YP Address—J. Hyland
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And 56.
Praise ye the Lord again. Again the Spirit strikes the chord. Nor toucheth he our hearts. In vain we praise, we praise the Lord stand fast in Christ. Ah, yet again he teacheth all the band. If human efforts are in vain, in Christ it is we stand. I realize that afternoon meetings at conference are very difficult, and so I'm going to suggest.
That it would be helpful if we stood up to sing this hymn 156 and if someone would please start it.
Way of introduction to the subject that is on my heart this afternoon. I'd like to read a little expression near the end of Daniel Chapter one.
Daniel Chapter One.
And I just want to read the 1St 3 words of verse 21. And Daniel continued. I have it on my heart this afternoon in speaking particularly to the young people, to speak a little bit about this word, Continue or continue, and to encourage us to go on in the path of faith, the few footsteps that are left before the Lord comes. We've spoken much in these meetings concerning the Lord's coming.
And I believe we're right on the verge of the Lord's coming. There's just another footstep or two, and then we're going to hear that shout and we're going to be called Safe Home. But in the meantime, I believe there are two things that God looks for in our Christian life. He looks for consistency and continuance, not just as the world says, a flash in the pan. And you know what burdens me in following out this subject, particularly in addressing the young people, is the fact that there have been, in my experience, even those I grew up with, so many promising young brothers and sisters.
And they made a good start. And I realize it's only the grace of God that keeps any one of us, if any one of us here, young or old, this afternoon, are going on in any measure in the path of faith and service. Let's make no mistake about it. It's the grace of God, and it's God that works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. It's no credit to ourselves, but nevertheless, I think back in my experience and think of young people who made a good start.
But they've made shipwreck of their life today. They've pierced themselves through, as scripture says, with many sorrows. Because they missed the path, they chose their own way. Their hearts became cold and indifferent. One thing and another came in, and there's many who were once young people of my generation who are reaping the sad fruits of what they've sown. Thankfully, there are some, in my experience, who have experienced the restoring grace of God.
Because as we had this morning in our reading meeting, the restoring grace of God is as limitless as his saving and preserving grace, David said. He restoreth my soul. David experienced in a very real way the restoration of God, but nevertheless God wants us to go on consistently and to continue in our Christian pathway. And it's my great burden young people, that if the Lord leaves us here, you might go on that you would be like Caleb, of whom it says.
He wholly followed the Lord. Isn't that a tremendous commendation for the Lord to say? He wholly followed the Lord and he went on consistently. There were lots of difficulties for Caleb, but all those years in the wilderness when there was so much sin and fault finding when he saw the governmental hand of God on the people of God. Yet he went on and God honored it and eventually brought him into the land and gave him.
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A personal inheritance. And so I thought of this in connection with Daniel, it says, And Daniel continued. Now I realize I'm taking this expression slightly out of its context, I suppose strictly speaking, in its context. Here he's mentioning how Daniel lived to be an old man and saw several kings come and go, several kingdoms, and he continued even to the year of King Cyrus. But I want to apply this in connection with what we've been saying.
And that is in continuing in the path of faith and following the Lord, because I believe this expression has its application in that regard. And we certainly see with Daniel that not only did Daniel live to be an old man, but he did continue on and follow the Lord in his pathway. I suppose there are many secrets to Daniel's life of continuance. One of them has given us in this first chapter, and that is that he had purpose of heart.
Because young people, if you're going to continue on in the path of faith, it must be with purpose of heart. Sometimes I've heard it said of young people, well, so and so has a nice desire and I'm glad when there's a desire expressed to follow the Lord. But young people desire isn't enough. It says in Proverbs the slugger desireth and hath nothing. It takes purpose of heart. If you're going to continue in days like these, the enemy is busy to seek to discourage.
To scatter, to weary and confuse the people of God.
But you must, like Daniel, have that purpose of heart. Because purpose of heart is really a desire where the affections are motivated by an object. It's a question of the affections. We'll speak of that a little in more depth a little later. But that's what purpose of heart is. David said in the 27th Psalm, one thing have I desired of the Lord that was good. But he didn't stop there. He said that will I seek after it took purpose of heart. It took spiritual energy. You know, we often talk about exercise in connection with spiritual things.
And why do we use that expression? Because if you're going to continue on, it's going to take spiritual exercise. And exercise denotes energy expended. You know, if you're going to get up and go to the gym and workout, it takes discipline. It takes energy. You've got to get up an hour before class, perhaps, or you've got to stay an hour after work. And it takes discipline and it takes energy. If you're going to avail yourself a bodily exercise, well, it's no different when it comes to spiritual exercise. And young people, I'm not going to stand here as one who's a little further along in the path of faith this afternoon and tell you that it's easy to follow the Lord. It is not easy to follow the Lord. And I want to tell you too, and make it very clear. It doesn't get any easier as you get older. You know, I used to sit in the meetings as a young person and think, well, it's all right for the older brothers to minister on various things and talk about going on for the Lord.
They're past a lot of the things, a lot of the difficulties and hurdles.
That young people go through. But I want to tell you, we're never home free as long as we're here in this life. And the attacks that those of us who are a little further along may have, those that we would consider perhaps middle age. And then those that are here that are older, they may be a little different from what you are experiencing, but they're nevertheless very real. No matter how young or how old we are, the enemy doesn't give up on us. And no matter how young or how old we are, there are difficulties and problems.
In the path of faith, and you see this with Daniel, it started out with purpose of heart. He shunned to set aside that which was offered to him of the King's meat. That would have meant defiling himself and compromising the truth. He set that aside. Was it easy for him? You know, we only read a four who refused the King's meat. But what about the others? I don't want to read into scripture, but I've often wondered those others that were brought from Babylon.
And put to this test that went ahead and ate of the King's meat, did they speak against Daniel and his friends? Did they say, well, you should come and try. It's good stuff. And you know, it's a different day than back when we were home in Judea and everybody's doing it now. Maybe there was a little reproach, I don't know right from their other fellow young people. Isn't that the hardest kind of reproach to take? You say I try to continue on. I try to follow the Lord. And it's one thing when people at school who don't know the Lord reproach us. But isn't it harder when our friends, our Christian friends, maybe those that, even that we sit down and break bread with at the Lord's table?
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They don't seem to understand our exercise. They reproach us for something we try to do to be faithful to the Lord. Well, it wasn't easy for Daniel, but he purposed in his heart. There were other secrets of Daniel's life too. He had good companions. We've heard about that in these meetings. He had good companions. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And not only that, but I'm sure Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were encouraged to stand fast, because they were.
The friend of Daniel as we heard our friends affect us young people, the friendships that were forming now.
Are either going to make or break our lives. They're either going to make or break our lives. And especially in connection with a companion for as far as marriage, a husband or a wife, young fellow, the wife you choose for your companion is going to make or break your life. Young sister, The husband you marry is going to make or break your life. And so, as we've already had quoted, I am a companion of all them that fear thee and that keep thy precepts. We know too. Daniel was a man of prayer, and that's the powerhouse of the Christian life.
We know too from the 9th chapter, he was a man of the word. He was reading the word of God.
Particularly there, the book of Jeremiah and we need the word of God. And what I'd like to do for a few moments this afternoon is go on and to quickly look at some scriptures that exhort us in connection with continuing as to those things that we need to continue in. Now, this is certainly not an exhaustive list. Over and over and over in the word of God, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, we have brought before us those things that we ought to continue in.
As the people of God. But we're just going to look at a few of them, and I trust that they will encourage particularly our young people. But all of us, I believe, need these exhortations. Let's go first of all, then to Second Timothy.
Two Timothy, Chapter 3.
Second Timothy, chapter 3 and verse 14.
But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned, and hast been assured of knowing of whom thou hast learned them, and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. Now just hold your finger here. Go back to first Timothy.
First Timothy chapter 4.
One Timothy, chapter 4 and verse 15. Meditate upon these things. Give thyselves holy to them, that thy profiting may appear unto all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine continue in them, For in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee one more portion. For now back in Acts 14.
Acts, Chapter 14.
And verse 21.
And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, an Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the soles of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith. And that we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God. Well, I want to stress for a few moments the importance of God's Word, and I want to impress upon us the need to be well rooted and grounded in the doctrines and principles of God's Word.
Because if we're going to be preserved in the path of faith and continue on to the end, it must be with this before our souls. Now Paul was writing to Timothy here in this second epistle, writing of appalling conditions, the last days, perilous times. And what I want to point out is that this wasn't necessarily the condition of things in the world. This was the condition of things in the House of God, which had become at this point a great house.
Isn't that solemn to think about? Sometimes we read the Epistle to the Laodiceans in Revelation 3 and we think of it in connection with the condition and spirit of things in the world. But that was right. In the assembly these things come in, they affect us, because whatever the spirit of the age is, it always affects the people of God. And so he's spoken here of an undermining of the truth, evil men and seducers, waxing worse and worse. If we were to go back to Acts 20, we would find that in his final address to the Ephesian elders, he spoke of how there would be that which would come from without.
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And then he said, And of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw disciples after themselves. That was right from within in the assembly. But what's going to preserve us? What's going to keep us in a day when the enemy is busy to subvert our souls and undermine the precious truth of God? Oh, it's what he brings before Timothy here in the end of this chapter, after Speaking of this, Then he reminds Timothy that first of all, he had had the privilege of hearing the word of God.
From the very early days of his childhood. Now I realize there are some here this afternoon who were not brought up in a Christian home, not brought up in the assembly. And thank God you've been saved. And you have been brought to the assembly where the truth is ministered and the spirit of God is given liberty. But, you know, many of us, and I realize I look into the face of just so many who, like myself, had the privilege of being brought up in a Christian home. I didn't always appreciate it. I didn't always appreciate.
A father who opened the word of God in the home on a daily basis. But I want to just say to you what a privilege it is. As I look back, I'm thankful for it. I'm thankful that from a child I knew the Holy Scriptures, Timothy had a godly heritage. He'd had a God fearing grandmother and a godly mother. And now the Apostle Paul too had brought before him the truth. He had presented the what we would refer to as Paul's doctrine, and he reminds him to continue in those things.
Not to give it up. And so these two, in these two epistles over and over and over again, he exhorts as to the need for sound doctrine. Because while it's true doctrine in itself and head knowledge isn't going to preserve us yet, I believe it is a safeguard. It is necessary. And young people, open your Bible on your own individually. Read it every day. Come to the assembly meetings where it's ministered.
And then, you know, we have a vast heritage of good Christ exalting written ministry. There's much of it in the back there. Have you availed yourself of it? I wish that I had availed myself of it more when I was younger because, you know, I'm getting to the point now where I don't take it in like I used to. I read it and I enjoy it and I'm thankful for a good memory, but it's not like it was 10 years ago.
Oh, I want to encourage you to store up your mind with the word of God. Store up your mind and read that good Christ exalting ministry that God has caused men to write in the past and even is being written today. It will be a great help to you and it will be a safeguard. When something is presented that is not the truth, how are you going to detect it? By reading up on all the false.
Doctrine that was ever propagated on that subject, and I'm not saying maybe there aren't times when we need to have an outline of something to deal with a specific situation, or so and so on. But I believe generally the way we detect false doctrine and error is to be grounded in the truth of God.
A teller at the bank doesn't traffic and counterfeit money. No, she'd lose her job if she did. But in handling the real money from day-to-day, when a counterfeit bill is passed, then she detects it. That's how you're going to detect false doctrine. It says be wise concerning that which is good, simple concerning evil. And you know he speaks here of the man of God being useful and prepared unto every good work. And I know there are young people here who have a real desire.
To be used of God. You're praying as to what the Lord has for you in his vineyard of service, and I want to encourage you to continue on in that vein. But if you're going to be prepared unto every good work, there are two things brought out in Second Timothy that are absolutely necessary. The first one is in the previous chapter, and that is to purge ourselves from evil. To separate from that which is not according to the word of God. That's one thing that's going to prepare us unto every good work.
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And the second thing is to go on in the truth of God. That's what we have here, to take up the word of God and to walk in obedience to it. And if you do that, young person, you won't be just prepared under some good work, you'll be prepared unto every good work. So we need all the word of God. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. And again in the previous epistle where we read.
He's exhorted Timothy as to this, but I just want to notice something else too, where we read in First Timothy 4 and that is he says meditate upon these things. You know it's not enough just to read the word of God and close it and not consider what we've read. We need to meditate on these things and I know it takes discipline in the day in which we live. I know the minute you close your Bible and step out the door in the morning until the minute you come back at night.
There's just so much to absorb your energy, both physically and spiritually.
You are physically and mentally I should say you fight rush hour traffic. You sit at a computer, you have a high pressure job, but I want to encourage you to discipline yourself, to stop during the day and meditate on God's word. Just go back to what you read. You'll find it'll be a great blessing to you and it'll become real to you and it will encourage you to continue on. And so we need to meditate on these things and then we need to give ourselves wholly to them.
Again, it's not enough to read the Word of God. It's not even enough to meditate on the Word of God. We need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. But we read and enjoy, and we need to put into practice. If you know these things, happy are ye. If ye do them. And then he gives Timothy a little warning in the 16th verse where we read.
Encouraging him to continue in the doctrine.
I want to just digress here for a moment, to say something to those of us who are a little older and those of us who particularly who take an active part in the ministry of the word of God, whether it's in the local assembly or on an occasion like this. Because here, Timothy, who had a gift and was told to stir it up for the blessing and edification of the Saints, he was told to take heed unto thyself, and under the doctrine to continue in them.
And then he says, in doing this two things would happen. Thou shalt save both saved thyself and them that hear thee.
I want to say this as carefully as possible, but I believe first of all, when we open our mouths in the assembly, when we open our mouths publicly in ministry, it's a very solemn thing because we need to realize that we're going to be tested by the Lord on the very things that we minister. And when the tests come, if we're not careful and we don't take heed to the ministry that we have been given by the spirit of God, not only are we going to be tripped up ourselves.
But we're going to trip up those that hear us. I believe it's a very solemn thing, and it searches my own soul and those who take part in the assembly, those who have a place of leadership and responsibility, they become very vulnerable because the enemy realizes that if he can trip them up, not only do they miss the path themselves, but they take others with them. Often they're restored, but often they don't bring their followers back.
And there are many I know in my experience who ministered the truth. And if they had taken heed to their own ministry, they would have both saved themselves and them that heard them. Well, let's continue in these things Paul was bringing before us, is bringing before us the need to continue in the doctrine, and particularly the doctrine that Paul brings before us as to the calling of the heavenly, calling of the Church, our responsibility now and so on.
We need that. And why are there so many Christians floundering in their Christian pathway? Why are there so many Christians today who think they're a moral force to change the world, and who are out running for public office and trying to clean things up? Because they've given up Paul's doctrine, they've given up the hope of the Lord's coming, or they've confused the hope of the Lord's coming with the hope with the Kingdom and the hope of his coming for his Saints and with his Saints and all this kind of thing.
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We really will never understand.
True Christian principles. Nor will we have the proper character of a Christian in this dispensation unless we are rooted and grounded in Paul's doctrine. We need all the word of God. It's true. I don't want to take away from that. We need the illustrations of the Old Testament. We need the life of Christ in the four Gospels. We need John's ministry that brings before us the family and the judgments of this world. Later on, we need James, which brings before us practical faith.
We need Peter, which brings has the lessons for the wilderness, but we also need to tenaciously hold on to Paul's doctrine. Well, let's cling to the word of God. Let's read it each day. Let's avail ourselves of the ministry that has been given to us by men that God has caused to write these things. Let's value it, and I believe it will be a great preserving.
Factor. But I read in Acts chapter 14 as well, because we find here that when they exhorted the early brethren to continue in these things.
They made no pretensions as to it being easy. We've mentioned this, but I just want to echo it. It says that we must, through much tribulation, enter the Kingdom of God. If you're going to stand for the truth at school, if you're going to stand for the truth at work, if you're going to seek to go on in the assembly, there's going to be problems and difficulties. We're not home yet. We must through much tribulation, but always it going to be worth it. When you look into his face, young person in the coming day, what's going to matter?
How well you planned your life, how well you got along down here, how many garages you had attached to your home, and what you had to fill it. And I'm not speaking against those things in any way, but is that what's going to matter in the coming day? No, what's going to matter in a coming day is did we continue on in the truth of God? Did we seek to be faithful to him and to covet at the end of it all his well done, thou good and faithful servant.
But now let's turn to John's Gospel, chapter 15.
John's Gospel, chapter 15.
And verse 9.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue ye in my love.
Well, I want to speak now of continuing in his love, because, you know, when it comes to the truth of God and when it comes to doctrine, we can be clear as ice and justice as cold. But if there isn't love, it's interesting that in First Corinthians, where you have in the 12Th chapter the body of Christ and in the 14th chapter, shall I say, the machinery in operation. Yet in between you have that chapter on love, because that's the gas and oil that makes the machinery run properly.
And why is it so often we get into difficulties? We say, well, we tried to be faithful when it came to standing for the truth. But, brethren, sometimes we can stand for the truth and and that's good, but we stand for the truth without there being love. We do it in the wrong spirit. And so here we find he says, continue ye in my love, oh, I want to encourage everyone of us, the young people, but every one of us, to get into the presence of the Lord and let him love you.
Just let them love you. Just enjoy His love. Maybe you're discouraged because you think, well, my response, my love for the Lord is so feeble. But I believe what increases our love for the Lord is an enjoyment of His love for us. If we try to generate love for the Lord on our own, we're going to be discouraged at best. But just to get into His presence and meditate on His love, Bask in the sunshine of His love, That's what's going to preserve you. Continue in His love.
We all look back on our Christian life and do we remember a time when we felt we enjoyed the love of God more than we do now? Where we enjoyed the love of the Lord Jesus more than we do now, and where, as a result, our response then was more than it is now if we do, oh, I want to encourage you, continue ye in my love. What a difference it will make. Because, brethren, His love never changes young people His love never changes.
Divine love delights in a response, but it's not dependent on it. Divine love loves when there's nothing lovable in the object. Divine love loves when there's no response from the object. I say it delights in a response, but it's not dependent on it. Of what we refer to here as the upper room ministry. There's a confirmation of his love. Having loved his own, which were in the world, he loved them under the end. Young people get ahold of that in your soul. He loves us in spite of ourselves.
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He loves us despite our conduct and our response toward him. Think of that little company gathered around him on this occasion. Think of what they were like. There was a betrayer, there was a denier. They were all going to forsake him and flee. But all he loved them unto the end in that precious to think of you. Think of in Malachi, where you come to the end of the history of the children of Israel in the Old Testament. They were at their lowest point, morally and spiritually, in the Old Testament.
And how does he begin that little that little book. I have loved you, saith the Lord. His love was just as great for them there as it had been when he had redeemed them and brought them out of Egypt and delivered them. His love hadn't changed their pages. The pages of their history were stained with murmuring and fault finding and complaining and a lack of response to him. But his love was just the same.
Oh, do you realize this afternoon how much the Lord loves you? You know what's interesting? That when you read the Epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and three, there are two churches, 2 assemblies that the Lord confirms His love to. One is Philadelphia. And you say, Well, of course they were seeking to keep His word and not deny his name. You see, I can see how he confirmed his love to Philadelphia. But the next assembly Laodicea. But it was complete indifference to his claims.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. He loved them just as much and laodicea as he loved them in Philadelphia. Oh, I say he loves us with an everlasting love. With loving kindness he's drawn us. But I can't stress this enough. We just need to get into his presence and enjoy that love. And I believe in the measure in which you and I enjoy the love of Christ in our souls. In that measure, our response will deepen. There will be more love for himself in the measure in which we realize.
How much he loves us have often said that the bride in the Song of Solomon, as she was awakened in her affections, and as she began to enumerate the qualities and glories of her bridegroom. What did it do? Oh, it only deepened her response. At the end of it all, she could say, my beloved is mine. He's altogether lovely. She loved him more at the end. Why? Because she tried to generate a response within herself? No.
Because she's been occupied with himself and his love for her. And so let's continue in his love, not just to enjoy his love for a time and then to go on our own way to, if I can put it this way, walk on the shady side of the street. That's not what he wants. He wants us to walk every day in the sunshine of his love, get up every morning and just meditate a little bit on his love. Let's follow this up by going to Hebrews Chapter 13.
Hebrews chapter 13 and verse one let brotherly love continue or if he knows Mr. Darby's translation, abide but let brotherly love continue. Now we've spoken of His love for us. We've spoken of the consistency of divine love despite a response in the object. But now we have brotherly love, if you notice when we read the 4th chapter of First Thessalonians.
He speaks there of brotherly love as well. In fact, if you notice in Mr. Darby's translation, there are six times in the New Testament that brotherly love is brought before us. You don't get it in the King James. But if you notice that Mister Darby's translation, there are six times that the need for brotherly love is brought before us and brotherly love has to do with our relationship one with another. Now brotherly love is of God too, because all love springs from God. God is love, and so brotherly love is of God and we're exhorted. You can follow those six portions that I mentioned and you can see how that we are exhorted to.
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In tenderness and.
With solicitude we are to exhibit one with another brotherly love, because what is to characterize the followers of Christ is love the Lord Jesus said to his own By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one for another. You know, sometimes I've heard young people and those of us who are not so young say something like this. Well, you know, there's not much love shown in my local assembly.
You know, that might be very true, but isn't that your opportunity to show love? Because you know brotherly love is going to bigot brotherly love. If you're kind to someone, if you show brotherly love, if you go out of your way to help someone, that's going to generate a response in the person unless their hearts are very hard or indifferent. But generally it's going to generate a response and you'll find if you show love amongst the other young people in your local assembly.
You'll find this is a lot more love there than perhaps you even realized. And so I want to encourage you. You know, it's easy in a setting like this to love all the people of God, and we're together for a happy weekend. But, you know, the tests come when we go home. We go home to that little assembly. And sometimes things are not always in order like we wish they were. Sometimes there's problems and difficulties. Sometimes personalities come in and there's little conflicts.
But let's seek to show brotherly love to love one another. And I believe that not only will it be a great blessing in the assembly and amongst the people of God, but it'll be a great testimony too. If you want to have a testimony to those around, you, want to have a testimony in the gospel. How can you bring people into the gospel meeting? How can you go out and give out tracks when they know you're connected with that group of brethren and go to that little hall if they see that there isn't practical love exhibited? I know it's difficult.
I know sometimes there are real problems and difficulties in the local assemblies, but we're exhorted to let brotherly love continue. Maybe again we look back and we remember a time in the local assembly when there was that love and we went on happily and there was just the manifestation of that in a very practical way. And now we realize things have come in and spoiled that hindered that, oh, he doesn't want that. He wants us to continue in that, to go on.
With brotherly love, Let brotherly love continue. Let's go now to Colossians Chapter 4.
Colossians Chapter 4 and verse 2.
Continue in prayer and watch in the same with Thanksgiving. We mentioned at the beginning of this meeting in connection with Daniel that one of the great secrets of his life was that he was a man of prayer. We see this right through till he's an elderly man there in the 6th chapter and his the habit of his life was to pray three times a day because as I said earlier, prayer is the powerhouse of our Christian lives.
But here we're told not just to pray but to continue in prayer. Recently I've been exercised as to this little expression. You know, sometimes in the local assembly something is mentioned for prayer, some brother or sister who has a real need, and we might pray for that brother or sister that night, maybe even the next week. Some remember to pray for them, and then we forget about them and we don't continue in prayer. Epifras, who was of the assembly at Colossi and who's spoken of here in this book?
He says of him that he labored fervently in prayer.
Do we know what it is to labor in prayer to continue in prayer for the Saints of God?
Young people, I want to encourage you to set aside a time and again it's going to take discipline. But to set aside a time for prayer, you need a stated time for prayer and let nothing come in to spoil that time. You know prayer is hard work. Prayer isn't easy. Again, it takes that exercise, that energy of faith that we were Speaking of. But if you discipline yourself to do it, like Daniel, he had stated times for prayer during the day. He had a very responsible job in the Kingdom.
He was a busy man. He had a high pressure job, we'd say today. But he disciplined himself to pray three times a day. Let's learn to continue in prayer. Maybe we have personal needs. We pray about it for a little time and then we kind of get discouraged. We give up our hands. Do we know what it is to continue in prayer? And then he says not only to continue in prayer but to watch in the same. Now why is watching so often connected with prayer in the word of God? And it is very often it's connected with prayer. Well, perhaps for a couple of reasons, #1 When we pray, we need to watch that we don't let things come into our lives that would hinder.
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The answers to prayer, for instance, it says if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.
But I believe, too, we need to watch for answers to prayer. If you and I really pray in faith about something, we're going to be watching for the answer. Why do those men did? Those men that we read about of past generations have such tremendous answers to prayer. And sometimes the bills were coming in the front door and the funds to pay them were coming in the back door. They watched under prayer. They didn't just pray, they continued in prayer, and they watched for the answers.
Now perhaps I better qualify my remarks by saying this, Don't ever beg the Lord for something that may not be according to His will. We always want to pray in the Spirit of the Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, not My will but thine be done, because if you beg the Lord for something that may not be according to his will, he may in his permissive will give it to you, but it will not be for your blessing. He did that with the children of Israel, but it says He granted them their request and sent leanness into their soul. But you know by the same token too, there are things when you have scripture to pray for about you shouldn't give up.
Let me give you one example. Maybe you've prayed for years for the salvation of a loved one.
Don't give up. You have scripture for that. It says it's God's will, that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Don't give up praying for that person. Learn to continue in prayer. Watch for the answer. And then it says with Thanksgiving. Because you know as we pray, we have so much to be thankful for. We can thank you for past answers to prayer. Thank you for what he's done in the past. Thank him for what is ahead in that day of glory when will be beyond.
The need and exercise of prayer. Let's always come in thanks with Thanksgiving. But I say again, let's learn to continue or persevere in prayer. Now let's go back to Hebrews. Hebrews 13 again.
Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 15.
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. Well, here we're exhorted to offer the sacrifice of praise continually, young people, not just when things go well. And I know it's difficult. I know there's young people here today and you've got real burdens, and you're concerned about going back next week to school or work or to the little assembly from whence you come. You say, Brother Jim, you just don't know what I have to face.
Well, perhaps I don't. But I want to encourage you, no matter what the circumstance, to cultivate the habit of praise and Thanksgiving in your life, not just when things go well. Again, it's easy to be happy at a conference like this. It's easy to praise the Lord when we've got a room full of Saints who are enjoying the things of Christ. But what about when you go back? Oh, I say learn to cultivate the habit of praise, the sacrifice of praise to God.
Continually the fruit of our lips. You want to bear fruit for God's glory. Do you realize? Every time you open your mouth with a note of praise to God or the Lord Jesus, he jots it down in his book of remembrance as fruit for his glory. And so much does he value it. He counts it as a sacrifice and he says, I'm going to reward you for it in a coming day. The fruit of our lips. But I want to make this very practical because, you know, sometimes on occasions like this, and particularly on Lord's day, morning when we're together.
To remember the Lord and to worship him and to praise him, Sometimes I look around the meeting room.
When some of these good Christ exalting hymns are given out, and I see a lot of silent lips, I see a lot of still tongues, does the person and work of Christ mean no more to us than to open our mouth and praise and Thanksgiving? I know, especially for young fellas, it isn't cool sometimes to sing. I realize that sometimes we feel reproached if we open our mouth and sing. But what about the Lord Jesus? He wants us to open our mouths in praise and Thanksgiving.
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The fruit of our lips, whoso offerth praise, not silence, whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me. You know, I'm encouraged too, when I visit in a home to hear a sister out at the kitchen sink getting the meal ready. And there's that note of praise on her lip. She's whistling or singing the words to some hymn. Oh, I think the Book of Remembrance is open to that page in glory, and it's being jotted down.
Fruit for his glory. Oh, let's learn to praise the Lord. He's so worthy, brethren, when we think of what He's done for us young people, when we think of what He's done for us. We ought to be the singingest people on earth. We ought to open our mouths every day, not just when we come together in the assembly, but driving your car in your home, wherever you are. To have that note of praise in your heart and on your lips. The sacrifice of praise to God continually. Let's turn to Acts Chapter 2.
Acts chapter 2 and verse 42.
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and breaking bread and prayers. Well, I just want to apply this now in connection with the assembly meetings. We've talked for the most part, I suppose, in this meeting of continuing on individually. But here's the collective side of things. Isn't this a nice commendation of these early believers that they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayers?
These are what we might say are the assembly meetings, and I want to encourage you, young people. I know your schedule is tight, but I want to encourage you to plan your life around the Lord and around the assembly. Make it a priority. What is an hour out of your life on Wednesday night to give to the Lord? I know you've got to study. I know that when you're in business, you bring a laptop home and a briefcase full of work. But can't you just close that laptop and go to prayer meeting for one hour?
That's what he desires. But notice it takes diligence, They continued. Or if you notice, Mr. Darby's translation, they persevered in these things. It takes perseverance, but you'll never be able. You'll never do it unless it's the habit of your life. And unless you plan your life around the assembly. You know, the difficulty today is we plan our lives and then try to work in the assembly. Young people. It doesn't work. Some of you are setting up homes. Oh, I want you to.
Make sure that you're exercised.
To be at the assembly meetings. I'm thankful for a father and a mother who were exercised not only to bring the truth before us in our homes, but they made sure we came to the assembly meetings. I don't ever remember sitting at the dinner table Tuesday night and it being a question of whether we were going to prayer meeting or not. It was just assumed that as soon as the meal was over, we'd get ready and we would go to meeting. There wasn't any question about it. I will grant you there were sometimes they're extenuating circumstances that perhaps we weren't there.
But I knew as I grew up what was important to my parents and can we expect our children to put any greater importance on things than we have placed ourselves if we don't value as parents? I'm going to speak to parents for a moment. If we don't value as parents the assembly meetings, and if we don't plan our lives around the assembly, then we can't expect our children to have any greater value for it than we have had.
But again, I believe it's a great preserving factor to come to the assembly, those assembly meetings for ministry of the word, assembly meetings for prayer, and then for the remembrance of the Lord Jesus. In closing, I want to read two further scriptures, 2 further scriptures, one of which I trust will exercise my own soul and perhaps it will yours too. And one to encourage us. Let's go first of all to Romans chapter 6.
Romans chapter 6 and verse one. What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? And I want to read a verse in Luke 22.
Luke chapter 22 and verse 28. Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. Well, I think this verse in the 6th chapter of Romans is very solemn, and the reason I read it at the end of the meeting is because here's something that we're not to continue in. Maybe there's a young person here and you've been going on with something in your life that you ought not to be going on with. You really belong to the Lord Jesus. You're ready to go when the Rapture takes place.
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But there's something allowed in your life, some sin that you're going on with. Should you continue with that? You said I've gone so far now and God is gracious. Well, it's true God is gracious, but shall we continue in sin? That grace may abound. I want to encourage you because conferences like this are often turning points in the lives of young people. I remember in my own life as a young person coming to a Montreal conference, and it was a great turning point in my life.
And maybe you're sitting here and you're saying, well, I haven't gone on for the Lord. Oh, turn around. Get before the Lord. Repent of whatever you've allowed in your life. Confess it. Get it straightened out. If it needs to be straightened out with your brethren, seek grace to go and get it straightened out. Don't continue in sin. No, I haven't continued in the past like I should, but oh, there is a way back. There's restoration. And as we said earlier, His restoring grace.
Is tremendous. But then I read to this verse in Luke 22, because this is a great encouragement to my own soul. You know, I can't judge whether you've continued. You're continuing in the path of faith or not. I can see something in your life that may encourage me. But, you know, maybe there's been failure in all our lives. But isn't it precious what the Lord says of the disciples? Here ye are, they which have continued with me in my temptations. You say, How could he say such a thing?
What a bunch they were, what a group they were. There had been lots of failure trying to figure out who was the greatest and all this kind of thing. And they'd continued with him in his temptations. Why they fell asleep in the garden when they should have been watching and praying. But I've come, as I've got a little older, to appreciate more and more of the scripture that says that he can separate the precious from the vile. He knows what's there of faith. He knows in your life that what desire there is, and he honors that. He values it, and he can say.
Here by grace, only by grace. Here they which continued with me in my temptations. Oh, whatever failure there's been, let's seek to continue on and let's seek to covet his approbation of the thing. This was the Lord Speaking of the disciples, if I'd been Speaking of them, I'd said, well, there are pretty failing lot. The Lord says no, there's something there. Both spark there and I value that. He values that in each of our lives. Oh, again, I just want to say in closing to the young people particularly, but to all of us, May the Lord keep us by His grace.
That we might continue on. We're almost at the end. And what will it be to look into his glorious face and to have him say, Well done, thou good and faithful servant, let's pray our God and Father how thankful we are for the.