Cuyahoga Falls Conference: 2019
Table of Contents
Decision Points
YP Talk—Ted Allan
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All right, we can go ahead and get started.
I think most people are here who will be coming, so we'll go ahead and get started. Let's start by singing a hymn 276.
And I was thinking of the 1St 4 lines in this hymn. Let's say guide us, O thou gracious Savior, pilgrims, through this barren land. We are weak, but thou art mighty. Hold us with thy powerful hand. Let's sing 276.
Guide us so thou.
Gracious Savior.
Pilgrims through.
This barren land.
We are.
Weak, but thou art mighty.
Holy.
Swift, thy power.
Never.
Mind.
Of heaven.
Bread on heaven.
Feed us now.
And evermore.
While we.
This.
Vela Sorrow.
May we?
End thy love.
Abine.
Keep us ever.
Gracious.
Savior.
Cleaving closely.
To.
Thy son.
Storyline.
Story line.
On the.
Father's.
Changeless love.
Story.
Lying.
Storyline.
On the.
Father's.
Changeless love.
Save your come. We long to see the.
Long to dwell.
They are about.
And to know when.
For Communion.
All the sweetness.
Of thy love.
Come, Lord.
Jesus.
Come, Lord.
Jesus.
Take.
My.
Waiting people home.
Come, Lord.
Jesus.
Come Lord Jesus.
00:05:06
Take.
My waiting.
People.
Let's ask the Lord's help.
Father, we come to you at the start of this hour and we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee. I just ask, Father, that the words that are spoken in these next few minutes might be made clearly simply for the help of these dear young people.
We just pray that they would be strengthened, Father to continue on in the path of faith and Thou would continue to guide all of us till we reach the promised shore. We just give Thee thanks for Thy love and Thy grace to us.
In Jesus name we do pray, Amen.
September 18 last year, I got a phone call in the evening. It was probably about six, 7:00 at night.
And there was a various serious phone call. For those who don't know me, I work in the electric power industry and electrical engineer and part of my responsibilities was.
Being responsible for a lot of the tree trimming that we do as a company.
And I got a call saying that a man that worked for the company got in a very, very serious accident. His name was James, He was about 51 years old. I was told that they had called the paramedics, he was taken by a flight to the nearest hospital and that he was in very, very serious condition.
And the employee who called me was very shook up. I knew it was bad.
And I made immediate phone call to my boss to let him know what had happened.
And as the details became apparent.
I found out a little bit more what had happened. This particular employee had pulled his truck off to the side of the road. There was actually about 7-8 people working there in this part of eastern Pennsylvania, very close to the New Jersey border. And there are, like I said, about 8-9 people on that particular crew. There was a general foreman who was there, and this employee was working with what we call a bucket truck. It's a truck with a lift on the back. It has a bucket that stands in and.
That's what they use to trim branches away from the wires.
That carry electricity.
This particular person, when he went up there, his bucket got snagged on a branch and the lip of the bucket where they're controls, where they control goes up, goes down, it got snagged on a branch.
And that particular man, he maneuvered the control to have it go free, but unfortunately with the built up energy that was there with that bucket as he began to move it and it was stuck when it finally broke free.
It thrust that bucket up a few feet, not much, but enough to propel him out of the bucket, and he fell about 30 feet headlong to the pavement.
Everybody, of course, rushed over and started administering CPR.
When I got the call, they knew enough to know that he wasn't moving from the chest down, so we knew there was paralysis and he was in bad shape. Severe trauma to the face and the head.
Unfortunately, about 30 days later, we found out that that man passed away due to the severity of his injuries.
The reason it happened was obviously he got snagged on the branch, but there are protection in mechanisms in place to prevent if that type of thing happens to save their life. And so some of you might be familiar with the harness that people may use, whether you're doing tree work in your backyard, these particular people use the same thing. And this particular employee was using something called H style harness just over the shoulders straps here.
And also straps around the legs.
He had the harness on, but he forgot one step.
And that was he did not clip what we call the leg straps on that particular harness. So when he fell out, it just slipped over the upper part of his body and fell to the pavement.
00:10:10
That particular person made a very, very poor decision, something that would have taken just a few seconds to do.
Taking a shortcut cost him his life.
And I had it on my heart as I was praying about what to talk about with you young people. And that is something I'm going to call decision points. That will be the theme, really, of my discussion with you. And I want to take up various people in Scripture who made conscious decisions in their life that I'll say affected the trajectory of the remainder of their life.
There are many, many examples. I wouldn't hope honestly in the time today or tomorrow to cover all of them.
But they were ones that I have thought about and really over the last number of years, some of them I've thought about deeply because of circumstances in my own life. And I wanted to share them with you. So it'll be a help to you.
Before I do that, I want to pass around a picture of that story I was talking about. This picture was taken at the scene.
Just within a few minutes of the accident happening.
And I find it's a very powerful photo because if you look at that bucket that's up in the air, you can see that harness hanging down. It's orange. You'll see it when you pass it around. But it's a very powerful reminder to me of a conscious choice that somebody made that cost them their life.
The examples I'm going to give, some people make good choices. In fact, I'd say the majority of them make good choices, but some of them made poor choices. So with that, I'm going to start this. I'm just going to hand this over to Ben and have him pass it around.
While I'm talking.
And I thought I'd start by turning to Matthew chapter 4.
And we'll start there.
You know, the stories that I'm going to read about and the people, the men, the women are going to talk about really I would think are known to most if not everybody here.
But I hope to certainly draw some examples that may be of benefit to you. So the first person I want to talk about Matthew 4 here is Peter. He's not the only one referenced here, but I'm going to read Matthew 4 verse 18.
And I'll read 3 verses. It says in Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea. For they were fishers, our fishermen. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. And they straightway left their Nets.
And followed him.
I think it only appropriate to start with this example because.
This is really where I'll say the journey begins, if you will.
And it starts with the gospel. It starts with making a conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ.
You know, I've said it before, I'll continue to say it, but in a group like this, I can never, you know, I'd say any group, you can never obviously assume that everybody in the audience is a believer in Jesus Christ. I've seen too many examples of people I've known very well growing up who I thought were Christians and then, you know.
They they gave everything up and it really called into question us to really whether they were a true believer.
But here we find Simon Peter and Andrew. They were out, they were fishing, and Jesus, it says, was walking along. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
Follow me. You know, I would suspect that most of you probably made a decision early in your life to give your life to Christ, accepted him as Lord and Savior. But I found from talking to people too, it seems as if there comes a point, especially in teenage years, where there's also a decision of a sorts as to whether you're going to live out the reality that faith in your life.
00:15:06
Or, in a sense, lose your life.
By not following the Lord.
And.
And I am by no means insinuating at all you can lose your salvation. That is not the case. The Bible is clear on that. But you know, I speak from personal, my own personal testimony and also my wife. And I asked her about sharing this with you, and I know that she said it was fine.
But, you know, when she was a teenager, she was not making good choices in her life and really got involved with the crowd where, you know, they were leading her down a wrong path. And I remember her, you know, telling me after we started going together about a conscious choice she made in her life where she knew if she continued on that path.
Really, there it would be a life that would have very, very little fruit for God.
And she knew that she had to make a decision really to separate herself from the friends she was currently hanging out with and make a conscious decision to follow the Lord in her life in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
She would tell you if she were here tonight that she was clearly a believer at that time, but she knew she was making choices in her life where she had to make a conscious choice to follow this man, Jesus Christ.
She made that choice, she says. In some ways it was easy, but in other ways it was hard. She had to stop taking phone calls from people and say, I'm sorry, I can't hang out with you anymore. And she had, in a certain sense, to start over.
She asked for her place at the Lord's table some time later, and I won't get into the full story, but it was a turning point, I think, in her life. I know it was. And Peter here, when Jesus came along, he made a decision in a sense, although it was immediate, it was clear as immediate that they left their Nets and followed him. You know, this is representative really of a person that would leave their livelihood.
Job to leave whatever it took to follow Christ. In Mark chapter 10, Peter said very clearly that they left all to follow Christ.
You know, there are many things that can detract us, to drag us down, but there really should be nothing in life that would tie us down or to hold us back from doing what Peter did and following Christ. You know, I think of those two words.
Follow me.
You know it's not.
You know, in a sense, following a religion or going to meeting and doing those things, although, you know, obviously regular study of the Bible and prayer, these things are important, but we're talking about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And I wonder each of you, if I were to ask you this question, you don't have to answer, but could you say that you are a true follower of Jesus Christ and have that relationship with him?
You know Peter.
He had his ups and downs in his life, we know that.
We know that he was a very impulsive person, very zealous by nature and but he had to go through a time in his life where he denied Christ three times. We know the account, but he was restored and used in a powerful way by the Lord in Book of Acts that makes mention that over 3000 people were brought to Christ through his teaching. But again, those two words follow me.
You know, as I was thinking about those two words before today, I was thinking of that, him that sometimes we sing that says I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. I was curious about that. It just came to my mind. I looked up the story. It was actually based on account of a man, an Indian man in northeastern India. A missionary had come to that area. They were preaching the gospel and this man and his wife, his two children.
Where some of the first converts in that particular area in India.
And.
The village chief, as I recall, he was extremely upset when he saw what was happening. The people were listening. Some people were becoming Christians. And he brought this man in with his wife and his two children. And he said, if you don't renounce basically your faith, I'm going to kill your wife and children. And that's exactly what they did. They first shot his two children with arrows. This was back in the late 1800s.
00:20:13
And.
When they did that, he quoted the first couple lines of that hymn. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back. They then threatened him and said, if you don't, if you continue saying what you're saying and don't change, we're going to kill your wife also. And then he said those next words of the hymn that said, though none go with me, I still will follow. And he said that because he recognized he would lose his wife and he would be.
And so they killed his wife also.
And before they killed him, he said those words without him. He said the world behind me, the cross before me.
And they took his life. And apparently from what I've read, this hymn is still popular in India Today. And later on, from what I've read, most if not all the people in that village gave their life to Christ, including from what I read, whether true or not, the village chief was one of the first ones to give his life to Christ after seeing the courage and the bravery that man.
You know.
We would all like to think we would have that courage of that man in India.
But tonight I'm asking you, do you have the courage to follow this man called Jesus Christ?
No matter what the cost, because young people, as I said in my prayer before our time here, this world is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity, to Christians. It's not that Christ, in a sense, was ever accepted in this world, but storm clouds are gathering. I see it. I feel it in the workplace. We see it in the schools.
And really there needs to be a decision on your part as to whether you will have the courage.
Like Peter did to leave all and follow Jesus Christ. So that's where I wanted to start because as we think about these next examples.
We're going to use that as kind of the baseline. So I want to turn first to the next example, one that I've really been thinking about over the last number of years, and it's in Hebrews 11, and it is in relation to Moses. So obviously the story of Moses is an Exodus, but here we're going to read the account.
From the chapter that recounts men and women of faith.
And I'm going to start at verse 24 and read through 28.
It says, by faith, Moses, when he was come to yours, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, For he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king.
For He endured as seeing Him who is invisible through faith. He kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest He that destroyed the first born should touch them.
Moses. There's a lot written about Moses in Scripture.
And.
As I said, I've thought a lot about Moses out over the last number of years and there came a time in Moses life where he made a decision. It was a decision point and it says here at the beginning when he was come to years. I don't know exactly how old he was. We do know when he made the decision to visit his brethren the Israelites and he committed murder.
We see that next Chapter 7.
And Stephens account that he was 40, but, and I don't know if this is in relation to that same time or time prior, maybe somebody has a thought on that. They like to share that afterwards. But there came a time in his life when he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Moses, as we know, was with his in his mother's care until he was weaned.
Remember, he was put in the ark, He was brought back. He was nervous.
00:25:00
And then he went to live in Pharaoh's household.
I've no doubt that those early years, though perhaps he, I don't know if he had any memory of them. I think back then when people weaned children, it was later than today, but it clearly had an impact on him, I believe. And but by and large, he grew up in Pharaoh's household in another place. In Act seven, I believe it says that he was mighty in Word and deed. He was educated.
In the ways of the Egyptians, he probably was trained in military tactics.
By all accounts, he, you know, grew up a very elite lifestyle, you know, with a lot of prestige and privilege. But, you know, he saw what was going on with his fellow countrymen, the Israelites, how they were treated badly. And he made a choice that he was not going to be associated with Pharaoh's household, that he would not be called.
Basically Pharaoh's daughter's son.
And I think about this because it says next he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
You know, I recognize that most of you are probably in school, some are in college, perhaps some are out working, but I cannot emphasize enough the importance of making it known that you are a believer.
Wherever you are in your severe and associating yourself with those who also have a desire to follow and please God in your life.
Umm, you know, there's a lot of peer pressure, obviously in the sphere that many of you are in. We all feel it. You know, I, I face it in the workplace, you face it at school, but I recognize more and more it's almost, there's almost a preservation point with making it known you're a Christian because people just by making that known and who you associate yourself with, I'm not saying fully, but.
Some cases will cause people maybe not to ask you to go a particular place, so they recognize that's not in keeping with that profession. And so Moses made a conscious decision that he would not be basically called an Egyptian, that he was an Israelite, and that he would choose rather suffer affliction with the people of God.
The life of a Christian is not easy. You know it talks about here the pleasures of sin for a season. And there are.
Pleasures in sin for a short time.
You know, the certainly the pressures and teenage years in particular are very, very strong. I remember them well. And I cannot say honestly that I dealt with them well in, in all instances. In fact, you know, as I thought about this topic, I, I thought about, you know, really I talked about this topic of decision points, not because I did things well, but I think many times because I did things not well and they were very painful.
Learning experiences.
But you know, this is one thing, Moses. He made a good choice here.
To be associated with the people of God.
You know, I readily admit, young people, these are difficult days. You're probably coming from assemblies where there's few, if any, other Christians. And it's tough, you know, and my heart hurts for you, really, because this is the reality in the day in which we live.
You know, when I in my home assembly growing up when I was your age, there was probably 10 young people in my assembly. We did things Friday nights through the week after meeting, Wednesday night, Friday night, Sunday night. And times have changed tremendously and I recognize that. But it still does not change the fact wherever those who are called Christians are found who have a desire to please the Lord.
Those in your assembly, those who you know to seek their company.
Knowing that that decision.
There will be persecution with it. It may be lonely at times. In fact, I dare say it will be lonely. And yet it is a path of joy. It is a path of peace.
It says that he esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt.
00:30:02
You know Egypt.
Speaks of the world in Scripture.
And you know, in effect here Moses was basically saying, I reject the world and all that it has to offer and I'm choosing to follow Christ and what comes with that. He clearly had an eye as to if he continued on that path that he was in, it was going to be a life that would have very temporal satisfaction. He would not be laying out treasures in heaven.
But rather, he had his eye on the eternal.
And serving the Lord Christ. And so he had his eye really on that, because it says in verse 27 He forsook Egypt not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible.
I thought about that little phrase, not fearing the king.
Because, as I said, the cultural pressures today are immensely strong.
And I really believe it's very close when the authorities in this country are going to do things that we as are put into law, things that we as Christians cannot follow, you know, we are to submit ourselves to the authorities, yes, but we ought to obey God rather than man and.
In that sense, we ought not to fear the King, but rather fear him.
Who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords?
And Moses did not fear the king here.
You know.
As I said, peer pressure is very strong. This is something really is going to have to be a conscious decision on your part. I, I, you know, I'm not planning on talking about Daniel, but we know the account where it says he purposed in his heart not to defile himself. And I think I know it takes purpose of heart on your part, beloved young people to really be preserved in this life.
The next verse I just want to touch on and make this one point. It says by faith he kept the Passover. We know that.
You know, they were instructed the Israelites before they left Egypt to put that blood over the door and on the side posts to kill that lamb. It really pointed forward to the death of Christ that would happen many years later.
I'll just bring out this point because sometimes I think it's perhaps not made enough to young people with this group that I would encourage you, if you've not yet made that decision, to remember the Lord, to think about it.
You know the Lord Jesus, it says in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and he made that statement this do in remembrance of me.
You know, for whatever reason, sometimes young people put it off. They may think that, you know, my life is not completely in order. And, you know, maybe I'll wait till I'm in my 20s and, you know.
I they have various concerns, but I encourage you to think about it, to pray about it. That's something the Lord wants us to do to commemorate his death. Moses was acknowledged really for the faith that he had to do what they were instructed to do by putting that blood over the door and along the side post.
That really that shed blood that pointed forward to the death of Christ.
So I just mentioned that, you know, and Christendom today, it seems increasingly there's less and less of this commemoration of Christ's death, but it is something that he has asked us to do. So again, Moses, I think about this decision point.
Really, the decision of the path of life that you will follow, whether you will lay up treasures in heaven or whether you will lay up treasures.
On Earth.
You know, I'm going to mention one other person, a female in relation to this, and I debated whether to bring her up because in many respects it's similar to Moses but a little bit different, and that is Ruth. So I'm just going to read a few verses there from the book of Ruth, chapter one.
About the decisions she made, really.
To follow the God of Israel.
00:35:09
And I'm going to start a Ruth chapter one, verse 15, so we know this is Naomi talking.
And it says, And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people, and under her gods, return thou after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return.
From following after thee, For whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also if aught but death part thee.
And me when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left, speaking unto her.
The account of Ruth.
You know both Moses and Ruth made decisions that affected the trajectory of their life. You know Moses and that decision.
I mean, we would never have the account of the rest of his life as we know it. You know, the following 40 years in the wilderness, the last 40 years will say back guiding the children of Israel.
Out of Egypt. And Ruth in a certain sense also did the same thing in that she made a conscious choice to leave her people.
And.
Basically join herself with Naomi to follow her wherever she went.
And I'll say this, that I think this is important to point out because.
I was thinking about Emma and I mentioned Emma, this girl who lived with us two years ago when I spoke here, but she came to my mind.
Because.
Emma came from China. She lived with us for one year.
And we presented the gospel to her many times when she was in our home.
But I saw that struggle she had because she came from a country where is predominantly atheists. In fact, she told me she she was deathly afraid if she made that choice to follow Jesus Christ as to what the repercussions would be to her family, to her whole way of life. She was deeply loyal to China.
And she openly talked about it. She was afraid about it. And I mentioned to that because I think of.
Ruth here because you have to realize she came from a country they did not follow God. They were they were idolaters there. You know, she obviously came to know about the God of Israel through Naomi and her husband and I presume her husband as well. But that choice to leave that country, the people she knew that that safety net.
That was a massive choice for her.
And I don't know the backgrounds of all of you here, but I did think it important to note because this decision point.
As to really leave everything behind to follow Christ no matter the cost.
Can, does and will really, for all of us, come with major implications to our lives.
But if you really think about what that meant for Ruth to do that, she left everything behind to go with her mother-in-law into the unknown, as it were. And her words are incredibly powerful. You know where she basically said, you know, I'll go where you go. Wherever you stay, wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, thy God, my God.
Where you die, will I die? And there will I be buried. I mean, talk about a, you know, unreservedly committing herself.
Fully to Naomi in the path that she was going. We know that Orpa, she turned around and went back to her people. But this choice that Ruth made was life changing. We know she's in the lineage of Christ. She was blessed immensely. A Moabitess brought in into Israel and married to Boaz. Just a wonderful, wonderful story. But again, I thought it good to bring out both male and female but also.
00:40:03
Recognizing that maybe not all here come from a Christian background necessarily, I suspect vast majority, if not all have. But the story of Ruth is a different situation. And again, I think I thought about it with Emma. And unfortunately when she left her home, she had not yet made that commitment to follow Christ. And I we still pray for her that one day she will.
But.
You know, I thought it very similar in many respects.
So let's go to the next example.
And this next example is found in Genesis 13. And this is a person who made not a good choice. And this was Lot.
Genesis 13.
And we'll start at verse 10.
It says in Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose them all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east, and they separated themselves, the one from the other.
Abraham dwelt, or Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent towards Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
You know, this is a very solemn example. Obviously somebody who didn't make a good choice, you know, a lot made.
A decision that I think many of us struggle with and that is, you know, what his eyes saw enticed him.
You know, he and Abram had to separate. I mean, there was strife. It's in the earlier verses talks about between the herdsmen and it was actually Abraham that told Lot in verse eight. You know, it said let there be no strife.
At the end of that verse says, For we are brethren, is not the whole land before they separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. Thou will take the left hand, then I will go to the right, and so on.
But lots heart, and I think about this really OK. It was really what his heart was drawn to.
And I think there was 2 words there, or maybe not two. I'll say 5. In verse 12 That really jumped out of the page at me, it says he pitched his tent towards Sodom Lot. I really believe his heart was in that place. For whatever reason. He liked the city, wanted to be the place where the action was.
We know that he was pulled out of Sodom. In fact, he was pretty much begging the angels to let him stay in this little city.
But he was drawn to that.
What looks good, what feels good. And you know, I think of this as our fleshly desires here as to what entices us. And he paid a heavy, heavy price for it.
You know, so I think about you young people, the direction of life that you're going to go. It takes many twists and turns. I know mine has some good, some not so good.
But if what motivates us is by what looks good externally, you know, if our heart is drawn really to the place where the world and it's enticements are, it's going to lead to a terrible end. And that's really what it was for a lot. You know, what does your heart?
Seek after. That's really something you need to ask yourself.
I think a good litmus test.
Of that first thing in the morning, what do you pick up first? You pop open your phone. What's the first Internet website you go to? I think if I were to search your Internet browser history for the last two weeks, I think it would say a lot about really where your heart desires are at.
00:45:02
Umm, these are things that affect all of us.
And.
They come with a heavy price when our motivations are bad.
We certainly know what Sodom was all about.
Rampant with immorality.
And we know that Lot was there. He vexed his soul day-to-day. Abraham, in a much contrasted character we know, was living in a tent outside of that place, totally separate.
But don't think that you can live as it were, amongst all of that and not be affected.
You know, we're all affected in some capacity in the culture in which we live. I think about that.
But again Lot lifted up his eyes and beheld all the plain of Jordan that it was well watered.
You know, he probably, he had no idea that in time that entire place would be judged by fire and brimstone, by a holy God for the wicked immorality that was there.
He pitched his tent towards Sodom. So I think about this again as the decision point of the places and life that we go and what our motivations are.
So we have time for one more, I think, before we.
Closed for this evening. This topic is going to continue in tomorrow. It will be expanded upon a little bit more, but the next one is in Genesis 39.
And this has to do with Joseph.
And this next decision point has to do with purity. You know, this is an uncomfortable account. I acknowledge that as a parent, I know when we get to this chapter and Bible readings with their own kids, it's, you know, might make us squirm a little bit, but I know it is extremely important.
So I'm going to read a few verses here from Genesis 39.
Start at verse 7.
It says, And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife, Mrs. Joseph, now cast her eyes upon Joseph, and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master, what if not, what is with me in the house? And he hath committed all that he hath to my hand. There is none greater in this house than I. Neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife.
How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
And it came to pass about this time that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and got him out.
This decision point, I'll say, has to do with purity.
You know.
It was struck me in verse 7, the first few words there, it starts by saying after these things, you know, I thought about up until this point, much of Joseph's life had been, I'll say, decided for him. You know, he grew up in his father's house. We know he went to seek his brethren. They conspired, they threw him into the pit. They, you know, sent him by the.
Midianites down into Egypt.
Sold him, rather went to Potiphar's house. He was basically they took note of him, that he was a good worker, that God was with him, you know, life.
For him, and in many respects, I'll say he wasn't making those decisions other there were external factors that really got him to this place. And it felt like to me that this was the first time in a sense where Joseph was faced with a test.
And keep in mind now he was far from home.
Very far from home, he was away from his parents.
And he was faced with this very serious test.
00:50:04
You know in verse 8 when she basically seduced him, it starts by saying but he refused. The ability to say no young people is such an important thing.
You know I would ask you that you lay that before the Lord to give you courage to say no in areas like this.
You know, it was a couple weeks ago, the verse was just on my mind in this regard with matters of purity and it's in Romans chapter 13, verse 14. You don't have to turn to it, but I'm just going to read it because I I think this is such an applicable verse in this respect. Romans 13, verse 14, it says, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ to make not provision for the flesh.
To fulfill the lust thereof.
Make not provision for the flesh. Get those words ingrained in your mind.
If that means take the phone and throw it into the garbage can, then that's perhaps what you ought to do.
If your eye offends thee, cut it out.
Joseph did. There was a point here where he was alone in this house with this woman. We don't know the circumstances that led up to it, but it happened.
And we know that he again refused her seduce her seducing here.
That she caught him by his garment, basically had to get up and flee.
This is an area life where many young people fall.
And I speak of this, not of somebody who has excelled perfectly in this area. I'm a Sinner just as much as you are.
But this is an area where you need to be like Daniel to have purpose in your heart.
Young people to say no to this.
You know this culture is promoting this.
You know, basically lifts it up on a pedestal at every turn, at every corner. And quite frankly, I don't know how many men would have the courage to do what Joseph did here. Joseph is a type of Christ.
But he had the courage to do what was right in the face when there was very little accountability.
Frankly, no accountability. I mean, his family wasn't there.
You know, he could have proceeded with that. Perhaps his family would never have known. But I think about this decision by Joseph affected the complete rest of the trajectory of his life, the nation of Egypt and really the nation of Israel. You think about it because if he had fallen here, imagine the repercussions of that.
I pray to God, young people, that you have the courage.
To be like Joseph here.
This is a scourge in our society.
And this room is no different.
Purity decision point to live a life honoring to Christ. A life of purity, you know.
Again, uncomfortable topic, but important to talk about.
So important to talk about, you know, I think about as being a parent myself and knowing how to advise, you know, in these areas, in the culture in which we live is so extremely difficult.
You know, as a parent, I've tried to set up, you know, you set up barriers as much as you can to block the inroads of these things. You know, obviously referring to ***********. You know, at times it feels like you're fighting a losing battle with this culture because it's not, you know, I'm speaking openly. But, you know, when I was your age, you know, these types of things are on the back rack of the store. Those who are older remember that. But now we live in a culture where.
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Seeks you out.
You know, we live in a world of big data. You know, I deal a lot with technology even in my industry. But they want you. They know the vulnerability of people, young people.
Takes purpose of heart.
And the Lord will honor that.
That being said, I feel obviously I need to say this, for those who have stumbled in this area, there is forgiveness.
You know.
Think about the verse.
If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
You have a father who's an advocate for us.
And.
I just encourage you that.
Get right with the Lord if this is an area that you're struggling with right now.
And make the decision these next two days, today quite frankly.
That it put a stop to it, because I can guarantee you that this is an area people in this room are struggling with right now. The statistics for Christians are very little different from, unfortunately, from the world.
So I don't like to end on a somber note, but I feel like it needs to be talked about, you know? And I'll just say one more verse that comes to mind in Psalms where David said thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee?
Scripture in your heart is such a powerful thing, and the Lord can use that.
At every opportunity.
I think about in my own life the times where scripture just popped in my mind at just the right time to either convict, to encourage. It could be a number of things. Exercise conscience. But David said thy word. If I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. And that's why I felt it necessary to mention that verse. Make no provision for the flesh.
Make no provision for the flesh.
That's why it's good to be in groups, young people. That's why it's good to have safeguards in place, you know, with technology to prevent against these things.
So again, I'm just going to recap and then we'll be done for this evening. We'll pick this up tomorrow. But the topic of what I'm covering these two days are around decision points with people who made conscious choices in their life.
Good or for bad, that affected the rest of their life. And we started today by talking about Peter.
The choice to follow Christ. We know that Peter was used tremendously.
We talked about Moses.
Who chose to associate himself with the children of Israel? He chose to forsake Egypt, the world.
We talked about Ruth made the choice to follow Naomi and to leave her country and her kinsmen behind. We talked about Lot, who looked upon what was pleasant to the eyes, and it led to a dreadful end. And then we finished with Joseph, who made a decision.
To say no to matters having to do with purity. And he retained his integrity.
It was used mightily by God.
Really. Not only for Israel, but for Egypt as well.
So with that, we'll close in prayer.
Father, we just.
Acknowledge that. I acknowledge that.
Decisions in life, Lord. We don't always do well. We fail, Lord.
But I pray for these young people that they will make conscious choices, Lord, to follow you whatever the cost, to be intentional about the matters that we spoke about, that in all their ways they would acknowledge Thee.
And we know that that will direct their paths, preserve them. O God, we do pray.
Preserve me, Lord, for I know that I am the basest among men and feel so unqualified to talk to them here this evening. I pray that they will have, and I will have, Lord, our focus upon you, the one who did no sin, the one in whom was no sin.
01:00:24
And we just thank Thee for thy perfect example that we have to look to in the scriptures. We pray for blessing and encouragement for the young people in the remaining of the time. Here. In Jesus name we do pray. Amen.
Restoration
YP Talk—David Mearns
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Let's embark like to start with.
46 in the back. That'll maybe express a little bit of what I have on my heart.
46 in the back.
That land altered the Lord to Lord, which would divide my heart with Thee, which would divert thanks.
Is that a problem?
Which would divert its even flow. In answer to thy constancy, you'll teach me quickly to return and 'cause my heart a fresh to burn. See, I've got a tape here. I like to move around, so maybe I'll try not to. That makes me nervous if I can't move around.
The second to last verse here.
Oh, teach me quickly to return.
That's what I have on my heart. I want to look today at the subject of restoration.
Now we had.
Teddy, talk to us and he brought back, he brought to us a very excellent message on following the Lord.
Some very excellent scriptures.
Some very excellent instruction.
One of the.
Things that's been hard for me.
I'm obviously at a.
Different season in life than than you guys. It seems like it's yesterday I was sitting there looking at this old man up at the front.
Times have changed. I'm not sitting there anymore. I'm up here and I'm the old man.
But one of the things that's been searching to me is the many, many times I sat.
In various camps, various young people's weekends, various young people's activities with those who are my peers and sought evidently those who said that they were going to follow the Lord, and they did and were a bright and happy testimony.
And then sometime in their life.
They jumped off the train and it was full throttle.
That's hard.
So as I take up this subject.
It's one thing to say that you're going to follow the Lord.
But it's another thing to stay on the train.
You and I are both smart enough to know how.
We get discouraged when we get fired up.
The enemy of our souls sees to it. He doesn't like it.
He wants to turn off that light and he'll try to. And there has been many, many times in my life when I have wanted to throw the towel in. I don't stand before you as someone who hasn't made any mistakes. I have made every mistake possible in the book, every mistake possible. I cannot stand here taking high ground.
But by the grace of God.
I'm still following.
My desire is, and the desire of those here, we're older, is that you two would not simply follow, but you would keep following the Lord.
And as we cake up the subject of restoration.
There are some principles.
That are a help to us with that subject.
We like the word restore, restoration. We like it. It's a nice word.
But to see it implemented in our lives, there's instruction in the word.
And as we look at these scriptures and look at these examples, we trust that if there are those here and you have decided to follow the Lord.
That you would keep on. And if you get discouraged, there's a way back. There's a way back. Maybe there's someone here this afternoon.
And you want to get back.
We trust this afternoon we can look at these principles. That will be a help.
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Let's look at this hymn and we'll sing it through, and let's look at those last two lines. They'll teach me quickly to return and 'cause my heart a fresh to burn. Somebody please start 46 for us.
However.
In my spirit.
Where I am wild and enjoy God.
To me.
You're all very curious, of course, what George has handed me. So it's a little note. And evidently I was already putting putting you folks to sleep because it says you're just a little bit louder, Please.
Maybe if it drops down again just put up your hand.
Well, it's a problem I have too. Let's ask the Lord for his help. Our God and our Father, we're so thankful for the Lord Jesus. We're so thankful that we can have a time like this together to have this fellowship and to be with one another. Have thy precious word open. We thank Thee for the thoughts that we've had thus far this weekend. And we asked for that continued help. And now our God as we would.
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Embark on this very.
Very important subject we just would ask.
That that would speak to us from these blessed pages.
We think our God of each of these young hearts and Thy desires for each of them to go on in a manner that's consistent with Thy precious word. And we just would pray for those that have an earnest desire to go on. And we have a, we pray our God for those that that have done so and are perhaps discouraged. We pray for those who are thinking perhaps the pathway is just too hard and I'm not interested in it. Oh our God, we just would pray that Thou speak to each of our hearts this afternoon that we would be going on in a manner.
Following day, and we would do so with joy, so we'd ask for Thy help, and we'd ask it as we give thanks and the worthy and the precious name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Amen. So let's turn first to Psalm 23. Psalm 23.
I'm not sure how far we'll get in this subject, but we're going to start off with Psalm 23. David, he makes this comment in the third verse. He says he restoreth my soul. He restoreth my soul in the restoration of a soul is the work of God. I understand that it's the work of God, but does does not put us in a position where there's nothing to do in our part. Yes.
The work of God, but as we recognize in David's life the struggles that he had at various and sundry times.
God restored his soul and he was so thankful and he was able to write this. You know, there was a man.
And I never knew him. David Livingstone, long time ago, missionary to Africa. And he was at a convention in in England where he was asked to speak and they asked him if he wouldn't mind relaying.
One of the most exciting experiences that he had when he was in Africa and you know, he had some terrific experiences where he was saved from lions and, and the scenarios that we would see as miraculous. And he stood up there and he said, you know.
The most wonderful experience I ever had in my life when I was in Africa was He restoreth my soul. He restoreth my soul. So what gives me perhaps?
Ability to be able to even take up a subject like this, you know, there's no one that would ever take up any subject and says, you know, I'm qualified, I'm qualified. Well, I'm not, but I have been restored a few times.
A few 100,000.
And I'm very, very thankful, very, very thankful. Restoration. Let's turn over to Mark's gospel.
Mark's Gospel.
Chapter 3.
I had an interesting thing happen a few months ago.
Actually, Joe came up to our area and I told him this story.
I'm going to relay it to you.
I was.
I was in the town of Smith Falls. I live in Rio Ferry. Smith Falls is 10 miles away. I was in Smith Falls, went into the bank, came out of the bank. It was early As I came out of the bank, there was a man there dressed very shabbily, long, greasy hair, obvious addictions. And he said, can you give me a bit of change? I'm hungry.
Well, you can't fix every difficulty in this world. I kept walking and I got up to my truck and it's kind of like the Lord. He doesn't say this audibly, but he kind of lays something on your heart. He kind of said to me.
Maybe a better deal with this one. I thought OK so I I just cleaned out a job site and it was raining and I threw everything in the front seat. So I had to empty everything out of the front seat, put it in the back seat and he had started to walk up the road to where my truck was. My truck was probably 100 yards from where I first met him. He started to walk up with no intention of probably didn't even know where I was. As he got to my truck I said to him.
Hey, how about we go get some tea?
Kind of start they looked said oh that would be great that'd be great. I said hop in so he hops in and as we're going over to.
00:15:00
A restaurant, I said. You know, you got a story and I've got a story. Let's share each others stories and you can decide who goes first.
He said sure, that'd be good. Anyway, we got to the restaurant, got our breakfast sandwiches, went and sat in the booth. We're sitting there and.
He's nervous and I'm nervous.
And he said, I'll go first. I said, sure. He said, you're going to think I'm really weird. I'm really weird. I said, try me. And he said, well, no. He said, you're going to think I'm really strange. I said, so go ahead. He said I'm I'm what they call a Christian.
I not exactly what I was expecting. I'm what they call a Christian, he says. And if you don't know what that is.
That's someone who has put their full faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I thought, I'm just going to let him go.
I'm going to let him go. So he embarks on his journey, having no idea that I'm the Lord. He wants to, he wants to present to me a little gospel. But before he does that.
He's going to tell me his story, so he said. I never knew my parents, never knew them. I went from foster home to foster home to foster home, and every one of them was a Christian home.
He said I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was young.
Got older, I married a Christian girl.
He had a family. This guy's 52, he said. I have four children.
I got into a bad crowd at work and I started to drink and I immediately got hooked.
And I became an alcoholic.
And he said that addiction led to other addictions.
And he said I I lost my job, I lost my house.
I lost my wife.
I lost my four kids. I became a hopeless, homeless wreck on the street.
But he said a few weeks ago, I'm sitting there on he still doesn't know I'm the Lord. So I'm, I'm, I'm spellbound with this story of I thought I was going to take this guy out and share a little gospel with him. And I'm listening to this story. To think I almost missed it.
He said a few weeks ago, God put it in my heart to start to read my Bible again. And I started to read it and you know, it's real. It's the only thing that's really life, you know, at that point I kicked in and told him I was a believer and we were able to have some happy fellowship together. And he told me that he was, he was still struggling with these addictions. He had come across someone just a short while ago that was having a little Bible study with him and was helping him with the addictions.
He says they're not over yet and there's a real struggle there, but I have the word now and the Lord is restoring my soul. I thought, wow.
You know young people, I look at the many times the Lord has restored my soul in His matchless grace.
And I'm so thankful. I'm so, so thankful I can stand here today.
I'm no different than any one of you.
Were made of the same stuff.
That's not a compliment.
We are made of the same stuff.
But God's desire is that our souls would be restored. And it's for a reason. It's for a reason. So let's look here now at Mark's Gospel chapter 3, and we read this.
Verse 14 Here during day 12 he chose 12 disciples. Now why did he do that?
Why did he do that? What are the next words that they would be with him? And that is why the Lord has chosen you, so he could have your company, so that when you leave.
And you're no longer walking with the Lord. He misses that. We think we miss it. He really misses it. And that's why we have that scripture. He restoreth my soul because He wants our company back. That's what He wants. He wants our company.
So let me just ask now, you know, you've just had a time. I left here after your time this morning and I walked down to where my car was and I saw different ones of you all over the place, all with your Bibles open, most of you alone.
00:20:13
Some of you perhaps having sweet fellowship with the Lord.
Some of you perhaps reading these scriptures and thinking I wish I could get something out of this.
Perhaps some of you thinking, you know, I wish I was a little closer to the Lord right now. I wish I was and I'm just not.
How does this all fit in with this marvelous subject of restoration?
The restoration of a soul.
So here we find he ordained 12 That they should be with him one.
Of the hindrances.
To our restoration.
Is we don't know the steps.
We just don't know them.
They're basic.
But I didn't know them for a long time.
There are some very, very basic steps of restoration. Restoration is it's a process.
Ted spoke to us.
One of the comments he made was the concept of.
Confession and forgiveness.
Two more words.
Just perhaps now we look at four of them. There's confession, there's forgiveness, there's repentance, and there's restoration. They're all very different.
They're all very different. The 1St 2:00.
Our act.
They're an act. Confession is an act.
You say, I'm sorry I did this, it's an act, it's not a process.
Doesn't take a long period of time, it's an act.
And by the same token, forgiveness is an act. It's an act of God. We read and he alluded to the Scripture in in first John. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Two acts on God's part. And in our own scenario, it's the same thing. If I do something to you, you're not happy about it. And I go to you and I say, look, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I did whatever. And you say, you know, I forgive you.
Those are acts, they're not processes.
The next two Repentance.
And restoration are processes.
Their processes and a lot of the difficulty in our Christian lives.
Is we mix up confession with repentance?
And we mix up forgiveness.
With restoration.
Those are important things when we get away from the Lord.
If we just don't understand those basic little things.
So let's look at a scripture now in.
The Book of James.
I had a little 3 year old.
I'm having to stretch a little bit here.
One of my boys was 3.
And some of you have been to our house, some of you have not. We live on the road that the meeting rooms on at Reno Ferry and most of the other brethren live off that road too. In the summer it's a busy Rd. we're set back from the road. But in the summer, because of the cottage life, there's lots of cars go back and forth so.
We used to put a rope down at the end of the driveway, not at the end across where we didn't want the kids to go past. So we.
Told my son, remember the rope, you don't go past the rope. So my son just hands behind his back. He goes down the driveway.
To.
Put it here.
He gets to the rope.
00:25:02
Looks at the road.
It's many goals.
And he looks up at the house to see if I'm looking.
You know we do exception say that.
Exactly.
But we do exactly the same thing, Alice.
Looked up to see.
It's a very basic thing, what it is, it is an act of sin.
Every sin that we commit is an act. It's a choice and it's an act. It's not a process. The sins that we commit are not processes. Sin, the root is different than sins the fruit, and sins the fruit are acts every time, every time. And sometimes the difficulty in our life is we have a hard time.
Identifying.
When we stepped over that line and it's pretty important.
In the subject of restoration, it is very important.
You know, when you look at this guy I talked about and you think, how does he get back to the like he's a wreck. He's, he's lost his job, he's lost his family, his, his, his life is a hopeless mess. How do you get back? Well, none of you have ever been in exactly that same position, but it's very, very helpful for us to be able to identify in our lives.
The point of departure and if we can identify.
At that point where we had in our mind.
I'm just going to step over that line. It's an act every time, every time. And you know what it does?
It snaps our communion.
I came at the door that day.
I walked down the driveway.
Things were very, very uneasy between me and my son. I hadn't said anything. He hadn't said anything.
10 minutes before it was quite fine between me and my son, but all of a sudden it changed. It is not difference between US and God, it is not different. It's exactly the same.
Now.
I think it's important for us to be able to identify in our lives.
What sin is? It's very important.
We live in a world where.
What's in like? Are you kidding me?
But the scripture is not like that.
And it's we're able to identify it.
Every time we're able to identify that line that we step over and all of a sudden that relationship that we had with the Lord, it's just not the same. It's just not the same. Now let's turn to the book of James. You're already there, the 1St chapter.
Maybe I'll make this comment.
Because sometimes we we have a hard time identifying. Let me just use an example.
We could go to the 10 commandments. OK, let's pick one.
Thou shalt not steal.
So.
Let's say I have decided I'm going to.
Rob a bank and never tried that one.
OK, so you go to the bank and I've, I've got a gun and I, I hold the teller up and I say hand over the money and I take the money and I run out of the bank. Now where was the sin committed? Where I stole?
Was it when I walked into the bank?
Was it when I pointed the gun at the tellers head? Was it when I got the bag of money?
Was it when I ran out of the bank, was I went to the store and looked at all those guns and thought which one is the best one I should buy? Or was it when I looked in the catalogue and thought, there's the store I should have a look at because I want to do this and I'm going to go and buy this gun at that store? There's a whole array of things in connection with each one of those commandments that is helpful for us to know where is that line?
00:30:05
Where is the line that we step over?
Robbing banks one thing.
Anybody here ever stolen something?
Let me I'll ask that question after I use this illustration.
I tell my guys, I pay them by the minute, OK, they're paid by the minute.
And I expect them to give me 60 minute hours.
How many of those minutes are they giving me? Or is there a few of those minutes where they don't give me? They answer a text or?
They go into something they want to do instead of being on the job. You know what that's called? That's called stealing my time and it makes them a thief. So let me ask you this question I've just asked you. Has anyone ever stolen anything? Well, we'll go on. Okay, so let's identify now. What is sin?
What is it? It's important because we live in a society that thinks that there's so many things are OK, that God says it's not right, it's not right. And if we're going to live our lives before God in fellowship with God, we need to know when we step over that line.
James. OK James, Chapter one.
Verse 13.
Let no man say when he's tempted, I'm tempted of God, and for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man, but every man.
Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin. Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Where the line is crossed and the committing of sin is always a very very fine line.
Always in our lives, it's a very, very fine line. I don't get processed the results of it, the process of being past it. There might be a chain of of, of things that lead after it that maybe provide a fog for. So we don't know exactly where it was. We crossed over the line because there's so many sins we committed after, but the the committing of that first thing is it is a very fine line.
It's a very, very fine line and we need to identify that and if we can.
Oh, it makes restoration so much easier.
So what does it say here? It says here in the 15th verse that when lust hath conceived, that's the line. That is the line.
And that is the line every time in our own lives, it's when lust hath conceived. We think of conception. Conception is an act. We think of conception in a different way because we think of it in connection with childbirth, but here it's in connection with sin. And I'm going to use an example now to show that this is the way the Word of God looks at it. Let's turn over to the book of the Acts, the book of the Acts.
Acts Chapter 5.
Acts chapter 5 you're familiar with the portion. It's Ananias and Sapphiris the first verse a certain man named Ananias and Sapphira his wife sold a possession kept back part of the price, his wife also being Privy to it and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles feet. And Peter said Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost to keep back part of the price of?
Whilst it remained, was it not thine own? After it was sold, was it not thine in thine own power? Why hast thou look at that next word? That's the line that was crossed. It's the same word as in gene. Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
That is where the line is crossed. Young people, everyone of us, that's where it takes place.
If we can identify that.
It makes the return so much easier.
Trying to think I'm just away from the Lord and.
00:35:00
I don't know how to get back.
These things are simple, but they are so important. So important. We're going to look at an example.
There are lots of examples we can. I was hoping to look at a couple. I see we're not doing well.
And I would like to look at these very things that we've looked at.
To show that if we follow these steps in our own life, there can be full restoration. You know, there's nothing to me that's that's more disheartening than to bump into one of my peers that sat in a room just like this. And I sat with them and they were so charged up for the Lord. And I meet them now and there's just a mediocrity.
There's just a lukewarmness and I believe it's because they haven't been able to identify.
The point of departure in their lives, and it's important to us because.
You know communion is not like a tap.
If it was, we could turn it off pretty quick. We can turn Communion off very quickly.
I know whereof I speak.
You guys probably do too, but sometimes to turn it back on.
It doesn't come on quite so fast as we turned it off. You know why? Because God is faithful. And in order for there to be full restoration, God wants there to be repentance. Yes, there can be confession. I did such and such. The Lord says I forgive you. But in order for that restoration to be complete, there has to be that process of repentance and so often.
So often that process.
Of repentance is aborted.
And it doesn't come to fruition. It doesn't come to completion. And because of that, there can't be full restoration. You know, I see that in, I see that in merges, I see an older couple that's same age as me and I, I see them with their wife. And I'm thinking, wow.
I'm sure it wasn't like that on the wedding day where there's, you know, they put up with each other and it's it's there just doesn't seem to be the same thing as there once was. You know, there there are so many areas in our life where we're.
For some reason, content with a partial restoration. And that's not what God wants, because God wants our fellowship as we had in Mark's gospel. He wants to be with us. He wants us to be with them. He wants that full fellowship. He doesn't want to have measures. And in order for that to happen.
He wants us to be real.
He wants us to be real with him. You know, I, I just.
I just lost a sibling a year ago.
First one five of us are all four years apart.
My oldest brother, second in line, he passed away.
At his funeral.
I was the last in line to speak and I shared a little story about him. I'm going to share it with you.
It was when he was four years old. Now being eight years older than me, I don't remember the story. Casey's I wasn't born for four more years, but my mom told me this story.
So she said when he was a little boy. He's four years old.
He wants to go out and play in the snow and my mom dresses them up in the snow suit.
And as he's going outside, there was one thing.
She told him he wasn't supposed to do.
Yeah, it's clear how he goes. She goes up to the kitchen sink, which is in front of the window which where she can see him, and he goes outside and he does exactly what she told him not to do. Like exactly.
It's like my boy, you know?
We didn't know she was watching.
So he comes in and she challenges them, she said you did such and such. No, I didn't.
Yes, you did. No, I didn't. And then he said that. How do you know?
And.
In her very French way of saying that he had a guilty look on his face, she says It's written all over your forehead.
I don't know what the repercussions were. I don't even know what the incident was.
A week later, he's down in the basement. She doesn't know what he's doing. He's down in the basement.
He comes up the stairs.
He's approaching her. He again has this guilty look on his face. She's got no idea what's happening.
00:40:04
She doesn't say anything, he doesn't say anything, and he's pulling his hair down in front of his for you.
Young people.
We're the same. As I say, we're a bit more sophisticated than that, but with the Lord we're the same.
Like, are you kidding me? But we are. God wants us to be real. He wants us to be real. And if we can be real.
With that which we commit, oh, it will be so much easier.
For the return, so much easier. So let's go now to.
The example I want to look at we've got 20 minutes is.
The story of David. One incident. David's life. Let's go to Second Samuel.
You'll remember.
There's examples like this all over the world. All over the world. Remember in Luke's Gospel chapter 2.
Mary and Joseph, they went up to Jerusalem and the Lord Jesus is 12 years old.
And they leave, and all of a sudden they realize, where's Jesus?
And they start looking for them. They've gone a day's journey away, and they look for them and they look for them and they look for them. And it took them three days to find them, three days to find them. You know, that's the principle often in God, working with ourselves, that if we treated communion like the tap I told you about, we would be careless in our Christian lives. We would be very careless. We would say, oh, I can go back to the Lord.
The God is faithful and in our return there needs to be repentance. We need to know.
That that stepping forward just like that with the cause of the Lord Jesus to suffer 3 hours of darkness for that we need to know that and we need to feel that. And if we can in our Christian lives, oh, it's the pathway of return. You remember that You remember the.
Remember the Butler?
Is that one of the most beautiful examples of repentance I see in the word where you have the Butler and Butler and the Baker, They're in prison. They're with Joseph. Joseph tells their dreams. He says, you know, Remember Me when it shall be well with thee. And they leave and.
Joseph doesn't hear anything for two years, but two years later, Pharaoh's having a dream. You know, if it had been me, I would have said I know someone that can tell the dream, but the Butler doesn't do that.
No, he does, he says. I remember my faults this day.
And then he goes through the whole 9 yards, he said. You know, the Chief Baker and me the Chief Butler, We offended my Lord.
He goes through that whole thing. That's what repentance is. It's not sweeping under the carpet. That thing that this world says, oh, it's not such a big deal. We need to see what it is in the sight of God. We need to do that. And so here.
In two Samuel.
I think we're going to see the same principles in connection with Mary and Joseph, where it took them three days to find the Lord, took them one day to lose them, three days to find them. Sometimes it's like that in our lives. It takes a bit of time for repentance to work its work in our lives. And sometimes we're impatient and that's why there's not for restoration. We throw the towel. We're not willing to see repentance have its full work.
And that means mediocrity in our lives. That's what it does. And that's not what God wants for you. He wants your company. He wants the real thing. He doesn't want a half measure. He wants all of you, not just a part of you. Let's look at David in Second Samuel Chapter 11.
This, this story is one year we're very well aware of, you're familiar with. We're not going to read the whole thing, but just to get some things here. In the first verse, it says it came to pass after the year was expired, the time when kings went forth to battle, you know?
We need to remember we're always at war, not just a certain time like David said here, a certain time that he went to battle. We're always at war. We always need that armor of Ephesians 6 that David sent Joab and his servants with him. All Israel. They destroyed the children of Ammon, besieged Araba, but David tarried still at Jerusalem came to pass in the event tide that David arose from off his bed and walked upon the roof of the King's house. And from the roof he saw a woman.
00:45:23
Herself and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. I'm not taking this portion up from the standpoint of trying to address immorality in our lives. That was done last night and Teddy did it very well. That's not my purpose here.
Umm, my purpose here is to see the steps of restoration. That's my purpose. It just so happens that this is one of the best ones that we can see in David's life. And I would just suggest, you know, young people. I was thinking with Teddy was mentioning was talking last night and he raised some things, you know, with those of us who are guys we're we're more affected by by the **** world than than you that are young ladies.
And.
There are a number of things that we that we are affected with as as young people. You know, I just think of my own life.
How much time in the last week have I wasted that the Lord gave me? Since here's some time I want you to use for me and I've I've just blown it. Not on anything bad, not anything that's wicked, but I just use it for myself. I've wasted it.
Now we need to be careful with little things like that our time and I would suggest that the moments we have of solitude.
Are far, far more to be feared.
Than the times that were hard hard at work.
They're the times that I have got into trouble. It's moments of solitude, not moments that are filled with activity. This, in David's life, is a moment.
Of solitude.
Well, we know what happens.
David sent and inquired after the woman.
Once there is not that Bathsheba, the daughter of Elaine, the wife of Uriah the Hittite. David sent messengers and took her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her, for she was purified from her uncleanness, like really purified from her uncleanness.
Hardly, And she returned to her house, and the woman conceived and sent and told David and said, I am with child.
You know, in our lives. I'm just going to interject here if you turn with me.
To.
Psalm chapter 19.
Psalm chapter 19.
Young people, this is important because in our lives, if we judge.
If we judge the things that nobody can see.
We won't have to judge the things that everybody else does see because there's so much bigger.
You get it if we judge the things that nobody can see.
We won't be forced into a position where we have to judge the things that everybody else has to deal with. So here in Psalm chapter 19, we read this verse 12. Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. There's those secret things that nobody else sees that we need to deal with. That is just doing this.
That's just same something.
Every time. No exceptions if we don't deal with that.
We have to deal with what's in the next verse. Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins.
That's a step further.
If we don't deal with that.
Those presumptuous sins, they have dominion over us, as we have later in that.
Verse keep back thy servant also for presumptuous sins and let them not have dominion over me. Then shall I be upright and I shall be innocent from the great transition, great transgression. And so you have, you have an order there. It's first secret faults. It's then presumptuous sins. It's then those things that have dominion over us that we just can't help. And then there's a great transgression. Oh, that we would deal with those little things and they happen usually.
In our moments of solitude, that's when they happen.
00:50:00
So back over here in Second Samuel.
6th verse David sent the job saying, Send me your ride. The Hittite job sent your ride to David. When Uriah was coming to him, David demanded of him, how did, how the people did, how the war prospered. And David said to Uriah, Go down to thy house, wash thy feet, really. And Uriah departed out of the King's house, and there followed him a mess of meat from the king, but Uriah slept at the door.
David's heads with all the servants of his Lord. You can see the progression here.
We're gonna, we're gonna, we're gonna see a very, very interesting thing in in the next chapter.
So.
The 9th 1St Your eye slept at the door of the King's house with all the servants of his Lord, and went not down to his house. When they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down onto his house. David said to Uriah, Came as thou not from my journey, Why then didst thou not go down into thine house? And Uriah said unto David, The ark and Israel and Judah abide in tents, my Lord Joab, and the servants of my Lord are encamped in open fields.
Then I shall go into my house to eat and to drink. Shall I go into my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife as thou livest and as thy soul liveth? I will not do this thing. And David said to Uriah, Tarry here a day also tomorrow I'll let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day and tomorrow. And when David called him, he did eat and drink before him. He made him drunk. You know, in our laws, if we don't deal with those small things, one thing leads to another. Every time, every time. And young people.
Whereof I speak.
I have had very good practice with this, I am ashamed to say.
That there have been so many areas in my life when I didn't deal with the secret faults and one thing led to another until I got myself in hopeless trouble.
And says, and David called him and he didn't eat and drink before him and made him drunk, and that even he went out to line his bed with the servants and his Lord and went not down to his house and came to pass in the morning. That David wrote a letter to Joab. Oh boy, it's getting worse. Sent it by the hand of your eye. And he wrote in the letter, set the Uri in the forefront of the hottest battle. Retire ye from him that he may be spitting and die. Young people, I'm reading this for a reason. And you need to pick up on it because all it's going to do is going to fortify.
What we've had before us earlier in the meeting, if you pick up on these principles and so you know, we know what happens.
I'm not going to go through it. Job takes Uriah, puts him in the forefront of the hottest battle. Uriah is killed, David says.
It's done. So let's look at the last verse of the chapter. The last verse of the chapter.
The last phrase, the thing that David did displeased the Lord. OK, this is after a long way down the road, but young people, every time we do this.
We can attach that phrase to it. The thing that we do has displeased the Lord. We need to realize that.
Not the killing of Uriah. It's when we step over the line. Where was that David's life? Where was it? So let's look now.
I see we're not doing well with time. Let's go to the 12Th chapter.
The 12Th chapter it says in the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and hers, but the poor man had nothing save 1 Little you lamb which he brought, which he bought and nourished up. And he grew up together with him and with his children, at the deed of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and laid in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
Nakima traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock, of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him. And he took the poor man's land and dressed it for the man.
That was come unto him, and David's anger was greatly kindred against the man. Like, are you kidding me?
David's anger was greatly kindred against the man.
And he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the men that have done this thing shall surely die. Oh, we can be so righteous in connection with our own sins.
We can think that, oh, they're not as bad as somebody else's. Like, really? God looks at us stepping over that line as that which put him into those three hours of darkness and until we realize that.
It's going to be hard for us.
To be restored fully back to the Lord.
Now here.
00:55:02
David, he obviously blows his stack. He says he shall restore the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and because he had no pity.
And then David says, and then Nathan says to David, you know, I'm saying for my own life and David's life, there were 33 prophets. There was Samuel in those early days when he needed someone to be a help to him. And then there was Gad later on in his life. And then there was this Nathan that was able to hit the button right where it was the source. I'm thankful for my own life, the Lord that has provided those dear men of God and women of God.
That have provided that in my own life, and the Lord has provided that for you too.
At various different times, whether you realize it or not. But here Nathan comes and he says you're the man. You are the man.
Sometimes our confessions are forced. Usually that happens if we don't deal with the secret fault in our life.
We're not willing to. We're thinking, well, you know, it's not so bad. And we go to the next step and then we go to the next step. Then we go to the next step. Pretty soon we're in real trouble. And someone like a Nathan comes along and says you are in trouble. But what to me is very, very interesting, what Nathan does, and we find that.
In verse 9. So what do you expect now from what I've said?
Nathan is going to say to David, you took Uriah Kilt.
You took Bathsheba to be your wife.
He wrote this letter to Joel.
No, no.
He addresses.
Where David crossed the line first and foremost. That's OK. It's always the way. And so here we have. Wherefore hast thou? There it is. Despise the commandment of the Lord. That's where he stepped over the line. That was the point of departure.
It's not when he killed Uriah, it's not when he took Bathsheba, it's not when he sent the servants to take Bathsheba to bring him to his house. That's not what happened where he stepped over the line is he despised the commandment of the Lord. That is the conception of the heart that we read in the book of Jesus. That's the conception of the heart that we read of in.
Connection with Ananias and suppliers. You know it works the other way too. You know when it says about Daniel?
You know, when they handed Daniel that platter of the King's meat and of the King's drink, that is not when Daniel said, no, I'm not going to take that. It happened before that. He purposed in his heart before that. That's what it took place. So when it was handed to him, the deal was already done, always.
In our own lives in connection with purpose of heart, but here let's let's just follow this through now. So he says here he does bring up.
The thought of Uriah, yeah, he says you've killed Uriah with the sword. Because there's the succeeding sins that are very, very important in this connection. And we're not going to have the time. I would have liked to have looked at the 32nd Psalm and the 51St Psalm. We don't have the time for that. So I'll just, I'll, I'll finish up. We're, I'm starting to get some glazed eyes here. I understand that we'll just tidy up here, but I just want to make a point. And if we can get this point, it'll bring the whole thing together.
What we've had today, so Nathan says here to David, nine first, wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight. How has killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, taking his wife to be thy wife, and has slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Let's go down here and it says in the 13th verse, it's where we have what we started the meeting with when I said confession is an act and forgiveness is an act. And we see it here in the 13th 1St David said on the Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David.
The Lord hath put away thy sin. Thou shalt not die. There's the two acts.
Psalm 51, maybe we'd look at it in the next meeting we have, is going to take up the thought of repentance. But this next point you need to get, and it's in the fourth verse because Nathan tells a parable to David.
And what he does he says. He talks about this rich man. He had flux and hers. In the second verse he said the poor man had nothing save 1 little you lamb which he had brought and nursed up and grew up and gathered with him with his children that eat of his own meat and drank of his own cup, lay in his bosom, was with him as a daughter. And there came a traveler under the rich man. Young people, that is a thought.
01:00:03
A traveler is a thought.
It's when my son was there standing at this line and the thought came into his head. My dad said I'm not supposed to go with the shepherd, that wine, I'm just going to test it. That's the thought. And when the thought conceives the football, and it's the same in every one of our lives in connection with sin, it's not a complicated thing.
But sometimes we don't get it.
And here he presents this parable in this way so that David would get it. He says there comes a traveler. Now David could deal with that traveler. Where did that traveler happen? He was up on the rooftop. That's when the thought came.
That's when the secret fault says.
I'm going to step over the line. I'm going to do that.
And it's always in our lives. It's always an act of disobedience. It's not a vague process. Never, never. It's always an act.
Oh, we're at a time. If we were to turn, I'd, I'd encourage you to look at it.
Psalm 51.
Shows David, Oh my sin is ever before you for me. He says, you know, he's already confessed it. He's already been forgiven, but he wants that communion back that was destroyed and it takes time, you know, in our own lives. It takes time to well, may the Lord bless his word to our hearts as we walk in our Christian pathway and recognize we get away from the Lord.
Yeah, there might be a process that leads up to it, but there's a line.
That we step over and if we can identify that, oh, it sure helps in the pathway back, the pathway of restoration. Let's ask Lord for his help.
Father, we're so thankful for the Lord Jesus. We're so thankful for thy ways with us.
And when we air, when we fall, we own that it happens in our lives. Thy desire is not just to leave us there, because Thou dost miss our company far more than we miss it.
Far more than we've missed thy company, My desire is for us to have happy.
Fruitful enjoyment with thyself. Blessed God help us to be able to deal with these things in our lives.
Give us to to have renewed energy.
When there are those things are God that are presented to us that we would have the purpose of heart like Daniel has, and that there wouldn't be that conception in our hearts that leads us astray. What we ask for help with this our God, and we'd ask it as we give thanks in the worthy and the precious name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Finding a Partner in Life
YP Talk—Ted Allan
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.
All right, we'll go ahead and get started.
I'd like to start with the hymn this evening 312.
Thinking of the second verse.
We follow the our Guide, who did salvation bring. We follow thee through grace supplied from heaven's eternal spring 312.
Somebody could start it for me.
Almighty Lord.
We learn to.
Victory.
Anchorage, by my blessed word.
With joy we fall.
We are the.
Our God.
Who is salvation?
Brain.
We follow thee through.
Grace of blood.
Amazing eternal spray.
To love the.
Prize for the.
We hear our.
And those we call forever rest.
I wonder being so strong.
That's the Lord's help.
Our Father, we come to Thee this evening and prayer and truly Thou art our guide. We know a verse in the Old Testament says that Thou art our guide even unto death. I just pray, Lord Jesus, that each of these young people here today, and older ones too would seek and follow Thee.
Till they are taken home, or till thou just give the shell.
Preservice Lord Jesus, we do pray. In thy precious name we ask it, Amen.
OK, So for those who weren't here yesterday, I spoke about decision points and I recounted I think 6 people yesterday who made decisions in their life that affected the trajectory of the rest of their life and tried to touch on various aspects. I'll say that.
Each of you have or will face at some point in your life.
The last one I wanted to cover this evening.
Has to do with Rebecca and this particular topic is probably geared a little bit more towards those who are older as it relates to finding a partner in life.
And but yet I certainly, you know, for the younger ones too, might not be at that stage. There's certainly good things to learn from it as you think about that phase in your life.
As I finished my talk, I obviously feel it important to talk about, you know, as we make decisions in life, how it is we discern the Lords will. And so I'll wrap it up with a few thoughts with respect to that because, you know, certainly we talked about various individuals who made some made good choices, some made poor choices.
But I just wanted to kind of bring it together to give you a few things.
Perhaps we see in scripture and also I'll say through experience.
As well in my own life. So let's turn to Genesis chapter 24.
For the account of Isaac and Rebecca.
00:05:10
I'm just going to start by reading one verse to set the context here, and that is verse 58.
And they called Rebecca, and said unto her.
Wilt thou go with this man? And she said I will go.
I recognize in the context of this verse that they were asking Rebecca about whether her family wanted her to delay her departure. And the servant seemed anxious to get back to Isaac with his new bride. And so they approached Rebecca her here. But I just want to focus really in that one question first. Wilt thou go with this man?
And she said I will go.
You know the person that you will marry in life is one of the biggest decisions that you will make.
And it will have a tremendous impact for your life, young person.
You know, I understand here that this particular story is certainly a different setting in that Isaac isn't even here in the present, if you will. This was all done through his father, through the servant to go search a bride for.
Isaac But certainly I think the principles remain as to some of the things I'll touch on here.
This is a very important topic. I'm sure those of us who are older and young people, you've probably observed it, that you've seen people marry who were good help meets for them and also some who were not help meats for them.
And I just wanted to touch on a few points here. And so I'm going to go back to the beginning of Chapter 24.
To just touch on a few things here, it's a very lengthy chapter, so I'm just going to really extrapolate a few verses here to emphasize the points I want to make so.
We're going to start here with Abraham and I'll just start at verse one. It says, and Abraham was old and well stricken in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house that ruled over all that he had put. I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and I will make thee swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, the God of earth.
The earth that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.
But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.
So here we find Abraham in the land of Canaan. He is very much interested for a bride for his son Isaac, and he gives instructions to the servant to go back to the area in which he lived, to his family, to his country, to his kindred, to take a wife for his son Isaac.
And you know, I'm going to make the.
I'll say the application here that.
The single most important thing, young people, is that you find somebody who is a fellow believer in Christ as to a partner in life, somebody, as it were, from your own kindred. We know that the Israelites were instructed later not to take a wife or spouse from some of the surrounding countries, Moab, some of those places. The Lord was very clear on that point.
And certainly in Corinthians it's very clear that we are not to be unequally yoked.
With unbelievers.
And to really make a decision to not only marry, but to date somebody who is not a believer is really to make a very, very poor choice in your life.
I understand that it's difficult for you as many of you in school, and perhaps there's not many young people in your assemblies and a boy or a girl takes interest in you at school. It can be very hard to certainly say no to that. Certainly the interests and affections of others can be very appealing.
00:10:11
But to really pursue that, there's somebody who does not know and follow.
Jesus Christ is to really make shipwreck of your life.
You know, because if you pursue in that path and marry that person, I mean, you're really on opposite ends of the spectrum with respect to what, you know, your interests and your cares of life are. I mean, right out of the gate, you would be faced obviously with decisions about raising children and how to discipline and how to raise them, all these things. And you know, there's countless examples where people have done that and it's been extremely detrimental.
So obviously I'm being plain here, but I just want to make the point as Abraham.
He wanted this for his son Isaac, that there would be somebody from his country, from his kindred, certainly as a father. And the fathers and mothers in this room can certainly, I'm sure, attest to the fact as to Abraham's desire for his own children that this would be the case.
The second point I want to make with respect to this is in verse 12. Again, I'm not going to read the whole account, but.
We know the servant goes out, he comes to an area which is really from the area Abraham is from. And in verse 12 he prays. And here he says, O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day and show kindness unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city came out to draw water. And let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say.
Let down my pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say drink, and I will give thy camels drink also. Let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac, and thereby shall I know that thou hast showed kindness unto my master.
So here I just want to make the very simple point that as the servant went out knowing what his master wanted, he prayed this prayer. And we know that the prayer came to pass. And so this decision with respect to the person that you will court or marry is one that ought to be blanketed in prayer.
I was talking to somebody yesterday and they said how?
Somebody they knew had prayed 4 years with respect to somebody that they had desire to marry, and the Lord opened that door, you know.
This is a decision that's not to be made lightly and to be, as I said, blanketed in prayer. And that's what happened. We know the servant was certainly very specific, you know, and it came to pass in the following verses. We know that Rebecca came out to the well, and we know that when he asked about getting a drink, she offered not only a drink for him, but for his Camels.
And it was very clear that the Lord had answered his prayer.
You know, this obviously is a sensitive topic. I know that many of you in here right now, I'm sure, are praying with respect to this as to who the person would have for you. And sometimes these answers don't come overnight or immediately.
And.
Yet, you know, the Lord did give a clear answer here to the servant, and we know that Rebecca was going to be a tremendous blessing to Isaac. But I encourage each of you as you think about whether the Lord would have this for you to be in prayer about it, even those who may not be at this stage. You know, as I said, you know, there's some in this room who I'll say are at that stage now.
But you know really for all of you, irrespective of age, something that you should be in prayer about as a parent. Obviously we should be praying for our own children that they would find somebody who would be a help me.
I also want to point out the facts in verse 10. Just want to make mention of this as to the fact that this was a very long journey for this servant to make.
00:15:07
Very far, I mean, from the area where Abraham grew up. And so there was a lot of initiative put forth on Abraham's part to send the servant all the way back here because he knew that that would be what God would have and.
I'll just say this that.
One thing that does concern me, and I'm speaking openly, is that it seems to me that there's been a trend of a lack of initiative, I'll say on the part, especially of men sometimes I think in this regard to put forward, to seek and to get to know people of the opposite sex.
And I that's my own opinion and some of you may certainly challenge me on that afterwards, but.
You need to get to know people. And I realize it's different today. You know, when I was a young person, we had him sang some. You know, the thing of the day was that who were going to ask that him sing used to be a running joke. I remember young men, sometimes they asked over 10 different girls to him sings and they would get made fun of for that. But you know, in so doing, you got to know people through that.
You have to be careful, obviously, as to a young lady's heart, you know, for the men here, I do acknowledge that. But as I see, certainly people get older and they're single, you know, there needs to be some initiative, obviously through the Lord's leading as to what the Lord would have for you and not to be afraid to reach out and get to know somebody.
So if the servant can make that type of a journey, certainly.
The ability to go up and say a few words to somebody, get to know them a little bit, show some courage on your part.
The next point I want to make is in.
Verse 50 So we know that the prayer is answered. He asks basically to go to her home, you know whose family she was. And it was very clear, obviously when he heard, you know whose family she was from, that the Lord was answering a prayer very clearly here. But in verse 50, as he recounts his prayer and what had happened, it says.
And Bethiel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord, we cannot speak unto thee, bad or good. It was very clear to them that this was the Lord's doing, and really, what could they say to that? And so they gave their blessing.
And.
I just say this for young people.
Seek the blessing of your family in this matter.
It will be clear, I believe to your family, as to whether it is from the Lord, as much as it may be difficult.
You know, maybe you're sensitive obviously to what your parents think. I hope that you desire your parents input, but to seek their blessing in this particular matter is important.
I remember very clearly my own mother warned me about somebody I had had interest in when I was a young man.
And that person is not my wife.
You know.
I'm thankful sometimes for the warnings and also the words of encouragement from a parent as to this particular regard. You know, recognize that your parents have years of experience. They may see things from a different perspective, but their opinion matters and their blessing is important.
You know.
I may be old fashioned, but I think it's even good for young men really to seek, you know, the blessing of the family with the person that they seek to court, you know, as to get their approval in that regard. I know it's not a popular idea today, but you know, it's a good thing to have the blessing from their family as well. Well, Rebecca's family clearly knew that this was from the Lord.
And, you know, they acknowledged it for what it was.
And, you know, they obviously didn't want to see her go. And as I said at the beginning, the servant was anxious to depart. And they called Rebecca. And that's where they asked the question that I started with. Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.
00:20:04
If only it were this easy, right? I recognize it doesn't in the world in which we live work out this way. I know that there's sure, I'm sure there's many a young lady that would only wish someone would come, you know, and seek their heart in this regard. And many are waiting.
But you know, it wasn't easy for Rebecca either, to leave.
I can tell you when I married my wife Julie, we got married, She moved from the United States to Canada. We lived in Prince Edward Island.
There were many days she just cried, she was so homesick.
Her first cousin.
Supposed to be in our wedding party. Caroline Hadley passed away 10 days before we got married of cancer.
There were days that Julie just lied on the sofa and wept.
And what?
And that was our first year of marriage.
It's not. Yes, she loved me, but it's not always easy to move away from home and everything you've ever known.
And that's not unique to her.
I know I'm not speaking to newlyweds here today, but you know, when that day comes for you, young man, you know, be sensitive to that. This is a major life change.
Because you know the reality, if you marry somebody in the assemblies to which you go, more often than not it requires a significant move on somebody's part far from where they grew up.
You know, with respect to, you know, my own wife.
I thank the Lord every day for her.
She's a tremendous blessing to me.
It was about 20 years ago that I had asked her at Montreal conference if we could start dating and we courted for about two years before we got married.
And I was a very happy time.
When her cousin got sick with cancer before we got married, I mean, that was difficult. It was very hard for me to enter into what she was going through.
But that time was a time of getting to know one another.
To know them for their joys, their pains, to see them happy when they're sad.
And that's all part of it.
And it's good to have that time to get to know somebody.
Proverbs 1822 makes it clear it's often read at weddings. Who so findeth a wife, findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor from the Lord.
And this is, as I said, one of the most important decisions that will be made. But it can be a wonderful, wonderful blessing to your life.
Genesis 2, which often reads, which is often read at weddings with respect to a helpmeet.
Young persons seek to help me.
You know, my mom always often quoted the verse how can two walk together except they be agreed? It's very important principle.
To have somebody that shares your convictions.
But I will caution you that I think sometimes we strive for perfection. And as I think about people in that respect, you know, none of us are perfect.
What I would say is desire a help me from the Lord.
Find somebody who's a believer in Christ and to seek them.
I'm very, very thankful, as I said, for my wife, and I can truly say that she is my help me. I will say this, and I certainly ought to say this, that Paul makes it very clear in the New Testament, though.
00:25:00
That not everybody is called to marriage.
And to be a single person for life, maybe you're calling from the Lord.
And Paul made it clear that.
You know, that is a gift in a sense that not everybody has to be able to live that way, but their life can be used in full usefulness to the Lord.
You know, at the end of the day.
The Lord himself is the one who ought to be our All in all.
And.
The Lord can be that one.
To you, young person, if he's called you to be a life of singleness.
I don't think it's often talked about enough.
But he wants to be that too, for a married person as well as to be that person who really you strive to follow. That he be you. To be, as it were, your first love.
Well, I'm going to leave it at that, but with respect to this decision point, a partner in life. So again, just to recap.
Somebody who's a fellow believer in Christ. It's a decision that's to be blanketed in prayer. Seek your family's blessing and look to as to whether the Lord is in it, as to whether it be His will, and take that initiative. Don't be afraid to take that first step and get to know somebody.
So I want to pivot now. I'm going to talk about another person that made a choice as well. And it kind of pivots to what I'm going to finish this evening with. I'm going to let's turn to Luke chapter 10. And this has to do with Mary and Martha.
This is somebody who, the Lord clearly said, made a choice.
And they made a good choice.
In verse 38 of Luke 10 it says it came to pass as they went that he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house, and she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve?
Or left me to serve alone. Bid her therefore she helped me.
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing is needful, and merry hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her.
Mary had chosen that good part.
You know, Martha was somebody who obviously was very active in service and busy, and you can imagine her in that home. She was busy getting the home ready and getting the meal prepared and you know, you know, doing everything that needs to be done to make sure that things are running perfectly. And you know, it irritated her quite frankly, that Mary was just sitting there at Jesus feet and why isn't she helping Lord? And she was getting very frustrated.
You know, I think.
Those words jumped out to me this afternoon when I was meditating on this. She said, Lord, dost thou not care? You know, at times I may feel that way, you know, but really this was born out of a heart that made her feel a little self-righteous. I'll say in Prideville, I'm doing all the work. Why isn't Mary helping?
She was probably the personality that, you know, fretted over things perhaps as well, but the Lord sent Mary made the better choice.
And so as I transition to the last half of this hour, I really want to focus on the point that Mary was sitting there at Jesus feet, occupied with him, hearing his words.
She chose the good part.
And so As for the next 30 minutes or so.
I want to share a few things as it relates to the topic. We've talked yesterday evening and this evening about really knowing How can you know the Lord's will?
00:30:09
But to really know that, you need to know him. And Mary spent time with him, hearing his words and getting acquainted with him. And that was lost, I'll say, on Martha.
And.
I want to read one verse in Psalm 119105, a very well known verse.
As I start start this discussion.
But Psalm 1/19, 1:05 And it says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. You know, as often young people and people who are older often think about, well, what's the Lord's will in a particular matter?
One thing we need to recognize is that much of His will is already made known through the scriptures.
I mean, some things are very clear, right? I mean, if you think about the things that we already considered over the last hour and a half, I'll say.
Lot, for example, right? He lifted up his eyes, he saw what looked good. And if you take the Scripture, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof or the ways of death with respect to purity. And Timothy clearly says flee youthful lusts. I mean, in Scripture things are very explicitly clear as to what the Lord wills for you and your life, and I will say principles.
OK, so I'm not saying.
I don't know. I'll take Rachel for example, whether she goes to County College in Morris or goes to Rutgers, that's different. OK, those types of decisions. But with respect to.
What the Lord's will with many matters of life are already revealed in Scripture.
And sometimes we aren't well acquainted enough to frankly to know what his will is in a particular matter.
Unfortunately, we live in a day and age increasingly where people just frankly don't know the Bible and are not acquainted with the Scriptures. They don't read it. They rely on others. And that's a very dangerous place to be because how will you know, quite frankly, what God's will is?
And so again, I turn to this verse because it makes it clear that thy word, God's words, are a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. That's why it's so important to memorize Scripture. It's important to read it, to be acquainted with it. And that's a lifelong process, certainly.
I know that my memory is not great for those who know me.
But you know that which was memorized in my youth, and as you become more and more acquainted with it, you know it's stored up in the Spirit of God can take what is there.
The next thing I would like to say is let's turn to a verse in John 14 six to set the stage for this, a very important verse as well.
It says, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, you should have known my Father also, and from henceforth you know him and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it suffeth us, sufficeth us. And I should have read verse 5 before this. I apologize. Thomas was the one who.
Question, He said, Lord, we know not whether thou goest and how, and we know the way Jesus said very clearly that he was. The way to know Jesus Christ is really to know.
His will, his desire for your life and so on. And so I thought I would give an example through a story. So.
Not this year, but the year prior.
00:35:02
We had another international student live at our home. Some of you may have known that, and this was a young man from South Korea. His name was Jay Chung and Jay was from the Seoul area.
You know, it was really a desire on Julianne's part to open our home, to use it for the Lord, to bring someone in to share the gospel with them, to get acquainted with other cultures and so on. And so one of the when we heard through the school where children were going that there was a need to host.
This young man, we were given a letter. We read about him. We read what he liked, what he didn't like. We knew he lived in Wisconsin for a year.
On a very rural setting, lived on a farm. We knew he's from Seoul area. We knew like soccer. He's very social. You know, we knew kind of the basics about him, but we really didn't know Jay.
Well, we made the decision for Jay to come to our house.
Still remember going to Newark Airport, going in, all I had was a pitcher. I'm like, OK, this guy's in here somewhere. And I found him near the baggage terminal, the suitcase and thought, well, he looks Korean and kind of standing on his own and probably him. So went out and introduced myself and anyway, we drove him back to our house and.
I wish you could have known. I mean, it was such a bright, sociable young man and had an affinity to draw people to him.
That was very clear. He made friends very quickly.
We learned that he was from a single parent household. His father had left him. He was very young. He was raised by his mother. His older brother is in the Korean military, was stationed near the DMZ at the border of North Korea. And that was what all young men in South Korea do. They have to join the military. For two years he told us quite openly he didn't want to join the military, but that was the expectation, even if he was here in the United States, that he would have to go back and serve.
So we had a really great time getting.
To know him.
He came into our house we, you know, through lessons learned with Emma. We sat him down, went clearly over expectations about what was permitted and not permitted in our house. He was to attend the family Bible readings with us and basically live as part of our family.
Umm, But you know, we thought we knew him. He lived with us four months.
When he went back to Korea for Christmas break, we got a notice from the school that he had, because it was a Christian School, they monitor all the activities they're doing. He had been searching about how to vape and how to purchase weed, oil, smoke marijuana.
This came as a complete surprise to Julie. And I mean, all we really knew was, you know, that he was searching for it on the Internet. So we went to search his room to see if we could find anything. We couldn't, but it was a very different return. When he came back from Korea. We had to sit him down and ask him some very pointed questions.
And unfortunately, he did have a vape device. He had had brought back some liquids that he had planned to give to friends and we had to confiscate all that we had to notify.
Basically the coordinator who coordinates for international students and he got on a discipline plan. And anyway, it was very eye opening. We thought we knew him. He was living in our house.
Months went by.
And I got a call one day from the principal. We thought everything was back on track.
And principal of school basically said that something had come to light on social media and he was involved, could have come to the school and came to the school and.
Julie and I were there, principals there, Jay was there. Before we went to the school, I asked Jay. I said is there anything?
Really. That I need to know about. We knew it involved a picture on social media.
But he said there's nothing beyond that.
And lo and behold, there was much more than that.
Without getting into it, he ended up getting expelled from the school. Nearly lost the ability to finish high school in the United States.
00:40:08
It was very difficult circumstances in which for him to leave our family. It affected our family deeply.
And why do I say all this?
I say it because, you know, we thought we knew Jay. We read about him. He lived in our house for seven months.
But it's clear we still didn't know him, even though we spent that much time with him.
We found a burnt spoon in his room, we found things that called into question if there were more serious drugs, things getting delivered to our home. It was a scary situation. He denied it all basically.
And I say this because to know somebody, it's one thing to read about somebody, it takes time to be with them to get to know somebody. But you think about had I gone to Korea and got to know his mom, to live in his apartment, to see his school, I would, you know, get to know a whole other side of him and his friends.
You know, and so to get to know somebody takes time, young people.
And to get to know somebody is to know what their desires, what their wants, what pleases them, what displeases them, and so on. And so I say this because, you know.
Thomas here, he said, Lord show how can we know the way, and Jesus said I am the way, you know, He wanted them to know him intimately.
And so to know him, yes, to know the Scriptures, is deeply, vastly important.
But it takes spending time with him.
What is your quiet time like with the Lord young person?
Do you have a quiet time where you sit and reflect?
You know this question in verse eight that Philip said, Lord show us the Father and sufficeth us, you know.
Over the last five years, I'll just speak plainly. At times I would cry out and said, Lord, just show me what to do and I'll do it.
And that's the easy way sometimes, because it doesn't require faith to do that in a sense, right, but to know the heart of the Father, what pleases the Lord.
You know, if we're intimately acquainted with him, I should know what pleases him and what displeases him.
And so often we just want to just say, just tell us what to do and I'll do it. And I'm guilty that I'm still guilty of that.
And that's a hard lesson to learn.
And so we'll turn to the well known verses in Philippians. I know that time is slipping away here, but in Philippians 3, right, he's well known versus that Paul could say.
In Philippians 37.
But what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Yeah, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. And do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.
That I may know him in the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
And so young person.
We are all in a process of still getting to know the Lord.
Through the difficulties in our life as well as the joys.
And that's why I said, you know, for us, you know, to get to know Jay and I'm a better be nice to go to where they grew up to see their home.
Julie and I's dream one day to get to China, to see where Emma lived, to meet her mom and dad.
00:45:02
You know, Ben and I had the privilege about a year and a half ago to get to Japan when my sister was living there. You know, I'm so thankful that Ben and I had that experience to be able to experience a little bit of what they were experiencing there living on a military base in Japan.
It just helps you understand in a whole different way what somebody's going through and so.
We can get to know Christ through the experiences of our lives.
The last five years have been very difficult for me.
But you know, I wouldn't trade it for anything because you get to know the Lord in a way that you wouldn't experience otherwise.
You know, that's why it can be said, if you suffer as a Christian, happy are we because our happy are you because you understand a little bit, just a little bit, what it was for Christ to suffer.
When people would spit in his face.
To mock him.
And so, as you perhaps experience in some small measure at school, what it is to suffer for the name of Christ.
It's a privilege to be able to do that, because in so doing you get to know a little bit Christ your Lord and Savior.
And a little bit different, more intimate way.
You know, we will never certainly know fully what he went through.
But to know Him is to know Him through the experiences of life, both in the joy and the pain, in my desire is young people, that you would truly know the Lord in your life, not just about Him, but truly know Him.
And I would encourage you this evening either write it on a piece of paper and pray it as a prayer and just say, Lord, my desire is to know you.
There's nobody more important than life young person than knowing him.
He's a friend that sticketh closer than her brother.
This world will let you down. You know, we were talking yesterday, I think it was about the fact that life, frankly, can be unfair. It's chock full of trial and tribulation, and other people disappoint.
But this is a friend who loves you no matter what.
And.
You know, I recounted a vessel or vessel conference a couple years ago in the open meeting, but that little hymn that was very precious to me, it's kind of been Julianized theme song, Pennsylvania.
With the God of the mountains is still God of the valleys.
There will be valleys in your life, young people, there will be mountains, but he is still God of both.
Get to know him not only in the mountain but also the valley. Some of you may be going through a very difficult time right now.
You know, I knew what it was for the first time in my life to suffer real anxiety.
Felt sick all the time.
And it's a very precious thing to be able to release these things to the Lord.
Because He is a God who is deeply, intensely interested in your life with the big things and the small things. This is not some far out mystical thing that you hear about meeting. This is reality and the reality of your life.
That I may know him in the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.
So I'm going to read two more verses and then I think we're done in Ephesians 5. Is the first one Ephesians 5/17?
Wherefore.
Be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
00:50:02
Wherefore be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. That is my prayer really for you.
That you would know what the will of the Lord is and to do it.
I will say this too that.
With respect to the Lord's.
Will and knowing it, it's true. He doesn't speak audibly to us.
But there are times in your life where you will know it's the Lord speaking to you. Not audibly, but I'll say in the quietness of your heart.
And you will know it.
I often think of Samuel when he said speak Lord for your servant heareth he didn't know. It was the Lords verse, our voice at the beginning. I've had this discussion with some of my children, 'cause they've asked about this and how they know and thought thinking perhaps they haven't heard his voice.
Ask the Lord you know when he speaks.
Say speak, Lord, for your servant hearth.
I recounted this story before, but I'll say it again. I mean, there's been numerous examples, but this one was about a year and a half ago.
Julie and I were praying in fervent prayer one night.
And tears before the Lord.
Went to bed the next morning, I got up, I went into the restroom.
And the words came to my mind very clearly. Thy prayer has been heard just out of the blue, and I knew it was the Lord speaking to me. It wasn't.
It was just very precious to me because I went to bed feeling like, well, I released my burden, but just to know the Lord was assuring me he had heard my prayer. And so there will be times, young people where that's still small voice will speak to you.
You will know it for what it is.
And heat it when you hear it.
But I'll say by and large, the will of the Lord is revealed through the scriptures. Much of what His will is for your life is laid out. Spend time and quietness before Him.
And as you live life in the desire to serve and please the Lord little by little here, there, you know, we learn just a little bit more of His ways in dealing with us and His desires for our life.
You know, sometimes, as I gave an example before this college, that college, you know, things like that, I think more often than not the Lord is interested in our hearts as to our motivation, our desires.
And.
You know, that is what we all need to think about and search out as to our motivation sometimes in these decisions.
Our priorities, because our priorities, my priorities, sometimes get very mixed up.
And poor decisions can be made as a result of that.
So the last verse I'm going to read is in Isaiah chapter 58.
Verse 11.
When the Lord shall guide thee continually.
And satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones, and thou shalt be like a water garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
The Lord seeks to be your guide. He will be your guide. You seek His direction for your life. Young people, I care deeply for all of you.
As I've recounted over these past two meetings, I know that life is filled with challenges. These are very difficult days in which we live.
My prayer is that all of us here would remain faithful until the Lord gives the shout, calls his home.
So keep on.
Get to know him and pray that say Lord, I want to know you, you know, because it's.
00:55:07
Like Dave said earlier, acts versus process. This is a process, I believe, getting to know him. This is not something that happens like that. I'm sure you know, the most elderly people we know who are godly Christians will tell you they're still getting to know him and learning about him. It's a lifelong process, you know, sometimes I think about.
Jacob.
At the end of his life, and he said few and evil have been my years. You know, he was a very different man than he had been earlier in his life, that he recognized how weak he was and how his heart was prone to do evil.
And so, as we grow with the Lord and seek to please Him, we will recognize more and more how much our hearts are capable, really.
Of the flesh and doing what the flesh desires.
So my prayers, the Lord would keep you and preserve you and keep you in the path of faith, following Him until He does come. Before I pray, I just want to read. I'm not. We're not going to sing to him.
Actually, you know what? Let's sing. I'll read it first and then we'll sing it. 311 I came across this this afternoon. I don't think I've ever heard it sung before, but it just struck me as to the topic over the last two days.
Says while to several paths dividing we are pilgrimage pursue.
Mayor Shepherd safely guiding still be kept in constant view. May the bond of blessed Communion, every distant soul embrace. Till an everlasting union we attain our resting place. Maybe we could sing 311.
While to several.
Passive fighting.
We are.
In which person?
May our Shepherd.
Safely guarding.
Still be captain.
Constant. Beautiful.
May the.
Bond of.
Bless Communion.
Every day.
And soul. And praise.
Till.
Never.
Lasting Union.
We.
Attain.
Our resting place, just pray.
Father.
Help us to be like Mary.
He sat at Jesus feet.
Listening to his words.
That our eyes may be focused upon Him.
May it be collectively our desire in this room today that we may know him.
Through the joys and trials of life, through the hills and valleys that we may taste in some small measure what it is to know him by walking with him through this pilgrimage we are walking on.
Keep us Lord, we do, pray. Preserve us till thy coming. We feel it so.
Very near storm clouds are dark overhead. We know that these dear young people, Lord, are living in extremely challenging times.
We pray to keep all of us, Lord, walking faithfully until thou dost come, or thou dost call us home. We ask these things in Jesus name, Amen.
Read the Word of God
YP Talk—David Mearns
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And we could start with the.
One verse of 318.
318.
Somebody start that for us. Just the first verse.
Oh my God.
Ask the Lord for His help.
Our God and our Father, we thank thee for that Blessed One. Our Lord Jesus, we thank thee for many mercies that are ours, for this happy time we've been able to have together. And now we have another opportunity. Our God to to.
Open like precious word and Lord Jesus, we've just addressed thee in this in this hymn that we've sung as the Lamb of God and we've made our petition to thee, blessed Savior, that we would be kept and we just would ask this our God for each of us here, each of these young hearts that have come here, many perhaps.
Come for the fun, many perhaps coming with searching hearts as to what's before them in life.
And we just would pray our God, that thou wouldst fill the heart of each one that's here. And we in a special way would ask for help for the speaker, our God, who needs these things every bit as much or perhaps more than the young people. We would ask for special help now that we would have anointed lips and we would be able to hear thy voice. We'd ask this, our God, as we give thanks and worthy and the precious name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Can I change gears here a little bit?
I just as to what we've had, just thought maybe we'd look at something a little different than what I thought I'd carry on with. So let's turn to to the Book of First Kings.
The Book of First Kings, chapter 17.
We have us. I'd like to look at a few things in connection with the life of Elijah.
And.
He's an instructive person. We, I said yesterday that you young folks are made of the same stuff that I am. I'm made of the same stuff that you are. That's not a compliment to either of us. We read about Elijah. He was the same. We read Elijah was a man of like passions as we are. And I thought as we go through some of these details in his life, it would be for profit for us. There's a statement that is made and it's made.
Of times and it's if you read it here in the second verse of first King 17 it's the word of the Lord came unto him. The word of the Lord came unto Elijah. We have that a number of times at least at least eight. We're not going to go through them all. We're going to go through a few of them and I thought in my own life how important the word of God is you know I had.
00:05:03
It's interesting one of the.
One of the.
Before the Lord took my dad, one of the things he was loath to do was to miss the prayer meeting for the gospel as an old man. He'd come tottering in there, and I remember getting there earlier. I used to drive him. I remember getting there early with him once, and all the old men were there.
At that time, it wasn't me.
A bunch of us guys in our in our 40s and 50s hadn't got there yet, but there's all these old men sitting around and everyone of them had a hearing aid and.
One of them said to my dad didn't have one.
Or he'd left it at home. I'm not sure. But one of the old men turned to my dad and said, Mort, you must have really good hearing. You don't even want to hear without a hearing aid. And he leaned forward and said, I beg your pardon?
But one of the last things there was although his natural hearing was impaired.
There was nothing wrong with his spiritual hearing.
One of the last statements he made to me on his deathbed was David.
Reed, the word of God with your ears, not just your eyes, Read the word of God with your ears. That's something we need to do because it's the word of God that's going to touch our hearts, the Word of God that's going to give us instruction. We had instruction yesterday. Teddy gave it to us in Psalm 119.
As to the word of God being a light, being a lamp to our feet, to our pathway, that's the way it is and that's how we hear the voice of the Lord.
Through our spiritual ears. So when you're reading this book.
Keep those ears open, just as if it's the Lord speaking to you. And we have it here.
The word of the Lord came unto him. I just just it's impressed me. I told you a little story about this, this this man who was an alcoholic that the Lord laid on his heart to to start to read his Bible again and it's that what's touched him. I had I had an incident happened just oh, it's a year ago.
I was working in a kitchen of I was with my son-in-law who works for me. We're working in a kitchen and I work for these folks before typically my customers. I don't preach to them if I do.
Have something to say to them, but they're. So I usually make an appointment after work or another time and say hey look, I'd like to talk to you about something This is not work I don't do it I try not to be obnoxious and.
Try to let my feet speak for me. Anyway, I'm having never spoken to these folks. I'm working in the kitchen and the lady comes in. The man's sick, OK? He's in a hospital bed in the living room.
He's 90 years old.
She comes in, She's 85. She said that, Dave.
You seem to have.
A lot more confidence.
A lot more peace than anybody at our church. Would you take my husband's funeral?
OK, so these are these folks are not the Lords.
They go to a church that I don't know if the pastor is the Lord's. So I kind of gulped and thought, yeah, I guess I could do that.
Went into the family room with her and and she's all about works. All the good things she's done, all the good things her husband's done and she's just rolling out of her.
And I said, do you have a Bible here? Yeah. She goes in the backroom, pulls out a Bible, and I kind of take it.
Blow the dust off it.
I read her the story of the thief on the cross. I read it to her and I asked her. I said how?
How much good works could he do?
So you couldn't pay back what he stole, couldn't even go to someone they stole from and say he's sorry?
What about him?
No answer. I left. That's so impressed her that she takes this into her husband who is in a hospital bed in the living room, reads it to him, and he comes to the Lord.
Not through me, through her. Who's not the Lords? My wife gets there the next day. She's knows that they're not well. She's never met them. She comes with some fresh baked buns and touches in with him and he's he's at peace.
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Totally at peace. She has a couple hour conversation with him. He's not well. He's just, he's at total peace. What was it? It's it's the word of God. It's the word of God that touches a soul that's lost.
It's the same word of God that's going to touch us if we would only listen.
To what the Lord has to say to us.
You know, a couple days later he passed away that week.
And before the funeral, I there's a long story. I won't tell it, but I went to work, I went to their house, locked on the door. She comes to the door.
Said Dave. I've just been reading, been reading in John. She's reading first John. I flipped it open, I guess.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. How do you randomly open like that and start to read?
And she said that. She said to me, this is worth the front door. I'm not even in yet. She opens up the door. She said, Dave, I just asked God to forgive me of all my sins. Do you think he has? I'm thinking, are you kidding me?
It's the word of God, young people, that touches a lost soul.
And it's the Word of God that's going to touch our hearts as well if we read it.
So let's look at a few of these in Elijah's life where we get the word of God, the word of Lord that comes to Elijah, and it's this first one is this.
Because this is the first time we pick up on Elijah the 17th chapter, we maybe look at a bit in this chapter, a bit in the.
In the next chapter, or maybe even a.
Maybe even something in the following chapter. I'm just going to pick snippets out here. It's you can take up a whole series on on Elijah. It's not my purpose to do that, just to take little things. So let's read now Elijah the Tishbite who was of the inhabitants of Gilead.
Said to Ahab as the Lord God of Israel liveth before whom I stand. You know, Elijah standing here in front of the king who's an idolatrous king. He's someone who's got all power and he's got the courage to stand before this one. The only reason he could stand before this man is because he had been, as we find in James, he had been he, he was found on his knees before the Lord. And if we are in that posture before the Lord, it opens up areas.
That would never be open to us if we don't take up on that posture every morning. So we read here the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook. Cherith, that is.
Before Jordan and the only young people, the Lord would have everyone of us to be in secret with him. If we're going to be of any use to the Lord in a public way or in anybody else's life, we must be alone in secret with Him.
You go through the word.
Everybody that was of any use to God found themselves in secret with the Lord. For Moses it was 40 years.
In the desert for Adam, it was behind a tree.
Forgetting it was behind the wine press, threshing wheat. Everyone of us need to spend time alone in the presence of God. If we do that, then it puts us in a position where we can be useful. So here we find. Get the hints. Turn the eastward. Hide thyself by the brook, Cherith. That is before Jordan. It shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook that I have commanded the Ravens to feed thee there.
Rather unlikely source.
For food.
You think of a flock of flock of crows, you know, and and some bread. The bread would be gone very very early. But no, this is the word of the Lord seems very unlikely, but you know it says here in verse five. So he went.
And did according unto the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the brook sheriff, that is, before Jordan, And the Ravens brought him bread and fish in the morning, bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening. And he drank of the brook.
You know his his confidence.
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Was not in the Ravens. His confidence was in the words I have commanded. And there may be some very unlikely things in our life, but that's where our confidence needs to be. Our confidence needs to be in I have commanded. It needs to be in his word, not in the unlikely circumstances. And young people, I'll be frank and honest in my life.
Circumstances.
Have been a fog.
That have hindered me.
From seeing what the Lord wants me to do.
We can get so focused on our circumstances that it can really be a fog, really be a fog, can't see in a fog.
Can't see, Can't see in a blending snowstorm.
Remember Ethan in Maine a number of years ago in your home assembly after the conference, we left. We were, we were all told to stay because there was a blinding snowstorm. But Dave, who's who's driven in snow before and all, he can take off, he can go home. We got about a mile and a half down the road and I couldn't even see the front end of the van. And it's just a blinding snowstorm. Just where's the road and and.
Some of you know. Some of you who know my son Ron. He leans up.
To me and he says, Dad, did you pray about this?
We, we, we have, we need to, to, to receive the word of the Lord, wherever it comes from, that comes from my bratty son. That's that's good. That's maybe where it comes from, but but we need to we need to be have our ears open. Anyway, I turned back Ethan and we spent the night at at the Saxes and all was well. We'd love for the next morning.
But circumstances, they can be just like that. All sudden you just can't see. Remember the people of God here to follow the cloud.
But they couldn't follow the cloud, they couldn't follow the pillar of fire if they were looking down. And it's not different with us. It's not different with us.
We have to have that uplifted gaze, young people, if we're going to be able to get direction from the Lord.
So what does he do? It says he did.
According to the word of the Lord. Now it's interesting here in the seventh verse it says that came to pass after a while. The brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. You know, I pictured Elijah.
Alleged stated. You know there's not gonna be rain for three years.
And the Lord had told him he's gonna park here and he's gonna have bread. The Ravens are gonna bring him bread and he's gonna have water to drink. Well, the brooks getting smaller and it's getting smaller and it's getting smaller.
I can imagine when the brook was like this, much of A trickle, he was starting to think.
You know, how long am I supposed to be here? And you know, young people, the Lord's not going to give us direction in our pathway, a long way down the path.
He's just going to give us the next step. Every day of our life, all we're going to see is the next step.
And that's that's the way the Lord works. He gives us the next step, doesn't give us five steps, doesn't give us 10.
He doesn't do that. He gives us the next step, and we need to trust them for the succeeding steps. And I believe Elijah did that. And as we go through this and see how he picked up on this, it fortified him for that which was ahead. So we read here. The Ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, bread and flesh in the evening. He drank of the brook. He came to pass. After a while the brook dried up and there because there had been no rain in the land. And what happens then? The word of the Lord comes to him again.
Sometimes we would really like.
The word of the Lord to come to us before things dry up. We would really like to see what's going to happen next year, what's going to happen next week or what's going to happen five years from now. We would we would like that naturally we would really like that but that's not the way the Lord operates. He doesn't do that. So verse eight, it says the word of the Lord came unto him. Here's the second time we read that second time that the word of the Lord comes to to Elijah and.
It comes after the brook dried up.
And then he gets the next step for his pathway. And what's that?
Arise, get thee Desirafath, which belongeth to Zaiden, and dwell there. And behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widowwoman was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray the immortal of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not.
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But a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a cruise and behold, I am gathering 2 sticks that I might go in.
And dress it for me and for my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake 1St And bring unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel. Here's that word again. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the crews of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did.
According to the word of according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house did eat many days in the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruise of oil fail according to the word of Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
Young people.
I'm going to give you some instruction that I've struggled with.
I've really struggled with totally trusting the Lord and young people. You need to expect the Lord to show up because he's going to.
It's far more likely that we're not going to show up than he's going to show up because he is going to show up in every area of our lives, you know?
I'll tell you an incident.
A year ago this past.
Spring while year goes. This past winter I had a guy phone me up. One of my customers hadn't hadn't been working for him for quite some time. I got 68 years old. He calls up. He's actually calling from a car dealership.
His mother-in-law had dropped her ring down the back of the seat and they couldn't get it. And he was at the guard leadership. They had the whole car apart trying to find this ring. He says it's pretty important. But what he said was he said, Dave, I want your peace.
He said I had two ants pass away and they had your peace. I want your peace.
I said.
Come on over. So he comes over.
We're sitting in the living room. Some of you have been to my living room. You can picture the living room. We're sitting there just me and him, nobody else in the house. We talk for some time and.
I said, you know how real is this? Oh, it's real. I said real enough to talk to God about it right now. Oh yeah, port is hard out to the Lord. Just told God what a rotten scenario he was. Came to the Lord right there in my living room. Well, he left and.
A couple months later, a few months later, he, when I'm talking to him, he said to me, he said, you know, I'm having a hard time reading the Bible. So I read all kinds of things, but I'm having a hard time reading the Bible. I'm thinking, you know, it's pretty vital in our Christian pathway. We had breakfast this morning for our growth and for maintaining our body. We need the same thing. We need the spiritual food in our in our, in our spiritual life. We desperately need it.
And.
I thought about that. We I didn't say much, but I was reading in my personal reading.
In in Luke's gospel. OK, so in Matthew, Mark and Luke we have the parable, the sower.
And in Luke's Gospel, it's a little different than Matthew and Mark. In Luke's gospel, when it says, when it talks about the good seed falling on the rocky ground, it says it lacked moisture and withered. OK, that's the wording. Look it up. Luke's Gospel, it lacked moisture and withered. I thought, you know, he needs to hear this.
He needs to hear this.
So I, this is a couple days later, I get in my truck and I, I drive over. I'm kind of a little bit worried about how I'm going to be able to present this. I'm a little bit worried about how he's going to be able to receive it. That I would be in a good spirit to tell him that he really needs to read and his spiritual life's going to wither if he doesn't, if he doesn't get the moisture from the word.
Whole array of things I was worried about. Anyway, I pulled off to the side of the road and I just committed it to the Lord and asked the Lord for help. Ask the Lord for right words, and ask the Lord that the circumstances would be just fine.
I drive into his driveway.
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Just he has a sprinkler, it's going OK. And he has planted some grass a week before and it's up this high. He goes over and he takes a sprinkler and he plants it right over on the grass. It's going. I've just driven in the driveway and I'm looking at this scene. I'm thinking, are you kidding me? He he comes around to my side of my car. I roll down the window and I just read on the portion.
He kind of listens to me. He kind of looks over at the.
At the grass and at the at the sprinkler. And he says I get it now.
You couldn't possibly orchestrate that to have the Lord have him plant the grass the week before to have me pull over on the side of the road for a few minutes just so he could get the sprinkler ready.
He, I drive in the driveway just as he's walking down the driveway to put him on the grass. Like, are you kidding me? God is going to show up, young people, he does it. Our lives, we're the ones that don't show up.
If we would just recognize that God is willing and He wants to show up and He wants to be there and He's going to be there. We're the ones that are not there. So if the Lord lays something on your heart, whatever it is.
Young people show up because he's going to be there already. He's going to be there and you know.
Elijah found that out. Elijah went to this widow woman. What's happening? He goes in there. This would a woman. She's gathering these sticks and she's getting ready to die and and Elijah gives her this message. You know, I pictured him. I expect that he's going there. He's probably thinking there's going to be some rich widow that's got piles of food that's going to feed him. It's not that way with the Lord. It's not that way.
There's a barrel. It's not a barrel that's full and going to last for a long time, There's just a little bit in the bottom.
Same with the oil, just a little bit. That's the way God works in our lives. It's step by step, it's line upon line, precept upon precept. It's not different with us than it is for Elijah. So verse 13.
I have this verse.
Above my desk, Get up in the morning. That's where I do my studying. Sometimes in the middle of the night. I have this verse. I had someone make it. Make me thereof a little cake first.
Make me thereof a little cake first. Young people do that when you get up in the morning.
And you say to me, well, I'm not a morning person.
I'm good with that. I made the mistake of telling an older brother that in our assembly. I told him I said I'm not a morning person, he says. Well, become one, I thought. Are you kidding me?
Well, I have become one. I'm not saying you have to become one, but I'm saying if you set your alarm clock at 7 to whatever you do, whether it's to get up for work or whether you're you're going to school or whatever, 7:00, some people set it at 6:50. At least get a little something.
From the word, spend a few minutes with the Lord, make me thereof a little cake first. Just give the Lord a little bit. Even if you're studying is even if your time at your your quiet time that you spend with the Lord is going to be at night. That's fine. I'm good with that. Whenever it is, I'm good with it. But when you get up, just give the Lord that little piece first. First, there's great, great benefits.
You know, the the, the fortification I've got in my Christian life.
By the little portion I've got at the beginning of the day has been just fantastic and it has helped me to realize.
That whatever it is that I come across on my pathway, the Lord is going to be there first. He's going to have orchestrated everything. He's going to have the grass planted a week before. He's going to have the man buy the grass seed two weeks before. Whatever it happens, it's all going to be orchestrated. The times the reason we don't see it happen is because we don't show up.
Not the Lord. Think of all the things that could have happened there that.
The the timing would have been wrong. I could have said, yeah, yeah, I I don't think you'll listen to me.
I, I, I don't, I don't think he wants to read the word of God. I could have had 1000 excuses, but no, God has organized all these things so often in our life for us to show up and we don't and we miss out. He'll use somebody else. He will well make the Lord a little cake first, not a big one.
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We're not talking about many loaves, just get a little something.
When you get up in the morning, a little something, the benefits are tremendous. Now it says, for thus saith the Lord, verse 14. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel.
The barrel of meal shall not waste.
Neither shall the crews of oil fail until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did, according to the saying of Elijah.
You know, look at verse five. So he went and did according to the word of Elijah and verse 15 she went and did according to the saying of Elijah. It's amazing in my life, those that I have looked at.
That have been an encouragement to me, just because they got a little portion in the morning and shared a little something with me. It has been such an encouragement. This lady, she went and did according to the word of Lord. Why? Because He did it.
It has that *********** effect, young people, when we are here for the Lord. We just had two very, very good addresses on following the Lord.
Two hours of them that our brother Ted gave us very, very excellent instruction.
Are we willing to do that? Well, if we are, it's going to be a tremendous encouragement to others, as it is to this lady.
Now the next little incident in the latter part of this chapter, it says in the 17th, it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house fell sick. And there's it, I'm not going to read it, but there's this little instance where this her son, he passes away. He's he's gone and.
He's raised and the method that the Lord uses is Elijah, and it says here Elijah speaks with her in verse 19. He said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom and carried him up to the loft where he abode, and laid him upon his bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, Oh Lord, my God.
Hast thou also brought upon evil upon this widow with whom I sojourned by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord, my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come unto him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. There's a there's a principle here, young people, that is very, very needful, I think, for all of us.
For for those of you who perhaps are working with children, perhaps working with Sunday school.
I'll be honest, young people.
It's a long time since I was 20.
It's a long time since I was 14.
A long time.
It's a lot easier for me.
To enjoy something that I've enjoyed with my peers over there, it's a lot easier.
My dad said to me when my little girl was born, who's now 33.
David.
Whenever you're visiting with her, she's now just born. She's going to be 5. She's going to be 10. The Lord leads us here. She's going to be a teenager. She's going to be in her 20s. She's going to be in her 30s. Always remember what it was like to be her age.
So although it's a long, long time ago since that I was 14.
151617182512.
13 It's been a long time.
It takes a bit of a stretch to take something I've enjoyed at a level that I would perhaps share it with my older peers here than sharing it with you. And it takes a stretch because because think of this portion. It says Elijah, Notice what it says there in in verse 21 Says he stretched himself upon the child. Like go through that thought process. You got this child, this, this, this person that's small. You have Elijah and it says he stretched himself like we would say he constricted himself.
No, it says he stretched himself.
Sometimes in sharing something that we've enjoyed with someone that perhaps is struggling or perhaps going through something and we want to share it with them, it takes a real stretch, but there's benefits. There are real benefits in taking what we've enjoyed and stretching it to someone and asking the Lord that it might be palatable for their circumstances. Just like I read that portion to that man that came around to the window and I, I didn't even say anything. All he did was read in the portion. I said, you know the, the.
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Seed that fell on the rocky soil.
It lacked moisture and it withered and I stopped dead and the Lord took that and the Lord did the rest of the work.
As he had orchestrated that he was going to and all the details before that, well.
When Elijah here stretched himself in the child, there was great benefit, great benefit to him, great benefit to the child.
Great benefit.
To the mother.
It's always going to be the same in our own lives. Let's go on.
Next chapter we find the third time we have the word of the Lord.
And that comes to Elijah, so in chapter chapter 18.
A lot of things happen in this chapter.
First verse the word of the Lord came to Elijah the third year saying go show thyself to Ahab and I'm going to tell you to read this portion at your leisure because what we find is.
It's quite a story.
Where the prophets of Baal gather with Baal and and and Elijah's there and. There's two sides, and and.
There's a sacrifice that's that's to be killed. And Elijah said, you know, the, the God that is going to send fire out of heaven. Let's, let's see that he is, he's the one that's God. And you have the prophets of Baal and there they shriek and they, they call and they cut themselves. They make a big scene and they're calling the bail to, to, to send fire. Nothing happens. Zero happens.
So then the word that Elijah says.
Um.
Notice verse 21.
Elijah came to all the people and said, how long halt? I'm going to let's read this as if the Lord is speaking to us, OK, The Lord is not speaking to anybody else here but us. Word of the word of Elijah. Elijah came to all the people and said how long halt He between two opinions. Maybe, maybe there's somebody here this afternoon and you're halting between two opinions.
You're just not sure whether you want to follow the Lord or not.
Or maybe you throw in the towel and you have followed the Lord. You're just you're saying, oh, it's too tough, too tough.
How long halkey between two opinions? Notice the statement if the Lord be God.
Follow him.
You know, I say to you young people.
If the Lord be God.
Like hello.
If the Lord is God.
It's a no brainer. It's a number brainer. Follow him. We've just had tremendous ministry on that.
Is the Lord going to show up? Yes, He is, and he wants.
He wants us to follow him and the the people answered the end of the 25th 1St just like you answered just now. Never a word.
You know, to go through this portion and I I would just like to to go.
Let's let's go to.
Further on down in the chapter after, after the prophets of Bailey did everything they possibly could, verse 30, Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down.
You took 12 Stones, Verse 31 According to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, with whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. He made a trench about the altar as great as would contain two measures of seed. He put the wood in order, cut the Bullock in pieces, laid him on the wood, said, Fill 4 barrels with water, and poured on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time. They did it a second time, he said.
3rd.
They did it the third the water ran round about the altar, and he filled the trench with with water, and came to pass the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant, and that I have done all these things at Thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, that thou hast turned their back again in the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the.
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Sacrifice.
You know, one of the difficulties in my, in my pathway young people.
Has been that when there's a spiritual victory in my life, it's given me some confidence and I think, wow, I did that.
We need not to have any confidence and recognize that if there's anything for the Lord in our lives, it's the Lord that does it. And I think the Lord chose that in this portion because.
There's two prayers here.
There are two prayers and the first one is Elijah prays. In the end of the 36th verse. He says, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and nothing happens.
Absolutely nothing happens.
So he prays again, and he says, well hear me, O Lord, verse 37 hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God. He leaves out that I am thy servant. No, we we like a little recognition. And he wanted to have that.
He wanted the people to see that he was a little something anyway, and the Lord wasn't going to answer by fire if it was going to be that the Lord was going to answer only if the work was entirely His work. And so that's why he leaves it out and says in verse 37, hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God. And verse 38, the fire of the Lord fell, although we might realize in our lives any work that's done is the work of the Lord.
Give him.
The full credit, the work of a soul is the Lord's work. The work of my soul, the work of your soul is the Lord's work. We just have to respond to his call. All that we would do that let's turn over now.
We're we've got 15 minutes left, we can maybe look at Chapter 19.
This is an interesting chapter.
Because in the previous chapter, there's such tremendous victory in in Elijah's life in this chapter.
He gets discouraged, and I know you young people have never been discouraged before, but I have.
And the principles that we find in this chapter, if there is to ever be a time sometime when you do get discouraged.
This is a good chapter.
I didn't have baloney for breakfast.
We all do get discouraged, I understand, and I think some of the principles we find in this chapter show us the steps. Let let's just read chapter 19. We were the first few verses. They have told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and with all how he had slain the prophets of the sword. And Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, so let the gods do to me, and more also if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose and went for his.
Came to Beersheba, you know, I think. Are you kidding me?
Here he's just called fire out of heaven, and now he's running away from an angry lady.
You know, but there's reasons. There are reasons.
Why he gets discouraged and young people, if we can identify those first steps towards discouragement, it's a big help just like yesterday we were talking about that line and that first step that we take that takes us away from the Lord. The steps of discouragement are exactly the same way and they and they snowball they they they land us in a shipwreck is what they do It's what it's what landed at Elijah. It says verse 40. He went himself a day's journey into the wilderness and.
And sat down under a juniper tree. And he requested for himself that he might die and said it is enough now. Oh Lord, take away my life, what a baby.
And yet I can do the same thing.
After such tremendous victory, to say you know I'm.
He's posing here.
He's saying, you know, take away my life and what does he do? What is it that causes that? You know, it's an area.
That all of us struggle with. We have a struggle often with comparing ourselves among ourselves. You know, the Corinthians struggled with that here. What's what's, what's Elijah struggling with? He says at the end of the fourth verse, take away my life. I am not better than my father's. He looked at those before him. He looked at his father. He looked at his grandfather. He said, you know, I can't do what they're doing. And that can be a discouragement. And young people, if we do that, it's discouraging. There's always going to be someone.
00:45:12
There's always going to be someone that can lead basketball better than we can. There's always going to be someone that can play any kind of sports better than we can. There's always going to be someone that has more money than us. There's always going to be someone that looks better than us.
The you could just go down the list if we compare ourselves with each other. It's a discouraging work. And I would just say as soon as soon as you start that first little comparison with someone else, nip it in the **** Nip it in the bud because it's end is going to be horrific. You know, I took my family to.
To Alliance Safari, this is when the kids were younger.
We go to this Lions ferry and we're driving around and, you know, the monkeys do their thing. They crawl all over the van and they pull pieces off it and whatever. Anyway, we're, we're, we're coming along and there's the giraffes and the giraffes come up with this. This huge giraffe comes over. My wife got the window down over there and she takes a Ritz cracker and passes it out to the giraffe. The giraffe just eats it up.
Well the giraffe wants more so puts his head in the van. Well the drops head is this big.
Like 2000 LB giraffe with its head in the van. Like we're having a hard time moving and it wants these. So my wife just takes handfuls of these Ritz crackers to give them to until the box has gone and it's chewing and chewing is chewing is chewing all of a sudden stops.
Takes a big breath.
And then it sneezes.
I don't know how big the lungs are of a giraffe or how long the neck is, but our inside of our van was pasted with chewed Ritz cracker and green slime.
Why? Because that first cracker was given to that giraffe. It is exactly the same thing with discouragement in our lives. If we hand over that first tidbit to the enemy, who starts to get us discouraged, The end is the same. We become totally discouraged everywhere we look. It's discouraging. We look at every young person that got a big a bigger, better portion than us. They're happier. They're whatever.
And it's it's a total disaster. And that's what landed Elijah where he was totally discouraged. He says I'm not there in my father's. Let's look at the portion in in Corinthians just to see that where how the Corinthians struggled with that exactly the same thing in Two Corinthians.
2nd Corinthians.
That's actually First Corinthians.
Maybe somebody can help me. Those comparing themselves with themselves among themselves are not wise.
Somebody have that?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
2nd Corinthians 10.
And verse 12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number to come to compare ourselves with them that commend themselves, but they measure measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise. Young people don't fall into that trap. Don't hand over the first Ritz cracker.
It doesn't end well.
Back to First Kings.
So we read in verse nine, he came thither to a cave lodge there, behold, the word of the Lord came to him and said to him, What does that hear, Elijah? He said, I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts of the children of Israel, Forsaken thy covenant, throw down thine altars, slain thy province, thy prophets with the sword, and I even I am left, and they seek my life to take it away.
00:50:05
I just picture the Lord listening to that and thinking.
So he asks him again.
Verse 13 It was so when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his There's a whole lot of instruction here into the details which we're not going to look at. He wrapped his face in his mantle. He went out and stood in the entering of The Cave. And behold, there came a voice unto him and said exactly the same thing. Elijah, what are you doing here?
What do us out here, Elijah, you know, he had no direction from the Lord to do what he did. When he had direction from the Lord, he acted on it. But when he didn't have direction from Lord, he went and acted anyway. And that's why the Lord's saying like I didn't give you any direction to come here. Well, what are you doing here? And he shows, he answers and he answers exactly the same way. Notice he said I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts. The children of Israel are forsaken like covenant.
Downline altar and slain thy prophets with the sword, and I even I only am left, and they seek my life to take it away.
You know, the Lord says.
In verse 15, go return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus, when thou comest anoint Hazel to be king over Syria, Jihu the son of Nimshi, shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaffat of Abel, behold, shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. To me this is a sad portion because you know the Lord had a work for Elijah to do.
And Elijah has got discouraged and he says, you know, I'm the only one. There's nobody else.
And the Lord says, you know, we're going to have to have another prophet in your stead because this isn't working.
And I'm going to, I'm going to suggest something. Young people, turn to Romans 11 for a moment.
Romans 11.
We read this.
Romans 11 I say then, hath God castaway his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham. It's it's Paul speaking here of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not castaway his people, which he foreknew what she not what the Scripture saith of Elias.
How he made intercession to God.
Against Israel saying, I have killed by prophets, dig down line altars, I am left alone, and they seek my life. And what saith the answer of God unto him I have reserved to myself. 7000 who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal, even solvent. At this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. Young people on this is the only failure.
Of an Old Testament prophet.
That is mentioned in the New Testament, the only one. And why?
I believe it's because we are prone.
To this failure of speaking against our brethren.
We're prone to that. We're prone to criticizing each other for whatever reason. It's it's, it's something that's within us. It's such an easy thing to criticize each other and there's no place for it amongst the people of God to the point where we have this story.
In the Old Testament and we have this.
This nagging cancer.
That the Lord puts in the New Testament for our good and for our benefit. And I would suggest, young people, if the Lord has looked on any one of your brothers and sisters in Christ, whether here, whether in the Pentecostal Church, whether in the Catholic Church.
Who am I?
Who am I when God has placed enough value on them to give his life, to give his Son for the Lord Jesus to give his life? Who am I to criticize? That does not mean I go along with what they go along with, but woe to me if I criticize my brethren. It gets me into trouble and what happens is.
Yes, Elijah was used of God afterwards. He was, but his discouragement got him to that place where that which the Lord had him to do, it was passed on to Elisha. In fact, those other things he was supposed to do, Elisha did them. He didn't even do them. Yes, he was used of God after. We're thankful for that. We're thankful for that, that young people.
00:55:22
Don't don't criticize your fellow young people. Don't criticize your your brethren. Don't criticize other believers. It's you know, I'm in the building business.
It's sure an awful lot easier to go in and demolish a site than it is to build it up. May we be builders. May each one of us be builders. Sometimes it's hard to build, you know? Turn over to the Book of Nehemiah for a minute.
Book of Nehemiah.
Nehemiah, chapter 4.
In my chapter 4, I'm going to leave you with this.
Nehemiah chapter 4, they're building verse 10 and Judah said the strength of the the bearers of burden is decayed and there is much rubbish so that we are not able to build the wall. Young people, do you have some rubbish in your life? You can't build if there's rubbish.
You just can't build. I get to a site and it's filled with all kinds of clutter. We got to clean it up before we can build.
And I've had a lot of rubbish in my life that I've had to get rid of before I can build Oh, young people.
As we've considered this.
Dear man of God, that's what he's called. Yes, like passions, as we have, as we are to think of how a man can.
Have such victories and then get discouraged.
To be able to look at the people of God and say hey if.
If the Lord's God follow him, to be able to say that, and then to run away and hide in the wilderness because he was discouraged.
Oh, be aware of those first signs of discouragement and take them to the Lord.
Lest you have.
The giraffe sneeze in your van. It's, it's, it's, it was really a mess. And it's not different in our personal lives because one discouragement leads to another leads to another, and then it, it breeds contempt and other people get discouraged. Who's going to let's face it?
Who do you get encouragement from? Someone's discouraged or someone that's encouraged like that's?
You only have to think about that, although we would have our eyes fixed on that blessed one. You know, sometimes I'll use this little incident.
It's interesting, the people of God.
Our time is gone, the people of God.
They were told.
To.
To follow the pillar fire and to follow the cloud. OK, they're told to follow it.
Let's turn to the portion. It's good in numbers. Numbers, the book of numbers.
The Book of Numbers.
Have to find it here.
My fingertips. Evidently I'm looking for the place where.
People of God came to Eden. Oh.
It's around 20 I think.
Maybe we're not supposed to read it, but I'll have to tell it.
I'll do that. So the people of God came to eat them and they and they said to the people of Eden, they said, you know, we'd like to go through your land. We'd like to. We're not going to eat anything. If we eat anything, we'll buy it from you. We won't drink your water. We'll buy the water. And I'm thinking.
Why is there all this negotiation? Why not just follow the cloud? Why not just follow the pillar of fire? What do you have to negotiate with these people? Why don't you just follow? And you know, young people sometimes in our lives.
01:00:08
We're not following the cloud. And when we look up the clouds a long, long way off and we got to figure out how to get there. Did it go this way? Did it go this way? Did it go this way? Did it turn around, go back that way 1St? And how did it get there? And the Lord's not going to, He's not going to return to the US, to the place where we left.
And it's.
It's very important and very necessary that we keep an uplifted gaze all the time because the benefits are tremendous and.
The downside is horrific if our gaze isn't lifted above, so you know when we get discouraged, it's a horrific thing.
The the *********** effect it has in our lives and in others is it's horrible, although we can see the first sign.
Well, I'd encourage you to take up this, this story of Elijah. Go through those chapters, go through the, the, the succeeding chapters. Tremendous story and so much, so much instruction for our, our pathway as young believers and old believers. Let's just commit ourselves to the Lord.
Our God and our Father were We're so thankful for the Lord Jesus. We're so thankful for that precious word.
We're still thankful for the word of the Lord that came to Elijah and the instruction that we can find from it. And we know our God, that that same instruction comes to us. And so often we're not listening. Help us, our God, to read thy precious word with our ears, that we might hear thy voice.
Help us to beat encouragement. Help us to be builders. Help us to be spared from discouragement.
Our God, we struggle with these things. Help us not to have a critical spirit of of our fellow brethren, other believers. We just ask for help in these things.
We we all struggle with them just like Elijah did, and we ask for help our God. So we just leave ourselves like here now, thankful for this happy time we've been able to have together. And now as we would face some more time with our brethren over like precious word, we just earnestly pray our God that it would be a time of rich blessing for us. We'd ask it all as we give thanks, the worthy and the precious name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Ephesians 1:1-6
Death and Deliverance
Gospel—John Kaiser
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.
That sometimes when I present the gospel, I feel like a rich man.
Because I got something for everybody.
And the reason I've got something for everybody is because God has something for everybody here tonight.
God's heart is to bless everyone here tonight, and it's my privilege just to be the delivery man.
Let's start with hymn number.
34.
Him #34 precious, precious blood of Jesus.
Shed on Calvary.
It's my hope and prayer that.
This hymn will mean more to you.
45 minutes from now than it does.
Now.
#34 precious, precious.
Glory.
Exercise, cry. Exercise.
Hey, I'd like to read one scripture that's been on my mind today.
Psalm 50.
Verse 15. Psalm 50.
Verse 15 And call upon me in the day of trouble.
I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. That's the word of God.
And we might be tempted to despise the word of God. You say this is an old book. Yes, it is. But it's never been proved wrong, because it can't be. It's the word of God. Everything God says he will do, he does. And we're going to see that tonight.
But think about these words.
While we pray.
Our God and Father, we.
Call upon thee.
Because this is a day of trouble.
There are maybe souls in here tonight who are in trouble and don't know it.
And there may be souls in here tonight, our God and Father.
Who suspect they're in trouble but won't admit it.
And we thank thee, there are souls in this room tonight.
Who know that we're engaged in spiritual warfare?
And in that sense, we all face tonight a day of trouble.
And so we ask.
Your help, your work, by your word, by your Spirit, by your grace, in Jesus name, Amen.
00:05:01
Tonight.
We're going to talk about.
Death.
And Deliverance?
Everyone in this room faces death, not only physical death, but everyone here has, at least in the past, face the issue of spiritual death.
The scripture says that it appointed unto man once to die.
And if that's all that Scripture said, a lot of people would be relieved.
And even though they don't know, they may not know what else scripture says.
People fear to die.
Because they are afraid there is something after death, and scripture confirms it. It is appointed unto man wants to die, and after this the judgment.
This life is not all there is. This is just the beginning. Tonight, everyone here, it's like you're in a big waiting room, like in a bus station or an airport.
And the time will come to leave and the question is, where are you going? What ticket do you have right now?
Turn with me to Exodus chapter 12. I presume that most here are familiar with the story of the ******* of the children of Israel in Egypt. We're going to read briefly about how God arranged for their deliverance, but the very night of their deliverance was also the night.
Of death.
For those that weren't delivered.
Exodus Chapter.
Excuse me, I said Access and turned to Genesis. That didn't work well.
Exodus chapter 12.
And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you, the beginning of months.
It shall be the first month of the year to you speak he unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the 10th day of this month. They shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the House of their fathers, a lamb foreign house. And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next unto him take it according to the number of souls. Every man, according to his eating, shall make your count for the lamb.
Your lamb shall be without blemish a male of the first year. Ye shall take it out from the sheep.
Or from the goats. And you shall keep it up until the 14th day of the same month. And the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper doorposts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh, and that day roast with fire, and unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
Eat not of it raw.
Nor sodden at all with water, nor roast with fire his head with his legs, and with the pertinence thereof.
And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning, and that which remaineth of it until the morning, ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall you eat it with your loins girded, with your shoes on your feet, your staff in your hand. Ye shall eat it in haste. It is the Lorde Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this.
Night.
And will smite.
All the first born of the land of Egypt, both man and beast, and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment. I am the Lord.
Now I want you to notice.
The most important piece of instruction here, verse seven, it says they shall take of the blood and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door posts of the houses wherein they shall eat it. This was crucial. Why? Because God said, when I see the blood.
When I see the blood I will Passover.
This is a historical fact. This happened. This is an incident in history.
00:10:06
This actually happened. There were people who didn't believe it could happen and they found out that.
What God had said he would do, He did. There are people today who laugh at the thought of God's judgment. They say, well, I can take it or leave it. And we will find that there were those in Egypt who some took it and some left it, and it made all the difference.
Whether they died or were delivered.
Now.
Notice what it says here. You may say, well, this is just a story. This is history. It happened.
What has it got to do with me? Notice what it says here.
In verse 12, I will pass through the land of Egypt. This.
Night that were those. That little phrase this night brings to mind.
A story Jesus told. I want to take a minute to look at that in Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12.
The Lord Jesus was talking to His own people when he told his story. They would have been familiar with this deliverance from Egypt. Matter of fact, they celebrated every year the feast of Passover. So when the Lord Jesus mentioned this to his hearers in Luke chapter 12, they were familiar with what happened on the evening that God called.
This night.
It has an individual application.
Luke, chapter 12.
Verse 16 And he spoke a parable.
Unto them saying, Beware of covetousness for a man's.
I'm sorry I skipped a verse back. And verse 16 I spoke a parable unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.
And he thought within himself, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my.
Goods, my fruits. And he said, This will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But.
But God said unto him, Thou fool.
This night, this night, thy soul shall be required of thee.
And God has a this night for every soul here.
It could be this night. God is confronting you with this issue tonight, this night. But there may become an ultimate this night as well.
Beyond which there is no option. This man had his.
Life all figured out and maybe you've come here and you've maybe you've been enjoying your life, enjoying the your time here and thinking you've got things all figured out when deep in your heart you know you really don't. But you like to think so.
What was wrong with this man's plans? He had the same problem that the Egyptians.
Had he left God out?
And God says unto this night, Thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall these things be?
What good are things when you're dead?
A young man said to me some years ago and.
He said. I live for thrills. That's what he lived for, thrills. And what good do thrills do you in the end? What's thrilling about lying in a casket?
Life is more. I'm going to read you a little poem here. Pardon me for my memories. Not much better than my eyes.
Life is neither game nor dream, but true as God who gives it. Life is more than it may seem, and he who knows God lives it Lost is neither thought nor deed. Times record. God is keeping time we have for planting seed.
Eternity for reaping.
Life is neither game nor dream. Don't pretend that your life is a dream or a game. It's real. Every second of it is a second that God has given you and a second for which He will hold you responsible.
00:15:21
Let's go back to Exodus 12.
And so God passed over Egypt that night, and he looked for.
The blood.
And he came to a house.
You know, sometimes.
We can read stories like this and they don't touch us. We don't realize that as God went over Egypt that night, in house after house, there was agony.
Because the blood was not on the door.
And you say, well, maybe they didn't know, and it's possible they didn't.
But had they befriended the people of God?
They might have known they had the opportunity. This was the 10th plague. God had brought 9 plagues on Egypt.
Trying to speak to Pharaoh and to the people to demonstrate who was God.
And who was not? And they were not.
Tonight, my friend, you're dealing with God. You're not dealing with me. You're not dealing with anybody else here. You're dealing with God.
You've got to deal with God. He requires it. You're going to meet him someday.
And there were souls that died that night.
Lots of them because the blood wasn't on the door.
Tonight we sang precious, precious blood of Jesus shed on Calvary.
Shed for rebels? Is there a rebel sitting in your seat?
Then you can say it was shed for me.
Scripture tells us we won't turn to it. You've probably heard it repeated many times in first John chapter one, verse 7, the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanses us from all sin. You say, how does that happen? How can it work? I can't explain it to you.
But I believe what God says. God said when I see the blood I'll Passover and he said where the blood isn't, he was going to judge.
God's word is good.
God is worth believing. God is not worth doubting.
But you know, I mentioned they thought that maybe there were some in Egypt that night. Who?
Maybe they saw one of their Israelite neighbors.
Putting blood on the door and they said what's that for?
And maybe the Israelite told them.
Well, you know, maybe it's too late for them to go out and get the lamb and keep it for the prescribed time.
But God, what was the real issue? There was the right way to do things, but the real issue was.
Was their blood on the door?
The issue tonight is, are you covered with the blood of Christ?
Did Jesus shed his blood for you? Are you saved? Are you redeemed? Scripture says we're redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. God says He gave the blood upon the altar. It's not our business to ask why or how.
If a policeman stops you for speeding, do you argue with him about why or how?
No, He has authority. God has authority. God's Word has authority.
And you're going to meet him. It's best.
Because God loves you if you know I I.
People say if God is so good, why would he send anybody to hell?
And I say, if God is so good that he loves you so much, that because he is love.
00:20:03
And sent Christ to die for you. Why would you choose to go to hell?
Why would anyone choose that?
And so.
There were some, I'm sure there were some in Israel that night who perhaps with fear and trembling.
Put blood on the door.
They didn't know. They didn't have the experience perhaps of the faith that some of the other Israelites did.
You know, there, I'm sure there was a lot of rejoicing that night in Egypt. There were houses in which people were looking forward.
To the to the deliverance they knew was going to come. They'd seen God perform his miracles in Egypt. They had grown in their confidence in God, and they were eating and dressed ready to go in their houses. But there were some I'm sure who because I know people who.
Aren't quite sure.
Not very bright in that house.
And I apologize if some of you can't see my illustrations. They're designed for smaller groups.
But in some houses there was real rejoicing. They had confidence in God.
And there was some.
Who I think were inside trembling, but they had the blood on the door because they respected the word of God. And there might be some here tonight, you're not sure.
Who are you not sure of?
Who are you not sure of? You can trust God.
He wants you to rejoice in believing. Have joy in believing.
But at the very least, believe. Now let me ask you a question.
What was the experience in this 1St house?
Plain and simple, death.
My friend, if you're facing eternity, if you're facing life without the blood of Christ, that's who you're facing. You're facing death.
Well, how about the people who were not so sure? They just, you know, feelings are significant things. God gave us feelings. God has feelings. But sometimes we get feelings and faith confused. Faith is simply accepting what God has, what God says. Feelings are the tail on the dog.
Don't follow your feelings. Trust God.
Who is safer which which? Which house was a better house to be in as far as safety is concerned?
We know this house here 100% safe.
Because the blood was on the door.
And the same is true there, because the blood makes a difference.
Salvation is of the Lord. God does the work, God makes the provision.
Just as surely as he said, I will Passover Egypt this night, he said. When I see the blood, I will pass over you.
So which house are you in tonight?
You're in one of these three houses tonight.
You're under condemnation of death.
Or you're trusting, but maybe you're confused.
I want to tell you it isn't the amount of faith you have, it's who you have faith in. There's a boat out there. People go on boat rides.
Do you worry about how much faith you have when you get in the boat?
No, someone says. Been using that boat for years. You can get in it and trust it and you just simply get it. You don't worry about how much faith you have in the boat, you get in the boat.
The same with the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't be occupied with how much faith you have.
And don't be occupied with your feelings.
Just.
Trust what God says and what God has done.
00:25:02
Now.
I'd like to.
Very briefly.
Talk about.
Three.
Life basics. I told you I had something for everybody here tonight.
Because God has something for everybody here tonight. If you go away disappointed tonight, it's not God's fault.
What made that house a bad house to be in? It was the lack of the blood. The blood makes the difference. The blood makes me safe. Again, I'll repeat that verse in first John chapter one, verse 7. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.
Because I've been cleansed by the blood of Christ, God can't keep me out of heaven.
I belong there. How about you? The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son cleanses us from all sin. You say well, but you don't know what I've done and you don't know how my life is.
No, I don't.
That's why we have a savior. That's why Jesus died. That's why we need a deliverer.
And he makes the difference.
The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us who believe.
From.
All sin blanket statement.
100% trustworthy.
How do I know people say this is I? I've been had the privilege for a number of years of speaking to young people.
In detention center and a detention center near Chicago on a weekly basis. And so often I will, I'll start a question and answer session by asking, do you believe that a person can know where they're going before they die? And almost every time somebody pipe up, say no, I, I don't believe that, don't believe a person can know.
And the answer is yes, you can no.
God sent Jesus.
And God gave us a book. God gave us his word.
And the word of God.
Makes me sure turn to 1St John chapter 5 and verse 13.
And this is not I'm just going to reference to one verse. You'll notice I haven't used very many verses tonight.
The gospel is basically simple. The truth, the basic truths of God are simple.
One John chapter 5, verse 13.
Maybe we'll, since we have a little bit of time, we'll go back a little bit in the chapter first John, chapter 5, and we'll start with verse 9.
If we receive the witness of man, the witness of God is greater. We receive the witness of men all the time.
There was somebody up here a while ago said that there was supper up the over there and everybody believed him. They went and got it.
We do it all the time. We see this rectangular sign excuse, not rectangular octagonal sign, red signs says stop.
That's the witness of men. Men put that sign up and we see it and we stop.
And we look for speed signs and matter of fact, I had a new experience today.
Coming along Route 30.
My wife's cell phone kept telling us there were speed traps ahead.
I believed it.
We receive the witness of men. We do it on a regular basis.
It says here, if we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. Why?
Two reasons. Because God's greater and he never makes a mistake.
We followed all it. My wife's cell phone was supposedly supposed to bring us here today.
I mean, I've been here many times before and I had directions, written directions, but I thought we'd try and see how well her cell phone could do it and we ended up on the other side of the lake.
00:30:13
The witness of God is greater, and this is the witness which He has.
Testified of his son. He that believes on the son has the witness in himself.
If you accepted what God said, you have the witness in yourself. Is that amazing?
He that believes not God has made him a liar.
Are you willing to make God out to be a liar? You're willing to say that even in your heart that God is a liar?
Because he believed not the record that God gave to his Son. And this is a record that God has given to us eternal life.
And this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life. He that does not have the Son of God does not have life. It's that simple.
If you receive Jesus, you got the whole deal. It's a package deal. You've got life.
You got cleansing.
You got Deliverance.
So verse 12 Says, He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things I have written.
To you that believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may.
No.
Not hope.
Not wish, not think, No God wants you to know.
This whole book that God gave us, he gave it to us because he wants us to know, isn't amazing that God wants us to know what He knows.
Some of us think we know already. We don't. God says my thoughts are not your thoughts.
Neither are my ways your ways. Neither are your ways my ways.
You want to know God, read the book, these things I've written to you that believe on the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. So the word of God makes me sure. And anytime you start doubting and we all do now and then go back to the word of God. The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing.
By the word of God.
You want faith? Here's where you get it.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. God wants you not only to be safe, but He wants you to be sure. And there's something else God wants.
People don't believe this.
God does want you to be happy.
Heaven is going to be eternal happiness on God's terms.
Holy happiness, happy holiness, something we can't even imagine. God wants you to be happy. Well, what makes us happy down here? Turn to John chapter 13.
John chapter 13 and verse 17.
If you know these things, oh, no. Well, we just talked about knowing, he says. If you know these things, happy are you? If you do them, what's that? That's obedience.
And that's common sense.
Let me ask you, is your home characterized by obedience or disobedience?
And if and when it's characterized by disobedience, is that a happy home? The answer is no.
You know, it's interesting. I deal with juvenile delinquents all the time.
And they are known for their disobedience. But you ask them, does obedience? If all my children are obedient, do I have a happy home?
They said yes.
Has that been their experience? No, but they know obedience.
Brings happiness and these are the words of the Lord Jesus.
And now you have the three keys to life and you can go from death.
Which is the end? The awful end.
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To the deliverance.
That God gives, which is something that develops and blossoms.
Forever.
What's it going to be?
What house are you in tonight and are you going to stay there? Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for this time together this evening. We thank you for your word.
We thank you above all for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now we ask that you will.
Impress these truths on each heart here, and we ask it in Jesus name, Amen.
Ephesians 1:7-12
Reading
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9 on his father's strongest year.
Christ the Lord.
Swung his father.
Glory, thy glory.
Rise plus one.
Bless you, Sir.
#8.
Oh.
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I believe not my father.
Glory.
Our time.
Of.
Read before we pray. Read a few verses in the book of Esther.
Verse seven of chapter 6.
And Haman answered the king for the man whom the king divideth to honor.
Let the royal apparel be brought, which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon.
And the Crown Royal, which is set upon his head. And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the King's most noble Princess, that they may array the man with all whom the King delighteth to honor.
And.
If we.
Read further, we would see that there was one there.
There who the King delighteth to honor, and we're reminded of the Lord Jesus, the one who the Father has always delighted, that we just asked the Lord's blessing. Our loving God and Father, we thank Thee for these hymns of triumph that we have sung this morning. We think of that Crown Royal that is set upon his head. We think too of the man that the King delighteth to honor and the wizard.
None other that the Father delighted to honor.
But his well beloved Son. And so we would just ask thy help this morning as we would open Thy word.
We thank the poor of the ministry that thou has given us thus far.
And we pray that we may not only have intellectual knowledge of these things, but it might be transferred to our feet too. And so we seek thy help this morning as we open thy precious word. And we thank thee for the Lord Jesus, thy well beloved Son, the one thou didst delight upon. We give these things, Lord Jesus of my name, Amen.
Ephesians chapter one I think we got down in verse 11.
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Ephesians, chapter one.
Will begin reading from verse 7.
Ephesians one verse seven, in whom we have redemption through his blood.
The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, wherein He has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He has purpose in Himself, that in the dispensation.
Of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according 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, who first trusted in Christ.
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. In whom also after that ye believe, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory.
Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and love unto all the things, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
In the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of the calling, and what is, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us word who believe according to the working of His mighty power.
Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead.
And set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And have put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over.
All things.
To the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all.
Before we start on the details of this chapter, I'd like to call attention to what I believe in false prayer. At the end of the chapter is a brief outline of this chapter. Notice in his prayer verse 18, he says the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know.
And there's three things that he wants them to know.
First, what is the hope of His calling? That's the spiritual blessings that we have from you verse three down perhaps to verse 9.
The second thing is what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints. He's talking about the inheritance now. That's a little different than the blessings. The blessings are ours right now.
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But we haven't gotten the inheritance yet because the Lord Jesus hasn't taken the arrogance and that's when He takes his inheritance that we will have an inheritance too. But we should enjoy these things now. And so I suggest in verses 10 and 11 we have detailed that inheritance. It does speak in verse 14 that the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inherentness.
But the third thing is.
In verse 19 he says what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us were to believe according to the working of his mighty power. It seems like the fossil runs out of adjectives to describe the immensity of the power and here it is that works towards us who believe you notice in the prayer chapter.
Three.
It works in US who believe that Iris works towards us who believe, and so it's the power of God in resurrection because it was displayed when the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and he didn't quit raising Jesus until he as a man was sitting at the pinnacle of all authority in heaven. There is a man, there's one of the human race.
Sitting there in highest glory, head over all things to the church at the same time. Head of the church will comment on that maybe later on, but I I see that that's what we have in verses 13 and 14 when it speaks of the Spirit of God, which is now the the power of that new life.
Oh, brethren, we have no clue as to the immensity of that power.
We should never say if the Lord asked us to do something, I don't think I can because it's not a matter of our power, it's a matter of his. And so that kind of gives an outline of the chapter. Don't want to distract from the details of this chapter, but I find that so amazingly wonderful to see that it's comprehended in that prayer of the apostle at the end of the chapter.
It's interesting when you mentioned the Spirit at work, the chapter actually have the whole Godhead at work for the good for us as part of the church. So we can also look at it. We got through some of that. The chapter begin with some salutations, but then we find that in verses four to six that we gone through yesterday, how we were chosen and predestinated that I believe.
Is the example of how God is working for us and I don't want to go through that since we did already and it's interesting that it finished that in verse 6 by 6 when God do all this work for us. It is in verse six is to the praise of the glory of his grace that God's working that he what he has done for us and then what we are beginning at this section and verse seven perhaps to around verse 8 and we look at that there is really what our Lord Jesus Christ.
Has done for us so I'm not going to go into that because we are going to go into it as part of this meeting if the Lord leaves us here. So we find that at the end of verse 12 There or why and how and the result of the Lord Jesus working in US and for us is that we should be to the praise of his glory and then we find in verse 13 and verse 14 that is already mentioned about the Spirit really now is it revealed how the work of God.
Through the Holy Spirit is working for us and then it go on again. I'm sure we'll go into this into more detail how he become the earnest and so on and the result of that again is the end of verse 14 tells us we will be unto the praise of his glory and yesterday too, we mentioned a lot in us in him and we find that God.
Will for Men is throughout this chapter as well, isn't it?
Is Israel according to Israel.
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So verse seven is another of our spiritual blessings.
We have.
Redemption through his blood.
On the basis of that redemption, we have the forgiveness of sins. What a tremendous blessing to realize that we have the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
You know, I meet up with believers and I have no reason to doubt, but because of the lack of teaching.
They don't enjoy this precious fruit, I remember.
Visiting a home in the High Plains of Peru some years ago.
A brother, he was 87 years old and he sat as we sat down to visit him. I've been a believer for 43 years and I asked for the forgiveness of my sins every day of my life. I suppose he thought that one impresses a bit. So we read this verse 7.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.
Say we really don't need to ask for it any longer because we have it.
We need to do is give thanks for the forgiveness that we have already. It's on the basis of the redemption. Redemption is a price that has been paid to bring us back to God and it's on that basis that we have the forgiveness of wonderful, wonderful.
Blessing.
I think sometimes people are confused because in the gospels the Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray forgive us our sins as we also forgive our debtors. But remember that that was given before the Lord Jesus accomplished redemption on the cross and it was proper for them to ask for the forgiveness of sins at that time.
Would you look in your Bible? After that Jesus died and rose again.
And you will see that never again does it say we should ask for the forgiveness of sins. We.
Haven't and we need to thank God for it. Sometimes people say, well what do you do when you sin there?
Well, it says in first John chapter one and verse nine, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So what we need to do when we do sin as believers is to confess it. And confession goes a lot deeper than asking for forgiveness.
When I ask for forgiveness, I'm questioning the person against to my sin, whether his willing to forgive or not. We don't have to ask that of God because we know that He's willing to forgive because of what Jesus did. What we need to do is confess. When we confess we focus on what we have done. That bad thing I have done the Lord about. He knows about it, but He wants to hear it from your lips.
And that's the secret.
Confess, and that's the way there's restoration.
To fellow with the Lord. But forgiveness is a blessing that is ours now.
Sometimes we hear a verse given and we say is that interpretation is under understanding really correct? And it's nice to see when Scripture, one scripture backs up another and this verse here, Ephesians chapter and verse seven, it says we have redemption through his blood. We have the forgiveness of sins. Turn to Colossians chapter 2.
We find some wonderful complementary truths there.
Colossians chapter 2 and verse 10. I love this expression.
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And ye are complete in Him. Everything we need is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Go down to verse 13.
Lost Institute verse 13. And you being dead at your sins, and the uncircumcision of your blood hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespass. There it is again.
Second confirmation.
We are forgiven, we don't need to ask for forgiveness.
You know.
When we are continually asking for forgiveness for continually living in guilt, we need to live in redemption.
Brother Bob, does the forgiveness of sins in verse 7 depend on?
Depend on us in passing them.
If it did, I can't remember them all brother.
What do you say? Absolutely not. There are two different things, aren't they? The forgiveness of sins here has to do with our standing before God and it has to do with eternal forgiveness, whereas in first John 19 it has to do with communion and our walk in this earth and being restored to community God.
As governmental forgiveness, right? Right.
The expression in this verse also is through is blood. Today in many pulpits the blood of Jesus Christ is not even mentioned anymore a while ago.
I heard an account of.
The first Dean of Princeton Theological Seminary, which is one of the oldest in the United States.
And initially it was a very fundamental.
School of Theology.
And the first Dean would call in every prospective graduate just before.
The commencement and he would take them into his office and he would say to each one make much of the blood of Christ. And that's largely been forgotten today, how important it is to make much of the blood of Christ.
It's helpful to turn over to Colossians chapter one. We have a similar verse.
Just to fortify what you're saying, Brother Bruce Colossians chapter one.
Lost in chapter one and verse 14, we have this verse in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. And if you were to read that in Mr. Darby's translation, it leaves out the very point you're making.
Through his blood because this chapter is occupied totally with the person, not how he did the work. Whereas in our chapter the occupation is with the person and how he did the work and it's through his blood.
In the book of Judges, we have the person and work connected.
Look at a chapter.
In the 13th chapter of Judges. I know this is a slight digression.
But the award appears to Manoa and his wife. The Angel does.
And.
Verse 16 And the Angel of the Lord said unto Manoa, Though thou entain me, I will not eat of thy bread. If thou wilt offer burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. For Minoan knew not that he was an Angel of the Lord. And you know, I said unto the Angel of the Lord, What is thy name? And when thy Saints come to pass, we may do the honor. And the Angel of the Lord said unto him, Why ask us thou?
Thus, after my name, seeing it as secret for as the margin renders, it seems it is wonderful.
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So Menorah took a kid with a meat offering and offered it upon a rock after the Lord.
And the Angel did wondrously, and Manoa and his wife worked on. So we have the privilege of looking on today. Looking.
At the finished work and yet at the same time.
Realizing we have a person whose name is wonderful today. So it's nice that you made that connection with this person and work in in Ephesians.
Romans 5 verse nine. Since that we are justified by the blood of Christ. We have here in Ephesians one verse seven never redeemed. In Ephesians 213 were made nine by the blood of Christ. In Colossians 120 we have peace because of the blood of Christ. In Hebrews 9/14 were purged. We have purged conscience because of the blood of Christ. In Hebrews 10/19 we enter the holiest because of the blood of Christ. And Hebrews 1312 were sanctified because of the blood of Christ.
In first John 17 were cleansed because of the blood of Christ. It was mentioned that this is a spiritual blessing. This redemption that we have is through His blood. Is it fair to say that all of our spiritual blessings are on the basis of the shed blood of Christ?
Redemption is the basis of all blessing, really. And you go up to Romans chapter 3, you'll see another.
Wonderful blessing.
Of the Christian era, that was not known in the same way it is known.
Romans 3 and 24.
Says being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So shedding of that precious blood, that redemption, that cost that was paid, is the basis not only of having the forgiveness of sins in our chapter, but here in Romans 3, it is the basis upon which we are declared righteous. We are justified.
By his grace.
Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. So it's the basis of all blessing. And then the 5th chapter, verse 9. Much more than being now justified by his blood.
Is for the benefit of the sum here. Is there a difference then between?
Justification and forgiveness.
I think that's a good distinction to learn for us.
Perhaps I have trouble with that and I heard someone use the story because I find sometimes illustration seems to stay in our mind a little bit better. So the story was somewhat like this and I can tell it properly. So two young men who were taken to court.
I know some of you are looking at me saying not me, my parents are here while they were taken to court doing some silly things. And I don't think we need to know what those silly things are. Some of us can sort of guess what they are that ask you to get in trouble. So the first young man had a very good parents with rich lawyers. And I believe that's one of the nice thing in here in the United States of America. If you have a good lawyer, he can talk your way out of almost anything.
So after whatever the mediation that they gone through, they said OK.
We will just simply give this young man a warning and we won't put him in jail. So in the sense he's forgiven, but the act that he have done was still there. He didn't have to pay the price and case count the second young man.
It wasn't the fact that a good lawyer got him off of the fact that the evidence pointed the fact that young man didn't do whatever crime it was said to be committed, so he too was set free. So both young men were set free. One is forgiven, but the other one has been justified.
Justification goes far beyond forgiveness.
We are more than just forgiven sinners. God has.
Pulled us in the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. It's a wonderful thing. We stand before God in all the righteousness of his own character because of the work of Christ. And that goes beyond.
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I remember another illustration that helped me to understand that Dave and it was of a young man who was very disobedient and his father said.
Said don't know how to get your attention, how disobedient you are. I'm going to put a post in the backyard and every time you do something bad, I'm going to put a nail on that post.
Well, it wasn't long before that post looked like a porcupine full of dance.
And when is finally looked at that post, that young man said, wow, I guess I am back. And so he saw his father, saw he was.
Repentant and reflective. And so he says. Now I'll pull all those nails out, since you've recognized that that you are.
And afterwards his son came back to him, he said, but dad, the nail holes are still there. The mark that he had sinned was still there. And that's what we can't do. We can forgive, we can never justify, but because of the work of the Lord Jesus, not only does God forgive us, but he gives us a perfectly righteous standing before God. That's justification.
Oh, how wonderful.
Brother Red, a verse yesterday, actually 2 verses in I think it's Acts 13. I'd like to turn to that because it's important to to know that in the I think it's the 13th chapter.
Of Acts where he mentioned the forgiveness of sins, but I was thinking more of the next verse. Acts chapter 13 verse 39.
We set here, this is a very fundamental principle that we hold dearly to verse 39 and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses. That's a new ground that we're on, that the Israel of all could not, they could never by the law of Moses be justified.
And justifies our brother mentions more than you know I always thought and someone used to say that what justify means just as you didn't have any sin. What is more than that? Isn't it when we are justified, we have a life like our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what justification is.
Let's go on with our chapter, brother, because there's a lot here. Yeah, verse 8, wherein he has abounded toward us in.
All wisdom and prudence.
Interesting. This is one of our spiritual blessings. He's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. For what reason?
Verse 9.
Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself.
So He's come to us to share with us His eternal purposes.
A blessing. Isn't that amazing? I sometimes say, Supposing, Brother Jim, that one day you hear a knock at your door and you go there and you see.
President Trump, I don't think this is going to happen, but supposing it did.
And he says, can I come in a minute? And you let him in. And he says, I've chosen you because I want to share with you all the purposes I have in mind for the United States of America.
Why? He said. What in the world did he choose me for?
But, brethren, we're not talking about the president of the United States. We're talking about the God of the universe, and he's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence so that we can know it.
And brethren, there is a gift to teach the Word. Scripture teaches that, but there is no gift specially adapted to certain believers to learn the Word. That is something that is one of our spiritual blessings. He's abounded toward us in all all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of His will. And so if you don't understand His will rather than when we look at this world.
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That's going on towards destruction. Lord, we see that the developments in Western Europe, we see the developments in Israel, we see the way the United States is going. We need to be instructed in the world to understand why this is going this way, and we can know it. God has made known of us these things. Sometimes I really believe we are.
Asleep, brother.
It's time to awaken, to realize that he's abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. I love the Spanish translation here. It says he's super abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
I find sometimes the sisters are more alert than the brothers in learning these things. Brethren, let's be exercised to get into the Word. You young people, you take time to read the Word on your own.
Remember God has abounded toward us so that we can know the mystery of his will. What is the mystery of his will in verse 10 and 11 we have it so I'm going a little ahead rather than know what I negate anybody else that has thoughts, but let me just finish this that in the dispensation of the fullness of times.
That's the last dispensation, the Millennial day.
He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him. In other words, God's eternal purpose is that all things, all created things, are going to be gathered directly under the authority.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then we're brought in, in chapter in verse 11, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance. When the Lord Jesus inherits all creation, then we will inherit it with him. What a tremendous blessing. You got quite an inheritance there, Brother Tim.
He's not the only one we have at 2:00.
These things are very, very important to lay hold of. I think sometimes it's easy when you get saved, or especially the young person growing up in a Christian family to think, well, I've got the forgiveness of my sins and that's good enough. I'm going home to heaven. If there's more, I'll get it then. But that isn't the way these verses are written, are they? And I was just noticing in verse seven, it says at the end of it according to the riches of his grace.
And all of this continues on from then verse 8 says, wherein He hath abounded toward us, and all wisdom and prudence, and so on. It's that same grace by which God saved us that caused Him to share with us His what it calls here, the mystery of His will.
The.
His purpose, that which he had purposed in himself. How would we ever know any of these things?
We never could, but it's a really poor thing to say. I don't care. God loved me so much that he would save me, and after that I don't care about anything else that God wants to share with me. Only forgiveness of sins. Do we ever get in that way?
God didn't stop there and we shouldn't either. I was just thinking in regard to this, the mystery of His will and His purpose, that there is so much that we have in the Word of God that He is opened up to us.
I used to wonder when I was young, is there maybe more that God hasn't shown us? We only know a part of it. Well, these verses are telling us no.
He's made known to us the mystery of His will. There isn't some other part. He used to wonder, well, were there other creations of man or would there be in the future? That answer is no, This is what God is doing. Just turn for a moment to 1St Corinthians and chapter 15.
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As this ties together with what we've had in verse 22, it says as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. It's talking about.
Two races of men here, 2 heads those who are in Adam and the other one we've been taking up those who are in Christ. We all were born in Adam. That was the first and only other race of men that there is.
How do we know that? Well, if you go on a little bit here in First Corinthians 15.
Verse 45.
It says, and so it is written, the 1St man, Adam was made a living soul. It was no man before Adam and the purposes of God or in any other way. There's nothing outside the purpose of God. And so Adam was the first one. But then it continues on here.
It says the last Adam. It doesn't say the last man Adam, because there would be many more men just like him in his race. But the last Adam was a quickening spirit. And so the Lord Jesus is the head of that race, and he's called the last Adam because Adam was the head of the first race. The Lord Jesus is the head of the last race. There's nothing more on the purposes of God, and what God is doing, he's doing in Christ.
And the purpose of God in Christ is what we have in these verses. And just turn over to one more verse, Ephesians chapter 3.
And verse 11, it speaks about this purpose again, it says according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, it's the purpose of the ages, whatever ages there are.
That ever have been made by God. This is the purpose of them and he shared them with us so that we might know them. Are we going to stop just the forgiveness of sins or do we care? Something to know what God would share with us.
Mystery really was not a mystery at all. Really it's a secret that wasn't revealed to man before that. So we find the chapter the chapter begins by if you recall, it says apostle of Jesus Christ. It was by the will of God. And now in in verse nine, it was that mean no one to ask the secret or the mystery of the will of God. Isn't it nice to see that, but all that if you see everything is is seems to be interconnected.
Together because in the earlier verses that we had we had yesterday about what God has done for us. The first thing he did was brought us into the beloved. We have to give in to that family 1St and then today we have the work of our Lord Jesus Christ redemption through his blood. Now through all this we are shared. That's going to be this secret that there's going to be that time when the Lord Jesus.
Shall reign supreme.
By the way that that phrase dispensation of the fullness of times is it may reference to it under different names is repeated many times. We use the phrase the millennial Millennium that I don't believe that's in Scripture at all, but you'll find phrases like the times of refreshing being used, the restitutions of all things, the regeneration.
The Reformation.
The world to come, and these are the same time frame that is being referred to, that the Lord Jesus will reign. We don't see him reigning today.
But we will reign supreme. So for us, we need to understand that there will be a time for his reign, but we also need to understand that what is going to happen just before he came to take full power and majesty. And that should warm our hearts. And especially when we see all the problems and difficulties before us, sometimes our hearts get discouraged and say, look at what's happening. Look, it was, you know, it was so much nicer years ago.
I think to me we should rejoice knowing that the end of our time is coming near and that the Lord's coming is so ever near.
So the inheritance is not exactly.
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The same as the spiritual blessings which are ours right now because we have not received the inheritance, because Christ does not receive the inheritance yet. But that's his eternal purpose, that the Lord Jesus would have everything directly things in heaven.
And things on Earth, every created thing is part of the inheritance. You go back to Psalm 2, you'll find the inheritance mentioned. And there was a lot of references to the inheritance throughout scripture. Just don't have time to take it up now. But this is one place.
In verse seven it says, I will declare the decree. The Lord has said unto me, Thou art my son this day have I begotten thee *** of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of ironies. Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a Potter's vessels. So that's talking about when the Lord Jesus comes back at the end of the great tribulation period.
To take his inheritance and God is going to give him the heathen for his inheritance. Everything is going to be brought directly under the control of the Lord Jesus. You know we live in a time called the times of the Gentiles, the time of Nebuchadnezzar. In the Old Testament, God took away the authority from Israel and He gave it to the Gentile powers and it continues to be.
The times of the Gentiles. Yes, Israel is over there, but if it were not for the sufferance of Gentile powers, they wouldn't be there. They'd get wiped out in no time flat. It's because of nations like the United States giving support to Israel that they can continue to be there. We are still living in the times of the Gentiles.
Times of the Gentiles ends when the Lord Jesus comes back in power and glory to take the reins of government, and then he will subject everything to himself in that millennial day. So that's what we have in reference here in verses 10 and then in 11-2 That we are brought in because we're going to reign with Christ in that millennial way. Oh, brethren, we're going to inherit all things in Christ.
I sometimes think that if we would enjoy this more, it would deliver us from materialism.
Boarding so much stuff in our lives. Brethren, materialism is a hindrance to our enjoyment of spiritual realities. May the Lord help us to have the right attitude. Yes, material things God puts in our hands and we are to use that for the Lord. We don't know how much time we might have it in our hands.
And we are to be faithful administrators of what God has put into our hands. But those are not our spiritual blessings.
And not our inheritance. We're going to inherit with Christ all things in that coming day.
Material entrances not the only thing we often think a man would seek riches rather than the Lord really is anything that divides our hearts from seeking the Lord. So sometimes we look at someone who is making money and we go, we know that he perhaps this person, Well, not always. But then there are also other things too and we see around us today. Sometimes it could be health. People are so conscious of being healthy.
They do various things without knowing and I'm not condemning anyone. I'm sure a lot of people have watches that count the steps and check the heartbeat and all that stuff. Why? Oh I don't we have good reasons. I have one too, but we occupy with health. Do you have to be so fit in order to do? I'm not sure. I just got to be careful how I say this. But where is the time to spend with the Lord and with spiritual things? Is it exercises?
00:55:02
Is a special diet is it that list can go on and on and Satan knows how to devise our heart from enjoying the Lord. So sometimes it's easier to say no, I don't exercise, I don't spend all my time in the gym. Well, we all have certain things that we have to look into our hearts and and so the encouragement here is to be reminded that what we are reading these are certain.
That time of the Lords going to reign is certainty and the 1000 years, I was just thinking too, you know, we think that so far away, but that thousand year reigns could be as near as seven years or so from right now. Does that touch our hearts? Does it change our lives?
I'd like to, if I could just encourage each one here to take these things and to repeat them. Sometimes I think we're a little afraid of repetition, but anyone who's had a good children know if you don't repeat something again and again, it gets lost. The Word of God says God speaketh once, yet twice, and man perceiveth it not. And Peter says in second Peter, one. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting meaning of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you in remembrance of these things, though you know them to be established in the present truth. Yeah, I think it need, as long as I am in this Tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. And the book of Ephesians was written to the place where Paul spent the most time. Galatians. One says he he was in Arabia for three years, and then in Acts of 1819 and 28, he was in Ephesians for almost three years.
And at the end of that time with the Ephesians, it says in Acts chapter 20. Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years, I cease not to warn everyone night and day with tears. And our brothers have already reminded us there's things that are repeated here. Brother David mentioned the praise of his glory. We find in verse six to the praise of the glory of his grace, verse 12, that we should be to the praise of his glory, verse 14.
Unto the praise of His glory there's three repetitions. And then His will is mentioned in verse five it says, according to the good pleasure of His will, there's once verse nine it says, having made known unto us the mystery of His will. Then in verse 11 it says, Who worketh all things after the council of his own builders? 3 repetitions as well. And then it's been mentioned, inheritance we have in verse 11, and whom also we have an inheritance, verse 14 it says.
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession.
Verse 18, it says the eyes of your understanding being enlightenment, you may know what is the hope of this cause of the virtues of the glory of His inheritance. There's three times to the praise of his glory, His will, the inheritance. There's a repetition. We have wisdom repeated several times. We have several other things repeated, and I don't think we should be afraid of repeating these things. It says even though you know these things that are established, we need that constant repetition. Recently someone said something to me and I realize, you know, I hadn't really heard that for like over 10 years.
And you know, we need to be reminded of these things. Sometimes they they slip from us and we once possessed them tightly in the the light burned brightly. And sometimes we have to be careful no matter where we are or what we do, we need to be constantly encouraged and nourished and refunded because we're then left there.
So brother was saying that I was thinking of the church at Ephesus. He just told us how.
Lest they were with all these, and then we read later on, The Lord hath against them.
That's somewhat yes, against them. What did they do?
That thou hast left thy first love, How much so should we take heed? It's so easy that we too easily thou has left thy first love.
Verse 12 our brother David yesterday mentioned.
That it refers to the Jewish people we should be to the praise of his glory who first or pre trusted in Christ. It's before the nation is brought into blessing. These Jewish believers trusted and they are part of the church. But then verse 13 it's ye, it's talking to the Ephesian believers and that includes us because we are Gentiles.
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Ye also trusted. Notice this, after that he heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that he believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. So it's interesting when a person believes the gospel of his salvation.
Then he is sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
A seal is put on something that is finished. You have a document, a title of a property, it'll have a seal on it that shows that it is an officially recognized document. And so when you rest where God rests in the finished work of Christ, and God puts his seal on you, he puts his Spirit into you. And this is a tremendously wonderful reality, too.
The Holy Spirit of promise, somebody has said the seal is.
For enjoyment.
But then we have, I'm sorry, it's for security that what we have for enjoyment is in verse 14, which is the earnest of our inheritance. So the seal in verse 13 is for security, and then in verse 14 the earnest is for enjoyment. And I enjoy that. The earnest is the Spirit of God. Somebody has given the illustration.
That I enjoy, he said, supposing there's a property.
In the Akron area and.
They're asking $100,000 for this property. I don't know what they go for in this area, but that's what the asking price is. Somebody comes along and says I would like to buy this property, but I'm going to give you a down payment of $1 million.
The property only cost 100,000. What are you giving a million for?
Because I want you to be so sure that you're going to that I'm going to get the whole.
Problem and so God says he wants you to be so sure that you're going to get the inheritance that he gives you something that is a far greater worth the Spirit of God. Think about it, young people, God the Holy Spirit dwells in this body.
Do I grasp that properly? I'm afraid I don't.
What a wonderful reality. I don't think we treat the Spirit of God very respectfully in our lives. All the reality of it. So the Spirit of God is the seal for our security so that we can know that we are, is, and He is the earnest of our inheritance.
So that we can enjoy the fact that we are inheritance inheritors even before we get the inheritance.
Still remember?
We have two some of the descendants of our late brother Harry Hagel, and the story is told.
He and his I, I was quite young when I still remember him at the Walla Walla conference when I was a boy.
But the way the enjoyment radiated, brethren, it's not what you know, it is what you enjoy that will form your life. And so it's so important to let these things get into our souls and enjoy them. But I remember the story told that he was on a train.
In Ontario, going somewhere, I don't know where, and the young man is sitting beside him and it was getting towards harvest time and he looked at the wind and said, young man, look at those wonderful harvests. It looks like it's going to be a great harvest, yes, the young man said.
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All that belongs to my father. That's interesting, a man said. Kept going hour after hour, and he said, look at this too. This is this belongs to my father.
Yeah, your father must be fairly wealthy. Yes, he is, and I'm an inheritor of it all.
And dear brother Abel lived that. But finally young man said that who is your father?
My Father is God and I'm an inheritor. Brethren, is this a reality to us or is this just something we know in our heads? We really haven't lived in enjoyment. We need to let it sink into our souls. The reality of the fact Spirit of God is the earnest of our inheritance until.
The Redemption.
Of the purchased possession, what is the purchase possession? And the Lord Jesus died. He purchased the whole field, the world. He purchased the whole creation. The creation is still not free from the ******* of corruption. And when the Lord Jesus takes it, He's going to free it from the ******* of corruption and be going to be brought into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
That's the redemption of the purchased possession over other than let's understand these things, but let's let them sink into our souls and enjoy them as well.
Who believe that you can fall away, lose your salvation?
They believe you can grieve the Holy Spirit, but they forget the second part of the loose grieve not the Holy Spirit of God.
Is Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 3.
Brings it before us again the truth we just looked at. Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed.
Unto the day of redemption there was no thought of these Ephesian believers. We might agree to the Spirit of God. There was no thought of their ever becoming unsealed.
At the end of our verse 13, we have an order of things be leaving and then the word after is there and then it says being sealed. The Holy Spirit of promise want to ask a question. It's not intended to gender strife, but every believer, every person who puts his trust in the Lord Jesus is he immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
Believing many things what I've always heard, but the same thing as stealing. I guess it's a double question. Is it an immediate thing? Receiving the spirit after believing? And is receiving the spirit the same thing as being sealed?
By the Spirit.
Says in John chapter 3.
The wind blows were enlisted, and now hears the sound of it. But thou canst not know and whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth. So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. So there's such a thing as being born of the Spirit of God. Where does that start? Where does it end? We can't tell, but the end result would be when a soul rests in the work of Christ. Because when it says here.
The gospel of your salvation, it's the message that on the cross the Lord Jesus paid the price of redemption in full. And when a soul rests, there is when God seals that soul, he rests. Where God rests in the work of Christ then is the seal. So I think there are souls that perhaps haven't been sealed yet and.
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Cornelius In chapter 10 of the Acts, we have a man who.
God had begun to work in his soul, but it wasn't until he heard Peter proclaiming everyone that they leave us in his name shall receive the remission of sins. He heard that and evidently believed it because immediately the Spirit of God, thou impose that earth, that's considered.
So there is a difference.
When does it happen? I don't know, brother.
An interesting verse in Second Corinthians chapter one.
They can, the young people here.
How do we lay hold of this? We have it in our head. How do we get it in our heart? How do we get it down in our feet?
And I think First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, chapter one and verse 20.
Is what we need to lay hold of, and I trust you Will Young people for all the promises of God and Him.
Our yay, and in him Amen unto the glory of God.
By us now he which established us with you in Christ hath anointed us, who also have sealed us, given the earnest of the Spirit in our heart.
These are promises and realities given by God. We need to embrace them as all the promises of God and Him are. Yay.
God is going to test us. Everything we say in a public forum, everything we believe we speak to, our friends, our neighbors, God is going to test us to see if we really hold it in truth.
Striking as we've been talking about how they receive the gospel by the belief of the truth, those in Thessalonians Second second epistle find themselves in a lost eternity because they refuse the love of the truth.
And what I want to try to emphasize, dear young people, is that truth isn't ******** facts. It's Christ himself. It's the person. And I enjoyed the comments of brother Degraff made. And I think it's a real problem we have, brother.
That Paul labored with tears with these brother.
We do that.
Do we labor in tears for our brethren, our young people, our brethren at home, our various assemblies? When he writes to the Corinthians, he tells them how they poured out his heart for them. And he writes to the Thessalonians, He poured out his soul. They were affectionately desirous of them. And that's how we're going to embrace the truth of God. It's by love, the love of Christ constraining us.
Just one illustration to believe it's the key.
The Lord Jesus was sitting at Simon's house, and Mary came and anointed him and.
Simon was taken back, and the Lord asked him a question, gave him an illustration of dentures. 1 Owing a little, and some owing much. Which one do you think will love him much?
Or the one who has been forgiven much?
Young people, brethren, we learn what our hearts really are.
We've been forgiven much.
That's going to touch our hearts to love him more.
To Lufthansa and to realize the truth of this, that we can walk down the streets wherever you live. I'm a child of God. I'm redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. When I was a young person brought up, they always told us that redemption had two parts being bought with the blood of Christ and set at liberty. Now you have liberty to seek to please the Lord, but the promises of God are true, and you can rest on that.
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You.
64.
#64 perhaps would be. We can begin at verse five. Starting at verse five of hymn #64.
Our goal of the.
And slides through all war, gracious, till that confusion.
I thought it all.
Just a quick word to this him, as many know that our brother Darby wrote this hymn and if you want to feel the sense of being in that heavenly places, follow his things. There you see that his heart, his thought is already there. At all times commend ourselves.
Blessed God, in our loving Father, we give thanks this morning for Thy grace toward us. How we have been reminded that we have been brought into the Beloved.
We have been redeemed by the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And that we have been sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.
And surely how blessed we are.
We have God as our Father.
Jesus as our Savior, you have the Spirit in dwell with us, and surely we know too. Thou has given us Thy word, and Thou has promised to be with us.
We know we're lack of nothing, but then we're reminded too that we need to be reminded often.
Because.
We're easily stray, easily stumble, easily get discouraged or get distracted in this world. So we pray one for another this morning that I will continue.
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To help us, we think up the psalmist of all could say, He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me to the path of righteousness for his name's sake.
So we look to the once more. We think of many children, young people, middle age, older ones too, Lord.
How much we need to ask for thy help that we may learn. Continue to learn.
To be dependent upon Thee. We thank Thee for the blessed hope before us, knowing that soon we shall be without sake. So we commit our time into thine hand once more, giving thanks in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Getting Something Out of the Meetings
Open—Ethan Porter
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
I'm gonna share a quote with you.
A lot of you.
Maybe just a few of you have heard it before.
And some of you have said this before.
The quote is this.
I don't get much out of the meetings, or maybe I don't get anything out of the meetings.
That's a sad thing to hear.
You might think I'm speaking specifically.
To the young ones here.
And I am, but I don't think that's exclusive to them.
When this sentiment is expressed.
It's hard to know sometimes.
With whom the fault lies.
Is it those listening? Is it those speaking?
That's what I'd like to talk about a little bit.
We're going to come back to that.
Let's go to Second Timothy, chapter one.
Verse one.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.
According to the promise of life, which is in Christ Jesus to Timothy.
My dearly beloved Son, grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Verse 5.
When I called to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and I am persuaded that in the also.
I think a lot of us in this room.
Grew up going to meeting.
We had parents of faith.
Grandparents of faith.
I.
But Paul here makes a point.
Not just of Timothy's faith, but what does he call it? He calls it the unfeigned faith.
Sometimes in gospel meetings at conferences like this.
Rightly so, we might talk about.
Ones in the room that have heard it before.
And they are going on among us and they haven't believed it for themselves yet.
Similarly so perhaps there are those among us that believe.
They're saved. They're on their way to heaven.
But the life.
Of a believer here on the earth is not something that's real to them.
They're in a state that they're not bearing fruit for God.
Unfeigned faith is what we ought to have.
The reason this relates to what I brought up first.
Is that I want to talk 1St about the listeners, those listening and meeting that say I'm not getting much out of this or I'm not getting anything out of this.
You know, if you go and you take a class, it's really hard to pay attention to what the teacher is saying.
If it's not a topic that matters to you.
So if what we're doing here and what you're doing in your local assembly.
Doesn't really matter to you.
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Then you're probably not going to get much out of the meeting.
Likewise, if you are taking an English class and you're reading a book and you're to be discussing the book and you haven't read the chapter and you show up to class.
What are you getting out of class? Nothing.
And if you never do the homework, you're probably not going to get that much out of a class either.
In order for these things to matter to us.
It's got to matter to us in our private time, it's got to matter to us in our free time. We can't just expect to show up to meeting.
Not having cared about the things of the Lord all week.
And then get something out of it. You just can't expect that. You're asking too much of the speakers. And if you're young, you're asking too much of your older brethren.
To straighten you out once a week when you haven't shown any care for the things of the Lord throughout the week.
Let's go back to First Kings Chapter 11.
Sorry, verse 12, chapter 12.
Verse 3.
And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy Father made our yoke grievous. Now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke, which he put upon us lighter.
And we will serve thee.
And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
And King Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon his father, while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
And I speak on them, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto the people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants forever.
But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, which stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us later. And the young men that were grown up with him spake on him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people, that.
Take unto these saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us. Thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins. And now, whereas my father did laid you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Verse 13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old man's counsel that they gave him.
Not all of us are in.
Positions of responsibility, which I know this certainly has an application to that, but.
The thing here about Rehoboam is that.
He forsook the council of the old men.
He didn't listen to what he was being taught.
He didn't listen to his father's wisdom, certainly.
Was it the responsibility? Was that the fault of these old men? Did they not give them good counsel? Did they not teach him what he could have used to rule properly? No, they did.
00:10:00
But he didn't listen.
I don't know what assembly you're in.
Most assemblies have some older folks.
You can spend time with them. You can hear their counsel. Don't ignore it.
But more importantly, don't ignore council that's far older than theirs and it's the word of God.
And so if you're going to meeting and you're listening.
You're being taught.
Don't forsake it.
Don't despise it.
And won't you do you any good if you'd rather hear something else?
Let's turn to First Timothy, chapter one.
The greeting is almost the same here. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, our hope unto Timothy, my own son, in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, neither give heed to fables, an endless genealogies which minister questions, rather than godly edifying, which is in faith.
So do now the end of the commandment.
Is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith?
Unfeigned.
From which some, having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling.
Or it could be.
Vain discourse.
The Apostle Paul.
Charged Timothy here.
To charge them.
That they teach no other doctrine.
And welcome other thoughts. I take that to be the Apostles doctrine, which to us is the written word of God.
Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies.
Maybe those listening in the meeting?
Are really seeking to be fed.
Especially the young ones. Maybe they really.
Are paying attention, they are reading their Bibles at home, and they're still having a hard time getting something out of the meeting.
Are those that are speaking, are they teaching according to scripture?
Are they giving heed to fables?
I'm going to be careful here.
I think that.
Stories and pictures have a place in teaching.
I have heard on occasion stories shared and re shared.
That a little bit of research reveals those stories, they're not true.
It might be OK to share it as that. I don't know if this is true, but here's the picture. But you know, we might think of fables as just made-up stories.
But that's not the historical context of the meaning. It's true they were made-up stories, but a fable was something that particularly heathen people would share to make a point.
It would be a story that had a lesson to it.
This was common in Roman culture. Some of their writings were fables, Roman and Greek culture.
00:15:01
And so it's a story, and you hear the story and it has a meaning to it.
It's possible that there were these early brethren that had been educated in these fables and they were using them to.
To make a picture to God's people.
Much better when there's an example from the Word of God that clearly illustrates a point to stick to that.
Again, got to be careful here. There's a number of accounts that I've heard that painted a picture for me that were quite helpful.
But when someone says I'm not getting much out of these meetings.
Regardless of which position we're in.
If we are a listener or someone that's speaking.
This is not something to be ignored. This is not the proper state.
Of FERC believer to be living in and it's not the proper state for an assembly.
If you're hearing this over and over again.
Complaining and murmuring is not right.
But when someone genuinely tells you.
I'm not getting much out of these meetings or if you're a person that's saying that.
Don't just throw up your hands and give up.
It's not something to be ignored and in whichever position you're in.
This admission that a person.
Makes out loud. It ought to lead to some self reflection.
Water into Wine
Open—David Mearns
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.
Young people have had to listen to a couple of brothers, last few this past week quite a bit.
Umm, I'd like to address a few comments to.
Those particularly here.
Or young parents.
And those who are younger that perhaps at some time anticipate.
Being in that position.
I'd like to look at a little story.
Confine my comments entirely to that story and trust that we can all glean a little bit from it. John's Gospel, chapter 2.
I am no longer a parent with young children in the house.
Or any children in the house.
In a different season.
I remember that season.
And yes, we have grandchildren running in and out of the house.
But as I reflect on that season in my life, I have to own, and it's a humbling thing.
As the head of my home, I'm not sure that there's been any mistakes that I haven't made.
So I'm not standing here taking high ground.
But I trust that.
Anything we get here would be exclusively from the Word of God.
John's Gospel, chapter 2.
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee.
And the mother of Jesus was there.
And Jesus was called and his disciples to the marriage and when they wanted wine.
The mother of Jesus saith unto them, They have no wine.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.
And his mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there 6 water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins of peace. And Jesus said unto them, Fill the water pots with water, and they filled them to the brim.
And he saith unto them, Drive now, and bear unto the governor of the feast, and they bear it. And when the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not once it was, but the servants withdrew the water, knew the governor of the peace called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine, And when men have well drunk, then that which is worse, but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory, and his disciples believed on him. And after this he went down to Capernaum, he and his mother and his brethren, and his disciples, and they continued there not many days.
So in this very well known portion before us, we have some characters and the first one here that we read of is the mother of Jesus was there. There are a number of mothers here.
I'm not one.
I never will be one.
But we're not going to hear from 1 standing in this position. And so it's with. Thank you.
It's with great humility that I address you as mothers not having been one and never will be one.
But having said that, I have learned from many, many mothers and I'm very thankful for that. Interesting in John's gospel.
This one is never called Mary. Never once. She's always called the mother of Jesus.
And what can we learn from this dear mother? Oh, dear mother's here.
The very, very best instruction that I have ever got from any mother has been the instruction that this mother gave, and it's this.
His Mother Verse five His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. Dear mothers, those little ones that you have in the house every day, there's no better instruction than you can give those little ones, as the instruction that was given here by this dear mother. Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. Oh, I would love to have that.
00:05:24
As a text in my home, I've got lots of them. I haven't done that one beautiful dear mothers, and those of you who perhaps anticipate being a mother and I will never be 10, that we could all give this advice. Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. It's interesting.
And this is hard on me.
Because we have, we have a character here that's a mother. We also have one that's the head of the home.
And the head of the home is found.
At the end of the portion in verse nine, it says the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and you not once it was, but the servants which drew the water knew, and the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, he calls the head of the home.
And he says every man at the beginning does set forth good wine, and when men hath well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the good wine until now. There's a point here that's made, that's been made to my own soul.
That the responsibility of joy in the home lands on the shoulders of those of us who are heads of our homes.
That's where the responsibility is. That's why the ruler of the feast went to the bridegroom. That's who we went to. And I have to own has been so many times when there's been a lack of joy in my home, and it's had to been my wife.
That has kicked in and it's provide joy in the home. But the responsibility is here, dear young fathers and dear those of us who are my peers and myself included, oh that we would take on that responsibility of providing joy in the home.
Let's back up now.
In the sixth verse.
It's also interesting to realize that, and sometimes this is the case, who was who was it that realized there was number joy?
It was the mother.
Sometimes it's the mother.
That realizes there's no joy. I've been so thankful the times that my wife has come to me and pointed out that in my walk I've displayed a lack of joy or that there would be joy in our homes. Here in the sixth verse it says and there was 6 water pots of stone after the manner of the purifying of the Jews contained two or three frickins of peace. And Jesus said unto them.
Fill the water pots with water.
And fill them up to the brim, you dear young parents, as you look at those little water pots around you.
Responsibility is ours.
To fill those water pots with water.
And it says here they filled them to the brim.
Don't leave a space so the world can come in and fill the rest of the space. Fill the water pots right to the brim. That's the responsibility those of us who are parents is to fill these little water pots. Fill them with water. And one thing we can't do.
We can't take that water and we can't turn it into wine. That is exclusively the work of God. That is exclusively the work of God. The work of a soul is the work of God, work of the work of my soul. The work of each soul here is a work of God.
And it's interesting, you know, as we go through John's gospel, there are a number of what we would call miracles. Mr. Darby calls them science, and I believe there's a reason why he would call them science.
As I traveled here, I went down the coast of Erie.
And on either side of the freeway there was these fields, these vineyards, field after field of them.
As I looked at those vineyards, I realized, you know, the water comes out of heaven, hits the ground.
Goes into those little roots, it travels up those roots up through the vine, goes into the grapes and it's turned the grape juice.
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And it's every bit as much a miracle as what we have here. It's no different except the hero's done faster. And it's like that. If we were to go through all the miracles, they're the same eternity. 11Th chapter. And you see Lazarus raised to the dead. And we say, wow, we see that every spring. You look at the trees, they all look dead. You look at the ground, it all looks dead. And boom, you know, it's interesting.
This year.
Was working at a house and umm.
It was chilly.
And we set up some chairs and we sat out in the sun under this tree. We sat there under the sun, and a week later it was cold at lunchtime.
I've got that wrong. We sat under the sun because it was cold. A week later it was, it was quite warm. And we went and sat in those chairs and we sat in the shade because the leaves had all come out. And we take that for granted every day at the things that happen around us. And we think, Oh well, they're marvellous things. They are miracles. We look at the blind man in, in, in, in the 9th chapter of this, of this gospel and we think, wow, you received this site.
It's a miracle that you and I have sight. All these things are marvelous miracles. And so we look at this one. The water was changed. Wine and dear ones.
When God takes that water that's been poured into me by my parents, and he turns it into joy and he turns it into wine, it's a marvelous miracle, but it's a work of God. But that does not take away from the responsibility that is ours as parents to a do what Mary did here. What's the way He saith unto you? Do it, and as the bridegroom to provide.
Joy in the home.
I would say this too.
Mary picks up. There's no joy here.
It's not rocket science.
To look at any group of dear Saints of God.
And to look at couples.
And to say, you know, there's a lack of joy, I wonder if it was this way on the wedding day.
There was number joy. Oh that we would cry to the Lord that there would be joy. One more point before I sit down.
And this is for all of us.
Well, we'll see the 11 first. It says the beginning of miracles did Jesus and Canaan of Galilee and manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him.
You know, if we were to go to the previous chapter, we'd see that those cycles did believe on him. So what's it speaking about here? You know, faith?
Grows where it's real, and let's expect it to grow in our own souls.
If the faith is real, the disciples here, they believed on him, it grew. But back here now the point that I want to make is in the seventh verse, Jesus said unto them, Fill the water pots with water, and they fill them to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now and bear until the government of the feast, and they bear it.
You know, this is for everyone of us. We have the privilege and responsibility of serving joy here, Mary, she said to the servants. Whatsoever he do, he says to you, do it. And they did it. And then they had the joy of taking that wine and serving it and all we do too. We have that same privilege and responsibility to share joy with each other, don't we? They served joy.
Isn't that a wonderful service that we can all be involved with?
I've seen so many things served, and some of them have not been joyful. Oh, that we might be those that were servants of joy. May the Lord bless this little portion teach of our hearts.
Our Union with Christ
Open—Bob Thonney
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Well, I'd like to go back to Ephesians.
I noticed that our brother that read in first and second Timothy.
Ephesians is mentioned in both.
First Timothy one and Second Timothy one.
And as somebody has mentioned, Paul spent.
Up to three years there. I'd like to go back to the end of the first chapter. We didn't.
Touch much on that, but there is a truth that is taken up in Ephesians that is very key to the Christian testimony. Notice verse 22 of.
Ephesians 1.
Says and has put all things under his feet.
And gave Him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fullness of him that filleth All in all that amazing the church. His body is the fullness.
Of him that fills All in all, how could it be that we could be the fullness?
Of him that fills All in all. But that's what it says to us. And so.
It's the truth of the body of Christ. You and I are intimately connected with that man in the glory. Brethren, this is a reality, and more and more I am convinced of it. It's not something just merely to know. It's something to enjoy. The apostle Paul, the one who writes this.
Learned that truth the very day he was arrested by the Lord Jesus.
On the road to Damascus, remember what the Lord said to him.
Saw, Saw. Why persecutest thou me? I think he must have been shocked. Me persecuting somebody in heaven. What is this?
Who art thou, Lord? He said.
I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest, touching believers here in this world. He was touching Christ in glory. That is the intimacy of the union that exists between Christ.
In his people wonderful reality and so to meet up with other believers to realize that they too are members of that same body. So there's much that could be said in this epistle of Ephesians about the body of Christ. I just want to point out the fact that in chapter one notice in verse 22 where we read it doesn't say that Christ is head of the church.
It says he is head over all things. To the church it's a little bit different.
In chapter 4 notice and verse 15 it says.
Speaking the truth and love may grow up unto Him in all things, which is the head.
Even Christ, from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted.
By that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase.
Of the body, and to the edifying of itself in love. So Christ is the head of the Church.
But in chapter one, it's head over all things to the church. In other words, everything that affects you and me as members of the body of Christ. He's in full control of that circumstance. And to me that has been a real lesson. I still remember as a fairly young brother, having a very heavy trial that the Lord allowed in my life.
A companion at work was killed right in front of my eyes, pinched between 2 trucks.
And I got blamed for the responsibility of his death.
Not the only one, but one of the ones and I got taken to law and sued heavily.
I still remember trying to figure this out, my mind going over it and over and over again until I thought man am I going crazy or what's going on?
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And a brother came to me and said.
Everything that happens.
In the life of a Christian comes directly from that man.
On the throne above, I still remember it hit me like a sledgehammer.
And I went into my room. I knelt down by my badge and said, OK, Lord, I know you're talking to me. I don't know what you're saying, but I hope I'm listening.
And I tell you, dear brethren, that the peace that came into my soul at that time never left. The trial continued. You know how legal matters are. It was only after Barb and I were married that the trial finally came to court and I was called back from the Dominican Republic to go into court.
And the fact was the Lord completely.
Took care of everything so amazingly I was amazed.
But.
It was the Lord and I say if we can recognize that things that happen in your life.
May be caused by fellow brethren, may be caused by your neighbors, may be caused by circumstances. You will never get peace in your soul while you're looking at other causes. Look to him who is head over all things to the church. That's where you're going to get peace and that's where you will profit. So just say that because I know every one of us has specific trials, but I want to go over to.
The 4th chapter and take up some of the practical exhortations that we have in connection with the truth of the body of Christ. To me it is amazingly wonderful truth.
And I want to point out if you notice the first verse of chapter 3.
For this 'cause I, Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles.
And then the first verse of chapter 4I. Therefore the prisoner of the Lord.
He says almost the same thing.
But it is because chapter 3 is a parenthesis.
And in chapter three, he takes up the question of the mystery.
Something that was not revealed in other generations to the sons of men.
As it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, it's the.
Apostles and prophets of the New Testament, and it's the truth that.
The Gentiles would be of the same body as the Jewish people. It's the truth of the body of Christ, wonderful truth of the body of Christ. That was a mystery that was not revealed in other generations. Nothing was known of it by those men of the Old Testament, faithful men of God, Abraham, Daniel, and so many others that we can mention Moses.
They knew nothing of the truth of the Church that you and I now know that we are united to Christ.
Really, brother, and we have the closest position of all God's people that lived at any time we have the closest position. So we are members of one body and to me it is a beautiful thing. Chapter 4, verse one. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.
We are called in one body. Now we need to walk like one body.
And brethren, I just want to encourage us to take interest of believers, not only where you live, in the whole meeting, where you are, but of your way God is working in this world at large. To me, it is amazingly wonderful to hear of how God is working in the Muslim world, saving souls and bringing them to the faith in Christ.
In China, in other parts of the world. Do you take interest in them? They are fellow members with us.
In that same body. So we're to walk worthy of that vocation. But notice verse 2. With all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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So we are to walk and this is the way it says with all.
Loneliness and meekness.
Anybody here profess to have all loneliness and meekness? Please raise your hand. I don't think anyone dare to do that.
There was only one who could say I am meek.
And lowly in heart. And you know what he says.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me or from me.
Because I am meek and lowly in heart. There is one who is meek and lowly. And to study him, to be yoked with him. You know, we don't use oxen in this country. Like perhaps it happened in the first days of the history of this country.
But they still use it down in South America.
Oxen.
And to me it is was very interesting. One time we were giving out the gospel in an isolated area.
In the department of Sucre and to the South of Bolivia, in the Bolivia, and they're at a kind of a outdoor fair. They were training a new ox for the yoke. I'd never seen it happen before, but was it ever instructive?
What they did was they put an old ox in one side of the yoke and then they put this new ox in the other side and then they just simply let him go.
And I watched it happen. And that new ox, he didn't like that yoke. He shook his head, he rushed forward. He's backed up. He charged all over the place. And that poor old ox just took it all. I watched that and I said, Lord Jesus, I must make you suffer tremendously at times.
When I charge forward, when I pull back, when I don't like things.
It took about a whole hour, and finally that new ox realized he wasn't getting anywhere and he simply bowed his head and accepted the yoke. This is an invitation to each of us on an individual basis. If you're going to get along with your brethren, you have to learn.
These qualifications.
All lowliness and meekness.
Long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.
What is loneliness and meekness, somebody has said.
Loneliness doesn't cause offense.
Meekness doesn't take offense.
Moses in the Old Testament was called the meekest man in all the earth.
And it was in that chapter where?
Aaron and Miriam, his sister and brother, spoke against him and said as the Lord only spoken by Moses, hasn't he spoken by us too?
And they complained.
You notice what Moses reaction was?
Was there any self-defense?
No.
The Lord had something to say to Miriam, I think the reason she was smitten with leprosy.
Probably brilliant is because she started the complaining about Moses.
I don't know, doesn't really say that's a possibility. But what did Moses say when Miriam got leprosy?
You'd think, well, maybe you'd say now you'd better be careful what you say next time. Nothing of that. You know what he said.
Lord, heal her now. There wasn't any resentment.
In his heart towards his sister. I think that is a beautiful example of meekness.
O brethren, if we're going to go on together as brethren in one body.
We must learn these characteristics with all loneliness and meekness, with long-suffering. I'm sure many of you from New Jersey area.
00:15:10
Remember our brother ****? Gorgeous.
And he used to say, we don't pronounce that word very well.
It's long-suffering.
And that's true. Sometimes we want everybody else to learn what in a few minutes, what it took us several years to learn.
Brethren.
Let's meditate on what it means to be long-suffering.
And then forbearing, what does that mean to for bear? You know, I look at it as a self-discipline. We like to talk about the discipline of others, how important that is. And yes, there is such a thing as discipline in the House of God.
But this is self-discipline.
There's something that just bugs me in that brother. What am I gonna do about it?
You know what I'm going to do about it? Bear with it.
For Bear, that's so important to do if we're going to go on together, then that word in love, that's one of the in loves we were talking about yesterday in the reading. We are in love.
Forbearing in love. Oh, how important it is, this question of love.
And this is divine love. This is love that loves no matter what.
That loves because God is loved, not because the person is lovable.
But because of the source of love that's God is love. And then it says in verse 3.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The unity of the Spirit important.
To understand that.
It is a unity that the Spirit of God is responsible for. You and I are exhorted to keep that unity in the bond of peace. Is that the characteristic you take amongst your brethren, dear brother and sister, in the Lord Jesus, in the bond of peace, seeking to keep that unity?
You know, sometimes a comment has been made. In fact, I must say I was.
I made it one time, I remember as a younger person, and her brother stepped up to me after the meeting. Well, what I said was we have to be careful not to break the unity of the spirit.
The brother stepped up to me and said.
Brother, we don't break the unity of the Spirit.
I said what?
Did he mean?
And so it is sometimes we don't understand like our brother was saying right off hand. Don't get discouraged when you don't understand right off hand. Keep it in your mind the Lord in his time will make it clear you know was three weeks after that I was in a completely different part of the country and a brother in a meeting made this clarifying statement.
The Spirit, the unity of the Spirit, is never broken.
Either we keep it or we don't keep it. That was a helpful to me to understand that the unity of the Spirit is not broken. Either we keep it or we don't keep it. So are you keeping the unity of the Spirit and your relations one with another, the your dear brethren, where you are or wherever you meet up with them?
Now I want to point out to here in this chapter 4 that from verse four down to verse 16.
We don't really have exhortation. You'll notice it's really instruction. It's the doctrine of the epistle again. And so he says in verse 4, you notice in our King James translation, there is is an italics. It really isn't in the original. So we could read one body and one spirit even as you're called in one hope of your calling.
Verse 5.
One Lord, 1 faith, one baptism, verse six, One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all in you all. So we have the Trinity in those three verses. It's the unity.
00:20:09
The of the Christian circles, first of all is the unity of Christian reality, the body of Christ in verse four. In verse five is the unity of Christian profession.
Because by baptism we outwardly profess to take the position as Christians of that one faith. And then in verse six we have the unity of all creation, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all. And then in you all refers back to verse 4.
So it's the truth.
Rather than one body. I love this because.
Remember in Bolivia there was a sister who was a dentist. She liked to come to our house for an evening meal. Sometimes she had the custom of wandering around from one church to another to another, to another. And she said to me one day, Brother Robert, we should all be one body.
Why are we all scattered around like this?
I said to her sister, it's not that we should all be one body. The truth is we are one body. We're just not acting like it. It's the truth. We are one body. And so it doesn't matter if it's a day of Pentecost in those early days of the church when it was so evident that there was.
Oneness amongst the people of God today.
It is not outwardly evident. There is one group over here, another group over there, another group over here.
And so there is.
The testimony is in ruins, but the truth remains. There is one body, and I think that is such a precious thing to hold. Remember, up on the High Plains of Bolivia we stopped in a little town one time.
To give out tracks and in giving out tracks met up with this believer. I don't know what group he might have been with.
But he comes up to me and he made it clear that he was a believer in the Lord Jesus and.
He says to me, what church are you with? I said.
Well, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus and I am in the believer in the Lord Jesus, I think.
We belong to the same church. And he looked all confused and he says, see that building down there?
That's my church, Ohio, I said. That's interesting. Tell me, do I belong to your church?
And again, he was confused and we have to be careful. We have to be patient with dear brethren who perhaps have not had the clarity of teaching that we have. But just to remember, there is one body. Doesn't mean we all meet together, but if there has been faith in the person of the Lord Jesus once you and I believe in the Lord Jesus as we had this morning.
The Spirit of God sealed.
US and we are united to that one body.
As true today in 2019 as it was when the church was first formed. What a precious truth. One body and one spirit, even as you're called in one hope of your calling. Well, there's a few other things that are here. And I just like to mention before we get to the end of our time here, notice in verse 7.
Unto everyone of us is given grace.
According to the measure of the gift of Christ. In other words, Christ is given gifts in his church.
How many of these young people have gifts?
What would you say, Clement?
Yeah.
Let me read this again and I'll ask you again.
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Verse 7.
Unto everyone of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. How many?
Everyone isn't that nice to realize. You young people. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus, you have a gift. Gift is something that is developed over time. Timothy was a timid person.
And he was kind of scared I was supposed to speak up, especially in Corinth, where there was a lot of preeminent gift.
But he had a gift, and Paul had to exhort him stir.
Up the gift of God that is in thee, so everyone of us has a gift.
And I like that verse that our brother read in John chapter 2.
It's because you say, well, I don't know what kind of gift I have. I don't think you have to determine what kind of gift you have.
Let me quote what our brother Dave read. Whatsoever he tells you to do, do it. So if he lays something on your heart, do it to be a help to somebody else, an act of kindness. You young sisters have gifts just as much as the brothers, and so to the exercise to use whatever gift the Lord may have given you. Notice he.
Five specific gifts in verse 11. He gave some apostles and some prophets and some evangelists and some pastors and teachers. There's five mentioned. There are more in other scriptures. Apostles and prophets in the context here are the foundation work of the church.
Then the evangelists are the one that go out and call bring in new souls.
That have come to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and then pastors and teachers are the ones that build them into the church and so these are gifts that Christ is given. So I just mentioned these things. I just find it in a real challenge to even today.
In 2019, continue to act according to the truth that there is.
One body in Christ. Maybe we should just close because I went over a few minutes.
Father, thanks for thy precious word.
Thanks for the exhortations we've had this afternoon. We pray for blessing that we better have ears to hear and profit. Commend the rest of this afternoon into thy hands in the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Faith, Love, Hope
Gospel 2
Gospel—Bob Thonney
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Want to start the meeting with a verse of scripture?
The word.
Which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching.
Peace by Jesus Christ.
He.
Is Lord of all.
Let's pray.
Father, we're so thankful for another opportunity.
To speak about the Lord Jesus, our glorious Savior, help us this evening.
We're thankful for the presence and power of Thy Holy Spirit and pray.
That if there is anybody here that hasn't got it settled that they would be.
Convicted tonight and brought to the Lord Jesus. We pray for blessing.
Wherever the message goes out in that most wonderful name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
Let's sing #23.
Behold.
Behold the Lamb of God.
On the cross.
For us, he shed his precious blood on the cross.
Oh, here the overwhelming cry. Eli.
Lama Sabachthani, draw near and see the Savior die.
On the cross.
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This evening I'd like to speak about the two comings of the Lord Jesus Christ, His first coming, which is.
History and his second coming, which is future.
It's interesting because his first coming close to 2000 years ago is history, and his death, his resurrection are some of the best established facts of human history.
The point is that every single one of us has to do with God.
You don't have to do with me this evening, you have to do with God. And I find sometimes when I speak to people that they think if they get on my better side, it'll be all right. It's not a matter of being good with me, it's a matter of your position with God.
It says in the word of God.
All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. It doesn't matter.
If you send a lot, but even if you have a few lies to your name.
No lie is ever going to enter that holy city above.
You're going to have to deal with God about those lies of yours, and so we have to face the facts that He came to save us.
The wages of sin is death.
Did you hear me?
The wages of sin is death.
You sin, you die. Oh yes, there were people who lived a long time.
Adam got up to 930 years old. I don't think there's anybody here that old tonight.
But we all die. Or have you heard of somebody that has escaped death? Please raise your hand if you've heard of somebody that has escaped death.
In our world, everybody dies.
It's a rule. The wages of sin is death. We want to talk tonight about the Lord's first coming. It is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Oh, what a tremendously wonderful statement that is.
And I want to talk first of all, about who this person is. We're talking about a person who has the Son of God never had a beginning. He always was. That's something that just blows my mind, but it's clear that Scripture speaks that way. He was the eternal Son in the bosom of his Father.
But when it came to.
Coming into this world, by what means did he come?
You know he came and he was born of a woman.
But the difference was that the Lord Jesus did not have a human father.
He was born of a virgin and that's important because everyone of us that have a human father.
Our parents were sinners, and so we inherit from them a sin nature, and the wages of sin is death. But since the Lord Jesus did not have a human father, he did not have a sin nature. And when the Angel announced to the Virgin Mary that she was going to be the mother of him who was the Son of God.
The Angel said that.
Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Wonderful to think about it. And so the Lord Jesus came into this world.
00:10:00
Born of the Virgin Mary, Lord Jesus never had.
Any sin in his nature, or any act of sin.
He was holy. He was intrinsically holy. There was number way he could sin.
And so since he didn't sin, he didn't have to die.
But the good news is that he came into the world to save sinners.
And to save sinners, to pay that sin debt that we had.
He chose to die. He looked at us and he says these boys and girls and young people.
I don't want them going to a lost eternity and there's only one way that they can be saved, and that is that somebody pay this in debt. So the Lord Jesus was God's eternal son, wanted to say something more about him. He was also the creator of the whole universe. You know when we get out here in a nice spot like this and see the intricacy.
Of creation, the trees, the lake, the animals. Wonderful area. He is the one who made it all amazing. Not only this world, but the universe in which we live. And I love to study the universe. The Galaxy in which we live has approximately 300.
Billion stars. And that's just one Galaxy of hundreds of billions more.
How did he make that? He made it with the word of his power, he commanded.
And it became.
He commanded and it and it took took shape the whole universe.
But here he was in this world and most people didn't recognize him.
He had come to die. We all come into this world to live our lives.
He came to die and to me it is the most amazingly wonderful story. So the Lord Jesus came into this world and he was here for his 33 1/2 years. The last three years of his being here were spent in ministry, public ministry. He preached the gospel to the poor.
He fed the hungry. He raised the dead.
He healed the sick. You would think they would want a person like that in this world.
But at the end of those 3 1/2 years of public ministry, the religious rulers cried out. Crucify Him. Crucify him. They didn't want him because his very presence made manifest their sin.
And sin had to be dealt with, every single sin that has ever been committed on planet Earth.
Will receive from the hand of God. It's just punishment, there are no exceptions.
Oh, how solemn it is, how serious the question of sin is. People like to try to make light of it.
And so the Lord Jesus, at the end of his 3 1/2 years of public ministry, he went to the cross, He was condemned unjustly. And I'd like to read some of the story in John's Gospel chapter 19 of what took place that awful day when the Lord Jesus.
Was crucified.
Chapter 19 of John's Gospel verse one, then Pilate.
Therefore took Jesus.
And scourged him.
Romans scourging was so awful that those who were scourged often died.
From the scourging itself.
And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head.
And they put on him a purple robe. I don't know if you have thorns like this.
In Ohio, but in Bolivia when we lived there, they have thorns.
00:15:01
That are about 3 inches long and they are so tough, those thorns.
That if you run over them with your tire and go straight in just like a nail does. I know because one time I was going in to visit a particular place and evidently some of the people there knew that I was an evangelical Christian. And so before I came out, they had sewed a bunch of these thorns on the road where I drove my Jeep out the next morning.
MY4 tires were flat on the ground.
They had all gone in, they had wrecked the ruined my 4 tires, all those thorns, but they put those thorns on Jesus head. You imagine what it must have felt like. Not only did they do that, but they took a stick and whacked him over the head. You can imagine how.
He must have raked his scalp.
And said, Hail king of the Jews, and they smote him with their hands.
Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth.
To you that you may know that I find no fault in him, Pilate.
What are you doing? You've scourged him already and now you say there's no fault in him? What kind of justice is this?
Oh, there's no justice.
When it comes to the person of the Lord Jesus. Then came Jesus forth wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate set unto them, Behold the man. When the chief priests saw therefore an officer saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him, for I find.
No fault in him.
The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.
Was that true? Did he make himself the Son of God? That was not true.
He was the Son of God. He did not make himself the Son of God.
So says, when Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus.
Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
Then said Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee?
And have power to release thee, Jesus answered. Thou couldst have no power at all against me, except that were given thee.
From above, therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.
Yes, earthly authorities do have God-given power.
And sometimes they use that God-given power in unjust ways.
And that was the case here so later on.
Pilate says.
In.
The 14th verse Behold your king. But they cried out away with him.
Away with him, crucify him, Pilate saith unto them. Shall I crucify your King?
The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar Then delivered he, them, him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away, And he bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.
Where they crucified him and two other with him on either side one.
And Jesus in the midst they wanted to make it appear that 3 criminals.
Were dying that day on Mount Calvary. Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross and the writing was Jesus.
Of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. This titled and read many of the Jews. For the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city, and it was written in Hebrew, the language of religion, and Greek, the language of learning, and Latin, the language of politics, were all represented there in their rejection of the Lord Jesus.
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate right, not the king of the Jews, but that he said, I am the king of the Jews.
Pilate answered what I have written, I have written now go down to verse 28 after this Jesus knowing.
00:20:02
That all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Seth, I thirst now There was set a vessel full of vinegar, and they put a sponge. They filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it to his upon Jessup, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Jesus died.
On that cross, we don't have the record of it here in John's Gospel.
We do have it in the other gospels that there were three hours of darkness. Jesus was crucified approximately at.
9:00 AM as we calculate time, and he died at 3:00 PM. For six hours he was hanging with life on that cross. The first three hours, people passed in front of him, mocking him.
He suffered terribly physically and he suffered in his soul too, they said.
If he's the Son of God, that God deliver him. And did God deliver him?
No.
He says in the Psalms prophetically, Reproach has broken my heart and I'm full of heaviness.
And I looked for some to take pity, and there were none.
There was the Lord Jesus suffering in his not only in his body, but in his soul.
But I want to come to this part where at 12 noon the other Gospels tell us that the everything got dark when the sun was highest in the sky. Everything got dark and nobody could see what was happening on that cross in those three hours from 12 noon to three in the afternoon. But we have the record of what happened in the prophet, I say in chapter 53.
And verse five, it says he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with His stripes we are healed. God cannot pass our sin by. He cannot sweep it under the rug. Every sin demands a just penalty, and if you're going to be forgiven, God's righteous character has to be satisfied. And so in those three hours, God took our sins and laid them on the head of His own beloved Son.
And for three hours.
He let the fury of his righteous judgment fall on his own beloved son.
The waves and billows of God's judgment rolled over him.
And if you look closely at the Scriptures in those three hours, during those three hours, there was number complaint from that center cross. It was only at the end there was a complaint. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The Lord Jesus, in addressing God, had always dressed God as his Father. But this is the place where he dresses God as God because.
God's righteous character had to be satisfied if you were going to be forgiven your sins.
And God was satisfied because we just read there.
At the end of those three hours of darkness, he said, it is finished.
The work of redemption was accomplished in full.
And Jesus bows his head and dies.
Verse 31 The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation of the bodies, should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath, For that Sabbath was in high day, besought Pilate, that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. And came the soldiers, and break the legs of the 1St, and of the other, which was crucified with him.
But when they came to Jesus and saw.
That he was dead already. They break, not his legs.
But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side.
And forthwith came there out blood and water.
He that sighed their record and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true.
00:25:02
That ye might believe. So that soldier with his spear, remember they had Spears and they used in warfare in those days. It was a long rod with a pointed end. And that soldier came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead. He didn't break his legs. He took that spear and rammed it into his side.
Into his heart and out flowed blood and water.
The price was paid in blood for your soul and mine.
How can you remain indifferent to the claims of the Lord Jesus Christ?
He paid the price not with silver and gold, but with his own precious blood. Last night we heard how that when God saw the blood in the land of Egypt, He passed over those houses. There was only one question as God passed through the land of Egypt.
Is there blood on the door? There was blood on the door he passed over. That's why it's called Passover.
The next house number? Blood on the door.
Went in. Where is the first born whack?
Kill them immediately.
He didn't ask as he came to each house as this kind of nice people living here, or maybe these kind of bad people living here. He didn't ask that only one question. Was there blood on the door?
And now God looks at you. I can't see that. God looks at each one of you and he says.
Under the shelter of the blood or not?
What's the answer? You have to answer before God every.
Single one for himself. I can't answer for you. You can't answer for me.
You will have to answer for yourself. Have you trusted the Lord Jesus as your own personal Savior? So the blood was shed, the price was paid in the precious blood of Jesus.
Well, at the end of this chapter, he's taken down. He's put into the tomb.
And in the next chapter, we find that when they went to the tomb early on the Lord's Day morning, they saw the stone rolled away from the entrance of the tomb. You know, the Angel came down to push back that stone. There were two guards there, and they were so scared, afraid of that Angel that they fell down like dead men.
The Angel pushed it to one side. Why did he open up that tomb?
I want to tell you, he did not open it up to let Jesus out. He opened it up so that everybody could see that he was number longer dead. He was risen from the dead. Oh, the triumph of resurrection.
Death does not end at all. You know, sometimes people get so frustrated with life that they take their own life. They think that's going to be a solution. I tell you, at is no solution at all.
Death does not end at all. There is resurrection and everybody that dies and is buried will rise again. There are no exceptions to that. Oh, how important it is to get it settled with the Lord Jesus. So then the Lord Jesus sends out his disciples with the message of the gospel that whoever.
And believes the gospel can have the forgiveness of sins. That's what we've been talking about today. Wonderful truth.
Because Jesus paid the price in full, you and I can have.
Full and free salvation, forgiveness of all our sins. We can be justified because of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.
So that was his first coming, but you know, before he went back again.
He told his disciples, I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. That has not been fulfilled yet. Jesus is going to come again, and His coming is what we wait for at any moment. Let me read those wonderful verses that talk about His coming.
00:30:16
For us who believe in First Thessalonians chapter 4.
How it's going to take place because this is going to happen at the least expected moment.
I Thessalonians chapter 4 and verse 15.
This we say unto you, by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive.
And remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent or go before them which fall are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ.
Shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. This is what we sometimes call the Rapture. For the rapture there is no outward sign it could take place.
In 10 minutes, it could take place in 5 minutes.
We have no clue. There is no sign to be looked for to indicate when it will take place. I ask you.
Children, young people, Are you ready?
I still remember as a young boy my parents telling me about the Lord's coming.
And I got scared at times, thinking that my parents had gone and I was left behind.
I tell you, thank God I wasn't left behind, and I know now that I won't be left behind because you can know, as we've had in these meetings, that you are a saved Sinner. You can know that for sure.
But I am concerned because there are those who have sat in meetings like this.
And today?
They do not profess the Christian faith. Some that were breaking bread.
At the Lord's Table are today professed atheists.
That scares me to the quick. Are you real with God?
Please be real with God. You can fool me. You can fool your parents, you can fool your local brethren. But don't try to fool God, because you're fooling yourself worse than anybody else. If you do that, don't do it.
One of Jesus disciples, remember he had 12 disciples.
One of them was false.
Nobody else.
Found out that until the very end.
And to me it's solemn that when the Lord says, one of you shall betray me.
I said is it me? Another said is it me? Nobody suspected Judas Iscariot.
But Judas Iscariot loved money more than he loved Jesus.
And today, Judas Iscariot is burning.
In the flames of Hades.
He was so close to the Lord.
He preached the gospel. He did miracles, as far as we can tell.
And he's burning in hell.
I must say.
I fully agree with the fact that a true believer can never be lost, the Lord Jesus said in John chapter.
Ten my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
The point is that there are those who say thee are believers.
But are not real.
There was a case of that in Acts Chapter 8, Amen, called Simon Magus.
00:35:05
He was a great man doing magical.
Tricks and when the power of God in the Gospel came to Samaria.
He found that he was in second place and he wanted to be in first place.
So he comes up to Peter and John and says, give me this power that you are.
Extending the Holy Spirit to those who believe, Peter says.
Your money perish with you, for you have thought that the gift of God can be purchased with money.
You have no part or lot in this matter, for your heart is not right with God to repent therefore.
You know, repentance is an important ingredient for salvation, the Lord Jesus says in Luke's gospel.
If ye do not repent, you shall all likewise perish. What is repentance? It comes from a Latin word. Pent simply has to think. Repent means to change your thinking about matters. You like to have your way. You like to do it your way.
Repent. Jesus is Lord, not you.
You know, we live in a world that is humanistic and people think I have my rights to do the things I want to do, and who are you to judge me? It's not a matter of us judging you, it's a matter of God judging you. And Jesus is Lord, not you. And I think that's some of our problems. Sometimes we haven't settled in our soul. Who is Lord in my life?
We think I can do things my own way. I can get away with it.
Yes, you may get away with it, with your parents, with your brethren.
That you'll never get away with it with God, because God has declared that Jesus.
Is Lord he died, and rose again to be Lord not only of the dead, but of the living.
And so Jesus is going to come again, and I think it's so amazingly solemn to think of what's just ahead for this world. I want to go over to Matthew's Gospel chapter 24 to speak briefly about some of the awful events that are going to take place.
There after the rapture takes place.
Some of those events, we're seeing the beginnings of them right now. Somebody has said coming events cast their shadows. Notice.
Verse three. As he sat, This is the Lord Jesus upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately saying, Tell us what shall be When shall these things be? What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world, or the end of the age?
Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you, for many shall come.
In my name, saying, I am Christ and shall deceive many.
This is true in our world.
Few years ago there was a man down in Waco, TX.
Was Christ.
He would take other people's wives away from them for his own wives.
It's awful what he did, but people believed him. I can't believe that Americans who are supposed to be intelligent would follow such a man.
But I was impressed by what happened there in Waco, TX.
What I heard was a news reporter on the radio.
Said he wasn't so impressed that David Koresh said he.
Was Christ. What impressed him was how many phone calls they got into the radio station.
Telling him David Koresh can't be Christ because I'm Christ. That was across the United States, they said that.
It's incredible the blindness that is taking this country because they've lost sight of God. This is happening in today world. You have heard, you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. That's our world today. See that you be not troubled, for all these things must come to pass. The end is not yet, for nation shall rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom. There shall be famines.
00:40:13
Pestilences.
And earthquakes. I'm sure you heard that there was an earthquake. I don't know if it was today or yesterday out in California, another earthquake, 7.1 on the Richter scale.
The earthquakes in diverse places. I'm telling you, this is describing the way things will be after the Lord comes to take us out. And now they're starting to happen in our world. This is to awaken us. We're getting close to the end. All these things are the beginning of sorrows. Now down to verse.
15.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet.
Stand in the holy place. Whoso readeth, let him understand. I am sure maybe of you. Many of you have heard that.
The Jews all have the material ready to reconstruct their.
Temple.
Because it's going to be necessary in the Great Tribulation that there be a temple, because the Antichrist is going to go into the temple to show that he is God. They have all the plans made. They're waiting for the signal to begin to construct the temple. And when that temple is built, the Antichrist goes in.
That is what is called the Abomination of Desolation.
And that's going to take place at the middle of the Great Tribulation week, or I say week, I mean seven years after 3 1/2 years at the middle is when the Antichrist will go in. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes and want to them with child.
Them that give suck in those days, but pray ye that your flight be not in the winter neither on the Sabbath day. Notice verse 21.
Then shall be great tribulation.
Such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time.
No, nor ever shall be you listening.
The most awful session of judgment is just ahead, and if you get left behind, you're going to face that judgment. I doubt if very many in the Americas are going to survive this great tribulation period. It's going to be so terribly awful.
This is what Scripture speaks about and This is why we are so insistent on that. You get your accounts straight with God. This is what is ahead. Jesus is coming again 1St to take his people out and then he will come back to this world at the end of that great tribulation period. And I just want to read a few verses to describe.
How it's going to happen in I Thessalonians chapter one?
Two Thessalonians chapter one and verse.
Seven listen to the account of how.
He's going to come back at the end of the Great Tribulation period.
With his people. To you who are troubled, rest with us.
When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. There's a detail there that is very interesting. He's not only coming back.
With his redeemed people, but with the myriads of mighty angels, it's going to be one mighty invasion from outer space.
In flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know.
Not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints, to be admired in all them that believe, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. So Jesus is coming again.
00:45:01
Oh, that's what we look forward to. We.
That everyone here is ready. Is there somebody?
Out there that isn't ready yet.
Please get serious with God. It's way too important I stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account how I preach the gospel tonight and you say you weren't that clear in what you said. I want to be clear tonight. Where are you in relation to God? Get it straight.
You can fool me, You cannot fool God.
And so I plead with you.
Get it straight. The way of salvation is clear. Repent.
And believe on the Lord Jesus Christ those sins of yours.
Are going to take you to a lost eternity. Repent. You can't wash away those sins.
But when you turn in simple faith to the Lord Jesus.
Then, as Scripture says, the blood of Jesus Christ.
His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Did you understand? Did you?
Get it straight.
If there is anybody that has further questions after the meeting is over.
I'll be sitting over there a bit. Please come and talk to me. I'm not going to try to scare you. I want you to have clarity in your soul about.
Let's pray, Father, bless thy precious word. We.
Confess our insufficiency in speaking it properly, but we pray that Thy Spirit would drive home the words of Scripture to the hearts of those who have heard it. Tonight we pray for Thy blessing wherever the message goes out. In the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
Study to be a Workman
Children—David So
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We've got plenty of seats. Yeah, we have the more seats up front.
By the way, thank you for the big boys to be upfront too. This is nice. And if there are bigger boys, as long as you're under 75, you're still a big boy, right? Welcome to be upfront. All right, let's begin with a hymn.
Cisco for big boy, big girls, and even little boys. Anyone you have one that you like?
1.
You don't. OK. I'm sorry. Yes.
#42O that's nice a he don't have to open the pages.
Oh, this is my favorite. Can I? Yeah. You're laughing. You know what I'm going to say.
Can I tell you how we sing it? Just in case of those who haven't, we'll sing this verse twice. The first time we'll sing it the way it is. The second time around, we're going to change the words to a little child of 70. I know someone told me that 71. So he qualifies too. And the number of Yeah.
71, a little child of 70 or even 34. How's that? We'll change the second time around. We sing it that way. So we'll we'll sing it the way it is the first time.
Look to the Lord first.
Our blessed God, blessed God and our loving Father, we give thanks this morning for thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And as we have been reminded in this little hymn, how we have.
Brought salvation through his blood.
And this morning we look to thee once more. We commit this meeting into thine hand.
We think of many little children here, maybe of seven.
Or even 3 or 4.
We think of the older ones too. We commit each and everyone into thine hand.
We pray especially for those who are still lost. We pray that Thou would help them to repent.
Help them to change their minds, God Word and receive the Lord Jesus as the Savior.
So we commit this meeting into thine hand, looking for help, looking for blessings too, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. Now before we sing another hymn, I want to add a comment. Sounds like old comment. You know, one of the advantage when you stand in the middle and listen to the singing is very interesting because sitting where you are, you can hear the person sing next to you. But what you can hear, you got to hear the music from all direction. But there's one other problem.
00:05:00
The timing is different.
I know some people told me they call that the echo of grace, but it's not very.
Good. So we, we have to sort of sing, not just listening and waiting for the sound from the opposite end to come to you. So if we pay a little bit more attention, because if you wait for that sound to come to you, you're slowing down and you're dragging the song on and on. So on the next one, let's see, we can sing it from our hearts 1St and it's to the Lord who maybe I'll pick a girl this time.
Yes.
So number.
#44.
Oh, I like this. You know, in our Sunday school we had it for years and this is always one of the favorite hymn #44 into our table.
You can't salvation in everything.
Children of men nobody ever had so beautiful.
Boy.
And unto the appetite.
Of joy.
My perish, my hand will be old.
Children can say of them children of men.
Nobody ever has so many force.
For me.
Happy life again.
Salvation Story.
Still, none can Save the Children of men. Nobody ever has talked with him.
Now I'm curious, did that singing sound any better?
Did the other side sounded better to you this time? I thought it did. It was lovely standing in here now. Just to be fair, we're to make a joyful noise, isn't it?
The Lord when it ascend up, it makes it so nice. You know sometimes we sing for the older ones to all our prayers, prayers and praises. You know sometimes it's not that good but this is Christ adds his sweet perfume so we do it from our heart. Let's have.
Another one from this site.
34 Oh, I have to turn the page this time. Oh, I like this too. Precious, precious blood of Jesus.
Fresh.
Stop singing for a moment. I'll tell you why.
I had great difficulty trying to find out what would the Lord have for me to speak on? You know, we often think of Sunday school. We see little children that we ought to speak to too. But when we come in a group like this, I see the little children that I used to know are a little bit bigger children, and I struggle to see if there's a message for all.
Now I really don't have a lot of things planned. Actually I never do. So we trust the Lord will put some words.
And things in there. So I don't know. The reason they tell you this is I don't know how long I'll talk. It may be just 10 minutes or maybe hour and a half. Oh no, I guess I don't have hour and a half. And we may have time for your verses. We may not. Just so you know, I brought.
I didn't forget someone brought someone brought me these stuff called dumb dumb. I don't know if I like this. You know I struggle with that too because one of the Sunday school we had someone gracious enough to brought me some stuff for the kids. They go you got 2 bags to choose from one side with a thing called dum Dum and the other bag is called Marty's. So at least the kids have a choice to have be smarties a dumb dumb. But all I have is this.
On their way, walking down, here I go. You know, this is actually very appropriate because as you hold on to the dum dum, you'll go.
Dummy. Well, the word of God doesn't say that. The word of God actually said.
Fooled. We don't use that word much anymore, do we? Calling someone a fool? Do you ever say that to your friend? You're a fool? No, you only say that to your brothers, right? You are a fool. Well, the word of God said somebody, He called them fool. The fool said in their heart there is no God.
Isn't that interesting now?
If we have time to say verses, I would love to give you one, perhaps two of those enough.
But I want you as you're licking. This is said, thou fool, you are going to be consumed because God said fools will be consumed in the lake of fire if you don't believe in God.
But you know scripture go further than that is is if thou believe in God, thou do us well is it the devil believe in he tremble with it. So we need to believe in the blood of Jesus. So every time you take the dum dum now I want you to think and say thou fool you will be consumed.
So now let's talk about.
The little things that I have on my heart.
We had before as a number of things, but I was thinking, let me just read the first How many of your Bible with you?
Let's turn to the book of I believe it's in Two Timothy.
And then we will talk.
Second Timothy chapter 2, verse 15. And this is for the older little kids here too.
00:15:07
The older boys and girls as well. It says study that scares us already right? I know when someone say the study as soon as you see that word I go oh I don't know how to study study to show thyself approved unto God a Workman that needed not to be ashamed rightly.
Dividing the word of truth. I don't think we'll have time to go into all the depths of the truth of this verse.
But what I had in my heart is the word Workman. I thought of it too late. I only thought of that a day or two ago. I would have brought my overall so you can see that I would have looked like a Workman. But for now, as a Workman, I think I need to roll up my sleeves right so that what workmen do, well, at least those who work in the office will roll up the sleeves to pretend they can do some work.
Am I right on that? We don't go out and get a shovel and sometimes maybe.
At the best, we will bring our tools in to pretend that we are workmen. I remember one time I had an employee who was a contractor and something needed done, so I brought my tools in. They said, oh can you use my tools? He looked at it and he started laughing. He said what's wrong with my tools? He said they look brand new.
So he knew I wasn't much of A Workman. You know, as a Workman, we need tools.
But sometimes we think having tools is good enough, so I would say.
I like this tool.
Does it work?
And another tool I like is pliers, right? So whatever I want to be a Workman and say, I think I'm going to talk to Mr. Smith here to get some tips on how to do dentistry.
I got a jewel, I got a plier.
I'll get some tips from him and that we're even doing a 2 for one special if you come in and let me try it.
Call 1/2, the second two is free, not just in case if I pulled the wrong one.
Does this make me a Workman? OK, the another one I didn't bring with me is I like my hammer, too. It seems to fix a lot of problems where we just force our way through on that. But here is that to study. Now I know somehow you're going to go the Derby translation. We'll deal with that in a minute. Let's please bear with me on that because I get that often.
Study.
Now how many young people here have a cell phone on them?
I know this is an exception now.
I think almost every place you go, put your phone away. I want you to bring your phone, take your phone out.
We're going to do some math because I used to do math and people go avoid math.
Do you know where your calculator is? If you ever use it, good.
Now Workman is interesting people that are in the apprenticeship, they know that you can become a master overnight. Can you, you know today the other problem we have with workmen is or with most people is I read three articles on the Internet. I know.
Be very careful. So in the trades, Mr. Mearns told me that somewhere he knows very well. Went to school for a few years. I forget what. I don't listen. Well, neither. And because it was so good, they gave him a Golden Hammer award. Am I right in saying that? Wow. It proved that he's now a master at his trade. Now, just for you, nothing of these are golden here. I couldn't afford to get Golden Hammer just to show you.
So from what I understand, on an average they say.
You need to spend 10,000 hours to be a master or something. Now let me clarify this. The word of God is more than just studying. You need to be before the Lord. It is the Spirit of God that would help us and make good of it to learn more about Christ. But let's just use that principle 10,000 hours.
If you were to spend 50 hours a week working, how long? How many weeks would it take?
I know it's a trick question. So you put in 10,000 and you divide that by 50. How many weeks?
00:20:04
200 weeks, How many years is that? And we can't do math, so wow, how many?
So if you spend 50 hours on something a week, it will take four years to be good at it. Now everything's different, right? Some might take longer, some take, you know, a doctor would. I hope they take longer because I know they practice on you as well, but it's not a story, right? So.
Four years. Now let me change the question. How many here spend 50 hours a week studying the word of God? Oh, I better put my hand down 1St.
No.
So it's hard to become a master from the worldly standpoint, to become a master in the Word of God. I know people go to seminary and all that which I don't believe is proper from the Word of God, so.
Let's drop the number 10 hours.
If you spend 10 hours of the word of God and you study on it, how long would it take?
Well, actually it's quite simple. That's one fifth, so it will take five times longer. So what's 5 times for 44 years?
20 years? Wow, wait a minute, how many spent 10 hours a week studying the word of God?
I got this hand's coming back down.
OK, let's be practical.
One hour.
That's a few minutes a week. OK, we need a calculator again. So 10,000 hours divided by 1.
We really don't need a calculator for that, but.
That would be 1000 weeks. How many year without years would that be?
By the way, I cheat when I do that. I don't put 52 in there. It's too complicated. I make it 50. Then you get wrong number. How many? How many years?
192 years. How many of you spend more than an hour a week on the word of God?
Do you have 100 and what did you say?
I don't know. As I look around the room, many of us don't have 92 years, so here it tells us, study, study.
Do you want to be a good Workman? Where to study?
And don't be ashamed that we study the Word of God. Other people will laugh at you, Bible thumper.
Should be proud. Now I suppose there's a different connotation. You have to understand why they call you that. I'll leave that for another time. Then there's another part that I thought it was interesting. The word is rightly wait a minute now. So if there is a right way of dividing the word, does that mean.
There's a wrong way as well.
Interesting, isn't it? Stress those words. It's just rightly dividing.
The word of God. Now I'm going to read the Darby because I know people always jump to this. It says this, it doesn't say study. It's a strife. Interesting. Different word altogether, isn't it? Strive diligently to present thyself approved to God. A Workman that has not to be a shame.
He's interesting. You didn't say dividing the word of God, he said cutting in a straight line the word of truth.
Mr. Burns, some of you weren't here, spoken about a line that he set in the front lawn to keep his little boy from crossing so he doesn't walk under the street. You know, I think maybe I can borrow that example a little bit. And he said his little boy will go out there, look at the line, and when nobody's looking, he kicks it and just push it out a little bit further.
And then it looks again, no one else looking and they push it out a bit further. Am I right in saying that I did hear it that part. And sometimes he'll tip your toe one foot over and say, well, I didn't really cross the line. I'm still we do that. Do we do that with the truth?
Well, it's not really what it means. I will leave this to your conscience, brethren, but that's what I had in regard to Workman. Now then, I have one more thought in regard to workmen.
Sometimes we think things are not fair. How many have you ever thought things are not fair? Yeah. Especially your sister gets more than you, right? And mom seems to like her more than I. So I just want to go back to the Old Testament, to the Book of Numbers.
00:25:20
And we won't spend a lot of time go into it deeply, just some principle I want you to remember.
So I'm sorry, this may be a little bit more for the three or four years old, but that's what I had on my heart, so I hope the older one would learn from it too. Numbers Chapter 7 now.
In the book of Numbers it talks about the Levites.
Just suffice to say, for now, the Levi's.
The priesthood they really we can use it as.
In connection to us as Christians too, as to the priestly service, there were three brothers in particular that have the special dealing with transporting the Tabernacle. So Aaron is a Levi, but Aaron has a special spot where his sons are the only one that can be the high priest.
But here it talks about the Levi. So let me just read some verses. I just want to draw just a portion of what's fair. So there are three boys become the three families. So I'm going to start with verse 7, verse six. And Moses took the wagons. So people donated wagons to Moses for the service of the Lord. And I think it's good that we donate things to for the Lord's service.
And so there were oxens, and gave them unto the Levites.
See, the Levites were a special tribe. They were selected to do the Lord's service. They did not have an earthly portion. So the rest of them have to take care of the Levites.
Just like we should taking care of the Lord's people and the Lord's servants. So in verse 7, now Moses took the wagons, it said, and two, two wagons. Notice the numbers, if you like to be fair, remember these numbers. There were two wagons.
And the oxens, I'm So two wagons and four oxens he gave to their sons of a Gershon, according to the service. So the Gershon night, if you remember, they have to remove the covering of the Tabernacle, the tent and so on. So excuse me, what was I saying? You get 2 wagons to do your work.
Now let's go to verse 7.
No, I'm gonna restart work verse 8 and.
4 wagons to his brother. Is that fair?
Doesn't seem to and four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of.
Variety. Oh his brother must be more favor right? Gershon only got 2 wagons and two and two auxins. Now let's go down a little bit further. There is one more brother, but unto the sons of Kohath. Now let's see if this is fair. He gave how many?
None, He gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto them was that they should bear upon their shoulders. Now there's a lot of meanings to that Sunday school, so we won't go into it. I'll bring out the thought I had on my heart is the Lord give.
According to the service.
That he sees us do. Is it fair? Fair has nothing to do with it.
So he may give you more because you may have to bear more.
He may give you little or none, because the service in the sanctuary where the Lord is.
Require not just physical service, you know, to me is much better. You know, you see me, we were watching some children yesterday. I said to my wife, give me a broom, I'd rather sweep the floor. Sometimes it's easier for the Lord.
Want us to be different kind of workmen. We need to know what the Lord would have us to do and we use what we have now. I got one more verse and then we can get back to our singing and verses. We were in the book of Ephesians, so let's turn to Ephesians chapter 2.
00:30:25
Verse 10 So we just finished talking about we are workmen for the Lord, but I find this precious verse 10 for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus.
Unto good works which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them. Oh, we're not just workmen. We are His workmanship. You know, you look at you. Look at someone who build things. They will say, I have pride in my workmanship. Am I right, Mr. Burns? There is a little thing to say.
I did this it go by my standard.
There is pride, well that the Lord has pride too in his workmanship and that we are to walk in the good of it. So we have to enjoy what he has said for us. We don't look around at our brethren and say.
How come Tim got 4 wagons and I have nothing? Or ye may even exaggerate. Yeah, he gave me a wagon and I have no oxen to pull and now I've got to pull the wagon myself. You know one of the question. Young people especially. I'll tell you this takes a long time to learn. I'm still learning. Never ask the Lord why.
Never asked the Lord why He allowed circumstances into your life.
Well, you're old enough to know that you face a few circumstances too, didn't you?
And He allowed those things into our lives to strengthen us, to build up our faith and our trust. The few words we no longer use, at least not often. Faithfulness. Did you have that in your conversation with that word before dependence?
A lot of words in the Word of God. We read about the word diligent. We don't even use those words earnest. So it's good to turn to His word study to show yourself to God.
You're not coming up to Mr. So I memorized 16 chapters in two weeks. I would say that's nice, that's commendable, but are we doing it for the Lord? Then I'll say one more thing. What are we to learn in there? This is what I like about Sunday school.
Well, we don't have little children now, you children probably noticed that. Have you ever noticed when someone stand up to speak, they say, I'm going to ask you boys and girls a question. And a lot of times arms going up and the speaker will go, well, I haven't asked a question yet, but the arms have already. And you know, especially with little kids, you know what they say? They say, what is it? They go, Jesus.
And you go. You're right. I haven't asked the question yet, but the answer is Jesus.
And we need to learn too. What do you read? What do you read that you don't understand? The question would be Jesus. How do you see Jesus in the passage? This is all about my Savior and your Savior, Jesus Christ, whether it's in the Old Testament or the New Testament. Let's sing another hymn before we move on. I lost my hymn sheet.
Thank you.
And we still have time quickly for verses right after this. Oh, I didn't see you.
#46.
Galati.
00:35:06
You know, I have to confess I don't know what this verse, this week's verse is. Does anyone have last week's Sunday school paper for me?
Oh, you do OK.
Can I borrow that or do you need to look at it?
OK, you say it to me. Just oh, hang on a second so we can all hear.
OK.
Go ahead, say the verse, Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.
First, Peter, 118 through 19. Thank you. Would you be my helper passing this out now? You do know helpers can't touch it, right? I'm just kidding. You take one for yourself first. But what are we supposed to remember when you when you eat it, you look at the candy and say, what was it, Adam?
You're fools. You're going to be consumed.
Who else? Maybe I'll just go down the aisles that are crisscrossing. Oh, thank you. OK.
You know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ first. Peter 1/18/19.
You know this is hard to comprehend because gold don't corrupt from our standard. Is this ill corrupt? You know how much is gold? You know how much they are worth?
How much?
Like $100.00 an ounce. Well, that would be back in your grandpa's day. Before I left, it was $1400.00 an ounce. Can you imagine that? Or. And they cheated. It's not like the ounce you're thinking of. It's a little bit less. They call that a Troy oz. So you don't get a full oz. But you're right, it's precious, it's expensive.
With corruptible things such as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.
First Peter. First Peter, 1818.
You know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but.
With the precious blood of Christ first. Peter 118.
Finish this side.
Do you want to see your first?
Members, do you want to see your work? You do OK.
You were not redeemed.
With corruptible things.
With collectible.
As silver and gold. Thank you. Do you want to try it?
They were not redeemed and sovereign, but the precious blood of Christ. Thank you. Just so you know, that was without help.
I lost track of where I am.
Do on the front Rd. anyone? Anyone OK.
You know that.
You know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ first. Peter, 118 to 19.
You know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, the silver and gold, with the precious blood of Christ. Peter first. Peter 1/18/19.
You boys want to try it?
You can. You can.
Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ first. Peter, 118 through 19. You know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ first. Peter, 1/18/19.
You know that you are not redeemed by the corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ first. Peter 1/18/19 Thank you.
You boys want to try it too. You passed that.
Sure. Yes. No.
For as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your Father's, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. First Peter 118 and 19. Thank you. Someone has been studying.
00:40:09
Anyone back there?
Did I miss anyone? Oh.
You have to stand up.
For as much as you know that you are not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ first. Peter 118 and 19.
You know that you are not.
Redeemed with.
Corruptible things like silver and gold, but with the blood of Jesus Christ. OK.
Do you want to try it?
You know that you are not redeemed with capital things as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. First. Peter, 1819.
You know that you were.
Not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ.
First Peter 118 through 19. Oh, I got to go way back.
In the beginning, God created. You haven't found your Genesis 11.
Very good. Are you gonna try it too?
Hey.
Thank you. Did I miss anyone else?
I thank you because.
Thank you for helping me.
You know, I always tell people I was always afraid to say it parties because I couldn't say it.
Less we'll get time for one more him.
Someone back there?
No.
No, OK.
That big girl down there gave her 47 when he cometh when?
His soul.
Like the stars are no boy.
Let's commit ourselves to the Lord. Blessed God and our loving Father. We give thanks again this morning.
00:45:00
Thy word being presented to us, we do pray that that would make it good to our heart. We pray that the Spirit in US may use it to teach us more of Thy blessed ways. Now we look to Thee. We think of many children. Many.
Young people who were children not that long ago, and many who are going into the age of responsibility, we pray for them. Lord, thou knowest that Satan is there either to discourage them or some distractions to draw them away. So we pray. We think of how we sometimes sing that hymn, Preserve thy flock most graciously.
Within thy sheltering fold.
We think of how the apostle Paul of all to commit to the efficient elders there, that he could say that he commit them to the grace of thy word. So we likewise trust that thou would look after our young one, our little one, that we too can commit them into the grace of thy word. So we ask for continual help for us. We think two of the privilege we shall have shortly if.
Thou still Terry, Lord Jesus.
The privilege of remembering thee and thy death for us. We pray that Thou would exercise our hearts, that would draw us, that would draw us back to the cross and be reminded once more of Thy depth, the death of thy depth of sorrows. Surely we know that no heart could air conceive. We thank thee, we can have had the privilege of doing so, as thy word could say this dude in remembrance of me so.
Thanks this morning once more and ask for blessings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.