Chicago Conference: 1995
Table of Contents
John 4:1-38
Reading
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166.
For thou hast drawn.
Boy.
Let's pray our God.
Father were thankful that we.
Are here as a few who have been drawn after the Lord Jesus.
And what a wonderful thing it is, Lord, to be in thy very presence as gathered.
By the Spirit of God.
Here to depend upon thee where we're still running, We're still in the race down here.
And thou hast left us here to represent thee.
And we need strength for this race and our father.
Food for the Spirit? We ask.
By the Spirit, from the word that's written by the Spirit and full liberty for him, we ask in the worthy name our God and Father of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Could we read the 1St 38 verses of John 4 to look at Jesus?
As the one who brought grace and truth.
To such as we.
John 4 the 1St 38 verses.
Some brother will read it for us.
Still on the floor.
When therefore, the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, though Jesus himself baptized not but his disciples, he left Judea and departed again into Galilee.
And he must needs go through Samaria. Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus, therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well, and it was about the 6th hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat, Then set the woman of Samaria unto him. How is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?
For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, 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. The woman sat unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our Father Jacob, which gave us?
The well and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman sat unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not.
Neither Come, hit her to draw, Jesus saith unto Herb. Go call thy husband, and come hit her. The woman answered, and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. And he whom and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband. In that sets thou truly the woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
Our fathers worshiped in this mountain.
And ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father, Ye worship ye know not what we know what we worship. For salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship him God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him.
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In spirit and in truth, the woman Satath unto him, I know that Messiah is coming.
Which is called Christ. When he has come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee, am he? And upon this came his disciples in marvel, that he talked with the woman. Yet no man said, What seeketh thou, Or why talketh thou with her?
The woman then left her water pot and went her way into the city and said to the men, come see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ?
Then they went out of the city, and came unto him. In the meanwhile his disciples prayed him, saying, Master Eve, But he said unto them, I have meat to eat, that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples, 1 To another, Hath any man brought him aught to eat? Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye.
There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest. Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.
And he that rapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit, until life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, 1 soweth, and another reapeth.
I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and ye are entered into their laborers.
They thought it'd be good to take this up.
In simplicity as to the grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ.
In this chapter, going after one soul.
The condition that she was in as a Sinner.
And.
Having the subject brought up by her of worship, the Lord takes it up.
And.
Develops that God wants people to worship him, and this goes on to the day in which we live and the last verse that was.
Read.
Verse 38 I sent you to reap that whereon he bestowed no labor.
The Lord was talking to his own there then, he says, Other men labored, and Europe entered into their laborers.
Tells us of a work that God has coming down to 1995.
In this age of the Day of Grace.
Still seeking others to have for his glory down here.
And to carry on his work with the loveliness of the person. I hope that can shine out to us all when we think of Jesus, where he was and where he was going that.
He must walk that journey.
And it says must.
And evidently that applies more than anything to this one person.
We have the gospel in this chapter in the 14th verse.
And the Lord is seeking us with that gospel.
The 14th verse. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst with the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. I trust that every boy, girl, man, and woman has drunk well at that water of life.
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And now has everlasting life. But the very figure that's used is typical of the subject that is developed on worship here in this chapter that.
The water of life comes down into our hearts, and we weren't even a Samaritan. We weren't even a half Jew. We were Gentiles. I speak to myself and most here, perhaps without God and without hoping this world. But now God has sought us with the gospel. He saved us, and He's put that joy in our hearts. You can preach the gospel from this chapter, Drink and live. God has made the gospel so simple.
You can take the third chapter where.
He appeared to Nicodemus a ruler.
And in the place of blessing as an Israelite.
But he has to be taught like the bitten.
Israelites that were bitten by a serpent to look and live, so the.
Simple gospel in the third chapter is look and live. God makes it so easy to be saved.
I remember a little boy got saved one night and he got home and he talked to his little sister and bigger sister was he said. Why don't you get saved? It's so easy and it is just look and live now in our chapter it's drink and live and to carry on the thought in the.
5th chapter.
It's hear and live.
And in the 6th chapter, it's Eat and Live. That's the simple gospel. In these chapters. Well, we all start with the gospel and the Lord came down to bring grace and truth to us and then to get some worshippers of the Father. That's just a simple introduction to the little section we have read.
We have in the book of Acts.
Chapter 2 in Acts, the Jew is brought in to blessing.
Repentance is offered to Israel.
And then in chapter 8 we have the Samaritans brought in.
And then in chapter 10 we have the Gentiles, and so in John's Gospel, in chapter three you have.
The Jews. Nicodemus, a representative of the Jews.
The Lord says to him, You must be born again. Ye you Jews, you need a new beginning.
You must be born again. And then that verse 14 As Moses lifted up in the serpent in the wilderness, Even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. The Lord was lifted up, He must be lifted up. He had to be in order to form the foundation for the blessing that we've been brought into.
And then in this chapter, it's he must needs go through Samaria.
And that was to meet one single soul. There she was a Samaritan. They were to be brought in. And at the end we didn't read those verses in verse 42. It says in verse 41 many more believe because of his word and said unto the woman. Now we believe not because of thy saying, for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world. So the same pattern that you first and then the Samaritans, and then in chapter 12.
It says verse 20. There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came therefore to Philip, which was of betseda of Galilee, and desired him saying, Sir, we would see Jesus, and so the Gentiles are brought in, except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die in abideth alone. But if it die bringeth forth much fruit. Chapter 10. He speaks of the sheepfold and his sheep. In the fold is Jewish sheep, and he says other sheep I have.
Which are not of this Jewish sheepfold. And also I must bring there shall be 1 flock and one shepherd. That's the Gentiles. That's us. We've been brought in. But I was thinking he must go through Samaria, one single soul.
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Meant so much to him that he would go through that despised place. The Jews would have avoided it and gone around it. But he was he was called to go there. He must go there. There was a moral need. There was a spiritual need.
We hear so much today being made of numbers and of large conversions and so on, large congregations. Here was a congregation of one.
One woman, poor sinful woman, and she was brought into blessing, and then she became an evangelist.
Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? And many were one for him through the testimony of that woman.
But one single soul.
He went, he had to go. He must need to go through Samaria in order to meet that single soul, bring her into blessing.
It shows the value that God has for an individual, doesn't it? And we should be sensitive in our desire to reach souls to individuals.
The blessing that resulted from this one soul that was met, like you mentioned, was.
Spread through the city of Samaria, and I've carried it further to what was mentioned in the book of the Acts.
Acts Chapter 8 Philip goes down to Samaria and preaches the gospel, and there's great blessing.
But he was, as it says in verse 38, the other men.
Had labored, and Philip was one who entered into those laborers. So that blessing in Samaria I would take it was probably part of the harvest of the seed that was sown when the Lord Jesus was there during his lifetime.
And don't you think that the harvest still goes on in the same way where you follow on in the book of Acts and you have one of the descendants of?
Ham brought in to blessing the.
Ethiopian Eunuch. They follow on to the next chapter in Acts, and you have one of the descendants of.
Shem brought into blessing, that's.
Paul, you fell on in the 10th chapter, and you have one of the descendants of Japheth brought into blessing. That includes the whole world, because the whole world was settled out by those sons of Noah and God had every one of us here in view. We are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father on time a few years ago was up in the east visiting and.
I'd heard of a young man that gotten saved and I thought it was kind of a sensational.
Conversion, maybe. And I met him and I asked him the simple question. How did you get saved? He said, oh, God saved me. How did you get saved? The same way that's true. Every one of us, and God in Christ is going after one woman here. I know the grace of this man. Let's just notice.
In the.
In our chapter that the woman asks the question in verse nine, I think this shows the grace, the grace of the Lord Jesus, she says. How is it that thou being a Jew, ask us drink of me which am a woman of Samaria or the Jews have no dealings with the Samaria? She was astounded. And when we think of the grace of that person, who he was?
Where he came from.
That foreign country, heaven itself. And here he came right to this.
One woman in Samaria, and he sat there on the well, waiting for her until she asked him this question. Well, isn't the answer here how it's grace, Massless grace, infinite grace that saw her and wanted her, that saw you and wanted you and me. It's the same person to have before us the grace, the grace and the truth that came by Jesus Christ.
Well, he asked the woman. Give me to drink. We're never told in this chapter that he got that drink of water. But he did get another drink, didn't he? I have meat to eat that you know not of, and he was fully.
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Delighted that he had brought her into blessing a single soul. Joy in heaven over 1 Sinner that repented more than over 99. Just persons that need not repentance.
They think they don't need it. Everyone needs it.
But one soul.
Really neat how that grace shows itself, isn't it? I take it that grace is love in action. As love flows forth from God, as light flows out. It touches you. You feel it as grace. And what are the normal manifestations of that grace as you feel it? Kindness towards us in Christ Jesus, doesn't it? He sat down. He spoke across instead of down at her and he opens himself wide open and she takes advantage of that.
We forget so soon what grace is, don't we?
We wouldn't if we would have.
Gone to this field, perhaps to start a work in Samaria. I don't suppose we would have started with a woman. I don't suppose we would have started with this woman, least of all the moral place she was in society. But this is where the grace of God starts. And, brethren, if we don't realize, if we don't feel that God begins at the very bottom.
And sometimes we don't bottom out first and we think that we're still got some ranking.
Amongst human beings at large, and we come into blessing, and the measure that we do apprehend grace.
But if we don't go to the bottom, rather than realize that grace works where man is brought to nothing.
There's going to be problems ahead because we're not done with ourselves. God is done with what we are, but as men in the flesh. But sometimes we haven't gotten to that point, and if we haven't, there's trouble ahead. We need to. It's important to realize that where man is at the very bottom, that's where God starts.
And so truth exposes her.
Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Truth exposes this woman, and so the Lord says to her in verse 16, Go.
Call thy husband and come hit her. Well, she's exposed. She has to open up, the woman says. I have no husband. Then the Lord shows.
His omniscience, he says, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands.
And he Hume down Now I asked, Is not thy husband? And that sets thou truly? She said, the truth in that Norman takes up this amazingly, and the Lord leaves the subject. Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Well, she found that she was in the presence of one who knew all of her past. And later on she said, come see a man which told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? She learns who that man was? He's a prophet, and he's more than a prophet. He's the Christ. So.
Grace and truth and truth operates and brings up this wonderful subject of worship.
In the third chapter, the Apostle the Lord.
Is dealing with the very upright man esteemed respected in society a doctor of the law, a ruler of the Jews, Nicodemus?
And you talked about going to the very bottom. The deepest need the Jew was, was one that could say we have Abraham for our father. They had a boast. They had a claim that the Gentile didn't have. Gentile couldn't go back in his genealogy and and find someone that he could boast in that you could. Man of faith, Abraham. But the Lord says to Nicodemus, except a man be born again, he cannot.
See The Kingdom of God. He needed an altogether new beginning, a new start.
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A man be born of water and of the Spirit. He cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. You can train it, You can educate it, You can sublimate it, You can do everything to it. It's still flesh. And that will never enter the presence of God. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye you Jews, all of you must be born again now. He never says that to a Gentile. He doesn't say that to this Samaritan woman.
She wouldn't need that truth. So what? He says to her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink, thou wouldst have asked of him.
And he would have given the living water.
Sir, thou hast nothing to draw within. The well is deep. For whence that hast thou that living water?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again.
But whosoever drinketh of the water, that I shall give him the Spirit of God as the power of life, we had in John 3 the the giving of life, being born again, having eternal life through faith in the Lord Jesus. Now we have the power that operates on that life, the Spirit of life in Christ, the Spirit of God. It's to the it's this, this higher truth, the most basic fundamental truth, was given to Nicodemus.
The ruler of the Jews, the one that was trusting in his own religiousness.
Some of you may be trusting in the fact that you were raised in the meeting.
That, and that's a tremendous privilege. I didn't have that privilege.
There are many here that haven't had that privilege, that have been like the Samaritan woman brought in totally from the outside, an outcast despised by the people of God.
Or a gentile that was even worse than that dogs scum as far as the Jew is concerned.
There were those that thought so highly of themselves, the Jews, and the Lord says to him.
Ye you Jews, you need an altogether new beginning. You must be born again.
But he doesn't say that to her. He just says, if you only knew the heart of God, you only knew the grace of God, the gift of God.
And who it is that is talking to you? If you only knew who I am, you would have asked of Maine, and I would have given you living water. And then she wanted that water. He had awakened a desire in her heart.
And then, as crime has just brought before us, call your husband. I have no husband.
Thou as well said, I have no husband, but thou has had five husbands, And he whom thou thou hast, is not thy husband, And that sets thou truly He'd let her know he knew all about her. And as she went away, and left her waterpot, and went away into the city of Samaria, and said, come see a man that told me all things that ever I did, is not this to Christ?
He could say he offered me living water and he knew all about me when he did it. He didn't discover something about me from me, but he told me all that I was. Now that's the heart of God. That's the grace of God. That's the wonder of God. If thou knewest the gift of God, If you only knew God as a giver, that's Christianity, isn't it? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
That's so important to get ahold.
Souls. That God is a giving God. And Judaism was just totally the opposite. Basically, it was.
The Jews put themselves under law by saying all that the Lord hath said, will we do. So it was basically.
What man could do for God? Christianity is just totally the opposite. It's what God has done for man. God is a giving God. And, O brethren, we need to realize even as believers in the Lord Jesus.
We need to know God as a giving God and he delights in giving. That's the kind of a God he is, a God who is rich in mercy, no end to those riches of his grace. And even in as believers in the Lord Jesus, we have to continue to look up and say, Lord, without Thee we're nothing, We have nothing. We'll make a mess of it yet.
And we have to continue to receive from that abundance that is there for us. That's Christianity. It's so important that our hearts, naturally speaking, revert to Judaism. What does God get from us? And there is a response, brethren, but it's the result of understanding what God is and has done for us that's so important that we get ahold of them.
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The heart.
Just what we've been saying. And that's where worship begins in the heart.
And the very illustration the Lord uses here, a well of water springing up, that's.
Mountain, now a fountain. A natural fountain is produced by.
Rain coming from heaven on high ground and working down through.
The crevices.
Of the mountain or hill and building up a pressure within.
And then it finds an outlet and it springs up to the same level as the pressure. That's exactly what worship is.
Is God producing in the heart a sense of who Christ is and of what he has done?
And then he delights to have that soul returned to God in Thanksgiving and.
Worship. And so the subject of worship comes out, but the very illustration a fountain tells us. Like David says when he has the congregation together in First Chronicles 29 he says of thine own Have we given thee? Well, there's lots of praise and Thanksgiving in that First Chronicles 29. It's the way of worship.
Learning of Christ His loveliness, his grace and truth, And of course now the whole revelation of Christ in the crossword, and where He has gone now and lives for us, the man on high in the glory for us, if we just.
Drink of that fountain.
We will fulfill the warning that's given twice in the Old Testament. See that none appear before me empty.
Worship is not a quick reaction always. It's getting the heart filled up to learn who that Savior is, the grace of that man that came from God's right hand, He who is God over all things, blessed forever. It says in Romans 9, that's Christ. But he came down, He took the lowest place. Here he is sitting on a well in Samaria talking to this sinful woman and talking about worship. Doesn't that feel your own soul? It ought to.
Surely this chapter is meant to fill our hearts with Christ, isn't it? I've enjoyed it so much that we see grace and truth exemplified here in a wonderful way.
So often I speak for myself, but so often we're out of balance in these things.
Reminds me of a story that our late brother Armstead Barry told me some years ago, and it reminded me that even the greatest and best servants of the Lord have to admit that they earn these things. And he told the story of how Brother Bella of the last century and Mr. Darby were walking together to a reading meeting. And they of course, were very good friends and in the course of their conversation toward the meeting.
Mr. Darby turned to Mr. Ballard and he said, Brother John, I want you to remember tonight that the Saints have consciences as well as hearts. Well, Mr. Belt was pretty quick and he turned to Mr. Darby and he said, You, brother John, you remember that they have hearts as well as consciences, because one's ministry tended to be more for the heart and the other for the conscience. But here in this chapter we have one that makes those things.
In such a perfect blend that he didn't let this woman, as we would say off the hook about her sin. Grace without truth would have not brought her sin before her, but he did, very directly. And yet what was the result? There was so much grace in that Blessed One that had attracted her to him.
Truth without grace will always cause man to run and hide as it did in the Garden of Eden.
Grace without truth is not revealing the character of God, but here was one who came in grace and truth and.
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I've enjoyed the fact, Brother Buchanan, that that really is what produces worship in our hearts is the appreciation of that blessed One, isn't it? Which one of us can ever hope or expect to be like he was, and yet he has called us to follow him and to have that that character in our own lives.
Story and I know some have heard this before, so I trust you'll bear with me. But many years ago there was a little school house in Iowa where they were having an all day meeting and this chapter was read and at the end of the time of the meeting it was about time for dinner. And this little school house is heated with a pot belly stone. I don't know if children understand what that is, but that's a little stove.
You just eat it with wood or coal or whatever it might be and it gets pretty hot. Well, this brother went outdoors and there was icicles on the roof and he brought in an icicle and he brought it in and he called the children around the stove and he said, children, I want to explain this chapter to you as simple as I can. And he said, you look at this icicle and he broke it in two and he put 1/2 of it on the floor and he stepped on it with his foot and he just brushed it.
Then he took the other part of the icicle and he laid it on the potbelly stove and it just melted. Well, he said that describes the Lord just melted the heart of this woman. You and I might have been like the putting the icicle on the floor and just crushing it, and sometimes we have that attitude. But the the part that he brought out that I thought was so nice is that the Lord just melted the heart of that woman. And you know, brethren, when our when we really realize how much grace has been shown unto us, it'll melt our hearts. And I believe it would produce worship in our hearts.
I thought it was a rather nice little illustration, and I know there are a lot of children here. I hope you'll understand. What we're talking about here is the love and the heart of the Lord Jesus for that poor woman. And he just melted her heart. And that's what produces praise and Thanksgiving in our heart. That's what he felt.
So beautiful. The way the Lord introduces himself to this woman and how she grows in her knowledge of him. And that's what produces worship in our lives, brethren, is to get to know Jesus better. Who is he?
But the first thing she notices is this man sitting on the side of the well tired, weary man.
I suppose if she would have, if you would have asked her before, how do you expect to the Messiah to come because she knew about him. This would have been one of the least expected ways that she would have of meeting him. Isn't this beautiful how she just you just sitting there and then?
She perceives that he's a Jew in verse 9, then a little later in verse 12, she.
Says. Are you greater than our father, Jacob? There's an increase.
In her knowledge of him, then, as it has been mentioned in verse 19, she perceives that he's a prophet. And then in verse 26, the Lord Jesus reveals that he is the Messiah. He doesn't come directly with the truth that he's the Messiah, but he introduces her and wins her. Oh brethren, there's something here for us to learn.
In our dealings.
With souls, says in Proverbs he that winneth souls is wise to confess off times, Brethren, that I haven't won souls, I've driven them, and we do that unconsciously. We drive souls away. Perhaps we say we're being faithful, we're being truthful.
But what a beautiful example here. This woman was not driven away. She was attracted. She was drawn. And when she finally did go back into the city, she just leaves her water punch. She just forgotten about it. There was no thought about that water plant. She had something that was greater now, and she had to share it. She had to share it. What a beautiful way, the Lord.
Draws his side, leads us into the knowledge of himself. It's not instantaneous.
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But this is his working in everyone of us.
Pharisees were very envious of that ability. They saw that Jesus could draw and they couldn't. I would like to suggest one of the secrets of why and how Jesus could draw and the ones like the Pharisees could not, is that he held in him as we've been saying grace and truth. And how does that manifest itself when you're dealing with someone who has sinned? Well, very simple. There are two ways in which you can view sin. One is wickedness.
And all of us who have a little bit of Pharisee in our heart and know very well what that's like, oh, you wicked Sinner. And the other is weakness. Lovely to see the balance that the Lord Jesus had in all these dealings. In John, take the woman in in chapter 8, he takes her up on the ground of weakness.
And not only that of wickedness, but he holds them in balance, so that he can say go thy way, and sin no more to one, and he can say to this woman.
That was had five husbands and wait on her response and she comes right out with it because you can see that he is in balance on that weakness and wickedness.
And often we press the wickedness and as I say, it makes me like a Pharisee and people draw back from me. But if I approach on the ground that I'm trying to help you and support you, can you tell me why it was that you've done a thing like this? It seems rather bad. That's taking them up on the ground of weakness. Lovely to see that in Jesus, isn't it?
It was the love of the Lord, for her soul had shone forth to her. She felt it because he was gracious to her and all these questions that she raised and challenges, and he answered them graciously. But the point is that he had that love for her soul and he would deal with her patiently. And what really touches my heart is that when she went back into the city, she didn't say I've learned the truth.
But she said, come see a man, and that is really the heart of the gospel, to see that is Jesus Christ, the man who came to die for us. And when we present the gospel, I hope that we all will always have in our hearts, come see a man.
But.
Finish it. Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. He told me all the evil that I have done. He exposed it. He revealed that to me there can't be any cleansing of the soul until we come to grips with our sins. And he doesn't sympathize with our sins. He sympathizes with our weaknesses, but our sins he does not sympathize with.
We don't. We don't want sympathy for our sins. We want to judge them. So he brings to our conscience the evil of our sins, so that we will come to judge them as he abhors them. God hates sin. He doesn't have any sympathy for sin, but for our weakness. Yes, we have a high priest, a great high priest, who sympathizes with our infirmities, our weaknesses. That's an entirely different thing than our wickedness and our sins.
He has no sympathy for that.
As we come to a close it, it just occurred to me we didn't read verse 39, but I think the spirit of God here shows us just what we've been talking about about how this woman perceived the Lord Jesus verse 39 and many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman which testified. He told me all things that ever I did and saw. The Spirit of God has been pleased to make that point twice in this chapter.
And I think it highlights what we've had before is it is the balance of grace and truth and that and we know in other parts of the Scripture or it speaks to the gospel, it speaks of repentance. And so it's the center owning their sin and coming short, but coming to that one who loved them and gave himself for them.
When dealing with the soul.
The Lord always did it this way, as He does here. We don't do any favor to the soul to to make little of their sins.
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In fact, true restoration consists in bringing that soul to see the evil of their their sins and judge them and forsake them and abandoned them. Then there can be true restoration. So when we when we go to a soul and we sympathize with the evil that they've done or the wrong course that they are in, that's not God. Now we have to lead them to judge that wrong course and that wrong path of that evil, whatever it might be.
Forsake it and abandon it. And then the grace of God is there to fully meet them and to restore them and bring them into blessing. But in no way do we help a soul by making them feel comfortable in any way in their sin.
He didn't reprove her, did he though? He just simply stated what was a fact, And I think that's so beautiful. He brought it out into the light and she judged it. As soon as she saw it in the light, she judged it. And I think that's where sometimes we drive souls too. We make the judgment that they must make for them, and that doesn't help them either, simply to manifest the light and let them come to the right judgment about it.
Isn't that right?
He was the Lord was the severest with the Pharisees.
He was very severe with them because they were trusting in their own righteousness. They were a bunch of hypocrites.
So much.
Thy name my wall?
The Lord.
Said.
Every holes, no matter.
Holy Grace.
All I divide.
We also sing #43 in the appendix.
43 In the appendix reading verse three, thy word thyself reflecting, that sanctify by truth, still leading on thy children with gentle heavenly growth. Thus still the work proceedeth the work begun by grace, for each is meet and training Father to see thy face. 43 In the appendix.
Oh God of grace.
We give you.
My sorrow.
We were.
Open Mtg. 2
Open—C. Hendricks, R. Mackewich
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Oh Lord, we know it matters not how sweet the song may be. No hard, but of a spirit thought make melodies 206.
John 4 again.
John, Chapter 4.
Verse 23.
But the hour cometh.
And now is when the true worshippers shall worship the Father.
In spirit and in truth.
For the Father seeketh such to worship him.
God is a spirit and they that worship Him.
Must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
In order for there to be true worship.
It must be in spirit.
That is according to what he is in himself.
And it must be in truth, and that is according to the revelation that he has been pleased to make of himself.
I was thinking of worship.
Our brother this morning had that upon his heart in suggesting this chapter.
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I just wanted to point us to some scriptures that.
Are necessary for us to realize in order for there to be true worship. Turn to Isaiah 6 please.
Isaiah 6.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
Above it stood the Seraphims. Each one had six wings. With Twain he covered his feet, his face, and with Twain he covered his feet, and with Twain he did fly.
And one cried unto the other, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.
There is a wonderful testimony in the Old Testament to the Trinity. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried in the house was filled with smoke.
Then said I, Now this is the effect that it had upon the prophet Isaiah. Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the king, the Lord of hosts.
Then flew one of the Seraphim's unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for me, for us? Then said I, Here am I.
Send me.
And he was sent to a people that.
Did not hear, did not understand, and did not perceive.
But he had to come to.
The presence of the Lord, and in that presence he feels.
His own insufficiency and his own sinfulness.
Turn back to the Book of Job.
The 42nd chapter.
But I'll read a verse from the 40th chapter first.
Moreover, the Lord answered Job verse one of chapter 40 and said, Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?
He that reproveth God, let him answer it. Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold.
I am file.
I am not. I am nothing. What shall I answer thee? I will lay about mine, hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken, but I will not answer. Yeah, twice, but I will proceed no further.
The effect on the soul of Job and of Isaiah.
Getting into the Lord's presence was to make them both feel their utter.
Sinfulness.
One more passage in Luke chapter 5.
Luke's Gospel, Chapter 5.
Verse one. It came to pass that as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret.
And saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them and were washing their Nets.
And he entered into one of the ships which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon.
Launch out into the deep, and let down your Nets for a draft. And Simon answering, said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they enclosed a great multitude of fishes, and their net break. And they beckoned under their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help him help them. And they came and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink.
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When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus knees saying, depart from me, for I am a sinful man. Oh Lord, For he was astonished and all that were with him at the draft of the fishes which they had taken.
He came to the realization that this draft of fishes.
Of who the Lord was.
Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man. I can picture Peter clinging to him and yet saying, depart from me, knowing that there was no one else to go to, no one else to cling to, and yet feeling in his own soul his utter sinfulness.
His inability to stand in His holy presence. One more passage in John 21.
John 20. Excuse me.
John 20.
And verse 26.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then said he to Thomas, Reach, hit her thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach, hit her thy hand, and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen.
And yet have believed. I know this has a dispensational application to Israel and our blessing is that to describe at the end of that verse, we haven't seen him yet. We have believed, but that's not what's before me. In these four instances, we have souls, individuals that have gotten into the very presence of divine holiness.
Divine majesty, Divine greatness.
And they have realized something in their souls of the glory of the person.
Of the Lord Jesus.
The glory of the Person of the Lord Jesus.
Who he is?
He who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, he only has immortality.
He is the I am.
The name of his essential existence dwelling in an eternal present.
The I am Jehovah.
The Holy One, Holy, Holy, Holy Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each person, Holy one God indivisible, and yet 3 distinct persons.
Those that would ridicule the Trinity say that it's a mathematical impossibility.
1 + 1 + 1 = 3, not one.
But 1 * 1 * 1 = 1 and that expresses the truth.
Of the Trinity, not a triad of gods, but one God.
Three persons, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.
And going back to John 4.
Where we began.
Have no intention of taking all the time.
Going back to John 4, we've seen in these other passages of Scripture.
His Majesty, His Glory, His Holiness, and if he's going to be worshipped, it must be, according to who He is, worship in spirit.
And according to the revelation he's been pleased to make of himself, worship in truth.
And so we get that in John four and all through the New Testament that God was manifesting the flesh.
This infinitely holy God.
Devised a way by which He could reach sinners like you and me and bring us into blessing.
And the only way he could do that, the Old Testament, there were animal sacrifices.
But he didn't come to save animals.
He came to save men, so he came and became a man.
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An animal could not have done it. It had to be a man. It had to be one who became one of us in a part.
In order for him to be our Redeemer, the holy God? Yes, but.
True, dependent and obedient man, Yes.
The sacrifice.
So He came in grace. We had that before us in our reading meeting this morning. He came in grace. And what produces worship in the heart is a sense in our hearts of who He is.
And then of the infinite.
Immeasurable, unspeakable grace.
That one of those three persons became a man.
It came to where we were.
He laid his hand upon US1 Mediator between God and men. In order to be that, he had to be both God and he had to be man.
Only one person in the universe could have fulfilled those conditions.
And that's the one we sometimes refer to as the second person of the Trinity, not second in rank, for they're all equal.
But the one that was sent of the father.
In order to take our place.
And that that produces in my soul, in your soul, a welling forth of praise and adoration and worship.
To the one that is this infinitely great one.
That he came so low.
As to reach the likes of me and you.
If thou knewest the gift of God. Oh, if you only knew that God loves man.
In the third chapter, God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son. Who did he give? His only begotten Son? His one, and only, the one that was of the same essence and substance as Himself begotten. An eternal begetting doesn't refer to a thing in time at all, It refers to the nature that He had one with the Father.
And the Spirit 3 persons, one God.
Since God is love, there had to be more than one.
A single person in the deity.
Back before anything was ever created. That would be no one to love.
But the Father loveth the Son that was always true, and the Son the Father, and the Spirit too.
All three persons, one God.
One Unity.
1.
In will purpose, aim, action.
God, and yet 3.
Being what? And one in three?
Remember the story of an idiot boy in Scotland who was dying? He had never spoken a rational word in his life.
And on his deathbed, he was heard to say these words.
I see, I see. What do I see?
The three in one and one in three and all the three are all for me.
All for me.
That produces worship.
This infinitely holy God. This this God of such greatness that we cannot comprehend it.
Came down to where we were. But glory of his grace, I am convinced, the highest of all his glories.
That he, so great, so majestic a being, became a man.
Came to where I was, where you were in order to wrap his arms around us.
And bring us into blessing, if thou knewest that giving of God. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
The grace of God. That word grace means giving. It's God giving all that he could give.
In order to win your poor, wretched, sinful heart and mine.
This a sense of it in our souls, produces.
Worship.
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And a sense of the glory of the person that is in our midst.
Would cause us to come into his presence with reverence.
Not dressed like the world.
Not with a slipshod attitude of.
Casualness that is ill becoming to the presence of this person.
And yet a deep sense in our souls that, as Job said, I am nothing.
And as Isaiah said, woe is me. I am undone. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, and I'm a man of unclean lips.
And as Peter could say, depart from me, O Lord, I am a sinful man.
Though he didn't want him to depart, but he was expressing in his expression what was going on in his soul. I'm not worthy of him.
None of us.
But he wants us.
In his presence.
And he's going to have us there.
And a sense of that in our souls and of the majesty of him. Sometimes we use grace to excuse an an attitude of indifference, kind of casual slipshodness that is not pleasing to the glory of the one that we're called to be in the presence of.
Glory of His person. Do we realize who He is?
We were reading the other day in Esther when Mordecai sent to Esther that you must go in, you must, you must take the position that you've been given. She was the queen.
And go into a hassary ascend.
Plead for the Jews who were going to all be killed.
And she said there's one law.
And that is that if anyone dares to enter the presence of the king, even she that has not been bidden.
It will be death to such unless he holds out to them the golden scepter.
God in sending his Son.
Has held out to everyone of us the golden sector.
And he says welcome.
Come into my presence. I won't reject you.
I won't cast you out. I won't refuse to listen to your your least request.
I want you to know that I love you so much that everything that you deal with in life, I'm interested in. Bring it to me.
How often we don't do that.
I speak to myself how often we go to others, get on the telephone, go to other brothers or sisters, but not to the Lord with our problems.
Has he not made his yearning heart for us?
Enough. Has he not told it out fully enough?
What more could he do?
To tell it out than he has already done.
Do we go to him with all of our problems? We were talking recently.
I was talking recently with a brother and he was telling about problems that exist. He says I don't know what to do and I said I don't know what to do except to take it to the Lord.
Very difficult problems. Take it to him who is head over all things.
To the church.
To the only one that can resolve those problems, the only one that can change hearts.
The only one that can really meet all our needs.
And come into his presence with Thanksgiving.
He was corpse with praise.
Because that He loves us. Because He's made us His. His grace has overcome all the obstacles that would hinder His blessing us.
Brought us into His presence with exceeding joy. But when we come, let us never forget who He is, The glory, the majesty, the greatness, the holiness of His person that's not coming to His presence in a slipshod way.
I want to repeat this story a brother told me and then I'll sit down. The brother was visiting a young sister.
And a young woman, she was not a sister. She was not saved.
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And he was visiting in the house and really not to visit her, but she was there and she heard.
What was going on between this brother and her husband?
And she came under conviction and she said to him, I want to be saved.
Would you pray with me?
And he said yes, but.
Would you please go and put some clothes on?
She was very scantily dressed. We're going to come into the presence of the king.
And there is an appropriate attire that becomes his presence.
She went into her room, closed herself. They got on their knees together.
And she received the Lord Jesus as her Savior.
Have we?
Drifted so far in the other direction where creatures of extreme you know, I certainly am. The pendulum can go way over this way, and then it swings way over this way, and the appropriate place is right there in the middle.
A sense of grace? Yes, such a sense of grace that makes nothing of Maine. Why man doesn't like grace is because it makes nothing of man and everything of God.
It's all of God.
And such a sense of His Holiness.
That would cause us to say, who am I? How dare I come into the presence of the King?
Because of his grace, not because if there is anything of any worth in me.
No, I'm nothing as Joe could say, vile, a man of unclean lips.
A sinful man, as Peter declared, and Thomas, unless I see.
The print of the nails and put my hands into the print of the nails. I will not believe. And then the Lord invited him to do that. He fell down and said, My Lord.
And my God.
The grace of God has brought us so that we can call God our Father.
Let us never forget that our Father.
Is God.
Like to.
Look at a verse as introduction.
2nd Corinthians.
5.
2nd Corinthians 5.
Was brought out. Let him and speak. Let him speak as the oracles of God.
One is up here speaking as the oracles of God.
Should not you and myself, as we're sitting in the chair, listen?
Should we not listen to what he is presenting to us?
Perhaps we sit as a young person and say.
I really enjoyed what our brother had just brought before us, but I don't get it. I'm not as far advanced spiritually as he is. I just don't seem to have the the depth of truth to walk in it.
But I want to look at it from another perspective then.
Two Corinthians 5.
Verse 14 The love of Christ.
The love of Christ.
Constraining us?
It's not what I say up here that's going to.
Touch your heart.
It's the word of God that's going to touch your heart, because it's the word of God that's quick and powerful.
But I trust it's from the heart of God. Let these few comments.
Will reach your heart.
We come into the presence of the Lord to worship.
Worship Him.
He did something for each one of us.
I may not grasp entirety as person.
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But I know it's in the Word of God. I know I can turn to the Word of God and read it.
I'd like to speak to the young people, if you would, for the next few minutes.
Do you really read the Bible?
Do you really take time to read the word of God?
Turn over to the Psalms.
Psalm 36.
Just a verse.
Verse 9.
For with the person.
Is the fountain of life.
My brother told us how the fountain is created.
This morning. But the thought here in thy like, in thy like, shall we see light?
They don't understand. If they don't see it, how am I going to see it?
In the light.
We have to be practically in the light of God's Word to understand what He has for us.
But you know.
I'm still jumping one step.
Turn over to second Peter.
Second Peter, chapter 3.
Verse 9.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promises. Some men count slackness.
That is long-suffering to us word not willing that any.
Should perish, but all should come to repentance.
In order for you and I, dear brethren, to understand, I use the word brethren in its universal sense, speaking to the young people and the children you need to be saved.
The brother was talking about basic. You need to be saved. Are you really truly saved this afternoon?
Tonight there's supposed to be a gospel meeting. By that time, you probably already.
Tired out from the day? Satan doesn't want you to hear the gospel. Satan doesn't want you to get saved. Why? Because he doesn't want you to come into the presence of God and worship in spirit and in truth.
So the burden of my heart was more. Afternoon was two things.
You as an individual.
Your soul.
Are you saved?
I'm going to take the liberty to use the names of my children because sometimes we get in the attitude of thinking that we're not talking about anybody in this room, we're talking about some poor lost soul out in the street.
But John, you've been sitting under the sound of the word for 14 years now.
Is there a change in your life?
In thy light.
Shall we see light 14 years?
There is a funeral in Chicago, I understand. Recently a 14 year old boy was riding on a school bus.
Didn't quite get across the railroad tracks and that bus was hit and one of the boys that was buried was 14.
How many gospel meetings are you going to sit in and hear?
And listen.
And yet not have your heart touched by the love of Christ constraining you.
All could say the Son of God who loved me.
And I'm sure there's not one in this room who doesn't want to be loved, but there is one indeed who loves you.
Whether you're John or Carol or Steve or Phillip, there is one who indeed loves you.
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And he's proven that love for you at the cross.
Are you saved?
You're not going to grow because you don't have life.
I remember when I first came to a conference.
I was about 14 years old. I wasn't brought up in the meetings as such.
And there are a lot of little children like there are today, and they've all grown up.
And now they're sitting here married. Some have children.
And I see the same thing again. I see girls with light.
Head coverings.
I see boys with sweaters.
And I asked myself, where are they going to be? Do they really know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior?
The brother turned the chronicles and pointed out that was with the children.
And I want to speak to the children too, because by and large, at general meetings, the only children's meeting they have is a gospel presentation on Lord's Day morning. Most times they're coloring. They're not even listening or paying attention to what's even being presented. And yet God wants the children, the young people, the older ones, too, around himself.
So we need to get back to the reality of it. Are you saved, Carol?
We don't have the name of this woman mentioned.
But she had a name. You have a name, you have goals, you have desires, but you have a soul. Paul. Peter says here the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness with his long-suffering to us word, not willing that any should perish.
I often feel that that us were just Christian parents.
Because I've heard it prayed many times in prayer meetings that there are fathers on their knees.
Praying for their sons and daughters because they don't know if you're saved or not.
To me that's a marvelous thing to know that my brother and are praying for me must be praying for my children because they don't know if they're saved or not. It's a very solemn thing, brought up in a Christian home, reading the Bibles at breakfast and supper time.
And not really saved. How can it be?
The love of Christ.
Constraining us? How does he do that? Oh, I believe it's at the cross. Let's turn back to the Psalms though, for a verse.
Psalm 56.
Psalm 56.
Verse 9.
When I cried unto thee.
Then shall mine enemies turn back.
This I know.
For God is for me.
You indeed may be sitting there with deep problems and heartaches that I don't know.
Emotional difficulty, Physical difficulty. But what a marvelous verse to turn to in the Word of God and to realize.
God is for me.
He's for you. He's for you. He wants the best for you.
God is for me, verse 13.
Thou hast delivered my soul from death, wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
He's delivered you, my friends, tonight if you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Can he not keep you?
Yes, he can.
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Can he not keep you? Yes, he can.
Will not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?
One thing to be in the light, it's another thing to walk in the light.
Rather was bringing before us the holiness of Christ.
Solemn thing to realize.
During that solemn time when the man Christ Jesus.
On the cross.
There was three hours.
Where that holiness was indeed manifested to our hearts, not to the world, the world was shut out, but for three hours, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Was made thin.
The holiness of God.
Made sin.
For you.
For you the love of Christ.
Thou hast delivered my soul from death.
The Lord Jesus was not delivered. He went into death for us that he might deliver us from him that had power of death.
Turn over to the 89th Psalm.
Psalm 8915.
Verse 15 Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound.
They shall walk, oh Lord, and the light of thy countenance.
The light of the holiness of God does not change.
From center to Saint God is holy Jesus Christ. The same yesterday, today, and forever. There was one account that the brother didn't read. It was always solemn to me when you read it. It's the account of the Apostle John himself when he is in the presence of this one in the first chapter of the Revelation.
You know, brother, and I feel if we had a sense of who this one is, who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and who indeed walked in the midst of the candlesticks.
We wouldn't be so apartment to be biting and devouring one another.
Brother brought out to us in Detroit, but it's.
His church, my church. I will build my church.
Thank God for each one who is a member of that body. But here we have.
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound. Are you really saved, John?
It's a personal thing, isn't it?
We can sit and after the meeting is over we can go around and ask 15 people, what did you think of the meeting?
It was all right, I enjoyed it. But what did he say? I don't know.
This is the word of God.
We've asked in the prayers that we would be fed by the Spirit of God, that we would grow up into Christ, that he would be reflected in our lives, that others would see that we've been with Jesus.
But there needs to be the beginning. There needs to be the reality.
Are you born again?
Is long-suffering not willing that any should perish?
Any should perish.
Matthew, Chapter one.
Matthew one, verse one.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David.
The son of Abraham.
Two more glories of our precious savior, the son of David, the rightful heir, the king.
Son of Abraham.
Son of the Promised, all of the privileges and blessings that you and I have in Christ are promises, dear young people.
00:45:04
Their promise is given to you and I by a God that cannot lie.
Hope of eternal life, the gift of life, Faith, promise. The books of the generation of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 53.
Isaiah 53.
Verse 8.
He was taken from prison and from judgment.
Who shall declare his generation?
He read in Matthew the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Isaiah says, Who shall declare his generation? Are you going to be one who is going to have the courage by the grace of God to stand up publicly and present Christ?
Are you going to be one who has the courage, by the grace of God, to open your mouth?
And I will feed it, so that you can feed the people of God.
One of the desires of the brethren here have been that the Spirit of God would have liberty to take whomsoever the Spirit of God.
Pleased to feed us.
It's not a discussion between laboring brethren.
No, we're here to be fed. We're here to be fed by the Spirit of God. And this is in context of exercising your hearts, brethren, exercising your hearts. We need each other. We need each other's food. We need each other's experiences. How the Lord has helped us through how he was guided and directed our pathway. Are you going to be one who can declare his generation? He turned to the Proverbs against the number of verses where it speaks about.
This.
Generation that generation.
But thank God there's a verse that says, and this is the generation of them that seek the Lord.
Set your generation.
Peggy.
Are you one who's seeking the Lord?
The Lord looks into the heart. All we can see is the pathway. We can see the life before us, how you're living for Christ.
Let's be honest with our own souls when the brother made the comment about how we dress when we come into the presence of the Lord.
What was our gut feeling when we heard that?
That shows what our state of soul is right now, I believe.
Any man speak to let him speak as the oracles of God. Sometimes it's a warning, sometimes it's that which would exercise our hearts to live to please the one who died for us.
Who shall declare his generation?
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Mark chapter one.
Part one, verse one, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Son of God.
I love this verse. I love the expression of it. God manifest in flesh.
Realize that this man, Jesus Christ, is the Son of God.
That's the Apostle John's ministry, isn't it? Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
And Paul could say, the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
I do not frustrate the grace of God.
Have you ever stopped to realize who died on that cross for you?
We were stopped to think who it was that cried out in agony. Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani, did you ever stop to think who it is that could cry out those marvelous words? It is finished.
The Son of God.
To think that he loved me and gave himself.
For me.
Thing about that precious name is all we show.
Where do we get light? Where do we get understanding reading this book in the presence of God?
Take the liberty. Your brother was telling me about a man that he knows in the systems, and I believe he said he was.
73 years old and he only read the Bible one time in his entire life.
How much light do you think that that brother hath, or if he's even saved or not?
If you only read your Bible once in 20 years, dear young people, how much light do you think you're really going to have and problems and difficulties come in in your life? It's this book that we turn to. It's the word of God that we turn to.
Drew, as his brother says, we called up brother so and so on the phone and.
Doesn't give us perhaps what we're looking for, but it's the Word of God.
And so, children, as you sit in these meetings.
Listen.
Read the Word of God, Follow along. Revelation says there's a blessing to those that even hear.
The Word of God. Listen to the Word of God. It's quick, it's powerful, sharpening to edged sword. But you know, there's not one in this room who can stand up and say nobody loves me, nobody cares, nobody's interested. There's one in the glory who has nail prints in his hands, spear marking his side.
I'm sure you've all seen the pictures and commercial Use the word lightly. Commercial bookstores. Christian bookstores.
Of the cross and it says.
Somebody asked Jesus, how much do I love you?
And sticks out his hands and dies.
You ever stopped to realize it in a solemn sense, that you and I have been responsible for the death of the Son of God?
And then to think that he would take you and I.
And hold out that scepter.
Let me hear thy voice, let me see thy countenance.
The love of Christ constraining us. But know the rest of the verse has to do with self judgment.
I didn't want to go into that.
If the person of Christ and the love of Christ.
Doesn't constrain our hearts to bow with praise and worship of Thanksgiving.
00:55:00
In one way, a sense, it's kind of sad to think that we have to come under the government of God before it's allowed to work in our own lives.
But it's the love of Christ warming our hearts, touching our hearts. It's for you that I died, Steve. It's for you that I shed my precious blood, that you might have life, you might have it more abundantly. It's for you that I gave my life so that you can come into My presence. Clean every whip that you can come into my very presence.
Kings and priests.
You know, I've been to these meetings myself over the years and we sit under the sound of them and yet when you go back home, the problems are still there, the difficulties are still there. The situation hasn't changed back home.
When God is in control, you belong to Christ. He's not going to allow anything in your life.
Or he can't handle it. A blessing, but there needs to be an exercise in our hearts.
The brother has presented to us the holiness of God and how we come into His presence, the way we dress. The simple thing is that.
Blue jeans and tennis shoes and MSU sweatshirt and breaking the bread. Is that fitting for the presence of the Lord?
But that's not going to change you. The love of Christ has to touch your heart.
The love of Christ has to open your eyes to see that I'm coming into the very present of the One who loved me.
For the one who was, I can say it, reverently stripped naked there at the cross.
Hardly anything on giving you and I the best robe that we can come into this very presence to worship and praise and adore that matchless one. Peter could say unto you, therefore, which believe he is precious.
Is the person of Christ precious to your heart?
Mike.
Is he precious to mind? The Scripture says, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.
Why are there empty chairs?
Where they're not ten cleansed, where are the 9?
Luke, chapter one.
I believe if you take the first verse of each of the books in the New Testament and meditate on them, dear young people, you will find an abundance of truth, an abundance of wealth and joy to your soul.
Or as much as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they deliver them unto us. From the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word. It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first to right under the inorder most excellently awfulest. But I might know this certainty.
Of those things wherein thou has been instructed.
Are you in the good of the certainty of those things?
That your dear Father has been instructing you over the years, taking the Word of God, expounding at the table the truth of God's Word.
Those things that are most surely believed among us, eyewitnesses through the apostles and no doubt down through the early brethren recovery of the truth.
It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things.
Very solemn statement, isn't it? There's only one by the Spirit of God who can make such a statement.
Where do we get the understanding? In thy light Shall we see light?
You know Solomon, when he was young he had a dream. You ought to ask him what he wanted. What can I do for you?
Solomon said.
I don't have the wisdom, the discernment to judge between these people. They ask for wisdom, discernment.
01:00:05
And I trust each one of you will do that.
Ask the Lord Jesus Christ who is made unto us wisdom. Ask him for wisdom and discernment as you read this book, guidance for the pathway and to realize that no matter what the trial, what the difficulty, God is for me God.
It's for you, John. Chapter one.
Matthew. He was son of David, son of Abraham, Mark, son of God.
Now we find in John the eternal Word.
John, Chapter one.
In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Same was in the beginning with God. In him was life. Life was the light of men.
Verse 14. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
We beheld His glory, the glories of the only Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
There's only one place that I know on the face of this earth where you and I can see the same thing.
We beheld His glory.
The glory is of the only begotten of the Father. Where is that?
Where is I, Robert?
Frank, those of you who've been brought up in the meetings, 17/18/20 year old Caleb, where is this place?
We can gaze upon the glory of the Person of Christ.
John 17.
John, 1724.
Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, Marvelous isn't not to realize that you've been given to God or given to the Son as a gift from God, a gift. But this is the thought in closing.
Father, I will the author whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. Why?
That they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.
Not simply rather than that we're looking off onto Jesus, and that they saw no man save Jesus only, but it's the desire of the Lord Jesus Christ himself that when we're gathered around Him, Matthew 1820 where I am, they may behold.
My glory.
My glory.
Well might we sing praise the Savior, ye who know him, who can tell how much we owe him. How much do you owe him everything but here, when we're gathered around him according to the truth of Matthew 1820 says be with me where I am.
They may behold.
My glory.
Unto you therefore, which believe He is precious.
#14.
Some People Miss Heaven by 16 or 18 Inches
Children—H. Roossinck
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.
Front rows, there's a road there and there's a road there and there's a lot of empty chairs here. Just come right up right now and don't pay any attention to the older ones and this or your mom or your dad. Otherwise, if you want to come up, you're welcome to come right up here to the front because I need a little help and I like to work with children because they're a little easier for me to get along with sometimes than the older ones. Although I really am thankful for all my older friends as well.
But I need help this morning first of all.
And starting the meeting, the children's meeting, I might be a minute early so anybody comes in, don't think they're late. But if we get started a minute early, maybe we'll even stop a minute or sometimes 2 minutes early.
Okay, who has a hymn that we could sing? And we're going to try to stay with the Backpage of the handbook. OK, this young man here with a red coat on.
17.
OK, we're going to start our Sunday school with him #17.
Have you any room for Jesus? That's a question.
You have room for Jesus.
Well, let's sing that here and we find out what it says.
Have you any room for me?
And in our time.
Did your name make?
During that verse, was your name mentioned?
And look at that first verse. Was your name mentioned in that first verse? I'm going to read it to you very careful because some of you perhaps don't read it says, have you any room for Jesus? You bore the Lord of sin as he knocked and asked admission, Sinner.
Will you let him in? Is your name mentioned there? Do you qualify for one of those names?
Are you a Sinner?
00:05:00
Oh, you know what the Bible tells us? That all were born and sinned and everyone in this room came short of the glory of God. Well, the Lord Jesus came down into this world to make a way that sinners might be saved and have all their sins put away. I know you know that story, and we're going to talk a little bit about it later on. Now we have another number for us.
OK, I'll ask this young lady here. That boy last time, 46.
46 Well that's a nice one. Got to do a little spelling here, don't we? Glad TIDINGF.
Glad TIDIM.
Dreams.
Flash day after I come to have to say.
That's a nice tell this about glad hiding, glad kiting. You like good news. I'm sure that a lot of these children like it when they hear that grandpa and Grandma are coming, and then they really look forward to a time when they can have some fun with grandpa and grandma and maybe other relatives too.
But here is some tidings that come from heaven. They come from heaven and it tells us that Jesus has come order that we might be saved. Thank you.
I if you can't hear me in the background, just raise your hand and I'll try and talk a little louder, but.
Good news, good news, that's what we have to tell you today is good news. Okay, who's got another hymn that we can sing? OK, I'll, I'll ask this young boy here #41.
Around the throne of God in heaven.
Around the throne of God in heaven. Well, many children say children.
Are all forgiving? Well heavily on the brain singing glory.
Glory.
Glory.
To God.
Online.
And shining around the fatherless white one will be already.
Taking glory?
Glory.
Glory.
You know boys and girls.
We can sing glory, glory be to God on high right now. We don't have to wait till we get to heaven. And I'm glad that I could look around and I could see quite a few miles opening and shutting. And I know that you were singing the words, and that's wonderful to sing the words from your mouth about the Lord Jesus and the Lord Jesus loves to hear.
00:10:10
Boys and girls, you know when He was on earth, He took children up in his arms and he blessed them. He loved the children. God is light, but it says to that God is love. And when we think that God is light, that means that God can look right down into your heart, right down into your heart, and He can see whether or not you have accepted the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
If you have accepted him, God is well pleased because He sent his Son into the world to do what? What did he send his Son into the world to do?
The guy to die on the cross, didn't he? So that sinners like you and like me and like all the rest of us could be saved. OK, let's have another hymn. OK, we'll take the.
2nd girl from that end, your daughter.
41 Again. Well, we'll sing the first verse and the chorus. 41 Again, the first verse in the chorus. Sometimes we do that, don't we? We we repeat as stands, and that's nice. It ought to mean a lot to us. Now think about the words real closely.
Around the throne of God and heaven. Well, many children.
Six children.
From spring singing.
Hurry, Glory.
You know, I think it'd be nice if right now we're just all close our eyes and we look to the Lord for his help. Well, let's close our eyes and thank the Lord. Together, our gracious God and our loving Father, we thank Thee this morning that Thou hast provided a Savior for sinners. And I was provided thy beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, to come down into this world, to make known unto us the Father's heart of love.
And we pray that every boy and girl here would be found with their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. So we pray for Thy help and blessing this morning, that the message that might be spoken would be simple and easy for the children to understand, and that they might in their simple way, just put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Today we pray for Thy help and we give thanks.
In thy name, Lord Jesus, Amen.
You know, I thought when I was asked to speak here.
Or something that took place in this neighborhood not too far away. It was a train and a bus collided Iraq, wasn't it?
I'm sure many of your children had heard about that. And I wondered about those children that were on that bus. I wonder if some of them are up in the glory now. I don't know. You know, none of us know what a day will bring forth, do we? We don't know when something's going to happen in our lives. How many children here have ridden the school bus, these front rows? Many of you ride the bus. Did you ever think what would happen if you were in that bus and you were one of those children that died?
They didn't have much time to think about it, maybe a few seconds. Oh, you know, it's so important, boys and girls, to decide right now to accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior. And if those boys and girls, any of them have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior, they're up in glory.
What about if they have not accepted the Lord Jesus? There was some fairly old ones on there. They weren't all children your age. Some of them were 1415 and maybe even 16.
Where do you think they would be if they hadn't accepted the Lord Jesus?
They would be where? Where would they be, John?
Inhale, inhale the lake of fire. That's a terrible thing. So we want to warn you boys and girls this morning to accept the Lord Jesus while you're young. Don't put it off and wait a little longer, OK? We're going to sing a few more hymns. Who's got another one? I haven't taken any from this side, so I'll ask this boy in a green shirt.
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Watch on.
Number one.
31 Thank you.
Is that the right one? Point it out.
Oh wow, wow, 21 backwards.
That's all right.
Just as I am. Oh you know, that's so nice. The Lord Jesus takes us just as we are. OK #12.
Just as I am.
Crying.
All right.
Maybe we'll start singing now for a little bit, or we'll sing a little later again, perhaps. And I excuse me.
And I have a little bench, a little bench here to lay some of my things on.
00:20:05
How many?
Here, get this paper. How many boys and girls get this paper?
Oh good, you get it every week.
You know the verse.
Some of you do and some of you don't.
I'm going to read the verse. I think I'm going to read it wrong.
And you see if you can tell me where I made a mistake. Maybe I don't know if everybody hears me or not, but.
Verse Where is the verse found? I know that little girl down here. In the end, Christine, where is the verse found?
You told me this morning because we stayed at your house and you said it was John. What?
John 1.
And verse 12 John one and verse 12 OK I'll read it to you. As many as receive the Sunday school paper to them gave thee power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Did I read that right?
What did I Where did I miss up?
Where did I miss that?
Sunday school paper. You know, just because you read it in the Sunday school paper. How many read all the stories in the Sunday school paper?
Well, that's good. None of the older ones read it, but some of the younger ones did. And I'm thankful for that. You know, in the little town where we come from, every home in that town gets the Sunday school paper. Every home. And I'm thankful for that. But it doesn't help us to get to heaven. You know, a lot of people miss heaven by about 16 or 18 inches. Do you know what I mean?
They miss heaven by 16 or 18 inches, and you could miss heaven too, by that much.
Everybody here, I believe could say, is there anybody here that doesn't know John 316?
Offer in case somebody doesn't know it, Let's sing it. John 316. John 360.
Of the world.
That day gave the lonely God on the sun.
That girl saw ever.
Believe within him.
Shall not hear anybody.
Well, you know, and I said that we might miss heaven. There might be someone would miss heaven. By 16 inches, what do you think I meant?
What do you think I meant?
Well, I'll tell you what I meant so everybody can hear. We might know the way to heaven in our head and we might know that the Lord Jesus and we really believe in our head that the Lord Jesus and the Bible is true, but we never have believed it in our heart and our brain up here down to our heart. That's about 16 or 18 inches depending on how tall you are. And you know, a lot of people believe in their head.
That that what we said about John 316 is true, but they don't believe it in their heart. And today we want to make the way of salvation very plain so that boys and girls can get saved without having to know a whole lot about the Bible. But they have to know one thing, and that is that they are what?
Why that they are saved? They have to know something before they can be saved. You have to be what?
They have to be what?
You have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, but you have to know that you are a Sinner.
And you know there's no room for sin up in heaven.
All those guilty stains of sin must be, must be washed away. So you have to just simply tell the Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, I'm a Sinner and I want to be saved. And the Lord Jesus has done all the rest. You don't have to quote John 316. You don't have to quote any other verses. You can and it's very nice if you do. But I want you to know that to be saved, you just have to tell the Lord Jesus that you are a Sinner and you want to be saved.
00:25:13
And the Lord Jesus has done all the rest. He died on the cross. And we read about that in the home where we stayed this morning, of how he was hung on the cross there. And he was forsaken of God because he was bearing the judgment of our sins there on that cross. Well, you know.
I thought about a little story in the Bible and it's found in the Gospel of Mark in the 11Th chapter.
Mark 11 and I'm going to read it to your children. You don't have to open up your Bibles necessarily, but just listen and you see if you recognize some of the stories that we're going to talk about it says and when they that's the Lord Jesus and those with him came nigh to Jerusalem. He wasn't quite in the city yet on the Bethpage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives he sent forth two of his disciples.
He sent forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you, and as soon as you've entered into it.
You shall find a cold tide where on never man sat loose him and bring him to me. You know in the Bible in Job, I think it's chapter I have it written down here 11 and verse 12. It says that we're like a wild *** is cold. In other words, boys and girls are born into this world. They're born in sin and they need a savior for the Lord Jesus.
Wants to save boys and girls, and he wants to bring them to himself. And so it says here.
If any man.
If any man say unto you, Why do ye this? Say ye that the Lord hath need of him, and straightway he will send him? Hit her. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without, in a place where two ways met.
So this little donkey, this little donkey, we sing about him, don't we? Sometimes. And I think maybe we'll try to sing about him when we get done talking. I think, you know, the, the little story about a wild little donkey and boys and girls. We're like that little wild donkey. We, we, this little donkey was tied, he had to be tied to a tree. Well, you know, your parents bring you to the Sunday school and that, see some of them set the, the different ones in different chairs here and there and everywhere.
To hear the gospel message, to hear how boys and girls can get saved while they're young. Well, it says there was a place where two ways met. Two ways met. You know, there are. There's only one way to heaven. There's not two ways. There's not two ways. One time I heard a man say, well, you go your way and I'll go my way. And in the end, we're all going to get to the same place. Well, you know, that's not true.
When we came to the meetings here, we could come several different roads and eventually end up coming here to this school. And we could come from the east, from the West, from the north, from the South, and we could get here all kinds of different ways. But there's only one way to heaven. There's only one way. And the Lord Jesus says I am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh into the Father.
Bought by me and you know, there's another story in the Bible about the donkey.
About the lower coal of an *** that says in Exodus that everyone of them, if the man had a a little donkey or a little cold, he had to redeem it. He had to redeem it. Well, that was a little picture way back almost 2000 years before the Lord Jesus came into this world about redemption. Redemption you and I, in order to be made fit for heaven has to be redeemed.
And the Lord Jesus has shed his precious blood that we might be redeemed, that we might be made fit for heaven. There's no other way that we could get to heaven without being redeemed.
Well, it says, It says here, if any man saying to you, Why do you this, say unto them, The Lord hath need of him. Does the Lord need you?
00:30:10
What do you think? Do you think the Lord needs you? Yes, he does. And so this morning we're here to hear the word of the Lord and to sing these hymns. The Lord needs you, He wants you. He died for you. But there are some who will never get to heaven. Why won't they get to heaven?
Why won't they come to him? Why?
They don't lie.
They don't listen, they don't believe. You know, it's nice to see your children listen. And I like that when boys and girls really listen, it makes it very helpful for the one talking because I know that you're listening to the word of God. Don't listen to my voice, but remember, this is the voice of the Lord speaking to us.
And so it says, the Lord hath need of him. And you know that's so wonderful because many of us have been saved many, many years ago. And then we realized that the Lord wants them and.
The last one accepts the Lord Jesus as their Savior. In this the day of grace, something is going to happen. What's going to happen?
What? You're answering all the questions. Let's get somebody else.
I'm glad you answered it. Anybody else want to answer that question? What's going to happen when the house is full in heaven? You know, John?
It'll be shot, yes. He's going to give a shout, isn't he? And then all the redeemed of the earth are going to go to meet the Lord in the air. And that's wonderful. But you know, children, it's while we're down here that we have the opportunity to be saved. But the last one might be saved in another 2 minutes, maybe only two minutes from now. The last one will be saved, and then the door will be shut and it will be forever too late.
You know, not so long ago at our home, we live on a farm where we grow apples, and a school bus turned in to the driveway by the storage where we pack apples. And the children on that bus wanted a tour and the arrangements had been made before. And so we put them on a wagon and I drove them through the orchard. And this particular group I happened to drive the tractor and I drove them through the orchard and we talked about all the different kinds of apples.
And then I stopped at one place and I said to the boys and girls on that, on that wagon who were riding with me, I said, you have red apples and we have yellow apples. We have Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and we have Ida Reds and we have all different kinds of apples that you probably know.
But I said, if I wanted to plant an orchard, and I wanted an orchard of Red Delicious, what kind of apple would I plant in the ground?
What kind of apple do you think I'd land?
Well, you know, that's the way it would seem if I took an apple and planted it in the ground, that if it was a Red Delicious apple, the tree that would come up would bear Red Delicious apples. But that's not true. That's not true. It might have red looking apples, but they wouldn't be like the apple that I planted in the ground because the apple I planted in the ground would be a wild root and it might be a thorny apple.
It's hard to say what kind of apple might come up.
But it may not be red, it might be yellow, it might be orange, it might be a different color. So I pointed out to the children, they stopped the tractor and I got off and I went to a little apple tree about this high. And I pointed to a little spot on that tree right down by the ground where they could see there was a little bump in the bark. And I said that tree that's on top of that bump, That's where the tree was grafted. It had to have a new.
Life, the old life of that tree would produce only.
Bad fruit, that is, it would produce fruit. It might taste fairly good and it might not, but very likely it would be a thorny apple tree. We had to put a new branch in. And you know, in order for you and I to go to heaven, we have to have new life. We have to have the life that the Lord Jesus gives us and he can bring us. He can give us a new life if we put our faith and trust in Him. But you know, by nature, and I say this.
I hope you'll understand that you, everyone in this room was born in sin and we have to have new life.
00:35:07
So I told that to the children, and some of them seemed to understand. I noticed when the bus drove in that it said some Christian Academy on the bus. So they gave me a little courage to talk to them because I thought they wouldn't mind hearing a little, a little bit about the gospel of the grace of God and that we have to have new life to serve the Lord Jesus. And you and I, all of us need to have new life. And the Lord Jesus will give it to us if we just come to him and tell him that we're a Sinner and we want to be saved.
And you know, there's another side too, that I want to mention to your children. We're not going to talk too long, but you know, the Lord Jesus loves to hear our voices. And there's a verse.
That I really enjoy. I'm just going to read it to you and I'm sure many of you have heard it before.
It's Malachi 3 and verse 16 and there it says they that feared the Lord.
They that feared the Lord spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it.
In a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord.
And that thought upon his name. And you know, I think that's so nice for children because, you know, just a little thought about the Lord Jesus and what he has done for you brings honor and glory to God the Father. And a book is written up there and then and what you thought about and what you talked about to your friend about the Lord Jesus is being written down in heaven. It's being written there.
If it comes right from your heart, if you really love the Lord Jesus and you sing songs about the Lord Jesus, and if we talk to one another about the Lord Jesus, all those things are being written down. God never forgets. He never forgets what we have said about His Son. There's one thing He will forget. He will forget our sins. If we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, then God says their sins and their iniquities.
Well, I remember no more. So boys and girls, as we close the Sunday School, we want you to stop and realize and remember that.
You can miss heaven by 16 inches If you just believe in your head and know the verses from the Bible, but don't believe them in your heart, you're going to miss heaven. We have to believe in our heart. We just simply have to tell the Lord Jesus that we want to be saved because we're lost. And the Lord Jesus has done all the work on the cross. He hung there on the cross for three hours, for three hours. We read about that this morning.
At the home where we were and it's so wonderful to realize how much he loves us. We would never be able to measure all his love. But if we just think about that, just the thought of that running through your mind. The Lord Jesus is being recorded in heaven. Those that thought upon his name. Now I want to sing that little song about the donkey and I know it's in this book. It's not in our hymn sheet. It's 88 in here. And I think most of you know the song about the little.
Donkey and I thought maybe we could sing it.
Yes, there once was a wild little donkey. He had to be tied to a tree and Jesus was thinking about him. He said go and bring him to me. And when they had brought him to Jesus as quickly as ever they could, that restless that wild little donkey was quiet, obedient and good. You know, when we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus.
Nice to see if there's going to be some fruit in our lives.
When Jesus was riding upon him, he went just the way that He should. A quiet submissive. We donkey made soul by the blessed Son of God. And Jesus is able to make you whatever He wants you to be. He loves you and longs to forgive you and make you both happy and free. And do you know that Him? Supposing we started to sing, and I think quite a few know it by heart. There once was a wild little donkey.
He had to be tied to a dream and Jesus was thinking about him.
00:40:03
He said go and bring him to me, and when they had brought him to Jesus.
And wickedly as ever, they could collaborate myself while there's a donkey.
Was quiet, obedient anger.
When Jesus was riding upon him, he went up the way that he should. A quiet sadness. And we don't give me so, my love and son of God.
And Jesus is able to make you.
Whatever he wants you to.
He loves you and make your both happy and free.
You know, that's what we would like to see this morning, that all the boys and girls would be happy and free. And now in the next meeting that comes after this one, we're going to be able to remember the Lord Jesus and his death. And maybe some of you are not at the Lord's table, but in the in your heart you can have precious thoughts of the Lord Jesus. And that's pleasing to God the Father to have a precious thought of the Lord Jesus in your heart.
So now we'll commend ourselves to the Lord, and we'll pray again. Our gracious God and our loving Father, we thank Thee for everyone of the children that are present here this morning, and we earnestly pray that with each one they may put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus. While it is yet the day of grace, we realize how feebly the word often is spoken, but we know thou art able to speak to the heart and soul of each one.
And we pray that there would not be one here who would miss heaven as it were by 16 or 18 inches, but that they might just come and simple faith and put their trust in Thee. Help those of us who are older to be of help and encouragement to them and to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We need Thy grace. We need Thy help. We need Thy help for this day. Help us to learn the verse.
That thou has provided for us, We thank Thee for the messages of the love of God that are handed out.
And that these children receive them, and that many of them read the stories. And we pray Thy blessing upon this paper. So we commend thy word to thee, and do give thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Open Mtg. 5
Open—B. Prost, B. Imbeau
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.
Our blessed God and our Father, we thank thee that at the beginning of this meeting that we.
That we can acknowledge the path that we have been thinking about in this little hymn. And we know there is a path that's always marked out for thine own down here. And thou has tried this path, blessed Savior, and thou knowest all about the difficulties of the way. But always thank thee that we can look forward.
Joy to the end of the way and all that. There is a home above in the glory to which we are going, and while we're left down here, we need grades, we need strength, we need help, we need encouragement, and we thank Thee that we can count upon Thee for this. We pray that I will open up Thy word to our hearts and give us a suited portion that might be and meet for each one, from the youngest to the oldest alike.
Without me, he can do nothing, we often read in my precious words.
And we read to if we need wisdom and that we can turn to Thee for that. So we just count upon Thy health this afternoon as we wait in Thy presence. We make these requests known unto Thee with Thanksgiving in our hearts. Most of all that place that we have been brought into that relationship that we can enjoy the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
And knowing Him, the one who in His infinite love and grace not only saved us, but we believe has gathered us, and we do earnestly pray that we might each one be kept in that path. So we missed meeting into thy hands. We ask, in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Amen.
We sang together in our hymn those words tis the treasure we found in his love.
I've often enjoyed those words.
Could we turn to some verses in Luke's gospel that have been very precious to my own soul lately?
Luke's Gospel.
Chapter 9. Luke Chapter 9.
The.
And we're just going to read a little here just to get the connection. Begin from verse 18.
Luke's Gospel Chapter 9 and verse 18. And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him. And he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said John the Baptist. But some say Elias, and others say that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering, said the Christ of God. And he straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing saying.
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The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain and be raised the third day.
And he said to the mall, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself.
And take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it, But whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
For what is a man advantage, if he gained the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words of him, shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his fathers, and of the holy angels.
But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Kingdom of God.
We know that in Luke's Gospel things are often grouped together in a moral order rather than simply in a chronological order. And here it seems to me that the Lord Jesus brings before his own, on the one hand the cross and on the other hand the glory. But then something we might say sandwiched in between.
I believe it's always that way in Scripture. God draws out our hearts.
First of all, by bringing us to the cross and then by pointing us to coming glory. During the lunch hour a brother and older brother made a remark to me. He said, why is it that we hear so little about the coming glory that's ahead? Said we used to hear it ministered more, why don't we hear more of it now? Well, the Lord Jesus brought before his followers here two things, the cross and the glory, and we had that before us this morning.
The sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.
But what I particularly had in my heart was what we get here from verses 23 to the end.
Of 26.
You know, so often we find that the current of things in the world around us is the exact opposite to what it should be for the believer. And I suppose no one would argue with the fact that we live in a selfish world. We live in a world where self is brought to the fore. We see it more and more. You read it in magazines, you hear it spoken about, it's taught in our schools. You have to look after yourself. And I am sure that each one of us here would say that's wrong.
That's dead wrong.
But you know, I have been struck by the fact of how that thinking, perhaps very subtly.
Can creep into your life and mine. I've asked myself why is it that there isn't more of what we have in this 23rd verse?
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself.
And take up his cross daily and follow me.
May I suggest to my own soul more than to any other, that perhaps we have the motive reversed.
We all want to be happy, and there's nothing wrong in one sense with that, and we know that the pathway of happiness is to follow that blessed One, our Lord Jesus Christ. But why is it, if I may say it this way, that so often that truth is ministered to my soul, and maybe to others too, and yet there doesn't seem to be the power to carry it out?
Why is it that we know that that is a happy pathway and yet we don't seem to have the power to walk in it?
Oh, I suggest to your soul and mind that that blessed One, our Lord Jesus Christ, presents to us a motive higher than even your happiness and mine.
When that Blessed One came into this world, what was before him?
It tells us in Hebrews 12, doesn't it? Who for the joy that was set before him Joy. What joy? I used to think it was the joy of having us with Him, and I believe that's included. But oh, I believe there was a higher joy than that. The joy of doing the Father's will, the joy of pleasing His Father. And may I suggest to your heart and mind that the highest privilege that God has given you and me as believers.
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Is to do something not because it will make me happy, although it will, not simply because it's in the Word of God, although it is, but because it gladdens the heart of my precious Savior.
I have sometimes spoken to dear believers and we have talked of these things and we have said, you know, to follow Christ is the only happy pathway. And I have heard dear believers in the Lord Jesus Christ say, I don't want to hear that, I don't want that. I don't. I don't understand how someone could talk like that, but I have heard it.
But oh, may I suggest to your soul and mine that what we need to get before us is that Blessed One, and when we see all that He has suffered for us, when it is brought before us all that He has done.
Oh, then I'll want to walk through this world to carry this out, not to make me happy particularly, but to bring him joy. And I ask each one of us here, when we think of how much that Blessed One suffered for us, if you think even of the physical sufferings, our brother remarked on them last night in the gospel, that at least in some measure we can enter into.
We can't really enter into his sufferings at the hands of God, but we can't enter into those physical sufferings.
His brother Harry Hayhoe often used to remind us. He said many of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus were not to put your sins away and mine, but to show us how much he loved us. And that Blessed One wore the crown of thorns, That Blessed One was struck in the face, That Blessed One was scourged, that Blessed One was mocked, that Blessed One was ill treated by your hand and mine. For what reason? To put your sins away?
No, no, but to show us how much he loved us, and to draw out your heart and mind, and suppose that Blessed One were to stand here this afternoon with those pierced hands and say.
The pathway is going to be a rough one.
And you're not going to be very happy. Now, this is not true, but I'm going to say it this way, You're not going to be very happy.
You're not going to have an easy time of it at all. You're going to have a very rough time going through this world.
But I died for you. I gave up everything that you might share eternal glory with me. Will you do it? I don't think there's any believer here today that would stand up and say, no, I won't do it. You know that your heart would be drawn out to that. Why? Because it's for him. But that's not the way it is. That's not the way it is. All the Christian pathway is a happy path. But oh, if I set before myself my own happiness.
I'll never be satisfied. I'll never be satisfied. And may I suggest to your soul and mind that that is perhaps much of the reason why these things are not more of a present living reality in our souls.
If you read this 23rd verse and think about it.
Let him deny himself.
We don't like to do that. The world says do well to yourself, but here it says to deny yourself.
Take up his cross daily. You know, when we think of carrying a cross, we often think of the various burdens and difficulties of life. And I believe that they are included. But, you know, in the context of the time in which this was written, those words would have only one connotation, one picture to those who lived in that day. Because death by crucifixion was a common thing. And unlike executions today, they weren't done privately.
They were out in public for everyone to see.
And if you spoke about a man who took up his cross, that would conjure up only one image.
And that is of a man who had been condemned, and who, walking out there, was compelled to bear on his shoulders the very piece of wood on which he would shortly be nailed and hung up to die. Why does the Lord use that expression? Oh, I believe because he wants to remind us that the motive is not your happiness and mine, but bringing joy to his heart. That's why it says follow me.
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You and I can never share in his suffering for sin, but we can share in the shame that he suffered.
And the early disciples would say that it was a joy to suffer shame for his name.
I hesitate to speak about myself, but just very recently my wife and I had the privilege of visiting in England.
And we took a few days to go up into Scotland because I had a real interest to see some of the areas where dear ones had lived and died for Christ.
And I can tell you it was a moving experience to stand there, for example, in Saint Andrews, in the ruins of an old castle, and looked down into a wretched prison, A prison cut into the solid rock, shaped like a wine bottle.
Where George Wishart was imprisoned for his faith in Christ.
To look there on the street and stand in the very spot where he was burned at the stake for preaching.
The very thing that brings salvation to your soul and mind 450 years ago.
Was a moving experience to stand there and look at the grave of Alexander Peden.
Who was buried at the foot of Gallows Hill therein? Come knock, because that was the only place deemed good enough for a man like that who spent his life running through the woods trying to escape from those who were after him in order that he might preach Christ. It was a moving experience to visit Donatre Castle and see a room there where perhaps 150 men and women had been put in a tiny room so that they couldn't even sit down.
And where they stood firm for their faith in Christ.
Oh, this is what our dear brethren suffered.
And what was it that did it? What was it that kept them going? Oh, it was that Blessed One and all that he suffered for them. Did they do it to make themselves happy? Oh, I have no doubt there was joy in their souls. I have no doubt at all there was. But I don't think they did it for that. They did it because they loved that Blessed One. It was a moving experience to stand on Giles St. there in Oxford and see the place where Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley.
And Thomas Cranmer were burned at the stake for standing firm for their faith in Christ.
You and I may not suffer that today, but the challenge is the same.
Notice verse 25. For what does a man advantage if he gained the whole world? And notice the expression here, and lose himself, or be castaway.
Mr. Darby translates that or destroy himself, or come under the penalty of the loss of himself. I suggest the thought, and I'll be happy to be corrected, that on the one hand.
A lost soul is in view here.
A castaway. One who destroys himself.
But on the other hand, may I suggest that there's an application to you and me, who are the Lord's? Thank God we can never lose our salvation.
But there can be a saved soul and a lost life. A lost life. What does that mean?
Oh, it means that if self is the object, and even in divine things, itself is the object.
It won't last. It won't stand up.
No, God says. I want your sights, your motives to be directed higher than that.
It's a very high motive, isn't it?
Luke's gospel, as we have sometimes said before, is the introduction to Paul's ministry.
And I begin. I believe we get a little introduction here to the heavenly calling of the Church.
You and I don't belong to this world anymore, and so here it talks about.
Losing our life in verse 24. For His sake, the world would say you have to make the best of life. I can well remember a girl who worked at the local hospital where I worked for many years.
She made the remark to me once, she said. We're not here for a long time, but just to have a good time.
Well, that was a worldly point of view, and I know that those here who know Christ as their Savior would never talk like that. But oh, I believe that Blessed One would draw your heart and mine out in these last days to say, I want the motive to be for me, for me. We've often heard that expression, Jesus first, others next, yourself last. Well, we may think of that in terms of what we do, and I believe it's a good way of putting it.
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But oh God would have you and me to carry that out practically.
By doing things to please him. And so when I pick up this precious book and I find instruction in it, may I say to my own heart.
Not I'm going to do this because it'll make me happy. If I don't do it, I'll fall under the government of God. If I don't do this, I will be unhappy. I say this to each one of our hearts. That won't last. That won't last. No. And I believe that is the reason, perhaps at least I speak for myself, why there isn't more power to carry this out. But oh, may this get a grip on our souls that that Blessed One wants to draw out our affections to Himself so that we might follow Him.
So that we might do things for his sake, So that we might walk in the good of this precious book.
Not simply because it will make me happy. Not simply because it will keep the gathering together.
Not simply because it will result in the good of lost souls in the gospel or anything like that. Those are all worthy motives. But oh, I suggest to your heart and mind that they fall short of what God sets before us, and that is His beloved Son.
And you know, the wonderful thing when we see that is that that Blessed One has walked that pathway before us. When He went through this world, as we said a few moments ago, did He do it for His own enjoyment? I don't believe that is presented to us in the Word of God. No, I believe He did it because of the joy that He had in doing the Father's will.
But oh, did he have a joy. Oh indeed He did. I don't believe there was ever a happier man walked through this world than the Lord Jesus. Why? Oh, because if you and I are doing the Lord's will, when He did the Father's will, there was that overflowing joy in His heart. And now He says that He wants you and me to have His joy fulfilled in ourselves. I believe that refers to His joy in doing the Father's will.
Notice verse 26. Whosoever shall be ashamed of Maine, and of my words.
Of Him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory and in his Father's. And of the holy angels. I believe we have to take this verse in the context in which it comes. We know that each one here who knows Christ as his Savior is seen in Christ, and we had it brought before us in our meetings yesterday, that every believer is seen before God, and all the perfection of Christ Himself.
And when you and I get there to glory, there will, I suggest, be no thought of God ever being ashamed of you and me. As far as our title to be there, no, you and I are just as ready, just as prepared for that place today as we will be then. All we need, if I could say it reverently, is our glorified bodies.
But there is a sense in which you and I can be ashamed before him at his coming. There is a sense in which you and I can be ashamed if we have to look back on our lives and say, oh, if only, if only, if only. If only I had used those opportunities. If only I had used the time that God gave me. Because we're building in time for eternity. And that is a stupendous fact to think that God has given us.
How long, I don't know. Well, whatever time, the rest of our time down here He has given us, but we are using that time to build for eternity.
There is glory ahead we've had that brought before us, and we're going to share that glory. We're going to share all the acquired glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, you and me.
But may we not be ashamed when we get there for not having put Him first and had that motive of doing things to please Him. And as we said at the beginning, there are two things that He gives us to draw out our hearts. Because I can't do this simply in my own strength. I can't do this simply by making up my mind that I'm going to do it. No, it takes more than that.
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No, I need His strength, but I need my heart set in motion. And that's why on the one hand the Lord brings before us His cross that He had to suffer, and on the other hand, the coming glory.
Peter could say concerning the transfiguration, he could say, and we also have a more sure word of prophecy.
Oh, he wanted. He saw that glory, he heard the voice from that excellent glory, and he had the word of prophecy made more sure.
Purged when we look on to the glory. And in the meanwhile, what do we have set before us? The object of that blessed One who gave up everything, absolutely everything, in order that he might make us his. And now he says, I want you to walk that pathway, not simply because you will be happy, but because it will make my soul happy. Turn with me, please, to a verse in Mark.
Mark chapter 3.
And verse 14.
Mark 3/14 and he ordained 12 That they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach.
And back to chapter one.
Mark one verse 16. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew's brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. Jesus said unto them, Come after me, come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsake their Nets, and followed him. When he had gone a little farther, thence he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their Nets.
And straightway, he called them.
And they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants and went after him.
Just some thoughts I've been gathering over the last couple weeks and things in our own meeting that have been brought up.
About personal time or what's personal?
And perhaps two aspects of what's.
Would consist of personal time would and one be in that first verse we read.
Time with the Lord and was the Lord's desire that those 12 would be with Him.
And then they had a public service after that. But my interest is in that little phrase that you ordained at 12 That they should be with him.
We might say that's the Lord working with us personally, just in quiet time apart. And yet there's the part in in the first chapter also that.
Maybe a part of our own responsibility and quiet and personal time. Not that it doesn't also involve the Lord, but maybe a little more emphasis on a personal responsibility.
There were those that were casting Nets into the sea.
Something that was outward of public service, and yet there were those that were also just sitting in their ships.
They were mending their Nets.
And it was needed. It was necessary. It was time apart.
The Lord himself even drew his disciples apart. He says, come to a desert place and rest a while.
And those that have been with Jesus.
And whatever working that the Lord might have with them, we get a little result of that brought out. I believe it's an axe where some took note of the disciples, that they had been with Jesus.
It became an obvious thing, an evident thing. It was just a fact. Took note that they'd been with Jesus.
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So the Lord works with us privately.
Behind the scenes.
Didn't he spend 40 years with Moses?
In the wilderness.
Then he spent three years with Paul on the backside of the desert. And perhaps there's others that we could bring up. I think there's a lot of examples in Scripture.
Just wanted to maybe bring out just a couple.
Other verses.
Psalm 139.
Again, the Lord working with us behind the scenes.
Psalm 139, verse 13.
For thou hast possessed my reins.
Thou has covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise Thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret and careless and curiously wrought in the lowest parts.
Of the Earth.
Lowest parts of the Earth.
The Lord works with us personally.
What those things might be, well, only our own hearts, our own souls would know, and each of us are aware of it personally.
There's perhaps 300 people in this room.
The Lord has worked personally. We've each been with Him. It's been His desire to have us just alone, quietly, that they might be with Him and He works with us. It's as if it's this, it's this forming, this putting together, this arranging things in our lives, our thoughts, our attitudes.
Whatever else it would be, even our.
Just our whole manner of concepts and the way we look at things.
Formed in the presence of God Himself.
Behind the scenes, it's his work and it's his delight to work with us and he purchased us and he enjoys us and he wants and he does have that time with us.
There's a verse about the temple.
In First Kings.
First Kings 6.
And verse seven in the house when it was in building, it was built of stone made.
Made ready before it was brought thither, so that there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building.
So there was a quarry and all the work was done in that quarry. It's perhaps the same sort of thought that we have in Psalm 139, Lower parts of the earth. And there was framed, it was roughed, it was smooth, the whole thing. And then it was just transported up into the light, placed right into the temple, right in place.
That was the Lord working. That's the Lord working with us being with with us and us being with him.
Privately. Just personally.
Now there's perhaps we might say a responsible side as well, and there's many examples I'm sure we could could bring out.
But there were two things that.
Were brought before me and one is in again. It's in connection with the temple. It's in Chronicles.
It's in First Chronicles 23.
The first Chronicles 23 and verse 5. This is David giving some instruction to Solomon, his son.
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And he says, moreover, 4000 reporters and 4000 praise the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David to praise therewith.
His first Chronicles 23, verse five, the instruments which I made, and there are, I think, a couple other verses that talk about the instruments that David made. You know, he was a busy man.
He was too busy to.
Get occupied with making some instruments, don't you think?
No.
Wasn't it good enough that that the Lord had given him all these inspired words?
And many of them are written there in the book of Psalms.
David is perhaps responsible for half of the Psalm 75 of them.
There's those inspired words.
Why, That's a very honorable thing, to be given inspired words from God himself.
But David took the time personally, just apart.
And he built these instruments.
The instruments that I made, said David.
And so not only did he have those inspired words, and he had come before the Lord, but he had those instruments that he had made too. And so he had picked up his own responsibility on his own time. And there he had it, something that he had formed himself.
And so I think with each of us, we have that that time, whatever it might be.
Whatever the Lord is given to you is your own responsibility to be formed in His presence.
And it was useful.
He used it for the Lord.
He didn't come empty handed, shall we say. He truly did have his hands full. Something of actual physical substance. And perhaps we don't come with things of physical substance, but there should be those things that are formed quietly, just built over time in their own hearts for Christ.
Another example that.
It doesn't seem quite as sublime, perhaps, but in Judges.
Judges, There's a man named E Hood.
And we know the story. If you don't know the story, read it. You won't forget it after you've read it.
Judges, Chapter 3.
And verse 16.
But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges of a cubit length, and he did girded under his raiment upon his right thigh.
There was going to be a public work. That's not really my thought this afternoon about the public aspect of it. But he took off responsibly. That part that he was supposed to do ahead of time, at home in his own backyard. There he forged a dagger.
He made him a dagger. It fit him. The handle was his size.
The blade was his size.
It's what he needed.
And there he formed it. And even after it was made, it didn't become a public thing.
He hid it under his raiment.
And there it stayed until the Lord had a use for it, and it only had one use, and it was only used once, and then it was gone.
But he had taken the time, he had taken the effort.
And he formed that.
We had a meeting this morning.
Meetings yesterday.
Where we came into the presence of the Lord.
And yet, what was in that meeting? What was in the meeting this morning? We might say there were five prayers. I don't know, maybe there were six. Whatever.
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And maybe there was 10 hymns given out.
You could give a certain.
Character to the meeting. It was about praise, singing joy our hearts to the Lord.
And yet, was that the full extent of the meeting?
I have a little expression that I like that often in spiritual things, the inside is far larger than the outside. We had a meeting this morning that was bounded by a particular set of walls. It was also bounded by time.
About 75 minutes or so.
And yet, how big was that meeting?
Was it just those 75 minutes?
Each heart.
In praise to the Lord.
Could we really make a tally of that meeting this morning? How long would it take us to really figure out how big the meeting was this morning?
All the different thoughts that went through your minds.
The Thanksgiving that went up from your heart.
The verses that you turn to, you know, occasionally during the meeting, you hear the pages turning in a Bible, someone that just a verse came to them you wanted to find, you know, read it.
People are looking at different hymns just to enjoy it, not to give it out, just to read it.
All of that is formed just personally.
Just you and the Lord.
And there it is.
Gathered up, observed. Appreciated.
Not by what is human, but by the very Son of God himself.
Have you ever had a thought?
They've enjoyed.
And the next day you say, oh, I should have written it down.
I forgot what it was.
And you grasped for it, and it's gone.
Is that pleasure to the Lord? Yes, it is. Imagine the eternal God passing through a human mind.
A thought of appreciation of himself and of his son.
What does it mean to his heart?
A lot, I'm sure.
We can speak of the meeting here this morning or the meetings that we had yesterday or any other time.
But take yourself.
Down to some tribe somewhere northern Brazil.
Where the gospel of God's grace has come.
And here's a child, a young girl.
And she has her thoughts too. One who's believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's Rhode Island, and certainly to the eye of the world, her thoughts are irrelevant. Insignificant at least.
And yet, as she walks out of her home.
Some evening.
And looks up into the stars and says my father made that.
There's the working here.
The Lord wants her to be with him and He's worked with her and she has picked up her responsibility and thought about him.
The quiet.
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This morning, 15 minutes of quiet time.
I trust there were many more minutes.
In each of our mornings this morning.
Than just those 15 minutes.
But couldn't it be asked?
Like I believe it was Judas who asked.
To what purpose is this waste?
It is a purpose.
To the eternal God.
And it's not a waste.
Cross to bear and count all else. What ere it be unworthy of our care? Oh, teach us so the power to know a risen life.
With thee not, we may live while here below, but Christ.
Our life may be 278.
Save your way long to follow.
The Daily.
My brother.
And young Lord.
Forever.
All the way.
We are not.
Now.
1 I pray my grace.
We pray that it might be your reality to our souls.
We confess, Father, that we.
Live in a land where we don't know much about denying ourselves.
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Help us to know what that means in greater reality.
That we may value in a deeper way.
The coming glory that we are destined to be part of.
To help to Lord, as we have been exhorted to. Think of thy side, Lord, not what we get out of it, but what that is get from it. Thank Thee, Father, and ask for continued direction this afternoon.
And for those on the road, to a portion for them, in the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Psalm 132, 133, 134
The Gospel of God
Gospel—C. Hendricks
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Let's begin the Gospel Meeting tonight by singing #10.
There's a savior on high in the glory. A savior who suffered on Calvary's tree. A savior is willing to save. Now, as ever, his arm is almighty, his love great and free. Number 10.
There is a savior.
On high in the glory.
Our Savior who suffered on power.
You'll be lying.
He waited something.
Patience for.
Us and.
Said I.
Receive.
As the one.
Salvation.
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It's great, our God and our Father.
A perishing world.
We ask thy blessing on the word here tonight. Thou knowest the state of soul of each one who is present. Many, probably most, if not all, have heard the gospel before.
But we thank thee for extending the day of grace to this very hour.
We know that soon the door will be shut. The gospel of Thy grace will be heard no more.
We thank you. That is still the day of grace. So we ask thy blessing not only here, but wherever the gospel is sounding forth tonight, we ask it in the precious name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Turn with me tonight to Romans chapter one, please.
Epistle of Paul to the Romans, Chapter One.
And verse one, Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.
Called to be an apostle.
Separated unto the gospel of God.
That first verse of this epistle speaks of the gospel in probably the broadest, largest expression that we have. It's God's gospel, gospel meaning good news. It's the gospel of God. It originated from God. It comes from the heart of God, comes from God's purpose and will to save man. It's a message that is so wonderful.
That there's nothing ever been heard like it in this world before, That God, the infinite God that created all things, has good news for a Sinner.
One who deserves to be shut out from His holy Presence forever and doomed to an eternity in hell.
God has good news for such, for the ungodly, for sinners, even for enemies we read. Even for enemies God has good news. What a God this is. And Paul was called an apostle, and he was separated, set apart unto the gospel of God. Nothing more precious to proclaim, nothing more.
Momentous. Nothing more important than the gospel of God.
Which he had promised of four by his prophets in the holy scriptures.
Now that's referring to the Old Testament prophets, the Holy Scriptures. To the Old Testament Scriptures. They point forward to a coming Redeemer, to one who would to die, who came to die, who would pay the penalty for man's sin so that God might open the floodgates of His love and grace and welcome man back to himself. That's the gospel. It's God's gospel.
But it concerns a person. It centered the subject matter of the gospel is a person.
Concerning his son.
Jesus Christ, our Lord. It's about him. It's not about man.
It's not about you. It's not about me. We are the ones that are the recipients of the blessing.
When we repent and turn to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, but God's gospel is centered around the person and that person, his beloved Son.
Concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. Here was one that Pre existed before he became a man. But he's now presented here as the seed of David, David's son. David's son. He became a man of the seed of David according to the flesh. A true man down here in this world. But he's more than a man. He's declared to be the son of God.
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That's his deity. That's his eternal essential glory. The Son of God, Son of God, became the Son of Man. God became a man. This is the gospel of the grace of God, that God became a man. God came down from the lofty heights of that inscrutable glory where he dwelt in unapproachable light, a God that was unapproachable by a Sinner.
Has now made himself approachable by coming out of that essential light and glory, that unapproachable light.
And becoming a man of the seed of David according to the flesh. Who is it that took such a place? It's the one who has now declared to be the Son of God. How so? Declared with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead he went into death for our sins. This gospel explains that this epistle, the 1St 8 chapters of Romans, is the fullest.
Explanation and exposition that we have in all of Scripture.
Of the gospel of God.
Second to it would be the Epistle to the Galatians where he takes up a special.
Problem that was being introduced in the early among the early Christians and that was trying to put the Gentiles under the law. He deals with that also in this epistle. But the Epistle to the Galatians, he deals with it in a very full way.
Declared to be the Son of God with power, he said. He said, a man amongst men. He said, destroy this temple, and he was talking about the temple of his body. Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.
And when he did that, it was the unquestionable proof that he was all that he claimed to be. The Son of God, declared to be the Son of God with power, the power that resided essentially in his person. He raised himself. How could you do that if he wasn't God? Well, he was God, God the Son, and he came, the man Christ Jesus. Why did he become a man?
Because he came to save sinners. He came, came to save mankind. For God so loved the world of men and women and children and boys and girls, that He gave his only begotten son the only way that he could accomplish redemption, the only way that he could save man, was he had to become one of us. Sin apart. The only the only difference between his humanity and actually his humanity was the same as ours, except the state of it was different.
His humanity was holy, ours is sinful, and that's why he had to come. Had he been sinful himself that he couldn't have qualified to be a savior in the Old Testament they had to take a lamb that was out spot and without blemish, no defects whatsoever, to represent the impeccable holiness of the Lord's humanity.
He had to come though, and become a man.
In order to save man.
As one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
Now, in order to be the mediator between God and men, he had to be able to lay his hand on God, and he had to be able to lay his hand on man.
In order to be that, he had to be both God and man in one person.
You see, the gospel of God is not just a way of saving man. It is God's way and the only way. There is no other way.
No other possibility for man to be saved outside of the gospel of God. God giving his Son and sending his beloved Son and to become a man.
So that he might bring us to God.
I wonder if there's anyone in the room this evening that is still at a distance from God, is still not saved. Or maybe you're not sure of your salvation. You can be sure tonight. God has demonstrated so wonderfully the proof of His love by sending the darling of his bosom, the son of his love, into this world to become a man, a servant. He may decide the form of God and took upon him the form of a servant.
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Was made in the likeness of men, made, as it says here, of the seed of David after the flesh.
But declared to be the Son of God with power.
He raised himself.
The power of God in resurrection displayed in that person.
Now only God could say. Only one who was divine could say though human to destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
He spake of the temple of his body. They thought he was talking about the temple that Herod had built. No, he wasn't talking about that temple.
He was talking about the temple of his body where God dwelt. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, because he had come in grace the first time he came. He came in grace not to impute sin to man, but to reconcile man to God. In order to effect this, he had to die. He had to pay the punishment and the penalty for sin.
Your sins my sins in order that he might bring us to God.
The Gospel of God is the gospel, the good news that originated in God himself, and it concerns and is centered around a person, his Son.
His beloved son.
Do you know him? Do you know that person?
Whom to know is life eternal?
And if you don't know him?
You're lost.
He said that he believed not. He said this to the Jews, if you believe not that I am he.
Ye shall die in your sins.
If you don't believe who he is.
Ye shall die in your sins. There's a poem that I often recite.
I learned it many, many years ago.
What thinking of Christ is the test?
To try both your state in your scheme, you cannot be right in the rest unless you think rightly of him.
As Jesus appears to your view as he is beloved or not, so God is disposed to you.
And mercy or wrath is your lot.
The real question for every Sinner to answer is the Sun question, one thinking of Christ.
Whose son is he? He asked the Pharisees.
And they said he's the son of David.
That was the true answer. He was the son of David. That's his humanity.
And then he quotes the scripture, which they knew very well, from the 110th Psalm, where Jehovah says to the Messiah, the Lord said unto my Lord, David says, my Lord, it's David Psalm, sit down on my right hand till I make thine enemies, the footstool of thy feet. And the Lord quotes that Psalm to the Pharisees. And he said, David called him Lord, How is he then his son?
And they could not answer the question.
How could he be David's son and David's Lord at the same time?
David's son, his man. David's Lord. He's God. God the son.
And this is what is called in Scripture the doctrine of Christ, God, and man in one person. If you don't believe that, you can believe everything else that's in the Bible, you're still lost.
That's the most foundational truth there is in all the scripture.
The doctrine of Christ, if you believe not that I am he.
He is Jehovah, He is the I am. He is the Sent One. He is the eternal Son of the Father, if you don't believe that.
He shall die in your sins.
Very solemn question.
Well, let's go on a little.
He writes in verse 7 to all that be in Rome, beloved of God called Saints.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he thanks God that their faith was spoken of throughout the world.
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He says in verse 11, I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift to the end. You may be established.
And then he says in verse 13, I would not have you ignorant brethren, that oftentimes I purpose to come unto you.
But was hindered hitherto that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and to the unwise.
So as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also, he hadn't been to Rome when he wrote this epistle.
And now he says verse 16, wonderful verse. I'm not ashamed.
Of the gospel of Christ.
For it is the power of God.
Unto salvation.
To everyone that believeth to the Jew 1St, and also to the Greek.
I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God.
In the first verse we read of the Gospel of God.
And in verse nine we read God is my witness, whom I serve with my Spirit in the gospel of His Son.
Gospel of His Son. It concerns the Son.
Now he talks about the power of God. There's power in the gospel.
There's power in the message when believed to set a soul free from sin.
And to save that soul, power of God unto salvation, there is power in the gospel to take a drunkard.
Or a drug addict and to deliver them from that addiction.
From that drink or from that?
Habit of drugs or whatever it may be.
Sexual immorality, whatever it may be, there is power.
In the gospel to set us all free from sin.
And anyone who claims to be saved and continues on in sin, blatantly, flagrantly, could well question the reality of that salvation. Because the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. What does it save us from? It saves us from our old lifestyle, Saves us from our sins.
Saves us from the consequences of our fins, which is eternal hell, eternal separation from God.
But it saves us, in a very practical sense, from sin and from going on in sin. It's the power of God unto salvation. It saves us.
Saves us from ourselves. Saves us from our sinful lifestyle, the evil that we've been going on with before we came to hear the gospel.
It is the power of God unto salvation. Man's power will not do it, but God's power will set us free.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.
Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty, the freedom wherewith Christ hath made you free, Paul says to the Galatians, and be not entangled again in the yoke of *******.
It's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe it.
That's our part. That's your part. That's my part. To receive it. To believe it.
To have faith in him.
To the Jew 1St and also to the Greek.
And there's a marvelous truth in the gospel.
For therein in the gospel, is the righteousness of God revealed.
From faith to faith, that is on that principle of faith, and it's revealed to faith. It's revealed to those that have faith. God's righteousness in the gospel is that attribute of God, that perfect consistency of himself with all that he is in all his dealings.
He must be consistent with himself. How can God, a holy righteous God, save a Sinner?
How can he do it and be righteous in doing it?
I used to, when I thought of the gospel, I used to think of His love, His grace, His mercy, his compassion, his kindness, His forgiveness, and all those wonderful attributes.
But when I thought of his righteousness, his justice, His Holiness made me tremble, made me feel that I could never approach such a God.
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He's holy. He's righteous. His righteousness must exclude me. If he deals with me in righteousness, I'm lost.
Wonder of the message of the gospel is that God in the gospel proclaims his righteousness in the way of saving sinners and not in the way of sending them to hell.
And God said, soul to hell, it will be an expression of his righteousness, a demonstration of it.
But when he saves A Sinner that believes in Jesus, that's an expression of his righteousness in the way of saving a soul. How can he do that? Because of the cross?
Because the penalty for that soul sins have already been paid by the Lord Jesus on the cross.
It is in the cross of Christ we see how God can save yet righteous be.
So he says, therein is the righteousness of God revealed. Not now, not in the way of condemning A Sinner to hell. That's an expression of righteousness.
But in the way of saving a soul that believes in Jesus and justifying him.
Bringing him into a place of acceptance before himself.
What a wonderful message. What a gospel. What good news.
Therein is the righteousness of God.
Revealed on the principle of faith, not the law principle.
That was tried for 1500 years, 10 commandments. And when Israel was given the 10 commandments, they said all that the Lord hath spoken, we will do and obey.
And they broke the 1St 3 commandments before Moses ever got down from the mount with the two tables of stone in his hands.
And he broke those tables to pieces at the foot of the mount. He didn't carry them into the camp. It would have meant certain death and judgment for all of his real had he done so.
And he took their golden calf, their idolatrous worship, that they had concocted of their own mind, and he grounded to powder, and made them drink it.
And there was judgment that broke out in the camp when the law was given when they broke it.
But if the law had been carried in its pure form into the camp, it would have meant certain judgment.
Sometimes you talk to a person you know and you say how are you going to get to heaven?
Well, keep the law oftentimes that's the that's the answer I've received.
Do you know what the law says? Do you know the law? Well, 99% of those that I asked that question of if you would ask the question of which would not know it. They don't know what they are saying. They don't know the law.
The 10 commandments Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
The second commandment, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, anything in heaven or on earth, bow down to it, or worship it.
Now those first two commandments Israel had broken before Moses brought the law into the camp. The third commandment they also broke. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for he will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. They have made a golden calf, they had danced around it, they made another God, they made an idol. And they said, tomorrow is the feast of Jehovah, and attached the name of the true God to that idolatrous feast.
They taken his name in vain. 4th commandment was ceremonial. Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. The 5th commandment is Honor thy father and thy mother, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth.
The 6th commandment is thou shalt not kill murder.
The 7th Commandment. Thou shalt not commit adultery. The 8th commandment thou shalt not steal. The 9th commandment, Thou shalt not bear false witness.
And the 10th commandment is thou shalt not covet.
Or thou shalt not lust.
Thou shalt not desire what is not yours, whether your neighbor has it, his wife, his *** his ox, his field, whatever it may be.
Those are the 10 commandments.
There isn't a man or woman or boy or girl living that has kept them.
And all you have to do to break to come under the judgment of breaking the law is break one of them.
And most of us have broken far more than one.
Cursed It is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law.
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To do them, it's like A10 length chain. You're down in a pit and someone lowers that 10 length chain down to you.
And you grab the bottom and he starts pulling you up and one of the links breaks. Just one and you drop right back down to the bottom. You cannot get up by a chain that has links that will break.
And that last commandment, thou shalt not covet or lust.
Slays everyone of us.
Slays everyone of us.
So it's not by the law principle, but by the principle of faith. The righteousness of God is revealed on the principle of faith to faith.
It's not the principle of law now not works, not by works of righteousness, which we have done, but according to His mercy.
He saved us by the washing of regeneration.
Renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Therein is the righteousness of God revealed on the principle of faith to faith, that is, as it is written, the justice.
Shall live by faith. That's a quote from the Old Testament ages position when he.
Is under law, not realizing that when he's under law, he's under the curse.
And he is under the sentence of death and condemnation.
For God now is introduced by grace, another principle principle of grace.
And faith, The just shall live by faith. That's quoted here in Romans one, it's quoted in Galatians 3 and in Romans it's the just you'll live by faith. Romans is answering the question, How shall man be just with God?
So he brings out God's justification, God's accounting us righteous, and God is righteous in doing that.
Imputing righteousness to us when in fact we are not righteous.
God is the justifier of the ungodly.
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son.
Christ died for the ungodly.
There is none Righteous. No. Not what?
But that's that makes us candidates for receiving the gospel, the good news, and lost. I'm undone. I'm not righteous. I'm ungodly. I'm a Sinner. I'm an enemy. I'm an enemy of God. That's what this book declares.
But God has good news for such the gospel is not sent to a righteous person, but.
To a Sinner.
To one that needs the salvation that God provides.
The just shall live by faith, Romans. The emphasis is on the justice. In Galatians the emphasis is on the just shall live by faith. Faith in contrast with works in Galatians works of the law and in Hebrews 10. The just shall live by faith. It's a life of faith in Hebrews that is before us, but it's quoted in all three in all three scriptures in the New Testament.
Taken from.
The Prophet.
In the Old Testament.
The just shall live by faith. You can emphasize it any way you want. The just to live by faith. The just shall live by faith. The just shall live by faith. That principle.
And then he talks about the wrath of God. It's a solemn thing. That's not good news. Sometimes a person is asked to give the gospel, and he preaches on hell all meeting long, and that's not the gospel.
That's not good news.
The wrath of God is preached alongside of the gospel because if you reject the gospel.
You come under the judgment of God.
The wrath of God. It's revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
Who hold the truth in unrighteousness.
Well, I don't want to spend more time in this chapter. The end of this chapter he deals with the Barbarian Gentiles.
And at the end of the chapter he says in verse 32 who knowing the judgment of God.
That they which commit such things are worthy of death. And he outlines a catalog of sins that are rampant everywhere today. AIDS, cancer, heart disease, all of these diseases of modern society. They're the result of sin. Man doesn't like to hear that. They're the result of a perverted lifestyle.
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Because they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up unto all uncleanness.
He gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which were not convenient, and so on. And then he ends who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
So the chapter begins with the gospel of God. It's concerning his Son, Jesus Christ. It's the gospel of his Son.
He says I'm not ashamed of the gospel because the righteousness of God in the way of saving a Sinner that believes in Jesus is revealed in that gospel.
But he says if you reject it.
The wrath of God and the judgment of God will overtake you.
Solemn results of rejecting the gospel.
Now turn to the third chapter, where he deals with the Barbarian gentiles in chapter one and then in the first part of chapter 2.
He deals with the cultured, educated philosophers of the Gentiles.
And then he deals with the Jew, the most privileged of all.
And at the end he concludes in chapter 3 verse 19 he says now we know that whatsoever the law sayeth.
It saith to them who are under the law. That would be the Jew, that every mouth may be stopped Jew and Gentile, and all the world may become guilty before God.
So man is no longer on trial. The trial is over.
The sentence has been passed.
The judge says guilty all mankind, Jew and Gentile.
So for anyone today to put himself under law is to put himself on the ground of still being under trial. Trial is not on any longer. The trial is ending. Man is found wanting, Jew and Gentile, with and without law. He's condemned. He's lost. He's guilty. The whole world is guilty. Before God, every mouth stopped.
You accept that indictment. Do you accept that? If you don't, if you think that you can by works of law gain a righteousness which will be acceptable to God, you are under the deception and delusion of Satan.
Man tried it for 1500 years, the Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, Did not Moses give you the law? And none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?
An infallible witness there and then Stephen, speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit, says, who have received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it.
Two infallible witnesses, says that man, 1500 years of testing.
Has failed to produce a righteousness which God can accept.
So on that ground.
Man is lost.
Now the time comes, that having been proven.
For the gospel of his grace, the gospel of God's sovereign grace to be revealed, the gospel of God, the heart of God told out.
God, as it were, says to man, you don't have a righteousness which I can accept. I have one that I will give to you.
My son.
I will put you in him before me, so that when I look upon you, I see you in Christ.
He now becomes the righteousness of every believer.
And God is righteous in doing that because of Christ's death on the cross.
God could not do it. He could not be righteous in doing it had Christ not died.
And paid the penalty. Let's look at those verses that developed this.
The end of verse 19 says all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law, by the works of the law, shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. The law tells me what is sinful.
The law says murder is sinful, adultery is sinful.
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Stealing is sinful. Lying is sinful. Covetousness is sinful.
Disobedient to parents is sinful.
Turning away from the only true God is sinful. Idolatry is sinful.
Taking the name of the Lord in vain is sinful.
By the laws, the knowledge of sin.
Now nine of the 10 commandments are embodied in the New Testament.
And the Christian when he walks in the Spirit, he fulfills the law.
What the law required and could not produce.
By the principle of law is produced by grace working in the heart of the Christian.
Under the power of the Holy Spirit.
Nothing wrong with the law.
The law is holy and just and good.
Absolutely perfect. Perfect rule for man to live by.
But man being a Sinner is condemned by it.
So God comes out in grace now.
Verse 20 Again, Therefore by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the laws the knowledge of sin. But now now that that's all been demonstrated and proven, and man has come out as utterly sinful and condemned by the law principle now the righteousness of God without the law altogether, apart from the law.
Is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
You read the prophets, you read especially Isaiah. It says he speaks of my righteousness is about to be revealed and that's Christ.
Witnessed by the Law and the prophets, God says I have something better.
Something better for you?
Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ.
Unto all and upon all them that believe, for there is no difference.
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No difference whether you are a barbarian gentile.
Or a Greek Gentile. Or a Jew. No difference. You're a Sinner, Sinner before God, all in the same state of condemnation.
No difference but this righteousness of God.
Is now operating in the way of justifying the Sinner that believes in Jesus, and it's unto all.
The work of Christ is of such value before God that every man, woman and child in this world could be saved. He just turned to Christ. It's not a limited atonement that the Lord Jesus accomplished on the cross. It's for all. For God so loved the world, all mankind, that he gave his only begotten Son. So the salvation of God is available to all, none excluded.
None excluded, it is unto all, but it is only upon all them that believe the benefit of it only reaches to the one that receives Christ by faith.
That's all that we have to do.
It's not a work of the law. It's faith. It's trusting God. It's receiving Christ by faith.
The just shall live by faith, not by works.
By faith.
It is unto all, and it is upon all them that believe, for there is no difference.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Being justified, being declared righteous by God.
You, me, I who am not righteous.
God says when you receive my son.
I consider you righteous.
I declare you so.
Being justified freely.
By his grace.
How can he do it?
Well, the source of it is Grace.
The basis of this justification is his precious blood which he shed on the cross.
That answered to God for all of our sins and the means by which we get it is faith. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So the source of the justification is the grace of God. The ground of the justification is the precious blood of Christ, the work of Christ, and the cross.
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And the means of getting it is faith on our part.
The just shall live by faith.
Faith who being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, there is the foundation.
The redemptive work of Christ accomplished on the cross, where he died for our sins, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.
God is setting forth a meeting place between God and man, this propitiatory sacrifice.
Where he answered to God for all our sins.
Bore the penalty for my sins.
Bore the judgment that my sins deserved open the way for man to come back to him.
It's by grace, and God is setting forth as a mercy seat, a meeting place between himself and man.
Through his blood.
To declare, I say, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that have passed. That is, he passed over the sins of the Old Testament Saints, didn't bring them into judgment. He looked forward to the cross. He knew he would send his son, and he knew his son would pay the penalty for their sins. So he he passed over the sins of the Old Testament Saints, those who believed, those that looked forward in faith to a coming Redeemer, and now that that Redeemer has come.
And died on the cross, and shed His precious blood, and rose again from the dead. From on the third day. God is now declared righteous, and having passed over the sins of the Old Testament believers.
Then in verse 26 he says to declare at this time right now his righteousness, that is his consistency with himself in justifying the Sinner.
That he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.
In the act of justifying the Sinner that believes in Jesus, God shows himself to be righteous in doing that because of the work of Christ.
That's the foundation of it.
Now, having said this, he says where is boasting then? Does man have anything to boast of? Has he done one single thing to contribute to his salvation? No.
Absolutely none.
Where is boasting, then? It is excluded. By what law of works? Nay, no, But by the law of faith, the principle of faith.
Those two don't mix.
Works in faith are mutually exclusive. You're either going to get saved by doing something on your own efforts, or you're going to say I'm bankrupt, I'm lost, I can't do anything. I'm condemned on that principle. I flee to Christ, and in faith I receive Him as my Lord and Savior.
Where is boasting then? It is excluded by what law of works, Nay, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude, here's the conclusion of the whole matter, that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. It amazes me that Christendom is so largely under law when we have clear verses like this that says a man is justified by faith altogether, apart from the works of the law.
Is this just for Israel?
The law was just given to Israel, you know, it wasn't given to the Gentiles. Is this?
Good news of the gospel just limited to Israel. No, he says. He's he the God of the Jews only.
Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also. This is too good to limit to just a part of humanity. It's for everyone. You and gentile, boy and girl, man and woman, no matter what color of skin you are, is for all.
Seeing it as one God which shall justify the circumcision by faith, or on the principle of faith, in contrast with the principle of works.
That they were under when they were under law.
And the uncircumcision the Gentiles through faith. Faith is a means.
So it's faith that the Jew had to learn. It's the principle of faith that I'm blessed, blessed by now. And the Gentile too, that it was through faith that he was blessed by.
Then he asked the question.
Do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid, no. Yeah, we establish the law.
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How do you establish the law? By faith?
Well, let me answer that question by starting and saying the way you you void the law.
Is to put yourself under it, break it, and then say I'm not condemned by it.
The one that does that, and that's what everyone does.
How you going to get to heaven? By keeping the 10 commandments? Do you keep them Well? No, but I try. Well, they doesn't hold out any kind of blessing or promise of blessing to the Trier. It holds it out to the doer. The man that doeth these things should live by them.
So if you try and fail, you're under the curse and the condemnation of death.
The last.
So the man that puts himself under law and breaks it and says it doesn't condemn me, he's the one that makes void the law through faith, but the one through, He's the one that makes void the law, but the one who establishes the law.
And he does it by faith. As the one that says, I cannot keep it. It will only condemn and curse me. If I try. I've tried and failed and failed and failed. I flee now to Christ. I accept him by faith. I own the law, condemns me and curses me and slays me. I flee to Christ, and by faith I'm justified. I confirm the law by faith.
Establish it.
Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid. Yeah, we establish.
The law.
So the laws established.
The laws, holy and just in good but applied to a Sinner like me can only kill me.
Can only condemn me, can only curse me.
That applies to every man, woman and child in this world, none excluded. There was only one that kept it magnified the law and made it honorable, a blessed Lord himself.
What shall we say then?
Chapter 4. That Abraham our father is pertaining to the flesh hath found.
For if Abraham were justified by works.
He hath whereof to glory, but not before God. Now he's bringing Abraham forward here, because.
He's dealing with the Jews, the Jewish believers, and they were still tending to cling to the law principle.
So he says Now how did Abraham get justified? How did he come into blessing? How was he accounted righteous?
Was it by something he did?
For if Abraham were justified by works.
He hath whereof to glory, but not before God.
But what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. God took him out in Genesis 15, and he showed him the stars of heaven. And he said, socialized seed be He had no seed at all from Sarah his wife.
And at the end of this chapter it says he considered not his own body, now dead, being about 100 years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.
But he was strengthened by faith, and he believed in the God of resurrection, the God that brings lifeout of death.
The God that brings lifeout of death.
He says in verse four of our chapter 4. Now to him that worketh is the reward, not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
We all know what that principle is. Everyone of us that has a job, we work for our employer. When we went to work, we were interviewed and we got the job description of the job we were to perform and we agreed we would perform this job, we would do these duties and the employer agreed to pay us a certain sum for it.
So he owed it to us. After we had worked a week or two weeks or three or four, whatever the payment period was, we received a check from the employer. That was the principle of law, principle of works. We all know what that is. That's the way the world operates. It does not operate on the principle of grace. It does not like grace.
It feels comfortable with the law principle.
But on that principle, what he's showing here in Romans is we're lost.
Everyone of us on that principle.
Verse five he says to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly.
His faith is counted for righteousness. That is, he's hell to be righteous before God by faith.
On that principle, failure.
Not works.
This is very humbling to man.
He doesn't like it. He doesn't like grace. It's a very humbling to man. There's nothing more humbling than grace.
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Makes absolutely nothing of Maine, nothing of you, nothing of us.
Everything of God.
Nothing more humbling than grace.
I was remember talking to my instructor at college after I gotten saved and I sat before him some of these principles and he looked at me and he was in a religion where a religion of works, you have to do something in order to to gain God's acceptance. And he said I don't want that. I don't like grace as you explain it. I want to do my part.
I don't want to owe it entirely and altogether to another.
You see, that's attacking the pride of man. The pride of man is the heat. He thinks that he is not altogether bad. I used to tell my mother after I got saved and she was delving in a very, very false, cultish religion.
And justice delving into it, she didn't get into it, thankfully. And she said, you mean there's nothing good in us? Nothing, I said, That's exactly what the word of God says. We're always an unclean thing in all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags in his sight. There's none to do with good. There's none righteous, not so much as one. The 14th Psalm says the Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand.
That did seek after God. What did he see? They were all together become corrupt. They are all turned aside. There was none that doeth good. No, not one.
God saw the wickedness of man was that he was, that it was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Such is man.
How can he be saved only by the grace of God?
Only by the wonderful provision that the God of all grace has made.
And they sent out the gospel of God.
The good news of God.
I don't know. I don't know if there's anyone in this room that isn't saved tonight. I think everyone that I see has heard the gospel before, I believe.
You may have heard it 1000 times. Doesn't mean you're saved though.
You have to receive it by faith, and only God knows. Only God really knows if you've done that.
But you can't fool him. You can fool yourself. You can fool your parents, you can fool your brethren, but you can't fool God.
Because all things are naked and opened under the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
And he knows if there's faith in your soul or not, the just shall live by faith. If you don't remember anything else I've said here tonight, remember that verse that just shall live by faith. Faith is the principle upon which your soul will make a link with God.
Faith is the hand that reaches out and lays hold upon what a God of love provides.
And without that link, you're lost, lost, lost.
Forever.
But he's given the offer, he said. All things are ready. Come.
I sent my son. He died for you. He rose again the third day.
He showed himself to be the Son of God.
All that, he claimed.
He was delivered for our offenses. That's how this 4th chapter ends and he was raised again for our justification.
Therefore Chapter 51 being justified by faith.
We have peace with God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access.
By faith into this grace wherein we stand, the believer is seen standing in grace.
The only way we can stand before God is in grace. We can't stand there on the basis of our having done one single thing towards our salvation. It's His work, from beginning to end, altogether and exclusively, that makes nothing of us. I realize that it makes everything of God.
That's God's gospel, and it's the only way of salvation.
And then it ends that that that second verse of Romans 5 ends and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
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Romans 3 says all of sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 5 To the Christian, to the justified man, to one who is justified by faith and has peace with God in his standing in grace. He's rejoicing now in the hope of the glory of God, that glory which he has come short of.
He's now rejoicing in the hope of it. Is that your hope? Is that your hope tonight?
If you don't have that hope, then you haven't come into the good of the gospel.
The wonderful gospel of the grace of God.
That's closed by singing #33. Nothing either great or small. Nothing Sinner. No. Jesus did it. Did it all long, long ago. It is finished. Yes, indeed. Finished. Every job center. This is all you need. Tell me, is it not?
Nothing either great or small.
Nothing Sinner. No Jesus.
Where he from his life be thrown.
Straight and I.
Everything was.
Fooled.
His right.
I Christmas you're sending.
Minister.
Be Reconciled to God