. For verily I say unto you, if you have faith, it's a gift of God. Don't forget it. It's the faith of God as a grain of mustard seed. He shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to Yonder place, and it shall remove. Nothing shall be impossible unto you. This is what kind of faith we're talking about. The impossibility is possible if you have faith.
And use it now.
In Matthew 8, Matthew chapter 8 verse Psalm 13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way.
As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. That's very simple, isn't it?
He had faith.
But he was exercising it.
The Lord said in verse 10 at the end, I have not found so great faith. He was living in the good of it. That's what we need brethren, live in the good of it.
You can move a mountain in your life.
All things are possible because it's the faith of God. It's not a matter of quality of quantity, it's quality. That's why he says there's a there's a grain of mustard seed.
They're so small you can hardly see it.
That's enough if it's the faith of God. Grace you can have all you need in quantity. Grace you can have all you need, but don't ask for grace that you don't need.
Ask for grace for tomorrow's problem. You won't get it. You probably don't need it, but it says we could have all the grace we need. That's Ephesians 4, verse seven. You can read it, but I want to look at someone who had faith like this man in the Old Testament, and we'll have time, I believe, to glance at it because faith is a wonderful thing, and faith in action is even more wonderful.
James says.
Face without works.
Is dead now in second kings second king chapter 4 verse 8 marginal reading there was a day instead of it fell there was a day that Elijah passed to shoot him. There was a great woman and she constrained him to eat bread and so it was that his office he passed by he turned in thither deep bread.
I love the way God introduces an incident.
He could do it fully in a little short verse.
Elijah means God is Savior, grace is what he represents. Grace, Elijah, God is Jehovah, Truth, the law. So life is here.
00:05:00
And now it says there's a great woman.
She was great, I believe, for two reasons. She was great in the world because she had substance.
Possessions should wealthy, but God saw her as great because she had faith.
Like that man we read about. I have not found so great faith she had that that made her great in God's sight. That makes you great in God's sight if you use that faith in Christ. Faith in Christ.
She was from Shona. You know. Shunam means double rest. I believe we learn a lot here.
I believe first of all she rested in the Lord for her soul.
But more than that, she rested in the Lord for her life here. Everything about it. Double rest, Shunam.
That's living in the faith you got.
And she was hospitable.
That becomes things. Hospitality becomes Saints. It identifies you to the world. Hebrews 13 Two, be not forgetful of hospitality, it says to entertain strangers, but it's really hospitality. That's this woman.
Oh, I love this great woman.
And I love all the great women among us.
God knows all about it.
She constrained him not only to eat that occasion, but she made him welcome anytime he passed by. That's hospitality. That's wonderful, isn't it? One of her characteristics, she said to her husband, verse 9, Behold, now I perceive this is a holy man of God which passes by us continually because he kept turning in. You know what this is?
Spiritual.
Perception which comes of God by the Spirit.
First Corinthians First Corinthians chapter 2. Let's just look at it.
This is very important and it's beautiful, but she had something here that her husband didn't have and couldn't have because he didn't have faith.
First Corinthians chapter 2, verse 14. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. They are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know. He can't know because they are spiritually discerned. There is a spiritual discernment, there is a perception that comes from one who lives in faith, the good of it.
That's his woman.
Verse 10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall, and let us set for him there a bed and a table, a stool, a Candlestick. And it shall be when he cometh to us, He shall turn in thither. No show, no show by this woman. She was a godly woman. She wanted to provide just what he needed.
His simple needs of a man of God.
She could have given him the best room in the Manor house and I believe it probably would have been an embarrassment to him. She knew that.
Would have made him uncomfortable. You know, it's beautiful to see this. She had discretion.
That comes from God too. And it fell on a day that he came thither. He turned into the chamber and lay there.
Jay and Darby has their upper chamber, I do believe it was.
But it was just a little place with a simple needs provided. But you know the man of God needed to be a part too from this world and rest.
And she provided just what he needed. Verse 12. He said to Cahaya's eyes. Servant called this Shunamite.
And when he called her, she stood before him. And there's a principle here in verse 12 That's so beautiful. Verse 12, verse 15, I think verse 32 has the same principle. It comes out three times. She was a true servant at heart, a true servant.
Is one.
Who? When the Lord calls, he's at the door.
Immediate response. This was this great woman. When he called her, she stood before him, ready. That's the way we ought to be.
That's where every disciple ought to be with the Lord. You know, we could turn to John 11 for just a verse. I know the time is going to run, but John 11 and here we've got a beautiful picture of it, the way we ought to be, John 11, verse 28.
00:10:01
And when Martha had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister, secretly, saying, The masters come calleth for thee, he calleth for thee. And as soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him, verse 32 at the middle, and fell down at his feet, saying, Lord, that lovely.
That's a true disciple. That's a servant.
As soon as she heard he calleth for her, she rose quickly and came, fell down on his feet. Lord, I believe this woman demonstrates that in our portion, this great woman.
He said unto him, His servants, say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care. What's to be done for these?
A principle here hunt these beautiful things to see they followed through the word of God.
The Lord is never dead, or to any man. God is never dead or to anyone.
Thou hast done this for us. What is to be for thee?
When the Lord borrowed Peter's ship, he gave it back full of fish.
He'll never be dead. Or do you never.
That's a principle. I love it now, he said.
Would thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain? The host? You see, he had just delivered 3 kings from certain doom.
Elijah.
He had just done it. God is savior.
And so he could have introduced this woman into the company of kings, the Society of kings.
He could have introduced her into the company of the commander, chief of the armies, the host of the three kings combined. I dwell among my own people.
Could you find a more beautiful, godly response than that I dwell among my own people? Acts chapter 4. I believe it is. They beat them and let them go, and they went to their own company. Isn't that wonderful, brethren, to have, brethren?
In a wonderful we are the people of God, heavenly people. Isn't the tide that we have now one with the other closer and dearer than those are natural ties even?
She wanted to be with her own people, the people of God.
High society.
Kings didn't affect her at all.
God says this is a great woman, and he said, what then is to be done for her? And gaze I answered, verily she has no child. Her husband's old now the impossibility. And he said call her. And when he had called her, she stood at the door, because this is the servant's response. And he said about this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace the sun.
She said, Nay, my Lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thy handmaid.
The impossibility to her.
Sarah laughed. 90 years old Abraham 100. No doubt I would have done the same.
The impossibility is the Lord's specialty. Faith comes in now.
The woman conceived and bear a son at that season, and Elijah said unto her, as Elijah said unto her, according to the time of life, first Peter turn to first Peter because we're going into a different phase here and we'll go quickly. But first Peter chapter one, first Peter chapter one, and verse 6, wherein you greatly rejoice. And she rejoiced, of course.
Though now for a season if need be.
If need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations that the trial of your faith.
Now he calls it your faith it is.
But it's the faith of God.
That woman in Luke seven, he said, go in peace, thy faith has saved thee. It was her faith, but it's the faith of God. But don't forget it's a gift.
And when you receive a gift, it becomes yours.
It's still the faith of God that you have as yours now.
The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Brethren, every one of us is going to have trials of our faith.
Because God loves us.
And it makes us lean hard on Jesus. It makes us turn to his Son. We'll have those trials in our assemblies. We'll have in our families. We'll have them individually and thank God for them.
00:15:07
They're wonderful.
Betrayal of your faith is going to come on this woman now because she's got this faith and she's got this gift of a son, the impossibility. She's rejoicing, but he wants her to rejoice more.
And he and he wants her heart all the way to.
Well, when the child was grown.
He died a sort of abrupt, isn't it? He died.
The Father.
When he fell sick in the field, just called a lad, any lad, to take him to his mother. The father didn't even carry him in. And when he was taken to his mother, he brought him to his mother. He sat on her knees till noon, and he died. This is the trial of her faith. It's more frightening than of gold, even if it's tried with fire.
This is a trial. This is wonderful. There's a need be here, perhaps, and sometimes it's just to make that faith in Christ more precious than ever. She went up.
Verse 21 She went up, laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and she went out. You know, that was probably the least desirable room in that hole.
She didn't take that son and lay him on the best bed in the best chamber.
She wanted that son on the man of God's bed, and once he was there, she shut the door. And now faith comes in, faith and action. Faith without works is dead. Called her husband and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, one of the ***** that I may run to the man of God. I'll come again.
She's in haste now to get to him. She's going to run to the man of God. This is part of the trial of faith. It's precious. It turns you to him, the only one faith in Christ.
He said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? This isn't the holy day. This isn't a religious day. This isn't the new moon. This isn't even the Sabbath day. He was religious, but that's all.
How solemn it is.
She saddled the ***.
She's determined, isn't it lovely? She's determined. She saddled the *** and said to her servant Dr. And go forward marginal reading refrain not for me to ride in that lovely except I bid thee she's going to run.
The *** was to carry some effects, I'm sure for her some water and other things change, change arraignment and other things. She wasn't going to ride that ***. It would have slowed everything down. She's going to run.
This is faith in action.
You got it.
I've got it. Faith. It's that kind of faith. You move mountains with it.
She's getting ready to move them out.
The impossibility that the situation or life that's beyond hope, That's the mountain.
So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel.
It's a mountain garden, that's what it means. Caramel garden, a mountain garden. That's where the man of God is pleasant to get there, isn't it? But you know, before she got to the mount, where the man of God was, there's foothills, there's the approach, and it's pretty hard going when you're running. Faith did it, came to pass with the man of God. Saw her far off. He said to his eye, Behold Yonder is that Judah Mike, that Shootamite woman, Double rest She's rested.
In me, in God, for her soul, and she's resting for her life, and now for her son Shunamite.
Run, I pray thee, Demeter, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it well with the husband? Is it well with thy child? You know, Is it well with thee? She couldn't have a son, and she has the son and the son's dead.
Is it well with thy husband? He mocked her in a way for going to the man of God. He wouldn't even help or call a servant to help her get ready to go. Is it well with thy son? He was dead on the bed of the man of God. She said it is well, peace in my soul. Why? Why peace in her soul?
She's there.
00:20:01
Faith took her right where she should be, a man of God. All is well, all is well. I see time running, and when she came to the man of God, she caught him by the feet. She fell on her face, humbled in his presence.
We had by our brother Franklin, who he is.
He's the Lord of glory, the King of kings, the Creator of this world, sustainer of all life, the Son of God, Jesus.
Humbled in his presence, I trust you are too, when faith brings you to his presence. And then Gazai said, I mean the man, the man of God said to Gehazi, Gird up by loins. Verse 29 Take the staff in thy hand and go thy way. And if thou meet any man through them, not go with dispatch. In other words, don't answer one if they salute thee, and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
But that wouldn't satisfy this great woman.
No one but the man of God.
No one but Jesus. That's it for me. That's what my faith has done. That's what the faith of God does. No one in between, no one in the meanwhile direct to Him. That's all she says. As the Lord liveth, as my soul liveth, I will leave thee. I will go with these eyes. And she didn't. But he always responds to faith, brethren. And let's don't forget it always. This was faith.
He arose that he went with her.
That lovely, she said I'll come again. He arose and he went with her. This is beautiful faith, isn't it?
Muges, I found out there was number life there verse 32 The child was dead. Behold the child was dead and laid on his bed there it is so the power of God can be manifested.
So the power of God can be shown out to this woman S her faith can be demonstrated. The grain of mustard seed now move the mountain.
We will get into the detail of what he did. It's nice. There's a lot of lessons here, but we won't. The man of God in verse 36 said Paul, this Shunamite, he called her and she was there and he said take up thy son. She moved the mountain. Now her faith did it. She lived in the good of it. It's the faith of God.
What if it was it? Take up thy son. She didn't do it.
She had no question her son was living. That's faith. She didn't do it.
What did she do?
Said she went in and fell down at the man of God's feet. No question her son was alive. Isn't that wonderful? That's faith. Great woman. First she's going to pay homage where homage is due. That is faith. She thanked him. She fell down at his feet and bowed herself to the ground. She couldn't get any lower or she would have caused that.
Exalts him. That's faith. Then she took up her son and went out. Great woman, says God.
Amen. If you have faith, brethren, as a grain of mustard seed.
You can move the mountain in your life. Isn't that wonderful? It's the faith of God. When you get it, you've got it.
Use it. It's proper to say help my unbelief. Lord will do that.
Because the problem is with you.
Will not increase my faith. When the disciples ask him to do that, he didn't do it. He told him if you got the faith of God as a grain of mustard seed, you've got it.
We've got that. What an encouragement it is.
What an encouragement it is, but when we use it, we pray in the Spirit.
Knowing that if he doesn't do what we would think should be done.
It's going to be something far better. Perhaps we could just see. Let's just sing. 44 in the appendix. 44 in the appendix. Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind the frowning Providence he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour.
00:25:04
The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to earth, and seeing his work in vain, scan his work in vain. God is his own interpreter, He will make it plain.
Occupied with the Lord Jesus
Address—H. Brinkman
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.
Read from verse 20. And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came therefore to Philip, which was of beside her of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
Philip cometh and tell us Andrew. And again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus, And Jesus answered them, saying the hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, that bringeth forth much fruit.
He that loveth his life shall lose it. He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor. Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?
Father.
Save me from this hour. But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name.
Then came their voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore that stood by and heard it said that it thundered. Others said an Angel speak to him.
Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes. 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. The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever. And how say it, Thou, the Son of Man must be lifted up. Who is this Son of man? Then Jesus said unto them, He had a little while his delight with you. Walk while ye have delight.
Lest darkness come upon you.
For he that walketh in darkness, nor is not whither he goeth, while ye have the light, believe in the light, that he may be the children of light. These things fake Jesus and departed, and in hide himself from them. I believe some of us have probably felt that during the readings of Philippians chapter 3.
We if we neglected anything.
It was that we didn't sufficiently talk of that wonderful person, the Lord Jesus, the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. Paul's bottle spoke of that and perhaps.
The Lord would want us to be in this meeting occupied with that wonderful person, and to Him that was suggested.
Brought this passage to my mind and what a wonderful passage it is. That whole chapter is a wonderful chapter. We see the Lord Jesus as the object of worship in the first verses and we see there.
Worship. We see service and we see communion represented in those three beloved Saints of God in Bethany.
And then we see him as the king, receiving honor and foreshadowing that coming glory which he will receive in due time. But then we see the Gentiles, the Greeks, come to the Lord Jesus. They want to see him. Most of us in this room, with few exceptions in that category, you know, we were, as it says in Ephesians, without hope, without God.
In the world, we were a far off.
We were like these Gentiles, and when they come to the Lord Jesus, they don't even dare to come directly to Him.
But they nevertheless wanted to see Him, and I believe it would be good. And I'm sure it is the desire of most of us in our hearts this afternoon that we like to see more of Him, come to know Him better. But our blessed Lord, when?
00:05:21
It has told him that there were Greeks that wanted to see him. It is brought before him, before his mind, the need of going to the cross.
To going to Calvary.
That if you and I would want to have any part with him, that could only be.
By him going into death, he really is that Colonel.
Of weed. He is the man Christ Jesus. Of course we know he's more than a man. He is the Lord of glory.
Isn't that what makes this work that he accomplished there on Calvary cost such a tremendous work when we remind ourselves who it is that went there to that cross like we have it in Colossians chapter one in whom we have redemption.
The blood not being mentioned there because the purpose of the writer and being inspired by the Spirit of God is to bring before our souls.
The person in whom we have redemption. And then that person is described.
How wonderful a person he is.
My, how wonderful must be that redemption accomplished by such a wonderful person, but then also that wonderful person is presented as the one from among the dead, as the head of the assembly.
The body. What a wonderful head we have, what a glorious savior we have. But I believe when we see him as the kernel of weed.
We see him.
Especially as the man Christ Jesus.
You know, I believe.
It's helpful to see.
That he was not only.
One who could not sin because he was God. Certainly that is true. But I believe we must insist that the man Christ Jesus was without sin. He could not sin. He knew no sin, never sinned.
In him there was no sin.
We find in Luke, when Luke speaks of him, he speaks of him as the holy thing.
It shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God. Our blessed Lord and Savior had a human nature that was sinless, a human nature that could not sin.
The man Christ Jesus, holy harmony, undefiled, separate from sinners.
What a wonderful truth that is. We can really see that the Lord Jesus represents a new kind of a man when we look at Adam. Before he fell we have innocent humanity, and after he fell we have sinful humanity and all of us who descend from Adam.
Our offspring of that sinful human race.
But the Lord Jesus.
Represents a new kind of a man, and as such, although he was the Son of Mary, begotten by the Holy Ghost, he is a new kind of a man, and he is all alone.
He's all alone, and if you and I should be associated and connected with him, it can only be by him going into death. But how wonderful it is that since he has gone into death, has come forth triumphantly, we are linked with him forever. He is the head of a new race.
He is the beginning of the creation of God.
We associated with Him in a new way. We see Ada Adam as the head of the sinful race. We see the Lord Jesus as the head of that new race which is part of that new creation of which He is the beginning. And this all comes before our blessed Lord, that unless the kernel of weed fall into the ground and die.
00:10:06
That would abide the loan, but if he would die?
That would bring forth much fruit. You know we are the fruit of the travail of His soul. You know we are associated with Him in new creation.
And you know, it isn't even any question here whether.
You're a Jew or whether you are a Gentile, The Lord Jesus said when I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men to me. You know, even though the disciples were in a association with the blessed Lord, since he was their King and their Messiah, yet they had no union with him. There was no union with the blessed Savior.
Apart from his death and his resurrection, that only is possible because he went into death. Even these disciples who were in a position of nearness because he was their king, their messiahs, with no a new relationship that they could have never dreamed of before the Lord Jesus would go into death.
What a wonderful truth that is, beloved.
Lord Jesus, the hymn writer says, are we one with thee? Yes, we are.
The Word of God speaks of us not only as being part of that new race that speaks of us as being members of His body.
Of his bone and of His flesh. What a wonderful truth that is, beloved, and what an intimate relationship we have been brought into. But the Lord Jesus knows and reminds himself of this, that this was only possible by Him going into suffering, into death. What a tremendous price did He have to pay.
In order to make us his in order to.
Associate us with himself forever to be.
One with him. And isn't it wonderful, beloved, that we share?
In that nature we have a holy divine nature. We have a new life, new associations of life through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
Well, I don't want to take up all the time, but this passage came before me to see a blessed Lord as that Colonel of wheat, that perfect man going into death in order to bring us to himself. But, beloved.
These associations of life have nothing to do with this earth and has all to do with heaven. We saw that also in Philippians, did we not? Our associations of life are in heaven. We have a heavenly calling.
Are calling on high.
We didn't hardly comment on that either. What a wonderful truth Christianity is that it has won us for God, for the Lord Jesus has associated us with him. But.
A portion with him is in the glory forever to be there with him with every blackboard Saints of God. But what a price he did pay. He speaks of his soul is troubled. And what shall I say, Father, save me from this hour.
Was it possible for him that these poor Gentile sinners could be saved or could be blessed in any other way? No, there was no other way. And we see how he says not my will be done. But dine well, beloved, let us be.
Thankful for what the Lord Jesus has done in order to make it possible that we would be in such an intimate relationship to Him.
And that for all eternity.
Phil 3:1-4
Phil 3:9-end
Open Mtg.