Delevan Conference: 1991
Table of Contents
2 Timothy 2:1-3
Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
So first one.
Now therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And the things that thou hast heard of Maine, among many witnesses.
The same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that wore it entangled himself with the affairs of this life, but he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And if a man also ascribed for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strived lawfully?
The husband man that laborers must be first partaker of the fruits.
Consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
When I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound.
Therefore I endure all things, for the elects sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.
If we deny him, he also will deny us.
If we believe not yet hereby the faithful, he cannot deny himself.
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to show thyself approved unto God.
A Workman that need us not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodlyness, and their word will eat as duck the canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have urged, saying that the resurrection is passed already, and overthrow the faith of some.
Nevertheless, the foundation of God standeth sure.
Having this sealed, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and that everyone that nameth the name of Christ.
Depart from iniquity.
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
Flea also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions, avoid knowing that they do gender stripes.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men.
Apartment to teach patients in meekness, instructing those that impose themselves if God for adventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him at his will.
Back in the first chapter, the 15th verse that says this, thou knowest, and that word for knowledge is something that we can see that there's a podium up there, but this is a different kind of knowledge. This is the knowledge of communion that only probably Paul and Timothy knew this. Thou knowest that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, of whom are by jealous and homogeneous, and I I wonder if the first verse of our chapter.
00:05:27
Doesn't morally connect, therefore.
Son be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
First mention we have of Timothy is in Acts 16 I believe, where Paul, as he begins one of his missionary journeys, takes Timothy seems to have found him already a believer. And so it seems that Paul was a spiritual father to Timothy, perhaps not the instrument that God used in his salvation.
Although we're not sure of that, but still an instrument that God used very strongly in Timothy spiritual development. And it's beautiful to see this relationship between Paul and Timothy, especially in this epistle, which is probably the last epistle that we have that Paul wrote. It's not to an assembly here, it is to an individual.
Because in our days, brethren, it is a question of individual exercise in the path of faith. I think it's so important to realize that. And the day we live in. It's not going on merely collectively, although that is a result. But it is going on, each one individually exercised as to the principles of God's Word. And as we go on in that way, we'll find that there are others that we can associate with.
And have fellowship with, but I think it's extremely important to see that in these last days it is important the matter of individual exercise in the path of faith. And so Paul speaks to Timothy here in the first verse. My son. That's beautiful and just a real encouraging thing for those who perhaps are a little older to.
Take a real interest in those who are younger and have a desire to please the Lord.
Take an interest. And as Paul advised Timothy and exhorted him many times, I can say in my own life what a blessing it has been for me when those who have, who are older, have taken an interest, and have had the courage to perhaps give a word of correction, a word of exhortation. In the first chapter we see that Paul exhorts Timothy to.
Stir up the gift of God that was in him. He was a young man, according to First Timothy, where it speaks of his youth, and evidently he was timid, But still there was a gift there that God had put there, that Paul recognized and exhorted him, and spoke of the laying on of his hands, which evidently should his fellowship in the exercise of Timothy's gift.
It's amazing what you can learn if you put yourself in the position of being a pupil.
And willing to listen.
And so we see in Timothy that.
Desire. He was willing to listen to what the Apostle Paul had to say.
As you, as one brother I think has already pointed out, in the previous chapter there were those that turned away from Paul's doctrine.
They no longer listened.
And as our brother Buchanan has.
Brought before us already today.
The word says he that hath an ear, and let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. And so it was a joy for Paul to have somebody that would listen to what he had to say.
And Timothy was willing to do that, and so consequently he receives the blessing. And we too can receive a blessing if we're willing to listen to what God has to say to us.
00:10:04
I was thinking relate related to this statement be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
She might turn to Acts Chapter 20.
For a very familiar verse, but yet a very important one.
Acts, Chapter 20.
Verse 32 Acts 2032.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word.
Of his grace.
Now isn't that wonderful? It brings the grace of God before us to the Word.
Of his grace.
So we go back to our scripture. Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
And I think if you put some other words in there.
You'll see that they don't fit.
If it said, be strong in the law.
Well then you would, we would say, oh, Oh no, no, no.
I I won't find any benefits there that that won't do me any good.
Well, maybe, it said said. Be strong in your history and your own personal faithfulness.
We would say no, no, no, that won't work either. Don't, don't encourage me to look at my path of faithfulness, because it doesn't exist.
And don't take me back to the commandments and the laws.
What will fit and what will do us good, especially in the day of extreme confusion? What will do us good is a sense in our souls of the grace of God, his favor towards us, even though we don't deserve it. And so Timothy is encouraged to fall back.
And lean upon and rest upon the grace.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ. And I think that's a very encouraging thing because.
None of us can claim any faithfulness.
At all or anything else to fall back upon. And we just love to think that there's a solid foundation that will always be there and even if we fail.
We can come back to the grace that undeserved favor of our Lord Jesus Christ and this will stand firm throughout the entire churches history. And so Timothy is encouraged to keep in mind and.
Strengthen himself in the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is gracious.
The supply of this grace is limitless, isn't it? Says of all we received, of His fullness and grace upon grace. Do we need more grace? Will he giveth more grace? And I think it's nice to see this in Second Timothy, because, as has been pointed out, Timothy found himself in days that are parallel to the days in which we find ourselves perilous. Times, times when it's difficult to stand for the truth, times when there's every wind of doctrine and this type of thing.
And we might say, is it possible to go on in a day of ruin? Where we look about in Second Timothy, we find the breakdown of everything, the breakdown in government, in the home, in the assembly, the truth being given up, compromise on every hand. And we say, is it possible to go on in days like this?
But the supply of that we need to go on is always there, God's people in any dispensation.
And whatever circumstance He placed them in were always given everything that was needed. When Israel passed through the wilderness, everything was supplied. When they were hungry, fed them. When they needed water, he gave them water to drink. Their shoes didn't wear out. They had the pillar of cloud to guide them, the pillar of fire to protect them. All these things were God's provision, and God never asked us to live in circumstances or days where He won't supply everything that's needed.
And Timothy might have looked around and said, well, we used to believe those things, and the older brethren have told us those things and the apostles and so on. But these are different days. Oh, brethren, he was exhorted as a young man to continue. If we go over, I believe it's to the third chapter. It says, continue thou. In other words, Timothy, there's no excuse for looking around at what you see, whether it's in the world or Christendom or in the assembly, and giving up. And I say that to those of us who are younger, because sometimes we might look at the circumstances around us and say.
00:15:11
Well, we have to give a little bit here and there. These are different times than our fathers lived in, than the apostles lived in, and so on. Oh, no, we're we're never given an excuse in Scripture for giving up, giving up. We're given all things that pertain unto life and godliness. And as we look at Second Timothy, I think it's nice to look, to realize that we have, though we live in days like Timothy live, we have the supply of everything that's needed to live the Christian life.
To be faithful to that blessed one until that day when we're safe home in the glory.
Law expects from man, and grace expects from God, and that's the secret brethren. If we're going to be looking to ourselves, to our faithfulness, we're sure to fail. We're going to look up to the throne of God and to God, whose supply of grace is limitless, Then we have a reason to go on.
And so this is what's going to make us strong in these last days.
Sometimes we get the feeling perhaps, when everything's slipping and sliding downward morally and in every other way in society, let's put on the brakes. Let's lay down some laws and enforce them rigidly. But the Old Testament was enough of a manifestation of the fact that man under law cannot produce.
And neither can it now, dear brother, So what is it that's going to make us strong? It's the grace that is in Christ Jesus and always carries me back in my mind when I read that expression to the cross. The love that was displayed there in the awfulness of man's treatment of God's beloved Son. What was it that God? What was God's response to it all?
It was over. Abounding grace. Dear brethren, this is what we need to feel. We need to stand at the foot of the cross. We need to see that agony of our Savior. And then, dear brethren, we will be strong in the grace. How can I, after standing at the foot of the cross, to see my Savior suffer there? How can I submit to the moral decadence all around it? It doesn't fit.
I cannot go that way. Not because somebody is put a rule in the regulation on me that you shouldn't do that and you shouldn't do this. It's because his love has won my heart, and grace is what wins the heart, and the heart is the mainspring of life. Dear Brittany.
So we see in the chain of succession in preserving the truth that it is not a first generation.
Birth thing like it was with the priest. And it's not Apostolic succession. In fact, in the chapter Ronald was reading from just before that.
Paul says, I know that after my departing shall grievous wolves that are in not sparing the flock also of your own self. So men arise to speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Then he says, therefore watch.
Remember. And then we have the 32nd verse that Ronald was telling us about. We are commended to God and the word of His grace, Two things that everybody who is a believer at least always knows and has, no matter where you are.
And they don't fail. There's a full supply of the Omnipotent one and the grace that he gives.
So how is the truth, which was committed to the Church to be the pillar in support of, in chapter three of the First Epistle, going to be carried down as a witness in this world? It's this second verse, the things which I always heard of me. There's Paul. He was the one to whom church truth was given. He passed it to Timothy and I says Timothy.
00:20:14
You turn it over to somebody else. Who does he tell him to turn it over to?
Faithful man.
That's what's required.
Back in let's look at it in Luke 12, Peter asks a question.
Which I think bears on what we have in our second verse.
In the 12Th of Luke, the Lord had put forth a parable and Peter asked the question about it in verse 42.
And says who then No verse 41.
Lord speaketh now this parable unto us, or even to all. Now that's Peters question. Now the answer. Here's what we want to get, the Lord said. Who then is that?
Faithful and wise steward, Here's that. Here's that quality one who takes what he hears and is faithful to the truth and wise and handles well what has been committed to him. So this is the chain, Timothy, you give this the faithful man who shall be able to teach others also. And brethren. I believe it comes down to 1991.
How am I wrong in that? I believe the truth comes down that chain into 1991.
Faithful man is not one who merely listens and nods his head to what is said. Faithful man is one who obeys what the Scripture tells him. And that's so important in our days, dear brethren. It's not great feats.
That we should seek after but simple obedience to the word of God. And there were those who did great things, and sometimes we think of doing great things for God the brethren is just the simple going on day after day after day of obedience to the Word of God, the word that is spoken of in.
Genesis How about Enoch? Always impresses my heart.
Enoch walked with God. 300 years. That's tremendous. How long have we walked with God? I don't.
I don't know. The Lord knows. But to say that he walked with God consecutively 300 years, no big mighty acts that that Enoch did. He didn't slay a giant like David, those mighty acts that manifested faith, but the simple walking day by day with God? That's faithfulness.
And that's what God values, and those are the ones that God will use.
To carry on his testimony down through the ages, as our brother has pointed out the four generations that we have mentioned in that second verse.
It's interesting too, in that second verse, to notice that Paul says.
The things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses. Paul didn't speak these things in secret. No, there were many witnesses that he spoke, those things amongst who could attest to what he spoke about. So these are not things that we speak in secret, the Lord Jesus himself said in secret. Have I said nothing?
No, it was in public, and so there are public meetings, but maybe not many appreciate the truth. But it is there in those that place that the truth is committed to faithful men to carry on and teach others also. There's a responsibility, if in any measure you and I have received some of these things.
Way, then, we are responsible too, brethren, not to keep them for ourselves, but to share them with others who also will be faithful men.
00:25:14
I wonder if those of us who are younger here this afternoon really value those, our older brethren who seek to pass on the truth to us and who have walked in the truth for years, those who have experienced it in a very real way. And I say that because I fear that today there is the thought with some that, well, the older brethren are A and I'm going to speak plain, are a force that are to be tolerated. But if you're just hanging in and the Lord leaves us here, they'll be gone.
And then we can do things in a manner that we would like. I feel that that's a very poor spirit, and it saddens my heart. You know, in the world around us today, it is ingrained in us in our schooling to rebel against authority, whatever authority it may be, whether it's governmental, whether it's parental, whether it's at work, whatever it is. And I'm sad to say that which characterizes the world in any given age, eventually seeps in amongst the Lord's people.
And I fear that perhaps today there is that in our hearts, and I speak to my own heart, that rebellion against authority. We don't like by nature to bow to authority. But I just say to those of us who are younger, God has raised up those brethren. He has left them with us. They are guides in the assembly. They have experienced the truth in a way that those of us who are younger have not, And in faithfulness they seek to present the truth of God to us.
Be willing to listen. Are we willing to submit? Or Brother Buchanan was Speaking of those representatives in the seven churches and how we're all responsible in the assembly. But I wonder, and I dare to to be corrected, but I wonder if there are perhaps those who are more responsible in the assembly, those who have been given the truth and those who seek to commit it to us. And then we are responsible too, of course, to bow to what they say and to walk in the good of it. And so I just say that we value those who seek to bring the truth.
God before us, Timothy, was exhorted to go on in the truth that he had heard from an older brother. And we need those older brethren. They have wisdom that we who are younger don't have. They look back over many years, they see things perhaps in a little different light. Well, may we seek grace to go on together in happy fellowship, one with another. We need each other as members of the body of Christ.
Let's read.
Chapter 3, verse 10.
The 10th verse of chapter 3.
As we're considering this word faithful.
Verse 10 of chapter 3 but now is fully known my doctrine.
Manner of life.
Purpose. Faith.
Long-suffering charity patience.
And so on. I think that verse somewhat explains the thought of faithfulness.
Not only just knowledge in our heads, but coupled with that I was fully known my doctrine, manner of life.
And I don't believe you can disconnect.
Your manner of life from the doctrine that you hold and still be called faithful.
Now in the world in which we Live Today.
There are scattered around a lot of very learned.
Bible teachers.
And they know their Bibles quite well.
Maybe they have radio programs.
And maybe they say a lot of things that are good.
But what about their manner of life?
What about their fellowship?
In the 22nd chapter of Luke.
When the disciples were told to the by the Lord Jesus where they would find.
The proper place to meet, he said. When you go into the city, a man shall meet you.
Bearing a pitcher of water.
Follow him into the house wherein he goes.
Now that verse is often spoken to me, I know it can be applied to the Holy Spirit.
00:30:03
Ask ourselves this question is this great Bible teacher that we're listening to.
Is he walking to the place where the Lord is in the midst?
Can you follow him into the house where he enters? Can you?
As all his great Bible knowledge equipped him to go to the place where the Lord Jesus.
Is the center.
Well, better, better think about it. So let's not disconnect doctrine from manner of life.
And that goes together to make faithfulness.
And I think a lot about this brethren. As I say, there's a lot of Bible knowledge.
Everywhere.
But can you follow that teacher?
To the presence of the Lord Jesus.
Has his Bible knowledge got him that far?
Or as he got a side door somewhere where he escapes and does not go to meet the Lord Jesus. Well, I just want to make that point as strong as I can.
We must connect doctrine with manner of life and.
Our doctrines and teachings will have no power if they're not connected with faithful walk to please the Lord in obedience to His precious word.
A book known as Some of Us by CS Lewis.
Really had some real merit is called the case for Christianity. And he makes a statement in there which I think is very important that don't tell me that Jesus is a good man if you don't believe what he said, because if he don't believe what he said, well then he's a liar. He's not a good man. So there are some very nice things and as you're reading along you you, you're very thankful that here is an Oxford professor.
That got saved and he's bringing out some very vital things in tension with salvation, the curse of Christ that you just say Amen to have a copy of my desk at work. And I read it years ago and I come to a part that he says, well, now I I brought you into the building of Christianity and he said, you know, there's a lot of different rooms of fellowship and I just kind of leave it to you.
Which room you choose for yourself and my stomach just goes through you know I it's too much. And so I'm thankful for many many dear things to God and their faithful. And so Moses went back into the camp but Joshua stayed out and and I I have to say for myself that I've never listened to a preacher outside the assembly that I didn't find something.
Is that I said that contrary to the wound? And how important is the verse in Second Timothy 314 and I remember as a young brother, as a young person being in the Los Angeles conference with brother Clifford Brown making this statement.
Now read the verse, and then the statement he made about it. Continue thou and the thing which thou has learned, and has been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. He said, That does not speak the Spirit of God, of whom is plural, knowing of boom, thou hast learned. And so in the process of the second verse of our chapter it says the same. Commit thou to faithful man who shall be able to teach others also.
More point, there's a young man from the Tiago Falls assembly that's coming to Pittsburgh to go to Carnegie Mellon. No, you mentioned his name, but not particularly the .9 years ago his brother came and he's now graduated and they're both taking up computer engineering.
One graduate a few years ago, now he's younger brother is coming and he made this comment. He said the emphasis, the increased emphasis on computers and how their approach is 180° different when my brother came years ago. Brethren, it's true in case with computers, but it's not true in connection with the word of God. It's exactly the same word that was committed to Paul, that went to other witnesses and came down.
There is nothing lost from one to the other.
And as we go back, and we from Scripture, we can be assured, and we might be assured, that there is nothing lost in passing a baton. It's not dropped it. It's not a different baton. It's exactly the same word. I can accept progression in computers and if there's any computer explosion, but not in the word of God, it's exactly the same as what they're pumped. And Paul gave us the word of God, the Word of God gives us.
00:35:33
Pole is rather special, Very special.
Chosen.
Separated from his mother's womb, he says in Galatians.
For a special purpose.
Given a special ministry.
Faithful in it, so much so, that in First Timothy one he says a pattern to them which would hereafter believe. That's Paul, we can go to him. He's here in this verse, the things which thou hast.
Heard of me? If we go to Philippians chapter 4, it's enlarged upon by a whole.
And very interesting in Philippians 4 verse nine he could say is those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in.
Me do what's going to be the result, and the God of peace shall be with you. Now this is Paul's duck and set here in Scripture.
For us to get ahold of by learning, by receiving, by hearing it and then practicing it.
Make a I'll tell the remark that Eric Smith.
Told me years ago.
Bearing on witness, he said.
It snaps so much.
What you say that counts?
It's not so much what you do that counts.
Your Christian witness is what you are the sense now that gets right down.
Inside.
We hear what we think about Father, Brother Hale used to tell us, making a verse of Scripture simple. As he thinketh in his heart, so is he. So it comes right back down for me. What do I think about? That's what I am. Am I thinking about the doctrine that Christ had brought to us in the church through poem? It gets right down into the very language of Scripture.
So that it says down here further in our chapter rightly dividing the word of truth and.
It also says.
Not to strive about words and no prophet. These are verses 14 and 15. We are not to be.
Arguing about the meaning of words.
Words convey meanings from one person to another.
We were told years ago that.
Language is the only vehicle upon which thought can travel, and we're using English language now here because we all know English and.
I hear a word and I use a word and I have an interpretation for the meaning of that word. And your hearing and your use of the word might be the same, might be a little bit different. So we don't want to get down, get bogged down on mere words, but to read.
The Scripture and let the Spirit of God give us the sense from it.
And listen to it and rightly divide the word. Cut it in a straight line.
No to whom the Word of God is addressed, about whom it's speaking, but all of the Word is for us. So the doctrine of Pole, the doctrine of the Church, the truth as it was revealed, is now out and here in this chapter, and turn from Paul to Timothy, who had been brought up under faith. He had a godly mother.
00:40:02
And a godly grandmother, the first dealt in them.
Doubtless it wasn't.
The truth of the grace of the gospel that Timothy got, his mother might have gotten that. I don't know. It doesn't. She was of another generation, but now it has come. The truth is here, the first epistle tells us, as we've referred to, the church is sent here to be the pillar and support of the truth. There gets to be an argument down the end of our chapter, and the wise man is to.
In meekness instruct verse 25.
Those that oppose, When the truth goes forth, there's opposition in this world. It's not always received. It's not always accepted. Now here's the matter. To combat that and leave it with God in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves if God for adventure will give them repentance, a change of mind, change of heart. What for do they acknowledging of the truth? The truth abides.
And in the ruin that was here when.
The Hanford profession became the great House. Then there comes in separation.
The characteristic of truth is that it stands the temp of light.
So the Apostle Paul, when he was communicating truth, he did it in the presence of witnesses, because he could do it publicly and stand the test of light. But Paul's practice, which was in conformance to his doctrine, was a life that was lived in the life as well. It wasn't necessary for Paul to have a certain manner of life among his brethren.
And a different manner of life in his own home, or among other friends, that he might have had so his practice, his life, he could say to those about And thou hast fully known my manner of life, because his life was a life that was lived in the light, because it was a life of truth. And so perhaps for us there is a certain way in which we might question ourselves concerning either.
That which we hold to be truth, or that which we hold to be truth in practice, and that is, is what I say and what I do. That which would be acceptable if all were to see it and examine it, Could it be said in the presence of witnesses? Could it be done in the presence of witnesses? And if it couldn't, then we have strong reason to question in our souls.
If there's a reason why we prefer in that thing the darkness.
Like to ask you a question, Don back in Galatians. It's not difficult. It's not hard. It's just a question I puzzled about a bit in connection with witnesses and the beginning of Paul ministry in Galatians 2 when it goes up to by Revelation to Jerusalem to communicate with the apostles that were there before him, the second verse.
Galatians 2 verse 2.
Just an interesting point. And I went up by revelation and communicated unto them that gospel which I preached among the Gentiles.
Now this is Paul preaching before he had been with the 12.
Preaching the gospel, the grace of God, then it says, but privately to them, which were reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run in vain.
What do you say about that? Was he a bit puzzled about?
What he was preaching or what? What did he want to get in the communication with the trail?
I believe that none of us is the final judge of whether we have all the truth and all the light. And it is not wrong for us to desire and to expect that there will be others that the Lord will use to at times give a judgement in something in which we may find ourselves not to have done it.
00:45:09
Perhaps directly according to the mind of God. Now in the case in Galatians 2, Paul had absolutely no question in his soul that he had a revelation from God concerning the gospel, and he doesn't go to them to be sure or to check with them as to what the message that God had given him was a message from God or not. It was the revelation, and he understood that, but he was also conscious that there may have been something in the way in which he presented it.
Or the way in which he was going about.
To among his the people of God that might have needed some correction and so on. For myself I believe that it was.
Privately.
Because not everything while it will stand the test of life.
Not everything is wise to be brought out among every person, and to me he went to those that he had respect for, and he put before them what he was doing that he might receive from them any correction or adjustments in his thinking or his ways that might have been necessary, rather than can I say falling and assembling, meeting and saying, well, now, brethren, if anyone here has something that they have seen in my life.
That isn't quite in conformance to the word of God. I'm here, I've called you all together with someone like to tell me that isn't necessarily wise or the mind of God. I think because even here we see an example of it.
That addresses that. That's what I was expecting to hear. It's very nice to go on in that.
2nd of Galatians. And to see that it worked out that the communication between them fit together and they understood one another, and then they they they found out. Well, Paul, you're the possible, the Gentiles and Peter's the Apostle, the circumcision.
And so they had the same ministry to carry just just communication between them. So they felt comfortable with what they were all bringing. And so I think those were some of his witnesses that he had as to what he.
Spoken and what he taught verse 9 Brother Clem of that chapter.
Is helpful because it shows that.
His lowly spirit in doing so.
Resulted in him getting the hand of fellowship from these leaders.
And that's what he wanted. Beautiful, isn't it Today.
Well, we ought to be in accord, brethren. We have the same message if we get it out of the same book and get it right.
Connection with faithfulness.
I was thinking what you mentioned Iran in chapter three of the definition of faithfulness in verse.
Ten I just like to read the 1St 2 words of verse 11.
Persecutions and afflictions announced buzz. It's easy to talk about faithfulness and being faithful to the truth.
Until a test comes, we come down to the question of persecution. When it comes to the point of afflictions in our lives, what is our response? That's where the real test of faithfulness comes in.
It's all right when everything is going normally and everything is going fairly positively. But when things go contrary, and as it's been mentioned, we live in a world, brethren, that is contrary to God. And if you're going to, you and I are going to live by the principles of the word of God, sooner or later we're going to be put to the test. There's going to be opposition to that, and we get we need to.
Really meditate on these things. I speak to those of us who are younger to make sure we've laid hold of these principles because the test will come. Still, remember when I left home and.
00:50:02
I came E to work in the Chicago area. I've been taught so many things in my home life. Thank God for it, and they've gotten some kind of a hold on it.
And in the assembly meetings as well, I'd heard a lot. But I still remember that times I was violently shaken in my conviction by those who came and really shot me down.
Say this is where the test really comes and I was.
I really had to start getting back into the word and digging, and when I did that I was almost surprised at times to find that there was basis for it. I had been.
Been brought up and I could say this is the way I've been taught.
But I never come to the point where I say I believe because God has said, and that's where you and I will have to come. Sooner or later the test will come. As I say again, faithfulness to me is an extremely individual matter. You cannot really speak of faithfulness in a group.
But there are maybe faithful people in that group. But faithfulness is an individual matter, and to me it comes down to the time when there's opposition afflictions. Persecutions will be the thing that God uses to test.
How much I am truly.
2 Timothy 2:3-6
Reading
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.
Verse 3.
How therefore endure hardness?
As a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
No man that worth entangled himself with the affairs of this life.
But he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
And if a man also strived for masteries, yet is he not crowned except he strive lawfully?
The husband man, that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.
Consider what I say, and the Lord give the understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
We're going to suffer trouble as an evildoer.
Even unto bombs, but the word of God is not found.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying. For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we believe not yet he abided faithful, he cannot deny himself.
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers.
Study to show thyself approved unto God.
A Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
And their word will eat as doth a canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have heard saying that the resurrection is passed already, and overthrow the faith of something.
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth. Sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. And let everyone that name of the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor.
If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
Plea also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call upon the Lord. Out of a pure heart. But foolish and unlearned questions, avoid knowing that they do gender strifes.
And the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men apartment to teach.
Patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves if God pervention will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.
Taken captive by him at his will.
It is wonderful indeed, how God the Lord.
Anticipated.
The age in which you and I live toward the end of the Church's history.
And has perfectly provided.
A path for faith.
To honor the Lord in the midst of confusion.
In every dispensation, whatever has been turned over to man has come into ruin and ended with judgment. This age is no different but the faithful Lord.
That's what he's he's called in 2nd Thessalonians 3. The Lord is faithful.
As foreseen for us.
Who belonged to him to have a clean path for our feet and not have to walk alone to his glory?
The Great House has developed in the first epistle. It was in order, and there was behavior taught in the house.
00:05:08
And now when it's become a great house, and men have introduced something besides the apostles doctrine, there comes separation. But as we noticed in verse two, we have the apostles doctrine, the things which thou hast heard of me. Among many witnesses we referred to the fact that Hull even communicated with the 12.
The gospel that he had received from the Lord from heaven.
Church truth, Christianity begins the other side of the cloud. The 12 had gotten what the Lord gave them while he was upon earth. That's apostles doctrine too. But the Apostle Paul got further revelations from the Lord from heaven, and we may see say, the complete revelation as to Christ and the Church.
And he is. We're checked in with the 12 There in Galatians. 2 Communicated with them and it fit together perfectly. What the 12 had learned was apostles doctrine. Matthew had learned is the apostles doctrine. We have it all in the New Testament. We have it in the Word. And God hasn't made it difficult. We have made it difficult.
And not listen to the word.
It is rather simple to fast for faith in this age when.
What is committed to man outwardly has become the great house and run off the foundation. What are we to do? Stay on it? I remember our dear brother Ersman, who was an engineer, saying that this great house.
Has developed by those who have left. The foundation has become a great house. The extent of the building is out on, as it were, the sinking sand, but it's connected.
It's all the Great house. There's real in it and there is profession in it.
Back in the psalms, I think in the 11Th Psalm it says if the foundation to be removed, what can the righteous do?
Well somebody might remove the foundation from the under themselves but we can stay on it. We can stay right on the foundation. And says here the the foundation of Lord stand to sure we're build Christ builds his House of reality on the solid drunk.
And it's true that every believer is on the solid rock as to being in the House of God that Christ builds, but the house that men built has extended far off from it. So we need to stay on the apostles doctrine and then we can enjoy the apostles fellowship, find out that there are others there who have Nicole on the Lord out of a pure heart and so we can have fellowship in agreement with the teaching.
That the Spirit of God gives to us and it becomes a conflict. So we have three things here.
For those of faith are in a battle soldiers.
And then?
The athlete, The games.
And then the poor old farmer that plants and asked to work before he gets proof.
And we're compared to all of those.
And we can add to it the Workman down in verse 15 the simple way these pictures are brought before us, as those who I trust want to walk the course of faith in obedience to the doctrine that came from the Lord, from the other apostles, and committed to Timothy, as we follow that chain down, who turned it over to faithful man.
And there are still faithful men. Thank God for them, and we're told to follow their faith. Not to follow the men, but to follow their faith.
Just concerning your comments on doctrine, I would say Amen because doctrine is very, very important. I fear that sometimes today the attitude is taken that doctrine is not all as important as perhaps those of a past generation or generations have thought. And it burdens my heart sometimes to hear a OFT repeated statement. And that is that we're not gathered to a doctrine, we're gathered to a person. Now, brethren, that is true.
00:10:08
Gathered to a person. And as long as we see that person and are occupied with him, and see of him in the midst, we're going to be preserved. But I fear that sometimes those who use that make that statement use it to set aside doctrine as being unimportant down the list, shall I say. But it's interesting that in Acts 242 That the early brethren, they continued steadfastly or persevered, And what was the first thing on that list?
In the apostles doctrine, it was the basis for everything else. It was the basis for fellowship, it was the basis for breaking of bread, and it was the basis for prayer. People that meet for any purpose, whether religious or otherwise, there's some basis, There's some common ground that they meet on societies. They men come together, women come together because they have a common interest. Will I speak reverently? What basis do we come together on to remember the Lord and for prayer and for ministry in the assembly?
It's the apostles doctrine. And let us let no man be dial us as to the unimportance of doctrine. If people try to tell us it's unimportant, brethren, it's very important. It's vital. Paul always headed a list of things. With that, he said all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. And what is the first thing on the list, doctrine, he said. Thou has fully known my doctrine and manner of life, and so I would just echo what our brother said. It's very, very important.
I was struck in reading through church history to find that when the early believers after the apostles passed off the scene, and especially the Apostle Paul, when they began to give up those fundamental doctrines, those principles that they had been taught, especially by the Apostle Paul, that who brought before the church their heavenly calling.
The hope of the Lord's coming and those things that we I trust, hold dear. As soon as they began to give that up, then they it ushered. In the Dark ages, the corporate testimony was lost. The people of God settled down in this world and lost hope, but lost sight of the hope of their heavenly calling. And so, brethren, I just say again, I don't want to belabor this, but doctrine is very, very important. But Timothy is told here in this chapter that if he's going to hold these things and he's going to be faithful and walk in the good of them.
He's not going to have an easy path, and the path of faithfulness is never easy. And it's interesting that Mister Darby translates this third verse. Take thy share of suffering. Now we know nothing, perhaps a physical suffering in a land like this. There may be brethren who for the testimony sake, in the name of Christ, our suffering persecution in a physical way in this world today. But there I I believe two kinds of persecution that one can suffer. One is physical, and as I say, we know nothing about that.
But there is a reproach connected with the name of Christ, It says, Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, and we might have reproach no bearing his reproach. All they that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution, whether it be physical, or whether it be that reproach that perhaps we suffer. Because those with any dispensation who sought to be faithful to the Lord always found themselves in the minority rather than in the majority. The truth has never been popular.
Christ was rejected. He's still a rejected one. His name is hated today in this world, just as it was 2000 years ago. And if you and I are going to seek to walk in the doctrines that we have been taught the fundamental principles of the Word of God, if we're going to seek to be faithful as to His name and to get.
Gather to his name alone, we're going to find that it is not popular, and there will be in that way our share of suffering. And I would just say this too, in the measure in which you and I are faithful to Christ and to His name. In that measure we will suffer a reproach.
Then would you give us a little bit more thought on a statement you made that the apostles doctrine begins beyond the cloud? Is that excellent? That's Christianity. Yes. There were lost sight of Christ there when he went up in Acts chapter one.
Then then from the other side of the cloud, we're using that as a reference point.
Christ.
Sat down through the Apostle Paul, we may say the.
Whole of the Church truth.
The others referred the church, but the church truth comes through Paul. That's Christianity. That's a heavenly people and it's a reference point and it goes back to Israel was an earthly people. Romans 10/4 says Christ is the end of the law for righteous.
00:15:14
And so that age is over with and God is seeking out a lot of people for the earth now, but for heaven. So he sent down the heavenly truth, which really takes us out of this world, and we'll literally take us out of this world. The rapture, so close, you know, but it teaches the people how to live to the glory of Christ while we're waiting his return, knowing that we belong to heaven, that this is not our home, this is not our country.
This is not our citizenship. We're taught behavior down here in the first epistle.
Then we find out that men have introduced their doctrines, and we've come to that.
Well, just to refer to your question again.
The statement that Christianity begins the other side of the cloud is that fact that heavenly truth and church truth began after Christ went to heaven. The Spirit of God came down and gave it to us in Paul's doctor. So now Paul's doctrine is so important for a heavenly people.
And but we don't throw out and it all fits together what Matthew taught, what John taught, and the other apostles and I would say the prophets who gave us the New Testament. Paul laid the foundation but he refers to the apostles and prophets as a foundation as well. In Ephesians we won't go into that but we have the apostles doctrine including.
What the apostles learned from Christ and what?
Learned from Christ and given to us. But go back now for doctrine to Matthew chapter 15, to see what the Lord ran into when He came and He came to those Jews.
And what had they done with the law which was God-given?
For that people.
It's like what Christendom has done with heavenly truth.
In Acts I mean Matthew 15.
The Lord says verse 8.
This people.
Draw nigh unto me with their mouth, Professors weren't they, and honors me with their lips.
But their heart is far from it. They weren't calling home the Lord out of a fewer heart. What?
Verse nine, In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. That's what they were doing then.
That that is what has been done in the Great House.
Now what's the remedy? The next verse?
He called the multitude and said into them, Hear and understand. We go right back to the word of Christ coming through, Paul coming through the other apostles, and we've got a solid foundation. Let's stay on it when you say beyond the the cloud.
Are you speaking in terms of?
The death and resurrection of Christ and ascension into heaven. It was beyond that time. In other words, it's this side of the death, burial, resurrection of Christ, the Apostles doctrine. Let's read what it says in Acts one, because that's the changing point. Christ had finished his work. He'd done everything to God's glory he could do down here. He'd ask the Father to glorify him in heaven so he'd glorify him up there.
And from there, now that's the use of the other side of the cloud.
The cloud. The cloud we're talking about is the cloud in verse nine of X1. Yeah, right. Yes, Read it wrong. That's the cloud. Yeah. When he had spoken these things, behold. Well, he had spoken these things while they beheld. He was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. So as far as the world's concerned.
00:20:00
The Lord, just the Lord Jesus disappeared when he was put into the grave, and they no unbelieving eye saw him after that point. He was only seen by believers after that point. But Christianity had not begun yet, and Christianity did not begin until after the Lord Jesus was in heaven. And so here we see him taken up a cloud receives him out of their sight.
And then, in just a few days, God began an entire new.
Working with man on earth, the Lord Jesus is in heaven.
And Christianity then comes into bearing by the descent of the Holy Spirit. But that's the cloud we're talking about.
Club. Where's where we get the doctrine of Christianity? The Apostle? Yeah, the other side of of this cloud. In Chapter 9, verse nine, he was up. The cloud receives him and they couldn't see him anymore. But later on the ministry comes down from heaven. 2 basic truths of this dispensation are that there's a man in the glory of God and that the spirit of God is here in this world. So I think that's what.
Really has in mind.
My question is, being the word beyond, not meaning before the crowd or before that cloud, but this side of the cloud, isn't it now I'm not. Am I confused? When we say beyond, we mean where Lord has gone. He's not down on earth anymore. He's not working with Israel for an earthly people and use it beyond the cloud. That's where he's gone. And as Bob says from there he sat down the Holy Spirit to form the church.
And to teach. And to teach for the age in which we live. That's what we need in this chapter we've got. And we're going to find out it's a conflict. I tell you, Satan does everything he can to dislodge us from the heavenly side of things, the heavenly calling. So the soldier asked to go back to Ephesians 6 and take that whole armor of God.
And we can't go higher than heavenly standing in that chapter. We're to stand. And having done all to stand and to withstand, we can't go up. And we're not to go down or to remain on that standing of the heavenly calling that belongs to us even now as we're not there physically. But we know it's our home, It's our citizenship. So we're soldiers, and we're going to find out. We're going to endure hardness.
We're opposed even in the end of this chapter. There are those that oppose the truth, and when meekness were to instruct such, Oh, I tell you, the enemy hates the truth of Christ and the body of Christ on earth. And any witness to the fact that Jesus lives and he lives and is represented in that one loaf which shows every member of the body of Christ down here. And so Satan will dislodge us from that.
Blessed position.
Of our heavenly calling, our heavenly citizenship. So it's a battle to stay there.
It's interesting to me that truth, brethren, is not only gained by sacrifice and paying a price, but it is also maintained in the same way. There is no such thing as saying I have gotten the truth, I've arrived, I'm here, and then to sit down and relax.
Because you'll read in the Old Testament, in the book of the Judges, where the children of Israel actually went into the land.
Took possession of it, but then they relaxed, and they reverted in many of their ways to the ways of the people of the land. And little by little the enemy came in until they were totally at the mercy of the enemy again. And I fear sometimes, brethren, and This is why they suggest the extremely important individual focus of this epistle, that we feel that we've arrived at the position of the truth.
Believe there is a position of that we should occupy in relationship one with another here in this world, but never should we treat it in a way that I've arrived and now I can relax and take it easy. No, the conflict is going to be here, all the way home to the glory, and we're going to have to learn that there's going to be suffering involved. And I'd like to connect that second verse where we've been meditating the other day.
00:25:10
Faithful men with what we have in the 3rd and 4th verses in connection with the soldier, I suppose the greatest lesson that a soldier has to learn is obedience. Obey at any cost.
It doesn't matter. The soldier is trained not to think of the cost, only to think of one thing, the word of his commander, and to go forward according to that word. And I just challenge my own heart. And I challenge your hearts, dear brethren. It's not merely what our brethren say that should carry weight in our souls. They help us. They expound the word. But then it is the word.
That should have supreme authority in my mind. I can bear with a person who perhaps doesn't understand the scripture when I try to explain it to him. Maybe haven't explained it well. I can bear with it. But once the Word is understand and we quibble with the Word.
That is not a good soldier of Jesus Christ really impressed me. Some time ago a brother gave me a book on Israel written by one of the ex ministers of defense, Moshe Dayan, and then the young quick Kipper war over there, the border of Egypt. They had certain outposts, army outposts that were heavily bombarded and their policy was to send.
The commanders right up onto the frontline that they didn't command on the from behind the lines, they were up on the frontline.
And in some of those army posts, all of the commanders in those places were killed off two times in a row, and they just kept pouring men into there. It wasn't a question of losing their life that would didn't enter their thoughts. Their only thought was obey the command of the superior. I say, dear brethren, we stand at the cross of Christ, see him suffering in such intense agony.
To liberate us from the power of Satan and from hell.
Can I read his word and quibble about it? Say I don't think that that applies to me in the way they say it does.
Dear brethren, what kind of soldiers are we?
It really searches my heart when I hear, when we hear the verses like not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together and we allow other things to come in. Brethren, that it's a simple matter to be at the meetings, but there are other things that are more important. Your brother was saying yesterday there there are things that come in sometimes we can't be there.
But if we were really had the word of God, like a good soldier of Jesus Christ, nothing could come before the word of our supreme commander. That would have to be supreme no matter what the cost. And that's why there's so much weakness in the testimony today is because we don't know. I have to confess of times it's that way in my own life, what it means to be.
A good soldier of Jesus Christ, verse four. It says no one man that warth entangled himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
In other words, he may have other things that he has to do in other areas, but when his commander commands something that is first, there is nothing else. It's unquestionably first in his mind. He cannot say, look, my commander, I've got some other business that I've got to attend to today. No, if his commander says it, no matter. Even if it seems to be a very trivial thing.
That's first. That's number one. In his mind, that's a good soldier. What kind of soldiers are we, brethren? These are things that search our hearts. Let's not say that we've arrived. Let's be exercised and view the truth of God that we have written here. Let's look at a captain of our salvation to find the perfect model in what has been said to us in Hebrews Chapter 2.
00:30:03
Who is the captain of our salvation?
We know him.
We know His obedience. It's stated here in Hebrews 2.
Verse 10 It became him. For him are all things, and by him are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through suffering.
Turn to Chapter 5, Hebrews.
Oh, to thank the one that's ahead in this battle, but the one who has tried the whole course of faith and laid down his life.
Though being God.
Laid that form aside and became a man. Verse 8. Hebrews 5/8 though he were a Son, indeed the eternal Son of God.
Become the Son of Man, yet learned he obedience. There's the word to obey, To think of Jesus, the captain of our salvation, obedient.
Unto death in contrast to the first man who was disobedient unto death. So he comes, he enters into the warfare. He conquers Satan.
It goes perfect through the world. He goes into debt. He conquers death. Though he were a son, he learned obedience by the things which he suffered and being made perfect as to experience as a man, he was the great God who commanded all things. Now as the subject man, the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, wished he not that I must be about my father's business.
He says as a boy of 12 years old, he steadfastly set his face to go up to Jerusalem. He knew he had the work of the cross. Nobody has ever been commanded to work to do like Jesus. He went straightforward. He completed it. He went there through suffering.
Now he gives us the privilege to enter into the conflict in a world that's supposed to us. If they have hated me, they will hate you, He told them. 16th of John. Now we're in the conflict. And as Bob says, there's one thing. Obey. I'll tell you a story on Lemoyne Smith, who's here. I believe he was down our way a year ago.
We had a young brother who had gotten saved a year ago in July.
And.
About three or four months before that, he had signed up with the Marines.
And he was brightly saved down there last year. And he came along well. And Lemoyne came along and learned and was introduced to him. And he gave him one word of advice and he just gave him, as far as I'm no one word of advice said. You, you've signed up. You're, you're, you're in the Marines. You're going there. I'll give you one word to help you get through that service.
Obey.
Obey. Obey. Well, that's us. We're in the service down here. We're in the conflict. There's one word for you and I in our service as good soldiers. Obey Who? Christ. His doctrine? His teaching for us.
Very blessed to realize that not only is there a path of individual faithfulness for each one of us, but full provision has been made for that pathway. No man goes to warfare at his own charges.
We have this illustrated very beautifully in the Old Testament. I would just encourage us to read the Old Testament as well.
Because there we have the truth illustrated in a way that helps us to understand it. And we find that when Israel went in to possess the land, to possess that blessing that God had for them, because their blessings were earthly. But before they went in to possess it, there was a man that Joshua met over against Jericho, and he had a drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went up to that man, and he asked that man if he was for them or for their enemies. And that man said, and we know it must have been the Lord as he.
Appeared in different forms in the Old Testament, but he said of captain of the Lord's hosts. Am I come?
00:35:01
And it gave them the assurance that as they went in to possess the land, their inheritance, as they went in to enjoy that which Jehovah had for them, there was one who was going before them. And as they kept their eye on that one and recognized their dependence, he was going to fight for them and help them to possess that land and enjoy it.
And, brethren, there's one who's living for us, the captain of our salvation, as we have been reminded, And we're given all things that possess that pertain unto life and godliness. God never asks us to do anything or live in any dispensation or any situation without providing everything that is needed. We noticed in going through our family, reading, that when Israel was in ******* in Egypt, there came a time when.
They had to still make their tally of bricks, but they weren't even given straw. Satan is a hard taskmaster. He takes from us, and the way of a transgressor is hard, but it's just the opposite. In Christianity, everything is provided. The spirit of God has been sent down as the power for our new life. We have the completed word of God as light and instruction for our pathway. We have one who's living for us as our advocate and as our great High Priest. And it's interesting that when Israel went out to fight with Amalek as well.
It says that Amalek swooped smoke behind her part of them, those who were farthest from the captain, those who were farthest from the captain. And so it's good exercise for each one of us to keep our eyes on that blessed one and to realize the provision that he has made for us. And I think too, it's good, in a day of ruin and weakness to look at that which is positive, that which God is still accomplishing. I say that because it's so often easy to get our eyes on the circumstances and on one another and the problems in the assembly.
And I don't mean that we shouldn't be aware of them and exercise by them. We ought to be, and they ought to humble us.
You know, sometimes I visit with my dear older brother, those in nursing homes, and sometimes they just seem so overwhelmed by the difficulties and the day of ruin and weakness, and they're discouraged. They're like those men. And was it Nehemiah or Ezra's day who looked back to the former glory of things and they wept. But, you know, brethren, there's still lots to be thankful for today. And, you know, I was encouraged. I was in to see our brother Eric Smith in the nursing home in Montreal, one who had served the Lord for so many years in South America.
I asked him when he was gathered to the Lord's name. I think he said 1924. And so I said to him, I said, you must have seen a good many changes amongst the Lord's people. You must look back over those years and see a decline and the declining and let the Laodicean state become more and more prevalent. I said, tell me, is there still lots to be thankful for? And he said, Amen, He said, we can still be overcomers, not be overcome. Will it rejoice my heart to speak to an older brother?
Who felt that? Even though there is ruin and we have to hang our heads and say we're part of the Laodicean state of things and indifference to the claims of Christ, yet rather than there's still lots to be thankful for. And even in Laodicea there was an overcomer and God is still in his grace saving souls, the gospel still going forth, He's still gathering to the precious name of the Lord Jesus. He's still preserving his Saints. All these things we have so much to rejoice in, even in these days.
Of weakness and ruin, and everything is provided so that we can, like Timothy, press on and be faithful to the truth. I'd like to read a verse that corresponds, Jim to that portion you mentioned in Joshua, the man who was the captain of the Lord's host. That was for Israel, entering into their promised land in this world, and our promised land is heavenly places where there is conflict.
In Ephesians one, we find what corresponds to that in our day, and it's been a thrill to my soul to get a glimpse of it. This is the present position of the captain of our salvation, Ephesians one, beginning with verse 19. Paul is praying that the Ephesians might have their eyes opened to understand, and they he says in verse 19.
What is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, 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?
00:40:05
Far above all, principality and power and might and dominion in 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 given him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him, that filleth. All in all there's the man that with the drawn sword in his hand, the captain of the Lords host. And as you look up, brethren, into the glory of God and realize that the great captain of our salvation is there, he has already triumphed. We belong to a 'cause that will triumph in the end. There is no doubt about it.
The point is, dear brethren, to go on with their eyes on him. We do have everything to encourage us really and truly, when we look at the Lord, His present position of glory, as head over all things to the Church, all things are brought into subjection to Him.
You got a problem in your life individually, or maybe in your assembly meetings. There's a real problem.
Brother, sister, let me ask you a question. Is Christ head of over the church in that situation? Have you learned to look up to him, to lay hold of him for that situation?
Are we really looking to the captain of our salvation? Or are we looking to some of our leading brethren? Thank God for those that God has gifted to explain to us the scriptures. But brethren, God is jealous for the glory of His own beloved Son, And He doesn't want us with our eyes on brethren, He wants us with our eyes on Christ.
And if we have our eyes and brethren, we're going to stumble around and fall, brethren.
But when we get our eyes on him, there he is, sitting in highest glory, all things made subject to his feet right now.
Oh, brethren, can you go on? There is no lack of power. He has not changed. Not the least, he continues faithful. His word has not changed. His spirit is in amongst us.
We have everything to encourage us to go on, but why do we get discouraged? Because we start looking at each other. If we start looking at each other, brethren, it doesn't take very long to find out. False. To be a preoccupied with it doesn't take long.
And alert give us the grace, and in this to be as well good soldiers of Jesus Christ, to have our eyes on the great captain of our salvation. Brother Bob, I want to thank you.
For calling our attention to that verse in Ephesians.
Which speaks of the headship of Christ.
I have been a soldier.
Was a time in my young life.
When I was invited by the President of the United States.
To be drafted into the United States Army.
And I was taken into the army and spent some time as a soldier.
And as has already been pointed out to us.
The one thing that I had to learn very quickly was that my first.
Responsibility was to be obedient to those that were over me, and so obedience was the main thing that I was confronted with. I had to obey the orders.
Now, the verse that we're considering, I know we've talked a long time about it, and I worry if we're going to get to the end of the chapter during these meetings, but we really want to get a blessing for our souls, and so that's why I'm continuing to speak of the batter of the.
The headship of Christ and being a soldier.
So this group of Christians that sits in this room today?
00:45:02
Are here because of one basic principle.
Our Fellowship, beloved Brethren of this group.
Is based upon submission to the headship of Christ.
We are not Baptists. We are not Roman Catholics. We are not Presbyterians or Lutherans. We sit here today as believers gathered to the name.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this particular group here in Olympia.
Represents by the grace of God and nothing more.
A group of God's beloved people, beloved people who have sought to obey the headship of Christ.
We are here today in fellowship because we have submitted.
To the headship of Christ in the past.
And that principle is being attacked right now, Extremely.
Vehemently by the devil, and I think it's so important that we we just come to grips with it. Why am I here with you?
It's because I have received.
The decisions of the assembly that have been made in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Among the gathered Saints, that's why I'm here with you.
And in fellowship with you.
Assemblies have made decisions in the past.
In the name of the Lord Jesus and thank God, there is a group.
Still.
Which has received those decisions?
As the decisions made.
In the name of the Lord Jesus.
And his headship is recognized when we bow to those decisions. And so may the Lord keep us on that ground, that when an assembly makes the decision in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have no right to do anything but obey and submit to the headship of Christ. And the fellowship of which I am a part, and I thank God for that.
And I thank God that many of you here today are in fellowship with that testimony. We're only here.
Because we have submitted to the headship of Christ and we have received the assembly decisions that have been made in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now this is a basic principle, and may the Lord keep us with that in focus, because when assembly decisions are made.
In the name of the Lord Jesus. And let's remember he is the head and we have nothing else to do.
But to accept his headship and submit, we have no choice in the matter at all.
Our job is to obey, which takes us back to the precious principle in verse three. A good soldier. He obeys.
He has to endure hardship that the path of obedience.
Will not be an easy one.
He is told to endure hardship as a soldier, and let's not you and I think that submitting to the authority of the Lord Jesus is going to lead us into an easy path.
For a path that pleases the flesh, there are many beloved children of God.
Who are seeking their fellowship in that which pleases them.
Maybe they want to go where the music is good. Maybe they want to go where the fellowship is good and the convenient and friendly.
But those are secondary issues. The primary issue is submission. Obedience to the head, our captain, the Lord Jesus. And that is the basis upon which I sit here together with you today. I'm here because by the grace of God, I have submitted to the assembly decisions that have been made in the name of the Lord Jesus. I have nothing else that I can do.
00:50:15
And be a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
So I think that's very important. And perhaps within the next month or the next year, there will be assembly decisions made among us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What are we going to do about it? We must submit to the headship of Christ. We have nothing else to do. We have no choice.
Well, that's to me a very important concept, and May God keep us that we not lose the focus on that. But then it goes on to say in verse four that a soldier is to find his own business.
As a soldier and not to become entangled in the civil affairs of the world.
When I was in the army.
I was told what to do.
And I was not given liberty.
To join with all the other things that were going on around me.
What is our business, brethren, is our business to clean up the slums.
Is our business to see to it that there are no drinking establishments in our communities?
Is our business that of seeing that the best men are elected?
No, you see, we have been drafted into the army.
Beneath the captainship of the Lord Jesus and we've got other business.
Our business is to submit to him and and his business and not to attend to the civil affairs of this world which is ripening for the judgment of God. So that is verse three that were to attend to the business of the Lord and not get all tangled up in the affairs of the world. So you have two things in these verses. One is absolute submission to the heads.
And then separation from that which is not according to his plan and his weight. So though those are the points of those two verses and excuse me for.
Saying more about it because our brethren have already said a lot, but I believe it's so important that we have this in focus. One point we might notice on all three of these examples, the soldier.
The athlete and the farmer is that I'm sure each of them look on to the end.
Soldiers life is rigid and most of them want to get out of it and get through it and get to the end of it.
Well, when athletes in a game, he wants to get the end of it to get to the crown. The goal is before him. The last words we sang in our hymn to bear thy cross and seek thy crown. Now that's the athletes vision at the end of the game.
And he can't make shortcuts and and disobey the.
Rules of the game and be crowned.
That's applicable in our goal before us as down here to enjoy, I think, living for Christ and carrying the bull to bear thy cross. That's the football. We carry the cross to bear thy cross and seek thy crown we find out.
That the person with the cross gets attacked.
We're soldiers and him. We're in the game that ends in the glory. The crown is there. There are no shortcuts to it. It's just going on with him, with the end in view and the portal farming has to work a long time before he got goes out and eat what comes out of the ground. So the end is in view there too. So these similes.
These examples for the man of faith in this age, at the end time of the day of grace, are very instructive and encouraging for us. And certainly the conflict is not going to last much longer. The crown must be very near, and to eat that bread of heaven, well, we can eat it now, you know, feed upon Christ, We do a little bit for the Lord.
00:55:22
Well, he does so much for us. He supplies us with joy down here. And the soldier has some nice times too, in the conflict to go on for God and result. You can see some victory sometimes in a little sense, and the joys of the game, the athlete. But The thing is to persist right on to the end and have that in view. Brother Clem, you have spent most of your life as a farmer.
And.
I don't know anything about it. I've only been a spectator to farming.
But I admire the farmers.
But I'm told that the farmer is the happiest at the harvest.
Wouldn't it be fun to just have October all the time and no planting? No, no, no, no plowing necessary.
No. No planting necessary. No cultivating necessary, No spraying necessary. Just just have October after October.
Well, our brother Clem would say, Reeves, you need to have your head examined. Farmers, Farmers don't work that way. Most of the sweat of farming comes before October. They got to plow the field, they got to put the seed in, they got to see to it that the weeds are taken out and.
Those that live in dry climates have got to bring some water there and most of the sweating is done.
Before harvest. Well, see, we don't want that. We all want to go out and harvest everything right now, and we don't want to sweat. But if we're going to operate on verse 7 and get the benefit of it, we're going to have to be willing to labor.
And plowing and sewing.
And cultivating and watering and.
Clem, do do you need any patience to be in farming?
Patience, I think, is the longest lesson of life, maybe the hardest too, and you think of the nice thing, Paul said. I have planted A polished water.
But God gave the increase, the Lord said to those disciples. Other men labored year, entered into their laborers, and certainly the time of.
Harvest well, the fields are ripe to harvest, and for you to pray the Lord of the harvest that he sent forth laborers into his harvest. But the plowing does come first for the farmer, and the planting of the seed, and then the watering of it, and the cultivating and the getting out the tears, and then the harvest, and that is the time of happiness. We thank God that this nation has put a day of Thanksgiving. I think it's appropriate.
That those Puritans I believe, who believed in God, they were thankful. And we are thankful when harvest comes. The harvest at the end is drawing near when we'll all be gathered in.
To hunt Ephesians speak so, and what Joshua typifies.
Actually, Ephesians and Joshua are heaven enjoyed ahead of time and there's great conflict in both books. And that's where we are sitting if we have realized our redemption out of Egypt and realized that we are helped through the wilderness.
And then to get in over the other side of.
Jordan and find out that the promised land is full of enemies. I tell you to stand for the truth of God, the truth of the apostles. Doctrine is hard fighting and hard laboring, and it has to be.
Persistence to go on to the end to get what God has in view for us.
When do we discover what our the fruit of our laborers?
Are going to be is that something that we can?
Determine now or are we waiting for a coming day of manifestation?
01:00:01
Much will be the judgment seat of Christ for the believer.
I thank God that he lets us see some of the fruit of our laborers. And it's wonderful when you're in a gospel meeting and somebody gets saved or three or four or five or doesn't get saved. You know, the Lord lets us see a little bit of the fruit of the sowing of the seed and watering it with tears. Go ahead, Bob. You had something should be an encouragement to each one of us to sow the seed.
Now, brethren, and it's a responsibility not just of a few, but of everyone of us to do the work of an evangelist.
And so we need to be exercised to sow the seed and wait for that coming day, for to see the fruits. We're not going to see perhaps much here, but to wait for that day. I still remember the story I read of a missionary, and I forget just where he went. I think it was to Greenland. And he labored amongst terrific odds for about 10 years and saw absolutely no fruit of his laborers. He got discouraged and went home.
And.
Somebody out else went out to replace him, and it wasn't long when he began to see real fruit. The first brother had sown the seed, the other one had come to reap the harvest. So God does give us to see perhaps something of the fruit now, but the final evaluation remains to that coming day. Still remember Mr. Larson, Somebody asking him because he was a man who worked with tracks.
Through the mail and giving out tracks, have you seen much fruit of your laborers, Mr. Larson? No, I haven't.
That was it. And I don't think he did until the Lord count and call him home. But he was satisfied, brethren, let's not. We don't see too much fruit. Let's continue to labor, sowing the seed wherever the Lord may direct. There's so many people here in this country who are disillusioned, completely disillusioned with life, and we need to shine brightly. The Lord can make the seed grow when he sees fat.
Another thing that's encouraged me is that it is the incorruptible seed ready that we sow. You saw our seed in the ground and I don't know how long it might be there, maybe three weeks or four weeks. If it doesn't sprout and grow on that time, it shot doesn't grow anymore.
The incorruptible seed that we saw brethren made lie dormant in our soul for 5/10/15 years and a special moment God may make that seed sprout and grow the incorruptible seed that we saw.
284.
2 Timothy 2:7-26
Reading
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.
Consider what I say.
And the Lord give the understanding in all things.
Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David.
Was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
When I suffer trouble as an evildoer even unto bonds, but the word of God is not found.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect sake, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him.
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. But if we believe not yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself.
Now these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord, that they strive not about words to no prophet, but to the subverting of the hearers. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing.
The word of truth.
But shun profane and vain babblings, for they will increase unto more ungodliness, and their word will eat, as doth the canker of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus.
Who concerning the truth, have heard saying that the resurrection is passed already?
And overthrow the faith of some. Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure.
Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor, and some to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor sanctified, and meet for the master's use.
And prepared unto every good work.
Flee also, youthful us, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call on the Lord. Out of a pure heart but foolish and unlearned questions, avoid knowing that they do gender stripes. The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men apartment, to teach patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves.
If God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
These two first verses we have read seem to.
Simply.
Mean to us this Paul Saint Timothy.
Here's what I'm telling you, my doctor.
Like we had this morning, the Lord saying to those in Matthew 15, hear and understand.
The application about the decision is here the church Matthew 18. Here Timothy says, hear my doctrine. I mean, Paul says to Timothy, consider my doctrine, Paul's doctrine, and then he prays that the Lord would give.
Him understanding in all these things, so I guess prayer.
For us and for others, as Paul's doctrine is ministered, would be helpful to taking it in. Then I think the next verse becomes very precious when we drop out two words that and was. I I think they belong in there. But the understanding is nice when we read it this way. Remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David Ray?
From the dead, according to my gospel at least it beautifully fits the instruction the Lord gave from heaven to Paul in First Corinthians 11.
Remember Jesus Christ? It's a person we remember, and we remember him as raised from the dead. He was at the seat of David. He was a legal king, but he was raised from the dead. That's what we remember, the person raised from the dead, according to Paul's gospel.
00:05:17
That seems really significant, that 8 births.
And I like to think of it in connection with the character of the day in which Paul was writing to Timothy.
Everything seemed to be going downhill. Nothing seemed to be working in the right direction. In the first chapter, we've had it drawn to our attention all day that are in Asia. Turned away from him. Paul was in prison.
He was waiting at anytime his execution according to the 4th chapter.
It seemed like a lost cause.
And Timothy. He was trying to encourage Timothy.
And so he says, in effect to Timothy. Remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from the dead? According to my gospel, Because when the Lord Jesus finished his course down here, it looked like an outward way, failure as well. Fact prophetically in Isaiah 49, he says, I have labored in vain. I've spent my strength for not.
And in vain it's surely my judgment is with God, and my work with my judgment is with the Lord and my work with God.
Brethren, God's answer is in resurrection, and we may not see great things down here. We shouldn't expect to see God's answer down here. God's full answer is in resurrection, and so Paul is encouraging Timothy Timothy to follow these principles. You may not see great things down here, great results down here, but remember God's answers and resurrection.
Remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from among the dead, according to my gospel, rather than that should be an encouragement to us. We don't look for great things down here, don't look for objectives down here in this world. No, God's full answer is in that Day of Resurrection. When we stand before the judgment seat, then we're going to see God's full answer to the whole picture.
It should be a real encouragement to us as we go on, to be content to go on, even if there is not too much to encourage. Go on. The answer will come, but it may not be in this life, Brother God's answer is in resurrection.
Why does the Apostle Paul hear and in Romans 216 speak of the Gospel? Is my gospel?
Why was it distinctively the Apostle Paul's doctrine?
Well, I suppose that.
It's.
What the Lord gave him from heaven, like we were saying this morning.
We mentioned a goodie on the apostles doctrine and then Paul's doctrine and.
When the church was founded they didn't have Paul's doctrine, but there was the apostles doctrine and the word of God was being written and you traced through packs. It says the word increase. The Word grew. That is when the apostle Peter spoke an axe. It was the apostles doctrine and was written down. What we needed to have, of course the whole of it is the apostles doctrine or the.
Doctrine that comes through the prophets, the whole of the New Testament and so.
The apostles doctrine began with that of the 12 There they were in Acts 2 and the Lord was leading them. This Holy Spirit was down there, and they began to practice breaking of bread, which later on becomes to be named through Paul the Lord's Supper, and.
Then Paul begins his ministry.
Personally, Acts 11 in Paul's doctrine comes and his is the doctrine.
That came down from heaven. Paul didn't receive it from the apostles at all. He just checked out with them. He got it from the Lord, from glory. So it's a it's a special gospel and it's the gospel of the glory. Pauls gospel takes us right up to the glory. The gospel, the grace of God is much of it too, but the gospel of the glory and that comes through Paul. So Paul's gospel is very bright in that way.
00:10:24
When you preach, it all did, he said. We and I suffer trouble.
Christ had been rejected. Christ had gone up to heaven. He gave all the heavenly doctrine. He preached it. He was rejected. And I wrote here he was bound, but they couldn't mind the word of God. The word of God comes right out of that Roman prison, and he was written, He was used to complete the word of God in Colossians one, it says.
We have that then in Second Corinthians chapter 4.
Our gospel, our gospel be hid. Head to them that are lost in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ or the gospel of glory. I've heard it said it was the image of God should shine into them. Yeah, that's part of it. The gospel of the glory especially comes through Paul and the gospel of the grace of God. To what gospel is, It's good news concerning Christ. It's always that.
The gospel is God's good news concerning Christ. Beginning with the fall, spoken to the serpent, the seed of the woman. There's the first gospel. It's always Christ. Whether it's that everlasting gospel, where it's the gospel the Kingdom, whether it's the gospel of the grace of God, whether it's the gospel of the glory, whether it's Paul particularly revealed. But one says my gospel. I think it's what God has given us through Paul.
I'd like to see that the purposes of God are never frustrated, are they? Paul finds himself in prison, as has been mentioned, and perhaps the enemy thought if he could lock the Apostle Paul up in prison, then he would keep him from traveling amongst the Lords people and encouraging the assemblies. He would keep him from preaching the gospel. Perhaps he thought that in that way the spread of the truth would be hindered or stopped, but it only worked out for a far greater purpose.
God was in control. And so as a result of Paul being in prison, we have that written ministry by divine inspiration, part of the inspired word of God. If he had been giving ministry orally with one would have been wonderful for the Saints at that time. But now as part of the inspired word of God, we have those things for our encouragement and for our blessing, all down through the ages. I'm sitting right up until 1991 and I often think of that verse. I think it's the 176th Psalm and verse 10. It says the wrath of man shall praise thee and the remainder of wrath thou shalt restrain. And it's very beautiful to see that. And even in a day of weakness such as we.
Find ourselves and Timothy found himself and ruined. God is in control.
He's overall, he, he's on the throne and he's working everything out for a purpose and a purpose of blessing. And not only in this world, not only is he in control of all that's going on in this world, but he's in control of all that's going on in your life and mine. Whether it's as individuals, whether it's as families, whether it's in the assembly, he's in control. And if we're willing just to commit things to him and realize that he is working everything out for a purpose of blessing, then we're going to be preserved.
Then we're going to go on and you know, I was thinking of.
This verse in connection with the seed of David, because I suppose those who associated themselves with David in his rejection in his time of suffering in The Cave of Adalom, and when he fled as a bird to the mountains and so on. I suppose those who were there with them, associated with them in his rejection, were looking forward to that time when David would come to the throne, and they would be associated with him in his Kingdom.
And what encouragement it gives us, As he says later on in the chapter, if we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.
We had that before us this morning concerning that goal and how the farmer, when he has a goal, he has the harvest in view, the soldier has the victory in view, the the student has the diploma in view, the athlete has the the prize in view. And what is the prize in the Christian life? It's Christ. And do we have that in view? Are we willing to associate with a rejected Savior now with that in view that there is a day when we are going to be associated with him?
00:15:13
In that coming scene of glory, and that glory at that time when he has his rightful place not only in heaven but on this earth. And I know, brethren, that the hope of the Lords appearing is not the proper hope of the believer. We're looking for the rapture. We're looking for his coming in the air to take us to be with himself. But nevertheless, to me it's a tremendous encouragement to realize that there is a day when he will have his rightful place and every knee is going to bow and every tongue confess.
And a day when we're going to be associated with him in glory and we're going to see everything in the light of his presence. And it takes faith to count on that. Perhaps we don't understand things now, but there is a day, it says in Isaiah 40 when the crooked is going to be made straight and the rough place is playing. Solomon looked at things from a natural standpoint and he said that was just crooked. Cannot be made straight And that was just rough, cannot be made plain. But there is a day when everything is going to be manifest in the light of his presence. Now we see through a glass darkly. But I've enjoyed a little expression and revelation concerning the heavenly city and also that sea that is in front of the throne of God. It says it's clear as crystal And brethren, there's a day when everything.
Is going to be clear as crystal. Are you and I content to go on to follow a rejected Christ? To be faithful with him? To leave those things that perhaps offend us and those situations that we think are never going to be straightened out? To leave them with him, and count on that day when he will have his rightful place and will be associated in glory with him.
You love the gospel, Ronald.
And you know you can't save a soul.
But it talks about the elect. What do you think about the pattern for you and I and all of us in verse 10 concerning what Paul says in my gospel?
Well, the.
We hear people tell us.
There's no need to preach the Gospel because.
Those that are going to be saved are going to be saved. We don't need to take our children to Sunday school.
If God's going to save them, he'll do that. He doesn't need our effort.
And there have been doctrines which have gone to sea Ultra Calvinism. What went to seed on that? But, Brother Clem, your question is excellent, because Paul is to us a great example of a faithful servant of Christ. And he said, and and he's the one that taught us the truth of predestination and election, as no one else did. And yet.
He gives us a wonderful example.
He says I'm going to endure all of this for the elects sake and God has told me to go into the world and preach the gospel and I'm going to do it because he told me to do it and I'm going to suffer and I'm going to spread the good news even though I know that only God can save souls. Yet I'm going to do this in obedience to the Lord, trusting him to bless his word.
I think he's a wonderful example.
For all of us to follow, let's not sit back in our rocking chairs and say no need for me to do anything because the Lord has to do it all. No, that's that's just one side of the coin. And the other side of the coin is I'm going to work, I'm going to sew, I'm going to cultivate, I'm going to water so that God will use that for the blessing of your souls. And I think that's what.
Your thought was, wasn't it brother Glenn, to ask the question that Paul is to us a real good example?
Of a normal servant of Christ. I think that's right, Ron. I think God works on both ends. He works in the heart of Ron Reeves to publish and distribute thousands and thousands of tracks then.
That's God's word, in and through you are, and then it's his work to bless what you've done. He He works on both sides of the fence. So he brings a servant of Christ to be exercised to share Christ in the gospel, and he works accordingly.
00:20:07
In the to bless that servant's work. Isn't that pretty much the thought he because it's God who worketh in you boasts to will and to do of his good pleasure.
So we can say if there's any activity of the gospel in the life of any Christian, it's really God working, giving me the desire to do it and the energy to do it, the will to do it. And then he takes what we've done, which is his work, and he blesses that.
If we think of Paul, where he was when he wrote this and why was he landed there?
It helps us in our thoughts. It was love, genuine love, national love, appalled for his nation, that landed him in prison.
He was the apostle chosen for the Gentiles, but he had to work with the Jews.
But he was taken by the Spirit of God out of the Jewish center.
And moved over to Rome. And here he is writing and he says I endure all things.
For the elect's sake, he knew that God had chosen.
But he had a privilege and responsibility. What could he do? He wrote.
And you think of what came out of that prison and the millions that have been brought into the light of the gospel, of the grace of God and the gospel of the glory of God through Paul.
Then how much of that he foresaw, we don't know. But he loved his nation. He loved the Jews. Those in Italy were blessed there, those in Caesar's household.
Well, he had to endure. Although they could tie him up, they couldn't tie the word of God up.
The scripture of the command given for preaching the gospel was to preach the gospel to every creature, and that is our responsibility. Even though Paul knew that there were the elect, still the command is not to preach to the elect because we do not know of those who are still unsaved who they may be.
The responsibility is to preach to every creature, even though they may not receive the message.
And I've enjoyed the thought in Second Corinthians chapter 2 where Paul says.
We are a sweet Savior of Christ in them that believe and in them that perish. So preaching the gospel to those who will not believe still is a sweet savour of Christ to God, and so it need to be encouraged to make it known to the whole world. It's the responsibility, brethren, We're still here, and those around on every side should see the light of the gospel in our lives.
Paul was thankful for any way that the gospel went forth.
I think it's in Philippians where he said whether in truth or pretense, Christ is preached, deny their endure, rejoice, Shay and will rejoice. Even though he said there that there were some preaching out of contention hoping to add to his bonds. He was just thankful that the gospel was going forward and that was Pauls whole desire after he was saved. Before he was saved, his whole being was taken up with persecuting the people of God and seeking to stamp out the truth. But after he was saved, his whole desire was first of all that the gospel go forth to the loss.
And under the Saints be encouraged and go on well. And it's beautiful to see that in these epistles how his whole he's not complaining as to his situation. He's not wallowing himself Pity, shall I say this whole desire is that the people of God are going on in fellowship together. It's a real shepherd's heart, and we ought to covet that. And we heard this afternoon about that word encouragement. And brethren, we need to seek that shepherd's heart like Paul, to encourage one another to go on in these difficult days.
It's We had that verse, I think, read to us in the prayer meeting. Be sober. Be vigilant for your adversary. The devil is a roaring lion. Seek walketh about seeking whom he may devour. And what is his character as the roaring lion in application to you and I? Not persecution in a physical way, but he's seeking to divide and discourage the people of God, and we need, like the apostle Paul, to have that desire. In fact, I've been struck in noticing in the end of Second Corinthians that.
00:25:06
When he speaks of all those things that he suffered physically for the testimony sake, and it's a tremendous list there in 2nd Corinthians 11. All those things shipwrecked, beatings, imprisonment, things that you and I have never been called on to pass through, perhaps, but at the end of that list, he says. And that which came upon me daily, the care of all the churches, And to me it's just as if all those other things that he suffered in a physical way, they just pale.
They just don't seem to mean as much. When he thinks of the burden that he had for the people of God that was greater to him. Whether the Saints were going on well, going on in happy fellowship, growing in the truth, that was more of a burden to him. It meant more to his heart than all those things that he could suffer physically. Well, I say we ought to covet that, especially in these days when Satan is busy to divide and discourage the people of God.
Like to mention, it's helpful to see the whole focus of this chapter.
It's instruction from one service of Christ to another that's really the focus of the whole of this chapter. The Apostle Paul in the first letter to Timothy particularly exhorts him about himself and his own growth of his soul.
He tells them to occupy himself with the doctrine, to be so that others and himself too may progress in that. And the first epistle is particularly an encouragement to a believer to go on in the truth of God, to lay hold of the doctrine, and to walk in it. The 2nd letter to Timothy is to stir him up as a servant of Christ.
To do that service for the Lord in the Great House. And so when this chapter begins, it has that focus. He hell has something. What is he to do with it? He's to pass it on. There are others that need that word, and Timothy is exhorted to pass it on to others. He's to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ. In what context? As a servant. It's as a servant and it's a servant.
And which, brethren, I want to apply it to ourselves. In this way the Lord has wonderfully given many of us to enjoy a lot of truth of Scripture. Now we live in the great House. Are we sharing it, or are we keeping it to ourselves? Or are we passing it on? Are we content to the fact that we have it, or are we going to be good soldiers of Jesus Christ and put away the things?
This light, now that we have the truth as we think and not pass it on to other members of the body of Christ and share it with them. I can enjoy it. I can take my ease, I can say I've got it. And so I entangle myself really in the affairs of life in addition to what I have. But the good soldier says no, I'm going to for Christ sake.
Not make this life a place of ease for myself, but in obedience to the captain of my salvation. I'm going to go forth as a soldier to my fellow man, to my fellow believer, and then he goes on to include that it takes work. The husband then has to labor. There's effort involved in what he's doing. And if I don't do it in accordance with the word, if I don't serve the Lord in obedience to the method that's shown in the word of God, I can't expect the Lord's approval of it.
And then Paul goes on here to give this personal example of himself in a very gentle way to his fellow servant, to encourage him to be a servant of the Lord. Because he starts out and and the way he does it to me is wonderful. He says, Now you know, Timothy, my gospel and how what has happened to me because I have presented that gospel. Well, Timothy, you know, I've ended up in prison because of it. That's been the result.
Because I have preached Jesus Christ, risen from the son of the Son of David, risen from the dead. Where has it gotten me, Timothy? Well, it is. It's landed me in jail. And that's where I now write to you. But Timothy, I know I've suffered and gone. And he says a little later, he says, But if we suffer, he's encouraging his fellow servant. He says, I know it costs something to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, to share the truth of the word of God.
00:30:10
But it's worth it, Timothy, because if we suffer, then the glory is going to come. Timothy, don't deny it. Let's not deny the truth. Let's go forward with it. Because he denies he He'll remain faithful. The Lord won't deny himself. And so if we're a good servant or a faithful servant to him, we can always count on the presence of the Lord in it. Timothy needed this encouragement because he saw Paul in prison and he might said oh.
I can't serve the Lord in that condition. What if I really tell the truth of God?
I might end up in prison. Well, now you and I don't think we will. But many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are in prison today. They're in prison today. Why? Because they have been followed the exhortation for this chapter. We don't know how many hundreds or thousands.
Of the Lord's people are sitting in a prison cell this afternoon because they have been faithful in the way that Paul was exhorting Timothy. And then he goes on in the what follows in this chapter just to kind of give an overview because I think it's helpful to see the chapter and it's it's focused, it's real context when he goes on, he says. Timothy there are some who have brought in perverted words.
They haven't really brought the truth. Now what is the servant going to do about that? He said Timothy And he tells him, he says you shun fame and profane battling. Don't get involved in that, he said. I know that some have perverted things by saying the resurrection is passed already.
But listen, Timothy, the servant of God, must not strive but in general, and he shows him how to deal with that situation where he was. He wasn't to raise up, as it were, and beat down all opposition and forced his own will upon all men. He couldn't do that in the great house. He might have when all was in order in the first epistle of the 1St letter. But now all that is confused. Nor was he taught to withdraw from it all, as it were, and say well.
I've got the truth, and you and I can enjoy the truth, and we'll let everybody else worry about themselves. No, as a servant of the Lord, while he wasn't to strive, he was to be gentle, have to teach to carry forth the truth unto all men, and in connection with it, just in that center, he said.
In verse 18 concerning the truth, some have urged saying the resurrection is passed already and overthrow the faith of some. But then he gives a word of encouragement to the servant in a confused and evil day.
But Timothy, the foundation stand, sure, we can rest in that, and we can build on that foundation. And we'll find that if we build on that solid foundation of the word, that we're going to find others on the same foundation striving in the same way. And we can go on with them, even as we seek to bring blessing and benefit as servants of the Lord in the whole household of God. And we can.
Desire that God may give those who oppose the truth her adventure, He says to give them repentance to the acknowledgement of the truth. So I just, I want to bring that out, brethren, so that we can sort of see even in the verses that we read, that the real strong emphasis of this whole chapter is an encouragement to us and instructions and exhortations to us as to how to be the Lord's servant.
In the confused state of Christendom and in the world today, and to encourage us to be willing to do it even if we have that privilege of sharing with Paul and with Timothy and the suffering that goes along with it, what was it for? For the elects sake.
Paul he just says Timothy, why am I doing it? Well it's for the elects sake and so may we not give our lives to everything that we have and are for the sake of the elect. We don't know who they are individually and so we we go out to all but our lives should be those that are motivated as servants of Christ and love to all men and to all the body of Christ.
Maybe we can.
00:35:01
Go on in this chapter to get a little further towards the end. I'd just like to. I don't want to hurry anybody who has a special burden on any verse that it's like to point out some real positive things here towards the end of the chapter that I think are so beautiful to lay hold of the 13th verse. It says if we believe not.
Yet he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself, rather than that a consolation to realize that even if we are not faithful, if we do not believe, there is one who is always faithful in the seven churches. He's called the faithful and the truth. We can count on the Lord brethren.
No matter how difficult the situations that may arise, and the Lord may have to allow more difficult situations than what we are already passing through.
But he is faithful, he cannot deny himself, and we can count on his faithfulness in the midst of the confusion that there is all around. Then Don touched on that, going down further to what relates to the Great House, because in verse.
17 There were two who were denying The Who were saying that the resurrection had already passed, and they were overthrowing the faith of some bad doctrine was being taught.
And here in the great House, where everything is so confused and everything is now not according to God's thoughts of His house, It's not no longer called the House of God like it is in First Timothy, as it's been mentioned, but it's the Great House. Man's ideas, man's thoughts have been incorporated, but all under the roof of profession of the name of Christ.
But notice the first part of the 19th verse. Here's a real positive thing, brother. The foundation of God standeth. Sure the Old Testament. When Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed Jerusalem, even the foundations of the house were broken up, so that when Ezra came back, they had to relay the foundation.
But in the ruin of the public testimony today, brethren?
The foundation stands. Sure. It's sure, brother. We have a sure foundation. It speaks in in Ephesians chapter two of the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. The apostles and prophets laid down in the New Testament scriptures is sure we can still ground ourselves on those principles.
They were laid down there. It stands firm. Isn't that a consolation in our day, even amidst the confusion? That's the foundation of God stands. Sure. Oh dear brethren, we do have things here that really encourage, even in spite of the fact there may be a lot of trouble still.
He abides faithful, he cannot deny himself, and the foundation of God stands sure.
What's the other seal?
Two farts, dude, Aren't there. The Lord knows them that are His, and let everyone that name it the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
God's side of it and our side of it. And we do have a responsibility in regard to in regard to it. There is a great house. We are told in 2nd Corinthians 6 not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Come out from among them and be separate. Stay the Lord and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and be a father, and you should be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. He's already our father, we know that. But he acts as a father and.
So here in this it's.
It's the devoted heart. It's the desire of those who know the Lord and love the Lord.
00:40:06
To show that love.
By.
By leaving The Walking and separation from the vessels under wood and earth, the vessels under dishonor.
That will fit for the master's use, and prepared forever unto every good work.
We need to need leave souls with God, don't we, brethren? The Lord knows them that are His, and it's not for us to go and say this is a real believer and that one isn't. The Lord knows we have to leave him pretty well with God in that side of the matter. But there is an individual responsibility that reflects on each one of us. That is, let everyone that nameth the name of Christ or of the Lord.
Depart from iniquity, and everyone who names that name, and I would say this, that the great House.
Includes all those who name the name of Christ who use that name. If they name that name, they have a responsibility. But it's put in this singular here, and so I have to examine myself if I name that name.
Do not connect that name with iniquity, in whatever way it may crop up doctrinal moral ecclesiastical. Do not connect that name with iniquity. That is the responsibility of everyone that names that name.
Another thing I think we should mention that since this great House includes all those who name the name of Christ, and it includes a.
A lot of different peoples and groups, you might say that name, the name of Christ. Brethren, we are part of the Great House, and we cannot get out of the Great House without becoming an apostate to Christianity. That would be the only way to leave the Great House. Sometimes I and I like to clarify it. Sometimes we use terms and I think we need to clarify them. In our minds we use the word the camp.
Brethren were told to come out of the camp.
But we're never told to come out of the great House. That would be impossible. Sometimes in our minds eye it seems like it's the same word we're using, but it's different. The camp is Judaism, that which ministers to man in the flesh, that which pleases man in the flesh, and that we are to lead, we are to come out of. But here it is not the count as such. It is the great House of Christian profession, and in that great house.
There is a responsibility that reflects on me to not connect the name of Christ with iniquity. And also if I want to be a vessel unto honor meet for the masters use, then I need to purge myself from those to dishonor. And so there is that responsibility. Within the house we do not leave the house, but within the house there is that.
Responsibility. I present it to you individually as it reflects to my own soul individually. I must act before God on my own responsibility for this if I'm going to be a vessel unto honor meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work.
I'd like to ask a question concerning the end of verse 22. Timothy is exhorted to go on with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. I think this is an expression that has been misconstrued and misapplied, and I just like to ask if the question concerning this expression who are those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart?
In chapter one of First Timothy, the same expression is used.
The first Timothy 1.
Five Now the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart.
00:45:04
And that's what's enjoined upon us.
And it's the single eye. It's what pleases God.
No other motive enters there, does it? But the sense of pleasing God. I think of those three men who were with David in The Cave of a Dolom, and David expressed a desire, oh, that one would give me water. The will of Bethlehem wasn't a command, was a desire. But there was a heart in those three men that went, and at the risk of their lives, they broke through and got that water for David.
Let's use that border and go on with these.
Vessels to honor the clean vessel.
In using drinking glasses.
And pure water. And a glass that's full of dirt dirty.
And it's been over there, where they may be mixing up something on the farm, just a dirty glass. Then there might be a chemical there on the farm, some kind of poison. One glass is dirty with dirt, One glass is dirty with poison.
One would be a picture of moral evil.
Poison would be doctrine illegal, but mixed with those two glasses or those.
Two classes of glasses. There are other glasses that are just in association.
With dirty things and with poisonous things.
Now you want to drink. You wouldn't take anyone of those 3.
Different groups to get you a drink of water, dirty or poisonous, or even those who were contaminated because they were in the area of it. I think we have these three crashes of evil to separate from moral evil, doctrinal evil and evil associations. They probably include what is meant here.
Iniquity depart from iniquity.
Association with evil is defiling as well as being evil personally. Read the Little Book of Haggai. It'll tell you that That's right.
This is a illustration that perhaps all our sisters know well. When you have a finished with a meal, you take all The Dirty dishes and put them on one side of the sink and you have the sink full of water and you dip a dirty dish into the water and wash it. You do not put it back where the other dirty ones are, you separate it. That's what's sanctified. Means it is separated, is put completely on another side of the sink.
Completely separated. And so we need to remember that as the Lord comes into this great house, and as he desires to find a vessel that he can use brethren, Are we in a position that He can use us?
Sometimes the thought has been that the vessels to gold and silver are the vessels to honor. The vessels to wood and to earth are the vessels to dishonor. But Scripture doesn't say exactly that. Brethren it simplifies, which is a vessel to honor.
Very clearly by saying, if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor. Supposing, and I suppose we could say that vessels to gold and silver are made for an honorable position. But supposing in the illustration of Brother Clem used of the poisonous glasses, supposing we see there amongst them a vessel, a glass made of pure gold.
So, well, that wasn't really the purpose that that gold vessel was made to be used for, but there it is. You wouldn't want to use that gold vessel to take a drink of water either.
No. First of all, it would have to be cleansed before it could be used. And so as God comes into, and the Spirit of God dwells in this great house brethren, and as he comes in and seeks for a vessel to use, Why?
00:50:03
He's going to use one that is ready for his use, and so this is the reflection for each one of us. Are we in a position where he can use this? Are we purged from that which is dishonorable to his name so that he can use this? And it's been mentioned in verse 22 That it is.
With them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But I suggest that is the result of each one obeying individually the command of the Lord. As you obey that command, as I obey that command, as each one obeys that command automatically, we're going to find a fellowship together.
Him 298.
Be on Your Guard-Stand Firm 1 Corinthians 16:13,14
Address—E. Ensign
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.
First of all, just for a verse just to.
Kind of encourage us and to set the set the tone perhaps.
My genuine desire is that whatever we have this afternoon might be something that would be an encouragement to us each in Romans, the 15th chapter.
And the fourth verse.
And we'll read probably verse 4-5 and six.
Romans 15 Four for whatsoever things were written aforetime.
Were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures.
Might have hope.
And we could translate the comfort encouragement.
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus, that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In heaven we had a nice time this weekend and haven't we experienced the encouragement of the scriptures as we've as we've been together? And certainly it's been a real encouragement to us all.
In these in these perilous, perilous days.
Now I'd like to turn over to 1St Corinthians, the 16th chapter.
I want to read 2 verses and sort of let this be the springboard for what I have in my heart this afternoon.
First Corinthians, the 16th chapter.
And verse 13.
Watch he stand fast in the faith. Quit you like men. Be strong. Let all your things be done with charity.
One translation puts it to be on your guard, stand firm in the face, be men of courage, or be people of courage. Be strong, do everything in love, and with a few variations, most every other translation you'd look at would have words to that effect.
Beyond your guard, watch ye stand fast in the faith.
Put you like men or be people of courage.
Be strong, Let all your things be done with charity, and charity is divine love.
And isn't an interesting.
That when we think of who this verse was written to, it was written to those Corinthian Saints. And if we think for a moment as to the various things that Paul had to write.
To those dear folks, when you think that there was, there was immorality and there was.
There was carelessness in their conduct and their practices and a lot of other things that Paul had to write to those Saints.
Yes, there was failure and there was failure here with us.
But they were still an assembly gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. And as he finishes this communication to them, and we know from reading the farther on into the in the second epistle, we know that that Paul really was on his face in prayer as to how his dear brethren would accept the letter that he wrote.
And we know, we know the end of the story. Of course we know that the Saints accepted what he said, and it was such a relief. And to him. But when you think that here, now, this, this verse is written to these, these dear Saints, watch ye stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. Let all your things be done with divine love.
I'd like to turn to just a few verses. We may be turning to quite a few places.
Let's look at a few verses and then I want to consider a place from the Old Testament which would really bring out what we read in Romans 15. Because when the Romans 15 was written, probably the only scripture or the Old Testament scriptures turn to Acts, the 20th chapter, when we think of the first thing in our verse. Watchy or beyond your guard?
X20.
Now I'll read verse 31 and then we'll see what it is he's talking about.
Acts 20 verse 31. Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone, night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. We had the matter of grace before us, and I'm so glad, and isn't it nice, that he commends them to God and the Word?
00:05:26
Of His Grace. But what were they to watch out for? Well, verse 29 and 30, I believe, tell us.
For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. This was written almost 2000 years ago. There were going to be dangers from without, and there were going to be dangers from within. And so Paul tells the Saints in Ephesus here to watch.
And the warning is good for us today, isn't it?
Now Paul, he could say be followers of me as I am of Christ, and I don't suppose there's any other person outside of the Lord Jesus that could write something like that.
We've had the the exhortation before us in our meetings. We had it this morning, didn't we, that we have to have our eyes on the Lord Jesus and not on any on any man or men. So here's something to to watch out for. Our verse said watch beyond your guard. So may the Lord help us that our eyes might be on him.
Now turn over to Colossians. We'll read just a few of these Colossians, the 4th chapter.
And the second verse continuing prayer and watching the same.
With Thanksgiving.
And then turn over to 1St Thessalonians, the 5th chapter.
1St Thessalonians 5.
And verse 6.
Paul writes to these Saints, Therefore let us not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober. Sober, I suspect, would be the willingness to take that inward, inward look, perhaps in self judgment, let us watch and be sober.
I'd like to consider for a few moments now in connection with this part of our little verse that we're considering.
I'd like to have you think with me about part of the life of Nehemiah the.
And I'm not going to read. I'm not going to read it, but let's just think about it for a moment, Nehemiah opens. You know, with Nehemiah hearing news of the fact that the walls in Jerusalem were broken down and things were in pretty bad shape.
The Nehemiah's reaction is he starts to pray. He is very concerned.
And he starts to pray about the fact that Jerusalem is in such a state.
You know the thing that's so nice about Nehemiah? You know, under?
The first wave of people that came back his name slips me but he was a descendant of the kings and there were several thousand that came back after the captivity and they came back to rebuild the rebuild the temple and then under under Ezra several thousand more I think about 1800 maybe came back under Ezra and Ezra was a priest and their mission was to re establish the worship.
But in Nehemiah's case, here was one man, just one man. And Nehemiah was, can we say he was an ordinary working man, just like most of us here? And in the midst of his duties and his ordinary work, he found time to be concerned and found time to pray about the Lord's things and the Lord's interests. And when Nehemiah came back, there was just Nehemiah. There was a guard that was given to him, but it was Nehemiah's exercise. And so we find when we when we think about.
That little account, that one man when he's before the Lord in prayer, what wonderful things that can be wrought when there's one person exercised. So Nehemiah begins to pray.
And he confesses. He confesses the sins of his people, and he takes his part with them. And I think that's so important. Sometimes we call that eating the sin offering, don't we? But there isn't any of us that can stand apart and point the finger. In one sense, we're part of the part of the collective testimony, and we all bear our part in whatever failure there is. And So what a nice lesson this is. We see the same thing in Ezra's life and the same thing in Daniels life.
00:10:23
To take their place before the Lord, and to confess the sins of their people, taking their part in it.
And when we read in that first chapter, then go on into the second chapter, those two, two months that are mentioned would indicate that that Nehemiah was praying for at least four months about this whole matter that so was on his heart. And then in the second chapter, Nehemiah is before the king and you know he's sad, and the king notices that he's he's sad. And this was quite a quite a thing. I understand that in the case of those Oriental kings that people were supposed to always be very happy and smiling.
And they could be perhaps put out of their job if they weren't, if they didn't conduct themselves in their proper way before the king. So the king notices that Nehemiah is sad, and the king asks him why. What an opening, what an opportunity for Nehemiah as he explains to the king the his concern why it is he said. And he tells the king about what's going on in Jerusalem, and then the king asks him of what he wanted.
And so there was another wonderful opening. And Nehemiah evidently had been thinking about this. And he requests letters so that he can go over to Israel and so that he can get all the supplies that he needs in order to rebuild, rebuild the wall. And so the king grants his request and gives him a, gives him a leave of absence so he can go over and to take care of the business. Well then as the chapter proceeds, you remember.
Nehemiah didn't just write into Jerusalem and call the elders together and tell him what he was going to do, but it was at night time and he took a trip around that wall by himself so he could see first hand what the condition of that wall was. And so in the second chapter, toward the end, it tells us about that. And then after he finishes that and then he calls his brethren together and explains to them.
What's been on his heart and his exercises?
And I think it's so nice that Nehemiah doesn't play his exercise on his brethren.
But before the conversation is done, if you read in the end of the second chapter, they say his brethren say let us rise up and build. I think that's nice. So that there was that, that oneness of purpose and oneness of heart and what was to be done.
Well, then there's a lot of pages devoted to the rebuilding of the wall, and we might ask ourselves.
What is the Lord's purpose in telling us about the rebuilding of a wall in an ancient city of over 1000 years ago? Well, you know, a wall was to was to keep out the enemy.
And so there's a lot of detail and description given to us about how the people, different ones with their families. There was some more energetic than others, but they proceed with the work of rebuilding the wall. You know, I understand that that one of the things that that characterized the Saints when they were first gathered to the Lord's name back in the 1800s was the matter of of the the separation, separation of life and separation and heart.
That those looking on saw that there was a real difference. And you know, I don't have to look any farther than here to realize that that there's been, there's been failure in that in my life. And perhaps you might feel that in your own life that maybe we're too much like those round about us that we haven't maintained that now this is not isolation, but it's a separation, separation of heart to the Lord that we might go on in a way that's pleasing to him.
The interesting thing about the rebuilding of that wall?
Is the fact that there was opposition.
There was there were several distinct waves and several distinct types of opposition that took place to the rebuilding of that wall. There was there was ridicule, there were threats of violence, there was deception, and you can read them in those in those chapters. But the Lord gave Nehemiah the the discernment in order to see through these things and the work. The work continued until finally the wall, the wall was built.
00:15:03
I'd like to have you turn with me now, just for a moment, to Nehemiah, the 4th chapter as we think about this matter of of watching. Because you know the devil is going to try to work in my life, and yours too. He's going to try to get us to be careless.
And so in Nehemiah, the 4th chapter, let's read a few verses.
Let's read starting at verse 7.
But it came to pass that when San Violet and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Astrodites heard that the walls of Jerusalem were made-up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth, and conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to hinder it.
Nevertheless, we made our prayer unto God and sent a watch against them.
Day and night because of them. So isn't that isn't that interesting that here they detected the problem and?
Their answer was to pray to God with this threat. And Judah said, the strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish, so that we are not able to build the wall. And our adversaries said they shall not know neither see that we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease. And it came to pass that when the Jews which dwelt by them, came, they said unto us 10 times.
From all places. When she shall return unto us, they will be upon you. I wonder if this isn't the the enemy's persistence to wear us down. 10 times they were they were besieged by these these threats, and these this opposition to the building of the wall.
And maybe you can feel it in your life. Maybe I can feel it in my life that there is this, this attempt on the part of the devil to wear down, wear down the Saints.
Therefore said I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places I sent even the people after their families with their swords, their Spears, and their bows. And I looked and rose up and said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people. Be not afraid of them, remember the Lord, which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, and your sons, and your daughters, your wives and your houses. Anna came to pass when our enemies heard that it was known unto us.
And God had brought their counsel to none, that we returned, all of us to the wall and everyone to his work.
And it came to pass from that time forth that the half of my servants wrought in the work.
And the other half of them held both the Spears, the Shields and the bows, and the virgins and the rulers were behind all the House of Judah.
They which build it on the wall, and they which bear the burdens with those that laid it, or those that loaded, I suppose, or carried the burdens. Everyone with his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon for the builders. Everyone had his sword girded by his side, and so builded.
And he that sounded the trumpet was by me. So here is the here is the result of their being on guard, and they're being on watch against the enemies of this effort to rebuild the wall. And so the devil is going to try to wear us down. He's going to try to get us to let down the bars, as it were. But all that the Lord might help us, that we too might set that watch and be careful. Look to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to guide our guide our feet.
In the right way as we think of this first little admonition in our verse. Watchy or beyond your guard. Be vigilant. Be alert. The devil is going to try to If you can't get us in one place, he's going to try to get us in another place.
The second part of our verse tells us to stand fast or stand firm in the faith.
Turn with me, if you will, to Ephesians, the 6th chapter. Now some of these were going to sort of skim over read the verses and you might want to just to think about them a little more at your leisure.
Ephesians, the 6th chapter.
And verse 10.
We're thinking now of standing firm in the faith.
00:20:03
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
I understand that power here is, like our word, dynamite, and that interesting the power of his might put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil.
Those Wilds, you know, those are the those are the deceptions. Those are the lies that Satan whispers in our ears.
Those things that you know, it's I've often thought this you know the devil. The devil knows my weaknesses, and he knows yours, and he's going to try to exploit them. But the Lord knows my weaknesses too, and he's going to strengthen me in them, and he's going to strengthen you too, in your weaknesses. And so even though there's the deceptions, why we can look to the Lord that we can stand against these Wiles or these deceptions, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
But against principalities, Against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places?
And I've heard, I've heard some put it this way and read things that go something like this, that we're we're arrayed, the Christian down here is arrayed before these terrible powers of wickedness, the very headquarters of of Wickedness 11 writer puts it. And these these powers, they're they're sharp, they're intelligent. They know exactly what they're doing. They know exactly what it is that the Lord stands for, and they know what what we stand for.
If we're really standing for the Lord, and so the battle and the.
And the conflict is against this this type of thing it was mentioned.
During the meeting sometime about what took place in Russia in the last the last two weeks.
When it looked like there was going to be an overthrow of of the present government, and perhaps the doors that were recently opened, that the scriptures going in might have been closed, but we saw what happened that that it only lasted for a couple of days and evidently that door is still open.
You know, we can't help but think that the powers of darkness have been foiled. You know, they've come up against the God of this universe.
God Almighty and the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord is going, is decreeing that that door stays open. Those people are going to hear His word and there's nothing going to prevail against that. Now, the door may close and we don't know. A couple of months down the road, we don't know. But isn't it wonderful to see that, that God really can move those scenes? We've heard that expression, that God's behind the scenes and he's moving them.
But boy, when he moves, when he when he moves, He moves quickly sometimes, too, doesn't he? It's amazing that some of the things that have taken place, and they've taken place so fast. But I think of the verse two greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. Yes, there's all these, all these terrible powers of wickedness, but the Lord has given us the equipment, can I say, in order to stand. And so in verse 13.
He says, Take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand an evil day. And having done all to stand, I've understood that it's something like two nations are at war.
And there's not battles every day, but war has been declared and we never know when there's going to be an attack or a conflict break out. And so we have to be ready. And so there is the evil day in which the war has been declared and we have to be ready.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace above all, taking the shield of faith wherewith he shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance.
And supplication for All Saints. And for me, says Paul. Paul says, pray for me. Isn't that wonderful that the great apostle? We see that he felt his need and he asked the Saints to pray for him. So here are these parts of the armor, and as I say, we're not going to spend a lot of time. But here's the in the verse 14 the loins girt about with truth, and I wonder if the Lord isn't telling us there that he'd have. He'd have our our lives and our affections governed by His word. Hold the place.
And turn over to 1St Thessalonians 2 just for a verse.
00:25:07
In I Thessalonians 2, Paul describes his concerns and exercises as he went into the Thessalonian folks.
And he says there in chapter 2.
Verse 13.
For this cause also thank we God without ceasing.
Because when you receive the word of God, which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men.
But as it is in truth the word of God, which effectually.
Works also in you that believe. So he saw how they received it, but they saw that that word worked in them. And so the Lord wants that word to work in me, and He wants it to work to work in you in order to have our our lives control by what we read in the word of God. Not just to read it with the idea of getting so many interesting religious facts, but that it might make a change in my life and a change in your life.
And so there's then the breastplate to guard those affections, and the feet shod so that.
Our the way we walk through might be commendable to the to the gospel. Then there's this shield of faith to ward off these fiery darts of the devil. Because the devil is going to try his best to discourage us and to make us doubt. And so we need that, that shield, his faith. And then there's the helmet of salvation. My head needs to be guarded because of the the thoughts. And Satan's going to try to work in my mind, and we'll speak a little more about that. He's going to try to work through my mind. My thoughts need to be guarded. Then there's the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
And prayer. And I've heard it suggested that perhaps one of the times that we need this armor the most is when we kneel down to pray.
Has anyone here like me that that when you kneel down?
Or you try to gather your thoughts to prayer. Many times you find all kinds of distractions.
Your mind wanders and you just can't focus in many times.
Does it ever happen? Yes. I'm sure you know you. It has to be the same with you. We're all made of the same stuff, aren't we? And so one of the times that we need this armor the most is when we pray, when we want to pray to the Lord, so that all these things that we've talked about can be in right relationship to the Lord as we pray.
The first verse that we read in chapter 6 here was be strong in the Lord. We have no strength in ourselves. None of us be strong in the Lord.
When we think of standing in the faith, you remember how it was with Daniel. And in that first chapter of Daniel, you remember how he and his friends.
Of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were their captivity and they've been taken captive. And there they were, these youngsters in a strange land, strange customs, strange language, and the whole. The whole effort was to get these men to conform, to conform to the customs of Babylon.
And I suspect that the Babylon was probably a lot worse maybe than some of the situations that we faced. Maybe not. But it's a pretty good, pretty good comparison. And so the time came when they were put to the test.
And so it speaks later on in the chapter one about the food they were required to eat, a certain kind of food that was set before them. And I wonder if this isn't the the pressure sometimes when we think of food, let's think of it in a spiritual sense about the the things that we take in, the things we read, the things we hear, whatever it might be, they were pressured to take in a certain kind of food. And those men, Daniel and his friends, had the sense.
Because of their training and their beliefs that this was really something that they should stand against. And so they did. They did stand against it. Daniel, he used a very reasonable approach with his captor. He he requested that they might not defile themselves. And the Lord honored that request. And I tell you, dear friends, dear Saints, that that if that's read to your desire, I've seen it work. That if your desire is if you get into a certain situation and your desire is that you might not defile yourself.
Stand back and watch the Lord work. If you tell him that, Lord, I don't want to defile myself in a particular situation and he'll work, I really believe in all my soul, he'll answer that prayer. And so Daniel and his friends were allowed to be tested for a 10 day period with the food that they wanted. Very simple fare and they were found fatter, you know, and they look better than the others. And so how to eat their simple fare and they came out at the head of the class.
00:30:12
At the head of the class, they passed the exams with flying colors because they had it on their heart to please the Lord. They stood against the pressure to put them into the mold. You know, It says over in Romans 12 be not conformed.
To this world, and you know, the interesting thing is the word for conform there.
Is a word that indicates a confirmation to something that is fleeting and doesn't last at all. When it tells us in the previous chapter in chapter 8 in Romans that we might be conformed to the image of his son, that's a confirmation that's being conformed to something that's lasting and eternal. Isn't that interesting?
So the Lord would have us to stand against these things. Well, there's other examples we could turn to, but I want to move on here.
The next thing in our little verse says it says quick, You like men, or be men, or be people of courage? I like to think for a moment turn over to First Samuel, the story of David and Goliath.
You know, we've all read this story, and the children have heard it in the Sunday School, and mothers and dads have have read the story to the children.
But you know, I wonder if we if we realize.
What tremendous confidence in the Lord.
That David had in order to go against.
This giant, And maybe it seems sometimes we're going against the giants.
And you know the story how it is that David was just a young man and and of normal height. And here was the giant who was at least nine feet tall, armed to the teeth.
But David David volunteered to go against the giant.
Now we do see in David a picture of the Lord Jesus, but I'd like to think of this story now as.
David and one who had confidence in the Lord.
And so David and the Giant come face to face. Let's read now on First Samuel 17.
And verse 41.
And the Philistine came on, and drew near unto David.
The man that bare the shield went before him.
And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, and Ruddy, and of affair, countenance. And the Philistines said unto David, Am IA dog, that thou comest to me with staves. And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistines said to David.
Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, who now has defied.
This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee.
And I will give the carcasses of the host, the Philistines this day under the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. And all this assembly shall know that the Lord says not with sword and spear, For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hands. Isn't that wonderful? David had confidence in the Lord. We know the end of the story how that it took only the one stone.
And the aim was true, and the one stone dispatched the giant. But all with confidence that David could say all the earth is going to know that there's a God in Israel today.
I think two of the third chapter of Daniel, we won't turn to it, but that's the the account of how Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego refused to bow down to that image that the king set up.
It was a very simple thing, you know, The music sounded, and everybody in the Kingdom just bow down. That's all there was to it. But here were three men standing upright in the midst of everybody else that was following the knee to this, this heathen, heathen image. And you remember the story. The decree was that anyone that wouldn't bow down to the King's image supposed to be cast into the burning, fiery furnace.
00:35:04
And so the king questioned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
And they were very firm but respectful.
They said words to the effect that, O king, our God is able to deliver us, but even if he doesn't choose.
Jews, Gentiles and the Church
Address—C. Buchanan
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.
2 verses in Daniel four will introduce.
What we want to seek to find out.
From the Word of God this afternoon.
We have a revelation in our hands from God.
Let us read.
In Daniel 4 verse 13 first.
I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold a watcher.
And an holy one came down from heaven.
Verse 17.
This matter is by the decree.
Of the Watchers.
And the demand, by the word of the holy, wants to the intent.
That the living may know that the most High ruleth in the Kingdom of men.
And giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it.
The basis of men.
There are living people here.
To the intent that the living may know.
Written, given to Daniel nearly 600 years before the Cross.
But for us, the point we want to make U.S. special this afternoon is that.
God is watching.
And he sees down here in this world.
Especially.
Three groups.
Namely the Gentiles.
The Jews and the Church of God.
Now I believe in verse 13.
That this singular watcher, a watcher, an unholy one, came down from heaven, refers to the Most High.
To God, to the Lord.
Because he had done it many times before.
Hold this place and turn back to Genesis.
Chapter 8.
No, it's not 8.
811.
Genesis 11.
In connection with Babel.
That the Lord knew about and he says in verse five. And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men builded. Now turn to the 18th chapter.
And this comes in in connection with Sodom.
It was in connection with Babel in Chapter 11. Chapter 18 it's in connection with Sodom.
Verse 20.
And the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom.
And Gamara is great, because their sin is very grievous. I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is coming to me.
And if not, I will know.
So you see, back in our chapter in Daniel, it was no new thing.
For the God of heaven.
To take an interest on the events.
That happened on the Earth.
Now I suspect that the day in which we live is just as interesting to God as it was in the days of Sodom, in the day of Babel and the day of Nebuchadnezzar.
00:05:04
And we make much.
Now the events we see in our lifetime.
And I believe there's a.
Principle in the word of God that we should look at them.
With the mind of a watcher.
That is, God was the Watcher.
Jehovah.
That came down. He was that holy one. But in verse 17417, notice that verse again.
Daniel 417. This decree, this matter, is the decree of the watchers.
And the demand by the word of the Holy One.
Hold this verse again and turn with me to Psalm 103.
I think we have some light which will let us know.
Who the watchers and who the holy ones are?
The 20th verse.
Of Psalm 103.
Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength.
That do his commandments hearkening under the voice of his.
Word. Without reading it to you, I'll ask you to remember.
Having read Genesis 18 and 19.
That to Abraham came three men.
And when Abraham addressed them, he just says 1 Lord, he just addressed one. One of those three men was the Lord was Jehovah. The other two were apparently those angels that went on over.
To Sodom in chapter 19.
What we're getting here is the interest of heaven over things on the earth.
And that God bears long with things.
And then he judges.
But he always has a remnant.
And a godly remnant to bring through a wicked world.
And to bring out of it before the final judgment.
The prophecies that come in Daniel.
We say prophecies.
Much of it is history.
But thinking about it this way.
History and prophecy are exactly the same to God.
Limited in our understanding, we can't conceive.
Of the great I am, who is always that? And so accurate is the prophecy that men have said Daniel couldn't have written what he wrote. But it's been proven by geology finding old manuscripts that what was given to Daniel was written before much of it took place.
Well, here was the time of Nebuchadnezzar. We're living in the days of the Gentiles. These are the times of the Gentiles.
They began as to the times of the Gentiles that God speaks of.
With Nebuchadnezzar, they're still going on. It is still the times of the Gentiles that is God.
Took the throne of the government of the earth away from the Jews, and gave it to Nebuchadnezzar coming on down.
Through medial Persia, through Greece to Rome.
Those four great empires.
And in this chapter, we're not going to read it. There's not time for it.
God comes down.
And here is Nebuchadnezzar, the first of the Gentile powers.
And he becomes boastful.
And he says, is not this great Babylon which I have built?
Well, he is humbled.
So the great tree that flourished at first in Babylon, in Nebuchadnezzar, was cut down.
But a branch sprung out of its roots, and God goes on and bears with the Gentiles.
00:10:05
He's still bearing with the Gentiles. And what does he think?
Money seized the wars that have taken place this year.
The dreadful killings.
According to data, there have been more people killed violently in this century.
Far more than any other century. Probably far more than any.
Two or three or four centuries, the earth is filled up with violence and corruption again, and God is still bearing with man on the earth.
And drawing a people out of the earth, saved by grace through faith.
Brought into now the Church of God.
Well, the Gentiles have not glorified God.
And they're warned. I believe it's the 11 of Romans.
And because they hadn't continued in his goodness, he won't spare them.
It's going to be cut down, but it's still going on and it will go on the times of Gentiles.
Until the revived Roman Empire, which may be in the forming.
Gets a place on the earth and the great man, the imperial beast, rises up.
And the height of iniquity reaches its peak, and then Christ comes and cuts it down. In the second chapter of Daniel, the prophecy is of an image.
With a head of gold.
And arms. And a chest of silver and a torso of brass.
And legs of iron, and feet of partly iron and clay.
An accurate description.
Of the great powers of the Gentiles, beginning with the head of gold, the most valuable.
Which got its power from God.
Terminating at the base.
But the feet and the toes are part of iron, part of clay.
And they don't mix. So it says there that it's partly strong.
And partly broken. And they mingle themselves with a seed of men.
Now that is particularly what we are seeing now.
In the rise of democracy, that's the last form of the power of the Gentiles before they get their imperial beast.
And oh, the interest of events last week in Russia.
And earlier in Poland.
In Romania, in Serbia, Croatia.
Eastern Europe.
The springing up the formation of one nation.
After another nation based upon man's thought, a man ruling man. Now that's coming up from below. It doesn't have the power of when it came down from the head, from God himself, but it does have power. It's partly strong and partly broken.
But there are the watchers, and there are the holy ones.
Now these that we believe are the angels.
Hold this place again and turn to Hebrews chapter 2.
Just to bring out from scripture.
A truth, I believe, which agrees with what we're trying to find here in Daniel 4.
Hebrews 2.
Hebrews 25 Unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come whereof we speak?
00:15:04
You see, God is the watcher. He sees what's going on in the Gentile powers.
And he has sent and is sending and controlling by angelic power the thinking of men's minds. Nobody knows exactly what happened in the Kremlin last week.
But it was amazing.
Or was it? I think it was angels holding back a rupture of bloodshed.
In order to let democracy come up in that land.
Well, that's my thought about it at any rate. What we're trying to bring out is God is watching.
And he is in full control of all the nations, this nation.
Every nation he is sovereign, and he has myriads of angels that do his bidding. One beautiful thing is that in Hebrews.
Those angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who are shall be heirs of salvation. I'm one of them. You're one of them when you believe in the Lord Jesus. There are angels looking at us right now. They learn in the church the manifold wisdom of God. Well, perhaps we built long enough on the fact that God is watching and he's in full control.
Of the powers that be aren't you thankful? Aren't you thankful you don't have to worry about what's going to happen Our God, our Father is in full control. He's working out his purposes and counsel. They will ripen fast. Now let's go to the Jews. Turn now to.
Isaiah chapter 18.
We're going to read the fourth verse. It gets the thought.
Of God observing.
And in particular, this nation scattered.
And peeled and terrible from their beginning. Hitherto no warriors.
Like the Jews? That's the description of the Jews in this chapter.
A nation scattered and peeled.
And the people terrible from their beginning hitherto.
I'm reading in the second verse, the middle part.
A nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled.
But verse four we were going to read.
For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest.
And I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. Now to just tell you bleakly what we have learned from Bible expositors who lived over 100 years ago.
Have told us this chapter.
Is what it reveals. I'll name two of them, FG Patterson and JN Darby. They gave a wonderful exposition of what this chapter meant and what it referred to was the return.
Of a nation of Israel.
In advance.
Of the Tribulation period.
And they have gone there now.
FT Patterson and Jay and Darby died in the last century.
What they wrote has largely been fulfilled in the lifetime of many of us here about the return.
A sample of that nation of Israel even called Israel.
And what is our verse saying?
The Lord said.
Unto me I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place.
I will regard my set dwellings, says the margin.
This picture is the same, it's the observer.
Is the Lord on high, considering, watching, seeing what is happening? He may say arranging it too, for they must come back.
00:20:06
In order to suffer for what they did to their Messiah. That is the two tribes. There's enough of them there. I would say there's far too many because they have come back too soon.
They have come back for judgment, and God is just as we are saying.
I'm just going to rest up here and look and see what's going on down there in Israel with those Jews.
He knows what it is.
Now that word watcher.
I think in a sense you and I have the privilege and I think some responsibility to have the mind of Christ about these things that God brings about as to the Gentiles.
As to the Jews, and certainly as to the Church of God.
In which we are as baptized by that Holy Spirit into that one body.
And we find out.
That we are under observation too.
But I think it's immensely interesting that God.
Is saying here in this chapter, well, there's a, there's a remnant of the two tribes back there. They're forming up their own nation and they're making their plans and they're trying to get peace.
I think it's notable, but in the past two weeks I have heard almost nothing about the Jews and Israel and Samir and Assad and even Saddam Hussein. The Russian thing has put it out of people's minds. They're more occupied with going up there, but it is the hot spot and they are there and they're not going to have peace.
Notice what the next verse says here, the fifth verse for a. For the harvest. When the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flour, he shall both cut off the springs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches, and they shall be left together under the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth. And the fowl shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them. This is the judgment.
This is what is going to happen to that land of Israel.
Judgment. God is not in it. They're not recognizing the one they.
Crucified did away with. They want peace, they cannot have it. The observers on high, resting and waiting. He doesn't want to bring this judgment in.
For our own information, let's turn to Isaiah chapter 24, I mean Matthew chapter 24, because we have said that I believe for us.
Daniel was one of the remnant. There were three others that we know about in the land of captivity, and it was to them that the Watcher made known all this wonderful prophecy.
Oh, to think of what Daniel learned.
Far above anyone else on the face of the earth knew at that time as to God's purposes and counsels and the reason God gave it to him.
Was that he was reading the word of God and he was praying.
And he was submitting.
To everything that God had brought upon them, and praying and confessing his sins, the sins of the nation, like they were his. So God comes down and makes known. Now you and I ought to have the mind of Christ as to what is going on now, as to the Gentiles, as to the powers that be, without any trouble in our mind about it. God is taking care of the whole thing as to the nation of Israel.
What's going to happen to them?
If we would finish that chapter, Isaiah, we'd find that the Millennium does come.
If we look back in Daniel again, which we won't, the Kingdom will be set up.
Christ's Kingdom will come. We sang about it in our first hymn today. The Millennium is coming.
But oh, the judgments that come before that, well, in the 24th.
00:25:00
Of Matthew, there is something that's said here that I think applies to us, the verse 32, and it relates to what we have read in Isaiah 18, Matthew 24.
And verse 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree.
This is a well known symbol of Israel as a nation.
So the words now learn.
Are for the living, and it's for us that the living may know that the most high rules in the Kingdom men.
And he rules amongst the Jews. And Christ is a son over his own house too, isn't he?
Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender, and putting forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh like language.
The fowls of the mountain shall summer upon them and winter upon them.
Summer is night.
So likewise ye, when you shall see these things, know that is near even at the doors.
So this is for us to be a watcher and observer, to have the mind of Christ as far as we can get it out of the word of God as to events that God has made known as to these three groups in particular, the Gentiles, the Jews, and the Church of God.
For the next 15 minutes, I think we should spend it on ourselves in the Church of God. Turn to Revelation chapter one.
There's an observer there. Oh, this gets very precious and very sound.
Could we take the attitude of Daniel and confess our sins, our failure, our ruin, and get the blessing? I think so.
But at any rate, what we have gone.
In Revelation 1-2 and three.
Is Christ as Judge looking down?
At us in this age.
Of the church and telling us what he sees.
And as far as I can get out of it, there's only one direct.
Word of exhortation to me.
And it's this, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit.
Saith unto the churches, and then we can learn and know a few things about it.
But it's absolute. This is what he sees.
The watcher came down and saw Nebuchadnezzar, that great Creek.
Cut it down.
The observer, the one who considered seas Israel over there, going back to the site of their crime.
Cut it down. It's going to happen all right in Revelation One, just to get the picture of our blessed Lord. There's grace in the beginning of Revelation, there's grace at the end of it. But we want to get the responsible side for ourselves.
Verse 9.
I, John, who also am your brother and companion in Tribulation.
In the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was in the aisle that is called Pattoness, where the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus.
I was in the Spirit on the Lords day, the Lord's Day, one time in Scripture.
Do we reverence the Lord's Day?
John was in the spirit on the Lord's Day, and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying.
I am alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the alphabet I believe.
So he says the 1St and the last.
What thou seest right in a book? A command to write these things in a book?
And send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.
It was written and sent to these seven churches. They're listed.
Verse 12.
00:30:00
I turn to see the voice that spake with me and being turned I saw 7.
Golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like under the Son of Man.
I think of a question the Lord asks.
Back in Luke's gospel, I can't tell you for sure. The chapter 18 maybe?
When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth? When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth?
Well, we know it's coming for us.
As our Lord and Savior.
Then he's coming back as the Son of Man.
Here he takes the title The Son of Man. One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot.
And gird about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were as a flame of fire. And his feet likened to fine brass as they burned in a furnace. And his voice as the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven stars. And out of the mouth, out of his mouth went a sharp 2 edged sword. And in his countenance and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength when I saw him.
I fell at his feet as dead. He laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me.
Fear not, I am the 1St and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen and have the keys of hell and of death.
Write the things which thou hast seen.
And the things which are, and the things which shall be after.
The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest my right hand.
And the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels.
Of the seven churches.
The seven candlesticks which outsourced are the seven churches.
Under the Angel of the Church at Ephesus rite, we come down that far.
And we find this writing was put together and it was sent.
And especially it was for the observance of the.
Angels of the seven churches. Now I think the word Angel here.
Is really messenger?
Someone who is responsible.
So on that basis.
I would say that all of us fit here as a messenger to receive the message.
Than the one who's looking down and telling us this.
Is what I see.
Well, we haven't time to take up the seven churches at all.
We believe the first three as to a prophetic or historic side of things which is surely there are passed away.
And that the last four are with us, and we'll be here until the Lord come.
And certainly that time of his coming is very near.
There's nothing in here.
That would make any person boastful at all.
There is failure with the first one. Thou hast left.
Thy first love, Have you ever done that?
Have you ever turned your back on the Lord? I'm afraid we'd have to say yes.
Well, we can be recovered.
And turn our face toward him.
Now we have noticed.
That the Gentile powers.
End up in judgment.
The Lord is going to come and cleanse the earth. That stone cut out of the mountain without hands strikes the image on the feet, and the whole thing topples. And then that Kingdom grows and fills the earth, the blessed Kingdom.
Of the King, the Messiah, the King who will reign in righteousness.
00:35:01
And his prince's rule and equity, that is coming.
Now the Jews.
What they are trying to do now is going to come down, it's going to come to North and then.
God will send his messengers out and gather in the spared.
Of the nations as well as Israel.
And the 12 tribes will be brought.
And the messengers from the two tribes that preach the gospel, the Kingdom at the end of the seven years.
Go out and bring them in mighty power of God. That does it in a short time. And when the 10 comes in, the 10 tribes that are lost and nobody knows where they are, you can speculate all day and you don't know where they are. They're going to say, what are these wounds in thy hands? The answer is those with which I was wounded in the House of my friends, the two tribes nailing them, the Messiah on the cross.
And then?
They will be brought into the blessing purified.
Judged in the Wilderness, Chastise the 10 and brought into the Millennial Kingdom.
And blessing.
Now, in the history of these seven churches, we come down to the last one.
And there is a warning, Maybe we should read it. Chapter 3.
We're coming down to the end of our time. We want to get this much.
Verse 14 Under the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans, write these things, saith thee. Amen.
The faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works. I think this is said about everyone.
And thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou art cold or hot. So then, because thou art Luke warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Now that's what.
The Son of Man says about the seven churches.
And if we take up or you take up and read, let's turn another verse before we stop in the 17th chapter. I think it is.
So that we get a present exhortation to help us.
No, it's the 18th chapter.
The 18th chapter. This is a present day exhortation.
Not a prophetic thing. It's a present day exhortation for those who are reading the book.
And know the mind of the Watcher as he reveals it in the book as to what's happening in the seven churches.
And is Christendom at large, which is still going on and something that can still be done?
Verse 4.
Revelation 18 Four. I heard another voice from heaven saying.
Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her sins, that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double under her, double according to her works in the cup that she hath filled, filled to the double. We won't read anymore, we won't be here for this.
When it happens, this is what's leftover of Christendom after all its reels taken out of it.
And brethren, it could be today that every real believer will be taken literally out of the world.
And then all that would be left is empty profession.
And the one who's looking down says, this is what I see. Oh, the ruin of the church professedly is the worst of all. She gets the worst judgment.
Let us today not be associated with any kind of.
00:40:01
Empty profession, Any names and brethren I would say.
Anyone else?
Than the person of Christ and being gathered.
To the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Let's sing #93 in closing.
Come Now and Let Us Reason Together Isa. 1:18
Gospel—R. 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.
Chapter One.
In verse 18.
Isaiah 118.
Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as wool.
I'm going to read that again.
Come now.
And let us reason together, saith the Lord.
Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as wool.
One of the most wonderful words in the Gospel is this first word of verse 18.
Come. It's a wonderful word, and it means that God wants to bless.
And he's calling for sinners to come to him.
To receive that blessing.
I really desire this evening that you open your heart's door and let his voice penetrate into your heart tonight.
I really am concerned because I feel that there are many perhaps here this evening.
Who know all about the gospel, they know all about Jesus, but they have never.
Come at an interesting experience this last time.
In Bolivia we were at the conference in Montero.
At the beginning of this month.
And a boy who is now a young man was present. He is now married and has two little children. But he was raised in that meeting. And during those years when we lived in that area of Bolivia, almost 10 years, we lived there in Montero area. He heard the gospel. And while we lived there, he actually was baptized and was breaking bread at the Lord's Table.
But after the last evening of the conference there in Montero, he asked me.
To come over, have a visit with he and his wife in the place where he was staying.
At his father's house. So we had a visit and he told me, I want you to know sincerely that even though I was breaking bread, I was doing it all under the influence of what people told me. I don't think I was ever truly saved, and I want to be saved now, he said to me.
And so we talked for a good while, reading some of the scriptures, answering some of his questions.
And then finally he said to me.
Well, brother, he said.
I hope next time you come, you'll find me saved.
I said, what is hindering you from doing it right now?
And he just put his head down and didn't say anything.
I said before I go because it's late at night, before I go, I'm going to bow my knees here and I'm going to ask God to work in your heart that you would do it now.
And if you really want to do it now, you'll have a moment at the end. I'm not going to get right up off my knees.
We bowed our knees there, myself, the young man and his wife, and I prayed. After I prayed, I just waited silently. And then he began to pray, and he asked the Lord to save him and then his wife after him. It was a real joy to me. But what really hit me strong was how many.
Who are brought up in Christian homes, who were brought up sitting in the meetings, each and every meeting. They're there. They know their verses for Sunday school. They know the answers when you ask them, but there's no living relationship between them and the Lord Jesus Christ. They have never simply.
00:05:19
Obeyed. What this verse says. Come now.
And let us reason together, dear young boy and girl.
And young person here, and maybe older person too, who is baptized and perhaps at the Lord's Table.
I want to challenge you in the presence of a God who knows every single detail of your life.
And from whom you cannot hide, for all things are naked and open.
Before the eyes of him with whom we have to do. I want to challenge you. How is it between your soul and God? Have you come? Have you come to Jesus? That's just exactly what he says. Come. How do you come to Jesus? How do you do it? I still remember in the Sunday school back home where I was raised when I was a boy.
That the size of this boy sitting down here in the front seat.
Why, the verse that we had to learn that Sunday was Matthew 18. Matthew 1128 Come unto me, all ye that labor in our heavy laden, and I will give you rest. There is one of the brothers standing up in front and asking the kids to recite their verses. And they went around the circle. And then finally it came to his little grandson, and the little grandson got off his chair and.
He didn't remember exactly what the verse was.
End So his grandfather had to help him, and so his grandfather says.
Coming to me.
And the little boy, a little bit confused, he didn't exactly remember his grandfather talking to him that way before, and he just hesitated. And finally his grandfather had to repeat it again. Coming to me. And the little boy, instead of repeating it, ran right across the room to his grandpa.
That's just exactly what it means.
Come, But how do you come to Jesus?
If Jesus is in heaven, how do you come to him? Oh, I tell you, it isn't a matter of the feet. It isn't a matter of the hands. It's just a matter of the heart. Open that heart to Jesus. Have you ever seen a little baby, a helpless little baby in its crib? And his mother stands over the crib and the mother says, come, You think that baby can get up and come to his mother? No, the mother well knows he can't do that.
But off times the little arms will go right out and then the mother picks it up. That's all the coming that's necessary to do for you.
Right where you are sitting in your seats. I want to ask you to open up that heart to Jesus tonight.
Accept them as your savior. That is what it means to come.
Don't resist any longer. Come now.
Oh, it's a joy to me to see that young man come to Jesus that night. He didn't wait any longer. He came and he came now.
Dear young person, this is the voice of God speaking to you. Come now, don't delay. If the president of the United States, to put an example, would call you personally on the phone and say I want to see you in the White House, come right away.
I think each and everyone of us would consider it a great enough privilege that we would put away our schoolwork, we would put away.
Our jobs for the moment and go to Washington, DC to interview the President of the United States.
But I'm telling you tonight, friends, that we're not talking about the president of the United States. We're talking about the God of the universe.
And he's saying come now. And he means just that. Come.
Have you come to Jesus? I really fear that there's some who haven't let the voice of Jesus penetrate their hearts yet. And if there are those here tonight, I don't know who you are because I cannot see the inside. The Lord Jesus is looking at you, and He can see just exactly which ones of you it is. You know yourself too.
00:10:16
Who haven't really come to Jesus yet.
This voice is for you.
Come now.
What is he saying here? Come now and let us reason together.
He wants to talk to you about something. He wants to talk to you about a serious matter.
A matter that you cannot avoid. It's the question of your sins.
You have sinned before God, You say, oh, I haven't ever done that much. That's bad.
Yeah, you may not have done a lot whatever other people are doing in the world, but still the Word of God says there is no difference. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Like it or not, that's God's testimony. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and God wants to reason together with you about this matter of your sins. Your sins are scarlet before Him.
He sees him from afar. He knows every detail of your life.
Every detail of those sins that you have committed, every word that you have spoken is written in His book. Every act that you have done, every thought that you have entertained in your mind is written by the finger of God in that book. It's scarlet in front of Him. It's so brazenly read that he cannot forget it. You must.
Deal with the question of your sins.
You cannot avoid it. But what is it that He says about these sins of yours? Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. How in the world can this be something that is scarlet before the eye of God be wiped away, so that the slate is circling, that it is as white as snow?
How can it be? Oh my friend, I want to tell you again this evening, even though I do not believe.
There's anyone here who has not heard the story before. I want to tell you of the way God can cleanse in God had a son, and he sent that son from heaven. The Lord Jesus came into this world through the same channel that you and I have come into this world. The Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem by a virgin, the Virgin Mary. He had no human father.
Because God was his Father, He was born miraculously through the power of the Holy Spirit.
And came into this world a little baby.
And he grew up. He was the same size you were at one time. He grew up to be an adult.
And every way he went through this world without sin, perfect he was. There was no sin in him. He could not sin because he was the holy Son of God.
You and I through our fathers have received a sinful nature, but the Lord Jesus didn't have that. He was the holy, spotless Son of God, and through all his life here as the sent one of God, He showed the love of God on every side. But at the end of his life he was taken.
By those religious people, the Pharisees and scribes, and delivered to 1St the high priest to condemned him, and then Pontius Pilate the Roman governor and taken out.
Sight of Jerusalem and nailed. Actually nailed to a cross.
They lifted up that cross. They left the blessed Son of God.
Hang there for six hours he hung there. The first three hours. He suffered at the hands of men. All the insults that their hearts could think about, they heaped on the blessed Son of God.
00:15:09
And the last three hours from 12:00 noon to 3:00 in the afternoon.
He suffered there for our sins at the hand.
Of a holy God, God cannot overlook sin. His holy nature demands that every sin that has ever been committed committed in this world receive its full judgment from his hand, and every sin will receive its full judgment. But when Jesus hung on that cross, it says in the in a verse in the 53rd of this same book.
It says he was wounded for our transgressions.
He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. I'm the guilty one, Jesus, the holy Son of God. My sins were laid on him. He suffered the penalty of my sins because God, if he's going to forgive me as a.
As a Sinner, as a guilty Sinner, he must have a righteous basis for doing it. And when Jesus paid the price, God now has that righteous basis for forgiving my sins. And he's done it because I've accepted him as my own Savior.
After Jesus died at 3:00 approximately in the afternoon.
The Scripture tells us in John's Gospel that a soldier came up that hill.
He was commissioned to dispatch those three that had been crucified there.
On that hill of Calvary, and he went up to the first malefactor that was there on one side of Jesus and broke his legs and he died. He went over to the other side to the other malefactor that was crucified of Jesus and broke his legs. And when he came to Jesus, the cross in the middle, Jesus had already given up his life and he took his spear just to make sure that Jesus was dead and thrust it into his side.
And out of his side came blood and water, Awful, awful cost that God himself paid, that you could enjoy the forgiveness of sins. Jesus, look at him tonight, friend, in your mind's eye. Look at him hanging there on that cross, dead, the Son of God dead, and that soldier plunging his spear into his side.
And out flowing blood and water, the scripture tells us.
The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son.
Cleanses us from all sin. Oh a tremendous news. This is the only way.
That you and I can become can be made white as snow.
Oh friend, tonight, perhaps you feel your guilt, perhaps you feel that you are stained in the sight of God with those sins that you've committed.
I pray God that you will feel it.
Because if you turn to Jesus.
In true repentance He will wish you whiter than snow with His precious blood. Oh, what a wonderful invitation this is, and that it's God Himself who's inviting you. He is, It is that is saying, Come now and let us reason together. Now is the time.
That he wants to reason. Later on there will be no more reasoning.
There will be judgment for sin, for those sins of yours must be dealt with one way or another through the cross of Jesus. They can be dealt with for your eternal salvation, but if you refuse to know the Savior in this way, then God.
Will deal with your sins in a future day in awful awful.
Unremitting judgment.
00:20:02
I ask you seriously to let the voice of Jesus penetrate your heart tonight. Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like Crimson, they shall be as wool. I have to go over now to the 55th chapter of Isaiah.
Where we get another invitation from God Himself.
Another invitation using that wonderful word COM.
Isaiah 55 verse one.
Ho everyone that thirsteth.
Come into the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye bye and eat ye. Come by wine and milk, without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently and to me, and eat ye that which is good.
And let your soul delight itself, in fact.
Here's a call of God to the thirsty soul, and if you do not know Jesus, in the depths of your heart you are a thirsty soul. There is only one who can satisfy the thirsty soul.
It's Jesus.
Dear young person here tonight, I want to ask you to open that heart and let him satisfy you. The enemy has successfully propagated a lie that when you come to Jesus, you have to deprive yourself of a whole lot of things that we could really make you happy. Let me tell you, that's one of the biggest lies that Satan has ever perpetrated. Don't believe it, don't believe it.
Sometimes people say that to me.
You poor Christians, you don't have any fun at all.
You have to stay away from the movies. You can't do this and you can't do that. We can do anything we like.
I say to them when they talk that way to me, I say look, friend.
You know the truth of the matter. When I came to Jesus, He so completely satisfied this heart of mine.
That really and truly are not interested in those places you're talking about.
I'm not interested. He's satisfied me, and that's exactly what he's saying here. Come.
To the waters, and he that hath no money. It's not a question.
The Father Sent the Son John 3:16
Gospel—J. Hyland
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
3rd chapter of John's Gospel.
John's Gospel chapter 3 and verse 16.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish.
But have everlasting life, You know, I am thankful tonight that we can turn to the word of God, that we can turn to a well known verse like this, that we can read it together and we can proclaim, as has often been proclaimed, that God so loved the world. We can proclaim that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I'm glad that we don't have to tonight turn to some obscure passage, some hidden passage in the Old Testament, wonderful as those Scriptures are, but we can turn.
To a well known verse like this. You know, I am impressed in working with children a little bit to find that even those who do not come, shall I say from a Christian environment, those who perhaps only hear the word of God once a year or twice a year or on some remote occasion even, they can quote a verse like this. And I suppose it's the best known gospel verse. It's a verse that most of us perhaps here learned long before we can ever remember. I don't ever remember learning this verse. It just seems like I always knew it. God so loved the world.
That he gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Oh, you know, this is the good news of the gospel. I'm thankful that I can stand here tonight and proclaim good news. Some time ago we were visiting in a home and I don't often get occasion to read a newspaper. But there was a newspaper lying on the table in the dining room of the home we were staying in. And I picked it up and I just read the headlines on the front page and I tossed it back on the table and I said to the man we were staying with.
I said there isn't one thing that's positive on the front of this newspaper. There isn't one bit of good news. Everything is violence and corruption and economic chaos and men recognizing that they don't know where to turn, that they're dealing with an interplay of economic and political forces with which they cannot deal. And yet, you know, it amazes me when we turn to a verse like this, when the gospel goes forth in whatever capacity, whether it's to an audience like this, whether it's to an individual.
Whether it's in a gospel tract in the printed page. And yet man hears it and he refuses it.
He'll shake his head at the newspaper and say there's nothing good. But you present a message of peace, a message of love, a message of joy. And they refuse it. And all I want to say at the outset of this meeting, I trust. I trust with all my heart as we look at this little at this verse and we're just going to skim it, We're just going to mention a few things from this verse. I trust with the Lord's help, but all I trust. There's no one who's going to go out that door tonight having heard the message of peace and love, having perhaps heard it last night, and perhaps having heard it many, many times before.
And you're going to go out, and you're going to reject it. You're going to refuse it. You know this verse, you've heard it. You've heard it now, and you've probably heard it before. But you know the Lord Jesus, when he was here, he said, he that rejected me and receiveth not my word, Hath one that judges him the same that judges that the word which I have spoken the same, shall judge him in the last day. And it will be a solemn thing if you reject the testimony of God's Word.
If you reject God's offer of salvation, if you reject the Savior of sinners tonight and you go out that door.
And you will end in a lost eternity. It will be a solemn thing to remember a verse like this.
Because a verse like this will rise in judgment of you. You will remember a verse because in the lake of fire it says it's a place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. And you will have a memory in hell. You'll have the memory of a gospel meeting like this. You'll have a memory of the memory of John 316 and perhaps other verses, but they will be no longer applicable to you as to a point of refuge. They will rise in judgment, and you will realize in that day.
That you had opportunity, you'll realize that God in his grace pleaded with your soul.
Tonight, the Spirit of God is striving with you if you're still in your sins. But I want to faithfully warn you tonight that God's word plainly declares my spirit will not always strive with men. You know I am challenged as I look into the faces of an audience like this because sometimes I have opportunity to speak to an audience where I feel that most are not saved, most in the audience are not saved, and perhaps most have never heard a clear gospel.
00:05:17
And that is a tremendous, A tremendous responsibility as well as a blessed privilege. But you know, as I look into the faces of an audience like this, I feel that it's almost a greater challenge.
Because I look into the faces of those who have heard the word of God over and over and over again. And yet I wonder if there's someone here tonight, and you've heard it from your mother, your father. You've heard it at the meetings over and over and over again. And you become hardened. You listen to it. And, you know, before a meeting like this, two young people were heard to say at the back of the room, well, it's just another gospel meeting. Will probably be over around 8:00. It probably will be over around 8:00, but no gospel meeting.
Is just another gospel meeting. It is a thrill to our souls to present the savior of sinners. A thrill to our souls in some feeble way to present the love of God. And you are responsible for what you hear tonight. You are responsible. And as you go out that door, the question is, have you accepted God's offer? Are you saved? Are you on your way to heaven? Oh, I say it's a solemn thing to hear the word of God.
And the fact that we're here tonight is just a proof, just a confirmation of the love and the grace.
That's in the heart of God, the fact that he has allowed you to hear the gospel.
Once again, and oh, what a glorious verse we have before us tonight. It was a verse spoken by the Lord Jesus when he was here in this world. I suppose if you were to have a red letter edition of the Bible, you would find this penned in red in your Bible. The Lord Jesus spoke these words and he spoke them to a man named Nicodemus. And Nicodemus was one who was timid. He was shy. Perhaps He was afraid that if he came to the Lord in the open that he would suffer some reproach, that he would suffer in his business perhaps. But never mind that he came.
He came. And I wonder what is holding you back tonight. Oh, come like Nicodemus. Nicodemus came and they came. And as a result, he heard these glorious words that God so loved the world. You know, the little words of scripture are sometimes important, or I should say they're always important. And yet sometimes we pass over them rather quickly. And I like the little word. So when we think of God the Creator, the one who inhabiteth eternity, and yet he loves this world.
He so loves this world. I like that little word. So it brings before us the intensity, something of the measure of his love. And oh, tonight I wish you could just see something of the love of God or he only realized how much God loves you tonight. You know, if people in Bloomington and this area just realized that God was for them, that God wanted their blessing, that God loved them, this room would be packed. They'd be out in the street. They wouldn't be able to get in.
But all man doesn't realize the love that's in the heart of God. And I wish tonight I could tell you the love that's in the heart of God. But, you know, the word of God itself says that it passeth understanding, It passeth knowledge. Never mind telling. You know, Dwight L Moody preached in the city of Chicago for many, many years. And one time he was in England and he was holding a series of gospel meetings. And after the gospel, one night a young man approached him, introduced himself, and he said to Mr. Moody, if I ever come to America, I want to preach for you.
Well, travel wasn't what it is today and Mr. Moody didn't give it much thought and he went on back to Chicago. But he wasn't home very long until one night after a meeting in the city of Chicago, this young man approached him and he said, Mr. Moody, here I am and I want to preach for you. Well, Mr. Moody didn't know this man very well and he was a little concerned about letting him take his place, but he had to be away for a week and so he told the young man that he could preach in his stead.
While he was gone and when he came back, he said to his wife, he said, how did the young man do that? I left to preach in my place all she said. He doesn't preach like you do. Well Mr. Moody was a little upset to think that he had let this man stand in for him and he didn't preach the way he did. And he said to his wife, he said, what do you mean he doesn't preach like I do? All she said he doesn't scold the people. He tells the people that God loves them. And Mr. Moody went that night to hear Henry Morehouse.
00:10:01
For I believe it was the 7th night in a row speak on John 316. And he told the people that God loved them. And Mr. Moody never preached the same again. He didn't scold the people. He told them that God loved them. And I say that's the good news of the gospel, that God loves each one of us. He loves the Sinner. He wants our blessing. He so loved the world. Oh, I say again, I wish tonight I could tell you how much God loves you. How much?
He loves you. His love is infinite. He has proved His love in such a marvelous way. His love, He couldn't have proved it in any greater a way. And this verse declares to us how He proved that love He sent his Son, the Lord Jesus.
To die. You know we have heard during these meetings how it's only the Lord Jesus that can satisfy our hearts. How that I think we heard last night. How the thirsting soul can come. How the craving heart can come and find refreshment and blessing and salvation and peace in that blessed one of whom this verse speaks, the Lord Jesus Christ and all. I want to echo that tonight because it's only the one that made us that can satisfy our hearts only God can satisfy.
The human heart. There was a woman in the 4th of John and she came from day-to-day to that well at Saikar and she drew that water and she had to come back the next day and draw again that water. That only satisfied her thirst for a little time. And I'm sure she came from year to year that she had to go deeper and deeper to enjoy that water that only satisfied her for a little time. That's the way of the transgressor. That's the way with sin. It satisfies for a little time and scripture is honest and says that there's pleasures in sin for a season.
But it's only for a season. It's only for a moment, but all the one we have to present tonight, The Lord Jesus can fill and satisfy our hearts now in this life and for all eternity. Egerton Young was a missionary in the on the West Coast, and as he went to British Columbia to preach to the Indians there years and years ago before British Columbia was settled, you can imagine the trepidation with which he faced those violent Indians.
And he stood up before 250 to 300 of those Indians, and you can imagine the pounding of his heart as he stood up himself. All he had was the word of God. And there were those Indian savage men present to hear the word of God and what this this missionary had to say. And so he turned to this verse. He read it. He read it again, And for four hours he spoke on this verse. And he told of the love of God. He told of the glories of Christ.
He told of the remedy for sin, and you can imagine as he sat down, how he must have felt.
As he wondered how that message was going to be received, and from the audience rose one of their principal chiefs, he came up to the front and all eyes were fixed upon that man to see what his reaction would be. And he said, you know, he said, I have been searching for a long time for something to satisfy, he said, I see the goodness of God all around. I see the goodness of God in giving us rain, in giving us sunshine, in giving us food.
And he said, for a long time I have not believed in the ritual and the religion that is practiced here. He said, I knew that there must be something more than the beat of a drum and the ritual of our medicine man. And he said, thank God I finally heard a message of peace and a message that satisfies my heart. Do you want satisfaction tonight? Do you want blessing? Do you want to have peace? Those of us who know, the Lord Jesus is our savior this evening as we sit here.
How is it that we have the peace of God in our hearts? How can we sit here in a world of confusion, a world that is ripe for the judgment of God, A world that we know is on a course that is going to lead to that judgment being poured out after the believer is gone? How can we sit here with that peace? Oh, it's to know that blessed one and to know that there's something far better awaiting us. I'm glad that I can lift my eyes above the sad horizons of this world.
And know that I have a home above and I'm going to spend all eternity.
With the Lord Jesus, well, God so loved the world that he gave, He gave. That's the heart of God. He wants to give, He wants to bless. And what did he give? He gave his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on Calvary's cross. You know, in the Old Testament there are many beautiful pictures types, if you like, of the Father sending the Son. We find, for instance, that Israel sends Joseph out of the veil of Hebron to his brethren.
00:15:21
We find that Jesse sends David to the camp of his brethren. But you know, I wonder.
I wonder if Israel on that occasion had had any idea any inclination of what was going to happen to Joseph when he sent him to see if it was well with his brethren. I wonder if he would have sent him so readily from his presence.
I wonder if Jesse, when he sent David to the Camp of Israel, to see his brethren. I wonder if he knew.
If he had known that David was going to go down into the valley and meet Goliath, if he would have been so eager to send David on that occasion? I don't think so. I don't think if if Joseph, if Joseph father had really, really known that he wasn't going to see his son for years and years and years and the way he would be treated, I don't think he would have sent him. And yet those illustrations in the Old Testament think he would have sent him and yet.
Those illustrations in the Old Testament, They're just pale reflections of one who knowing, knowing how this world would treat his Son, he sent him to die on Calvary's cross, the Lord Jesus as the Willing. 1. Knowing that this world would spit in his blessed face, knowing that he would come unto his own and his own would receive him. Not knowing that to accomplish the Father's will, he would go to Calgary's cross. He would there be the sin bearer. He would dare die, shed his precious blood.
Knowing that he comes in love and obedience to the Father, I wonder if Joseph would have been so willing on that occasion and would have said here, am I and gone so willingly if he knew how his brethren were going to treat him at the other end of the journey? But all I say where the Old Testament type falls short, it just magnifies what we have here in the Lord Jesus Christ and the Father sending the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Recently we were visiting in the city of St. Thomas ON and I had never visited in St. Thomas ON And when I visit an area I've never been, I like to know what that city is, noted for, what it's as they say, what its claim to fame is. And so I asked the folks we were staying, staying with. I said, what is St. Thomas ON noted for. Well, they said we'll show you when we're out for a drive. And so they took us for a drive and they took us past a square in Saint Thomas.
And in the center of that square was a large life-size statue of an elephant. It was a huge elephant. And I marveled that I hadn't been in a city before where there had been a statue of an elephant in the center square. And I marveled and I said there must be something in connection with this elephant. Well, there was an interesting story that touched our hearts. Many, many years ago, the Barnum and Bailey Circus had come through St. Thomas ON.
And in those days, they traveled by train. The equipment and the animals were transported in that way.
And they pulled into the freight yard at St. Thomas ON and they were busy unloading the equipment and the animals. And amongst the animals that were being unloaded was this large elephant named Jumbo, almost 7 tons. She weighed the biggest elephant ever on record. And as they were unloading her, along with her was her baby calf. And if you've seen an elephant at the zoo, you know that even a baby elephant is quite a size.
And if they decide to be stubborn, there's not much anybody can do about it. Well, this baby calf decided to be a little bit stubborn. It decided that it wanted to stand right on one of the railroad tracks. Well, it wouldn't have been so bad, but there was a train coming down that very track.
And that train was heading into the city of Saint Thomas at quite a speed, and they tried in vain to move that baby elephant, but it wouldn't move. And finally the mother elephant, Jumbo. She sensed the danger. She knew what was wrong and what did she do? She went down that track.
And she stood on that track.
And that train roared into the station.
And you can imagine the impact as an oncoming train collides with A7 ton elephant and that mother elephant died and her baby was saved. That story touched my heart because it's just the little picture of the love of the Lord Jesus who willingly went to Calvary's cross. He allowed men to stretch him on that cross, he allowed men to nail him there, the one of whom he held their breath.
00:20:25
Their breath was in his hands, and yet he allowed his creature to take him and nail him on the cross. He allowed them to spit in his blessed face to strike him with their hands, And those that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads and saying he saved others himself he cannot save. Oh, how true that was, because if he had come down from the cross, if he had saved himself, he even said himself, he could have called 12 legions of angels.
To come and deliver him. But he wouldn't do it. He could not save himself, he had said, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. It abideth alone. Had he not gone to Calvary cross, and there become the sin bearer? Not just that which he suffered at the hands of cruel man, That which perhaps we enter into a little bit. But there's the sun is blocked out, and darkness covers the earth. And there he's the sin bearer. There he cries, It is finished. He hangs his blessed head. Why? In love for you and I.
So that the gospel could go forth to you and I so that the good news could be proclaimed.
He sheds His Precious Blood, of which the Scripture declares the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanse of us from all sin. I'm thankful that we can quote and read scriptures like John 316 and 1St, John One and Seven. And I'm thankful that we can count on them as being the truth, as part of the word of God. It's something that we can rest our souls on. You know when you go to school, there is so much that is not true, so much that is propagated and perhaps part of it is true. And you pick up a book, you know, you go to the library.
And you see two sections in that library. You see fiction and you see nonfiction. And if you go to the fiction section, you know that it's not true. But if you go to the nonfiction section.
Is it true? Well, perhaps you pick up a book and you read through it, and perhaps you give a cent to some of it. You say. Yes, some of it's true. But even though it may be labeled nonfiction, it may be something that you cannot count upon. But as we read the word of God, as we quote the word of God together.
We can count on it as being the inspired word of God, impossible for God to lie.
Oh, what are you resting on tonight? Are you resting on something that someone has told you, some some guidance that perhaps someone has given you, which is not based on the word of God? Sad to say, there are many in this world tonight, and they're misdirected. They have information and they've received it, and they're sincere in receiving it and trying to carry out that information that they have been given. But all sad to say, quite often, it's not based on the word of God quite often.
It's not that which will merit them favor with God, but all the remedy for sin tonight.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ the work He accomplished, the precious blood that He has shed?
Those who are older here tonight will forgive me, but I'm challenged when I see these children and young people. And I remember a story concerning a little girl who was very, very ill. She was so ill, in fact, that it was feared that she was going to die. And one night the doctor came along. It was some years ago when I guess doctors still made house calls. But the doctor came along one evening and he had in his bag a remedy for the sickness the little girl had.
And so he took the bottle of medicine out of his bag. He placed it on the dresser beside the bed, and he gave the mother very, very careful instructions on how to administer that medication. He went over the instructions two or three times until he was sure that she had it, and she was to administer this medicine during the night.
And off he went, having done what he could. The next morning he came, and he knocked on the door, and he expected to see a cheerful mother. He expected to be ushered into the room of one who was on the road to recovery. But to his dismay, the mother met him at the door, and she was sobbing, and she couldn't speak. She was sobbing so violently. But she motioned him to come in. She led him into the bedroom, and there to his further dismay.
That little girl that he thought should have been on the road to recovery. She was there and she was dead. She was gone, and he hung his head. He stood there for a few moments and finally he said, I'm sorry, he said, I thought that that medicine should have helped your daughter. I was sure that it was the remedy, the cure. And as he spoke, he lifted his eyes to the dresser and to his horror, he saw that not one drop of that medicine.
00:25:26
Had left the bottle. That bottle was still just as sealed as when he had left it there the night before. And he said, oh, didn't I make it clear? Didn't I? Didn't you understand that you were to give the medicine to your daughter during the night? Well, finally the mother was able to speak and through her *** she said, you know when you left last night?
My neighbor came in and she told me that her daughter had had a similar illness and she had a bottle of medicine and she said it really helped her daughter. And so she said I gave that medicine to my daughter instead of the medicine that you prescribed. All that doctor that morning left that house with a heavy heart. He had done everything he could and I speak reverently. God has done everything possible. He has made the way of salvation so simple.
He has provided the remedy. It's there, and you know about it. If I were to start at the front here and go up and down these rows, I don't suppose there is anybody here in the audience tonight who could say, honestly, that they didn't know the way of salvation, that didn't have some idea as to how to be saved. Never heard of the blood of Christ. Perhaps there is someone here tonight like that, but I tend to doubt it. You've probably heard the message before.
You've heard of time and again, you can tell. If someone asks you the way of salvation, you can tell them.
But I wonder if you've made it your own. I wonder if you can say that Jesus has died for you. It's easy to say Jesus died for all. It's easy to say God loved the world and that we're all sinners. But all it's very personal. The gospel tonight is for you. For you as an individual, it's very, very personal.
I was touched one time some years ago. We were having some tent meetings in Nova Scotia, Canada. We were in the city of Truro and there was a little girl that came to those meetings, and I knew she was a Christian. She knew the Lord as her savior. And she came to those meetings morning and evening. And quite often her grandmother, who was also a Christian, came with her. Well, one morning she brought a little friend with her, and after the meeting that morning, that little friend stayed behind because she wanted to be saved. She wanted to know the Lord as her savior. And so she talked to someone, and I believe she was saved that morning.
Because as those two little girls went out, that tent door hand in hand.
2 little girls, I suppose they were five years old, six at the most, and as they went out I heard the one who had brought her friends say.
Now you can say that Jesus died for you. That touched my heart. That's the gospel. Can you say that? Just ask your own heart that this evening. Can you say that Jesus died for you? Do you know him as your personal savior? Have you come, as it were, to the foot of the cross? Have you recognized that you're a Sinner? I trust tonight we all realize that we're sinners, That because of Adam's sin, because of his disobedience.
Many were made sinners, and that by one man's disobedience, sin entered and death by sin so death passed upon all men. For that all have sinned. I trust we recognize that tonight, because if you don't realize that tonight, if you don't realize your need, then you're not going to seek a remedy. As long as we feel well, we don't seek the advice of a doctor. The Lord Jesus said himself they that our whole need not a physician, he said. I came not to call a righteous, but sinners.
Array patents. I trust you realize tonight that you're a Sinner, that God looks down into your heart and he sees whether those stains of sin are still there. As we tell the children, sometimes he sees whether our hearts are still black with those stains of sin, or whether they're washed away in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, how is it with you tonight? You can fool Mother, you can fool Father. You can fool the one who brought you to these gospel meetings.
But you cannot. You cannot fool God. All things are naked and open.
00:30:00
Under the eyes of Him with whom we have to do God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son.
That whosoever, oh, I love that word, whosoever, as a little girl one time said, when she was asked the meaning of this word.
She said, Why whosoever means you and me and everyone else, and that's what it means, simply means you and me and everyone else. All God's desire tonight, His heart's desire tonight is for your blessing. He wants to save your soul. Whosoever will may come and take of the water of life freely. We had that verse last night whole everyone that thirsteth come ye to the waters. And he that hath no money, come, yeah, come buy wine and milk.
Without money and without price. Some time ago we came from a country where water is very, very precious. In fact, I watched the sister we were staying with do the dishes and I marveled that she could do so many dishes in so little water and still get them clean. Every drop of water is precious and so precious that when she finished doing those dishes, she took that dirty water and she watered her plants with it. And we were visiting some friends of ours, and while we were there, they had run out of water that day.
They count on every drop of water.
Fresh water coming from the sky. There had been a drought for several months before we got there. And if there's a drought for any length of time and the tanks run dry, they have to buy water. And we were visiting these folks and they had run out of water. And while we were there, the water truck pulled up to the backyard looked like a small version of an oil truck. The hose came out from the side, was placed in the cistern and the faucet turned and 1000 gallons of water.
Was placed in that cistern and when the operation was all finished.
Then there was a bill for $50.
1000 gallons of water may seem like a lot, but it's not much. When you use it for everything and when you're in a hot, humid climate, it doesn't last very long. And as I watch that operation, I was so thankful to recall to memory versus like, we've just quoted that the water of life is free. That God is offering something that will not just satisfy for a little time, but He's offering the water of life.
And there's no charge. But you know, there was a cost. There was a cost. You know, the children understand this when they are offered a gift.
There's no cost involved to you when you're offered a gift on your birthday or some other occasion.
All you have to do is reach out, accept it and say thank you.
But, you know, there was a cost connected with that gift. It cost mother or father or grandmother or grandfather something. Perhaps it was something that they knew you would like. Perhaps they went to great length or cost, put themselves out a little to secure that gift for you, and they're glad to give it to you. And there's no charge for that gift. But there is a cost, and there is. God is offering salvation tonight.
He's offering the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, and it's free to you and I.
But all let's not forget the great cost. It cost him his Son. It costs the Lord Jesus his life and the shedding of his precious blood. We don't have to work for salvation. The work has been done. I was trying to illustrate this to some children one time and I didn't seem to be having much success. And so I reached into my pocket and I pulled out a couple of coins and I put a coin in each hand. And there was a little girl on this side of the room on the front row. And I said, would you like the coin in this hand?
Well, she wanted the coin. And so she came up and I held my fist clenched tight around that coin as she approached. And I made her work for it a little bit. And as she would open one finger and then be working on another, I would close the finger that she had already opened. And when I felt that she had earned that coin, I opened my hand and I gave it to her. She went and sat down and there was a boy on this side of the room and I said to him, would you like the coin in this hand? Well he immediately came up and to his surprise, as he approached me, I held out my hand.
For him to take the coin, well, he hesitated a moment. He thought he was going to have to work for it too. And then he took it. And I tried to tell the boys and girls that that is the difference between a gift and a prize or a reward. On the one hand, we have to work for a prize or a reward, but the gift of God tonight is free. And how would you feel? How would you feel if you gave one of your children a gift or someone you loved, A gift?
00:35:02
And you had gone to a great deal of trouble to secure that gift and they refused it. They said no thank you. How would you feel? How would your mother or father feel if they came in on your birthday with a gift and they gave it to you and you said, I don't want it. Oh, they feel pretty bad. I know it's something you like, and I've gone to some trouble to get it for you, but I'm glad to give it to you. And you say no thank you. We say how hard hearted. We shake our heads in disbelief.
But you know, I fear, but there are boys and girls and there are young people and there are men and women tonight. And they hear the glorious gospel. They hear of that gift being offered to them, as it were. It's offered once again. And they go out. And they say not tonight. They refuse. They put it off. They neglect, they reject. Oh, think of the heart of God if you go out that door tonight.
And you refuse, or you say I'm going to put it off till a better time until another night.
Oh, think of the heart of God. He's offering you so much. He's gone to such lengths, Shall I say I speak reverently to offer us salvation? Or are you going to refuse his offer?
I think our brother mentioned last night that sometimes when the gospel is presented, there is the excuse of what we will lose and what we will have to give up if we come to the Savior.
You know, I want to tell you tonight that there's only one thing we lose by coming to the Savior.
And that's our sins. That's our sins. All the precious blood of Christ tonight is able to cleanse from every stain of sin, from all sin able to wash those sins away. Oh, do you want to lose your sins tonight? And do you want to gain joy and peace and happiness? Do you want to have the assurance that death and judgment are behind you, That the lake of fire is no longer your portion, but you're on your way to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus? And not only that, do you want a friend that sticketh closer than a brother?
You want one that can take will take care of you while we're left in this world. Do you want one who can give you joy?
Oh, that's the savior we're Speaking of tonight. Oh, what a savior. And he's a savior on high in the glory tonight. And as it were, he's bending low to night to hear someone in this room say yes to his offer of salvation, to accept, to reach out in faith.
When a gift is presented, what do you do? You accept it and you say thank you.
Have you ever done that? Have you ever accepted God's gift? Have you ever accepted the Lord Jesus Christ? And have you ever thanked him? God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him? Oh, it's so simple. There was a man in Acts 16 and he was in earnest. He was afraid for his life, and he came into Paul and Silas, and he said, What must I do to be saved? And what was the answer? Was it some long answer? Some long?
Lecture or Sermon?
Was it something difficult that he had to do? Did he have to straighten out his life? Did he have to turn over a new leaf? Oh no. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved whosoever, will, whosoever believeth in him in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, the gospel is so simple. There was a man named Naaman in the Old Testament, and he was asked to do something simple.
In order to be cleansed from his leprosy. And that was to wash in the River Jordan. And he turned away in a rage and his servants came to him and they said, if the Prophet had asked you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? And people will do great things. I was struck in reading through the history of the church and the last 2000 years to see how man would do anything to get rid of his sins. He'd listen to anybody that would tell him he had to take long pilgrimages he had to give to the church.
He had to do penance and this type of thing. Oh, man was glad to listen to that. But they said to them, and if he'd asked you to do some hard thing, would you not have done it? And I'm sure Naman had to recognize that he would. And they said to him all, he's only asked you to do something simple and thank God, name and turn. And he washed seven times in the river Jordan. And he received cleansing. What was the message to name and go and wash. And the message tonight is wash wash in the precious blood.
Of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the only remedy, the only cure.
For sin whosoever believeth in him, should not perish. I, like the definite language here, should not perish. You know, there are those tonight who when they hear a verse like this, they will say that it is presumptuous to think that we can know before we reach the portal of glory, that our sins are gone, that we can know for sure, that we will receive entrance there when we leave this world. And I would say, too, that it is presumption.
00:40:28
Except for one thing. The word of God is very plain. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life.
And they shall never perish, should not perish. Some time ago I was thinking about this word perish.
And I wondered what the dictionary had to say as to the definition of parish. And so the dictionary in the home we were staying was Funk and Wagnalls standard desk dictionary. And so I picked it up and I looked up the word perish and this is what it said to pass out of existence. I read it again. I closed the dictionary. I opened the dictionary again to be sure I had read it right. And this is what it said to pass out.
Of existence. And I thought how deceived man is if he thinks that the word perish in the scriptural sense means to pass out of existence. Oh how sorely deceived and mistaken he is, because we never find it in that sense in the word of God. You know, if man could can tell himself and justify himself that when he leaves this world, when he draws that final breath, it's all over, that he dies like a dog if he can somehow convince himself of that.
Then he recognizes that he has no responsibility to his maker. And yet, you know, I wonder if people.
Who will in bravado speak like that? I wonder if deep down they really believe something like that. I had this driven home to me some years ago, a dear old aunt of mine.
Was on her deathbed. She had known the Lord for many, many years. She was well on in her 80s. She was looking for the Lord to come, But she knew the time was short. She knew she was going to leave this world. And I stood by that bed as she drew those final breaths and a smile passed across her lips. And I knew she was safe home, absent from the body and present with the Lord. But you know, as I stood there by that bed in the hospital in Smiths Falls.
I recalled vividly, a man down the hall.
Who just a few nights before had come to the end, and he knew too that his time for this world was was done.
A respected man in the town of Smiths Falls. If he walked down the front St. of Smith's Falls, people would point him out as one who cared for the community. A local businessman, One who contributed to charity. A fine, respected man.
And yet. And yet, he came to the end. And I'll never forget the whales that pierced those hospital corridors.
As he took those last breaths, as he realized, even though perhaps, perhaps he had turned aside all the pleas that he had heard concerning salvation, and I'm sure he had heard many, he had put them aside. And perhaps he didn't even believe in a God. I don't know. But when it came to the end, he realized downbeat that it wasn't all over. God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And I thought, what a contrast, One who knew the Lord.
And she passes from this world into the courts of glory with the blessed Savior that she longed to see, and she rejoices with her last breath. And 1:00 and 1:00 as he passed into the lost eternity, into that awful lake of fire called hell, and all the remorse. But how would it be with you tonight?
But if you were to leave this world tonight, what if you were to die? Or if the Lord Jesus were to come and the door of grace be forever closed? No, I was solemnized to notice that when Elijah was taken to heaven in a whirlwind, who was it that missed Elijah?
It wasn't, shall I say, the general public. It was the sons of the prophets.
And as I look into the faces of boys and girls and young people.
With Christian parents, With Christian grandparents. Those who are no doubt praying for your priceless, never dying soul.
00:45:01
If the Lord Jesus were to come tonight, where would you be? Would you look around?
Would you know what has taken place?
You would know this world will go on for a time, indifferent, but all you will know.
What has taken place and how solemn, how solemn to have the words of the gospel?
Ring in your ears, but no more apply to you. You know, I wasn't satisfied with that definition of perish. And so when I got home, we have a large Webster's dictionary. And I knew that that Noah Webster had turned to the Lord in later years and was a true child of God. And I wondered what Webster's dictionary had to say. And so I looked up the word perish, and this is what it said.
To die.
Spiritually.
All how awful to be separated from God for all eternity. You know people speak of friendship in hell, but there will be no friendship.
Because it will be to be separated from that one from whom all love flows, whether it's divine or natural.
There will be no friendship. You can't have friendship without hell. Oh, you'll be alone in hell.
With your memory, they'll be weeping and gnashing of teeth. They'll be outer darkness. It's solemn. I said the gospel was good news, but I would be very unfaithful tonight, and I will be held accountable before God as to what was said in this meeting tonight. And I would be very, very unfaithful if I did not warn you that if you go on in your sins, you will leave this world someday. But it will be to lift up your eyes like that man in the 16th of Luke being in hell, being in torment.
To realize that there is something beyond this world, but oh God.
He doesn't want to send you to that place. He wants to draw you tonight to the Savior. He wants to bless you. He wants heaven to be your portion.
Or you're going to go out tonight and put it off and put it off. This word of God says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? The boys and girls know what it is to neglect something to come home from school and to put off their homework. When mother says you better get out that homework and you say, well, it's not very much.
I want to play with my friends for a while and then at supper she asks you, did you do that homework? And you say no, you put it off and after a while it's time for bed and mother says it's time for bed. Do you have that homework done? And oh, you've neglected. You put it off and mother says it's too late, you've got to go to bed, and perhaps there's a penalty the next day if the teacher finds out that you didn't do your homework but things work out, perhaps you have to stay in and do it at lunch time, but then it's forgotten.
But all those who put off their souls, salvation. Those who perish, will lift up their eyes in hell with the realization I've lost my soul. To lose one's health, wealth is something. To lose one's health is more. To lose one's soul is such a loss that no man can restore. You know, I think one of the most awful things about hell is this, that there's no hope.
There's no hope.
Know if you're sick, you're in pain, or you're in a bad situation. You can always get through today with the hope that things will be better tomorrow, and you can get through the hour knowing that perhaps the pain will be relieved a little farther down the road. But oh, in hell, there's no hope. I have watched this clock for two days and it hasn't moved.
Time, as far as that clock is concerned, has stood still.
But time is rushing on. But I want to say this in hell.
How solemn. It's like that clock. No time. Time never passes. Because those who enter the confines of the lake of fire.
Are there for as long as those of us who know that Christ is our Savior are with that precious one in glory forever and ever and ever. Oh, I plead with you tonight, God pleads with you tonight. His Spirit is striving with you.
Don't put it off, Satan whispers in your ear. Put it off. But Satan is not your friend.
Satan wants to drag you to a lost eternity, but God wants to save your soul. Whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He's offering you eternal life. We have spoken from one verse of scripture tonight in a very feeble manner. We have just skimmed the surface, but if you accept the message of this verse tonight, it will be for your eternal blessing and salvation.
00:50:12
I would rather speak on one verse of scripture.
Then turn here and there and take up a lot of things and not have you remember the word of God. I would rather impress upon you one verse and have you go away and remember that and have that burn into your soul until you until you come and you accept the message of it. I say one verse of scripture is enough and I'm just going to tell one more little story in closing, but rather impressed me in this connection. In the second in the First World War, there was a line of men in the trench and they were fighting.
Man to man combat facing death, and one of those men were hit with a bullet.
He was wounded and saw a couple of his friends dropped down beside him, but they realized as they did so that his wound was probably fatal and so there was nothing they could do under heavy shelling. And they so they took a couple of their coats and they made him as comfortable as possible in the bottom of that trench, and they went back to their posts.
And pretty soon, the man closest to the man that was dying on the coat, he heard his friend call him and so he dropped down again beside him to see what he wanted. And he said, can you tell me the way to heaven? Strange, isn't it? When men will brush these things aside in peace time when they're healthy, when things are going well, they have no time for eternal issues, no time to think about God, no time to think about their souls welfare. While this man was in earnest, he wanted to know the way to heaven.
And you know all the things that men will tell you in peacetime or when they're well, all their ideas how to obtain favor with God. Those things just didn't seem to fit on the battlefield when they were under fire and facing death. And his friend had to shake his head. He said, I don't know the way to heaven, but he said I'll try to find out. He went back to his post and he asked the man beside him, can you tell me the way to heaven?
No, his friend said. I don't know the way to heaven, and it went down.
16 men on that line, and everyone of them had to shake their heads.
And say no, I do not know the way to heaven, Oh how sad men facing eternity and no idea as to how to get to heaven, how to be saved.
Well, this finally the question was asked to the 17th man, and with a glad smile he took a New Testament out of his pocket. He turned it to this verse, John 316. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He read it to the man beside him, But he wouldn't trust that he took out his pencil, and he circled it, And with his thumb on it he passed it to the next man. And that man with his thumb on it passed it down to the next man. And so down it went down that line of men, 17 men.
And finally the last man got that testament with the message, and he jumped down beside his friend. And he read him the verse. He read it over again. God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. And the man who was dying his eyes filled with tears as he drank in the life giving words. And with his final breath he said, Whosoever will, and he was gone.
Gone from the battlefield to the presence of the Lord. Why? Because he accepted.
The message of that verse he realized that that whosoever meant him and that whosoever tonight means you, the gospel hour is over. I wish I could save your soul tonight. I really wish I could save your soul tonight, but I can't do it.
You have heard the word of God. You are responsible. Oh, don't put it off. Don't delay. There is a door to my left here and a door to my right. And if I were to put a banner over this door heaven. And a banner over this door hell.
And if each one of us had to leave this room under the eye of a holy God, looking down into our hearts, a God to whom all things are naked and open.
Which door would you have to leave by tonight? Could you truly leave by that door that said heaven saved and on your way to heaven? Or would you have to leave under that banner lost and on your way to hell? It's a very, very searching thing. Oh, settle the question. Tonight we're going to pray.
If you have any doubts, if you have any questions, don't go home tonight. Until you speak to someone, don't put it off. There are many in this room who would just be so happy to speak.
00:55:14
Of the precious blood of Christ, which be so happy to speak to you of the way of salvation in our blessed Savior.
Oh, don't go home tonight without the assurance of your sins forgiven. And I'm just going to say one more thing to those of us who know the Lord as our Savior, I trust. But after an occasion like this, our hearts are solemnized.
And that there will be that with with each one of us.
That would become the gospel.
Because as surely as I pray and say Amen, Satan is going to be busy.
To ****** away that seed sown, and to interject every kind of thought and every kind of frivolity, so that souls will go on in different to the message that God has for them, and indifferent to their souls salvation. May there be a solemnity with each one of us, that we may not be used to pluck away that seed. We have spoken of solemn issues, eternal issues, the most important issues that are ever considered.
May we each be in an attitude of prayer for those who are lost. And I would just say again, if you're lost and in your sins tonight the word whosoever means you don't go home until you can say that Christ died for you. Shall we pray. We thank thee, our loving God and Father, for the good news of the gospel. We thank thee again for that unspeakable gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank the Lord Jesus that there is still a Savior on high in the glory.
We thank thee that thine arms are open wide tonight to receive poor, helpless sinners who will simply come to thee and accept thy gift of eternal life. We pray tonight for any in this room who are lost. Save their souls. We do pray, give them peace. Oh, may they not have rest until they have settled these most important questions, until they have settled where they will spend eternity.
Oh draw them by thy love, by thy grace.
May they realize their need, and may they come to thee. We ask thy blessing again on thy word, as it's gone forth in many places and by many means.
And we thank thee for it. We praise thee and thy precious, thy worthy name, Lord Jesus.
Amen.
Open Mtg.
Open—J. Hyland, M. Maurer, S. Jacobsen
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.
2 verses in Daniel 4.
Will introduce.
What we want to seek to find out.
From the Word of God.
This afternoon.
We have a revelation in our hands from God.
Let us read.
In Daniel 4, verse 13, first I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and behold a watcher.
And an holy one came down from heaven.
Verse 17.
This matter is by the decree.
Of the watchers.
And the demand by the word of the holy ones.
To the intent that the living may know that the most high ruleth in the Kingdom of men.
And giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
There are living people here.
To the intent that the living may know.
Written given to Daniel.
Nearly 600 years before the cross.
But for.
Us. The point we want to make U.S. special this afternoon is that.
God is watching.
And he sees down here in this world.
Especially.
Three groups.
Namely, the Gentiles.
The Jews and the Church of God.
Now I believe in verse 13.
That this singular watcher, a watcher and an holy one, came down from heaven, refers to the Most High.
To God, to the Lord.
Because he had done it many times before.
Hold this place and turn back to Genesis.
Chapter 8.
No, it's not 8.
It's 11.
Genesis 11.
In connection with Babel.
That the Lord knew about and he says in verse.
Five. And the Lord came down.
To see the city and the tower which the children of men.
Build it. Now turn to the 18th chapter.
And this comes in in connection with Sodom.
It was in connection with Babel. In Chapter 11, chapter 18 it's in connection with.
Sodom.
Verse 20.
And the Lord said, because the cry of Sodom.
And Gamara is great, because their sin is very grievous. I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it which is coming to me.
And if not, I will know.
So you see back in our chapter in Daniel it was number new thing.
For the God of heaven.
To take an interest.
On the events that happen on the Earth.
Now I suspect that the day in which we live is just as interesting.
To God, as it was in the days of Sodom and the day of Babel.
And the day of Nebuchadnezzar.
00:05:04
And we make much.
Of the events we see in our lifetime.
And I believe there is a principle in the word of God that we should look at them.
With the mind of a watcher.
God was the Watcher. Jehovah that came down.
He was that holy one but in verse 17417. Notice that verse again.
Daniel 4/17. This decree, this matter is the decree.
Of the watchers and the demand by the Word of the Holy ones.
Hold this verse again and turn with me to Psalm 103.
I think we have some light which will let us know.
Who the watchers and who the holy ones?
Are.
The 20th verse.
Now Psalm 103.
Bless the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength.
That do his commandments, hearkening under the voice of His.
Word without reading it to you, I'll ask you to remember.
Having read Genesis 18 and 19.
That to Abraham came three men.
And when Abraham addressed them, he just says one.
Lord, He just addressed one. One of those three men was the Lord was Jehovah. The other two were apparently those angels that went on over.
To Sodom in chapter 19.
What we're getting here is the interest of heaven over things on the earth.
And that God bears long with things.
And then he judges.
But he always has a remnant.
And a godly Remnant to bring through a wicked world.
And to bring out of it before the final judgment.
The prophecies that come in Daniel we say prophecies.
Much of it is history, but thinking about it this way.
History and prophecy are exactly the same to God.
Limited in our understanding, we can't conceive.
Of the great I am, who is always that?
And so accurate is the prophecy that men have said. Daniel couldn't have written what he wrote.
But it's been proven by geology finding old manuscripts.
That what was given to Daniel was written before much of it took place.
Well, here was the time of Nebuchadnezzar.
We're living in the days of the Gentiles. These are the times of the Gentiles.
They began as to the times of the Gentiles that God speaks of.
With Nebuchadnezzar, they're still going on.
It is still the times of the Gentiles, that is, God took the throne of the government of the earth.
Away from the Jews and gave it to Nebuchadnezzar coming on down through.
Medio Persia through Greece to Rome.
Those four great empires.
And in this chapter, we're not going to read it. There's not time for it.
God comes down.
And here is Nebuchadnezzar, the first of the gentile powers.
And he becomes boastful.
And he says, is not this great Babylon which I have built?
Well, he is humbled.
So the great tree that flourished at first in Babylon in Nebuchadnezzar was cut down.
But a branch sprung out of its roots, and God goes on and bears with the Gentiles.
00:10:05
He's still bearing with the Gentiles, and what does he think?
Money seized the wars that have taken place.
This year.
The dreadful killings.
According to data.
There have been more people killed violently in this century.
Far more than any other century, Probably far more than any.
Two or three or four centuries, The earth is filled up with violence and corruption again.
And God is still bearing with man on the earth.
And drawing a people out of the earth saved by grace through faith.
Brought into now the Church of God.
But the Gentiles have not glorified God.
And they're warned. I believe it's the 11Th of Romans.
And because they hadn't continued in his goodness.
He won't spare them. It's going to be cut down.
But it's still going on and it will go on the times of the Gentiles.
Until the revived Roman Empire, which may be in the forming, gets.
A place on the earth, and the great man, the imperial beast rises up.
And the height of iniquity reaches its peak, and then Christ comes.
And cuts it down in the second chapter of Daniel.
The prophecy is of an image with a head of gold.
And arms, and a chest of silver, and a torso of brass, and legs of iron, and feet of partly iron and clay.
An accurate description of the great powers of the Gentiles, beginning with the head of gold, the most valuable, which got its power from God.
Terminating at the base.
But the feet and the toes of part of iron, part of clay.
And they don't mix. So it says there that it's partly strong.
And partly broken, and they mingle themselves with the seed of men.
Now that is particularly what we are seeing.
Now in the rise of democracy.
That's the last form of the power of the Gentiles.
Before they get there, Imperial Beast.
And oh, the interest of events last week in Russia.
And earlier in Poland.
In Romania, In Serbia, Croatia.
Eastern Europe.
The springing up the formation of.
One nation after another, nation based upon man's thought. A man ruling man. Now that's coming up from below. It doesn't have the power of when it came down from the head from God himself, but it does have power. It's partly strong and partly broken.
But there are the watchers, and there are the holy ones.
Now these that we believe are the angels.
Hold this place again and turn to Hebrews Chapter 2.
Just to bring out from scripture.
A truth, I believe, which agrees with what we're trying to find here in Daniel 4.
Hebrews 2.
5 Hebrews 2/5 On to the angels.
Hath he not put in subjection the world to come?
00:15:01
Whereof we speak.
You see, God is the watcher. He sees what's going on in the Gentile powers.
And he has sent and is sending and controlling by angelic power, the thinking of men's minds. Nobody knows exactly what happened in the Kremlin last week.
But it was amazing.
Or was it? I think it was angels holding back.
A rupture of bloodshed?
In order to let democracy come up in that land.
Well, that's my thought about it at any rate. What we're trying to bring out is God is watching and He's in full control of all the nations, this nation, every nation. He is sovereign, and he has myriads of angels that do his bidding. One beautiful thing is that in Hebrews, those angels are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who are shall be heirs of salvation. I'm one of them.
You're one of them. When you believe in the Lord Jesus, there are angels looking at us right now.
They learn in the church the manifold wisdom of God.
Well, perhaps we've built long enough on the fact that God is watching and he's in full control of the powers that be. Aren't you thankful? Aren't you thankful you don't have to worry about what's going to happen? Our God, our Father, is in full control. He's working out his purposes and counsel. They will ripen fast. Now let's go to the Jews. Turn now to.
Isaiah Chapter 18.
We're going to read the fourth verse. It gets the thought of God observing.
And in particular, this nation, scattered and peeled and terrible from their beginning. Hitherto no warriors like the Jews. That's the description of the Jews in this chapter. A nation scattered and peeled.
And the people terrible from their beginning hitherto.
I'm reading in the second verse the middle part.
A nation meted out and trodden down. Whose land the rivers have spoiled but verse four we were going to read.
For so the Lord said unto me.
I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. Now to just tell you bleakly what we have learned from Bible expositors who lived over 100 years ago, have told us this chapter.
Is what it reveals. I'll name two of them, FG Patterson and JN Darby. They gave a wonderful exposition of what this chapter meant and what it referred to was the return.
Of a nation of Israel.
In advance.
Of the tribulation period.
And they have gone there now.
FG Patterson and Jay and Darby died in the last century. What they wrote has largely been fulfilled in the lifetime of many of us here about the return.
A sample of that nation of Israel even called Israel.
And what is our verse saying?
The Lord said.
Unto me I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place.
I will regard my set dwelling, says the margin.
This picture is the same, it's the observer.
It's the Lord on high, considering watching, seeing what is happening, you may say, arranging it too, for they must come back.
00:20:06
In order to suffer for what they did to their Messiah, that is the 2 tribes. There's enough of them there.
I would say there's far too many because they have come back to soon.
They have come back for judgment and God is just as we're saying.
I'm just going to rest up here and look and see what's going on down there in Israel with those Jews.
He knows what it is.
Now that word watcher.
I think in a sense you and I have the privilege and I think some responsibility to have the mind of Christ about these things that God brings about as to the Gentiles.
As to the Jews, and certainly as to the Church of God.
In which we are as baptized.
By that Holy Spirit into that one body.
And we find out.
That we are under observation too.
But I think it's immensely interesting.
That God is saying here in this chapter, well, there's a there's a remnant of the two tribes back there, and they're forming up their own nation, and they're making their plans and they're trying to get peace.
I think it's notable. In the past two weeks I have heard almost nothing about the Jews.
And Israel. And Shamir. And Assad. And even Saddam Hussein.
The Russian thing has put it out of people's minds. They're more occupied with going up there, but it is the hot spot and they are there and they're not going to have peace.
Notice what the next verse says here, the fifth verse for a for the harvest. When the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flour, he shall both cut off the springs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches, and they shall be left together under the fowls of the mountains and to the beasts of the earth. And the fowls shall summer upon them.
And all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon. This is the judgment. This is what is going to happen to that land of Israel.
Judgment. God is not in it. They are not recognizing the one they.
Crucified did away with they want peace, they cannot have it. The observers on high resting and waiting. He doesn't want to bring this judgment in, but it is coming.
For our own information, let's turn to Isaiah chapter 24. I mean Matthew chapter 24, because we have said that I believe for us.
Daniel was one of the remnant. There were three others that we know about.
In the land of captivity. And it was to them that the Watcher.
Made known all this wonderful prophecy.
Oh, to think of what Daniel learned.
Far above, anyone else on the face of the earth knew at that time as to God's purposes and counsels, and the reason God gave it to him.
Was that he was reading the word of God and he was praying.
And he was submitting.
To everything that God had brought upon them, and praying and confessing his sins, the sins of the nation, like they were his. So God comes down and makes known. Now you and I ought to have the mind of Christ as to what is going on now as to the Gentiles, as to the powers that be without any trouble in our mind about it, God is taking care of the whole thing.
As to the nation of Israel.
What's going to happen to them?
If we would finish that chapter, Isaiah, we'd find that the Millennium does come.
If we look back in Daniel again, which we won't, the Kingdom will be set up.
Christ's Kingdom will come. We sang about it in our first hymn. Today the Millennium is coming.
But oh, the judgments that come before that. Well, in the 24th of of Matthew there is something that's said here that I think applies to us the verse 32 and it relates to what we have read in Isaiah 18, Matthew 24.
00:25:16
And verse 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree.
This is a well known symbol of Israel as a nation.
So the words now learn.
Are for the living, and it's for us that the living may know that the most high rules in the Kingdom men, and he rules amongst the Jews. And Christ is a son over his own house too, isn't he?
Now learn a parable of the fig tree when his branch is yet tender and putting forth leaves. Ye know that summer is nigh like language.
The powers of the mountain shall summer upon them, and winter upon them.
Summer is night.
So likewise ye, when you shall see these things, know that is near even at the doors.
So this is for us to be a watcher, an observer, to have the mind of Christ as far as we can get it out of the Word of God, as to events that God has made known as to these three groups in particular, the Gentiles, the Jews, and the Church of God.
For the next 15 minutes, I think we should spend it on ourselves in the Church of God. Turn to Revelation, chapter one.
There's an observer there. Oh, this gets very precious and very sound.
Could we take the attitude of Daniel and confess our sins, our failure, our ruin and get the blessing? I think so.
But at any rate, what we have got.
In Revelation 1-2 and three.
Is Christ as judge looking down?
At us in this age.
Of the church and telling us what he sees.
And as far as I can get out of it, there's only one direct.
Word of exhortation to me.
And it's this he that hath an ear. Let him hear What the Spirit.
Saith unto the churches, And then we can learn and know a few things about it.
But it's absolute. This is what he sees.
The watcher came down and saw Nebuchadnezzar, that Great Creek cut it down.
The observer, the one who considered.
Sees Israel over there going back to the sight of their.
Cut it down. It's going to happen all right in Revelation One, just to get the picture of our blessed Lord.
There is grace in the beginning of Revelation. There is grace at the end of it.
But we want to get the responsible side for ourselves.
Verse 9.
I John who also.
I am your brother and companion in tribulation in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.
Was in the aisle that is called Patmos where the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus.
I was in the spirit on the Lord's day.
The Lord's Day one time in Scripture.
Do we reverence the Lord's day?
John was in the spirit on the Lord's day.
And heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet, saying I am alpha and Omega.
The first and last letters of the alphabet, I believe so he says. The 1St and the last.
What thou seest write in a book a command to write these things in a book.
And send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.
It was written and sent to these seven churches. They're listed.
Verse 12.
00:30:02
I turn to see the voice that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven.
Golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like under the Son of Man.
I think of a question the Lord asks back in Luke's Gospel. I can't tell you.
For sure the chapter 18. Maybe When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth. When the Son of Man cometh, will he find faith on the earth?
Well, we know it's coming for us.
As our Lord and Savior.
Then he's coming back as the Son of Man.
Here he takes the title The Son of Man, unlike the Son of Man clothed with a garment down through the foot.
And gird about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow, And his eyes were as a flame of fire in his feet like a defined brass as they burned in a furnace, And his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars And out of the mouth Out of his mouth went a sharp 2 edged sword, And in his countenance and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength when I saw him.
I fell at his feet as dead he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me.
Fear not, I am the 1St and the last. I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and of death.
Write the things which thou hast seen.
And the things which are and the things which shall be after.
The mystery of the Seven Stars, which thou sawest my right hand.
And the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels.
Of the seven churches.
The seven candlesticks were outsourced are the seven churches.
Under the Angel of the church at Ephesus rite we come down that far.
And we find this writing was put together and it was sent.
And especially it was for the observance of the angels of the seven churches. Now I think the word Angel here is really messenger.
Someone who is responsible.
So on that basis.
I would say that all of us fit here as a messenger to receive the message.
Than the one who's looking down and telling us this.
Is what I see.
Well, we haven't time to take up the seven churches at home.
We believe the first three as to a prophetic or historic side of things, which is surely there are passed away.
And that the last four are with us and we'll be here until.
The Lord come.
And certainly that time of his coming is very near.
There's nothing in here.
That would make any person boastful at all.
There is failure with the first one. Thou hast left.
Thy first love. Have you ever done that?
Have you ever turned your back on the Lord?
I'm afraid we'd have to say yes.
Well, we can be recovered.
And turn our face toward him.
Now we have noticed.
That the Gentile powers.
End up in judgment.
The Lord is going to come and cleanse the earth.
That stone cut out of the mountain without hands strikes the image on the feet, and the whole thing topples, and then that Kingdom grows and fills the earth, the blessed Kingdom.
Of the King, the Messiah.
00:35:01
The king who will reign in righteousness.
And his Prince's rule and equity that is coming.
Now the Jews.
What they are trying to do now is going to come down, it's going to come to north.
And then?
God will send his messengers out and gather in.
The spared of the nations as well as Israel.
And the 12 tribes will be brought.
And the messengers from the 2 tribes that preach the gospel, the Kingdom at the end of the seven years.
Go out and bring them in mighty power of God that does it in a short time.
And when the 10 comes in, the 10 tribes that are lost and nobody knows where they are.
You can speculate all day and you don't know where they are. They're going to say what are these wounds in thy hands.
The answer is those with which I was wounded in the House of my friends, the two tribes nailing them, the Messiah on the cross.
And then?
They will be brought into the blessing, purified.
Judged in the wilderness, chastise the 10 and brought into the millennial Kingdom.
And blessing.
Now, in the history of these seven churches, we come down to the last one.
And there is a warning. Maybe we should read it Chapter 3.
We're coming down to the end of our time. We want to get this much.
Verse 14 Under the Angel of the Church of the Laodiceans write these things, saith thee. Amen.
The faithful and true witness the beginning of the creation of God.
I know thy works, I think this is said about every one.
And thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou Wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art Luke warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Now that's what.
The Son of Man says about the seven churches.
And if we take up or, you'd take up and read. Let's turn.
Another verse before we stop in the 17th chapter. I think it is.
So that we get a present exhortation to help us.
No, it's the 18th chapter.
The 18th chapter. This is a present day exhortation.
Not a prophetic thing. It's a present day exhortation for those who are reading the book.
And know the mind of the Watcher as he reveals it in the book as to what's happening in the seven churches.
And is Christendom at large, which is still going on and something that can still be done?
Verse 4.
Revelation 18. Four I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that she be not partaker of her sins that you receive, not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities, reward her even as she rewarded you, and double under her double according to her works in the cup that she has filled.
Filled to the double, we won't read anymore.
We won't be here for this when it happens. This is what's leftover.
Of Christendom. After all its reels taken out of it and brethren, it could be today that every real believer will be taken literally out of the world.
And then all that would be left is empty profession.
And the one who's looking down says this is what I see.
Oh, the ruin of the church, professedly, is the worst of all.
She gets the worst judgment.
Let us today not be associated with any kind of.
00:40:04
Empty profession, any names and brethren, I would say.
Anyone else?
Than the person of Christ, and being gathered to the name of the Lord.
Jesus Christ, Let's sing number 93 in closing.
Goodness in the Heart of God Toward Us