Corner Brook Conference: 1993
Table of Contents
Malachi 1:1-5
Our Inheritance
Faith, Hope, Love
Malachi 1:6-14
People in the Life of David
Jesus in Bethany
Gospel 1
Be Like Zacchaeus - Come in Haste to Jesus to Be Saved
Children—Harris Gibson
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Yes, 59.
Yes, this is a nice one, isn't it? Let's talk about Jesus, the King of Kings, is he?
Let's talk about.
Jesus, the King of King City, the Lord of Lords, supreme through all eternity.
So great. I am the way. The truth is the light the door. Let's talk about Jesus.
More and more.
Isn't he one wonderful, wonderful.
Isn't Jesus, my Lord, wonderful?
Eyes have seen, ears have heard. It's recorded in God's word. Isn't Jesus, my Lord wonderful?
Wonderful, wonderful.
Jesus to me.
Counselor, Prince of Peace, mighty God is he saving me, keeping me from Austin and shame. Wonderful as I Redeemer praises his name. He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead, He is Lord.
Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
His name is wonderful.
His name is wonderful.
His name is wonderful.
She does, my Lord.
He is the mighty king.
Master of everything.
His name is wonderful.
Jesus, my Lord.
He's the greatest shepherd, the rock of the Malaysians.
Almighty God.
Down before him.
Praise and adore Him.
His name is wonderful.
Jesus, my Lord.
Is and he wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Isn't she? That's my Lord, wonderful.
See, we shall hear for his coming drive near Evermore, we shall say wonderful.
Maybe we'll look to the Lord right now. Great.
Thus, a God and Father, we just thank thee if we can come to thee. Many of us here and say isn't Jesus my Lord wonderful? We know that will be our theme for all eternity. All of us who have put our faith and trust in thy work, blessed Lord Jesus at Calvary's cross, we will do pray for each little boy and girl here, an older one, teenagers too in the room, that it might be their theme forever also.
We thank thee that thy word still goes forth is still the day of grace. There's still that opportunity to be saved. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. But we don't know about tomorrow. We don't even know about the an hour from now. And so we would pray if there any boy or girl here or older one without us know the heart of everyone. And we just pray that I will by the Holy Spirit work in their heart for their blessing and cause them to see that thou blessed Lord Jesus did die for their sins.
If they will admit and own that they're sinners and need a Savior. So we just ask thy help as we look into a few verses from Thy word, and we pray that thou just bless them now as we give thanks and Thy worthy and blessed name, Lord Jesus, Amen. I'd like to sing one more if you know the number for me. The Bible, who knows the number for that one?
00:05:19
Is it 3084? OK.
Yes, okay Bible, yes, that's the book for me. I stand alone on the word of God to be ideally to be LOOD.
That Jesus said for me.
Day.
Well, I'd like to look at a few verses and the theme is hidden in the verses and I hope each boy and girl who can read has their Bible with them because I'm going to be asking you to look up the the verses and as soon as you find the verse, I'd like you to stand. Okay. It doesn't necessarily mean that you would be the one who reads the verse for us.
But I was thinking about a few verses.
After listening.
To the gospel message the first evening we were here and last night at the same 2.
There's a theme that's been going on through the meetings and I would like you boys and girls to discover it because the word is hidden in each verse. I'd like the first verse when you have the the verse, just stand up and I might say to if the person who reads it will keep their finger in that verse because I want you in that portion of the Bible because I'd like you to read it again later. OK. The first one is John 5 and 24.
As soon as you have the verse, you teenagers too, although I would like those who are, there's one man keep coming.
John 5 and 24.
Stand up when you have, especially people under the age of 12, I'd like to see you.
Any girls?
Keep coming.
Well, I'm sure more of the view than his this fella has it, but we let him read it. In any case, go right ahead.
Yes. Isn't that a good verse?
That's one that we can hang our salvation on, can't we?
Now another verse. OK, Psalm 119, verse 9.
No.
Jeremy, you read?
Yes.
That's that's a good one, isn't it? Particularly for those young men and young women too, who already know the lower traces.
All right, another one.
Hebrews 4, verse 12.
I'd like to get some more people coming. We want you to involve people.
So do I see some? Is there someone back? Oh, there's a girl back here. Wonderful. All right, two girls. Excuse me. All right, this girl can meet. I'm sorry you don't know your name.
Hebrews 4, verse 12.
00:10:06
Which?
One is numbers of soul and spirit and love to join place mural and with a.
Good.
Thank you.
All right, another one, Psalm 119, verse 11.
119 verse 11.
OK, a teenager this time.
Maybe I'll just point.
Oh, all right. Yes.
Norman yes.
All right.
The next one, Isaiah 40, verse 8.
All right.
Verse 8. Isaiah 40. Verse 8.
Yeah, that's good.
All right.
Another one.
Psalm 119, verse 105.
Some of the same people still have it. We're going to use this fellow this time. 119, verse 5.
All right.
Caleb.
Good.
All right, who has clued in? What is the word that's common to everyone of those?
Verses that we've read so far.
Yes.
It may be it isn't the word that I am looking for, but.
I didn't check that one out. I'd have to use that computer that someone had here.
Sean.
Word Yes word. What do I mean by word WORD? How is it used in this case?
The word What is the word? Do you know this little girl down front? What is the word?
A little hint. What was that last little chorus that we sang?
We spelled the Bible.
Now do you get it? What is the Word? The Bible? Yes, God's Word. That's right. And I had these, this little thought on my heart.
Because.
You know, I'm Gray haired now and starting to lose a fair bit of it too. But a few years ago, I think it's a few years ago, but I was like you and everything was fun and games and then teenage years came along and.
I met my wife and we had a family and then we were busy, busy, busy for a long time and.
And now the years have gone by and most of our children are away from us a long distance and we don't have quite the the visiting with them that we used to. We can't sort of influence their lives. We did try to read God's word with them in the home. But I was thinking, and I think it's been mentioned, how Satan is making such a great attack against the Lord's people and against every Christian to fill up our time with so many other things. A lot of them are good things. We have to work to earn our living.
00:15:03
And yet it crowds into that spare time. Or perhaps it's an innocent little recreation, something that's fun and innocent in itself.
Not worldly, but still it takes time and there are so many other things and the pressures of the economy. Boys and girls who are teenagers now, they know all about that. The difficulties of studying so hard and long at university and not having a job even when you do get through your courses. And the pressure then for newly married couples just to make things meet. They get they have to be so busy. And so I would suggest to your boys and girls and everyone, myself included.
That we really have to have purpose of heart and real diligence to be over God's Word. And we've been hearing in these last meetings how important it is to keep in fellowship with the Lord Jesus.
Because if we don't, we're going to fall into a snare and we'll be easy mark for Satan, and then we would be turned out of a side turned aside. When a test comes, we won't have the word of God to fall back on. I know myself, I didn't spend enough time memorizing God's words so that now I have a kind of an idea about the verse. But I miss a few of the words and sometimes at a loss as to where to find it.
So when is the best time to learn God's word? Isn't it right now when you're young?
I'll just tell you a little story. My father was a farmer that's a long time ago, Nelly in Ireland. And after he got saved, there was a traveling creature came through the area. He he was delivered from his sins and rejoicing. And he used to tell me how he enjoyed. Of course, it wasn't the same style of life we have today, but he used to enjoy. When he had a chance to sit down, he carried a little notebook in his pocket and a pencil and a New Testament.
And he would sit down and read God's Word and copy down a verse that seemed interesting and important to him.
Just what Scott was talking about in the last meeting, how that?
To meditate and to think on it, and then it becomes part of us. And so I would recommend that to us all because we needed Satan. The pressures are on now, aren't they? The pressures are on. Satan realizes he has little time left, and if he can, he'll even ****** away the word that we have. And so I commend each boy and girl and each older one too, to set aside that time and really get down to reading God's Word, just like Sean.
Told of his brother who made a special effort to find time to read God's word and I think you will get a better you'll have an appetite for more of it, and so I recommend it to you. Let's find some more of these verses that talk about God's word, Isaiah 3021.
This man's fast here.
All right, now I don't know your name. You might as well tell me first. Scott. Yes, okay, I guess it's read it, Scott.
And thine ear shall hear a word behind me, saying, this is the way walking. We hear it and return to the and return to the left. Yes, and couldn't we all use that? Isn't there many a time when we come to a way and we're not sure which way we should go? But if we haven't stored God's word in our heart and in our minds, and it's in there, then how can we be directed? We won't have God's word. We'll be turned on to our own wisdom.
And the wisdom of man is worthless. We've all proved that, haven't we? And so the voice was that we're as behind you. It would have been stored. Okay, another one.
Psalm 119, verse 130. There's a lot of them, a lot of them in that song, isn't there? 119, verse 130.
Norman this time.
Understanding under the sample. That's good. The entrance of thy word giveth light, giveth understanding unto the simple. All right, another one. Matthew 4:00 and 4:00.
Matthew 4:00 and 4:00.
00:20:09
All right, you read it this time.
Where are we going to get those words out of the mouth of God?
Whereabouts from the Bible? Yes, God's word.
And we know that if you go to school now, many of the teachers are educated in.
In ways that disregard God's word. It's old fashioned and they will try to teach you those things too and bring doubts into your mind. So it's so important, boys and girls, to read God's Word and memorize it. Take the time to do it. Make a little game of it. You could make yourself flash cards.
You know what I mean. Those of you who are younger and older too printed the the Gospel verse on one side and the reference on the other side.
And put it up in your bedroom. Look at it often and then give yourself a little test. Turn it around and see if you know it.
Anything to put the word of God in your mind. All right, I.
Psalm 138, verse 2.
I.
George, It's particularly the last part, but you can read the whole verse chart.
And praise my name for Thy loving kindness and for Thy truth, for Thou hast magnified thy word of all my name.
That's what God thinks of his word. He's magnified it even above his name.
Should we do less? This is serious, isn't it?
Because questions come up, and if we don't know the Word of God, we can be easily LED astray. That's a serious verse, isn't it? Well, these are just a few of the verses. I don't think I will take time right now for you to go over them, but I hope you've got the idea that God in His Word.
Really commends. You're learning his word. There's nothing to substitute for it.
And I trust that each boy and girl, especially you young people, while your mind is quick and alert, will really study God's Word to read it slowly. As Mr. Brinkmeyer said, let it think about it. It doesn't mean you have to read 2 Chapters every night or anything like that to get done the Bible at a certain time.
But to think about God's Word, and to pray too, and to ask him to direct you so that your mind will take in what you should.
Be another man, give you a little talk.
Well, that was very important, isn't it, boys and girls to.
To hear the word of God and to obey it, isn't it? And.
We want to do that because it's God's Word, something that's not ours. It's comes from God himself.
I was thinking of a man.
In the New Testament we hear about.
And listen to we hear about this story often. Perhaps we can read it together today and Luke chapter 19 he's someone that.
Listen to the Lord Jesus. And He obeyed.
And we found that this man, when he did, obey the word of God.
He was happy.
It's good to be happy, isn't it? We sit on sing. Oh Happy Day that fixed my choice on thee, my Savior, my God.
We all want to be happy. I was walking down the corridor this morning and I saw one of your boys there.
And I said to him, are you happy? And he looked up and a big smile on his face and he said, yes, I'm happy. That was nice, wasn't it? But what makes us happy? That's the important thing, isn't it? What makes us happy?
Is it because the sun is shining outside?
00:25:02
Is it because you've had a good night's rest? Is it because?
You're going to play outside and on a on a bicycle or whatever.
And all those things don't really make us happy, do they?
Don't really make us happy. They may make us a little happy for a little time, but doesn't last too long.
But here this man in Luke chapter 19. We'll just read it quickly.
It tells us a well known story about Zacchaeus.
And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.
And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
And he sought to see Jesus, who he was, and he could not for the press.
Because he was little of stature and he ran before and climbed up at Sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up.
And saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down.
For today I must abide at thy house.
And he made haste, and came down and received him.
Joyfully.
Well.
This little story tells us about this man.
It tells us that he was rich. It tells us that he had a good job.
But as we were saying before.
That didn't really make him happy. He wanted something else. He wanted something else. And you boys and girls, you know, if the Lord leaves us here, you're going to be growing up in this world.
You're going to school one grade after the other.
Into high school and so on.
And how important it is.
Not to think that the riches of this world and the positions in this world.
Will give you happiness.
This man, when he heard.
When he heard that the Lord Jesus was going to pass through his town.
He did something about it.
The new Giroux boys and girls. I'm sure you've heard about the Lord Jesus many times.
And in that way, he's passed through your town many times. He's passed by you many times. You've heard about him.
You heard about it.
I suppose and this is was this was the first time.
That the Lord Jesus passed that way.
Where the Zacchaeus was.
And he took the opportunity to do something about it. He didn't say, well, the Lord Jesus is coming. I've heard that he's a very important person.
I'll see. Maybe I'll. I'll see him, maybe I won't. No, there was a real desire in his heart, a real longing in his heart to see him.
And so he did something that.
Was very unusual, wasn't it? Very unusual. You boys and girls no doubt climb trees.
I see somebody nodding.
Yes, climb trees. A lot of fun, isn't it?
And you have to be careful.
But this man was a grown up person.
And but he was, as it tells us here.
He was a little small. He wasn't very big. It wasn't very tall.
And so he didn't let that get in the way. He climbed up that tree.
So he would be able to see the Lord.
And all boys and girls, it wouldn't be nice.
If each one of you.
Each one of you, whether you're just young or a little older.
You had that desire in your heart.
To really see the Lord Jesus.
Said before you may have heard about him many times, but you really haven't accepted him.
In your heart you haven't believed in Him. You haven't invited the Lord Jesus to come.
00:30:04
Into your heart.
You've just heard and you've said, well, let's find maybe some other time. I'll, I'll do something about it.
But how important?
This day, This very day.
Right now that you're hearing about the Lord Jesus.
And he is the words passing by you. You have the opportunity.
To accept them, how important it is?
That you do so this afternoon.
July the 4th, I believe it is today.
1993.
Would have been nice and wouldn't it be nice to be able to say on July the 4th, 1993?
Was my second birthday, you know, my second birthday. We were all born once. We were all alive here this afternoon.
But if we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
We've had another birthday, we've been born again, we have a new life.
And we can live.
For the Lord Jesus.
And we can sing that hymn that we mentioned before.
Oh Happy Day, that fixed my choice. There won't be a day of like it in your life to look back upon.
When the Lord Jesus.
Was made your own that you believed in him and trusted in him.
And have that joy in your heart of knowing Him.
And so that here was Zacchaeus on that tree.
And here come the Lord Jesus comes by.
And it tells us.
That the Lord came to the place.
He looked up and saw him. He looked up and saw him. Yes, the Lord knew all about Zacchaeus. He knew all about his life.
And isn't it so, boys and girls, that the Lord Jesus knows all about you this afternoon?
Everything you've done.
Not only your name.
But everything you've done, everything you've said in your life, everything you've thought about.
To those things that you've done that your mother and dad don't know about.
And you don't want them to know about.
Yes, it's all open before the Lord, isn't it? He knows everything, how solemn that is.
And so here the Lord comes.
He looks.
And he calls and he calls.
He says Zacchaeus make haste.
In other words.
Hurry up.
He wasn't something to be casual about. It wasn't something to to think about and say, well, maybe I'll come out, come down another hour or so.
No, and this was something.
To be urgent.
And so the Lord calls him and says, make haste and come down.
For today, for today, I must abide in the House.
I wonder.
Boys and girls this afternoon? I wondered.
If Lord Jesus himself was here this afternoon.
And if he was the one that was speaking to you directly, with his own voice, with his own invitation, and calling you by name, I wonder if you would respond. I wonder if you would listen and say yes.
I'll come to you, Lord Jesus.
I accept thee as my Savior.
Polls this afternoon. The Lord Jesus isn't here. He's in heaven, though.
He's up there in the glory. He went to the cross of Calvary, as we know. He died and he rose again.
And he's alive in heaven.
This afternoon.
And he's up there and he's.
Given us his word to speak to us.
00:35:04
And to tell us about his love, and tell us about his invitation. And so we have this.
Wonderful little story about Zacchaeus.
It is written here for us, for our, for our learning, for our good and our blessing.
And we trust that you will respond.
To this invitation. And so Zacchaeus made haste. It tells us he made haste. He hurried up. He did exactly what the Lord told him to do. He came down, He came down.
To where the Lord Jesus was.
Oh, you know, it's sometimes hard to come down, isn't it?
It's hard to come down, it's hard to take the low place.
As a Sinner in the sight of God.
We all like to think of ourselves as perhaps a little better than other people, but you know, the Word of God tells us very, very clearly that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
God's eye rests upon us, and he sees exactly.
What we are like.
It's I think let's just read that verse again in Hebrews 4. It's a very.
Searching Verse.
It tells us.
That the word of God.
Is quick or living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even even to dividing assembled soul and spirit and of the joints and narrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Think of it. There's a lot of big words in that verse, isn't it?
But it tells us in that verse that the Word of God searches us out. It reaches right down door hearts.
And shows us what is in our hearts.
And you know, boys and girls.
This There are a lot of not very nice things in our hearts, are they?
And sometimes we don't realize it. We don't. It's all covered up. But when we read the word of God and we see how good perfect God is and how pure and God is a God of light and we think of of all that and shows us.
What is in our hearts? It opens our hearts up.
You know, if I had.
I rotten egg here on this table.
You wouldn't know that that egg was rotten, would you?
To be on this table. Nice egg, looks fine.
But if I took that egg.
And I dropped it on the floor.
Why? What would happen?
That egg would would break.
And all that was inside that egg would come out and would show how how rotten that egg was, which smell it would be terrible.
And so it is with the Word of God. You know, the Word of God exposes our hearts.
And shows us what's inside.
And so Zacchaeus had to come down right to where the Lord Jesus was. He had to own, as it were, that he was a Sinner.
And.
Accept the Lord Jesus as his Savior.
And so it tells us in that in our story, it tells us he made haste and came down.
And received him.
Joyfully.
And so that's what we've been.
Mentioning before, isn't it?
The fact that.
Zacchaeus was made happy that day.
He was made happy that day. Not because.
He got something, a wonderful present or anything like that.
It was the Lord Jesus Himself.
That made him happy and the fact that.
He obeyed.
00:40:02
The word of God. He obeyed the Lord Jesus. He did exactly what he told him to do.
And he was happy.
When all boys and girls and all the ones, that's the only way we can be happy.
We get true happiness, as we say, when we accept the Lord Jesus as Savior.
But we also can only be truly happy as we go on.
As we know the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we can only be truly happy.
As we obey him.
Day by day, we read a verse in the Bible that tells us something.
To do or not to do?
And we ignore that verse. We say, well, doesn't matter how I want to worry about that verse.
Is that's a. That's a sad thing to do, isn't it?
If we do that, then we can't really be happy. We have a bad conscience and we go on and we, we, we are bothered by that.
It's a good thing that we are bothered by that until we come to the point where we confess that and we.
Obey the word of God, and as we obey, we can go on in happiness before Him.
Well, we trust that we will learn these these lessons, that we will do what the Word of God tells us to do.
And that each one of you boys and girls, will.
Not let the Lord Jesus pass by you today.
Because you may not pass by again, you know the Lord Jesus went to that, went through that great city of Jericho.
He was on the way to Jerusalem.
And there he died on that cross. He never passed that way again.
And Zacchaeus.
Was his only opportunity to come to know the Lord as a Savior? And maybe this very day is your only opportunity, your last opportunity to accept the Lord Jesus? He may not pass by again.
He may not pass by again. The Lord Jesus may come.
This very day.
And then?
The door to heaven. The door.
Grace will be forever closed and you will not be able to.
Except the Lord Jesus again, you know, very it was very solemn incident not so long ago and in Montreal, where I live near outside the city Of Montreal.
One. One night.
I think it was a Friday night. There was a load of teenagers.
They were go out for a drive out for a good time.
They're growing along a country Rd.
And.
They were just fooling around as they were. Either we were going and knocking down the mailboxes as it went along. They thought that was fun.
Until somebody followed them, and so they got.
Frightened, and they turn off the lights.
And went down the road to turn into.
A farm yard.
But they turned.
In the wrong way.
And they missed the road and they went into the ditch.
And for them, where it went into eternity, they were gone. They were having fun a few more just a few moments before, and then they were gone.
Their opportunity was forever gone. They never could again accept the Lord Jesus as Savior. They were gone into eternity and all. Dear friend, dear boys and girls and older ones.
Today is the day of salvation. Today is the accepted time.
I.
For him that.
I.
Yes #98.
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word.
00:45:03
For the glory He sheds on our way, while we do His sweet will, Our hearts keep and fill love as we trust and obey #98.
What we do is we will.
Dig.
Forever.
In Jesus.
Go away.
But we never can prove that.
Leaving.
The.
Devils.
We pray together.
How does the God and Father, we thank thee for this time together. We thank you for Thy word.
Being brought to four before us, the importance of Thy Word, our God, we thank Thee for it, and we just pray that each one of us may treasure Thy word in our hearts, that we might live day by day in the good of what Thou hast given to us.
We think of.
The young as well as the older ones here this afternoon, and we pray for each one of them that they may in their young lives be drawn to Thee, Lord Jesus, to respond to Thy invitation that thou wouldst give to them to come to Thee and to trust thee, to trust thee for salvation and to.
Give their.
Lives to thyself.
And then to go on day by day.
To trust the and to obey the Lord Jesus.
The other one who does want to be the Lord of our lives. So we just pray thy blessing upon thy word and for our time together we committed to Thee, and we give thee thanks to our God and Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus our Savior, Amen. Amen.
The Joy of Obedience
The Purchase of the Threshingfloor
Mark 2
Gospel 2
Gospel—Jim Hyland
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Of to die on Calvary hymn #14. Will someone please start it?
By the.
One's one that's long. The life of God in the beginning.
Of.
Breathed in.
And.
Ask the Lord's help. We thank Thee, our loving God and Father, that we can sing of thy wonderful love this evening. We thank thee that thou hast proved thy love in the giving of thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And tonight we thank thee that we can present him as the Savior of sinners.
We thank thee that tonight there is a Savior on high in the glory. We thank thee that there's one who's saying, come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And so as we're here this evening, may we be solemnized as to eternal issues.
May we have listening ears, for thou said here, and your soul shall live. We pray that as we read thy word, it might be thy very voice speaking to us. We thank thee that thou dost know the condition of each one in this room, whether they are saved or lost. And we thank thee that thou hast made full provision for the lost in thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that finished work of Calvary, and that blood that was shed there. And so we looked at the independence tonight.
For thy help and thy blessing on this meeting, and we do it with Thanksgiving in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our precious Savior. Amen.
Like to begin this evening by reading 4 portions from the word of God. The first one is found in Psalm 14.
Psalm 14 and verse 2.
00:05:02
The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside. They are all together, become filthy.
There is none but doeth good, no, not one. And then in John's Gospel, chapter 6.
I.
John chapter 6 and verse 38. For I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And then in first John chapter 3.
First John chapter 3 and verse 16 hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us. And one more verse in Hebrews 10.
Hebrews 10 and verse 12.
But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God. Well, I'd like to speak this evening. And these four little expressions that we find in these four scriptures? The Lord looked down.
The Lord came down.
The Lord laid down.
And the Lord sat down. And you know these scriptures that we have read together bring before us.
The Lord Jesus Christ, they all speak of himself because, you know, I'm thankful that I can stand here tonight.
And open the pages of God's word, and present the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Savior of sinners. And oh, tonight my prayer and desire is that you would get a glimpse of him, that you would look to Jesus the one and the only one in whom there is blessing and full and free salvation and pardon from your sins. I said, I'm thankful that we can turn to the word of God this evening. And you know, as we read these scriptures together.
And as we will, with the Lord's help, quote some further scriptures as we as the hour progresses.
I trust that these scriptures will speak to you as God speaking to you. You know what must have been a wonderful thing when the Lord Jesus was here, and men and women and young people and boys and girls could go to him, and they could hear the words of the Son of God as he walked through this world. It must have been a wonderful thing. You think of that lad that went out, and he had his lunch with him, and he heard the words of the Lord Jesus, and the Lord Jesus was able to take those loaves and fishes.
And to feed the multitude. But you know though the Lord Jesus is in heaven tonight.
Though he is not here in this world the way he was 2000 years ago, yet he still speaking and God is still speaking tonight. And as we open and read God's Word, may it be the very voice of God to you. And be rest assured that as we read God's Word together.
Every word is true. I'm thankful that as I open this book, I don't have to try and discern which parts of this book are true and which parts are not. I'm thankful that I know with assurance that from Genesis 1 to the end of Revelation, every word of God is true.
You know, I very quickly learned with a six year old going to school that library is a very important part of the school week. And I learned also that there are at least two sections to the library. There's the fiction section and the nonfiction section. And the boys and girls here understand that when you go to the fiction section of the library and you pick up a book and read it, it may be an interesting book and you may enjoy it, but you know that it's not a true story.
That it is the figment of someone's imagination. And interesting as that story may be, you set it down and you realize that it wasn't true. It was just written for interest and enjoyment. And then you go to the nonfiction section of the library and you pick up books that are supposed to be true. But, you know, as you go to the nonfiction section of the library, and I have done this myself, and pull out a book and you read it, you know, at the end of that book, you might have to shake your head and say, well, most of it is perhaps true.
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But you know, the author always puts in maybe a few details to embellish the story and make it flow a little better. To make it of more interest, he may put in his own opinions and thoughts as to what happened, and it may not be exactly the way the events took place, but all tonight as we open and read God's Word.
God has to say, is true. It is impossible for God to lie. And I want to stress tonight, at the beginning of this meeting, the importance of listening when God speaks again. Those who are older forgive me, but the young people and the boys and girls here realize that when you go to school.
If you don't listen to the teacher, sometimes you may miss something that's very important. And when the test comes on Friday or the examination comes at the end of the semester, you missed it and you failed the test. But all tonight, if you don't listen to the word of God, this may be your last opportunity to be saved. And if you refuse the word of God, if you don't listen tonight and you go out the door lost in your sins.
There will be eternal consequences, you know. You can take that test over and get and get a better grade and pass the year. If you fail the year at school, you can take it over again and pass the next year. If you fail in business, you can start up again. But all those who go into a lost eternity, it will be with no hope and the realization that they've lost their soul forever. Because those who pass into a lost eternity are there forever.
And ever and ever, you know if you're sick or in pain or in a bad situation.
You can get through today because there's always hope that tomorrow the pain will be less, that tomorrow things will be better. But all not so in hell. There's no calendars in hell. Sometimes I have had the opportunity to see the sad sight of men behind prison bars. And you know, as you visit those men, they're looking forward to the day when they will leave that prison and have their freedom. Many of them will have a calendar on the wall.
And as the new day dawns, they will check off the old day and they realize they're one day closer.
To their freedom. In fact, one time I had the privilege of visiting in a large state penitentiary just outside of Worcester, MA. And as we visited in that penitentiary, we visited in one section, spoke to the men individually, and I was rather impressed with the conditions that those men had to live in from day-to-day. It was a sweltering hot July afternoon, the common room where these men were meeting.
Was fully air conditioned. They had entertainment of every sort, ping pong tables, pool tables, all kinds of things for their enjoyment. Along one side of the room where vending machines where they could get snacks, heat up things in a microwave, you stepped out into the courtyard. There was a basketball court, a volleyball court, a tennis court. There was weight lifting equipment. But you know, as we went into the room where we were to hold the gospel meeting that afternoon.
I sat at the back of that room and I listened to the conversation of those men.
As they entered that room, 1 by 1, and I was rather surprised at their conversation and the subject of it, because invariably their conversation took on the form and the content of when they would be released from that prison. Some of them were Speaking of their parole coming up, some of them were going to be out on probation, some their sentence was going to expire and they were looking forward.
To the day when they would have their freedom, you know, it seems to me you can give men everything he wants.
But if he does not have his freedom, he's not happy or satisfied. Those men, it seemed to me, at everything.
That they could possibly want for their comfort. But they lacked one thing. They lacked their freedom. And you know, the Lord Jesus told of a man who left this world, and he entered a lost eternity. He entered the lake of fire. You know, I believe that man realized that he would never leave that place because when he sent a plea to one who was in a place of blessing, he didn't ask for release. He asked for relief.
From his torment and his situation, but he never got it and that man there.
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That the Lord Jesus told about is still tonight, 2000 years later in a lost eternity, and 2000 years from now, He will still be in that place. And all I want to impress upon you this evening the importance of eternal issues. These things are vital. Sometimes we make decisions, sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes we don't listen, and it has a consequence for time, and sometimes those consequences are very difficult to deal with.
And very real and severe. But tonight we're talking about things that have eternal consequence. If you refuse Jesus tonight, if you go out from this world lost and in your sins.
There will be eternal consequences and all. How sad for those who lift up their eyes in the lake of fire.
With the realization that there's no hope of ever leaving that place, well, where we began in Psalm 14, we find that the Lord looked down. Now I think we need to be conscious of that to night, that the Lord is looking down from heaven to night, just as he looked down in Psalm 14. And what does he see? Well, if you're lost and in your sins, he doesn't just look at the outward appearance. You know, there's a scripture that tells us that man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart and he looks down.
And this is the sentence we read it here in this verse. All together become filthy. None that doeth good. No, not one. We read in in Romans the wages of sin is death. We read that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You know God is faithful, and as God looks down and sees the condition of man and his helplessness to better that condition before God, God faithfully tells us what that condition is.
And you can read through the word of God, and you will find that we have.
A faithful God. You know you like friends who are faithful. You know it's better to have a friend who is faithful.
And will warn you of something that a friend who will just flatter you and let you go on a course that may lead to difficulty.
You say, why didn't you warn me? You like to have a friend who's faithful, oh God, tonight is faithful. It says this is a faithful saying and Scripture is full tonight, a faithful sayings, you know the first mention you have of the heart in Scripture is in Genesis chapter 6 as God looked down upon man very shortly after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve acted in disobedience.
And sin entered this world, and death by sin not long after God looked down.
Not just on the wickedness, the outward wickedness and that which was going on in the world at that time, but he looked down into the heart of man, and it says the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually. And God had to judge at that time with a flood because of the evilness and the wickedness that was in man's heart. You come over century, the centuries pass after the flood. You come over to Jeremiah.
Had the human heart improved? The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The human heart had not improved. If you have a pile of rotten lumber and you throw a tarp over it, it's not going to improve. It's not going to get better. It's only going to get worse as you leave it there. All the human heart has not improved over the centuries. Outwardly, the manifestation of the human heart has become worse and worse. And we're seeing today.
How sin is becoming full blown, You know, not only is sin practice today.
But sin is preached and glorified. It's made much of Indiana the world. They teach you that the world is a playground in which to indulge yourself. And we only have one life, and we're to live it up, as they say. But all let me warn you that that course of things leads to endless woe. It says in Ecclesiastes, Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. But know thou that for all these things.
God will bring thee into judgment if I go on and live for myself in my sins. There is judgment sure and certain ahead and as sure as we're sitting here to night. Judgment has been pronounced on this sad world. He's appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness. It is appointed unto man wants to die, and after this the judgment. You know, I suppose, that this side of the gospel is why people don't respond to an invitation.
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To come to a meeting like this because, you know, people don't like to hear that they're sinners. They don't like to hear that there's nothing they can do to improve their condition before God. Nothing that they can do to rid themselves of their sins.
You know, Queen Elizabeth the First sat on the throne of England for many years and she was a very vain lady.
In fact, the man in charge of the Royal Mint came under severe disgrace because at one time he cast 2 faithful, a likeness of her, on the shilling.
And you know her maids of honor and her ladies in waiting took that the cue from that. And they were very careful not to let her see a mirror for many years. In fact, they say that for the last 20 years of her life, she didn't have the heart to look herself in the mirror. Why? Because the mirror was faithful. The mirror showed her those lines on her face, those wrinkles. They showed her her age. They showed her what she was like. And she didn't have the heart to know.
Her true condition, all God's word is like a mirror. It shows us.
Our true condition. And so as the Lord looks down tonight and looks into your heart.
What does he see? Does he see those stains of sin? Or does he see those stains of sin washed away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? You know, while God looks down to night and while the Lord is indeed faithful, I'm thankful that there's provision for the Sinner. I'm thankful, though, that we've all sinned. Yet God has provided a remedy, and this is the glorious news we have tonight.
That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And here in John chapter six we have read of the Lord Jesus himself. And he could say I came down from heaven. Oh, do you realize that God has come down in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ tonight? And a man walked through this world 2000 years ago. A man who never sinned, A man who could not sin, A man who was God manifest in the flesh.
He walked through this world. They hated him. They rejected him. They slapped his blessed face.
They said we will not have this man to reign over us, but he had come for a purpose.
He had come to do the Father's will. God his Father had sent him. And what was the will of God his Father? That he would go to the cross and die. He came for that purpose. He came to save us. He came to save sinners.
Paul could say was the chief of sinners, but Paul had experienced the wonderful grace of God.
And the cleansing power of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You know, I live just a stone's throw from the Rideau River. And the Rideau River begins at the Saint Lawrence at Kingston ON and winds its way up to the city of Ottawa, the capital of Canada.
And then it dumps over the Rideau Falls into the Ottawa River and as you know.
Where I come from, it can be very cold in the winter time and the ice freezes. Sometimes several feet fit. In fact, Ottawa boasts of the longest skating rink in the world, 7 miles. But you know, when the ice begins to melt and the warm weather comes in the spring, it often causes a great deal of difficulty. And sometimes, especially if there are rains, there may be 3 or 4 feet of water on top of the ice and it can cause difficulty in flooding along the Rideau River.
And so they send men out in boats in row boats with dynamite, and they place that dynamite at strategic points, and then they move away. And that dynamite is used to break up the ice so that the water will flow freely without flooding. And some years ago there was a man out placing dynamite and his boat capsized in those frigid waters. You can imagine two or three feet of water on top of ice. How cold it would be.
And he was able, as his boat turned over, to climb up on top of that boat. But you know, he was still in a great deal of danger because the current was very strong as he was not too far from the Rideau Falls. And so his boat began to move along rather swiftly. And there he was clinging to the top of the boat. And those on shore realized the danger, and someone called the fire department. And so the fire department came, and there is a bridge across the Rideau River at that point.
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Just before it dumps into the over the Falls into the Ottawa River, the fire department was on the bridge as that man came along.
And you can just picture the scene, The man clinging to the bottom of that rowboat in those frigid waters, moving towards certain death as the Rito falls approached. And as he approached that bridge, they lowered a rope to try and save that man and to the distress of all the onlookers. He made no effort to reach up and grasp that rope.
And as he was swept under the bridge and over the falls, he was heard to say I'm frozen to the boat.
And as that crowd dispersed and turned away, someone was heard to say, oh, if they'd only lowered a man.
If they'd only lowered a man, he could have helped that man who was helpless to save himself. That man's hands had become frozen to the ice on that boat. He couldn't reach out. There was nothing he could do to save himself. That's our condition tonight. If we're still in our sins. Nothing we can do to rid ourselves of those sins. But God, I speak reverently, has sent a man down into this world, Just as they should have. Set Lord a man on that rope. He could have helped that man and perhaps saved him. So God has sent a man down because we were in need. We're like that man that the Lord Jesus told about who was in the ditch. He couldn't better his position. There he lay.
Nothing could help him. No one could help him until that Samaritan. It was a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus.
Came where he was. He came right to that man. And he was able to help him to pour in oil and wine to set him on his own beast. He had no strength of himself. He needed someone to save him. Oh, I trust you realize tonight that you need someone to save you. That you can't save yourself as long as you struggle and try to better your position before God. I'm afraid there's no blessing for you tonight. You know, if you're sick, as long as you think that, you're not too bad.
Or that there's some home remedy that you can try. You're not going to seek the help of a physician, but when you realize that your case is beyond anything you can do, then you're going to go to the doctor and seek help. You know the Lord Jesus said, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, he said, David, our whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. That's why when he was here we read, then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners.
For to hear him, those that felt their great need were the ones that were drawn.
To the blessed Savior. But all tonight the Savior of sinners has come into this world.
And more than that, he has gone to the cross. And as we read here in First John.
He's laid down his life for us. Hereby perceive we the love of God in that He laid down his life for us. You know, the work of Calvary is the full display of the love that's in the heart of God to night and the love that's in the heart.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, God has told us that he loves us, but he's done more than that.
He's given the proof that his love is for the Sinner, that he loves the Sinner, and he's proved it in giving his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, you like people who not just don't don't only just say something, but they prove what they say. Someone might say they love you, and then you watch to see by their actions whether what they say is really true or not. But God has not just told us He loves us.
But he has proved his love in giving his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. Later on in First John we read.
Of that love that was manifest to us in that he gave his son.
That we might live through him.
We had that verse for memory work at the Children's Bible Hour last week and the week before.
And I wondered what the dictionary had to say about the word manifested. That's a big word. And when we go over these verses with the children, we like to explain.
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Those big words so they understand what they are memorizing. I liked what the dictionary said.
The dictionary said the word manifest means to clearly show.
You know God has clearly showed His love, oh you know tonight as we look to the cross, as we see God giving his Son, as we see the Lord Jesus there with his hands outstretched as he allows man to nail him to that cross, the ones that he was giving breath to.
He allows his creature to treat him so cruelly to mock him. He allows them to spit in his blessed face and ridicule him.
And then, as those hours of darkness transpire, and God pours out His judgment against sin on the head of the blessed Son of God, where he bore my sins in his own body on the tree, when you look to Calvary.
Can you doubt his love? And where is the heart so hardened?
And who is so vile as he that see at the Savior suffer And Seth it is nothing to me. All I wish to night I could tell you how much God loves you. But you know the love of God passeth understanding, it passeth knowledge it passes telling. But God has clearly shown his love in the giving of his Son. And as you look at the cross tonight, as you see that he laid down his life, the blessed Son of God, does that touch your heart tonight?
If you look at the cross and see the Savior suffer and your heart is not touched tonight.
I wonder what goes on within a heart like that that would not be touched with the love of God in giving his Son.
And the love of the Lord Jesus in laying down his life for you. You know God has given many gifts to man, and we read about some of those gifts in his word. Solomon had to admit that for a man to eat and drink and enjoy the fruit of his laborers, it was the gift of God. Sad to say. Today people are willing to take all those mercies and all the things that they enjoy in a land like this from the hand of God. But they don't want the blesser. They want the blessing, but they don't want the blesser like the prodigal son who said, Father, give me.
But he didn't want the company of the Father. He didn't want the joy of the Father's house. He takes his journey. He took what the Father would give him, but he didn't want the Father himself. How sad that people are like that. To day we read of other gifts that God has given to man. It says every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness or shadow of turning. You know God is offering a great gift here tonight too.
The gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. But you know the greatest gift that was ever given to man. Paul speaks of it in First Corinthians Chapter 9. The 2nd Corinthians Chapter 9. Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. What is that unspeakable gift? What is that gift that passes words or explanation? It's the gift of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
When God sent his Son into this world, did God know how they would treat his Son?
Did he know what would be the consequences of sending his Son? Indeed, he did. It, says he, that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. He knew that the Lord Jesus would be hated. He knew that the Son would be rejected, that he would be ridiculed, and he knew that the Son.
Would die on Calvary's cross when the Lord Jesus came in love and obedience to his Father.
Did he know what it was going to cost him to finish the work that his father had given him to do? Indeed he did.
He knew what the end of the pathway would be. He knew that they would take him, and there he would hang on Calvary's cross, and there he would bear the punishment for my sins, and there he would lay down his life, shed his precious blood. You know, there are many beautiful types in the Old Testament of the Father and the Son. You find that when Jacob sent Joseph to his brethren. It's a beautiful type of the Father sending the son.
Into this world. But you know, I wonder, as I read the account of Jacob sending Joseph, and I read the account of Joseph's obedience to go for his father, if Jacob had had any idea on that occasion of what was going to transpire, of how his brethren were going to treat him, If he'd had any inkling of the fact that he was not going to see his son for many years, I wonder if he would have sent him.
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On that occasion, if Joseph had really known the heart of his brethren and how they were going to treat him.
That he would be sold into Egypt. That he would not see his home and his father for many, many years.
Would he have been so willing to go on that occasion? I wonder if he would have been so willing to go.
I wonder if Jacob perhaps wouldn't have kept him home on that occasion when Dave, when Jesse sent David to the camp of Israel to see how the battle was going and to check on the welfare of his brothers. I wonder if Jesse had had any idea that David was going to go down and fight with Goliath, the champion of the Philistines. I wonder if he would have sent him on that occasion. But oh God, the Father sent the Son to be the savior of the world. He knew what it would cost. The Lord Jesus knew what it would cost.
He was the one who sold all that he had. He gave up everything. Why? To redeem you.
To redeem me, he laid down his life. It's the proof of God's love. It's the proof of the love and the desire to bless that's in the heart of the Lord Jesus. Are you going to go out the door tonight and say no again to God's offer of salvation? Are you going to refuse his gift of eternal life? Are you going to go out that door and say not tonight, not tonight. This may be the last opportunity. God is gracious. God is love.
But you know, God also is very faithful, And he says, my spirit shall not always strive with men.
The day of grace is almost over, the day of the invitation of Sinner for sinners to come to the Savior.
I believe is just about to close. There's an invitation tonight from the heart of God to come to Jesus.
We cannot guarantee that there will be an invitation at 8:00. The time is slipping by, the minutes are ticking by. But all what a solemn thing to neglect your soul. Salvation to spurn the love that God has manifest in the giving of his Son. And I want to ask you a very simple question tonight. Can you say that, Jesus?
Died for you.
You know, I live not too far from Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes.
And I'm reminded of a story that took place not on Lake Ontario, but Lake Erie some years ago.
Because on those lakes there are large ocean going vessels, because not only are the lakes themselves large bodies of water, as you know, but they connect with the Saint Lawrence River and so large seagoing vessels can come and enter into those Great Lakes and deliver and pick up their cargoes.
And some years ago there was a ship called the Swallow on Lake Erie, and it was traveling from Detroit, MI to Buffalo, NY its regular run.
And it was a ship that carried a cargo of tar, very flammable. And there was a pilot on that ship named John Maynard. And John Maynard was in charge of steering that ship and keeping it on its course as it traveled from Detroit to Buffalo. And one day a fire broke out on that ship. And you can imagine the concern as a fire breaks out on a tire ship, and it became very quickly evident to those on board that ship.
That the fire was out of control and John Maynard was at the wheel and the captain called back to him. He said John Maynard, how far are we from Buffalo, NY? He said about 45 minutes. He said. Can you hold the ship until we get there? He said I'll try. And the rest of the crew, as they realized the fire was not worth fighting anymore, they moved up to the front part of the ship because as that ship moved through the water.
It seemed that the wind and the forward movement of the ship kept the heat, some of the heat and the flames and smoke away from those who were seeking refuge in the front of the ship. But at the back of the ship there was that man, John Maynard. The captain called back to him some time later, he said. How many more minutes, John? He said. About 25. A little while later he called back.
Said how many more minutes?
About 15. Those were the last words John Maynard ever spoke.
Because as he spoke those words, the flames and the smoke were engulfing John Maynard. But he held there to his post. He knew that the safety of those people on that ship depended on him and his ability to guide that ship.
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Safely into Buffalo, NY And you know, if you were to go to Buffalo, NY today.
And go to a large graveyard. There you would see in that graveyard a rather large monument, and on that monument it says something to this effect.
In memory of John Maynard from the grateful passengers of the Swallow, he died for us.
You know, those people on that ship had a sense of the fact that their safety and their deliverance from that burning ship was because another had died for them all to night. Can you say that Jesus has died for you? It's easy to say that Jesus died for all but all. I want to make it so personal tonight because the gospel is personal, you know, as God looks up and down these rows.
He knows your name. He knows your family background. He knows your history. He knows the condition of your heart. He knows all about you. He knows your thoughts.
And the intents of your heart. And he's interested in you as an individual.
He loves you as an individual.
Can you say that the Lord Jesus has died for you, that he shed his blood for you? Have your sins been washed away tonight in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus?
And we read here in Hebrews 10 about one who has sat down because I'm thankful tonight that we present a Savior who is living.
Not one who is in the grave. You know, we could go to some part of the world today and we could see the grave of Mohammed, and millions have prayed to Mohammed today. We could go to another part of the world and see the grave of Confucius to another part of the world and see the grave of Buddha. And those great religious leaders and millions will bow down and pray to those who are in the tomb who are dead. But all the Lord Jesus tonight is living. It's true. He died, He died, He was buried. But he rose again the third day.
According to the scriptures, he came forth, and there was abundant testimony of his coming forth out of the tomb.
That he is living today, and that he has gone back to the heavens, to God's right hand. And there He sits tonight as the Savior of sinners without wall outstretched. He's saying, come unto me all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He wants to bless you tonight. And there he is. And as we read here, this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sin, forever sat down on the right hand.
Of God. You know, in the Old Testament there were sacrifices offered day after day, year after year. You know what it tells us of those sacrifices? They were important and right in their place. But it says they could never put away sin. And that's why the priests had to day by day perform their tasks. And you know, you never read in the Old Testament of the priest sitting down, there was no seat provided for them in the Tabernacle. There was no seat in the temple because their work was never finished.
They had to offer oftentimes the same sacrifices which could never put away sin.
But this man, this man, who is this man, always the Lord of glory that we've been Speaking of? He's the Son of God.
He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the one who loves your soul tonight, the one who wants to save you and bring into blessing and take you to his happy home in heaven. This is the man, this man, he offers one sacrifice for sin, and he sits down because his work was finished. You know, we read of many people in scripture who sit down and they received a blessing because of a position they took. And I believe that one thought in sitting is a finished work, a work that's completed.
You know, sometimes my wife has more energy than I do. And sometimes in the evening I have to say to her, come and sit down, let the work go, let those few spoons in the dish rat wait till morning, let that little bit of dust go. And she said I can't sit down till all the works completed. I need to finish these things. All the Lord Jesus having completed the work of redemption, having satisfied God and God's holy claims, He sits down.
At the right hand of God, it's the proof. In fact, I believe that the resurrection.
The ascension and the glorification of Christ and the fact that he's there at God's right hand.
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Is God's Amen to the work of Calvary. God is satisfied that work tonight is available to you. The efficacy of the blood tonight is available to you to cleanse every sin and all. God looks down, I say again tonight, and He looks into your heart. What is he looking for?
He's looking to see if the blood has been applied. Just like his people of old, they had to apply the blood to the door.
Because God said he was going to go through the land. And when the Destroyer looked down into those homes and there was number, blood on the door of the first born was going to die. Judgment was going to come to that home. But he said, when I see the blood, I will pass over you. And as God, the eye of God looks down into this room tonight, he's looking to see whether the precious blood of Christ has cleansed you from every sin or not. All I say again, I wish I could tell you how much God loves you.
Don't turn away from love like that. Don't turn away from love that has given everything for your eternal blessing.
No. When I went to school, we studied about David Livingstone, that great British explorer who explored much of Africa before much was known about that continent. You know, as I went to school and studied about David Livingston, I never realized that not only was David Livingstone a very great explorer who did much exploration for the British government, but he went to Africa with another intention because he was a missionary, a true child of God who loved the Lord Jesus.
And wanted others to know of his precious Savior. And as he explored and charted much of that continent of Africa, he never lost an opportunity to tell souls about the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God. And one time he was staying in a certain area preaching the gospel.
But as he considered his position and where he was in Africa, he realized that just down that river there was a very savage tribe of Africans noted for their brutality. But David Livingstone heart went out to them, and he knew that they needed the light of the glorious gospel. He knew that they needed Jesus Christ. And so, after much prayer and consideration, and against the advice of those he was staying with.
He and his wife and their young baby got into the boat and started that journey down that river and as they neared the area where those Africans lived, they were startled to hear screams and blood curdling cries of all types. They were startled to see figures running through the bushes waving rather.
Awful looking Spears and war weapons and so on. And so as they approached the shore, they tried to make the people understand that they had come for their good and for their blessing. They couldn't seem to convey the message to these people.
And finally, after several attempts, David Livingstone said to his wife with a great deal of feeling. He said, give me the baby.
And all you can just picture the scene and the thoughts that must have gone through that mother and father.
And the trepidation of their heart as they sat there in that boat.
Those that they wanted to reach with the gospel on the shore.
Their baby in the mother's arms and he says give me the baby.
After some hesitation, she handed David Livingstone their young child, and as they approached the shore, he held out the baby in his outstretched arms. To those savage men, they say the effect was amazing because.
As that he held out the baby, it was a sign, It was an indication that he had come for their blessing, that he had come in love and he was able to approach those people.
And he was able to tell them of a far greater love and a far greater gift that was given in the Father, sending the Son to be the Savior of the world. How does this love touch your heart to night? Do you realize first of all your true condition before God that God is looking down? And you can't hide one thing from God. He looks into your heart. He knows your every sin, but all He's made full provision in the fact that the Lord Jesus came down from heaven.
He walked through this world, and then he went to the cross, and he laid down his life. And now He has risen and He has sat down at the Father's right hand. There He is in the glory we sometimes sing. There is a Savior on high in the glory, a Savior who suffered on Calvary's tree. A Savior is willing to save. Now as ever, His arm is almighty, His love great and free.
00:50:23
All come now to Jesus, that dear loving savior.
Receive him this moment and peace shall be thine. God has given the greatest gift that has ever been given to them to man, the gift of his Son. And now he's offering a gift to night based on that finished work of Calvary and that precious blood of Christ. It's the gift of God that is eternal life. What do you do with a gift? The boys and girls here understand what a gift is. They understand that when a gift is presented, they just reach out and take it. They accept it.
It's nothing to do. It's not a prize. It's not a reward. It's a gift. There's a cost connected with a gift, but it's the giver that pays the cost. God the giver has paid the cost tonight in giving his Son the Lord Jesus Christ. And now the gift is being offered free to all. Won't you reach out and take it tonight? Where are you going to go out of this room and refuse once again, God's full and free salvation?
All House said, if a man was condemned to die and he refused to pardon, you'd shake your head and wonder. You'd say, why would a man like that refuse such a pardon. But all I'm afraid to night that there are people that go out of gospel meetings and they refuse God's pardon, God's offer of salvation and all. If you want to have peace tonight, if you want to have assurance, don't go out that door without it. There are just so many here tonight.
Who would be more than happy? Who would be thrilled to speak to you of the work of Calvary would be thrilled to speak to you of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners? If you have a question tonight, if there's something you don't understand, I'll ask someone tonight. Speak to someone. Voice your concern, Satan says. Don't worry about it Tonight, you'll have another opportunity. You may never have another opportunity to come to the Savior. There may never be another Gospel meeting.
Held in the city of Corner Brook because when the Lord Jesus comes and he may come tonight.
He may come tonight. The door is closed. And we read of those who come, and they knock on that door. And they say, Lord, Lord, open unto us. But the message comes back. Depart from me. I never knew you. The message to night is come unto me. Don't put it off.
Don't spurn that message because the message to you in a coming day will not be come unto me, but depart from me all tonight. Come to Jesus. His blood will wash you from every sin. Let's sing in closing hymn #79.
Decide for Christ today and God's salvation. See yields, soul and body, heart and will to him who died for thee, Him number 79. Will someone please start it?
For Christ today.
And God Salvation.
Is.
00:55:36
Cries to the dead.
We pray we thank thee again, our God and Father for thy love. We thank thee that thou hast clearly shown thy love to us in the giving of thy Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee that Christ has died. We thank thee that the blood has been shed. And now we have one at thy right hand, who is indeed a full say, a Savior tonight, who is offering full and free pardon.
Thank you for that one. Tonight we pray if there's someone here and they're still not saved, still in their sins, The Tonight they might come to the Savior. We thank you. The invitation is still going forth even at these this late hour. May there be someone here tonight who will respond to that invitation and take Jesus as their own personal Savior. We thank thee for Thy love. We thank thee for this privilege of presenting Christ as a Savior of sinners.
And we pray thy blessing on each one in his precious and worthy name, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Gospel
Gospel—H. Brinkmann
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He knew me with the courts of law and God. He brought me to him.
And brought my heart still closely, twice. No time. Switch not.
Cancel.
For I am.
Hidden.
It might.
Father.
Forever and forever.
I found a friend of friend.
A bloody night to save me.
And not alone.
If the flight.
God hits himself, he gave me.
Not that I have my Oh my God, I hold it for the giver.
My heart, My strength. My life, my all.
Are his and his forever.
I found a friend, No. Such A friend, no.
Part to him.
Give up to guard me on my own report and bring me safe to heaven.
Neat and a glory.
Clever.
Tuner my pain and never.
So now.
And then to rest whatever.
I found a friend.
For kind.
And tender.
So by account.
So mightier defenders.
From him.
Who loves me now so well?
What are my soul cancer?
Shall I order?
Help.
Oh, I am here forever.
We pray.
Our God and our Father, we do thank thee for the privilege we have of proclaiming again the story of the love of God, the love of the Lord Jesus, and what he can be for anyone.
In this room tonight, and we do pray that we might have help by the Spirit to speak well of thy Son, the Lord Jesus.
And the Spirit might touch the hearts and the consciences, and that Thy word might be received.
As thy word, and not the word of men.
So we ask for our help. We pray that thou wilt sanctify the lips and the ears, the lips to speak forth thy truth, the ears to receive it. We pray too forever, wherever the gospel of the grace of God proclaimed Jesus presented as the only Savior of Sinner, that he, this gospel might be blessed and souls be saved we know.
00:05:11
There isn't much time left.
Soon thy son will return.
To take his own to be with himself and those who have neglected.
Or rejected. That offer of mercy will have no other chance. So we have a sense of the urgency of the hour. And we do play very earnestly that no soul might leave this room tonight without having assurance of salvation. Be sure that they will spend eternity. We ask it all in the name of the Lord Jesus for his glory. Amen.
Turn with me, please, to one verse in the book of Acts.
Chapter 8.
Verse 5.
Dan Phillips went down to the city of Samaria.
And preached Christ unto them.
This is what I would like to, in my own feeble way, to do tonight, to preach Christ to you, and especially to tell you what it means to me and what I have found him to be.
And there are many in this room.
Who could do the same? Who could tell you what he means to them, what he has done for them?
And I believe, first of all, we can think of who he is.
You know if the wealthiest man in the world.
Who would invite you to come?
And spend your life with him and share his wealth with you. Wouldn't you be honored?
If the greatest ruler in this world would ask you to come and move in with him, wouldn't you feel honored?
But the person that we have to present to you tonight is greater than any person that you could meet in this world.
Because he's more than a man. He is a man. He is the man Christ Jesus.
But he's different than any man that ever walked this earth before.
There never was a man on this earth.
Whoever in everything he did and always pleased God, never.
But when that man was born in Bethlehem's Manger.
The very fact that he was born was for the glory of God. We hear the angels declaring that glory to God in the highest.
And even as he grew up as a child.
There never was a child like Jesus.
I've often wondered how the parents who had other children, you know the Lord Jesus, had at least four younger brothers and some sisters. The name is not mentioned, but in Matthew 1355 you find the names of his four brothers. He was the oldest, the first born. But there we also find that he had sisters, plural. How many? We don't know.
But how must they have been amazed when they looked at this child Jesus?
And looked at the others.
Do I go too far to say he never misbehaved?
He never behaved towards his brothers in a selfish way.
Not willing to share the toys. You know, we see that in our families and boys and girls here. You know that you oftentimes act selfish like we when we were younger.
00:10:06
Did the same thing, but this child was always obedient. Never.
Fought with his brothers and sisters.
What a different child. How he must have looked at him in amazement. Then the time came that he grew up to be a young man.
And Mark calls him the Carpenter.
You know, we were building a house this last fall, my son-in-law, and I and I often thought with joy of the fact that the Lord Jesus.
Did the same kind of work. He built houses. He was a Carpenter.
And you can be sure that he did the best job he possibly could. And even then, he worked under the authority of his father. He had a boss, you know, and he did what his father told him to do.
But then there came a time.
When God had a greater work for him to do when he called him to his public ministry.
But we can briefly refer to how we read about him.
As a 12 year old Jesus.
In the temple.
And how they were amazed at the questions that he asked. He didn't leave his place.
As a 12 year old boy, before those lawyers of the law, you know he kept his place.
But even then it was manifest.
That he excelled in wisdom.
But he was subject to his parents. We read. They couldn't understand why he remained behind in the temple. It wasn't disobedience, he said to them. Didn't you know that I had to be about my father's business?
He wasn't disobedient.
He was subject to them. He came with them.
We know very little about what the Lord Jesus was like, but the Bible says that he was wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners. And before he even was born, Mary was told the holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. He was a man who knew no sin, the Scripture says in him was no sin and he never sinned.
That is a divine judgment as to the man Christ Jesus. And it does not just refer to his public ministry. Wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, He became a man.
Body, soul and spirit, or I should say spirit, soul and body.
He was fully man, He was made in everything like unto his brethren, sin apart.
He was a true man.
But but a different man, a new man, a new kind of a man, I might say, without sin. And in this respect he was alone.
You know, we read about this morning, I think.
But Aren't Wet John, Chapter 12.
The kernel of wheat that was alone, we said, Speaking of it, speaks of the Lord Jesus.
The man Christ Jesus was alone.
Because he was a holy man, and as such.
He was alone. He was a new kind of a man. He partook of humanity through Mary, but since he was begotten of the Holy Ghost.
He was a man without sin.
And then he walked for 3 1/2 years in this scene. And what did he do?
He manifested a law, a God of love and of grace, every word that he spoke.
Was given to him by his Father. Every deed that he did, he did under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Although he was God the Son from all eternity, He takes a place of subjection here on this earth, and he walks in obedience.
00:15:00
Brought delight it must have been.
To the heart of God, to look down and see his Son walking here as a man among men. What delighted is for us to read the Gospels and follow his path through this scene, His love, his compassion. You know, when he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion, because they were without a sheep, without a shepherd. When he saw the children, he took them in his arms.
He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. He groaned. In his spirit he felt perfectly all that confronted him, and the Bible says that he was the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Can you imagine what it was for that blessed one to walk through this world?
Holy man, the holy man, And to hear and to see.
What he saw the manifestation and the effects of sin.
He felt in his soul that which he took away in his power.
You know, in Isaiah 53 he bore our sicknesses and we have that quoted in Matthew chapter 8. Let's turn to that.
Here that was quite for me as a young man.
Precious thought to come into the good of that to understand Isaiah 53, that earth which is quoted here at least part of that verse in chapter 8.
Verse 16.
When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and he cast out the spirits with his word.
And healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah, as the prophet saying himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses, and the help that I received from another, when he said he felt in his soul that which he took away in his power.
You know, he was not like you and I might be. Some of us who have worked in the health field, you know, when we first started out working in it, sometimes we were so overwhelmed when we met certain sad cases that we could hardly go on with our work. But as time went on, we became more calloused, became more calloused. That was not that way with the Blessed Lord whenever he saw somebody.
That was lame or was blind, had moved him deeply, and he felt in his soul what he had before him, because whatever it was, was the effect of sin.
Sickness and death is the effect of sin.
And that came always vividly before that blessed one.
But he was love and goodness personified as he walked through this scene. Now here comes that which is so precious to my soul. This lovely person wants to be your friend. Wants to be my friend.
Don't you think it's wonderful?
That this perfect man wants you and me to be in his company for all eternity.
But think about this.
He's more than a man.
He's got the son. He's got manifested in the flesh.
He is the creator and upholder of the universe.
All things were created by him and for him.
And he wants you.
And me to be near him.
As we could not neither be for all eternity. And what does he do in order to make it possible for you and for me to be near to him?
00:20:03
What were we like when he found us?
Where we fit to be his companions. Was I fit to be his companion? No way.
Why was I unfit? Why are you?
Unfit.
Because.
We are offsprings of sinners.
With sinners by nature.
We were born with a sinful nature and proven ourselves thinners for our deets, even a thought processes.
Are sinful.
A good thing my grandfather used to say that I don't have to go through the city with all my sins written on my forehead. I wouldn't dare go out on the street.
Think about it.
Every sinful thought, God knows it. Every deed that we have committed in rebellion against Him as His creatures, He could expect of us.
That we would submit to him. But have we done so? No. Like our fathers, we rebelled.
We proved to be sinners by nature and by practice.
Sin cannot be in his presence.
And why should he love such wretched sinners as us as me?
I can't explain it other than that the Word of God says that God is love, that he doesn't delight in the death of the Sinner. You know, because of what we are and what we have done, we deserve to be eternally separated from God.
Passed away out of his presence into the lake of fire, where the warmth dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
But here Ren is the love of God manifested that God sent His Son, that he loved us, and that He sent his Son to be our Savior. He would come. This person would come.
To take my place in judgment. To take your place in judgment if you have him.
To take my sins.
Put him upon himself.
There him in his own body on the cross face the Holy God with those sins.
Why was it necessary?
That such a wonderful person as the Lord Jesus Christ would be the Redeemer.
Why?
There was nobody else.
So in the psalms.
We have a Psalm.
Think it is in 49.
Yes.
Verse 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother nor give to God a ransom for him.
Why could not somebody else go to Calvary's cross?
We could never.
Facing a holy God, make atonement for sin. Just think of it. I've thought about that. Those who don't accept the Lord Jesus Christ as savior will spend eternity in hell and suffer God's punishment against sin for all eternity. But they never come to the point that they can say my sins are atoned for.
Because it is punishment against sin and not atonement. Only a holy sinless victim could make atonement for sin.
And that holy, sinless victim we have in the Lord Jesus, why was he here for 30 some years before he went to the cross? Why was it necessary that he lived that long before he would accomplish redemption?
He had to prove himself as the lamb without spot and without blemish. You know, we had a brother speak to us about the meal offering.
00:25:10
In the afternoon and a burned offering.
What does the meal offering speak of?
That speaks of the man Christ Jesus.
You know these meal offerings would be brought.
Mingles with oil and anointed with oil. He was begotten by the Holy Ghost that speaks of mingled with oil, and when he began his earthly ministry, the Spirit came upon him.
Anointed with oil, and it could have come upon him without any blot needing to be applied.
But when it comes to you and me, we have two pictures in the Old Testament first of all.
We need to have a bath. We need to be born again.
Then the blood was sprinkled with the leper or with the priest.
And then the oil was applied, a picture of the Holy Ghost, but with the Blessed Lord that was not necessary.
The.
Blood did not need to be applied. He was anointed with the Holy Ghost and the River Jordan because he was sinless. The spirit came down in the form of a dove. He had to be proven to be the man without sin, and when you look throughout his life, he proves to be.
That fine flower, he always reacted to every circumstance that confronted him perfectly. He never overreacted and he never under reacted. He always acted appropriately as to every circumstance that came before him and when he was driving out the money changers.
He was acting perfectly.
And you know, the meal offering was always brought with the burnt offering, I believe, because you couldn't have the burnt offering without first of all having the one proven that was to be that burnt offering, to be the sinless one, the perfect one. But you know the hymn writer at the end of this hymn book.
Expresses a beautiful thought.
Like to read that to you? I've enjoyed that hymn tremendously.
You know, we have so many wonderful hymns in English.
Like the hymn we sang at the beginning of this meeting is a gospel message in itself. But read this last hymn in the book, verse 4.
In his spotless souls distress, I have learned my guiltiness.
Oh, how while my Lord stayed since my ransom was so great.
To ransom Russell Great, because my sinfulness was so great, and no other ransom would have been sufficient to pay for my sin. If I would have been the only Sinner that ever lived on the faith of this earth, the blessed Son of God would have had to go to the cross and die that same shameful death as he did.
For me, And that's what you and I and everyone in this room has to see. He died for me. He's my savior. How much did he love me that he would go to Calvary Cross?
But have you ever thought of this?
How could the Lord Jesus Christ in three hours of darkness?
Where the eternity of our judgment and exhaust divine wrath against sin. And think of how many sins were put upon him from Adam down to the last that will be saved.
How can he in three hours bear the eternity of our judgment? Think of who it is that hung there. He never ceased to be what he ever was, the Son of God, that loved me and gave himself for me. He couldn't have died had he not become a man, but he never ceased to be what he ever was. The Son of God. He hung there.
The Lord that he bore was infinite.
But the sacrifice was infinite too, and the value that that blessed person added to the work that he accomplished there on Calvary's cross, for the glory of God and for my eternal redemption.
00:30:16
But I think as wonderful as it is to look at this friend, the one that wants to be our friend as he walked through this scene.
Isn't it more wonderful to look at him when he hangs on that cross?
That has moved my heart deeply to listen to what he says when he's hanging on that cross.
Here men treated this blessed One who had always been here in love and kindness as cruelly as they did. They couldn't inflict the more cruel death upon him than the death to which they subjected him.
And as they were driving the nails through his hands. What do we hear, Father? Forgive them, for they know not what they do. Isn't it overwhelming? Don't you see?
Beloved Friend. A glory radiating from that person that is unparalleled in the universe. Unparalleled.
Could you do that? Could I do that? If people would treat us that way the Lord Jesus did?
He has words of forgiveness. Those are the words, first words that fall from his lips.
And he's hanging there on the cross. And then look how touching it is. He sees his mother. He sees his mother.
And of the four Gospels that present, the one that presents the Lord Jesus as the Son of God, we have this account.
In that gospel that he sees her, he doesn't say mother, but he says woman, Behold thy son.
He had concern for his mother. It's touching, isn't it? He knew that he was going to leave this scene. His father evidently was dead. His brothers didn't believe on him.
And he can rise above his own need, his own agony, and think of his mother.
I believe this is what contributed to the change of the thief on the cross. Remember in Matthew we read that both of those thieves reviled him.
Save thyself and us, they said. If you are what you claim to be.
But then there was a change of heart, and I believe that change of heart came about because of what he heard and what he saw. Never did man ever see anyone die the death of crucifixion and conduct himself like that blessed one.
And he again, when this thief turns to him in faith, he gives him words of comfort. Now just think. Hear the Lord Jesus. If there ever was an hour of need, it was then as a dependent man. Yet he rises above his own needs. He gives words of forgiveness, genuine concern and comfort. He's able to minister comfort, he says through that.
Thief on the cross, who by faith saw him as the Messiah and.
Faith says well, what's the difference? It doesn't look very good. He looks like he's dying. But faith said if that's the Messiah, what's the difference? I know he will come in his Kingdom and I don't want to lose out. And he says Lord, he addresses him as Lord, Remember Me when thou cometh into thy Kingdom.
The Lord Jesus says you don't have to wait till the Kingdom.
This day today thou shalt be with me in Paradise words of comfort.
What a savior. Don't you feel drawn to him?
Is the Spirit of God not able to touch your heart like he touched the heart of the thief and he wasn't the only one that was touched by what he saw. Think of the centurion and those with him, they concluded after it was all over.
This is the Son of God.
I think this is what the Spirit of God can accomplish tonight, in the heart of anyone here.
Who is not saved?
To be drawn to that blessed person.
00:35:03
Could you find a better friend? Could you find a greater person than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator and upholder of this universe? And he wants to be your friend and wants you to be his for all eternity? Share all his power and glory with you? He As much as he's saying I don't want it without my redeem being brought into it with me, that's what we learned from the Word of God.
Wonderful Savior.
And it doesn't matter how sinful your condition.
He has the answer. He can meet your need.
You know, the Apostle Paul spoke of himself as the chief of sinners, the greatest Sinner, and if that greatest Sinner could be saved, so can you.
His blood.
Can wash the wireless of sinners because it is the blood.
Of a sinless victim, of a holy victim. It's the blood of the Son of God that became the Lamb of God. The gospel that presents him as the Son of God presents him as the Lamb of God. It's the only gospel. It presents the blood of the Lord Jesus. A sister came to me in Calgary and said, Brother Heinz, why do we only find the blood in John's Gospel? I said it's the only gospel that presents the Lord Jesus as the Lamb.
Goddess loudspeaker.
Candelarium. And he is the one that shed his blood. That's why that blood has such a value in the eyes of God.
And when I see the blood, I'll Passover You, you and I could never evaluate dead blood. We could never come to recognize how valuable it is. Only God can. And this gives me such peace to know that I am not saved according to my feeble apprehension of it, but that I am saved according to what God sees in it.
God sees that value.
You know, I learned from Tom's father.
This statement, he put it so nicely.
He said there are three things that have accomplished atonement.
The sufferings in the three hours of darkness.
You know, we know the Lord Jesus was hanging on the cross six hours, but the three hours of darkness?
He was punished by God.
He bore our sins and He was made sin.
And He exhausted divine wrath against sin that has made atonement. We also find that the blood has made atonement and the laying down of his life as an atonement for sin. The three hours of darkness, the shedding of his blood, the laying down of his life, or maybe the laying down of his life in this order. And the blood because the blood flowed from a dead Christ, one work of atonement.
For atonement, can it be the hymn writers said as savior, heart as savior?
You know, people think that they can contribute to their own.
Forgiveness of sins or make atonement for some of them. You know we bought a house in Mosinee WI from a lady that used to be a teacher.
And afterwards we.
Bought a business place and she lived above it and I became a landlord. So we had quite a bit of contact with that dear soul and we had quite a few opportunities to try to bring the gospel to her. And she brought up in Catholicism and she said yes, she said, I know the Lord Jesus died for my sins on the cross of Calvary, but there are some sins that I have to atone for.
I tried so many times to.
Tell her the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses out from all sin.
That was so ingrained in her mind, the teaching that for some sins she had to atone. But what a slide upon that sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a slide upon God's provision for the Sinner to say.
00:40:10
It's not enough. Something has to be done by the Sinner. How can God accept anything from a sinful human being as an atonement for sin? Like I said, all we could is really be punished for it and would be punished all eternity and never come to the point to atone for it. Now the Lord Jesus poured A punishment for our sins, but he did more than that. He made atonement.
Now he was beaten.
If I may say that reverently, for everything that we had done, he brought a punishment for it, but he also made atonement. Atonement consists of two things.
Substitution and propitiation.
You know, propitiation speaks of that which satisfies God's claim against sin, and no matter whose sin it is or what sin committed by who.
The Lord Jesus, in view of him being the propitiation for sin, has suffered for every insult and dishonor ever committed to God.
But he is also our substitute. He bore our sins, but only the sins of the redeemed. You know, in Leviticus, when we have on the Day of Atonement these two animals presented, the first speaks of propitiation.
And the second speaks of substitution. The sins were confessed upon that animal. Both died because of sin, but the one was, you might say, God's side, and the other was our side.
The substitution of death. He died for many.
Oh, what comfort it gives to my soul to know that although I came into this world almost 2000 years after the Lord Jesus went to the cross.
That when he was hanging there, God took up my sin question and dealt with it with the Lord Jesus about my sin question.
And every sin known to him that I would ever commit was then put upon him, and he was punished for it.
And they're gone. They're gone. Not only.
Is God now?
Offering pardon and forgiveness.
He does that, but he clears the guilty of all.
Guilt.
Clears the guilty of all guilt.
You know when the Lord Jesus was hanging on the cross?
The holiness and righteousness of God demanded A sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice, and he dealt with his own Son in righteousness.
He didn't spare him any sufferings, and the Lord Jesus himself refused anything that would in any way weaken the sufferings, even the physical sufferings he.
Refused anything but.
This same God that dealt in holiness and righteousness with his Son about my sin is now righteous and just to forgive me.
To forgive me.
He has said that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And if I by faith accept him, God cannot but and to cleanse me.
From all guilt we have to do with a just God who dealt justly with the Lord Jesus when he was there in my place. But since that sin question is settled now.
He declares me free.
Justified, you know, justification.
Does not only mean that he looks at you and as me and me as if he had never sinned. You know, a brother in California gave us a nice thought and the righteousness of God and justification, he said, if the work of the Lord Jesus.
Would only mean that we stand before God as if we had never sinned. We would still come short of the glory of God.
00:45:04
Because it would only put us before God as Adam was before he fell, and before Adam fell he was short of the glory of God.
But he puts us before himself in a life that can never sin.
The fact that the believer still can sin is not because that this new life that God gives him through faith in the Lord Jesus cannot sin or that it could sin. No, it cannot sin, but he has still the flesh within him and therefore he is able to sin. But how wonderful.
He puts us before himself in the person of the Lord Jesus.
That we are in the same position before God as the Lord Jesus.
The justifier is holy and we stand before God.
In him.
Well.
Is there anybody in this room that the Lord Jesus has closed his heart to him?
We have feebly, only feebly presented what we have come to enjoy of him, that he is the perfect man, Christ Jesus, the one that was here revealing God, a God of love and grace in all that he said in all that He did.
And the one who is God manifested in the flesh.
The eternal Son of God, the one that became the Lamb of God, that shed his own blood. And this is the one that wants to be your friend.
That wants to have your company and he wants to do everything he can and has done everything he can to make you fit to be in his presence. Can you imagine what it would be like if?
The Queen of England would invite you to come to Buckingham Palace and you don't even have any decent clothing to wear to come there. Well, you would feel very uncomfortable. The Lord Jesus has not only.
Invited us to be with him. He has.
Gotten us into a position and into his standing so that we are perfectly comfortable in His presence for all eternity. We don't have to be afraid even. You know what? Even now, while we're in this scene, we can come where he is in the midst. You know, the same person that we have been telling you about.
Has promised that even now, in spirit, he comes to be in the midst of the two and three gathered to his name. But an honor, What a privilege.
You know, why would people want to meet in any other way than around this blessed person?
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Why would they make a man a purely mortal dissenter?
Of their congregation, or the head of their congregation, when this Blessed One is given to us not only as Savior, but as head of the body, head of the Church.
And that we can meet already in his company by faith we see him.
And by faith the Christian can enter into the holiest of all, because the Lord Jesus has opened the way. Christians don't worship in a building that is a sanctuary. No, by faith they enter into the heavenly sanctuary, into the presence of God, and are there boldly without fear because of the work of the Lord Jesus. All of this is open to anyone in this room if they by faith except the Lord Jesus.
But all let us never forget the price that he paid.
And you know you don't see the extreme of the love of God as you see it on the cross of Calvary. You see the wretchedness of man's condition as simple the way he was treated by men. Just think, when he cries at the end of the sufferings of the cross eyed thirst, what do they do?
Instead of quenching that thirst, they give him vinegar to drink.
What a wretched heart man has.
To deal with the Lord Jesus in that way. But you know what? It's a manifestation of you and my heart, what it was before we came to know the Lord Jesus.
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If you and I would have been there at that time, we would have behaved the same way unless touched by the grace of God, unless our eyes opened to who that wonderful person was. Like the thief on the cross. Oh, I would desire so much that everyone in this room.
Who hasn't come to see the glory of that person would come to see him.
And to be attracted to him you need more than just to know that you have your sins forgiven. You need an object for your heart. God has made man in this way. That man needs an object, and he has given to men that object in the person of his only begotten son.
You know, it's a wonderful thing to have a wife that loves you. It's a wonderful thing to have children that love you. But no human love can be compared to the love of the Lord Jesus.
No human being or anything on earth can satisfy this heart of ours.
As the person of the Lord Jesus can an occupation with him. And you know what?
At it enhances even the earthly relationships if there are two that love the Lord Jesus as husband and wife.
How much more beautiful marriage is?
When it is lived by two who have the same object and who even in their marriage have the desire to glorify the one that has loved them and suffered for them and bought them at such a tremendous cost to himself. But remember, we are not our own. Let's re echo that we belong to this one. He has paid a tremendous price.
To make us his.
Nothing higher could be paid than what was paid. Redemption wasn't cheap.
That cost God the dearest that he had.
His only begotten son.
And he will not let us go. He will not let us go, because he has paid too much of A price. But, beloved, we ought to be more occupied with that person and what he has done for us and what he has brought us into.
And what he has even prepared for us, because this is what helps us in our Christian pathway.
This is what gives the power.
You know, things get darker and darker around us, but if our hearts are filled with that person, we have what it takes. If you're going in communion with that fellow through this world, we have what it takes to be preserved. He is the one that be on our side and lead us safely all the way home.
How foolish.
Man is how foolish we tend to be that we so little enjoy what we have. What would you think of anybody that?
Inherits a billion dollars large possessions someplace in this world.
And would hardly ever go and look what he has and what he possesses. Foolish, isn't it? But isn't that how we oftentimes are beloved as Christians?
They're the richest people in the world, spiritually speaking.
The heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.
And how much time do we spend thinking of all that the Lord Jesus has won for us and that which is awaiting us? We're getting so occupied with accumulating things and gaining knowledge and so on and so forth. And we're on the poverty level when it comes to debt, which really counts for eternity. Well, maybe the Lord can use this that was before us tonight to stir up my heart.
To stir up your heart to think of what a wonderful person the Lord Jesus is and how great of a work he has done.
And what a wonderful friend he is.
All through life's pathway, in the disappointments that we meet in this pathway, he's there with us and he will stay with us until we reach that home in glory. You know the Lord Jesus is there already, and him being there, the one that was in my place on the cross, assures me that I'll be there with him.
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One day. Wonderful. You know what gives peace to our souls is the fact that we know he's no longer in the grave. He's risen and glorified, and we will be with him there for all eternity. He was delivered for our offense as he was raised for our justification, and He is at the right hand of the Majesty on high. He has prepared a place for us in the Father's house all eternity. We got his bed there, right, veggie?
All eternity Spend eternity to unwrap all the Presence that He has for us.
Yeah, let's sing Man of sorrows.
What a name.
What's the number, Benji?
103 Thank you.
Manasarovar.
Save you.
Mary came and.
In my place.
All the places.
Help my heart.
Save you.
Now in heaven like.
Salted heart.
What?
Save your pray.
Our father, we.
Do thank thee.
Gift of Thy lovely Son, Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, We thank thee that He is not only our Savior, he's also the one that can feel and satisfy these hearts powers.
We do thank thee that Thou has given him to us, the one that from all eternity has been to joy and rejoicing of thy heart. Thou has given him to us so that we, too, in measure at least, can enjoy that person.
Can look upon his glories and.
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Be thankful.
For the place that we have in him before thee.
Father, we do pray.
If there's anyone in this room who has, up to this point, not.
Accepted that Blessed one who hasn't been one for him, and by him we do pray that this might be realized this evening.
Today, no longer foolishly turned their back.
Upon that person and the wealth that he has for them.
So we do pray that thy word be blessed.
We do pay for us who are thine that we.
Continue to walk with thee and in the enjoyment of thy Son, the Lord Jesus, fellowship with dear Father, and with the Son, and with one another.
We do think of the children.
God able to draw them to the Lord Jesus and they might find him as Savior early in life and never come to love this wicked evil world.
We do pray for those who might have made a profession.
But are not real that they might in reality in true face faith and repentance and faith turn to him. We do ask it all because we know Tyson the Lord Jesus would be glorified in sinners being saved tonight. We ask it in His name and for His glory. Amen.
Open Mtg.
Open—T. Roach, J. Currie
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Must ignore Jesus, we have proven in.
Need of our needs, the food and our souls to the.
Famous to keep us in this wilderness experience, I could say indeed I am the true breath that came down from heaven and all blessed Lord Jesus and.
We need that spiritual food continuously, that we might go on to Thy glory, as thou hast said, except you abide in Me, you cannot bear fruit and.
Lord, we thank Thee for answered prayer in regard to the last meeting, and we look to Thee for Thy help now, that Thou would lead and guide thy Thy Spirit, that we may have ministry that would be suited to our needs through edification, exhortation and comfort of the Spirit of God. So independence, bless the Lord, we look to Thee who lead and guide in this way.
At this time we ask all, and thank Thee in my precious name, Lord Jesus, Amen. Amen.
Brethren, it's on my heart to speak of a man who valued his inheritance.
We have a number of folks in the Scripture who valued what God had given them.
You know, in the Old Testament days, or the days when Israel went into the land, it was divided up. Each tribe got its allotment.
And then by lot. And we still refer to as a plot of ground as a lot, don't we?
Term has come down to us. They drew lots for the land. It was given to them. And in Psalm 16 it says the lines are fallen to me in pleasant places. And so I'd like to look with you in First Kings chapter 22.
About a man who valued his inheritance and lost his life because of it.
Sorry, it's.
Chapter 21. First Kings. Chapter 21.
The man's name was Neighbor.
At least that's how I pronounce it.
Don't know how he called himself, but we'll call him Naboth.
First Kings chapter 21 verse one and it came to pass after these things.
But Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel hard by the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near to my house, and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it. Or if it seemed good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it and money. Naboth said they have the Lord forbid at me.
That I should give the inheritance of my father's unto thee.
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased, because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken unto him, For he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my father's. He laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would no more would eat no bread.
But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth a Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money, or else if it pleased thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it. And he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the Kingdom of Israel? Arise and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry.
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I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth a Jezreelite.
So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed him with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth. And she wrote in the letter saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Nabotham high among the people, and set two men, sons of Belial, before him to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blasphemy God and the king, and then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
In the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had said unto them, sent unto them, and it was written, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
They proclaimed a fast and set Naboth on high among the people, and there came two men, children of Belial, and sat before him. And the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth and the present in the presence of the people, saying they bought that blasphemy God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city and stoned him with stones that he died. And they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned.
And is dead. Well, it goes on to speak of Ahab taking possession.
Of that vineyard and.
The Prophet comes to.
Him and says the dogs will lick your blood in that field. So he reaped what he sowed. But the point which is before us is the fact that here is a man who valued his inheritance. Now he was not there when Joshua divided up the land by lot, but his ancestors were great, great, great grandfather and and it passed on down it came to neighbor's father.
And finally it came to him and here was that land have been in the family and it wasn't a sentimental thing like it might be with people nowadays to think that, well, this has always been in the family, let's try to keep it in the family. We hear that kind of thing. But this was God's given inheritance to those people. And because it was, Naboth valued it. He valued it. He appreciated it. It meant something to him. He was going to hold on to it. He wasn't going to give it up.
Now.
As a business thing, it might have been a good deal for him, He may have been paid more than it was worth by Ahab, and he could have given him a better vineyard. But that's not the point. That's not the point. You see, Naboth valued that inheritance that had come from God and.
To say I will give you a better vineyard than it.
Impossible, impossible. He had what God had given him, and what could be better than that? He couldn't find anything better that that's something for us to consider as to what God has given us because we have.
A beautiful heritage of of truth from from the Lord, from the Word, and with many of us, our fathers taught it to us and some of you, maybe even your grandfather's, taught you the truth.
It has come down to us and we love to pass it on because we have found it. As one brother recently said in a meeting at home, it has stood the test of time. The things that we have and we know from the word have stood the test of time. It's nothing new that somebody has invented. Lately, as Peter says, we have not followed cunningly devised fables. We're not following things that people have invented.
We have God's precious word and we have the truth that.
God has revealed through his own and to His own.
And may we, like neighbour, value that truth. It's going to cost something in. In this case, it cost him his life. We may find that there are others that won't go along with us, those that are near and dear to us, but still.
We should go on, here is a king and Naboth had the courage to stand up against the king.
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You know that particular King Ahab, It says there was no one like him that.
That did evil and his wife.
Provoked him to do evil. He sold himself to do evil. So what the scripture says, what an awful thing that was. This is the kind of a man Naboth is dealing with. And really his his wife was behind it. But Naboth says.
I like what he says in verse three. The Lord forbid at me.
That I should give the inheritance of my father's unto thee.
A very brief statement, isn't it? The Lord forbiddeth me that I should give the inheritance of my father's unto thee. He was talking to a king.
He should have had respect for the King. Oh yes, I'm sure he did. But he wouldn't give up what he cherished. He wouldn't. He would not give up what God had provided even to the King, because it was the inheritance of his Father's.
Maybe we should think of what is our inheritance? What do we have? Well, we have the whole body of truth in the in the Scripture, particularly the New Testament, and even little more particularly in Pauls doctrine, we have.
Like those in the early days of the church that continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship and in breaking of bread and in prayers. And we have that today. We still have that. And may we hold on to it like Naboth. I don't suppose any of us will forfeit our lives for it, not in this day and age. But we may forfeit some close friendships by those that don't want to walk in that path.
May we value the inheritance above all those other things?
I will not give thee the inheritance of my father's. What a what a statement. And that is carried on by Ahab. He remembered it, he he repeated it.
And then it goes into the hands of Jezebel.
And they falsely accuse.
They falsely accuse Naboth.
You know, a lot of accusations flying around.
Unfounded. Unfounded. No witnesses.
False accusations and we're just considering this at home.
Recently these few verses and these two men were placed.
In verse 13, I sat before him. I kind of pictured that as we're sitting at a table and there's someone sitting on the other side of the table from us, and they hear what we say. Even if we're not talking to them, we're maybe talking to the person beside us and the people across, they'll hear what we say. And these two men are there and they picked up something that Nabos said they were really accused for at least set up to do this.
To falsely accuse neighbor.
I just wonder if they didn't take something that he did say and twist it. They may have even baited him with some comments and got the responses. What I was thinking of in connection with that is, is the way they dealt with Steven and the 6th of Acts.
The 6th chapter of Acts Stephen was a.
One of those that the Lord used in those early days of the Church.
In verse 10 of Acts 6 it says they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
You see, that was a thing that Ahab couldn't handle with Naba. He went home and selling and he turned his face to the wall because they both had turned him down and he couldn't deal with that. Now here what what they do in in Acts with regard to Steven in the 11Th verse, they suborned men, they bribed somebody which said we have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.
And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, and set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceases not to speak blasphemous words.
Against this holy place and the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth.
Shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered us. And they all sat in the council. Well, they used things that Stephen had actually said, and misused them against him.
00:15:06
And no doubt they could easily do that because when he spoke of this.
New dispensation if he spoke of those things of Christianity that seemed to set aside Judaism, in fact it did where they could accuse him of speaking against the law and against this holy place. Grace had come in. He had something new. He had that was Stevens inheritance and he he lost his life over it too. He he clung to it. He wouldn't back down on it but.
I wonder if something similar might have happened with Naboth that they.
Twisted his words, you know, and made and justified it to themselves, and in fact that they had to use two things they said.
He blasphemed God and the King and the King. Do you know what they had just said? The King.
Well, their consciences might bother them. They just said they blasphemed God. They might shug their shoulders and say, So what? But they made it such a thing.
That he couldn't escape it. The people couldn't escape it. They would say, well, he blasphemed God, therefore were justified in what we're doing, blasting the king. We have to do something because the king is the one that helped us out.
Well, at any rate, they use this against neighbor.
And they stoned him and he died.
He valued what God had given him, valued it.
And.
Really, it's a question, isn't it, with us, of how much do we value the truth that God has revealed to us?
Are we going to turn away because someone else does has read something recently a little illustration if my body is.
Paralyzed or nearly so, and I have one good arm. Am I going to tie up my arm because the rest of the body is paralyzed, or am I going to use the arm to do everything that I can with it? Well, just because a lot of folks have turned away, some have given up the inheritance, Are we going to bind ourselves up and give up to let's go on, Let's value the inheritance that God had given us. You know, there's another incident too. We won't turn to it exactly, but.
Just refer to the fact of the daughters of Zelofa had, you know, the inheritance here.
Went to a man, Naboth from his father's. But here was a case where there were five daughters, no sons to this Manziloa had. And when they asked, couldn't we inherit the land rather than that land going to some other family? We value that inheritance of our father. And the answer from the Lord was the daughters of the Zelophehad speak a good thing, they're saying a good thing. God valued the fact that they valued.
Their inheritance.
And you know, it was so good because.
There was a limitation put on them. They had to marry in their tribe. They had to marry in their tribe. It was good to keep that.
To value that inheritance. But the rest of the tribe did not want it to migrate. If they married someone from another, they were from Manasseh I believe. And suppose they married a young man from Judah, well then that land would belong to Judah. It would belong to another tribe. They value the inheritance.
Maybe we should just turn to that on the 36th chapter of Numbers because it's so good to see not only were they under this.
This.
I was going to say restriction.
We tend to think of it as a restriction, but it was a blessing, really, they were.
Allowed to marry.
So in the verse.
Verse 6, Numbers 36 and verse 6. This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, But the Mary to whom they think best, only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.
So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. Well, that was the stipulation that was laid down for these girls, five of them. And you know, you turn the page and it's nice to see what happened.
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They're all named here.
But in verse 12 it says, and they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
They obeyed.
They obeyed.
That's how the inheritance was valued by them. They obeyed. They didn't say, well, this fellow is a real nice guy. He's just the best and he's going to be fine. But he's from another tribe. No, they married within their tribe. You know, I think you get the drift of what I'm saying because you've heard it before. In other in other words, that there is that responsibility for us as believers.
To marry Marian to a believer believing family, marry another believer and.
Just get the New Testament expression of it in One Corinthians 7.
First Corinthians, Chapter 7.
And verse 39, we'll just go to the middle of the verse because it's talking about a woman whose husband died. But the principle of it is that the last part of verse 39, First Corinthians 7, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will only in the Lord, only in the Lord. I believe that goes beyond just the fact that the person is a believer. It's one who's going on for the Lord.
And I guess maybe can offer a little word of suggestion that if you are looking for a partner who's going on for the Lord.
Are you going on for the Lord yourself? What a challenge.
If you want someone who's going on for the Lord, that person wants another person who's going on for the Lord. He may be facing some discouragements along the way, but.
Make the Lord the 1St in your life. The only way we can really understand the word is.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, and as we respect the Lord, then we're going to.
Be blessed, you know, sometimes we think.
Of.
The rest think of it as a restriction. Look in Second Corinthians chapter 6.
2nd Corinthians chapter 6 And we are probably very familiar with these words in the 14th verse. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness?
It sounds like quite a restriction, doesn't it be? Not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, but just look at the verse before.
13th verse Now for a recompense, and the same I speak as unto my children, be ye also enlarged, enlarged. Now what will restrict you, and keep you from being enlarged? And unequal yoke and unequal yoke. So God is warning about something that could narrow you down. You say, Well, that doesn't that narrow me down? No, that's just where you have the liberty in the Lord, and the restriction would be.
To have an unequal yoke. What a restriction that would be to a believer to be linked up in an unequal yoke.
It's a hard to conceive of how miserable it could be, except we see sometimes that happens. So the restriction is not really a restriction. Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers, marry in the Lord, value the inheritance. Well, you can't value the inheritance with one that doesn't have the inheritance, and that's what it's saying here. But the one that doesn't have that inheritance, how can you go on together and enjoy the Lord and enjoy that inheritance?
Well, I got a little bit off the subject I intended to talk about, but Naboth, he valued what God had given him and.
Now just say to you, and I say to myself, value what God has given. God has given us a wonderful inheritance, a heritage, and we're here to talk about it. We're here in these meetings. We're talking about that very thing and all. If we could only value it to the point where we're willing to give up something. I think what these verses tell us is going to cost something, it's going to cost something. It cost Nabotha's life. It cost Steven his life.
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What a glorious thing it was for Steven to look up into the open heavens and see the Lord Jesus standing there.
Ready to receive them, ready to come back if they would have received Stephen. But it's a marvelous thing that we have that we are looking forward to and all that. We may just value it. I hope that I value it myself and never give it up.
May it be the purpose of heart of each one of us then, to value the truth of God and to value what we might call our inheritance. In fact, it does speak of it, doesn't it? We have an inheritance. It's incorruptible that fadeth not away reserved in heaven, for you were kept by the power of God.
It's nice to think of an inheritance. It's nice to think of a possession that we have.
I just like to read a verse and.
The end of First Corinthians 13.
1St Corinthians 13 and verse 13.
And now abide his faith.
Hope Charity.
These three.
But the greatest of these is charity.
I'm sure we've all thought about this verse and thought about the things that are presented.
Here in this verse that has to do is a child of God and.
His inheritance.
You think of faith.
And you realize that as a child of God.
What we enjoy.
Of the truth of God, we enjoy it because.
We've not only read it.
But we believe what God has sinned.
Now faith is something that is a very personal thing.
Because no one else can have faith for us.
When we read the word of God, we have to accept what God says without question.
And we can only do that by realizing that God is speaking, and He's speaking to us as an individual.
And he's speaking to us because he had a message for us.
Now I suppose we find very short.
Message is given to us in the Word of God.
To mark you, for instance, the Lord Jesus said to him, follow me.
Plus a very short message.
And the Lord Jesus was going to make a difference in his life.
And to Peter, he said the same thing. Follow me and I will make you a Fisher of men.
So this important.
Truth about faith.
Is really what we lay hold of what we have come to know from the word of God that we never have to unlearn?
Things concerning the Lord Jesus we enjoy because we enjoy it when we were perhaps by ourselves.
Or perhaps when we're together as we are as a meeting, perhaps it's when we're together in the assembly, perhaps we're there and there's a prayer meeting and it's one is praying. And so we're entering into those prayers. You know, if you don't listen to the prayers of your brothers in the assembly, the prayer meeting gets rather dull.
But as you listen to the prayers and of your brothers in the assembly, then you begin to.
Enjoy that little prayer meeting. We don't hear many very loud of me amens and I wonder if it's because we are not really listening. We don't really hear I've enjoyed in my life being in a small assembly and.
Seeing how her brother grows spiritually and usually you can detect huts.
Spiritual growth there is by his prayers.
00:30:01
How he begins to enjoy.
The needs he sees around him, he begins to think about those things that have to do with other obvious brothers and sisters. He has a concern and he's able to freely talk to the Lord about them.
I suppose to.
As we see a brother who is offering praise and Thanksgiving, we'll find and see real growth there.
You know, sometimes we sing the hymns that are given out.
Not always do we sing them.
But sometimes we just make our lips move, I think.
When we have such a vast storehouse of truth given to us.
In verse form and hymns and verses, and we can enjoy those together because we can sing them in unison.
So there's a very rich field that we have.
When we are saved, and when we are brought into the little assembly where there is the liberty of the Spirit of God.
We enter into this because we have had our eyes opened, because we have believed them. Now we were talking a little bit about love.
This morning.
And the Lord saying, I have loved you.
Well, if a person is very important to you.
And that person comes up to you and says I love you.
Does that do something for you?
Does that cause you to turn away from that person or does that draw you to that person?
Well, I'm sure if you have confidence in that person.
And in the reality of what a person is saying, they're really touched by it.
I love you.
And when we think of the word love, what we think about.
Well, if we read these 13 verses.
I'm sure that we would be touched straight away with.
The reality in these 13 verses that love, real love.
Divine Love.
Is not the satisfying.
Of ones emotions are lost.
But love is.
And selfish.
Have we learned very much about being unselfish?
It seems to me that there's only one priest in.
That we really find this shining out.
In his life down here.
And that's the Lord Jesus.
Shining out to its very fullness because we learn that in his unselfish love.
He gave himself well. He couldn't go beyond that.
There was nothing nor.
You think of the Lord Jesus on the cross, and you think of those words when he said, My God, my God.
Why hast thou forsaken me? Then we begin to think of the price that love could pay.
He prized so infinitely Great.
How this should touch our hearts when it comes from 1:00.
That, we can say, is our savior.
He's our Lord.
And that's good for us to realize that He's our savior.
It's important for us to realize that He is our Lord.
But I believe too, we can realize that he is.
A friend.
A caring friend, and as we sing, what a friend we have in Jesus.
I suppose in these last.
Moments. I like to think of it in that way.
That it's not days, it's just moments that we're going to be here and perhaps.
00:35:01
In the very few moments, we'll be looking into the very face of Jesus in the glory.
And have we trusted him as a real friend?
A friend that had a real interest in our lives.
As we passed you, perhaps some rough waters, some Rapids, some difficulties, some pain.
And we found that he was there and we found as we reached out to him.
And.
You don't have to tell me that you don't understand. I I know you do. I don't know the pain that you've had. I don't know the trials you've had. I don't know the the real need you've had for a friend.
A real friend comes up and.
Puts his arms or her arms around you and.
Encourages you.
Don't you feel glad you have such a friend?
But you rejoiced that.
This one has your.
Your trial is par.
Of their burden for you.
Aren't you touched by a?
Sometime when you're alone.
And all this very quiet, and there doesn't seem to be any wonders near no one calls you on the telephone, and no one's there to talk to you. And here's your friend.
And you look up in faith.
And you know he's there.
And perhaps some verse of a hymn.
Perhaps some verses of Scripture?
And perhaps you're a young person and you're lonely.
You know what I'm talking about. You're really lonely. You're just wondering what you should do. You wonder what move you should make.
In the puzzle of life.
And here's a friend.
This friend loves you. This friend is unselfish. Just read in this chapter. Just transfer this chapter to the Gospels to the Lord Jesus. Just take it through the gospels and and go through the gospels.
And you will see how unselfish.
The Lord Jesus is presented to us.
Always interested.
Always willing to help.
And always being rejected.
You think of the people that he healed.
And yet, even though he healed them.
Those same people.
It would seem didn't want him.
But they wanted to be healed.
And perhaps for each of us, we want the blessing in our lives we'd like to have.
Our pathway made a little easier.
We like the journey not quite so rough.
And we like the Lord to really take away perhaps some of the difficulties in our lives.
But you know those same people?
I just think of this. We think of those lepers, they were ten of them.
And the Lord healed 10.
And they were all healed from their leprosy.
But there was one that returned to give him thanks, and he was a Samaritan. He was sort of an outsider.
If you had a terrible disease like that or can't, seriously.
And the Lord healed you.
When you return to giving thanks.
But you think you could take the time.
To give him times.
I think of the one who was brought to Jesus who had palsy.
And he's a pretty helpless creature, wouldn't you say?
He had to have four people carry him.
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And so those four people come in and they let him down.
Before the Lord Jesus.
When did the Lord Jesus say, rise, take up thy bed and walk?
The Lord Jesus said thy sins be forgiven thee.
The people said, Who can forgive sins but God? Only the Lord Jesus says, is it easier to say rise, take up thy bed and walk, or to say thy sins be forgiven thee? Who is his great need?
For his sins be forgiven.
Those lepers, the ten of them, was there only one that had his sins forgiven?
We don't know.
But there has to be that work in our souls. That's the great work. That's the great need. That man with the palsy hand.
If he had his fins forgiven, I would have been far better than having a strong body.
Because we know that sooner or later we have to leave this world.
Well, there's just one other.
Word here Hope.
And that word is a.
Interesting word. It's a beautiful word, is it not? It has such a message.
And there's a verse I'd like to read in.
Romans.
I suppose everyone is saying, well, he's going to turn to Romans 8.
That's a very important area of the Word of God, and we could really spend a little time there.
And I'd like to turn the Romans 15.
You know, there were those that God said that they were without God.
In this world and without hope.
Hope makes the marvelous difference.
Our hope, what is in the future for us is going to make the difference.
Because our hope is in one that lives.
The one who is.
There that.
Knows the future.
And gives us something, you know.
We have many things and we consider them in our life and we think, well, I hope I have this as I grow a little older, and I hope I'll get that and I hope I have this. He can put them all in there. I could put some of them in, but how solemn it is to think that one day they'll all fade.
My wife.
Tried a lot of her homes. She put a lot into the things she had.
Two days before we she died. We took her home.
And she sat in the chair.
For maybe 1/2 hour, two quarters.
But he didn't seem very interested.
The shine was all.
Gone. Disapp.
Is that because she'd grown old?
Probably any longer.
She needed something and she did have something.
So far beyond that.
And I've enjoyed it in this verse and I I see your time is.
Very limited and.
To me, this has been a very beautiful verse and.
That's Romans 15.
Searching.
Fill you with all joy and peace.
In the reading.
That you may abound in hope.
Through the power of the Holy Ghost.
I just ask you to think about that, think about that verse and think about the truth of that verse, the God of hope.
00:45:03
God of hope.
Without God, is there any future? Without the Lord Jesus, is there any hope?
What's happening to us?
For all going downhill.
The Lord doesn't come. We're all going down to the grave.
We're going to have to leave behind.
Perhaps things that we've enjoyed and enjoyed with others.
Shared with others things we've worked for, things we've struggled for.
But in the midst of all of this.
Here is the God of hope.
And what does the God of hope do for us?
The God of what a prayer this is.
Nice to pray this for our brothers and sisters and for ourselves. It must be a nice prayer and a prayer meeting. Maybe some of you young brothers that haven't been praying too much, you could learn this prayer.
There's many barriers in the Bible, you know.
Now the God of hope fill you with all.
Sadness.
Darkness.
Things in this life can get very dark.
There isn't much light sometimes you look at the future in this world and even the leaders of today, they must, you know, they must look out and what is happening in a swirl.
And say well.
I'm going to put up my hands.
I want to get away from a dog. Nowhere to run.
And as we land to the Lord Jesus, who makes the difference?
I like to set that before you because it's the Lord Jesus that makes the difference in your life and mine.
Religion won't do it.
Legality. You won't do it. It's a person, Jesus Christ, who lives, who died in the crimes, but when he lives.
And the God of hope fill you with all joy.
But doesn't stop there.
Joy.
And peace.
Fill you with all joy and peace. How?
In the leading.
Being able to trust him, be able to look at the future in hope.
But also in peace, to be able to say.
Thy will be done.
As for God, His way is perfect.
We know that's true, but be able to say that what God is doing in my life.
In my trial.
In my difficulty.
My problems that God who is perfect is dealing with me.
And I can leave it with him.
Joy and peace in believing.
That you may abound in hope.
The power.
Of the Holy Ghost.
I'll just go back and close with this version Romans chapter 5.
I.
Romans chapter 5 and.
Verse 4. Impatience, experience and experience hope and hope make it not ashamed.
Because the love of God.
Is shared abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us. I wish we could spend a little time on that earth.
30 and 10 minutes.
Friends of the Saints and Glory.
The laborers by reward.
Me.
00:50:05
Lord.
It was lying together. Thank you for my word and I was given to us and for reminding us of that inheritance that we have.
I'll improve myself. Mojitos. I finish work with Bronson Gallery.
Into the same goes by love will lead us.
A law that isn't changing.
And faith I'll give to us divorce and we destroyed these things made your hearts more because obviously this year that it may be real us as we think of all.
That thou art Lord Jesus to us, thy first, thy changing.
One of the living high and glory to be there, as we can see.
Behold the audience and the radiancy of that glory of God. So we just pray. So he goes in a few moments here about the earth got us praying for the rest of the state. Who doesn't upon these meetings with each one of our hearts.
At 3:33.
Open Mtg.
Open—H. Brinkmann, J. Hyland
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The Lord who would delight in thee.
And on thy care depends.
To thee in every trouble sleep.
Our safe, unfailing Friends 243.
So we.
Where indeed.
Cast each care upon thee, Lord Jesus, we know that others care for us.
And that is loved by people.
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And so as we are together here this afternoon.
Exactly that we can look to Thee, blessed Savior, Thou who art.
The head of the Church to give that which is needed for us.
We let us know each need for thee tonight, this afternoon.
And we just pray to open to us thy present word that the portions before us.
May be from myself, and that each one of us may be encouraged to go on to the end of the while those leave us here, and that our concern may indeed be to give thee the praise and the worship and the glory that is to thee.
Due to the Blessed Savior, the other one that has done some art, the other one that has come from the highest glory down to Calvary depths of the world. We thank thee, blessed Savior, that thou art the one that will have the glory.
Completely in that coming scene of glory, when thou will be All in all, so we just praise it. And with thy blessing as we are together, as our direct by thy spirit, and we commit us to thee. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
We've been singing.
Of a safe, unfailing friend that the Lord Jesus is.
For us but.
I wonder what we are for him.
What I have in my heart is to look at.
Some of the people.
In the life of David.
And there were those who were real friends to David.
But there were also those who.
We're not at all friends of David.
And some even.
At one time were and then turned against him.
But.
The first person that I thought we look at is First Samuel.
Chapter 18.
Verse one.
Came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul.
That the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David.
And Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home.
To his father's house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the rope that was upon him, and gave it to David and his garments, even to his sword and to his bow and to his girdle.
I believe beloved.
If you want to be a real friend.
To our David, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what is to be desired, to be the state of our hearts.
Jonathan was the son of Saul.
He was in line to the throne.
But he had witnessed a wonderful deliverance.
By this young man, David.
Overcoming Goliath, destroying the power of the enemy.
Great victory was wrought for the people of God, a picture of the Lord Jesus when he went to the cross.
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The Lord Jesus did not only go to that cross to bear our sins.
He did.
And more than that, he was made thin, who knew no sin, but he also overthrew the power of the enemy.
He set us free.
And we have a picture of that in the overthrow of Pharaoh and his host, but we also have it here when he defeated Goliath.
Jonathan witnessed that none could stand up against that mighty foe.
But here this lad came with the five stone and the slings.
This link But the Lord was with him. He came in the name of the Lord, not in his own strength.
And he destroyed that enemy. What a wonderful truth that is, beloved.
That the Lord Jesus set us free from the power of the enemy. That's what you and I need for a life of victory.
Not just that he died for our sins, but that he overthrew the power.
We no longer slaves. We set free, and Jonathan's heart was drawn to that, David.
And he genuinely loved David. And he sends This is the man that is to be the head of God's people, not me, the son of Saul.
And when he stripped himself, when he gave his rope to David, this is what he indicated.
I'm happily surrender all that naturally might be my claim to that one who delivered us from the power of the enemy.
And if there's anything that I have a sword or a spear or whatever, I want to use it in the service of David.
You know, it's a wonderful study in itself to read the history of these two men, the genuine love and affection that Jonathan had for David. The painful thing is that we find at the end.
When it became evident.
That saw was bent and destroying the deliverer of Israel.
That he stayed with Saul.
And he found.
His aunt.
With Saul on the mount of Gilboa.
But who would question the genuine love and affection that Jonathan had for David? And David himself laments Jonathans death and he said his love was more to him than the love of women.
He never forgot the genuine love that Jonathan had for him, but beloved.
What the Lord is looking for, and you in my life, is not only that we have the start that this man had.
What a beautiful start.
And even endangering his own life in speaking relative.
You know his father threw the spear at him, trying to kill him.
But the Lord Jesus wants us to share his rejection.
He wants us, as it were, to go with him to The Cave of Adalam.
Share in that rejection. It's a privilege, those mighty men.
Of whom we read later on.
I'm sure many of them did not have the love and affection for David that Jonathan had, but they nevertheless shared his rejection, and therefore they're listed among the mighty men of David. Not Jonathan, not Jonathan.
But now let's look at another man.
That.
We read off. I think it's in the Second Samuel. We also read of it in Chronicles 11.
00:15:03
Second Samuel.
Five or six?
The king and his men went to Jerusalem, unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in. Hit her, thinking David cannot come in, hit her Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. The same is the city of David and David said.
On that day whosoever getteth up.
To the gutter, and smite at the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that I hated of David soul, he shall be chief and captain. Therefore they said, the blind and delayed shall not come into the house.
Where we find at Joab.
Is the one.
That went up. You read it, I believe, in Chronicles 11.
What kind of a man was Joak?
He was an opportunist.
He was related to David.
David's sister's son David, remember, was the youngest of.
Jesse's sons.
And several times we read that, he says. What am I to do with you, the Santa Zira?
They were cruel men, hard men. But this joy especially was a man that was seeking his own advancement, his own glory.
In connection with David, I'm sure that David was unwise in making this rash statement.
And he must have often, I'm sure, regretted that statement. He wanted to replace Joab.
You know, about twice, I believe this man slew meant better than himself.
This is David's judgment later when he turns the reign over to.
His son.
And he instructs his son that he should not forget what this man has done.
Love it? Is it possible that among God's people today?
There might be Joabs.
Who are where they are for their own advantage, for their own advancement?
Are they really there because of David to speak in Thai?
Are they dare because their hearts are attracted like that of Jonathan?
To David, do they seek David's glory and honor?
Beloved, I trust this is the motive of our hearts in any way, in anything that we seek to do for the Lord.
There's always the danger of self entering in and we have to judge it severely. But beloved, the proper motive for service is love for the Lord Jesus.
This is what was put before Peter when he was restored in the midst of the brethren lovers down me.
Love is the motive for service, not reward.
Reward is mentioned in times of difficulties to encourage, but reward is never the motive for service. The motive for service is genuine love and affection for our Lord Jesus Christ.
But now turn to the 9th chapter.
Here we have another man.
Who is honored to be in the presence of David, to be at his table as one of Davidde sons? Who is he one lame on both of his feet?
Playing when the nurse dropped him, fleeing from David, not recognizing the kindness and goodness of David. How many people have become lame, running away from the Lord Jesus?
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But here Jonathan's son Mephibosheth is brought into Davidde household as one of Davidde sons.
Oh, and how he appreciated that position.
How he loved David.
You know when it comes out more beautifully than at any other time.
He said David returns after fleeing from Absalom.
And here he comes.
He hadn't shaved himself.
He had mourned for David.
And it becomes evident that Zybar had deceived him, had deceived David. David says, half goes to Zybar, half to you, he said. Let him have it all. As long as David had returned, as long as he had again that privilege of being at David's table. Do we love beloved?
This privileged position of being where the Lord Jesus is in the midst more than anything.
Else in life.
That is still possible for us today. To be where he is in the midst, to be around him, he has to be the attraction, not brethren, you know.
You know earthly friends will fail and leave us one day, shoot the next. They grieve us. But this friend will never deceive us. And how wonderful our David will never be deceived.
Thiaziba, He'll never be deceived, you know. When David had to flee, he wanted to flee with David. He wasn't able to flee. His servant deceived him.
And even misrepresented him. I believe there might be those among God's people who in a similar who are in a similar position, perhaps because of marriage, who would rather be with a rejected Christ.
But are hindered to be there.
And it will become manifest when the Lord Jesus comes back.
That they have been misled, they have been deceived. I'm just making an application.
But you know.
When we look at David, we do not only look at him as the picture and type of the Lord Jesus, we also see that David is a picture of a believer.
And we see that David sinned.
Very grievously.
And in the government of God he had to reap what he sowed. He spoke his own judgment when he said he shall restore fourfold four of his sons.
Died, I believe, as a result of his sin.
And then we know of their shameful history.
That happened in his family with Tema and David's son.
What do we learn now?
David did not judge evil that occurred in his family the way it should have been judged.
He passed it over. He was very angry when he heard what had happened.
But he did not take the right measures of punishing that wicked son. What happened? Even evil escalates. It spreads in his family. Absalom plans the murder of his brother.
And he slays him.
And any fleas.
I'm referring to these because I believe that to most of us, to history is familiar and we only have so much time. But he flees. Here Joab shows his character again.
When he realizes that David mourned over his son, he missed his son. He loved epsilon and he takes advantage.
Of David's love and affection for Absalom.
00:25:01
There was number City of refuge for a man like Absalom.
But just like his brother should have been slain for what he did to Tima.
Joette manipulates.
Absalom to come back without being judged.
Why did he do that? He wanted to strengthen his position with David. That's why he did that.
I believe it's correct to say.
But Absalom was not satisfied.
To be permitted to be back in that land without being.
Able to be in the presence of the king.
I think it is Macintosh.
That says, deal lightly with evil and it will rise and crush your head.
Deal lightly with evil and it will rise and crush your head.
You know, we know the story.
He was permitted to be fully reinstalled without ever having been repentant. And what a bold language, he says. If there's any cause of death, claiming there was a cause of death.
But he knew his father was weak. You know, he was a good king, but he was a poor father.
So he gets back. What does he do?
He prepared Chariots for himself.
Verse Chapter 15, Verse one.
These are all people in the life of David, and this in his own family, came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him Chariots and horses and 50 men to run before him.
And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate, and was so that when a man, when any man that had a controversy, came to the king for judgment.
Then Absalom called unto him, and said, Oh, what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said unto him, Seed, I Matters are good and right, but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. Absalom set, moreover, oh that I remade judge in the land, that every man which has a suit.
Or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice.
For so that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. I think that sounds very familiar.
If you want to start rebellion against any authority attacked.
Those in authority.
Convey that there is no justice.
No fair judgment.
I'm going to be a fair judge, really. What he was after was not just to be a judge, he was after the Crown.
As the history shows.
You know, I'm reminded of numbers.
All the people are holy. You take too much upon yourself. Doesn't it sound familiar? Haven't we witnessed that?
Are we in any way giving 8?
To those.
To under who undermine God-given.
Authority.
Well, we have, I'm happy to say some people that had different character and that comes out in connection with David having to flee.
And in this chapter here we find some of those men, and again beloved.
Would you not like to be characterized by what characterized ETI?
00:30:06
Would you not like to be characterized by what characterized Zeddock and Abayata and their two sons?
Beautiful, Beautiful to see how these men stood faithfully besides David and even endangered themselves.
Into obedience to David? What about this man?
Who shei?
Hoshi, what kind of counsel do we give?
Beloved, do we give counsel that will contribute to the downfall of the one whom God has put into place of authority? Ultimately, every rebellion is really against the Lord himself. You know, there was a man.
That must have been a great pain to David.
He at one time.
Was apparently a counselor of David Ahither felt.
I think it was Brother Dawn that at a recent conference made the statement that that might be the one that we read of in the Psalms. You know, that is a picture of Judas.
And what a grief it must have been to the heart of the Lord.
To have a Judas in the midst of the 12, what a grief it must have been to David.
To have this Ahithophel, the one who had been his counselor, side with his son. But I believe there's a reason why that happened when you look at it from the side of the government of God.
He was a relative.
Of the wife that he had stolen.
He was a relative with the Blessed Lord. There was number such cause when we come to Judas.
But in Davidde case, it was all part of the government of God. Now Hoshiya goes back to Jerusalem. And of course, Needless to say, we don't recommend dishonest statements in the day of Christianity, as David told Hushii to make.
That was tolerable and was tolerated in the day of this dispensation, but not in Christianity. We have to speak truth one with another. We cannot expect that we will do anything for the glory of God by being dishonest. There is no such a thing as situation ethics in Christianity, but here it was acceptable.
But oh, I want to elaborate elaborate a lot on these things, but just read it for yourself. It TI was not even a Jew and he had only recently come.
Yet what a faithful man, What a faithful man. David entrusted 1/3 of the army to this man when it came to confronting Absalom and the army that was with him.
You know, it's really a joy to my heart to see how many have been preserved to only have been recently gathered.
And they have been preserved.
I believe their hearts were attached, maybe in new.
Love, first love. They were preserved. Didn't have to have a lot of understanding.
Of truth. But the hearts were right like that of iti beloved, I'm sure we want to be idiots. We want to stand on the side of the Lord Jesus. We want to do all that we can to uphold his authority. We don't want to give any counsel that might lead to the tearing down.
Of the man of God's choice.
But what about?
Even the fact that the Ark was sent back.
To Jerusalem.
This is beautiful. Here again, I don't think David is a picture of the Lord Jesus as much as it is a picture of one who realizes that he is under the government of God and that he has to flee from his Son is God's government and that did not affect the divine center. The arc belongs at the divine center. I'm the one that has to leave because of my sin.
00:35:09
But oh, he is hoping that the day would come, that God would bring him back, that he would be forgiven, but oh beloved.
Do we think that we can take the Ark with us?
When we feel.
That things don't go among God's people. That we would like to see it go.
The arc belongs.
That which speaks of the divine presence in the people of God belongs where he has set his name. I think that's a beautiful manifestation of.
David's character. No wonder God loved David.
And that he was a man according to God's heart. But we also find that there were those.
Turn to Chapter 17.
Verse 27.
Came to pass.
When David was come to Mahanayam, that Shobi the son of Nehesh, of rebar of the children of Ammon, again not a Jew, and make here the son of Emiel of Laudiba. That's where Mephibosheth had been.
And Brazilian the Gileadite of the Golem, brought bets, and basins and earthen vessels, and wheat and barley and flour, and parched corn and beans and lentils, and parched pulse.
And honey and butter and sheep and cheese of kind for David.
And for the people that were with him to eat. For they said the people is hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.
Well, here we have again something that we could desire that this man was especially that Brazilian was a rich man and he as much as he's saying all that I have, is at the disposal of David.
David Neatz and I had. I'm going to supply.
You know, when David comes back.
Refined.
That.
This man again comes, he's a very ancient man.
You know, he was an ancient man when David fled.
But.
He did all that he could to aid David.
And those with David, what he did was not only for David, but he did was.
For those also who were with David who shared in David's.
Rejection.
And he comes.
And meets David goes with David over Jordan. David wants to take him to Jerusalem. He said no, I'm an old man, take take this one in my stead. And David did. But Mephibosheth also comes and we see. I think what is especially on my heart, is not so much to occupy ourselves with those unfaithful men, those wicked men, even in David's own family.
But to occupy our hearts with those who at this time, probably the most difficult time in David's life, far more difficult than when he was fleeing from Saul.
There were those who proved their genuine love and affection and faithfulness for David. The Lord Jesus will value very much if we in our day, in days of difficulties where the authority of the Lord is questioned and sought to be overthrown.
If we stand behind our David, when we do all that we can.
To uphold his authority and to aid those who are with the rejected.
Christ, David, But I'm sure if our affections are not in the right place.
00:40:04
We will not survive, spiritually speaking. What will preserve us in the path?
Is genuine affection for our David and communion with him.
And not seeking in any way our own glory, but the glory of the one who stood in the breach, who delivered us from the penalty and power of sin, so that we can stand for him. And in those members, with those members with which we once served sin, we can now serve the Lord.
Remain. Perhaps we could look at 3 scriptures to follow on a little bit of what our brother has been bringing before us. The first one is in Luke chapter 10.
Luke chapter 10 and verse 38. 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 home and she had a sister called Mary which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his words. And then in the 11Th of John.
John Chapter 11 and verse 19 And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him, But Mary sat still in the house. Verse 32 And when and when Mary was come, where Jesus was.
And saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. And then one more scripture in the 12Th of John and verse 3. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of Spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. Well, I just thought of.
Mary of Bethany, as our brother was speaking.
We have had before us this afternoon some whose affections were drawn out to David, and who followed David in his rejection, because their hearts desired to be with David. And as has been brought before us, David is a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. And here in the Gospels we have the precious Savior as he comes into this world as a man, and he walks through this world, and from the very beginning he was the rejected one. There was no love, generally speaking, in the hearts of Israel.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not from the very beginning he was rejected. There was number room for him in the inn. On another occasion they came and sought to cast him over the brow of a hill. And the Lord Jesus had to say too, that the foxes had holes, and the birds of the air had nests, but the Son of Man had not where to lay his head. But here was a home in Bethany, where the Lord Jesus was welcome as he walked in his pathway down here.
And what a comfort and a cheer it must have been to the heart of the Lord Jesus, as he experienced the rejection all around him, to be able to retire to this home in Bethany and to be surrounded by those that loved Him. We have Mary brought before us in these three scriptures, and I think it's instructive and remarkable that the three times Mary of Bethany is mentioned specifically a picture of the woman in Scripture often brings before us the affections and devotions.
You find there were three women who are mentioned, who followed the Lord in his pathway and minister to Him of their substance and their name. There for us in Scripture, Joanna, Susanna and Mary Magdalene. It was mentioned yesterday, I believe, concerning Mary Magdalene and how she wasn't intelligent in divine things, but she had a heart that was attracted to the person of Christ, and she received a wonderful revelation from the Lord Jesus after he had risen from the dead.
And here we find Mary at the feet of the Lord Jesus and justice. Very briefly, in the first instance, we find the Lord Jesus comes to this home where He feels welcome. And I believe that when he came to this home, both Martha and Mary were busy preparing the meal. It's important. We're thankful for sisters who have worked diligently this weekend to prepare the meals and to look after the temporal needs of the Saints, and I believe there'll be a rich reward for those who perform those little hidden tasks that no one knows about.
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But there's one, as we were reminded this morning, who's writing up the people. He's writing a book of remembrance, and even those cups of cold water that the sisters have given in his name will be rewarded in that day. But here are these two ladies, and they're both busy. But as the Lord Jesus enters that home, it's just as if Mary would say, here's an opportunity that can't be missed. I'm going to let the work go now. I'm going to sit down and sit at the feet of Jesus.
And here what he has to say. I say they were both busy, because if you notice carefully, it says, when Martha complaints to the Lord, carest thou not that Mary hath left me to serve alone. They were both there together in their service, preparing the meal. But Mary said, I'm going to sit down and hear what Jesus has to say. And the Lord Jesus had to say to Martha that Mary had chosen that good part that would not be taken away from her.
There was a lasting blessing from sitting down and hearing what Jesus had to say. And oh, what a privilege it is to be at meetings like this, to hear the voice of God speak to us, the voice of the Lord Jesus, as we open and read His word. Do we hear it in that way? But, you know, wonderful as it is to be at meetings like this, brethren, we need the word of God before us on a daily basis. And I know that those of my generation are perhaps not the readers that our fathers and our grandfathers were.
But you know, the performance of an engine is measured by its RPMS.
And you know, someone has put it this way. We need to keep up. Our RPMS. Reading, prayer and meditation was mentioned this morning. That meditation is a lost art. People don't have time. Satan is so busy today to crowd everything into our minds. When you go to work, it takes everything. You have to run that computer. It takes everything you have to survive in business. You've got to keep your mind on what you're doing. You drive down the freeway and you've got to keep your mind on the traffic.
Because Satan is, I believe, busy today to crowd our minds and rob us of our enjoyment of Christ.
You know, when the children of Israel went out to gather the manna, they had to gather it. But, says some gathered more and some less. It wasn't the amount they gathered that was important, but there was something they had to do with it. They had to meet it into their Omer. And I believe it would perhaps speak to us of taking the word of God and not just eating it initially, but meditating on it, fitting it into the needs of the day. And it says he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack. David said, oh, how I love thy law. It is my meditation.
All the day. And so we need God's word, and not just in the morning or when we come home at night.
But we need to meditate on the precious truth that he has given given to us. And so the first thing here was that Mary sat and she heard the words of Jesus. And then we find in the 11Th chapter a difficulty arises in the home. You know, there were two great institutions set up by God. The first one was the home and the second was the assembly. And I believe that Satan has been busy since the institution of those things.
To tear down what God has established, because Satan is opposed to everything that God has established. And we see the breakdown of everything around us in the home, in the world and sad to say sometimes in the assembly. But here was a difficulty that had arisen in the home. There's many difficulties in the home today, trials and problems where perhaps those of us who have families, sometimes we just don't know how to act. But here was 1 Mary and she knew where to turn in the difficulty. It was a very severe trial that had been allowed in this home.
Martha and Mary loved their brother Lazarus. They had a real affection for him, and now he was taken from them. But was Mary overwhelmed by the difficulty? You know, Martha is one that seemed to seems to me, was always busy. She always had to be active, perhaps trying to straighten things out. If there was a problem, perhaps Martha felt, well, we've got to straighten out this difficulty and this problem because, you know, when the Lord Jesus was approaching Bethany, we find that Martha runs to meet him. But I love what it says about Mary.
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It says, And Mary sat still in the house. How could Mary do such a thing? How could she sit there? Was it indifference to the problem? No, She loved her brother just as much as Martha did. But I believe Mary had a real confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. She had a real trust that in the midst of the difficulty in the situation, she could sit still, knowing that there was one in control and one who was going to come in his own time.
And in his own way, and not only come in his own time and way, but she knew there was one.
Who was sufficient for the situation when he did come? And so Mary sits still in the house you find with Peter. Just before it seemed like he was going to be martyred. He's sleeping between 2 guards. Was he indifferent to the situation? No. He had a confidence that while he had no might for the situation, there was one who was above all. You know, I would just say to each of our hearts when something arises in our personal lives or something in the family.
Or something in the local assembly. Is there a sense with us that there's one in control?
He still had over all things to the church, which is his body. One time I went to see a brother as we were going through a real difficulty in our area and as I sat down in the presence of this older brother, he said to me, Jim, sometimes things seem out of hand, but they're never out of the Lords hand.
What a calm, what a peace it gave to my soul. I believe Mary had a sense of that year. She had this calm, this peace that there was one who was fully able and one who was in control. It's true that when they told her that the master called, there was an immediate obedience, and we need to have that.
We find with the children of Israel on occasion. They're told to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, because God was going to deliver them from the enemy in a remarkable way. But a few verses later, they're told to go forth. They had to act in obedience, and Mary acts in obedience when she's told that the Master calls. And where does she run? She runs, and she falls down at the Savior's feet. She knew where to turn in her extremity. She'd sat there and heard his words.
Those words had sunk into her soul and she valued them. And now when the difficulty arises, she knows where we to turn. Have we sat at Jesus feet and listened to his words? If we have, then when the difficulties do arise, and I believe there's going to be no shortage of difficulties until we get home to the glory. Sometimes we think if we can just get one situation behind us that everything is going to be fine. But if you read through the book of the acts you find with the early church.
It's true that there wasn't a time when it says the churches had rest and were edified, but as one problem was dealt with and taken care of, then another would arise and the enemy attacked in various ways. All through the book, we're never going to be beyond the difficulties in the trials until we reached the Father's house, but all are we like Mary with this confidence, and she comes and she falls down in intercession for her brother. She'd heard his words, she'd listen to him speak. Now she comes and she speaks to him. And was the Lord able for the situation?
Of course he was. He had allowed this situation so that there would be glory brought to God.
And glory brought to himself. You know, we were Speaking of chastisement this morning. And sometimes God allows things to in his chastisement in his government, but sometimes he allows things in his in in his schooling. We're in the school of God. He has lessons for us to learn, and sometimes he allows things so that he will be glorified. That's what they said to the Lord Jesus in connection with the blind man, they said who hath sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind.
The Lord said neither this man nor his parents, but that the works of God might be glorified. There was going to be glory and honor brought to God and to the Lord Jesus through the situation. That's what he had in view here. But just notice before we very briefly go on to the 12Th chapter, notice verse 45 of the 11Th chapter of John. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him. You know, Scripture is tremendously accurate.
And in the verse we began with the 19th verse, we find that it was the Jews that came to Martha and Mary. But here, those that believe are those that came to marry. Why will I just pass on a simple thought? I believe that as they saw Mary's quiet testimony, as they saw that confidence that she had in her Lord, it was a tremendous blessing to these ones. And so those that believed were those that had come to marry.
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And as I have seen my dear brethren, many of them go through real times of tests and trial.
It's been a tremendous blessing to my own soul to see their confidence, to see the peace that they exhibit. Perhaps year after year in those difficulties and those trials, There were those who saw that in Mary, and what a blessing they received. Well then we find in the 12Th chapter that again the Lord Jesus comes to that house in Bethany. He's on his way to the cross. And here, for the last time, he visits this home where he was welcome.
He, as it were, desires to be surrounded by those whose hearts are drawn out in affection.
And brethren, that's what he wants. He wants our hearts affections. He died to win our hearts affections.
He says, My son, give me thine heart and all with Calvary before the Lord Jesus.
And all that it was going to mean to his holy soul to go under those waters of judgment.
And to be made sin, the one who knew no sin, the one who was wholly harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners, as he anticipates, that he finds, as it were, comfort and refuge once again in this home in Bethany. And there he surrounded by those who love him. It's beautiful to see here that Martha served. I think it was mentioned the other day. But there's nothing about the service being cumbersome here, because I believe that Martha learned the lesson that the Lord had spoken to her in Luke's gospel where we began.
She'd learned that true service sprung from sitting at Jesus feet, and now her heart is drawn out in affection and she serves. But it's not a cumbersome service, it's a service of love. When the Queen of Sheba observed Solomon's men that his servants, she said, happy, are these thy servants? Why? Because a few verses earlier she had noticed the sitting of his servants. They were in the presence of Solomon, occupied with his beauty, with his person.
And they went out as happy servants. Martha learned that. We find that Lazarus learned a great lesson too, because he sits at the table with Jesus. He's there in communion and fellowship. I believe he'd seen in Mary that learned from Mary that lesson as well. He'd seen her sit at the feet of Jesus.
And what about dear Mary? She comes with a heart overflowing with the person of Christ, a heart attracted to himself, and she pours out her ointment that was very costly in worship and a response to himself. Oh brethren, is there that response in our hearts? Are we walking with him? Are we listening to his words? Are we enjoying communion and fellowship? Do we come to him in prayer and intercession?
As we walk with him and were occupied with His blessed person, all our hearts will indeed be drawn out in praise and worship. Did the Lord value the response of Mary's heart? You know all the disciples spoke up against her.
That the Lord placed a proper value on that response, that's what He wanted. As he said to the woman in the well At the well he was seeking worshippers for the Father seeketh such to worship him. And what is true worship? It's a hard overflowing with the person of Christ. As we're occupied with Him, there will be that due response until we see Him in a coming day, and there unhindered, we will be at His feet. We will worship Him and praise Him for all eternity. What a day that will be. But until that day, brethren, may we seek like dear Mary to be at Jesus feet, that our hearts might be overflowing.
With his person.
24 rather 224.
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And what Christ has our.
Little day of the day, let's lay hearts.
I.
Most of all for the gift of the Lord Jesus and the shed blood of Calvary Christ.
The Lord we just pray that the things we learn here at these meetings might not be just acknowledge what the point to put the practical use in our life.
Now we just commend this meeting into my hands and ask you to for the rest of the day and that precious name, my game thing.
Open Mtg.
Open—N. Berry, S. Brinkmeyer
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But how much more wonderful?
That that truth can fill our hearts. And we do pray that we might be more occupied with the one that is coming than with the truth of His coming. We do thank you that in this scene where we're still waiting for a blessed moment, we have need for instruction. We need correction, we need encouragement.
An edification. We look to thee this afternoon that thou wilt meet some of the needs that exist among us.
We do pray that the Spirit be in control. We do pray and those who speak forth thy truth might do it as Star Wars and present it, and that we will open heart conferences with open ears, listen so that we might all benefit. If there's anyone in this room who is a stranger that I love and grace, we pray that that's so long might be reached.
So we commit this meeting tonight here.
We ask all in the name of the Lord Jesus, thy beloved Son, our Savior, Amen.
I.
Well, I trust that what the Lord is laid on my heart, and pray to that it is from Him and for His glory and the blessing of each one of us.
The thought that is before me is told in four words.
The joy of obeying.
Let's turn just for a verse now, to begin with in Romans 15.
And verse 13 Romans 1513.
Now the God of hope.
Fill you.
With all joy.
And peace.
In believing.
That ye may abound in hope through the power.
Of the Holy Ghost.
That's the desire of God for us all.
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Probably it's better for me to say my subject with the proper emphasis first of all, but I don't want to be saying.
I don't want to be harping on this word, obeying we hear quite a bit.
So it's not.
The joy of obeying that I want to emphasize.
But it is the joy.
Up. Obey.
The joyful being.
Unless you and I have that.
Really. That motive?
The object before us, her brother mentioned in his prayer of Christ for our needs and for our object, even while we're waiting for the Lord.
But I can say this, that it is the deep desire of my heart.
To lay a stress.
On each one of us.
Having that joy in our heart.
Of obeying, it's the only way beloved ones that were ever going to pass on through this hostile world with conditions getting worse and worse not only in the world but even amongst the Lords people.
And I would like to leave with you.
7 secrets.
Secrets in the sense of the mystery that Paul spoke of, but not only those given by Paul, other of the apostles as well.
I hope I won't take too much time. I want to leave time for others.
So.
If I could count on your attention for a little while, I'll go over these points and I'll give you the scriptures.
That you can meditate on and trust that it will be benefit to you.
7 secrets.
Their basic. I think we need basic truth and I believe that these are basic.
When I speak about us.
I'm going to be addressing those only of you who know the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior.
If you're here today and you don't know the Lord Jesus.
This is going to be right over your head.
You're going to miss everything. You're going to miss, of course, the joy of knowing what the Christian really can enjoy in this life.
You're perishing.
The perishing.
You think of this life as tough.
Nothing compared with what's ahead if you die without Christ.
So I am speaking now to those of us.
Here who know the Lord Jesus and see some young children here.
I see.
Young people.
And see those who are in middle life.
And those of us who are well on toward the end of our days.
And I want to address my thoughts.
To each one of you.
I love you.
And I want to leave this message I trust from the Lord.
First one.
Is this?
That you were chosen by God.
You were chosen by God individually before God made the world.
Does that have any impact on you dear younger ones here? I know it affects us, the older ones.
But I want to drive home that point that first of all, the first secret is that God chose you and me before there was any time before this world existed. So let's look at Ephesians chapter one. I'm just going to give you these verses quickly. Leave them with you.
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Ephesians 1.
Verse 3.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as He hath chosen us in Him. That's in Christ before the foundation.
Of the world.
That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.
There's the first chosen.
Does that group your soul?
Trust that grips mine, not to me be making us self important, but to realize that God has done this. He chose you. I'm looking into your face and if you're one of the children of God, God chose you before he made the world.
That's secret #1.
2nd is.
In order in order to get ahold of you, to put it that way, he had to buy the whole world.
Didn't redeem the whole world, but he had to buy the whole world.
Let's go over to Matthew 13.
Verse 44.
Again.
The Kingdom of God.
Is like unto treasure.
Hid in a field.
The which when a man has found, he hides. And for joy, there's that joy.
Thereof goeth and shalleth all that he hath.
And bias that field.
That's what God did. And the second secret? Now this is you and me.
He bought the whole world as a treasure.
That he had his eye on and that's you in order to be able to get at you.
He bought the world.
That's the 2nd.
Now the third, the third secret.
Getting closer now and I'm, as I look into your faces, some of you might say, well, we know those things.
But I just trust now.
But as we go on in these secrets.
She's going to realize that there is more to it than just to sit in a reading meeting like this and to hear these things. Nice points. Nice.
That your conscience and my conscience would be awakened.
We need it, we need it. We need to be stirred up these days.
3rd Secret as I said.
We have been redeemed. Let's go over to First Peter, chapter one.
Verse 18.
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For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things.
As silver and gold from your vain conversation, or men of life received by tradition.
From their fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Here's the price. Here's the price that God the Father has paid to have you. Have you? I want to drive home the fact that I'm talking to you as individuals. This is what God has done.
He has paid for you by giving His son, and that son of His love has paid with His own blood to redeem you. Why? Oh, because the whole race, because of disobedience from Adam on, forfeited all that place of privilege.
That God desired for his creatures to have them around him.
All that complacency was lost through disobedience, rebellion.
For experiencing this in a new way these days. But I want to keep emphasizing that this is the root fault or the root cause. Why?
God, speaking reverently, had to do this.
No other way. He spoke the world's into existence, but it cost him the price of His beloved Son and His blood. We had the experience this morning of tasting a little bit of what the Lord Jesus suffered at the hands of His creatures. The shame, the ignominy, all these things don't save us.
It's His precious blood, let's say, and He paid the Lord Jesus Christ in obedience unto death, the first and only man that ever walked on this earth in obedience fully to God's will as His beloved Son. God has found His complacency reestablished in one man, one man.
He opened the heavens to declare, This is my beloved Son, in whom I find my delight. This blessed Son of God has redeemed you and me by his blood. That's secret #3 I hope you're getting it.
#4.
Very serious. Now this is a little bit different and I trust that this is going to reach into your heart and to your conscience. This is the 4th, 1:00.
God owns you. He owns you. You are his property.
Let's turn to 1St Corinthians 6 and verse 9.
He asked the question. It's in the form of a question.
First Corinthians 69.
No, you're not.
It's not the worst I was looking for.
Yeah, No, you're not.
That your bodies.
That's not the verse.
19 there it is. What?
No, you're not.
That your body.
Is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.
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Does that hit you? Does that touch your conscience? We're not our own now. You haven't got the authority to be deciding, making any choices in this life. You are one, and I am one of God's objects that He has.
Chosen that He has bought the world to get at you, that He has redeemed you and now He owns you. You are His property. Any room here now for you and me to deciding what we're going to be doing? Not one particle of it. Not one particle. You and I belong to God as we pass on through this world.
We are His property. I have no liberty to use being using my mind to make decisions. We must bring all our thoughts into the obedience of Christ. Why? Because He owns us. We are His property.
That's step #4.
Now here is deeper a deeper point.
God had a purpose and He still has a purpose in this whole plan that I am, I trust, opening up before you.
What is that? It is this that God has done.
All this for his own joy and pleasure.
That's primary. That's first. Why did he do it? For his own joy and happiness. Let's go over to Ephesians chapter one.
Wonderful.
Portion here. I don't want to spend too much time on this.
No ifs in Ephesians because it's all God's purpose and his plans, nothing to do with.
Sin here.
At the beginning, redemption is only mentioned, I think in the seventh verse, but I want to just point out to you quickly that there are three persons engaged in this work, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All have been.
Part of this work for the glory of the Father, the glory of the Lord Jesus, and for the glory of the Holy Spirit.
That's a little bit lofty, isn't it? Then you might say that's a bit beyond me, but I just want to implore you, dear younger ones and older ones, we need to be brought into the realization that God is doing all this for His own glory.
Primarily, let's look at it now in a little more detail.
Verse 5.
Ephesians 15 Now this is God the Fathers.
Portion, we might say.
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ.
To himself.
Is that plain language? There it is God saying this to Himself, according to the Notice this the good pleasure of our will. No, His will. The good pleasure of His will.
To the praise.
To the praise of the glory of.
His Grace.
When I heard this years ago, took a hold of my soul. Oh dear, younger ones and older ones and every one of us, may we realize that this is what God is saying. First of all, that God the Father, for the glory of his grace and according to his will, that he might have you, dear young Sir, teenagers.
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Middle-aged and older ones. Or that we might let this grip our souls. It is all for the glory of God the Father. First now, then the second, we might say paragraph of these first 14 verses is now the work of the Lord Jesus.
Speaks thereof, in whom we have redemption in the seventh verse. It goes on now to the work of the Lord Jesus. For you, No, for his own glory.
Let's go on now down to the.
11Th Verse In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose. Notice this to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the council of His own will, that we should be to the praise of.
His.
Glory.
Are you living that way?
How do they come in these conferences? But I'm saying this directly to everyone of us in this.
Auditorium today.
Are we living like this? Are we in the consciousness of the profundity of it all, the loftiness, the divine purpose, and folding before our eyes this afternoon, that the Father and the Son?
I have have accomplished all this. You involved me involved. I'm involved the work of the Lord Jesus to the praise of His glory. Look at the 14th verse.
Here we come to the 13 and 14 have to do with the work of the Holy Spirit. We read the two of them in whom He also trusted. After that He heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that He believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Which is the earnest or the guarantee of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchase? Possession unto the praise of His glory.
Isn't that wonderful, or do you think it is?
I leave that with you. I can't, I can't implant anything in you. I can only bring out these truths simply in falteringly. But is the Lord Jesus Christ or the Father first to does he do you see that he has been glorified in all this, the Lord Jesus Christ for what he has done on the cross for the glory of the gods Father, the Father first.
And then for your and my redemption. And then.
And then to realize.
That the Holy Spirit has been given Aaron when he went into the.
The Tabernacle.
Like Christ with the picture of Christ, he went in there and.
All the sins of the people was kind of confessed and He took those sins in and confessed them to God. While He was in there. There was a suspense until He came out, and when He came out the people knew that their sins were forever. For that year were forgiven. The Lord Jesus is our high priest. He has gone into heaven, our high priest, He never has come out.
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How do we know that all these things are true? How do we know that we're accepted?
He never has come out. What has He done? Oh blessed truth, He sent His Holy Spirit. And this Holy Spirit speaking reverently, the third person or the person of the Godhead, He lives in your body. He lives in my body. Are you treating that body as if it was that holy, indwelling person of the Holy Spirit? He's the promise, He's the guarantee. He has come out to tell you.
And me that we are accepted in the beloved. And not only so, but let me add this.
You and I have been brought into His presence. The Lord Jesus is within the veil and we enter in through His precious blood. This is your portion. This is my life. Are we entering into a beloved ones or are we just frittering our life away? Are we realizing that these are divine truths? These are riches for you and for me to enjoy.
God the Father is satisfied and glorified to the praise of His glory.
And the Holy Spirit to working here still in our life, to ever point us on to Christ and occupy us. And as I said before, live in your body and mind. Oh, what a wonderful portion is ours. How rich we are and how poverty stricken sometimes we're living. Beloved ones, do we realize what it means?
In this God.
This world that is forsaken just getting worse and worse rapidly.
To be gathered to the blessed name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a privilege do we have this morning. Does it grip your soul?
Or are we just taking it for granted? We're being tested these days as to the reality of these truths, this truth. I shouldn't say truth, truth. Do we value these things? You might say, well, yes, but you're bringing before us the fact of God the Father and the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
But what about us?
That's number six now.
Here's a secret now.
God has satisfied. The Lord Jesus is satisfied and glorified. The Holy Spirit is glorified.
But what about us?
Are we left here to struggle on? Sometimes we feel that way, don't we?
Oh no.
In order in order that you and I might be enjoying this.
Glorious truth.
He's given us the power. He's given us the Holy Spirit. He is the power. Are you letting that spirit formulate your thinking as to your job, your relationship with others, your boyfriends and girlfriend? Are you just taking these things?
For granted and just say, well it's life up and down, oh beloved ones, God has given you and me.
This mighty power to live.
In our hearts, in our bodies, to enable us to fully enjoy these things.
Apostle John three times in the Gospel speaks of fullness, of joy.
15th chapter he speaks of fullness of joy through obedience. 16th chapter of John he speaks of fullness of joy through prayer.
17th chapter of John. He speaks a fullness of joy through communion. Are you, am I, are we enjoying this? Have we got the power? Do we need to ask the Lord?
No, we don't.
Let's go over to the first chapter of Second Peter to see want to leave these scriptures with you so that you will be able to meditate on them.
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2nd Epistle of Peter, chapter one.
Verse 3.
According as His divine power hath given unto us. Notice this.
All things.
That pertain unto life and godliness.
Through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue, our spiritual energy, He has given you and me all things that pertain to my salvation and then my life.
Your life.
Kind of lofty what I'm saying.
I want to suddenly stop now.
A little bit too much, maybe.
And I'm going to ask myself a question.
Am I looking at you here this afternoon?
And some of you not only aiming at the young people, each one of us.
Are we thinking, let's be honest, are we thinking, well, do I have to be as obedient as that?
I don't think that God requires such a rigid obedience.
Are you thinking I seem to be getting away with a few of these things. Nothings happening.
We're liable to be thinking that way through the deception of Satan.
Oh, how dangerous.
I won't take time to look at her, but I'll give you the verses. You can read them. Israel, just think of this now, Israel, 3500 years ago, Moses wrote Deuteronomy chapter 28 and there he sat before as directed by God, all the blessings and all the curses that would follow. And if you can start in verse 15 of Deuteronomy 28 or 45.
Rhythm and soberly read them and realize that God said that if they did not.
If they did not.
Obey.
That there was going to be a curse fall on them.
So you'd say, well, did that happen?
1500 years later the Lord Jesus was sent as the Messiah, the Promised One, and they murdered him, they crucified Him, and for the last 2000 years that the nation of Israel is under that curse.
They brought it on themselves 2000 years. Let me say this, do you think you and I can get away with disobedience to the Lord without suffering in our souls? We're not going to have a curse put on us. I'm not going to lose my salvation. You dear young fellows that are here today, you're going to lose your salvation if you're disobedient to your parents or you say to your parents, I'm going to do what I want, but don't let Satan deceive you into thinking.
That you're not going to lose out in your soul. You are, because God in the 1St Corinthians 1011 tells us. Now all these things happen to them, unto them, for in samples unto us, to you, and to me. And God isn't trifling. And God is a holy God and He knows. He knows that the only way you and I are ever going to be happy. He holds the key in His hand. And that happiness and joy is through obeying Him. He loves you and me.
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Much to let me get away with anything and then to call on Him and for guidance when I need Him and forget Him when everything is going all right. All beloved ones. That's why I stop in in here between the 6th and the 7th, because it is so rampant these days. And Satan is just working. Working. What devastation in the last couple of years.
We experience through what ah, through self will, through saying, well, it doesn't really matter. I think this and I think that, oh beloved ones, may we be arrested.
If we're on that self will course, God hates it. God hates it. He loves you so much that he wants to bless each one of us here.
He wants us to go away from these meetings just filled with joy, with the power that he's given us. And oh, how wonderful that is. Now what's the 7th and last perfect number?
Just this.
That there is nothing on this earth to compare.
Joy and happiness and fulfillment and answered prayers and directions as to what to separate from down here. Nothing. Nothing on this earth is compared with walking in communion day by day with our Father.
Nothing. Nothing.
How does the scripture?
Describe this. Let's turn to first Peter.
Chapter.
4.
Beloved.
Get this now, please be loved. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened unto you, but.
But rejoice.
Passing through trials. I know some of you are.
Some of us are really being tested.
What does it say but rejoice?
By taking the trials away. No, no, the blessed Lord Jesus, as we'll see in the next verse, has gone before on this path. But rejoice in as much as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. Oh, what a prospect.
What a prospect Brother mentioned in his prayer. Again, I referred to it. He spoke about the glorious future. Let's go back to the first chapter and.
Verse 8.
Whom having not.
Seen ye love.
In whom though now ye see him not yet believing?
They're leaving is the same as obeying. If I believe a thing, I'm going to obey it.
I can just say I believe it but not do it well. And I'm not really believing it, but yet believing, yeah. Rejoice with joy.
Present tense, present joy, unspeakable and full of glory, oh beloved ones.
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Are we enjoying Christ?
Day by day, and I just say this in closing, Let's reach up, beloved ones. Let us avail ourselves of all that the Lord has enriched you and me with in this life, in spite of the trials and difficulties, or that you and I would be living in our heavenly position today.
For His glory and for your and my blessing.
I like to spend a few moments speaking further on a couple things that our brother Barry spoke of.
And I'd like to look at the example given to us in the Old Testament of the purchase of the threshing floor.
We start with.
Second Samuel.
Chapter 24.
As we go along, perhaps.
Pick up those thoughts that our brother mentioned.
That I have enjoyed recently.
Second Samuel chapter 24 and let's start with verse 18.
And God came that day to David, and said unto him.
Go up.
Rear and altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of Aruna, the Chevy site.
And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.
And Aruna looked and saw the king and his servant coming on toward him. And Aruna went out and bowed himself before the king, on his face upon the ground. And Aruna said, Where is my Lord the king? Come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshing floor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Aruna said unto David, Let my Lord the king take and OfferUp what seemeth good unto him.
Behold here the oxen for burnt sacrifice and threshing instruments, and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
All these things did Aruna as a king unto the king. And Aruna said unto the king, The Lord thy God, except thee. And the king said unto Aruna, Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price, neither will Ioffer burnt, offering unto the Lord my God of that which cost me nothing.
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver, and David built there an altar unto the Lord, and burnt and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
Now let's turn over to First Chronicles.
For a slightly different perspective.
On this account.
A couple things that are different here. One is the individual name is not Aruna, but his name now is Hornan in First Chronicles chapter 21.
There are a couple differences here, and I won't read the whole portion, but let's pick up the thought. It's a 22nd verse.
And then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar therein unto the Lord. Thou shalt grant at me for the full price, that the plague may be stayed from the people. And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and might let my Lord the King do that which is good in his eyes. Lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood.
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And the wheat for the meat offering.
I give it all.
And the king said to Ornan, Nay, but I will verily buy it for the full price.
For I will not take that which is vine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.
So David gave to Ornan for the place 600 shekels of gold by weight. And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord, and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.
Please turn now to.
Genesis chapter 37.
Genesis 37.
Verse 26.
And Judah said to his brethren.
What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh and his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites, merchants, merchantmen, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver, and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Another passage.
In Matthew 26.
Matthew chapter 26, verse 14.
Then one of the 12 called Judas Iscariot, went on to the chief priest and said unto them.
What will he give me? And I will deliver him unto you, and a covenanted with him for 30 pieces of silver.
Well, I apologize for.
Turning to all these scriptures.
Quite a few to keep in mind.
But the thought that I've had before me, I enjoyed portions of it at various times and there were a couple pieces of the puzzle, so to speak, that I didn't fully understand. And I heeded the advice of of a couple younger brothers that spoke at the sing last night. One was getting up, going out early and joined.
Nature enjoying the communion with the Lord that we can have and another brother suggested that we look above the things around and this morning as.
We were sitting in the remembrance of the Lord.
The pieces seem to fall into place and I'd like to share those with you.
If we look at the portion from Second Samuel 24.
David bought the threshing floor, and perhaps it's good to back up a few.
Get the context of these passages.
David bought the threshing floor because he had sinned.
He had numbered the people.
And that was not according to God's mind. He had disobeyed.
And because he disobeyed, there was punishment that needed to be rendered the.
And David was given three choices.
And so he made the choice.
And consequently.
The judgment was carried out.
But if we go back and it can be either into Second Samuel or it can be in First Chronicles, wherever you have your the place marked, it doesn't matter. But if we go back a few verses, something very important is said there, and that is.
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Reading from I'll read from Second Samuel 2417. David spake unto the Lord when he saw the Angel that smoked the people and said, lo.
I have sinned and I have done wickedly.
Now if we.
Go to the portions that we read in here in Second Samuel and in First Chronicles regarding the purchase of the threshing floor. They seem almost identical, and at first reading we may not notice that there's any difference. But there are two very important things that I feel that are good for us to get hold of. One is keep in mind that in Chronicles we have the.
Lord, we have God viewing these events from His perspective and in the other chapters it may be given to us from our perspective. And in Second Samuel we may have and we do have the purchasing of the threshing floor. It said he bought it.
For 50 pieces of silver and included in that purchase.
Is the oxen for the burnt sacrifice?
And the threshing instruments.
And it says there that David offered burnt offerings and he offered peace offerings. And if we flip over to First Chronicles 21.
The difference that we find.
Two fold.
First Chronicles 21, verse 22.
I'll just read it.
Fernand said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my Lord the King do that which is good in his eyes. Lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing floor, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering.
The threshing floor was where the wheat was gathered in and was beaten out.
And the wheat was separated from the.
Hull from the straw, and there that grain was presented.
But we might say what does that? What's the significance of that? Well, I think the significance is that David was willing to purchase this.
Threshing floor with the oxen.
Which cost 50 shekels of silver.
For the wheat, he was willing to pay 600 shekels of gold. I've enjoyed the thought that.
When we look at Joshua or excuse me, and when we look at Joseph, he's often portrayed as a type of Christ. In the Old Testament, he was betrayed for 20 pieces of silver. When turned to the New Testament, we read about the Lord Jesus being betrayed for 30 pieces of silver. And so if we add those two together, what do we get? We have 50. I've enjoyed the thought that perhaps that is.
And I don't want to seem disrespectful.
But perhaps that is what our redemption cost. Silver is often connected with redemption. And so here is David.
Went to this threshing floor. He was instructed to buy it, to build an altar, and to offer sacrifices upon it.
And in Kings, we have that. We have that redemptive work brought before us.
The burnt offering and we have the peace offering, but we turn over to First Chronicles. We get the Lord's perspective of what really took place here. Not it did not cost 50 shekels of silver in First Chronicles, but it cost 600 shekels of gold.
600 is 20 * 30.
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Gold speaks of divine righteousness, and I believe that the value of that wheat for the meat offering or the meal offering was worth that extra price, and I can't say with any authority how much.
50 shekels of silver is worth in our currency or how much? How much 600 shekels of gold is worth in our currency? Perhaps someone knows that and I would be interested to find out, but.
The significance, I think, is there, and let us turn over to Leviticus.
The first chapter just to go over.
For a moment, the offerings.
Leviticus, chapter one.
It speaks in the second verse of the Children of Israel.
Bringing an offering on to the Lord.
This is the burnt offering.
And as we have been taught, the burnt offering speaks of the obedience of Christ.
We can turn to John's Gospel.
The 4th, 5th, and 6th chapters, I believe, very clearly bring before us the Lord's desire, and that was to do His Father's will came not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. My meat is to do the Father's will. And so we have the obedience to believe in the burnt offering, as others have instructed us.
And David was going to offer that burnt offering there at that threshing floor.
And it was a sacrifice unto the Lord.
And then if we skip the 2nd chapter and go to the third.
We have the peace offering.
Again as.
Older ones have spoken of and written that the peace offering speaks of fellowship.
And I think it's very important that we realize where the fellowship, who the fellowship should be with. Again, it's a peace offering. It's on to the Lord.
'S.
It was to be without blemish. And so I think it's helpful if we turn to the first Epistle of John, the 1St chapter, we get the importance of fellowship.
And.
Perhaps we can flip over to that, just for a moment.
First John, chapter one.
First John chapter one and the last part of the third verse.
Truly.
Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
Truly, our fellowship is with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.
It's not that we don't have fellowship one with another. We do, but it begins first with the father and with his son.
Many times, I'm afraid, we place our emphasis on fellowship with each other.
Before fellowship with Father.
And that, speaking for myself, gets me into difficulty. I failed to see the importance of where my fellowship should first begin. And that's the peace offering. It's with the Father and with the Son. We have our fellowship brought in later down in the chapter, with each other in the seventh verse.
If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.
If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.
And so I think we have the proper order here in this first epistle. John.
Well, as I said in First Chronicles, we have.
The Lords view of what took place here.
And we have the wheat for the meat offering or the meal offering. And we get the meal offering in the second chapter of Leviticus. And as a brother, Barry spoke to us.
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The Lord Jesus was perfect. In every aspect of his life. He was perfect. In obedience, He was perfect.
And walk in everything and I can't comprehend the depth of his perfection, but I believe we have that in the meal offering.
Sometimes we go to a store, we may be by a sack of corn meal, and many times a cornmeal can be coarsely ground and there are uneven sizes. But sometimes there is a sack of finely ground cornmeal and it's very even, it's very fine. There are no coarse pieces. And I believe the Lord Jesus in his perfectness was like a meal. The wheat was ground to a flower that was like powder.
Every every aspect of his life was perfect, same consistency, no lumps, no coarseness in it. And so I think that as again giving credit to our.
Older brethren, for instructing us the meal offering, for the meat offering speaks of the meal and the perfect.
Nature of the Lord Jesus.
Well, there was one thing that bothered me in reading this in First Chronicles.
I I felt like I wasn't there was an ingredient that I wasn't quite getting.
And it dawned on me that it was the sin offering.
We have the peace offering, or excuse me, the burnt offering, the meal offering.
The sin offering or is.
The peace offering, the burnt, the meal and the peace offerings are mentioned to us, but what about the sin offering? There's no mention made of it in that chapter in First Chronicles again, I believe.
It's it's there, but we don't see it mentioned. And I believe it's there because David said I have sinned, I have done wickedly. And if we look back to the early life of David.
We get God's assessment of Him.
And it tells us that the Holy Spirit, I'm not sure that that's the exact words, but the Holy Spirit came and dwelt upon David at that moment. He was sanctified. And I believe it's important that we all realize that when we come to the breaking of bread. Lords Day morning.
If we're there partaking of it, there's no place for the sin offering that's already taken place. It's already done with.
We are there because the sin offering has been accomplished, the Lord Jesus. But we're there, I believe, and if I'm wrong, I'd like to be corrected. We're there, I believe, to present to the Father.
The burnt offering, the meal offering and the peace offering. And I believe that's what David did when he bought this threshing floor in the second and first Chronicles 21.
We have the value of that meal offering brought in that's not mentioned in Second Samuel.
But I believe when David said I have sinned, I believe he was doing something.
You don't need to turn to it, I'll just read it. That we find in first John chapter one verse 9.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
I believe when David went to OfferUp those offerings.
That confession had taken place. The hand of the sword of the Angel was stopped because he said, I have sinned, I have done wickedly.
And I believe for us to fully value.
And appreciate.
The offerings, the burnt offering, the meal offering and the peace offering.
We need to do that on a.
Daily basis it needs to be done before we come together to remember the Lord in His death.
And I again speak to myself. It's something that I don't practice often enough.
But I believe these words are given to us, that we do make it a habit and a part of our lives.
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Someone said to me not long ago that.
The test of our fellowship, one with another, comes.
And whether or not we can sit down to break bread at the Lord's Table with someone.
And I've thought a little bit about that.
And I feel that there are.
Some here.
There are some in our home assemblies.
There are many here in Corner Brook, in Newfoundland, in Canada, in North America.
That are Christians and they appreciate the sin offering, they value it, but does their value of it really go beyond the 50 shekels of silver?
Does it stop at redemption, or does it go on to the enjoyment of the three offerings that we have in First Chronicles 21 or in Leviticus 1-2 and three?
There are some here that I know are believers that have.
If you will.
Gotten a hold of the sin offering.
But there have not had fellowship with us that sat down and enjoyed the burnt offering, the meal offering and the peace offering. And so our fellowship one with another was good up to that point.
Those that did not break bread with us this morning did not partake.
And those offerings and so our fellowship stopped there.
Wouldn't it be nice?
If we could all partake of that, those offerings.
His one brother has said to implied that at the remembrance the foot of the cross is the sacrifice offering or the sin offering, and all these others spring up from that. And so I would just like to encourage those that did not have their privilege this morning of.
Partaking and offering to God.
Those offerings.
To perhaps think about that.
And the fellowship, your fellowship with us is limited. And to those of us that had the privilege of sitting down and remembering the Lord in his death, partaking of those emblems.
I think it's good if I dwell more on the meal offering.
And the burnt offering and the peace offering, recognizing what each one is in its own place and what the Father wants from us.
I take.
At the meal offering is of tremendous value to the father.
Because it cost so much more.
And I would judge that.
We barely enter into it.
There's a verse in Ephesians and the third chapter that speaks of the unsearchable.
Riches of God.
I believe those unsearchable riches are found in this book.
We need to read it.
We need to pray over it, about it.
And we need to try to cultivate that art that was spoken of of meditation.
That is being lost. That is lost.
And.
I guess I'm old enough that I'm old to be considered a young person, and I'm young enough to be considered too young to be called an old person. So I'm kind of in between.
I think it's.
Very important that we.
Just sit down with the word and meditate upon it, not expecting that when we sit down for 10:15, 20-30 minutes, whatever it might be, that we're going to get some revelation. We may need to sit for 1/2 hour one day.
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Maybe 20 minutes the next day.
Maybe an hour.
Before we get something what from what we've read.
And I believe if we.
And before the Lord in wanting to glean from his word.
He will give us something.
I remember feeling at one point.
As a.
Younger man.
Very frustrated because I would try to read some of the older writings and felt like I was barely getting anything from it and what I did get it would be gone when I wanted to refer back to it. I couldn't remember who said it, where I read it, things like that.
And to me, it was frustrating.
But with the Lord's help, and I trust that I can pass this on to those that are younger.
With the Lord's help and due time and patience.
He will reveal to you what he wants you to know.
And sometimes it's not very much at first. Maybe it's just a small particle of that meal.
But what he gives you is going to be good. It's not going to be course. It's not going to be unpalatable. What he gives you is going to be good. And it will become better if we walk in the obedience of it.
And I think with each grain that he gives us, if we enjoy it and practice it, he will give us some more.
So I would encourage you to spend some time.
Reading and praying over the Word and don't become impatient because.
As her brother said, he wants to bless us in our Christian lives. He wants to be wants us to be a bright testimony and encouragement 1 to another and I believe when we.
Appreciate the meal offering.
We may.
Partly enter into what He wants us to have and enjoy in our life of obedience, worship and service to Him.
Vocation spotless 1 and weakness train to barely yoke and none of the that we may rest but pink 174.
Mark 2
Reading
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Could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places and there's an example of a man not obeying and hindering. Really. The Lords work so.
He individually, we have to do what the Lord tells us to do, and He gives us the ability to do that, or He eclipse us for that work. And it's the second Timothy 2 Says, prepared unto every good work. So every one of us has a job here to do everyone, brothers and sisters, young and old alike. And if we are listening to what the Lord says, we will do it, and we'll do it easily, no problem.
I was interested in the portion of Brother Jim referred to that the Lord had told Peter Follow me, and he sees John following the Lord when he asked that question. And what shall this man do? Well, there was an example right before him of one following the Lord, and he asked, what shall this man do? Very strange. We may stumble along that way and wonder what someone else is doing, but that other person is following the Lord the way he's leading them.
And so our own responsibility, just as you said, was for us to follow.
And do what the Lord has asked us to do, whether it would be to go to his home, or whether it's follow him in the way, or is an evangelist or whatever. But to do what the Lord says is, is what He wants us to do, is following. He had always pointed out the wrong of the systems of a one man ministry.
We, as brethren, have been guilty of the abuse of liberty.
We have attempted to do things for which the Lord had not called us, and we have brought this credit upon the truth of God.
By doing that, because the evangelist tries to teach and the teacher tries to evangelize, and we make a mess of it, we're not content with the place that the Lord has given us. That's what we are guilty of as brethren, and what we are perhaps are more guilty of than anything else is that we keep quiet and that we do not use the talents that the Lord has given us, and so some are almost forced.
And pushed into a position to do something for which they are not the best qualified to. Would you agree with that? But if they're.
In in numbers where the thought I'll just do it as quickly as you can the priests there were two priests.
Aaron's two boys and in all the Tabernacle. I've never seen that any one of those priests had something to do different than the other. They they were totally equal. The only time that the priest ever had anything special instructed to him was when the children of Israel are on the March and one of the sons made-up in the Bayou or Elias or Itamar. One of them was to be in charge of the Levites as they marched the wilderness, but as far as worship was concerned.
The priests were totally equal. We don't need gift to be worshippers of God, and we're all exactly equal. But when it comes to service, then it goes on to describe every man's job and each place what they were to carry.
And they were equipped. Some of them had eight oxen and four wagons, and some had.
Four oxygen and two wagons. And some of them had no wagons, and the coophytes didn't have anything to carry them to the wilderness state, but they had the greatest privilege of all, and that was to carry the ark and all the sacred pieces of the Tabernacle. So whatever job the Lord gives us to do, He gives us the equipment with which to do it, and it can be done. If we stay in our field and do it, He'll give us the power and the ability, and we'll do it well for His glory. That's the function of the body.
The hands and the feet and the eyes and so on. And that's what we really need to do, to do the job that the Lord gives me to do. And each one of us has that, sisters and brothers alike. It must have been a wonderful thing when the Lord Jesus was here, as we've had in our chapter, and he gave specific instructions to these two men and to other individuals throughout the Gospels. But we might raise the question today, Will the Lord Jesus isn't here in this world.
And we've been Speaking of how we He has a path of faith for us. And we've been Speaking of how we're to follow his direction and to follow him. And so we might raise the question, how do we follow him if he's not here in this world? Well, I'd like to hear what others have to say, but I believe that God has marked out a path for us, and it's a path of faith. And it's found in His word. We find in the 119th Psalm familiar verse, the 105th verse, it says thy word is a lamp unto my feet.
00:05:25
And a light unto my path. The illustration has been used if you're going to.
Get out tonight and walk, we'll say from here to Frenchman's Cove. And we'll suppose it's a very dark night and there's no electricity And someone puts a flashlight in your hand. And you shine that flashlight a few feet ahead of you. And you might become alarmed and say, well, how is this flashlight going to show me the path all the way to Frenchman's Cove at several miles to Frenchman's Cove? Well, we know the answer immediately. You just hang on to that light and as you take one step after another.
Then you have fresh light for the next step, and I believe David recognized this in the Psalms. It's a nice very quickly, a nice little progression there in connection with knowing the mind of the Lord in the 27th Psalm. He says, Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path. And I trust each one of us have that desire here this afternoon, to know what the path and the mind of the Lord is for us. But then in the 119th Psalm, he realizes that if he's going to know the path, and if it is going to be plain, it's marked out in his word.
Sometimes I talk to folks and they say, well, I'd like to know what the Lord's mind is for me. Some little service or where he wants me to live, or a vocation in life, or a partner, or whatever it is. Well, you talk to them. You find out they're not reading the word of God. We'll never know the mind of the Lord if we don't read his word. Store up our mind with it too, and then he can bring something back that perhaps didn't mean much to us at the time, but some story about an individual in the scripture, a young man, a woman, and he can bring that back at the right time and apply it to the situation.
So we need to have that instruction. But then there's a nice verse in the 143rd Psalm. It says teach me to do thy will. In other words, David said, when you do, make it clear from your word has to be that desire. I believe the understanding of Scripture is contained in that verse that says if any man desire to do his will, he shall know. But David says, when you do make it clear, then give me the grace to follow whatever it is, hard or easy because the Lord might reveal something to us and we might hold back and say, well, I wouldn't mind if it wasn't something quite so difficult or if it was just a little different.
No, He his way is death. He chooses the path, he makes it clear, and then we need to seek to grace, to walk in it. But it's not of ourselves, brethren, If there's any response or desire to follow the Lord, if we've been preserved in any measure, whether it's at the Lords table or some little service, or in our everyday walk for the Lord, it's God that works in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
I believe in Access or 11 We have a a nice simple little practical example of your evangelist, pastor, and teacher. Combination and verse. 19 it says. And they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as the East, and Cypress and Antioch, preaching the Word unto the Jews only. And so forth. And then we see the Gentiles begin to come into it.
And verse 22 Tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which is at Jerusalem.
And they sent forth Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch, who, when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad and exhorted the mall, that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord. While you can see that Barnabas has undoubtedly A pastoral care for the Saints of God, and really is concerned with their good and blessing. But we notice in verse 25 he departs for Tarsus to seek Saul.
And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch, and it came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church and taught much people. Undoubtedly he recognized that Saul, which was Paul, had more the ability of the teacher. But you can see a pattern of things there, and I believe that pattern is seen in those Levites. I can't give much on it, but I know that Kohath no doubt.
Was more the teacher element of the Levites? Is that not right? And then Murray possibly.
And then Gershom.
00:10:02
Name means waiting for assembly. It's very interesting.
The other two I can't remember. One is I was going to say someone handled the boards. Was it the Hershey Mites? I'm not sure.
Yes, but that would figure more of the person. And so you've got the evacuate side to make too much of it. But I believe there is that pattern of thought. You're over the chat as well.
We had the truth of the body of Christ along with Ephesians 4 and Colossians and 1St Corinthians 12.
But the point that Paul laborers about in the 12Th of Romans is don't overextend yourself.
Don't think higher off yourself, and you ought to think.
And he gives the moral condition necessary for functioning within the body in the first verses that we should present our bodies the living sacrifice and then not to be conformed to the world. And then he says, don't think higher of yourself than you ought to think. So in First Corinthians 12 you have the gifts classified according to their spiritual importance. Firstly, apostles.
Secondary teachers and so on. But in Romans, this is not the point. In Romans, he is saying as much as this. If you think you are a teacher and you're not, you're thinking higher of yourself than you ought to think. If you think you're an evangelist and you're not, you're thinking higher of yourselves than you ought to think. This is the point that he's stressing in first in the 12Th chapter of Romans, and that ought to be speaking to us.
And really, I believe that if we function in the place.
Where God has put us, and for which he has qualified us, will be the happiest.
While we clearly recognize from scripture that God doesn't give all the gifts to one man, is it possible that God would give more than one gift to an individual? I'm thinking of in Israel there were those who could sling as well with their left hand as their right, and I just ask it as a question. Statement was made to who made. Did you make it never gives more than one gift to a person. I wouldn't say that. I believe we have had brethren who?
Could serve.
In the Gospel as well as in teaching. Take Mr. McIntosh. You know, I believe he's an example. I believe he was a very gifted evangelist.
Yeah, that he said. That he had never, he had never noticed.
One brother having more than two gifts.
Madras Charles Stanley's gun. Yes, like you would accept the possibility that there would be a teacher and evangelist.
He must have had all of you. Yes. Well, he was of course a delegate from Gaza. People have said that Mister Kelly, an eminent teacher among the early you know, even in I understand that the university to Steven students would be advised to go and listen to the lectures of Mr. Kelly.
Because the way he lectured. But people have said that they enjoy tremendously listening to him preaching the gospel.
So but.
The main point is, beloved, let us not overextend ourselves, Let us not think higher of ourselves.
It's no presumption to know that the Lord has given me the gospel, or has given me the teaching, or given me shepherd care. And what do we need more than shepherd care, beloved? That is probably the crying need that we have.
And there's nothing wrong in knowing that. But then in humility, seeking to exercise that gift is guided by the Holy Spirit. Only then it will be for the glory of the Lord Jesus and the blessing of all.
Well, could we ask how do we stir up the gift that is in US? I'm saying this in view of younger ones since we've had.
Some very pointed remarks in connection with encouraging our younger brothers.
How do we know that? How do we know what gifts we may have?
How do we stir it up?
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Let me tell you what an old brother said years ago, he said. Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might.
Now I might try to attempt to be a shepherd or a teacher.
If I really want to please the Lord, it becomes soon evident to me what I'm trying to do. Something that I'm not called to, I'm not qualified to do, it becomes evident to me. I'm not seeking hopefully myself in it, and the Lord will make it clear. We have to allow a young graduate to make mistakes, brethren, and to learn by mistakes.
Didn't we all learn that way?
Did we all learn that way by mistake?
I remember reading. I think it was in a.
Was by Darby, but doesn't matter who it was, he said. You can tell by the prayers he set up an evangelist. Praise Lord, look at these four sinners and the pastor. He's praying. Lord, look at these poor sheep. In other words, it's on his heart to deal with the sheep. It's on the heart of the other to deal with the sinners. And there's a you feel a tendency. I mean, you may even a shepherd probably has a a feel for sinners.
Certainly he wouldn't avoid giving the gospel to somebody if he had an opportunity. Nor would a preacher of the gospel avoid passing on some instructions. I do remember a fellow he was with the shantyman, and he went aboard the ships in Halifax Harbor, and he recognized that he knew the gospel and not much more. And if ever, he came across some Christians on the ship that were asking him questions.
He'd ever eat and call up another brother or myself say, can I bring these men out to your house? And so we often got to meet with some of these semen, you know, that that were Christians and talk to them because this this man, I believe it was because he wasn't reading the scriptures much. He didn't seem to know much more than the gospel, but he recognized himself that he was over his head and he brought these men to see someone who he felt had more.
Timothy was perhaps an evangelist because it seems as you read and Apollo's instruction to him that his.
Care and concern was to pass on the truth that he had received to to his brethren, and to the next generation, and so on. But he was instructed there to do the work of an evangelist. He may not have been an evangelist, but as he had opportunity, no doubt he delighted to tell others of Christ and point the Sinner to the Savior. And so, whatever our sphere of service or gift may be, the Lord may give us other opportunities, it says, redeeming the time because the days are evil or the thought. They're buying up every opportunity.
No sorties of opportunities to serve the Lord in every sphere of service, but again, Timothy was told to stir up the gift that was in him. That was what he was to be particularly concerned with.
May I add what a Gordon passed on about that I used to say that myself quite regularly, that Timothy might not have had the gift of an evangelist. He expressed his thought, and I passed it on for consideration. He said in Second Timothy, where the state is in ruin, and Timothy's responsibility in connection with the church and the truth entrusted to him might become so occupied with it that he neglected preaching the gospel and therefore.
He's encouraged to preach the gospel. I thought it was a good thought, but even.
Act to teach in First Timothy 3.
And the scripture in Hebrews 5, according to the time he should be teachers. It does not convey that those men who were apartment to teach had the gift of the teacher, or that according to time after you're safe to a certain length of time, you acquired a gift of teaching. But what it suggests is that we lay hold.
Of the truth and have a measure of ability to pass on what we ourselves enjoy. And in many assemblies, beloved, that's what we have to fall back on, that we don't pretend to be teachers, but have come to enjoy the truth and in a measure are able to pass it on. And because if you overemphasize the gift of a teacher, then better might say I don't have it, I cannot open my mouth.
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But remember, let's not pretend that we are, and we recognize that we handle something that we only ourselves have come to enjoy and pass it on, and that is not the same as claiming to be a teacher. I think that's why gifts were given to the body at large, to the church at large, and not so much to the local assembly. Because if the local assembly depended on gift, there are many little assemblies that perhaps wouldn't be able to function.
The function of the local assembly that well, we're thankful for Any gift the Lord places in the local assembly. The function of it does not depend on gifts. Would that be correct or not? Ephesians 4 does not have the local church in view that has the universal aspect of the church and those gifts. There are gifts to the church and there's fear of service is universal and not local.
A good example about an accent when Philip went down.
And he was preaching there, and there was apparently a work. But when this this man.
Simon Simon, Yes, he started to present problems. Well, it doesn't say that, Phillip.
Went back to Jerusalem. But it does say that when the Brethren in Jerusalem heard of the situation, they felt that Paul was was Peter was more equipped. So they send Peter there and Phillip.
Beautifully doesn't resent the fact that another man comes in and kind of takes over the work.
Philip just quietly turns over the work and lets Peter do it, and I think that's a beautiful example of what we're talking about.
He recognized Peters ability in that field and he let him go ahead with it. That's what we need.
We were going to say I was going to.
Mark that I think it's important that we follow the pattern given to us in the last chapter of Matthews Gospel.
Good for us to covet the gifts, and certainly not. As has already been said, not everyone has the capacity for gifts, but I have found that very encouraging in the last chapter of Matthew, and others may have preferred a similar thought.
That there's an order given to the disciples.
Where they were to meet the Lord after his resurrection. And he had told them before his death that he would meet them in Galilee. And he conveys the same message to those that went to the tomb after his resurrection, says, go tell my disciples that I will need them in Galilee. And we read down in the chapter and we find the disciples. They're meeting him in Galilee. And I think that that brings before us the.
Utmost importance of obedience. We might desire a gift, we might have the care of the Saints at heart. But if we aren't in obedience, I believe the service that we seek to render is going to be fruitless.
And so obedience is the utmost ingredient of being in the path that the Lord wants us. Second, we see that there is worship. And so I believe that to be in the enjoyment of what the Lord has given us, we need to place worship before service. And I believe that many times there's that tendency to put those things in the reverse order we want to put service before.
Our worship.
And so the disciples appeared there in Galilee. They were obeyed the voice of the Lord.
And they says the next verse they worship him and so that.
Aspect of our relationship with Lord Jesus is very important worship, and then we have the service aspect brought in. He gives them the Commission to go out and preach. And there may be the the work of the evangelist, the teacher, the pastor, and so forth. But there is.
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This order, I believe, given to us for our.
Instruction. And if we apply that order in our lives, the Lord will lead us into the service that He wants. And I was going to mention also that recently I was encouraged in taking up and reading in Nehemiah that as the.
Remnant returned there to Jerusalem. There was caretaking to look after the needs of different ones.
Of the priest and Levite reporters and so forth. But there's one versa, I believe it's in 11 Chapter that I found very encouraging and it is that the king made provision for the singers and we don't think of singers as being something important, but I believe it's something that's very important.
In worship and we talked yesterday about.
Different things that the sisters do.
And I like to tie that in with the attitude of John. First account of revelations. On the Lord's day he was in the spirit, and so there was no provision, public provision, made for the singers. But the king took note of that, and I believe, for encouragement.
Simply being in worship is something that our king takes note of and he will reward accordingly. There may not be the attraction that who many times cover.
Brethren, But the king takes notice of the singers, and it should encourage us as we try to go on for him. I believe two brothers, you'll find in Scripture that in a day of weakness and ruin amongst God's people, whether it was the Old Testament or the New Testament, those men and women that God used in blessing to his people were not necessarily those who had a great outward manifest gift.
But they were those who had a heart for the people of God.
There was a comment or two on the last section of the of the chapter because their time is up. But I was thinking of how when the disciples were plucking the ears of corn, what the Lord referred to was a former day. When the anointed King David was rejected and he ate the showbread He did something that was not lawful to do. And here was the Son of Man had come, The Lord Jesus had come as the Messiah, as he's been pointed out, and he was rejected.
Well, it's good for us to remember that in our service and whatever it is, we're following a rejected 1.
And the servant is not above his master, so that if they despise his word, they'll they won't listen to ours. It's not our word anyway, it's his. So we have to recognize that things are not going to be, oh, just as wonderful as we'd like to see them, because we're following one who's rejected, and we're following him and will be rejected too.
Hopefully accordance of not mixing the old and the new.
You know, and this is something that we've seen Piston dumb.
Found about the old and the newest mixed.
And much of what passes as Christianity is really Judaism.
You know, and we have to distinctly keep these things apart and not mix them. That is also clearly brought out here. And when we really in detail examine what is being carried on in the name of Christianity, they'll be amazed how much of it is really from the old.
166 Lord Tao has drawn us after thee.
Now let us run, and never tire Thy presence shall our comfort be Thyself, our whole, our soul, desire, our present Savior, while nor fear, nor sin can come if thou art near 166.
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Now that's just wrong.
Our soul.
Is our.
Presence.
In your heart.
Is not a word in heaven.
Our.
Aurangzeb.
'S.
Heart.
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Blessed Savior, we do thank thee that Thou has saved us all and not only.
Secured heaven for us, but also.
Has enabled us, and thus enabled us, to walk for the time that is left for us and is seen.
God has made every provision for us, and equipped us for that with God would have us to do for thy glory and the blessing of men. We do pray that we might ever be motivated in love for thee, lost for souls, lost for the people, in whatever fierce service thou hast given to us, but above all out of love for thee appreciation for what thou hast done for us.
That we.
Consider it an honor to be placed in the position of being the servants of the Lord Jesus.
So we do As for each and everyone of us to preserve us and keep us.
And we recognize that it's within us that which the enemy would seek to use.
So that we not only dishonor thee, but that we also become useless.
But I serve to help us and preserve us. We pray. We thank you for the meetings that we could have thus far. Pray for the gospel this evening. We pray that it might be presented.
Clearly in the power of the Spirit, and that thou will work in souls this evening.
We ask it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
These beautiful thoughts from the hymn, the forest, the all sufficiency of Christ, for every need of our pathway through this life.
We thank thee for the food that thou has given us, and we pray now as we turn to thy precious word once more that to thy spirit.
Would direct us unhinderedly to that portion which would lead for the need of each one. And we know that we're all in different stages of development and so we pray that there may be that which would fill the need of each one of us, young and bold alike. We commit us to the and count upon the blessed God now for this hour together and give you the praise and Thanksgiving of our hearts.
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In the blessed name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
Mark's Gospel chapter 2.
The second chapter.
And again he entered into Hernium after Sunday, and it was noise that she 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 to vote the door. And you preached the word on the bed, when they come on to him, bringing one sick of the palsy which was born of four, and when they could not come nigh unto him to the press.
They uncovered the roof where he was. When they had broken it up, they let down, and they were in the sick of the holiday when Jesus saw their faith. He said on the sink of the pony. Sons, I tend to be forgiven me, but there were certain of the scribes sitting there breathing in their hearts. Why did this man let me speak laughing? Who can forgive sin, but God lonely and immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they solely within themselves sat on his hand. Why reason. These things are hurt.
Whether it is easier to say to the sick of the policy, but I can give you or to say arise by bed and walk, But that you may know the son of man has power on earth. Through his sins he tested the sick of apology. I say after the arise, and take up thy bed and go thy way into thine house.
And immediately he arose, took up the bed, went forth before them all, insomuch they were all made, and glorified God thing we never saw any. And he went forth again by the seaside, and all the most he resorted under him when he taught them. And then he passed by. He saw Levi at the front of all the years.
Sitting at their seat of cups and sit on the human follow me and heroes, and follow him, and continue to pass that Jesus sat at least in his many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus.
And they followed him. And when he describes the Pharisees by unique Republican senators, they said under the decision how we can eat us and drink this Republican and sinners when Jesus heard it, step unto them, they that are whole and no need of the position.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners and disciples of John and the Pharisees used to fast, and they come down to him. Why did the title of John and it was heresy class?
Mom and Jesus said on them, and the children of the bride Jesus class, while the tribunals with them, As long as they have the brightens with them, they cannot stop, but the day will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them and eventually passed in those days.
Young man also sewed a piece of new cloth on an old garment, also a new piece that filled it up, filled it up, take it away from the old and the rest. And no man put his new line into old bottles of the new wine. The first bottle. The wine is still and the bottle will be mired.
A new wine must be put in new bottles, And in the past that he went through the cornfields on the sack of faith, and he cycled again as they went. What years of corn the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they understand that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, If he never read what David did when he had me, and was a hunger again, that were written how we went to the House of God, the days of Abyssal, the first priest, and if he could show bread which is not lawfully but for the priests.
He gave also to many provisions.
He sat on the van. The Sabbath was made for man, and not natural Sabbath. Therefore the son of man's word also was a Sabbath.
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As we think of the Lord Jesus, we realize that he is here as the Messiah.
And we see him and this multitude of people.
As he preached to them the word.
Well, we see that they had a real interest in their need and the Lord Jesus meets that need.
But on the other hand.
The truth that he was the Messiah comes out.
And their rejection of him is something you think about.
If they had received him as the Messiah, we can realize that all of the benefits of his being the Messiah would have been theirs.
But if they accepted the benefits and rejected him as the Messiah?
What a loss it was.
But a very serious loss and I think there's a lesson that for each of us.
We launched the benefits. Or do we want to put the Lord Jesus first in our lives? Is he the one that's important?
Each of us.
He may and he does help us, and He ministered to us, but it just seems that we're searching to think about the truth of this. He is the Messiah. He is the Lord of the Sabbath.
But they were content to keep the Sabbath or to find fault because he didn't keep the Sabbath.
They could never have the Sabbath apart and the Lord Jesus could never have rest apart, nor can we.
In the hymn that he was saying.
There were 12 lines and I just noticed as we were singing the 1St and the last.
Lines were the same.
Christ our All in all. And then there were 10 lines between and each one was a contrast, but each one was bringing out what the Lord is in all the circumstances. And we see a bit of this in this chapter too, because in the the second verse he is the one who preached.
And in the he was the preacher, and in the 11Th verse there he is the Healer.
And in the 17th verse he is the one who called, he's the caller. And in the 19 first he is our bridegroom, and in the last verse he is Lord of the Sabbath. Everything that we need we have in Christ.
Install free.
We have a beautiful statement.
You know we should read as Mr. Darby renders it. You know, when Lord is in capital letters, it is Jehovah in the Old Testament.
Bless Jehovah, O my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless Jehovah whom my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Now it comes who forgiveth all thine iniquities.
Who heal us all die diseases. I think we see that demonstrated in this account in the Gospel. As our brother John has said, he's the Messiah. He's really Jehovah in the midst of his people.
And isn't it nice to see that when?
00:50:04
He was let down through the roof. He takes care of the same question. First thy sins are forgiven thee, but he proves who he was and that he had power to forgive sins by healing him. He is Jehovah in the midst of his people.
The faith that these people had that brought him.
The lame one to the Lord Jesus. They didn't think of the same question, but they had faith in that person and it is their faith that is noticed.
And I think that could be a very great encouragement to us in connection with whoever we might have on our hearts to bring to the Lord Jesus.
And that we in faith can.
Turn to him, and trust that he will show himself for who he is to the persons that we haven't exercised about.
It's really significant, is it not, that their faith is mentioned when Jesus saw their faith?
He said unto the sick of quality. I'm sure that includes the fate of the one who was sick of the palsy, but.
If these people have brought him.
We can have faith.
Concerning our own that the Lord will.
Touch their heart and their lives and work the miracle that he worked in this case.
In the context of this chapter, we need to realize that specifically speaking, if the Lord's dealings with his earthly people Israel, you bind off it in the Gospels that he's in the house as we have here in the first verse. And when he's in the house, I believe it's his dealings with that Jewish nation as their Messiah. And I say that because there are some in Christendom today who teach that if we come to the Lord and receive the forgiveness of sins and then reach some spiritual plateau or level of.
Spirituality that we won't have any sicknesses or diseases in this life. What we know is.
All we have to do is look around us and we know that that's false teaching. But I think we need to be aware of this. And God in this dispensation doesn't promise to always heal our bodies or to take us out of an adverse situation. But what he does promise is grace and strength for the situation. Paul had a difficulty and he prayed three times to the Lord that the difficulty would be removed. And the Lord said, no, Paul, I'm not going to remove the problem or the difficulty, but I'm going to give you the grace so that you can go on in the path of faith.
Through the difficulty with the situation. And so he says there in Corinthians, my grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Wonderful resource that we have in the Lord, and we can turn to him and he's able for every situation. But if he doesn't remove the difficulty, he promises to give us grace through the situation, says by my God, have I leaped over a wall. The wall wasn't removed, it was still there, but he was able to leap over it. And then by my God, have I run through a truth.
The troop was there, but God gave him grace to go through the situation. Is that correct to say that? I appreciate you adding that because someone might have concluded from what I said as we looked.
For the same thing today. But he is here in the midst of his earthly people. And when we come to the miracles that the Lord Jesus performed, I'm going to try to get it back together. Our brother Hindsley put it out in Dorothy.
And quote Americans and what we learned from it. You know, first of all the heart of God for man, you know, is compassion. But also we learn spiritual lessons. You know, those things that take place with the one born blind. We were blind, we were lame, you know, And we need to see, we need to learn to walk and so on But then also.
These miracles were powers of the age to come, the manifestation powers of the age to come. You find that in Hebrews chapter 6, and it might still have been another reason that he gave, but that's very helpful to see. We don't have that today in Christianity anymore, but it was certainly when he was here, and it will be again in the coming day. But.
00:55:08
When it comes to the spiritual application, we were lame, we were blind, we were nigh unto death, you know, and the Lord Jesus had to touch us and and he he's going to do that today for us. But it's a in a spiritual way rather than to actually remove sickness. Not that he does not have the power to do that, but it is not presently the time when he will show miracles.
Or powers of the age to come.
Examples that prove that not every sick Christian was healed early on, like before the crucifixion we have Peter's wife's mother healed and many others, But later on the Apostle Paul, who had power, and we see it exercised in the book of the Acts to heal. He left Tropham as sick as my Litmus and his.
Very close friend Timothy had frequent illnesses and he gives them a little cure for it too. He doesn't take that illness away though. He had the power and has already been mentioned his own. His own case of the thorn in the flesh, whatever that may have been, a physical disability or whatever. And it wasn't taken away because there was a lesson to learn from it, and many times those things that lay a person aside.
Give time for reflection, don't they? And exercise before the Lord that in our busy lives we just don't take time to do.
It.
As you look at it, Jesus saw their faith. And he said unto the sick of the palsy, son, And thy sins be forgiven thee.
Only Jesus could make a statement like that.
He alone can see faith.
He alone can.
Measure safe and heal on.
Faith in.
We might have very little faith that might be in the right person, and there's only one person that is worthy of confidence and trust. There's only one person we can totally lean on.
And we know that when we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we were as ready for heaven as we'll ever be.
That very moment that we were washed in the precious blood of Christ, who had a title to glory, and the only title is the Blood of Christ.
I wonder why he has left us here.
Perhaps the great lesson that he's teaching us is the lesson that he manifested when he walked down here.
He manifested that confidence in trust in God which gave him peace.
And I believe that as a result of confidence in the Lord Jesus, trust in him will have peace in our lives.
We know we have peace with God by believing in the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus has made, as we have in Romans 5. But in our lives how much peace to leave manifest? I mean here are those four and they bring this helpless man.
Totally helpless, this man was, and they put an effort into bringing him and also to seeing that he was brought to Jesus. They didn't just bring him into the yard, they really brought him to Jesus. They knew that Jesus could help him.
And.
They saw.
The precious savior of the Lord Jesus do a mighty work.
But when they bring him there, he says to the man.
Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Well, how do we get forgiveness of sins? It's only through believing in the Lord Jesus.
01:00:07
But we have to learn a very great lesson.
There was a question right as to who can forgive sins but God only.
But.
The one that can forgive us is Jesus. Now the nation of Israel needed forgiveness. This man needed forgiveness.
But when he received forgiveness of sins, the Lord Jesus could say to him and rise up and take up thy bed and follow me. And it says that that's what he's done.
So this is really the Christian life, isn't it? We receive forgiveness of sins, but we receive power to walk through this world, having power over that which controlled us. Here was the man he was under the the deadly. He didn't have any power. He was helpless. And the Lord Jesus not only forgave his sins, but he gave him power to file a sin. A wonderful lesson for us.
Again, put my finger on the verse that the Lord singles out Capernaum.
As a city that had great miracles performed in it, and it's going to be more tolerable for.
Sodom and Gomorrah in that day than this very city, that this individual man the first thing, as you mentioned, John.
He says that his sins were forgiven by that city which was witness to these things and probably knew all about they, as a city, rejected the Lord's presence and power and work.
Individual isn't for everyone of us here. It's individual trust and faith.
That causes the the Spirit of God to work in our lives and give us that confidence to trust no matter what the circumstances.
A very important.
That when we have faith in Jesus, he sees he measures that faith.
And as He passes each of us to the pathway of life, He gives us the faith for that which He passes us through.
And we're being very tested. We're being very tested about.
The privileges that we have as God's children.
Now we don't have an organization because the church is an Organism.
We have a fellowship, do we not?
And so when we.
See that the Lord Jesus would have us to remember him. We have an exercise as he that plays where we should remember him.
Well, he would be there and directed by the Spirit of God to that place. But once we're there, we know you not be directed by the Spirit of God in that place.
And so.
This faith takes whole of what God presents to us.
As we follow the Lord Jesus, because the Lord Jesus, if he's there, then that's where I would want to be, right? If the Spirit of God is directing me as a child of bond, I would want to be here and I would want to do what he has asked me to do. This man received a message, follow me, finally followed the place.
To the place where the Lord Jesus has said to me this do in remembrance of me. Perhaps there's people here today that when we the Lord leaves us here and we sat down together tomorrow.
You won't eat of that bread and drink of that cup. I trust it. As you sit there and as we've seen those hymns together, you'll be made aware of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Made at Calgary, you be made aware of the Christ that He paid for our redemption and you will respond to that and you will want to do that which he has asked you to do. Like this man, Think of this cool man being so totally helpless.
01:05:14
And now Jesus said, follow me. Now isn't that a picture of us?
He brings us and gives us strength and wouldn't you want to do with the Lord Jesus?
Has requested. Wouldn't you want to remember him because you've been taste of his lungs? Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. It might be our last opportunity.
We might never have another opportunity to just eat that bread and drink that cup. Isn't it very simple?
It's a scholarship. When we talk about a fellowship, we're talking about enjoying something together. You say, well, have you calming thoughts now it's enjoying something of the Lord Jesus together.
Remembering him.
It's interesting to see that in this case with the lane.
He gives him the order to walk.
And also to go to his house.
He does not say, as far as I can see, that he should follow the Lord Jesus. We do see that with Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the rest of the receipt of custom, said unto him, Follow me Now these are important points in the word of God, that.
The fact that we who were lame can now walk.
And then go to thy house. Why would the Lord say good to thy house?
No doubt the work for the Lord Jesus begins for all of us in a house, you know, and I think that's so important now for this Levi he had a special service for him to perform.
He is called to a special service and so the Lord there gives him different direction.
But it is important for all of us to realize individually what the voice of the Lord for us is and what His directive is. You know, we're taking our marching orders from the Lord Jesus. You know we get directions from Him. We don't even get direction from the assembly. We never find in the word of God that we receive marching orders from the brethren or from the assembly. We get it from the Lord himself.
He directs every individual one and every individual servant in the service that he has to perform. We don't get our directions from the church. We're not the servants of the church.
We serve if we are a servant of the Lord, we serve even his own.
But we are His servants, not the servant of the Church. We have to remember that because that's a tendency that we can slip into as those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus that we.
As it were, give a place to the Church that is not given to the Church. Let me repeat, nobody is the servant of the Church.
If he is a servant of the Lord, he might serve the church, but he is the Lord's servant. We receive our marching orders from him.
Let's not presumptuously act as if we have that authority.
To dictate to the Lord's servants.
But the Lord's servant is The Lord's servant is under the judgment of the church.
But it's good. It never can be insensitive to the reaction of the Saints. That's why I was saying everyone is subject to the judgment, and the safeguard is that two and three feet and the other judge. But the servant is the Lord's servant.
And he gets him marching orders. And we could never, for instance, when somebody comes to any assembly, say the following subjects you cannot minister on here, you know that's not of God. But whatever anybody ministers on is subject to judgment of the church. Let two and three speak and the others judge. I've enjoyed 2 scriptures in connection with what you have said.
01:10:04
Because Paul spoke in Corinthians of his great desire, he said, We labor that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
As Paul went on in his service and ministry for the Lord, his great desire was that he would have the Lord's approval, and the Lord's well done. But just in contrast to that, in connection with what Brother Barry Barry has said, I've enjoyed a verse in the end of Deuteronomy in connection with the blessing of Asher, it says, and of Asher, let him be acceptable to his brethren. Now the two things I believe, as you say, go hand in hand, and I believe that if we are following the Lord and acceptable to Him.
Then the Lord will work in the hearts of our brethren so that we are acceptable to our brethren as well.
Because our brethren have good things to say to us, we ought to listen when our brethren speak, to weigh everything in the light of the Lord and His approval. But God has given us our brethren as a balance. I'll just say, too, that the path of faith that God has for me is not the path of faith that He has for you. We're individuals in God's family, and He has a path of faith for each one of us. The Levites all had a particular service in connection.
With the Tabernacle, and I believe the blessing and the joy came in their service as they performed that function, whether it was great or small, whether it was carrying the brazen altar or going around and picking up the pins and keeping the cords from tangling. It wasn't the greatness of the service that counted, but it was the fact that God had given them a service. And so it says in Galatians, I think it's the 6th chapter. It says let every man prove his own work and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another.
And if you just allow me again to say something to those of us who are younger times, there's a danger with us to covet what God has given another in the assembly. That is, we look at another and we say, well, I wish I was doing what that one is given to do, rather than to seek to follow the Lord in the little measure and place that he has for us to just turn over to the end of John's Gospel. I enjoyed in this connection the admonition that the Lord Jesus gave to John to.
Peter.
In the 21St of John the Lord was speaking to Peter and telling Peter something of the past that Peter was going to have in following and serving the Lord. And Peter sees John standing there, and he turns to the Lord. And just notice what it says in the 21St chapter and the 21St verse, Peter seeing himself to Jesus Lord. And what shall this man do? That is, he's referring to John. Jesus saith unto him, if I will, that he tarry till I come.
What is that to thee? Follow thou me. It was individual. In other words, what the Lord is saying here is.
Peter, I've got a pass for you. You're responsible to walk in that path. I also have a path for John, but you're not responsible for John's path. Now I want to temper that by saying it that again in Galatians. It does say that we ought to bear one anothers burdens. We're told to have the same care one for another and.
We need to seek to encourage our brethren, and if we see a brother or sister in a path that we feel is dangerous, we ought to speak to them and seek to encourage them. But in the final analysis, whose path am I responsible for? And will I be responsible for when I stand before the judgment seat of Christ? Not how well my brother followed the Lord, but how well I followed the Lord. Maybe I'll use an illustration that's helped me to understand what the Lord was saying here. When we were children at home, often we were given a task to do, sometimes to clean off the supper table after the evening meal.
And so Mother would leave my sister and I to that task. And after a while, she would come back in the room and say, Jim, you're not doing what I asked you to do. And I would say, well, Jennifer's not doing her part. And Mother would say, you do what I asked you to do and I'll take care of Jennifer. Now in a sense, that's what the Lord was saying. Here to Peter, I have a path for you. Follow thou me, I'll take care of John, and I have a path for him as well. So as you say, these two individuals in our chapter one was sent home to his house.
The other had another sphere of service. Each one was responsible in that place that the Lord put them in. Galatians Jim diverse as you referred to in the 6th chapter of Galatians verse two says bear ye one another's burden and so fulfill the law of Christ.
That is like in connection with the difficulties that a person might be facing, or even a problem that he has.
01:15:03
But what does it say in verse 4?
But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have.
Rejoicing in himself alone and not in another, for every man shall bear his own burden. So when it comes to the service of the Lord, we all have our own burden to bear. We can be helped and try to be a help to one another in difficulties, and bear on another's burden, but in the service we have to bear our own burden to every man his work.
Yeah, the large Jesus in the 10th of John said. My sheep hear thy voice, and I know them and they follow me. When the man went to his house, was he following the Lord?
Yes, because.
We're going to. We're going to serve, or we'll have to serve people 25.
It makes it clear that when those who serve the Lord's people visiting the sick and and so on, they were serving the Lord and and Roman 61 would find Phoebe was a servant of the Church.
But she was serving the Lord. And I think if we serve the Lord's people according to the mind of God, we will be serving the church and unserving the Lord. The Lord is first Lord. We have a principle there. That passage especially refers to the blood Brethren. Brethren, in the future day you know who will preach the gospel of the Kingdom. And whatever you have done to one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me and that.
Secures them entrance into the Kingdom. But the principle applied today. But I believe we even dare have to recognize that the service of some are more to the laws and the service of the other are more to God's people. Like the evangelist, history of service is really outside the assembly. It's in the in the world and like one has said, like a compass with one foot in the assembly and the other outside sweeping into the assembly, bringing into the assembly.
But then the shepherd and teacher takes over and that is India Assembly. So our problem is, brethren, that we think that everybody that wants to serve the Lord should preach the gospel and also.
Visit the stains and go from house to house, give addresses and so on. That is not God's order. Some people service is in serving the lost, bringing them in.
And when you push the evangelist to be a teacher, you're going to get all kinds of problems, you know. But the evangelist can use the scriptures like a brother was preaching the gospel in Germany years ago. And there were some young brothers who learned more in the direction of teaching. So I let more their line of things and their interest. And they came to a well taught brother after this brother had preached and said, well, what did that man do with that scripture? That is not what the scripture teaches there. What he, how he used it. And the brother said, you have to give the evangelist.
A lot of liberty. And so he was calming them. You know, the evangelists in dealing with the laws, can use the Scripture in a way that the teacher would never use it. But when it comes to teaching the Saints, you know, that's a different, a different sphere of service. And there is nothing wrong in US knowing where we ought to serve.
Nothing presumptuous for you to say. Well, the Lord has burdened me to serve in the gospel.
Then let's support him, the brother that is serving in the gospel, and make much of that service that others are doing rather than the service that we are doing. That's the spirit of Christ. You know, like the brother. Allow me just to add this. Yet her brother wants the little service of the evangelist.
He was a teacher, I said to him. Brother, you better be careful. If the evangelist would do his work, you wouldn't have anybody to teach. I'm sorry.
I would believe Brother Tom was making a comment there. I believe that the man was following the Lord when he went and did what he was told, went into his house. The Lord said, follow me. But then he also said, go into thy house, arise, take up thy bed, and go thy way into thy house, and immediately arose and took up his bed and went for before them all.
01:20:22
Well, he was doing exactly what he was told in the previous chapter. The man that was healed of the leprosy. Notice what it says there in the first chapter.
And verse 44 Say unto him, See thou say nothing to any man, but go thy way, Show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded for a testimony under them.
But he went out.