Open—Don Rule
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There's something I covered for myself and.
I covered for you as well, and it's illustrated nicely in the hymn we started with.
Going to go back to that him which is 212, you don't have to go to it, but.
It starts out called from above and heavenly men by birth. We once were about the citizens of worth. As pilgrims here we seek a heavenly home. That's enough.
That him starts out about us, and it's as if we were.
Having a conversation together.
About things that are common to us. That's character of the lunch hour, talking together and enjoying together. You sat at a table and undoubtedly had interactions with others of conversation and enjoying the opportunity perhaps to be together for the weekend and those individual conversations.
Are important encouragements.
Along the way.
Verse 2 where all the Saints continues as verse one ended.
All the Saints of every clime shall meet, and each with all the ransomed, all the ransom greed.
But to him at this point?
In my view changes dramatically.
There's something introduced here, I don't know, and if you didn't notice it, if you didn't consciously make this transition, that's what I covered for you.
That you'll learn, and I will learn to enjoy.
And enter into what's illustrated in this next line.
But oh, the height of bliss.
My Lord.
My Lord.
There is a conscious change of who you're talking with and who you're talking to.
And I covet for you that we are very conscious.
Of talking to the Lord.
No, it wasn't a prayer. We were all very well aware that when this meeting began and a brother got up on our behalf that he was, and we in spirit with him, we're talking to the Lord.
And a few moments later when the hymn was given out and we started to sing it.
There came that point when in spirit.
And desire we would be conscious of, O Lord.
And then saying to him, thou lust the image.
It's not doctrine being presented, although there's doctrine in it. But it was a conscious talking to him. Oh, Lord, thou lust the image in man's lowly guise, thy lips the Father's name revealed.
Very nice number of the hymns of that character, but it illustrates the point turn with me to further make a few more comments on the point turn to Mark's Gospel. It brings it out in connection with what Tim has just said.
In service to the Lord.
Mark chapter 3.
Adverse 14.
And he ordained 12.
That they should be with him.
And that he might send them for.
You want to be a servant of the Lord.
Something that goes right along with it.
His companionship.
Was the one you serve.
That individual daily enjoyment of fellowship with himself not and I'm not talking about when you got down on your knees, that's part in the morning, which I assume you did at some point you got in prayer and you talked to the Lord.
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But this is if I want to use an expression to try to illustrate the point, it may. We'll call it informal.
It's quite all right. It's a wonderful thing. The Lord, I think, enjoys it when you are doing something and spontaneously, without further thought, you say something to the Lord about it.
That they might be with him.
And that he might send them forth to serve. How did they learn some of the things that Timothy was learning through the apostle Paul?
How did they get to see those things?
That were the spirit and character of their service.
The disciples were with the Lord.
They saw his character by being with him as he went forth every day, and the manner in which he interacted with souls in daily life was a place where they learned his heart, and they learned what was important and valuable in seeking the blessing of others.
Turnover to Luke 22.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 22.
And.
Verse 4. Verse 15.
And he said unto them, with desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you.
Before I suffer.
Not only were they with him.
But here, in the last day of his life, the last evening of his life, he likewise valued their companionship.
Ye are they which have continued with me.
And that value of that interaction between himself over those times when they were with him and when they went out in service and then came back to him was valuable to him.
To his heart.
He was an encouragement to them.
But they were an encouragement to him.
Covet the relationship in which you may be an encouragement.
To the Lord Jesus even today.
John 17.
There's a man that valued.
Those who walked with him.
And he interacted with on a daily basis.
And so here is one of his last recorded prayers of his life before he departs from this earth. And he says in verse 24, Father, I will, but they also whom thou hast given me.
Be with me.
He valued that companionship and he wasn't going to lose it either indefinitely. He was going to be separated from them for a little while. But his heart and his value of the companionship that he had had with them was such that he said, Father, I will that they who else given me be with me.
Where I am.
With me.
Hope those words stay in your heart and mind. Be with me.
Where I am, it's very personal. It's not doctrinal in the sense of knowing accurately things that are true and but I'm talking about the personal side of it. And so he's saying that they might be with me.
That's where he wants and he won't be satisfied fully.
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Until that's true.
He wants you with him to the extent that this morning when we remembered him in his death.
We saw Him presented to us in hymns and in the Word, and we trust in our hearts in the supremacy of His glory.
Father I will, that they may be with me where I am, that they may behold.
My glory.
Not only does he want us to behold it, but not to take the time and Colossians chapter three I think it is.
That when He is manifested to this world, we will be.
With him.
In that glory we will.
He will have us, if you will, figuratively speaking, right there at his side.
To demonstrate the importance to him, to his heart, of what we have together.
One more thought and then I'll I'm done in Luke's Gospel chapter 15.
Luke's Gospel, chapter 15.
And verse six, I'm assuming we all know the story here, the man that goes out to find the lost sheep, and he found it and he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing in verse five. And then he says, And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, and saith unto them, Rejoice with me.
This is the Lord's heart expressing itself and.
What would give him joy?
Is when your heart and my heart.
Find our joy in the very same things that he finds his joy.
How do I know what he finds his joy in? I have a.
Wonderful source to be occupied with that enables me to enter in to the knowledge of what brings joy to his heart. And so he says here as the sun in this figure, the sun is saying rejoice with me. Later on in the chapter it's the Father and it's God the Father that's in picture and he says rejoice.
Any halls of feast that those who would enter into what he enjoyed would rejoice with him in that same thing. And so he says, rejoice, rejoice with me.
May we find and cultivate that working daily interaction with himself.
That will satisfy his heart, I'm sure. It satisfies ours and also brings joy to himself each day.