Chicago Conference: 2007
Table of Contents
Open Mtg. 1
Open—C. Hendricks, R. Thonney
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Let's say #61 That'll get the people in too.
Have a real burden on my heart to continue what we had in the Reading meeting.
But in from a different portion turn with me to 2nd and 3rd John.
Second John and 3rd John for something for the young ones to do.
Count the number of times the truth is mentioned in these two epistles.
Second John.
The Elder unto the elect Lady and her children, whom I love in the truth.
And not I only, but also all they that have known the truth for the truth's sake.
Which dwelleth in US, and shall be with us forever.
Grace be with you mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
And this is love that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, or goes forward and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.
00:05:18
He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine.
Receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed, for he that biddeth him Godspeed is particular of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee.
Truth is mentioned five times in this epistle.
3rd John the Elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth.
Rejoice greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers which have borne witness of thy thy love before the Church, who without bring forward on their journey after a godly sword, thou shalt do well. Because that for His namesake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.
I wrote under the Church, but diatrophies who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Therefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, praying against us with malicious words, and not content therewith. Neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbideth them that would and cast them out of the Church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.
Either do with good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself.
Yeah. And also we also bear record and you know that our record is true.
I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen Write unto thee. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee.
Our or the friends salute thee, greet the friends by name. In the second epistle, enemies are addressed. I mean they're he's, he's sending this second epistle to the elect lady and her children and warning her against those who are enemies. Deceivers, verse 4. Verse seven. For many deceivers are entered into the world.
Who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in flesh. This is what we had before us in those verses in first John four and I. I'm constrained to elaborate on this more.
In the second epistle it's addressed strangely. You might say you think that would be addressed to a man.
And the third epistle to a woman. But it isn't that way in the second epistle. It's to the elect lady and her children.
Striking, isn't it?
The man is the head, then comes the woman, and then comes the children.
But the woman is to be able to recognize, and her children to be able to recognize when someone comes to the door and hands out their literature, which is which denies the person of Christ.
Very.
For the truth sake which dwelleth in US, and shall be with us. And notice that in the third epistle the word beloved occurs several times, not once in second John, because second John is dealing with those that come purporting to.
Give out something that really denies the person of Christ.
00:10:00
And it's an enemy that's working.
Enemy that's working, but the truth is mentioned in both and you can't really.
Beholding the truth, if you're not capable of discerning error, touching the person of Christ and discerning who is good and of God, that's their job. And that's that's addressed to Gaius the well beloved, Gaius to a man. And he uses the word beloved several times in the third epistle, not once in second John.
Striking.
Notice both epistles and with I have many things to write unto you. It would not with paper and ink and so on. Same thing. I had many things to write, but not with ink and pen. But second, John never uses the word friends.
3rd John does the IT ends with I trust I shall shortly see thee and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee the friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. There was in 3rd John there was just this diatrophies who was an enemy.
But the the.
The main thrust of Third John is to write to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
There were those that traveled around. Notice in 3rd John verse.
Seven, it says, because that for his name's sake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles.
We therefore ought to receive such. Third John is commending those, is telling Gaius to receive those that are bringing the truth to them.
But in second John.
Verse 8. Verse seven. Many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not Jesus Christ come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ.
Hath not God?
This is striking. You'd think that second John would be written to the man and 3rd John to the woman and her children, but not so.
In 3rd John he writes to Gaius the well beloved and uses that term and he's addressed as a friend and greet the friends by name. That word friends is not in second John because we're dealing with enemies that come purportedly.
Disseminating their false doctrines.
It's striking that everyone of you children here are responsible as well, long as your mother, the elect lady responsible to know.
The truth as to the person of Christ.
See if someone would come to the door and say mom and dad are not there and they want to pass out their literature, which is not true and false and.
You've got to know. You're supposed to know. According to this, it's to the elect lady and her children. The children should know what the truth is as to the person of Christ. I hope you weren't sleeping when we were going over these things because it's so important. There's no more important truth in all of Scripture than to know who Jesus is, very God and very man.
And.
He says to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth.
Someone would come to the door and.
Offer you some of their literature, The Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and there's many, many other groups.
That don't hold to the truth of the person of Christ.
The one in 3rd John were real. They went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. Wherefore we ought to receive such. Third John tells us who we are to receive. Second John tells us whether it's the elect Lady or the children, tells them not to receive them.
I remember the time in Milwaukee when Jehovah's Witnesses were holding a crusade and they would go around into the different houses asking if they could put some of those that were coming up in a bed. And sad to say, I happen to know a Christian that lent his bed to such.
00:15:00
He evidently didn't know that that was deadly error.
That they were having fellowship with.
He says in verse eight of chapter two of two, John, look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought.
With that, we receive a full reward and this word transgresseth should be whosoever goes forward. We explain that a little in the reading goes forward goes on into the deeper truth. You can't have deeper truth than the truth as to the person of Christ.
Whosoever goes forward and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of Christ, is the truth, the true teaching as to who He is.
That hymn that we sang, The union of both.
God and man, deity and humanity are joined together in the person of Christ. He's the only man.
That ever walked this world, that was both God and man in one person, the only one.
And it's so important that we know who he is.
The elder to the elect lady and her children.
You know, if this was sent to the man and the third John was sent to the woman and.
The woman let in the these false teachers and those that were bringing error at second John let them in. Then he, the husband would say to her, why did you, why did you let such sin? Well, that's not addressed to me. That's addressed. That's addressed to not address to me, but to you.
But it's addressed to the elect lady and her children. She's responsible to close the door.
And those that bring the doctrine, the proper teaching of the union of God and men in one person.
And a child is responsible to do the same. You can be, you can be courteous and just say to them, you don't. You don't believe in my Jesus, my Savior, my Lord, I have nothing to do with you. And close the door, whether you're a woman or the mother or the children.
But in 3rd John the ones that were going about preaching and it says.
Verse seven. Because if for his name's sake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles.
They didn't go forth preaching the truth and expecting to get supported by the world.
They do it all the time in Christendom.
But they didn't do it in the early days, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such. Second John tells the elect lady and her children whom not to receive because they didn't, they weren't true to the person of Christ. And 3rd John tells him to receive.
That held to the truth of the Church, truth of the person We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.
But there's a little sorry note in 3rd John verse nine. He says I wrote unto the church. But diatrophies.
Who love us to have the preeminence Preeminence among you receiveth us not.
I remember back in the time of Frederick, brother Grant and his brother.
And that was before the division, I guess. Brother Harrisman told me this account.
And.
There was a man that had come into this little assembly.
And he had a way with him that attracted them.
And there was a brother there, this brother Grant, not the one that was involved in the division, Robert granted was and he discerned.
That that man was trying to get a following and wasn't holding fast to the truth.
That was like diatrophies. He wanted to have the preeminence.
Didn't receive them. So this Robert Grant, he pointed to this man that there was getting a following and he says you can't say Lord Jesus.
And he tried and he tried, but he couldn't say Lord Jesus.
The Lord had closed his mouth and that made those others that were being taken up with such and the diatrophies is like that He wants to be get a following.
00:20:07
I wrote to the church, but the atrophy is that's verse nine of third John who loveth to have the preeminence among them receiveth us not wouldn't receive the apostle John.
He wanted to, he wanted to be first. Wherefore if I come? John says.
I will remember his deeds, which he doeth, praying against us with malicious words, and not content therewith, neither does he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the Church.
Many uses that precious term, beloved.
Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God.
But he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
And then he commends Demetrius. Demetrius hath good report of all men and of the truth itself. Yeah, and we also bear record, and you know that our record is true. Had many things to write, but not with.
Anything but face to face. And that's what he says to the Elect lady and her children.
Verse going back to second John again.
Verse 9, whosoever goes forward, I mentioned this man I sat next to in the elevated and he was wanted to know what I held and I went through the fundamentals of the faith and he smiled and said, that's nice, but you got to go ahead now into the deeper things. Those deeper things were error.
Deceivers.
If they're come unto you and bring not this doctrine, the union in the person of Christ, that's unique. There's no other.
There's no other human being that is God at the same time.
That he is man.
Youngest person in this room must know this, You must know this. And if someone comes to deny that don't have anything to do with them, close the door.
The elect lady and her children are responsible to know who Jesus is just as much as US men.
They will come unto you and bring not this doctrine. What is she or the children to do? Receive him not into your house either. Bid him Godspeed.
For he that biddeth him Godspeed is a partaker of his evil deeds. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.
But.
The beloved Gaius. He's commended for receiving those that were going out, preaching the truth, and taking nothing of the Gentiles.
But that he was to be supported.
Quite a difference. Five times the truth is mentioned in second John and six times in 3rd John. You're not holding the truth if you support error. If you fellowship with those that are disseminating false teaching or denying this or that of a person of Christ, you're not holding fast.
In that case.
So in second John it tells us whom not to receive, and in 3rd John he says we therefore ought to receive such.
You've got to know the difference between those that are disseminating error under the power of Satan, denying who the Lord Jesus really is.
Just another prophet or whatever they say.
But you have to know who he is.
Sometimes the way we preach the gospel is.
Kind of.
Begging them to receive it, whatever it might be. Present Christ to the earth, to your audience.
And the one that knows who he is, is real.
The one that has embraced that which is not real.
Is the enemy and we're to refuse that.
So in 3rd John, it ends by saluting the friends by name. He's dealing with the friends. This diatrophies was one that was amongst those that held fast to the truth. But he wanted to have the 1St place.
That wasn't good, of course. Demetrius was one that he could commend. He has a good report of all men and of the truth itself.
The Lord Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life.
00:25:03
He came that he might bear witness to the truth.
He is the truth.
And if you deny the humanity?
Either one of the two parts of his being, his humanity and his deity. If you deny either one, you're not supporting the truth.
But if you really want to hold fast to the truth, you've got to know who's real and commend them and have fellowship with them, and you have to know who's not real and close the door and such.
Well, there are others that might want to say some things, but I was really burdened to go over those two precious epistles.
Second John and 3rd John.
You're responsible young person.
And sister to know who Jesus is as much as the men.
And to refuse fellowship with them in any way if they don't bring the truth of the union of God and man in one person.
And those that do and come to your door, you take them in, you give them something to eat, and you maybe even give them a bed for the night. You show fellowship with those that are real. How important.
Not to show fellowship with those that don't, that are not true to the person of Christ. That's the most fundamental, the most basic truth there is in Scripture. Hold fast to it. Reject the error and have fellowship with that which is good. The real truth. You're not really walking in the truth if you have fellowship with error.
Now the truth is, the positive side who he really is, and it's the negative side who he is not. Well, May God bless His word, speaking as to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To know who he is.
Is so important. It's often been mentioned that there are three scriptures that speak quite a bit about.
The glories of his person, John One. We've had verses read from that chapter.
Colossians one and Hebrews one. Those 3 portions I would like to look at Colossians one for a few minutes.
Rather than.
Do find that dwelling on the glories of the person of the Lord Jesus is something that.
Really does feed the soul. Tremendous.
The glory of his person when you take up the book of Hebrews.
It is such a beautiful book too, but I've found it quite interesting that.
In that book, the primary focus seems to be.
Who he is chapter one.
Through perhaps we could say chapter 8, it's all about who he is.
Not so much the focus of what he's done, although that's touched on, but it's the person that gives value to the work. Who was that that hung on that cross? It was no ordinary person that was hanging there. And so he spends a lot of time on who that person was. And then it addresses in chapters 9 and 10, the work.
That he did, how important that part is as well. But let's go to Colossians chapter one and.
Just go over a few of those verses that talk about this person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Starting with verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light.
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son? There you have the Lord Jesus presented, and now from those verses on that verse onward you have something of His glory brought forth, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Who is the image?
Of the invisible God, the first born.
00:30:05
Of every creature for by him were all things created that.
Are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible.
Whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist or subsist. And He is the head of the Body, the Church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence for it. Please.
You'll notice the Father is an italics. It's really it was pleasing. It really is the Godhead that it's talking about.
That in him should all fullness dwell.
And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by him, to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him.
I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, there we get to his work side of.
Things, but I just want to meditate on the glory of His person. The first thing it mentions in verse 15 is that He is the image of the invisible God, images visible.
Representation. The Lord Jesus when he was here, asked.
Them when he asked to see a penny, he says. Whose image?
Is this on this penny? It was Caesar's. And so he says, give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's. The point is that the Lord Jesus was the visible representation of all that God was. You want to know God?
Get to know the Lord Jesus. He is the image.
Of the invisible God. Isn't that wonderful that we can say we have been brought into the knowledge of God through the Lord Jesus? I think it's been mentioned quite a few times, but the Muslims in their doctrine say that God is unknown and unknowable.
Over 1 billion people on this planet now profess that religion that say God is unknown and unknowable. And you and I can say we know God. To me, it is a tremendous thing to be able to say we have been brought to know God. How? In the person, a person who was born into this world, who lived and walked here, who died.
Who rose again, and who is living at God's right hand through that person? And you and I can read this story of his life in the Gospels. Every step, every word he spoke, every step he took.
Were a visible representation of who God is. He is the image of the invisible God. Wonderful to see how he had time.
For little children, he took them up into his arms and blessed him. We go to the president of the United States with a group of children, Think he'd have time to pick him up and bless him? I don't suppose so. But here's this person, the Son of God, the glorious God.
Come in the flesh and He has time for little children. Another thing that I marvel at as I see the Lord Jesus is how He was never rushed. You know, we get in a rush in our lives. I think it's probably from two different reasons.
It's one is that we waste a bunch of time and so then to make up we have to rush at things. Another thing is we probably try to do more than the Lord means for us to do and so we rush at it. Was the Lord Jesus ever in a rush? I marvel and I see him there. They call him when Lazarus was sick and say Lord.
00:35:05
He whom thou lovest is sick.
He didn't go rushing over there to heal him. He let Lazarus die.
But the result was that there was more glory to God.
Because he raised him from the dead, He showed his glory.
By waiting two more days and when he got there.
He was already four days buried. Oh, what? Perfection in every way, he never had to say. Well, that's not exactly what I meant.
Never had to say that. Never said I made a mistake in that. I should have said it this way. Never.
Perfection in every way. Oh brethren, we need to feed on this glorious person. He is the image of the invisible God. We have a God that doesn't make mistakes. We make them all over the place. He doesn't. And the things He allows, He doesn't make mistakes.
Then it says he's the first born of every creature. And that title of first born occurs again in verse 18. And it's important to see that it's not necessarily a question of being born into a family. David in Psalm 89 is called the first born of the kings of the earth. You know that David was #8.
In the boys that were born into Jesse's family.
Why does it call him first born? You have to understand that first born is a title of preeminence.
So he is the one that has the preeminence in creation.
For by him were all things created.
That are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by him and for him. Interesting.
He is the creator. He is not a creature as those false cults would teach.
He is the creator, he says in John One.
By Him were all things created, and without Him was nothing created that was created necessarily. He is before all creatures. He is the creator of all things. And when you study the universe, what?
Footprints, or what can you say what fingerprints of God is, are left in all the creation. Who else could have made things and put it up there in such tremendous order? Not only create things that are visible, but things that are invisible were created by Him.
A force like gravity? Who put that there?
He did. He created it. You can't see gravity, but everybody knows.
How important that is in creation.
It's one of those invisible things that he has put there. Stocking yesterday to Ed.
And we were talking about the foundations of the earth. I asked Ed, what do you think the foundations of the earth are?
You see the Earth floating around in space. Where is the foundations of the Earth?
Ed said he didn't understand that, and I guess I have to say I don't really understand it either. But Scripture speaks about the foundations of the earth. Interesting to think about it.
We don't understand very much about creation. We do understand a very little debt, but the more you learn about creation, the more fantastic it is.
It is a work of order and I find it fascinating. Brethren, I'm sorry if you don't think I'm very spiritual about this, but I find it fascinating to study the stars. You get up on the high Altiplano Bolivia, you're 12,000 feet at that altitude and get out on a starry night when there's no moon. It is fantastic, the array of stars up at that altitude.
00:40:14
Of course, you're away from the city lights too. You can actually see other galaxies up there besides the Milky Way Galaxy, little areas of light which are other galaxies. And that's just with the human eye, naked eye, what it must have been to look through those telescopes. And so we've gotten from the Hubble Space Telescope, they just see further and further. They just get more and more amazed.
At What's up there?
They now say, I was speaking to a group of young people out in California a while back and I made mention of the fact that they say that in the Milky Way Galaxy in which we are located, that's the group of stars we're located in.
There are approximately 100 billion stars.
Young brother came up to me afterwards and he says, you know what they really say? It's more like 200 billion stars now.
Wow. And besides that, they are now saying, I guess they can have to continually change their figures because they keep learning more. They say there's at least another 100 billion galaxies in the universe.
It's just totally leaves you behind, the vastness of this creation we're part of. And who are we? Just little specks.
I love to stand on the high Altaplano of Bolivia when you're 12,000 feet and look off.
Out into the West and so there's areas there you can just look off. It's so flat it looks like you'd walk off the edge out there.
And then you see these huge mountains, these Andes sticking way up.
Some to 21,000 feet.
Tremendous beauty and you stand there, you just feel how insignificant.
We really are.
And we're talking about the person now.
Who spoke it into existence? He spake and it was done. Let's the power of His word.
And that's the person that came down to hang on a cross that allowed people to spit in his face.
They crowned them with thorns.
I just don't grasp very well the glory of the person of the Lord Jesus. He put it all into into place there. He is the creator of all things. By Him we're all things created which are in heaven. That's a whole nother sphere which are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him.
The order of authority in this creation is put there by him.
It's the spirit of our age to resist authority, to question authority. Dear young people, don't get into that spirit of things.
Be submissive.
I marvel at Daniels friends when they were told to bow down.
To that image of gold. They weren't rebellious.
They simply were submissive to a higher power.
And they basically told Nebuchadnezzar, we cannot bow down to that idle because there is another authority higher than you that we have to be subject to. And so they were willing to take the consequences. They didn't run off and say we want to get out of here and escape the punishment. No, they submitted to being tied up.
And thrown into that furniture.
That's the right spirit for a believer because God has set authority in this world. The Lord Jesus, when he was standing before Pilate, did he try to get out of that awful situation? No. And Pilate said I have authority to crucify you, I have authority to let you go, and I have authority to crucify you.
00:45:05
Lord Jesus recognized that authority, and He submitted to it, even though it was.
Wrongly used, he submitted, and all the blessing that has resulted.
From that.
Yes, he's the one that is put in place. Thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, all things were created by him and for him. Tremendous.
This is part of what creation is. And then it says in verse 17 he is.
Before all things necessarily, He is the Creator, He is eternal, and by Him all things consist, or the Word is subsist.
It means simply that not only did he put them out there, he maintains them.
And that ordered the watch on my arm. It has a battery. That battery runs out after a while.
Several years, it'll run out.
How long has the universe been going like it is now?
By him all things subsist continue.
In their clock like order. Wonderful.
And verse 18 And he is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning.
The first born from the dead. Now here is another.
Area in which the Lord Jesus has the preeminence. It's in new creation. New creation begins with resurrection. The Lord Jesus was raised from the dead. Sometimes people say, well, weren't there others that were raised from the dead before Jesus? Yes, but as far as we know they all died again.
But the Lord Jesus, when he was raised from the dead, was raised in the power of a life that death can not touch any longer its new creation. And so He is the head of new creation. He is the head of the body who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence.
Brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure in all God's thoughts from time and in time and eternity. I love to think of that little expression in the midst that you have so often in the Bible. And if you go to Genesis chapter 2, you have it in the garden. There was a tree in the garden. It was in the midst of the garden.
Wasn't the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it was the tree.
Of life you go to the very last chapter of the Bible.
You find that same tree in the heavenly paradise.
In that heavenly city, in the midst of the street of it, it says.
Was the tree of life wonderful? And it's interesting to trace that little expression through the Word of God in the mix. It's always referring to the Lord Jesus because it says that in all things He might have the preeminence. How important that is to keep that before us, brethren.
We're living in a world where we often speak of the fact that.
Humanism is the philosophy of this present age.
In other words, it's simply that man makes himself the center of his world.
If you don't like it, you go your way and I'll go my way. Leave me alone.
It's permeated the whole advertising system. The media is all based on humanism.
Brethren, God is not impressed.
God has already passed sentence on what man is. Naturally, He tested man under the law, a perfect law, and man proved to be a complete failure.
00:50:02
And God is not interested in what we are in the flesh. He now has what is called a new creation, if any man be in Christ.
There is a new creation. Old things are passed away.
Behold, all things are become new. It's not what we are.
If I could get you young people to understand that, I really think it would be a blessing to you.
See so many young people and because of the way our culture runs, it seems like the focus is always put inside. Introverts. There are so many of us. There are introverts. I have to confess, I was that way too. Maybe I still am to a certain extent. I don't like to be a judge of that matter, but I say it's not what we are in the flesh that God is occupied with. It's what Jesus is and He's forming Christ in your life.
Forming Christ and mind, and the more you are occupied with this glorious person.
You get back to the Gospels and read the perfection of this person. It's going to have a moral effect on your life.
Says in Second Corinthians chapter 3, we all with unveiled face looking on the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of God.
What's going to change us?
Not criticizing each other. Yes, we do need exhortation about points sometimes. Scripture is clear about that. But it's really keeping the focus on this one that God has said must have the preeminence in all things.
For it was pleasing, and like I mentioned, I think you'll see in Mr. Darby's translation.
That there's a note that it really refers to the Father's italics, meaning that it was added by the translators, but the thought is more the Godhead was pleasing to the Godhead, that in him should all fullness dwell. Notice chapter 2 and verse.
9.
For in him the Lord Jesus.
Dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead.
Bodily.
Totally boggles our mind to try to comprehend what this means.
But just accept it in the simplicity and then to read the next verse.
And.
Ye are complete in him. Isn't that wonderful?
To realize you feel that you're lacking in certain areas, you feel that you're not sufficient.
That is a tremendous thing to realize, that we are not sufficient, but just remember this, there is One in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and we are complete in Him, O brethren.
Let's meditate on the simplicity of the truth, the glory of this person we're talking about.
And let it sink into our souls. Let's feast on the glory.
Of this person and it will have an effect on you and me.
Whether we recognize it or not is not important. Others may see it.
In us, but the Lord help us that the person of the Lord Jesus in our lives too. It may be so that he has the preeminence. 132 someone raised the tune.
1 John 4
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
#264 two 6/4.
I would suggest, brethren, that we take up first John chapter 4.
In the morning prayer meeting.
And we had the expression or words, God is love brought before us, we also.
In the morning, the foundation.
And the ultimate foundation of everything.
Is what God is.
Everything comes from the flows from what God is and the two things that are presented to us that God is.
Our God is light first, John one, and God is love first, John four. And in the 4th chapter we also have Christ presented to us as part of that foundation, as we had this morning put in contrast to Satan.
Who has a false foundation presented to us as well? And so with that in mind, I would suggest we continue along the line of what we had this morning. We also had in John 17 this afternoon. Keep in thy name, Father, keep in thy name, and it's what God is His name that is the foundation of our keeping.
00:05:11
Who's John chapter 4 beginning at verse one.
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the Spirit, whether whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
Is not of God, and this is the spirit of Antichrist.
Whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us.
He that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him here in His love. Not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, beloved, if God so loved us.
We ought also to love one another. No man had seen God at anytime. If we love one another, God dwelleth in US, and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in US.
Because He had given us of His spirit, and we have seen.
And DO testified that the Father send the Son to be the savior of the world.
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
God dwelleth in him, and he in God, and we have known and believed.
The love that God has to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in Him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world. There is No Fear in love, but perfect love.
Casteth out fear, because fear.
Have command He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him because he first loved us. If a man say I love God.
And hated his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.
Verse 6 Verses of this chapter We have two voices speaking.
And those two voices speak to everyone of us in this room constantly.
The voice of God, the other is the voice of the world. And we're all listening in one way or another to one of the two voices in our lives. And if we're not hearing the voice of God, then it's because we're not part of his family. We're not a child of God.
On the other hand, the world.
Is listening, and it's listening to a voice which is not of God. It's really of Satan.
And it listens to that voice. And because the Lord Jesus Christ is the word of God come into this world, the foundation on which our souls and our salvation rest. We either have that foundation which is Christ, or the world is presenting to us a false foundation which is figured here in the Antichrist. And it's in the world, and it has a voice.
00:10:24
And it says, rest your life, rest your soul on me.
God says rest your life, rest your soul on my Son. And each one of us either listens to the voice of God and the Spirit in that voice, or if we don't know God, we may be listening to the voice of the deceiver of our souls that will ultimately take us to an eternity in separation from God.
You have in verses 4-5 and six.
And four, you have the children of God. You are of God's little children and have overcome them.
Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. What characterizes the child of God as he's in dwelt of the Holy Spirit?
And then we have in verse five those that are of the world. They are of the world.
Therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. And then in verse six we have the we of the apostles that we were talking about earlier in this conference. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. So you have the.
Ye, the children of God.
Dear of God, little children, you have the enemy, those of the world, they are of the world, and therefore the world speaks and they hear that. And then you have the the absolute authority of truth. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. And so we have the the three that are mentioned here, the children of God, either they listen to the world or they listen to those who are the apostles.
Of the truth that we had before us.
The way we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error is by.
Listening to the word that comes from the apostles and prophets that God has sent the word of God. In other words, that's our authority. That's that's what gives us stability and the ability to divide between truth and error.
The apostle Paul distinguished that in the book of Corinthians. In fact, he began that book by explaining the different kind of wisdom. He started off by explaining to them the wisdom of this world, because the assembly there were quite greatly influenced by the wisdom of this world. And just like we have today, we too, even among us, we influenced by the wisdom of this world, and sometimes we applied a lot of the worldly principle inside the assembly.
But then we found the apostle said, by the wisdom of this world, what did they do? They crucified our Lord Jesus Christ, didn't they? So that's what the wisdom of the world is. But then there's another kind of wisdom, that's the carnal wisdom. That's from within our heart, from within our flesh, that we think things ought to be right by our own standard. That wisdom is no good, neither is it. And we need to listen and see the wisdom from above, that is, through the Spirit of God.
They are to be discerning, aren't we? Try the spirits. There is a definite in the end of verse six, the spirit of truth there it's a small's John 14.
This Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth, but there is what is called the spirit of error, and there's a very definite working in this world of the Spirit of error. It's amazing to think of the force that is behind false religion.
00:15:08
There's a definite spirit there that works.
May the Lord help us to discern by His precious Word there is no other way.
To be kept, but having the truth before us. How important it is to be reading the scriptures, to have the testimony of the apostles before us, so that we will be able to try the spirits, whether they are of God or whether they are of this world.
Many false prophets have gone out into the world. That's true today. Many false prophets, many that say they are under the banner of what is Christian, but really are completely off the true foundation.
Borman's Jehovah's Witness do not hold the truth as to who Jesus is.
They're completely off the foundation, even though they use those names that we hold dear, completely off the foundation. So there is a definite spirit. We are given the Holy Spirit so that we can discern this, to try the spirits in chapter 2 of this epistle. Notice, I think it's so beautiful because he's writing to the children, the little children.
In the family of God, those that are least.
In their growth, in their spiritual growth. And he says.
In verse.
20 But we have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things. How could those children know all things? Because of the unction, The Holy Spirit is anointing.
Written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know it and that no lies of the truth. It's knowing the truth thing don't have to study all the intricacies of counterfeit bills.
What they have to do is know the true thing, and then the counterfeit will stand out. So it is with us all the preciousness of the simplicity of the truth.
Of God.
In second John 2 John verse 9, very important verse. Whosoever transgresseth, or the new translation more correctly gives it goes forward, goes forward beyond what is written and bringing in the opinions of men. Whosoever goes forward and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, the teaching of Christ, He is the foundation.
Truth of all scripture.
Hath not God? If one comes to you and you want to get they want to get you into a into a discussion of your opinion and their opinion. The foundation is as one solid on the truth of the person of Christ, the doctrine of Christ. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, He hath both the Father and the Son. If any man anyone come to you and bring.
Not this doctrine if they're a Jehovah's Witness or a Mormon or any of these false religions.
They do not hold to and bring the doctrine of Christ, who Christ is, I remember.
I took the elevated and I had to change, change trains that that kept in the L and the others that went underground and right there there was a theological seminary that used to be sound, but they they they had made progression under the power of Satan.
And they weren't sound anymore. And I was talking to this man, he was evidently one of the instructors there, and he got on the train with me and.
He asked me, well, what do you believe? And I gave him all these foundation truths that that we believed. And he smiled and he said, that's nice, but now you have to go forward into the deeper things and those going forward and those deeper things.
00:20:08
Are nothing but damnable error and that's what John is warning against.
He that he did not hold to with all the knowledge that he had, He did not hold to the truth as to who the Lord Jesus very is. He is very God and very man. And if we don't, we don't ever want to get into a religious discussion with anyone if they're not sound on the person of Christ. That's the foundation truth that we begin with. That's the doctrine of Christ. That's what John is talking about when he says in verse six of our chapter.
We are of God, we apostles and prophets are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth not us. That is those that have given us the word of God. So if you get into a discussion with someone like that, you the authority is the word of God. That's where the doctrine of Christ is. That's where the we comes from in that verse. The ye is us Christians, that they are those of the world.
And the we are of God. That's what we we test everything by the word of God, not by our thinking, not by any of that, but by the word of God.
The way of verse six is the apostle, right? The apostle, yes, they gave us that doctrine. I think it's good to see too in verse 2IN connection with testing the Spirit, every spirit that confess it that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God and every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.
What he's saying here is that when he says it is come that Jesus was and is the eternal Son of God, and then like you say, he became man, He became flesh. He was.
He became flesh through the Virgin Mary, but He is the eternal Son of God.
God in every sense of the word, but he became a man. Those two cardinal truths about the person of the Lord Jesus are very fundamental.
Essie Raven was a teacher among brethren in the 1890s and he originally taught that Jesus was the eternal Son of God, but he gave that up and he no longer taught that that he was the eternal Son of God. And that's fundamental error and there are, sad to say, many that were teaching.
Good sound teachers too. But if they don't hold to that, that's not the doctrine of Christ, as you say, He, he never be. He never became the Son of God. He was always the Son of God, but he became the Son of man, a true man, very God and very man. And if you don't hold that, you are not.
Sound in the face, you don't have God.
It's nice to, it's nice to see the Trinity at work here. We talk about the love of God. We know that the sun came because of love. To exhibit God is love. And then we find that just before the Lord Jesus as the Son of God lead this world, he promised that a comforter would come. Perhaps you can just turn to some of these verses here. John chapter 14.
John, Chapter 14.
In verse 16, he said, and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you an other comforter that he may abide with you forever. When the Lord Jesus said that at that time the Comforter of the Spirit hasn't come because until the Lord Jesus gone back up to the Father's throne, the Spirit couldn't come. So after that we know on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended.
Upon the believers Just for gravity, let's turn to 1St Corinthians chapter.
Three, we find that in First Corinthians chapter 3, it says in verse 16, the apostle raised a question to them and he says, know ye not? And I think that's important for us too. Do we not know this is a snowy nod that ER, the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? Well, how do we know those other spirits are false?
00:25:24
Well, because we have the spirit dwelleth in us. Let's go to chapter six of First Corinthians and we'll find that the apostle go even a little bit stronger. In verse 16 he said, what know ye not that? Oh, I'm sorry, verse 15.
I'm sorry, I lost the thought there. Oh, verse 19. What? No, ye not. Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God and you are not of your own. We find in the third chapter it referred to the assembly that the Holy Ghost dwell. Now in the 6th chapter, individual as we are, we are being indwelled by the Holy Ghost. Well, how do we then? How does the Holy Ghost function and help us? Let's perhaps just spend another minute or so. Let's turn to.
Efficient chapter one.
We find that as a believer we are given something even more. Ephesians chapter one, verse 13.
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, In whom also after that ye believe, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. So how precious to know that EE is our brother already explained in scripture when we see E, that's us as Gentiles believer after we believe from the word of God.
We were sealed with the Holy Ghost. We have that stamp of approval as if it were that belongs to Him. We are His and sealed by the Holy Ghost. And then the next verse tells us even more, verse 14, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchase, possession unto the praise of His glory. Well, here it tells us that we're going to be until the praise of His glory.
But what about for now, it says, for now it says. The Holy Spirit is proof of that earnest, earnest. It's like perhaps some of the younger, younger young man here, or perhaps older, 1A familiar with, say, buying a house. You know, you go buy a house often you do not move into that house right away. You go in and you say, I like your house. You make an arrangement for the price, and then you give them some earnest money, don't you?
Give them some deposit and that consummate a transaction. Well, you don't have the house yet for a little while until the transaction is completed. So at the meantime, you can go tell your friends that that is your house. You will be moving into it here. The spirit as if it were have put down that deposit that earnest to let us know that we are going to be the praise of his glory. How precious to know that we've been sealed.
Then we have that earnest so that we know our home is no longer here. Our home is heavenly in the Father's house. But is that enough? No, it's just more than that. For us to help us. Let's go to Romans chapter 8.
Romans chapter 8 verse 2 For the law of the Spirit of life Spirit with a capital S for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh. God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man and for sin.
Condemned the flesh.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in US who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Oh, now we have that spirit of life that help us to walk, walk in the way pleasing to God directing us that way. And perhaps let me repeat one more brother mentioned just to complete the thought and the doctor first John in first John chapter 2. Then the Spirit gave us the function, the unction of the Spirit.
00:30:08
John chapter 2. Let's read that verse again.
Verse 20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and you know all things. Do we really know all things? No, but he will let us know, wouldn't He? And when we walk and be filled with the Spirit, there will be times that you may not really know, but you do know. You will know that it's not the shepherd's voice. You will know that if something does not pleasing or is pleasing to the Lord. And then here we can come back to our chapter and say hereby in verse 2.
No, Eve, the Spirit of God. When we're filled with the Spirit, then it's much easier, isn't it, to discern the other Spirit. When we're filled with Christ, then we know here that if it's anything that does not confess that Jesus Christ came in the flesh of God is not God, and the Spirit helped us with our daily walk.
Notice this is so important. Notice the third verse of our chapter 4.
And look at it very carefully. Every spirit that confesses not.
That Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.
That's the incarnation. It would make no sense that Bob Tony came in the flesh or Don Rule came in the flesh or Chuck Andres came in the flesh. That's the only way we could come. But it says that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. He existed before he came in flesh as very God, the Son of the eternal God, the eternal Son. He came in flesh. So he is God and man in one person, and that is the.
Doctrine of Christ. That's the basic truth of it. It doesn't make any sense, that verse.
If you don't see that every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, here is a person who always existed in deity has come in the flesh. Tremendous truth.
And this is that Antichrist where he is there to deny that is Antichrist. How important to hold fast to start there and don't ever get engaged in a discussion with some other religious person that won't come forward and and say Amen to that, that he came in flesh. That means he existed before he came in flesh, God and man in one person.
That is the mystery God and man in one person. There is no other person in the universe that is God and man in one person, but Jesus Christ.
That's the only way we come to know God is what has been revealed to us through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so how every doctrine treats him as the perfect litmus test of whether it's right or wrong?
It's and if. If it's not straight concerning him, then it's It's a wrong source because God never gives anything in Christ that's wrong.
Reverse.
Four wonderful words that says ye are God, Mr. Garvey just says children. Ye are of God, children.
We could not be of God if we had not first accepted that Jesus is the Christ come into the world.
The sun coming to the world as savior, but now.
God, as a result of his work for us and in us, has brought us into his family. We're children, and John's epistle is about the family as children of God.
If I could use this, if I'm not going too far, God makes us part of the foundation. In that way, God is the ultimate source of all good and all that is. And he says I want you to be part with me as my children. We are of God, his children. What more could a creature ever desire?
What more of a foundation for eternity could be ours than to be children?
00:35:06
God.
Who is light and who is love? And as we see later in this chapter, in the practical application of it, if I am a child of God, it will be seen.
Because I manifest the life that belongs to the family of God.
I manifest in my life light and.
Love as a child of God, and consequently when he addresses us here, he says you hear, you listen, You understand because you know that if a boy speaks to you as a member or not even a member because it's not the church here, but you listen as a child, doesn't a child know its voice of his father?
Of its mother or something that isn't that.
So it is for us, our hearts, who have embraced the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have come into an enjoyment of something that when we hear something that puts him down, something that makes little of him or denies the truth of his person, if there's a response in our heart, there's a pain in our heart.
Just a few days ago in the Bible Truth publishers, there came a woman and.
And after a conversation that three of us had with her at different times while she was in the building, she walked out the door and for every one of us there was a severe pain.
In our souls, for that woman.
That woman was so under the power of darkness, she'd come in to buy Bibles. Why? Because she said she didn't believe in God, and through the Internet she had made an agreement with somebody else that my Bibles to burn them.
Sad, but the greatest sadness is in the heart of a believer that yearns for a soul like that that has a pain.
Was there a difference in the voice that she brought? She brought the voice of Satan.
It wasn't the voice of God because she knew not God, and it's a terrible, sad thing.
The world that is in opposition to God and for us.
Don't listen to its voice in anything. We're in the family of God. Ye are of God, children.
He has the 1St chapter of John's Gospel. Let's look at that for a few minutes because it brings out the same blessed truth. John one verse one in the beginning was the Word.
The Word, who is that? Well, He tells us who that is in the beginning was the Word. The beginning of anything that had a beginning. The Word was He was not brought into existence in the beginning, but He was there and the Word was with God, God the Father, and the Word was God.
All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. He is the Creator.
And that wonderful 14th verse, who is this Word? The Word was made flesh. And that's exactly what John is bringing before them. That is the doctrine of Christ. He is the Word. That always was the Word, but then He became flesh.
He became a man and that has to be held or you don't know who Jesus really is.
The world and the United States in an increasing way.
Has formed what it would think of as a charitable tolerance.
That every man seeks God, and every man can have his own version of God, and is it's all one God, and so on and so forth.
It's the lie of Satan to man.
There is no God.
Except the one true God who has manifested himself in the person of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And any religious belief in the world that does not recognize that truth is false.
00:40:08
And if we come up with have interaction with a person at school, Oregon elsewhere.
And they say I believe in whatever.
Allah or whomever.
It is not of God, and the soul that is under its power is the power of the world that is pulling that person into eternal darkness. It's such an tremendous thing for us to know the true God and to have the responsibility of life to our fellow man and if he has any other route in his mind, to God.
But through the Lord Jesus it is false, and that person knows not God.
Is not a child of God, and the only voice that he's listening to is the voice of the world behind which Satan is.
It's a beautiful thing as you read the Bible to see the Trinity over and over and over again in the New Testament. He's he's, he's there sometimes in one single verse. The whole Trinity, the Spirit of God, is as much God as the Lord Jesus is, or the Father. But the Spirit never became a man and the Father never became a man. This is the mystery of godliness.
He became flesh and he never ceased to be God forever. That's the doctrine of Christ, and if you don't hold that, you're not a real Christian.
Jesus said I am the way, the truth, the most exclusive thing possible. It excludes all other options and the light no man cometh unto the fathers of thy men. I'd just like to say to the young people in the day when we which we live, when there's so much work, we encounter so much in the media.
And the Internet and so many ways. The newspaper, everything.
Cultivate a love of the truth. It's so important. There's so many options, and sometimes our curious minds want to investigate this line of error, this other line.
Occupy your minds with the truth, any measure. You occupy your minds with that which doesn't relate to the truth.
It will have a negative effect. Look at a verse in Philippians chapter 4 that we know quite well, I believe. But just to read it, brethren, it's so important in connection with what we occupy our minds with. Philippians 4, verse 8.
Finally threatened. Whatsoever things are true, it's what we're talking about. What sort of things are honest? What sort of things are just? What sort of things are pure?
Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are a good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise.
Think on these things, so if there's something that fits into the other.
Categories.
Don't occupy your mind with it. It will have a negative effect. Occupy your minds with that which is the truth.
Just one little added comment to that. Take each one of those things and go into the Word of God and enjoy them in the person of the Lord Jesus. Every one of those virtues is seen in its perfect expression of it in the Lord Jesus. And so to be occupied with him as just as pure, as lovely, is the most wonderful occupation.
The Spirit of God who dwells in US, who is greater than the world around us, delights to put His Son, God's Son, before our soul and his loveliness in these things.
00:45:01
Sometimes.
Solemn part of it is that.
These things, these false, erroneous doctrines which attacked the blessed person of our Lord, were not introduced into heathen. They were introduced. They were introduced into Christendom.
You take First Corinthians chapter.
Three, that we are familiar with. Three types of workmen brought before us there, but I was thinking of verse.
17 First Corinthians 3 If any man defile the temple of God.
Well, those are the.
False workers, the emissaries of Satan who defiled the temple of God. They bring these doctrines calling in question the deity of the Lord Jesus among other.
Other blasphemous teachings. They call in question those those fundamental truths. They defile the temple of God. They bring them right into Christendom, and insidiously.
And Satan doesn't always come as a lion, he sometimes comes as an Angel of light, and they're introduced into Christendom.
Him shall God destroy from the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are so we have to be on our guard because.
These false prophets are all around and deceiving many who make a profession even of Christianity.
Young people ask the question, the question is how do you deal with people who come with these kind of doctrines? What do you say to them? What do you do with them and I believe the word of God gave us answer very plainly in this because these are the things that we face. They could come to you. They could come to your school at work. What do we do? How can we prepare ourselves for this? Let's turn to the second John that we had already. It's wonderful. Look at the verse that give us a very simple answer.
When we are faced with people who bring out the doctrine, second John verse 10, if there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine, that's what it is, isn't it? They come and they tell you that they deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well here they don't bring this doctrine. He says receive him not into your house.
Neither did him. Godspeed.
Pretty strong language here, isn't it? We're not the debated. We're not trying to convince them on that. We have to leave that with the Lord. Don't bring them into your house. You see this Jehovah Witnesses and other groups come knocking on your doors. Please do not let them into your house. It tells us so here. Don't even say goodbye to them. That's how strong the language is. And sometimes we'll say, well, we feel bad for them coming. No, they bring in wicked doctrine. Read verse 11.
Verse 11 For he that bid him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds.
You can't compromise on that issue. Can't compromise for a moment.
You can't compromise on that issue, no.
To be absolutely firm.
There's different ways that Trinity can be denied. The one is to deny the deity of Christ.
The other is to deny the deity of the Holy Spirit. Anyone of those.
Now the Jew denies the Trinity, the evil his Bible teaches it. They deny it because they denied that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and Jehovah's Witness out deny that. And they also deny the person of the Holy Spirit. All three persons are God.
And if you don't hold that, you're not really a Christian.
I think the difficulties is really in the great house and that's why we have to be careful to walk this path of separations. When we get associated with other Christians, we can get get defiled because often they all walk different paths. I know our time is almost gone. I like to turn to 1St Corinthians chapter 3 just very, very briefly because the apostle Paul talked about the foundation that was laid. First Corinthians chapter 3.
00:50:21
Verse 11 it says for other foundation can no man lay then that is laid which is Jesus Christ. So we know that the Lord Jesus himself is the foundation. But now he talked about the works of the believer and talk about this great house, how the various kind of work and verse 12. Now if any man build upon this foundation. Notice the groupings here some we read already gold, silver, precious stones, wood, haze double S.
Well, these are the things that are in the great house, isn't it? Gold, silver, precious stones. For a look of his first three first, I'm not sure exactly what he's talking about, but I can think of it this way as an application. Gold often speaks of the righteousnesses of God. Well, can we build on and dwell on the righteousness of God and the glory of God? Silver, can we in this house dwell on the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Precious stones, well precious stones speaks off one another isn't it? Precious stone is funny too because what I understand when they 1St come out from the ground, precious stones are not very pretty and you need to Polish it. I believe it is like a lot of us, we're pretty rough when we the way we come out and we need to Polish one another with the word of God. But then the next grouping sounds terrible. These are bad material that are being built upon this foundation.
We have wood, wood hay and stubble. And I believe wood, wood speaks up natural things. It speaks up the the human side of things. I believe how much of us, how much of self are we building on? And then, hey, I believe it's something that really have no substance. It looks big. It's all puffed up. It's all pride that we have that we build on that or what's worse is stubble. We'll find that we won't have time to return to Malachi. It tells you about stubble. It speaks of wickedness.
And I believe that's what we have before us, the wickedness. We build on that, but rather dwell and be occupied with our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
Shall we say #16 in the appendix?
Oh Jesus, friend, and failing, how dear art thou to me our cares, our fears assailing, I find my strength in Thee. Why should my feet grow weary of this my Pilgrim way, Rough though the path, and dreary it ends in perfect day. Verses 123 and six.
Oh Jesus, friend, unfairly.
Oh.
My God.
1 John 4:7
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
117 one 1/7.
We know that we, oh God, are 999 Father's grace in love blessed mercy gave.
117.
To ourselves.
We all.
Prayer reward.
Included the thought of appreciating more the life that we have.
That life and what it is is emphasized to us and the verses that follow where we left off in the reading meeting yesterday. Perhaps we could continue with First John chapter 4.
First John chapter 4 and beginning with verse 7.
First John chapter 4, verse 7.
Love it, Let us love one another.
For love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
00:05:04
Herein is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in US and His love is perfected in US.
Hereby know we that we dwell in his.
And He and us, because he has given unto us his Spirit, and we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and He in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love.
Dwelleth in God.
And God in Him herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is, so are we in this world.
There is No Fear in love, but perfect love casts us out here, because fear hath torment he. The Spirit is not made perfect in love. We love him because He first loves us. If a man say, I love God and hated his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother also.
A dog.
Or any other animal.
Cannot understand.
Us human beings.
It has a very limited capacity and yes, man can have some very, very limited fellowship with an animal, but an animal can enter into our true extent of our feelings or our thoughts.
It's not. It doesn't have our nature.
And when we were born into this world.
As creatures of God, we had very limited capacity to know God.
More capacity than an animal because we have a spirit which makes us God conscious. An animal that doesn't even know God exists because it has no spirit. But we are conscious of God even as born into this world. But the way we were born, in the condition in which we were born, we really didn't have a capacity to enter into the heart and thoughts and feelings and purposes of God.
But what's brought before us in the verse where we started is everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
It's the life, we call it eternal life in other places in Scripture, when I put my trust and you put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, God at that moment in time gave us a gift.
The gift of eternal life. And at that moment in time we got a capacity to know God that we never had before.
Because we received a very divine nature. God is love, and from that moment on within us dwells that same capacity, that divine life. That is love in its very nature. And so as it says in the verse, everyone that loveth is born of God. That is, everyone that has this kind of love, not natural love that we're born with.
But the love of God in us, that divine love, the only way you can have it is if you are born of God. Without it, you don't have it. And so it says in the end of the verse, Know it not God. You don't know God if you're sitting in this room and you don't have the gift of eternal life. You don't have a nature capable in you of knowing God as He wants you to know Him.
00:10:32
That is to be able to enter in to his own heart, his own thoughts, his own way of looking at things, feeling things, where God is love. And so it's a wonderful thing for us to have that blessed life.
That was spoken about in the to the Lord in the first prayer.
He that hath the Son, it says in the next chapter.
He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath not life. It's just that straightforward. If you have the sun that we have had before us today, you have life. But if you don't have the sun for yourself, if you cannot confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.
Then you don't have life and you don't know God.
Divine love is that.
Lovely concept.
Naturally, we look for something in the object.
To generate and draw health and love from our hearts. But there was nothing in us naturally to.
Bring forth the love of God toward us in our deep need.
And our lost condition, it was the source of that love that was in the heart of God.
And so that love didn't have anything in the object to stimulate it, and that's the love that we have now.
In our hearts.
And so we can love that person that naturally may be unlovable.
Even obnoxious sometimes.
Maybe that way ourselves.
But divine love doesn't look for something deserving or worthy in the object. Its source is the heart of God, and so the brother mentioned it's the activity of the new nature.
In the belief.
Divine nature that we have, which partakes of the characteristic of God's nature, which is divine love, to have these things developed in the abyssal love and righteousness light.
Is the nature of God in fact in the book from the writings of John?
It is the family that is in question from the body of Christ, and the thought is.
Eternal life, the very life of the Lord Jesus it was.
Fully manifest in his marvelous pathway down here in the Gospel of John especially.
In every act in Word that we have been reminded, but in first John we have that same divine life active in the believer. We having that life, it should be manifest. Now these are the characteristics of that life, love, life, righteousness, obedience, obedience. Those are all the characteristics of the divine life and.
The lawful here exhorts us to manifesto.
The expectations are on the ground of what we already possess. It's not trying to secure the thing by our own efforts. It's what we now have a holy nature and a divine nature that loves even those that have may naturally not to draw health our affection. Our divine love loves those that are undeserving. That was the character of God's love to us, wasn't what it not nothing in us that said merited.
Or deserve that marvelous love that was going to us.
00:15:35
If a person is alive.
There's generally evidence of it.
With their debt, there's evidence of that as well.
And so if we.
Are not dead toward God, but if we are alive toward God, there will be evidence seen of that life. And here in this 4th chapter.
The apostle John is writing to his brethren, and he's saying, brethren, beloved.
The real evidence of the life in you is loving each other.
And so if that life is really in us, it will be seen in our behavior and what's in our hearts toward each other.
I want to give a little more emphasis to what John just said too, about it doesn't require that the person be very lovable or lovable at all.
God demonstrated His love toward us when we were ungodly. That is, the love that is in the heart of God for us was toward us when we were not just unlovable, but absolutely.
Ungodlike against God in our very nature, in our very life. And so that's the law that He exhorts us to have toward each other. I.
I remember hearing, and I'm not going to try to quote it exactly, but I'll paraphrase it, but there was a, a meeting like this quite a few years ago and the brethren were talking about this subject of love. And it went on for quite a while. And it's an easy in some ways something to say something about. But everyone was sort of brought up short when finally one brother said, he said, brethren, the measure of divine love.
That's working in your soul is the love that you have toward the most well, he said. Cantankerous and cross brain, but the most unlovable person you know.
In other words, if you think about those who you call brethren, and we'll just confine it to that, not just to your next door neighbor or somebody at work, but just for the moment think about somebody that.
Well, they're not very lovable to you, but the measure of love working in your heart and your life is the amount of love you have and demonstrate toward that person. Don't take somebody that you might call easy to love and have virtues that are lovable. No, that's not. That might be just what the Bible calls brotherly love, natural love, and love towards somebody that's lovable or we have a relationship with.
That we a friendship, but if God's love is a love, that does not, as John said, depend on what's in the person being loved.
Want to just make this comment as well in Ephesians chapter this is a word I guess brothers but sisters will be happy for it I think. But in John in Ephesians chapter 5 it says husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the church.
To engage himself for it.
You, if you're a Christian husband, have a greater responsibility to love your wife.
Then your next door neighbor or somebody at work who's a husband and is not a believer. Because the standard for you and me is to love our wives as Christ loved the church. What kind of love was that? Was the church lovable and lovely? No, it wasn't.
When he gave himself for it. But it is to love your wife with a divine.
00:20:01
Kind of love that does not depend in itself upon the response.
To draw it out.
But if that love is there, it will draw the response when the heart is of one that has that same love in them.
You see ultimately.
Through this divine luggage was sacrificial. Actually we are such self procedures. We think of our own comfort and yet our own reputation and so on. But with the Lord Jesus, it was a love that led him to lay down his life for us. Ephesians chapter 5.
Well known verse that says walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and have given himself for us, and offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. There was the love demonstrated to its highest degree in the gift of himself.
It was a sacrificial love.
That led the Lord Jesus to the cross of Calvary. Well, that's what we should demonstrate as well. You know, relationships, one with the other in the assembly. We are throwing together very close in our fellowship, which is a wonderful thing. But there is also the danger of differences coming in frictions and so on.
Like First Corinthians chapter 12 is the machinery.
First Corinthians chapter 14 is the machinery in action, the 12Th chapter, the gifts that the Spirit of God has imparted in the assembly to reach one, a place to fulfill. Then in chapter 14 you see those gifts in activity, the assembly. Every brother and sister has that response to that privilege and that responsibility is every man has received the gift. Even so, minister the same one to the other as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Between.
Chapter 13 very important. It's the oil that lubricates that relationship that those gifts must be exercised in love. That's chapter first child Corinthians 13 very important that we we have that love in our hearts and our souls don't try to love the Lord any more than you do. We look into our own hearts and we have to acknowledge.
How often they are cold and unresponsive to the Lord's love.
Chinese and probably everyone could say that, but as we were often reminded as the young people sit down and concentrate the love of God toward you and it will warm your heart up. The love of the Lord and giving himself for us, His patience, His grace with us all along the pathway. Having loved his own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end. But what kind of disciples were they?
Forsook them and fled, and they didn't get so much fidelity. And yet he acknowledges them as those that continued with him in this, in his temptations, the Lord's love never grew cold for those disciples or toward the nation of Israel. In fact, you find in Scripture the expressions of God's love to his people are at times when he would least expect it, like in Jeremiah.
31 I think it is. I have loved me with an everlasting love. That was just at the time when God had to take the nation of Israel into captivity because of their unfaithfulness and idolatry. At that very time the Lord said, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, even at the end of the wilderness journey.
The verse in Deuteronomy, I'm not quoting it exactly correct. But yeah, He loved the people. All his Saints are in thy hand. At that time when they had been so unfaithful throughout that that 40 year period, the Lord's love toward them had never changed. It was still the same at the end of Malachi, just before the Canon, the Old Testament Canon was closed.
00:25:25
Before the 400 years of silence and.
We read the 1St chapter of Malachiah and we see the sad condition in which the nation was They were questioning the Lord's love to them. They wouldn't open the temple doors unless they were paid. They were offering to the Lord, the lame and the blind and the halt the second back, which they wouldn't offer to the governor. They were offering to the Lord.
But at that time you notice how the Prophet begins. I have loved thee, saith the Lord. His love had never changed toward his people. And.
Martha and Mary, we would think. Well, the Lord must have loved Mary more than He loved Martha because she was so devoted to Him and Martha was cumbered with much serving. But when He speaks of the Lord's love to that family, it mentions first.
First, the name of Martha. The Lord loved Martha and Mary and.
Lazarus So the Lord's love did not change in spite of the.
The departure and the coldness of his people, and it's the same with us.
Says God's sin is only begotten Son into the world.
Why? Why?
That we might have life.
Through him, sometimes we limit the message of the gospel to the thought that I'm a Sinner. I am that if I don't accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, I will go to hell. And I will. And if I accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, I'll go to heaven someday.
Instead of hell, and that all my sins will be removed from the sight of God. All of that is true and wonderful in its place. But God wants us to go on into the enjoyment of all that he he purposes. And he says here I sent my son John 316 is the same message with really the same emphasis. I sent my son into the world in love. Why?
So that you could have life.
But you could have like everlasting life in John 316. Here it just says in verse nine that we might have life through Him.
God wants us to be part of His family and we wants us to have the life of the family so that we can enter into and enjoy fellowship with Him.
God wants us to have a more near and personal relationship with Himself than Adam and Eve ever did or could enjoy, even before they sinned in the Garden of Eden.
And while sin brought a separation between man and God, God isn't defeated in his purposes of love, and so he sends his Son into the world to give a life.
Two men that will bring him into a relationship with God that can never be separated from God again. Never have a break in that relationship.
In Adam all die, and Adam had a life and a nature which of responsibility to God, but.
He exercised his will in unbelief, and he sinned, and he separated him, and he became dead toward God.
But here God says no, I'm going to send my own son into the world so that he could be a life giver.
The matter of the cross had to be taken up, and it was so that God could give light. There was life in the that tree in the midst of the garden, and as soon as man had sinned lest he partake of that tree in the condition in which he was, which would have been a horrible thing really.
00:30:14
Imagine living as you are, even as a believer in the state in which you are.
That is, with sin still in you.
It's a horrible thing really, to think about if God would let a person live on this earth without dying in the condition in which they are. Although it's a more horrible thing still to die and be forever separated from God in the second death. But it's a wonderful thing for us to enjoy that God in love sent his Son, that we might have life.
More excellent way that the apostle speaks up. Covered earnestly the best gift.
1St Corinthians 12 The last verse, and yet show I unto you.
A more excellent way.
Now abide his faith, hope, charity, these three. But the greatest of these is charity or love, so every one of us can display that character of the divine nature.
It says there in the book of Jude that we are to keep ourselves in the love of God. That is a walk in the sunshine of his love, in communion with God, enjoying that love. If sin has come into my life.
Which I am not willing to judge, of course. There's a cloud then between my soul and God and I can no longer enjoy communion. I can't revel in the the love of God there. There is a hindrance there. So it's my responsibility to keep myself in the love of God. That is to to be, to walk in self judgment.
And to be unsparing about that old nature which certainly is the very opposite of love, that old nature which we have, that displays hatred and enmity toward God, toward man.
But now God has put into everyone of you young people, everyone of us.
Now God has imparted that divine nature, all the good that comes out of my life, everything that is for the glory of God in my life and your life, it comes from the new nature. And we're called upon to keep the old nature in the place of death. Remember when the children of Israel went into the land of Canaan, before they used sharp swords on their enemies, which they were commanded to do?
They were exhorted and commanded to use sharp knives on themselves. That was circumcision. You can read that it's very interesting in Joshua chapter 5. Gilgal there speaks of self judgment in my life, those things which are.
The fruit of the old nature which we all have.
We need to judge and put away.
Reckon ourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, and alive unto God through Christ. But sometimes we hear people saying, it's a poor thought, but I suppose we might have said it ourselves. Well, there's no love in this assembly where I am, there's no love. Oh, I've heard that different ones who were once at the Lord's table make this excuse.
But if that's the case, then I have the responsibility to bring love into that assembly.
Provoke, the apostle says in Hebrews 10.
00:35:00
Look at that verse in Hebrews 10.
That exhortation that the apostle gives us. 24 Let us consider one another to provoke unto love, and to good works.
Used to be a brother in the Ottawa meeting and he said to.
A sister, he said. Sister, do you provoke the Saints? Oh, she says, brother, I hope I don't. Well, he said, you should.
The word provoke here is used in the sense of that stimulate.
Encourage.
It says here, provoke unto love and to good works. If there's no love in the assembly, then you bring some love into it by the way you act, and you'll be surprised at the return that you will get. And good works too, don't need to complain about lack of gospel work in the assembly. We have the privilege of going out and doing it ourselves, and perhaps that would encourage.
Others to follow, But the point that I'm trying to make is what do we contribute in the assembly? What do we bring? We're always occupied, often with what we get. And that's all right. We we certainly have had a feast this weekend here, an Oasis in the desert. But what do we bring in our local assemblies? That is what God is looking for.
Are we bringing love? Are we bringing understanding and.
And showing that divine life in the way we react one toward the other.
Verse 10 says fear in his love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.
And sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Earlier in this same epistle, before bringing out a matter of love.
We have God as light, and it's important for us to recognize that.
To disobey God is to disobey that sin is a terrible offense against God's own nature.
It's a dishonor to God not to obey Him as a creature.
And so God is in a holy way offended by sin. In fact, God says in a in a eternal way, every such matter will have to be forever removed from his sight. He cannot allow by his own nature that which is not consistent with His own being to last to exist.
Absolutely. This whole world, this building, this whole world is going to cease to exist. Why as it in its present form, because it's it bears the marks of sin. It bears the marks of a terrible offense against God and and he won't allow it to remain in that condition before his eyes for eternity. And so he he will remove it.
Everything that our eye can put our eye on is going to be removed from his sight because all of it bears the marks of of sin and the offense it is to God. And so God must be propitiated. That is God's holy nature must be satisfied.
In the matter of what is offensive to him, and it's a wonderful thing to see this verse connected, this verse of God's nature needing to be satisfied as to something that's offensive to him to be connected with his love.
When God decided to work with us, nobody had any interest.
Man just went his own way and his own trespasses and sins without any care or interest in God at all. Cain is a figure of man in the flesh. He goes out from the presence of God and man. It says in Romans chapter one doesn't want to retain God in his knowledge and so there are many people say no God. I don't want God. I don't even want to believe there's a God.
00:40:02
And yet what does it say here? It says God in love sent the Lord Jesus, even when we could care less, if you will, about Him, to take up the matter, to propitiate his own nature in the matter of sins.
So that, as it were, he could come out to us in Colossians, one that Bob had this afternoon. In that chapter he made peace through the blood of his cross.
That is, God acted so that he could.
Show us His love so that He could do something for us and be consistent with His own nature.
And yet he had to do it, and he did it before we cared about him and all. There was number love in our hearts toward him at that point.
And yet God in his own love and his own purpose of saying, well, I love them.
I want to give them life, but I can't give them that gift of life in the condition in which they are. And so God takes up the matter of sin and deals with it between.
Without us being involved in any sense in this case at all. But he sends the Son into this world to become a man and sends him to the cross. And then God, as God deals with Jesus the man over the matter of sins or sin, God is propitiated in that sacrifice. And now God says to us, oh, I love you and I want to give you the gift of eternal life.
Will you accept it?
Well, if you are sitting in this room this afternoon and you haven't accepted it, you don't know God and you don't know love. You're dark, your soul is in darkness and God would desire to speak to you. You know you might be dead in this room, but.
It's a wonderful thing. If there was a dead body put here before us in this room, we would all feel immediately. And since there was nothing we could do to say to that person, or what had been a person, totally helpless to say anything to that person, they're dead. We can't communicate with a dead person.
But not God, not God. In John's Gospel it says he speaks to the dead. And what does it say? They that hear shall live. God isn't even limited by a person dead and spiritually dead. But God speaks even to the dead, and they that hear shall live. Wonderful, wonderful thing that God is able to meet us in the extreme condition in which we were.
And show his love and bring us into the enjoyment of that love.
And say you're my children and I love my son the Lord Jesus.
And so I'm giving you life so that you can share them with me and we can enjoy them together.
And I brought him, if I could speak for God in this sense this afternoon, God would say, I've been bringing my son before you this, after this conference so that we can enjoy him together now. And you can taste it and say, oh, I want more.
And look forward to whatever time is left here on earth, but even more so to anticipate when there will be no hindrances and we will spend an eternity enjoying the Father's love in the Son at.
Center and object of it all.
Many translations to the modern translations take the word proficient, found in first John 22 and 1St John 410, which we're considering now, and in place of the word propitiation use the word atoning sacrifice.
But to me it seems that propitiation is more than that I was.
Wondering if we have we have a little bit more light on that word propitiation?
We have perhaps.
Some example or illustration of Scripture.
00:45:04
That's Michelle and you don't see it in English, but in Spanish and other languages if you go to Exodus chapter 37.
Exodus chapter 37.
Look at a couple of verses.
Verse one. And Bezalel made the ark of Shittimwood to Cuba, and 1/2 of the length of it, and then down to verse six. And he made the mercy seat of pure gold, 2 cubits, and 1/2 was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And he made two cherubims of gold beaten out of one piece, maybe them on the two ends of the mercy seat, one cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the.
Other end on that side out of the mercy seat made he cherubims on the two ends thereof, and the chair of them spread out their wings on high and covered with their wings over the mercy seat.
With their faces one to another, even to the mercy seat, where were the faces of the cherubim's? The word that's translated from Hebrew to is mercy seed in English at least Spanish and Portuguese and some of the other languages is transliterated would be propitiatorium. It's the same word are connected with it. What would the high priest do once a year? He would go in and always with blood and and.
The blood from a sacrifice.
Onto the mercy seat and that the cherubims angels, which would be.
In charge of judgment would look down, and what would they see?
The figure of it if they were made of gold, but they would see the blood all year.
To go back to the verse that John referred to in first John chapter 2.
And He is the propitiation, verse 2 for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
We can.
Preach the gospel to everyone and say the price has been paid so that you could be saved.
We can't go to everyone and say.
That.
Christ died for your sins.
Why can't we say that?
Hebrews, Chapter 9.
Verse 28.
It said Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that looked for him shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation so.
Expressing it correctly, but in the sense of saying the payment was so great that everyone can be offered salvation.
But God isn't going to punish the same sins twice.
There was a man many years ago who was a quite wealthy man. He went to a village.
And he made an offer, he said anyone that will come and I don't know what the time of day was but let's say for the example it's a true story but I don't remember the details. But he offered to make a payment between 2 certain hours of the day, anyone who would come in to the room where he was and he said bring your debts.
People came in to the area, they stood around the door.
And people were afraid because they said, what if I go in and he doesn't do it? They're going to laugh at me when I come back out. Some people, a few started to go in. They were carrying papers of the bills that they were not able to pay. They went in.
And no one came out during the time period. Some others went in. And finally, at the end of the appointed hour for this time, he went. People started coming out and they said, well, what happened? I said, well, my debts are paid. You took all of them. Everything is going to be paid. And he's paid it all. And the others started knocking on the door and said, well, you know, we want it too. Said, no, too late. You had your opportunity. The man was wealthy enough to be able to cover the debts of the people in that town.
And when the priest walked in and the bells and pomegranates that could hear that he was still alive, they could detect the movement by that. When he put the blood on the altar, they were all in a sense.
Could have been protected by that, recognizing that it all waited for the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
00:50:06
The gospels offered whosoever will because he's the propitiation for our sins and says for the whole world the deposit is so great that everyone can be saved. On the other side, he died for the sins of many.
He's not going to punish the same sense twice. And so someone refuses the gospel. It's not a question of propitiation. It's a question of substitution. He's a substitute for all. Who will believe he's the propitiation for all. Well, there's an opportunity while we're still alive because of the price he paid was so great.
Clarify. It's better than that.
Sin is an offense against the holy nature of God.
And propitiation is that aspect of the work of the cross that removes that offense.
From before God's sight.
When we have, as Dean mentioned, our individual sins themselves were placed upon the Lord Jesus on His body on the cross, and He bore the judgment for those sins but.
There's more to the satisfaction of God than simply paying for the sin you might.
Throw a rock through your neighbor's window.
And then you might turn around and pay to have the window fixed. Maybe you put a new window in that's nicer than the old one.
But you may not have removed the offense of what you did, especially if you had been warned not to do it and you went ahead and you, you broke the window, you've offended.
Perhaps the upright sense of that person and God sent his own son.
The propitiation, and so the propitiation is intimately connected with the person of the Sun.
Very feeble sense of it, but if.
You were a neighbor boy and you threw the rock through your neighbors window and the neighbors son was your best friend. You might be saying will you tell your dad?
Will you tell your dad for me? Tell him I'm sorry or something like that? That is, you have a sense that the father might accept that son intervening for you, and God made his own son.
To be that propitiation before him, he offered himself up to God, and in doing so the offense against the holiness of God was removed, was taken care of, so that all men.
Could have the gospel presented to them and the.
Blood of the Lord Jesus is sufficient to atone. That is the work of the Lord Jesus and the shedding of his blood. The blood applied to the sins of a person's life totally removes them from God's sight so that there's no memory of offense or anything left. God says I won't remember it anymore, it'll never be brought back. And so God is totally satisfied. And I don't know what translation John's referring to, but the aspect of.
It is part of the atonement because atonement is that which covers. The word means covering, and God through the blood totally covers the offense and the blood in what it is the death of Christ and His suffering totally removes or makes the payment, so that when God looks at that person, He looks at them in all the perfection and satisfaction of the person and the work of His Son, the Lord Jesus.
And God says please, please enjoy it as an expression of how much I love you.
Someone gave me a thought which I kind of expanded into a story. It's been helpful to me.
00:55:01
Let's say there's a king with a Kingdom and his people rebel against them and throw them out and throw them out. In this case, he retreated to an island that really wasn't too far off the shore.
And he was a very good king. And we know in this world we live in that the opposing of some kings seems to be a good thing. But in the case of this story, it's not.
And he had a cure for his people and he saw how things were going very badly for them.
And so he built a bridge.
From the mainland to his island.
And those who wish could make use of that bridge.
And that way Christ is the propitiation.
It's it's a it's a thing he did things course, but he became something also a propitiation. And on that bridge was an appropriate standing place for both the king and his subject. And they could meet there on that bridge. And really appreciation has done that for us. God is satisfied with Jesus, he said, but also.
Because of the work of Christ and that bridge has been made, we have a place to stand as well. So not only God has a place to stand, but we have a place to stand and it's together. So just in a little picture form of propitiation, or one aspect of it, at least, it's an appropriate place to stand for both God and believers. We can meet there.
They restored that which I took not away. The honor of God was violated by man's lawlessness and.
And the Lord as a man returned honor to God like then I restored that they took that away because He is so satisfied with His Son. He offers to all men give the play.
A diverse thing that we can sort of Romans chapter chapter 3 verse 25, whom God has set forth to be a profitiation.
Faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past.
Through the forbearance of God.
Sometimes misunderstood. Now God is set. Christ is the propitiation, the one who has met all the holy claims of God against sin. I think that's the basic thought in propitiation, is it not?
In the Old Testament, Christ had not yet been manifest. He had not offered his life in sacrifice for those sins. So he but God was righteous in forgiving the sins of the Old Testament Saints even before Christ had appeared on the scene, because He knew in His foreknowledge that the Lord Jesus would.
Offer a sacrifice for the remission of those sins of the Old Testament Saints. That's the meaning here.
God looked forward to the the the sacrifice of his Son, and on credit, so to speak, He said. I will forgive the sins of those people in the Old Testament. David, Abraham, Moses and so on. They were all saved.
Because of the work the Lord would accomplish. So the sins that are past. There is not sins in our lives that are past, but it's the sins that were committed before the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. In fact, now there's not a covering.
No longer. In the Old Testament, God covered, as it were, he. He passed over those sins.
Not that he was indifferent to them, but he didn't impute those sins.
Because he looked forward to the death of Christ. Now there's no more covering. The work has been accomplished. We have the we have settled peace with God. We have.
A full and complete redemption. There's no more covering over. There's no more waiting for something to be accomplished. It's completed. We have that wonderful.
01:00:08
Salvation and redemption and pardon.
Through the propitiation of our Lord Jesus.
On the cross.
Just one word to me. It's a wonderful word that.
The apostle John repeats a number of times to his brethren.
Not trying to get all of them by any means, but just notice in chapter 3.
In verse 21, he starts the verse beloved.
In chapter 4, verse one, beloved, Verse 7, beloved, verse 11, beloved. That's enough to get the thought.
We all who have relationships and families and wives and husbands and so on, or brothers and sisters, we often come up with terms of endearment, a nickname perhaps, that is a special expression of our relationship and our affection for each other. And because we've been brought into the family of God, particularly here, that this is family matters.
And the John, I think, loved to use such an expression to his brethren, Beloved, that's what they were. To him they were beloved, they were somebody. And to me it's a term and it's an expression that.
Likes sometimes and today you'll hear Sweetie or honey or deer or something like that.
Why is it so special? Well, when the Lord Jesus came into the world, God opens heaven and he says, this is my beloved.
Run, and in Ephesians chapter one, when it says, He hath taken us into favor.
In the beloved, it's actually a name of the Lord, a special name of endearment that God has given to the Lord Jesus. And because we belong to the same family, we can use the same expression. You know, you, you cure somebody say to somebody else and I'll say, sweetie, you don't feel immediately liberty to start saying to that person, sweetie.
In fact, you'd be in trouble probably if you did.
But.
God, as it were, has given us the joy and the liberty of using the same expression.
That the Father gives to the Son, and I doubt not we can say to the Lord beloved, because just as the Father says, beloved, we can think of him and we can even say it, beloved, Lord Jesus, and to one another beloved because we are, as Scripture says, we're bound up or an expression that's often used, we're bound up together in the same bundle of life.
It's you. It's a little off, but we're talking about life here. You have your individual life.
I have my individual life. Yours isn't mine and mine isn't yours. And if this afternoon the Lord Jesus decides to take me into His presence through death and not you.
Then my life, my natural life, is done. But you still have yours.
That's not the case with the life we've been talking about this afternoon.
The life we have in Christ is different, it says in Colossians. Christ, who is our life?
Christ, who is our life, that is this gift of eternal life which we have, we don't have separate from His life.
And so the expression has been used. We're bound up together in the same bundle of life. Your life and my life is bound up. It is his life we have.
It's eternal, it's his life, and it's ours. Can we fully comprehend that? I doubt it.
I certainly can't. I suspect none of us can. But it's still true. Christ, who is our life.
When you love your brother, what are you doing?
01:05:04
You're displaying the life of Christ to your brother because that's your life. And so if you're not displaying life to your brother, if you walk into the assembly and say there's no love here.
Then you're saying about yourself. Forget your brethren. You're saying about yourself, I don't have the life of Christ to bring here to display here.
But if you have it, if you're alive, it's pretty hard not to in some measure manifest that you're alive. And it is the very bundle. It's the life of Christ. And so it it has to love, it's his life. It can't do anything else.
And so that's why John makes such a point of it. He says if if you don't love your brother, you don't have life.
You would have to love your brother if you have the life of Christ in you and are displaying it to your brother and consequently you can go forward and say love just like he would. I mean every one of us, can't you in your mind and your hearts think, Oh, the Lord just says to me the Lord.
Lord says to me Donald, beloved, a personal individual and one that can be shared in sharing with others. You're mine, I love you, we're bound up together. Time is almost up, but I think it's important to verse 13 just to make a comment on it. Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he and us because he hath given.
US.
Of his spirit.
It says the Spirit witnesses with our Spirit that we are the children of God.
That is the Spirit of God who dwells in us, witnesses to us through the Word of God.
That I am a child of God, not I hope to be not, I want to be not as this or that, but I am the Spirit of God in US, witnesses to our Spirit that we are children of God. And so we can with confidence and assurance, say we know we have passed from death unto life, and it's a work of the Spirit in US.
To give us that assurance and knowledge, self knowledge that we say.
I am, I know that I am a child of God. And that's the privilege, that's the desire of God to work in everyone of us to the end that we we have this enjoyment.
Of being part of the family.
God says you can know each other as part of the same family, and all of us have probably in one time or another, sort of experienced that fact. When we met somebody, we never saw him before. We talked to them for a little bit and we find out.
That they really are a brother in Christ, a sister in Christ. And immediately upon the consciousness that we are having to do with a brother or sister in Christ, we have a sense in our hearts of belonging to each other. And we should, because we belong to the one true family of God. We're children together in God's family.
Is thinking through about these.
This expression here.
God dwelleth in us and His love is perfected in us. What does that mean?
Well, sometimes we love a person and we don't get a return.
And we're sort of frustrated and disappointed there's not the return of love.
For the love that is expressed.
But when there is a response in our hearts to that love of the Lord, and the Lord values our love, it's sometimes very feeble, but He values the least expression of love, and with one another too. If we get a return from our brethren, there should be, then there's a bond form our the love is perfected.
In us, between us, you might say, and that's what God did desires in our pathway. I was thinking in connection with what Don said, it's a lot of parents here with children. I think one of the truest signs that your boy or girl is saved is that when they come home and say mother I.
01:10:13
Found another boy or girl at school that was that is a Christian. That's the that's almost a sure sign that that child is the Lord's because his divine life, that new life he has, responds to the life in another there. There is a connection there, so to speak.
Love is perfected. There's there's a risk, there's a recognition that there is a believer there, one who loves the Lord whom he loves.
Back to book number 19.
I will change my heart.
I exchanged.
My joy.
01:15:46
I'm waiting for my crown.
I see.
I.
Gospel 4
Gospel—N. Hiebert
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Would like to extend a warm welcome to everyone to the Gospel meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to introduce you to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm glad to also be able to say that there's many sitting in this room who know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
One of them is my wife, my son, my grandchildren, and there's many others. We begin this gospel meeting with hymn number.
#9 hymn #9.
Come every soul by sin oppressed. There is mercy with the Lord.
And He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word.
Only trust Him, only trust him. Only trust him now. He will save you.
He will save you. He will save you now.
Do we stand and sing #9?
Come every soul by sin.
Oppressor sex.
Oh.
Or.
00:05:00
Like to sing a hymn off the back sheet and I would extend an invitation to any of the children to give out of him from the back seat. Anybody quickly #8 Thank you then #8 did you say a Backpage please? Thank you 47 back page. That's what I would have chosen too.
37 Let's remain seated when he cometh, when he cometh.
Here's why.
Bright.
He will have. He will have.
Been doing all the same one all the bright. She wants his love and his love like the sky.
The morning is white, brown warning.
Right.
Right.
On our way out here to the conference yesterday, the day before yesterday actually, we were coming or approaching the border, the US, Canadian border, and I'd recently been reading about Bibles being smuggled into another country.
And I don't know what it was, but I had some apprehension about doing that, about coming across, because I had a whole bunch of boxes full of literature. And so I think my wife and I both, there's something about it. We just felt kind of nervous. And so we prayed that the Lord would hasten us through the customs without any hold up, without anybody worrying too much about the boxes that we had in our trunk. And so we said, which line are we going to take? There's five lines that's starting back and forth. We'll take this one, the second one.
And it happened to be the longest line. A lot of agony in those 35 minutes as we waited. And I was looking ahead and I saw the officer and all I could see was his foot.
And I was going this way and I thought, oh, boy, we're going to have some fun with this fellow. So anyway, we're approaching the customs. And finally we got to the man. And here was a great big fellow dressed in an outfit, in a uniform and had a gun. And he says, so where are you young people going? Well, what a nice. Where are you young people going? And who's that little girl sitting beside you? Is that your daughter? I said, no, it's my granddaughter. What? We had a nice talk. Where are you going? Well, we're going to Bible, Bible Conference. Wonderful. I'm a Pentecostal who was brought up as a Pentecostal. I go to the little Wesleyan Church over here.
And he was starting to give me a little bit of a gospel. I'm not supposed to talk about that on the job. And he said, well, I'll tell you, have a good trip. We'll see you. We came through. We've been praying about it. We asked for a Christian. We actually asked for a Christian man in there and we got him. Well, isn't that wonderful? The Lord looks after things. And you're sitting in this room here this evening, and you may be here by invitation, but the Lord has directed this. And we trust that the message that we have to give will be of the Lord. Let's read together in the gospel of the Acts.
Acts Chapter 16.
Acts Chapter 16.
And let's read from verse 20, Acts 16 and 20, and brought them to the magistrate, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrate ran off their clothes.
00:10:15
And commanded to beat them, And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison.
Charging the jailer to keep them safely, who having received such a charge.
Thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stalks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God. And the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loosened.
And the keeper of the prison awakening out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword.
And would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sir, what must I do to be safe?
I'd like to turn to a few verses and then we'll come back to this. But I'm particularly struck with the word sirs. You know, Sir speaks of a respectful address of an individual. And you know, as I've gotten older, I find people calling me Sir, and I wonder why, Why are they doing that? What's their, you know?
And you start to think about that and.
We see that in Scripture there are numerous references to serve, and let's just look at a few of them before we comment on this book that we've been reading in John chapter 4 and that chapter, I think we have about four references to that beautiful word, Sir, which I've come to appreciate says there first of all in John chapter 4 and verse 11.
There's this woman at the well saying, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with. This woman was talking to the Lord Jesus Christ when he was in this world. The Lord Jesus had asked him or her for a drink. And she says, Sir, thou hast nothing. Oh, my friend, tonight there may be those in this room who would make that phrase that Jesus is nothing. Well, I'll tell you, Jesus is my Savior. He saved me. He saved me.
You know, I was telling you about that officer at the border. I was trembling a little bit.
But you know, I have a son who's a police officer in our city, and frequently at night I get a call, say, Dad, are you in bed yet? Well, no, not yet while I'm sitting in your driveway. So you go outside and you see the cruiser car with all those nasty lights and aerials and all those kinds. And then you see this big guy with his stuff and a gun, and I'm not afraid of him. Why? Why was I afraid of that officer? I didn't know him. And tonight, if you don't know, the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
You might well be afraid because the Lord Jesus Christ is over all. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners. But you know, what a beautiful thing to know, to meet another person who is a Christian, someone that you might have feared. Sir, thou hast nothing. Verse 15.
Sir, give me to drink. Oh, you know, the Lord Jesus Christ had offered him something that she wanted. She wanted something to drink that would never.
Caused her to be thirsty again. She wanted that. You know, there are many in this world today that are thirsty and hungry.
To know what is ahead of us, to know what is coming because the signs of us around us.
Are such that men's hearts are failing them.
They want something and you know, tonight I can offer you the word of God, which is complete.
Which will answer the question to your problem if you don't know Jesus as Savior.
Sir, give me verse 19 that says, Sir, I perceive.
We'll stop there. I perceive friends here this evening. There may be many here that.
Say, well, yeah, there's something about it and I kind of like it. And then carry on the way they have been going.
I perceive that thou art a prophet. Why did she say that? Because Jesus told her everything that she had done. And I'm not going to read the account of the various things she had done. But He had it all tabulated, all the bad that she had done, and he, he explained it to her.
00:15:18
Sir, I perceive, do you know that the Lord Jesus has recorded everything that you have ever done, that I have ever done, And I wouldn't want my life to be displayed on a screen behind me, but the Lord Jesus has recorded that. But I can tell you, my friend, that I know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I know that he has removed my sins as far as the east is from the West. He's buried it in the depths of the sea. It's removed forever.
In verse 49, the 4th chapter of John, we read the account of a nobleman.
Who said Sir, come down, Sir, come down. He had a little boy that was sick. He was desperate, as parents are when their children are sick. And you know, when you have 5 rambunctious children such as we had and suddenly they ain't rambunctious anymore, you get worried. Something is wrong. Seriously wrong.
Well, this man was concerned about his son, young children.
Over here, boys and girls, your mother and dad are praying for you right now. If you don't know Jesus as Savior, they're concerned about you, This nobleman said. Sir, come down. Moms and dads want you to be saved. They want you to accept Jesus as Savior. Are you going to sit here and listen to the gospel in the Sunday school and the gospel meetings time and time again and say, Oh well, mom and dad are old fashioned.
My friend, this book is not old fashioned. Just give you one example. I understand this is still the biggest seller in the world. The book, the Bible, the book and it tells us for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
In chapter 5 and verse seven of John we read of a man who said, Sirs, I have no man. I'll add this to help me.
We'd like to help you. If you don't, if you don't know Jesus as Savior, if this is the first time you've heard it, we'd like to help you. We'd like to point you to the Scripture because if you haven't accepted Jesus, you are LOST, lost, lost. I had an old aunt.
Who loved the Lord Jesus Christ just a little lady. And she told her grandchildren in writing and in an audibly frequently she spoke the little German tongue and she used to tell them Zeit ride, be ready. What good advice could a grandmother, a mother give to say that? Be ready. Are you ready for the Lord Jesus Christ to come?
If you're not ready, you're going to be fearful like I was a little fearful of that customs officer.
But you know, the Lord Jesus Christ loves you. We have children coming to our Sunday school who hardly know what that word means. They hardly know who their father is or their mother. But some of them have come to know Jesus as Savior. They've experienced some love. And so if you don't know that love of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are missing out on something that is extremely important.
In the 12Th chapter of John verse 21, there were some men that.
Said Sirs, we would see Jesus. Would you like to see Jesus?
Would you like to see Jesus? We're going to talk more about that. Jesus is the author.
And the finisher and his axe and everything he did is recorded in this. I shouldn't say everything he did, but much is recorded in this book. And this book tells us exactly the whys, the wherefore, and how you can be saved.
In Matthew chapter 13 and verse 27, we find that there were.
Weeds that were growing up among the wheat, And somebody said to the farmer, Sir, didst thou not so good seed?
Moms and dads have tried to sow the good seed in the hearts of the children.
Children, do you know Jesus as your savior? If you don't know Jesus as your savior, you're in great danger.
00:20:00
You are lost.
And nothing can save you but the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us about Him. I am the way, I am the truth. I am the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me there is no other way.
I've had people say to me, Oh yeah, well, you have your way, I have mine. Hey, there's only one way, my friend.
It's a way of the Word of God. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin.
In Matthew.
Chapter 21 and verse 30, we read of a young man who was given some instructions and he said I go, Sir, and that tells us he went not. Have you tried to deceive your family? Have you told those of your friends who are Christians that I'll go and you don't do it?
Then you are a liar. Strong terms, but the Father of all lies is the devil. And if you don't go, if you don't come to the Lord Jesus Christ.
And you should die in your sins. You have no further opportunity.
And you'll go down to that awful place that the scripture that defines as hell.
A place where God is not a terrible place.
Fire, brimstone, blackness of darkness forever, all kinds of descriptions of that awful place.
Let's go back to Acts 16.
In chapter 31, I mean Acts chapter 16, verse 31, we've read the account.
Of the reaction of some people when they heard these men speak about Jesus.
Now why do you know? Why do you need Jesus? What's the problem?
In Genesis we read that there was a beautiful garden that God created.
And in that garden he put his creation, Adam and Eve, and he said you can enjoy this garden.
You can enjoy everything in this garden, Ohio. The one thing, stay away from that one tree. He described the tree. They knew which one it was. Stay away from it.
He's out walking. I think Adam may have been there too. He must have been.
And she looked at the tree. It looked so good. And no doubt it was this time of year you see some beautiful trees with apples, you see vines with beautiful grapes and so on. And they're good. They're delicious. She saw that tree. What about all the hundreds of other trees that were in the other part of the garden? She didn't pay any attention to them. She saw that. And then there was a voice that spoke to her, and it was the devil. It was Satan. He was speaking to her. And he said, has God told you that you shouldn't eat of this tree?
And she said, well, he's told us not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden.
Well, that wasn't really what God said. He said I don't want you that tree. Oh, but the tree looks so good. And Satan said, well, you know, if you want to eat from this tree, you're going to be very wise because God is holding something back.
And finally she was persuaded to take of the fruit, whatever it was to eat of it, and pass along to her husband. And that was the fall of the garden. You may say, what's the big deal eating fruit? I'll tell you what the big deal is. It's not the fruit. It's the disobedience to God.
Man sinned. Prior to that God was able to walk in the garden with his creation in the cool of the day.
That came to an abrupt halt and God had to toss them out of the Garden of Eden.
They could never return again. Is that the end of the story?
No, no, no. God's plan was much greater than that. God had a plan for man.
Sin and Eden In the Garden of Eden, man was banished. God's plan continued. It can never be changed. God had a plan, so he created some beautiful buildings. Man sinned. He created some beautiful music, the largest choirs that have ever been assembled and beautiful orchestras. I love music.
He created all these things. Man still did not change. He still wanted to disobey God.
God tried every way possible for his creation to come.
00:25:02
Then God, about 2000 years ago, sent his Son Jesus Christ.
From heaven and he was born as a baby in a Manger. He was rejected as a baby in the Manger.
There was number room for him. Nobody wanted him. Nobody wanted that baby.
Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that all of us love babies. My youngest baby is 29 years of age. I can remember when he was born. Could I have rejected him, said I don't want, I haven't got room for him. This is enough. I got four children. No, of course not. Of course not. Jesus came into this world and he was rejected because the devil was still saying, don't accept that man. He was saying to others, kill him.
We don't know all the things that went on.
But the devil was very busy.
Jesus came into this world.
Mother and Dad were there with him and his family.
And after about 30 years, he went to minister and to preach.
And to do miracles and do all those good things. Jesus was the only man that came into this world who was perfect.
He did not sin, He could not sin. He never can sin.
Jesus was that perfect, spotless, the Bible says. Lamb of God, he came into this world.
And what he preached, men tried to destroy him.
Finally, they took Jesus.
And they took him into the hall, the judgment hall, and they judged him there. They judged them there. You know, a judgment hall is a terrible thing. It's a terrible thing particular if you're guilty and you know something, each one in this room is guilty. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Everyone in this room, from the youngest to the oldest to send.
But you know, as I said at the start of this meeting, there are some here who are sinners saved by grace, because God's Word tells us.
That the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
The scriptures tell her, Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The scripture tells us also that for those who do not come, the word is going to be Depart from me. Ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you.
So accept you, repent, you shall all likewise perish. But God's word tells us, and the verse already quoted for God soul of the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Perish. That's a real word. But have everlasting life. But God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. That's the Lord Jesus, and for that.
Man took him.
And beat him about the face. Put a crown of thorns on his head. They spit in his face.
They laid him on a cross, they put nails through his hands and to his feet, and they set him up on the ground.
And there he hung between heaven and earth.
The Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect one. We will not have this man to reign over us.
Crucify him, crucify him. Those were the words of man. And you, my friend, if you reject the Lord Jesus Christ.
As Savior tonight you are part of a gang that said crucify him, he said I wasn't there. It doesn't matter if you don't take sides against yourself with with the Lord Jesus Christ. You are one of those.
And when all was said and done, and Jesus hung on the cross, he could say, Father forgive them.
For they know not what they do.
They know not what they do. That's Jesus.
That's Jesus.
Jesus gave up his life, he said. It is finished, the work was all done and he died. They took him off the cross and they buried him.
In three days he rose from the dead.
On the authority of God's Word, Jesus, that perfect one, arose from the dead. He was seen of many.
There was one.
Who went to the graveside looking for Jesus and weeping? And she used the words, Sir, if you have borne him away, tell me where you have taken him, that I might go and get him.
00:30:12
You know Jesus rose from the dead. He didn't need any help.
But you know, before Jesus went to the cross, he said let.
Not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my father's house there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am, dear, you may be also.
Isn't that wonderful? That's the story of the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ loves you.
Very much. Let's go to this book that we haven't looked at very much. Here were these men.
That laid many stripes on their backs, on the backs of these men, Paul. And because they preached Christ, we're living in a wonderful land, United States of America and Canada, where I come from, we're still able to preach the gospel here. There's no danger of soldiers coming through that door and telling us to stop and using force to do that, as is happening in some countries in this world. You are blessed by living in this wonderful country where the gospel goes forth.
Where the President of the United States, a Christian and our Prime Minister.
Who loves the Lord Jesus Christ? What a wonderful blessing we have.
But you know, we could be living in a short time if we're left here under much different circumstances.
Are you going to sit in your chair there and say forget it, I don't believe it. You're going to fly in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here were these men, They put stripe after stripe on the backs of these two men because they had preached, because they had taken, they had dealt with a situation that came in their way which the men rejected because their money making schemes came to an end.
Man's desire today is to be wealthy, and there are many wealthy people. If you don't know Jesus as your savior, all the wealth that you have and everybody else has is not going to give you eternal life. Eternal life comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ. These men were upset about it and they beat these men. I'm not sure just why they would do that, because they couldn't get this back again.
And then they put them in prison and they said to the jailer, and I want you to put.
Their legs and their arms and stalks and it tells us.
Who, having received such a charge, thrust them? He didn't just gently put them in, he thrust them into the inner prison.
And made their feet fast in the stalks. Are you a prisoner of Satan?
Are you saying tonight, hey, I'm a bad person? You don't know how bad my life is.
I have done things that are terrible. You may say that in your mind tonight.
And not willing to say it out loud if you feel that you're too great a Sinner. Let me tell you something. This man that was beaten said he was the chief of sinners.
The last time I read the definition of chief, it meant the guy who was in charge where the buck stops.
That was Paul. He was the chief. You are no greater.
Sinner than Paul was.
They put them in the inside prison. They wanted to make sure they wouldn't get away. My friend, if you're bound by Satan, I can tell you that if you come to the Lord Jesus Christ, he will take all those bonds away.
And you can come to the Lord Jesus Christ in liberty. Does that mean that you'll have a perfect Rose Garden from then on? It's not what I'm talking about. But I'll tell you one thing. It's a wonderful thing to know Jesus as Savior and these anxious times in which we're living. And I'm sure I could go up and down these rows and ask different people whether that's true. They would say, yes, that is so. That is so well, Paul and Silas.
Did they feel sore for themselves when they were cast in prison?
I think if I had stripes on my back and I was bleeding and hurting.
00:35:03
I'd be feeling sorry for myself at midnight of all times, you know, if something aches, it's the worst.
It's the worst ache at midnight, isn't it?
All these men, it tells us here, they prayed and sang praises unto God. Before this gospel meeting, there were about 25 or 30 men that were praying. They were praying for you, and for you, and for you, and for you and for you.
Because one brother in his prayer said, I know there are some.
That are going to be in this room that are not saved. You know, whether it's you, I don't know, but the Lord Jesus looks right down in your heart and he knows whether you're saved or not. That was the prayer tonight. These men were praying. I believe they were praying for the jailer. I believe they were praying for the prisoners because it tells us that the prisoners heard them singing. You wouldn't catch me singing at midnight with my back bleeding no much.
It doesn't matter how much I love singing. I don't think I'd want to be singing. Jesus loves me. This I know. No, I don't think so, these fellows saying.
It tells us the prisoners heard them and suddenly, suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's vans were loose.
Did Paul and Solace say wow, what happened? No, we don't hear that, not like me and said when I said to my wife, the Lord answered our prayers. That guy was a Christian.
But he doesn't know they realized it was the Lord's work. The Lord can save you tonight, my friend.
He can make you a new creation in Christ Jesus. Do you want to be saved?
Here's how you do it.
Tell the Lord Jesus Christ that you're a Sinner. My wife wrote something out for me that a missionary wrote one time.
Saved means is to know that the Lord Jesus Christ has put your sins away by His work at Calvary, has written your name in the book of life as one of His own children, and has given you eternal life which entitles you to a place in heaven. Have you got it, Sir? Have you got it? I know Ian has. Have you got it? Oh, I'm sure there'll be many hands raised if I said raise your hands. I don't want you to do it and raise your hands.
If you know Jesus as your savior, that is a guarantee. What a beautiful way of doing it.
I had something in my Bible case which I stuck in there sometime and it was an invitation.
A very fancy invitation, as you can see. Embossed, Beautiful color, lovely paper.
Expensive paper and it was inviting me to attend an income strategies for the uncertain times.
Well, you're sending the invitation to the wrong guy. But what caught my attention was at the bottom says paid for in part.
I threw it in the garbage and that caught my attention. I picked it out. I'll put that in my Bible case. That's kind of interesting. Paid for in part. My friend, the Lord Jesus Christ hasn't paid anything. In part, He's paid it in full. Paid in full, My sins are gone. Are your sins gone? Would you like to accept Jesus as Savior? Admit that you're a Sinner. See, Lord, I'm a Sinner. Let's carry on.
There was this earthquake, the doors were opened and everyone's bands were loosed, and the keeper of the prison waking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself. Supposing that the prisoners had been fled. You know what that would mean. If one prisoner got away, he is his life would have to be given in exchange for that escaped prisoner.
And you know God is the God of love.
He loves you very much.
But there's a time coming.
When there will be no more gospel meetings?
And the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come.
Now this is something that some people have a great deal of difficulty with.
Jesus said I will come again, but there's something interesting in the beginning of Acts.
00:40:01
Where it tells us something that we should draw attention to.
Verse 10 of chapter one. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven.
As he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? The same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven, so Jesus is coming again. The Word of God tells us that very clearly He's coming again, and if he should come in the next 5 minutes.
I'm going to be gone. I'm going to be out of here, as are many others. Will there be some in this room, boys, girls, men, women, young, old that are going to remain in a seat here?
What a tragedy that would be for those left behind. But those of us who know Jesus as Savior will go to me with him one time after a gospel meeting.
I was talking to a man who seemed to know something about Scripture. I wasn't so sure whether he knew a lot.
And he says, well, yeah, I guess so. I don't know. You can't really know for sure. Well, let's take the truth. The word of God tells us in first John Five. It tells us there that.
That.
Ye may know.
That ye may know. It's not difficult to understand.
You can know this today. On the authority of God's Word, He's coming.
Well, this man was at the wit's end. This jailer was in trouble and he was about to commit suicide. Is there any young person here or older one who has reached that point where they say what's the point in continuing? As I said earlier, I have a son who is a police officer. He went to the scene of a.
Of a suicide young girl, 21 years of age.
Said it's very hard, very hard to see that.
A young life thrust into a lost eternity.
Suicide is not the end.
It's not the end.
For those that commit suicide.
And they're not saved. Their mind has played tricks on them. They're sick or whatever it might be. Satan wants to capture them. He doesn't want them to accept Jesus. And it may be right now, this moment as we sit here in this room that the set Satan is whispering in your ears and say, don't pay any attention to that. Look what you've got, life ahead of you.
You don't know whether you have any life ahead of you. You may leave this room this evening.
And in 10 or 15 minutes may be gone.
I want to see my doctor.
But a week or two before we came out here, once a year, he wants to see me because I have a metal valve in my heart that he put in there.
11 years ago and once a year he wants to take a look at it to see how it's going. Well, he doesn't have to open me up to do this. He hasn't an echogram. And as I was lying on that stretcher and the technician was going all over my chest and listening to my heart and I could see a video monitor of my heart saying, oh, there's your see that valve. Oh, it's night. Oh, it's beautiful. It's just operating the way it should. I said, you probably say that to everybody that lies, you know, she said, if it doesn't look good, I don't say anything. I let the doctor do that.
Well, you know, something I can't see into your heart. I don't know whether it's good or not, but you made a statement that I wrote down somewhere and she said it's what's on the inside that's important. It's what's on the inside that's important.
Well, when I went out and I waited for the cardiologist to come and see me and get a big smile on his face, Hey, he said. Everything's looking fine. How are you feeling?
I said I feel great, he said. Good, he says. You're looking great, Everything's working well. The heart's beating OK. I don't want to see you for another year.
Well, that kind of makes you happy, doesn't it? But you know, that same doctor told me that he had a fellow in there, young fellow, good shape.
Very strong, healthy looking. I said you're looking great. 12 hours later he died. Why he was great. The doctor didn't know the real inside and I don't know the inside of you folks here.
00:45:17
But the Lord Jesus does. He looks right into the heart, and he knows whether you're laden with sin. But he's also got a prescription for you. I got a prescription to keep my blood thinned.
I've got a prescription to keep my blood pressure down, my doctor told me one time after my surgery.
He said Norm, we've been able to do a lot of things, but we can't transplant personalities.
He says that's something you've got to control, and so some of us get excited when we do things.
And our blood pressure goes up.
So you eat medication to keep it under control. That's the way things happen. So anyway.
Life at best is very brief. It's like the falling of a leaf, like the binding of a sheep.
Be in time. Here was this man in acts who said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? Why did he need to be saved? How did he know he was lost? Oh, he knew that his life was on the line. He knew that he was condemned. Those prisoners escaped.
But.
Paul shouted, louder than I could show, probably. And he says do thyself no harm. We're all here.
And then this question, beautiful question. Would you ask that question tonight?
Sir, what must I do to be saved? The answer was.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.
And my house is that hard to do?
It's not hard to do, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and all the things that we've traced from the Garden of Eden to the cross, to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and to the reality of Jesus coming in the glory to take with him all those that are saved. Would you believe that?
You know, I've spoken to some of my grandchildren, all of them.
Some of them have no problem with that. Children understand it so much better than older ones.
Somewhere in my Bible I have something. I don't know whether I can locate it, which is here it is.
I think I used that just recently.
Where someone asked a Scottish preacher, ***** asked 253 Christian friends at what age they were converted. Here's what he discovered. Under twenty 138. Between 20 and 3085. Between 30 and 4022. We're getting into your age bracket. Between 40 and 54. Between 50 and 63.
Between 60 and 71 / 70 zero. Where do you fall in this? Why is that so that?
Tell you something of a brother-in-law 82 years of age.
He's a professional football player. He was an Olympic swimmer. He married my sister. He's 20 years older than my sister. He's now 82. He was not the Lord's. He didn't want to hear anything about the Lord. He was saved recently.
Was it like this man who said, sirs, what must I do to be saved? No, he's still worried. He's still worried. He's such a little Christian. But you know, in having accepted Jesus as Savior has nothing to do with the amount he understands. And to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is a simple thing to put your trust in the one who died on Calvary's cross.
I accept that the Lord is the one that does the primary accepting. He accepted Him.
Read something interesting.
Man by the name of Vincenzo Riccardi.
His mummified body in Southampton, NY, was found dead for 13 months.
But his television was still on, and his body was propped up in a chair in front of it. The television was his only companion, and though it had much to tell him, it did not care where he lived, whether he lived or died. Ricardi's story raises many unsettling questions. How can a human being vanish for over a year and not be missed by anyone? Where was his family? What about his relatives? Why was the power still on in his house? Whatever the answers are to these and other questions.
00:50:08
One thing is clear, Riccardi was a lonely individual whose life can be summed up in one word, alienation. You see, Ricardi was blind, so he never really watched television. He needed this virtual reality to feed his need for real companionship.
Can you believe that this is factual? It's recorded. There's documentation that this has actually happened.
13 months, nobody knew he had gone.
There are men, women.
And children dying today in some other lands.
Where they're hardly missed.
That doesn't happen in this country, or does it? I just read something. Can that really happen? You know something, You know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Whether you're incapacitated, no matter what it is, blind or whatever the case may be, you have a companion, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Will come into your heart and he will be your friend. He'll be your Savior. He'll be your Lord, if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus.
And believe in my heart that God hath raised him from the dead. Thou shalt be saved.
They said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and this man that tells us he took these men.
Into his house he bathed their wounds. He looked after them.
He was saved.
For all eternity I'm going to meet that man in heaven. I have one other clipping here. I just want to read a very little bit of this.
It tells us here of a very wealthy woman, head of a multi billion dollar real estate and hotel empire will spend eternity. Listen, this is taken from the Toronto Sun.
It says here we'll spend eternity in a $1.4 million suburban.
With a magnificent view alongside her husband.
Nonsense. Nonsense. No grave, no matter how secure.
No mausoleum, no matter how firmly made, will contain that body for eternity. There will come a time when that body will be raised, and if that body, that person, died in their sins, they will be cast into a lost eternity. Each one in this room still has an opportunity to accept Jesus as Savior. It's not too late yet, but it could be.
If you put it off.
We're going to close this meeting.
And I think the volume of the talking is going to go up immediately and you may forget some of these things.
Please don't leave this room if you're not saved. If you're not saved, why don't you speak to one of us? We'd love to point out some scriptures to you. We can't force you to be saved. There's nothing we can do except turn you to the Lord Jesus Christ. I can't save anybody.
But the Lord Jesus can, and He will.
But he's not going to force you. You're not a robot. You can decide against it tonight, but don't do that. Decide for Christ.
I can't persuade you, I can only read the word of God to you, and the word of God can save you. In closing, let's sing #12 #12.
Just as I am.
Have you come, Sir? Have you come, Sir? I say that respectfully.
If you haven't come, please pay attention to what the Word of God says.
Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sentence be a scarlet.
They shall be as white as snow. Let's pray.
The Serpent on the Pole - Jesus on the Cross
Children—J. Kemp
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Well, good morning boys and girls, We.
Are here this beautiful day that the Lord has given to us.
This is the day which the Lord hath made. We will be glad and rejoice in it.
So we're going to start.
If you'll let me with a few songs, I.
Most of the songs are on the back of the.
Don't read very well, but.
I think you can join in anyway because you're going to be songs that we all know.
Who has a?
A selection.
This boy here?
4343 All right, 43 some brotherhood started, please.
Good, now another one please.
#40 All right, We all know that, you know I travel. Hope that you're going to hear me here. I traveled around the world, yeah.
Oh yes, I see. I travel around the world and nearly all the places I go, they know this song. India, Africa, it's well known all over the world. So let's sing #4 a few verses of #40 All right, Jesus loves me.
Whole Let's go on together and everything in the morning.
Last verse Now Jesus loves me, He will stay.
He will take thee. Hold my mind. Yes, he's on Spotify.
Yeah, it's a lot of spottis, baby. Yeah. I don't give you some sponsor. I don't find it falls down. Please go now. We're going to pray, boys and girls. So let us close our eyes so we can ask the Lord's help. I'm going to choose one him, if you don't mind.
2626.
#26 because I've got something here to show you.
00:05:01
In a few minutes.
Which?
The truth of this?
Yes. So how many are #26?
All right, 26.
Life in a Look at the Crucified One, I'm going to tell you a little story about a lady, a young lady, and I'm going to tell you her name.
I'm going to tell you her name. Her name was Amelia Hall. She lived in England, but she was.
A young lady of fashion, that is. She had all that her heart could wish.
Good food.
Probably a new dress every week. She lived in a wealthy home, lots of money, but Amelia didn't have peace in her heart.
Beautiful home. In fact, her father was a captain in the British Army. I think he was in the Navy. They lived in the South of England. Well, Amelia.
As I said, she.
Had everything she wanted.
She didn't need anything but one thing which I'm telling you about she needed the Lord Jesus and she did not have Him, though she had lots of money.
So she went to a little meeting, and she heard the gospel.
But the Lord Jesus dying for sinners, and she felt I'm a Sinner.
But I don't know how my father is going to react to this when I go home and.
Tell him that I've been at that little hall. I don't know.
He's a pretty strong man, a captain and but anyway, she went back home.
And she's told her father where she had been.
He flew into a rage.
Listen, young lady, don't you bring any of that stuff into this house, do you understand?
And I don't want you going to that meeting again. I'm not having any of that nonsense in my house. Well.
There was the there was his ultimatum. He was going to not going to have that at all.
But time went on. But there was still a hunger.
In the heart of Amelia she went back to that hall and she heard the gospel and furthermore.
This time she got saved. Brightly saved. Oh, she was so happy, but she had to go home. She.
She had to go home and when she went home.
Her father met her. Do you think he was happy?
By number means. Listen, young lady, I told you about this before that we're not having this in this house. Look, See that table in my library there? See that horse whip on the table? You go up to your room, think about what you have done.
And come down tomorrow morning and tell me your decision. Because if you don't, if you're going to continue with this nonsense, I'll whip it out of you with that whip that's right there in the library. And he meant what he said. He wasn't fooling.
So Amelia Hall went upstairs to her room.
But she didn't sleep very much that night.
She wasn't so much afraid of the horse whip. She was very sad for what her father had said. She prayed for him.
And she sat down with a piece of paper and a pen. She wrote this hymn that night. She wrote it during the middle of the night.
00:10:04
But she still had to meet her father next morning. Remember the appointment? So downstairs she came for breakfast as she wasn't interested in breakfast really. But downstairs she came and her father was right there at the bottom of the stairs.
The horse whip was right there on the table.
What she did, she handed him that poem.
And he took it and he read it through.
And.
It convicted him the Lord had been working in Captain Hall's heart, and he fell back in his chair, a new man, a new creature in Christ Jesus saved.
And he was gathered to the Lord's name for many years. Captain Hall in those early.
Decades there, the 1800s, he served the Lord. He was saved through that hymn that his daughter had written. Do you think he used the horse whip?
Do you think he used it now? Of course not. So let's sing a few stanzas of #26 Some brother would start it, please.
Last verse.
With me.
Open your Bibles if you're old enough to read Boys and Girls at John chapter 3.
We're just going to read a verse or two.
In verse 14.
And 15 of John chapter 3.
All right. And as Moses lifted up the serpent.
In the wilderness.
Even so must the Son of Man.
Be lifted up.
And whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
00:15:04
I want a boy to help me because I can't hold this microphone. You're going to offer, right? And talk at the same time and hold things at the same time. That's the boy. Hold it up so all the people can see it. What do we have here, This boy?
Right, a serpent on a pole. There we have it.
I think maybe you know this story already, but.
For anyone that doesn't know it, here's the background The Children of Israel.
God's earthly people were going through a desert.
You know what a desert is? There's nothing but sand and rocks.
No one to bring food to you, so God sent down food every morning.
Angels food, but the people weren't satisfied with that.
They said to Moses, take us back to the land of Egypt, the land of Egypt where we were being whipped.
By those taskmasters, those bosses that were trying to get.
All they could, all the workout of us that they could. And God heard their complaining. Sometimes we complain, boys and girls too, and God hears. They said we're tired of this light bread. This is the same all the time.
We want something else.
And God heard their complaint. And what did he do now? A girl or this boy here?
Yell he sent serpents into the camp of Israel.
And I guess you know what happened all this.
These serpents were fiery serpents.
Something like I see when I go to India. What is this?
Good boy, Cobra. I've seen these in real life a number of times. They're dangerous, of course, you know.
I've heard stories of the cobra biting, and usually it's fatal. That is, if you're bitten by a cold bread, it's only a matter of an hour or two when you're gone, unless you get immediate attention. Anyway, these fiery serpents that God sent, they went in and out among the people, the camp.
In the tents they could climb walls. They were quick and they were fiery, and they were poisonous. Like Satan. He has bitten every front of us, and in our bodies there is sin. Sin is in every one of our bodies. You cannot see it, but as Mr. Hebert said last night, it is right there in the heart.
Bitten by Satan, bitten by sin, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
Now what were they going to do? Because.
They were dying. They were dying. Men, women, boys and girls. They were dying and there was no doctors and there was no medicine or bandages. I I don't think anything, yes.
A The serpent on the pole. Yes, God had mercy on those people because he loved them. And he said to Moses, Moses, make a serpent out of brass.
Put it up where they can all see it and if they look, they will be healed.
They'll be saved from all that terrible poison that is in their body.
If they look, they will live. As many as looked to that serpent on the pole. Immediately, as quick as I snapped my finger, they were healed from that Awful.
Disease, that awful sickness that was going through their bodies and many people died, perhaps boys and girls included, I don't know, but I think so because there was a million people, so there must have been a lot of children.
OK.
And Moses lifted it up. Come and look, and you will be healed. Look, what's your name?
00:20:00
Clement, boys and girls, here's a little story.
How old are you, Clement?
Good, you're just the age that I want to tell.
About another little boy who was seven.
His name was Roger. Anyone with the name of Roger here? Roger.
Was seven years old. He lived in Canada. He lived near the Niagara Falls.
And he was out in a boat with his sister Diane and another man, James. He had on a a life belt lifesaver.
And they were rolling around on the river.
Just ahead of the falls and they lost control. They got into the current of the river and they couldn't turn around. Furthermore, they capsized. That is the boat turned over and what happened? They all were thrown into the water. Now the Niagara Falls, you know.
Is about twice as high as this school here. 162 feet and little Roger only had on a life belt. He was seven and he was floating down to the falls.
His sister was saved just in time. Someone reached out their hand and grabbed his sister just in time before she went over.
The man who was driving the boat, he went over and lost his life.
What happened to little Roger? He went over the falls.
The only boy who went over the falls and came up, he did.
He went right down into the abyss, the billows, the roaring waters at the bottom of the falls.
And he came up.
Bobbing around there.
And drifting down the river. But in Canada there is a ship.
And it is called the Maid of the Mist.
And.
The captain of that ship, he saw this object bobbing up and down. It was a little boy, Roger. He was calling for help. So he had a life preserver and he threw it out. And the second time Roger grabbed it, he was pulled into safety and lived to tell the story. Roger Woodward, seven years of age.
Of course, it was splashed all over the newspapers of Canada. The boy goes over the falls and lives.
Listen, that's not the end of the story. One year later, Roger was at a gospel meeting in New York, and he heard that he was a Sinner.
He heard that he was drifting down into eternity.
And he wasn't saved. He wasn't ready to meet God.
And he saw the Lord Jesus dying for him, suffering on the cross. He said, the Lord saved me once so that he could save me the second time. And little Roger looked to the Lord. He was eight years old now, wasn't he? He looked to the Lord, and what a wonderful peace and joy came into his heart. He knew that he was saved and his sins were forgiven, washed in the blood of Christ.
He said the Lord saved me forever. I was drifting down just like one year ago. I was drifting down to the Niagara Falls and the Lord preserved my life and here I am.
Nothing in the newspapers about that.
They weren't interested in that. The last I heard about Roger was that he was preaching the gospel.
Of course he's Noah. He's a big man now because that happened back in the 1960s.
Well, boys and girls.
Let us remember.
That.
God gave his Son to die for us on the cross.
And with Roger, it was his last chance.
When that life preserver was thrown to him, he was struggling in the water.
00:25:01
Frantically, he grabbed onto.
Three things Notice 1. Roger knew that he needed to be saved.
Do you know that you need to be saved? Maybe some of you already belong to the Lord?
Number two, he could not save himself. You know that he was struggling in the water.
There was number hope of him saving himself 3.
When the lifeline was thrown to him, he grabbed it and he was pulled into safety. Boys and girls, the Lord Jesus, those everlasting arms of love are reaching out to lift you up this morning from the pit of sin to give you peace like Roger got by believing in Christ to save you from your sins.
So.
That was the last chance that it might have been the last. It was the last chance for Roger.
There was no time to delay.
I'm going to tell you a little story about.
Something that happened in Brazil?
My wife is Eleanor here. You've seen her. She's from Brazil. We've been married one year.
Well, we were coming back from visiting her relatives in the South of Brazil. We were coming through a very large city and we were at the airport waiting for our flight to be called. We were sitting in the waiting room and a lot of people were around. They speak Portuguese there. They don't speak English very much and.
Well, I thought.
You usually give out tracks at the airport, but for some reason I don't feel like it today.
And so I didn't give out tracks that day.
To the passengers that were sitting there.
Flights were called.
Our flight we were waiting for to go to Sao Paulo, that huge city of 17 million people where Eleanor lives and.
Another flight was going to that same city at the same time that we were to leave.
And it left, it left that city where we were, Porto Alegre, and it went to Sao Paulo, but it never arrived, those people.
That were on that flight. We were not booked on that flight. They never arrived alive in Sao Paulo. If they had received a tract, I still reproach myself for not giving out tracks. It would have been literally their last opportunity because that flight coming into Sao Paulo, a foggy, wet night hit the runway.
And couldn't. The pilot couldn't control the plane. It went up over a highway.
And smashed into a fuel depot. Well, you know what happened then? It was an explosion. 1999 people.
I guess they were all sitting in that airport.
An hour and a half before were taken into eternity. Last chance. How solemn.
So, boys and girls, we don't know.
What a day may bring forth if God is speaking today to you.
It's the day of salvation, maybe the last chance to receive the Lord into your heart by faith.
To reach out your hand like Roger did in our story and grab hold of salvation through Christ. The power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.
So in the story that we told you, the children of Israel, they knew they were dying. They couldn't do anything to save themselves.
The serpent of brass was before them, boys and girls, this boy that helped me here.
You still available here, please. OK, thank you. Turn over on the other side.
What have we got here?
Across now, we don't look to us turn it around here, Clement. We don't look to a serpent of brass now, no.
00:30:07
Because.
We see a lot of people with crosses around their necks these days, you know, but some of these people that have crosses, they, you speak to them about the Lord Jesus and they don't have any interest. They think across as a sort of a charm, but.
I want you to get the point here. The Lord Jesus was lifted up on the cross as we read in our verse in John chapter 3. Lift it up by wicked men nailed to the cross, Crown of thorns, His back scourged and bleeding. Yeah, hold it up. The spear, Yeah, spear put into his side forthwith came out. Blood and water immediately God said.
Here is the way to be saved, the blood of Jesus.
Christ, God's Son, can cleanse you from all your sins.
For you to look and you will live like that Lady. We spoke of Amelia. She looked to Christ and she was saved. Like Roger in our story that was nearly gone in the Niagara River. He looked to the Lord Jesus and was saved. Will you look to him today? Don't look at yourself, look to Christ. I want to say something.
Here I want to say something before we stop. If you ask the Lord to save you, you will be put on his shoulders of strength, not one shoulder, because easily you could fall off.
The Lord Jesus, the Creator of the whole universe, He holds the.
World, this whole globe here the world, He holds it on one shoulder. It tells us in Isaiah chapter 91. Shoulder, He holds the world. But if you, a lost sheep, a wandering sheep looked to him, believe he died for you, He'll put you on both shoulders and he won't let you go until he has you on that peaceful shore.
Thank you, Clement.
One more, one more story, and then we're finished.
This boy here, this girl here would hold this for me.
Please. And this boy on the other side here, could you stand up?
Good. Stand up and hold this up. Now this is another story about the Niagara Falls. OK, how many have seen the Niagara Falls?
Niagara Falls.
The boys and girls I see. So you know what it's like. Well, I'm going to tell you a story about a man.
Here's his name, Mr. Blondin. He was a Frenchman, but he was the best tightrope Walker in the world.
He lived many years ago.
In France, but he came over to Canada and he's going to walk over the Niagara Falls on a tightrope. There it is. Underneath are the dark, swirling waters. You know how dangerous that would be. Mr. Blondin was just like a monkey.
He climbed up and he went across the falls.
And he laid down, and he turned to somersault.
And he took a wheelbarrow over and he sat down and ate his lunch.
Right in the middle of the falls, Mr. Blondin.
Was a daredevil, there were 100,000 people watching. They were weak with anxiety. Would he get over safe and sound?
He had a big 40 foot.
All that is sometimes used to balance himself.
But there he was, crossing over.
Just as playful as a monkey.
But he said when he got over here to the American side.
There was that vast crowd. They run special trains. They say 100,000 people were watching him. That's a lot of people, 100,000 people.
And he said I want, I don't want to go over there alone. I don't want to go back to Canada alone.
00:35:00
Who will come with me?
He gave the challenge. Is there a volunteer that will?
Come with me on my back. They all knew that he could do it.
There was the Prince of Wales, the son of the King, looking on. Mr. Blondensell, Your Majesty, will you come with me? No, thanks.
Anyone else volunteering to come? Because I don't want to go across to Canada all by myself. No one would come. Well, he said to his manager, Henry, will you come with me? Yes, I will come. He was the one that looked after all the public relations, you know. So he got on the back of Mr. Blondin and they started across.
Foot by foot.
Inch by inch, here they were, out in the middle, the dark.
Swirling waters below, ready to grab them.
One wrong move and he's gone. You know that. And he had a man on his back.
But Mr. Blondin had enemies, too.
And someone had loosened the rope and here it was swaying back and forth.
And Mr. Blondin knew there was trouble.
This was the closest call of his life.
Because.
Would he get over?
Henry said. You get down and hold my hips.
Because this is dangerous now. Remember Henry, he said. You're no longer Henry. You are blonde. If I sway, you sway. Don't balance yourself or that's the end of us. He grit his teeth. There was the kosher. There's only one way we're going to get across here safe. He ran for all he was worth, and to everyone's amazement, no one knows how he held his balance.
He arrived on the Canadian shore exhausted. The last time that Mister Blondin ever crossed over the falls. All the piles of glory lead to the grave and gone is Mr. Blondin. I don't know if he crossed over the deep waters of death and landed on the heavenly shore. I don't know. Gone are those 100,000 people that watched him.
Gone is Henry his manager. They're all in eternity, but let me tell you.
Before we stop about a man who.
Went down under the waters of judgment. There were the.
Angry waters of the Niagara River, the Lord Jesus.
On the cross he went down under the deep waters of judgment, the ways and the billows, and he came up triumphant. He had died for sinners, and now he's inviting you boys and girls.
To come and receive him and get on his shoulders of strength this morning so that you'll crossover.
The great abyss from life, from death to life. No one has crossed the sea of death without the Lord Jesus. Thousands have received him, have been put on His shoulders of strength, and are safe and sound on the heavenly shore. We want everyone of you here to be.
To safely land in the glory wash from your sins by the precious blood of Christ. Thank you. Just roll it up for me, please.
Well.
About time that we stopped. This is something that we use for the boys and girls in Ottawa. So I see there's some little ones here and we will just show you this and then we will close. What color is that, Len? Good boy. What color is this? Correct and this boy here?
And.
Well, starting with the gold page instead of the black, What does the gold page speak of?
Eternity, Clement says. This boy here.
00:40:00
OK, yeah, the streets of gold in the glory in heaven, where the Lord is.
Who has come up out of the waters of judgment? The black page? What does that speak of?
Sin sin right and the red page.
The precious blood of the Lord Jesus and the white Page.
Yeah, this is how we can have those sins that have blotted our lives and our hearts washed away so that we are ready to meet the Lord in the glory forever and ever.
There was a little girl in my hobby class in Ottawa, Canada. She was a French girl. She came to the meeting on crutches. She was a lovely child, but for some reason she had an injury and she had to use crutches. And she came faithfully to the hobby class week after week with her brothers and her family. They just lived near the hall.
And listen to the gospel. She had a lovely smile. It was quite difficult for her to get up and down the stairs, but she drank in the message. And then one night.
In December in Ottawa, Canada, where it was so cold, I know her house, it's no longer there because it burnt down, but there was a fire in that house and that little French girl.
And all her brothers who came to the hobby class many times and heard the message that you have heard this morning, they were all taken in death. Suddenly, I think one brother escaped. The whole family were gone in that fire in the middle of the night. I hope that I'll meet that little girl in the glory. And I hope that I will meet each one of you there too. By His grace, let's sing a song to.
Conclude.
Number.
42.
Shall we bow our heads and close our eyes and just thank the Lord for our Sunday school?
The Foundation
Address—R. Thonney
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Let's sing number 99.
We were in South America, we would be singing four or five or six hymns, and that gives a chance for everybody. Sit down. But we don't have exactly that amount of time here. So we're going to sing number 99 on Christ. Salvation, rest, secure. The Rock of Ages must endure, nor can that faith be overthrown, which rests upon the living stone.
On Christ's salvation.
Like to start with a verse in Psalm 11?
And verse 3.
Psalm 11.
Verse 3.
If the foundations be destroyed.
What can the righteous do?
My desire is to speak today about foundations.
Extremely important part of any building.
Is the foundation. But you know, it's interesting that foundations are not very visible.
You would look for the foundations of this building. You probably might see some evidence of them, but.
They majorly are under the ground where you can't see them.
00:05:03
But they are extremely important the.
The other day, my boy, my son Dave and I were at Ground Zero in New York City. You're probably aware of the fact that they have decided to rebuild another office building there.
About 60 stories, if I am correct, but they are in the business of starting that building and they are several stories under the ground right now.
And it's interesting, I think they're still digging out some rubble down there.
But what they are occupied in doing is setting some good foundations and I noticed on one side of the area foundations that have been set and they have these big rods that go down into the earth.
Sure, you know more about that Brother Bernie than I do, but those evidently are to give extra strength to the foundations now.
I don't suppose once the building is built that those will ever be visible.
But they are extremely important.
Here is a question in this Psalm that says, If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?
Foundations of our faith are also extremely important, and what comes across as such a tremendous challenge to me, and I speak not only to those who are older, but to you who are younger, is that we are living in a country where foundations of faith are being undermined at a rapid rate.
You know, you'd go down underneath this building and somehow destroy the foundations of it. It may not be immediately very apparent what's going on because it would be out of sight, but it wouldn't be too long when you would start to see huge cracks form in the wall because there is no foundation work there.
And it really impresses me, dear young brother and sister in the Lord Jesus.
We live in difficult times, they are not easy. Anywhere you go, the enemy is trying to destroy the foundations because if he he knows if he destroys the foundations, then there will be collapse in the end and some young people that used to gather to the Lord's name.
Have gone in other directions.
Some have given up.
Their faith completely say what has happened and I don't think we're aware of the fact that the system, the educational system.
Is many times a force that the enemy is using to undermine the faith. It is interesting the debate that there has been about intelligent design.
In the school system it has been pretty well rejected the fact that everything that is created shows such order.
That there must have been an intelligent designer.
They say it's religious and we can't have religion in the schools.
And so they revert to evolution.
But I want to point out the fact that if evolution is true, if there is no God who has designed this world, this universe has designed your body that.
Complicated. A machine that you and I live in.
Then there is at the same time absolutely no purpose to life.
No purpose to your existence. It follows because we know as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ that there is a designer, there is a Creator, and you might be a little bit different than the rest of your friends, but remember, He made you just like you are. Maybe you don't like your face when you look in the mirror. Remember He made you that way.
00:10:20
With a very specific purpose of blessing, Remember that it gives tremendous meaning to life when you realize you have been made in the image and likeness of God. Wonderful. That's one of the foundations that is being undermined. No wonder kids take their lives when they realize.
There is no purpose at all to life. Why prolong the agony, the struggle down here? You can see why they do that. But what comes as such a challenge to me is that we do have a foundation, work that stands sure in our days when there's so much confusion. Dear young people, we have something we can base our lives on. We have something we can count on. Thank you.
God for it, you know in the Old Testament, Solomon.
Built a very impressive building. Let's go to the Book of First Kings.
And.
Chapter 5 and verse.
17 It's not my purpose to dwell long.
On these Old Testament scriptures.
But just to point out.
That there was a building built in Jerusalem by King Solomon and it says in the 17th verse of First Kings chapter 5 the king commanded and they brought great stones.
Costly stones and huge stones.
To lay the foundation of the house.
Next chapter goes into details as to the house, but my purpose is only to read that.
To show that this house that he built, it was the House of the Lord, what we call the temple.
In those Old Testament times.
Had real well laid foundations.
Important. It was an impressive place. Great. Costly.
Stones covered with and gold and precious stones and fine wood.
I don't suppose there's ever been a building quite like it. What happened to that house?
We know that in the course of Israel's history, their kings began to turn away from the Lord.
And the result was.
That the Lord allowed enemies to come in.
And finally, in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, it was completely destroyed.
And evidently the foundations were destroyed as well.
Sad for that people. No more House of the Lord.
No more foundations. Look at Ezra chapter.
I think it's chapter 3.
Verse six from the first day of the 7th month began they to offer burnt offerings.
Unto the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet.
Laid further down in the chapter.
Verse 9 Then stood Joshua with his sons and his brother, and Cadmiel and his sons.
And the sons of Judah together to set forward the workmen in the House of God.
The sons of Hina, Dad, with their sons and their brethren, the Levites.
00:15:01
When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites and the sons of asaf with symbols to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David, King of Israel.
And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the Lord, because He is good for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the House of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men.
That had seen the 1St house when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes wept with a loud voice and many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern the noise of shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a loud shout and the noise was heard afar off.
Some were weeping, some were shouting for joy. Why? Because they foundations of that house were laid again. Oh, how important it is to have right foundations, I suppose the older ones who had seen the temple in its glory.
Knew that there wasn't going to be anything that would compare with the time of Solomon, and they wept when they thought of the ruin that had come in. But the younger ones shouted for joy. There's something so important about laying down foundation work. And dear young people, my desire for you is that you would have a good foundation.
For your own faith, you know I was brought up in the meeting.
As we talk about it.
I was brought up where?
We got together for reading meetings.
And I can remember.
Many times as I sat there in those meetings, I didn't seem to get very much.
But I'm so thankful that as a child, as a young person, I sat in those meetings to get.
Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. In the end, it has been a tremendous blessing to my soul. It has given me a foundation work for my faith.
But I want to say to you, dear young people, you have got.
To exercise your own faith. I can remember specific times.
In my soul's experience.
Where there were things that I had learned by listening to older brethren minister the Word.
In the meeting.
And I never doubted it, but I had never really set my feet down.
On the ground of what scripture said by my own faith.
I remember.
When the time of the Vietnam War.
There was a brother that used to be instrumental amongst those gathered the Lord's name. His name was Paul Wilson.
He helped me a lot in understanding our position as believers in the Lord Jesus.
And at that time there was a draft so that all young men had to serve two years for the government.
But he helped me to understand that the Constitution of the United States provides.
For those who have conscientious objection about going to war.
To kill others.
And you can serve an alternate fashions.
And I remember taking, I took that stand and I was finally granted by the government one all classification that meant that I could do alternative service, which I did in downtown Chicago for two years.
00:20:02
But I remember when I was down there in Chicago, at that hospital, serving my time, there were others who were peace activists, and they had taken that stand not for any.
Reason of relation to God. But just simply they didn't like war and they asked me.
Why in the world are you a conscience is objector, and I told them that Jesus had said my Kingdom is not of this world, my Kingdom were of this world than would my servants fight, but now as my Kingdom not from. Hence you know what they did. They laughed in my face and I have to confess I was shaken.
And you know what it made me do? It made me go right back to the scriptures.
Hey, I've been taught this is it real will this teaching that I have received hold and give me a firm basis to stand and you know what young people I found it did it gave me a firm basis to stand. Thank God for sound teaching of the word of God. So I'm just saying that that it's not enough to sit in meetings and listen that's.
Very important part of it, but you have to exercise your faith and laying hold of it for yourself. Why do you say you believe certain things?
Is that just what you've been taught, or is that your personal conviction of faith? Faith is a very individual thing.
So they relayed the foundations, because evidently the foundations.
Had been broken up. Now I want to go to the New Testament to talk about foundations.
Let's go first to Matthew's Gospel. It's interesting that of the four Gospels.
The only gospel that speaks about the church is Matthews Gospel.
Twice it mentions the church. How fitting, because it is the introduction to the New Testament.
And the main theme of the New Testament is the church.
Church wasn't formed until the book of the Acts. After the Lord's life down here, His death, His resurrection, His ascension to glory, He sent down the Holy Spirit to form the church. Dear young people, we need to learn these things to understand them because you're going to be challenged sooner or later as to where you stand on these things. It's not just that brethren have taught this.
Is it the word of God? That's why when we have reading meetings.
I hope you're with your Bible open in front of you and when there are brethren that are talking.
Just because they said it doesn't make it true. What makes it true is it's written in this book. And if it's written in this book, it will stand forever. It cannot be corrupted. The foundation will never be destroyed.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. Oh what comfort those words give us in a world where everything is changing, things are being corrupted, even young people that associate sometimes with us.
I hear things that make me shake my head. Is it possible that there is no foundation there? Is it possible giving what they are doing?
Dear young people, let me say to you, if you have the faith that is of God in your soul, God will test that faith. But I want you to get back into the scriptures.
And get it for yourself and as you sit in the meetings and listen to what's said.
Look at the verses that are being explained.
See if you can see it there, the value of the reading of the word.
Is that it makes clear what Scripture is saying, so that what mandates in your life and mine is not what brethren say, but is what God says in His Word. And if you can say I believe this because God says it clearly in His Word, you have a foundation that cannot be moved.
00:25:14
Oh, how important that is.
Matthew 16, verse 13.
When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi.
He asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, AM?
And they said, some say that thou art John the Baptist, some Elias.
And others. Jeremias are one of the prophets, he saith unto them. But whom say ye that I am? Notice there was a lot of human opinion about who Jesus is. That's the same as it is today.
Who is Jesus? If I would ask you who is Jesus, what kind of an answer would you give me?
This is very important. Notice Peter's answer verse 16. And Simon Peter answered and said.
Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
What a beautiful confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus didn't come in power and glory when he came, but Peter.
Recognized by faith who he was, He was the Christ.
The Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and bloodeth not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven. You don't get the revelation of the Son of God, the Christ, the Son of the living God, from human wisdom, from human opinion. You get it from divine revelation, from the Father.
That's where it comes from.
And then he says no. Verse 18. Such an important verse.
And I say unto thee that thou art Peter.
The name Peter means a little stone.
And upon this rock, it's another word. It's a related word.
But it means an immense stone.
I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Where is the church to be built? What is the foundation upon which this church?
Is built. It is the fact that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Oh, how important it is to be clear in your soul as to who Jesus is. Who is he?
Make sure you understand that clearly, because that's where we rest as believers.
And he says the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I love that.
They can persecute God's people, and they do in many parts of the world.
We have relative freedom in our country, thank God for it.
But in other parts of the world they are severely persecuted.
For faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, I don't know.
If that would happen here, how many of us would still be here?
I don't even know about myself. You can't trust your own heart.
But it certainly does make you stop and think.
How much does that truth mean that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God? Some years ago in Bolivia.
I was visiting the home of a nice Christian family. They're not gathered with us, but they're nice believers.
But the sister of the house says to me, surely, Brother Robert, it would be right.
That we would vote against the Communist Party because it's.
Atheistic.
I said, Sister, do you know something?
That God is using the Communist Party in China.
To make his church grow as in hardly any other part of the world.
00:30:03
It is growing by leaps and bounds because of the persecution of the Communist Party.
God is over ruling the persecution and making it grow.
The gates of hell cannot prevail against his church. Isn't that a wonderful thing to know?
Do you believe it?
It's awful easy to say, yeah, sure, I believe it. That's what we've been taught.
The dear young people, we need to make it our own. These are very real things.
We're living in days when the enemy wants to undermine.
The place that Jesus only should have.
You know, one of the things that I think has undermined this truth in our country here is the idea of human rights and doing what you like, and nobody should judge me because this is the way I see it.
I like Burger Kings.
But one of the sayings of Burger King is have it your own way.
You don't want onions on there. Have it your own way.
OK, that's fine as far as it goes. But young person, is that the character of your life? To have it your own way? Do what you want to do, not want anybody else to judge you for what you're doing.
That is undermining the truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
May we be challenged. These things are real. May we be challenged.
As to how much?
These foundation, this foundation work has been undermined in our own soul because in God's book it can never be undermined. It's there forever.
I'd like to go to another verse now in Ephesians chapter 2 That speaks of the foundation.
Ephesians chapter 2.
And we'll start with verse 19.
Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints.
And of the household of God.
And are built. Notice this.
Upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.
Jesus Christ himself being.
The chief cornerstone, in whom all the buildings fitly framed together.
Groweth unto an holy temple.
In the Lord, in whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God.
Through the Spirit.
Here the foundation that's mentioned in verse 20.
Is called the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Interesting, I thought the foundation was the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
It is.
But it is the foundation that the apostles and prophets laid out for us in the Scriptures of the New Testament. That's what we rest upon as this building is talked about, the foundation of the apostles and prophets. We have those who are apostles in Scripture.
In the New Testament, we've already talked about Matthew. He was an apostle. Mark was not an apostle.
But he was used to write the Gospel of Mark. Luke was not an apostle that I know about.
But he wrote Luke's Gospel and he wrote the book of the Acts. He certainly could be called a prophet.
00:35:01
And it's these scriptures that are laid out for us in the New Testament that.
Is our foundation work? What program should we have?
As gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus as members of the body of Christ.
You better have something in Scripture if you're going to do it. You know, it says in Acts chapter 2, maybe we should just look at that. Don't leave this place because I want to come back to it. But Acts chapter 2 and verse 42 Says they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. There's the program.
That is valid.
Right up till now.
They continued steadfastly. What does that mean to you?
Doesn't mean that they did it for a while, then they kind of left off and they did it some more and then they left off again. That doesn't mean steadfast. Steadfast is continually.
How are you in your attendance at the meetings, dear young brother and sister and the Lord Jesus?
If I would ask some of your local brethren, would they say it's steadfast?
His continuance, that's what we're encouraged to do.
In Scripture, what did they continue steadfastly in? The first thing mentioned is the apostles.
Doctrine. Doctrine is just a word that means the apostles teaching.
And so we have not only the Gospels, we have the book of the Acts, we have the Epistles.
That tell us what the apostles teaching is about. Remember when I was younger?
Wondered why we don't go back in our reading meetings, take up Old Testament scriptures very much.
It's not that we don't recognize that the Old Testament is the word of God.
And that all scripture is profitable, but it's because.
It's important that we be grounded in the doctrine of the Apostles.
The New Testament, that's what applies directly to us. Yes, the word of God is one.
Glorious.
Whole and we should read it all.
Because it's all profitable. But when it comes to being grounded as to where we stand, what practice we carry out in assembly meetings, there should be understanding of the doctrine of the apostles, the apostles teaching.
And the second thing is the Apostles fellowship, the teaching.
And the fellowship go together. The fellowship or the teaching is the is the basis of the fellowship.
How are you and I going to be in agreement on things? Maybe I have one opinion, you have another.
It's not a matter of my opinion and your opinion.
It's a matter of seeking to get into the Lord's presence to see what the Word.
Of God is really saying to us and bowing mutually.
Bowing there, that will bring us into unity, unity of the Spirit.
And the breaking of bread. What is the breaking of bread for?
It's to show the fellowship that we enjoy.
As members of the body of Christ, we have that one loaf on the table and Lords the morning. That one loaf represents every member of the body of Christ on the face of the whole earth, not just those of us who are there. No every single believer is represented in that loaf.
And when that loaf is broken and passed, those who partake.
Are saying in effect I am a member in part of one body that includes all believers on the face of the earth. Oh what a privilege that is. Maybe you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, but you are not partaking of the Lord's Supper.
You should. That's the privilege that belongs to every believer.
That's the scriptural way of showing publicly that you are a member of one body by partaking of that one loaf. And the last thing that they persevered in was prayers. Wonderful to be not only at the reading meeting, but at the prayer meeting, wonderful privilege. I don't think we understand sufficiently the privilege it is.
00:40:25
Of going collectively before the throne of grace. Brethren, where are we going? Just into a meeting room. Well, that's a convenient place for us to get together, Yes, but it's not the meeting room where we're going.
By faith, we are going into the holiest of all, into heaven itself. You ever stop to think about that? We're going before the throne of God.
In heaven itself there are millions upon millions of angels there.
Yes, even Satan sometimes appears there to accuse the brethren, as it tells us in the Book of Job.
And here I come, or here we come collectively. What right do we have there?
Brethren, we have a right that is extremely precious. We are the redeemed ones of the Lord.
Oh, to realize the privilege of coming boldly into the throne of grace.
I want to encourage you, young brothers. There were a lot of pauses in the prayer meeting this morning. I was glad for those who had the courage to just simply pray. You don't have to be gifted to pray.
There's something the Lord has laid on your heart. Express it. Be encouraged to participate in the prayer meeting, young brother. Young sisters, participate too.
Not inaudible form.
But you follow those who are praying, and at the end, if you're in agreement, you say Amen.
You are participating just as much as the brothers, even though your voice.
Is not heard. So those are things that we ought to be persevering in. Are we young brothers and sisters? Do you want a foundation for your own soul that is going to stand the test of the difficult times that we're going through in our world, in our particular time allotment here in this world? These are very important matters.
Going back to Ephesians chapter 2.
I just want to point out the fact that I think it is clear now that the foundation of the apostles and prophets is what has been laid out in Scriptures. The Apostle Paul wrote a number of epistles. Apostle Peter, Apostle John, James and Jude, who evidently were the Lord's brothers, also wrote as prophets. Perhaps we could consider them.
Because they didn't come to faith in the Lord while the Lord was here on earth in his lifetime. It must have been afterwards, but they wrote and what they say is helpful to. But these things we need to read. And I want to ask you, dear young brother, especially the young brothers, to get a solid grasp of the outline of Scripture while you're young.
I came to Chicago when I was 18.
To work at Bible Truth Publishers.
And in time I got called to do my two years of service while I was here.
Which I did in downtown Chicago, but I must say, even though it was stressful.
I set aside a time in the morning to be quiet with the Lord.
To read the scriptures and to read some of the good ministry about the scriptures.
Essay has been a tremendous blessing to my own soul. I want to encourage you to seriously get into the word. Understand it. We all grow and understand. You're not going to understand much at the beginning, but you can make the effort in that direction and you'll find in later days it will really stand you. Instead, there will be a foundation there.
00:45:02
Well, here it says that Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.
We don't build this way, perhaps today, but we build.
With reference points.
But in Bolivia, when we were going to build the meeting room that we have in Cochabamba, there happened to be the people that owned the lot before happened to leave on the lot a lot of huge piles of stone. So we decided we wouldn't build it with brick, we'd build it with stone.
And in one place there was a particularly large stone, and we brought it up to the front of the building, what was going to be the corner of the building. And we dug down and we laid that stone in there. It had kind of a flat top, and they made markings on the top of that stone. And all the measurements were made from that stone. How long was this building going to be? How wide, how high every measurement was made?
From that stone, what do we learn here in the fact that the Lord Jesus?
Is the chief cornerstone simply this, dear young people, that he is the only reference point in this building that we are talking about the church?
Oh, how easy it is in our days of humanism to make ourselves a reference point, to say, I don't see it that way. I don't think the brethren should do it because I'm not in agreement. What is that doing? It's making myself a reference point.
That's not right. There's only one reference point. It's.
The Lord Jesus Christ, how easy it is in our conversations, in our expressions.
To lose that.
You know, he wants me to tell you about something that I think we need to be thinking about young people. Somebody came up to me after a recent time of trouble amongst the Lord's people.
And they said to me, you people think you have the Lord's Table.
I said to him.
The Lord has.
His table. It's not ours to have, but my desire.
Is to be there and my exercise of heart is to be there but you see sometimes people make the statement we have the Lord's table. What is that That's humanism that has infected our thinking. It's not us the reference point, it's Christ. It has to be that way. Dear young people, He is the chief cornerstone and then it says verse 21 upon.
In whom all the building fitly framed together.
Groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. It's growing towards an holy temple in the Lord. I love those those words fitly framed together.
And it is a beautiful experience to go from 1 Country to another amongst those who have been saved by the grace of God.
And who the Lord has LED along, so that they meet in simplicity as members of the body of Christ.
To meet with them and to see how the Lord is working with them as He's working with us.
To fitly framus together all God's people.
Are being prepared for that day of glory when we see what God has done.
From every tongue, every nationality, every people.
He's gathered in those he's saved by his grace to make this holy temple in the Lord. What a day of glory it's going to be. But notice verse 22, in whom ye also are builded. This is present tense together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. This is what is true today. We are in habitation of God through the Spirit.
The Spirit of God dwells in US collectively. You know, what happens so often is that we tend to start looking at certain brethren as leading brethren.
00:50:02
And there are our leading brethren. Not going to deny that. There are brethren that were a real help and blessing to me. I owe a lot to the Lord for their help.
But, brethren, it's not leading, brethren, that we are to look to.
We are to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those leading brethren may be there.
To call attention to something that needs to be corrected or to help us.
To understand a certain Scripture. But it's the Lord we are to look about too. It's the Holy Spirit that is to be active in our midst. You know, it's something that the brethren in Bolivia speak a lot about is the liberty of the Spirit, how important it is. What do we mean when we talk about the liberty of the Spirit? It doesn't mean that there's liberty for anybody who wants to say something to say it.
That's not what it means. It means that when you sit down in this room.
And when I sit down in what we call an assembly meeting where there is no one appointed to take a meeting like I've been asked to this time, but it's like a reading meeting where we wait on the Lord, Then each person, your young brothers, just as much as anybody else, should sit down in the attitude of heart. Lord, I'm a vessel if you want to use me.
I want to be ready to be used, but if you sit down and say in effect.
Boy, there's a lot of.
Brethren here, I don't think I'm going to open my mouth today if you say that you're quenching the Spirit of God. And we are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. And it is so beautiful when there is a sense of that in our souls and a delivering from the fear of men, whoever they might be.
If you learn to live in the fear of God, you will be delivered from the fear of men. There's one more place I want to go before we finish up our time here.
Since Two Timothy, chapter 2.
It speaks about the foundation as well.
And we're really living in Second Timothy times.
Was evidently the last epistle that the apostle Paul wrote.
He speaks in chapter 3, verse one of the last days.
And that there be there were to be perilous times.
Difficult times, I think we're there.
Difficult times, you know, Everywhere I go, life is just not easy. It's hard.
There's hard problems, I just don't have the answer for majority of them. Sometimes you can point out a scripture that may be a help, but there are hard times.
We're living in these days, and it was perhaps discouraging time because Timothy.
Was evidently a young man thank God for you young men here tonight, this afternoon. I'm sorry this morning isn't it usually I haven't addressed in the afternoon but.
Thank God for you anyhow, you brothers, young brothers.
Timothy was probably timid.
Paul had to say to him in the first chapter, God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.
But in the end of chapter one he speaks about all those in Asia had turned away from the apostle Paul.
The apostle Paul, Timothy's spiritual father, was in prison.
He was to be executed at any time. According to secular history, he was taken out of that prison cell, taken outside the city of Rome and beheaded.
How would you feel if you were Timothy?
Your spiritual father taken away that way, kind of discouraged.
Kind of tough for a timid young brother.
But what I want to point out to you, dear young brother and sister and the Lord Jesus, because this includes the sisters too. Chapter 2.
00:55:02
There's a little statement here that is extremely.
Comforting to my own soul.
There was bad teaching being circulated.
Speaks about verse 17 of chapter 2.
I'm an ES and Philetus who concerning the truth of heirs, saying that the resurrection is passed already and overthrow the faith of some.
Now notice the next verse.
Nevertheless, and this is what I'd like to leave with you, dear young people.
Has been such a tremendous consolation to my own soul nevertheless.
The foundation of God standeth sure.
Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameeth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
You know in the Old Testament when the temple was destroyed in the time of Nebuchadnezzar.
Evidently.
The foundations were broken up to.
In the New Testament time we have a temple being built. It is not of stones, I shouldn't say of dead stones. It's of living stones. These people that are sitting in this room, if they're believers in the Lord Jesus, are the living stones that God is building into his building. It's a very real temple as well.
But there's been a lot of ruin in the public testimony, not ruin necessarily of the church as God sees it.
But ruining the public testimony? Who would ever guess if they would go out to interview here?
In this city, those who are called Christians, who had ever guessed that there is one body?
Who wouldn't guess that? So there's numerous bodies of Christians.
Why? Because the public testimony is in ruins.
What are we going to do when there's so much ruin, so much false teaching?
Go back to this verse again, dear young person. Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. In other words, it's not for you and I to go out and decide who's real and who's false. We don't have to do that. We can leave that with the Lord. The Lord knows, but there is a side of our responsibility, and it's that second part.
Let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.
If you name that name, don't connect that name with iniquity.
Our time is gone.
But I just want to encourage you, dear young people. There is a foundation that stands firm even in our day. Maybe you'll have to dig down through the rubble of your own thinking, through the rubble of human thoughts to get to that foundation. But it's there, and it's firm. You'll find this word will stand. God's truth will stand forever.
Says in one John chapter 2.
That this world passes away and it's lusts, but he that does the will of God.
Abides forever. Maybe you encouraged dear young people.
To stand on the truth of Holy Scripture.
Christ the One in Whom We Can Trust
Address—D. Buchanan
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
We open our meeting with him #259.
Ah yes, Lord Jesus.
Thou whose heart?
Still, for thy Saints doth care, we shall behold thee.
As thou art, and thy full image bear, thy love sustains us by the way.
While pilgrims here below the audacity Savior day by day.
Thy suited grace Bestow 259.
Yes, Lord Jesus.
'Cause I always.
Like to read 3 scriptures to introduce the subject I have before me first of all in Genesis chapter 4.
And verse 9.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not.
Am I my brothers keeper?
I'll turn to John 17.
John's Gospel, chapter 17.
And verse 12.
The Lord Jesus speaking here.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of Perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
00:05:14
And lastly in first Peter 4.
Verse 19.
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God.
Commit the keeping of their souls to Him.
In well doing as unto a faithful Creator.
I would like to bring before our hearts tonight.
Something of the keeping.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The faithful one we can trust.
We live in a world where.
People don't believe in anything.
We have young people that grow up that have never learned to trust anybody.
Thankfully, most of us here have been taught this from a year early.
Childhood.
We have had parents that loved us.
That cared for us and we probably never doubted.
That they loved and cared for us.
And.
Bob was speaking to us about the foundations being destroyed.
This could be a foundation that was destroyed. The Lord speaks about the causing offense to the little ones.
Was worse was worse than anything else in In conclusion, it would be better that a millstone be hanged around their neck and they drowned then to cause that kind of an.
Offense.
To cause a little one to be misdirected.
From knowing.
A faithful God.
In whom we can trust.
We have begun.
With the 1St man or boy born.
King.
Who went down a path? Let's go back to Genesis there and notice a little more.
I'd like to read.
About Cain and Abel.
An interesting notice, something interesting here in verse two of chapter 4 it says.
And she bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper.
Of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
A godly parent who is here suggested to me one time.
That if he had the opportunity to raise a family again.
He would buy them some animals to care for.
And I thought about that.
Abel was a keeper of sheep. You know, animals need care and if you're going to have an animal.
You have to learn how to be faithful and care for that animal or it will die.
How many little animals have died because of little children or sad to say, even older ones who have not cared well?
00:10:10
For those little creatures.
You see, it's nice to learn some of these lessons.
In the issues of life that are not quite so important.
As the destiny of our souls or things later on that become more major. Now that's just a observation.
We learn these things able.
Was a keeper of sheep. Perhaps it taught him something about.
The creation and their need. Perhaps he learned something of his superiors by that experience, I don't know.
But that wasn't the real problem, though. Cain was a tiller of the ground. We all know the story of what happened, how Cain rose up and slew his brother Abel.
The part I want to call attention to was how he responded afterward.
It was bad enough for him to rise up in jealousy.
Remove the one who was accepted rather than amend his ways and change.
And the Lord God reasoned with him about that.
Sad.
But he makes this statement.
Am I my brother's keeper?
How many of us have fallen?
Into that excuse.
Well my purpose in mentioning about this is.
In contrast to the second man, the Lord Jesus.
Who was faithful?
Not only faithful as to his own life.
He was faithful to everybody around.
Him.
He made everybody who was anywhere close to him.
Like a neighbor.
We have that advertisement we still hear from time to time.
Like a good neighbor.
People understand this concept.
We all come into situations where we need one another, we're not self-sufficient and the whole human race has gone down a course of degradation.
And a course of departure from God. Why did Cain fail in the very beginning?
Doubting the goodness of God.
Unwilling to change?
I think about a story in the New Testament in Luke 10.
Of a doctor of the law who wanted to keep the law.
Who wanted to inherit eternal life? Who wanted to gain eternal life by living through his own works? And he asked the Lord about it.
And the Lord points him to the law.
It says he willing to justify himself, said.
And who is my neighbor?
I look at it this way.
He wanted to draw a little small circle around himself, with no obligation to anybody outside of that circle.
And therefore it would be easier for him and he could have the things that he liked and he wouldn't have to share his wealth with all the poor.
And he wouldn't have to love his neighbor as himself.
All of this stands in contrast to our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
00:15:07
Who came down to become a neighbor to the human race?
To be a friend, to give his life, to sacrifice himself.
For his own.
The enemy of our souls would seek to blind our eyes today.
To this good neighbor that's available.
The story that follows of the Good Samaritan.
Illustrates not only what the doctor of the law.
Should have done, but illustrates to us in the story of the Good Samaritan.
What the Lord Jesus did.
And coming down where the man fell among thieves, coming to where he was.
Binding up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, taking him to the end.
And promising to care for him.
This is the keeper of our souls.
There's no one like him.
Have you entrusted your soul to him?
You know, from week to week we go to a prison and sometimes to a youth village.
It is indeed sad to see, especially among the young people or young children even.
Those who have been turned off on life.
And have gone a course of self will.
And doubt of goodness in anyone.
This happens in our country.
Now at the end, I hope to touch on a verse for mothers.
Or the the wives along this line. But for now.
Let's just think of the welfare of our souls.
And those around us.
The Lord Jesus came from heaven.
Down to where we were, he took our place.
And he offers us his place.
That's the keeper.
Of our souls that can be trusted.
And I believe one of the challenges of the Christian pathway is to convey.
This message to those around us with failing lies.
We do that with all our good intents.
And not just among the little children, but those around us.
The keeper of our souls.
So we read in John 17.
The Lord Jesus.
Near the end of his life, having lived it, serving the people of God, especially the people of Israel.
And now he's about to depart out of the world and do another work.
Not just of life, of compassion and tenderness and mercy.
And helping the needs in this present life, in this present world.
He was about to do another work.
And.
He speaks about those that the father had given him.
Let's just read a few more verses there in John 17.
00:20:03
Verse one it says these words spake Jesus and lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father the hours come glorify thy son, that thy Son may also glorify thee.
Verse four. I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which thou gave us me to do.
Verse 8. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me. They have received them, and have known surely, that I came from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Verse 11.
And now I am no more of the world.
But these are of the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father, keep.
Through thine own name, those whom thou hast given me.
That they may be one as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name. Those that thou gavest me, I have kept. And none of them is lost, but the Son of perdition, that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. And then he goes on and speaks about how they are to be kept and sanctified through the word of God.
While the Lord Jesus was here on earth, he was entrusted to some people.
God entrusted to him the care of a people that were around him.
And he did it faithfully.
Now he was about to leave. He would no longer be present.
And so he had to commit them to someone else's care.
He was going to do another work. He was going to go to another place. He was going to open up a new sphere of blessing, a new place in heaven for a people to be received there because God's thoughts were rising higher. And it wasn't just God's thoughts to bless the people here on earth and to keep them from the evil and make a paradise here on earth for man to dwell.
That had been spoiled.
He would have done that if they had received him. He would have. He could have and would have set up a Kingdom of peace like Solomon did, even more glorious.
And there would have been no enemies to come in and Mar.
He showed all the attributes and qualities to be able to do that.
They didn't want it.
And so God's thoughts rise higher.
Now I would like to compare this to an Old Testament story, well known story of another servant who did a similar thing. Let's go back to First Samuel chapter 17.
Because I believe this is an illustration to us.
Of the Lord Jesus.
In John 17.
We're just going to notice a few high points.
In the story of David.
When he was called.
When he was sent by his father.
To the armies of Israel.
When he delivered the people of Israel.
From the champion Goliath.
Who is a picture of Satan?
And his domination over mankind.
First Samuel 17, verse 17.
And Jesse said unto David, his son, Take now for thy brethren an ether of this parched corn, and these 10 loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren, and carry these 10 cheeses.
Unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare.
And take their pledge.
Now Saul and they that all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines. And David arose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with the keeper, and took and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the trench as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle for Israel. And the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper.
00:25:32
Of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
Now let's just drop down to verse 28 to abbreviate and a lie of his eldest brother.
Heard when he spake unto the men, and Eliab's anger was kindled against David. And he said, Why can't thou down hit her? And with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know the pride, thy pride, and the naughtiness of thy heart, For thou art come down, that thou mightest see the battle. David said, What have I now done? Is there not A cause?
Verse 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail, because of him thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against the Philistine to fight with him, for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.
And I went out after him and smote him and delivered him it out of.
His mouth, And when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
Thy servants slew both the lion and the bear, and this uncircumcised Philistine.
Shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
I think we're familiar with the rest of the story to know how it developed.
Here we have a boy sent by his father.
To see the welfare of his brethren that are in the battle, and I would like to liken it to God our Father sending his Son down into this world to see how the people of Israel are weathering the battle, how they're getting along in their resistance to the enemies.
You know the story.
They were not getting along.
Very well.
There was number one who showed confidence in the God of Israel to rise up in faith and stand up and fight.
This giant.
That defied They didn't even try.
They weren't able in their own strength. This is the environment.
That our Lord Jesus came into when he came into the world.
But our subject is about keepers.
David was a keeper of sheep.
And he was a faithful one. He learned with sheep, and God gave him a place of prominence among the people of Israel.
May the Lord help us to be faithful in the little things.
Then God can entrust us greater things.
Will the Lord Jesus came down?
And he was faithful to the people.
Around him there was not a man that went away from his presence with a problem.
And faith in the Lord. But what He didn't heal them?
And meet the need in every way, and not just the power to cure.
But a sympathizing heart to be near and to care.
00:30:00
Like that Good Samaritan who came where he was. And I would like to suggest that why the Lord has recorded to us so much of the life of the Lord Jesus here on earth is for that very purpose, to teach us His loving care. He is a keeper.
I want to tell a little story.
Many of you will have heard of this.
This was told me by brother Eric Smith when I was a little boy, so I don't remember the details very well. Bob can maybe help me out later if I didn't get it quite right.
Back in the early years when Eric Smith was down in the Red Belt tribe of the Indians before.
The government of Bolivia had consolidated all the Indian tribes.
They still had a certain amount of autonomy or self-control in the individual villages and tribes, but it was the custom of the Indians at least once a year to take up a gift. Whether it was a gift or a taxation, I'm not sure. To the government, to the official government of the Bolivia. And there was always a man.
Chosen to carry this.
Offering or this gift of money, silver I believe it was.
To the government of Bolivia, to the president. And so there was no transportation in those days, and so they had to carry it on foot. Any of you who have traveled in Bolivia will know why the roads in those places oftentimes go down.
The riverbed, because that's the only place level enough where you can walk.
And get from one place to another. But in those river breads, occasionally there are.
Flash floods. And so this day, this man had been chosen.
To take the from the Red Belt, that's they're called the Pookachum piece, that's the Inca name for them. And many of our brethren down there came from that the Red Belt tribe. The Lord has done a marvelous work with them. My first visit there, we saw the man who was called the Kasichi, that means the chief, and he was a believer gathered to the Lord's name. There were two of them there.
Was one of them and they had a staff of their authority.
Represented their position as chief and the chief would take this money and give it to a responsible person.
To carry it was a long ways.
This man had been chosen. He set out on his journey.
And a flash flood came.
Washed him away.
But he was a faithful man.
He died when they found his corpse. They found in his hand, closely held tight, the money still intact in his grip.
Now that was a faithful man unto death.
A few years ago when I was down in Bolivia.
I mean, I heard the story of another man who was traveling along one of those riverbeds. Bob and I have traveled up and down there, and Bob told me this part of the story, too. A man was traveling one of these roads and he had a flat tire.
And as he was changing his tire, he saw something shiny down there in the bottom of the riverbed.
You know what it was?
It was silver.
Someone had lost it.
I don't know how or what.
But somebody had not been faithful.
It was lost.
Many, many years, I don't know how long that silver lay buried in the riverbed and some unknown person comes along and finds it.
00:35:01
Now, brethren, God has entrusted things to us.
Is there faithfulness with us?
Do we keep what's entrusted to us? Did the Lord Jesus keep what was entrusted to Him?
Yes, he did.
His whole life not one of his disciples perished.
Remember, John the Baptist was not one of his disciples, He was a forerunner. But of the disciples who were given to Him, not one of them perished, nor will they ever perish. The Lord Jesus, as he was getting near the end of his his pathway, He had been entrusted to a people to care for them, and he had been faithful.
Now I liken that to David.
His father called him to a mission and it says.
There in Samuel in verse.
20 He left the sheep.
With the keeper, he didn't abandoned them.
Later on, Eli challenges him, chides him about this very thing.
That those words of Eliab speak.
To me.
Very much.
They speak a very typical comment of an oldest brother.
You know, when we're the oldest in the family.
We think we know more.
We think we understand people more than the younger siblings.
I don't think I need to say anymore.
David had a 'cause there was a cause.
What kind of a heart did the lion speak out of when he said I know the.
Thy pride in the haughtiness of thine heart.
He learned the doubt of his own heart.
The Lord Jesus would never speak in that kind of a way.
He was compassionate, didn't judge a matter before.
It was time.
With whom?
Hast thou left those few sheep?
Derogatory.
As if David had lost some of them along the way or whatever.
You know, the Lord Jesus didn't have a lot of sheep. There were 12 disciples.
There were others besides that, but it wasn't a great congregation when he lived on earth. And yet he was faithful.
Faithfulness.
Counts.
He could lift up his eyes to the father and say, Father, I've kept.
But he was going to go on and do something more. He was going to fight the giant. He was going to enter into the realm of the strongman.
To deliver our souls.
From a greater enemy yet.
The enemy that would drag us to hell.
Pictured to us in Goliath.
So David, just as David, left the sheep.
With the Keeper, the Lord Jesus prays and gives commends back to the Father to take care.
Of those sheep, that was the ones living right there. We know from later on down in the chapter that we are included too, because we've believed on their word, the word, through their testimony.
But it was especially those that were there living at that time. Not one was lost. You think I see another expression of a similar way when the Lord Jesus was on the cross?
And He commends the care of his dear mother to the disciple that leaned on his breast, to whom he was had entered in to share his love the closest.
00:40:16
And he commends her care to that disciple John.
So the Lord looked after the sheep.
The lost sheep of Israel, the sheep that he had called by name.
It says in our chapter in chapter 17 he also left the carriage or I believe that could be translated the baggage.
In verse 22 with another keeper.
I'd like to suggest that we have in that a picture of the Lord Jesus.
Entrusting to the Spirit of God the care of his disciples after he was gone, and that Spirit of God is with us to this day.
The Lord Jesus has not left us alone, even though he's gone back to heaven.
He's still caring for us through the Holy Spirit.
You get that in John 16 and 15.
About the care about the comforter coming, and he shall be with you, shall teach you of the things of me, and so on, show you things to come. It's called a comforter. It's called another comforter because the Lord Jesus was the first one, and this Holy Spirit was the second one.
And so that's a picture to us of the care that our Savior has for us, and that's the part of the care that has gone on to this day that so many people out there don't believe in or haven't learned to confide in.
Nobody cares for our souls like the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God whom He has set down.
Then when it comes time for David to go up and fight.
The Giant.
And he has to give a testimony to his ability to.
Before King Saul that he would be able to go and fight this giant, David goes back and refers to the the experiences he had had with the sheep.
And he tells King Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep.
Is that the man you're trusting in? Is that the kind of man you're trusting in?
Are you trusting in your own ability to keep yourself?
You know, we think we're self-sufficient. Not only are we self-centered like.
King just thinking about ourselves and forgetting about everybody.
Maybe that's why we misjudge God.
We're like Eli of this judge out of our own hearts.
We need to look in to see how God's heart is. We need to see how a Good Shepherd is.
Get our thoughts adjusted to right and true principles, the foundation truths of Christianity.
Somebody cares for you. It's such a privilege, you know young people and I would like to encourage you in outreach in the gospel to.
To seek these souls especially who haven't learned to trust in anybody.
You know, I had an experience with a man who grew up.
Never knowing his father and mother.
My children remember him too, and they do not have very good memories of this brother, and they could tell you his name. You'll have to ask them if you want to know. But this man was converted to the Lord in later life, but he had never learned to trust anybody.
And even when he was older, the brethren would plead with him.
00:45:03
And somehow, or rather it just couldn't get the concept.
And he had to interject his own ways, always.
Distrust.
Those who are in education tell us that that's one of the first things a child learns.
If it doesn't learn it in the first few months, it may not learn it.
Trust.
That's why we talk about the little animals.
You have a pet boy, little boy or girl.
Teach that animal what God is like by how you treat it.
Are you a shepherd?
More so.
I grew up on a farm and I look back with sadness.
When I think of how I treated the animals.
That my dad put in my trust. We had a dairy farm.
I have a cousin here, Jerry, who helped with the melking.
And I was supposed to help Jerry milk the cows.
But it wasn't always helpful. My help.
I remember being with an old brother who was a farmer who told me this, he said, you know.
My cows knew the day I got saved.
Why he treated him different?
It wasn't just because he wanted to turn over a new life.
He had a new Object to live, He had a new image to bear to represent his creator God, because he was a man created in the likeness and image of God to represent God to that those animals, those cows.
May our friends and neighbors know.
What our God is like by how we treat them.
The Lord Jesus did that.
Just like David and David said to King Saul. Saul.
Thy servant kept his father sheep. They weren't his sheep, they were his father's sheep. And that's what we've noticed about in John 17. The Lord praying the Father had entrusted him to him for keeping, and then he.
Commended them back to his father because he was about to go down into death and give his life.
I would like to just make a little suggestion here about the lion.
Than the bear haven't thought about this much before this meeting.
I would just like to suggest that the Lion represents Satan, the enemy of our souls.
That would destroy the people of God, and I would like to suggest that perhaps the bear could represent nature when it gets out of control, destroying.
The Lord's people.
For example.
When Elijah came back.
To.
The town where the temple was. What was it the she bears?
No, it was.
And they cursed.
Elisha.
And then the She Bears came out.
And destroyed Tear 40 of the children that was.
A. A judgment that God had said would happen if the children of Israel did not possess the land.
00:50:01
Of Canaan, as they should. It said that the wild beasts would come out and destroy them.
Our loss of power and control of this earth through sin and man's disobedience causes nature to get out of whack.
And it comes out and it destroys us.
It's not just enough, brethren, to go out and live good moral lives here on earth. As far as the nature of things on earth and try to put it back in order, we can't do that.
Nature.
In itself and man's lack of power because of sin and waywardness.
Consumes him when he gets out of order. That's the bear. Satan does too.
We have a man, David, here, who went out and fought through faith and confidence in the Lord.
Esteemed those sheep of his father of more value than his own life.
And risked his life to give them deliverance and God.
Answered that trust.
An act of faith.
And delivered though the lion and the bear. And that was the confidence, the testimony that David could give that he would be able to fight the Goliath too.
The Lord Jesus did a similar thing here on earth.
While he was here.
Never did Satan get a word in edgewise that would lead him astray and get him off course.
Neither the things of this earth are of nature.
Power. All power.
All ability.
They told him one time, get the go, hide thyself, Herod will destroy thee.
Did it change his course?
Right on go tell that fox. I do miracles today and tomorrow, on the third day, I shall be perfected.
No deviation from the path of obedience and faith.
No accommodation to Fit a different circumstance. Obedience. Keeping the Father's sheep.
When all that was finished.
That's the setting.
We have in John 17 when he makes this prayer.
Father, I have kept them.
Now this is the man who is the keeper of our souls now.
He's gone and done the greater work. He has gone down into death, rob death of a sting, and brought life and incorruptibility to light through the gospel. We can preach it. We can preach deliverance. We can preach forgiveness.
All because of one man.
Everyone of us here today.
All we have to that one man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The keeper of our souls.
Now in closing.
Back into I, Peter.
Chapter 4.
Verse 17. For the time has come, that judgment must begin at the House of God.
And if it be first at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the Sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Paul could say, I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him.
00:55:06
Against that day and then he goes on and charges Timothy.
That good thing which was committed unto thee, keep.
By the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in US.
So the Lord Jesus is the great keeper of our souls, but he wants us to.
Convey the message.
Now I said in the closing, we would read a verse for the sisters.
Hope I have it here.
Titus, chapter 2.
I just enjoyed thinking of this verse along with our subject.
And my heart, my desire isn't just for the sisters, but.
Especially, I think it is a.
A verse given for them. This verse has been misunderstood so much.
In Titus chapter 2, we'll read verses 3.
And four and five the aged women likewise that they.
Be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given too much wine, teachers of good things that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands. That the word of God be not blasphemy. I would like to suggest that this.
This second part here where it said keepers.
At home, it isn't just the thought that they stay home all day long, it's the thought that they keep the home.
That's a sphere that God gave the sisters, the mothers.
Especially if the little children don't learn.
Trust in that sphere. It's doubtful they will ever learn it.
Keepers at home.
A wonderful thing to have that heritage of learning to know.
What confidence is God is through having a person who proved it to us, at least in measure here someone.
Who kept us?
The best of their abilities. Keepers at home.
We have a precious commodity not just at home, but in all our neighborhood, all our neighbors. The limit, it's unlimited who our neighbor is. The Lord Jesus made everybody his neighbor.
We're incapable of doing that, but in the measure that we do have neighbors and those around us.
May the Lord help us to prove who the keeper of our souls is.
Let's thank him together.
Gospel 8
Gospel—Dean Rule
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
But he starts this evening by singing #18 God loved the world so tenderly, His only Son He gave that all who on his name believe its wondrous power will save. Oh, love that only God can feel, and only he can show its height and depth, its length and breadth. Nor heaven nor earth can know #18 If someone could start it, please.
Of the world.
And early.
His only son he gave.
At all who on his name believe it's on his power will say.
Or God so love the world.
They gave his only son.
Should not perish.
Should not perish.
That whosoever believeth in him.
But everlasting life.
All that only God can give, and only he can know. If I can have designs and breath, nor hell nor.
Where God saw the world.
That he gave his only son.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
Should not perish.
Let loose, however, believe us in Him.
Should not perish.
But have everlasting life.
Then, ye careless ones, why slide the gracious call? Why turn from him whose words proclaim?
Eternal life to all.
For God so love the world.
That he gave his own.
Son, that whosoever believe us in him should not perish.
Should not perish that whosoever believeth in him?
Should not perish but have ever lied.
Long time ago, I many years ago heard the statement that it's very simple. It says when it comes time to die.
Make sure you don't have to do anything.
But die.
Sometimes wondered up and occasionally or certain frequency on a airplane, sometimes for fairly long distances and quite comfortable on one, but I wondered sometimes what it would be like.
If the pilot got on.
The public address or the announce the microphone and as they make announcements.
And would make the announcement that in most of the planes now are two engines. Made the announcement that one of the engines had a problem and had to be shut off.
Came on a little bit later and made the announcement that the other engine had a problem and it also had to be shut off.
Sometimes you can look there are certain monitors that are interesting to follow that show the altitude at which the plane is flying. Typical altitude on long distance flights might be somewhere between 35 and 40,000 feet above sea level and at that altitude, let's say 36,000 feet.
00:05:03
The typical jets that's used today.
Will descend at a rate.
Of about 2000 feet per minute.
And so if the announcement came on and you were flying over an ocean that you had.
That the engines were off and that all they could do was because they were too far from any island or any place to land, but there were 18 minutes left before they would come to the water. I'm sure that the first thing that would be done is people would pull out the instruction cards that were in the pocket in front of them.
The stewards or stewardesses would hold up things and give instructions again, and instead of the typical disinterest that's usually paid by people who have flown many times, the announcements being ignored, every eye would be trained on those who are making the announcements. People would pay careful attention. They would explain what was done and that the perhaps the seat cushion could be used as a flotation device and in certain planes that under the seat you would find a bag and in that bag bag there was a life preserver and everyone should get them on.
Might work if you were in a warm enough area, but sometimes there's long flights that go over polar routes and the time period in which someone would last would be very short. And let's say those announcements took seven or eight minutes and you were left with 10 minutes before you would potentially be on a plane that would hit the water, and if it hits smooth enough, it might float for a little while.
Questions. Pretty simple.
What would you be thinking about? Well, some of the thoughts would go to people that we know and love.
But perhaps under those circumstances, one of the things that you would stop and think about.
Is where will I spend eternity?
And have enough time to think about it and to make a decision.
Let's say you were in some place underwater and you were trapped.
All right, I was trapped and there was number way to.
Escape and pinned in your time period would be reduced to perhaps five or six or seven minutes before.
He would suffocate to death because of lack of oxygen.
Still enough time.
You know, I think I spoke about it at a gospel meeting in Addison in the month of July. But something that I don't think I'll ever forget was a call that I received in the spring.
By people who took care of a man, Eduardo Salcedo.
And lived in the house behind his house and noticed that the light was on for many hours from.
During the night, when they went up in the morning to take the man his breakfast, because he had difficulties in the circulation and had certain toes and things cut off because of the effects of diabetes.
Went up one morning at Eduardo Salcedo was lying on the floor. Called, said what do we do? Said call 911, same number as you would call here.
They called and we headed off my wife immediately to the the same same place. The squad was already there, walked up into the room.
And based on his position, he'd gotten up to go to the bathroom during the night and in the process, fell over on his back.
And the man was doing heart massage and all sorts of things, but he sure didn't look like anyone who had life to me. But my finger down on his forehead and it felt cool.
And I have one question that's in my mind. He didn't have perhaps 18 minutes. He didn't have 5 or 6 minutes. I have a question whether he had five seconds.
I've wondered about that man because in the contacts with him.
The different ones it had even to the night before. The person who was taking care of him because of his health condition said that the night before he rejected.
The message of the Gospel.
And so before we go into the subject that's on my heart this evening, I want to spend.
Just five or six minutes.
And have a short many gospel meeting. Just some very essential things.
That if you don't hear anything that's said for the rest of the evening, perhaps these verses if you do not know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
Contain everything you need to know in your head and may it get to your heart for you to be saved. And so we're going to start in Romans chapter 3.
00:10:05
Very well known verses, most here could quote them by memory.
Romans, chapter 3.
And verse 23.
Lesson #1 We held up a little card and it just had four points on it. Perhaps would be the first on the card. For all his sin and come short of the glory of God.
It's not you or not I who sets the standards, who makes the rules, who makes the decision as to what is necessary for someone to go to heaven. It's not any of us. It's God that makes that decision. Point #1 The question I have for you tonight is, do you know that you are a Sinner and that because of your sins that you do not meet God's standards? You've come far short.
Sometimes we use the example if with a group of people on the Pacific Coast of Ecuador, it's only how's that coast?
And standing there, he said, well, what would you do if you were going to have a swimming competition And the competition would be to swim across and hit landfall and.
The islands of Japan or in China or someplace like that.
Said, Well, what would happen is, is everyone going to make it the same distance? No, not everyone's going to make it the same distance. Some are going to get to where the water is over their head and they're going to be done for after a few minutes. Others are going to be able to swim many miles out into the ocean. But everyone is going to come short. And God says that everyone has come short of God's glory. And how many sins does it take to come short? Just one. And there's absolutely nothing that you or I can do in ourselves to erase even one sin.
And even worse than that, we have a nature that loves to sin.
And there's nothing we can do about that in ourselves. And so that's point #1 #2.
One of the most memorized verses. John chapter 3 and verse 16.
I'm just going to read now the first half of the verse.
Says for God.
So loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten Son going to stop there.
We've heard a lot in these days these last two days about the word love.
A word to a degree that we all understand, but maybe one of the hardest words to define because it's so.
Broad in what it means.
Stop and think for a minute.
About the world in which we live.
Those who have come long distances here and come by plane, those who are heading to the airport. Now, one of the things that will be necessary is to go through a line and in that line your shoes will be taken off. You have to take your shoes off. If you have a metal belt, you have to take it off. You take your watch off. You take your glasses off. If you have a cellular phone in your pocket, it has to go.
Lady in front of me a few days ago.
Pulled out a card and the card showed that she had metal in a certain place.
Why? Because we live in a world that love.
Is a not understood concept. We live in a world where people say I'm willing to strap something on my back and blow myself up and you with it because I think that's going to get me.
To some sort of undefined heaven.
What a difference between the one who does that. And that's no different than what my heart is or what your heart is and the one we read about here. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, the one who did not deserve to die, the one that God and man who's never sinned, the Lord Jesus. What a difference.
He instead of saying I'm going to do something and you're going to die with me so that I can get somewhere, he said I am going to die so that you never have to.
00:15:01
Which one sounds like the truth to you tonight? For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son.
That probably was the hardest decision that's ever been made or will be made in the history or the future of the universe. God deciding to send his own beloved and eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to this world to die for you.
And to die for me.
Luke.
13.
Verse 3.
I tell you.
Nay.
But except you repent, we're going to stop there for a minute. Repent.
Divide the word into two, you get 3.
Repeat it. Do it again.
Pent comes from a rude.
To think.
Think again.
The question isn't what you or I think about sin. The question is what does God?
Think about sin and so the message is very simple. Think again.
And how can you have a different viewpoint? And how can I have a different viewpoint on it?
Not by looking inside us.
I was with a man.
About two weeks ago.
In the Netherlands, in a greenhouse.
Dutch breeder of hydrangeas.
And I was there about 6 weeks ago.
The day was there six weeks ago was the day that his wife died of cancer.
Neatly dressed.
Clothes that were worn because of working in the greenhouse. Neatly dressed when I saw him a couple of weeks ago and was back in the same greenhouse.
Look like his shirt and pants hadn't been washed in that time.
Someone who is feeling the separation from the person, his wife that he'd been with for many years.
He.
Just had lost something. The question about it, tremendous thing that was missing. He didn't even realize. It seemed like that was the visitors that were there, that there was something wrong, that his clothes were dirty, that perhaps it would have been a good idea for some of the other visitors that were there to have changed him.
You may not realize how serious sin is if you look inside yourself or get opinions from anyone else.
But if you read in the Word of God what it costs the Lord Jesus Christ to be able to save sinners such as ourselves.
That should make us think again. Do you think if God could have found any alternative way other than seeing His Son suffer for three hours? And that's not what took our sins away, but he did see him suffer for three hours.
The one who was sustaining the lives of all who were there was being spit on in the face.
Before it happened, they took a whip and in that whip were embedded pieces of metal and ripped the flesh on his back.
Jammed the crown of thorns on his head. And can you and I look at that and say we're any different? Absolutely not.
That's what my heart is, and your heart is apart from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Think again.
Because it didn't stop there.
A very unusual thing happened from noon to 3:00 PM.
When an eternal God poured out judgment on the Lord Jesus Christ wasn't a Father punishing his Son? It never says Father, Father, why hast thou forsaken me? It was my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
If God had knew of any alternative, He would have used it, but there is none.
But the greatest demonstration of love was shown in that day when it became night during the day, because God was not going to allow the people who blasphemy, who mocked, who treated so cruelly His beloved Son, they were not going to let him see His faith during those three hours.
00:20:19
When his visage was so marred, more than any man in his form, more than the sons of men.
Darkness for three hours.
What are normally some of the brightest hours of the day and it only paralleled the darkness that is in our hearts apart from the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So the message is think again. It's so serious that if you do not repent and believe, you will spend eternity in the Lake of fire. But that's not what God wants.
He wants you to spend eternity with Him and with His beloved Son, His dearly loved Son in heaven. It says, Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.
John chapter 3, we're going to finish the verse.
John chapter 3 verse 16 says that whosoever believeth in him.
Should not perish.
That repeated word, as we saw in the other verse.
To pass into hell, to be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity.
But have everlasting life.
A few days ago this earlier this week.
I was in an apartment in Bilbao, Spain.
And the family, the different ones that lived there, were in that apartment shared, shared by people from Ecuador and Brazil and and Bolivia.
Someone brought out a computer and said we'd like you to hear this. What do you, what do you think about what's on this? It was a message for an hour and 10 minutes from 7 young people.
There was a warning.
About.
Hell.
I said, well, what do you think? So I sat there and had an opportunity the next morning when some of them were off at work, turned it on and listened.
And in that time period, it was they were imagining at a vision, they said that they were going into hell with the Lord Jesus and walking around seeing people and seeing their clothes that were burned and people that were crying to get out of there and.
Have a planner where I make notes and I've got it there and seven or eight things that we wrote down and talked about later.
It's not with the gut. The Bible teaches about hell.
He portrayed it as a horrible place.
But it's not a place you're going to see the Lord Jesus walking around.
He went into the grave, so he went into hell. It's not a place where people are going to be talking with each other. It's not a place where people are going to be with their bodies when they're in the Lake of fire. They will be.
But if you die without the Lord Jesus.
Christ.
Your soul and spirit.
Are going there, your body is going to the grave.
You know, you can bury a lot of things. People have their bodies buried and they bury objects with them. They're people that fall in love with a vehicle. They're people that have had a Corvette and say I love this vehicle so much. When I die, dig a big hole and bury me in it. You can bury the Corvette.
You can bury a motorcycle.
Two things you can't bury.
Or burn or suffocate or drown. Unless it would happen being buried alive and then dying. Two things that don't fit into any casket in the world or any watery grave in the ocean or soul. The soul and the spirit.
They don't go into boxes.
You can put a body in a box, and when that body is dead, that body will decay and rot away. But you can't put a soul in a spirit in a box.
Because when that person dies, the soul and spirit either go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ in paradise.
Or to help.
The Lord Jesus.
Were to allow you to die before he comes.
00:25:03
Where would your soul and spirit go?
The body will catch up later.
That's not the important part where your soul and your spirit go.
Sometimes when in an airport.
Times a little bit of time to spend. One of the things that I find interesting to do is to It's big enough when walking to the bookstore.
And go to some different sections and, you know, free to take the books off the shelf and look at them.
A couple of days ago and then Newark Airport or a few days ago on Thursday, walked in and didn't see it. I said, where's the the religious section of the books?
And the lady said you got on 2 aisles and turn left.
So we'll go see what what it, what different things might be there that might be of interest.
The first book that caught my eye that I had never seen before.
Was a book that had a title of three words, the.
3 words on the cover the spine of that book where the atheist Bible.
Narrow book, not very high, probably 120 pages. I just opened a one page inside.
So horrible I shot it.
Content of sayings from different people who profess to be atheist to deny the existence of God.
Looked on the back cover of that book and they quoted some different people that were evidently quoted on the inside of the book.
The one that caught my eye was the top one. The one that was.
In bold print and it said Ernest Hemingway.
Said all thinkers.
Are atheists.
All thinkers are atheists.
Ernest Hemingway was born in 1899 in Oak Park, IL, not very far from here before you get into Chicago, and by 90 if I remember correctly, the freeways born in 1899.
Lived and before he even completed 62 years in 1961. If we were to write an obituary of Ernest Hemingway tonight, we'd find some looking up because I said what really happened. Remembered some things, having read in high school, The Old Man in the Sea and some books that he wrote.
Won a prize Nobel Prize for Literature.
He had four wives.
Never found something a relationship that satisfied.
Countless mistresses apart from that.
He traveled around.
I remember reading something in a flight magazine one time on a look alike contest and a right a right something like Ernest Hemingway rights that takes place in Key West, FL was one of the favorite places he had to hang out. He made it to Pamplona, Spain for the running of the bulls. He came to Quito, Ecuador on multiple occasions during the bull fighting season.
He had money, he had fame, he evidently had his choice of.
Different women that he traded and disposed of like they were used tissue, if facial tissue or something like that, never found satisfaction, what did it say about him in that? What did he write? He said all thinkers are atheists.
In your brain you have, and I have, approximately 100 billion neurons.
If you take a dual core chip from Intel and a laptop computer, it has about 300 million transistors. Your brain has 100 billion neurons and through those transistors, if it goes back to the chip, it either goes electric or in or out. But the electrical electrochemical neurons that you have in your brain have a potential connection.
And gaps for the synapse to.
Depending upon where they are between 200 and 1000 other.
Neurons.
100 billion neurons in your brain and something that only weighs perhaps a pound and a half.
00:30:03
And yet it consumes 20% of the oxygen that our body uses.
Is actually used by the brain.
It doesn't have any opportunities where you unplug it, shut it down.
Change the battery, reformat it, or anything like that has to keep going from the time you're born until the time you die.
How are you using that brain?
Ernest Hemingway said all thinkers are atheists.
In 1961, he was in the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to deal with this extreme case of depression and his problems with alcohol.
He was led out and they later decided it was premature. He went to Ketchum, ID and ended his life.
Committed suicide.
All thinkers are atheists.
What was he thinking?
He never stopped, evidently, and repented. He never stopped evidently, and thought again about what really mattered. And you can pick up the newspaper. You can get on yahoo.com online and check out the headlines and their entertainers. There's actresses, there's singers, there's actors.
And see anything beyond the headlines, you know?
That they're having problems, they're having difficulties.
You know, they may be able to pick up a phone and say have a private jet for me.
At the airport that's just here South of Crystal Lake, and I want to fly out at 8:00 PM tonight.
They may be able to write a check for that with no problem at all or whatever. They may have the fame and fortune, but if they've never stopped and repented, never stopped and thought again.
They're in no better shape than Ernest Hemingway.
And so I want to read some verses and we'll spend the rest of our time together in Philippians chapter 4, verses that have already been read in these meetings. Just one verse and you can stay there. We'll read some verses about it, but.
Some instructions about what God says to think about Philippians chapter 4.
And verse 8.
Finally, brethren, and I'm going to stop there.
It's wonderful to have the time together at a weekend like this for those of us who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
It's wonderful to have the time together, to have the Word of God together, to open together and to be able to read it.
It's wonderful to have the privilege to be able to pray together. It's wonderful to have the privilege.
To be able to remember the Lord Jesus and his death together for those of us who can call each other.
Brethren.
I don't think very many of us, some of us are very much missing loved ones that we're not with. I think very many of us are saying, well, you know, that was boring. I'm glad that's over. I sure don't feel that way.
But if you don't find yourself included in those who are talks about it, the beginning of this verse, brethren.
Want you to stop and think about something for a minute.
Just a reminder to you this evening.
That there's one thing that God.
Who prepares for everything?
That needs to be prepared for.
The Bible never talks, to my knowledge, about him preparing a place for those who refuse the gospel.
Never talks about him preparing a place for those who say no to his instruction to repent and to believe God is prepared a wonderful place for those of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Lord Jesus himself said I go to prepare a place for you that wasn't to get a construction crew together to put together some mansions in heaven and and get some gold streets put together with the street crew and and get ready that.
00:35:00
The fountain that would go from the throne and the trees planted and things I go to prepare a place for you was the work he went to do on Calvary's cross.
All the rest he could do with the word of his mouth.
Because he's God, what he couldn't do with the word of his mouth was to pay the price.
For your sins and my sins. And so it says here finally, brethren, are you included in those or brethren?
He went to prepare that, to prepare a place for us by going to the cross of Calvary.
He prepared a place for the devil and his angels.
Never says he prepared a place for the lost.
Because it doesn't make any sense that God would offer a full and free salvation and someone would refuse it.
But being in heaven would be a horrible place to be if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Can you imagine being trapped in heaven and hearing the praise of the Lord Jesus? Hearing the worship of the Lord Jesus that will pour out for all eternity?
And your being there as his enemy, because that's what you are tonight if you do not know the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
Can you imagine being stuck in heaven for all eternity? So God says I'm not going to put him there.
So the only alternative left is the place that was prepared for the devil and his angels.
The eternal fire of judgment in the Lake of Fire.
It doesn't say it was prepared for human beings.
But God doesn't have any other alternative.
It's not making three places, you made two.
Which one are you going to spend eternity in? Are you one of the brethren? The first thing is whatsoever things are true.
We've heard this afternoon.
And these days, just.
And second John, that true or truth five times. Third John, six times.
The Gospel of John and another books that word is repeated. We're living living in a world that's absolutely full of lies. I found it interesting to go.
By on Friday afternoon on Lake Street in in Addison and drive by a sign that says Navigado Realty.
26.
Or 27 years ago, with three other brothers, we rented a house. It was handled through Navajo Realty. And if you ask any of the other three, without prepping them for the question, what do you think of when you think of Don Navigato?
Says he's a liar.
Thought it was kind of ironic. When I looked at the sign there was a small hole on one side of the sign and if you drove around you drove beyond and on the other side there was a wide hole.
I don't know, just speculating, but I wonder if he didn't have someone so frustrated with his lies if they didn't take a gun and shoot a hole in the sign.
A liar. You couldn't trust a thing the man said.
Would you want to put your eternity in the hands of someone who you could not completely fully?
Trusts.
It's too important a decision.
Don't leave your eternity in the hands of anyone other than the one who said I am the way.
The truth and the life if we look in John chapter 8 just to see a verse quickly.
John, chapter 8, verse 13.
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself.
Thy record is not true.
That's what they said.
They were religious, represent the religious world.
They said, thy record is not true. The Lord Jesus answered them. Jesus answered and said, them, Though I bear record, yet record is true whence I came, and whither I go.
You judge after the flush.
Of two men is true.
I am the one that bears witness of myself and the Father that sent me.
There spoke with a voice.
Said This is my beloved son.
00:40:03
So that there could be no doubt as to who it was who was born in the Manger in Bethlehem.
Voice came from heaven. This is my beloved Son. It's one testimony the Lord Jesus gave testimony of himself, not only in what he said, but what he did.
If you're going to make important decisions in life or I'm going to make important decisions in life.
You want to check out the information. If you're going to buy a house, you want to make sure that the title is clear. If someone's going to hire an employee, they're going to want to try to find out what they can under the limitation of the information that people will give in 2007, what the references are like.
It's too important a decision. It's not that you or I sit in any way to judge God, but God says.
Check the references, make sure what you're deciding on.
Let's check the references for Mohammed.
Claimed to be a prophet.
And books that are written apart from the Koran and things claims that if someone.
Gives their life up a promise of immediate.
Glorification and being surrounded by.
Blasphemous even. Say it, and they won't.
Mohammed rotted away a long time ago in a grave in Mecca and people will go by the millions to surround it. And we heard there's a billion people in that today that will follow that. Check out the references.
Still dead in the grave.
A billion people who said that's what I'm going to follow.
Go to India or other places and walk around the streets and never been there but they talk about how the cows can roam free.
And.
They're gods.
And it was right about the man who said, I'm if it's a God, I'm going to stand and study it so I can learn everything I possibly can from a cow. And he stood there and studied him for several days until the cow charged him and he had to get out of the way.
Check out the references.
The beef you had in the sandwich a few an hour or two ago wasn't from God.
Foolish.
Go over to Buddha.
The Buddhists, they've had some good things to say.
But he can't keep up the statues that are made of him when people decide to topple them.
When you come back to the Lord Jesus Christ, everything he said is true.
You can read it and reread it, and if it doesn't make sense, it's not because it's wrong, it's because we don't understand it yet.
But he said in Philippians chapter 4, whatsoever is true if you're going to go.
And put your eternity in any hands. Put it in the hands of one. It was true. The second thing, whatsoever things are.
Honest.
Go to Titus.
Chapter One.
Very well known verse.
Go from verse one. Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
According to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledging of the truth.
Which is after godliness and hope of eternal life, Which God that cannot die, lie, and cannot die too promised before the world began.
Honest.
And that word goes perhaps beyond honest English doesn't really maybe have a word that encompasses all that's in that word.
The margin that says venerable. In another translation it says noble.
We could just say it this way. He's the one who's fit to be King of Kings.
And Lord of Lords, it's all wrapped up in one who is completely honest.
00:45:02
Politicians come in in countries and promise to eliminate corruption, and then the question is how long does it go before you start to see the corruption in their own lives and in their own governments? Because there are people made out of the same stuff that you and I are made out of. But when we talk about the Lord Jesus, it says that he is honest or noble.
The third.
Whatsoever things just and keep it there if you want to turn with me into a verse in Isaiah.
Isaiah chapter 45.
The end of verse 21.
There's no God else beside me.
A just God and a savior.
There is none beside me.
Look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth.
For I am God, and there is none else.
We're living in a world that's totally confused. We're living in a world where people like Ernest Hemingway proclaimed that there is no God.
It's nothing new. In Psalm chapter 53, it says what God's title or appreciation of that? He said. The fool is set in his heart. There's no God. You go and talk to someone else and they say, yes, I believe there's a God. It's me.
There's other people that are saying I'm making advances, I'm trying to become God.
I think it's ironic that the highest suicide rate among women in the United States is in the state of Utah.
Who told about bidding? Godspeed in these days. And they come to the door and ring and knock and want to talk.
And they wouldn't say it at the first visit, but if you could go a little further with the Mormon, they would say God was a man who advanced to become God. And men can advance to become gods. Women can't. Lest many women in the state of Utah distressed because they say, if the men can't, why can't I? And it's been the cause of many of them ending their own lives, A God who started out as man.
Is worthless as God.
But a man who began as God and retained.
His place as God and became a man is the key to your eternal salvation and mine. What a difference between the lie that says God started out as a man and became God and the truth of the Word of God that says the Lord Jesus is God, become man Incarnate in the flesh.
Look unto me and be saved. It's the only place to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Eternal.
God the Son, the Savior. Let's go back to our chapter.
Whatsoever things are pure.
Turn to it, but in Psalm 12.
Time is running out. Psalm chapter 12 and verse 6.
The words of the Lord are pure words.
As silver tried in a furnace of earth.
Purified 7 times.
Chapter 19 of Psalm Psalm 19, verse eight. The last part, the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
There's a myth it may have may have happened sometime, but it's a story that goes around in in South America where they're very common anymore, but used to be quite common. That milk would come in the same large milk jugs that would be used by.
Small farmers, small dairy producers.
And people would come around to the.
And ring a bell in the street.
And then they those jugs, they would. The thing is, the person would take a pail or something to be able to get the milk in and go out to the street and the person would pour it out. And the story goes, I'd be surprised if it's happened, but at least there's a message there. Someone asked one of the people selling milk. What?
00:50:08
Can you guarantee me is this milk pure? Oh yes, this is absolutely pure. It's.
Nothing. Just straight from the cow and the person standing there and outcomes the milk and outcomes the fish with the milk.
Well, most of the time it's not adulterated with water from a river.
But The thing is, there's a lot of claims to something being pure in this world.
Messages, people and everything else but the only absolutely pure one.
Of any person who's ever lived is the Lord Jesus Christ.
And his word is pure, but you've got in your hand is pure.
If you haven't read it, encourage you to read it.
Don't wait to be saved until you've read it all. Start perhaps in a place like the Gospel of John.
But it's the book that will give you the answers for life.
Two days ago I got an e-mail from my wife and I mentioned it to some of the brothers in the prayer meeting.
There's a there's a world where we live in the meeting rooms next door in the same property and things, and there's a large gospel verse painted on the front wall. There's a park across the street and people come to play. Children play in the park, adults come to play soccer and other things.
A woman brought her children, some of her children, to that park lives a few blocks up the street.
And noticed that on the wall was painted this verse said to someone, what is that there? And they said, oh, some sort of church or something. So she came and rang the bell.
In the month of June, if I remember correctly, I wasn't there. My wife answered the bell.
Woman's name was Gloria and came into the house, invited her down to talk.
She came in and.
Was sobbing.
A woman with a number of children with a husband who shows up to start the process of having children again, but seldom provides anything for the family.
It's probably off living with another woman.
She was pregnant, desperate with children that were already in their late teens.
Broke down.
She said I didn't know what to do. She said I didn't know how I could take care of another baby. And I said something to a neighbor and she said look who get you something.
She went and bought a pill at a pharmacy and the woman took it.
And before very long, she went into labor.
Went off to the hospital.
Delivered the baby.
And the baby was gasping for breath on a table, and she watched that baby for a period of four or five or six hours.
Until the baby died there, on the table in front of her eyes.
I can't imagine after having watched our three girls being born.
So I said the woman didn't love children. She was desperate. She didn't stop and count what was going to happen. She says what can happen for a person like me. She said I've killed my baby and it wasn't just something in the horrible thing where they'll take a pair of forceps and crush a head, as is done by the doctors who are aborting babies right and left all over the world.
Crush it. They reach in and crush the head.
Like it was a doll. Like our brother John was showing this morning.
Many of them go through trauma, but this woman has gone through an incredible trauma because she said my little girl was there and there was absolutely nothing I could do and there was nothing that doctors could do to bring her back from heading into an eternity.
What, for a person like me, was her cry?
So my wife said it was sin. It was a wrong thing.
But she said there's someone who loves us in spite of what we are.
And you and I are no different than that woman, are no different than Ernest Hemingway or anyone who's ever walked the face of this earth other than the Lord Jesus Christ and what our hearts are.
She reminded her of 1 positive message, and that message was that little girl who you saw, your girl who you.
00:55:07
Did something that you should never have done, but you did it, she said. That girl is with the Lord Jesus Christ.
As before it could ever reach the age of being responsible. And he said that told her that the Lord Jesus loved her too.
And wanted to save her.
We didn't have any food for a family. Husband hadn't brought any. She's said she wasn't. She didn't ask for any. But she said, you know, sometimes I say to my children, I don't have anything to give them in the morning. She said, go out. And when you go to school, do you go to where you're working in some sort of helping somewhere where you bring in a little bit of income? She says, go with a smile on your face, even if you don't have anything in your stomach. I floated up a bag of everything she possibly could to send up the hill with her and gave her one of the things. She gave her a Bible.
Said read this whenever you want to Come talk. Come talk. We were away when she came and knocked on the door the next time in the month of July.
But on Thursday of this week, she came back and she said.
I've read this book.
From cover to cover.
She said In this book I found things that have given me comfort.
That nothing else has given me. So I've gotten some comfort from this book, but she says now I've got a lot of questions, she said at the time. I can be off work, so can I come with the questions on Tuesdays at 4:00 PM?
You don't have to convince this woman. Her name is Gloria, which translated into English as Glory, and I hope that's where I'm going to see her someday. You don't have to convince that woman she's a Sinner. Do you recognize tonight you're a Sinner? I'm a Sinner. The only way I can stand up here is because I'm a Sinner saved by Grace, not because of anything I've done.
But I hope the Spirit of God has started the work in glorious heart, because she recognizes the first point.
That she is the center. The second thing she recognizes that that sin is so serious that she recognizes that if something isn't done, God has to judge her for it.
If you know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, can you perhaps pray too for Gloria?
She's read a living book from cover to cover. Have you ever read this living book from cover to cover?
Because the next thing in our verse, it says whatsoever things are lovely. Song of Solomon, just one quick verse.
Song of Solomon.
Chapter 5.
And verse 16.
His mouth his most sweet.
Yeah, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved.
This is my friend.
The longer you spend with someone, the more you realize it on each other the imperfections that there are.
The more you examine the Lord Jesus Christ.
The more you realize how absolutely lovely and perfect he is in everything.
No distorted part of his personality. That one thing sticks out and fails at another like every human being, but examined from every point of view.
His lovely our time is up but just very quick thing years ago some of us.
An opportunity of hearing Brother Eric Smith speak on different occasions. He said one time he said people ask in Bolivia. He said why? Why are there 4 gospels? And he tried to explain it. And he finally said one day let's go for a hike. They walked around the mountain and they looked at that mountain from 4 different compass points. And at each compass point he said which mountain is it? They named the name of the mountain. They went on to the next compass point from north to West to southeast or on the side which side they started on.
And each one, he said. Which mountain is it we're looking at? It's this mountain, he said. Does it look exactly the same? No.
God has given us four books at the beginning of the New Testament that tell us.
So much about the Lord Jesus Christ because he wants to know that even seen from different points of view there was number.
Conflicts, but the more that he could be seen, the more we could realize that he's altogether lovely. And so the last thing in the verse, and I wish we had time to do it. It says whatsoever things are of good report. Take a gospel like the Gospel of John and go read through it and find out what people had to say about the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who were there, their eyewitnesses of him.
01:00:25
And you'll find that the reports are good.
You know the one who loves you, the one who is true.
Let's read it again and close with prayer in Philippians chapter 4 whatsoever things are true.
Whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure.
Whatsoever things are lovely. Whatsoever things are.
Of good report.
If there be any virtue and if there be any praise.
Use.
Those 100 billion neurons you have?
Inside Ukrainian.
To think on these things.
And may it get from our brain.
To our hearts and get from our hearts to our feet.
To respond to our lips, to every part of our being, in response to the One who is all that we have here, and much more. Can we just thank Him?
God's Care for Us and Our Need to Care for Others
YP Sing Address—R. Hiebert
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Feeling really, really wired here we were singing and it comes and puts a mic on me. I just didn't know how to sing how loud to sing after that. But anyway it's.
It's a huge honor to be able to.
Speak with you, dear young people, and it's been a great day, hasn't it? It's really been wonderful just to.
To be reminded that if the foundations.
Put the mic up higher, it gets them not wired enough.
Going higher than that, I'm going to swallow the thing.
OK, how are we? Can you hear us? We good, OK.
To be reminded that if the foundations are removed, there's still something that the righteous, there's still a resource for the righteous, isn't there? Isn't that? Wasn't that a wonderful meeting to to be encouraged in that way when we see the crumbling foundations around us, And then to be reminded as well about the Lord and his power to keep and his love for us, his care over us.
And the care that we need to have for others as well and and that was that was so encouraging and and just so many things today and then to sing together and and to to sing have I an Object Lord below and to and to think about the Lord's return and how soon it is when all the redeem will be with him in in glory. And it's and it's going to be so soon. And one of the songs we were singing, I can't remember the number, but there was a line that says I can almost hear his foot fall or faith can almost hear his foot fall.
On the threshold of the door. That's cool, isn't it almost here is football. It's just about there. It's about to happen. And you know, you feel that in a in a new way, in a special way when you're together, when we're together as believers focused on the Lord Jesus Christ. And then all of a sudden it just hits US. It's going to happen. It's going to happen so soon and all the redeem will be together will be there forevermore in his in his in his home where there's many rooms and never to go out, never to to have any more tears, never to have any more sadness or sorrow or suffering, but just to worship him and praise him for all eternity. It's right there.
It's about to happen and last night, I don't know why I'm telling you this and I probably shouldn't, but but last night I was, I was just, we got in late and I was just lying there.
Has about to fall asleep and I, I thought, I wonder how many young people are here. So I bet you there's a lot. I bet you they're in rooms all over talking to one another and, and chatting and having good times and things like that. And I said, Lord help them not to miss this opportunity like I did so many times when I was younger because I was so worried about so many things about who I was hanging out with.
And all the fun things we're going to do and going out for pizza and.
Knocking on doors and running away and doing all the crazy stuff that young people do. And I said, you know, and that's fine, but help them not to miss it. Help them not to miss it because it's such a great opportunity. And, and sometimes we don't realize, do we, how great an opportunity it was until we're driving home or till we go to work the next day or we go to school. And we think that was good. Wasn't my like the two on the way to amaze? Oh, it wasn't my heart burning within me while I sat in that meeting.
And heard his word being opened up. And I want to go back. I want to be because that that means so much to me.
You know, so let's not miss it. I don't. We have more tomorrow morning. We get to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have to remember him in his death like he asked us to, and he's going to be there with us. And it's wonderful. And so anyway.
Let's.
I want to look at a scripture that that's going to maybe seem real random, like really out there, but it's, it's speaking to me and with the Lord's help, maybe there's something that it would say to you as well. And, and it's, it's in First Chronicles.
Corinthians. Chronicles.
Chapter 12 And I understand that by this time in the evening we start to get spiritual indigestion and there's just like almost not very much more we can take. So I'll really try to be light. When when Tim asked me if I would speak tonight, he said, you know, some of the best messages I've ever heard have been like a minute or two. I'm not sure what I was supposed to read into that, but so my reputation precedes me, I guess. So look at First Chronicles 12 and look at verse 22.
00:05:08
And justice, the last phrase of that A great host.
Like the host of God, a great host, like the host of God. Okay, we'd appreciate context. Who was who was this great host, like the host of God? And I don't have a really great answer for that because I didn't really think it out very carefully before I stood up here, but I take it it was the mighty men of David's Kingdom. Mighty men in David's Kingdom. If I'm not quite right on that, you can tell me after.
Umm, don't tell me now or I'll get really nervous, but but I believe that's what it was because it talks about them in this chapter and says this mighty host and I what I want to talk about just a little bit about some of the roots of this mighty host because it makes me think of you. And I just feel like there's so much potential here in this group and this mighty host had some there's, there's just some really interesting characteristics about them and I want to talk about that.
Some of those characteristics and how those things are maybe a little bit like us and then sort of come back to this verse at the end and sort of make a parallel to our lives right now. So work with me on that.
So if we go to the first verse and I'm not going to read the whole chapter, I'm just going to pick up like two or three verses, first verse. Now these are they that came to David, to Ziklag while he was well, he yet kept himself close.
Because of Saul the son of Kish, and they were among the mighty men.
Helpers of war. They were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows out of a bow. Even of Sauls, brethren of Benjamin. So as you know, David.
Was not always the king. I have a propensity to point out the obvious. He wasn't always king. In fact, there was a period of time after he knew he was going to be king that he was running for his life. And during that time he found himself in different places. One of those places was Ziklag, and it was in Philistine territory and there were some people that came.
And joined him through the OK, we just arranged that ahead of time to wake you up every so often. So, So what? Every so often when he was at these different places, when he was in caves, when he was in Ziklag, when he was in different places, people came to him, defected to him from Saul and they joined him. And, and it says some things about them. And, and so some of these people, it says they were armed with bows and could use both the right hand and the left, you see? So where are you going to go with that?
Well, here's what I was thinking. You know, the Lord Jesus Christ is someday going to have His rightful place and someday he is going to reign victorious over all things, just like David, right? Just like David. But right now he isn't acknowledged as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to those of us that know him as Savior he is. We own Him as Lord, we joyfully bow our knee to Him, and we long for Him to reign.
But right now he is in rejection. He is rejected. He came to this earth and he was rejected. And just like David, and when he reigns over this, when he reigns, we are those that belong to him, are going to reign with him. And we're going to have, I believe we're going to have responsibilities. It's going to be wonderful to reign with him. But just as there was certain people in David's Kingdom.
That had a particular place, a blessing. They had a particular place of blessing because they were faithful to Him during the time that he was rejected, during the time that he was in rejection. And so it says to me that if we are willing to suffer with him in his rejection now, that heaven will be all the more glorious for the blessings that are laid up for us. And it's interesting to me some of the characteristics that these people have that came to David.
Some of the characteristics they have, because it reminds me of some of you, and some of the things that David noticed when he was writing about these people, or I guess Samuel or whoever wrote it, I just can't remember some of the things that David noted, though, as being really important. And one of them was that some people could shoot a bone arrow with both their left hand. I can do that.
00:10:13
But I couldn't do it that way, right? That would be really tough for me. Now, why is that so cool? Why is that? Why is that an important thing to be able to do? And, and I take it this way, like if you were out in the woods and you were fighting in close quarters and you were over here, it would be really tough to shoot that way. So you would be able to maybe work around a boulder or around obstacles or something like that. You would be very versatile, right? Very versatile. Whether I had a tree on my right hand or on my left didn't really matter because I could shoot with both hands. They were versatile. They could handle obstacles, they could handle the terrain. They they were, they were good with this, right?
And if my bow got broken, I could take a sling and I could sling things, but I couldn't only sling things with the right hand. I could do with the left hand too. And if that all fail, I just pick up rocks and Chuck them. And I was a dead aim. That's what these guys were like, right? They were good guys. They were versatile. They could handle lots of things. They could do it really well. How versatile are you as you seek to serve the Lord? Do all your ducks sort of need to be lined up before you'll serve the Lord or you sort of like if it's a rainy day, I just don't think I could get out and, and, and do anything today 'cause like it's raining And, and you know, I got, I got work to do and I got homework and, and school works really busy, you know, and it's tough these days and, and it's, and, and it's expensive. I got my job. Like I know meetings important, but.
There's a lot of things and you know, I'd love to go on that sort of missions trip there, but I got work and I understand that the food there is not that good and I wouldn't tell you that and.
It's good in Romania, though, right, Curtis? Yeah. But, you know, and and and and and sometimes it all has to be just right for us before we're really willing to give it all to the Lord. Are you like that or are you versatile? You know, there are. There's a good friend I have.
Right now his name is Jonathan and he's married and he has a little daughter and they sleep every night on the floor of the meeting room because they've been evicted from their home in India because they're believers. He told me one time, he says, you know, it's kind of hard for me, brother. He would not want me telling you this. So it's kind of hard for brother. When we go to this village, we don't want to make them feel bad, but so we drink their water and, and, and we get really sick when we do that. And it's hard to know what to do.
And they, they go through a lot of difficulties and hardships to serve the Lord in difficult circumstances. And the men that were honored in David's Kingdom and that were among his mighty men, they were willing to serve in adversity. And they were, they were versatile men. Are we versatile or does it all just have to be lined up for us, just have to be perfect? Are you willing to give to the Lord of your time and of your energy? Are you willing to take a risk?
Serve Him maybe to take some time off of work, off of school. I know it's important. I understand it's important, but we're just on the threshold where the Lord is going to be no longer rejected and those that were faithful to Him in His rejection are going to be honored at that time. It's not that we're looking for honor, but I am willing to bet anything that there will come a day when you will give you would be willing to do anything to have another opportunity.
To live for the Lord Jesus faithfully in his rejection. And me too.
Because you won't get to do that in heaven, because he won't be rejected there. It won't be hard to stand for him there, and we will long for that. We had taken advantage of the opportunity to be faithful to him in his rejection. You know, David had a great friend. Great friend never caused him that. We read of a single sorrow in his life. His name was Jonathan. Godly man. We'll see him in glory. But you know something, Jonathan never followed David in his rejection.
He stayed in the Kingdom. I don't know why. Maybe he felt that was his responsibility to do that. Maybe.
Maybe, I don't know, but he never followed David completely. And you know, the men that joined David, they brought much sorrow to him, I'm sure in that cave of a dullum. And these were people that were discontent and they were broke and they had debts and they were a rough bunch. And I'm sure they said a lot of things that distressed him. But the difference is they were willing. They were willing to follow him in his rejection. Are you, am I, am I really willing to follow him in his rejection? Some think about.
I want to notice something else we our time is just about up, but I just want to notice another verse.
00:15:04
Down at verse 8 and of the Gadites, they're separated themselves into David, into the hold to the wilderness, men of might, men of war, Fit for battle that could handle shield and buckler.
I think that means sword. Correct me if I'm wrong, no?
OK, small shield. Oh, sorry, sorry. It's a small sword. Sorry, what is it? Could handle shield and small shield. Oh, now that just blew my thought.
I shouldn't ask, right? Pick some buckets. I like the French Darby.
In a translation it's a sore, but I just want to bear with me whose faces were like the faces of lines, and were as swift as the Rose upon the mountains.
So here's the thought, maybe it was 2 Shields, maybe they could handle both kinds of Shields. Maybe it was shield and sword. But clearly there was an offensive and there was a defensive capability that these men had, right? And clearly there was a defensive. And here's in order to be Effective and be helpful to David, they needed to have both. They need to be able to be offensive and defensive. And you know, some of us.
You couldn't stump on a verse. Oh, I know where that verse is. Oh, there's, that's not quite accurate there. And we just got it down. We know the verses and we know the scriptures and we're on the move and that's good. That's like this sword. It's like the, it, it's the words like the sword. It's offensive. It's good. And we, and we can, we can do that, but some of us can't handle a shield or a small shield or a big shield. We can't handle that real well. And what do I mean by that? I mean this, that Satan gets those arrows through to us and we go around feeling guilty.
About things that have come into our lives. And we go around feeling kind of down with our heads down because we think, and I'll bet you that there is somebody here tonight that's thinking, if they really knew who I am and what I've done, they wouldn't even associate me with me. I wouldn't even show my face here if people knew what was really inside. And I feel so guilty and I feel so dirty inside and I don't know what to do with that. And maybe I know that I'm the Lord's, but I just feel so bad.
About this.
And, you know, I believe that Satan is winning a really big battle.
Among us as believers. But because he's got, and I just want to talk to young men for a second, he's got a lot of the young men feeling that you can't even lift your face because you feel so bad about things that have happened in your life or things that you've done and that I can't really participate. I sort of got to sit on the edges. So I got to sit on the sidelines and be of no real value because I know who I am and I know what I've done.
Right.
So there's two things I want to talk to in connection with that. The apostle Paul said to Timothy, take heed unto thyself.
And unto the doctrine he said, thyself first.
And then the doctrine. Both are important. I don't make light. And please don't misunderstand me. I am not making light of the importance of knowing Scripture. You know that. I'm not saying that that is extremely valuable. But we also have to be able to take heed unto ourselves because we are. You are living in a world where you are getting a shower of fiery darts every day, everywhere you go, everywhere you look. Guys, it's tough. Ladies, it is too. But I don't understand, ladies, I understand guys, and it's tough.
Right. It's tough out there. It's really difficult. And the Lord wants to Garrison our hearts and our minds with His Word and, and, and.
He wants us to resist. He's given us every resource we need to resist. But.
These men had lion like faces and what is that? What is that all about? You know, a line doesn't sort of go slinking away like sort of head down. It's like ferocious and it's sort of and it's holds its head up. It's bold, right? The Lord has provided a resource for us so that we can lift our heads, not in pride, but with the knowledge that we have been forgiven, with the knowledge that we have been cleansed.
And I'm not in these words, speaking so much to the unbeliever here tonight. I'm speaking to the believer who is dealing with a great amount of guilt. The Lord doesn't want you to go on feeling that way. The Lord doesn't want you to go on feeling you have to sit in the shadows. The apostle Paul was perhaps the greatest servant that there ever was of, of God. And yet he had to live with images in his mind of tearing families apart, of taking mothers away from children.
00:20:29
And husbands away from families. And yet he was able to serve the Lord faithfully and he could say, by the grace of God, I am what I am. And he could. And the Lord helped him to get beyond that. And the Lord wants to help you get beyond to that particular thing that's dogging you in your life.
Perfect love we read today casts out fear. I don't know the answer to your particular situation, but maybe you need to talk to someone. You know, our assemblies are there to help us. It's a haven. It's a, it's, it should be a haven that we can go to and get the help we need. But maybe you feel that it isn't. Maybe you just feel that it isn't for some reason, for some reason, you know, it's, you need to perhaps talk to somebody.
Get the help you need with that particular situation and this is so much on my heart tonight.
Maybe you need to go to someone that you've hurt, someone that you've harmed, and make that situation right.
Whatever it is, the Lord doesn't want us to go around with a cast down heart. And he's made every provision. He not only has washed us from all our sins, but he's made provision through his word to cleanse us from the defilement that we pick up in the in the world. And Satan is trying very hard to bring back to us the past and the Lord wants us to get free of it. He wants us to get free of it. I hope that you won't walk away from here without.
Getting peace about that or talking to someone to get peace.
About that thing that's keeping us from moving forward in our lives. Our time is really just about gone now.
So I'm not going to talk anymore about that verse. Final thing, final thought.
Verse 19 And there fell some of Manasseh to David, when he came with the Philistines against Saul to battle.
But they help them not.
And then verse 21, Speaking of the same people and they helped David against the band of Rovers for they were almighty men of valor and were captains in the host. So what's that all about? You remember when David was with the Philistines that he actually offered and was seems like he was prepared to go and fight against Israel and it seems that some people who were maybe very disgruntled at Saul.
Joined him for that purpose.
To do a wrong thing to fight against.
The Lord's own people.
And you know something sometimes.
We have our eyes on the wrong enemy. Sometimes we're looking around in our assemblies and saying, well, if it wasn't for that person.
Everything could be fine and in this situation just isn't fair. We can get very focused on the wrong enemy.
But you know something, David, when they spent time with David, David was able to turn that around. So by the end of this chapter, they're not fighting with God's people anymore. They're fighting against the real enemy, the Rovers, the bandits, the ones that were that were that they should have been fighting with. And you know, sometimes we have characteristics and qualities that aren't right. Sometimes our focus isn't exactly what it should be. But when we as we heard in the address that our brother.
Gave commit ourselves, our souls to the Lord. He's able to keep, he's able to change us. He's able to make us the people that he wants us to be and he's able to take those qualities and those things that maybe aren't quite right and he's able to put them in a right direction. And then that final verse that we started off reading.
For at that time, day by day, there came to David to help him, until it was a great host like the host.
Of God.
There is a host.
That is forming in this world.
A host that are.
Wanting to stand up and be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this the day of his rejection because.
00:25:03
They can almost hear his foot falls on the threshold of the door and they know it's just about there and they want to put in that last effort to give everything to the Lord in faithfulness to Him. And so they are coming 1 by 1. Some of them are black, some of them are white, some of them are from India, some of them are from Korea, some of them are from Sudan. Many, many people that are standing up to be faithful to the Lord.
In these last days.
Are you, am I among them? Are you willing to lay it all down for him? Are you willing to give everything for him, to follow him in these last remaining moments, to be faithful to him in these last remaining moments, and then to reign with him forever? The opportunity is ours. Now there's a story and I'll close with this. I don't know really where this happened. I think it was in Korea and there was a, a little gathering of Christians.
They used to meet in this little building and back then there was a, well, it was a communist regime and it was very much frowned on. It was disallowed and you could get into big trouble, imprisonment or even death for doing this. And this little group was together and all of a sudden the communist, some communist shoulders burst in the door and they said, all right, everybody.
Line up and they lined up and there was a picture. I guess we're supposed to depict the Lord Jesus.
And they took the picture and they hung it on the door and they said, all right, now everybody, you walk out of this building and as you go out you spit in the face of Jesus, and if you don't, you'll be shot. So the first man walked up, turned and he spit on that picture and he walked out. The 2nd man came and he spit on the picture and he walked out. And the third person in line was a little girl.
She walked away from her mommy and daddy and she walked up to that picture and to get her little handkerchief and she wiped the spit off and she said, Lord Jesus, I could never spit in your face. I'd rather die. Just turn around and walked out. And the communist soldiers were so touched by that that they allowed everyone to go free except for the first two men that had spit in the face of Jesus and they shot. This is stuff we talked about. Is it? Is it real to us? I know it's real to you. I know it's real to you, many of you here. And I know that you want to be part of that host.
That was faithful to the Lord in his rejection, but it starts with little practical things right here, right now, right at school, right at work. That's where it starts. Let's just bow our heads, close our eyes, and really still, you know it. It could be that there is one person here, and I think it's highly probable in a group the size that doesn't yet know the Lord Jesus as Savior at all. You don't know anything about this. And that's where this has to start, has to start at the cross. The Lord Jesus died to cleanse you from your sins and he loves you.
With all his heart and he stands here tonight with his arms outstretched in love to you. And you cannot go to hell without walking over his blood, without treading on his blood, without walking past those nail scarred hands. Tonight He reaches out to you with love. Will you acceptance, Pray Lord Jesus.