Conference: 1968
Table of Contents
Mark 2
Address—A. Roach
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.
So we turn to the Gospel of Mark.
The second chapter of the Gospel of Mark.
I will begin with verse one.
And again he entered into Capernaum after some days, and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together in so much that there was no room to receive them, no not so much as about the door. And he preached a word unto them.
And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was, And when they had broken it up, they let down.
The bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay when Jesus.
Saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy sons, thy sins before given thee what they were certain of the scribes, sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why does this man thus speak blasphemies?
Who can forgive sins but God only and immediately?
When Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves.
He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts, Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, arise and take up thy bed, and walk, but that ye may know that the Son of man?
Power on earth to forgive sins, he said to the sick of the palsy. I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up his bed.
And went forth before them all in so much that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying we never saw it on this fashion.
We know that the purpose of this meeting is especially to take into consideration beyond, and in so doing we have to consider this thought that all of the young who are here.
Are not saved. We cannot speak to all of the young people as saved as belonging to Christ. We don't know them all. We want to bring the attention of all the young people. First of all, the importance of knowing Christ as their Savior. We're going to read here of the blessed Savior. Come very near to us. We're going to read. We've read about a man who received three blessings all at once.
Some people speak about waiting for the second blessing. This man got three wonderful blessings all in one package right directly from the blessed Savior blessings that we have now. We want to tell one story before we get into this chapter. Years ago in Cornwall, there was an Episcopal minister by the name of.
Has law, whom the Lord saved and used in a mighty way in the proclamation of the gospel of His grace. And he tells of a young boy, one of the young people, who attended his various services. But this boy became quite rude and rough, and finally, with great reluctance he had to ban them from coming to these particular young people's gatherings. But Mr. Haslam noticed when he preached in other places.
This boy would follow him. He would come, go to another town, and he would look down and see the boy, listening to the gospel message. There was something about this boy. He didn't want it, and he did want it, as it were. There was something working in his soul. But one day Mr. Haslam spoke, The boy came to him.
He noticed the boy looked very sad and downcast. And he said to the boys, what's the trouble all he said, I had an awful dream last night. What was it all He said I had a dream that I died and I went to hell. Mr. Hazel looked at the boy and he said that dream is going to come true. If you die without Christ, your dream will come true and you will land in hell. All the voices pray for me.
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What shall I pray for? He said. Pray that God will let me live a little longer. Oh, Mr. Haslam said, all you want to do is to live a little longer so you can live along here without Christ. And instead of praying that the boy would live longer, he prayed for the salvation of his soul.
What happened? God saved that young man. He got completely saved. He got to know Christ as his own personal savior. All dear young people. That happened about 100 years ago. But Christ is the same today and can save your soul this afternoon. The young man then became quite active in the things of the Lord.
And Mr. Haslam could count on him to round up some of the bad boys and he was mixing up with before and get them out to hear the word of God in the Sunday School and in the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ is the same today as he was then. Now let us look at this precious portion. This is so personal and so close.
How nice it is to take up here this account of God's perfect servant at work. We see God's perfect servant at work in this chapter, and we're going to notice, as I said before, the three blessings that we possess as Christians now and which the Lord bestowed upon this man at that time.
We read that he entered again. He entered into Capernaum again, or the Lord Jesus never gives up again. He entered into caponium. Why does it say that? Because in the first chapter he entered there too. And what did he find in the first chapter? He found a man in the synagogue that was under the complete power of the devil. What did he do? He delivered them. He delivered that man from the power of the devil. Now the Lord Jesus goes back again into capiniums. We know from Matthews gospel.
Lord dwelt in Capernaum. He gave up his home in Nazareth, read it in the 4th of Matthew. He left Nazareth at the John the Baptist was put to death. He left Nazareth and he went and dwelt in Campanium. Think of having the son of God dwelling in your hometown.
Those people in Capernaum, having the blessed Son of God, come and live there, and they could see his mighty works and the blessings that he wrought, all to have. The person of Christ. If your Son save, you need Christ. If you are saved, you need Christ. We need Christ as a satisfying portion of our souls, even when we are already absolutely certain.
Of our eternal welfare. And we'll find nothing that will satisfy us as Christ and His blessed person. Now He comes into the house. It says it was noise that he was in the house. Now I like to think of it in this way. We're here from all different gatherings. We come from large ones and small ones, but we come from a place where the Lord Jesus Christ is in the midst of His gathered people.
Every time you and I attend an assembly meeting, Jesus is in the house. He's there. He's in the midst. Or are we attracted to that? These people heard that Jesus was in the house and they all came rushing. There are we. Is that what attracts us to the assembly meeting?
Come from a small gathering where there are very few. There may be very little teaching or very little activity, But do we value the basic principle that Jesus is in the house? Do we value the fact that Christ is in the midst of his gathered people? As we enter the door on Lords Day morning, are we conscious that we are stepping into the presence of the greatest king and monarch of the universe? We're not stepping reverently into the presence of the king of some great nation.
We are stepping into the very presence of the Son of God. Jesus is in the house. Or to be conscious of that in all our assembly meetings. Dear young people, I can remember. I've often repeated this when I first came to an assembly gathered to the Lords name to gather together to remember him in the breaking of bread. This was in Brooklyn.
Home and Rose Street. I remember it well. I've never been to such a meeting, and I was greatly impressed at the silent reverence with which each one came in and took his seat around that table in the midst. Yes, there was a sense that the Lord was there. Jesus was truly, verily, in the house. Now here he's seen in the house. And then it says, straightway. Many would gather together. So now they may have had other reasons for coming.
They might have wanted to see some miracles. They might have been curious, but nevertheless the crowd comes together and there was number room to receive them. No, not so much. As about the door. Oh, how wonderful that was. The Savior attracted them in one way or another. It was He that was in the house, and it was He that they heard about.
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And it was that lesson one had come to see and to hear and notice how graciously.
He turns to them and it says He preached the word unto them. He didn't work a miracle. He didn't perform some great deed. He did the very thing that you and I as Christians can do. When we meet people outside, we can preach the word unto them. The Savior was came down. We all know that that mark gives us the Savior in his capacity as servant. And here we see what the servant does. He doesn't get swayed by the popularity. He doesn't become a popular preacher carried away by the crowds. He preaches a word, the word of God. Notice those two things. The house. Jesus is in the house.
And we have the word of God preached. Those two things go together. Where were you? And I? Find the fullness of the truth of God maintain and presented, except where the Saints are gathered to the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will not find it in the systems, in the systems they have.
Real believers, there may be a lot of knowledge of truth, but I say this and I say this. I'm sure it's factual. Where did they get it? CHMJND. Charles Stanley. Those godly men read the the writings of men who were outside the camp and they get the blessing. We're glad to see that. But beloved brethren, young people especially, we appeal to as gathered to the Lord's name where we are, whether it be a large assembly or a small we've got everything we need right there. There is nothing at the camp confineous to us. They cannot give us a better gospel. They cannot give us a clearer perception of what the church is or the hope of the Lords coming. Because whatever measure they have it, they got it from the gathered Saints in one form or another. Or let us remember.
That is gathered to the Lord's name. We have full provision in the house. We've got the word of God in all its fullness. Well, we find there's not wanting for those outside here. We find one that is sick. Now that brings another fact before us. We not only have the word of God.
For the Christian has gathered to the Lord's name and in the house, but the Lord through His grace, enables us to present the gospel. We may be in a very small gathering. We may not have a regular gospel meeting, as it's called, but we still can hold forth the gospel. As we meet sinners, we can invite them to the to the meetings. They can hear God's word in the form of the gospel.
There. We've got everything outside the camp that we need. So they bring one sick of the palsy, and there are four people carrying him. Here are four men, I presume, and these four men are interested. They're vitally interested that this man get blessed.
Now, I want you to say this, that every young person in this room who is in a Christian home, you haven't got four carrying you, perhaps, but you've got at least two. You've got father and mother carrying you to Jesus. They want you to know Jesus as your savior, and if you do know him, they still want you to know more about him. They want you to grow in grace and the knowledge of that Savior. If you've got a Christian father and mother, you're being born of two. You've got two people carrying you who are anxiously and lovingly.
To the feet of the Savior. These four were diligently exercised. See what they do. They bring you, they bring the man. And there's such a crowd they can't get into the house. So what do they do for those eastern houses? We've often seen pictures of them. They have a stairway going up on the outside up to the rule. Well, that wasn't be crowded. They'd be around the door on the other side. So these men carry this man up to the roof and they take the tiling away from the roof and open the hole and it says.
In verse 4, when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay they were. They were urgent in getting this man to Christ, and we can be that way in our prayers. We can pray for our children, We can bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Here they bring this man. And it says in verse 5, when Jesus saw their faith, he saw the energy of their faith. Now this man.
When we come to blessing, we got to have individual faith. But the Lord honors the faith of those who would bring others to himself. He particularly honors the faith of Christian parents. He says, Thou and thy house, thou and thy house, old children brought up in a Christian home and a privilege. What a blessing you have.
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I never had that. But you have a wonderful privilege to be there with The word of God is honored, read day by day. And there was prayer to God. Well, the Lord then the first blessing is mentioned now in verse five. Why didn't the Lord Jesus?
Say immediately to this man.
Rise up and walk. Why didn't he say that right away? I believe it was this. The Lord Jesus looked at the root of the matter. What caused the trouble? What? Why was there palsy in the world? Why is that disease and death and all these troubles? Sin is the cause of it by one man. Sin entered into war into the world, and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men in that all have sinned.
The Lord always deals with the root. You and I cannot walk for Christ. We cannot live for Christ until we are Christ. And when we are Christ, one of the first things He gives us to know is that our sins are forgiven, forgiven. So the Lord looks at the man and he says.
We get two blessings in this voice, he says. Son, son, relationship.
Here all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, we read as many as received him to them gave he power to become the children of God. One of the great blessings the Christian has is that he isn't born into God's family. Dear young people, if you're saved, you are one of God's children.
Not one of God's children by creation. That's a general term that applies to all. Judas Iscariot was one of God's children as the creation, or was he one of God's children spiritually? No. He was the son of perdition and he went to his own place now.
He says, Son, The Lord puts this man at ease immediately. Son, think of it. We are children of God.
Children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus. Have you ever noticed in the book of Genesis the superior position that Jacob was in, in relation to the greatest monarch of the earth? He comes to Pharaoh, the greatest king and monarch of the earth. Here is a child of God, Jacob.
A wanderer, A nomad. Harry was coming into the presence of his great king who does the blessing. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Why? Because he was morally on a higher elevated plane than Pharaoh was. He was in a higher position than Pharaoh. He could, as it were, looked down and blessed. Pharaoh, the child of God has a position of dignity. Do we realize, as we walk the streets of this world, that we are the children of God?
What dignity that gives. And then it also would bring before us the thought if I'm a child of God.
I ought to read the word of God to find out how God's Children Act, how they live, what they're to do. And so it becomes a very practical thing to know that God is my father and that I'm his child. So the Lord says he brings in the thought of relationship immediately. He says son.
And he says.
Thy sins be forgiven thee. Now if God had brought us into his family without giving us the assurance of sins forgiven, I don't think we'd be very happy in a way If God would give us a new nature and we didn't know our sins were forgiven while we'd be in a very unhappy state. But God now gives us that which we need. I really believe myself that according to the order of Scripture there may be a split minute or second here and there.
But God brings in faith and new life before before we can actually believe in the forgiveness of sins. He gives us that new that faith and that new life. And then we rest upon the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn to the first Epistle of John.
And the second chapter.
Let's take the first chapter first. I enjoyed the way our brother gave us that verse this morning in first John 117. I I'd like to comment on that before we go in the second chapter.
In the seventh verse.
Of first John chapter one. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin. Now our brother quoted that from the other translation cleanseth us from every sin and oh, I just love that you know, being cleansed from all sin, it's a wonderful blessing is all our sins will lump together in one bundle and we say.
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They're forgiven. The blood of Christ has washed them away. But when it says every sin, it's as though God took each of my sins individually and said this is under the blood, this is under the blood, took them individually, every sin and said the blood of Christ has taken them all away. Oh I think that's.
Lovely to see that other translation, but now turn to the second chapter of this book.
And verse 12.
I write on to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his namesake. Now later in this chapter he uses that word little children, where it's a question of growth, spiritual growth. But in this verse the word little words little children takes in the whole family of God, fathers, young men and babes. It is not a question of growth in the 12Th verse. It's a different word than the little children that are mentioned, for example in verse 18.
They are the babes in the family of God. And I'm making special stress on this because this is something that applies to every believer where all his children by faith in Christ Jesus. And what does he say? I write unto you, think of it. God has given us his book, this precious book in writing. So he got the assurance that we have this blessing. Suppose you bought a house and someone said, all right, I'll give you a verbal deed. Why? What would that? What good would that be in a court of law?
If you want to sell the house, you've got to have it in writing. You have it sealed now. God has given us this in writing, he says. I write unto you, little children, we've got it in God's precious word. And what does he write?
Big, he says. Because notice the two things again, little children. There's relationships like we have in our chapter, because your sins are forgiven you for his namesake, this is in the abiding sense.
Every day of our lives, this verse reads the same. It doesn't say my your sins were forgiven. He doesn't say your sins will be forgiven. He says your sins are forgiven. It's in the present tense. And that's an eternal assurance that whenever we think of the question of our sins, we can say my sins are forgiven.
They were or will be. They are forgiven. As our brother mentioned this morning, when Christ died on the cross, all of our sins were future and Christ died for all of our sins. Those who trust the Savior can say all of my sins are gone. So coming back to our chapter, we have this man then.
He's drawn into the place of being a son and a sins forgiven.
But there are enemies. There are religious enemies. The greatest enemy to God's enemies, to God's grace, is not Tom paying the infidel.
For that kind of person, the greatest enemies to the grace of God are the religious unbelievers. They cannot take the grace of God, they must mix in their religious doings with it. So here we find the leaders in Israel in verse six that was taken of the scribe sitting there.
And reasoning in their hearts why that this man must speak blasphemies Who can forgive sins but God only. Now what they said there was true. Who can forgive sins but God only? But what was wrong about it? They had refused to recognize God in their midst. It was true that only God could forgive sins. Now you'll notice that these men were scribes. They knew what it said in 103rd Psalm and verse three, that Jehovah was the one.
Who healed all their diseases and forgave their iniquities. They should have known that those two things went together, that Jehovah the God of Israel did bowl, and now that the Lord Jesus Christ was going to demonstrate by healing the man that he was Jehovah over 103rd Psalm. But.
Didn't want to believe. Unbelief is invincible. They don't want to believe in a blind their hearts and their minds. So the Lord Jesus knew what they were thinking about. Notice in verse 8 the Lord knew what they were thinking about. They didn't have to tell him. You and I don't have to tell him what we're thinking about. Suppose you're here this afternoon thinking something like this. I wish this meeting was over. I'm not interested in those things about the Lord. I'd like to be out of here. Wouldn't that be terrible? How the Lord looked down from heaven? And read that thought in your mind and mind. On the other hand, suppose you're thinking. Isn't it wonderful to hear of Jesus, his blessed person, His wonderful work, what he has done?
Or how the Lord can look down in our hearts, and value that. But here he reads their hearts. They don't say a word in verse eight. He concede in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves. He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?
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Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say arise and take up thy bed and walk that again, as I say, is the 103rd Psalm. The Lord links together the two things, the healing of their diseases, and the forgiveness of their sins, and He says to these scribes, which is easy.
Here was one who could do both. Here was one who could do both, and he did it. So we're leading now to the next blessing.
Notice in verse 10 but that ye may know that the son of man have power on earth to forgive sins. He sets to the sick of the palsy. I say unto thee, Arise and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house, and immediately he rolls. Now we noticed the other two blessings. There was relationship. We're brought into the family. Next we have the knowledge of sins forgiven.
Now what is the next thing God expects of us? Now He expects us to walk for him.
In this world, but we haven't got the power to do it in ourselves. So the law gives the manpower the wall. When you become a child of God and your sins are forgiven, then you can have those desires to please him and you'll have strength from him to walk well. Pleasing Let's time to Colossians chapter one.
Colossians Chapter One.
And verse 9.
For this 'cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing.
Being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, and all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. I want to call attention to three things here you'll notice in verse 9.
It's the.
That they might be filled with a knowledge of his will.
And in verse 10 it's walk and at the end of the verse work fruit being fruitful. I remember a dear brother long since for the Lord he said that he said ask the question. He said when the Lord told the disciples Toulouse Lazarus and let him go, he said, what would you say? Which bandages would they open first?
Well, the dear brother said he liked to think of it this way, connecting it with this scripture. Notice the first thing here was that they're understanding may be opened. So he said he likes to think the first thing the disciples would do would be to take the bandage from Lazarus eyes and then he could see the Savior and then they would. In verse 10 it says that he may walk.
So that they would take the bandages then from his feet, so now he could see and he could walk. And after that, being fruitful in every good work would be losing his hands. I thought that was a lovely connection and our brother expressed it in that way. Well, we can do the same thing. We can have ourselves loosed, let go and able to walk in a world that's displeasing to Christ. Years ago there was a brother who worked in AI believe he worked in a department store in Montreal.
And his boss asked him one day to tell a lie to one of his customers. And this young he was only a young brother and he didn't. He wanted to please the Lord. And so he said there was a boss. He said no, that's very strange. If you were to ask to say that the boss says why? Well, he said you want me to be honest to you and dishonest to your customers. It was an equal. Well, the brother was seeking to walk pleasing to the Lord.
Ordinary, coercive of his daily work. And so it is that we can walk for Christ, whether it's in school or it's at home. I remember a young boy. We were standing outside the Brooklyn Sunday School Brooklyn meeting room one Sunday afternoon many years ago. This young boy has long since grown up, married, I believe, as a family.
And he was standing outside the Brooklyn meeting room. And there were a couple of the other Sunday school boys. I guess they weren't quite as quiet and peaceful as Saundy was, and they begin to throw a few stones about. They weren't hurting anybody. But there wasn't quite the thing you'd expect in front of the Sunday School on Lords Day afternoon. So I said, Sunday, why aren't you throwing any stones? He says. Jesus wouldn't like it. Jesus wouldn't like it. Well, the boy was a testimony to Christ right there.
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Do we care whether Jesus likes it or whether the boss likes it?
Whether our playmates like us or Jesus likes it, are we leaning over backwards to please man, to please the unconverted rather than Christ? Well, these are questions that search the hearts of every one of us, Speaker, as well as here is. And so I believe we ought to lay hold as young people and older people too. These three blessings. I'm a child of God, my sins are forgiven, and I've got power to walk in a world that hates Christ. When you see a man carried in on a bed, he's weak and helpless.
But when he carries the bed, he's got power over that which formerly had power over him. And that's what we get here. He's carried in on the bed, but he carries the bed out himself. He shows power, and notice what it says there in verse 12. Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all.
In so much that they were all amazed and glorified God saying we never saw it on this fashion. When Jesus works, he does a good work. When Jesus works he does a good work. When a drunkard is converted to Lord, turns him inside out, gives him a new life within and he's a changed man without and people recognize it and they notice it. They say look at this man, he's not going on as he did before. It's a demonstration before them all.
That Christ can give the power to walk. So let us never fear, let us remember that Christ lives in the glory. He's watching us and He's given us his precious word and he values us as the children of God. And he would have us walk. And how much longer have we got to war? How much longer have we as Christians to walk in this world? How much longer? The whole horizon is darkened, the whole scene. It would be the political, the economical, the military.
The religious world, the social world, everything is heading up to a climax. And the world is afraid of the climax. They're afraid of the situation in which they are until a man will come on the scene and then they'll say a man that the devil will bring on the scene and they'll bring in a seeming time of peace and they'll say.
Peace and safety and sudden destruction will come upon them. We have it much longer to walk for Christ. Let's not put it off. Let's not put it off. Let us seek to glorify Him now in the days of our youth and as we move on.
132 him. 132 The person of the Christ, and folding every grace once slain but now alive again in heaven, demands our praise gladly of him. We sing. Since we with him are dead, our life is hit with Christ, in God, in Christ, the church's head.
The heavens are opened now sounded through earth abroad, and we by faith in heaven, behold Jesus the Christ our Lord.
Genesis 3
Address—A.M. Barry
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'll turn to the 13th chapter of Hebrews. 13th chapter of Hebrews.
That brotherly love continued.
Do not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Remember them that are in bonds as bound with them, and then which suffer adversity as being yourselves also in the body.
Marriage is honorable in all, and the dead undefiled, but ************ and you know for us God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have.
For he are said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helpful.
And I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever.
He not carried about with divers and strange doctrines.
For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace.
Not with needs which have not profited them that have been occupied therein. We have an altar where all they have no right to weep, which serve the Tabernacle.
For the body of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sins burned without the camp.
Wherefore Jesus also.
That He might sanctify the people with His own blood suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually.
That is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
But to do good and to communicate forget not or with such sacrifices.
While it is well pleased, obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves.
For they watch for your souls, as they that must give an account that they may do it with joy.
And not with grief, for that is uncomfortable for you.
Pray for us or we trust we have a good conscience in all things.
Willing to live honestly.
But I beseech you the rather to do this.
That I may be restored to you the sooner.
Now the God of peace had brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus.
That great shepherd of the sheep.
Through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you perfect.
In every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ.
To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation, where I have written a letter unto you in few words.
Knowing that our brother Timothy is set at liberty with whom? If he comes shortly, I will see you flute all them that have the rule over you and all the faith they have. Italy salute you. Grace be with you all, I mean.
It's interesting to notice the dates if you have a Bible like my Oxford.
Giving us the date the special was written.
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And the margin of my Bible it says AD 64.
Well, in 8070 it was.
When Jerusalem?
Was taken by the Romans.
One of the most solemn events in history.
When, after a long siege, finally the city was broken up.
Through through their own.
Disagreements within the city, they finally let the gates open to the enemy.
And then the most awful carnage followed.
And Josephus in his history records.
That a million Jews were killed, and that in that siege and the Jews were sold as slaves into the whole world for the world's markets, was the slaves, the Jews who were made slaves at that time.
And the records that the all the wood around the.
The city was used for crosses to crucify.
The varied Jews.
That not so long before had crucified their Messiah and Lord.
Now the Lord had forewarned a lack coming judgment.
And he wept over the city as he thought of its calamities that were coming upon them. And you know, when he was on the way to the cross, and the daughters of Jerusalem were weeping, he says, Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.
Now that solemn events of a city.
Last crucified.
The Son of God is just a foreshadowing of the coming judgment.
As the great tribulation that's coming on the earth, which we're fast hastening in our days.
We know through great wonderful it is to be instructed.
Before the judgment Thunder roll that the Lord will have taken his people home.
But everything is leading up.
Through that judgment.
In fact, the two judgments fathers passed what took place in 8070 and what will take place in Palestine.
And that terrible day such as was not on the face of the earth are very similar when you read Matthew's account and when you read Mark's account, and then when you read Luke's account, you find the difference Luke, Carol and Luke's gospel. In Luke's gospel we have the Lord saying when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies.
Then know that the desolation thereof is nice in Matthew, and Mark is when you see the abomination which maketh desolate set up in the holy place where it's often off, then let them which be in Judea please, of the moon that's future.
Will give us the judgment that has passed, which took place, as we said, in 1870.
While the writers of these different epistles, knowing what the Lord had forewarned of, we're conscious of the impending judgment that was about to fall on the city that I had been more favored.
In any city in the world and you notice that it was only six years when.
Paul was writing. I believe Paul wrote Hebrews, although he does not mention his name. But I'm quite sure it was Paul who wrote this official only six years before that. Terrible.
Destruction and misery came upon that marvelous city with his beautiful temple.
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Now I understand from the history that.
Has been reserved.
That the Christians, knowing the Lord's words, were spared from the sufferings that the unbelieving Jew went through. They fled just as the Lord told them to flee to the mountains.
And I have read the top of the.
The Jordan scrolls. Some authorities think that.
These Christians who fled Jerusalem were the ones that hid those schools in jars to keep the Roman army from getting possession of it.
It sounds as though it might be the most probable explanation of why they put those schools and him and seal them in those jars.
We know God was preserving His Word for a special purpose for these closing days of the history of the Church on earth.
But that isn't our subject.
This afternoon, but the reason I call attention to it is because we see how.
Those writers were seeking to instruct God's people as to the uncertainty of everything that they were trusting.
In this world that had crucified God's Son.
We find that Peter was very much aware of what was coming and so he says the end of all things is at hand.
As he went among his Jewish brethren and for the favorite things, he realized that it was not going to continue, that Jerusalem was not always to be the Center for the going out of the of the blessing of the gospel as it was in the beginning.
Of the Cherokee area era.
So all these things, you know have.
Special importance in connection with the subject.
We're about to consider.
The time had come there among the Hebrews to whom this epistle is addressed, when they were to make a definite break.
With a Jewish system, you say, they had gone on more or less together.
But now.
The Spirit of God through the apostles was leading them to break with our system.
And the Christians were no longer.
In the freshness of the Pentecostal days, when they when they were all together and no man called anything his own, there had been departure and and some were.
Going back to the Jewish forms and ceremonies, so the Christians there and perhaps this epistle was addressed to the Church of Jerusalem.
Well, neither had them. Both encouragement and they needed warnings as to the character of the day they were living and as to that which would keep them.
From being LED astray by their the enemy of their souls. So with that, we'll just notice the line of things.
That would be especially helpful to Christians then.
And equally helpful to Christians now and especially as we near the end and as we see the.
The judgment of this world approaching so rapidly.
The first word is let brother little love continue.
How important that is, beloved.
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Where there's everything in the world and around it to bring coldness in our hearts. And we find that the more love there is in the heart for the person of Christ, the more love they'll be in the heart.
For those that are dear to him. So we get this in the writings of John. He that loveth him, that begath loveth him also that is begotten of him.
So I love to our brethren will be more or less guided by how much.
Our love is going out to our precious Lord and Savior, for we would not in any way encourage our brethren to go on, of course, for dishonors our blessed Savior.
Who's in whose name we meet, and whose glory we must maintain at all costs to ourselves.
So if we are, if we have the person of Christ.
There is definitely before us. If He is increasingly our object in our pattern, there will be the corresponding desire to help and in any way the Lord.
Guides those that are dear to him.
Well, we are dear to the heart. Oh, that blessed one.
And you know, beloved, we should consider it in this way just the same as a parent would consider this matter. Suppose.
Well there's someone left their children for you to to care for while they were away for a time and you wanted to please those parents. How could you please? They're way off of the distance. Well, it would be what you could do for their children.
You wouldn't want to see them grow up, I mean develop unbecoming, disobedient ways. You want to be sure that.
There was no development of self will or disobedience and anything you could do for those children of your dear friends, you know what you did for them.
Would be surely what would be pleasing to their parents who are away A lot of blessed Lord is in glory beloved, and anything that we can do for those that are dear to Him is one way we can prove and show our love to the one who has full of this that He gave himself for us.
Now the next word has to do with.
Hospitality Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.
For thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hospitality is an evidence of Christian grace.
And the fact of entertaining of angels.
Would take us back to the time when Abraham was sitting in his tent door in the heat of the day, and three strangers, three men appeared and he showed them such lovely hospitality, went out and got a calf tender and good. And Sarah needed cakes for these strangers, and they ate with Abraham under the tree.
And one of those?
Strangers at first Abraham addressed as Lord.
That is with the small letters, except the 1St. And lastly he addresses him as Jehovah. And finally he says, Shall not the judge of all the earth you write, who is the judge of all the earth? All judgment is committed unto the sun. Marvelous to think that one of that number was the blessed Lord before the incarnation.
Had taken the human form just for that visit so he could sit with Abraham.
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And under the tree and either of his of his benefits. Beloved, isn't it wonderful that in entertaining the Saints of God that we're following in the pattern of a man that entertains the blessed Lord?
Now back there in the Old Testament days.
Remember them that are in bombs as bound with them then which suffer adversities, adversity as being yourself also in the body.
Of the.
The Spirit of God instructs us, and never go indifferent and hardened towards any of those.
Were passing through affliction, if we know of any that are in bonds.
There should be a special tenderness to such.
They have known in times past of many of God's dear children who were prisoners and Communist China or prisoners in Communist Russia and.
Why trials they were passing through? Well, the dear apostle who was writing these words for our learning was a prisoner there.
He's a how God used his imprisonment for the blessing of his people.
And he would have them feel in tenderness towards any who they were experiencing what he was passing through. So you see, we get brotherly love, we get hospitality, and then we get a tenderness towards those maybe that are unable to be entertained in our homes.
Next we get the the marriage relationship.
But before us, marriage is honorable in all the dead, undefiled that ************ and the daughters God will judge.
We're living in an age as we get near the end, when marriage is being just.
To have Thrones of the Wind and.
Immorality is on the increase, and the very fact that we see such corruption in the very institution that God has set up for man, it should make those who have the truth more careful.
And no way to bring any reproach on with important relationship to allow nothing that would even give the appearance of departure from the from that holy relationship. And it's a solemn thing that.
We have this address to Christians.
And are warned against the ************ and adulterers.
The very solemn it just show.
What a terrible.
Character, the old nature within us actually, is that it could fall into the grossest of sins.
So the the word of God.
Although giving us the highest truth.
Take us right into the heaven itself. Yet it never slices or in any way.
Would.
Give the license.
To a departure from what God has set up in of the relationship.
Of his people in this.
Institution of marriage.
Now the next thing has to do with our temporal affairs.
Let your conversation and I'll read this or quote it as it is in the better translation. Let your manner of life be without.
The love of money and be content with such things as you have.
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Conversation is far more than our talk, it's our whole manner of life.
So our whole manner of life shouldn't be like we see the ungodly around us. The one thing is to is to get more money, to get a higher position and to consider every matter that comes up in life is how much is in it and we're going to make more money.
Am I going to have a higher job that will pay?
Now, we're not in any way discouraging.
Those who want to make an honest.
Living and get along in this world.
And we wouldn't say anything that.
Would bring in a legal feeling about one going in debt for a home.
I don't know, it's like very few today that are able to buy home without.
Going in debt?
Buying it on time.
We have to, we have to just seek to get the spirit of what is taught us in the Word, in connection with the content, with such things as you have now. There is the pattern for us.
Beloved.
Don't go or live beyond your means. I believe that that is one of the most important practical lessons that we can convey to one another not to try to live beyond your means. That is in the world of days. They they speak of it as keeping up with the Joneses. That is someone have have a house with better furniture.
When I have had well, I almost.
Keep in line and although it brings a heavy burden, still I can't be outstripped in my home life. Well, how many dear people of God have burdened themselves with cares and worries and unnecessary trials that it would never have taken place?
If there's one, scripture had just been observed.
To be content with such things as you have or the better translation is with your present circumstances.
And when we think of the apostle writing to Christians at Jerusalem who were soon to see their whole city burned up, you can see how really how worthless.
The things actually were when they were assumed to be just material for the bonfire.
And while a comforting word, this is for us no matter what may take place.
Or you know, we're only promised in this life tribulation. I know some say that we're promised our bread and water.
But that may not always be the although I believe in the normal condition that we will always have food and raiment and we are told having food and raiment, let us fare with be content.
But God does, definitely.
Assure us that in the world he shall have tribulation.
Now we may live to see the time, should the Lord tarry a few years, when the present prosperity of this land takes a reverse, and some are here to remember the time during the depression.
How there were those that were losing everything out of jobs and in sore trial. But isn't it lovely?
No matter what the trials may be, should the Communists overthrow the government on which we're living, yes, we would not be deprived of this promise of the blessed Lord. For he says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
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So that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. What a promise that is for our souls.
We needn't fear man. We're never told to fear the devil.
But we are told of fear of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
He will transgress any word of instruction He is given for our souls.
And we can boldly say, no matter what takes place.
That the Lord is my helper. And hasn't it often been proved in our lives that instead of prosperity and success.
Being the means of our spiritual growth and blessing.
It has been the very opposite that it's been in times of trial when we were wholly cast on the Lord that we got closer to our blessed Savior and learned lessons that we could never have learned had we always had a smooth passage as we went along. This this scene. Now the next, the seventh verse is remember them.
Which have the rule over you.
Again, we all quote from a better translation.
Remember your leaders. And you notice the leaders here are not the ones who were living when the apostle was writing.
But those who had passed off of the scene, who have spoken unto you the word of God.
Well, at the time when the Spirit of God came.
Into the world at Pentecost.
Where there was a mighty movement and in the days of the persecution of Stephen, why they went everywhere preaching the words they went as far as Antiochum doesn't tell us who those creatures were, but God had numerous servants in those days that went from country to country spreading.
The Gospel and now.
Paul writes his old writes as old.
Many of those had passed off of the scene.
But he says remember.
Your leaders, those who spoke unto you the word of God, because left behind like Luke, you know who?
The writer of Acts and the Gospel bears his name. He remained behind to establish the Saints.
Has Paul and Silas and Timothy went on and their missionary journeys. Well, as these were taken away, impossible now tells them to remember these who have spoken unto you, but.
Have they spoken to them about the Word of God? All, beloved, last remember those who have taught us sincerely and humbly from the Word of God. We could think of Brother Sheldrake. We don't forget his instruction, do we?
We thank God for it and many others that have gone on that instructed us years ago.
What I was thinking of.
Special work that began It will be 140 years ago this year when Christians first began to meet in the Lord's name. Who separated from the systems of men and found that when they met in just the Lord's name.
And waited on him to instruct them from His priceless word that the Holy Spirit guided them.
What we're connected with that which began so many years ago.
And at that time, God raised up.
Once he's spoken of here as your leaders.
Man that gave us the truth of God.
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We think especially of Jay and Darby and JG Billet and GV Wigram and then.
Many others who followed on developing the truth with these who 1St.
Saw the path of separation and we have their writings in our libraries. Most of us, if we have them, we can soon purchase them.
And you'll get the the most marvelous unfolding of the truth of God in the writers of those who were given the people of God at that time. They've never been improved on. And those who have departed from the original teachings of those that were called out at that time have have gone into air.
And into things that are not to be dependent upon.
So the Lord raised up Chapter Macintosh to simplify what the more difficult riders had given.
Well, we can get surely much blessing to our souls if we remember what these.
And to remember what they have given us, it necessitates taking time and.
And.
Getting help from these valuable writings that have been left us really as a legacy to the Church of God.
Now what was the end of their faith?
Whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation.
He doesn't tell us to follow their mistakes.
We've all made mistakes throughout it.
And if we just are occupied with the mistakes of those that God has raised up.
We can go far astray, but if we follow the faith.
Although.
There have sincerely and faithfully served the Lord. What is the end of that conversation or manner of life the next verse tells us?
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday.
And today, and forever.
The end or the issue was it was all leading up to in spite of shortcomings they had before them.
That blessed person.
Have a one who was in the bosom of the Father.
Who was with the Father, and from all eternity was the delight of the Father.
And that very one came into this poor world of ours. So is Jesus Christ the same yesterday? That's the past and today?
Oh, the love. I think of his pathway through this sad world of ours. That's the day that we're living in. He has proud. He is proud Earth.
Roadway in this trouble scene that we're treading ourselves today, but marvelous that oneness to be our our center, our bridegroom.
Our enjoyment for all the ages of eternity. Who was the same yesterday to pass the day and forever.
Whatever that is a word to exercise us because the more we know Him as the one that's today, the more we will enjoy Him in heaven as the One who is forever. This is the time through grace when we're getting personally acquainted with our Savior. That isn't to say that we've got to know a lot of about Christ to get.
00:40:01
Of our souls, one verse setting Christ as the Savior who died on the cross for sinners is enough to save the most Richard Godless.
Creature that ever lived one look at Christ dying for sinners is enough, but all the getting acquainted with that blessed One as we go on our way and that's one reason why God has leaving us.
In this world.
Of trouble and trial.
Now I believe that this eighth verse.
Is connected both with the verse preceding and the verse that follows.
Be now carried away with divers and strange doctrines.
That is, if if your heart is filled with Christ, you won't be looking for some new.
Doctrine or teaching something to.
To.
Thrill your fancy or your imagination. You'll be satisfied.
With that one who?
Has who has the same yesterday and today and forever. That's our deliverance. The enjoyment of Christ that we are Speaking of is the way that the Spirit of God would protect our soul.
From being deceived and misled into the harmful teaching that could rob us of our spiritual blessings.
Divers and strange doctrines I I knew a brother that was telling this, that one time he was visiting a place, and the brother at whose house he was entertained.
Called up another brother and he says we're having a meeting tonight.
The brother on the other end of the telephone says. Is he going to tell us something new?
He turns with a brother. He said, what shall I tell him? He tell. I said tell him no, that what he'll hear will be the old, old story of Jesus and his love. He says I'm not going. Wasn't long before that man was out of the meeting and out into the world.
Oh no, if we're like the Ephesians who spent their time in nothing else but telling or hearing some new thing, it shows a very.
Critical and very sad and maybe serious state of soul.
Let's enjoy the things, beloved, that we've heard from our youth and.
And get deeper enjoyment of these precious things.
So he says, For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with me.
A heart established with grace is a heart that is the in the enjoyment of the unmerited favor of God in connection with what it has done and what it is doing and what it will do for sinners.
Marvelous thing to have our hearts established in a way like that, isn't it?
And then when he says not with meats, that simply means of.
Taking up with forms and ceremonies, that was the danger for these Hebrew believers.
And so there's always that danger confronting the people of God.
Of merely making a form out of things that should be most real and important to us in our Christian lives, well, we see the terrible result in Christendom.
The precious remembrance of the Lord has become a mass, a sacrifice to get salvation.
But we're always in danger of following the natural bent of the human mind away from the Lord, and so we could make even.
00:45:07
Our remembrance of the Lord as just a form.
It's rather.
Distressing thing to observe.
That the last meeting, that Christians.
Gathereth, the Lord's name will give up as the breaking of bread.
They give up the prayer meeting first, then they give up the reading meeting.
Maybe getting different about the gospel meeting.
And then?
They are ready to give up even the remembrance of the Lord.
And why? Because they've made it just to form.
That's what it is the apostle has to say to the to the church in Ephesus on his left. Thy first love you find that they were going on. They refuted evil. I know, beloved, because we stand firm for the ground of gathering. Isn't this?
That we're in the state that God can.
Can command? Oh no, we might be going on very correctly.
Standing very firm for the truth of the one body and yet if we're allowing these things that are given to.
For for our blessing and for the honor of Christ, and to get closer to him if we make merely a form of remembering the Lord and coming to meeting and being at the prayer meeting. If all these things have just become.
Formal habit in our lives.
I assess while the apostle is.
Warning about here in this verse.
Meets with have not profited them that are occupied therein. Then he says we have an altar where they have no right to eat, which serve the Tabernacle.
Do we have an order, beloved?
Was the table in the middle of the room an altar?
It was not.
North it has.
Become a part of christendom's corruption to say there's an altar where.
The holy sacraments is raised. What is the altar of the Christian? It's Christ.
Marvelous that Christ is our altar and Christ is our sacrifice.
The apostle says in the 5th chapter of First Corinthians. Corinthians even Christ.
Our Passover is sacrificed for us.
Our only holder is Christ, our only sacrifice is Christ, and then the one who offers the sacrifice again is Christ. For a read Who by himself?
Offered who? Who by the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God?
Now he says that that alter the Christian has that those who serve the Tabernacle had no right to that altar.
You see, the Apostle is drawing the line between.
The Jewish professors who were going on with the Temple or the Tabernacle service.
That Moses set up and he says they have no right.
To that altar that belongs to us.
See, there had come a time when there must be a stand taken as to those that were connected with that, that sacrifice, that one who is himself blessedly our altar.
For the body of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin are burned without the camp. Turn with me to the 16th chapter of Leviticus.
00:50:01
Look at the 14th verse.
Now this is in this chapter is giving us the great Day of Atonement.
And they were There was a Bullock offered for the family of Aaron, and there was a goat offered for the sins of the people of Israel. And here's what he says about the Bullock. And he shall take of the blood of the Bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward.
And before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood.
With His fingers seven times he shall kill the gold of the sin offering, that is, for the people, and bring His blood within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the Bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat. Now look on down to the 27th verse.
And the bullet for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood are brought in to make a torment in the holy place.
Shall one carry forth without the camp, and they shall burn it in the fire?
Their skins and their flesh and their dumb.
Now Paul is making use of that type to show Christians their position here in this world.
For our blessed Lord is just like Aaron, who carried the blood of the Atonement into the Holy of Holies and there sprinkled it on and before the mercy seat.
That's a figure of heaven itself.
Our glorious substitute.
After his work on the cross.
Has gone into the Holy of Holies, as it were.
Into the presence of God.
Now we don't ever want to accept the teaching that he literally took his blood there.
Us all the imagination of man, and it's not true. Oh no, that blood stained the ground.
And just as the blood of Abel spoke from the ground.
But marvelous when Paul speaks of the blood of Christ in the same way, instead of bringing a curse, as the blood of Abel brought upon Cain and his descendants his cells, which speak of better things than that of evil. All the blood of Christ, beloved, has stained this poor world that has has brought better things.
For your soul and for my soul through that wondrous offering. But we can say this.
That he has carried the value of that blood into the very presence of God Himself.
And that's what we have before us.
Whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by by the high priests, for sins are burned without the camps.
Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood.
Suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp during his reproach.
That is the the.
The fact that Christ is up there.
Presenting to God all the Father, all the infinite value of His work on the cross.
Marks our place out down here in this world.
That is, the one who is up there is the very one who suffered without the gate of Jerusalem.
There was that marvelous city. I think sometimes we think that we have the only wonderful cities that ever existed on the earth, but Jerusalem must have been an amazing city.
And that temple was the wonder of the world, even Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem.
00:55:03
He was so amazed at the beauty of the temple that he gave orders that it should not be destroyed.
But the Lord had said, talking to his disciples, that one stone should not be left upon another whose words were going to stand.
The great general of the Roman army, or the blessed Lord? Well, a drunken soldier threw a firebrand into the temple.
It was burned to the ground, and the temple was thrown down, so that the words of Christ came true, that what one stone was left upon another.
Well, that city of solemn, that is, with all its service.
And I am sure there was never a grander service here on earth. And the temple service you read in the 23rd chapter of First Chronicles where David speaks of of 200 that praise the Lord with instruments that he had made. No, it was 4000 who praise the Lord with instruments that he had made.
You ever see a band like that?
4000 people playing on instruments and praising the Lord.
They had gown choirs.
And at the very time the sacrifices were being offered there in Jerusalem, all that service that had been set up was still going on When?
When the apostle was writing and continued right up to the time, and God's judgment fell upon it.
Well, there's a there's a lesson for us in that, but our place?
Is a place that our blessed Lord took in making atonement for our souls, and it's outside all of this world values.
As as a system of forms and ceremonies and.
All that goes with the music and entertainment and Christendom.
The blessed Lord is outside of that whole thing.
Now our time is up, that perhaps if the Lord soul leads and I continue with the.
Hound in this chapter, which we seem to be unable to fill in for this one hour, so may the Lord guide us to that perhaps?
We just got about half the chapter.
The thing that him, Lord, Thou has drawn us after Thee. Thank you. 166 Now let us run, and never tire. Thy present shall our comfort be thyself, our hope, our soul desire, our present Savior, while nor fear nor sin can come, if our work near.
Lord, thou hast.
Comforting.
I.
Seven Houses
Address—E. Wakefield
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.
I'd like to bring before us this afternoon with the Lords help 7 scriptures in which we find the word house or houses and the word of God. Each one of them I believe will bring some truth before us in connection with our Christian lives and I like to start off with a well known one on the 12Th of Exodus because this brings before us in Exodus 12 The subject of redemption.
How wonderful it is to be able to talk about redemption. And so on the 12Th of Exodus, just to read two or three verses, and the third verse, Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel sane on the 10th day of this month. They shall take to them every man a lamb according to the House of their fathers.
A lamb for an house, and if the house will be too little for the land.
Him and his neighbor next unto his house. Take it according to the number of the souls. Every man according to his eating, shall make your account for the lamb.
Your lamb shall be without blemish. A male of the first year should take it out from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month and the whole assembly of the Congregation of Israel.
Shall kill it in the evening.
Then we read down in the.
12Th verse For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are, And when I see the blood.
I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, and I smite the land of Egypt.
Now here we find God's people in the land of Egypt, which is a picture of this world. Here we find them God's people who are now going to be brought into a place of redemption through the blood of the slain lamb. And we know this in verse end of verse three we have a lamb. Verse five, we have your lamb and.
In verse four, rather, we have the Lamb, and in verse five, your Lamb. Now I'm sure we'll all notice before.
This corresponds exactly with our blessed Lord Jesus, because when the angels came out of heaven, they said to the shepherds, under you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which corresponds exactly to a lamb. Then we find in the fourth of John the woman's of the well said is not this.
The Christ, the Savior of the world. This corresponds to the Lamb.
Then in the first chapter of Luke, Mary said, my spirit has rejoice and God my Savior, this brings before us the subject of your lamb. And so I believe that this lamb would bring before us the Lord Jesus. And so is a beginning in connection with houses. How nice it is to be under the shelter of the blood of the lamb, to know that we're under the shelter of that precious blood.
And God said to the to the children of Israel, when I see the blood.
I will Passover you how wonderful it is today to be able to start our little meeting the talking about the Lamb of God and the blood of Christ. I like just to point out here it says in the fourth verse if the household be too little for the lamb doesn't say if the lamb be too little for the household. There's no such a thing in Scripture. We believe whether the house is a large number of children, the father and the mother.
There's five children or ten children, while the lamb was sufficient for every household. If the household be too little for the lamb, why the lamb was sufficient for everybody. The lamb could satisfy everybody. Isn't this a wonderful thing? You know in the world the devil has got to change his programs all the time. He can't keep the same program all the time. If we were to turn black the clock to the apostle.
Day and say to young people now we're going to offer you the same entertainment as they they had in the apostles. Day Well, they'd laugh us to scorn. They'd say these things, these old-fashioned ideas. Even if we took the clock back to 1925, the entertainments of 40 years ago wouldn't satisfy the people today. But isn't it wonderful that while the devil must change this program every 10 years?
00:05:14
God never changes his program.
The same object that satisfied the heart of the beloved Apostle Paul way back and in the year probably 35AD satisfies the people's hearts of 1968. This is a wonderful thing. It's the same lamb, the same very lamb. So we begin with our first house. We have a house, you and I, by the grace of God, that were under the shelter of the precious blood of Christ.
We know there's no judgment for us all. We said last night, beloved, do we recognize this wonderful truth that God has given to us? Think of the many dear Christians. So they, some of them are really earnest, some of them are really earnest Christians. We must, we must thank God for every one of them, every member of the body of Christ. But think of the many dear Christians, if you were to say to them, and are you saved for eternity?
They would say to us, we believe that Jesus died for us. We know he loves us.
But as to say I'm saved for eternity, I wouldn't dare say that I wouldn't presume that. Just imagine the truth that God has given us, that we know, beloved, that the sin question has settled, that we're safe under the shelter of the blood of Christ. And isn't it nice to think that God's purpose is blessing to all our families? Isn't it nice to think that God doesn't just mean to save the Father and the Mother and allow the children to go away?
And go to hell, but it's God purpose to bring all the household into blessing. And so this is our first house and I like to read them before we turn on to the 30th verse. I think this is a very, very precious verse. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and all his servants and all the Egyptians and there was a great cry in Egypt for there was not a house where there was not one that.
House that night had death in it, either a dead boy, a dead girl, or a dead lamb. Just imagine there wasn't any house in Egypt. And you and I, as Christians, while by the grace of God we know that as far as eternal death is concerned, we will never perish, we know that each one of us are associated with death, the death of Christ, the death of the Lamb of God. Well, this is a very wonderful thing. Now the next thing.
I like to turn in connection with the houses Deuteronomy chapter 6 where we have them. I believe the Word of God brought before us Deuteronomy chapter 6 and verse 6.
And these words which I command thee this day shall be first of all.
In thine heart. Well, we wouldn't be saved if these words weren't in our heart. If they were just in our heads, we wouldn't belong to the Lord. Thank God that the Scriptures not only are in our heads, beloved, but the Scriptures have sank down into our hearts. They shall be in thine heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto Thy children. How wonderful.
And shall talk of them when thou citizen thine house.
And when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontless between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house and on thy gates. I believe there's 10 things said there in connection with these words of God. How important they are, that our children now we know.
And are those we were older, have said even recently how awful to be young again and to have young children. What would we do with young children today who are growing up in such an atmosphere, such a world as we're in today? Well, as we said last night, that there's the same God there, the same God that our grandfathers and our fathers had in the same God that we were parents have got today.
These young married couples today in this room, they have got the same God and the same power.
While power we know among the Christians is diminished and many of us we feel in our souls maybe the lack of this power, the power is still with him. The power is not lessened. And even though we live in a day and where everything is declining, and when the enemy is coming in like a flood, we have the living Word of the living God.
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Oh, it's attack, beloved. It's attacked. We know on on great wars are fought.
The efforts of the enemy is always to attack, as a rule a strong point to get rid of the strong point.
And the devil does this he attacks the strong point. People say, well, the Bibles are right on Sunday. It's a good book on Sunday morning or Sunday night. Good to have the Bible on the Lords day. But oh, during the week we don't want the Bible. But this these verses teach us isn't it nice but our hearts, but our children talking in the daytime, talking at night, talking when we're sitting down in our homes when we're.
Night when we rise up in the morning and on our doors on the frontlets of our homes to have it stamped with the precious word of God. Some of us know about Mr. McKay and McAdam. When you get that old man drunkard as he was a few years ago and now in his home he has scriptures on the front window, on the front door stamp in his home out as a house that belongs to the God of heaven, the precious Word.
There it is. He, I don't know whether he ever read these verses or not. Maybe somebody told him about them, but he's obeyed these verses. He has these verses on his front. You know, sometimes in the problems to Quebec and we go down the street and we see a crosses and windows or some something to do with the great Church of Rome. These people are not ashamed of to put the cross or some emblem of Romanism on their windows or their doors. How wonderful.
Word of the living God, a place upon our doors and our frontlets, on our windows, on our hearts.
And before our eyes, the precious word of God to lead us and to guide us, or the Bible is the most up-to-date book in the whole world. Why there's no book like it in the whole world. Here we have the whole picture in within the covers of this book, all the great mysteries that the great presidents, the great kings, the great Queens of this world, the great prime ministers are baffled. They don't know what to do. They don't know where to turn. The whole world is.
Here we are, just a few Christians with a book in our hand that has the whole wisdom of the living God between its pages. It tell us of every circumstance in our life. There's no problem we have to face. It's not found written within the covers of this book. What a wonderful book this is. It's a living book. So a book that has life and so on. And the 2nd house, we believe we have the word of God, the word of God in our homes.
What a what a treasure this young boys and girls here. We were speaking to a group the other day of young people. I wish we said to these young people, you know, we live in a day when the word of God is scoffed at and mocked at even people, young brothers, children are coming to me and said, Mr. Wakefield, you believe all the Bible. Don't you think that maybe some of us not true.
Or behind such words.
Is the serpent's hiss the serpent's hiss. The Bible is true from beginning to end, the word of God. And so we we told these young people, one of the things today we have with young people is that they look upon the older people as old fogies. This is one of the expressions of this modern 20th century. You see, we're taught in the schools when you're going to get a job and you go into an office and the man says to you, well, well, how old are?
You say I'm 45 now, 45 as a young man, really. But they say, oh, you're too old. We don't want old foggies like you. You're too old to get a job now. Well, the whole world has changed. So it's a young man's world. This is a young man's world. But you know, in the school of God is not like that in the school of God. God doesn't run his principles when a young man's world.
God, I believe, would put the responsibility of the House of God into the hands of experience of men who have gone on with God, with men who have a knowledge of the Scriptures. Just the opposite principles to this poor world. So how important it is young.
I speak now to those who were younger to speak with respect to your appearance.
We have no respect for parents. They call it the old man and the old lady, the old woman, and so on. All these things are of the devil. I really believe instead of the devil to refer to our beloved father, our beloved mother is the old lady and the old woman. This is of the devil. How nice it is to respect our parents and to say this is my father, this is my mother. Like the story I heard of the young man who?
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Away from college and he was called to the front and everybody clapped with all the marks he got.
And he called out of the audience his mother, and he brought her to the front of the room, and he put his hand on her and said, here's the woman whose prayers and whose love have given me this position that I have. Well, wasn't that nice? To honor his mother, to honor the father and have in the home the word of God, and to obey the word of God, to have the word of God before us. And people say, well, what is wrong with this?
And the minute we hear that, we know that behind that question.
Is the sneering enemy of our souls Satan? Satan always said, what's wrong with this? What is wrong with doing this? What is wrong with doing that? But the Bible says thus saith the Lord definitely. And so the Word of God answers every question and every problem in our assembly life.
And our home life and our business life and our school life and our private lives. The Bible, the word of God has every answer in this 20th century. Well, the next thing we have, the next toast is in Daniel 6. And here we have connected with the word of God is is prayer.
Now, and let's look in Daniel 6.
And the tenth verse.
Now when the king knew, no, now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem. He kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God.
As he did a four time well, the house here of Daniel is linked with prayer. All beloved, I speak for myself as my house.
A place of prayer is your host a place of prayer the enemy is very cleverly as we mentioned the other day, I think it was here and he's very cleverly today got man to reason. People have said to me well, when we pray we must remember that we're praying to a God who knows our prayers before we make them. So when we kneel down before our bed to pray for something definitely why before we I enter the utter the words.
In prayer, the God of heaven knows all about it. So why pray? This is again is the hiss of the serpent, the devil who would like to keep us off of our knees. Now these young people, some of these young people are Christians here. They know the Lord Jesus. You know, even if you're just a little girl or a little boy, maybe you're just 11 or 12. I want to tell you something. When you kneel down beside your bed, that little poem comes to my mind. Satan trembles when he sees the.
A St. upon his knees, a little boy, maybe 8 years old. He kneels down to pray the world with silica. This boy here, let's see Dylan praying. Oh, but the enemy, the devil, he looks into your bedroom and sees you on your knees all he trembles when he sees that little boy, that little 6 year old or seven-year old girl on her on her knees in prayer. The devil trembles. And so Daniel. Daniel was God's man. What a wonderful.
Thing why they were against Daniel and they said of Daniel, if we find anything wrong with this man, we got to find something wrong in connection with his God. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing if my neighbors or your neighbors could say, look at this fellow, if we want to find something wrong with him, we got to find it with his God. We can't find. He pays his bills. He's not dishonest, he doesn't tell lies, He doesn't get drunk and swear and use bad language. He hasn't got a bad temper if we want to.
Fought with him. It's got to be about his God. That's what they said about Daniel. And you know, the decree was signed. The lions den. The lions den for this man or any man that prey to any God but to the king. Now when Daniel heard this, and I believe, beloved, that the devil would say to Daniel, no, Daniel, we know you're a man of prayer, but go home and put down the blinds and pray in private. Never mind the people outside. They can't see you.
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God will see you. This is reason. That's what the devil will say. But Daniel's windows were open.
And he knew when he knelt down to pray that his life was being placed in the hands of God. And he knelt down three times a day, and he made his request before his God was as custom to pray. Oh dear young man to day. And young ladies, I want to tell you this.
That this is what the devil will do everything he can to keep you and me off our knees, off our knees if we set our alarm clocks earlier, how happy we would be if we spent time in prayer. I'd like to tell a story. Mr. Pierre Patham came to a funeral in Montreal and in the living room he told me that he had to get up at 4:30. Well, I said, brother, why 4:30? What do you what do you have to get up at 4:30? And the plane didn't leave till 7:30. Well, he said.
It took me two hours to get to the airport and he said I didn't have any time for my breakfast, but I had to pray before I came. Well, I liked that he had to pray, didn't have time for his breakfast, but he had to pray. Oh, how important this is to pray. If we leave our homes in the morning without prayer, we're beaten before we get down the front steps. Oh, how wonderful to pray. To be a man of prayer does to say I'm going to pray about this. And beloved Saints of God.
Often when we go out of the meeting.
We meet a brother who comes and says I'm praying for you and we just pass that off. We're so used to hearing that expression, I'm praying for you. But how valuable this is to think that a man is praying. If somebody came to us and said, say I'm going out of the bank, I'm going to make, I'm going to deposit $1000 to your account. Why we listen, this is important, $1000 to my account. How important this is. But when a Christian says I am praying for you, how often we just shrug.
Oh beloved, to think that a person is praying for us, or are we men and women of prayer? How much our assemblies would be blessed if a man would pray Epiface in Colossians 4 verse 12. God doesn't tell us he was a great gospel preacher. God doesn't tell us he was a wonderful orator, a marvelous teacher, the Bible. He was a man of prayer, a man of prayer.
Oh, and God calls him a servant of Christ.
Young sister, you don't preach the gospel. You can't get up on Sunday morning and give an exhortation or pray.
Well, what can you do? You can pray. This is a wonderful service to pray, to be on your knees and to pray. And how God would bless our assemblies if we were to own independence, our weakness, and pray or to pray to be a man of prayer. Your children will be blessed if you pray to get down our knees. You know, I've often told young people this. I think it bears repeating.
In school here we are maybe a class of 40 young men or young boys.
And we have maybe hard studies and there's nobody to help this boy next door. He's not, he hasn't got a Christian father, a Christian mother. He's never taught to pray. But here in this particular house, as a young lady or a young man who belongs to Christ, and as they go to college or school or university, wherever they're going, they can pray. Just imagine and say to the God who's their father, help me with this problem. Give me the answer and the.
In connection with these examination papers and into the school they go, isn't it wonderful to think that the eternal God?
The eternal God, the God who knows every subject under the sun, is able to put into that young man who has done his lessons and studied diligently in his lessons. That God up there is able to give wisdom to this man or that young lady and help them in their problems at school, in business, and when we go to buy clothes we wouldn't find after a month. Oh well, you know.
I was cheated by that man. I paid $65 and this garment is wore out already that this wouldn't happen if we prayed about it, if we spent time in prayer because God will lead us and God will guide us. And for men and women, whether we're young or old, a prayer. And so Daniel was a man of prayer. He went to the lions den and then somebody is so beautifully said.
Well, the king mourned over David, over Daniel, and spent the night restless. Why the king didn't say, well, Daniel?
I signed the paper. Let me go to the lines den and you stay out. I will go into the lines den for you. He didn't do that, did he? No, he did not. But the Lord Jesus, whose law was broken by man, he came into the world and he said, I will go into the place of judgment. I will go into the place of judgment for those who have broken my laws. Isn't that blessed? Oh, how wonderful then to be a man of prayer, to be a prayer before.
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With a definite request. And beloved, let me say this, let me say this, the Lord Jesus, I believe in connection with our prayers would have us use his name. You know, we might write a check out for $1000, but it's no good unless our signature, our name is on the check. How wonderful in prayer to send to God the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that name.
Means so much to his father's heart.
So we have in connection with this house here of Daniel, we have the subject of prayer. Now the next one, I believe in the book of Ruth would bring before us the question of decision. Ruth, chapter one. This is about my Almighty.
And tells us in verse 7, Wherefore she went forth out of the place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her, and they went out, they went on the way to return under the land of Judah. And they always said unto her, two daughters in law, go, return each to her mother's house. What a sad thing, this poor. And Oh my, had come down from the land of Bethlehem, the land of blessing. And here she's telling these.
More like women to return to their houses. Just imagine to return to their houses, to return to a house where they would worship idols. Just imagine how far she had got away from the Lord, way off down here where she had gone to escape the famine with her husband and.
Tells us here in the ninth verse, the Lord granted that you may find rest, each of you in the House of her husband. How could they find rest? Oh dear Christians, how can we find rest?
In the House of the ungodly, how can we find rest in the homes of those who don't know Christ?
And this, this is the, this was the the advice. And they Oh my to return to the homes of their husbands, ungodly homes, homes where idols were worshipped. But she had got so far away from the Lord that she would advise and give them this bad advice. But this young girl, Ruth.
How nice it is to find in the 16th verse of our chapter. And Ruth said, And treat me not to leave thee or this girl recognized. And this woman who came from the land of God's land, the land of Bethlehem, she recognized something in this woman. And treat me not to leave thee, or to return from falling after thee, for whither thou goest, I will go.
And where the largest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people and thy God, My God, how wonderful this is. What a decision that Ruth had to make. And I say to those who were young, you have to make a decision. You have to make a decision, the little companies.
As a brother has often has told us, sometimes, you know, as you go around and visit the different assemblies, you find trouble and sorrows, as if the enemy was just doing everything he could to wipe out under the face of the earth those who were gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. We must make a decision.
We say and treat me not to leave thee, and treat me not to leave this. The other night a dear brother said to me, actually within that young sister who withdrew from fellowship, he said to me these wonderful words, If he said, we take our place, we may leave, We may leave the assembly if we just take our place. But he said, if we are gathered by the Spirit of God to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
By the grace of God, we will not leave, and treat me not to leave thee. Oh, the devil's trying to get us to break up, brethren. The devil's trying to smash us up. All kinds of petty questions, all kinds of difficulties Satan is bringing in. I believe this proves a reality. I've been gathered to the Lords name all the difficulties that come in through our little assembly in Montreal, all these problems and questions that are brought before.
The CARE meeting in Montreal and other places.
I believe it shows the reality that the devil is attacking wherever the devil finds a testimony for Christ.
Then his guns are turned on. That testimony, I remember, Mr. Hale once said of a young man.
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Wants to build a diesel locomotive? The devil will say fine, go ahead and build bigger and better.
The bigger and the better is fine with me. But he said if a young man or a young girl says I want to please Christ, then he said all the power of the devil will be hurled against that young Christian. How true that is. And so we need to make it a decision to say and treat me not to leave thee, for whether thou largest Iowa lodge, thy people shall be my people. Or do we say that God's people?
My people and God, the God of heaven, will be my God. You know, we live in solemn days, days of discouragement, days of discouragement, beloved. But you know, isn't it wonderful to think that we belong to the living God, the living God, when the very foundations I speak reverently of heaven seems to be, are being shaken, as it were, by the power of the devil who says that God is now dead? He's dead. He's a dead God, they say.
Oh, how wonderful to know that we belong to the living God, the living God who still hears and who still answers prayer. And the next house we like to consider as the 10th chapter of the Gospel by Luke.
The 10th of Luke and the 38th verse. Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha.
Received him.
Into her house. Notice now doesn't say received him into their house, received him into her house I believe. I like to think it anyway. This was Marthas house. Mary didn't have a house but Martha had a house. She had a house and what we find she had a sister called Mary which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word. Here we have communion.
When Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dust, thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone, Bit her therefore that she helped me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things.
But one thing is needful, and Mary had chosen that good part which shall not be taken.
Away from her. Now this is a wonderful scripture. Just a few verses. Here was a home in Bethany where Jesus often went, a home where Jesus was welcome, always Jesus welcome in our homes. Is our home marked out as a Christian home? Do the neighbors say, who are these strange people? We don't see them getting drunk. We don't see them going out to wild parties and coming home at 5:00 in the morning singing and shouting. Who are these strange?
People that Sunday morning when we're all resting and sleeping after a hard a busy week or going out with Bible cases and Bibles, and who are these strange people? Oh indeed, our blessed Lord Jesus was a stranger here and but here was a home where he was welcomed.
It was the home we believe of Martha. But you know, this home of Martha wasn't something that stepped in her way to spoil her opportunity of having company with Jesus because Mary didn't have any worries. She didn't have any troubles. The Lord said thou art careful and troubled about many things. There were many things that bothered Martha. She was a busy woman.
I suppose she wanted to make sure there was no dust in any of the furniture. Why Jesus was going to come there.
And Jesus might come at anytime. And Martha wanted to have her house ***** and span. And I believe probably that the Lord Jesus came to this house unexpectedly. And Martha wasn't ready for the Lorde arrival. And so she had to get busy. She was cumbered about many things and she missed this grand opportunity of sitting at the feet of Jesus. All how Mary said, and how she must have been, her heart must have been raptured.
Soul warmed up as she sat at the feet of Jesus. But along comes her sister and said, Lord, does not thou care? These are the very words that disciples said in the 4th chapter of Mark. Cares thou not that we perish? Have you got no care for us? And now Martha says almost the same words. Carest thou not, Lord, that my sisters left me to serve alone?
Hit her there but she come and help me in other words.
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Get it away from your feet. And this is what the devil tries to do, beloved, just doesn't he try to do this? Isn't this your experience and my experience that Satan will try his best to get you who are sisters here, cumbered about your home, your ironing and your house cleaning and your painting and your garden and your walls and your sinks? Anything to keep you away from sitting at the feet of Jesus and with we who are brethren.
Our business, the making of money, they're trying to build up a bigger organization to be more powerful. Satan presents all these things before us to keep us from sitting at the feet of Jesus. But now isn't nice to notice how much the Lord appreciated this communion between.
Marrying himself in private, all he said to her.
Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful, just one thing. Everything else had to fade away as nothing when this one thing, this one thing. This was a person who was here Jesus. He was on the way to the cross. He wouldn't be here many more days of Bethany. He was on the way to Calvary and this was one of his probably his last visits of this home. One of the last occasions when Mary.
But they're able to sit at Jesus feet and how she valued this all brethren, when can we sit at Jesus feet? Yes, I believe in our private Bible reigns. We consider Jesus feet, but also in the assembly Bible readings we can sit at the feet of Jesus. Do we value these opportunities?
Supposedly United States government suddenly said in the press, all Christians are forbidden to meet, ever meet again in a public way around the Bible. We would say, oh, how I value those meetings, but it would be too late now. But thank God we live in the country where thus far this wonderful privileges afford to us to sit at the feet of Jesus. He says one thing is needful.
Now notice Mary had chosen Here we have again the choice of Ruth had to make a decision.
Mary had to make a choice Mary could have said to the Lord and I speak reverently. Well Lord, my sister is really tired and I got to go and help her. I I'd love to sit at your feet. I I just haven't got time but she had to make a choice and the Lord commended her choice and I believe the Lord commends our choice when we put Christ 1St and it says Mary had chosen. Notice that good part. The one thing she chose was a good.
The one thing is linked up with a good part now is what the rest of the verse says, which shall not be taken away from her. Isn't that wonderful? When we get to glory, we're going to meet Mary, I'm sure of that. We're going to meet Mary of Bethany and I believe we'll be able to say to her, Mary, what about it? What about that day when you sat at Jesus feet? She'll say, I'll never forget it, I've never lost it. He told me in the presence of my sister, that good part.
Shall not be taken away from her and it's still mine. I still enjoy what Jesus told me back there in old Bethany in that little house I used to live in with my sister Martha. I'm still enjoying what Jesus said. Isn't that beautiful? Isn't that wonderful to find this? And I believe if we sit down with our Bibles and the Spirit of God gives you a truth and gives me a truth, some little gem that we enjoy. I remember a little gem.
Gave me just just a few days ago in connection with the 15th chapter of Luke. You know what it says the prodigal was a great way off. It doesn't tell us he was 50 miles away from home, or 100 miles or 75 miles. It was a great way off. In other words, God didn't measure the distance. He didn't measure the distance the prodigal was away. But in the 24th of Luke, when the two disciples left Jerusalem and went down to Emmaus, God.
The distance he says from Jerusalem about 3 score furlongs in the case of these disciples, these believers, God measures the distance and when we get away from the Lord and backslide as Christ speak of now to born again Christians, God measures the distance that young brother.
God knows this old brother here, when we get away, God measures the distance, how far we got away from them, and you know the arm will stretch out. Beloved, if we really belong to Christ, the arm will stretch out. Someday that mighty arm will stretch out. And the truth of Psalm 23 will be fulfilled to the letter. He restoreth my soul even on a deathbed.
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The arm will be stretched out and He will bring us back because He loves us.
And so.
Mary enjoyed, I believe to this very eternal day in which she's entered. Mary is still enjoying in her spirit until the Lord comes and she receives a new body. Mary and joy still that chameleon with Jesus at his feet in Bethany. Well, the next home and the next place we find is on the 12Th of John.
In the first verse this is a beautiful chapter. It says then Jesus.
Six days before the Passover, just six days before his death, there was just six days left. Who would have thought Jesus knew they get all connection with this, this measure in the distance of the protocol. I like to say this, I should have said this before. There's only one person who measured the distance that you and I were from God. Who was this person? He doesn't tell us in Luke 15 about the great way off. Who measured the distance all beloved, we.
Morning in the darkness, alone with God, in the darkness, with our sins laid upon his holy, precious Person, Jesus, our beloved Savior. He measured, beloved the distance He felt the weight of the wrath of God fall on his sinless head. And alone with God in the darkness, eternal glory to His fearless name.
Jesus measured the distance you and I.
Were away from God, but here now it says six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, his last call at this little home, Bethany here he was the Son of God coming here, the cross before him six days away. He knew all about it. Just think of it. He knew all about it, the sufferings, the agony of that cruel, cruel cross. And there he comes, not to Jerusalem, not.
Great castle, but He comes to Bethany, this little humble home of Mary and Martha. And Lazarus now tells us where Lazarus was, which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead, what Joy had brought into this home. He had given back this dear brother who had been called by death.
Jesus had given them back to his sisters, and above all that he'd even wept with them. Just imagine.
Thing is such a picture, the living Christ, the eternal Son of God, the Prince of life, with all power, knowing that in a few minutes Lazarus would be alive. In Chapter 11, Jesus weeps. The tears run down his face as he sees that his friend is dead, and he sees, I believe, the results of sin and sorrow, and sees Mary and Martha weeping. Jesus mingles his tears.
To fulfill the very Scriptures which he is the God of the very word of himself weep with them that weep and Jesus mingles his tears of those beloved sister. But here he is now and Lazarus alive in the second verse you'll notice there they oh how wonderful. And it doesn't say there Martha made him a supper doesn't say Mary made him a supper, but there they I believe that Mary and Martha and Lazarus were together.
Mind here. There they made him together in unity and fellowship together. There they made him a supper, and Martha served. But Lazarus is one of them that sat at the table with him. What a wonderful picture this is, a risen man sitting at the table with Jesus, who raised him from the bed. There they are, and how wonderful this is a picture of you and me.
And all the sense of God, those who pass through death and who were raised up, sitting with Jesus, looking at his blessed face and saying there's the one who raised me from the dead. And there was Lazarus. But it says in the third verse, then took Mary a pound of ointment, a spikenard, very costly. Notice God doesn't tell us what it was worth. He doesn't say, and I speak reverently, 30 pieces of silver. It doesn't say 300.
But he says it was very costly. Who could tell the value of this ointment? Who could tell it? Could Lazarus tell it? Could Mary tell it herself? Could Martha tell it? No. This was a value that God placed on this worship. This is this is the home of worship.
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Very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus.
And wiped his feet with her hair. Her glory was laid her hair. The woman's glory, her hair. She laid her hair at the very feet of Jesus, Wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the order of the ointment. How beautiful.
That little home, now, that little home where Jesus often visited, was filled with the order of the ointment. And I believe the order would go out to the street and those who passed would say what a wonderful thing, what a wonderful order is coming from that little, little home, that little peasant home, as it were, in Bethany. Why, what is going on in this home? Why there's somebody at the feet of Jesus?
She has got this ointment and she paid such a price for it. Such a price she probably saved her money for a long, long time.
And at last she was able to buy this ointment and keep it specially for Jesus. You know, the blessed Lord Jesus at his tomb. Mary Magdalene was there, and we know that Peter was there and John was there, but Mary of Bethany wasn't there. Isn't this a strange thing?
Mary, who loved the Lord so much I believe we might call her the woman John of the New Testament. John, who could say I'm the disciple whom Jesus loves, Here is the counterpart. And Mary, what a love she had for the Savior. But she wasn't at his tomb. Why? Why didn't Mary go to the tomb? All she knew he wouldn't be there. She knew she had annoyed him before time.
Southern, this reminds us of those who have the privilege of breaking bread. We'll never be able to break bread in heaven. Never in the glory will we ever break bread. But, but, but down here we have to do it. Let us be like Mary. Mary had anointed the feet of Jesus before his death and before.
His burial, she had already anointed his feet and this was the worship that came up in the present. This little home in Bethany is your home, is my home, a place where Jesus is loved, where he's reverence, where he's worshipped, where our house is filled with the order of the ointment. Many homes we go into, they're filled with the order of cigarette and tobacco smoking. But all how good it is to have the order of.
Ointment, the precious ointment that poured out upon this blessed, worthy One, the Son of God.
On the last one on the 7th is in the 14th of John, and here we have another house.
Isn't it wonderful to see this last house? Let not your heart be troubled. Oh, in the 12Th chapter of the Lord Jesus, that now is my soul troubled, now is my soul trouble. But here he says, Let not your heart be troubled, my hearts troubled.
Soul is troubled, but let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. Then he says the last house in my father's house isn't this wonderful. In my father's house all these houses have gone, everything has passed. All our houses are gone, but they're still the father's house. In my father's house there are many abodes or mansions if it were not so.
I would have told you, the Lord will never deceive us. Isn't this beautiful? I'll never deceive you. I would have told you if this wasn't true. I would have told you this. But I'm telling you, I go to prepare a place for you in six days or that very week, maybe five days later, or for whatever day it was, he went to the Cross of Calvary. And by his finished work on the Cross of Calvary, everything was prepared. The house was ready. It's ready now, beloved.
And in the third verse he says, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also. Here we have the Father's house, the beloved Son of God, everything prepared. The many mansions are ready, prepared long ago for those who will share with the rejected and the despise Nazarene.
The Father's house all have blessed to be associated with one so real, so precious as Jesus. Or do we appreciate it, These seven houses, The House of redemption, the House of the Word of God, the House of prayer, the House of decision, the House of communion, the House of worship. And now.
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My Father's house, and later on in the same gospel, the Lord Jesus.
Associated you and me with that one who was my father. And John 14 when he said, I ascend unto my father, he always said that about his father, my father. But now after the cross, he adds these words. And your father, just imagine. And so it is the father's house. And soon, beloved, we will be there, and we will see him.
Whom we will adore for eternal ages.
The Lamb of God
Address—A.M. Barry
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, we talked tonight on the subject of the land.
No, the Lamb is one of the most beautiful types we have of the Lord Jesus Christ.
A little neat, mild jungle creature.
There's a picture found all through the Word of God to represent our blessed Savior because he was gentle, He was meek, He was mild, He was loving, and so we have that lovely picture.
Were presented in the word.
And I wonder if someone can tell me what is the 1St?
Sacrifice we have mentioned in the Bible.
Know who offered up the first sacrifice?
Can someone else tell me what kind of a?
An offering he gave to God. Now we can't let one go. Answer all the questions.
Coming out from the girl.
Kind of sacrifice that he brings, because we're told in Hebrews 11 That by faith Abel offered unto God.
A more excellent sacrifice in king five of which he became witness that he was righteous God testifying of his gift and by he being dead yet speaking, I will tell you something that may.
Puzzle you a bit that when you read the account in Genesis it doesn't say a lamp that.
It means the lamb because the lamb is taken out of the flock, isn't it?
And the flock is made-up of sheep and lambs.
So when it tells us that he offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice, we have to think of Abel going through the flock. And what did he take out of the flock?
I think there's a little more, yeah, it says the first thing. I'll be slots at the.
What chapter of Genesis he says that in the third verse of that chapter?
And able and in process of time it came to pass that King brought the fruit of the ground, an offering of the Lord.
And Abel he also brought of the first thing he that's reasonably faith was the lamb of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect of the Abel, and to his offering that unto Cain, unto his offering ye have not respect. And Cain was very well.
I see our cane dropped what he had been cultivating in the ground. I'm sure he had a more beautiful looking offering than Abel for a bleeding lamb. Wouldn't be anything very attractive before the lamb just had died and the lovely wool.
Spattered with blood I'm sure the king despised.
That offering and here was his beautiful fruit. We have displays of that, sometimes pictures and sometimes.
Baskets of all kinds of lovely fruit, and what a beautiful sight it is.
Well, what's God saw? And Cain's offering was that he was bringing something that he had worked for himself. It was a just a picture.
The good works of man, that is people trying to get to heaven by their good works, and we can never get there in that wave.
But Abel took a lamb because he had heard from father and mother how they were turned out of that beautiful Garden of Eden. And before they left the garden, God clothing in coats of skin, and that required the death of an innocent victim.
So God had already told Adam and Eve that the woman's thief was going to lose the serpent's head, the one that was to be born of the woman someday.
Was to defeat that terrible serpent that deceived Eve and caused them to lose that lovely garden and brought them into the world. So they knew that much of God's plan. And here was the boy that grew up and he believed what he had heard from his dear parents about this sacrifice.
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And he believed and trusted in it, and that's why in the 11Th of Hebrews it tells us that by faith, because he believes.
What God said about the necessity of the death of an innocent victim, and that it was only through one who was to someday come into the world that the enemy could be defeated. He believed all that, and he recognized that he was a poor law Sinner and that he deserved what God had already told his parents.
Would be the fruit of sin.
That they would surely die. And he knew that he married a death and judgment. But he says this little lamb.
Will die in my stead now. I mustn't say little lamb, because it was the first thing. It was a year old.
So often we hear people talking about the little lamb. Well, I'll show you a place or two where we do get the little lab, but not enables offering. Or do we get it in the next subject?
That will bring before you because you take a lamb after it gets to be a year old. It's quite a little, quite a little sheep.
That's why we have labs sometimes, you know, on our table. It's quite a size.
But we want to get God's picture of God's lamb.
As the one who is given as a sacrifice.
For our sins as the only way that we can escape the death.
The judgment that our sins deserve.
Well, now we'll think of another place where we get another story about the lamb.
And I think it's the next place where it's mentioned, if I remember rightly, of course, we find that.
Noah, when he came out of the ark, build an altar and offered sacrifices. Abraham built altars and offered sacrifices. But they want to have a place where we get about a land being offered, land being sacrificed.
Where is that?
Well, yes, you're right. You made me think of something.
Yes, there was a RAM, really. But I'm glad you mentioned that a RAM caught in the thicket by the horn.
And you know what? That's nice. Don't be scared between asking that. That's nice and deep. Because.
When Abraham and Isaac were on their way up to the mountain where God told Abraham that he must OfferUp his son as an offering and a burnt offering, Isaac said to his father, says, Behold, my father hears the wood, here is the fire, where is the land for rent offering?
So.
Abraham said My son God will provide himself the lamb.
But the ram you know is the is the daddy lamb. The he's the father of the flock.
Just as you is the mother, as the mother sheeps around as the daddy sheep and then the lambs. They're like the little children that are the members of the household.
So Isaac was concerned about who that where they were going to get that land and that is really something we can think of in this way.
I have to the fact that God was going to provide himself a lamb, and we know that lamb was the Lord Jesus.
Well, if we go on to the passage that I was thinking of, it was one terrible night in Egypt when the death Angel was surpassed through all the land.
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And the first born?
Brother and the family was to die that night, and Moses had been to Pharaoh, the king of the land, and told him what an awful judgment was about to fall on his people. But he wouldn't believe it, although he'd had many warnings. But now God was providing a way that his own people might escape that.
Judgment.
And they were told.
About taking a little animal and killing it and putting it blood on the doors of their houses.
I'm going to ask the girls at this time the question probably about little, I say again, a little animal. I'm a school correct myself again, it was a year old. Let's turn to the 12Th chapter of.
Exodus.
Third verse Speaking on the wall. The Congregation of Israel.
Saying, In the 10th day of this month, they shall take to them every man of lamb, according to the houses of their fathers, a Lampern house.
And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of souls. Every man, according to his eating, shall make your account for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish. Now here's where we get the size of the land. A male of the first year, that is, it was a year old.
You shall keep it up, take it out from the sheep or from the gold, and Jesus shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month.
Assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening, and they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper doorpost of the houses were in. They shall eat it, and they shall eat the flesh in that night Rose with fire with bitter herbs, and unleavened bread with bitter, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs.
And then you read in the.
In the 12Th verse.
And I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first born in the land of Egypt. Then you read in the 13th verse, and the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you.
So this land is again a picture of the Lord Jesus and the Spirit of God would so definitely bring before us the person of Christ that when it came to killing the lamb, they must have been thousands of lambs killed that night because every family and maybe a small family.
Would take a lamb together, Yet it says this, that ye shall kill it Nothing.
Yeah, well, the Spirit of God wants to to think about his land that was to come, whose blood would shelter our poor guilty souls from the awful judgment that our sins deserve. And that night when the Angel of death went through the land of Egypt.
What he was looking at was not how.
Nice these boys look.
Hot good little boy, these boys wearing these houses. The Angel was looking at the door with the inward blood on the door of that house.
If you saw blood on that door, on the upper door post, on the two side post when you pass right over the house and the oldest son was spared and at midnight there was an awful cry heard. Oh, this thing a lot of terrible things for that. We've been in Detroit.
That someone died in every house. The oldest boy was lying there.
Cold and death. He just died. Wouldn't that be a terrible thing?
Never forget when the First World War was the first taking the young man to the draft and took a young fellow to the train that was going to take the soldiers to the have off for training and there was a large crowd gathered there.
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The mothers and fathers with their boys and sweethearts with their boyfriends.
Around this depot and way in the night, finally this long train pulled a full such a long line of cars. And when that train came round the curve and the people saw the time had come, their boys must go.
One of the most distressing things I ever heard was the most.
One of the saddest wheel that started that weeping, wailing, crying and boys were being taken from them. Some boys that I knew and had played with never came back and went off to their death.
But that was just a little picture of an awful night that was in Egypt when it was dead in every house. Who was the Lord, King, King. Would there be any left behind?
Not sheltered by the precious blood of God's dear Lamb, the Lord Jesus.
Remember this verse, It says Jehovah said when I see the blood doesn't say when you see the blood. It says when I see the blood I will pass over you. And then there's another thing we must remember, and that is the very lamb whose blood was on the doors of their houses was the food for the family that night.
They were all feasting on the lowest lamb whose blood sheltered them.
From the terrible judgment that fell upon the land of Egypt. Well, tomorrow, should the Lord tarry, some of us will be together thinking about the Lord Jesus dying on the cross. And the loaf on the table and the cup on the table speaks to us of His precious body, in which He suffered for our many sins long ago.
So what shelters us from judgment is what?
Is the.
They have food for our soul, for remember, our souls need food as well as our bodies. We couldn't live long as we didn't.
Have our our meals, our three meals where we depend on that for our bodies to, to, to.
Be in health and strength. Well, we have souls. Let's remember that, boys and girls.
And.
If the things of Christ is found in his precious word.
That feed your soul just the same as your bread and your.
Made them. The various things you enjoyed at the table are the are what is provided for your bodies.
Well, we must hasten on in this subject, but I want to call your attention to something in the 28th chapter of Exodus now. No, it's the 29th champion and the.
38th verse of the 29th chapter of Exodus.
Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar.
2 lands of the first year, day by day continually notice carefully, and one lamb shall ioffer in the morning, and the other lamb shall thou offer in the evening.
Then you get what they were to offer with the land. And then in the 40th second verse it says there shall be our continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord.
Where I will meet you, to speak there unto you.
Well, that's a beautiful picture for us too, for our daily life, for there was a lamb in the morning and there was a lamb in the evening.
Let's apply that to our daily life, for it means that we're to begin the day with Christ.
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We all get on our knees in the morning before we start the day.
I don't mean just merely for the family time when you read the Bible and when you have.
Have the family prayer, but it's a wonderful way to for young people as well as older people to begin the day before the Lord.
Or you're talking to God, dear Lamb.
And God the Father, who gave his Lamb for our needs, and then at the close of the day, the same Lamb.
He has a way to close the days as we go on our way. So let's just remember that lesson. A lamb for the morning and a lamb for the evening.
There's just one portion that you might might call attention to in the palms.
The 141St Psalm.
The second verse of the 141St Psalm. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. That's the Lamb for the evening. So it shows that.
The Lamb looked at in this way especially and in this scripture connected with prayer.
That is the lifting up of the hands and prayers like the evening sacrifice.
Where God's land is brought before our souls.
Well, I just mentioned that in passing. And now if you'll turn over to the 7th chapter of First Samuel, I told you I was going to show you a place where we do actually get a little land, so.
We turn to First Samuel Chapter 7.
Well, in the first part of this chapter we get the children of Israel coming together at Minsk. They drew water in the sixth verse and poured it out before the Lord, and fasted said, We have sinned against the Lord.
Well, there were Philistines who were their enemies when they heard that the children of Israel were gathered together in this, the Lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
Now let children carefully and see what kind of a lamb this lamb was.
And the ninth verse. And Samuel took all the lamb of the first year. Notice that.
Samuel took a ******* lamb and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the Lord.
And Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him and Samuel. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Phillips Pines drew near the battle against Israel. But the Lord thundered with a great Thunder on that date upon them, and they were smitten before Israel.
Well, this little sucking land is brought in this place.
For a very special reason. You see, they were so cast on the Lord here are these enemies were marching against them, and they were so helpless, and they had no.
Protection And Samuel takes this little lamb, this little sucking lamb.
And offers it wholly to the Lord for a burnt offerings. You know when we are fairly dependent on the Lord Jesus for health. It's just like having that little sucking lamb before us because it gives us the most beautiful picture of our our Lord and Savior as the one who.
Was always dependent upon his father for everything.
You can say I do always those things that please him. And let's remember that when we're weak, the scripture says, then I am strong. That is, if we're cast entirely upon the Lord instead of depending on our own wisdom, our own strength to gain the victory or defeat the enemies. For, you know, we have lots of enemies.
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Satan is against the world, against us.
The flashing side of this is against us, but when we are just helpless in the large presence and looking to Him as that one who has given us that perfect pattern of.
True, absolute dependence on His Father's will. Then it's just like it was that day in Israel. The Lord thundered with a great Thunder.
And the enemy was defeated.
Now we are just going to speak about the time when the Lord Jesus.
Was presenting himself for the first time to our repentant people.
And you read of it in the Gospel of John and the first chapter.
You see, John had been baptizing people that were repenting of their sins, and they were.
Really trouble about their ways, and it was a true and wonderful work of repentance among the people of Israel. And then he told them after he had baptized so many and they were really exercised about their ways, about the coming Messiah, the Savior who was to present himself. And he told them that he was this one who was coming with so great.
He says I'm not worthy to stoop down and unloose the latches of his shoes.
One day the Lord Himself came to that company, and as John looked upon him and saw him approaching him, he thus uttered these words. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, just as old John, with the view of old many sacrifices, all those lambs that had died and been offered on Jewish altars.
Was now the actually.
There before him.
And as he presents him to the nation of Israel, he says, there's the Lamb of God, the one that all your sacrifices pointed to. That's the one that taketh away the sin of the world. And then here he says.
When he was.
Was looking upon Jesus in the 36th verse and.
Looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said Behold the Lamb of God.
And the two disciples heard him speak.
And they followed Jesus.
On that occasion he said nothing about his bearing away the sin of the world.
He was just occupied with the loveliness a lot less. And what? And his heart gave expression to the delight of his soul. He just explained, not to talking to anyone, but just expressing what filled his heart with joy. He says, behold the Lamb of God. And then we find two of his disciples leaving John to follow Jesus.
Now when we get to the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.
And the 5th chapter.
There's a great story in heaven.
Well, this looks on to the time when all the redeemed will have been caught up to heaven.
And remember, that door will have closed forever.
For those who have the fever, they'll go in and those that are not safe will be left outside. But now we're looking at a company up in heaven, and the judgment of this world is about to take place in this 5th chapter. And the question is, who could open that book that is seen there in heaven?
Sealed with seven seals and no one was found.
In heaven or on earth or under the earth, no one was worthy to open the book.
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Until one of the elders tells John.
Weep not, for John was weeping. That's the fifth verse. Behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book, and to lose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld and looked, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, in the midst of the elders.
Does it say it stood a lion? He said This one who had prevailed was the lion of the tribe of Judah. But did he see a lion?
He said I saw a lamb. You can't think of two creatures more opposite than a lion and a lamb. Kenya, the lion is savage, devils is praying, is a fierce animal with a terrible roar. Whereas a lamb is the gentlest of all. And and yet the Lord Jesus was both. He was the one who was to execute judgment.
But he was also the one who came in love and grace and humiliation to save us, and He saw this one as a Lamb that had just been slain, as though the cross and his sufferings had just taken place at that time.
So fresh is the subject of the cause of Christ to heaven, and it was just as though it was the event that had just transpired.
I want to say this, and you can look it up sometime, that all through the Book of Revelation you get many references to the Lord Jesus as the Lamb. And in every case, I believe this is right. It's a little lamb.
That dependent one that was like the sucking lamb that Samuel offered when they were in distress. It's always the little lamb.
In the Book of Revelation, but when we get to the end of the the book in the 19th chapter, this.
Lovely stories here about the wedding in heaven. This is going to be a wonderful wedding.
There was a wedding on earth like it.
The marriage of the lamb.
To people that have been gathered out of this world and are caught up to heaven when the Lord comes in the air and it called his bride.
Well, it speaks of it in this way. If you look at the 19th chapter and the seventh verse, He says, let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. Why doesn't it say the bridegroom here?
Why doesn't it speak of him as the king? All those titles?
Would would give us the same one, the blessed Lord, but why in connection with the marriage in heaven?
Here's the bride here spoken of.
In connection with the land, I believe it's for this reason, beloved, that.
We who know the Lord as our precious Savior are going to have a special nearness and dearness to Him in heaven that can only be expressed by the marriage union. And in thinking of that marriage union, we're to be united to Him in His victim character, for the Lamb speaks.
Our Savior as the victim that went into death and judgment in order that we might be redeemed and, and share his glories and share his place and that place of intimacy and nearness to Himself. And you know, the last mention of the Lamb in the Bible is in the 22nd chapter of Revelation.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Notice to the third verse.
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And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the lambs shall be in it, and His servants shall serve him, and they shall see his face, and His name shall be in their forward.
So you see, the Bible, as it were, begins with the land, like the lamb for the morning and the lamb for the evening. So the whole plan and purposes of God are specially connected with His Son and that lovely type, the land. And there in the clothes, as we last get to look into heaven, we see the pure.
Water of life could have just said flowing out of the throne of God, but it says the throne of God and of the Lamb, because that river of water of light speaks of all the refreshment that belong to the heavenly scene. It is not only God who in infinite power and grace will bless his creatures there that have been.
Brought into that scene of glory.
But the Lamb so it just closes with this thought that the precious thoughts of Christ and his love and giving himself for us will be that which refreshes our souls for the countless ages of eternity and left where the Bible closes. Or how important, beloved, to know that Lamb personally, not just as a story, not just.
1005 But one that we can look up to, and like those two that we were Speaking of, that when they heard John say, Behold the Lamb of God, the one thing that was before them was to follow that one. That was the delight of the heart of the one who was directing their thoughts to him.
Our Love the Fruit of His Love
Address—A.M. Barry
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.
Hymn #109 Jesus, that name is love. Jesus our Lord Jesus all means above. Jesus the Lord, our Lord, our all must be nothing that's good. Have we nothing apart from thee, Jesus our Lord?
As Son of Man, it was Jesus the Lord. Thou gaze thy life for us.
Jesus our Lord, great was indeed thy love, all other loves about.
Love thou is dearly true, Jesus our Lord. Not knowing at all what Brother Lundeen had before him to speak from this afternoon, I find that I had very much the same subject before my heart, and that is to bring before our souls.
Something of the love of Christ.
That passes whole understanding and the verse that I will ask you to turn to.
To introduce the subject I have on my heart, as in the first Epistle of John and the 4th chapter, the 19th verse.
Of first John four. We love him.
Because he first loved us.
Or another translation we love because he first loved us.
And what I had on my heart, beloved Saints, else to speak.
Of our love to Christ as the fruit of his love to us Can all that the law made its demands of man. And if you'll turn to the 12Th chapter of Mark, you'll see what the law requires the 12Th of March.
And the 28th verse.
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, What is the first commandment of all?
And Jesus answered him. The first of all that commands is hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is 1 Lord, and thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
And with all thy mind, and with all thy straight, This is the first commandment, and the 2nd is like, namely this. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandments greater than these. The scribes said unto him, Well, master, thou hast said the truth. There is one God, and there is none other but He.
And to love him with all the heart and with all we understand, with all the soul, and with all the strength.
And to love his neighbor as himself is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the Kingdom of God.
And no man after that there's asked him any more questions.
Now here was a man that answered discreetly.
When the Lord quoted the two great commandments of the law.
But he had to say, Thou art not far.
From the Kingdom of God. He couldn't say you were in the Kingdom of God.
For in order, beloved friends, to be in the Kingdom of God, as the Lord plainly said to Nicodemus, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
And so, if you'll turn to the 4th chapter, the first Epistle of John again.
In the seventh verse we read Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God.
And everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God.
You see, we must have the divine nature which is love, before we can know what love is.
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That young ruler that came to Jesus and spoke discreetly hadn't experienced the new birth.
But when we are born of God, then we have a nature that loves God.
In the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, we get a wonderful description of love.
We might just turn to it and read a few verses in that that chapter the apostle says, though I speak with a tongue of men and of angels, and have not charity or love, and become a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol.
Then there he goes on to say on the fourth verse.
Charity or love suffereth long in his kind. Love envious not love wanteth not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not a role, is not easily provoked. Think it's no evil. Rejoices not an iniquity, but in rejoices in the truth. Beareth all things, believeth all things.
All things endureth all things.
As soon as we read these words, we're conscious that we're getting a description of the Lord Jesus Himself.
Because He was divine love manifested in the sad world of sin. But marvelous beloved, when we're born of God, we have the very same nature as our blessed Lord.
So that we can exercise the very things.
That we see in all their perfection in that Blessed One.
Now when you look again at this 4th chapter, first John.
Here we get a great contrast with what you get in the Law of Moses.
You see, the law demanded that man should love God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.
Our brother Blount used to say you can't even think of God for one minute, for 60 seconds without a lot of other thoughts come trooping through your head, much less loving with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. We can't make ourselves love God.
The fact is, until born of God, we have a nature that hates God, that wants to get out of his company, out of his presence. And you know, for a Sinner away from God, there's nothing but the darkness of hell left for his soul. He'd be miserable if he could be in heaven because he has a nature that's completely out of harmony.
Where the love that fills that glorious scene where Christ is the center.
Now let's look at the 10th verse of this 4th chapter John and draw the contrast. You say, you see the law says thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Now here's the way grace speaks through the apostles 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.
So instead of demanding that man should love God, it tells the poor Sinner that it doesn't because he loved God, but because he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And that takes us right to the cross of Calvary where we see that Blessed one.
In that midnight darkness.
Bearing the awful load of our sins, forsaken because God hates sin and could not look at his only Son when he was a sin bearer there, in order that our souls might be saved.
Then the second commandment comes in. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. You'll see the demands of the law was a selfish love. That is, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
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Out of grace, speak. If God so loved us, what a different motive that is for our love for our brothers.
Because of the great love that God has shown towards us, it awakens in our hearts a desire that we might show that love to those objects so dear to His heart. It's a faithful love, a love that would not for a moment encourage in any way.
One could go on in the disobedient, a wrong course, but still.
If it is exercised according to the heart of Christ, it'll be like the love that Joseph showed to his brethren when he spoke roughly to them. He went away and wept over them, and it was only when there was a full work of repentance in their hearts that he put his arms around them and drew them right through his.
Bosom.
Now it's the It's that love that has.
Won these hearts of ours, you know, the law never saved anybody.
All the law could do was condemn the Sinner. All the law could do was to prove his law's condition and leave him in a state where he would be awakened to his need, so that Christ might come in as a Savior and reveal Himself.
Through his guilty soul. Let's just look at a verse in the second chapter of Galatians.
The 20th verse. Now the apostle Paul is speaking here, and he says, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the place I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
When you consider that these were the words.
Of the greatest hater that Christ ever had in this world, I was all of Tarsus.
Think of him delivering up men to prison, and when they were put to death he gave his voice against them.
He persecuted them in every synagogue and compelled them to blasphemy.
Being exceeding mad against them here. Follow them even to strange cities.
Think of a man compelling a poor frightened human being to blasphemy the name he loved, under fear of the consequence of his not submitting to this persecutor.
Oh, what a history that man had. And yet it was the love of the very one that he hated that broke down that proud Jew.
And brought him to the knees of Christ. On the road to Damascus they are shone a light from heaven.
Above the brightness of the sun, and fall into the earth, he heard a voice saying, Saul, Saul, why persecute us? Thou need.
All to think that those Saints of God were so united to that blessed man, and the glory that touched one member of the Lord Jesus was to touch Christ himself. He was broken completely down.
It wasn't the thunders of Sinai.
That broke down that rebellious man, but the love of that one that he hated so greatly.
So he expresses his feelings in this way. Who? The Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
And so, beloved, the 1St all important.
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Subject we have before us.
Has your needs and know.
Christ as your Savior.
It's been said, and rightly said, that you may die unsaved, but you can never die unloved.
God loves you, and He so loved you that he gave His only begotten Son.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
That's the way God proved his love in giving the dearest object of his heart's affection.
And letting him go to that shameful cross in order to see your precious soul.
And it's that which wins for the goodness of God, as we heard in the other address, is what brings the center to repentance.
If God loves the poor Sinner like me in such a way.
What an awful Sinner I must be, what an awful condition I must be in, if it required that agony of the cross, if it required the forsaking of God.
On the cross, those hours of fall and darkness in order to put away my sins.
There is nothing, friends, like the cross of Christ. It not only gives us to see God's love fully shown out, but it shows me what I am as a loss and guilty Sinner. It required all that agony of the blessed eternal Son of God, the very Creator of heaven and earth, to pull away one sin out of God's presence.
Well.
We find that.
It's love that wins the poor Sinner and brings them to a repentance, just as it did to the apostle here. But you know, when he says we love me, he's not.
In any way suggesting that others have not the full right and title to enjoy the same love that he enjoyed in his soul. And they went riding through the Ephesians. He says that Christ loved the church.
And gave himself for it. In these that carries us even farther than his death. He not only gave his life.
But all beloved when he rose, he went into heaven with uplifted arms, uplifted hands, and he's been serving. He has redeemed ones his church said he purchased at such a cost.
To all his days of it, his histories and history and wandering in this world.
And there the apostle John might just turn to Revelation One for a moment.
John here is telling us about.
The way he was addressed there on the Isle of Patmos.
And he says in this in the fourth verse, Grace be unto you, and peace from him which is, and from him which was, and which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, see, the three persons of the Godhead are brought to our attention. And then he says, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness.
The first begotten of the dead and the Prince of the kings of the earth. And then it's just as though John's heart will welled up with the delight of.
Of having that glorious person before him, he says unto him that loved us.
And voiced us from our sins in his own blood. Now in this place who loved us is plural. And so beloved. We can think of the love of Christ in a collective way. We can also think of it in an individual way. How precious that is, how you dear, for young people.
And older ones too. Remember that Christ loves you individually.
He knows all about you.
He knows all the mistakes we have made in our lives, but they have never in any way.
Dampen that burning love that he has for his own all. He loves us as a company. He loves this company. He delights to see a company like this gather together to be over his precious word. But every individual who knows.
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And loves the Savior is an object of His tenderness and dearest love.
I was thinking of a verse in the Song of Solomon. Our brother London was giving us some thoughts from that book, so I'll turn to it again and call your attention to something in the second chapter of of Song of Solomon, say 14th verse.
Oh my God, that art in the clefts of the rock.
In the secret places of the stairs.
Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.
The dove is the affection that burns we find in the 4th chapter of this same book. He says in the first verse, Behold our fair my love, thou hast doves eyes within thy locks.
You ever see a dove sitting on its nest? The lovely side?
You'll find his eyes fixed in One Direction.
And what is that direction? It's the direction where it's me disappeared. The meat has gone off to find food for his his companion. And there she sits on the nest, waiting for his return.
For the love of it, may we be like that in our affections for Christ, with our eyes looking onward.
To that glorious moment when he who shall come will come, and will not carry, when we shall hear His voice, when we shall see his face.
You see the dozens in the cliffs of the rock.
Remember hearing dear old Brother Dunlop say one time that you could just read this like this, all thou who hath affection for me.
Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice. You know the Lord delights to hear your voice and mine prayer and praise.
Very sweet in the assembly for brothers who are LED of the Spirit. Don't be too timid, brothers. Some brothers get too timid, you know about.
Their voices. There's nothing more precious to appearance than the first list words of their little ones. Oh, how they delight to hear those little words when they first try to express themselves. Just so that Blessed One, he delights to hear your voice.
He loves to have your presence too. Let me see thy face.
Well, yes, we couldn't stay at home, you know, maybe read good books. People have radios and listen to sermons, and some say they can get more staying at home than they could going for meeting. Can the Lord see your face when you're away from the privileged center where he says there am I in the midst of them?
There's something lovely in the in the third Psalm.
Return to it for justice a moment, the third song in the third verse, that thou, Lord, art a shield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy hills. He lost. I laid me down and slept all week, for the Lord sustained me.
Where is the close of the day? Maybe it's been a very stormy day.
A lot of problems have arisen, many trials have confronted us.
But here we find the psalmist closing the day by crying to the Lord.
And having this assurance that he heard me.
From his holy hill, so that he lays him down.
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Quiet rest and sleep.
Then you read in the fifth verse, My voice shall thou hear in the morning, Oh Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up. There is the morning prayer. So we get the evening prayer, and we get the morning prayer too. And then if you look at the 55th Psalm in the 17th verse.
Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud, and he shall hear my voice. So there's three times a day. Daniel carried that out.
Practice which ended and his being cast into the den of lions, as you know. But he had the scripture and he had the scripture when he prayed towards Jerusalem. Because Solomon had said that whenever they prayed with that city and where that temple was built before them, that God would hear them. And he did hear and he did come in and delivering grace.
To his people.
All, beloved, we can't pray too much or too often. Our lives should be in lives that are characterized by being in the presence of God.
Do you turn all your troubles over to him ere you close your eyes and sleep your eyes in the morning, and look up and direct your thoughts on that one who loves you, who is concerned about you?
Well, now to go back to our subject again.
Our love to Christ.
As the fruit of his love to us.
And I wanted to make it clear first how we can get to know that love. If there's anyone unsaved, if he comes as a poor lost Sinner, you will find the love that saves and the love that forgives and the love that brings him into the place of a child.
With all the blessing that God has in store for his own.
And then after having come into his presence and having known him as a Savior, then we have His preserving, keeping grace. If you turn to the 14th of John or the 13th chapter.
And read the last part of the first verse. Well, maybe we'd better read the whole verse now, before the feast of the Passover.
When Jesus knew that his hour was come, that He should depart out of this world unto the fall, having loved his own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.
What does that end here? I believe that FOB is that it's through every difficulty and trial and danger and problem in this life. He's going to love us.
All that journey through until the journey is over. He loves them on to the end. His love never ceases beloved, and that's why in this 13th of John that he washed the disciples feet so that as he tells Peter, if I worse, they don't. Thou hast no part with me. The Lord not only wants to have us as his children.
In his family, but he wants to have us enjoying his love and going on in communion with himself and that's why he poured the water into the basin and you'll notice it tells us in this chapter that he began to voice the disciples feet doesn't see ever cease to wash their feet, nor has he ceased to wash your feet and mine beloved, and the only reason that any of us are here.
Over the word of God and enjoying Christian fellowship.
Is because many, many times in our lives the Lord has washed our feet.
And he uses the water of the word, and then he uses the towel so that he can make us comfortable to sit in his presence.
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With that which had broken, communion fully judged and removed.
Well then I had a special area before me.
What it is that enables poor things like you and me to respond in love to the One who has done so much for us?
We all have the desire in our hearts.
To how to manifest more love towards the One who has in such grace saved us at such a cost. But how can there be really more love in our hearts for Him?
It isn't putting ourselves back on the law and saying Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. Immediately you put yourself under law. Then we find the old nature active and rebelling and refusing.
To act upon the the desires of the new nature.
My beloved is when we get occupied with His love for us.
Then when we get our hearts warmed and filled and overflowing with that love, as the apostle says, to know the love of Christ, which passes all understanding, there's a very man that we were saying was the great persecutor of the church.
And yet the one he met on the road to the Masters was the one who had sold one.
His forearm, that he says, the love of Christ, which passes all understanding all, we can't measure it. Indeed, He goes to heights and depths and lengths and breadths, but there's no limit to it. It's just as vast. It's just as immense as the very space or as eternity itself, for its eternal in its in its origin and its eternal.
Its purpose. But the lover there is this that you and I can delight in.
And that is that we're the objects of that eternal love of Christ. I was thinking in this connection.
Of Dear Peter.
Of a child of God who got out of communion, and it was through self-confidence that he got out of communion. And it's always the same, beloved. When we trust in ourselves, we're sure to go astray.
But when we judge ourselves, humble ourselves, then repentance and restoration takes place.
Well, you remember how Peter went to sleep in the garden, and how the Lord had to awaken Peter, but when he awoke he went right out full of himself in his own importance to draw the sword, and the Lord was submitting to the sword.
But when he got into the palace of the high priest, his courage failed him completely.
For our beloved, if we are depending on ourselves, remember this. Your courage will fail you too. The Lord only preserves those that are independence upon Himself.
And then Peter denies the Lord three times, and the last time it tells us with woes and cursing.
That man who had followed Jesus for 3 1/2 years now cursing and swearing there that he didn't know Christ.
What was it that broke him down? Just one look.
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Oh, what a look that must have been.
The tenderest look of affection, wounded because of his failure, and yet, as it were, expressing to his heart, Peter, I love you still.
You know that separated Peter from that ungodly company that murdered Christ. He went out and he never went back. He was separated from them, but he wasn't fully restored in his soul until after the Lord rose again from the dead.
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You know he ran through the sepulchre with hell with John. John outran him. I think a bad conscience made his feet lag. He went back, even John through their own home.
And then Jesus had a private interview with Peter all alone.
It's not necessary for us to know all the ways of the Lord with his children.
Hand His grace to them. But when it came to the recovery, the restoration of Peter as a servant of Christ, that was another matter. And before he could be fully restored to go on in the apostleship and service that was given him, the Lord restores him in the presence of his brethren.
And it's very beautiful in the 21St chapter of John.
15th Verse So when they had died, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He said unto him, Ye Lord, thou N that I love thee. He said unto him, Feed my lambs. You know, Peter boasted then, that he loved the Lord more than all the other disciples.
So the Lord just asks him the question.
You love me more than all these. Well, we see how completely Peter is broken down, for he will not boast now, at him the least, and he gives an answer that shows how true and how real and how deep the work was in his soul.
And the third time he comes out with this statement, he says, Lord, thou knowest all things.
Thou knowest that I love thee. That is as much as to say, Lord, if there's any love in my heart towards you at all, it's only you that can see it. That shows how deep their conviction, their repentance was. That he wouldn't clean them anyway. That he loved the Lord, that he was the only one.
That was able to see it, but yet he knew.
The Lord did see that hath abolen, in spite of his sad sin and failure, that it was love there for his blessed Person. So what I wanted to especially call attention to here.
As the wealth of the Lord says to Peter about feeding his lambs, and feeding and shepherding his sheep. And is this he said unto him, Simon, son of Jonas?
Loveth thou me now the love of the.
Secret of All service is love for Christ.
Now, of course, God does yours.
Natural qualities.
And we know that he used the fact that.
Saul of Tarsus was brought up at the feet of demolition, and had a perfect understanding of all the Old Testament. God made use of that in his time. But without love for Christ, all his advantages, all his knowledge, would never have made him a useful man in the vineyard of Christ. And so as Peter the word is.
Simon, son of Jonas, lovers thou me and he says you feed my lambs. Well, the Lord has lambs as well as sheep. And remember that beloved Saints. And I think there is something instructive here. He doesn't say feed my lambs and and sheep. He makes a different distinction that they are those that are young that need special care.
They need the simplicity of instruction.
And so three times, just as Peter had denied the Lord three times.
He fully confesses him, and then the Lord informs him that the very.
Her failure that had that had led to his fall later on. He was going to let another guardian. He was going to fully submit to the hand of God and was going to honor his blessed Lord and going to a cross and dying for him.
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So, as we think, beloved of any service.
No matter how small it is, whether it's your young sisters.
To get a few children around to on Lord's Day and have a little Sunday school.
Well, whatever work it is.
It's what is going to make that work, A blessing.
It is love for Christ.
Now this theme follows all through the Word. And if we were to turn to the fifth chapter of Second Corinthians in the 14th verse, For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which lived should not henceforth live unto themselves.
But unto him which died for them, and rose again. Therefore henceforth knowing no man after the flesh, Yeah, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth knowing Him no more.
And then he says.
That.
For the love of Christ constraineth us, that is, the apostle in his laborers in the gospel.
What gave power to his message and reached souls with a word was the love of Christ constraining Him.
Whereas he says if one died for all, then we're all dead.
You see, he had been bringing before the Corinthians the Psalm thought of the judgment seat of Christ, where everything would be manifested in the searching light of God's glory.
All when he fought a poor sinners without any refuge outside of Christ have to face the Judge.
With nothing but the lake of fire as their destiny, it filled his heart with love for those poor lost souls, the love of Christ.
And strangers, and so in connection with his work among the people of God was.
It was his love for Christ that gave such power and such.
A testimony in connection with his.
Instructions.
To the dear Saints of God.
Now we have a very strong example of the absence of what we're talking about, the love of Christ.
As the power and the way that God will use any of his servants.
And blessing in this world, whether it will be in the gospel or whether it will be in.
Helping and encouraging and strengthening the people of God. Now in the second chapter of Revelation, and the second verse says, I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and has tried them, which say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars.
And is born and has patients.
And for my name's sake has labored and has not fainted. You think that an assembly that could be addressed in the way the Apostle addresses the assembly at Ephesus? Their state must have been almost perfect.
He speaks of their labor, their patience, and they were not allowing evil in their midst.
And there are those that were not apostles. They were false.
Teachers, they were trying to get the year of the Saints. They tried and found them liars. And as borne and have patience and for my name's sake has labor. There's lots of Labor.
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Listen.
Nevertheless I have against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
No amount of energy put into service is going to satisfy the heart of Christ.
Oh yes, we can get out on the street and give away lots of tracks, but if it isn't that, our hearts are warm by the love of Christ.
It will not keep us from being ensnared by the attacks of the enemy. I'm not in any way criticizing track distribution would develop. There was more of that, and with the God, there was more of an effort to gather in the children.
For the time is short, and the judgment of God is coming down on this world. Thank God for those who go to foreign fields and seek to.
Win souls for the Savior before the awful night of eternal doom settles on this guilty world. May God encourage and strengthen. Stir up your heart, dear young people, for you know some of these older ones are not going to be able to continue many years more, and if the work is to go on, it will be carried on by.
Younger men.
And Sunday school work, younger sisters, all that will be encouraged to carry on the work of the Lord.
But I say it for myself, the beloved, as much As for anyone here.
The importance of all being the result of that love in the heart for our blessed Lord.
Are those at Ephesus once so intelligent in the divine things that Paul had written in Ephesians as to their sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, showing how soon and how quickly the cleansing who may come into your midst?
And what is it thou hast left thy first love, that love that the apostle Paul saw when he first went to Ephesus and that John had experienced in his ministry. That was that was gone. Plenty of activity. Oh yes, you can go to a large the morning meeting never missed.
A remembrance of the Lord.
What about your state of soul?
Is Christ increasingly precious to your heart? Beloved trends as the time draws near and the Lords coming is at hand. All those are the things that need to pass these hearts of ours. And you notice here that there was only one remedy for them. And what was that?
The fifth verse Remember, therefore, from whence our fallen and repent.
And do the 1St works, or else I will come unto the leaf quickly, and will remove thy Candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
Has self judgment.
As a way to be brought back into the freshness of that love.
And we see ourselves slipping when we see the world getting into our hearts, when we find present things that are more important than eternal things than he does. Repentance to get down before the Lord and judge the whole her departure that has brought such carelessness and such coldness into our souls.
So again, beloved, the scene that I've had before us.
As love for Christ as the fruit of his love for us.
And leave this little message we have had here this afternoon.
Awakened in your heart, and my heart perhaps more than any other.
And more occupation where the love of that blessed One.
Think of what He means to you and the thing why He has done for us. Think of Him there and the glory on high, waiting for that supreme moment when He's going to descend with a shout and call us into His glorious presence to be forever.
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Forever in his company.
Where we sing hymn #2 in the appendix. O Lord, Thy loves unbounded, so sweet, so full, so free. My soul is all transported when there I think on the Yet Lord, alas, what weakness within myself I find no infants changing. Pleasure is like my wandering mind. I'm so glad that a man like Brother Darby wrote.
Well, I'm sure we've all had the same experience.
Of our poor changing minds and how that will go on. At least I do for hours. Never even think of the Lord, be so engaged with other things. The Lord is completely out of my thoughts and my desires. Maybe I'll make plans and so on and never get into the Lord's presence at all.
But how sweet the next word is, and yet thy loves.
Unchanging, and thus recall my heart, the joy in all its brightness, the peace its beings in part.