Address—Jim Hyland
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.
192 from Which book?
Blue Book. OK. Thank you.
When the storm dies with and again all spraying, will it rain with the rain for?
The great name.
Will your eyes be all thrilled and boring?
My Lord is on the gold standard of my heart, good pride.
Will it be alright?
Forever.
Born.
00:05:03
OK, I'd like to sing a hymn from the Little Flock Hymn #174.
I'd like to go on with the subject of Christian Focus this morning.
And to introduce some thoughts, I'd like to go to the book of Proverbs first of all.
Proverbs, chapter 29.
Proverbs, chapter 29.
And verse 18.
Just the first part of the verse, where there is no vision, the people perish.
Or another translation. Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. I wanna stress for a few moments the fact that when we talk about living by faith, there's no such thing as blind faith. And faith is not a leap in the dark now. Faith acts on the light that it has for the moment, but faith always has an object before it. Faith always has an eye to the future.
Some of you young people have or are going to college or university, Oregon trade school, whatever it might be. And some of you have or are living on in circumstances and on perhaps a limited budget, things that you wouldn't normally choose. Why do you do that? Because you say, well, in a couple of years or four years or whatever it might be, I'm gonna get my degree, I'm gonna get my diploma, and things will be better. I'll get a job, I'll get a better job and life will be better. You have an eye to the future.
And I believe young people as Christians, if we lose sight, as we said yesterday, of what is ahead, we're not going to walk today the way we ought to walk. In the book of Ephesians and a couple of other places, we are told to walk circumspectly.
Circumspect or circumspectly is not a word we use too much in today's vocabulary, but if you look it up in a dictionary, it will give you a meaning. Something like this.
Careful to consider all circumstances and consequences.
In other words, to walk circumspectly is to consider today.
What impact my actions are going to have on tomorrow?
And that's what Solomon is really telling us here in the book of Proverbs, where there is no vision, the people perish or the people cast off restraint.
Now this verse applies not just to our spiritual lives, but it really applies to every aspect of life, whether it's our personal life, whether it's family life, whether it's assembly life, whether it's school or business, whatever it is. We have to live in view of what is ahead, and today we are going to live in. If we have, I'm sorry if we have tomorrow in view.
00:10:29
And the consequences of our actions? Then we are going to Live Today.
In a way that is going to glorify God. Otherwise we're just going to live for ourselves.
In fact, Paul said in Philippians or in First Corinthians if there's no resurrection and nothing beyond this life. In other words, if there's nothing in the future.
Why would we live for the Lord today? Why would we give up present advantage if there's nothing in the future? And so like I say, going to school, you may give up present advantage. You may not even go out with your friends when you'd like because you stay in the study. But you say I want to get through these exams and I want to get my degree and then I can do some things that I I haven't done, you know, for those of us who travel and do business in 3rd world countries.
We see this in stark reality. You know, so often when I step up to a airline counter in a place like Guyana, South America or Trinidad, what happens is they'll say to me, oh, Mr. Highland, your name isn't on the manifesto this morning. Well, I always have a $20 bill right here in my pocket. And I will say something like, Are you sure my name isn't on the manifesto? Oh, I'm sorry. It's right here.
Now they're not circumspect you see in those countries and This is why I say it applies to every level of life from the government right down. They're only living for the moment. They're only living for that little bit of money in somebody's pocket at the moment. They're not considering the long term ramifications of a system like that. And that's why those countries remain in the situations, the states that they do, because they're not living circumspectly and so we always want to live.
In view of what is ahead, and again for the believer, what is ahead or what we ought to have as our focus is Christ and what is ahead is is glory. Now let's go to a very familiar verse and then we'll look at some examples in scripture of those who lived circumspectly and those who didn't. But let's go to a familiar verse in Philippians chapter 3.
And verse 13. Philippians chapter 3 and verse 13.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do.
Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth under those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Well, of course we know the writer here. It's the Apostle Paul, and he is Speaking of running a race. Now we don't have time, but if we go through the New Testament, we find that the Apostle Paul and others, but particularly the Apostle Paul.
He often speaks of the Christian pathway as a race or an athletic event. Because to participate in an athletic event, it takes focus, it takes concentration. When Paul says this, one thing I do, this is not multitasking. Now they talk about multitasking today, and I guess I tend to be a multitasker. When I'm home. I like to have a number of projects on the go and I can go from one to the other.
But this isn't multitasking. Here. One thing I do he had the goal before he was running a race. So when the athlete goes out to train, he perhaps again doesn't do things he'd like. Perhaps he has a diet that isn't really according to the bend of his nature, eats things that perhaps he wouldn't choose otherwise because he wants to get his weight and his metabolism to a certain level. He goes gets up early in the morning even though he's not a morning person.
He works out and goes out to train when perhaps other of his friends are doing other activities and so on.
He's focused on what is ahead. Then the day of the event, again, as we said yesterday, like with the Tour de France or any athletic event, it always takes focus. It's looking ahead, it's looking to the goal. And so the Apostle Paul was looking ahead. Tell you a little story. I know some of you have heard me tell this before.
00:15:22
But William Kelly, whose commentaries are still in print and are read by many.
Was a man who in the 1800s was one of the great minds of England. You know those men that God raised up at the revival of the truth in the 1800s. They were men who had a knowledge of a number of languages, often Greek and Latin and Hebrew and other languages, French and German and many Latin based languages and so on. They were the scholars of the day and God raised them up to.
Reveal from the Scripture to bring out from the Scripture that which had been lost and not enjoyed.
For many centuries. But William Kelly had a nephew, I believe it was, who was attending one of the great universities of England. I can't remember if it was Cambridge or Oxford, but one of those great universities of England. And it became quickly evident to his Greek professor that this young man must be getting some extra tutoring from outside the university. And so the professor and the Dean of the college questioned the young man as to why he was excelling in his Greek studies.
And it came out that his uncle William was helping him. And so the Dean of and professor of the college made an appointment to have an interview with William Kelly. And they were astounded in the presence of one of the great minds of England at that time. And finally the Dean of the college leaned across his desk and he said, Mr. Kelly, you could be a great man in this world. And Mr. Kelly looked him straight in the eye and said, which world?
Now there was a man who had focus. There was a man who was living in view of another world. Perhaps you've read something of John Wesley again, another man who gave up a great deal to serve the Lord, traveled up and down the length and breadth of Britain, and came to North America too, on occasion suffered privation and hardships to get the gospel out. And one time he was passing one of the great Manor houses of England.
And what the gardener was working around the gate of this house. And John Wesley stopped to speak to this gardener, and it came out that the family who owned the estate was not home. And so when the gardener saw that John Wesley was interested in the the the grounds, he offered to show them around some of the grounds of that great Manor house in the state. And after they had had a little tour and they came back to the gate, John Wesley said to them to the gardener.
I too have a liking for these things. But there is another world you see. They were living in view of something beyond this life. They were living in view of something that is more than just reserved under fire. Because you know, everything in this world and everything in this life is only temporary. It's all reserved under fire. Got a question? Raise your hand. How many have ever read Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan? OK, so several. You have read Pilgrim's Progress. It's one of the classics, of course.
What's very interesting book? I don't always agree with all the.
Analogies and things he makes in in his allegory, but it's very interesting and helpful. It's a dream that he had and he wrote down and there were two men in that dream, Christian and faithful, and they were on a journey to the Celestial City and they had that before them. And in one of the chapters of that story they come to a place called Vanity Fair and there was a great carnival going on.
And as they passed through Vanity Fair, they were offered every kind of worldly activity that was imaginable. Come and join us in this. Come and join us in that. Come and do this. Just step aside here and we'll, we'll give you this and you can gain such and such. But in the in the dream, Christian and faithful keep on the King's highway, and they don't turn in to participate in that which was offered to them.
At that carnival. Why? Well, the point the writer makes is that they had the goal in view. Now, again, don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that there is an enjoyment in natural things and so on. You know, Mr. Darby, whose commentaries we're familiar with, he was on a train one time with another brother by the name of FW Grant, and they were going through Western Canada and through the Rocky Mountains.
00:20:21
And they were sitting together in beautiful scenery. If you've ever traveled through the Rockies, it's breathtaking scenery. And Mr. Darby, a number of times as the train went along, commented on the beauty, the natural beauty of the scenery of Western Canada. And Mr. Grant kept saying, oh, I'm dead to all that well, after a while Mr. Darby got up and he moved to another coach. And when he and Mr. Grant met at their table in the dining car.
For the noon meal, Mr. Grant said. I I don't understand why you all of a sudden got up and went to another coach. Oh, Mr. Darby said, I didn't like sitting with a dead man. Well, he made his point. We're not dead to nature. We're not dead to natural things. No. And you young people, I trust, have enjoyed some sports activities, some games around the table. Wonderful. Great to have have a a laugh, great to enjoy things. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the things that the enemy brings into our lives to distract us from our focus, you know?
When we read about Paul here in Philippians, Paul had many avenues in his life. He had natural things, you know, At the end of his life he wanted his coat read. First Timothy, Second Timothy, chapter four. He wanted his books. He wanted his coat. He wanted Timothy to bring his coat before winter. He wasn't indifferent to those, to those things. Paul had the natural side of life. You know, when they were shipwrecked on an island and they were gathering sticks to make a fire, it was cold. And Paul got up and helped them.
Gathers gather some sticks. He took care.
Of natural things in life, natural responsibilities. He had a gospel ministry and everywhere he went he sought to bring souls into the realization that they were sinners and needed a savior. He had his ministry to the people of God. He had. He wrote by inspiration. I have no doubt he wrote other letters and many things that weren't inspired and haven't been preserved to us. There were many avenues to his life, but in every Ave. of life it all headed up with one thing.
Christ in glory that everything he did, whether it was in natural things or spiritual things.
It all had Christ and his glory in view. So as we I think maybe in the question and answer in the Bible study yesterday, we quoted that verse.
That what? That we're whether we eat or drink or whatsoever we do, it's to be all done to the glory of God. And that certainly is the overriding qualifier for whatever we do. Now I'd like to look at two men in contrast for a moment. Go to Hebrews, Chapter 11.
Hebrews, Chapter 11.
And verse 8. By faith, Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whether he went by faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of him with him of the same promise. And then this is what I want us to notice, particularly for he looked for a city which has foundations.
Whose builder and maker is God? Well, as we often mention, Abraham is the father of faith.
He had a specific call from the Lord. He lived in a city and in a society. The secular history tells us was very advanced, was a post deluge society and I suggest it was perhaps more advanced than we realize. But Abraham received a call from God and while it's true he went out not knowing whether he went yet he had specific direction in his life.
And when we trace the life of Abraham, we find that he acted on the word of God that he had for the moment. Again, I want to make it clear, there's no such thing as blind faith. We don't just stumble along in the dark in the path of faith. No, we often again quote the verse. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. God gives us light for one step at a time in the path of faith. And if we take those steps, then we're going to have sufficient light for our pathway. So, Abraham.
00:25:19
Was a man who looked again for something beyond this world. Uh was a very advanced society, I have no doubt. It was a great city in its day, but he saw another city by faith, and that city was not something that was for time, but for eternity. You know, there were those in the Old Testament who had special flashes of light and revelation beyond what was the normal revelation of the day.
And I believe that Abraham was one of those men. What did he really see were not exactly told.
But he saw something that a city that was heavenly, not earthly in its character. But now I want to go back to Genesis for a little contrast.
To Genesis chapter 13.
Genesis Chapter 13.
And verse 10.
And Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere.
Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.
And Lot chose him. All the plain of Jordan and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other. Well, here we have Abraham's nephew Lot. And Lot made a choice too, and Lot saw something. Lot lifted up his eyes. It's a little homework for you. Go through the scripture sometime and notice this little expression as to certain ones who lifted up their eyes. I believe I stand to be corrected, but.
I believe that this might be the first.
Time. You have the expression that someone lifted up their eyes. Later on we find Abraham lifted up his eyes. We find that Isaac lifted up his eyes and there are quite a number. But it's a very interesting and instructive study. But here we find that Lot lifts up his eyes, but he didn't lift them up as far as Abraham. Abraham had spiritual eyes.
And by faith he saw something above the horizons of this world. He saw something of eternal value.
Of heavenly character. But Lot lifted up his eyes on this occasion, and he only lifted up his eyes and saw what was what was connected with this world. And he chose the city as well. He chose Sodom. Now, I suppose we're all very familiar with the story here. We find that this was really the beginning of a downward course for law. Now let's make it very clear that Lot like Abraham.
Is going to be in heaven in a coming day. We're going to see Lot because the New Testament confirms to us that Lot was a righteous man and so Lot was a true believer, but he made a choice that was based on something that was temporal, you know, it's really a sad commentary here, not only for Lot but for Abraham, because first of all, there was a strike. If we were to back up in the chapter, there was contention and strife.
Between the herdsmen of Abraham's cattle and the herdsmen of Lot S cattle. And Abraham made a suggestion here that I don't think was very wise. Instead of sitting down and before the Lord seeking to sort out this matter in a proper way, Abraham suggested that they separate. You know that is never the way for Christians to solve difficulties amongst themselves. The way for us, the people of God, to solve difficulties is to get on their knees in the presence of the Lord.
And look to the Lord for guidance and direction, and I believe that there has been much.
There have been many divisions and much strife amongst the people of God, a lot of separation amongst the people of God.
Because they decided just to go their own way. And as we sometimes say.
Agreed to disagree. That is not the way. God has ordained that we solve problems amongst the people of God. And so Abraham makes this suggestion and they separate. But there's something else that Abraham had done that led to what happened here, And that is what he had taken Lot down into Egypt with him on a previous occasion. Because when Lot lifted up his eyes and he saw the well watered plain of Jordan.
00:30:23
It was like the land of Egypt. How did Lot know what Egypt looked like?
He'd been taken down there by his uncle Abraham, and Egypt again, as I think we said yesterday, is.
Almost invariably in scripture, a type of this world. And if we get a taste for this world, and we only make choices connected with that which seems for present advantage, we're going to lose. We'll never lose our salvation. Lord, as I say, we're going to see him another day. But if someone has said Lot had a safe soul, but he had a lost life, and it's possible to have a saved soul but have a lost life, what does that mean?
A life where there's very little fruit for God, and a life where we're going to reap what we sow.
You know, we often quote that verse. We reap what we sow. Whatsoever a man soweth actually also reap.
That verse applies to a believer. It's true that the unbeliever, if he goes on in his sins.
And simply so seeds of sin and degradation in this world. Yes, he's going to end up in a lost eternity, but that's not really what that verse is applying to. That verse in its real context is applying to you and to me who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior. If we sow to the flesh corruption, we're going to reap to the flesh corruption. And we find, if we go on with the story of Lot, that he first of all pitched his tent towards Sodom.
Probably thought, well, I I can handle this and and I know how far to go. Uh, we like that sometimes our hearts are tricky. We say, well, I I I can I can, uh observe things and I I can do things but but I won't go so far as as anybody else. But then we find that he was living right in Sodom gave up his tent and a tent in scripture would speak of our character of those who are just here for a little time. Tent is a temporary dwelling.
He lived in Sodom, he built a house and he lost most of his family. Even his wife looked back and I don't believe we're going to see Lot's wife in heaven. And some awful things happened when he was in Sodom and he lived to see the day when it was all destroyed and burnt up. And young people, if you only build for this life, and again, as we said yesterday, there's nothing wrong with getting along in this world, in in in this world, as far as our secular employment and whatever the Lord puts in our hand and gives us.
But if we set our hearts on those things, if that's what we're striving for, we're going to be disappointed. You remember yesterday we mentioned in one of the meetings that verse about those who desire to be rich, and in the end they pierced themselves through with many sorrows. You know, sad to say, Lot even got involved in the politics of the day. I say that because we read of him sitting in the gate.
And if we were to go back in secular history and in the Old Testament, we would find that the administration, the politics of the day, where was carried on in the gates of the city. That's where the elders sat. That's where decisions were made. Even under the Levitical law, when there was a decision needed needed to be made, they were to come to the gate where the elders were, and the elders were to pass judgment on tho those things.
Was sort of where the court of the land, the city was, and so Lot got involved in all that.
But I say again, he lived to see that it was all done away with. Well, who do we want to be like? Do we want to be like Abraham, who looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God? You know, Later on in Genesis, Abraham lifted up his eyes too. But he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and the Lord told him that he would bless him as the stars of the heavens and as the sand of the of the sea. He received that which was not just for this earth, but he received that a blessing in connection with.
Heavenly things. One more example, very similar, but let's go back to Hebrews Chapter 11.
00:35:06
Hebrews, Chapter 11.
And verse 24.
By faith, Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season esteeming the reproaches of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. Well, here we have Moses. We mentioned yesterday about the children of Israel on the Sinai Peninsula, and how they have the pillar of cloud to lead them, and the occasion where the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud, and they were encouraged to press on, and so on.
And here we have Moses. Now it's interesting that it says here that Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called not the grandson of Pharaoh or the son of Pharaoh, but the son of Pharaoh's daughter. I believe that's a very significant expression. Pharaoh in the Old Testament is most often a picture to us of the enemy, Satan, shall I say, in the raw side of the world.
And when the children of Israel were in ******* under Pharaoh and the Egyptians, Pharaoh is a picture there of the enemy seeking.
To keep souls from coming under the good of redemption and deliverance and so on. And as I say, it has to do more with the raw side of the rough side of the world. The way of the transgressor is hard, it says in Proverbs. But what is the son of Pharaoh's daughter? I suggest that's the nice side of the world. You know, Moses was taken to the palace in his very young, and he was trained in the best of circumstances.
You know, Egypt was not a base nation in those days. It was a glorious society.
And as I have traveled in Egypt for a number of years and observed some of the treasures of Egypt and learned some of its history.
It was a glorious nation and the learning and wisdom of the Egyptians post deluge is something that's very, very outstanding in the history of mankind. That's the kind of society that Moses was brought to. He was trained to be the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He was trained in all the culture and it and when when Steven sums it up in the New Testament, he he was trained in all the wisdom and learning.
Of the of the Egyptians, and perhaps would have been the heir to the Egyptian throne, but he refused all that. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.
And he exchanged it for the people of God.
Who were really a complaining, rebellious people who often blamed Moses.
For their situation, in fact, you you read like the 17th of Exodus. Then why did you bring us here? To kill us with hunger? And what about our cattle and our families and so on? Bad enough you brought us, and often they blamed Moses and Aaron.
For their situation, I think that's the tendency of our hearts when we get into difficulty to always blame somebody. But we find that Moses chose this, and not only that, but just the physical rigors of the Sinai Peninsula and so on, because he had a vision. He had. Again, I believe Moses had one of these little flashes of revelation that was beyond the normal revelation of the day.
I pondered, and I don't know what it means, but esteeming the reproaches of Christ.
He didn't know Christ as we know Christ, but he had some special revelation, some little flash of light, and he esteemed the reproaches of of Christ better than the treasures of Egypt. And as I say, the treasures of Egypt were really something. And to enjoy the pleasures than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. You see, it's always in contrast with what is just for time.
Scripture says there is pleasure in sin, but you know sin. The pleasure in sin is gone with the act.
It only lasts well for the ACT and then it just leaves us with a bad taste in our mouths and a guilty conscience.
There's no pleasure in sin after the ACT is completed.
But we find that Moses chose something that had eternal value now.
00:40:01
He could have perhaps had the throne of Egypt, perhaps a pyramid or a monument built to his memory that we would all flock to today.
But you know.
Moses was one who had the privilege.
Of standing with the Lord Jesus on the mount of Transfiguration, and when we see Moses another day.
And we talked to him and say, well, was it really worth it, Moses. You know, I think of myself and I know this a little bit of a fleshly thought, but I think of myself meeting Moses in the coming day and saying, Moses, I traveled through the Sinai Peninsula too. But I had better circumstances than than you did. And I didn't really always enjoy the the heat and the the the situation. But what about you back in those days and that rebellious people, Was it really worth it? Oh, I'd say it was worth it and more because Moses gained something.
Of eternal value and young people. That's the point I'm trying to make. Are we living for time or are we living for eternity?
You know, because of my travel, I belong to the UH Air Canada frequent flyer program called Aeroplan, and it's part of the Star Alliance network of a number of some 20 air airlines around the world. But you know, Air Canada's our aeroplanes frequent flyer model is live for the moment. Now I realize that's just a catchy slogan to get people to stick with Air Canada and Star Alliance and spend their money flying on their airplanes. I understand that.
But I've also thought of that live for the moment. Isn't that the spirit of the age, as we've been saying to just live for the moment? We pull the credit card out? Are we thinking of the day of reckoning that's going to come when there's going to be a bill and a payment and if we don't pay it, there's going to be a large interest rate and it's just going to accumulate from month to month. We buy something and we don't always think about whether down the road we can make the payments on this car or this house or whatever.
Uh, it is. We have fun for the moment to do something that we don't consider what the consequences down the road are going to be. Live for the moment.
Lot live for the moment. Many Christians today, to their sorrow, live for the moment. But I don't want you to live for the moment. I want you to live in light of eternity. You know young people.
We're almost at the end.
Of this dispensation of the grace of God, at any moment the Lord Jesus is gonna come. And when you stand before the Lord Jesus at the judgment seat of Christ, and as we mentioned briefly last night, your life is going to be reviewed and rewards given for faithfulness down here. And how you live down here. What's gonna matter? How well you planned your life, how well you got along down here?
How well you fit in with the crowd, you know, the apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, who criticized him on every level. The the the the Corinthians question Paul's ministry. They questioned his authority as an apostle. They even questioned his ability to present his ministry. They said his speech was contemptible and so on. They questioned everything about Paul. Paul said that's OK we labor that whether present or absent, we might be accepted of him.
He was living for the Lord's approval. You know, as young people, it's not wrong to desire to have approval. It's not wrong to desire acceptance. But the question is, whose acceptance do we really want? Are we really seeking the Lord's acceptance and his approval? Now we're going to look at some other scriptures very, very quickly, again, in connection with this subject of focus. Let's go to John, Chapter 5.
John Chapter 5.
And verse 39.
Search the scriptures.
For in them ye think, ye have eternal life, and they are they.
Which testify of me, I want to talk about focus when it comes to our reading and taking up our study of the word of God, because it does take focus. You know, I want to speak very carefully when we speak about this precious book, but it's not light reading. You know, you might be able to take a story book and you might be able to read it in a crowded room. You know, sometimes I carry a missionary story or something with me because I'm going to be sitting in a crowded airport.
00:45:21
We're on a plane or on a bus or somewhere in my travels, and I can read something light like that with a lot going on around me. But you know, to read the word of God and really study it and get what is here, you've got to focus. I want to encourage you to schedule not only some time, but a place where you can slip away every day and really quietly and alone focus with the word of God before you, you know when Mary of Bethany sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus.
She was focused in contrast to Martha. I'll encourage you. You can jot this down, but I'll encourage you to read the last few verses.
Of Luke's Gospel, chapter 10. Very familiar to most of us, but there you have the Lord visiting that house.
And Mary sat down at the feet of Jesus to focus on what he had to say.
And it's interesting if you read in Mr. Darby's translation about Martha.
When the Lord spoke to Martha after she complained that Mary had left her to serve alone, he said to Martha, You are careful and distracted with many things. Isn't that interesting? That's the work of the enemy. When we get when the Lord is speaking to us through His word, the enemy's right there to distract us in one way or another, and that's why you need to schedule not only time but a place.
A stated place. Maybe it's in your room, maybe it's somewhere. At lunchtime you can slip away quietly with the word of God, what? Wherever it might be, but somewhere where you can really focus because.
In the verse we read here, he exhorts them to search the scriptures. Searching takes diligence and focus. Now we need to always care, orderly, and consistently read the word of God. But it's good to to get out of concordance. I know we don't use.
Hard copy concordances like I did when we were young people. But get out your smartphone, get out your laptop and study through certain phrases and and words and do those searches.
And that's where you're really going to get the benefit. You see, as the Proverbs said, it is the glory of God to conceal the matter. The honor of kings is to search out the thing. God doesn't encourage laziness in any aspect of our lives. And the Bible's not a self help book. You're not going to turn to a certain page and in 12 easy steps get from point A to point B God has woven the truth in a way that we have to search it out.
Let's go to another scripture in First Timothy.
Our second Timothy. I should say Second Timothy.
Chapter 2.
And verse 15. Now it uses the word study here in our King James Bible, but it's really the thought of striving diligently.
To show thyself approved unto God, a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. So whether it's the word study here or strive diligently, it's a very similar thought. That is, it's going to take focus and diligence if you are going to become familiar with the word of God and if you are going to take up the word of God in its proper context.
You know, there's a lot of confusion in many Christian circles today because they don't take up the word of God in its proper context. They don't rightly divide the word of truth or again, draw straight lines when it comes to the truth. What does that mean? Well, very simply, it means that we need to realize that all scripture isn't about us. It's not all about the church. There are certain scriptures that refer to God's people, Israel in an earthly sense, and their earthly blessings.
There are prophetic scriptures that apply to a future day.
There are there are scriptures that have to do with God's people being blessed on the earth, that is, the children of Israel, the descendants of Abraham.
00:50:05
There has there's scriptures that have to do with the heavenly blessing of the Church of God, you and me who have been saved.
In this dispensation and so on, we need to rightly divide the word of Truth. But you'll never be able to do it unless you strive diligently. Study, focus on the Word of God. So when it comes to the Word of God, it takes focus. It takes diligence. You know, the Lord said to some in his day, ye do err not knowing the scriptures. Why were they misapplying things? Why did they not understand what the Lord was doing and saying? Because they hadn't searched out the scriptures in the way that they should have.
So that's reading of the word of God. It takes real focus. Now let's go to Matthew 26.
Matthew Chapter 26.
And verse 41.
Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. So we've talked about focusing connection with the word of God. But now I want to speak for a moment of focus in connection with our prayer life. You know, the disciples here in this chapter had become weary, and they had lost their focus. They had fallen asleep. And the Lord rebukes them here and tells them to watch and pray lest they enter into temptation.
If you go through the New Testament, you'll often find that watching and praying are connected. In fact, in Ephesians 6, it's also connected where to watch and to pray. It's one of the it's the spirit and attitude in which we take up the armor of God and utilize it effectively, because prayer is the powerhouse of the Christian life. You know, again, the great work of the enemy is to distract us from our focus on scripture and our focus in prayer because he knows that our power.
The power in our Christian life is from prayer. It is our powerhouse.
And the more prayer in our lives, the more power that we are going to have.
But here we find these disciples had become weary. I want to say a word about that, because I believe that one of the great tactics of the enemy at the end of the Christian age is to weary or wear down the people of God.
And you young people know what I'm talking about because it says in Isaiah 40, even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall. You know, the glory of young men is their strength. But there's a lot of young people giving up today. There's a lot of young people who have become weary. And it's not with things that are bad. It's not with things that are sin or wrong in themselves. It's just the daily grind of life. I I marvel at some of you young people in the curriculum that you have and the jobs that you keep up while you go to school and the pressure in the corporate world and and so on.
You're facing things that I never had to face when I went to school or when I was in the in the business world. But I say the great tactic of the enemy is to wear out the Saints of God. I'm going to make a little application, and it's only an application. But you know, it tells us in Peter that your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. Now usually when we think of the roaring lion character of Satan, we think of persecution and and violence against the truth of God.
And that is certainly true. It's been true of many in past generations.
It's even true of many of our brethren in other corners of the world today. They're suffering the roaring, roaring lion character of Satan as to persecution and physical violence. But Scripture always has a present application for us. We're not suffering in that way. What is the roaring lion character of Satan for us? You ever watch a cat with its prey? It gets that bird or that mouse or that mole. It doesn't usually kill it right away.
It plays with it, and then it lets it go and the little mouse runs ahead, and then it pounces on it again, and it mauls it for another while. And then after a while, when it absolutely drops from sheer exhaustion, then it comes in for the kill. I suggest that's what the enemy does to is doing to us. It's just wearing us down now. Again, the enemy will never take our salvation, but he can weary us to the point where we become so discouraged.
00:55:13
That we throw up our hands and say it isn't worth it, But again, what's going to encourage us to go on?
What's gonna keep us pressing on? It's the goal. It's the object. You know, you don't you think Paul was often weary. In fact, he speaks of injuries often. And he was weary and he was hungry and so on. But he kept going because he had the prize. He had the goal in view. There's another aspect of things I want to take up. Our time is slipping away very quickly.
Let's go to Acts Chapter 2.
Acts Chapter 2.
In verse 42.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers or another translation. They persevered. Now it takes focus to persevere, doesn't it? And here we find it's not so much the individual side of things that's taken up, it's the collective side of things. You know, young people, it's wonderful to come to a camp like this, and we're thrilled you've come and made it all possible.
And it's wonderful to have Christian fellowship on a weekend like this and that conferences and special get togethers, but you're gonna go home. And I realize some of you come from tiny assemblies, some from little larger assemblies, But you know, whether we come from a big meeting or a small meeting, it's going to take perseverance and focus to go on together in the assembly meetings and to be a help to the people of God collectively.
It's going to take real perseverance because I realize when you come through the door at night, whether you've been at school or work, Oregon, wherever you've been, you're tired, you're weary. And the tendency of our hearts is to say, well, really too tired to go to prayer meeting tonight. Really too tired to go to reading meeting tonight. And but you're it's going to take real perseverance. The Lord can give you that extra spurt of energy that you needed.
You need and we find here that these early Christians, they persevered in these things. These are what we might say are the assembly meetings, the apostles doctrine, those meetings where we have ministry and truth before us from the word of God teaching. Then there's there's fellowship, our interactions together, encouraging one another in that way and breaking a bread, the privilege that we're going to have a little later this morning. And prayer, this is not individual prayer, this is collective prayer.
And so it takes real energy and real focus to be at the Assembly meetings. But I believe you'll find that there'll be a real blessing. Now I just want to say in a very practical way that what we really need to do not and and it's perhaps a little easier personally, although not really easy. But again, as you form relationships and perhaps some of you become married and households, new households are established, you need to plan your life.
Personally and your family life around the Lord and the assembly, you know, I'm thankful looking back that I had parents that planned our lives around the assembly meetings. I don't ever remember sitting at the dinner table on a Tuesday or Thursday night and it being a question of whether we were going to meeting or not. Now, I'm not saying there weren't times under extenuating circumstances that we didn't go to meetings. There were those times, but it was a very special circumstance that kept us from going to meeting.
And it was always assumed that when the evening meal was over, things would be cleaned up and that we would be ready by 7:15 to be out the door and in the car and on our way to meeting. I didn't always appreciate that being taken to meeting two or three times a week. But as I look back, I realize that even back then I knew what was important to my parents. And another thing with my parents, it was never a drudgery or a chore. It was something that they appreciated and enjoyed.
And I believe they conveyed that to their young people and so we need to plan our lives around the Assembly meetings.
01:00:02
You know, the difficulty today is sometimes we try to plan our lives and then work in the Lord and the assembly. It will never work that way, young people, because from the minute you get up in the morning till you go to bed at night, the enemy is going to be there to inject every kind of thought and activity to distract your focus and to keep you from planning your lives around the Lord and around the assembly and the interests of his people. Well.
We've looked at these scriptures very quickly. I trust they're an encouragement to us and that you'll go back over and look at some of these examples, look at their stories a little more thoroughly, and that you'll meditate on them.