Chicago Conference: 2002
Table of Contents
2 Corinthians 4:7-14
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2nd Corinthians chapter 4, starting in verse 7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus.
Might be made manifest in our body, where we which live are always delivered unto death. For Jesus saved, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but light in you. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believe.
And therefore have I spoken, We also believe and therefore speak.
Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the Thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God, For which 'cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Well, we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. But the things which are seen are temporal. But the things which are not seen are eternal.
I guess we talked somewhat about verse 7 already, but I was thinking at the end of that, verse 7 is something that I think is very important.
That the Excellency of the power might be of God and not of us.
It's the work of God, brethren, that's important. And sometimes it does seem that we get in the way of God in His Word. We have become too big, and so the vessel has to be broken so that God can use it to let the light shine.
And Gideon was referred to this morning to remember Gideon.
Started out with the army of.
Was it 32,000 men?
And the Lord told them, he said that's too many, lest Israel should glory, that we have gotten the victory. And that's the natural tendency of our hearts is to glory. And we see God perhaps using us is the glory in ourselves, not realizing it's not the vessel, brethren, it's the treasure inside the vessel that's important.
And so the Lord told them to tell all those that were afraid to go home.
22,000 went home. That's reducing your army pretty drastically.
10,000 were left. Surely that would be all right. The Lord said no, I can't use that many. And so often we hinder because we think we are something we change in the work of God. And so he did a further test on and brought him down to the water, and according as they drank the water he chose. And when the test was over.
Only 300 remains. It seemed foolish to go against those myriads of the Midianites wiggles only 300 men.
But this is the lesson we all have to learn sooner or later. Brethren, the Excellency of the power is of God and not of us. And there's 300 men that was night stood around that camp and at the signal as we read this morning, they broke the lamps, the the vessels, I should say, and the light shined out of those vessels and they blew the trumpets.
And the Lord gave the victory. There is no way.
That 300 men could take the glory for winning the battle against the Midianites.
It was the Lord that did it. And oh brethren, if we could just get out of the way and let our God work, what great things He can do. But because of the natural confidence we have in ourselves, so often God has to do some pretty heavy breaking. And as was mentioned this morning, that's what we have in verses 8:00 and 9:00. We are troubled on every side.
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Yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. This is the way the breaking was done, and the apostles vessel. But the point is, rather than I think it's so important for us to seek to learn in the Lord's presence the Excellency of the power.
Is God's not ours?
Seems that the 891011 and 12, the first part of the expressions, always the breaking down of the vessel. The last part of the expression is the power that's within. And so you read, we are troubled on every side.
Yet not distressed, troubled on every side, the breaking the vessel not to stress the power of God. And likewise and everyone even on all the way down to the 12Th verse. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. So the power of God comes in, in the destruction of that which is of the flesh. The power of God comes in and delivers. And it's true if we depend on Him.
I think we have a first beautiful illustration of the radiancy of the glory it's spoken of. I'm looking at Acts Chapter 7.
Case of Stephen.
It says in verse 54 he goes over the history of Israel.
Read from verse 51. He stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears. He do always resist the Holy Ghost.
As your Father's did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your father's persecuted? And they have slain them, which showed before of the coming of the just one of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart.
And they gnashed on him with their teeth, but he being full of the Holy Ghost.
Looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God. Here's the about to be the first martyr, the Christian dispensation, he looks up to heaven.
He looked up steadfastly into heaven.
And saw the glory of God.
There was another object there that he saw, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, He saw the glory of God, and he saw a man in that glory standing.
And they cried. And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened.
And the Son of man, standing on the right hand of God.
And this was the final testimony of the Holy Spirit. But Stephen here exemplifies true Christianity. He looked up steadfastly into heaven #1 he wasn't looking here below, he wasn't looking at earthly things. He was looking up to heaven. And he saw the glory of God, the glory of God.
And he saw a man in that glory, Jesus.
The Son of Man standing, we know from other scriptures that as soon as he ascended, he sat down in token that the work was finished. But here now he rises and he's standing to see what the last answer would be of those at Jerusalem. And their answer was, we will not have this man to reign over us. And they stoned Steven. But it's Steven's position which really exemplifies what we have here in 2nd Corinthians 4. I'm going to read it in the.
Translation in 2nd Corinthians 4, verse 6. But because it is the God who spoke that out of darkness light should shine, who has shone in our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, there you have it, you have the glory of God.
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The knowledge of that glory. And now He shined into our hearts.
But that might shine forth to others.
And it's the glory of God in the face of a man.
Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Yes, these bodies are earthen vessels, but we have a treasure. The Spirit of God dwells in our bodies, and He directs our gaze to the man in the glory and to separate us from this world, to attach us to another world where Christ is. This world has cast him out. We should never.
Forget that, never forget. This world does not want him, would not have him, and has cast him on his people, the Jews, Israel. They're still in unbelief. They don't want him. They haven't gone back in belief at all. They're in unbelief. They have to be brought to repentance and judgment of self. Their present state is terrible.
It's it's, it's a state that that puts the approval on the rejection of their own Messiah.
They're totally opposite to Stephen looking up to heaven. He sees the glory of God and Jesus standing there, and then he says he witnesses. There's a testimony that he gives.
We have this.
The verse I want.
You have this treasure on earth and vessels that they're surpassing. This of the power may be of God and not of us.
It's not the worst I wanted. Oh, I'm looking at the wrong chapter.
I should be looking at Acts 7. Well, he sees the glory of God. I don't have to turn to it. And Jesus standing there, the Son of man, I see the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.
That envelops Christianity. It's all together a new order of things. Totally. And the sad commentary we have to make in connection with this chapter is how far removed from the truth of it in this first Christian martyr is. It has Christendom. We're part of it.
Become how far we moved. We have our gaze, and I think it's probably true about all of us.
I'm not saying any of these things is so it's not true of me, true of all of us. We've we've looked, we look too much at earthly things.
And haven't been occupied with him where he is. And that's where we are. That's our portion, but not of this world. And there's a there's a testimony that he would have us to render as Steven rendered it. I see the glory of God in Jesus standing on the right hand of God. See the Son of man and he's about to come back to set up his Kingdom and reign here in the meantime.
We're associated with Him in that glory seen above.
It's been mentioned in the previous reading, the treasure is the knowledge of these things. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, tremendous treasure. That was never true. The Old Testament Saints. It won't be true of the millennial Saints. Spirit of God only indwells us in this present day of grace. And what a treasure that is. And what does He do? He directs our gaze heavenward. He directs our gaze to the glory and to the one who's in that glory.
To be a a people that witness to this poor world, laden in sin of that man in the glory now who once they had on the cross.
Treasure in the heart, not in the head.
We can have truth and we should have truth, we have to understand it in our minds, but the true dwelling place of truth as God desires it for us, as in the heart, the persons that are referred to here, and the light does not shine in an unsafe person.
You have to be born again, because by new birth we receive a new light, and it's in that soul of that new light.
That the treasure dwells and so Israel in a coming day is going to have God's message engraving on their hearts. Not a Stony heart of unbelief, but hearts that are tender and in which God has worked. We it was read this morning and or referred to I guess.
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In John 17 this is life eternal, that they might know the the only true God in Jesus Christ, who now is sin.
To know God as God intends us to know him. He has given us a life and nature with the capacity to know his heart and to know his will and to have the holy as he is holy, not in the not in Adam, but in Christ. And so this treasure that's referred to here, I think it's important to recognize the old that we had this morning. The law was unto death.
But what we have is unto light, and it's a life given to us by the Spirit, and it's in that new man, and in that heart of the new man, if you will, that God writes upon it his Son. And it is Christ in the new man that shines out to this world. And so again it's we give it out with words.
But the true outshining is an outshining that comes from a heart on which Christ has been written.
I'd love to add what you just said done in John 20 when you might ask the question, when did the new man begin in US in John 20?
After his resurrection.
Read from verse 19. And the same day, at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. Now this was their first public acquaintance or meeting with the risen Christ.
And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you, as my Father hath sent me, Even so send are you.
He has shined into our hearts for the shining forth of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So now he says, peace again. Now you proclaim that. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost, And that's the beginning of their association with him.
In resurrection he breathes the risen man, the second man, the last Adam. In his resurrection life he he imparts that to them.
So they can have a part with Him in resurrection and that's really the beginning of the new order. And this this is to individuals in Acts 2. It's the collective side. This puts them individually in Christ and in Acts 2, collectively in Christ, the coming of the Holy Spirit to unite together by His baptism. 11 body. But here we have the communication.
From the risen Christ of his own resurrection life by the Spirit.
Breathed into them by the risen Christ, the head of the new creation, this new resurrection life. And they had life before, but this is a new quality of life. This is something the Old Testament Saints did not have. They didn't know God as their Father.
They were not in a place of.
Of nearness, such as we are.
They didn't know Christ as a.
Man down here, he hadn't come yet, dead on a cross, hadn't died yet, risen, glorified. They didn't have the Spirit sent down to indwell them, nor did they have the Spirit in connection with this resurrection life of Christ. He wasn't resurrected yet in the Old Testament, so they were not in Christ yet. We are. We're in Christ individually by the Spirit.
In association with the risen man who's now in the glory.
And then in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit is sent down as a person, not, not characterizing the new life that we have in Christ, that's John 20, but as a person in dwelling us and uniting us into one body, that's union with the head in heaven. Wonderful truths. None of this was true before Christ came and died and rose and ascended to heaven and sent down the Holy Spirit. None of that was true. This is Christian truth we're talking.
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About and only Christian truth. It won't be true. The millennial Saints there won't be in Christ like we are. We have absolutely the highest privilege. How much have we entered into these things and enjoyed them in our own souls?
When Stephen was being persecuted there, he was responding in that new resurrection life and communion with his Savior and glory, even though it was, we believe, a real miracle that that occurred there. But another sense, it is the principle upon which God deals with us in this whole age and every one of us.
By faith and look up and see that same man there in glory and as we go through life, give witness to him there in communion with him. And it seems to me like that is versus 8-9 and 10 in our chapter where we're feeling the persecution, distress and all these things and communion with him.
But if we don't learn it in communion, then we learn it in the next verse, and it's kind of the hard way.
But we can learn the same lesson. Is that not right?
It's interesting that contrast verses 10 and 11 like you say, Doug, there is a difference there, although it does say largely the same thing. Verse 10 is always bearing about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the light bulbs of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. In other words, this is what should be characteristic of the Christian life, is to bear about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that the life of Jesus would be made.
Manifest in our bodies, the life that we have in Christ is life and resurrection. That you cannot see life and resurrection unless you know what death is. And so it's in the measure that we put into practice in our lives, bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus would be made manifest. But then like Doug was mentioning verse 11.
Is not so much that we live that way, but we are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake.
And there it says that the life of Jesus might be made manifest. Doesn't say in our body, but in our mortal flesh, because sometimes he touches these bodies of ours.
It may be in sickness, it may be in death, like in the case of Stephen, that those stones when they were flying in hitting him with the glory that shined out of that.
Man his face shown it says like an angel's face because he was bearing about the body the dying of the Lord Jesus he was he was delivered really to death for Jesus sake. But then the life of Jesus shown out no brother and what a treasure we have. May the Lord help us that we.
Put into practice this of bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. What do we mean by that simply means that when Jesus died, he died to sin and to all that this world was. And if I go out and enjoy to the hilt this world and what it has to offer.
Is that bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus?
When he went to the cross and died for me and his position is completely outside of this world system.
That is not bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, and therefore you're not going to see in me if I give myself to that kind of living.
You're not going to see the life of Jesus in me, but it is in the measure that we bear about in our bodies, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus has made manifest in our mortal, in our bodies. And then like Doug says, sometimes we are delivered to death. And it's been such a interesting thing to me to see that sometimes people when they get into some real physical difficulties.
The light shines out.
Beautifully shines out some of those broken bodies and hospitals.
The light of testimony that shines out of those broken lives. God can use broken vessels, and that's what He does use. The Lord help us, brethren, to understand this principle. It's this principle of life and resurrection. You cannot know what life and resurrection is until you know what death is.
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Resurrection is after death.
You mentioned life and resurrection and someone might say in verse 10 always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our resurrected body. That's not what it says. But notice verse 11. For we which live are all we delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also of Jesus.
Be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
That's not the resurrection body. That absolutely eliminates that argument. And it's this body that is mortal, subject to death. And he's talking about we have resurrection life, but we don't have a resurrected body yet. And it's important to see how he guards that. I've often wondered why does it say in the one verse body and the other verse mortal flesh? Because I think to meet that argument.
And to show that's wrong.
It's this very body he's talking about.
Well, when we get our resurrected body, there will be no opportunity.
Then to demonstrate the life of Christ here on earth.
So as you say, Chuck certainly is here now today.
Where we Live Today is where this was demonstrated, not afterward. Risen with Christ. Weren't there some that taught?
That the resurrection has taken place already.
That refutes that.
Some of these expressions are given of the Spirit to refute error.
That existed even in that 1St century.
I believe it's very interesting that in these 4 verses they are not all exactly alike, but I believe they all demonstrate the same thought. The treasure, the fact that the vessel must be broken, and when the vessel is broken, then the treasure, the substance of that treasure can shine out and it's already has been mentioned. What is the treasure? Well, it's Jesus Christ isn't it?
The one who came and died and rose again.
And is now seated at the right hand of that glory on high. And when we demonstrate that, that's demonstrating the treasure that is in this body, the treasure that we, we won't have the opportunity after we're dead. We won't have the opportunity after the Lord comes. It's right here and now.
When the apostle Paul in Acts.
Was on the way from Jerusalem to Damascus.
And it was, it says it was at noonday and there was a light that's shown above the brightness of the noonday sun. And he heard a voice. And later in the Acts, Barnabas brings him to the Saints and says he has seen the Lord. Well, it doesn't tell us that in Acts 9 where he was smitten down.
But evidently, according to Barnabas comment, he not only saw a light, but he saw the person of Christ.
And he never, he never varied from that path, from that time on. He, he had an object that was real and sure. And he went from that woman on in that path, the Christ the object. And he never forgot what the Lord said. Why persecute or sell me? He saw there then that those on earth were part of that body. That body on earth was part of that head in heaven. And he never forgot it. And he presented that in his, in his.
Throughout his ministry, what a marvelous thing he saw the Lord at that time. He probably saw him again when he was caught up into the 3rd heaven, but Barnabas says he has seen the Lord.
In connection with what we had before us this morning and see if I can find the verse.
In First Corinthians 4.
He says, I read from the first verse, that a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.
And with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or a man's judgment. Yeah, I judge, not mine own self.
Notice for I know nothing by or against myself.
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Yet am I not hereby justified, but he that judgeth me is the Lord. Therefore judge nothing before the time the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then shall every man have praise of God. Paul says here, I'm not conscious. He says in verse four, I know nothing by myself or against myself. He's not conscious of anything in his life.
At this time as a Christian.
That was wrong, but he says, yet I'm not hereby justified. The fact that I'm not conscious of it does not mean there isn't something there.
So he says he that judges me as the Lord. Before he was converted, he says of himself, I verily fought with myself to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
The Lord says in John 16, The time cometh that he that killeth you will think that he do with God's service.
They he thought Saul of Tarsus thought Jesus was an impostor.
And he persecuted Christians. He was dead wrong, he says in another place. I have served God with a good conscience all my life.
He, he didn't think he was doing wrong until he met the Lord. And so even though as a Christian he could say, I'm not conscious of anything in my life that's a stray that doesn't justify me. The Lord does he recognize the fact that he's not his own judge. He's not confident he he could.
Be conscious of no evil, but that doesn't prove there wasn't something.
And the final judges the Lord doesn't connection with.
With I mean, when he says he wasn't conscious of anything, you know, we he could have been very proud. You know, I'm living a perfect Christian life now. He right away says, no, he the Lord is my judge. So this this is in connection with how we go on. He probably went on the closest to the Lord of anyone and yet he calls himself the chief of sinners, doesn't he?
As he looks back at his former life.
So.
Let's judge in ourselves what needs to be judged and then go on and do not be occupied with it, be done with it and go on with Him. Not occupied with the evil that's in US, but with the glory that's in Christ.
Verse 12 Then we have a verse that our principle that is quite well known in.
Scripture as well. Death worketh in us, but life in you. This is a principle that is important if we're going to know what it means to bring blessing to others. In other words, Paul says that there be life in you, there's got to be death in US. And so it is. A farmer knows that to get a crop, he has to take a certain quantity of.
Seed out into the field and put it down in the earth. What happens to that seed?
Is attacked by the microorganisms in the soil. It swells, it rots, it dies. You might say that's an awful waste of seed to be put it into the ground like that, but that's the only way you get a new life.
And much more fruit. And this is a principle that each one of us has to face. As long as we're going to preserve our own lives, we don't want to put ourselves at risk in any way. There's not going to be fruit in our lives, but it's in the measure that we give ourselves as we have in these verses.
There about in the body, the dying of the Lord Jesus, that there's going to be fruit in our lives.
The life of Jesus will be made manifest. Look at John chapter 12 which really has the same principle.
John, Chapter 12.
It's in this chapter where the Greeks seek Jesus.
Verse 20. There were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. Same came therefore to Philip, which was of the Seda of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip cometh and telleth Andrew, and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
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Jesus answered and said, entered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except the corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit, as long as that corn of wheat.
Was alone. Well preserved. Don't let any microorganisms get to it. Don't let it die. As long as that was the case, it was alone.
Back when that corn of wheat was put down into the ground and dies, only then does it give life to a new plant or by there can be much fruit. So the question is for you and me, do we want fruit in our lives for God and for that eternal day or are you interested in just preserving your life? And sometimes I think.
That we in this country have been overly engrossed.
Preserving ourselves.
Our health, not that we don't want health, and I'm not speaking anything against that, brother, but we preserve ourselves. We don't want to put ourselves at risk. Do everything you can to preserve yourself.
What's it going to do? It's going to rob you of having fruit in your life for God.
When you put yourself at risk.
Fall into the ground and die. There is where much fruit comes. And of course this verse 24, the Lord is speaking about Himself, and in atoning sufferings only. He is the one whose death brings life. But there's a principle here. Notice in verse 25 He goes on, and he says, he that loveth his life shall lose it.
He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
I challenge you young people. I challenge each one of our hearts. I challenge my own heart. Do you love life? You want to live it up to the hilt all that this world has to offer. You want to love life. You're going to lose it. You're going to get down to the end of your life and you'll say I missed the whole point of life.
That is so tragic to me is to go to an old folks home and to see people who have prospered.
Tremendously in this life, maybe a great position of honor and authority or wealth.
And there they sit in a wheelchair.
Lost their reason? Have absolutely nothing in front of them.
Loved life, they lost it.
But here's the alternative, and to me it's pretty strong. Comes home to my own soul. He that hates his life in this world shall keep it until life eternal.
That's pretty strong language and it's something that we need to really think about. You love your life. Are you living it up in this world? Remember, you will lose it.
But the alternative is that if you hate your life in this world, say no to number one. This me, myself and I and live for Christ.
You're going to have to cross yourself out your desires.
Your belonging desires. Cross it out and live for him. Then you will save your life. You'll keep your life until life eternal. Jim Elliott. That said, he is no fool that gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. It's worth thinking about young people.
And older runners too. We need to challenge our hearts. They tell you. I really believe that God has given us a shake in this country. We have been materially given.
More than any other time in the history of the world, this culture that we live in. But this is not life to have abundance of things, is not it? It's not the answer, young people. The answer is something else. It's crossing out number one to put Christ forward.
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That's the answer and that's what we have in this verse. So this is what it means. I really believe in verse 12 of our chapter.
Death worketh in us, but life in you.
Well, brother Doug run off of disappointed person. First ten of our chapter brings in possibly the thought of self judgment. This is always bearing about in the body of dying of the Lord Jesus. So that's the work that goes.
Goes on in my soul as I walk daily, seeking to the old nature in the place of death. And then verse 11.
We believe brother Doug touched on him a little bit and then brother Bob touched on it too. Brother Bob brought brought out the the work of God as as the Lord may lay aside some sick 1 and and bring about through that experience.
That which brings forth fruit to God. I believe there's another thought in this verse too, and I'm wrong. I I bear correction, but there's sometimes when we don't bear in our body the dying of the Lord Jesus and we there's something of the flesh that's still living. And So what does God do? He allows circumstances in our lives that brings about.
The judgment, the self judgment that we missed.
And they may be uncomfortable circumstances, but he sees it necessary that the light may shine that this matter that hasn't been judged personally is judged. And so verse 11 brings out.
For we which live are always delivered unto death. I believe. I believe another dog touched on this, that this is the faithfulness of God in our lives.
That would bring about death when necessary. The flesh is active, but unseen or unrealized. We don't, we don't deliver ourselves under that. It's the work of God. I can't, can't help but relate a circumstance that happened recently that during a time in which there was a lot of happy fellowship one weekend.
Came home and was very, very encouraged in the Lord.
Work the next day and I got hit with a ton of bricks from my boss and I didn't, I didn't realize, I didn't know there was a need for something, but the Lord did. And so he brought me through a circumstance which helped to possibly deal with something that the Lord had seen and thus there could be more fruit.
To shine forth while God is faithful.
And he knows what needs to be done, even sometimes when when we don't. And so the process is brother Bob has been bringing forth so deaf worketh in US. Well, death worketh in US one way or another. It's either through self judgment or it's through the faithful work of God, our soul, that if that means correction, please feel free.
Connect with our 12Th 1St day, the fact in the 1St chapter of Second Corinthians what Paul speaks about himself and you might read the three verses there and 2nd Corinthians 1 verses 8-9 and 10.
Or we would not. Brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure above strength, and so much that we despaired even of life? But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and thus deliver in whom we trust that He will yet.
Deliver us. So Paul went through a lot in his ministry for the Lord and he felt those things. He was delivered and pressed out of measure. And so that was, as he says, death working in him. He had to have the, he had the sentence of death in himself to go through those circumstances.
Without complaining, but accepting it as a part of identifying with the rejected Christ.
Who is in heaven? Because he saw him there. And so it wasn't hard for him to do that as long as he had that sentence of death in himself. But if Paul had chosen to have an easy life in this world, then he would not have had the sentence of death in himself, and it would have been hard, and he probably would have complained like we do a lot of times when we were put in the bad circumstances.
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So all of this worked for the good of the Corinthians.
They benefited by it, and it was life for them. And so, brethren, if we pass through difficulties, we do have the sentence of death then, and go through it and honor our Lord and give. Let the light shine, don't be light for others.
Very real thing.
None of us will, probably.
Be faced with the life that Paul lived, but.
It's a very real thing. You some crate for the young families. You want life in your children.
It's going to be accomplished through death in yourselves. That is, the Christian life is a sacrificial life.
It's a fruitful life. It's a denying of ourselves. And so you'll have to stretch yourself on your children or in the marriage relationships that we want something productive or fruitful in our marriage relationships. The answer to it is death to ourselves, all of our troubles in life.
I mean bad troubles that we cause are caused because we allow ourselves.
We try to save our lives, we make ourselves the object of our life, and that always works havoc in the relationships of life that we find ourselves in. And so the apostle had been given this ministry of an able minister of New covenant, a New covenant ministry, but in order for it to be fulfilled, it was going to require death to him.
And he was willing to go into that for the sake of others. Here it's.
Enough for reward. But it's that those to whom he preached the gospel might see that gospel shining out of his life. And so it was death to him, but life to the Corinthians. But the principle applies to the people you work with at work, your family, your wife, your children, or your husband.
You want truthfulness for Christ. You want Christ in them.
It can only be through death to yourself.
The giving of yourself. That's Christianity.
That's where the power of God comes into play, doesn't it? I think it's so important to see that it's only after death has taken place, then the power of God manifests itself in resurrection life. And I love to read the first part of the book of the Acts there where the apostles were so tremendous, their testimony, the power of their testimony.
When they stood before the council, Think of those 70 elders of Israel, the Sanhedrin, the.
Learned of the day and the understanding men that were sitting there and here's this poor supposedly ignorant fisherman standing there and in boldness, they had threatened to kill him. And you know that's the worst thing you can threaten a person with. We're going to kill you if you keep on.
Talking about Jesus, it had absolutely no effect. Why?
Because they had the sentence of death in themselves. Can you threaten a dead man? I'm going to kill you. It has no effect on a dead man. And in effect, that's where they were. They were carrying about in the body. The dying of the Lord Jesus and the life of Jesus manifested itself. It's not our own energy, our own strength. It's the power of God that works in that way.
Something that we really need to meditate on more, brethren, but tremendous to think of that that the power of God can be made manifest.
In these poor broken earthen vessels.
That, I suppose, is in the three men before Nebuchadnezzar.
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They had no hope other than God, did they?
Do we have any hope other than God?
None.
God always comes in a different way than we think. They said God, our God, is able to deliver us out of thy hand, but he didn't deliver them from the furnace. They were delivered through the furnace. And through that experience God was glorified. The name of God and Nebuchadnezzar made a decree that that God should be honored.
And whoever would speak about it, that against that God their house would be made a dunghill.
By what glory was brought to the name of the Lord through their testimony weren't delivered from the fiery furnace, they were delivered through it.
Disobeyed God.
He tried to cover up his sin with fig leaves.
And it didn't work. Death had to come in to cover him, following him, his sons Cain and Abel, when they went to offer something to God. Cain offered to God something that he had worked with and use of the ground and produced. And by his own efforts he presents it to God and it's rejected. Consequently, Abel, who can only bring something to God, he brings that which brings in death and God.
It's a tremendous thing for us to recognize that man in his fallen condition can absolutely produce no fruit for God. It's impossible for a human being. You and I are born into this world as children of a fallen Adam, and by our natural lives we produce nothing.
Nothing.
That is fruitful for God.
And so God looks at it and he comes into the picture and he says that's it, that's the end. We're not going to have anything for me, for my glory from man in the flesh. And so man in the flesh, they that are in the flesh cannot please God. God says man is dead in trespasses and sins, and as a consequence, God isn't looking for anything in that.
The Lord Jesus comes into the picture and in his death he honors God and does a tremendous work for us as well. Because now in his death, God looks at us and he says you're dead too.
Colossians 33YE are dead.
And your life? What about my life? Your life is hid with Christ and God. And so we have life. Yes we do.
But we have a new life. We have a life which is capable of fruit for God, but it is life and resurrection, identified with Christ in his resurrection. And in that life there can be fruit for God.
But where is that life now? It's in an earthen vessel. It is still in a vessel associated with this earth, an earth in which we originally had a vessel that could produce no fruit for God. But now having the life of Christ, a life and resurrection in this earthen vessel, still we can produce a fruit for God, but there's nothing for God if we go back and live the old life.
It is so God says positionally you're dead.
And your life is hid with Christ and God. In Romans 6 he says to us, Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead, indeed under sin, but alive under God. And here in this chapter I think we see the practical every day, as Phil was Speaking of it, carrying out of it. When I say, oh, I'm tempted to want to live that old life.
What do we just say?
I see Christ die there. That's the end of the attempt to produce anything for God in the flesh. It's useless. It's a waste. And so if I go back and seek to live that life.
And that's the only life the world knows.
People all around us who don't have that life and live in this world, everything is lived for the old life, the life that knows not God, the life that can only recognize gain, can only recognize fruit by its own effort. And so man, he doesn't know anything else. He only lives for this life.
00:55:17
Well, what do we live for?
Do we live a life that identifies us with the Lord Jesus, which is for eternal fruit, for the glory of God? And where do where do I say about my my natural life and the body? I say, well, if, if I lose it, it's all right.
Because I have the hope of the resurrection, my Lord, the one that is the object of my present life. He's in the glory, and I gaze upon Him in the glory. And if the reflection of that shining in my heart goes out to those about me, then I associate them with that life, you might say, which is eternal and which is to come, but to go on and live in the in the present, if I don't care about in my body, the dying.
Jesus, if I don't put the stamp of death in a daily sense, when I get up in the morning and live my present activity, am I living it in the energy of the Newman, but in an earthen vessel, taking care of the necessary things that have to do with this world? But the fruit that comes for God is that shining out of that which is in my heart, which is of Christ, which attracts.
Souls to heaven, where's your life now? What's this association? It's not. It's the glory. It's where Christ sits at the right hand of God, and it's the demonstration of his life in this world that God uses by the Spirit to draw souls to the Savior and then to the glory.
When the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, he rose in the power of a life that death can no longer touch.
And that's the life that you and I possess in Christ when we've accepted Him as Savior. But it is manifest, as you say, Don, in the measure that we bear about in our bodies the dying of the Lord Jesus. So what a tremendous thing it is to know what it really means to live. And even if death, physical death, should touch these bodies of ours.
It doesn't really necessarily mean this when it says.
About in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, but supposing it does, he goes on in verse 14 to touch that point he says, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus and shall present us with you. So even if death should touch these mortal bodies, why there is sure the resurrection that is ahead.
Physical resurrection.
Bodily resurrection.
2 Corinthians 4:15-5:11
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2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 15.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the Thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God.
Which 'cause we faint nod. For though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, The things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God.
And how is not made with hands eternal in the heavens? For in this we groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, if so be that being clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this Tabernacle do groan, being burdened not for that we would be on clothes, but clothed upon.
That mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Now he that hath brought us for the self, same thing as God, who else was given on to wash the earnest of the Spirit? Therefore we are always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. Before we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Wherefore we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.
Verse 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest under God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Verse 13 in.
But we having the same spirit of faith.
According as it is written, I believed and therefore have I spoken. We also believe and therefore speak.
And then in verse seven of our chapter 5, for we walk by faith, not by sight, and our verses close with the things which are not seen are eternal, but they're only seen by faith and.
That's the only way we're going to carry out our Christian life is on the principle of faith, because Christianity.
Is not known by what it can see. It knows it's known by what it believes, and faith gives substance to what we believe.
And that quote is from the 116th Psalm.
And it says.
100 Psalm 116 and verse 3. The sorrows of death compass me, and the pains of hell got hold upon me. I found trouble and sorrow.
Verse 8 For thou hast delivered my soul unto death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling, I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believe therefore have I spoken.
Well, in the measure that we believe these wonderful things that have been brought before us in our readings, it's going to open our mouths to speak of those things to the lost. We've been delivered from death, but we only know that by faith. We we have life and resurrection, but we only know that by faith.
But faith makes it so real to us that that becomes the sphere of our life.
And that's what's on the apostles heart here when he closes this chapter. He's speaking about an eternal weight of glory and not getting turned aside by things that the natural eye can see.
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Begins on the other side of death, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and his resurrection, and that's where we're identified with him as well.
One who has passed through death for us.
And now lives in resurrection. But you can only enjoy that life by faith, because it what's beyond death cannot be seen to the natural life. If anyone could declare the things that are in these last three or four verses, it was the Apostle Paul.
If we were to go to the 11Th chapter of the same book, we could read about 6 or 7 or 8 verses of the most horrible things that he went through.
And so he could say for this our light affliction, which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.
None of us.
Maybe some in the past after the Apostle Paul, but none of us have ever gone through anything like he did. But we can all join in with the 17th verse, the little affection that we have here in this world.
It's nothing really. It worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal way to glory, and I believe it's predicated on the fact that we.
Follow the verses that went before.
It's not just a casual statement that everyone of us, regardless of how we live, I don't believe that's true. The eternal weight of glory is for those that have passed through this life with Christ. It's not for everyone that is. It's not for the man of the world. It's not for those that are lost. It's only for the saved. It's only for those that believe.
For our light affliction and so every time we go through.
Difficulty in this world, does it ever make us think? If not, we should possibly do so. Think about that eternal weight of glory that's waiting for us. I don't mean if we go through something that we caused ourselves. You know, many of us do stupid things and we cause ourselves sore and difficulty, but that's not what this is talking about. This is speaking about those things that are caused because we walked for Christ.
Because we honor him. Because we testify for him.
And so he could say while he was here, take up your cross daily and follow me. That's and in Peter first Peter chapter 2, leaving us an example. I believe that's what this verse is all about.
In the 11Th chapter of this epistle.
1St I'll start with verse 22.
Are they Hebrews? No, he's talking about his enemies.
Those that were discrediting him, speaking against him, he says, Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I? Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I? Are they ministers of Christ?
But he says that, he says I speak as a fool. I'm more in labor's more abundant in stripes above measure in prisons, more frequent in deaths OFT.
Of the Jews 5 times received I 40 stripes save one thrice was I beaten with rods once was I stoned and left for dead he was thrice I suffered shipwreck a night and a day I've been in the deep in journeyings often in perils of waters and perils of robbers in perils by my known countrymen in perils by the heathen in perils in the city in perils in the wilderness in perils in the sea and perils among false brethren.
In weariness and painfulness, in watching as often in hunger and thirst, in fastings, often in cold and nakedness, beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. He says about these that he's talking about in verse 13 of Chapter 11. Such are false apostles.
Deceitful workers transforming themselves.
Into the apostles of Christ, and so on.
And yet here in our chapter 4, he says our light affliction.
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Light affliction.
If you and I would say that.
I would say that you'd say, well, you haven't had much. That's true. But we've just read the catalogue of what he went through and he says our light affliction, which is but for a moment.
But for a moment he says in the 15th chapter of the first epistle, he says I die daily. In the 1St chapter that we had before us earlier, he had the sentence of death in himself. He thought he was going to die.
Let the Lord delivered him, and he didn't die, but he was facing it. None of us in this room expect the doors to be burst open and, and, and an army come in here and haul us off to prison to die. We don't expect that. He says he was in peril every day. We don't expect anything like that. Some of our brethren in other countries do. If they would meet like we do, they they'd be apprehended.
But that gives a powerful force to this, our light affliction. He's comparing.
Anything that one can go through down here with the glory, that's what he's comparing. And he says our light affliction, but for a moment, comparing it with eternity, this is just a moment in time, just a drop in the bucket as far as time goes. It seems wrong to us, but he says he's looking at it in in the spiritual sense.
Our light affliction, which is but for a moment.
Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight in contrast with light affliction, but for a moment eternal in contrast with that of glory.
Contrast with anything that we might have down here.
Why we look not at the things which are seen?
But at the things which are not seen.
Or the things which are seen are temporal.
Just for a time, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
There's so much that we can look at.
Down here, they're just temporal things.
But what we have ahead?
And what we have in Paul's ministry is to cause us to lift our highs above everything here to the glory seen above, where Steven saw the glory of God and a man there and he named him Jesus standing.
And he says I'm coming back. It could be before this conference ends. It could be before this meeting ends.
The shout will be given and I hope the room would be emptied. I hope no one would be left behind.
Wouldn't it be terrible if you were the only one still sitting in your chair and every other chair emptied?
Wouldn't that be horrible for you, for me, if that should happen?
With no hope of being saved. No second chance.
So these light afflictions, it depends on what we compare them to. If we compare them to glory, they're light affliction. But we what we noticed in the 1St chapter, he said he was pressed out of measure above strength when he compared the affliction to himself. It was beyond him owed any compared it to the glory light affliction and it's beautiful.
So we should not shrink from suffering, Brethren, I am afraid that that's what we're trained to do in this country. Get out of it. Suffering don't suffer anymore. And you have to. And naturally speaking, that's the natural reaction of our bodies. But may the Lord help us to evaluate opportunities to do something for the Lord if it means.
Affliction. Suffering.
Don't base your decision on whether you're going to have to suffer or not. Be willing to suffer for him sometimes. Say that the American Dream is self pleasing.
But the spirit of Christianity is totally the opposite. It is self sacrifice. What is the character of your life?
Self pleasing.
Or self sacrifice. Paul certainly was sacrificial. He says I've lost everything. None of us can say that, I don't think. But Paul had, and he didn't repent of it either, did he?
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I was thinking of what Paul says in comparative way to in Romans chapter 8 and verse 18 while reading from verse 17.
If children then errors, errors of God and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be glorified together. Or I reckon, and he did some reckoning here, some figuring, he says, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time.
Are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed.
In US, Oh brethren, it's the same conclusion that he comes to here in this chapter. Light affliction.
Present for a moment.
Eternal weight of glory just seems like when he talks about the glory, he runs out of adjectives a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Many words he uses to talk about that coming glory. Oh brethren, that's what we need to encourage us on through the world that we're passing. We're not going to be accepted.
We shouldn't expect to be accepted, but there's glory ahead, brethren, eternal glory. Here we are called unto His eternal glory, and we're getting bogged down in this present age with material things.
Lord help us, brethren. The Lord in his mercy, sometimes gives us a shake so that we can stop.
And reevaluate our lives. We really need to do that.
Interesting, isn't it, that?
The Apostle Paul had seen that glory.
And he couldn't tell us about it because it was beyond our feeble mental comprehension. But he uses every possible way to express it to us, as you just said. But then he says, I know what it is, I know what it is, the next verse. But the things which are not seen are eternal. He saw it. He couldn't see it with his natural eye. Neither can you nor I, but.
He saw it when he was caught up into that 3rd heaven.
And it was so magnificent that he couldn't possibly express it if he could have. In our natural state, we couldn't have understood it anyway, and we won't understand it until the Lord comes and takes us there. But he lets us look a little bit into that by the expression he uses in these two verses.
I enjoy thinking Brother Dave when he gets caught up to the 3rd heaven, he doesn't say anything about what he saw. It does say I will come to the visions and revelations of the Lord. So he must have seen something. But he does say something about the words he heard that they were unspeakable words. So we don't even know what he saw or what he heard, but he does say something about the words he heard.
Isn't that interesting?
The words that he heard I'd like to read in. I think it was referred to but in Hebrews Chapter 11, the first verse.
Says now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
That helps to understand this last verse of our chapter. Faith is the evidence of things not seen, you know, in the world. They say show it and I'll believe you. Show me and I'll believe you. They said to the Lord Jesus, come down from the cross that we may see.
And believe. And so in the world seeing is believing. But the Lord Jesus told Martha, if thou shouldst believe, thou should see the glory of God. And this is the way of faith. Believe to see. It's just totally the opposite. And that's what we have in our chapter while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. So.
00:20:05
It's almost an oxymoron what we call.
That it's a contradiction. How do you see something that's not seen by faith? It becomes so real. Can you see him, brethren, we read, we had read this morning in Hebrews chapter 2 That the Lord Jesus as a man.
Sits in highest glory at their God's right hand. Can you see Him?
By faith, we can look right into heaven and see him right now.
It becomes so real to the soul because God tells us.
And faith is the evidence of things not seen that it says we're looking right into heaven right now. So our eyes here in our heads are made to see physical things. That's the way they're made. But through faith, we see beyond physical things. And as you look at physical things, these chairs, the nice wood floor, the gymnasium, the people around you.
Everything you see is temporal. It's for a time. But faith looks beyond what's seen and apprehends what's eternal. And if it's seen, this is something physical that I can touch or say it's mine, I bought it. That is temporal. It is just for a few brief moments of time here.
And what is our life? What is it, if we would live to even be 100 years old? Few people get up that high, but what is light? It is just a brief moment and then it's all gone forever.
But, brethren, our eyes now by faith look beyond the physical and apprehend that which is eternal. And everything we have as believers, properly speaking now, is not seen by the physical eye of nature. It is seen and apprehended by the eye of faith. And that's what I find that sometimes young people have.
Real hard time understanding that we don't have anything outwardly visible to track this down here and it's interesting that we like to have things attractive and nice that we appreciate in a material way and they're not wrong in themselves but I often it's interesting to see somebody new walk into the meeting room sometimes and.
Look around. Perhaps they're not used to the way we meet together and they look around and they train to find out where in the world is the pulpit in here and who is in charge in here. You're there. We're trained in this world to look for outward, visible things. Who's in charge in this meeting?
We say the Spirit of God is the one that directs and the Lord Jesus is present. But come on, where do you see Jesus? Where do you see the Spirit of God?
No, there's nothing outwardly visible to lay your eyes on. The building. Is the building special in Christianity? The material building where we meet meeting room? No, you can meet underneath a tree outside.
Would be all the same, but it's nice in the winter time to have a building we can meet in, not outside under a tree. And so, brethren, what characterizes Christianity is that it is unseen. It is eternal. It is something that will never, never pass away. That's why it's so important to your young people to get your sights set right from the beginning of your life.
Don't set your sights on things that are material, because they will be for a moment, and then they're gone and you won't have anything left. If you set your sights on that which is eternal, not seen from the physical eye, you will have something that lasts forever.
I believe that's why the apostle follows immediately into the next chapter, because the next chapter takes us out of this scene into a scene of glory. And so for we know that if our earthly house.
00:25:01
This Tabernacle or dissolved well the Lord.
While he was here spoke about setting your affection on things above, and that was the apostle Paul. But the Lord says where your heart is, there shall your treasure be also. Well, here what we have this body of ours is just a house that we live in. That's not me, that's not you. The soul and the spirit are you, but it may be dissolved and we have a building.
A. A building of God and house not made with hands eternal.
It's interesting that he starts right out the next chapter with that eternal thing, which is what we are all looking for at this very moment. And praise the Lord, it might happen this afternoon.
I don't mean death, I mean to be taken. This is death. To be taken out of this scene where then we get the new body, a new house.
Would you mind if I corrected something you said?
My body is part of me. I'm spirit, soul and body.
And I live in this house.
And that's part of me right now. And I'm going to have a new house which is eternal in the heavens.
That's what he's talking about, isn't he? The resurrection body.
The house which is from heaven.
Dwelling Place.
That is not complete. The disembodied state of the Saints who have departed, they don't have a body. There's only one man in the glory that has a body today, and that's the Lord Jesus. He's full man, spirit, soul and body, and we're going to be just like that.
Says in verse 14 of the previous chapter, knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus.
And shall present us with you Resurrection is has reached us as far as the soul and the spirit. We have resurrection life, but not yet as to the body and.
And it could be today, and then we'll put on our house, which is from heaven.
Eternal in the heavens. This body is is very temporary, isn't it? That's the burden of First Corinthians 15, isn't it, brother Chocolate? If there be no resurrection, then our faith is in vain if this body perishes.
Goes into non existence. The death of Christ is in vain because man is a tripart being.
And we're going to have this body and reservation. We have its redemption now, but not in reality. But we are waiting the redemption of our bodies.
That's even true of the unsaved.
Revelation 20 is it Great White Throne? The unsaved dead will be raised. You don't know the nature of the body they'll have, but they'll be complete spirit, soul and body and then set to the lake of fire.
That is not complete without a body.
That's why Christians believe in burial and not cremation.
Because this body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
It's not evil. Some of in the past they used to think the body is evil, so we're to punish you and to afflict it and all that.
And that's that's that's wrong.
So even if the body is reduced to dust, it's redeemed dust, isn't it? And he will take that same dust, even if it's reduced to dust and death, and he will take that to form the new body and resurrection.
In this we grow. How many of us know what that is?
All knew it very well and all of us have grown at times, been sick, have a lot of pain, had an accident, whatever it might be, but not in that new body that that resurrection body we won't grow anymore.
And groaning isn't wrong, is it? I often think of the difference between groaning and complaining. Complaining is wrong, but groaning is simply the recognition of the fact that things are not now what God wants them to be and has purpose to make them in the future. So we look around and we grow them. We feel things in the world that are wrong.
And we groan, the Lord Jesus.
00:30:00
Groaned in spirit when he saw the terrible disorder. And if we don't grow, and when we look around in the world and see the misery that exists, there's something wrong. We should groan, brethren, We groan, it says. But that's not complaining. There's a difference.
Doesn't Romans 8 say that the Spirit groans with us? The Lord Jesus groaned at the grave of Lazarus, seeing the result of the work of sin and the death that came in. And so if the apostle says he didn't want to be unclothed, he didn't want to just the desire was that the Lord would come and take him rather than to die. That's what I believe it means. If so be that being closed, we shall not be found naked, for when we die, we.
Found naked but.
In this room this afternoon, if the Lord should come, everyone that belongs to him will have a new body.
The 3rd chapter of First.
John says, we know not what we shall be, but we know that when He does appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as is. We shall be like Him. We are going to be just like Christ. What a marvelous prospect to be not absent from the body as we have here, but to be changed into that glorious body like His.
1St Corinthians 15.
Christ is our righteousness.
And that's, I think that's typified in Luke 15 by the best robe. Christ is our righteousness, and we stand before God in that. But when the unsaved, dead, lost the great white throne are raised, they'll receive a body, but they'll be naked.
Naked before God, they have no righteousness of their own. When we're raised will not be found naked.
We have Christ as our righteousness.
But they don't.
Solemn thing when the final act is done to a person, and that is to raise him to stand before the great white throne, to be judged for his sins and cast into the lake of fire. He stands there naked in all his sins. It's a contradiction of terms. How can he be clothed with a with a body and be naked at the same time? Well, they mean two different things.
To the to the church in Laodicea. They'll know us not that thou art. What does he say?
Naked, naked.
As one of the terms he uses, let me read the verse. Because that thou sayest I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked. That's a description of a mere professor without any real life.
He said I was naked and I did myself. And I was thinking too. Saul in the Old Testament when he prophesied, he was in an ecstasy and he passed off his clothes. He's naked. It seems consistent the way the word of God uses nakedness, referring to the unregenerate man, doesn't it? I think it's always consistent that way and it's never confused. I think it's good. I find it helpful.
To observe that the word of God is consistent.
When it uses figures and expressions, nakedness refers.
Very consistently to the unmanned and the unregenerate state, we have the washing of water. The word, the word of God is referred to as water, and it's a consistent thing. I think it's it shows the care of God for us as his people, that the word of God is not an arbitrary or an abstract thing that we need a college degree to understand.
We need to read the word of God and it is consistent and its explanation is consistent. And so it's not up to fanciful interpretation into our imagination. It's not up to me. It's up to the proper reading of the Word of God and.
The Word of God will interpret itself for us, and the illustration pointing to Adam in the garden after he had sinned, he sought fig leaves. Together, he and his wife, they clothed themselves with that. I heard the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid themselves because he said I was naked. His clothing does not clothe him.
00:35:03
And then when the Lord clothed Adam and Eve later, it was coats of skins different entirely. That speaks of Christ. He's our only clothing. He's our only righteousness that can stand before God.
When it speaks of the believer in verse four of our chapter doesn't use the word naked, he used the word unclothed. And that is when a person dies physically, they're unclothed. And so it says for we that are in this Tabernacle, that is in this body do groan being burdened, not for that we should be unclothed, that is to die.
But clothed upon that, mortality might be swallowed up of life. And that's what will happen at the Lord's coming.
We will have a body of incorruption, of immortality. We will be clothed upon that way.
Here this afternoon we can say we do not wait to die. That is not the hope that is ever put before the believer. Our hope is to be clothed upon so that we may never see death at all, not even physical death.
I remember the time I said to his sister, she asked me is it wrong to ask the Lord to Take Me Home and I didn't have the right I didn't have the right answer and I mentioned that to brother here and I didn't. I said no, it's not wrong of the apostle Paul says to depart and be with Christ is far better. But this brother said to me, why didn't you say ask the Lord to come?
Ask the Lord to come, and you're not just asking something for yourself, but you're asking for the whole church.
That was the right answer, Bob. Thank you. I accept that correction. No, I think you gave that to me. No, you gave it to me.
Five, it takes us back to the purposes and heart of God to talk about these things. But who conceived it? Who purposed it for blessing? Who's interested in our eternal happiness? And having us with Himself? He says he that wrought us for this self, the self same thing is God, and so God has purposed it for us.
This body like under the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Immortal, celestial, and heavenly in its character, and so on. It's God, and it's the one that when we lay these things, lay hold of us. It produces a phrase and a Thanksgiving in our hearts to the One that would purpose such blessing for us, that He would have us in this way and in order to guarantee it, if you will.
To establish that it's his own, he says, I've given you the earnest of the Spirit.
And so it's his claim, the Spirit that indwells you and I puts the stamp of God's claim upon us. This one is mine. I have purposed it, It belongs to me, and I'm going to have it with my Son and glory.
For we are always confident for.
Knowing that whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight home in this body.
We haven't gotten there yet. Absent from the Lord.
Christianity is a faith system. As Henry was saying before, we walk by faith, not by sight. The only two things you can see in Christianity is baptism in the Lord's Supper. Those are the only two externals. Everything else is a faith system, isn't it?
Judaism.
A Jew could say to a Gentile here, I'll show you my religion, come to Jerusalem and I'll show you the temple. I'll show you the priesthood, I'll show you the the offerings and the altar and and everything connected with it.
I've been in a basement.
I could say to someone, come on, I'll show you our meeting room.
Not a very nice one. We don't have anything to show. Oh, I know Christendom. Christendom has all kinds of grand buildings. But that's not Christianity. That's not Christianity at all. That's Judaism.
And we've gotten to think that's Christianity. It isn't.
Studious example, don't we in the Doubting Thomas?
00:40:03
Because thou hast seen, thou believable. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. And so as you say, Christianity is a matter of faith. Not not blind faith either, as some say. It's facing one that is real, facing a person, a person of Christ.
Faith is seeing him who is invisible.
It gives substance to that which is.
Believed.
Faith is the substantiating of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
That's what says, yes, this is so. That's the only thing that's really, really, all the other things are going to perish, pass away, but this last, this abides, this is forever. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I think it is helpful to see that faith is not just something, some mysterious thing that I have that is hard to define, but it is based on something as solid as the Word of God.
Lord Jesus says heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away. So you are standing by faith, by believing God. You're standing on something that is sure than the world. We stand on the floor, we stand on in here. It's not that sure, but what we stand on by faith is far more solid. And I think it's really a challenge to us. It's because.
In our country.
And I think This is why people have been so terribly shaken by the events that have taken place is that this country has been looked like a solid government in solid country. It's not as solid as people like to think it is. There's only one thing that solid is the word of God. And you will only be solid if you stand on what God says. I think it is.
A real challenge to us brethren, to rethink issues in our life. It says here we walk by faith, not by sight. And in the measure that we walk with the word of God regulating and controlling our thinking and our decisions, everything in our life, your life will be solid.
What happens so often is that we look around.
And we calculate things by what we see. And there's some very astute businessmen that know how to make good money.
But brethren, they walk by sight, not by faith. They may be like the eagle, with tremendously perceptive vision, but that's not faith, that's sight. So there is a path which no fell N the vultures eye hath not seen, nor the fierce lion passed by it. It's the path of faith.
And I like to call attention to two figures in the Old Testament. Both were believers, Abraham and his nephew Lot. What characterized in general Abraham's life, not saying that he didn't have any problems, he did make some mistakes through his life, but was that he was a man of faith.
He believed God, He acted on what God had told him.
God gave him a son and said this is your only son. This is the son that I'm going to give you through whom you will be blessed. You will be a blessing to all nations. And he was 99 years old and he still hadn't seen a son. He chose to believe God, you and I in our lives down here, brethren.
Are constantly.
Have to come to the decision where whether we're going to believe the circumstances or whether we're going to believe God.
Far better to believe God.
But Abraham lived by faith a lot when it came time to separate himself from his uncle Abraham.
Lifted up his eyes and saw all the plains of Jordan, and chose according to the sight of his eyes. How did Lot end up?
It is tragic. It is awful. He lost everything. He's a saved soul. Because of what we have written in the New Testament, we know he was a righteous soul, but he lost everything he had in Sodom. He lost his wife, he lost his integrity, and his descendants have become some of the most bitter enemies.
00:45:12
Of God's earthly people today.
What a commentary on walking by sight. Can you trust your own sight? You can't. Far better to trust God and what he has to say. There's any conflict of interest and what I think because of what I see and what God says. Always believe God.
Base your life. Walk by faith.
Based on what God says in His Word, you all live to regret it.
As you were saying, Bob, faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, and if we leave the word of God out, we have nothing.
Too many have thought that, well, I get it by the Spirit telling me things, but if the Spirit of God were to tell me something, it would never contradict the Word of God. Never. It never has and never will. If we walk by the Word of God, we know, as you've already said, we've got the right path. Heaven and earth will pass away. But my Word, he said, will not pass away. That is eternal as He is.
Love someone and you have a choice. What do you say? Do you want to be present with him?
Or if you love them, do you want to be absent from them?
Well, any natural art that really loves the person says, well, I'd rather be present with that person than absent from them. And he brings out here Paul himself when he thinks about this matter. He said, well, to be here on this earth and the way he speaks is to be absent from the Lord. We're not physically in his presence and with him.
But one that has passed through death is said to be present with the Lord.
And Paul says, well, I'd really rather that but and elsewhere he said, but it's needful for his brethren. And so he wasn't sure whether he was going to be or not present. But I think another thing that's important to us recognize and accept it says present with the Lord.
Why you should say the Lord? He is the one who is in charge. We live under His authority.
To choose everything for us. When we accept the Lord Jesus Christ, we accept Him as Savior and Lord. We have to recognize that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. We find often in dealing with people, young people.
That they'll respond to some extent to the Lord Jesus as a Savior.
But when the issue of his lordship comes up, it is often the point of resistance to really accepting him. And here, even in the matter of life or death, a man in this world, he'll give everything for his life if this is the only life he's got. But for us, the Lord would say I'm in charge of that too. It's for me to decide. Paul didn't have the right to decide the matter, and he was content.
Even though he had his own feeling that would be better to be present with the Lord than absent. And yet when that matter came to a real point of issue, it's the Lord that has to say.
We know that we have passed from death unto life.
Because we love the brethren.
It's delightful to sit here together with.
So many of those who know and love and seek to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
When I see brethren who are indifferent to the meetings, it causes me to wonder where they are in their spiritual life.
Because we know that we've passed on death into life. Because we love to be together.
To be with one another. We love the brethren in their company.
Since you mentioned that point, when we stay home, maybe it's to read the word, maybe it's to pray, but there's a meeting that night and but we're doing the Lord's things. We're at home. Maybe we're reading to our children, but we don't go to meeting.
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But we're doing the Lord's things.
Well.
We're missing what you just said, The fellowship of our brethren.
We're missing His presence in the midst of those who are gathered to His name. We can't have that alone at home.
He says I'll never leave thee, nor forsake thee. But Matthew 1820 is is something beyond that.
Where two or three are gathered together unto my name, there am I in the midst of them, and to stay home when one could be there. I'm not talking about as a legitimate reason for sickness or something like that.
But.
Just to stay home because one doesn't feel like it or whatever.
Something's wrong.
Something wrong with me? I do that right?
You don't stay home from work because you don't feel like going, do you? Not unless it's real bad.
Wherefore we labor the margin in my Bible says make it our aim.
I think that's a little more emphatic. Wherefore we make it our aim that weather present, whether we are here in our body or absent, pass through the article of death, we may be acceptable of him. Well, once we've passed through the article of death, I don't think there's going to be any possibility of making any change in our life.
And so.
Wherefore we make it our aim.
That we may be acceptable of him.
I think that's what we're really talking about this afternoon. While we're here in this, in this body, in this life, this is where we can be acceptable unto him. Once we've passed out of this life, everything has changed. Everything is stopped. And so for each and every one of us, not just the young, but possibly primarily primarily the young, because they have.
Quote maybe? Maybe.
A life ahead of him.
And what are they going to do with it?
And so the apostle in one place that says the time that is left, and I think that's to each and everyone of us, make it our aim that we might be acceptable unto him.
Isn't the force of this that our time of making ourselves acceptable is only now in this life where nothing is going to be changed once we cross into eternity to be with the Lord?
Says the bride. The bride hath made herself ready, and she was adorned in that beautiful white garment, and so there's no changing, patching up the unfinished business.
At the last, after we crossed the over into the Lords presence, we only have this time to get ready. And so we ought not to waste it, we ought to use it. The judgment seat of Christ is going to bring out the ready think the good things.
I think though, there's a little bit of balance here that should be brought in on this point. And that is we had this morning about the idea of not being willing to sacrifice ones life as it were for others. And I think there's something in these verses that includes the thought I'll read this, that verse in the new translation, it says wherefore also we are zealous.
Whether present or absent, to be agreeable to him. There's a certain sense, brethren, in which if it's agreeable to the Lord, to take our life and death.
We should be quite willing. And the difficulty, sometimes we know so little about it, but maybe it's hard to even comprehend it. But if you were living in Afghanistan today and we're in a jail, what's your thought going to be? You're sitting in the jail cell in Afghanistan this afternoon, not here in this comfortable room. And this chapter is being read. How do you see the chapter?
You might have to see it and say Lord.
My life is in your hands, and if it's your choice to glorify yourself through my death, that's agreeable. That's the acceptable path to take. And yet there's something in us that so naturally clings to life, this life, that we may not follow the Lord if it puts us, can I say, at risk.
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If the Lord were to choose.
To remove light or we would do anything, if you will, if passing through a circumstance that where life is at risk.
That we had anything to do about sickness, thought and is outside our control, as we would say. But there are things where we might have something to say about the matter or not. But here I think he's saying I'm Lord. I'm Lord of your souls, even your bodies.
And if I choose, is it agreeable to you if Paul says I'm zealous, whether life or death would be agreeable to him?
2 Corinthians 4:1-6
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Your servants for Jesus, saved for God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed, always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.
That the light also of Jesus might be made manifest in our bodies.
For we would live, are always delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the light also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Then death worketh then off the light, and you we having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written. I believed, and therefore have I spoken. We also believe, and therefore speak.
Knowing that He was raised up, the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with You. For all things are for Your sakes, that the abundant grace might, through the Thanksgiving of many, rebound to the glory of God, For which 'cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is.
Day by day.
For our light affliction, which is bought for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Well, we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. This chapter begins with having.
Seeing we have this ministry, what's it referring to? This ministry in the fourth, in the third chapter?
He talks about verse 7 if the ministration of death, ministry of death, written and engraven in stones was glorious, and again he calls it.
Verse 9 For the administration of condemnation be glory, and in between that he says in verse 8, how shall not the ministration or the ministry of the Spirit?
Be rather glorious, and in the end of verse 9, much more doth administration of righteousness exceed in glory.
The law held out a rule.
Which, if man had kept it, it would have been his righteousness.
But it turned out just the opposite. And you promised life this.
And thou shalt live.
That's the principle of the law. But no one did it. No one kept it. So it turned out to be, though it promised life for the obedient, it was death for the disobedient instead of an A righteousness which I gained for myself if I kept it, if I broke it, it was condemnation and judgment. So it's called the law, is called the ministry of death.
And condemnation instead of blessing. It was a curse.
Instead of liberty, it was *******.
So at the end of chapter 3.
Verse 17 says, now the Lord is that spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The law is not liberty at all. Law is *******. And so he's contrasting the old and the new. The old covenant was *******. The new principle of the new was grace and liberty.
And righteousness, and that which the Spirit produces.
So it says, we all with open face unveil face, beholding as in a glass beholding, take out as in a glass beholding the glory of the Lord are changed, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord, the Lord, the Spirit.
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That's a that's a passage. You read it in the new translation. It reads even as by the Lord the Spirit.
That is, the Spirit of God is Lord, Lord Jesus is Lord, God the Father is Lord.
All deity in the Trinity. Then he says, therefore, seeing we have this ministry, what is it? The ministry of righteousness. It's an accomplished, subsisting righteousness before God, which we have in Christ.
And it's freedom, it's liberty, and it's the ministry of the Spirit. This is what characterizes the present dispensation. The present day of grace is the Spirit of God. It's the day of the Holy Spirit, and it's his ministry. And he's here to glorify and exalt and magnify Christ. That's the ministry that we have, that which exalts Christ.
The the first covenant, the principle of law.
Would have glorified and exalted man had he kept it, but he didn't have.
The ability to keep it.
And nor the desire to.
And so it's the ministry of condemnation and death. But now we have the ministry of the Spirit and the ministry of righteousness, not a righteousness which we work out for ourselves, but which is ours in Christ. He is now our righteousness before God, the risen, glorified man. And who is it that attests to this? It's the Spirit of God who came down from that glorified man in heaven.
He sent him down in Acts 2 to begin an altogether new, new thing on earth, and that's this ministry of the Spirit, ministry of righteousness that we now have that's gone on for 2000 years.
A tremendous, wonderful passage that we've read.
Ministry of condemnation and death though was glorious, wasn't it? So much so it says in chapter 3 that Moses face was shining when he came down off the mountain. He asked to see God, his glories, he asked to see his glory. And the Lord says you can't see my face and live.
It was too much, but he said I'll put you in a cleft of the rock and put my hand on you and pass by, and then I will take away.
My hand and you will see my back parts. And it was so tremendously glorious just to see the back parts that when he came off that mountain, his face was shining, so much so that the people were afraid of him and he had to put a veil over his face.
The brethren, in contrast, like a brother said, notice what it says in verse 9 of chapter 3, much more doth administration of righteousness.
Exceed in glory what we have far, far surpasses what they knew in the administration of condemnation and death. Oh brethren, we have been brought to know God.
What a tremendous thing in a world where the knowledge of God is not.
God is not known like we have been brought to know Him in the Lord Jesus. Just think of the treasure and that's the way it's presented in this chapter 4 verse 7. It says we have this treasure in earthen vessel. What's that treasure? It's the knowledge of the true God that we have in the person of Jesus Christ.
And the revelation now has been complete in the person of the Lord Jesus. You want to know God, look at Jesus. There you have the full revelation of who God is. Tremendous treasure the Lord grant us to treasure it in our souls, the knowledge of God.
John 16 the Lord Jesus could say of the Spirit.
He shall glorify me, for He shall take of mine, and show them unto you. And so one of the older brethren who has long passed away, used to say, If it glorifies man, it dishonors Christ.
And so the Spirit of God honors and glorifies Christ. Never mind.
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And as you were saying, Chuck, if man had kept the law with a glorified man, and the Lord says that man shall not glory in my presence. And the only man that ever did or ever will is the Lord Jesus. And through His work we shall be in that same boy. What a marvelous thing that is.
You're talking about the knowledge of the true God.
This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the Father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. So the knowledge of the Father and the Son is given to us, made good to us by the Spirit in our own souls, the whole Trinity working.
Towards that it was mentioned in prayer this morning.
That.
The Muslims.
It was said that the God that the Muslims know. No, they don't know.
Their doctrine is you cannot know the true God.
One they worship, he's unknowable. That's their doctrine.
So beyond man, so far away, so distant, that he's unknowable. When Paul was at Athens, he saw this inscription to the unknown God. They have an unknown God. We of all people on earth know the true God, and we have a relationship with that true God. They, they don't, they have no relationship to deity.
The one they call deity.
It's a terrible religion and.
It's it's the most wonderful blessing that we have. We know.
God, we know who He is, He's revealed Himself and the person of his beloved Son and the Spirit who is the truth, who reveals Him. And now we have the Spirit of truth dwelling in us to make it good in our own souls. Christ revealed him objectively. The Spirit reveals Him subjectively.
And you can't have anything greater than this. This is the ministry that Pauls talking about.
You contrast the old with the new. The old is law. The new is grace, The oldest man's righteousness, the newest God's righteousness.
The old is a curse on breaking it, the newest blessing because of what Christ has done.
Darkness and light. When the law was given, the God was in darkness. Now God is in light. I mean what a contrast. Thank you.
And life another 2 Completely different. That's the ministry that we have that Paul is talking about.
But how searching that is for us to profess?
To know the true God and have this ministration because this administration is not something.
For just a few that are sitting here, it's for every believer.
You know the true God then it should be evident in your life and that's why we have verse two of our chapter. We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully.
But by manifestation of the truth, commanding ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
Necessarily, the light manifests everything we do. There is nothing that we can hide in the light. In fact, if a person tries to hide in the light, he only makes his defect that much more evident to all around. And it is been surprising brother. And when I was we were still living in South America.
One of the popular gospel preachers.
Here in the United States, his program was televised and and beamed all across Latin America, translated into Spanish. And then he had a moral fall. And I've never seen such a devastating blow to the Gospel as when that happened in Bolivia. It happened just before the Pope came for the first time to Bolivia, and it was a hard.
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Hard blow against the gospel, they said. That's the way those evangelicals are.
Brethren, necessarily it reflects on what we're doing in our life. Every area is searched out by the light. We cannot have anything to do with the darkness. None of us are perfect, but the light searches us out. Brethren, may the Lord grant us to live in the sense.
Of the fact that we walk in the light, like it or not.
Turn your back on it or not. The light still manifests everything we are, and so we need to walk in the consciousness of the fact that light is shining in on us. And then it says at the end of that verse 2, commend by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
And got such an important principle.
That we need to commend ourselves to people's conscience. That's the way the truth of God gets into the soul. And it has impressed me. When the Lord Jesus was here in this world, when he was asked questions, often times he did not answer the questions, He answered the conscience.
And you give the example of the time when they brought that poor woman.
Into the temple where the Lord was, and they surrounded her, and they said Moses in the law said we should stone this woman for adultery. She was taken in the very act. And what do you say they said to the Lord, thinking to trap him, those hypocrites that didn't bring the other party in that act of adultery.
But there she was, and the Lord Jesus didn't answer it first. He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
And when he stood up and finally answered, he said, He that is without sin amongst you, let him cast the first stone at her. He did not answer their question, he answered their conscience. And they were convicted, and they all went out, from the oldest to the youngest.
Oh, brethren, this is what we need to in seeking to reach souls, is to appeal to their conscience. I I have to confess.
There are times in speaking the souls, I want to present it in a reasonable, attractively reasonable fashion. But it's not that so important, brethren, as to appeal to the conscience of man.
That is what Scripture is teaching us here, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
That second and third and 4th, 1St all go together.
Because if we do not walk according to the second verse, if we have not.
Walked honestly then.
Our gospel is hidden.
And it hit to them that are lost in whom the God of this world, he blinded their minds. And the second verse is this, if you're walking according to the way of the Lord and you present the gospel and they reject it, that's a responsibility that now is not on you, it's on them. But the God of this world blinded their minds. But if we walk according to the way of this world.
And present the gospel. Then we destroy what you've just said.
And the second verse and the, excuse me, the third verse and the fourth verse really don't come into play. We've destroyed the testimony. We ourselves have destroyed the testimony. But if we walk right, then Satan comes in and destroys the testimony. It's like the seed that was sown by the wayside and it fell on Stony places and so on. But how important it is that we walk according to the word of God, according to.
Takes from the word of God.
00:20:00
There was a man here that could say, Which of you convinces me of sin?
The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him. This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight. And yet what did He do to him and nailed Him to a cross? Ligamony and shame I rejected Him. Who is the truth?
So I'm just saying this because.
Responsibility of man who hears the truth, regardless of how faulty I may be personally, the one that may present it to him, he's still responsible to receive the truth of God and about to it. It doesn't depend entirely on on us. In fact, it depends entirely on God working in the soul.
We're not. We're far from perfect.
And I know there are some that hesitate to talk to others because they they feel that well.
We're sinners saved by grace. There's no perfection in us. It's only in Christ. What we have to present to the world is that one perfect, glorious, sinless man who died for them on the cross. They have to do with him. And that's that's more important than.
Emphasizing how well I'm walking, although that's important.
Too.
For we've preached on ourselves Jesus Christ the Lord.
I think that's an important verse that you can all take the heart where we preach, not ourselves.
What you say, Chuck, is very true. They're responsible to God for what they've heard.
And if they reject Christ that are responsible to God for it. But if we are a stumbling block.
Be the story.
There's an incredible, seems to me, sobering progressions that gets us to verse five that we don't want to miss as to the moral principles involved. The world in which we live is.
Unspeakably.
Decadent and unabashedly and unashamedly open about the wickedness and the corruption which has flooded.
This land, but it says I'm going to read it from the new translation, Mr. Darby's translation in verse 2.
We have rejected the hidden things of shame. That's where it starts trying to hide what is considered shame. But.
The world little by little has less and less interest in hiding and it becomes more and more open. And so then you have the next step, not walking in deceit. And So what no longer is attempted to be hidden, people become more open with it. The tendency is to become more open, but to do it in a deceitful way to.
Even though it's not being hidden anymore to try to cover it.
Try to cover these actions in these ways, and to try to cover them and so in.
Men's hearts and conscience what was at one time given because it was shame is.
Allowed as possibly due to the kinds of philosophies and reasonings men have, it might be OK in some cases for certain people and we need to tolerate it and so it becomes a matter of of deceiving. But then it gets even worse. Not falsifying the word of God so that eventually men's hearts.
Will take that which had been hidden.
Because of the shame of it and that which they eventually seek to tolerate in deceitfulness. Then the final step is to twist the Word of God so that by twisting the word of God, they make these things as it were, turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. And so they even seek to somehow twist the word of God in. One of the things we hear is Christianity is love.
And love tolerates and love accepts. Love doesn't condemn. And so this is a very sobering progression. But why I say it, brethren, is we need to be concerned about it because that spirit in the world in which we live can rub off, you might say, on us. And we may not willingly do it, but we can take up with the spirit of that thing and we can become hardened to that, which is a very shameful thing that ought to be hidden. We ought not to be even thinking or.
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Those things.
And then perhaps the conscience becomes a little more hardened and we seek to cover certain things or excuse them. And then the saddest thing for a believer is that he would somehow try to support that kind of thing by his reading of the Word of God. And the result is.
That then the manifestation.
Of the truth, there is no manifestation of the truth. And so I'm just saying this is something that we not only look at the world, but we need to be concerned that we do not become hardened in our spirits and ways to what is there so that in fact we can indeed by our lives and by our words preach Christ Jesus Lord. It reads in the new translation, not Christ Jesus the Lord, but Christ Jesus Lord.
And ourselves, your servants, and so on. Well, that can't happen, brethren. As much as we want it to happen, beloved young people, it can't happen if we're not being careful that we not allow those things to hard maintain us as we walk through this world as believers.
I like the the way one put it when I was a young man.
He said our preaching should be so earnest.
That is so sincere, with such zeal, as though the results of our preaching depended entirely on us, all the while knowing it doesn't depend on us at all, depends entirely on God. Our life should be lived before our fellow men in such a way that they can't find a flaw.
Realizing there are many.
And.
They're responsible to the God that we're responsible to. You mentioned love, Doug.
I I read a pamphlet recently on the Koran.
That's the Bible of the Muslims.
Doesn't have love in it.
The God they worship is not a God of love.
They don't know the true God.
To call that a great religion.
Said so we could think.
It's false. Denies the only true God.
So does Judaism.
Three great religions all believe in one God.
We're the only ones that believe that there are three persons to that one God. The only ones we know, the true God the Father sent the Son and He sent the Holy Spirit, and we know who God is and we're in a relationship with Him.
Very near relationship.
But they don't. They don't know any of that, and it's so sad to commend even that kind of a thing.
I was thinking, Brother Chuck, as you were speaking, I think again, it's in Mr. Darby's translation there, and I believe it's Philippians, that as irreproachable children of God, we shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom he shine his light. And then it says holding forth the word of life. It's very striking that the thought of children of God, irreproachable children of God.
God comes first, shining as lights comes first and then next comes the holding forth the word of life. And I just say to emphasize what our brother has been bringing out. I I don't say we shouldn't preach the gospel because Satan will ever be seeking to discourage us from doing that by our by our failures and our weakness. But brethren, let's remember that if I'm not shining in some measures and irreproachable child of God before a world.
Crooked in reverse. What good are my words going to be when I hold forth the word of life? What power will they carry when there is no testimony in my life? First, as an irreproachable child of God.
The comment has been made at times. I think it came from one of the early.
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Church fathers, I'm not sure exactly, but the statement was preach Christ always, if necessary, use words. And that's really what Christianity is. It's just the radiation of the person of Christ, the God we have been brought to know. And that was the case with Moses.
He came off that mountain, his face was shining. Do people see a difference in me?
Then the general world lean around. It should be brethren, we have this treasure in earthen vessels that tells us in verse 7, verse three, it says if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. What a tragedy to have this treasure and not to let it shine. We're all guilty brethren of not letting.
The gospel shine, perhaps in the right moment.
But may the Lord help us remember the lepers on the outside of the city of Samaria said.
This is a day of good tidings because they had gone into the Syrian Army and found it completely deserted, and they found tremendous spoils there.
They said, This is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace. If we continue thus till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us. They had to go tell it, and there was tremendous blessing because of what those poor lepers had found.
That, O brethren, may the Lord grant us to let the truth of the gospel shine. It is a real challenge in today's world and I I honestly believe that is as much as anything, this tragedy that has happened in our country is to awaken us brethren, to let the true knowledge of God shine out.
What a tremendous blessing we have, and it seems it is.
Brought before us what the Muslim religion is and that it is not a religion of love.
Religion of hate and destruction. Do we have something better than that? Can we go to those people and say something of the true God that should be? Brethren? The case and I found, and I'm sure many have found, that people are open as never before since this, these things have taken place.
The Lord help us to let the gospel light shine in our lives.
To not show that truth, what are we going to say when we stand before the throne of God? It searched me one time. I was when we were living in Bolivia. A brother who wasn't that long saved said to me, came and said I want to go to where I came from. Down in Sucre area, in the mountain areas, you have to go in on foot.
He says.
I don't want it to happen in that day that when we stand before the throne of God.
And those people say there's Brother Hustino and he is saved. Why didn't he come and tell me the gospel? And now I'm lost. And so he felt stirred to take the gospel into his area where he was born and raised. May the Lord stir us, brother. And we really have a responsibility.
To let the light of the knowledge of the true God shine as never before.
Lord Jesus could say, let your light and what is it just what you were Speaking of, so shine before men that they may behold your good works and soul glorify your Father which is in heaven. And the importance of that was that your light shines first and then God gets the glory if you do any good work, good work.
But how important it is that the light of God? And that's what the fourth verse is.
Lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ it should read, should shine unto them the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. And that's what we carry about with us. That's the treasure.
It's been mentioned.
And rightfully so. And emphasized about letting our light shine.
And that's one of those wonderful truths that sometimes are allowed to remain a generality. We might well ask ourselves in a practical way, how can I let my light shine? How do I do that?
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And I would like to suggest something because of something I observed recently when Bev and I were on a trip to visit our dear brother out in the Northwest. And as we traveled, especially in the state of Washington, we'd stop for gas or stop here or there. There was something that was very evident. A lot of people were wearing jackets or T-shirts.
With the name the Seattle Mariners on it and a lot of people were talking about.
A professional athletic team called the Seattle Mariners. There was an immense amount of excitement. There were banners in windows. There was a tremendous excitement in men's hearts were filled with the potential hope of success for this professional baseball team called the Seattle Mariners. So people were wearing this shirt, these shirts, these jackets. You saw signs of it everywhere. But more than that, they were talking about it. They were.
About it, well, I would just suggest, brethren, if we want our light to shine, how excited are we about the Lord Jesus? How much does he mean to me? How, how much does his love mean to me? That it makes me excited that if I'm a young person, when I'm with a group of young people, I want to talk about what excites my heart. When I'm at work, I want to talk with those that I work with about what is exciting to me.
Do I really wear the testimony of what's important to my heart?
And so I don't criticize or say that to be hypocritical or anything, but brethren, it seems to be in a very simple way. That's one of the ways we can let our light shine is just to it says out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth. Speaker A good man out of a good treasure of his heart brings something forth. What is the treasure of my heart? What's in the abundance of my heart? Is it something that.
Belongs to a wonderful person, an infinitely precious one, who is the most beautiful object.
The one who loved me and died for me. Does he really fill my heart? Does that excite me?
And I don't mean that in a flippant way, but does that give me a joy that I just want to share with others? Because he is the object life suggests in our way. Beloved brethren, if we want the light to shine, maybe we could wear AT shirt and we could talk about something that excites us. But I don't think it would be a professional ball team.
The 33rd chapter of Ezekiel speaks of the Watchmen on the Wall.
And this man was responsible for the safety of the city if he saw the enemy coming and he sounded the alarm and there were people that were killed.
He went free. He didn't. He was not condemned because he sounded the alarm. But if the enemy was coming, he saw the enemy and he didn't sound the alarm.
And they were killed and his life also was forfeited. I know one brother in New Zealand was a very wealthy businessman and he had several 100 people working for him. And he was reading a brother in the Lord, He was reading in Ezekiel and he saw that and.
So he says, well, now I am the watchman for at least the people that I.
That worked for me. So he wrote up a track. A small track, but it's 63 pages long.
The the reason why and.
The last count I heard, over 20 million had been published and distributed.
We are the Watchmen on the wall and.
We know them that the enemy is.
The danger is ahead. And if if we do not?
Sound the alarm. There's a certain responsibility that we have.
That we're going to lose. Lose rewards at least for not sounding the alarm and proclaiming the gospel of the grace of God to a world that's perishing.
Right. Go back for a moment to Judges 7.
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Been commented multiple times but I think.
There's repeating that the first verses of this 4th chapter are illustrated by Gideon and Liz. Read several verses there and judges Chapter 7.
And verse 16 And he divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pictures and lamps within the pictures.
And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise. And behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow with the trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye with the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say.
The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.
Well, brother, and I think these are helpful verses because they illustrate this chapter and maybe help us remember the message of it that God is put into everyone in this room's hand. A trumpet.
And we ourselves are pitchers in whom there is light.
And the Lord, the captain of the host, if you will, says to us, go and do likewise as he did. You can't have Sometimes we can be all trumpet and no light, or we can be all light and no trumpet. Both are given to us as our responsibility to Gideon, our Gideon.
That we would.
Sound the trumpet, the message from God for man at this present time, and also equally that what's in us would shine out. It's not what we know, but it's what's the the knowledge that's in the heart and it's that which shines out. And to me it's a nice thing because it here it says the sword.
What is God's sword?
For the world today, is that a physical sword? No. What's the Christian eras? If it were, what's the sword of the Spirit? It's the word of God in living power displayed to the world. And so it's really the sword of the Lord and Gideon that is to shine forth. But I also think there's a pretty difficult part to it because the vessels had to be broken.
And the analogy to the breaking of the vessels is inverses 8:00 and 9:00 because he says.
We are troubled, this perplexed, and we're persecuted. Many of us will go to great lengths to protect protect the vessel.
It is. We don't want a broken vessel. We do whatever is within our power to avoid trouble, to avoid anything that's perplexing to us, to avoid any persecution. But in actual fact, it was the breaking of the vessel that allowed what was inside, which the Spirit of God had placed there to shine out to those that were about.
There's a reference here. Excuse me, that go ahead.
When Peter walked on the water, he gave witness to the power of God to sustain him and to do that. But we know he failed. He looked at he looked at the waves and began to think. But we don't, we don't recognize Peter as the one who failed, but we recognize him as the one who did walk on the water. And as long as we recognize our failure as it's a part of ourselves and not.
The limit of God's power, then we keep things in the right perspective. And so we're always going to fail in our light and testimony brother and I think, but we don't get occupied with that. We we recognize that that it's a part of the breaking of the vessel and that it it gives witness rather to really God's real power.
And it's, I might, might just reiterate, it's, it's the beholding of the Lord that gives that light and power.
We we can't look within ourselves for power to give witness and light and testimony if.
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When Moses looked on God's face on the mount, that's what caused his face to shine, and that's the only thing that will make our light shine too, is looking to him.
Excuse me, Bob.
In verse four we have the God notice of small G It's Satan. The God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. The person says he doesn't believe God, he's blinded.
And you can put all the searchlights and most powerful lights on a person who's blind and he does not see anything.
What he needs is something to penetrate that darkness and it seems like a hopeless situation. But notice what we have in verse 6 and I think this is a reference back to Genesis chapter 1 when darkness was upon the face of the deep.
Darkness envelope the whole world.
And then it says God said, let there be light, and light penetrated the darkness. It was a word from God that penetrated that darkness. So it says in verse 6. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give.
The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
And brethren, is letting the light shine that's important? It may be in a way that seems very negligible to us. Remember the story of.
A preacher of the gospel that preached and somebody seemed to get saved afterwards, and he came up to the person that got saved and said, what was it that I said in the meeting that seemed to.
Help you see the light. Oh, he said. It wasn't anything you said. It was that Lady I was helping down the steps afterwards that spoke to me, that got through to me. You know, sometimes it's not anything that we value that much, but it is simply the light shining out of a vessel that gets through.
Brethren, let's let the light shine in any way possible.
I was impressed, too, with the story of a young sister who was quite timid and found it rather hard to speak to people. But in her office where she worked, she was the way she carried herself. The way she did her work, was such a testimony that one of the other ladies in the office came up to her one day and said.
What is it that you have? You have something that I don't have. What is it?
And so she was able to tell her about the Lord, and it resulted in the salvation of that other lady. Brethren, it's the light that is in our lives, is in our vessels. We know the true God. We profess to know Him. And that light, we need to let it shine out. If we don't let it shine out God.
And his faithfulness will allow these vessels of ours.
To be broken and like our brother Don was saying, that's not a very pleasant situation to have our vessels broken. But if he's put that that light in your vessel, he has not put that light in your vessel to hide, it's to shine out and the Lord Jesus said.
In the gospels that the light can be hid under a bushel or under a bed, and sometimes it's the business area of our life that we allow to become so so occupying that the light is hidden that's hiding it under a bushel or under the bed. It's just simple laziness.
Brethren, we need to be stirred to get out and to let the light shine.
And I like what Brother Dave said to that verse. He quoted, that they see our good works. You know, those workers, those relief workers over in Afghanistan that are in prison, There's two Americans over there. They were not really over there exactly as missionaries, but they were there as relief workers to help.
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The poor, hungry people in that country, and now they're being tried for propagating Christianity. They must have spoken something about the Lord.
And therefore, they're in trouble. What they see, brethren, is our good works. And good works is a way that people can see what we have inside. May the Lord help us, brother.