Denver Conference: 1994
Table of Contents
1 John 4:1-7
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I just like Daddy. What he says some verses in First Corinthians chapter 2.
About being careful, sometimes I think we don't understand.
What it is to allow ourselves to be exposed to lives.
Let's see verse one read the 1St 5 verses.
And I read, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God, He was telling them the truth.
I determine not to know anything among you, say Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling in my speech. In my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit of power that your faith.
Shall not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
We have to say this. It's not what the apostle was saying. That is the subject. Here is how he was saying it.
With these men that speak comes a spirit. It's how they're saying what they're saying.
You and I might be able, by the grace of God, in some little measure, to sift out these doctrines, but you can't sift out how they're speaking.
We expose ourselves to these people listening on the radio and.
You know it's it's.
We are very foolish to think we are able to do that, expose ourselves to these preachers who say some things, true and lovely things. And to think, oh, I'll sift out the bad doctrines and just I'll just eat the good and throw in the best. You can't. It's how they're speaking to you. It comes a spirit with it that you can't sit down, run for your life highly in Christ. You'll find everything you need in the Lord Jesus Christ you don't need.
That you have more to lose than they have to gain. I mean to give. Excuse me? You have more to lose, and they have to give. If you have gathered the name of the Lord Jesus, stay there. The problem is that you already hinted at that. That we have become lazy Christians. You know, we're listening to the radio. That's the source for our food. We have lost the art of reading and meditating on the word of God ourselves.
And then turn to what we know to be sound ministry. You know that people say, well, I have a hard time reading J&D, have a hard time reading William Kelly. Well, I have seen people saved from Catholicism who didn't have scriptural backgrounds like the children growing up in the meeting and everyday of Kelly. It's all a question of exercise and desire. So be careful Brother Albert.
Used to tell us you might have heard of say that if you would know there's a pact with food on the table that has 5% poison. The rest of it is good. Would you put it before your table? No, you wouldn't. Would be. So I think we have to become exercise and become more diligent, you know and search the scriptures for ourselves.
Read them, meditate upon them, and get hold of things instead of justice. Turning on the radio and listening to some person who might have the wonderful ability to preach, you know, and we're too much taken up by eloquence anyway, you know.
What counts is the message that is brought and even isn't eloquent. Doesn't really matter that much, but if the substance is the truth of God.
The spirit of God can use it for feeding our souls. Is verse 6A safeguard against what we've been talking about.
We are of God, He knoweth God heareth us, don't have us. I believe refers the apostle.
Neither is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know he the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error.
As far as the radio is concerned, the Epistle of James has a Town of Fountain send forth both Sweetwater and Bitter.
Notice in verse 4 the emphasis is on ye. Verse five it's on they. Verse 6 is on we. Verse four ye are of God, little children. He's talking about the family of God and have overcome them, these false teachers, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. That's the spirit of God. We have the divine teacher within and that's developed in this epistle. And then he talks about these false prophets, these false teachers. They are of the world.
00:05:29
Therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. And then he talks about the apostles under the weed. We are God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. You might say. Well, we don't have an apostle today. There are none living, but we have the writings. And that's how we hear them, isn't it? Is their writings. Amen.
And that's that's our safeguard. It's the word of God sometimes. I was just reading this. I just picked up this pamphlet on the back table. Can only Christians be gathered to one place. It's the Christians only be gathered to one place. And the the argument against against the one place is but brother so and so is so godly and so well taught that he preaches and he's not gathered and that kind of thing.
And in the pamphlet the the ministry was what does the word of God say? And that's simple. What does the word of God say? It sets before us 1% that we've been talking about that person and the truth of this person. So all the reasonings and the fact that other Christians who may be more godly than I am or than you are, and very gifted men, they hold and teach differently. That should not affect us. We have to go to the what is the word of God say, that's what the we refers to here.
But what can I also admit? That sometimes souls have been stubbled by the worthiness and the poor testimony that is displayed in those gathered to the name of the Lord, and they found more godliness with some who were identified with error. They're not excused by this, but I believe it ought to humble us that we, by our worldliness, have stumbled souls.
And they have gotten into error because they found more godliness among some of the people who are identified with error. They judged more by outward things. And the word of God definitely teaches that Christianity is not only an inward thing, it is also an outward thing, and it addresses things outwardly, such as dress, hair, and all of these things. So I believe we have to admit in power heads that we many times have stumbled Souls.
By our worldliness and activities that we engage in and allow ourselves as Christians, gather to the name of the Lord, there ought to be more spiritual exercise and godliness, practical holiness, in the lives of those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus.
It might be the site's worldliness. It might be legality that stumbles also and turns souls aside. It might be the abuse of authority that is not properly exercised and used. It might be the.
The setting up of a hierarchy amongst us, you say? Well, that's not possible as it is. Oh yes it is. It might be any one of these things that has turned souls away and stumbled them and caused them to to wonder about the place. This is an entirely different line that you opened up, but it's not just worldliness, but it's a lot of things that can stumble souls, and so how we have to be so careful.
Even the lack of God, the care in the assembly, you know, that is sometimes the case too, that those who God would have in the position of oversight a chance or a void is because it's not a pleasant thing, and this is all something that the enemy can use. But everyone really, in the final analysis, is responsible to give an answer to the Lord for their path.
That they walked in. And if we individually played to the law personally, we can be preserved in spite of all the weaknesses and failures that we might witness amongst other people. That lesson comes out in the first sin.
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Adam tried to blame his wife and God and it didn't work. Adam was responsible himself. We can't blame other people for what we do and what we say right here is the responsibility.
Well, few minutes ago our brother read 2nd Corinthians 10 and five. And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, that is, that we should obey as Christ obey.
Oh, how far short we come, brother. We should obey and heal these. Oh, fix our earnest gaze. So holy Lord, on thee with thy beauty occupied we elsewhere None makes thee they heed the object.
The danger of seeing the failures of our brethren, And there are many.
The danger of looking at that and focusing on that is to cause one to maybe leave the path and get out there in the confusion that exists among those not gathered to the Lord's name and find a very godly Christians, and so on. But those that do that, they're going to find out.
When some trouble comes in, and it will that they're not as nice as they thought they were, that they had the flesh too. And no matter where you go in Christendom, you're going to have to deal with people, and people have the flesh within them. They're just like you and me, Whether you like to believe that or not. They're no different. And we have to get along with one another because we don't have any choice about that. We have to follow where the word of God puts us, not because I like you.
Or I like your company. And so on. I happen to, but that's not the reason I'm here. It's because of the word of God. And that's what has to be. This is you can leave the Lord, but you can't leave the breath. Wherever you go, you're going to find breath. So you can leave the Lord. You can't leave breath thinking of what it says. If God so loved us.
So we did love one another.
I believe, you know, I was thinking recently that Christian obedience is not primarily to get something for me.
If I'm obeying to get something from me, I don't understand that I have it in Christ.
Christian obedience is always to get something for somebody else.
And in Hebrews it's in Hebrews chapter is it 13 where you get those that have to give a count?
We're 17.
Hebrews 13 verse 17.
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves, for they watch for your souls as they that must.
Give accounts that they may do with joy. You know they don't have to give account for my soul, they have to give account for their watching.
And if I love it, if I have walking in that love that belongs to us, love one another.
I will be happy to submit so that he doesn't have any problem giving account for his watching.
Love is the basis of our path. We're not fighting on other words here, to love one another and help every one of us, each one of us helping the other, to get something for Christ.
It's not a question of of of getting some again repeated because it's in my own soul. Sometimes I think I'm obeying because I want this in the Lord and I think I want to get. I don't understand what it is to be a Christian on that basis to it.
But loving others, Being obedient and submissive for the benefit of others. Because Christ loved me, it's not what they are. If God so loved us, how is that love sovereign love, unaffected by what it found?
They loved anyway.
Then. So we ought to love one another the same way. Now, you know, we've been talking about doctrines and bad doctrines and brotherhood associated with evil and so forth. I remember what Brother Ramon said years ago. We have to love all our brothers, but we can always have fellowship with them. And we don't want their errors or our errors and their failures or our failures to narrow our hearts.
00:15:08
Only our pathways now and the.
We love them as God loves. We don't love them in their sins. We don't help them in their sins. We would want to let them out of their sins. We want to be exercised that they come out of those things and enjoy the Lord Jesus, which is their true portion of their believers.
Well, the tendency is for the pendulum to swing from legality to a looseness. Or say there's a condition of things where if you, if you say anything out of place in the meeting, someone will call you to task for it. They're very legal and things that are not fundamental issues. And then we get cleared from that and then we swing to the other extreme, that you can make the greatest blunders and no one will say anything.
No one will correct it. That's worse. That's worse. We need to be corrected. I remember sitting in a meeting, I was there for you a number of years in Oak Park. And there's a brother there very well taught. And there's someone we gave up, give out some thoughts. Way off, not right. And this, this brother, this well talk brother. He just smile smiling and I won't see you do that. You know, that's got to be corrected. But later on in the meeting.
When it was somewhat removed from the from the error that was stated, he'd come back to the point and he'd correct it. So he'd do it in such a way as not to put the one down that made the mistake. But he corrected it. And there's a way of correcting it. We must not let error slip. We must we. We have to be faithful. Love is faithful. We have to be faithful. And when mistakes are made, we may not have to jump on it all the time. Or if if you don't, just say it the way brethren, say it.
You're criticized.
That kind of a spirit is very deadening and dampening to the spirit, but then error has to be corrected, especially when it's error concerning the person in the work of Christ.
Connection with correction. I've enjoyed this thought. Correction without compassion does not do the work of God.
The sixth verse brings us for us the word of God.
As that which will keep us.
In the right path, but immediately then it introduces.
The love let us love one another where love is of God.
But notice that statement. He that knoweth God heareth us. Verse six. He that is not of God heareth not us. That's the that's the the the final Test of one Does he know God? Well, he will hear the apostles. He'll hear the word of God. And if he doesn't hear the word of God, he doesn't know it. He's he's not subject. If he's not subject to the word that God has spoken and indicted through the apostles, he doesn't know that.
That's what John is saying is very absolute in his statement, certainly so if we do not accept the correction even when it is clearly presented to us on the word of God.
That leaves the question open whether there is a reality of faith in the individual.
I believe that's conclusion that we draw now sometimes.
Will, because self will is so strong that we pursue a path of self will for a long time, and it takes the law of Lord sometimes a while before he can correct us. But we have to remember that the Scripture says that the fool despises correction, and I believe we all ought to.
It sincerely ask the Lord for grace that we accept correction whenever it is needed, because it helps us. If you do not accept correction, just think thou as to the truth as to the person of Christ, a simple soul that comes in amongst the Saints of God from a place where they did not believe the truth of Scripture as to the sinless humanity. And he said that the Lord Jesus could have sinned.
We certainly, certainly should be patient to help that person to try to see the error. But you see, if the error is persisted in, you know that will render that person unfit for fellowship among those gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus and love many times, while we all, I'm sure, have to confess that we lack in it. I don't think any upright soul.
00:20:18
Would say that.
I don't have a problem with that. I always show love. I think we all lack in that and need to be admonished. But I think sometimes love is taken for human kindness or human kindness to be taken for love. You know, if somebody persists in the course of sin and evil and we fellowship with that person, we are not really showing love to that person and in our disciplining of our children.
You know.
What is being circulated in the world today is not really love. You know. Love at times requires firm measures to be taken, and the subject of discipline in the word of God is a tremendous subject that we benefit from by looking at it. But we have to remember that we must not have a false idea of love.
You know, for instance, my brother in the flesh.
Would live in sin. Can I use that scripture in the Old Testament that a priest could defile himself for one near near Kent? No, That would be an abuse of the word of God. And I cannot have fellowship with one close to me that pursues the course of sin, because that Scripture in the Old Testament supposes.
That there is a death in the family and something that cannot be avoided. It is not at all a question of making fellowship with one that is going on in sin. So I believe these things might well be helpful to balance this. While we have too many times having our head and say we don't show enough patience, we don't show enough love and dealings with one another, we also go to the other extreme and allow ourselves to be influenced.
By what is considered kindness and love in the world?
There is a scripture in the Old Testament of what you say reminds me of.
If one was defiled.
And another where I came and touched that person, they became defiled and so if there is evil allowed, though a person may be ever so godly.
Yeah, because they're going on without evil, which is allowed. It's defiling to them. Also, association or contact with evil is behind the country, but going back to the matter of judging.
14 verse 29 Let the prophet speak two or three, and let the other judge.
I like very much what you said, Brother Chuck. There is a right way and a wrong way of correcting that which is not just as acidic. Could you could you repeat that verse apart that sixth verse and give it to us phrase by phrase?
I find difficulty in thinking that everyone that you know doesn't bow to the apostles word in fact.
Just what does that mean?
Are these talking about people who have incorrect doctrine as to the person and worship Christ or it isn't just someone who might stay up to say, say well, I think the nomination that was great because it.
Everybody, the different personalities, someplace to go. People say that let's air. It's not according to what the apostles say, but you couldn't say that person wasn't of God. I'm just asking a question.
The budget here is the person, the price that he came in flesh and.
That's that's vital if one should not submit to that the teaching of the apostles.
In that matter, he's not a God.
Characteristic statement to the he just, he says that's what characterizes those and that's what characterizes these.
Results if we go to the very first verses of this epistle. Let's look at them.
John 11 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard. Now there's the opponent.
00:25:06
Well, what about that they heard, which we have seen with our eyes more than that.
We have looked upon, they pondered that person of Christ and our hands have handled of the word of life. Now this is the apostles what they've got personally in their work with the Lord Jesus here below he puts in a parenthesis. The light was manifested and we have seen it. That's the Apostle.
And bear witness one, and showing you that eternal life is for us.
Which was with the Father, and was manifested under rest. That which we have seen the apostles and Her declare we undue that He also may have fellowship with us. That's the first fellowship here, fellowship with the apostles through hearing the Word, keeping their doctrine.
Like the very beginning when the Church is set up. Acts 242.
They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine. That's what they got from the apostles.
That's what they heard. We've got more than they had on that day. But they continued in what the apostles who were then present told them. And then so they continued that as being apostles, doctrine and fellowship. Now you and I get indirectly what the apostles got directly. It's very, very simple. It's the word of God that's come to us and it brings us into this wonderful fellowship.
With God the Father and with his Son. Then he go on that first epistle.
You got a little space in there.
And it says.
In verse 7.
If we walk in the light as he's in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sins. Now that's where we go and that brings us into fellowship that those that are walking in that life like to add something in relation to what the Vernon was the question, you know when we.
We're in a sense we're we're loved. Doubly loved. I I I like it that way. We're.
Saved and gathered.
And it's all grace. Grace, just like grace saved me. Grace gathered me to the name of the Lord Jesus. Now when I from this?
Place of grace I look out on, say, a system.
I'm looking at two things. One that God hates. One that God loves.
He loves his people and he hates that system. That system is the devil's work. It's not God's work.
As I look on that, the enemy of my soul wants to confuse me about this. He wants me to get me to hate my brethren and love the system.
He wants to confuse me about these things.
You know, we walked on with Christ and that's the only way that the Spirit of Jesus Christ, we have that on a daily basis communion with him. We'll keep these things straight. And the fact that there is error and I hate there, I should hate the error. I should never let as it were. But the sun go down as I hate this error and I should never let that affect me in one bit. And the love I have for my brethren who are there and just any instant now I want to be standing at the feet of Jesus with every one of my brethren.
To his joy, To his joy, my joy, Oh, sure. But to his joy and their joy. Now I gather, Do I come to meeting thinking I'm coming for me?
Why am I coming for Christ and my bread my whole in that for them whole is ground He gathers out apart from evil. Here we stand. Wait. We're waiting for all of them to come. If our hearts narrow in at all, we've lost the sense of what it is to be gather the thing with the Lord Jesus. But our path has to remain known. Otherwise we're going to get confused and the enemy is going to gain ascendancy over our affections.
And we're going to love that which God hates and hate that which God loves. But we get it straight. God loves his people, but he hates those systems that hold them in ******* the work of the enemy himself.
Whatever degree we fail to imbibe the apostles doctrine, in that degree we are not a God.
00:30:04
Moral charge to Corinthians?
When there was sectarianism, are ye not carnal, and walk according to men. So in whatever element I fail to imbibe and receive and believe and walk in fellowship with the apostle doctrine, and that I miss the mind of God, I'm according to man, but a bill you would probably allow to add to your comments, that I cannot have fellowship with my brethren in Christ who go on.
In a unscriptural course, we don't want to confuse love and fellowship. That's what I mean. So while we painfully feel the lack of fellowship, and I think this is very often times fail, you know that we are very much content to walk with just those that are willing to practice the truth of God with us, and we don't even miss our brethren in Christ.
You know, and we don't painfully miss them. And that is not a manifestation of godliness, you know, the Lord would really want us to feel that. I've often used the example.
If somebody has to have an amputation and he loses his arm or his leg, and he would say so, what, I didn't need it anyway. You question whether the person is of a sound mind. Well, he had lost the practical use of members of the Body of Christ because they're going on in an unscripted system.
And we cannot have fellowship with them. We might in a measure, in a personal contact with them.
Try to be a help to them, but we cannot in any way identify ourselves and have fellowship with them in their error and if they persist, in the error concerning the person of five.
We might even not have any social contact with them. So these are all things that prove our love for our brethren, and obedience to the word of God is how we demonstrate our love for our better.
John Five or first John Pie Brothers and verse 2.
By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments.
So we say the measure of our love is the extent of our obedience to the word of God.
Might hang our heads that we've had to take up the meeting on these subjects, getting to the one that we had read to us this morning. God is love.
Apparently we needed these nudges that would hinder us from entering into the heights of the statement that.
Thinking there's one question that maybe trouble the young and that is why does the Lord allow this power, the powers of darkness, for us to come into contact with them? He could have set us in a world where we didn't have any conflict like this.
Is it not to test the affections of our hearts? And there may be some young that are worrying. I I don't know if I've gotten everything has been said here this morning. And one thing is certain that if we hear evil doctrine, false doctrine, it will trouble the affections of our hearts and the fellowship that we're speaking about will not be able to freely enter into.
We're troubled and so if we find our affections trouble, perhaps we have invited some of this.
Some influence that we need to judge. And the conflict is very real and is with us every day. And the purpose of it is, is to turn the affections of our hearts away from our blessed Lord. Like to read one verse in Deuteronomy 13 appears itself.
When the children of Israel went into the land, God could have had that land already purged before they entered in.
There was idolatry and corruption there in that land, and they were to utterly destroy it, But it seems like it's capped in verse five of Deuteronomy 13. It says in that process for that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has spoken to turn you away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the House of *******.
00:35:17
To thrust thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to walk in, so shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of the.
So it must be violence. So that which is enterprise claim to that which is good.
Sing Together #186.
She's of three. We never retired.
The new and living food can satisfy our hearts at night should divide by this. We're pressing onwards still in this postal feed, more subject to the Father's will be now much more likely than 186.
I love.
Swimming. Praise.
00:40:42
I be.
Gracious God and our Father, we do thank you for this little time together. We think of the end of this dispensation, the last bit of time here upon her for the Church. We think of what we're surrounded with the Father. We see our danger of being lopsided. And so we cry under thee, give us life, cause us to have our mind about mistakes that we might go on in the tree.
We just looked at the new plea. You see the danger.
Being LED away one side to the other and so we just looked at the bottom.
On the right path we asked for Jesus and thy name.
Number three 1994 Denver first reading meeting First John 4 verses 1 to 8 Hymn #309 is being sung.
First John 4 on my heart I someone else has another port and I'm quite happy to turn to.
First Epistle of John, Chapter 4.
They love, believe not every spirit, but try the spirit whether they are of God.
Because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit a composite that Jesus Christ is coming, the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is coming to flesh, is not of God, and this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereas he has heard that it should come.
And even now already isn't in the world Year of God, Little Children.
And have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He that is not us all heareth not us. Hereby know we the Spirit of truth.
And the spirit of error, beloved, let us love one another.
00:45:05
For love is of God, and everyone that loves us is born of God and knowest God. He that loveth N knows not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.
Here in Islam.
The North that we love God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelt in US, and his love is perfect in US.
Thereby no way that we dwell in Him and He and us, because He has given us all of His Spirit, and we have seen and to testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelt in him, and he in God.
And we have known and believed the laws that God has to us.
God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in Him. Here it is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment.
Because as he is, so are we in this world. There is No Fear in love, but perfect love cast about fear, because fear has torment.
He that spirit is not made perfect in love. We love him.
Because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hated his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, How can he love God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God loves his brother also?
In Bolivia many years ago.
We were in a mission. Work amongst brother gathered the Lord's name too.
But there were names that came in.
And some doctors taken up.
Especially concerning what you have in Second John, where the woman is the guardian of the house, and she is told in verse ten of Second John, if there come any unto you, And bringing out this doctrine.
Receive it not at your house, neither bidding God's feet. That is the doctrine that Jesus is gone and Jesus is a man. These two things we must.
Oh well. Ministry had been presented on it.
The room was full room, not quite this big, but they were sitting on the floor, standing in the doorway.
And the brethren were ministering, were more up the front. And I saw an Indian brother stand up over there, and he just stood there.
Until there was a little quiet.
I just couldn't think.
Of closing the door on anybody. He just couldn't think that that wasn't love to him.
Wales would explain to him truthfully and love the particular homes. It would keep these.
That bring bad doctrine out of the place.
Many.
False prophets are going into the world.
Yes, they're here in 1994, they found, and God would have us protect our home. One thing I thought.
00:50:10
That brother.
He he couldn't get in. The ministry was going on. So he stood up and I thought of that verse in First Corinthians 14. Is anything being revealed to one that sits by let the first hold his peace. Where were the brethren who were speaking saw this other stand up. They held their peace and they gave him a door of entrance to get this thing settled down that.
We are to guard our home and the proof of our love is that Jesus is gone and Jesus is a man. And so we have to guard against and we're not. Can't believe every spirit that goes out in the world today.
I remember sitting in a room and there were two brothers that were visiting and we didn't know them.
And we've had about 3 sentences of introduction. How are you finding so forth? First thing.
That this stranger said Arias was right.
And if you know who Arias was, he was one of the first leaders in the in the heresy of blasphemy, Arianism is called. And I thought about that. I said here's 1600 years or so later.
That lie is still with a squad because there's a spirit of error as there is a spirit of truth. There's a power active in the scene to keep lies alive.
You know, it says here they have gone out into the world.
That which gives the world its present evil character would be the false prophets who have gone out. The world didn't generate them. They came out from among professing believers.
Back in chapter 2.
We see them.
Verse 18, Little children, it is the last time.
And as you have heard that Antichrist shall come even now. Are there many antichrists whereby we know that it is the last time they went out from us?
But they were not of us. These are unbelievers.
Verse 26.
These things have I written on you concerning them that.
I think the new translation reads lead you astray starting off with unbelievers Antichrist and a Christian in character and they led believers out. The fact that believers went out to join them did not change the character of the movement and it has a an anti Christian character even to today. And this is the beginning of sectarianism we see in chapter 2.
And for you and me, we need to walk advisedly because I was thinking as the brother read this chapter before we get to God's love.
We're brought to a place where we see God is white, and if we don't guard ourselves against these things that are everywhere, we shouldn't expect to enter into the joy of that which follows God's love.
But might be helpful.
For some who have never heard of these main areas, what was this error?
He argued that the Lord Jesus was of a similar substance, not of the same substance as the Father so.
What was the truth, or what is the truth in the word of God that can really refuse that error? It's the eternal sunships. Is arriving the eternal sunship from eternity equal with the Father?
You know there are girls among Greta that have risen up who deny that there was such a relationship as father and son before incarnation.
It's that very truth that proves the error of Aries. And how important people say, is there such a big thing? They don't really not deny that the Lord Jesus was from eternity that he was.
00:55:02
A divine person.
But the relationship of Father and Son did not exist. It's such a big thing, but it is very chapter. We find the statement that God sent his Son, that the Father sent the Son and he was the Son before he ever came and.
This truth is of vital importance, and I'm sorry to say, among Brethren, men have arisen who deny the eternal sonship, and I hope there's nobody that sympathizes with those men who have brought in such damnable heresy amongst parents.
To confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is that not confessing the person and work of the Lord Jesus?
And that test is so simple. That's all we need to know, that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. That's really what's brought out in the way of his coming in the.
5th chapter This is he that came by water and blood. Even Jesus Christ. That's the way of his coming.
He didn't just come as a word, as a written word. He was a real man. When we get ahold of the fact that Jesus, whoever was God, came into this world and took the human form, The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth and hold on to that, that Jesus is man, that Jesus is God. That's the way to test every doctrine that ever comes wrong.
The I just like to make some more comments on what Heinz said. The argument against the Eternal sonship is that sonship implies inferiority.
Now in John chapter 5, verse 17, I want to read a few verses there and you'll see it implies just the opposite. It implies equality and the Jews understood this in John chapter 517. But Jesus answered them. My father worketh hitherto and I work.
Now all he had said was my father. He's the only man that ever said that.
The only man that ever claimed such a nearness of relationship with God, so as that he could address him and speak of him as my Father.
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. They understood that.
When he claimed to be the Son and God my Father.
When he claimed that he was making himself equal with God. Not inferiority at all, but equality. And that's why that's such an important truth.
To understand and hold. It's a vital truth, isn't it? It's what we say is vital. That's the same as in Philippians too. He didn't think of something degrasse after to be equal to God. He was taught and.
If we if He is not the eternal Son, we do not yet know God. We only know something God became.
And we are less like the pagans that worship an unknown God. That's how vital and how basic it is, the eternal sonship.
Not only that, we know that God is unchangeable come eternity if he became something.
That he was not before. He's not an unchangeable God, but he is the Father from eternity. The Lord Jesus is the Son from eternity and as far as their eternal.
Existence goes these relationships exist and they never change. Now, when you become a man, when he became a man.
He is then also owned as the son you know, even as a man he is the offspring.
Of God, you might say. You know you must be gotten by the Holy Ghost, and that richness born of Mary was called the Son of God. Even as a man, God is his father. But sonship does not begin with incarnation. Sonship existed ever before.
01:00:02
So we find in the Old Testament even this beautiful statement. A child is born, a son is given. That relationship existed before he ever became a child. A man, a human being born in a stable lady in a Manger. I'd like to read the verse in Luke chapter one.
Couple verses there.
The Angel, verse 30, said unto her.
They're not married. For thou hast found favor with God, And behold, thou shalt concede in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus. He shall be grave, and shall be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and he shall reign over the House of Jacob Forever. And of his Kingdom there shall be no end. Notice in verse 32 you have his deity.
He is great and called the Son of the Highest.
And then you have his humanity, give unto him the throne of his father David.
Then said Mary, verse 34 unto the Angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Notice the answer. And the Angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall over shadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called.
The Son of God. It doesn't say He becomes the Son of God. He always was the Son of God. He never became the Son. He was always the Son from all eternity. But he carried his sonship into time. It says in Philippians 2 That he emptied himself while of what? Did he empty himself? Did he empty himself with his sonship? No, he carried that into time. He still remains the Son. He emptied himself of his divine glory and deity, but he didn't empty himself of being God.
Or healing the sun. But he did empty himself of the form of God that he was in by taking the form of a servant. But we have to understand the there's this kenosis theory they call it, because the Greek word emptying is kenosis. What did he empty himself of? This passage says he didn't empty himself with his sonship. He was called the son of God even as a man. Think of it. That little baby.
Born in a stable, laid in a Manger. Look at him. That baby was to be called the Son of God. Tremendous truth that he was the eternal Son, now in a different form, form of a servant, a little baby.
Tremendous, wonderful truth. That's what John is insisting on here in the first John, he that he he that came in flesh. He always was. And he came and flashed with the confession not so much that he came in flesh, but the confession of the person who came in flesh.
God and men in one person, just a way of his company. Yes, he always was, but he came as a man. I know this very nearly holy ground and healthy, powerful, but who developed the truth that he always was the Son, ever was the Son.
And that as the Son of God, he was born in the Spirit.
So you carry that little part? He does.
He was raised as a son of God too. Let's look at Acts 13. I don't want to say too much on here, but we believe this truth. Jesus is God. He always lost God. He became a man but he died. But he rose from the dead and became the head of a new creation. So.
In Acts 13.
Verse 34.
No 33 dog, Half will feel the same under us, their children, and that he had raised up Jesus.
Leave it again out, I think.
As it is written in the second song that my son this day have I begotten, a well known teacher amongst her said that's the day of the resurrection and we believe it. Now let's hold this truth. Jesus is God. He always loves God. He became a man. He was the Son of God is born, he died, he's the Son of God, is risen and he's the head of a new race.
01:05:08
What isn't the 33rd verse of his first coming and the 34th verse his resurrection?
Term first born.
Might you have puzzled Assam, But in Psalm 89.
And verse 27.
Also I will make him my first born higher than the kings of the earth.
Season of Saliva. I believe Solomon was the 10th son of David, but he was given the place of the first born. It was a title not referring to when he was born into this world, but a title the first born.
The preeminent one. I like to add yes to the thoughts expressed on Philippians.
He did appear outwardly in the form of sinful flesh. He wasn't sinful flesh, he was a man. But he never gave up his godhead glory. He did hide it his bed, and had said, we find a human veil, but that glory could not be hid. And you know we see it in the resurrection, or raising up the dead, calming the storm. So we see feeding the multitude.
Could that be done by me, a man?
With five loaves and two fishes. So we see that God had glory does shine forth, for faith can see it and recognize it, But it was hidden. He could not have been amongst men, if it wouldn't have been hidden, if he wouldn't have come in human form, because he was in the midst of sinful men, they would have been too, would they not? But He came grace in lowly form.
Also, the main purpose of this comic was really to accomplish redemption.
You had to become a man in order to be our instrument Redeemer. Or had he been only a man, he could have never accomplished the work of redemption in three hours of darkness, you know, atoning sufferings in three hours. If he had not been more than a man, it was God's Son that became the Lamb of God. He couldn't have died had he not become a man, but he never ceased to be. But he always had been. So we see him as the Lamb of God, God's Son.
We say that he veiled his divine glory in human form.
He also veiled his official glory. He came as a servant.
But his moral glory could not be hidden every word, every act.
That was done or spoken. It showed up who he was, that moral glory. He could never be less than perfect in every circumstance and every relationship. That's his moral glory, isn't it?
Now I want to read verse two in our chapter.
And correct it here by know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit it reads here that confesses that Jesus Christ is come in the fleshes of God. The way it reads in our translation here, it's the confession that he came, that the fact that he came. That's not the real point of the verse as we have it in the new translation. It's every spirit.
That confesseth Jesus Christ come in flesh is with God. It's the confession of the person of him who came. And you couldn't talk about any of us coming in flesh that would have no meaning. That's the only way we could come. But here it's the confession of a person that existed before he became a man, before he came in flesh. And it's a confession of that person who is God color flesh that involves his deity and his humanity. The again you get it in verse 3.
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is coming flesh take the VAT out. Every spirit that confesseth not Jesus Christ come in flesh is not of God. So it's really involves both his deity and his humanity. That's the confession that John is talking about. That's why we're developing this from other passages. There's a there's a life thing to that in second Timothy's two that I think it's very precious.
01:10:10
Just look at Second Timothy 2. If you leave that out, it helps in the verse.
Second Timothy 28, remember?
Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from the dead. According to my gospel, we don't need to do that. We don't need the world. It's a person, and it's a person raised from the dead according to all government.
You ought to remember him, you know.
It's important to see that it is. It is a person.
Therefore we say that person dies. Well, we don't say God died. God couldn't die. We talk about a person.
Who is God and man? Mystery of his person is hid from us. So we look on a man and worship that man is God.
God was manifest in flesh, and we're looking at and confessing and holding. We should be holding true to that mission. That person, that man, eternal Son of God. You came, He died. He was raised. That man is seated in glory today, and he gives you and me every, every blessing we have. Every blessing anybody ever had from God is based on that man, that person who is God.
You're gonna be good just to.
Say a few words.
On that, remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David raised from the dead, according to my gospel, as something we can do. As the Lord said this, do in remembrance of me. If you and I are saved, if we have that knowledge that Jesus died for me, that he is risen, don't forget him, young people.
You know this. The Lord invites you to His table. I don't, but it's a very timely word. Remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead. According to my gospel, it's a very happy thing, and it's normal Christianity to do that.
And really, what the Spirit of God is bringing before us in our chapter.
Is that there is a spirit aloof in the world that denies all this. And what has been said is absolutely true, as we understand from the word, but that this spirit.
Who would rob the Saints of that which gives them eternal? Glory is present, and the holding of this truth is the means by which we test the spirits that suggest otherwise.
So if security is suggesting that Christ is something other than God, and man is not of God, and we're to evaluate ministry or comments that we hear with that in mind, which?
Does hold for Jesus Christ as coming flesh, and which denies it. One who holds it forth is a God, and we know the source of the others.
There's a pamphlet you titled. Some of you may have read it.
Could God Incarnate sin? Now to ask the question is to answer it. Of course not. Impossible.
The truths that we've been setting before us, that He's God and man and one person impossible, that that person could sin and we read in Luke one, that holy thing which shall be born of these shall be called the Son of God. His humanity was holy, and we partake of that holy humanity when we're born again.
We have a nature just like his hope. We partake of that. We don't partake of deity. We are not God, and we'll never be elevated to that, but we're elevated to the highest place that a creature can be elevated to that ought to be satisfied.
He that is born of God sinneth not, and that in this same epistle, and that is true perfectly of the Lord Jesus, because he only had a holy human nature.
And there are those in Christendom, and even some of these popular radio features denied it. You know, when they say that he could have sinned, they do deny the sinless humanity of the Lord Jesus.
01:15:02
They do not understand from the word of God that when the Lord Jesus comes into this world and partakes of humanity, he does it in a new way. For the first time there is a holy man.
Apart entirely from sin, just partake of humanity, but in a new way. There was never a man like that before, and but we who by grace are saved, receive a nature.
Holy We have still the old nature, and therefore we have the ability to sail. But how wonderful it is. The very nature perfectly displayed in the Lord Jesus is the nature that we have now that we are saved. But the truth of the person of Christ is an attack on both sides, his deity and his humanity and these very people that denied the eternal sonship.
It all began with denying him to be the Word before incarnation. That was one of the first errors that they propagated, and they even then later on denied the full humanity of our Lord. They dared to try to dissect the person of the Blessed Lord and to try to explain what no man can understand, how the divine and human are joined in one person.
There are two natures, Mr. Raven said, where the idea had been gotten from, that there were two natures he didn't know. That was before the division, beloved, that he came out with this kind of attack on the person of Christ. But.
Then they said that in person he was God, in condition he was man or the spirit of the man. Christ Jesus was his dear tears. If he didn't have a human spirit, he was fully man, spirit, soul and body.
And this blessed person And we can understand the mystery of his person, and we must acknowledge that. How could we who are mortal understand that which is divine? No one knows the Son but the Father we read in Matthew 11. But by faith we can accept what the scripture says about that person. And we can adore the truth that we intellectually cannot understand but can enjoy in our souls. I just want to quote what Mr. Raven wrote.
Who quoted it? Partially, he says. Where the idea of the unity.
Of two natures and one person came from, I know not, it seems to me, perfect nonsense.
And that man was tolerated among brethren and LED a division. Isn't that solid? Don't think we're brethren. We can't fall into that. Yes we can. It happened, I believe, from Hebrews One we could say God in the first of the sun.
Veiling that divine glory came into this seed as a man, he went to Calvary's cross.
And therefore vindicated and glorified God concerning the question of sin. And in so doing he also accomplished redemption for lost, guilty sinners.
Let's read a verse in Second Corinthians 10/5 deteriorate against these reasonings. We've heard of the reasonings of noted when and where it led them, and they confused them. And here's a defense against it, and it's the greatest challenge that I have found in the Bible.
2nd Corinthians 10/5 says casting down imagination. Now the merchant says, reasoning, We cannot.
Reason out God and that Jesus is God and Jesus is man.
By your intellect yet after that.
And every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, for even in such exalted themselves against the knowledge of God, because they weren't getting their teaching from this book and bringing into captivity every thought. Now you try to do that.
And I try to be every thought to what the obedience of the Christ obedience?
That's a guard for us when we talk about the person of the Lord Jesus, who he is.
01:20:01
One thing about For the Heart, I believe is if he was not the eternal Son, that relationship did not exist. And so that's one of the most blessed things in this book. The 14th verse says the Father sent the Son. If he was only a son in time, what did the Father send? Nothing. But if the Father and the Son had a relationship of all eternity, when one was complacent in the other, it was an absolute unity of love there.
A satisfaction. And now the father sends his son.
That's something for the heart, something that we can we can appreciate the breathing of bread and what? That's one of the most precious spots that the Father would send his son into this world to become a man, that he might die to have us live it. And so you take away all that preciousness. But Proverbs 31, Proverbs 31 That speaks of the Lord of the eternal Son even before.
It's 30 and fourth verse. It says who had to send it up into heaven and who descended, who have gathered the wind and it shifts. And who have bound the water, the garment who have established all the ends of the earth. What is his name and what is his son's name? The Falcon still, so that shows at least that he was.
Their creation.
But there's one that Hebrews 5 and I think that this somewhat lays the subject to rest.
Because what Clement said. I have read the track on the denial of internal Sanskrit and it is reason. It's a dangerous thing to read because it managed.
Because.
The man is very intelligent but.
You're talking about Mr. Ravens writings, right? No, I was talking about this, right?
But this is a verse, I think, that really lays out all the rest is the eighth verse of the 5th chapter of Hebrews.
And.
It says though he were sons even though he were son, yet alert your obedience by the things that he said. And so when was he was a son? When he wasn't learning obedience, though he were a son, yet learned the obedience by the things that he suffered. So I I think that verse shows that there was a time when the Lord was not obedient. He was God, and when he became a man he.
He learned obedience by the things that he suffered, so it doesn't say because he became Son. He learned obedient because it's the opposite though you were something in spite of the fact that he was Son, he learned obedience when he became a servant. We have established without any question that the word of God is full of truth concerning this blessed man.
In the third chapter of the Thistle that we had before us, verse eight, it says that the Son of God was manifested to undo the works of the devil. It is impossible for something to be manifested that didn't exist before. That's a wonderful verse to confirm what has been said that he had to resist before he could be manifested his son. He had to be signed.
Very clear that the word of God is full of evidence for the subject Month that He was eternally his Son and became a man, and he now is eternally a man.
He is that as that we worship him at the right hand of God shall grow eternity. I don't want to mention any names. I can if anyone wants to know who these men are, prominent men in Christendom today, men, that many of us.
Via the radio will listen to and you might be surprised to find out what they hold and teach regarding their doctrine of the person of Christ. Some teach and hold that he could have sinned, He didn't sin, they will say, but the Lord could have sinned. And these are quite prominent men. There's a very prominent man in California that denies that he was the eternal Son. That teaches that that's a term of relative inferiority and that he became Son when he became a man.
01:25:03
There are some even that deny that he was the eternal word. There's a hymn in the 28 hymn book that.
He'd rather I used to be with.
Had eternal word, eternal Son. The Father's constant joy, that's the first part of the verse is beautiful, beautiful hymn. Well, that expresses it. Who he was. But you might be surprised. I just warned you.
That if you listen to these people, these men, and they're very well taught men and very gifted men, very gifted men.
You might be listening to that which has, at the very foundation of their belief, serious errors. So be careful. Be very careful.
1 John 4:7-12
Reading
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Denver conference, September 3, 1994, Second reading meeting.
John 4.
Commencing with her seat.
#9 in the back of the book.
Our dog is Love Hymn #9 in the back of the book.
And I've always straight away.
Where someone prays the Lord.
We can always.
Say.
Let's go on Islamic law. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
First John 4 verse 7.
Beloved love one another for love is absorbed, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God. For God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because the God sent his only begotten Son into the world.
That we might live through him herein is love.
Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in US, and His love is perfectness in US.
Thereby know we that we dwell in Him and heal us, because He have given us all His Spirit, and we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelt in him, and he in God, and we have known and believed.
That God hath to us, God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is No Fear in love, but perfect love cast without fear.
Because fear hath torment he that Feareth is not made perfect in love.
We love him because he first loved us. If a man say I love God, and he is his brother, he is a liar, for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him, that he who loves God love his brother also.
This morning.
Bill made mention of areas and he didn't equate. It's a lot of us in this room don't know who he was. The Aryan doctrine is Jehovah's Witnesses today. So I just thought it would be good to clear that. So you know what? And they they deny the Lord's deity, but that's really the area of Doctor is what they hold. So it's good to know who we're talking about today.
I.
Another let us love one another. We get this same simple.
00:05:09
Exhibition.
Over and over John's Gospel and in this epistle And the reason to get it is because.
We need to love one another. The law commanded us to love God with our heart and able to fail, they couldn't produce.
That when God gives us an age of the very nature of God, we can love Agra. In fact, we do not want them glad, brotherly love continued in the book of Hebrews.
Well, the way the Revelation comes out in this epistle, God is light in the first chapter.
God is love in this chapter.
The way it comes out in John's Gospel is the same.
Light and the light was the light of men in the first chapter of John's Gospel, and God shall live the world in the third chapter.
That his weight makes manifest him. When God chose to reveal himself, he must operate that way, bring him to the lake. Now we have the light of God's word, and if we want to know God, we just go to this church. We find that life makes manifest, and then what does it make manifest Is that God is love all the heart of God to come down and love us when we were dead in dress, passes and sins, unjogly sinners, enemies of God.
Now Divine Love flows out.
But ours is drawn as we get in this chapter. We love because he first loved us, but just let us love one another for love is a problem.
What our brother told us about the law.
Not being able to produce that love that is commanded is the reason the Lord Jesus said to his own in that upper room a new commandment I give unto you.
As our brothers indicated, he has not only given us a new nature that has the capacity and desire to love.
But He has given us a Holy Spirit to empower that nature, to love even the unloved, so that now we can love according to.
Nature that God has given us.
I'd like to read verse 14 and 15 of chapter 3.
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hated his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer have eternal life abiding in him.
That verse follows the discussion of Cain, who was of that wicked one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his own works were evil and his brothers righteous. So the.
The attitude of the heart it comes out in in Cain and actually murdering his brother. So what verse 15 is telling us is if we have that attitude of heart, God sees us in that way as a murderer, whether we've carried it out or not.
One of the early brethren has made this statement as to light God be light, God being loved, and it says that God is light.
It expresses the holiness of his nature.
And love is the activity of his nature. And that's beautiful to say.
God in his love.
Meets us in the condition that is life. Exposes now the light exposes us to be sinful or exposes anything in our life that is not according to God. And then in His love He needs us in that condition.
The activity of this nature. And when we only consider the truth that God is like without dwelling on and coming into the good of the knowledge that God is love, you know this is devastating.
00:10:11
You know, how do we tremble at the very thought of having to face God without guilt upon us? And we find that Adam and Eve when they realized their unfitness for the presence of God.
They made thick leave aprons, but in spite of that they realized they were unfit to face the Holy God. And how wonderful. In his love he finds a covering and.
The covering skins require their blood needed to be shed, and we find in this chapter, do we not, that this is how God in His love has met us to not need.
Light addresses itself to the conscience. Just I love to the heart. Man's not all conscious, he's got a heart too. And wonderful to think of God.
Working and seeking and seeking to bring back into communion.
Immediately when sin came in, as you brought before us, God made.
Coats of skin to cover their negatives. It was a blood sacrifice from the very first provision to cover sin. It's like first John 17 if we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from Alton. That is the light made manifest. Man went to his eye from God that God came along with a covenant desire to bring.
Man back into fellowship with him and it's fully produced.
In having our sins covered with the precious blood of Christ and no more conscience of sins now.
It might be good to remind us.
Someone mentioned the law.
That the New Testament is not.
Just another law for us. It's not another law for us. When I read these verses, it's been said let us love one another.
It's not a command, as the law of Moses was given for me to produce this love.
But it's light, and what it does is, well, look at this way several the epistles. In the first part of the pistol we get the doctrinal instructions and the truth set out as God would unfold his false to us. And then the latter part of it we get the results of that the light that flows from understanding and living in the good of the first part of this.
It was like school, you know, you go to school and.
Teacher, Professor will lead through a lesson and then he'll give you a quiz. Did you get it? Did you understand it? What's the way God is in His word? In some places you can always read the instructions in the first part of the epistle and the ones that thoughts of God and the latter part, he says. Now, did you get it? Did you understand it? Are you enjoying it? And instead of giving us a bunch of questions that we can answer on a piece of paper, he exposes the life that flows from the enjoyment of the doctrine.
And I measure myself by that.
And if I see any contrary, I have to call it what it is.
Sin if I'm not loving my brother.
Sin. And I see what that is. The light has brought that out to me, and I see what it is, and that's sin. And I can judge the sin for what it is and let the love flow out that God has already put there and a new nature. And then with power in the believer.
That it be true. The commandment we have received is not only true in him, it is true in us, because power has come in to make good to each one of us the new nature that we have. And I'm telling us love my brethren. If I look across the room and there's a brother that rubs me the wrong way, or he irritates me something I need to look inside and see me inside of me and see why. Something that's interfering.
With the outflow of that new life that I have in trust.
But it's not a law for me to say, well, I mean I have to go somewhere and come up with enough love to love this brother.
That be just another law and for us and be terrible law, be a terrible thing. Suppose we were sitting here this afternoon and all we had to minister was the 10 commandments.
00:15:09
Well, we'll be big, brother. We'd be hiding on the chairs.
But that's what it would be if we go back to law, any law, it would just be ministering condemnation to us that we're ministering like grace, God's desire to have us in fellowship with himself for his joy. Let's look at this for his joy. I'll be joyful to certain, but the joy of God.
Who all this was his own fault to bring us to his own presence and make us likely to save you. And he's the one that's doing it, has done it, and will do it for us.
Some brothers said a long time ago, you know, we can't make flowers grow, but we can pull weeds. In that sense, whatever there is, it is I can recognize about me and inside of me that is interfering with these verses, because these verses set before us the light that flows from the understanding of truth and God. Isn't that bill what we have in James? He turns things around in a wonderful way to see it. He speaks about a law, and it's the kind of law we want to let flow out.
It's the law of liberty. Let's look at James One and see if it doesn't follow the education we're getting here because, you know, we have.
By grace through faith, a new nature, which is God's nature and it does love. And the activity of that nature is perfect liberty to let it go out. I think that's what it means in James 125, who So look this into the perfect law of liberty. What a statement that is.
The liberty of the new nature to act according to what it is and continue it therein. Go round here on in that new Nature.
He being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed.
There's two others that I think of. Romans 82 Says the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death there. It means the fixed principle or the constant tendency of the Spirit. We talk about the law of gravity. Apples always fall down. They never fall up. That's the law of gravity pulls apples down. So there's the Spirit of God working in the new nature. You've given us that one. In James, the law of liberty is the the new nature acting by the Spirit. And we have the law of the spirit. And then I think of another one in First Corinthians 9.
Verse 21 To them that are without law as without law being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ, and it shouldn't, the article shouldn't be there under law to Christ or I think Mr. Darby renders it legitimately subject to Christ. There's nothing wrong with law. It's the principle of getting into right relationship with God on the principle of law is what we're not under.
We're not under that. Our relationship with God is established by his grace, not by anything that we do. But we're we're subject to the to the law of Christ, if you will. That is, we're under Christ. We're to take our orders from Him. And there's nothing wrong with that. The law of the Spirit is operating in the new life. He produces fruit for God and righteousness. So there's there's a sense in which law is used in the New Testament in a very favorable way, too.
But you're not also allowed Romans 5.
The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy gold which is given unto us. I believe there is more in connection with what we might have to pass through, yet we're in the conscious enjoyment of the love of God. But I believe this is also what is the basis in a practical way. How can we really?
Reflect what is perfectly seen in God.
Well, it is that we ourselves are in the enjoyment of the love of God and we all have heard having not, the veterans say it's not a question that we try to love God more, but we enjoy the love of God, you know, think on all that he has done. That is what.
Causes a response in us. It isn't something that we work at, so to speak.
00:20:02
And bring it about, but by enjoying the love of God manifested to us.
That will produce in US what it takes to show love, imitators of God as beloved children. In Ephesians, you know, there's another scripture that shows that we can. Of course, who would dare to think that we could ever?
Demonstrate things as perfectly as we see it in God as we see it in the Lord Jesus.
But that is nevertheless what will happen, that there will be two limited extent in our lives, that which was perfectly seen in him. Second Corinthians 5 verse 14. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. What is the?
Motive that the God provides us.
We're living for him is the love of Christ.
It's a wonderful motive for the servant there. There's a couple others. There's a judge in chief of sight and there's the glory. What movies God has given us that we go forth with the ministry He's given us. I thought here, the way these verses read is so simple and beautiful. I'm looking at 9:00 and 10:00. If God was going to manifest his love, how is he going to do it? And we go back in the principle of the thing for the first time. Love is mentioned in the Bible, you know, well.
In Genesis 22.
Not addressed, Abraham said. Take now thy son, thine only son. I get you in the land of Moriah, and offer him there on one of the mountains to the child. Now that is the cross figured as it relates especially to the father. It was the love of the father.
That was the trial of the father, Those of us who have sons, we couldn't think of offering one of them up for anybody.
But God has done it not just for good people, but the last time we were enemies, when we were ungodly, and so on. Well then.
We come to the New Testament. We've already heard the country 16. I think there's the first place.
Where love comes in the New Testament fully and there it is, the love of God. And you don't have to vote the worst of anybody. Tell my it's it's the way God was going to manifest the love that was in him. That's really what he is, to know God. God is light and God is love.
It might be of some interest to notice that love in these verses is brought before us in three different ways.
I'll just touch on them just to develop that the verses that we're looking at just now versus 9 and 10 in this way and this was manifest the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. That's the first place brought before us.
Love toward us as sinners. The 2nd way is brought before us is in verse 12. No man hath seen God at anytime if we love one another God as well as in US and his love is perfected in US. This is the outworking of that love to become but was toward us, that loves them out working in US or others. And the 3rd way if I could just have a interview to read from Mr. Darby's translation.
In verse 17 it says here in Has love been perfected with us? And that has to do or just read on that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. So God has thought of everything His love touched us in the past as soon as.
Love being worked out as Saints, he must, and that love will be manifest also in that coming day.
That love with us.
The dad and what you said about the 17th verse, you finish it because as he is, so are we in this world. Well how is Jesus as to the judgment people?
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He's passed and he's in the glory. How do we as to the judgment that belong to us? The same place we're here in the world, but we're in the same position as the judgment.
That Jesus is Jesus will never ever suffer again. You and I shall never come into justice. So that's the reason you have boldness when we talk about judgment. You already mentioned no more conscience of sin in Hebrews statement in Scripture. I might hear the guilty conscience sometimes, even after I have come into the good of the truth that he has put away sin by the sacrifice of himself and all my sins are atoned for. I might still have a guilty conscience sometime because I've done something wrong.
But that is not what Paul speaks of. The same question as such is settled, and I know it because God's Word says it and I have a purged conscience. I know that I never have to again face the same question. It was faced for me by the Lord Jesus.
But a tremendous truth. But maybe we can yet refer to another scripture in connection with service and love being the motive for service. Remember, Peter had sinned, had denied the Lord, and then he was restored. The Lord had a meeting with Peter alone, and no doubt at that point he was the Lord. But he also needed to be restored in the midst of his president.
And what is the question that the Lord asked him again and again, lovers down me more than these?
Well, he had to deal with what was the reason of the downfall of fear that if they would all deny thee, I wouldn't. Or he might say, we can do better in our brethren, our fathers. Same spirit. That's the reason of fetus ball.
And so the Lord has to deal with that Love is telling me more than these, but at the same time we see that love for the Lord Jesus is the motive for sirs, not reward. You know many times this is how it is presented, as if we have a motive for service. Thinking of the revolt. Well, again, what I've learned from another, we do find in scripture that encouragement is given to those.
In Trials and Difficulties in the service of the Lord by rewards being mentioned. But it is not a motive for service. Love for the Lord Jesus is the motive for service, and that will enable the servant to go on in spite of abuse and whatever else he might have to take in the course of seeking to serve the Lord Jesus. But if he is in the enjoyment of his love, then he has a motive.
You know the Lord will help him to carry on and continue faithfully till he is brought to his rest, and that will be where we will be with him.
Sometimes we hurt. Here it said that John presents abstract truth, and I don't know a better verse to to illustrate that in verse eight we passed it over. I just want to read it. He that loveth not knoweth not God or God is love, and that's an abstract statement. It's not any particular application to any particular situation, but it's an absolute.
Abstract statement of truth.
He that loveth not.
Knoweth not God. Everyone that knows God loves. He has a nature that loves. But if it's absolutely true of a person that he does not love, he doesn't know God. It's not the respect of any particular application. We know of times when we don't have the feeling of love towards someone, it might be almost a feeling of hatred.
We're very angry with them, and we have that it comes from the flesh. This is an abstract statement of truth that applies.
Everywhere. And it's kind of hard to get ahold of abstract truth. But he that loveth not, knoweth not God. For God is love. That's what God is. You can't know God who is love and not love. You can't do that. That's that's a that's a moral impossibility.
I used that to illustrate when we talk about abstract truth. I was thinking of the verse in chapter three that says verse 20.
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For if our heart condemn us.
Now I live in the atmosphere of no condemnation.
As he is, so are we in his works, and I live under the shelter of that. I will never be condemned.
But there's something inside of Maine.
That leaves the heart. He refers to something inner workings and it's the conscience here in this first.
Condemn me.
That is, I'm brought into the good of all these things.
And now something inside of me condemns me.
You see, though these things are abstract truths, they are truths of the life seem perfectly in the Lord Jesus, the life that we have.
Because the light we have his life, the life that was with the Father is the life that we had.
Well, we know that if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart. And if you think our hearts condemn us, oh, if He were to condemn us, it'd be thousands of times worse than what our hearts condemn us about. He knows the whole story. He knows it from from the the height of glory. But He will never condemn us.
God is great in our hearts and knows everything. He knows really how bad it was, how bad The thing is, or whatever it is.
But he'll never condemn.
Now if my hearts condemn us not.
The beloved. That's what we should seek, living in the good of a new life.
That our hearts condemn us nothing. We have confidence.
It's not that I'll lose my life, I may lose my confidence.
But God is for us.
The grace of God. We live in the good of the grace of God, but to live where our hearts condemn us not, and to have confidence and to just understand that whatever comes, it's all right. God will handle that.
Whatever ups or downs, it's OK. Confidence settles the issue. God will take care of it. And then we go on and and grow.
Grow in the good of those things that we have now, and I can make one other thing about abstract that has impressed me.
We have life apart from experience.
The day we believe we got a life, it was a gift.
And I had no experience in that life. It was a gift of God on the spot. Bang, I got it.
By the grace of God.
Now that's an abstract thing. I have that light. It was lived out in Christ. I can lookout to Christ and see it. You're perfect. But I have that life.
That The Surge is apart from my experience. Abstract is out there and subjective is in here. We use that. If I'm writing that that definition, what aspects of my see, I think I look out at Jesus and see my life.
There is the light on me. The Lord Jesus is the light. He turns on me because I have that light.
In him is viewed perfectly. He's a major by which we would measure ourselves and anything that would be inside of me that would condemn me. I know God will never condemn me, but.
I should seek to walk, but my heart does not condemn. Then I walked steadily and peacefully, trusting God, I have confidence. I'd like to make a few more comments on what you just said.
If our heart condemn us, that means we are aware of something in our life that was wrong, that we did wrong, that we sinned. But it says God is greater than our heart. Now the thing we're aware of, there may be many other things that we're not aware of.
That we've passed over, glossed over, and so on. But if we're aware of something, if our heart condemn us, he's greater. He knows everything. And can I couple that with First John 19? If we confess our sins, That is we we can't confess sins we don't know that we've committed. But if we confess the sins that we know we've committed, what does it say? He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Notice the hours in italics, It really isn't there. The sins. The thought is he's faithful and just to forgive us the sins governmentally that we've confessed.
And then to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is, if if we're upright enough and he loves an upright soul. And what is an upright soul in Scripture? An upright soul in Scripture is one that owns his sins when he's aware of them. Now if you if you are aware of your sins and confess them, God is aware of far more than you're aware of. But he will do more than just forgive those things governmentally that you've confessed who claimed you from all unrighteousness because you've been upright.
00:35:28
You come to him saying, Lord, I did this which which was wrong. He doesn't thrash us and say that you did this and this and this and this and this which we did, but we weren't even aware of. But he comes in and cleanses us from all unrighteousness, which means the very state that led us into the sin. That's our God. He He knows far more than we know about our failures. He knows far more than you know about your wicked heart, and about my wicked heart. I don't know 110th of what he knows, and yet he's forgiven me.
Everything but what you not also agree that?
We know that forgiveness is instantaneous, but the cleansing might be a process, and many cannot understand, for instance, that let's say I fall into sin. I'm unfaithful to my wife. The assembly removes me and puts me outside.
And then now I confess this, and I ask my wife to forgive me, and I ask the President to forgive me. And they say, yes, we forgive you, the Lord has forgiven you, and so on. But I cannot pick up where I left off. What I mean today mean by that. If I have been active amongst the Saints, it takes time before.
The Lord can really use me again. I believe this is something that that is not understood and has caused problems.
You know, we had it happen where a man had several times committed adultery, and the moment that very day that we give us received back to the Lord's table, he gave thanks for the emblems, that very Lord's day. And in the evening he proposed a passage for the reading, a child, a spirit of insensitivity to the evil, and a dishonor that he had brought upon the name of the Lord and the defilement that he had even brought into the assembly. So I believe that it's a process.
That takes time and.
This is good for us to realize and it ought to make us cautious because we can't pick up where we left off. And he cleanses us from all our righteousness. We have again an abstract statement. He that is born of God said it's not we already quoted it. That's an objective statement. But NBC, in the verses that we had just been referred to, that it is possible for a believer to sin but the scriptures in John never anticipate.
That this is characteristic of a believer. That sinning and living in a state of sin is characteristic of a believer, He's overtaken by a fault, and it is far more serious to.
Bad enough to fall into an evil deed, but to pursue it and to continue in the course, it's far more serious. But how wonderful. There is cleansing, and it's the law that can cleanse us. Now we know other scriptures that shows that we can contribute towards the cleansing.
Of our fellow believers. And the love is really that which will enable us even there to be of help. The Lord might use us in the cleansing process, but really in the final analysis, Him that will do the cleansing. So I'd like to add to your comments. I believe that I think that's true what you say. I believe, though, that in the case of Peter, who had failed so grievously, denying the Lord three times the Lord appeared to Him personally.
And then he appeared to him collectively with his brethren and said, feed my sheep, feed my lambs, feed my sheep, get my sheep. So they heard that they knew he was commissioned to this so that they they wouldn't say what you just said about someone that did what you said they'd say. Well, on the day of Pentecost, he preached with power, didn't he? I mean, he had power and and all the way through the book of Acts.
Peter was mightily used of God, and that was right away after the Lord rose from the dead. But he was not under restored privately, He was restored publicly. And so he he acted. In order to really heal that place, confidence had to be restored, and Peter and the disciples would have to have confidence in him in order to do that. And this is what is part of the public restoration that is many times not understood.
00:40:14
The Saints in the assembly have to get into the position that they themselves come into a state that they can really fall in line, if I may use them with what the Lord has done and is doing for that person. So we would just make one simple statement as to abstract truth is the statement of what we see in the word of God, unmodified by our experience.
Did you get that in Ephesians? One, this will be what we're talking about and modify it. Ephesians one and four it says according as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. So that's the purpose of God and this is what the kind of people that he wants there and what kind of people he's going to have there and he has to do that. We should be holy. That's life. God is light. Everyone there is going to be, absolutely.
Falling.
Be able to walk into a holy heaven, kick off your shoes, and feel absolutely at home. Absolutely at home, in the presence of a thrice holy God.
Went holy and without blames be falling in love. And the love that's expressed there will be the very same love that God exists. He's not going to have any disgruntled people there. And so in his purpose as He's purpose to have us there and He's purpose to have us there like this and he's going to it. What a wonderful place it's going to be. Those verse that verse you just quoted, Ephesians 1/4 is according to his nature, the nature of God.
The next verse brings in the relationship of Father having predestinated as the adoption of children. So verse four is God's nature. And what is his nature? He is light. We're going to be holy and without blame. That's according to the fact that he is light and he's also loved. We're going to be there in the atmosphere of love. God is love. So that verse we have to be holy and without blame. We have to be there in love if we're going to be in the presence of Him who is light in love, it must be So what a place.
Isn't it that these verses back in our chapter?
Bring before faith, those very things, for us now.
That we should be living in the good of them. They should have their effect.
My life now.
First, Panama chapter hearing his love, not that we love God, but that He loves us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Now they referred to 2nd Corinthians 5 The love of Christ constraineth us if we could only dwell more and more and more.
On the wondrous love of God toward us, I believe other things and our love to others would fall into the right place, but it could dwell on His love to us.
There are two things that are essential for the center to have. He has to have life. That's verse nine. God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him, that we might have life and we then the other is to have our sins. The sin question suddenly, and that's verse 10, is the propitiation for our sins. That question has been settled. Those two questions have been settled. We have life, and we can be in His presence in that new nature. But all that was against us has been removed.
Through the propitiatory work of Christ. So the two essential absolute needs of the Sinner are met there, aren't they?
Propitiation is north side of things. Always. All sin is against God.
That was Adam Sandler.
United to us, he said, against his brother.
Who might?
Sin against our brother, our neighbor too. But the first thing is to have lunches.
He is the most important. When we learn it, Christ is the propitiation for our sins, then we can have peace with God. He's also the expiation puts them away. That's our scientific But here's propitiation for our sins.
To be sure that our young people understand, appreciation is the Lord Jesus Christ paying to God the debt of sin and the offense of sin against His holy nature. It is His having met all the claims of God against sin that's propitiation. We have an illustration in Numbers Chapter 5.
00:45:39
#5 verse Five And the Lord's faith of the Moses saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, When a man or woman shall commit any sin, that men commit to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty, then they shall confess their sin, which they have done, and he shall recompense his trespass with the principle thereof, and add on with the 5th part thereof, and give it unto him against whom the oppressive.
But if the man have no children to recompense the best of unto.
Let the president be recompensed unto the Lord, even to the priests.
Beside the arrival of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him, it sinned against his neighbor. That had to be made right. But the sin was against God, beside the realm of the atonement, whereby an atonement shall be made for him. Now he should probably add that atonement has really two sides to it. We have Propitiation and substitution.
And as our brother Clem has said, appreciation is God side and then expiation or substitution is the Sinner side, and we see that demonstrated in.
The two animals that were brought on the Day of Atonement, the first was slain, you know, that's a propitiation. And the second, the sins were confessed upon it also a death of a picture of the death of Christ, and it was sent into the wilderness to die.
And I think when it is a question of appreciation, it is not just that the sins that you and I have committed replicated any insult, any dishonour against God that was ever committed by anybody was taken care of in the cross of Christ. But substitution, the sins were confessed, The sins of the people confessed on the head of the animal, and then animal bore these.
Sins and.
That is only the sins of the redeemed. Would you agree with that so?
That's important to say that there are these two sides, and although here I believe he refers to you and me that are Christians, but I think officiation has a larger view than only for us, the believers. Any sin and dishonor done ever against God was appreciated in the death of Christ. That's chapter 22. He is the propitiation for our sins. That's what we have in our chapter.
And not for hours only, but also for the whole world, the sins of it's been added.
Is really what it really says is also for the whole world, at least the proficient for the whole world. And that's why God is has been able righteously to act in grace for 2000 years to this world. It deserves nothing but judgment. And he's been acting in grace because Christ is a propitiation for the whole world. The blood has been placed on the mercy seat and then Leviticus.
16 They were to sprinkle with the blood works on the.
Mercy eastward. Now that's God. God never forgets the cost. We need to be reminded of it. That's Lavender 1614. The rest of our says. But before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle with the blood of his finger 7 times. You and I need to be reminded of the mercy seat and the blood upon it. Continually. Continually. Every Lord. See, it's good to have that thought before acceptance. The work is all done and God is officiated.
That's where God meets with and communes with us, as we had an Exodus 25 from above upon the mercy seats, because the work is all done and that's where Communion is.
00:50:04
Might be good to as an illustration.
When they Devin Abhay Hugh entered.
God's presence. We got 3 minutes.
The fire came out from God and destroyed.
But when Christ died on the cross, the bell was ripped. Where's the blank?
On God's side, there have been self.
But now the veil was rent and history. I think somebody was saying, wish you said man just sewed it back up.
Fast he could, He closed it back up. He didn't want to do it. That's the other side. That's man. So the substitution is that truth of the that aspect of the work of Christ. It has to do with our side of the Veda. Propitiation is that which has to do with the insider God's side of the league. But the door is open. And God said, whosoever will come, what they do, they sewed it back up. They want to go ahead.
We don't do that. We'll do it.
No lights there. Don't come out with the lightning thought that's in in peace into the light. The time of God goes right into the holy school. The God comes out to us, the Bay of Israel. I know Christian does try to sort that but they they can't. If you get in that he entered with his own blood.
Or in the power of His blood and opened the way for us. We'd be there and we can't be there without fear. Isn't that amazing? The sanctuary of His presence, being in the presence of a holy God without fear.
Verse 12 No man has seen God at any time. There's a verse in the Gospel starts out just that way. I'll finish it. The only begotten Son who's in the bosom of the Father He hath declared him. But this verse says no man had seen God at any time, if we love one another.
God dwelleth in US and his love is perfected in us. If that's true in a very practical way, that others will see God in us too.
I.
You can sing 47 in the appendix.
I.
Gracious God our Father.
We hold in Thy holy presence that we could hardly have a clear statement of proof, and in this hymn that we have just song together, and in the ministry that Thou has given in answer to our prayers for that which would feed our souls. Now we commit this word that we have had to Thee, that, as has been suggested in this reading, that it might have an effect upon our life.
In other, in order that others might see a little of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ reflected in our love, one to another, we hear our blessed Savior's voice. If by this shall all men know that you are my disciples. If you have love one or another, so that thou art for us, being proved by the gift of my love, we bow glad, acknowledgement, and praise and honor to the our God and to the Lord Jesus Christ Thou is given in this precious name you pray. Amen.
Young Parents
Address—H. Short
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Denver General Meetings, September 3, 1994, Young People's Address.
Build the house, build the assembly.
May we open our.
Meeting this afternoon by singing hymn #197 One Nine seven and with some brother. Kindly start that please.
I would ask, can you hear in the back to the microphones? Can you hear?
Would like to.
This meeting has been designated for.
Young people and I would like to make two categories of young people.
First, what we might call young people.
And the other category we might call young parents.
Young people.
And young parents, the burden on my heart this afternoon.
Is that not only YouTube companies of unbelievers here, but each one of our hearts?
Would be stirred to a fresh and deepening appreciation.
For the grace of God.
That has identified you.
With that company of believers, we have come to express.
As Saints gathered to the Lords name.
I would like to read a verse.
In Philemon, first part of the verse.
Thinking of.
This subject.
Philemon and verse 22.
00:05:09
But with all.
Prepare me.
Also a lodging.
I think a brother prayed in the prayer.
Meeting this morning that the Brethren here had prepared their homes for the Saints.
And the general tenor of our subject this afternoon will be preparing what we might.
Symbolize, I guess might be the word.
A lodging for Paul or what answers to Paul in our lives.
The Saints gathered to the Lord's name.
And Assembly of God.
That I believe by the grace of God the Apostle Paul where he hear.
Would identify himself with.
In the Old Testament, what would answer to this?
Would have been Jerusalem.
And thinking, first of you, who we might call young people.
It's not an expression that I particularly like. I look at you as young brethren.
You're more than people to me.
Your young brethren.
And probably most all of you here this afternoon in that category.
Unlike myself, you've probably been raised as we.
Express it in the meeting.
I would like to turn now. We'll be turning to a few verses to the book of Isaiah.
Chapter 51.
My wife and I, we're reading this.
In our family reading this week and I don't remember.
That the Spirit of God ever called my attention to this verse.
Before.
But Jerusalem?
And God's government upon it.
Is before the Lord Isaiah.
Chapter 51.
And verse 7.
Awake. Awake. Stand up.
O Jerusalem.
This chapter, the Lord is taking that city, so precious to his heart, up in a governmental way.
But you young believers, I want you to notice.
Verse 18 or verse 18.
There is none to guide her Jerusalem.
Among all the sons whom she hath brought forth.
In a way, you were brought forth in the assembly.
And I wonder if the Lord looks down on you this afternoon.
And as you as an individual, would he be saying this about you?
There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth now this expression.
Neither is there any that taketh her.
By the hand.
Of all the sons that she has brought up.
Dear young friend, do you realize in your soul?
The grace of God that has been addressed to you in your life, in allowing you.
To be gathered or identified with the company of believers.
00:10:00
Gathered by the power of the Spirit of God, and to the precious name of the Lord Jesus.
Have you taken that assembly by your hand?
Being a burden on your heart as a young believer to form your life in such a way.
That you have a care for the Assembly of God? Or is it something that your pathway has been taking you away from?
When the Lord looked down on this beloved city and about to judge it in His governmental ways, and who knows but what, He might be looking at us in that way right now. And who knows, but what He might have already taken us up in recent years and months in that way as the response of your heart as the young believer said Lord Jesus.
I come to thee for grace, to take what is so precious to thee.
By the hand that I might be used to help preserve that assembly.
I couldn't covet for you as a motive in life.
A higher aspiration here on earth?
Than to make it a chief purpose in your life to preserve.
And I might rather than who are older.
You know that. I know that.
That unless God keep the city, the Watchmen watch in vain. But there is a side of responsibility. And today you, dear young brethren, and sisters, for here it's children. It's not just sons, but it's children.
You lived your life today with that object in mind to take the assembly by the hand.
With an effort to help it along the way and preserve it. Or you've lived your life today, self-centered, with you as the object of your life and no thought of this beloved city at all.
We make all kinds of preparations.
Are you as a young?
Believer.
In your life, is it a real thing to be before your God, preparing for the assembly of the gathered Saints?
Perhaps you were helping downstairs and serving the tables. I thank God for that.
It's a way of serving the gathering and serving your brethren were so selfish. Someone has been mentioning his brother. War mentioned it. We're so self-centered, we find ourselves looking at the assembly. There's nothing there.
For me, I say, when you come looking at it as something to contribute to instead of drawing from, your whole attitude of life is going to be changed.
Is the assembly an object for you to live for? Have you taken it by the hand?
To preserve it, you might say.
From the governmental actions of our God, none of the sons of Jerusalem took it by the hand. Did they prosper in their lives. Verse 20 Thy sons have fainted.
They lie at the head of all the streets as a wild ball in a net.
I've never known anyone.
Who has gone out of the assembly?
That has prospered in their life, I don't mean.
Materially, I'm talking about soul prosperity.
Would like to talk to you who are young parents.
And those who are young brethren, many, many years ago I noticed that Paul had a coat.
To keep him warm.
In the winter.
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But he had it during the summer and he left it.
He didn't throw it away, but he left it in view of when he had need of it. It would be there and Timothy could bring it to him before the winter come came.
And he could be preserved. I would like you to think of that quote, you young brethren.
That as we consider the young parents, you can look at it as a coat that I would seek to give you that you don't have any need of right now. You're not building a family.
But if the Lord leaves us here, those circumstances of life, those winter circumstances of life, if you don't throw it away this afternoon, you might find it useful when you yourself might become a young parent.
And for those of you who are young parents.
I would like to talk about preparing A lodging for what we might say or call Paul.
There are three households in the New Testament.
That speak of having the assembly in their house, I believe Philemon was one of them. I believe one called Memphis was one.
And then Purcell and Aquila are twice identified as those who had the Assembly in their house.
God would look at your household as young parents.
As a replenishing resource for the Assembly of God.
These children, these sons, it wasn't God's mind that when they grew up, they wouldn't take Jerusalem by the hand.
His thoughts were when these he calls them in lamentations the precious sons of Zion.
God would look at your children and your families as precious sons of Zion.
And he doesn't want to end up with this attitude of life.
Without a care or an interest for the assembly of God's people gathered to the precious name.
Of the Lord Jesus.
But just giving birth to children is not going to accomplish the assembly being drawn out or being found in your house.
It's going to require.
Preparation. I would like to talk about that. Let's go to Matthew's Gospel first for a verse, and this will be the only way.
Any of us can by any way prepare a house, you know it, says Noah, moved with fear and prepared an ark to the saving of his house. He prepared. It impressed me recently.
That the Ark.
That saved.
Noah's house was not built by God.
The pattern for that ark was given to Noah by God. But God will not build your house.
He has given us a book.
Then we need to tremble, it says of Noah.
He found grace, and that's what we're going to see here. He found grace in the eyes of the Lord. And what was the result of finding grace in the eyes of the Lord? It says He moved with fear.
We talk a lot about us having joy. If you're going to build your house, you need to have fear. You need to tremble at God's Word, because it's from those pages that you're going to get the pattern, the instructions to prepare an ark to the saving of your house And if you ignore it.
You'll end up.
Like lot.
Remember.
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Lot's wife Matthew, Chapter 20 just for.
An expression in verse 11. I want you to think, fathers.
And I would be inclined to include you young mothers in this too.
As good men of the House.
That you are building.
Verse 21 it says. And when they had received it, they murmured against the good men of the good men of the House. The context of this verse, we know, applies to those who came and agreed to work for a penny a day that came early in the morning. And on the principle of law they said, we will do this if you will do that.
But there were others who were called at the 11 Tower, and on the principle of grace they said whatever is right in your eyes.
And these who murmur about this Goodman are murmuring about.
They are rejecting the principle of grace.
Now what do I mean? I mean you will never prepare. You can be a Goodman of the house and build a house to the saving up to build an ark to the saving of your house on the principle of law.
If I do this I will get this.
But if you come to the Lord on the principle of grace, you will, like Noah, receive grace from God.
To build your house upon thy rock.
And when the storms come, we will stand.
But it's going to be the grace of God, as someone told me years ago.
God's divine enableness.
That's the only way we can build now. I'd like to go to Chapter 24 of Matthew for another expression.
And while it's again taking out of context, it is not.
A denial of the truth of the principle that I would bring before you.
Verse 43 of Matthew 24.
But know this.
That if the good men again, I want you dear parents, you young parents, to look at yourselves as the good men of this house.
But if the good men of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered.
His house to be broken up.
Context of this is the Lord when he introduces the millennial reign through judgment, he's going to take one to judgment.
And leave another for blessing.
But the principle of a thief breaking into your home?
For the purpose of taking out of that home.
The treasures that should be there.
And that that that can happen if you do not watch. That's the principle I want to address. Would you put your hand here and go back to Proverbs Chapter 24 for a little expression of what I'm talking about?
Proverbs, chapter 24.
It says in verse.
For their heart studieth destruction, in their lips talk of mischief, that is, those who are evil. But in verse four it says.
By knowledge shall the verse three through wisdom is in house builded, and by understanding it is established. The wisdom and understanding from God will come from the pages of God's Word.
As you were before him in fear, and trembling with that desire.
To submit yourself to the instruction of God's Word.
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I suppose in a way, wisdom is the application of God's Word to our lives.
But it's from God's word we get wisdom and understanding. But notice what happens. It says in verse four. And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
Talk a little bit about those chambers.
In the building of a house.
The Lord says, In my father's house are many mansions, abodes, or chambers. In the building of your home, dear young friend, there are many chambers. There are many rooms in the house that you will build if it's built according to the mind of God, like there were many rooms and Noah's Ark, it's not just one room that you have to fill with precious things. We're going to see it.
Toward the end of this meeting, the Lord willing but there is a chamber or room for prayer. But sometimes they call it the family altar in the reading and praying together.
There's got to be a chamber for playing together, recognizing the needs that your children have of a dad and a mom who will take time out of their important life.
To go down at the level of those children.
And take an interest in what they're interested in. They might want to build a log cabin, you know, remember my oldest son? He said, daddy, I want to build a log cabin. And I said, fine son, Anything you can find, you can use. Well, he ended up a big ditch in my land. That's as far in a pile of junk boards that he drug out that I'd thrown away. But what would have happened if I said no, son, you can't do that. One of them said, I want to build a car. I said fine son, go ahead and build a car.
Whatever you find you can use to build a car never got built. He couldn't do it. He didn't have the ability. I knew he didn't have the ability, but what would have happened if I said son, that's foolishness. When your children come home from school and want to tell you about something, you say I don't have time for that now. You better have time for it. You don't have time for them and their little things and their young lives.
They're not going to have time for you.
When they're grown.
The Chambers of playing. There's Chambers of Reading, There's Chambers. All kinds of important things are found in this house, and your children themselves are one of the precious things that God would fill and put in one of those chambers.
You know Hezekiah when he valued, he looked at the he judged his life by the dial. Obey has.
When the Lord said, set thine house in order for thou must die, he said, I don't want to die.
Sort of a recently our whole life basically is built setting our house in order. In the event of our leaving this world, we think of the Lord's coming, I know, but one way or the other, we're going to leave this world. And when we leave it, will our houses be in order?
Have we spent that little time? God would have given Hezekiah to set his house in order to set it in order. If we said I don't want to die, Lord, I don't want to leave this earth, I want to live this life. Lord said if you live it, you're going to lose it. And so Hezekiah judged his life by Ahaz's sundial.
This life under this sun, that's what counted time on. He has a sundial. He didn't have eternity before him. He decided to save his life, and he lost his house because the King of Babylon came into it and emptied all of his chambers of the precious things that God would have had preserved had Hezekiah obeyed the Lord.
How are you looking at this life? You measuring it by the sundial of Ahaz, or are you measuring it in view of eternity?
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It will make a difference who gets into your house and has access to the chambers that are to be filled with precious things. And so Hezekiah's sons became eunuchs and servants in Babylon.
Well.
Do you know?
Are you watching?
When the enemy is going to break in? Or do you think it can happen to me?
You'll think this perhaps is legal.
My beloved son-in-law, one of them. They have a little grandson.
And I use this for an illustration.
Not to condemn anything, but to exercise your soul. What I'm talking about a thief entering into your house.
When you don't realize he's entering in, add his little boy by the legs and he was going like this and the little boy was just having a delightful time.
Later, I said, son.
I just would caution you.
About the possibility of instilling in your little son.
Uh.
Something that only a roller coaster.
At Adventureland, Filling into whom? An appetite that only a roller coaster at Adventureland will be able to satisfy in a coming day. Do you understand what I'm saying?
We don't realize how easily for a thief to come into our house.
We introduce into our children's lives things that.
Maybe another occasion that might be harmless warplane or gun or something, but do you think, do I really want my son going growing up and flying a warplane?
Can you understand the principle that I'm Speaking of? We plan a little seed and we don't know that the thief has entered in with that seed is going to use it at an coming day.
To the loss of our families.
Think of what you're doing when you're doing it, and tremble before your Lord.
What principles you're acting on?
And I speak of one who's failed miserably.
I like to go now and closing.
To marks Gospel.
Chapter 14.
We know this account.
Were often from Luke.
Mark, Chapter 14.
And um.
Umm.
Verse 12 And the first day of Unleavened Bread when they killed the Passover and then.
Verse 13 They asked this question in verse 12.
Where wilt thou that we go and prepare that thou mayst eat the Passover?
And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye.
Into the city, and there thou shalt meet you, a man bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him. What I want to draw from this passage is that they had come to this city of profession.
And the Lord sends two of his disciples in search.
Of a house.
A house that had had an exercise.
Remember, we spoke of a chamber.
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A house where the good men of the house had an exercise that there would be a chamber in his house where the Lord and his disciples could meet the church.
In thy house, in all of this vast city, this man apparently was the only one.
In this city of the Lord's professed people that had this exercise.
That there be a chamber which we will look at in his house.
In which the assembly could be found.
And so it says, he sent two of his disciples.
We learn. I believe in Luke. It was Peter and John.
Peter would tell us of the governmental ways of God, and he doesn't speak of the love of God and his epistles.
With the governmental ways of God.
And John would tell us of the love of God.
We need those two characters in our lives. We need to move with fear and with a sense that our God is love.
These two disciples come into this town.
And they find a house.
That meet what they're looking for, they follow this man bearing a pitcher of water and it says here.
In verse 14 And wheresoever he shall go in say to the good men of the house, the Master saith, Where is the guest chamber? Where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples? The new translation, I believe it says, Where is my guest chamber? As the Lord looks down on your house, Dear young friends, have you had the exercise?
That there be a gas chamber for the Lord.
That the assembly could be found in.
We looked at it a little bit.
But I want you to notice.
How the Lord presents himself to this man who's called the good men of the house? The teacher, the Master, the teacher. I thought, Lord, why didn't you say Lord?
The Lord Jesus is not the head.
Of your house.
And he will not be.
He is the teacher of the head of your house.
He will instruct you, from his word, how to build a chamber in your house in which the Lord could find His assembly.
He could approve of, you, might say is a place for his assembly to be found. He will teach you, but he will not be the head of your house.
What does that mean?
It means that the Lord, dear fathers, young fathers.
The Lord hold you responsible.
For your household.
He will not take that responsibility.
The teacher said, Where is my guest chamber? Know what kind of a guest chamber is?
Verse 15 and he will show you a large upper room.
Furnished and prepared.
I began the meeting talking about that word. Prepared. My brother prayed This morning, we prepared our homes for our brethren.
These chambers in our houses do not come about.
By the passing of time they come about.
By preparation.
The ark that Noah built, he didn't build the day before the flood.
It was years of preparation, and when the time came for its use, it had been built according to God's instructions to Noah, and it was serviceable and safe.
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But this house, this room, this chamber is described by three things. It was the upper room.
Dear young Parents is the Assembly of God, and your formation of your house is the uppermost thought in it. The Assembly of God, your movement and your preparations in life is the first thought in relationship to the Assembly of God if you chose the Chamber of your work which is going to be in your house.
Under that upper room of the assembly that is.
And did you take a job so you could be in the assembly?
Or did you think the assembly wasn't worth taking hold of by the hand? And you neglected this upper chamber. The assembly must be foremost in your thoughts. You know some when I speak this way, they say I thought the Lord is to be foremost. You can't divorce the Lord from His assembly. I'm talking about that place where the Lord is in the midst. It's He that makes that place precious to our souls.
And so valuable to us that we form our whole household.
Under this upper chamber, it had the highest place in this man's house, the assembly where he built it, his work, even his play, the Chamber of playing with the children. He did it in such a way that it didn't take them away from the assembly.
You'll have to apply these things to your own life. Practically, I can't do it.
If I could, one brother told me one time, if we just had a book of rules, How dreadful. Another brother said I can't live by the rules. You said. I said brother. This never occurred to me.
That this is a book of rules.
The other thing that describes this room.
It's an upper room.
It's large.
Bigger than any of the other chambers in the house. Again, Assembly must have preeminent thought in the building of your house.
And then the other thing.
It's furnished and prepared.
That the energy and activity of grace in our lives.
That you know, Doctrine.
That is valuable. I installed my heart and Thanksgiving for our reading meetings this morning.
And thank God we still have a resource in our reading Meetings of Sound Doctrine.
But communion with Christ is the application of those doctrines.
To our life that cause us to walk in fellowship.
With him. And if we fail in the application of those doctrines to our lives.
We cannot prepare this large upper room furnished. These words have been stumbling. I pray that you may grasp at least the concept of what I've had on my heart this afternoon.
And dear young brethren, take the assembly. And young sisters, take the assembly by your hand.
Think of What can I do for you now? What can you do for me? Take it by your hand and dear young parents.
Let the assembly.
Prepare a place for Paul to lodge in in your house. Let's pray.
Lord Jesus.
We pray.
Oh my God.
We need to see you in the end of my heart.
And all the glory to yourself.
Realty heart.
First verse we read will be in First Timothy chapter 2.
Government of God
Levitical Offerings, Conformed to Image of God, There is a Pathway
Open—H. Brinkmann, W. Warr, L. Judd
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.
Auto September 4, 1994 Open meeting Brother Heinz Springwood speaks on the meat offering. Brother War speaks on the fact that we are being conformed to the image of his son, and Brother Judd speaks on the fact that there is a pathway.
Hymn #88-O Blessed Savior, is thy love so great, so full, so free Spain would we have our thoughts, our hearts, our lives engaged with thee like being faith in meekness, love in every beauteous grace from glory into glory change till we behold Thy face, the Lord we treasure in our souls.
The memory of thy love, and ever shall thy name to us a grateful odor.
Approved Hymn #88.
I trust the hymn that was suggested.
Was of the Lord.
And the thoughts that have come to my mind.
Is to think especially of the expression in that him.
That we, as like him, might become as we unlike.
Had been How is that accomplished in our lives?
And I thought that perhaps in reading Leviticus chapter 2.
The Lord could bring things before us.
That would accomplish that.
We know that in Leviticus.
We have voluntary sacrifices.
And we have sacrifices that were not of a voluntary nature, but especially the 1St 3.
A voluntary sacrifices and they speak of the Lord Jesus.
And it's remarkable that it begins with that which the Lord Jesus was for God.
You know, we so often think of what he has done for us, what we got out of it. I thought this morning, while we were being occupied with the love of the Lord Jesus, we read that verse.
One brother read it in John chapter 13. Having loved his own that were in the world, he loved them to the end. But there isn't a 14th chapter, a beautiful verse.
That the world might know that I love the Father, and as the Father has commanded me, this is the side, beloved, that we do not think of enough of his portion, that what he received in his Son, the burnt offering, is Speaking of that, and it begins with that.
Of course, it still has to do with an offering for sin, but it was wholly.
Brought to God.
Was all for him. The only thing the priest got out of it was the skin.
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But isn't it wonderful to think?
That we who have dishonored God insulted His Holiness.
If there was a man in this world who was here for the glory of God.
Who could say I have glorified beyond the earth? I finished the work that thou hast given me to do.
What you and I were unable to do, as a matter of fact, we didn't do. We did the opposite.
You know, we were created for his pleasure.
But did we give to him, even as preachers, what he could expect of us? No, we dishonored him, but.
The meal offering which is presented in the second chapter speaks of the perfect life of the Lord Jesus. And isn't that beloved what brings about a change in us when we occupied with that wonderful person? We view his path through the scene for the glory of God.
And we will notice that the biggest share of that which was brought.
As a Mela, thing was for the priests to feed on.
Is it remarkable, I believe, by feeding on the Lord Jesus?
Something is taking place.
You know we are transformed. We are changed from glory to glory. By looking at that wonderful person, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are changed. Let's read that second chapter.
And when any will offer a mere offering unto the Lord, his offering shall be a fine flower, and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon. And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons, the priests, and he shall take there out his hand full of the flower thereof, and of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof, the priests are burned a memorial of it upon the altar.
To be an offering made by fire of a sweet savour unto the Lord, and to remnant of the meat offing shall be Aaron's and his sons.
It is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. And if thou bring an ablation of the meat offering bacon in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes.
A fine flour mingled with oil.
Or unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and if thy ablation be a meat offering.
A meat offering bacon in a pan. It shall be a fine flower, unleavened, mingled with oil. Thou shalt part it in pieces and pour oil thereon. It is a meat offering, And if thy oblation be a meat offering, bacon in a frying pan.
It shall be made of fine flour with oil. Thou shalt bring the meat offering that is made of these things unto the Lord. And when it is presented unto the priest, he shall bring it unto the altar. And the priest shall take from the meat offering a memorial thereof, and shall burn it upon the altar. Altar. It is an offering made by fire of a sweet saver unto the Lord. And that which is left of the meat offering shall be Aaron's and his sons.
It is a thing most holy of the offerings of the Lord made by fire. New meat offering which ye shall bring unto the Lord, shall be made with leaven, for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey in any offering of the Lord made by fire. As for the oblation of the first fruits, he shall offer them unto the Lord, but they shall not be burned on an altar for a sweet saver.
And every ablation of the meat offering shalt thou season with salt, neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from the meat offering. With all thine offerings, thou shalt offer salt. And if thou offer a meat offering of thy first fruit unto the Lord, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy first fruits green ears of corn.
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Dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.
And thou shalt put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon. That is a meat offering, And the priest shall burn the meat offering of it part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof. It is an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
I believe if we carefully look into the Old Testament, we find that the meat offering was presented many times along with the Burndorf ring.
And.
Why is it so important? Because the meat offering speaks.
Of the perfect, sinless life of the Lord Jesus.
And this perfect, sinless life.
Is really to prove that he and he alone could be that sacrifice with satisfied all God's holy claims.
But we find that it was mingled with oil and it was anointed with oil.
And what does it speak of?
Mingled with Oil speaks of his incarnation, begotten by the Holy Ghost.
And anointed with oil. You know, when He began his service on earth, the Holy Spirit descended upon him in form of a dove. And this Holy One subjected himself perfectly to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and was subject to His Father's will. How wonderful.
An example The Lord Jesus is should you and I?
Who have this new nature within?
Should we not also be governed by the Spirit of God in all that we do?
That he should control our lives. That has often been said. This spirit is not just a resident, he should be the president, you know. He should control our lives. And we readily admit, do we not, that what was perfectly seen in the Lord Jesus is very poorly seen in US, but that's why we have to feast on him.
You know, isn't it remarkable when he was tempted in the wilderness 40 days and he was hungry, he would not even do, although he had the power to do it, anything to satisfy his hunger without having direction from his father.
Perfectly subject in everything, but we find that frankincense.
Was also brought in connection with.
That is meat offering.
But this frankincense was all to be brought. There was nothing of that for the priest. There is something in the life of the Lord Jesus which is only for God, which only he can fully evaluate. I think that as to anything that we find the sacrifice, could you and I ever pretend that we would be able to?
Evaluate the work of the Lord Jesus and appraise it all the way only God can.
No, we could not. And how wonderful.
We're not saved according to our feeble apprehension of the work of the Lord Jesus. We saved according to what He sees in it, And Him that we used to sing this little we can today can show of all that he has done. But thou dost all the virtues know of thy beloved Son. I believe that is seen in the frankincense, and it was all for God.
But what we recognize that these various ways in which these sacrifices could be brought speak of suffering.
And I believe when we think of the meal offering, such scriptures come to mind as the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
00:20:04
We find that in Isaiah 53 this was characteristic of the life of the Lord Jesus from beginning to end, man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
You know he wept over Jerusalem, and he wept at the tomb of Lazarus, and even when he in his power.
Took away the sufferings, the effects of sin, he felt it in his own soul, and let us turn to Isaiah 53.
Verse 4.
Surely he has borne our greeds and carried our sorrows. Yet we did him as we did, esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Many of the Lord's people don't understand the first part of that verse. They think that this all refers just like the last part.
Refers to the cross, but this already is true of him when he in his power was removing the effects of seeing. We have ever interpretation of that in Matthew.
Chapter 8 of Matthew.
Verse 16.
And even must come they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils, and they cast out the spirits. And he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah, the prophet saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bear our sicknesses now the Lord Jesus.
Footnoted as a man be sick, he could not be under the consequences of sin in that way. But like another has said, he felt in his soul that which he took away in his power. But those of us who have worked in the health field, you know, when we first got into it, it was at least that way with me. I sometimes was so sympathetic and I felt so sorry for those people.
Seeing their sufferings and irreversible conditions. But you know, I have to confess, as time went on, I got more and more careless, got more. I got used to being with such people. Maybe others have made similar experiences. But the Lord Jesus never lost his sensitivity. He always in a sympathetic way entered into the sufferings that.
Confronted him, and in his power he took it away, but he felt it in his own soul. So there are so many things when we think of the life of the Lord Jesus and the sufferings to which he did go.
That we.
Find it very difficult to enter into it. There might be some.
That we can enter into it a little better, You know, like when they, for all his love, rewarded him with evil.
And when they insulted him.
And spit upon him, you know, when they plucked off his hair. This is, of course now already connected with the sufferings of the cross. But there were so many things that they did as an insult to that Placid one to some measure. We can enter into that, but there are things that we find that we have very little ability to really enter in and appreciate. So what we find here.
And you see that there was an offering brought.
In an oven. Then there was an offering brought.
In a pen.
And in a children, I believe that's how Mr. Darby renders it. In other words, there were offerings. You think of an oven that's an enclosed thing. You know, you don't see what is going on like you would see in a pan. You know, these refer to things that the Lord Jesus had to endure, the oven that we had little ability to enter into, but.
00:25:25
The Lord did it all, endured it all, because this was all part of His path to this world. But.
That which we can see in his word, that which we in a measure have ability to enter into.
Can be such a blessing to our souls, and perhaps the more we go on with the Lord Jesus, the more we can enter into these things.
And be blessed in our own souls. Remember what we pointed out? Is that the bulk of what was brought.
Was for the priest, for the high priest and for his sons to feast on. And this, I believe, is the important point to get ahold of feasting on the Lord Jesus. This is of course in a spiritual way by being occupied with his sufferings and entering into those things that he felt so keenly in measure. At least we are blessed in our souls.
And would it not be that we ourselves find rays to like the Lord Jesus suffer for God, you know the path for the believer in this scene is a path of suffering. The Lord Jesus said if they did that to the green tree you know, and in this world you have tribulation, but be of good fear.
I have overcome the world.
You know, those of us who have sought to serve the Lord and His people, have he not all at one time or another, had painful experiences where?
The Lord used us to help people along, and then they got off the path. What about our own children?
That have missed the path. Maybe the Lord allows that in our lives to make us to realize what he himself must feel as to our shortcoming, our unfaithfulness, that which pain that he feels in his own heart because of the disappointments that we are to him. But the Lord is able.
To help us by looking at the Lord Jesus to go through these things.
Because sometimes the good that we try to do is turn against us.
To discredit us. That's what the Lord Jesus experienced.
You know, I believe that those in the assembly that have to take the responsibility and to lead in the assembly.
It's such a difficult thing. Why? Because sometimes the very people that they try to help turn against them.
That's the kind of a thing that the Lord Jesus experienced and we find in the prophet that he cries that I have brought up children.
But were there a joy to his heart? You know, we have to humbly confess, do we not, that we as fathers and mothers have made many mistakes in raising our children, but the Lord?
Has not made any mistakes in bringing up children yet. What a disappointment.
And the Lord Jesus knows and feels these things with us even now.
When he was on Earth, he in a sympathetic way, entered into those things that confronted him. It hasn't changed that he has now gone to glory.
He still feels with us and he can succor us. He can comfort us. And beloved, we ought to feed more on the Lord Jesus. I would like to challenge the young people, especially the brothers.
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Not that that is only their business, I think the sisters also.
Read these offerings. Try to enter into these offerings and understand what the spirit of God in type is presenting to us. Why is that important? That will help you intelligently enter in on Lord's Day Morning in what takes place and you might intelligently add and participate.
Turn in what somebody else by the Spirit has brought before us, and if you really understand these various aspects of the sacrifices.
In the Old Testament, that makes you more intelligent, and you can bring more to the Lord Jesus, you know, And sometimes we find, do we not not that we find that very often that the burnt offering side is before us. And if you understand that this hymn, this passage, even in the New Testament refers to the burnt offering side, you're not going to jump and change the character of that meeting by.
Your lack of understanding and you will be able to fit in and intelligently participate.
You know there's helpful Millers to available on the offerings. You know recently, not that many years ago, 5 booklets on Leviticus by Mr. Kelly were reprinted and you also have Kings Cards booklet. Christ, they're seen in the offerings. Very helpful. Even Mr. Mcintosh's book, although he starts with the sin offering while the scripture starts with the burned offering.
And he says, and I believe it's so that from our side, this is how we enter into the work of the Lord Jesus. We see more the need.
In view of our sins, you know, and. But how wonderful to rise above that and to really enter into what the Lord Jesus has been for God.
But we also find and that is so important that.
There was not to be broad any level.
And salt was not to be lacking.
Why do we have that in Leviticus chapter 2 I believe?
11 always speaks of sin. Never ever In the word of God does Levin speak of anything other than sin.
You know, although some in Christendom try to tell us that in Matthew 13 that 11 hid under 3 measures of meal is the gospel and it has to spread until all.
Is 11? Well, that's not what is taught there. It's evil hidden under that which is good when you read the writings of some of those men who have attacked, like we had in the reading The Eternal Sonship.
It's hit under measures of Meal. There's a lot of good things in those writings, you know, but it is like the woman hiding it under me and meal speaks of that which.
The Lord Jesus is, you know, and what we find in this meal offering it had to be fine flour. Fine flour. Why? Because that speaks of the evenness and the perfection of the Lord Jesus. And no matter how much pressure was applied, it was always smooth. The Lord Jesus never overreacted to any circumstance.
That came along his way. He always acted perfectly in every circumstance.
You know, how often do we Rover react?
Or how often do we under react? We don't react when we should react. You know, when the Lord Jesus cast out those money changers out of the temple. That was a perfect behavior for the circumstance.
You know, but when we see him reacting in loving grace to repentant sinners.
Perfect response in Him. And this is what the Lord would like to accomplish in our lives. You know that we react as the Lord Jesus would react. You know that we do not dishonor Him. You know when we think of Moses.
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But he was provoked by these people.
He spoke unadvisedly with his lips.
And he smoked the rock.
I don't think that Eiffel one could find so much fault with him that he got upset with those people. But what we learned from this, when we overreact, we might not carry out the way the Lord has given us directions to do things. And instead of speaking in grace, that's what it would speak of, wouldn't it? We use the rod, but.
The Lord Jesus could say who of you can charge me with any sin.
There was never a time.
Even when they were trying to trip him up in his words and all of this, that was wicked men confronting him.
How wisely, he answered.
Show me a piece of money.
Give to Caesar what is Caesar, If to God what is God's?
But we must never bring that which would answer to the leavens. When we bring a meal offering. When we think of the Lord Jesus, Our Lord's Day morning, isn't that a time when we bring, as it were, voluntary offerings? You know, we do not bring an offering like a Jew did, but we are thinking and meditating upon that of which that sacrificed spoke.
And that is what we bring to God, and we want to be. Do we not grow rich in the things of God? When you think of the burnt offering, you know when an Israelite was poor, he was permitted to bring a pigeon.
But when he was wealthy, he was to bring a large animal. But I'm sure that many Israelites oftentimes were sorry that he didn't have much more to bring than what he was able to bring. And don't you think that we should have the exercise, that we should grow rich in the things of God, come into a full enjoyment of the Lord Jesus and his work, his work for God?
And his sacrifice.
For men. But salt was not to be like blacking, because what does salt speak of?
Of that which preserves, you know which prevents corruption. You know there was no corruption in the blessed Lord, no possibility. And you know when you're allowed to think of the sacrifices, even the burnt offering parts were to be washed.
That was not an indication that that sacrifice is a picture, that there is something in the Lord Jesus that needs to be planned.
Before he can be offered up, no. That sacrifice needs to be washed so that the sacrifice would answer to the purity of the one who was offered up to God, well beloved.
I trust these thoughts are helpful to make us think more of the Lord Jesus. You know, I believe we don't read the Gospels often enough, and as brethren especially, I believe we pay so much attention to the epistles, Paul's doctrine, and so on and so forth. But I believe we should read more in the gospel, because there we see.
The perfect life of the Lord Jesus portrayed, we see him as the King of Israel. We see him as the perfect servant in Mark. We see him as the man Christ Jesus in Luke and as the Son of God. And let me say it's in John's gospel where you find the burnt offering aspect of the death of Christ. And we know that sometimes we try to artificially.
Raise the level of worship amongst the gathered Saints.
We had a brother at one time gathered in Egypt. He was always pressing for the burnt offering aspect, and one time even in the breaking of bread, he said stop, we have to get into the burnt offering. But it got so bad that the brethren had to discipline this man, not just for that point, but we cannot artificially raise the spiritual level in the assembly, but if we all would be more occupied.
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With the Lord Jesus and with the various aspects of his death.
I believe we all would be able to join in and intelligently participate. And isn't that wonderful that you and I can now bring something to God? And what we can bring is that which we have found of the Lord Jesus, that which the Spirit has made good to our souls, not just intellectually, but really entering into it by faith, and then be able to bring more.
To him, and how it rejoices his heart, to see a response in the hearts of His people, an appreciation for his perfect life of service here on earth.
He glorified him and that sacrifice which he has brought, you know we have in Ephesians chapter 5.
This statement.
Verse one be therefore followers of God as dear children and walk in love as Christ also has loved us and has given himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savior. I believe in this verse. The second verse will have these two things brought together, the sacrifice to God and him giving himself for us.
So may the Lord help us and.
I hope everyone of us has the habit of reading the word of God for himself.
And not only the brothers, the sisters also, You know, isn't it wonderful if you have an intelligent sister when we travel around and we meet? A sister that really knows the scriptures has really made an effort to not just listen in the meeting, but in spite of a heavy schedule.
Of providing for the family, feeding the kids, washing the clothes. Takes time for herself to read the scriptures, perhaps even read a book of ministry. I think perhaps the sisters are in danger to think, well, you know, the brothers are the ones that have to open up their mouth in the meeting and it is their business to get into the scriptures so that they have something to give. Well, sisters, when you in a meeting.
And in your soul you're in the enjoyment of these things because you have been occupied with these things yourself. You're adding to the spirit that is in the assembly. You know, the brothers really are only the mouthpiece of the assembly. And what a difference it makes when they are sisters or when they are young people in the assembly that are in the enjoyment of the Lord Jesus, And it lifts the spirit of the gathering.
And how wonderful you and I can be a help or a hindrance, even when it comes to coming to the breaking of bread. You know, if you're in a good spiritual state and in enjoyment of the Lord Jesus, it's a help to those that have to give utterance. If the Spirit really leads that brother, he will not go above.
What is the enjoyment of the Saints in the assembly? Generally he will express that.
Which is living and real in the hearts of his people.
Like to?
Read part of a verse.
In one Timothy.
Just to add to what?
Brother was saying first Timothy 2.
Verse 11.
Let the woman learn.
Let the woman learn. We sometimes get occupied with the latter part of the verse.
God has a full verse. Let the woman learn, and I would like to.
Have a thought or two to just give and.
00:45:02
By way of explanation.
I'd like to.
See if we can explain or understand a little better.
Our pathway here below.
You know, as we've had before, it's a type we as Christians, we stand in Christianity.
And lookout on another people.
That's not us.
We lookout on the people of Israel that we see, and we see types and we see shadows and figures and we learn from those as the brother has been setting before us some wonderful things.
But as we stand in Christianity, as Christians and lookout on the Old Testament.
And I was thinking somewhat of the book of Psalms when I say this.
We're looking out on a people that God is bringing through a discipline.
To work something in them.
For himself.
Now the great difference. And if we don't maintain this great difference we we will lose the value of the thing, I believe.
He is bringing you and me through a discipline, through a life of discipline and government, to be conformed to the image of his son.
A Jew could never say that.
We're looking out on a people that we can gather a lot of help from.
Ever understanding that we are the most blessed.
Of all and now we are being conformed.
To the image of his son.
We are probably the If you were to survey all of God's creation, man would be the worst.
Prospect for such a thing.
And God leaves us in the most wicked place of His whole creation. Hell isn't as wicked as Earth. Hell is more miserable.
To do his own work.
And through you and me.
Now what is his purpose? You know, I was trying to find this morning in the meeting and I don't know if it's brother Darby's thought or the way he translates something, but it's when the he was sending the messengers to the vineyard and the the husband and the wicked husband. And I I was just trying to. I was remembering it this way. Surely they will honor my son.
You know, I'd like to say that about use that expression prophetic Lee.
And I want to tell you surely.
They will honor my son.
And that's what he's working in you and me today. And he will have it in a full sense on down the road. Surely they will honor my son, and he will never back off from that. He will never retreat from that. Everything that is accomplished of any worth will be to the honor.
Of Jesus Christ.
Maybe that many will be before him in his reign to honor him as the king, and we will be there to honor him at his side.
To proclaim his worth as a bride.
There with our Lord Jesus.
Well, I was thinking of some thoughts in Second Corinthians. You know we don't get into Second Corinthians till we get out of First Corinthians.
So my brother mentioned the thought of doctrines, and sometimes we're taking up with doctrines and so forth and problems. And that's what we have, isn't it? In First Corinthians, we have to get separated from evil externally. We have to be separated from you take a position apart from evil.
And then he opens out a book to you and me.
But I'm thankful for one expression and I'll try to jump back and forth a little bit. But in chapter four, I've read this and I said, oh, I'm so thankful that this expression is in this book.
Chapter 4 verse 13 I believed.
And therefore have I spoken.
If we had to speak from experience about this book, it would remain a closed book.
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Because it tells of death.
Nothing short of death, no compromise.
Death is 100%.
And finally, when I read across this epistle and justice wondered at some of the statements in it, and I said my I'm sure glad that I see it in here, but I can't lay any claim to be speaking by experience.
First of all, back in chapter one there is a.
Kind of a key to this book and the apostle just remind us that he starts off as the God of all comfort.
Encouragement because he's going to kill us.
The Apostle he would come down to.
Verse 8 and chapter one.
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble, which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed.
Out of nature above strength.
Insomuch that we despaired even of life.
To be pressed to the limit of my strength would only be to display how strong I am.
To be depressed above my strength.
Is it show I have to live in the strength of somebody else? I have none.
So do we understand sometimes that we walk in this world through a world that is the most wicked place?
And on every side we are tempted, maybe persecuted, we are challenged, we are accused.
But there is one who has walked before us. That is what we have had. Just a few minutes ago we had one who has walked this path before us and now in following him.
He is going to step me out beyond my strength.
He's going to step me out.
To where? Only Christ.
Has any bet on it can obey?
We were speaking earlier today about the thought that in the book of Joshua.
God gave them their portion of land, he said. They gave it to them for an inheritance.
And the thought struck we had it. Somebody mentioned in our meeting down home. An inheritance for me is like something written in my will. Why am I going to get that?
I got to die to get it.
And what we have from God, beloved, is an inheritance.
And he takes me out to where I can enjoy that hairs. Where is that?
Oh, out where I'm gone and Christ is remaining.
Above strength in so much that we despaired even of life 1St 9:00 but we had the sentence of death in ourselves. When when that happened, the apostle Paul and experienced in his life, he already knew he already had heard God say about Saul.
Death.
Just like David pronounced, as we heard earlier today, he shall surely die, God pronounced on Saul of Tarsus. He'd heard God say thou shalt surely die. So he wasn't surprised by this. It was merely God carrying out his own word.
Now if we understand.
That our path here is not one for us to make decisions in. It's not one for us to seek to make our way through the scene. It's not one for us to think we're going to calculate our way through this world.
You know, sometimes we talk about dying and death and you know, it's a big word.
But I think it's a simple thing for you and me.
As if God would say don't worry about what that word means, just obey.
I'll take care of everything else.
So we get over in chapter 3. I'd like to read this verse. It was referred to just a few minutes ago, verse 18 of chapter 3.
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But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord.
Are changed.
God changes us.
It's not that I have some target that I'm seeing and I'm going to change myself. I'm going to exert my.
Forces all my abilities to be like that.
I'm going beyond my forces and beyond my abilities to be like that.
And that just is a simple word. Obey.
Come down. Submit to God. It's the word of God. Trust him for it, you say. Oh, if I do, it'll kill me. That's right.
Then you enter into your inheritance.
And I don't want to get to be mystical. I don't want to get to be fancy. I just want to get to be to read a couple of verses, verse 10 of chapter 4.
And say to you and me.
God called us to a path.
When he called us out of this world by the revelation of his son, this is the path he called us to. This is the principle that underlies the Christian path in chapter 10.
Chapter 4 verse 10 Always faring about.
In the body the dying of the Lord Jesus.
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
This dying is not dying to sin. Here he didn't have any sin.
To die to if we can participate in his death. It doesn't refer to atonement.
It's not the question of sin that we're concerned with here in this verse.
We're called to a path where the first man is left.
Far behind. And we go on in another path, another life. Everything is new. It's a new life, Everything is there. And God called us to this path. And he says, well, this is the path.
I said I don't really understand this. I really don't. I don't gather in what all this stuff is about death. Philippians speaks about bearing about or not, but being made conformable to his death. Well, I don't understand these statements. God would say verse 11.
It's all right, he says. I understand it. For we which live are always delivered unto death.
For Jesus sake.
That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal face now, Brother spoke early today of the government of God, and what a solemn thing that is.
But all below we have one who controls the government of God, God Himself.
To understand that what he's doing, he's following my every step. He's brought me to a path which says Christ is everything. And in his love for me he's fallen every step, as we heard today in his disciplined government, because he's going to deliver me unto death. Do I wonder why? Years ago something happened in my life and even today when I think of it, it causes me to tremble a little.
He wanted that tremble.
He was producing that tremble.
Do I wonder why, as I heard our brothers speak about the government of God and I wanted to kind of shrink up a little bit, maybe hide under the chair?
God wanted me to shrink up a little bit. He produced that in me, and perhaps in you, I'm sure far more. God is working something for his own delight and his own pleasure, and and you and me, and for you and me. And it is centered around the revelation of Christ, the man in glory.
And occupied with him, He's going to make us like the man who walked down here.
I would say this in behalf of our God.
He's not a superior man.
And he will never add 1 grain to any trial that I don't need.
But he's after something in me. He's after a certain humility that I don't have.
He's after a certain tremble. He's after a contrition. He's after producing in me that when I hear the name of Jesus, there's something just springs up. He's making the Lord Jesus everything to me and to you. He's doing it.
01:00:10
He said. Now we don't want to get away from responsibility.
There is that in our lives which is responsible, and there's a peculiar divine.
Point of contact. If I can use down in each sole, I would say there's some place where sovereignty and responsibility meets.
And you and I know that somewhere down the bottom there, sometimes God has said, you know, you don't do that.
And when I did it, he said, I said you don't do that.
And you know, he always wins every discussion.
We know that, so I'm not saying we can walk away from any responsibility at all.
I'm just saying that when I meet anything down in here, that's saying, you know, you just can't do that. I meet it in the presence of a God who has in his heart to conform me to the image of his Son. And the only way he can do that is to walk me out through death and give me an inheritance out there where life is and where only Christ is. That the Lord Jesus Christ would be everything.
And death worketh in us, but life in you.
Thinking about inheritance, the Lord would give me something to pass along to my brethren. So he puts it in my will. I'll use again my will as an illustration. He gives me something and he says, OK, here's something for you to share with your brethren. Here's something and I'm going to write it for you in your will.
The Apostle Paul. God had given him something in Paul's will for the Saints of God. So Paul is saying death works in me, but you get the inheritance.
Death works in me, but life in you.
God has it that way, beloved. God has it that way for us because he wants us.
All together, everyone together to say praise the Lord. And that's why I was just thinking and why I wanted to read that verse for the sisters. God says let the women learn.
Because you too.
Are in this one voice.
That's voicing the thoughts of many hearts, and the Spirit of God is working that out. And that's part of His pathway for us to lead us out to where Christ will be everything.
We're going to turn again to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4.
We are going through.
A defiling world?
Satan is the Prince and the God of us.
But we must go through it. We are here.
But there is a pathway for us through the scene I want to read.
The last two verses.
Or the the last three verses starting the 16th verse, for which 'cause we think not, but though our outward man carries, yet the inward man is renewed day by day for our light affliction.
Which is but for a moment.
Worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
It's another verse in Colossians chapter 3.
Lawson, three and verse one.
If ye then be risen with Christ.
Seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection or your mind on things above, not on things on the earth for your dead, and your life is hid with Christ and God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
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Mortify there for your members which are upon the earth.
I'm going back to.
For Colossians tells us who set our affection on things above, our mind on things above.
And verse 17 of 2nd Corinthians 4 for our light affliction.
Which is but for a moment.
Now we turn to 2nd Corinthians 11. We'll just turn to it for a moment to see this light affliction.
Verse 23. Two Corinthians 11 and verse 23. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more and Labour's more abundant in strikes above measure in prisons more frequent and that's off of the Jews. Five times received I-40 strikes, save 1 Thrice. Was I beaten with rods once? Was I stoned?
Thrice I suffered shipwreck and night in the day I have been in the deep, in journeying often in perils of waters, and perils of robbers, and perils by mine own countrymen, and perils by the heathen, and perils in the city, and perils in the wilderness, and perils in the sea, and perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness and watchings often, In hunger and thirst and fastings often.
In cold and nakedness beside those things that are without.
That was cometh upon me daily the care of all the churches. There ones would we call that like affliction?
The Spirit of God calls it light affliction, which is but for a moment yet all his Christian pathway. Paul suffered this affliction.
But the secret is it's all measured in the life of eternity.
It's all measured in the light of eternity. Our brother Hendrix brought before us God's government and how that government could go on and on and on and on.
It does, but dear ones in our daily pathway.
Do we measure things in the light of eternity? The Spirit of God does.
How do we measure things?
Lost chose the well watered plains of Jordan. Why? He had a lot of cattle. He chose for present advantage.
The 2 1/2 tribes.
Reuben, God and Half Tribunal.
They chose to remain on the east side of the garden because it was a land for cattle.
Again, they chose for present advantage what was the end of law.
He lost everything.
He really lost every member of his family.
Grounded. His wife and two daughters came out of Sodom.
But his wife was turned to a pillar of salt, and his two daughters were as wicked as any unsolder.
He lost everything.
What about the 2 1/2 tribes?
It chose for president Advantage. They were the first ones to be current captive.
No, dear ones, do I Do you choose down here for present advantage, or is your choice made before the Lord in view of eternity?
May we ponder this question?
While we look not at the things which are seen.
But at the things which are not seen, set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
We sometimes sing that little hymn.
Have I an object, Lord below? It would divide my heart with these, which would divert us even flow in answer to thy constancy.
There are ones. May we have the Lord Jesus and his interests as our object.
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What about our job? What about where we're going to live?
Do we live where we can get to the assembly meetings?
Their younger ones. Do you get to the midweek meetings?
Oh, we need them. I need them. I know in my own soul I need those meetings.
Do you get to those meetings? Do you value them?
Those opportunities to open the word of God and learn from His patience.
That opportunity to be before the Lord in prayer. Remember, we often quote Matthew 18 and 20. Let's turn to it just for a moment.
November 19.
Again I'll say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it should be done for them of my Father, which is in heaven. For see, the two verses are connected. 4 Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Here once do we value the farming. The Lord is there, the Lord is in the midst.
Do we come to meet him, to be before him, to make our requests known unto him?
Oh, bless. The truth is, it was in her midst this morning. But he's also in the perimeter.
Let us value those meetings. Set your mind on things above, not on things in the earth. We need things down here. We need to provide things on the sight of all men. But let us seek to make that provision before the Lord.
Let us make the Lord's things our choice.
And look to him for wisdom and guidance.
This Earthly pathway.
Well, we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal. Everything we see around us is going to pass away.
Everything we see around us is going to pass away.
But the things which are not seen.
Are eternal.
Now just our time is slipping away. Notice verse one.
Four of chapter 5. For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle with the Tabernacle it's a 10th, it's a non permanent dwelling, something that can be taken down and moved very rapidly. For we know that if our earthly House of this Tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God and house not made with hands.
Eternal in the heavens.
Something eternal, something permanent. It is therefore us in the heavens.
And there was. That will be our eternal residence. Not down here. These things are going to pass away. Oh, that we might indeed value those eternal things. Now just notice verse 10.
Where verse 9 Wherefore we labor?
That whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
For the present or absent we may be accepted of him.
Do I ever think, do you ever think when we seek to do something, am I doing this for the Lord? Is this going to be acceptable to him? Am I doing it for salt?
10th verse For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
That everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done.
Whether it be good or bad.
Now, in one sense, every judgment except the cross is the judgment seat of Christ, for all judgment has been committed to the Son. But here this judgment that we know is the judgment seat of Christ, is where the believers works are judged, not a question of our sentence. They were all jobs.
01:15:15
And the penalty laid on Christ at the cross of Calvary. Our sins are gone, but this is a question of our works, and that which we have done in the body is going to be reviewed and evaluated.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone.
May receive the things done in his body according to that whether it be good or bad.
There once is what we're doing done that it might be acceptable with him the Fern Back to First Corinthians chapter 3.
Verse 10.
According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another build of their own. But let every man take heed how he buildeth. Thereupon we are all builders.
For other foundation canola, landlord and that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now any man build upon this foundation. Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble. That is the materials used. I wouldn't say about each one of us, but that is the materials that Christians, children of God, are using in the building of this temple, this building.
Every man's work should be made manifest for the day, so declare it.
Because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
Any man's work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
To any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.
Now in verse 14 we have a true child of God seeking to work for Christ.
His work stands. He is built with gold, silver, precious stones. He divides the fire. There's a reward.
Verse 15 We have a true child of God.
But he has worked for self. He has used the Woodley stubble. It will not stand the fire. He suffers loss. He himself is saved. It's not a question of salvation. He himself is saved. Just so is by fire. He loses the reward he would otherwise have had.
Well, we'll just read the next two verses. No, Enoch, the year of the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you and is Speaking of the assembly. The Spirit of God indwells the assembly. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
There can be those come in professing.
Children of God, but their only professors. We may not be able to tell that they're not.
But they introduced into the assembly that was defiled. Might be moral evil, might be doctrinal evil, but what they introduced depiled the assembly, and it's solemn Him shall God destroy? He was only a professor.
All I trust each one here does know the Lord as their savior. Well, going back then to 2nd Corinthians 5 and verse 10, I'll just read it again.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in His body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.
Dear ones, may we bear in mind that we are going to spend eternity with Christ. Christ should be our object down here. We are simply passing through this temporal scene. Everything here is going to pass away.
01:20:00
All we may seek a little while we're here, that what is done might be acceptable in his sight.
331.
All keep us most defined near me.
That we are nothingness may know and difference to thy glory. Be walking in faith while you're below 331.
1000.
God.
Father, Father, for these two days.
The grades and glass, and thank thee for the joy of having.
All right, Holy scriptures, open up.
In our hearing and an opportunity to ask and be those things, we have new job and then to return and give thanks and praise and worship and rejection. Songs will go on and on and never stop.
Advocate
Address—C.I. Buchanan
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First Timothy chapter 2, verse 3. This is good.
And acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Or there is one God and one mediator between God and men.
The man graced Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. Here is our mediator, one who is God and one who is man, as we have had so.
Clearly talked to us here today.
And he never fails in that mediation.
He is also our high priest and our advocate. I'd like to turn to that verse about the advocate that's in First John chapter 2 for this is an office.
That the Lord Jesus has.
Thorn, who is our mediator, is also our advocate.
One John chapter 2 verse one my little children, my dear children, these things right I unto you that ye sin not never is there an excuse for us to sin. And if any man's sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. How wonderful to think of our Lord Jesus Christ as our mediator.
And as our advocate who takes up our cause.
With the Father in contrast to that, let's turn to Revelation chapter 12.
And we get the.
Dark contrast.
To heaven, having an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Revelation chapter 12.
This is prophecy that relates to a time that's coming. As we know that happens in the middle of the seven years.
Of Jacob's trouble.
On Satan.
Is cast out.
And it says in verse 10.
And I heard a loud voice saying, In heaven now has come salvation and strength, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brethren, there's the opposite of an advocate with the Father.
The accuser of a brethren.
Where is he?
Up there, up there too, he's cast down which accused them before our God.
Day and night.
I guess we should go to a verse in First Samuel chapter 12.
To pick up a.
Related principle at least.
In seeking to plead for.
To find the instruction about what was given to Samuel in First Samuel.
Chapter 12.
When the people.
Had sinned so grievously, First Samuel chapter 12, verse 20. Samuel said unto the people, Fear not, ye have done all this wickedness, yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. Turn ye not aside, for then should ye not go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver.
For they are vain, for the Lord will not forsake his people.
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For his great name's sake.
Because it hath pleased the Lord.
To make you his people now the unchangeable.
God who is there for his people and not forsake them. But look at what Samuel says in the 23rd verse. Moreover.
As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord.
In ceasing to pray for you, but I will teach you the good in the right way.
Once in.
Bolivia some 15 or more years ago.
There's a brother named Fortunato.
Lived in a town called ****** Studios rather than there.
He was an affable, likable young man, but he was a weakling. He was gathered. He fell into sin.
He repented, was restored. He did the same thing again.
And maybe the third time when my brother got up.
In the meeting down there and says I don't think we should pray for Fortunato anymore. Oh no, I I pointed out this verse to him. We must never cease to pray. Indeed, for all men we're told that so the principle of the advocate or the principal of the accuser.
Whose side do you take in connection with the Saints of God?
Do you seek to be an advocate for them and to pray for them?
To supplicate for these dear Saints no matter what or.
Do you get taken up even as Satan is taken up?
As the accuser of the Brethren, her brother Eric Smith.
Told me one time that Satan.
Up there is an accuser of the Brethren, and down here he is an excuser of the brethren. He excuses us to ourselves.
So that we Passover sin lightly, we have to take care of our sins and come and confess them as we've had so nicely. Now if Jesus is that mediator, that he's perfect in it and he is an advocate and never fails in that, I'd like to turn to three men in the Old Testament who entered into that in spirit at least. We'll go to Abraham first in.
Genesis chapter 18.
We won't read the whole of these chapters, but we will sketch them.
And try to get the point. I think the setting here in Genesis 18 is exceedingly beautiful. You notice here was Abraham, and the Lord appeared to him as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and three men stood by him, and when he saw them, he ran to meet them.
From the tent door, bowed himself toward the ground and said, My Lord.
We'll stop and talk about that just a little bit.
Because we see discernment here.
In Abraham.
That he only speaks to one of those men.
We can clearly see if we read the passage well.
That the other two.
We're angels, but one of them was the Lord. Do you recognize the Lord when it comes to your house? Is your household in order like Abrams was?
He was there in the tent door, in the heat of the day.
And he in short, says, my Lord. And then he goes on and talks about preparing a feast for him. And he gets Sarah to make the cakes, and the young men to get the calf and dress it and prepare for them. Now look what it says in the end of verse 8.
And.
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He stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.
It is here for God and man can meet in the shadow of the cross. That's the tree, the shadow of the cross. It's there that communion between God and man takes place.
So here was a household in order.
But the world wasn't in order.
Let's go on down to verse 16. The men who rose up from this and looked toward Sodom, that's the other two that came.
Angels in the form of men.
And Abraham.
Went with them to bring them on the way, the Lord said.
The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?
Seeing that Abraham shall greatly shall surely become a great and mighty nation.
And all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in the Emperor. I know him that he will command his children.
How about your house? Are your children under your command? And his household after him? Perhaps that comes on down to grandparents, his household after him. And they shall keep the way of the Lord. Well, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Joseph, and so on. They shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him. And the Lord said.
Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down and see whether they have done according altogether according to the cry of it which is come unto me. And if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from that, and went towards Sodom. And Abraham stood yet before the Lord. What a meeting this was of Abraham.
And the Lord, you remember when Jesus was talking to those.
Pharisees. Chief priests.
And the 8th of John.
That the Lord said your father Abraham.
Rejoice to see my day. And he saw it and was glad. I think that's right here.
And they said, oh, you're not yet 50 years old. Have you seen Abraham? Have you seen?
Abraham, your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day at Abraham's seed in Jehovah Jesus.
He certainly did more than once. He appeared to him, for Jesus is Jehovah.
So here stands Abraham before the Lord, and what is he going to do?
With a world like it was them and.
People of God living in it.
I tell you, he supplicates 6 times. I think we should read it. It's just tremendous.
The spirit of grace and supplication that came out in Abraham concerning those few who belong to the Lord that were down in that wicked city of Sodom.
And Abraham drew near, he went right up to the Lord said, wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be 50 righteous within the city. Wilt thou also destroy and not spare the city this place for the 50 righteous that are therein? OK, here's the here's the proposition. Perhaps there's fifty. And Abraham goes on that be far from thee to do after this manner to slay the righteous with the wicked.
And the right that the righteous should be, as the wicked thus be far from thee, shall not the judge of all the earth do right tremendous. Think of a man talking to the Lord that way. What courage, what peace in the presence of the Lord? Well, he gets the he gets the Lord's ear. He says, the Lord said, If I find in Sodom 50 righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.
Well, that's once he please, Abraham answered and said, Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord.
Which in but destination he takes his place down there, where man came from her adventure. There shall lack five of the 50 righteous. Wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? He said. If I find there 40 and five, I will not destroy it. Well, Abraham comes down five. He's got 45 now. What's the Lord's answer?
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SN.
And he said, if I find there 40 and five, I will not destroy it. He spake unto him again and said, peradventure there shall be found 40 there. Verse 29. He said I will not do it for 40's sake. That's the third time he's fled.
And he said to him, O let not the Lord be angry, I will speak very much. There shall be 30 found there. He said, I will not do it if I find 30 there. He pulls down 10 instead of five now.
Verse 31 He said, Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord.
Peradventure there shall be 20 found there, he said.
I will not destroy it for 20's sake. Oh, he goes ahead and pleads what a man Abraham was.
He said, O let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet, but this once for adventure 10 shall be found there. He said, I will not destroy it for Tim's sake.
Well, that's six times he pled with the Lord for the Saints of God that were down in Sodom, and then he stopped. We wonder what would have happened if he had gone one more step.
Well, we know there weren't even five that came out, but this is a Saint of God down here.
Interceding for his brethren, other Saints in the world, the Lord went his way as soon as he had left, communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned unto his place. Now the principle of this is certainly easy to see, that it was a blessed position.
That Abraham took concerning.
His brethren.
Oh, he had worked with his nephew. Locke helped him, gave him the first choice.
He'd taken the well watered plains, gone down that way, pitched his tent toward it, and then he went right into it and he lost all of his family except his wife. She turned to fill her salt. And his two daughters, three of them you might say, were left there that were righteous in there, and the Lord took them out. Now if we take the world bad and the judgment's coming, and maybe it is like the days of Sodom seemed to us like it is, we can be.
Assured.
That the judgment by fire will not come upon this place until all the Saints are taken out.
Well, let's go then to Moses in chapter 32 of Exodus, the next book, and see what that servant of the Lord does, perhaps in slightly similar condition.
It was God's people, Israel, who had been redeemed out of Egypt.
And Moses had gone up on high to get the Law.
Exodus 32 verse one. When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves under air and said unto him.
Up make us gods, which shall go be.
That make us God, which shall go before us. For As for Moses.
The man that brought us up out of Egypt we want not what is become of him.
Here, little less than six weeks took place.
With their deliverer who had brought them out of Egypt, going up to commune with God to get a perfect law to give to them, which they said that they would keep.
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And in less than six weeks, they turn to idolatry. Such was the failure of man in this case. Well, let's go on down and catch what Moses has to say further down.
And in verse 15.
Moses turned and went down from the mouth.
He had gone up to get the law. Now he turns to go down.
To bring it down to the people, Moses turned and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand. The tables were written on both their sides, on the one side, and on the other. Were they written? The tables were the work of God. The writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables.
When Joshua heard the noise, the people as they shouted, he said to Moses there is noise of war in the camp.
And he said it is not the voice of them that shout for mastery.
Neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome, but the noise of them that sing do I hear.
And I can't. And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh into the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses Anger waxed hot.
And he cast the tables out of his hands and break them beneath.
The amount?
Well, he took the calf and he grounded the powder and.
Caused these things to pass upon the people.
And the people have been made naked, and there is a judgment upon them.
Through the through the children of Levi, they were consecrated upon their brethren, and a great number of them fell. But on the Morrow, verse 30, it came to pass on the Morrow that Moses said unto the people, he has sinned a great sin. Now here's here's God's nation, send the great sin turn to idolatry.
When they said all that the Lord our God has said, will we do? They gave up God within 40 days and made a golden calf and fell down and worshiped it. Idolatry set up there.
So ye have sinned, a great sin, and now I will go up under the Lord. Now here is mediation made. I believe we can say by Moses that perhaps the highest point in the history of this communicator. Moses was the great communicator between God and the people. Joshua was the man of conflict.
So here he says, peradventure I will make an atonement for your sin.
So he goes up. Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people.
Have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not, block me, I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written.
And the Lord said unto Moses.
Whosoever has sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Therefore now.
Go, lead the people under the place which I have spoken unto thee. Behold, mine Angel shall go before thee. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them, and the Lord plague the people.
Let's go to Deuteronomy chapter nine, I think, to get some more about this scene.
Or the mediation that he makes is very wonderful when we get a hold of it.
Deuteronomy Chapter 9, he recounts it when they're at the end of the journey.
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He talks about them provoking the Lord at Horeb, verse 8.
He goes on down and says, verse 11 It came to pass at the end of 40 days and 40 nights that the Lord gave me two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. And the Lord said in me, arise, get thee down quickly from hence for thy people. The Lord says, these people are yours.
Thy people.
Thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They are quickly turned aside. Out of the way which I commanded them. They have made them molten images. Furthermore, the Lord spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff necked people. Let me alone this is.
God pleading with the mediator Moses, he says let me alone.
That I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven.
And I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. What a tremendous thing this is to think that God says to Moses, Let me alone I'll I'll destroy them, and I'll I'll make another nation out of you.
Moses, his action, his thoughts, his words are tremendous.
Verse 15 So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire, and the two tables of the covenant were in my hand.
And I looked, and behold, ye had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made you a molten calf. He had turned aside quickly out of the way which the Lord commanded you. I took the two tables and cast them out of my hand.
And break them before your eyes. This is certainly mediation.
Moses having the mind of God not to bring that law in on tables of stone.
Into the camp.
But breaking them before their eyes.
Let's let's go on down to verse 24. Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.
Thus I fell down before the Lord 40 days and 40 nights again. He's there pleading with the Lord, as I fell down at the first, because the Lord said, had said, he would destroy you. And I prayed unto the Lord and said, Oh Lord God, here's supplication, here's praying for God's people. Destroy not thy people. The Lord have said, Moses, they belong to you, they're your people.
Moses turned around, says, No, Lord, they belong to you. These are, these are your people which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt, and with a mighty hand. This pleading is wonderful. He says, remember, this is a man telling the Lord to remember. Go back and think.
Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Look not unto the stubbornness of this people.
Nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin, lest the land.
Which thou broughtest us out save because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, because he hated them, He hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou brought us out by thy mighty power, and by thy stretch down arm.
So here we have an intercession that is most wonderful by one of the heroes. I call them Abraham and Moses in the Old Testament, supplicating God for his own people.
Whose side do you take? Whose side do I take? That of the advocate or of the accuser?
I think I've heard too much of accusation in the last years against brethren. God doesn't like it. We shouldn't do it. We should plead their 'cause we'll go to David now in the last chapter of Second Samuel. It's a.
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Similar but more brief saying that we will get a hold of.
Second Samuel 24 Can we be like Abraham and plead for people who are caught out there in this Sodom and Gomorrah, who belong to the Lord?
Can we plead for his own people which have turned aside and gone after other gods? Can we?
Well here it says in Second Samuel 24 in the first verse we want to get this point.
And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
It happens again this people.
The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he moved David. The origin of what happens here is the Lord. Even though the other case you read of in Chronicle says Satan stood up against Israel to cause David to number the people. Well, it doesn't seem like a very bad thing to number the people.
But it was pride on Davidde part. Go out and number them. Joy even knew better. They counted them. There was 1,300,000 valiant men able to draw a sword. Oh, David said. Look here, I've got 1,300,000 men.
But God was behind it to Polish things up a bit.
And to get David to get his attention.
So in short, David's heart smote him that he had numbered the people. Verse 10.
And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done his pride coming out.
And now I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly. Nevertheless, because of the sin of that people, and because the anger of the Lord was against that people, he gives David a choice of one of three things to come upon.
Them in the judgment of God, because you don't escape the government of God.
We always get it. David got it. The people got it. Nevertheless, he's merciful.
And the first two choices were something that would come from men.
Verse 12 Go and say unto David.
Thus saith the Lord, Ioffer thee three things, choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. And God came to David, and said unto him.
Shall seven years of famine come upon thee in thy land?
Oh that was dreadful, that was going to last seven years. Or wilt thou flee 3 months before thine enemies while they pursue thee? Oh that would be terrible. It's a whole 3 months for the armies to be against God's people, or that there be three days pestilence in thy land. Now advise and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
David said in the gap, I am in a great Strait. He was one. He'd gotten into a great Strait. This is David. But what does he say? He has the wisdom of God to make the right choice. Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great, and let me not fall into the hand of man.
So he chose the right thing we're going to read a little bit. The Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed there died of the people from Dan even to be your Shiva 70,000 men on the Angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it. The Lord repented him of the evil said to the Angel that destroyed the people. It is enough.
These three words remind us of other judgments of God.
Like on the cross when the Lord said it is finished and twice over in Revelation you get those words, It is done. Judgment is God's strange work and it's always measured. It comes and it stops. Well, it's enough. Where did it stop? Stay now. Thine hand on the Angel of the Lord was by the threshing place of a run of the Jebusite.
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Now here's the pleading we wanted to get from David verse 17. Notice this.
David speak unto the Lord when he saw the Angel that smote the people and said, lo.
I have sinned and I have done wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me and against my father's house. And then they arrive at the threshing floor of Arana the Jebusite, and it ends up in worship.
And David wouldn't offer that which cost him nothing.
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for 50 shekels of silver. Verse 24. David built there an altar under the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel. Just these three things, brethren. Examples in Abraham.
Moses and David in making intercession for God's people, and God always hears, and he's pleased. I would like to read to you a part of a verse in.
Zechariah. And then we'll close without singing. It takes us on.
Zechariah 12 to the future. Perhaps it's the great Day of Atonement.
That takes place.
When they recognize the Messiah.
But the simple thing that I want to get is in the 10th verse of the 12Th of Zechariah, I will pour upon the House of David.
And upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication. And they look upon the one they pierced. What a wonderful time is coming for the earth.
And those same people that are there in the Millennium, they will have poured upon them the spirit of grace and of supplication. Had we not ought to have that same spirit of grace and supplication poured out from us to our brethren? Let's pray our God our Father, we have tremendous.
Privileges as Saints of God to intercede with thee.
When we think of Joshua.
Says the Lord, hearken to the voice of a man.
It seems so with Abraham.
With Moses and with David.
May we be like that.
For our love, brethren, so we pray for one another, and ask for Thy blessing upon the company gathered here. If we're left for the gospel, may it go forth clearly to gather in any who are not yet saved by grace.
Through faith, we honestly pray for dear Mario to comfort and help him. Our Father. We give thanks and ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
1 John 4:7
Reading
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God's Mercy and Love in Discipline
Address—C. Hendricks
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Let's begin by singing 142.
142 Glory to God on high.
Peace upon earth and joy, Goodwill to man. We who God's blessing prove his name. All names above sing now the Saviours love too vast to scan 142.
Glory to God.